Genre Research
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Action:
Action films usually include high energy, big-budget physical stunts and chases, possibly with rescues, battles, fights, escapes, destructive crises, non-stop motion, spectacular rhythm and pacing, and adventurous, often two-dimensional 'good-guy' heroes (or recently, heroines) battling 'bad guys' - all designed for pure audience escapism. The teaser for Expendables 3 gives off a similar vibe of the elements of action films listed above, without revealing too much. Since the Expendables has entered the infamous 'franchise' club with its third instalment, it relies heavily on previous audiences to like the teaser. As the teaser is merely a few seconds long, it does not reveal anything about the storyline other than the star cast of the film that gives away the genre of the film immediately. The extreme wide shot, allows to fit all the actors present in the film within one frame to show the audience who they can look forward to seeing in the movie. An advantage the Expendables franchise holds is that it always casts action heroes that have been seen and loved by audiences worldwide like Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger. This gives the makers the advantage of attracting a certain type of audience (specifically males) that enjoy the action genre. |
Adventure:
Adventure films are usually exciting stories, with new experiences or exotic locales, very similar to or often paired with the action or sci-fi film genre. They can include traditional swashbucklers, searches or expeditions for lost continents, "jungle" and "desert" epics, treasure hunts, disaster films, or searches for the unknown. The Avengers: Age of Ultron teaser, literally teases the audience with a pan across a helmet that looks very similar to that of Iron Man. Again as the the films have become a famous franchise with the collection of Marvel superheroes having their own films, loyal audiences have become familiar with the characters and the story lines. Also the comics target a specific audience as they are ardent fans of the characters and know everything about them to enter a theatre and expect to see a similar story. For those who are not familiar with the comics, they may also be attracted to the theatres mainly due to the immensely popular actors who play the famous characters in the film. It may be also be possibility that a certain female audience watch the films for the male characters such as Chris Evans as Captain America or Chris Hemsworth as Thor. |
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Crime:
Crime (gangster) films are developed around the sinister actions of criminals or mobsters, particularly bankrobbers, underworld figures, or ruthless hoodlums who operate outside the law, stealing and murdering their way through life. The teaser for Kill the messenger features famous and two time academy award winning actor Jeremy Renner who plays a journalist, Gary Webb, who in 1996 asserted the C.I.A was involved in crack cocaine importation to California. The film is based on a true story, which provides the teaser with a first hand advantage to attract potential audiences. Usually the line, 'based on a true story' makes audiences curious about what the backdrop of the film is. Jeremy Renner, of The Bourne Legacy fame, acts as an anchor to this film as he has a huge fan following. A point to consider here is that, although it may not influence the audience's attraction towards the film hugely but the director of the film Micheal Cuesta is known for his brilliant direction of the crime genre as he has directed popular TV shows like Dexter and Homeland. It gives the director an upper hand as he knows his craft well thus will be able to deliver the correct elements required for a crime film. |
Comedy
Comedies are light-hearted plots consistently and deliberately designed to amuse and provoke laughter (with one-liners, jokes, etc.) by exaggerating the situation, the language, action, relationships and characters. Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis and Jason Bateman star again in the second instalment of the film Horrible Bosses. The teaser showcases that the film is an out-and- out comedy, continuing on from the first film as almost all the characters are the same with the addition of a new character played by Chris Pine. The first movies opened to huge box office success because of the big and famous actors in the film and if the teaser is anything to go by then the second instalment is expected to be as funny and successful as the first one. Jason Sudeikis and Jason Bateman are known for playing comedic roles and their comic timing is loved by audiences which is why they are able to sell their films |
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Drama:
Dramas are serious, plot-driven presentations, portraying realistic characters, settings, life situations, and stories involving intense character development and interaction. Usually, they are not focused on special-effects, comedy, or action, Dramatic films are probably the largest film genre, with many subsets. An upcoming drama film that is creating quite the buzz is Foxcatcher starring Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo and Steve Carell in lead roles. The film offers Bennet Miller's intimate look at the relationship between Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum), his older brother/ex-Olympian, Dave (Mark Ruffalo), and millionaire Jon du Pont (Steve Carell) – a relationship that went terribly wrong in the late 1990s. The most enticing factor of the film is that it shows Channing Tatum and Steve Carell in a completely different look altogether. The actors who are always seen portraying comedic characters, take on a very dramatic look by literally changing their physical appearances. |
Biopic:
