Q1- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

A. Horror teaser trailerB. Film poster C. Film magazine front cover

Horror Teaser TrailerBefore I created my horror teaser trailer I had to carry a research out on existing horror trailers looking at their codes and conventions so that I can develop an idea for my Horror trailer in order to target my audience the right way. I Decided to research on two horror trailers and one action trailer, I decided to research on two different genres so that I can get an idea of how each genre targets their audience and it also gave me an idea on conventions which will be suitable for my horror trailer.

When analysing this action trailer I was able to make comparisons with the other horror trailers I analysed, this was because I wanted to have an idea of how both genres differ in enticing their audience so that I can know what conventions to use for my trailer and also conventions I that I should avoid. These where the major differences:

•This trailer included stars with a popular fan base.

•There tend to be more daylight shots in this trailer than the horror trailers I analysed.

•Music used is rhythmic; it not intended to change the mood or atmosphere of the audience.

•Adrenalin is tested rather than fear.

When analysing these two horror trailers the conventions that I came across are as followed:

•They used taglines/inter titles a lot in their trailers to grab the attention of the audience.•Paranormal activity.•Unknown actors, actors that did not have a popular fan base.•Creatures/ Demons.•Dramatic music.•Props/Special effects•Dark/ isolated locations.•Film titles were shown at the end.•Both relate to todorovs theory of the tree part structure (Equilibrium, Dis-equilibrium and new Equilibrium. •No voice over.

Convention I have used in my trailerWhen I finished analysing the trailers it gave me an idea of conventions I would use for my horror trailer.The conventions included are;

Fast pace shots; I realised that this technique used in horror trailers to create tension and also to leave the audience with enigma, this was what I planned to with my trailer.Dark shots and settings; I recognised that lighting was a key convention used in horror trailers because it was used to change atmosphere and the mood of the audience, and having dark scenes is a way to test the fear of your audience because people tend to be afraid mostly in the dark, so I decided that it was important for me to create the same effect as I will be filming in the woods. However filming in the dark was not an easy task, their where some scenes that where filmed in the dark but the camera could not catch, so I decided to use night vision but it meant that you have to be at a certain distance for you to see the shot properly and the image was not clear when editing, so I decided to film it again when it wasn’t too dark.

Length of trailer- I decided to change the time for how long my trailer should be because the first draft of my trailer (Pick up) was too long, so it meant I had to go for the second option in which the audience suggested for my questionnaire which was 1:00-1:30, my second draft ( Demon wood) is around 1 minute.

Costume and Props – The costumes I used for my trailer was mostly black and red; a red rope was used to tie the two boys around a tree. I focused on using these two colours in my trailer especially for the creature because these where the colours mostly used in horror films, Black which was used for the supernatural creature symbolises Mystery, Dark, Gloomy, and Red which symbolises Danger, Blood and more, Lastly I also used gloves for the supernatural creature to give the creature a deformed look. These inspirations came from horror films like Scream, The grudge, paranormal activity where the creatures always have a dark and deformed look to create ambiguity. Other costumes used where for the two teenage researchers which where clothes that teenagers normally wear.Characters – Villain and Victims, in my trailer the villain will be the supernatural creature which will be made ambiguous to the audience. The Victims will be the two researchers who go researching on an urban myth and will be played by Darren and Kareem.Most of the conventions such as shots/ Characters/ Props and costumes where influenced by films such as The Grudge, Paranormal activity 2, and One missed call, and scream. For my second draft the inspirations came from films such as ;The Blair witch project, Cabin fever, and more.

Film PosterBefore I created my poster I did a research on existing horror film posters. When my feedback was given I had not started making my Pick up poster so I used it as an advantage to start an initial poster and magazine cover for my horror trailer demon wood. It was important for me to carry this research and analysis because it gave me an idea for conventions needed to make a good and effective poster. These are two Horror posters that I analysed;

Analysing these posters gave me an idea in what techniques make an effective horror poster through; colour, Text, Background, and lastly characters to feature on the poster.

When creating my poster most of my inspirations came from the 2nd poster used for the Blair witch project. I also took all these conventions into notice apart from one which was; I decided to have a long shot of my main character (Creature) to keep the identity unknown and ambiguous to the audience.

Analysing these posters and getting inspirations from other Horror posters I was able to analyse their general conventions;

•Main information is normally highlighted using colours like Red which stands out and catches the attention of the audience than any other information on the poster e.g. Films website and Tagline.•Dark, gloomy, and isolated locations.•The title of the film always has the biggest font size.•Extreme close ups of are normally used to express the facial expression on the characters face which illustrate fear and isolation as shown in the two posters above.•Taglines are used to get the audience interested in the film.•The title of the film is normally positioned at the bottom of the poster.•Credits and other information are normally formatted horizontally.•Dark and contrasting colours; Red, White, Orange.

