Location 1 - School

Our first location will be our school, so that we can film those parts around a certain area in school which I have photographed. 

Locations

Together, we searched our local town for appropriate locations to film the trailer. We came across various places which would be very effective for what we are trying to achieve, but we eventually decided on three main locations which are in the following posts. Some of the places we found would need specific permission to shoot on, and some would just not be accessible enough due to high risks. 

Audience Analysis

As part of our audience research, we took five volunteers from years ten and eleven and asked them a number of questions as shown below. This gave us some interesting results which will help us in the planning and creation of our film trailer.

          1. How old are you?

We chose people who fit in the age range of our target audience which is around 14-16. Everyone we asked was of school age in either year 10 or 11. This gave us a good idea of the opinions of people from our appropriate target audience.

          2. What interests or hobbies do you have?

Despite all interviewees being picked entirely at random, all of them said their main interest was either music or sport. This has led us to believe these are probably the two main hobbies throughout our target age; therefore we should try and keep this in mind when filming our trailer. It may mean making references to sport in the form of dialogue, or having one of the characters heavily into sport, same with music, or we could focus a bit more on having some enticing music on the trailer which would attract those with a musical ear.

          3. Do you have any fears or phobias?

We found that the most common fear was spiders, which are probably something a lot of people are scared of. This could be useful, as we could incorporate parts of this into the trailer. If we use something that will really hit home with the viewers, it may have more of an effect on them, but this may be something to use in the actual film rather than the trailer so that it doesn't put them off going to see it. Another collective fear was heights which I think would be easy to include in the trailer through the camera shots by using high angle shots or even low angle shots, this will help to strike fear into the viewers without being too hard-hitting so that they will avoid watching. Other things we found were small spaces, children used in horror films and doing things badly. These are all things which could be cleverly placed into the trailer, although most of our shots will be filmed outdoors which means there won’t be many small spaces, also we do not have the opportunity to use children in our trailer.

          4. What do you look for in a film?

From what we gathered, the majority of our interviewees are most enticed by action and scary scenes when looking at films. This is good considering our genre is horror, and so it will be relevant to include such films, especially in the trailer as this will need to be very gripping so that it will encourage viewers to go and watch the film. Another thing that people said they look for in a film is a comedy aspect which we will try and include a slight aspect of within the trailer. The other aspect that was mentioned was a good looking male, which is probably something we’ll consider when creating the promotional poster.

          5. What makes you want to go and see a film?

We found that it’s mostly the trailer that makes people want to go and see a film therefore we need to have more focus on the trailer than the other parts of the promotional package (poster and magazine cover. It will need to be gripping and exciting so that people are left wanting to see more, making them go and see the film in the cinema. Another thing that was mentioned was the word of mouth method, meaning the reason for going to see a film would be because loads of people said it was really good. This means that our marketing, specifically viral, would need to be especially good so that the word is spread easily. This would be an important thing to focus on as social networking is most popular within the same age range as our target audience, so it would be an effective method of promotions. One interviewee also said that it depends on the actor or director to whether he will watch the film, if it is a favourite or one that is commended; he would be more likely to watch the film. This is not something we are capable of endearing to, but we will keep it in mind.

          6. What do you think of the horror genre?

We got quite mixed feedback on this question; some answers were quite vague so we never really came to an overall conclusion. I think the general consensus was that it has to be the right kind of scary, meaning it depends on the sub-genre e.g. some only like comedy horror, whereas some prefer psychological so that it plays with their mind. But we also found that when it’s the type of horror they enjoy, they do enjoy it a lot because of the excitement and the adrenalin it gives you, also the fact that you don’t really know what’s going to happen and the element of surprise. We will look closer at this question when we create a survey.

          7. What elements of horror do you enjoy?

Every answer we received was different, but overall we concluded that the most important elements are the build-up of tension and the sense of realism. These are two things that we are planning on heavily focusing on when creating our trailer, which will hopefully improve the effectiveness of the end product and help to entice more viewers.s.

Target Audience Interviews

We spoke to five people from our target audience and asked them a range of questions to help with our research. Here is the video we put together from the results.