A biographical film is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character’s real name is used. They differ from films "based on a true story" or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their lives. Yves Saint Laurent is based on the famous french designer who went on to become one of the greatest designers in the fashion industry. Biographical films are often targeted at certain audiences and have a very limited range due to their not so commercial approach or look. They are often criticised by audiences for being too slow or 'boring'. Controversies are always linked to biopics as they are showcasing someone's personal life to the public and people at times feel that certain actors are unable to do justice to the person or an insensitivity issue arises because what may be shown in the film may not be true at all and fabricated entirely. Due to the many controversies surrounding biopics, the genre of it is rare and liked by a few audiences. |
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Horror:
Horror films are designed to frighten and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a cathartic experience. Horror films feature a wide range of styles, from the earliest silent Nosferatu classic, to today's CGI monsters and deranged humans. Jessabelle is amongst the latest of horror films to hit theatres produced by Jason Blum who has previously produced low budget films like Insidious, Paranormal Activity and Oculus, all films which turned out to huge successes at the box office. This might just be the film's USP as the plot and storyline of the film does look a lot similar to previous horror films like The Ring or The Grudge. We see a girl travelling to her new home and discovering some videos left behind by the previous owner and how there is a curse based upon the house. As seen from the teaser trailer the film involves satanic rituals being performed, a factor that has become common in most horror films nowadays. From the looks of the trailer the film doesn't include any well known actors which in my opinion is the best approach when making a horror film as I feel using famous actors extracts the reality from the film which is pivotal when watching a horror film. |
Science Fiction:
Sci-fi films are often quasi-scientific, visionary and imaginative - complete with heroes, aliens, distant planets, impossible quests, improbable settings, fantastic places, great dark and shadowy villains, futuristic technology, unknown and unknowable forces, and extraordinary monsters ('things or creatures from space'), either created by mad scientists or by nuclear havoc. Transcendence – the directorial debut for The Dark Knight trilogy cinematographer Wally Pfister shows Johnny Depp as some sort of computer or software and we see his face being formed by numbers perhaps having to do with computer viruses. The main attraction of this film is Johnny Depp and seeing him play a different character. Johnny Depp is known for playing the most diverse characters whether it's Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean) or Mr Wonka (Charlie and the chocolate factory). If the film opens to big audiences and attains box office success it would initially be due to Johnny Depp and the unusual character that he is playing. |
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Our Chosen Genre
As we discussed possible story lines we found that Horror was the genre that stood out the most, we therefore decided to create a Horror teaser trailer. We all had very similar ideas making it easy for us to make a decision and pin point what genre we all wanted to do and what elements we wanted to include. We thought doing a Horror would be challenging in capturing the audience’s attention as creating the right atmosphere and including the right conventions can be very difficult, we also thought that it didn't need a lot of special effects or CGI, unlike other genres such as action which rely heavily on them.
Amateur vs Professional
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Oculus is one of the latest horror thrillers to add to the basket of the immensely popular genre but with a twist. The comparison between Oculus and Aimee is mainly the horror element but the psychological aspect allows there to be a strong comparison between the two teaser trailers. The trailer for Oculus opens with a long shot of what appears to be a mirror draped in a cloth added by a voice over - an element that seems to be ever-present in horror movie trailers. The voice over creates a spooky and chilling mood for the trailer to set and provide an insight on the genre of the film. The teaser for Aimee also begins with a long shot and a pan across the church. However the only problem we discovered is that the audience is unable to tell what the genre is from the beginning which is imperative in horror films. The audience must know what type of film they are about to witness to captivate attention and initiate interest.
As the teaser for Oculus continues, the audience begins to see scenes from the movie that are placed through various shots to give a brief outline as to what the audience will witness in theatres. The first thing that grabs the audience's attention is the line 'From the makers of Paranormal activity and Insidious.' A lot of filmmakers use similar introductory lines to attract the same audiences that were interested in previous films that did well commercially and were made by successful production houses. The 6 major Hollywood
studios have the advantage of attracting audiences through this strategy because they own more than 60% of the box office globally.
Aimee uses the passé strategy as used by most horror films by having the line 'Based on a true story' appear on the screen to attract the specific audience that is intrigued by horror films and the idea that they are based on true stories. These elements work well especially for high budget and horror films because they have a previous audience from previously successful films to back them up. Not only does it attract potential new audiences but also creates excitement and buzz for loyal audiences.
