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Self-evaluation
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- 2. IDEAS FOR MYPRODUCTION… Our film is going to include teenagers as this is a relatable age to our target audience. Another film that uses teenagers as the main characters is Carrie, this ensures that my production will be successful and conventional for the horror genre due to previous films success. The use of a normal family home in the film Carrie shows that our production will be successful due to previous use of this location being conventional for the horror film. Other films that use a family home are; MAMA, The Conjuring and Annabelle. This is a conventional setting for horror films as although they don’t look typically scary from the outside, horrifying things always go on inside, suggesting to the target audience that these events could happen to them too. Different lightings could be used to represent the house in different conventional ways, we will use natural day light when the house is first shown but once the trailer progresses low key lighting will be used as this is more conventional for horror films.
- 3. IDEAS FOR MYPRODUCTION… This image from The Conjuring shows one of the younger characters screaming due to her fear of the house being haunted, this tells me that screaming involved as diegetic sound in our production is effective and conventional for the horror genre. Screaming tells the target audience that the character is in danger which connotes negativity and violence, conventional for the horror genre. We will also be using crying in our production, this signifies that character is vulnerable and danger is soon to come. Paranormal Activity is a successful horror film that uses the idea of doors slamming when no one is actually moving them (this is scary and conventional for horror films as it suggests that there’s a ghostly/demonic presence). We have included this feature in our production too as it is a previous successful and conventional scene/sound in horror films, ensuring our product is appealing to the target audience.
- 4. IDEAS FOR MYPRODUCTION… This image of the school location from Carrie tells us that our production will be conventional and successful due to previous success. A school setting is appealing to our target audience as several of them are teenagers, who would then identify with the characters in the film and their social environment. Paranormal activity is a previous successful horror film similar to ours that uses low key lighting and cameras as a prop. Camera’s are conventional for psychological/found footage horror films as it offers a scare factor of previous demonic events that have happened. We are using this feature in our production as our target audience said that they found this appealing. Previous success of this also tells us that we are following the conventions of the horror genre, helping to build up suspense within the trailer. There has been a use of rocking chairs in previous films such as The Conjuring, which was conventional for the horror genre due to its slow rocking movement, especially when no one can be seen sitting on the chair. This tells me that our product will offer scare factor to the target audience.
- 5. IDEAS FOR MYPRODUCTION… Establishing shots are used in several horror films. These two images from the psychological/demonic horror The Devil Inside show a use of establishing shots, which tells me that the use of the camerawork in my production will be conventional for the gene and appealing. Establishing shots enable the audience to see the whole setting of the scene and gather some idea of the significance it has during the trailer. My target audience also said they’d expect to see this shot used in a horror trailer. This image of a close-up from the MAMA trailer tells me that by using this camera shot I am enabling the use of conventions within my product. This camera shot is conventional and appealing to my target audience as it shows the emotion of the character (antagonist = anger and demonic, protagonist = worry and upset) when a close-up is used on a protagonist then this is normally paired with crying or screaming (such as the image from MAMA) conveying that the character is vulnerable and in distress, conventional for a horror film which we will include in our production. High/low angles are shown in several horror films, such as MAMA, which tells me that including them in my production will ensure I have followed conventions of the horror genre. This angles are so effective because they allow the characters to be seen in different ways. We will use a high angle like MAMA does in the image to show the vulnerability of a distressed and panicked character, which is conventional for a horror film due to its high use and appealing to the target audience.
- 6. IDEAS FOR MYPRODUCTION… Dark clothing is often used in horror films to convey death and negativity, often associated with the antagonist. One of these characters is Jason from The Friday The 13th franchise, which makes him look scary and dangerous. This tells me that the use of dark clothing in our production will be conventional and appealing to our target audience. Old wooden furniture such as rocking chairs, fireplaces and mirrors are often used in horror films, this is because it makes the atmosphere scarier and often makes creepy sounds such as creaking and banging. A mirror can be seen in the image from Paranormal Activity 3 which tells me that this is a conventional and appealing feature, ensuring success for my production. A character, such as the antagonist, could also be seen standing in the mirror making the target audience wonder what’s going to happen next. Normal clothing is used for several teenagers in horror films, such as Carrie, as it helps the target audience to relate to the characters they are watching. This tells me that my use of costume will be successful to the target audience and suitable for the horror genre. Blood may also be used when they are in distress.
- 7. SCRIPT… From researchinginto other successful film scripts such as Paranormal Activity and The Conjuring I can see that I have followed the conventions of a horror film trailer script. We have used limited dialogue due to the amount of characters in our production and also due to the fact that we will use sound and camerawork to build up tension instead, which the target audience finds appealing (such as close-ups to show emotion, screaming to stress that a certain character is in danger and fast paced non-diegetic sound which will help build up suspense for the audience and can all be found in various successful horror films such as The Conjuring, MAMA and Carrie.. Similar to other film trailers like The Happening, we have used a smaller amount of scenes, using short takes and different shot types instead, another conventional element. Sound within our script/production will consist of screaming, crying, demonic laughter, clocks ticking, floor boards creaking and doors slamming. There will also be a strong use of non-diegetic sound which builds up as the trailer progresses. These are all conventional sounds to find in horror film trailers, which I have found from previous research (MAMA, Paranormal Activity) ensuring me that my product will follow the conventions of horror and remain appealing to the target audience.
