p7

1. Research
Luke Headland

2. Existing Product
I think this poster is a lot different to a normal horror film poster,
as a lot of horror film posters use scary imagery, this one
however is more creepy / disturbing than scary. The overall
image is very simple, and there is not much to the background
other than a black and white connotation mix. I think this poster
is good because it only gives you one image to focus on. In the
poster, we see a shirtless man with a mask around his face
hiding his identity. What makes this even more disturbing, is
the fact that he is wearing someone else's face for a mask.
One other element that the image has is grungy / dirty textures
on the background and main image. The concrete background
highlights that the film may be very dark, cold and unpleasant.
The fact that the man in the image is shown to look quite dirty
also highlights the fact that this is a dark and scary film. There
is also a contrast between lighting in the poster, the
background is very bright, whereas the man in the image is a
lot darker, with more shadows, which makes the image stand
out more. Fans of the Saw franchise will recognize the face on
the mask to be the main antagonist (creating iconism), and the
fact that someone else is wearing his face highlights that
someone is becoming or working for him, like an apprentice or
follower. Fans of the franchise will be very interested in this
poster, as it begs the question of ‘who is wearing the mask?’
This will make the audience want to watch the movie to find out
Hackl, D. (2008) Saw V

3. Existing Product
One reason I like this poster is the overall creepy atmosphere
it has to it. The black and red connotations highlight the gore
and suspense elements this film has, as well as providing the
audience an understanding of what type of film this is, as the
absence of light in this poster highlights that it is probably a
very dark and scary film. The main focus of this poster is a
very disturbing face in the middle of the image. The image of
the face uses juxtaposition, as the face is in the shape of a
smile, yet it is made disturbing by the blood around the eyes
and mouth, as well as the skin like texture that the face has.
The fact that the face is dripping blood could highlight that
the audience are looking at the main antagonist / killer of the
film. The skin tone texture makes the audience wonder if this
is the actual face of something, or perhaps just a mask worn
by someone, as the face does not look very pleasant. One
other thing that also stands out is the deep red connotation
for the title. The fact that the title is a deep red colour,
highlights to the audience that there will likely be a lot of
blood / gory moments in this film. I chose to research this
poster because it has similar features that I am going to
implement into one of my own posters. I am going to include
the element of suspense / using darkness to hide identity,
giving the audience an opportunity to question who may be in
Gallagher, M. (2012) Smiley

4. Existing Product
This DVD cover has an overall dark
and gloomy tone. The front of the
cover has a simple image showing
the antagonist of the film emerging
from the shadows / darkness. The
fact that a lot of his face is shrouded
in darkness highlights the fact that it
is going to be a dark film. The
grungy texture on the title and main
image also highlights the possibility
that the film will be violent, and not
appropriate for younger ages. The
quote from a reviewer on the bottom
of the cover 'the scariest film in
years' will appeal to the fans of the
horror genre, and will likely want to
make them watch it to judge for
themselves if the film is scary or not.
The colours in this image are very
unnatural and rotten like. The main
colours are a deep green mixed with
a rotting yellow. This could highlight
the pain, gore and torture that the
film features, as these colours mixed
together in this lighting usually
The back cover has a lot more content compared to the front cover. There are
multiple stills from the film to give the audience an idea of the setting, tone and
atmosphere of the film, as well as having large images to fill up the background.
These large images are very dark and suspenseful much like the image on the
front cover, this highlights that most of the film will probably take place at night or n
dark abandoned areas. The back cover also has some extra quotes, such as 'You
want scary? This is scary!' To appeal to fans of the horror genre, as well as
alternate social groups and audiences, making them question what makes the film
so scary, making them want to watch it.

