2. In what ways will your media product use, develop
or challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?
My research into Horror movie trailers provided me with an insight into the codes and
conventions they use for all three of my products.
For my trailer I believed that the best way to connect with the audience was to use or
develop the conventions I found. From my research, 28 Days Later informed me of
the use of a single survivor, a male main character, wide shots to show isolation
and the use of props. From Dead Set I was able to analyse quick cuts, chase
scenes, abandoned locations, dark lighting and the use of make-up. Other generic
features such as fast paced editing also influenced my final construction.
I also intended to use theory of binary oppositions to evoke feelings of empathy
from the audience for the survivor as they will see his (the hero)’s struggle against
the (villains) zombies and will wish for him to survive as he is interpreted ‘good’ and
they are interpreted as ‘evil’.
This is the main concept I wanted to promote through the use of a single survivor
compared to a group; As with other zombie movies, I followed the convention of a
horde, a strong number of zombies against a protagonist as I believed the audience
would feel more empathy in the knowledge that he has immense odds against him.
3. A further convention I used was dark lighting. Dark lighting and
dark locations are a frequent and common feature found in horror
movies as they create suspense and make for a thrilling, gripping
and creepy experience for the viewer. Using dark locations induces
a ‘fear of the unknown’ into the audience as they are uncertain as to
what will emerge from the shadows. Using this convention
alongside the use of a single survivor allowed me to ensure the
audience will feel empathy for him and wish him to succeed and it
will also increase the challenge the character faces. In tandem with
the use of an abandoned location, I believe I was able to create a
sense that the survivor had a hard task to survive which also
heightened the drama.
4. In the post production, editing process I used certain editing features to align
my trailer with the genre. The use of fast paced, short clips, darkened shots
and an eerie soundtrack all combined to create a trailer similar to those found
in my research. I included a chase scene in my trailer in conjunction with the
non-diegetic sound ‘Heartbeat.wav’ as shown below. The heartbeat sound
effect would play simultaneous with clips from a chase scene at the end of our
trailer and acted as the character’s heart rate. We also used a point of view
shot to represent the character attempting to flee from the zombie’s in pursuit.
The use of sound in sync with clips was used also at the end of my trailer to
act as an enigma.
As there was no speech in my trailer, in the editing process I used a variety of
non-diegetic sounds, specifically those that created a eerie, tense
atmosphere. I have allowed time between each clip (above right) to build
tension and progress. However, I had to ensure that these gaps were not too
lengthy wand were of an equal duration. I used fade transitions for a soft
change between certain clips and ‘intertitles’ to act as a narrative and inform
the audience of some of the plot without revealing too much of the synopsis.
The intertitles acted as a narrator.
5. A main convention that is a certainty for a film of the
horror genre specifically a zombie film is the use of make
up on actors.
This convention has been used effectively in a variety of
different films, yet the example that I found was in my
research of Dead Set. This make up, as seen above, is
obviously more sophisticated than the make up our
make-up artist was able to apply to the actors cast as the
zombies. However I believe that when I was able to edit
the raw photo (above left) and transform it into my
completed movie poster (above right), I was able to edit
the faces and contrast ensuring that the actors looked
more convincing.
6. In my film poster production, I used a variety of conventions to
ensure that my product looked like a real media product.
As seen above, I have used positive pull quotes, a convention I
found in The Expendables film poster as I analysed it. Pull quotes
are taken from film review magazines such as Total Film and
Empire and therefore are added to a poster to increase its appeal to
an audience as an audience is more likely to watch a film that has
positive reviews. Similarly to The Expendables poster I have used a
bold statement ‘Horror movie of the year’ to sell the film to the
audience.
Alongside the pull quotes I have used a star rating, typically given
out of five, as another rating system for the audience to judge the
movie upon.
7. Similarly to The Expendables, I have used a bold font to display the
title of the movie. The font is very noticeable to viewers and also the
centralisation of the text increases the likelihood the viewer will be
able to see the title when they look at the poster.
The use of a outer glow effect added in Photoshop relates to the
theme of death conveyed by the title and will create an eerie effect.
This effect will be furthered by the colour selection as red
symbolizes danger and death hence why I used it so often both on
my poster and magazine cover.
I have also added a reference to another movie. The term ‘from the
creators of’ has been used so members of the target audience will
be attracted to this film if they liked or watched the one referred to.
8. I have used a single image on my poster. In comparison to the
Expendables poster, I have not used a special effect such as an explosion
seen in the analysed poster as it is not a poster of my genre, it is an action
film and explosions are typically a feature of action films.
As my film is of the horror genre, I edited the contrast of the image,
darkening it to make it more suitably for my genre as darkness can
represent fear.
I have used a billing block at the foot of the poster listing the production
staff, added the date and website and also a certificate rating, stating to the
audience that the movie is only suitable for a certain age group.
9. Similarly to my poster I have used white and
red text. I believe this increases the relation
between each separate product and allows
them to work well together for the cause of
engaging an audience. Also the red connotes
evil and danger.
As aforementioned, I have used darkness to
reflect my genre and the themes presented in
the film. By itself the image does not stand
out, yet the main masthead is very bold and
noticeable to the viewer, a convention I found
in my research.
I have included the website, price barcode
and issue at the head of the page to make all
of the features noticeable to the audience. I
feel my pricing, £2.99, is affordable for my
ideal target audience in comparison to other
magazines on the market.
10. Unlike Total Film, I have decided
against a regular convention, a free
giveaway. Instead I have included
screenshots of the main article and
have adapted the ‘world exclusive’
exclamatory to entice the reader and
suggest they are the first to receive the
information. A further exclamation was
used on the banner ‘Plus!’ and
influences the reader into believing
there is a great deal of context.
The layout of my magazine is also
conventional as I have added the main
article near the centre of the magazine,
a banner at the foot of the magazine
and small sub-headings on either side
of the lanes on the page.
