Tilda's Media Blog.: April 2011

For the A2 coursework, we chose to do film, having done a print publication for the AS coursework last year, as we thought that it would demonstrate our technical capability and overall versatility in media. We picked the main task of a 'promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer' and the supplementary tasks of 'a film magazine front cover, featuring the film and a poster for the film'. Being one of my favourite genres, I felt confident in attempting to create a horror movie trailer.

In my evaluation I addressed the following areas:

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

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

We did some research into the horror and thriller genres, looking at existing films that have been successful. During our research period, we also looked at how the conventions of horror and thriller movies have changed over time to suit the changing audience tastes, developments in technology or to reflect fears in society. For example, the 1930's saw considerable growth and maturation in science and technology, giving way to narratives detailing experimentations ie. James Whale's 'Frankenstein' (1931).

The theme of fear of advancing technology has since continued, with new electronic equipment allowing directors to project their visions of the future (ie. 'I Robot' (2004) where in the year 2035, a robot poses a threat to humanity due to a malfunction - the similarities with Frankenstein are unmistakable). This gave way to supernatural horrors and thrillers, who's content would be no way near as effective without the use of special effects. We originally wanted our film narrative to focus on the supernatural, but since we didn't have the knowledge or equipment to create the visual effects needed, it was clear that it wasn't the best theme.

More modern focuses include, fears of global warming leading to films such as 'The Day After Tomorrow', and fear of disease, reflected in films like '28 Days Later' and 'I Am Legend'.

In movies such as 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' and 'Last House On The Left', the theme of mental illness due to loss/unfulfillment are explored.

We wanted our film to reflect these classic elements but adding in modern approaches to bring the film up to date; we tried to illustrate current concerns regarding the safety of todays children and pedophilia using our narrative which details a deranged man who 'captures' girls to replace his family, who died in a fire. Unlike traditional villains, ours prefers not to kill his victims, but 'keep' them, believing them to be the resurrections of his wife and two daughters.

For the production/distribution company indents, we looked into what films had been produced by who, also noting their style and genre. We decided to feature 'Fox Searchlight', a production arm of 20th Century Fox that specializes in independent, British films and horror, and 'Optimum Releasing', a distributor company working in the UK, because they would be likely to produce something of similar genre and style to our film.

Beginning our trailer with the production company indents and the MPAA green band rating, we conformed to the conventions of real trailers.

Thanks to our research, we were able to use techniques and conventions commonly used in real trailers to make them effective.
In our teaser, the plot is established early on - a method evidently used to interest the audience - using ellipsis. Background information is given using intertitles ('In 1982, a fire broke out...') and through dialogue ('no one knows how it started...'). We felt this technique gave a more realistic feel than if we had had a narrator.

We posed a poll asking people what made them want to see a film from watching its trailer. Seventy-five percent said that an 'intruiging storyline' was an important factor, so it was essential that our trailer aroused lots of questions. The enigma is established using dialogue

and intertitles; this combination enhances the audiences understanding of the plot quickly. An element of uncertainty ('some say...', 'no one knows how it started) creates puzzles in the narrative, thus helping to set up the enigma.

Fifty-six percent of people involved in the poll said that a 'cliff-hanger' ending was another factor. This reinforced the idea that a lack of resolution makes viewers want to see the film and solve the mystery.

The intertitles were made on Adobe Photoshop, using a basic 'crumpled paper' background (shown below, left) and layering writing over the top (see post 'Making The Intertitles'). We conducted a survey to see which font was best, and in the end we chose 'Requiem' (found on the font website dafont.com).

We chose a serif font to keep the theme traditional, rather than sans serif fonts which are usually used in supernatural horrors, set in an urban, modern environment.

The sepia coloured background is a typical colour scheme of horrors (like in 'Haunting In Connecticut') and is more interesting than the traditional black background.

The irregularity of the sizing for the letters suggests chaos rather than reflecting order, and hints that all is not well.