The cinematography in horror films is mainly subjected to wide, mid and cut in shots which is why most of the movies are filmed in tight spaces and require smaller frames. The reason for it is that the tighter the space and closed out the shots are the more they create and tension. It creates a sort of atmosphere wherein the audience feels a part of the action which is what brings them to the edge of their seat or has them covering their faces in fear of knowing what is about to happen. If horror filmmakers were to adopt a different approach and etch out the shots by using more establishing and long shots, in our opinion, it would subtract the element of horror away from it. The film then transposes away from the horror aspect leading to a loss of interest amongst audiences. Aimee does an excellent job in keeping the teaser in one tight space so the audience's interest remains intact throughout. However a criticism that follows is that the teaser for Aimee plays safe and shows shots of the scenes in the same place whereas Oculus use a variety of scenes from different parts of the movies. As a group we believe the more scenes projected into a trailer the more the audience has to look forward to however as it is a teaser and considering the fact that it has been established at an A2 level, it makes sense to not add more scenes to keep the teaser minimal but engaging.
Aimee is a amateur teaser trailer when compared to a professional teaser trailer however I thought it was is still very effective.
The trailer is very simplistic with no dialogue and only one location- a chruch. I think this was very effective as it didn’t overload the audiences with information making it a suitable teaser trailer. The genre, horror was very clearly portrayed to the audiences which made it easier to gain the interest of the target audiences who like to watch horror films. The trailer also included a variety of different camera shots of the film that were delivered very fast in the trailer this adds the sense of mystery making audiences want to find out more without being bombarded with lots of images and scene, I also liked the fact they included only one location making it seem more simplistic but effective as teaser trailer. The costume used is a scary clown one which straightaway gives an insight of the genre.
As the teaser for Oculus continues, the audience begins to see scenes from the movie that are placed through various shots to give a brief outline as to what the audience will witness in theatres. The first thing that grabs the audience's attention is the line 'From the makers of Paranormal activity and Insidious.' A lot of filmmakers use similar introductory lines to attract the same audiences that were interested in previous films that did well commercially and were made by successful production houses. The 6 major Hollywood
studios have the advantage of attracting audiences through this strategy because they own more than 60% of the box office globally.
Aimee uses the passé strategy as used by most horror films by having the line 'Based on a true story' appear on the screen to attract the specific audience that is intrigued by horror films and the idea that they are based on true stories. These elements work well especially for high budget and horror films because they have a previous audience from previously successful films to back them up. Not only does it attract potential new audiences but also creates excitement and buzz for loyal audiences.
The cinematography in horror films is mainly subjected to wide, mid and cut in shots which is why most of the movies are filmed in tight spaces and require smaller frames. The reason for it is that the tighter the space and closed out the shots are the more they create and tension. It creates a sort of atmosphere wherein the audience feels a part of the action which is what brings them to the edge of their seat or has them covering their faces in fear of knowing what is about to happen. If horror filmmakers were to adopt a different approach and etch out the shots by using more establishing and long shots, in our opinion, it would subtract the element of horror away from it. The film then transposes away from the horror aspect leading to a loss of interest amongst audiences. Aimee does an excellent job in keeping the teaser in one tight space so the audience's interest remains intact throughout. However a criticism that follows is that the teaser for Aimee plays safe and shows shots of the scenes in the same place whereas Oculus use a variety of scenes from different parts of the movies. As a group we believe the more scenes projected into a trailer the more the audience has to look forward to however as it is a teaser and considering the fact that it has been established at an A2 level, it makes sense to not add more scenes to keep the teaser minimal but engaging.
Aimee is a amateur teaser trailer when compared to a professional teaser trailer however I thought it was is still very effective.
The trailer is very simplistic with no dialogue and only one location- a chruch. I think this was very effective as it didn’t overload the audiences with information making it a suitable teaser trailer. The genre, horror was very clearly portrayed to the audiences which made it easier to gain the interest of the target audiences who like to watch horror films. The trailer also included a variety of different camera shots of the film that were delivered very fast in the trailer this adds the sense of mystery making audiences want to find out more without being bombarded with lots of images and scene, I also liked the fact they included only one location making it seem more simplistic but effective as teaser trailer. The costume used is a scary clown one which straightaway gives an insight of the genre.
