Planning

This is the planning section of my blog. In this I will go into detail about what we will do during the planning stage of our coursework.

Initial Planning Ideas

Key Narrative Elements

The main key narrative elements are iconography & style, setting and narrative. Iconography is something that people can identify a film from, for example, blood and weapons in a slasher film. In our trailer, the iconography and style is going to be darkness and ill lit surroundings such as candle light. This creates a sense of “fear of the unknown” and mystery. The setting of our trailer is going to be a desolate house at night. This shows the audience the sense of the characters being alone and not being able to contact anyone for help. We are going to have some narrative elements in our trailer in the form of dialogue in a voice over. This will help create a better understanding for the audience since it is a teaser trailer.

We have looked at four key theorists that talk about the narrative aspects of film trailers. Narrative aspects are the actions, events and characters we see in a trailer. The narration of a trailer is how it is being narrated through visual style and point of view. Todorov spoke about narratology and how there is an equilibrium in traditional Hollywood films. This means that the order of them go in a set order which is it starts, then there is a disruption, after this there is a realisation of the distribution, then there is repairing the damage of disruption and finally the restoration. He found out that most of the Hollywood films stuck to this general theme of order. Another theory is the theory of the Hermeneutic Code which was the concept thought up by Barthes. This means that means that the narrative possesses a code which doesn't get answered. This creates a sense of enigma for the audience and also a sense of narrative surprise. Vladimir Propp conducted studies on folk tales and found out that most of them have a common narrative structure and a lot of them have similar functions. This is because these are the functions that seem to work in attracting a target audience so there is no reason for it to be changed. Finally, Levi-Strauss came up with the concept of binary oppositions and themes. This is where he looked at opposite values that reveal a structure of media text. He found that narrative tension is based on opposition or conflict, but more often functions at an ideological level. This is where a film or trailer has identifiable features for the genre. For example, in a sci-fi film he would question what the aliens and the people each represent.

Location For Filming

We fortunately have decided that we are only going to film in three different locations, this is efficient for time and also fits in with our story board. The first of these three locations is on a road called Pearl Street in Prestbury. We have chose this road because it is quiet and cars rarely go down it, it is also a one way street so it will be easier to stop a car coming down it whilst filming. As well as this, it is also lined with cottages on one side of the road, this means that if the houses do get in the background of the shot, they wont look out of place in our story line. The second location we are using is a friends house in Wilmslow, we are using this house because it fits in perfectly with our story line and genre. This is because it is desolate and has plenty of room so we can shoot the shots we need. The third and final location that we are using is undecided because we are yet to find somewhere with a swing in the garden. 

Shot List

This is the shot list that we have created to make it easier for us whilst filming so we know which order to do things in. It also will make sure we don't miss out any shots because we can tick them off as we do them. The reason that we have the last shot as a punch shot is because it will leave a lasting impact on the audience. This will leave them with the impression of the film that we desire which is to scare them.

Script

This is the script we have written out for the trailer. Due to it only being a teaser trailer we decided it would be more appropriate for the trailer to be more music and title orientated rather then dialogue. We still however decided to write a script because then the actors know what they are doing all of the time and they fully understand the synopsis and story line. It will also help us to keep track of where and what we need to film. 

Risk Assessment

This is a risk assessment document that we filled out and analysed any potential hazards and risks whilst filming for our trailer and also any precautions that we are going to take to avoid these potential threats.

Actors List

Alex Horne: She is Laura's sister which makes it convenient for filming and easy to get hold of since she is the main focus of the trailer. She plays the antagonist in the trailer.

Chris Jevons: Chris is a ex pupil from Fallibroome high school, there he studied drama for GCSE's and achieved an A*. Therefore he has had experience acting and understands the importance of body language and facial expressions.

Hannah Renshaw - A friend of ours which again is convenient for being able to contact for filming. She also has past experience of being in school productions so she understands the impotence of body language and facial expressions.