Facebook Group

We created a facebook group which was only accessible to us and the other people involved in the film (mostly just the actors). This meant that we could easily contact everyone to organise filming dates and to help plan the film. It also kept everyone up to date with progress.

Actors/Characters

We have so far confirmed five main characters who will be in the film and have confirmed five actors to play these for us. There will be three boys and two girls, but there will also be some extras needed for the interview parts of the trailer.

These are the characters we will have

• Character 1 doesn't believe in the faceless and thinks it is all a load of rubbish, this is the character who goes missing after the game of truth or dare. This will be played by Holly.
• Character 2 is frightened for their life, thinks it is a bad idea to go and wants to turn back as soon as they get there. This will be played by Jake.
• Character 3 and 4 are completely fascinated and obsessed over it, they know all about the faceless and where they are expected to be found and how to lure them in, it is their idea to go look for it. These two will be played by Grant and Jess.
• Character 5 is just going along for the laugh, and has neutral feeling on it - This will be played by Ellis.

Audience Research

1. How old are you? 12-15 16-19 20+
2. Are you male or female?
3. What do you think about the horror genre of film? Amazing/It's alright/Not bothered/Wouldn't watch
4. If you had to pick, which sub genre of horror do you prefer? Psychological/Sci-fi/Zombie/Slasher
5. Do you like a horror film to be gory or would you prefer it to have weird twists that play with your mind? Lots of blood and gore/Bit of both/Something that makes me think/plays with my head
6. What would you find most scary in a horror film when looking at specific symbols/motifs? Clowns/masks/creepy children/the unknown
7. What is your favourite horror film?
8. What did you like about this film? Setting/characters/plot/special effects
9. What made you go and see this film? Trailer/Poster/other
10. When watching a film trailer for a horror movie, which would you find most effective with regards to sound? Silence/only sounds captured from the camera/eerie violin or piano music which could build up to something faster to create tension/heavy music and drum beats/scary sound effects such as screaming

We will put these questions into a survey and ask as many people as possible to answer.

Naming the film!

We have come up with a few different ideas for names of the film and we will use surveys on social network sites to get audience feedback and research to help us decide.

• The Faceless - This is very simple and to the point, it would stick in your mind and make you wonder what the film was going to be about. It seems very mysterious. Also as this is the name of the creatures in our film, it is suitable.
• Truth or Dare - Relatable to target audience but not very scary, but could be used as it is in the film and is the reason the first character goes missing after the truth or dare goes wrong
• The Risk - Could work because essentially the characters are taking a risk by going off and confronting severe issues that have been happening - people going missing and possibly murdered around the town. Makes people wonder why this risk is so important
• Camp Disaster - This seems a bit cheesy so we will probably not use it but it makes people want to know what thew disaster is and
• Recording the Nightmare - Works because the characters are trying to document their journey with their own video cameras so they are filming the disasters that are happening. But again a bit cheesy.

Storyboard

Storyboard from broganmain

This is the final idea we came up with going for the idea of the local myth. We decided on a myth called the faceless, which is a group of monsters/creatures who are said not to have a face and are said to be the cause of people going missing in the area. A group of kids at high school are quite fascinated by this myth and want to go out and find it so after peers at school telling them it's a load of rubbish they are determined to prove them wrong and so go off into the forest to find the faceless. Things don't seem right and one character goes missing. The film will show what happens and how the characters are slowly picked off one by one, but this will not be shown in the trailer.

Initial Ideas

We initially came up with three main ideas and a few themes and elements we were sure we wanted to use as shown above and explained in detail below.

First the themes and elements we wanted to use:

• We wanted to keep characters to a minimum as there are only two of us in the group so it is easier to keep the whole thing as simple as possible for ease. We thought 2 or 3 boys and 2 girls as the main characters, which would be around 15-17 as to relate to the target audience. If we needed any other extras they would only be small parts so this would not be difficult.
• We were hoping to create a psychological horror which would make people think and the trailer would leave them wondering what had happened and wanting to know what was to come next. We wanted the mood of it to be very sinister, creepy and mysterious, but also we wanted it to be relatable for the target audience.