Horror and sub-genres
SUPERNATURAL Supernatural film is a genre that centers around supernatural elements, such as ghosts, gods, goddesses, and miracles. Supernatural films deal with the unknown questions of life; therefore, they tend to incorporate religious elements into the plot. Since they emphasise the unknown, Supernatural films are considered quite suspenseful. These films often cross over into other genres, creating hybrids like Supernatural-Comedy and Supernatural-Drama. Films include:
SLASHER Slasher film is a sub-genre of Horror film that revolves around a psychopathic killer. This killer stalks and murders his victims in extremely violent and memorable ways. Though it centers on a specific killer, the violence is what sets Slasher films apart from other horror films. A Slasher film will devote more screen time to portray murder and mayhem than a traditional Horror film. Films include:
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GOTHIC Gothic horror is a genre of literature that has elements of both romance and horror. Although it is sometimes confused with paranormal romance, according to some horror writers, gothic horror is considered a more atmospheric type of literature. According to some writers, the setting of the gothic horror almost becomes another character. Films include:
PSYCHOLOGICAL Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror fiction and film, which relies on the characters' fears and emotional instability to build tension.Psychological horror films differ from the traditional horror film, where the source of the fear is typically something material, such as creatures, monsters or aliens, as well as the slasher film, which derives its effects from gore and graphic violence. In psychological horrors the tension is built through atmosphere, eerie sounds and exploitation of the viewer's and the character's psychological fears. Films include:
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Inspirational Teasers + Shots
Slasher
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Carrie is a new screen interpretation of the Stephen King horror novel, which explores what happens when a teenager (Chloë Grace Moretz) – ostracised by her peers and tormented by her religious-fundamentalist mother (Julianne Moore) – discovers that she possesses telekinetic abilities that provide her with a newfound, dangerous and maybe even uncontrollable power to use against those who’ve tormented her in the past. Peirce appears to be approaching the famous coming of age/horror story with her own visual style and thematic emphasis, which is encouraging; though, it might be more effective for upcoming marketing to focus on just those elements, since the current approach fails to really show how this new version aims to create shock and awe when so many people are aware of the story. Carrie diverts itself from the typical horror genre and showcasing it's uniqueness from the teaser itself by using a panning shot with an aerial shot. Horror films typically use medium and closed shots to make the scene as compressed as possible to increase the tension. However with horror movies becoming immensely popular nowadays, big budgets and large shots don't seem that outlandish.
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Psychological
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House at the end of the Street is a horror-thriller that although might not have performed so well at the box office but did manage to make it's place amongst the diverse areas of horror. The storyline is of a similar pattern to other horror films where the story revolves around divorced nurse Sarah (Elisabeth Shue) and her teenage musician daughter Elissa (Lawrence), who are able to afford their, dream house in an upscale rural town, since it borders an apparently-abandoned home where a girl named Carrie Anne murdered her parents four years earlier. Elissa encounters Ryan (Nolan Gerard Funk), a high school stud who shows his true colors when he drunkenly hits on Elissa) and the two artists are immediately taken with one another, much to Sarah’s further chagrin. It’s not a spoiler to say Ryan has been keeping a lid on some dark secrets, which threaten to harm Elissa as she grows closer and closer to the mysterious boy-next-door.House at the End of the Street trailer is slightly underwhelming however, as it fails to offer anything extraordinary. However, the rewind into the past element is a creative aspect and displays a thrilling concept for the audience to look forward to.
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Psychological/Gothic
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Insidious 2 trailer kicks off by depicting the Lamberts as one big happy family again. Josh announces that the past is in the past and that now they’re safe, but soon an eerie lullaby kicks in, inanimate objects move, and the ghosts arrive. To the tune of a warped “Row, Row Row Your Boat” we get a string of clips that solidify that the evil from The Further is back – including some clips of the new psychic character played by Steve Coulter, communicating with the ghosts and demons by asking them questions and then rolling a set of dice to reveal their answers. Then “Tip Toe Through the Tulips” kicks in and the piece rolls into a montage of madness during which Josh suggests the paranormal entities followed him back when he saved Dalton. Before wrapping up, the trailer delivers one last eerie thrill, showing Josh face to face with a frail figure in the further mumbling, “He’s got your baby,” over and over again. The trailer for the second instalment does complete justice to the first trailer and movie as it keeps the psychological horror idea intact and manages to terrify you just as much as the last one, if not more. Director James Wan always adds a nuanced look to all his films whether it's The Conjuring or Sinister so you can always expect a horrifying experience.
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Supernatural
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Annabelle is the doll featured in the opening scene of The Conjuring who makes her way into the hands of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. After the James Wan directed horror film was a smash hit last summer, a sequel and a spin-off were quickly announced. Two things I have noticed that I think are worth mentioning: First of all, it appears that this movie is going to be thoughtfully violent similar to The Conjuring. The depictions of violence in The Conjuring were, I’d argue, unflinchingly brutal, but similarly to what we see in the trailer for Annabelle, very conscious about using implied violence, as well. The other thing worth noting which I think is incredibly smart is to make it period horror. I think it is much easier for audiences to buy into ghosts, possession and other such supernatural happenings if they don’t have the influence of modern technology looming over them at all times. The clip shows the husband with a large gift. The gift is an ugly looking doll, which the wife, strangely, adores. Bizarre events begin to occur next door and this ever-smiling figurine might be the culprit.
