Production Company Indents

We used this MPAA green band rating at the start of our trailer, conforming to the conventions of real trailers.

For the indents detailing the distributor/production companies, we did some research into what films have been produced and distributed by who, also noting their style and genre - Fox Searchlight, a production arm of 20th Century Fox that specializes in independant, British films and horror. Some of their well known releases include: Slumdog Millionnaire, The Hills Have Eyes, 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, and the Full Monty.

Optimum Releasing is a film distributor company working in the UK who have produced films such as Donkey Punch, The Last Exorcism, Four Lions, Rise of the Foot Soldier, the Orphanage and Eden Lake. We decided to feature both these companies on the indents for our film because they would be likely to produce something of similar genre and style.

Making the Intertitles

We made the intertitles using Adobe Photoshop CS3 by layering text over an image of some stained paper. Starting with the picture of the left, we used dafont.com to get the writing in our chosen font. Then we arranged it on the page, varying the sizes of letters and words to give an element of disorder and intrigue.

For layering the above photos you have to change the opacity of each layer so that some are more visible than others. (Shown in the step below)

Testing Poster Ideas

Just a few images to show me getting to grips with layering different pictures, and imposing them onto 'scenes' such as a bus shelter to create authenticity. I managed to put effects on writing that makes it look more professional and stand out.

Typography

Here's our choice of font for the title and intertitles. We used a font website to achieve a professional look - avoiding using those found on everyday microsoft software ie. Word.

We chose a serif font; we felt that it had a more gothic appearance, therefore having an association with horror. Varying the size of the lettering, we avoided it looking too orderly. We felt it suggested an element of surprise and disorder/chaos - linking into the plot of our film.

After posing a questionaire asking people which version they preferred using the pictures above, we chose the specific typography for our film title:

Name of font: Requiem.

Research and Planning

Our Horror Film

View more presentations from tildamedia.

Just a short presentation relating to our research and planning.

Film Coursework Planning

Conventions of teaser horror trailers:

Intertitles: Set up the premise of the film and provide explanation when necessary. They also enhance the audiences understanding of the plot quickly.

Editing: Mix between continuity and montage editing. Allows for 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.

Narration: Further establishes the story.

Sound: Non-diegetic sound is used a lot in horror movies, to create atmosphere, heighten tension and make climatic scenes more dramatic. Music can also indicate stress, panic, tension, signs of the plot unravelling etc often subconciously recognised by the audience.

Special effects: Effects such as altering the colour of clips can change tone and create certains atmospheres. For example, in the film Paranormal Activity the hues are mostly blue - this gives a cold, eerie appearance and also replicates footage of a surveilance camera. Other popular hues are green and grey, as seen in Saw and Silent Hill.

Another effect that creates a handheld camera/supernatural feel is use of artifical 'static interferance' featured below (shot from Paranormal Activity 2). Often used to reinforce (or give the illusion that) the action was filmed for real, making it scarier for the audience as there is an element of realism added.

Teaser and Feature Trailer Differences

'Teaser' and 'Feature' Trailer Differences

View more presentations from tildamedia