- 8. CASTING… Teenage characterswithin horror films is widely conventional and appealing with the target audience (Carrie). This is because the age of the characters they are watching is similar to themselves, offering the chance for the target audience to relate to them. (this also gives a sense of realism). This is a technique that we have used in our production, with the four main characters being teenagers aged seventeen-eighteen, which allows us to know that we’ve followed the conventions of a horror film and listened to our target audience and made the film appealing to them through the use of our casting. Our antagonist, James, is also a protagonist to start off with which offers a twist to the storyline, this is also reflected in the film Carrie which sees her eventually grasp her supernatural powers and take revenge (several other films see this happen too, such as The Conjuring and the Paranormal Activity franchise). This once again ensures that conventions have been met for a horror based production, enabling success for my product.
- 9. SHOT LIST…. Fromlooking at our shot list it is clear to see that we’ve followed the conventions of previous other horror films such as Carrie and The Devil Inside due to similarities. The opening scene for the trailer of Carrie is an establishing shot of her house, a main location within the film. As it can been seen from my shot list, our group have also decided to use an establishing shot of the films main location which is a house too, this sets the scene and storyline for the target audience whilst also continuing previous conventions within the genre. We have a number of title sequences in our trailer, styled with a black background and white text which is found appealing to the target audience. The Devil Inside uses the same technique as this, with several title sequences breaking up the scenes within the trailer (this is also used in several others such as Carrie and MAMA) this shows me that I am following conventions of horror films, assuring that my product will be professional and suitable for the genre. Fast paced editing has been used at the end of the trailer for Carrie to build up tension for the target audience and a scare factor, this is something that we have decided to include in our production with several short takes, fast paced editing and fade to blacks paired with very loud and dramatic non-diegetic sound. Our production plan Carrie location Our production plan The Devil Inside title scene
- 10. FONTS… When decidingon fonts that would feature within my ancillary products I conducted research into previous successful horror film posters and magazines such as MAMA, The Conjuring and Sinister, to assure that I used a continuation of conventions throughout all of my production pieces whilst also remaining appealing to my target audience. I also want to make sure that my ancillary products are original and eye catching to create interest for my film. Several horror posters and magazines for films such as One Missed Call and MAMA are rather simplistic but also bold with block capitals, which is why I made sure that all of my font options were styled like this too. The bold font style connotes danger and violence which are conventional connotations for the horror genre, due to this atmosphere being portrayed within the trailer too. The colour of the font differs depending on the background used on the poster/magazine, a dark black/brown background often sees white be used as this offers a strong conventional contrast, whereas black or red font would be used on a lighter background. This is something that I have also considered for my ancillary products and an important feature in also appealing to my target audience, ensuring that my ancillary products are effective, conventional and professional. I have chosen to use two different fonts on my ancillary products as there is often this technique featured, for two different headings/titles. Some text such as the style used for Sinister is messy and looks like blood is dripping, just like the second font on my ideas. However, others look bolder and this is why I have decided on two separate fonts, to offer both conventions. I will also be using the font styles that my target audience found the most appealing; Crimes Times and SF Gushing Meadow.
- 11. ANCILLARY PRODUCTS… Fromresearch into horror magazines I can see that my detailed draft does not follow all of the conventions and some further improvements are needed, such as more headlines, images and a better layout (such as route of the eye). However, there are some conventions followed such as the title of the promoted film and the information being placed at the bottom of my magazine cover, which tells me this is appropriate placing. There is also a mixture of font colours and styles which can be seen on Fangoria magazine too. Poster draft Magazine draft Sinister poster Fangoria magazine featuring Insidious Before completing a rough and then detailed draft for my ancillary products I did some genre research to make sure that I was using all of the appropriate conventions for form and genre and include appealing elements to my target audience. There are clear similarities between my poster draft and the poster for Sinister, such as a character from the film featured as the main image covered in blood (the red person on my draft is to suggest that in the final ancillary product they will be covered in blood instead) this tells me that I am following correct conventions that make the target audience interest in the film by suggesting that there is danger and violence amongst the characters, the title of the film also gives off this impression by the font style chosen. There is also text on the top of both posters, which allows the route of the eye layout to be used, highly conventional for form of all posters. I have also included my billing block at the bottom of my poster draft along with the release date as I found that this is conventional for all posters including those of the horror genre. For my final poster production I will probably use a blank background or different location.