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Detailed analysis- The Woman In Black
Mise en scene
The Woman in Black: Angel of Death is the second installment of the first film. The teaser trailer begins with a shot of a large old house surrounded by a forest which was also present in the first movie; this automatically reinforces the feelings of terror and fear for those viewers who have watched the first film. Nonetheless the teaser trailer is successful in engaging new audience’s attention as it is very clear from the first shot of the house that it seems to be secluded from the rest of the world which creates a sense of a mystery for the viewers. Isolated houses and forests are very typical conventions of Horror as it suggests that there is a sense of danger and morbidity, it also suggests there is a foreboding and threatening history that has taken place in the house such as a death, implying that the house could be haunted.
Throughout the teaser trailer the lighting remained dark and very dim. This is a typical element used in a Horror genre as it engages the audience by adding a sense of mystery and danger. The darkness is also used to create a creepy and threatening atmosphere and allows the audience to get a clearer indication of the genre. Candle lights, another typical element used in Horror, are also present in the teaser trailer to set the time period which is quite evident that it was set in the distant past, in addition candle light is used to enforce the feeling of panic and fear to the audience by creating a spooky atmosphere.
Makeup played a very essential role in the end scene of the teaser trailer as it showed what seemed to be a demonic witch like face creeping up behind the unknown character. The teaser trailer ends with the scene of this creature which installs fright and exhilaration towards the niche audience who love Horror films. It also gives the audience a glimpse of what the demonic figure will look like and adds a sense of realism as the makeup is very realistic which is an effective way of attracting audience.
Sound
The teaser trailer does not contain a lot of sound. The diagetic sound comes from the thunder which is the first sound heard from the teaser trailer, this foreshadows that the film will be very dark and dangerous creating a sense of thrill for the audience. The sound of the floor boards creaking is very effective in the trailer as it is a simple and effective way to create a spooky atmosphere. As the scene in the trailer progresses we hear what seems to be a rocking chair beating hard against the floor this sound is emphasised by drums which creates a darker ambiance. At the end of the trailer we hear a woman screaming adding to the tension thus creating a sinister and effective way of ending the trailer this is followed by the non diagetic sound of a toy chime which again creates a lot of tension and keeps the audience at the edge of their seats it also implies that story may involve a child creating mystery without revealing too much. Silence is also used throughout the trailer this is another typical element used in many Horror trailers as it is an effective in creating panic and keeps the audience engaged as they want to see how the silence is broken.
Camera/editing
The teaser trailer uses a lot of camera angles and movements to really capture the essence of a Horror genre. The teaser trailer begins with a long shot of the house surrounded by a forest, it then jump cuts into the house giving the audience a quick look of what the house looks like. The camera then pans across the stairs creating a mysterious atmosphere as the audience wonder what is so unusual about the house. There scene jump cuts to an over the shoulder shot of a girl walking down a long dark hallway. The girl enters a room where there is a medium shot of a rocking chair moving by itself this adds a sense of panic to the audience keeping them on the edge of their seats. Jump cuts are used a lot in the teaser to quicken the illusion of time, and create a sense of pace, suspense, and urgency. The scene then cuts to a variety of close ups of the girl which can also be interpreted as a reaction shot to what she has seen which allows the audience to connect with the girl. The trailer ends with a quick close up of a demonic witch like figure this is very effective as it evokes a sense of fear and excitement for the audience making them want to watch the film to find out what has happened to the girl.
The Woman in Black: Angel of Death is the second installment of the first film. The teaser trailer begins with a shot of a large old house surrounded by a forest which was also present in the first movie; this automatically reinforces the feelings of terror and fear for those viewers who have watched the first film. Nonetheless the teaser trailer is successful in engaging new audience’s attention as it is very clear from the first shot of the house that it seems to be secluded from the rest of the world which creates a sense of a mystery for the viewers. Isolated houses and forests are very typical conventions of Horror as it suggests that there is a sense of danger and morbidity, it also suggests there is a foreboding and threatening history that has taken place in the house such as a death, implying that the house could be haunted.
Throughout the teaser trailer the lighting remained dark and very dim. This is a typical element used in a Horror genre as it engages the audience by adding a sense of mystery and danger. The darkness is also used to create a creepy and threatening atmosphere and allows the audience to get a clearer indication of the genre. Candle lights, another typical element used in Horror, are also present in the teaser trailer to set the time period which is quite evident that it was set in the distant past, in addition candle light is used to enforce the feeling of panic and fear to the audience by creating a spooky atmosphere.
