RESEARCH 21 - MEDIA THEORISTS

RESEARCH 20 - HORROR TITLES

3 DIFFERENT HORROR TITLES AND HOW THEY RELATE TO THE FILM

• The title of this film 'Orphan' is written in white suggesting to the audience that perhaps the girl in the image could be innocent as those in an orphanage are normally seen as vulnerable and kind. It could also suggest that it was written with chalk, suggesting that maybe she is very old school and that she has a very chilling presence because the sound of a chalk on a chalkboard is very loud and screechy. 
• Next, the title also has an overlapping effect on the letters making it seem as though they are blurry to the viewers eyes, this could relate to the mental state of the girl as she is trying to make us seem as though it is us but really its just an effect. 
• Also the title first starts with lower case letters and then goes into upper case letters suggesting that she starts of as a child, and then eventually her actions and words get bigger. It could also imply that because it isn't written properly that she doesn't really know what she's doing.

• The title of this horror film is a lot more simple, it just has the words of the horror film on it against a black background. This is so that the title stands out and it is clearly shown to the audience especially the effect on the word 'night'. 
• The word 'night' is written differenly to prom and has a dragging effect to it. This suggests to the audience how this isn't an ordinary prom night as it has bits of the word draining away and not in a good way. 
• Also the font of the title is written in an american baseball type of font, suggesting that this is where it could be set. 
• Lastly, because it is written in red it clearly suggests that this is going to be gruesome as red relates to blood and usually proms are seen as a happy time so they clearly wanted to show the audience that this isn't a happy film otherwise they would have chosen a different colour scheme. 

• This last title is on 'Thirteen ghosts'. It has a more of a misty look to the title, this could be relate to how ghosts are usually hazy and murky which is why the text isn't very sharp and precise. 
• Also in the word 'thirteen' instead of using the t and e they decided to incorporate the actual number instead which adds a cool effect to the title. This is could be because they really wanted to highlight the idea of 13 ghosts being in this film, which suggests to the audience that there is going to be a lot of scary things happening. 
• Next the number 13 and ghosts are a lot more showcased than the other words by having them both in bolder writing and filling them in with a bright white colour. This could be to automatically attract the audience again to the idea of there being 13 ghosts in the film and how the characters are going to have to conquer those. 
• Lastly, like all the other titles the title is written on a dark background which is black with a mixture of red, this implies that there is going to blood involved in the film, suggesting to the audience that the film could tell us the history about why there are so many ghosts in the film or whether there will be ghosts to be added to the number after the film.

By looking at different film titles it helps me generate ideas on how I need showcase my film yet not give away to much. It also helped because now I know what certain things to add and look carefully into as well as what is already popular such as the idea of the writing to be on a dark background. 

RESEARCH 19 - ANALYSIS OF CONJURING TRAILER

CONJURING TRAILER 

• The trailer straight away begins with the image that it is based on a true story, this is to straight away show the audience that this film has a background story to it, therefore making the film seem more scary as it could happen to them. 
• Also throughout the trailer it includes real images of the family that died and the couple that wanted to help them to show the audience that they aren't lying about it being real, therefore again giving the audience the element of truth. 
• At the start of the film it also starts of a with a light piano until we really get into the trailer where it begins to get louder and the notes get stronger. 
• It also tells us what happened in the past and how it is affecting those in the future. This gives the audience a clear storyline about what is to be expected from the film. 
• Also during the trailer they have scenes where it is black and white and look like an old film reel so that it can relate to what happened in the past, this way it contrasts with how it looks now and how although everything has been modernised the house and the activity inside it is still the same.
• Also by using sounds like the glass smashing and the women screaming it makes the audience feel that there is clearly going to be something affecting this family and because in the trailer it only shows quick snaps of what it is affecting them it creates suspense for the audience. 
• Drawing near to the end of the clip it includes more of the children and one of the conventions of a scary film is that the children are easily lured in, and this is what the trailer shows especially at the end of the trailer where the ghost claps its hand. This suggests to the audience that the children too are going to be affected and perhaps even be part of the hauntings that happen. 
• Lastly, at the end of the trailer it leaves us with a phrase of 'look what you made us do' which suggests to the audience that something/someone has made the family do something that they regret and have turned them into psychotic killers or have made them mad! 

RESEARCH 18 - AUDIENCE FEEDBACK ON FILM

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK ON 'SILENT HOUSE'

Silent house is about a girl trapped inside her family's lakeside retreat and becomes unable to contact the outside world as supernatural forces haunt the house with mysterious energy and consequences.

This was the question I asked to those watching the film 'What elements of this film scared you the most?'

