Self-EvaluationJames Evans

Ideas for ProductionThe idea I have decided to use for my storyline is that a group of teenagers are friends and live their daily lives together at a local school. One friend begins to talk about how they believe their house is haunted and how strange things are happening when they are on their own. The friends do not believe them and lightly mock them about it. The friend whose house is haunted decides they have had enough and invite the friends round for a weekend so they can see for themselves. The friends start noticing unusual paranormal things happening such as pictures falling over and technology failing and begin to get suspicious. They start to research the house on the internet and find out that the previous owners went missing and how it’s a very old house and that it contained a mass murder. This scares the teenagers and they begin to become concerned. They all do not show up at the start of the next week.

I have many ideas for the mise-en-scene, sound, camerawork and editing which would result in the film trailer being very conventional and appealing for the target audience. For example, the settings would be a school to involve them with the target audience and isolated house to show isolation and loneliness which creates a scare factor for the audience. The costumes would be normal and everyday to show an everyday scenario and everyday characters. The lighting I would use would be low key to show darkness and also create scare factor. I could also use a variety of different sounds such as a build up of non-diegetic music to increase tension and whispering and screaming to create a scarier atmosphere.

Location

The location of our house is conventional as it is very similar to the house in the successful film “Carrie”. Both of the houses are very ordinary and normal, therefore relating to the target audience. Many other films use ordinary houses too such as Paranormal activity, The Conjuring and Mama as it is effective for the genre. The houses are also often isolated and alone creating the impression that there are not many witnesses for the event making it seem scarier and creating a creepier atmosphere. The horrifying events that happen inside of the house is often not reflected on the outside of the house, creating a scare factor for the audience by making them believe that this could happen to them.

Carrie House

Our House

PropsThis prop of the rocking chair is used in “The Conjuring” poster as it is a creepy and scary prop that creates a terrifying atmosphere. It will be used in our trailer as a way of portraying how a ghost/demon can manipulate objects to create a paranormal atmosphere which is suitable for the horror genre. Paranormal activity also uses props to display the same thing. Rocking chairs are also considered old furniture and old has the connotations of haunting and spirits which is conventional for our horror films. “The Conjuring” and the “Haunting in Connecticut” also use old props to display hauntings and demons.

The costumes in Carrie are similar to the ones I have used for my costume ideas as they are all everyday normal teenager clothes which are stereotypical for the age and gender. This relates to the target audience with the characters in each film making the characters seem more like them so the events could happen to them. Other films to use teenage clothes are Paranormal Activity, Sorority Party Massacre and Prom Night. This is very conventional and effective for the horror film genre. The dark hoodie for the antagonist signifies darkness and danger which is conventional for the horror genre and creates a scarier impression of the character to the target audience.

Costume

Make-UpThe make-up used in the Carrie trailer is the use of blood in the prom scene to indicate harm and danger for the characters. I will also use fake blood to create identical effects as they are conventional for the horror genre. I will also use make-up to signify fear and terror for the characters by making them look paler. This is because pale skin often is associated with fear which is conventional for the horror genre. The Conjuring uses this to connote fear for the main character. Pale faces also signifies ghosts, spirits and possession which is highly conventional for a horror film as shown in the image from “The Devil Inside”.

LightingI will use low key lighting in the creation of my trailer as this is very conventional for the horror genre. Low key lighting is used to display darkness in a scene forming a scarier atmosphere as many people would be scared with what is in the dark. The low key lighting is also effective in masking something in the background to generate scare factor, as shown in the shot from Paranormal Activity 4 on the left. This is effective for the horror genre and appealing for the target audience. High key lighting is used in horror films to signify day time and this will be another concept we will use in our horror film trailer.

Sounds

The screams that I will use in my trailer are very effective for displaying fear for the characters and building tension in the film. Screaming is used in a majority of horror films such as MAMA (Shown Left) as the little girl in screaming which will scare the target audience as they can see what she is screaming at. I have used screaming in my storyboard in the same way to show that the characters are scared of something that the audience cannot see. This is the main way of building suspense in the trailer.

The use of the sound of the ticking clock builds tension in a trailer to make the audience think that something will happen to the characters, which is highly conventional. “The Conjuring” uses a clock in one of the scenes in their trailer to build suspense for the audience. This is why I will use the sound of the ticking clock in my trailer. The sound of the clock is also used in silence to help build tension and create a scarier atmosphere for the audience. Clocks are also objects that are likely to become possessed by demons in horror films as they are old and conventional.