First Idea: Reality TV Show

• We came up with the idea of a reality tv show where contestants were asked to spend a certain amount of time e.g. one night/day, in a creepy or haunted place, such as an abandoned house or school.
• The wanted to incorporate clowns into this as clowns can have both positive and negative connotations.
• This would be relatable as reality shows are very popular within our target audience.
• There would be a twist to the show which would fit in with the psychological horror genre.

Second Idea: Road Trip

• Our second idea was a road trip which goes wrong, e.g. the car breaks down and would end up in the middle of nowhere and come across an abandoned house or such like.
• We could incorporate good locations into this such as lots of open roads and empty land - this would be easy living in a rural area. Although, it would mean having to travel further which was not much of an option for us.
• We also felt this idea gave us lots of chances for effective camera shots and angles.
• The target audience would have to be raised a bit as the characters would have to be older and able to drive - this also posed a problem for us as there are only few people at college who drive and were willing to be in the film.

Third Idea: Camping/Local myths

• Thirdly we came up with the idea of a local myth which only few people believe, and when people go to search for it something goes horribly wrong.
• We thought that we could use a group of school kids (keeping in with the target audience) who were fascinated by this local myth about some "monsters" or something similair, they then go on a camping trek to find it, some sceptical, some convinced. Then one goes missing.
• We would be able to use local locations to us including our school.
• We decided it would be effective if we used handheld camera for some of this, as if the kids were making a vlog - again, relatable for the target audience.
• We could also incorporate a game of truth or dare at the camping trip, a character could be dared to run into the forest with no torch, and then doesn't come back - again, truth or dare would be relatable for target audience.

Blair Witch Project Trailer Analysis

I looked at both the theatrical trailer and the teaser trailer of this film which is a psychological horror film, pieced together from real footage found when three film makers went missing while hiking in the Black Hills, Maryland, US to film a documentary about a local legend, the Blair Witch. I looked at the key concepts of mise en scene, camera shots and angles, sound and editing in the theatrical trailer and just analysed what was actually included in the teaser trailer.

Theatrical Trailer

Camera Shots and Angles

• The entire trailer/movie is shot with a handheld camera, so you could say that they are all point of view shots from what the person filming is experiencing.
• The trailer opens with a mid shot of the girl explaining what is happening, this is also kind of an establishing shot which introduces the storyline.
• Also, close ups are used to help emphasis emotions of the characters which helps to build tension and suspense among the audience.

Mise en Scene

• The characters are wearing normal clothes and to begin with it is filmed in normal environments such as the house and an interview in the cafe, this makes the audience feel comfortable as everything seems to be at ease and normal
• The environment changes to woods and strange things are seen in the scenery which suggests that something strange is going on - they are in an unfamiliar place and this creates a sense of mystery.

Sound

• The sound used is mostly diagetic - whatever is picked up from the camera such as the dialogue and background noise, again, this helps to put the audience at ease to begin with as it is something they are familiar with.
• There is also sounds used to help build up tension for example at the beginning, very bassy sounds are used, which sound very mysterious with very high strings behind. This is usually heard whenever text is used and gets more frequent towards the end of the film.
• No other sound is used which keeps it simple yet mysterious.

Editing

• Editing is kept at a steady pace throughout the trailer which again is simple yet mysterious. But this could also connote the realism of the film.
• The text used in the trailer also helps to create the mysterious atmosphere and build suspense and tension as the audience are left wondering what is going to happen.

Teaser Trailer

• One flash of the production company at the beginning.
• Text used to introduce the story - this is quite important as the dialogue alone would be confusing for viewers - the text along with the dialogue lets the viewer know how something must have gone wrong during the filming
• Atmospheric, quite tense music
• Black screen with voice which seems to be distressed or full of fear, leaves the audience wondering who is speaking and what has happened to make them apologise
• Title of film flashes up with a sound
• Short clip of the girl who's talking, this is a close up and doesn't even show her whole face which also contributes to the build up of tension and mystery
• Then "this halloween" and then the website flashes up. Very simple and mysterious again.

