Media A-level coursework

1. Research for A-level Media Coursework
FirstI must establishwhatIplanmyproductiontobe.I am goingto make a 3 (or more) minute
horror/thrillertrailertargetedtowardsateenage demographic.Ihave specificallytailoredmyresearch
to findoutmore about the genre,the demographicandthe productionof a trailertobe as effective and
beneficial aspossibletothe final product.Now thatI’ve establishedthis, I’ll explainhow eachpiece of
researchwill be beneficialtothe final product.
The firstpiece wasa small powerpointpresentationIdidwithafellow classmate. Thishelpedbothme
and mypartner CJestablishearlyoninplanningwhatexactlyathrillerwasandhow to create a product
that fitintothe thrillergenre.
The nextpiece of researchI didwasanalyzingthe film“The Purge:Anarchy”as it’sthe same genre’sas
the product I’mgoingto make;horror/thriller. While thisonlycoveredthe microfeatures,Ididlearna
lotmore fromthe filmaboutthe genre.Forexample the differentiationof horrorand thrillerandhowto
create certaineffectsusingmicrofeatures. Forexample the use of lightingisCRUCIALinestablishing
certaincharacters as scary and the use of soundeffectsandmusicto buildtension.
Thisbringsme to my nextpiece of research,the differentiationof horror,thrillerandaction.This
researchwasn’tverypresentableandwascreatedmostlyjustfornotesandfuture reference.Nonethe
less,itwasresearchthat will undoubtedlyhelpwhenIcreate a trailer thathas both horrorand thriller
aspects.Withoutthisresearch,Imay accidentallyplace more horrorthanthrilleraspectsorvice versa
and endup shunningthe othergenre. Butnow thatI have thisresearchto referback to,I will definitely
be able to make a product that fairlybalancesbothgenre’s.
Anotherpiece of researchIconductedjustto reallymake sure Iunderstandeveryconceptof thriller
possible,wasfinding10keyelementstothrillermovies.While notall of these willbe includedinmy
trailerbecause it’snota full film,it’sstill guaranteedtohelpsomewhatinstoryboarding,scriptingand
characterization. Ishouldalsoaddthat thiswasnot my ownwork,I simplypostedittomy blogto findit
later,butit was still myresearch.
Carryingon,I did notforgetto researchthe demographicandtargetaudience of a ‘teenage’thriller.This
nextpiece of researchcontainstacticsandtechniquestoutilizetoreel ina teenage audience.While
mostof themapplyto advertising,itcanalsobe usedto make trailersandmoviesrelatable toteenagers
and thus,more applicable totheirtaste. Thismeansthatjustbecause I’mnotgoingto be advertisingmy
trailer,thatdoesn’tmake thisresearchuselessasInow know certainthemesandfactors to include in
the trailerso make itmore targetedtowardsteenagers,forexample the horrorfilmUnfriendedused
internetcallsandsocial mediatotargetthe teenage audience andIcoulddosomethingsimilar.
Finally,Idecideditwastime tomake the firstdraftof a script to the trailer. I’mawaitingcriticismbut
fromself-analysis,Ican alreadytell it’stooshortandmay be slightlydrawnoutfora teenage audience.
So I decidedtoresearchmyfirsthorror/thrillertrailerratherthana full film tosee how theykept

2. adrenaline highandinterestlockedthe entire time. The trailerIchoose was‘GetOut’.Thiswas a trailer
for a filmtobe releasedin2017 about a blackman meetinghiswhite significantother’sparents.But
that’senoughaboutthe plot,what didI learnfromit?I learnedthatI don’tneedtomake it scary from
start to finish.Buildingtensionandacalmatmosphere tomake the scare all the more unexpectedisjust
as importantas the scare itself.Ialsolearnedthatyoucanforeshadow anduse metaphorstogive some
extraparts of the plotawayto the full movie,evenif theyaren’tshowninthe trailer.Andfinally,the use
of blood.Usuallyahorror and/orthrillershowsbloodveryearlyinthe trailertobuildadrenaline and
establishdangerbutthistrailerdidn’tshow blooduntil more thanhalf wayin,andeventhenitwasa
simple nosebleed.
AfterthisI wentandconductedsome researchof my own.The difference betweenscaryandcreepy.
Thiswas veryinterestingandbeneficialbecause now Iknow how toscare my audience andhow to
simplymake themuneasy.