CameraworkOne use of camerawork we will use is a camera placed in a specific area of the room, like in “Paranormal Activity”, to create the impression that the film is real and create a higher scare factor for the audience. The angle is also a high angle in this shot to show vulnerability for the characters. It also helps to show the audience the entire scene which is also effective and appealing. The use of a handheld camera would also be effective because it would also create the impression of reality within the film. However, the whole trailer will not be a handheld camera as this is not as effective as other camera shots. The use of a close-ups in horror films such as “The Realm” helps to show fear and terror on the characters faces which is conventional for the horror genre. Establishing shots are used in many horror films, such as “Nothing Left to fear” to show the entire scene and the isolation of the characters to make it conventional.

Shot List/Test Shots

Establishing Shot

Close-up

Long Shot

Titles

FontsFor my font research for my ancillary products, I had to consider the existing fonts for horror films that match the genre and appeal to the audience. However, I had to ensure my fonts would be different to allow the font to be recognisable and stand out among the other fonts of the horror genre. In the attempt to meet this criteria, I chose the fonts below as I thought they were successful and appealing for the genre. I have used bold fonts to make them stand out and look more eye catching, like the SAW font. I have also considered capitalised fonts as these are conventionally used for horror film posters. All the writing also is quite simple to create a brand identity for the film such as “The Conjuring” and “Nothing left to fear” font. Therefore, I have used similar font styles for my planning. The fonts I have chosen are also effective as they look smeared in blood or scratched onto the page, making them look sharp and scarier for the target audience. The colours of the font will depend on the background of the poster/magazine but will be a colour that is suitable for the genre such as black, red and white.

Ancillary Products

To successfully produce an effective ancillary product, I had to analyse many other existing products in order to understand the conventions and forms of posters and magazines. This was effective as it allowed me to construct two rough drafts for my ancillary products which followed all the key conventions of genre and form and be easily constructed into a more detailed ancillary draft with an advancement on key details. There were many similarities between my ancillary products with existing ones which made them conventional and appealing for the target audience.

Ancillary Products Analysis - Poster My poster follows many conventions with the

poster from “The Conjuring” to make it effective and appealing. For example, they both have a greyscale effect on them to create an old and creepy impression for the poster, with brighter colours used such as red to make certain things stand out. In “The Conjuring” poster there is the doll which contains red and in my poster there is the release date and tagline in red, drawing the audiences attention towards it. There is also similar props used, for example the rocking chair, which is also used in many other films as it is considered a scary prop which helps to create a eerie and paranormal atmosphere to the scene. There is also a billing block at the bottom of both posters to explain other vital information about the film which is highly necessary for any film poster. The font used for title and billing block is also conventional because it is simple but effective for the horror genre. The text is also white against the darker background to provide a contrast between them, allowing the writing to stand out. There is also the tagline about the stories being true, generating immediate scare factor for the audience even when no footage of the film is being shown.

Ancillary Products Analysis - Magazine My magazine follows many conventions of

existing magazine covers such as the “Fangoria” cover shown to the right. Both magazines both have a clear masthead so the target audience understands what magazine brand it is therefore appealing to them. The use of the film reels in both magazines is effective in showing upcoming films as it creates a more interesting way of showing the target audience. The title of the film shown in the image is underneath the image and clearly displayed to allow the audience to identify what film it is showing, therefore encouraging them to go to watch it. The magazines also have cover lines on them to show what else is featured in the magazine to convince the reader to read more into the magazine and get them to buy it, therefore increasing advertising for the film on the cover. Dark colours and bold fonts are used to contrast against each other and allow the titles and masthead to stand out. This is conventional for the horror genre.

Cast/Character Roles The trailers of “Carrie” and “Paranormal Activity 4” contain

teenagers as the main cast of the film. This is very effective as it allows the characters to directly relate to the target audience. This makes the audience more scared as it will make them believe that the event could happen to them, creating a sense of realism. This is why I have used a teenage cast in the production of my trailer. The characters portrayed in my trailer also relate to the characters in the other two films as those characters also have speculation with if ghosts or spirits exist, making the personalities of the characters conventional and relative to the target audience.

Script

In the writing of our script, I have employed many of the conventions of form and dialogue to make the script effective and appealing for the audience. I have used little dialogue in the script to craft the story from the camerawork and scenes displayed in the trailer as this is highly conventional for horror films. The dialogue used is effective because it only states what is vital in the script therefore not giving away too much about the film. I have also stated various camera angles and scenes in the script to create the atmosphere for the characters and make the trailer conventional. The use of a montage displayed in the script is also conventional for the horror film genre. The scene number is conventional because, like in films such as “The Happening”, there are not that many scenes but there are many shot types to help establish the scene for the audience in every way. This is highly appealing to the target audience. Non-diegetic music will run through our trailer in order to build suspense and emotion for the characters. It will also match the scenes and camera angles and shot types to be conventional.