Film Poster Ideas

The main image of our poster is going to be a medium close up of Alex, the main antagonist, looking down, with her hair covering her face so you can barely see her eyes or facial features. This creates a sense of mystery and also fear because it makes her seem almost not human. We are also going to have chiaroscuro lighting so the background is black. This ensures that the main attention of the poster is her rather then on the background. As well as this, it also reinforces the horror genre and creates the sense of atmosphere for the audience which is the same as what they can expect from the trailer. The positioning of the text on our poster will be unique and unconventional. We are going to have the main text, which is the title, below the main image, which has dripped from blood from Alex's hair. This is something we will achieve by using Photoshop  We also are going to have the tagline of "She Was Waiting...". This also creates a sense of enigma and entices the audience because it will make them want to find out who "she" is, what she was waiting for and why. The ellipsis also suggests that there is more to come, which is more appealing for the audience.

This is the font off the website dafont.com that we hope to use as our main font for our film poster. It is because it has a bleeding effect and also reflects our genre of horror. It also looks like it has been scratched, this makes it more informal and again reinforces the genre. I think that the font is very important and you should be able to tell the genre of a film just from the font they use, and this is the case for this font.

This is an image of a poster for the film "The Uninvited", we are hoping to have something similar to it because we think that it would also fit well with our film. The main image of someone looking through a window was powerful and effective because it almost puts the audience in the position of main characters of the film, this, in my opinion, has more of an impact on the audience on the audience then a simple action shot of the antagonist.

This is the Flat plan for our film poster, this gives us an idea of how to construct the poster in the later stages of our work.

Film Magazine Ideas

For my film magazine I have decided that I will conform to the key conventions of a magazine. The first key convention that I am going to go with is the colour scheme with red white and black. I have chosen to do this because it is the standard colour scheme that most film magazines choose to go with. The reason I chose this is because it doesn't attract attention away from any of the key coverlines or the image. I chose to stick to just using one image on my magazine cover. My reasoning for this was to keep things simple whilst still attracting the attention to the main image that relates to the main coverlines. For the main image expression, I selected to have one of the actors of the trailer with a blank facial expression whilst making eye contact with the camera and a serious facial expression however he is out of character. This reflects the seriousness of the trailer yet at the same time shows a different side to the actor that is shown in the trailer. For the masthead of the magazine I am going to have the title "SHOOT" but instead of the two "O"'s I intend to have a silhouette of an old fashioned movie camera with the film representing the two O's. This makes it more identifiable as a brand and also makes it seem more professional. I also am planning to have a menu strip at the bottom of the page; this is again conforming to key conventions of a music magazine. I have selected to have this feature on my front cover because it is another way of showing the audience what is on the inside of the magazine without taking up both space and still maintaining its professionalism.

Animatic

This is an animatic of our trailer.

Feedback On Draft Trailer

Initially, we got some written feedback on our trailer and then a recorded video of feedback from different people in our target audience. This offered us both some positive feedback about what worked well and how we could improve it. The written feedback is as follows -

What worked well - 

• The choice of having rhyme and the "Paranormal" feel it has
• Good sound effects and editing
• Music was good and fit the genre
• The car hitting the girl idea was very good and very well edited, the background music was very well suited, there was a good range of shots and the titles were very good.

Even better if -

• The titles were animated
• Quicker shots
• The footage could be a bit darker to make a more creepy effect, the story line was a bit too obvious
• Slightly shorten/tighten the beginning when the car hits

Focus Group Feedback

We presented our pitch for our film to a focus group of people who are in our target audience to see if they would be interested in it, had any suggestions for how we could potentially change it or just general feedback. We recorded there response via a website called Wallwisher. Below is the "wall" containing the feedback we received. Judging from what people have said, we established that our plot synopsis was very stereotypical and we needed a twist in the trailer some where to make it different from others. We had a few suggestions but we decided on that we would change it so that the female character has run over and killed a child and then drove off. The child then waits for them at their house and haunts/torments them and eventually possess the female character to take revenge. This is different from other films but not so much that it breaks the conventions. We did this because the usual conventions that most horror films follow seem to work very well and still attract a massive audience however we didn't want it to be so similar that people found it predictable.