Makeup played a very essential role in the end scene of the teaser trailer as it showed what seemed to be a demonic witch like face creeping up behind the unknown character. The teaser trailer ends with the scene of this creature which installs fright and exhilaration towards the niche audience who love Horror films. It also gives the audience a glimpse of what the demonic figure will look like and adds a sense of realism as the makeup is very realistic which is an effective way of attracting audience.
Sound
The teaser trailer does not contain a lot of sound. The diagetic sound comes from the thunder which is the first sound heard from the teaser trailer, this foreshadows that the film will be very dark and dangerous creating a sense of thrill for the audience. The sound of the floor boards creaking is very effective in the trailer as it is a simple and effective way to create a spooky atmosphere. As the scene in the trailer progresses we hear what seems to be a rocking chair beating hard against the floor this sound is emphasised by drums which creates a darker ambiance. At the end of the trailer we hear a woman screaming adding to the tension thus creating a sinister and effective way of ending the trailer this is followed by the non diagetic sound of a toy chime which again creates a lot of tension and keeps the audience at the edge of their seats it also implies that story may involve a child creating mystery without revealing too much. Silence is also used throughout the trailer this is another typical element used in many Horror trailers as it is an effective in creating panic and keeps the audience engaged as they want to see how the silence is broken.
Camera/editing
The teaser trailer uses a lot of camera angles and movements to really capture the essence of a Horror genre. The teaser trailer begins with a long shot of the house surrounded by a forest, it then jump cuts into the house giving the audience a quick look of what the house looks like. The camera then pans across the stairs creating a mysterious atmosphere as the audience wonder what is so unusual about the house. There scene jump cuts to an over the shoulder shot of a girl walking down a long dark hallway. The girl enters a room where there is a medium shot of a rocking chair moving by itself this adds a sense of panic to the audience keeping them on the edge of their seats. Jump cuts are used a lot in the teaser to quicken the illusion of time, and create a sense of pace, suspense, and urgency. The scene then cuts to a variety of close ups of the girl which can also be interpreted as a reaction shot to what she has seen which allows the audience to connect with the girl. The trailer ends with a quick close up of a demonic witch like figure this is very effective as it evokes a sense of fear and excitement for the audience making them want to watch the film to find out what has happened to the girl.
Demonic Characters
Production Companies
Paramount is one of the largest film and television companies in the United States. A subsidiary of media firm Viacom, the company produces and distributes films through Paramount Pictures (Tranformers: Dark of the Moon) and Paramount Vantage ("Capitalism: A Love Story"). It maintains the Paramount Pictures library of some 3,500 films, including classic hits from the Star Trek, Godfather, and "Indiana Jones" series, and releases about a dozen new titles annually. Although Paramount produces mainstream commercial films and their focus is mainly entitled to big budget action or crime thrillers. Some of their famous horror films include:
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New Line Cinema, Inc. is a leading producer and distributor of films. The company made its reputation producing horror films and other low-budget niche movies. Its early hits were the Nightmare on Elm Street movies of the 1980s. New Line had distributed George Romero's Night of the Living Dead, a low-budget 1968 film that became a classic in the horror genre. Thus the company had an understanding of horror's appeal to its core youth audience, as well as an idea of what could be done with just a couple million dollars for production.Nightmare on Elm Street came out in 1984, and was an instant hit. The film brought in more than $26 million. More recent films include:
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Blumhouse Productions was founded by Jason Blum, a multi-media production company that has pioneered a new model of studio film-making- producing high-quality micro-budget films for wide release. Since its launch in 2000, Blumhouse produced more than 30 feature films including some of the most profitable movies of all time. Blumhouse specialises in producing horror films and this trend began with the release of the soon to come phenomenon Paranormal Activity. After it's success, Blumhouse produced some of the most profitable horror films of all time.
These include:
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Hammer Film Productions is a British subsidiary of Exclusive Media and is best known for producing Gothic horror films in the mid 1950's to 1970's. Hammer dominated the horror market during it's most successful releases and their partnership with Warner Bros played a vital role in making them a successful production company. Their most famous work was displayed after the film noir era where audiences had started to experience the thriller genre for the first time, followed by a series of Gothic films in mid 1970's.
These include:
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Audience Research
As a group we decided the best way to collect results of audience research would be to set up a survey using survey monkey. We chose ten questions carefully to help us amend our ideas into the trailer so it will attract the potential target audience.
From this survey, we were able to get 69 individuals to complete it- enabling us to collect information that will help put forward ideas and improve our trailer.
