2. Why a tagline is important and how we found ours
As a group, we have used our research and planning to find a suitable tagline that
relates to our narrative and to the subgenre we have chosen to portray, which is
slasher. We have used pieces of work such as the focus group and the pitch to
ask the target audience what they think would sound best out of the few that we
could provide. The tagline is an essential part of promoting a horror film, it allows
the audience to connect to the media package and it gives them hints about the
narrative of the film, usually drawing them in and encouraging them to watch it.
3. Examples of existing taglines within box office films
"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974)
"Who will survive and what will be left of them?"
"Halloween" (1978)
"The night HE came home."
"Jaws 2" (1978)
"Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water."
"Poltergeist" (1982) / "Poltergeist II: The Other Side" (1986)
"They're here." / "They're back."
"Saw II" (2005)
"Oh yes, there will be blood."
These Taglines are all successful and effective
examples of how they can be used in order to attract
the target audience and encourage them to see the
film. All of these taglines feature keywords that
display part of the narrative, but not enough in order
to spoil the plot of the film and stop the audience
from seeing it. A specific example of this is in the
halloween quote “ The night HE came home” the
use of the key word “HE” makes the audience
question who they are talking about and would
make them intrigued to find out, meaning they would
have to watch the film for this answer.
The same applies for the poltergeist, “They’re here /
They’re back” this again makes the audience want
to find out who was there and who is coming back,
they would also want to know why they are coming
back and why it is so important. This attracts them
and would draw them in to seeing the film.
5. Justification of our choice
When analysing the focus group together, we saw that the majority of the target
audience wanted to see “He is what he eats” as the tagline for our slasher film. This is
because it relates to the genre of the film and connects with the narrative that is being
portrayed. In the film, the killer proceeds to eat his victims, and so essentially, he is
what he eats. This play on words is a form of dark comedy, which arguably adds to the
intrigue, further attracting the target audience to the film.The target audience also
chose this tagline as they said that is was an appropriate size and length in
comparison to the other options. The shorter the tagline is, the easier it is to read and
so can create more suspense and mystery for the audience. Having a shorter tagline
also makes it more memorable for the target audience, this will allow them to create an
impression of the film in their head, persuading them to watch it.
6. Justification of our choice 2
When looking at popular slasher films, it is seen that the taglines are all short but
are very powerful and relate to the narrative of the film. We took inspiration from
the very popular slasher film ‘Halloween’, who had the tagline “The night he came
home”. This is very effective as it relates as previously said to the narrative and so
effectively draws the target audience in. The audience wants to know ho came
home and what they did, and so will see the film. By choosing “He is what he
eats”, the audience would be inclined to watch our slasher film to find out what
happens through the narrative and why.
8. How the tagline is effective in the Hush Poster
This is an effective example of the use of a tagline within a poster. It allows the audience to draw from this
that the main character is deaf and she is unaware of her surroundings. This is effectively used in this
context as the images used relate to the narrative of the film and this initial interpretation. Featuring the
word ‘killer’ is specifically used to attract the audience because it is a dark word that connotes danger and
fear. Having an effective tagline like this allows the audience to get a deeper insight to the film and so will
encourage them to want to see the film. The positioning of the tagline within this poster ensures the
production crew that the target audience will be able to see it. This makes them more likely as previously
said to remember it and create a link between themselves and the film. Due to the tagline being positioned
on Maddie's hair, which is dark, the tagline stand out. This is specifically placed so the audience can not
miss it.
9. How is the use of a tagline effective within the
Hush Official trailer 1 ?
10.
11. Hush Official Trailer 1 - The use of the tagline
At the end of this trailer, the tagline is again used in order to create fear for the
audience and try and draw them in to watch the film. Appearing quickly on short
black cuts, reads “silence...Can Be....Killer”. This is effective as it is part of the
main montage at the end of the trailer, meaning that the audience are most
entertained at this point. If the trailer has a strong interesting montage, the
audience will be more inclined to know about the film, having the tagline
strategically placed here allows them to do so. As previously mentioned, the
tagline heavily relates to the narrative of the film, ensuring that there is a clear link
between different promotional media pieces, for example the teaser poster, the
main film poster and the trailer.