Looking at the trailer for 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)' we liked the use of slow moving shots, with fades and dissolves in between. We used these techniques at the start to create a dreamy atmosphere, that could be later contrasted with more sinister tones.

The fades and dissolves indicate passing of time - time is fractured to give quick progression to climax - and to show a relationship between images. It also provides a subtle transition between scenes, creating an eerie atmosphere.

Short 'blackouts' heighten tension because the viewer is momentarily 'blind'. During the build-up to the climax there is a long sequence where there is only sound; this causes the speech to be fore-grounded. The black screen indicates a lapse of time. During the fastest shots, the blackouts continue but are much quicker - we saw this technique in the trailer for 'Wrong Turn 2' and it was effective because more was left to the imagination.

We tired to vary the angles and shots to distort the audiences point of view and create different effects. Establishing shots set the scene effectively, whereas the close ups introduce the characters to the audience.

We used eye level shots, so that the audience were positioned on the same level as the characters; this meant that the they could identify with them and would feel more involved in the narrative. The point of view is mostly objective, from the standpoint of a spectator outside the narrative. This gives a sense that they're being followed.

Use of eye-line match (shot of two girls walking followed by 'Chalfield Manor', two girls looking up followed by shot of birds) gives the audience a glimpse of the characters point of view.

In horror trailers the shots are rarely static; action or drama is enhanced by camera movement. We tried to film the beginning shots as if filmed with a steadicam, attempting to achieve graceful, gliding movements that give a sense of freedom. This was to be later contrasted with more static, short shots, emphasizing the characters confinement. We used a tripod for still shots, but we wanted most shots to be moving, to ensure that our teaser was visually diverse, so sometimes it wasn't needed.

Handheld shots were used to illustrate panic and chaos; for example when the dog runs away and a girl is seen chasing after him.

We used a combination of montage and continuity editing - typically used in horror trailers - allowing the plot to be developed quickly and for the most exciting parts of the film to be shown, while still going into certain parts in detail. Because teaser trailers are usually made long before the actual films completion, some clips featured won't actually appear in the real movie. This meant that we could include random shots of mis-en-scene, without linking them directly to the plot - after all, the point of a teaser is to give the viewers a taste of what they will be seeing in the real film.

We wanted to achieve a 'timeless' look so wore simple, plain clothes so that the focus remained less on the actors dress and more on location and the action. We tried to avoid including modern items in the scenes, (ie. cars, electrical appliances etc) so the time period was less obvious. We felt that this ambiguity made it scarier because the story could apply to a greater number of eras.

Our film is set in a rural environment emphasized by shots of fields and streams. This creates the feeling of isolation, a theme featured in many horror films. A large, old mansion is associated with paranormal/unusual activity, foreshadowing the events that follow. The aged appearance of the buildings hint at an evil past.

Kate's basement enabled us to have control over lighting and mis-en-scene because it's original decor hasn't been altered since it was first build a hundred years ago. There are few windows; this made it a perfect location for scarier scenes because we didn't have to wait for it to get dark to achieve the same frightening effect.

Problems with natural lighting cropped up a few times, with certain scenes having to be shot a specific times of the day to get the right ambiance - for example, the shots of the two girls walking was filmed at dusk, so the mood would be eerie and foreboding.

We also had to reschedule some filming times due to the weather.

We achieved a creepy atmosphere through use of candle/firelight (which created lots of shadows) as part of the mis-en-scene (ie. when looking at the books and picture).

The strobe light gave clips a harsh, artificial blue tinge, rather than a soft yellow light. This added a sense of disorientation and gave a stormy atmosphere. During our research into other horror trailers, we saw that backlighting was often used to silhouette figures. We felt it was very effective used the technique to give a sinister and frightening effect during our fast shots.