Research

This is the research section of my blog, it shows all the research I have done into trailers, posters, websites and magazines for films.


This part of the blog is where I researched the marketing of films. To do this I went onto this website which is called How Stuff Works and there is a section on there which is talks about the marketing and strategies and techniques used to market films. From this, I learnt that according to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), this is how they allocated there marketing budget in 2007:

I also learnt from this that there are so many different aspects of the media which has to be targeted for your film to reach all kinds of people or even just your target market. For example, if your target market for a film is older people aged 65+ who don't leave this house as much as younger people, then you would focus more of your marketing budget on newspapers, TV, and radio rather then on billboards and posters. This is a link which leads to a video where Hugo Grumbar, who is a partner at Embankment Films and has been Joint Managing Director at Icon UK Group, President at Icon Film Distribution and Director of Marketing at Capitol Films, talking about the importance of finding your target audience.

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I also learnt that they have to take into account the seasonal factors. For example, there is obviously not going to be a Christmas film released in summer. As well as this, the consistency that the film is in the public spotlight is also important. This means that it wont have the desired effect if a film has an advertising campaign that lasts two days and only involves some posters and billboards, it has to be everywhere for a long time to get people noticing it. This is because people often don't think about an advert when they see it, it just goes into their subconscious memory, however if something keeps popping up consistently, it will have an effect on them. It is also important for it to be consistent because at the time of viewing the advert, the person might think that they want to go and see it but then forget about it, this is why the advert needs to be memorable enough so that it stands out in there memory.

The average marketing budget for a theatrical release from a major Hollywood studio was $35.9 million. This shows the enormity of most campaigns and how there is little space for error. They have to know exactly who the target audience is and how they are going to reach them. The more successful the campaign is, the more money they will make back on it through ticket sales. The opening weekend is key to the success of the film, its not uncommon that a company will make 40% of its gross profit in its first weekend of release.

Word of mouth is where people talk to their peers about a film. For example, if someone saw the advert on TV or on a poster, and then they brought it up in conversation the an other person would then know about it. This also emphasises the importance of how memorable your campaign needs to be to reach all kinds of people who aren't necessarily connected to the forms of media that you are targeting.

Analysis of Film Marketing Campaign

The film marketing campaign I have chose to research is a film called "The Campaign"
This is the trailer of the film.

 The USP (unique selling point) of the film is that it is a film about a political election but in a humorous light. This is a new type of film that hasn't been tried before. The target audience isn't very strict because many already appreciate Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis' comedy so people are likely to go and watch it simply due to the fact these two actors are in it.

These are a few posters that have been used in the marketing campaign of this film.

Each of these posters stick to a unique colour code of blue and red. This allows "The Campaign" to be identifiable with these colours. It also has political connotations in it because these red and blue colours can represent politics. The top two images show both the candidates in completely different lights. The top one, for example, shows a close up of them both kissing a baby's head at the same time with a smug expression on there faces. This denotes that they are both caring and trustworthy candidates although it has more sinister and competitive connotations. The middle poster reflects this competitive atmosphere yet is also made to look funny by the angry facial expressions. The third and final poster I have selected from this marketing campaign shows the two characters holding animals that could reflect their personalities. Brady, on the left, is holding an eagle which connotes power and bravery. The feeling of power is also backed up by his stance and facial expression. However, Huggins, is hugging two pugs. This shows the audience that he is more of a family man as a pose to a serious competitor. Again, his stance and facial expression is more friendly.