Directors
Mark Tonderai
Mark Tonderai is a British writer, actor and film director. He is also the co-founder of the London-based production company Shona Productions. Tonderai began his career in the media working as a writer, producer and presenter for radio. His debut film as screenwriter-director was a british psychological horror/thriller called Hush. In the summer of 2010, he directed the psychological thriller/horror House at the End of the Street, the director changed the initial theme of horror by not including the cliche horror elements, and instead adding psychological facets to evoke audience interest. Despite a negative responses from critics, it was a commercial success ranking No. 1 at the box office in its opening week.
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James Wan
James Wan is an Australian film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is famously known for directing the well known horror film Saw which got mixed reviews and is considered best of its franchise. Wan has also directed Dead Silence, Death Sentence, Insidious, Insidious: Chapter 2, and The Conjuring. All these horror films did very well in the box office- Making him a very successful director.
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Kimberly Peirce
Kimberly Peirce is an American feature film director, best known for her debt film, Boys Don't Cry. Her most recent feature film, Carrie which is a successful American Supernatural horror film, was released In 2013 and received a peoples choice award for Favourite Horror movie. She also won a numerous amount of awards, some being 'Best Debut Director' and 'Best New Filmmaker'.
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Target Audience
Survey Monkey - Target Audience Research
In the process of beginning our planning and research for our teaser trailer it was important for us as a group to establish what our target audience would be and what codes and conventions the audience expect to see in a horror genre. In order for us to gather the required information to proceed with planning and research it was essential for us to carry out a survey. We used survey monkey to achieve a more professional survey that could be easily sent and answered to by many people. An average of 69 participants took part in our survey with a total of 10 questions asked. As a group we were certain we wanted to produce a horror teaser trailer so we focused our survey on what elements the audience expected to see.
On a whole we gathered data form 96 people. 55% of the participants surveyed were females and 45% of the participants surveyed were male. Due to the fact that our data contained more results from females we had to bare in mind what we wanted to include in our teaser trailer as we wanted to make sure that it would appeal to both genders.
A target audience also referred to as niche audience are people who are fans of a particular genre or them. For films a target audience is key in defining what type of film should be produced and who it should be aimed towards. Our group decided that our target audience for our film would be rated 15 and above because it will contain disturbing scenes. We targeted our is trailer particularly at 16-21 year olds because from our audience feedback majority of the participants that took part in our survey were in this age range. Although our genre is horror we wanted it to be rated 15 because we wanted to gain a large audience. The 15 certificate is given to films that contain strong violence, foul language, graphic scenes, portrayal of sexual activity and strong references to sex. therefore Viewers under the age of 15 are not allowed to view the film.
The results obtained for the question 'How do Horror movies make you feel? showed that majority of the participants said when they watch Horror films they start to visualise scary images with a total of 18% of participants choosing this choice. 'Have nightmares' and 'unable to go to the toliet by yourself' were had the lowest number of participants with only 9% of the participants surveyed selecting these choices. One result that really struck us was that 17% of the participants surveyed said they feel nothing when they watch Horror films this was shocking as we thought majority of the participants would feel something as horror genre are meant to install the sense of fear and terror in viewers. Through the results we had gathered we decided we wanted to make our trailer very unique and different to usual horror films as we wanted our audience to be off their seats with terror therefore as a group we decided what we wanted to include and how we wanted to achieve this keeping in mind that we decided our budget was £50.
The results obtained from the question 'How often do you watch Horror movies?' showed us that only 12% surveyed watched horror films every week and with a total of 25% people surveyed watched horror films every month and 20% watching a horror film. Majority of the audience with a total of 43% said that they watch horror films 'other' times of the year. This was very interesting to discover as not many of the audience watch a great deal of horror films maybe because they don't appeal to them or because of other extraneous reasons. Therefore we decided to make our teaser trailer appealing to audience as much as possible so that audiences would want to watch it. We also had to keep in mind that not everyone likes horror films and that we were targeting a niche audience.
During our planning and research stages we all had very different takes on what sub genre of horror we wanted to achieve. We decided to ask audiences 'what sub genre of horror appeals to you the most' majority of the participants with a total of 33% said they would like to see a comedy sub genre. As a group we weren't too keen on doing a comedy as we felt it didn't fit in with any of our ideas or expectations. Supernatural horror was the 2nd most voted sub genre with a total of 24% this appealed to us as it fitted in with our ideas and correlated well with our initial ideas. We also decided to include elements of psychological horror as it would create a more challenging project and idea.
