Gemma Jackson analyzed horror teaser trailers and their codes and conventions to create her own teaser trailer, film poster, and film magazine. She got feedback from her target audience during the process and made adjustments based on their comments. Throughout the project, she used various media technologies like cameras, video editing software, image editing software, and online publishing tools.

1. EvaluationGemma Jackson

2. I analysed 1 trailer and 3 horror teaser trailers to compare and find out what is different between these two types of trailers. I found out that the main purpose of a teaser trailer is to “tease” the audience and to advertise a film that will come out in a couple of months time.I also did this to find out the key codes and conventions of horror teaser trailers.I followed them by making sure that my trailer builds up tension and suspense throughout. Using Codes and Conventions of Real Teaser Trailers

3. Here is how I used some of the codes and conventions in my own product:Length- My trailer is 1min 11secs long, and real trailers are between 50 and 1min 30secs long. Preview shot- This is found on most trailers, therefore I included this at the beginning of my own trailer. Weapon- The antagonist in my trailer uses a weapon which is a knife compared to other horror trailers where the killer also uses weapons. Music- The music that I used builds up tension which is very common with the horror genre. Time of day- my trailer is set at night, and this is an important aspect of real horror trailers. Characters- The protangonists in my trailer are female teenagers, which is the same as most other horror films. The antagonist is a male which is also common in horror films.

4. Location- The location of my trailer is in a house and a graveyard, which is similar to the location of other trailers of this genre. Blood- Blood is used in my trailer and this is similar to other trailers and this is what is expected in a horror trailer.Narrative text- This is common within trailers and this is what I did to give the audience a vague idea of what the film is about. Screaming- At the end of my trailer, the girl screams and this is common convention in horror films.Institution logo- I found out that every trailer shows the logos of the companies that distributed the film. I included this at the beginning as this is where it is usually shown. I chose to use New Line Cinema as it is a well known and established company.

5. Camera angles- From my research, I found out that horror films use a variety of camera angles to provoke fear in the audience and represent the characters how they want them to be portrayed. Here are some examples of the different shots that I used in my trailer that are commonly seen in real trailers:I decided to keep to the main codes and conventions of horror teaser trailers as these are generally successful in persuading people to go and watch the film at the cinema. P.O.V shots:From the killer – These are used to make the audience feel fear for the victimFrom the victim- These are used to place the audience in the film and make them feel vulnerableClose ups- This shot emphasises that there is a dead bodyThis shows the characters emotionLong Shot- This shot that I used establishes the location

6. However I did challenge the codes and conventions by not having much talking or a voiceover in my trailer. I did this as it would build up more tension as the audience would only have a vague idea of what is going on. This is also effective as it is a teaser trailer, therefore it should make the audience feel hooked and want to go and see the film to find out what happens. Challenging the codes and conventions

7. I got inspiration from the girl on the phone in Scream I also got inspiration from this shot in HalloweenInspiration from real trailers

8. I analysed 3 films posters in detail to find out the main codes and conventions of these products so I could include them in my poster. The purpose of a film poster is to advertise the film and to incite awareness that the film is going to be released soon. I decided to use the basic layout of a film poster and use all of the main codes and conventions when making my poster.However one way in which I did challenge the codes and conventions is that I put actors and actresses names on the poster that were not featured in the trailer.Using Codes and Conventions of Real Film Posters

9. Here is how I used some of the main codes and conventions in my own film poster:Title- The title on my poster is in a bold font, under the main image so it is clearly visible.Main Image- The main image is of the antagonist which shows the genre of the film and creates the ideology that I wanted to portray. Tagline- I put the tagline at the top so that it stands out clearly.Billing Block- I placed this at the bottom of the poster as this is a common convention of all film posters.Release date and website- These are also placed at the bottom as this is similar to other film posters.

