In what ways does your media product

use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Role Of A Trailer

The role of a trailer is to entice the audience into wanting to watch the complete film. From my research I have found that on average around 95% of trailers last between 2- 2.5 minutes long. However there are exceptions. Some trailers are shorter and have more quick cuts and faster transitions to quicken the pace and to reflect the narrative of the trailer.

The trailer for the film ‘The Shining’ lasts 2:41 minutes and shows just one shot type of tracking which follows around the hotel. This is effective as the music and sound effects help create a sense of horror and entices the audience.

Conventions used.. The flashbacks idea was taken from my research of looking at ‘The Lovely Bones’ where they use the extremely bright glow on the old footage to show the time difference which distinctively shows the audience that the use of this technique indicates that this particular shot is being shown from the past.

 The frequent use of black and white colour shown in my trailer and in my auxiliary products shows typical common conventions used of a horror film trailer. Both the contrasting colours compliment each other successfully as it provokes a sense of mystery to the audience which immediately suggests that it is a dark film.The colour black has connotations of death , fear of the unknown and isolation which are all connected with the trailer itself. However with the use of the white, which often provides a sense of emptiness and purity it provides the audience with a blank mind to allow their imagination to run wild. However black clear cut shots are used in the trailer to give a moment of suspense to the audience allowing them to have a moment to think about the story and let them have their own indication of what is to happen in the next shot.

The Lovely Bones

Shot TypesThe Lovely Bones

Alice

Flash-back

Black shot

Transposed – gives a ghostly ethereal effect.

Medium shot

Conventions used..The lighting used in my trailer shows both the codes and conventions of a horror film trailer as the lighting changes along with the atmosphere as the trailer progresses. At the beginning the lighting is quite high key and focuses on the centre point of the still image, slowly the lighting becomes low key after the flashbacks finish to show the audience the instant change of mood.

I have used a variety of shot types which all display the general codes and conventions of a horror film trailer as they are used in a specific way to reflect the mood of the character and what actions are to take place. These include;

Medium and close up shots which focus on the main character in great detail so that it fills the screen. It abstracts the subject ‘Alice’ from a context.

Close-ups focus the attention on ‘Alice’s’ feelings and reactions, as it shows the audience her state of emotions.

At the beginning of my trailer a sad slow instrumental song is played known as 'Desert Flower'. This choice of music challenges the stereotypical type used in this genre as the music sets the scene and is used to provoke a reaction out of the audience towards the young female character.

Above shows how I have used an extreme close-up shot which I decided to use looking at the lovely bones where it is used to focus on the victims facial expressions in order to provoke an emotional reaction to the audience.

Conventions used & developed

The angle of shot shows the direction and height from which the camera takes the scene. The convention is that in ’Horror’ film victims should be shot from a high level angle looking down on them to show they have less power and are intimidated by the villain/opposition. In a high angle the camera looks down at a character suggesting an air of detachment making the audience fear for the character. However I have also used eye level shots in order to make the audience feel part of the film and to be able to connect with the child.

I have used a variety of cuts throughout my trailer for many different reasons such as to change the scene , compress time ,change the view point of the character and to build up an image which develops in the audiences mind. I have also used less abrupt transitions , I did this by using transitions such as fade ,dissolve and wipe. However I decided to not use the dissolve after my audience feedback as I felt it did not fit the genre very well.

In addition I used jump cut which showed an abrupt switch from one scene to another which I used deliberately to make a dramatic point. Showing the beginning of an action without showing the ending to allow the audience to have their own opinion of what happens.

Finally I used motivated cuts to immediately make the audience want to see something which is not currently visible. An example from my trailer is the door knob moving but then not seeing what is to happen after the suspense has built.

Conventions of Marketing

Looking at existing horror films and their ways of advertising I have found that social networking as a means of marketing and promotion works very well as social media is constantly increasing and more and more people are using it with the advancements in technology. The technique of social media is to create a 'buzz' about films leaving the audience with a sense of excitement as they want to see the film itself. In addition it also helps attract my target audience of teenagers and young adults as from studies it is clear that it is this particular age range who use the internet and social media the most in recent statistics. Above shows screenshots of both my ancillary products where it clearly shows how I have incorporated we-media and online resources to attract the audience and allow them to take an active role. I chose to do this as I feel it would help create a phenomena around my film ‘Alice’. I have used the hashtag ‘#haveyouseenher?’ in order for the public to tweet about the film creating a buzz. I decided to do this as I noticed on channel 4 and more recently a few other channels films have used a 3 second clip between adverts to entice the viewer to look online and through various links read reviews on the film and to of course purchase a ticket.

Conventions Challenged..

I have used a 'Realistic' technique where the meaning is conveyed through the relationship of things visible within this single shot. I have positioned the young girl to sit holding herself together to reflect the narrative of the story which is quite conventional of a magazine cover. I have also used the main character on the front page using the ‘rule of thirds’ theory in order to show the importance of the main character in the film. This technique is used often in ‘Empire’ magazine. However I have challenged the standard conventions of conveying a horror film on the front page as I have displayed my image in black and white again to link with the other three products. Although I have used a dark dismal colour scheme of red ,white and black throughout I have adopted some aspects of old film footage where colour was not available. I used this as I feel it is different to what society adopts today and to give it my own individual twist.

Conventions Challenged..

I have used a similar layout to ‘The Lovely Bones’ poster advertising the film. However both these two posters challenge the typical posters that are created for film as they are both landscape in comparison to other horror films which follow the normality of a portrait A4 poster.I have used the titles above at the top of the poster displaying they actors /actresses names in order to attract the audience. I placed them in this position so they are clearly noticeable yet do not draw the eye away from the image in the centre. In addition I have challenged the typical conventions by using a 45 degree shot looking down on the child in order to make the audience feel more involved. I have placed the hand on the left hand side where the lighting is dimmer to make it look more authentic and to show how the light shines directly through the window onto the young child showing her innocence. Finally I have used the credentials at the bottom right which is very different to other posters. I decided to do this in order to make the poster look more professional and so it did not overlap my image which would have not been very effective altogether.