Conventions I have used In my poster

The Audience are given a hint into what the film is going to be about so that they can create their own idea of the storyline, it also to gives the effect that a famous urban myth is been told so it keeps the audience interested.

I used this accolade to grab the attention of the audience rather than a to use a tagline, I wanted to create an effect which will persuade the audience to watch the film by putting a comment on what a film critic thought about the film and because whilst researching on horror trailers I found that when comments are made by film critics or by people who got the chance to watch the film earlier, I found out that the audience are more persuaded and are likely to watch the film if the comments given are good , my inspirations for this came from film posters such as; Paranormal activity 2 and The Blair witch project.

I decided to go for a black and white colour scheme like the 2nd Blair witch poster because both colours represent what my film is about, White which gives a clue to the audience that the film is based on a supernatural event and because it is a colour that stands out on the poster, Black which represents Evil, Dark, mystery. I also decided to go for the Black and White colour scheme because I liked the simplicity that it implies to my horror poster, which is why I did not put any credits although it is a convention normally used in horror posters, however I wanted my poster to be simple but effective.

I positioned my film title at the bottom of my poster which is a general convention used in horror posters. I also made the font of the title black on a white background to illustrate the contrast between the two colours.

I decided not to use an extreme close up for the supernatural creature which is a general convention used on most horror posters, because I wanted to create a sense of mystery to the audience by not showing the face of the creature, and also giving the audience something to look out for when watching the film, I also chose to have this long shot of the creature because of its dark features like the batman poster.

I decided to put the website of my film on the poster to give the audience the opportunity to find out more about the film also with techniques such as the hint of the storyline given; the audience will be enticed to find out more about it on the website.

Most of my inspiration for this poster came from The 2nd Blair witch project poster.

Film Magazine front coverI carried out some research on existing magazine covers before I started to create my own magazine cover, I did this so that I can challenge and develop these conventions for my own magazine cover. I did an analysis on a professional film magazine Empire which allowed me to discover conventions used for making an effective magazine cover. I also carried out a research on Empire’s special magazine issues which I used as inspirations for my magazine cover; I focused on how the Magazine gives it away to the audience that it is a special issue, I had not started making my Pick up magazine cover as my feedback was given, so I decided to use it as an advantage to make a new magazine cover for my new horror trailer Demon wood.

When looking for magazine covers I did not find any horror film covers, so I decided go for a magazine that follows the general conventions of magazine covers. For inspirations I looked at Empires special issue magazine so I decided to try something different and do a special edition on Top 10 horror films that are based in the woods, another thing I decided to was to put my own film poster at the front of the magazine as part of the list, I use this method to advertise my film to the audience, also the fact that I ranked the film as number 1 gives my film a good status.

When Analysing and researching these covers, these where the conventions I came across;

•There is always an image of the main character in the film which is the biggest and the centre of attraction on the cover.•Special issues/Edition always break general Empire font convention, the font is normally the same as the theme of the film.•There are always other articles on films or gossip, which attracts different audiences.•Magazine title and film title normally have the biggest fonts on the cover.•Magazine title is always positioned at the top of the magazine.•The price and date are normally displayed on the top of the magazine, whilst the barcode at the bottom.•Some magazine covers uses accolades to signify the magazines status. 

Conventions I have used in magazine Front coverThis is the general convention used

on Empire magazine covers where the magazine issue is above the Empire logo so that has the reader admires the name of the magazine this piece of information will be admired too.

Date and price positioned at the top.

The Empire title as the boldest and biggest font on my magazine cover because researching on magazine conventions this is done to let the reader know that they are reading a renowned magazine.

•The font used on my magazine cover has dark branches on it, this is so that the theme and the genre of the magazine is recognisable to the reader which was; Top 10 horror films based on the woods, I got this inspiration from looking at different Empire magazine covers to films they were promoting, which really highlights the theme of the film through colours, Text, Pictures. Empire can get away with changing the colour and theme of their magazine due to the popularity that the magazine has.

Barcode placed at the bottom of the magazine.

The plus catches the attention of the reader by highlighting other features that the magazine contains inside.

•I decided to change the way I put the plus on my magazine cover because I thought that it catches the audiences attention this way.•I made the plus symbol stand out on the magazine cover with the red colour so that it catches the readers attention from all other plain colours used on my poster and also for the reader to know that this information is important. This was because the colours on magazine covers differ depending on which the important headline is.

The hint of the colour red is being used on my magazine cover to emphasize on certain text because that is where I want the reader to focus on like the number which implies to the reader that there is 10 to look out for and 5 for the reader to know that there is more to come inside. This is done on magazine covers depending on which headlines are important.

I decided to make my poster the biggest image on my magazine cover and also for the name of my film to be bold. So that this is the centre of attraction on my magazine and most important in the list. Which is often done on magazine covers to highlight the main character.