Another key question we wanted to find out was about the type of characters that would best fit the Horror genre the question was ' which characters do you think best fit in a horror genre? The data from the audience feedback showed that majority (26%) of the participants thought demons/devils was the most effective character however as a group we thought having a demon as the main character in the trailer would be too cliché and that is an issue we greatly wanted to avoid hence, when choosing the characters we decided to still incorporate a demon however we wanted to include only one shot of the demon so that not too much of its appearance is given away to the audience, keeping the suspense of the movie. To again a further understanding of what the audience wanted to see in horror we asked participants to comment on their opinions. ( upload comments here ) After analysing the comments one thing that was common amongst the individuals was the feeling of suspense and making the trailer scary this really helped us in deciding key elements that would install fear.
A good location was essential for our teaser trailer, it was important for us to make sure that the setting fitted with the Horror genre well. We asked 'What setting in a horror film creeps you out the most' we gave a total of 6 options which were: haunted house, graveyard, basement, lab, abandoned hospitals and forest. The majority of the audience said a haunted house with a total of 26% participants followed by a graveyard setting. This greatly impacted us on the locations we wanted to use. Based on our audience feedback we decided to use a cemetery, haunted house and a forest. We used a total of 3 cemeteries which included Isleworth, Heston & Hounslow cemetery as we thought filming in a cemetery for the for the most part of the teaser trailer would really highlight the genre making it clear to the audience what genre it is without confusing the audience. Furthermore the use of the cemetery helped us to create an eerie atmosphere and truly capture the essence of the horror genre. We used a haunted house and forest so that the audience could get a further understanding of the plot as using a variety of location makes the teaser trailer seem interesting and mysterious.
'Does silence in horror movies scare you?' this question was very interesting as we weren't too sure if we wanted to include scenes of the trailer with no soundtrack or dialogue. Majority of the participants with a total of 79% said that silence was effective in scaring individuals. This impacted us quite a lot as we wanted to include soundtracks to build up the suspense and so we can establish the genre straight away. We decided that dialogue in the teaser trailer wasn't effective enough in creating excitement therefore we kept dialogue to a minimum. Throughout the trailer we wanted to keep the soundtrack loud and dramatic to create a sister atmosphere for when we reveal Lilith (demonic figure). We wanted silence in this scene of the teaser trailer so we could create suspense and hopefully create the feelings of horror and terror.
We wanted to find out if people enjoyed horror films on their own or with the company of other because we felt if people watch horror films with others they are less likely to find the film effective in creating terror and horror. Our question was 'Who do you watch horror movies with? majority of the audience said they watched horror films with there friends with a total of 42% followed by siblings with a total of 16%. We wanted to make sure that our teaser trailer appealed to a group of people we therefore decided show our trailer to a group of audiences so we could get feedback from them before we uploaded our final teaser trailer.
Planning
Initial Idea
We decided the genre of our film is Gothic horror but with elements of sub genres including psychological and supernatural horror. Our idea revolves around the story of a demonic figure called Lilith that takes women's souls. The plot develops as he meets his target which is a vulnerable high school girl called Malia who as a child was abused and tortured. Throughout the film Malia experiences hallucinations and nightmares of Lilith and is finally lured into his hell of lost souls with the help of the Salem witches. It is said that Lilith's mother was very overprotective of him so he never got to experience what loving a woman means so he killed himself in order to fulfill his desires bysacrificing vulnerable young women's souls.
Final Idea and Character Profile
Genre: Psychological horror with elements of different sub-genres of horror such as Gothic/supernatural/thriller.
Plot: Revolves around the story of Lilith (demonic figure) that takes women's souls. The plot develops as his next target is Malia who throughout the film experiences hallucinations and nightmares of Lilith and is finally lured into his hell of lost souls with the help of the the Salem Keepers.
Characters:
Lilith- Demon who is believed to steal women's souls who are vulnerable and weak. Their vulnerability strengthens his power. Hisbackground is explained as such that his mother was overprotective of him as a child and so he never got to experience what it was like to love a woman. He kills himself and now fulfills his desires by sacrificing women.
Plot: Revolves around the story of Lilith (demonic figure) that takes women's souls. The plot develops as his next target is Malia who throughout the film experiences hallucinations and nightmares of Lilith and is finally lured into his hell of lost souls with the help of the the Salem Keepers.
Characters:
Lilith- Demon who is believed to steal women's souls who are vulnerable and weak. Their vulnerability strengthens his power. Hisbackground is explained as such that his mother was overprotective of him as a child and so he never got to experience what it was like to love a woman. He kills himself and now fulfills his desires by sacrificing women.