Press Interviews

This is an interview with Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis where they are promoting the film. It shows how funny the two men are in real life and the kind of comedy you can expect if you can and watch the film. It also reflects the chemistry the two actors have off camera which is always key for a comedy film.

Website

This is the official website for "The Campaign". It has an about section which describes the film as well as character profiles, a gallery of screenshots from the film, all of the official trailers and a "sweepstakes" section which is where merchandise is available to win in competitions.

Summary 

I personally feel that this marketing campaign was extremely successful. I think this was mainly due to the fact that the two main characters are extremely famous in the world of comedy films and are highly likely to attract a large audience to any film they feature in because of there reliable reputation in past films. Nether-the-less, this campaign also reached its desired target audience and had the effect it intended, which was to be funny and make people laugh to give them a taste of what the film is like without reviling to many jokes.

Research Into Film Posters

This is a "Word Cloud" that I created involving the key terms that are needed when creating a film Poster

This is a poster to the film "Apocolypto" which I have analysed.

Posters are extremely important to a film campaign because they are a very specific type of marketing in the way that they aren't shown through the TV. They are also important because they can be so mobile, for example on the side of a bus so they have the ability to reach a really wide market. Lee Jury, who is Marketing Director of BVI UK, once said whilst talking about film posters that you only have a few seconds to impress the audience, usually about 3-5 seconds because people will only glance at it. This means its important for it to stand out against competition in a crowded place.

Different Types of Posters

There is three main types of film poster; Teaser, Main Theatrical, Character

A teaser poster is an early promotional film poster which contains a basic image or design without revealing too much information about the plot, theme and characters. The Main Theatrical is the one that is most commonly used. This is the one which is most likely to appear on billboards or on the side of bus'. It is also likely to contain most of the colours that can be associated with the film. Character posters are a the final type of poster. This is where the main focus of the poster is of the main character. This can be useful because it can tell a story about the character in one image. This is achieved by the expressions and body language of the character and also the use of colour to create a certain mood. The teaser poster often consists of an iconic image that people can easily relate to the film by; icons such as a symbol or an item of iconic costume can often be used in these posters. Below are some examples of each type of poster.

Main Theatrical Poster

Teaser Poster

Character Poster

Film Magazines

This is a PowerPoint that I have created recording my research of 6 different film magazines.

Dan hughan film magazines from bir

In summery of this research I have found out that that most of the magazines have a main image of the main character of the film in a close up or medium close up on the front cover and that is the main focus of the cover. I have also learnt that nearly all film magazines are published monthly, this is because if they did it weekly then there wouldn't be enough new films out or coming soon that they could review or talk about. The price of the magazines were also around the £3.50 mark, this means there is a lot of content in them and adds an element of exclusivity. The target audience also varies depending on which films they cover but it is easily identified judging from the style, font and colour that the magazine takes on.

Analysis of Film Trailers

A Team Theatrical Trailer
This is the theatrical trailer for the 2010 film The A Team. This trailer has iconic references all the way through; this is because “The A Team” as a brand is so recognisable, in particular the theme song, this is referenced throughout the trailer and is used as a USP because there was no other A Team film that was out at the time of release. I think that the trailer reveals too much about the storyline, in the way that you feel like you already know what is going to happen when you go and watch the film; this could potentially deter people from going to see the film. There is a lot of action in the trailer which shows the audience what they can expect from the film. There also seems to be a lot of humorous lines which is put into the trailer to show that it has maintained the witty atmosphere that the early television show had. The trailer would seem to attract the male genre which is made clear by the amount of violence, car and plane action, explosions and guns. We are also introduced to all of the main characters in the film with a snippet of footage from the film that describes what type of characters they are; this again lets us have an incite into what we can expect from the characters and the film.