During our research we also noticed that a lot of horror trailers featured different coloured hues which all have different connotations. Green hues have connotations of technology; for example, in 'Cloverfield', the film is meant to replicate home video footage - a technique which heightens the scariness because it implies that what is being shown is real. Blue hues also suggest paranormal happenings (like in 'Paranormal Activity') but are primarily used to create a 'cold' atmosphere. (see blog post 'Film Coursework Planning' for example images)

We changed the colour saturation of clips in our trailer during the editing process to achieve different moods - sepia and brown hues were in-keeping with the aged appearance of the mansion, and blue hues added to the dingeyness of the location.
We also altered the darkness of certain clips to create a creepier atmosphere as most horror stories take place at nightfall or in the dark.
For the clip of the lightbulb, we used the editing tools to reverse the film taken of it swinging (until it was still); this gave the illusion that it starts to move by itself - a trick that gives a creepy atmopshere. During the editing process we also made many clips in slow motion, reducing their speed by half in some - a common technique used by directors to make certain scenes dramatic or have impact (for example, for the scene of the girl running in the field).

Typically in horror trailers, there is a change in mood or a fast build in tension. The climax is indicated by the increasing pace of shots and pitch of music.

In horror trailers, the music is traditionally used to create suspense and can dramatically alter mood. It creates expectations from the audience, for example, a sound with increasing pitch can indicate a build up to a shot intended to cause surprise. We added in non-deigetic sounds (sound effects) to stress important moments and aspects and to enhance 'surprise shots' - for instance, the final shot of the girl being dragged is accompanied by a loud sound effect giving it impact.

Absence of music, however, can make just as significant an impact, which is why we used this technique to build tension towards the middle of our trailer. This results in the speech being fore-grounded, emphasizing its impact. Instead we used a heartbeat to accompany the clips, which fade in and out in time with the sound.

Lack of a boom meant that we had little control over background noise, which often interfered with our shots taken outside (near the stream, for example). To correct this we had to re-record our voices using the music program 'Garage Band' and lip sync them to the film clip. This gave us better sound quality and overall, was clearer.

We exported our finished product from Adobe Premier Pro CS4 to Youtube so it could be easily shared.

For the ancillary tasks, we took pictures, borrowing a professional camera and fill light from a family friend, using the same locations and characters featured in the film.

We used makeup and later edited the images using Adobe Photoshop, adjusting the saturation, brightness and contrast on each one. For the one of the girl chained up, I increased the contrast to make her stand out from the dark background. I also increased the green hues to give the image a sickly appearance.

Using the 'dodge' tool, I made her face slightly lighter, so it was clearer and stood out. There were pipes in the background, so with the 'burn' tool I made the surrounding area dark so they were no longer visible. This also provided me with a better canvas to write on; if the image was too 'busy' the writing for the poster wouldn't be as distinguishable and eye-catching.

For the image of the two girls, I blurred parts using the 'blur' tool, to make the foreground be the main focus of the picture.

I dramatically reduced the saturation, to give a washed out appearance, resemblant of their failing hopes. The same font, location and similar colour scheme have been used to ensure that audiences know which film the posters advertise.

All the images are in-keeping with the narrative of our film; in the one of the two girls, iron bars frame them; in fact it appears that the audience is looking at the subjects through a hole; they appear to be 'captured'. It's clear that they are the victims because of the high angle used, illustrating their desperation.

The subjects used are the most recognisable faces from the film, being the main characters, so the posters have synergy with the movie and it's trailer.

I decided to make a billboard poster and a magazine/traditional print portrait poster to reach a wider audience.

After the images were edited, I saved them as JPEGs and layered writing over the top.

The tagline like the film title, is a reflection of the plot, suggesting that there is a discovery (with bad consequences 'hell lies') of something that has been hidden away ('closed doors').

I darkened the part of the pictures behind the writing so it was easier to read. I also removed the grey blurred smudge in the bottom right of the billboard poster (above, left), so the background for the credits was plain.

I also included small logos of the distributor/production companies and website address (indicating our use of different media platforms to show our production), conforming to conventions of real movie posters.

We used the rated 18 sign to indicate that our film had adult content and wasn't appropriate for children.