5. Existing Product
This poster, much like the Saw V poster, is also very simple,
yet effective. I like how this poster begs the question ‘Is Jason
dead?’. The character Jason has been known to be immortal in
the Friday the 13th franchise. So this will make fans question if
he is finally dead or not. The set for this poster is very simple,
the background is plain black, which I think makes the main
image stand out. I think the black background goes well with
the red connotation with the main image and title. The mask in
the poster will also create iconism to the fans and general
public, as in the 1980s the Friday the 13th franchise was
extremely popular. The caption ‘This is the one you’ve been
screaming for’ will also appeal to the fans of the franchise, as it
shows that the publishers of the film have listened to what the
fans want to see. The fact that it is the final chapter would also
push people to see it, as the fans would like to know how the
franchise will end, and highlighting that it is the last film, so the
fans will want to see it even more. The lighting in the poster is
very simple. The image is overall quite dark, with light bleeding
into the image ever so slightly. The fact that the antagonists
mask is the main image could highlight that the film is all about
him, which is what the fans wanted judging from the tagline.
Overall the set for this poster is very simple, and conveys the
plot of the film quite clearly to the audience, as well as letting
them know that it is the final film in the franchise, pushing the
Zito, J. (1984) Friday the 13th The Final Chapter

6. Existing Product - Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yaoh3PqHG7I
This trailer, for the movie 'The Purge Anarchy', starts if very calm and somewhat uplifting with
joyful music playing, but suddenly switches moods shortly after from peaceful, to quite
dramatic. This is highlighted to the audience with quick camera cuts, along with a change in
music. As the trailer goes on, we see quick cuts that highlight that something bad is about to
happen, this is highlighted by the characters facial expressions, along with the change in music
and sound effects. The fact that these cuts are quick suggest to the audience that the
characters are panicking, as they know that bad things are about to happen, whereas the
audience may not know, which adds suspense to the trailer. Another thing that drastically
changes is the colour and lighting. The trailer begins with a bright sunset sky, which reflects the
mood of the first 15 seconds as to being calm and peaceful, and as soon as this mood
changes from peaceful, to chaotic, the time of day also changes from sunset to night time, and
the colours become a lot darker with an overall grungy looking green tone. The darkness and
green tone highlight the violence and gore that the film has to offer, along with the dangerous
situations the characters in the trailer are put in. Towards the middle to the end of the trailer,
there is calm music played over all of the violent cuts / scenes, which is an example of
juxtaposition, almost normalising the violence that we see happening in the trailer. For the most
part, the camera work is very still, and some scenes are in still shots, which is completely
opposite from the chaos that we see in the trailer. This highlights to the audience that the
violence and gore appears to be normal in the film as if it is justified. This shocking detail once
again highlights the horror, gore and violence that the film has, along with controversial topics
that we hear about in modern day life, for example, gun violence. This trailer will likely appeal
to older / more mature audiences, males and females aged 18 and above because of its violent
content and overall theme of horror and terror, along with the fact that this content would be
classed as inappropriate for younger audiences.

7. Existing Product – Trailer
Costume and Props Design
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVqJSpHIP8Q
The costume designs in this trailer all fit with the setting and theme. As the
film mainly takes place on a College campus, the clothes are pretty
traditional for young College kids. College campuses are also not
associated with horror or violence, therefore this gives the effects of feeling
unsafe in an environment that should be safe. Most of the characters wear
modern clothing that is the style that most people would wear now a days,
specifically young people. The costume choices do not contrast with the
theme of the film however. As the film is a horror / comedy, a lot of the
costumes look inappropriate for the horror theme, and bright modern
clothing is not usually associated with horror and violence. The antagonist
however, wears a disturbing looking baby mask, which is very juxtaposing,
because babies are not associated with horror or murders. I believe this
gives the mask more of a sinister effect, with how something that can be
seen as innocent, is being portrayed in a bad way. As for the props, they
are once again pretty basic. The antagonist / killer is seen to be using a
knife, which is traditional when it comes to these specific roles, and other
props that can be seen in the trailer, such as basic school equipment, fit the
setting of the film as it is based around a College.

8. Research Analysis
What common features do the researched products
have?
All of the products I have researched use minimalism to make
the posters stand out to the audience, making them ask
questions about the contents of the film and the idea behind it.
They all use a similar formula, one main image and very simple
background. I think that this is a good way to make the main
images stand out to the audience, and also isn't too much for
them to take in. All of the posters have creepy imagery. This
helps the horror theme and highlights to the audience that it is a
horror movie.
What aspects of the research will you include within
your own work?
My posters will be very minimalistic much like the ones I have
researched, and will also follow a similar colour pallet. I will
also the element of suspense, making the audience as
questions about the film.