This is the trailer for the 2012 film “The Dark Knight Rises”. This trailer has the American national anthem at the start; this reflects the setting and the patriotism of the film. Throughout the trailer the music reflects what is going on and has a powerful and rebellious nature.  It also makes the trailer seem tenser and therefore make people want to see the film. The film has a USP of being part of the “Batman” franchise which is recognisable by the symbol of the “batman” and the costume that he wears, this is why they show it in the trailer, so that they can keep the fans of the original films and also attract more. It has another USP of having so many big name actors such as Tom Hardy, Christian Bale and Michael Cain. This is why they are showcased and often on screen. As well as this, the Directors name, Christopher Nolan is put on screen early on by its self; this is because he is world renowned as being a good director so people will see this and be attracted to it. There is a lot of violence and explosions again which would suggest that it is targeted at mainly the male market. The lighting in this trailer is mainly dark. This is because of the atmosphere of the film and it shows the audience that they can expect a sinister story line.

Genre Research

This is a mood board that I have created that reflects the genre that I want to create my trailer around, which is horror. It reflects the mystical and gothic atmosphere that we are hoping to create rather then the "scream" side of horror. The backgrounds of the majority of the images are either black or a dark colour. This is because it detracts the attention from that and puts the focus of the image on the close up of the character involved. There is also a sense of solidarity in each of the images, this creates a sense of suffering.

Survey Into Horror Genre

 This is a survey that I created about people preferences into the horror genre to find out information about my target audience. I used the website SurveyMonkey to create this research.
Survey Monkey Survey

This is a collection of pie charts showing my survey results that I have made so it is in a more organised format and it makes it easier to compere.

These results showed us that the majority of our target audience want the antagonist to be mysterious, this allows us to have an incite into where about in the trailer we should introduce the antagonist. It also showed us that a famous actor has an effect on almost everyone, this allowed us to choose if the actors should be the main focus of the magazine or poster because it is what attracts people to see a film. As well as this, the results showed us that people prefer a Gothic type of horror mixed with a bit of paranormal. This gives us a better idea of how to show our trailer and the impression we wish to give off.


This is a powerpoint presentation that I have created to analysis the conventions of three of film trailers that are horror genre. This is relevant because it means that they all have aspects of the trailer conventions which we are intending to use.

Dan hughan film trailer analysis from bir

Research Into Dialogue and Scripts

I have researched into "The Woman In Black" teaser and theatrical trailers in particular the dialogue and script that is used in them. Firstly, the teaser trailer has no dialogue in it at all. This might be so it has a greater impact on the audience and is more memorable. It does however have titles. The titles slowly fade in and out apart from the first one of "The most chilling ghost story". This is because it is the first title to appear on screen and therefore should have a striking impact about it rather then a smooth transition into it.The titles clearly portray the genre, this is through the transitions in which they appear and dissolve away as well as the font.The titles don't necessarily have to directly correlate to the image on screen, for example there doesn't have to be a shot-reverse-shot conversation, it often works better with other images from the film. The titles in this particular trailer enforce its USP that it is a book by saying "comes to life". As well as this, it also shows off the fact it has a big name actor by saying Daniel Radcliffe's name by its self on a black background so it is the sole attention of the shot. In the Theatrical trailer, the dialogue reveals the genre by using key words and the tone that it is spoken in. This makes it clear straight away for the audience what they can expect from the film. All of the dialogue used in the trailer is relevant to the story line and adds to the atmosphere and tension of the trailer all building up to the final "punch" of the trailer. The key concept of the Theatrical Trailer is that it raises questions that don't get answers, this is what creates the enigma and makes the audience want to see the film to maybe have a chance of getting these answers.

This is the script for the trailer.

This is my preliminary trailer.

This is my evaluation of my preliminary trailer,

Introduction

My name is Daniel Hughan, I am a current A level Media Studies student creating my blog for the coursework; G324 Advanced Portfolio.
The brief I have chosen is to create a promotional package for a new film: a trailer, a film magazine front cover featuring the film and a poster for the film.
This blog will contain my research and planning, construction of the trailer, magazine front cover, film poster and also my evaluation of the task.