SCARY ELEMENTS:	WHY THEY FELT SCARED:
The shadow of the man around the house.	This may have made them feel scared because of how the man’s identity was never shown therefore they didn't know who or what he was.
The way the camera followed her around the house.	The handheld camera was scary for the audience because it made them feel as though it was really happening, and because of that it made them think as though they were trapped in the house too.
The pathways around the house.	This element of the film scared the viewers because of how the women didn't know which way to go make it seem as though there was never a way out, showing that she would be trapped with this person forever.
The darkness of all the rooms, and how she had only one light.	This darkness implied to the audience that there was never going to be any light, and no way of getting out because the only thing she had was a torch suggesting that she is weak and vulnerable.
The idea of the little girl around the house playing.	Even though this seems normally, it abnormal to her because the house was supposed to be abandoned therefore showing the audience that there are still ghosts living there.

 

Here is also a whatsapp conversation I had with one of the viewers: 

sources: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1767382/

RESEARCH 17 - POSTER COMPARISON

GOTHIKA Vs. TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 

Gothika is a supernatural horror where Halle Berry plays a psychiatrist in a women's' mental hospital, but one day is found on the other side of the bars..

Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an american slasher film and is about a family of cannibals victimising a group of friends till their deaths for their lunch! This film was also based on a true story. 

Some similarities include:

• Both include the main character, showing the audience who the film will be based on. 
• They also have a main colour scheme running through it. For instance Gothika's is a more blue toned theme to go with the rain, whereas Texas Chainsaw Massacre has a more of a light brown shade which could relate to the uncleanliness and darkness of the film. 
• They both have the title of the film the biggest to straight away attract the audience to look at it. 
• Both also include the characters positioned in a certain way to already portray a story to the audience. For instance the way Halle Berry is positioned suggests that perhaps she is trapped in this film, and clearly they have shown her hand because of what is written. Whereas in Texas Chainsaw Massacre the character is almost hugging his chainsaw and a knife which clearly shows the audience that this movie will include violence.

On the other hand: 

• A difference between the posters is that in the Gothika poster the quality is a lot more HD to show the audience who the actor is so that it attracts some of her fans to watch it. Whereas in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre poster it is more of a smudged photo this is to relate to the film and how they don't really show his identity in the film and always keep it a mystery to keep the audience in suspense. 
• Another comparison of the two is the font. The Gothika font it a lot more larger than the other poster and it is a bright white shade to stand out from the blue background. However, in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre poster it fades in with the murkiness of the background, yet we are still able to see the most important part of it which is the word 'Chainsaw'.
• Also, another difference between the posters is the characters, the Gothika poster shows a women because this way it follows the codes and conventions of a horror film and how there is normally a distressed women. But in the other poster it is a of man holding weapons which also follows the conventions of how men are always the violent ones in a film. 
• One last difference is that the slogan of the film is portrayed in completely different ways. In the Gothika poster it is in her hand where it says 'Not Alone' this suggests how in this film even though there is just one character on the poster, thinking needs to be involved to see what the film means by saying 'not alone'. However, in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre poster the slogan 'witness the birth of fear' is above the character, this could be so that the audience read that first in order to see what this creature would look like. 

Although both films are under horror, they are different sub genres. This is clearly identified through their different forms of posters and how they are both similar in ways yet they appeal differently to their audience. 

RESEARCH 16 - FAN SITES

FAN SITES

WHAT ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT ON FAN SITES?

• On certain fan sites such as the 'Scream' fan site they talk about the upcoming videos, and when they may be released. For example the Scream fans believe that there could be a number 5 & 6, and they all show their excitement on the fan site by leaving comments, or by sharing more news.

• The fans also share a range of interviews from the director to the actors themselves. This helps the other fans to always be in the know how about what could be happening with the film.

• Another thing that they do on fan sites is that they leave each other question regarding the film. For example in the Chucky fan site, the fans ask who they would be in certain situations in the film and how to create your own questions too. 
  

• Fans also share exclusive images of scenes in the films and post them for other people to download or to share on to more social networks to get more promotion of the film.

• They also share other social networks on their fan sites for other people to follow them. For instance the 'Scream' fan site has their own twitter and tumblr etc. these are all very popular sites especially with the younger generation which helps them promote anything happening with the film or any news films coming out. 

• In the Blair Witch Project fan site they talk about the mythology behind the film. For instance if any of the fans have questions about the story behind the witch for example then some one is able to reply back.
  

HOW WILL THIS HELP WITH MY OWN PLANNING/GETTING IDEAS FOR MY FILM?

• This will help with my planning because if I post posters/trailers of ideas that I want to include in my own film I could get feedback from other fan members about how to improve it and what is good about. 
• This will also help because by looking through the comments I will be to analyse what makes certain films successful, and what it is that interests the audience so much. 
• It also helps me get ideas for my film because if I am researching into different fan sites then I am able to look at different story lines for example and see what is appealing. Also, I can see what is the best way to get my own audience involved with my short film. 