9. Questionnaire Analysis

10. Audience research
Observation: 'A lot of content' was voted at 20% 'Minimalism' was voted at
70% and 'Both' was voted at 10%
What this says about my audience: This tells me that my audience prefers posters
that use minimalism to shock the audience instead of lots of different images.
How will your product appeal to this audience: My movie posters are going to be
minimalistic much like the ones I researched.

11. Audience research
Observation: 'Yes' was voted at 70% and 'No' was voted at 30%
What this says about my audience: That they think minimalism is an
important feature for a horror movie poster to have.
How will your product appeal to this audience: All of my posters will
be minimalistic which should engage my audience.

12. Audience research
Observation: 'Yes' was voted at 100% and 'No' was voted at 0%
What this says about my audience: That they like to see more to a
movie poster than just an image and they like more creativity.
How will your product appeal to this audience: I am going to hide a
little Easter Egg in one of my posters that the audience can look for.

13. Audience research
Observation: 'Creepy Imagery & Atmosphere' was voted at 60% 'Minimalism &
Eye Catching' was voted at 30% and 'Scary, Bloody & Grungy' was voted at
20%
What this says about my audience: That posters with creepy imagery and scary
atmosphere are more effective.
How will your product appeal to this audience: I am going to be using creepy

14. Audience research
Observation: 'Violent / Gory Horror Movies' was voted at 50% 'Paranormal
Horror Movies' was voted at 40% 'Thriller / Action Based' was voted at 10%
What this says about my audience: That they think that the posters from gory horror
films are more effective and look the best.
How will your product appeal to this audience: My posters are going to be based on
a gory theme, as well as using features gory horror movie posters use such as textures
and fonts.

15. Audience research
Observation: A lot of paranormal films, such as Insidious and The Conjuring have the
scariest posters.
What this says about my audience: That they think that posters from paranormal
horror films are usually the scariest looking.
How will your product appeal to this audience: One of my posters is going to be
designed like a paranormal horror film poster.

16. Audience research
Observation: '1 Or 2' was voted at 30% '2 Or 3' was voted at 60% '3 Or 4' was
voted at 10% and '4 Or 5' was voted at 0%
What this says about my audience: That they think horror movies should have at
least a minimum of 2 to 3 posters.
How will your product appeal to this audience: I am going to be making 3 posters
for my product which is how many the audience recommend.

17. Audience research
Observation: 'They Are Important' was voted at 100% and 'They Are Not
Important' was voted at 0%
What this says about my audience: That they think that movie posters should
always be a for of advertisement for a movie.
How will your product appeal to this audience: My product is going to have 3
movie posters to promote the film.

18. Audience research
Observation: 'Yes, Suspense Is Good' was voted at 70% and 'No, Too Much Of
It Can Feel Tedious' was voted at 0%
What this says about my audience: That they think suspense is good to have to
engage with an audience in a horror movie trailer.
How will your product appeal to this audience: I am making a teaser trailer which will
use suspense to engage with my audience.

19. Audience research
Observation: 'Yes, They Motivate Me To See it' was voted at 100% and 'No,
They Do Not Motivate Me To Go See It' was voted at 0%
What this says about my audience: That if they find a trailer appealing then it will
motivate them to go see the film.
How will your product appeal to this audience: I am going to try to make a good
and appealing trailer for my audience that should make them want to see the film.

20. Interviews

21. Interview 1
Do you like Horror Movie posters? If so what do you like
about them and do you think they are important for
advertisement?
- 'I do think that they are very important for advertisement, as they
hook the audience member in the same way a trailer would. My
favourite type of movie posters are the simple ones, and the ones
with creepy images. I think it is important for horror movie posters to
look creepy, so then they can attract the audience easier, and they
will know what kind of film it is.'
• What styles do you like to see on Horror Movie posters?
- 'I like to see horror movie posters that have simple imagery, as I
think this is more effective to the audience. I also like grungy
textures because it highlights the genre, and I also like scratchy
elements and unnatural colours. I think these make the posters more
creepy.'

22. Interview 1
Observation:
The person I interviewed likes to see minimalism in horror movie
posters, as well as features such as grungy, scratchy textures to give
the poster more of a horror tone. They also think that they are
important when it comes to advertisement, and are as important as
trailers.
What this says about my audience:
That they enjoy the more simple, yet effective movie poster styles
rather than posters with lots of images and text. It also says that they
believe that posters are very important in advertisement and are a
good way to connect with the audience.
How will your product appeal to this audience:
My movie posters will be minimalistic, as well as using creepy imagery
to shock my audience. My posters will also use similar features that
my audience like to see in the posters such as grungy, scratchy
textures.