10. Colours- The colours that I used are black and red which are the main codes and conventions of horror film posters. Actors and Actresses names- I placed these above the title to add credibility to the film and make the audience aware of who stars in the film. My poster: Real poster:

11. I analysed 3 film magazines in detail to find out the main codes and conventions from them From my research, I found out that there was a gap in the market for a film magazine for young people. I used the basic layout of other film magazines to make my own product look more professional and persuade people to buy it. I kept to all of the codes and conventions of film magazines as these are generally successful in convincing people to buy the magazine.Using Codes and Conventions of Real Film Magazines

12. Here is how I used some of the main codes and conventions in my own film magazine:Title- I put the title at the top so that it covers the width of the magazine.Main Picture- The main picture covers the whole magazine and is of the actress from my new film. I also put her name underneath to attract readers if they did not recognise her.Title of my film- This is in bold writing across the picture so that it clearly stands out.Other stories- These are placed around the picture so that the audience can see what other stories are in the magazine.Barcode – This is placed at the bottom, as all magazines have these for when people buy them.

13. Date, price, issue number and website- These are placed under the title as these are what the consumer looks for when buying the magazine. Other films featured in the magazine- I placed these at the top as they are quite important to show what else is in the magazine.My magazine: Real magazine:

14. As well as a teaser trailer, I had to create 2 other products to go with it. These were a film poster and a film magazine.I had to make sure that there was a link between the products so that it they are recognisable.I did this by using the colour black in the narrative texts on the trailer and in the poster as this colour is a convention for horror films and it creates mystery. Although I did not use this on the magazine cover as it is for all different genres of film.Combination of my main product and ancillary texts

15. However I did use the same font and same colour for my trailer, magazine cover and poster.By using the same font for the title, it becomes like a logo for the film and people will easily recognise it.Also, the same actors and actresses that I used in the trailer appeared on both the poster and the magazine and this also establishes a link between all the products. Overall, I think that the combination between all my products is effective as they link them together and therefore will attract my target audience.

16. Throughout the process of making my products, I asked people of my target audience of 15-24 year olds what they think about my products and any improvements that I could of made.I took the comments into account and changed my products where necessary. Before making my products, I gave out a questionnaire to people of my target audience. Here is the questionnaire and what I found out: http://09whhs12e1.blogspot.com/2009/09/questionnaire-results.htmlAudience Feedback

17. Audience Feedback – Teaser TrailerI put the clips for my trailer in order and then showed it to my target audience and asked them what they thought of it. They said that I should switch some of the clips around so that it flowed better.I then showed it to them again and they said that the font was quite plain, therefore I changed the style of the font so that it went with the genre of the film.I showed my finished product to my target audience and here are some of the comments that I received: "I think the music is good and it goes well with the trailer""I like the way that the cuts get shorter towards the end as it builds up tension""The writing of the title font is good as it stands out clearly"

18. When I showed my poster to my target audience, they said that they liked the font. However, they thought that it did not stand out as much and that the picture looked too light. Therefore I altered the picture slightly.After I had completed my poster, I showed it to my target audience again and here I some of the comments that I received: “I like the font of the title as it stands out against the background”"The way that the main picture fades out to black is a good effect”"The way that the poster is laid out looks professional"Audience Feedback – Film Poster

19. Audience Feedback – Magazine coverBefore I started my film magazine, I gave out a questionnaire to find out more about film magazines.Halfway through the development of my magazine, I showed it to it to my target audience and they thought that the title of my film was too similar to the other fonts and they thought that some of the colours blended in too much.After showing the finished product to my target audience, here are some of the comments I received:"I like the font and the colour of the title as it stands out clearly”"The colour scheme is good as it makes it look more appealing”"I would buy this magazine if I saw it in the shops"

20. Throughout my coursework, I have used a variety of different media technologies.Through the whole process of my coursework, I used blogger to put all my work and research on.Research- For all my research, I used Internet Explorer look at real media products to analyse.Filming- For the filming of my teaser trailer, I used the video camera and a tripod to create still frames. However I did encounter a problem with this when I took the camera home once and found out that it had no battery.Media Technologies

21. Location shots- I used a camera for my location shots that I put on the blog.Editing- When editing my teaser trailer, I used Imovie to import and edit the footage. I also used it to add in the music to my trailer and the institution logos.Music- I got the music that I used for my trailer from a copy right free website of the internet.Magazine and Poster:For the magazine and the poster, I used Microsoft Publisher to create them in.I used Adobe Photoshop to manipulate the images on my poster and magazine.I also used Adobe Fireworks to create the font in both of these products.Evaluation- Finally, I used Microsoft PowerPoint to create this presentation for my evaluation.