Prom Night Trailer Analysis

I looked at the trailer from Prom Night and analysed the different key concepts of it including camera shots and angles, mise en scene, editing and sound. Prom Night is a horror based around a sadistic killer from the main character's past.

Camera shots and angles

• Various types of shots used to show characters getting ready for their prom – establishing, point of view, long shots to emphasise the excitement for the night. This also emphasises the equilibrium at the beginning of the film.
• As you get more into the trailer, the camera angles change to close ups and extreme close ups of expressions and objects to evoke fear among the audience – scared expression and shots of the knife and other sinister objects.
• Point of view shots are used to show the character’s fear
• Close up shot of face looking through the key hole – it could make the audience feel as though they are being watched which would create further fear and uneasiness or it could create further fear by making them think she is hiding from someone and is about to be found.

Mise en Scene

• The lighting in the trailer varies – at the beginning it is very light and bright which connotes happiness and again emphasises the equilibrium, even when they are in the prom, the lights are off but there is still a bright atmosphere from the lights coming off the dance floor. Then when the lights flicker and go off, the lighting in the rest of the trailer is very dark and seems mysterious because it keeps flickering. This creates enigma because the audience doesn’t know what is in the darkness.
• The film is set in a hotel which is meant to connote a holiday or a relaxing get-away, but it is actually the opposite as something terrible seems to be inside
• The props used can be seen as scary just on their own e.g. the knife suggests to the audience that someone will be stabbed also when the knife is seen again in the evidence bag suggests that there is something bad going on that needs to be investigated – the knife is evidence of something that has gone on, the body bag again suggests that someone will be killed or has been killed.

Sound

• The music used in the trailer begins very cheerful with upbeat, rock/pop music which makes the audience think that everything is going okay and happy. It will also connote excitement and fun which is exactly what the characters are going through. Then half way through the trailer, the music stops when the teachers is announcing the king and queen, it then abruptly stops and only low atmospheric music is used such as very low and very high strings, which evokes fear into the audience and builds up the tension.
• The sounds used in the trailer are to make the audience feel uneasy and uncomfortable such as the screams, the creepy voiceovers and the enhanced sounds such as the knife scraping. These will all evoke further fear and make the audience jump as they are all fairly loud.
• The voiceover is also used to scare the audience and create enigma such as when the policeman is saying the murderer will not stop until he gets hold of the girl which makes you think how far will he actually go and what is he capable of?

Editing

• Unlike most trailers, the editing actually begins fairly fast paced, but instead of it being in a scary/jumpy way, it seems to be edited in a more upbeat way which reflects the younger/teenage age group of the characters in the film and also the target audience of the film.
• The upbeat yet steady pace helps the audience absorb the fact that this is the equilibrium and the climax has not happened yet.
• The editing slows down slightly when there is a big moment of tension just before the lights go off in the prom, this builds suspense and makes the audience want to know what is about to happen.
• The pace builds up even more towards the end of the trailer which in turn builds tension and suspense amongst the audience and is almost a reminder that something out of the ordinary is about to happen.
• Text is used effectively in the trailer with double meanings and puns. For example “a night to die for” which makes the audience wonder who is going to be killed and creates fear for the characters.

Audience

We thoroughly discussed the topic of target audience and we decided that there are specific things we should consider about the audience when creating the film:

• Age
• Interests
• Job
• Past-times
• Phobias
• Where they live
• Favourite genre of film
• What they look for in a film
• How do they consume films

How could I find this out?

• Survey Monkey
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Email

Before we begin our film properly, we will put together a questionairre to give out to our target audience which will be part of our audience research.

Synergy

Definition: The cooperation of two or more organizations to produce a combined effect that would be better than the seperate effects individually. Within media, we see this through promotional packages which synergise to produce successful promotional material.


Toy Story 3
Poster


Webpage

Magazine Cover


Trailer Screenshot

You can see from all of these images that there is a clear synergy within the promotional package of this film. This means that the film has created a universal image/logo that can be recognised by the general public - doing this successfully will improve the promotion of the film.