23. Interview 2
Do you like Horror Movie posters? If so what do you like
about them and do you think they are important for
advertisement?
- 'I like horror movie posters because I think they are what make
people want to go see the film and are a good method of
advertisement. I also think that every horror movie should use
posters to advertise as they are a good way of reaching out to the
audience and or trying to get more people wanting to see the film.'
• What styles do you like to see on horror movie posters?
- 'My favourite styles for horror movie posters are the ones that are
very dark and dirty looking, as I think they are most appropriate
looking for the genre. I like the rotten / dark colours and textures
used to make them look more disturbing and scary.'

24. Interview 2
Observation:
The second person I interviewed believes that posters are a very important
method of advertisement for a horror movie, and that they help build / create
an audience making people want to go see the film. They also like the more
dark / gory styled movie posters and think that they fit the genre.
What this says about my audience:
That they understand how important different means of advertisement are,
and that companies should expand the advertisement for their films with
posters because it helps create and engage with an audience. It also says
that they prefer more violent / grungy posters, as referenced in the interview
and my online servey results/
How will your product appeal to this audience:
The design of my posters are going to be grungy, gory, violent and disturbing
which is what my audience likes to see in horror movie posters. I am also
making 3 posters which should help expand my advertisement and people
will see different posters of the same film, making them want to watch it and
build a bigger audience.

25. Audience Profile
Category Demographic Content to appeal to this audience
Age Range
Primary: Aged 17+
Secondary: Aged
30+
• Violence, gore, horror themes & terror. This
content would be inappropriate for consumers
under 17.
Gender
Primary: Male &
Female
Secondary: Male
• Action, suspense horror and violent themes,
content that both male and females can enjoy
when watching a horror movie.
Psychographic
Achiever • A horror movie by a company and is very
brand loyal, serious advertisement and
statistics such as box office figures, as the
film is created to make money.
Social Status
Type B & Needs
Driven.
• A film purely for entertainment, no input from
consumers necessary, but is accepted if the
consumer wants to give feedback.

26. Research Evaluation

27. Research Evaluation
Give an overview of how you conducted your research. Discuss the
strengths and weaknesses of each method
Product Research
I looked into different websites such as IMP Awards, and Google images to find different
posters and a DVD cover similar to what I am going to make. The strengths of this
method were that I was able to freely control my research and choose which posters I
wanted to talk about and analyse them. Weaknesses of this method were that I wasn’t
able to go in depth in finding out how these posters are made, but was able to look at
different YouTube videos of people making similar looking ones.
Questionnaires
After I finished creating my questionnaire, I sent it out to members of my group and
waited for their responses. Most of the questions on the survey were very straight forward
and were multiple choice tick box questions. Strengths of this method were that I was
able to get my audiences feedback, which will help my product greatly, as well as
understanding what my audience like about movie posters. One weakness of this method
was waiting for the responses to come back. It did take a while for all 10 to be complete
but I did managed to get all 10 responses in a relatively short amount of times, as I
created my questionnaire as I was working on my product research.
Interviews
• I sat with someone and asked them a couple of questions that related to my product, and
as they gave their answer I wrote it down on the power point. The strengths of this
method were that I was able to get clear quantitative feedback from the questions I
asked, and it was easy to write them down and put into my own words. A weakness of
this method were that the people I was interviewing didn’t always give in depth answers. I
think if they did it would have influenced my audience research greatly.

28. Research Evaluation
What sort of a response did you get?
• I did get relatively simple responses on my survey, and not a lot of the
answers were very detailed. I feel that a lot of the responses I got were
enough to help me with my product, however it would have influenced my
product better if the responses were more detailed.
How did you distribute your survey? Give an advantage and a
disadvantage
• After completing my survey, I sent emails out to members of my group for
them to complete it. Advantages of this were that my survey does not take
long to complete and the questions were simple to answer. The main
weakness of the survey was getting responses, as I was not in control of
people completing them and had to wait for them to be complete which did
take a while, but I was able to focus on other work for research whilst I
waited for feedback from my survey.