RESEARCH 15 - AUDIENCE SURVEY

HORROR FILM QUESTIONNAIRE

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/62YWYJJ

RESEARCH 14 - SUB GENRES OF HORROR

RESEARCH 13 - PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS

I interviewed a professional photographer to get an idea on what are some aspects of photography I should grasp in order to get a good photo, which could become helpful to me when producing my own poster.

RESEARCH 12 - SHORT FILM DISTRIBUTOR

SHORT FILM DISTRIBUTOR - CANDELLA UK FILMS

Candella UK distributes a huge range of short films. They distribute to over 300 European and worldwide festivals making sure to promote UK filming to boost up their popularity. The Candella promoted short films have won many prizes over the recent years and are hoping for more in the future. 

The Candella website has many ways of showing these film makers about how to produce their films, ways of marketing and of course how they would want to distribute the film too. Best British Short Films is a project solely for British made short films. Their aim is to promote at least 10 short films, chosen by industry representatives. As the chosen films are being promoted to attract a wider audience in order to win awards and prize money, the profits that are being made go back to the film producers so that they can carry on creating more of their amazing films!

Here are a few of the film festivals and clients Candella UK are collaborated with: 

• Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, France
• Rushes Soho Shorts, London
• Encounters Short Film And Animation Festival, Bristol
• Interfilm Berlin, Germany
• Alcine, European Shor film Festival, Alcala, Madrid
• Bitfilm, Hamburg, Germany
• Instituto Cervantes, Manchester, UK
• Non-Multiplex cinema, UK
• Documenta Madrid, Spain
• Brest European short film festival, Brest, France
• Latin American Film Festival, London, UK

Sources: 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/distribution/links-exhibition-and-distribution-shorts 

http://www.candellafilms.com/film-distribution

RESEARCH 11 - SHORT FILM CLASSIFICATIONS

THE INTRODUCTION OF CLASSIFICATIONS FROM BBFC FOR SHORT FILMS

The bbfc have introduced new classifications for film makers who are new or by film students. It was introduced because of many film students wanting to hand in their 40 minute short movies, so therefore the bbfc decided that they would receive a theatrical age for their films.

 David Cooke, Director, BBFC said that there had been an increase in the request of short films being submitted. He had hoped that by introducing a reduced tariff for these short films they can meet the demands and enable students studying film to secure their theatrical age for their work if they wanted to take it on further. 

The student short film tariff is available at £50+VAT for films of up to 20 minutes and £100+VAT for films of 20 to 40 minutes. The film can be either fiction or non fiction but cannot be a trailer, advert, music promos or anything similar to those. 

By researching about the bbfc classifications for short films it has allowed me to see what are the different types of films that I could be aiming for, for instance if I was to do a more funny fiction short film then I would class it at a 12, whereas if I was doing a horror film with extremely gory and bloody scenes perhaps I would class it at either 18 or 15. 

RESEARCH 10 - ANALYSIS OF THE PARANORMAL ACTIVITY POSTERS

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY POSTERS 

Here is a series of the hit movie ‘Paranormal Activity’  posters produced for each film. The posters all have similar features because they are part of one another, however they are different, to give hints to the audience about what this version will be about and to show them that it will be different in order for the audience to not think that it is going to be the same things.

Some similarities include:

·         Having the same black thick border for the information, like the name of the film and directors etc.

·         The quote at the top, making it continuous in order for the audience to feel as though they need to know what will happen next.

·         The same text, to add similarity to the film otherwise perhaps it would look to messy, and it wouldn’t identify the film very well.

·         The idea of the setting being in the bedroom, originating from the first movie.

·         The black shadow in all the posters.

·         Also in all four, it includes the characters that are being affected by the activity in the film.

Some differences are:

·         They are all at different stages, to show the audience how this is a continuous story.

·         The camera angle is always different, to perhaps portray how they are all different stories.

·         The quotes at the top, get snappier to not bore the audience and get straight to the point.

All the posters both compare and contrast with each other, but they also relate to horror conventions, otherwise the film wouldn’t have been successful. For instance by having a grey scale tone to the images, it implies that this film is about something dark and mysterious and by having no colour shows that there is no happiness in this film. Another conventions is that by including the black shadow it automatically tells the audience what genre of a film it is and what the film could be based on. Also normally in horror films, it is based on the darkness, and in the posters it starts with quite a bit of light and slowly into the film the amount of light projected in the rooms gets less and less, this could imply how the movie is has no light like a fairy-tale movie would and that by they’re being less and less light there is more darkness for this paranormal activity to begin.

By analysing these series of posters, it gives me an idea of how to follow horror conventions and what really attracts the audience. Also from looking at these posters I am able to see how to be able to make the posters into a chronological order if I wanted to, and what is needed to show to the audience that this paranormal activity would actually turn into a series of events. Also by looking at them individually I am able to pick out what really stood out to the audience and that for me personally would be the image because of how everything else is blacked out, so clearly this is successful because I myself as a consumer watched every single one of the paranormal activity films.