Research and Planning: September Podcast

Research and Planning: Preferred Audience

Looking at the results I would say the target audience would be both female and male. They would be young people of 17+ and horror should be the genre of the film. A hybrid would be good to take up in production if possible. Horror would be interesting for the audience if it includes a twist, suspension is placed and it gets the viewers feeling scared. These are what they want to see. Plus twisted story lines are what attracts most people according to my questionnaire results.

I think the right audience who will watch the film from the encouragement of the teaser trailer is someone who's C2, D and E in the social economic classes. I suggest this because they're those who will have more spare time to watch films as they are less likely to have high pay hard working jobs. Also horror movies are usually watched for entertainment so students, unemployed people are often watching them meaning young people who are fond of socializing.

Research and Planning: Teaser Trailer Analysis

Saw 7

0:07 a long shot is used to set the scene in a city of tall buildings keeping a calm atmosphere.0:08 it is taken to a black screen representing the horror genre with text saying "the time has come" in capital letters of silver colour attracting the audience to surprise them with fear. 0.10  the city is shown again in a long shot but with people walking, hanging around not expecting anything horrificly huge to happen and the shot is speeded up in a diagonal crab movement to get the audiences attention to something surprisingly spooky and on 0:11 another black screen comes up with text saying "for all to experience" in capital letters of silver colour.

0:13 a busy front of a building is shown in a medium long shot and with a fast crab movement to the right focusing to a freaky window display. 0:15 in a medium close up people are walking past it and 1 man is looking at it with a confused face expression of fear making a turn facing it, then in a close up shot another face expression is shown of shock from a women who's wearing red to represent the color of blood and others are behind her with similar face expressions, then in 0:16 quickly with fade edits another guy in red with people near him has a confused face expression showing he doesn't know what's about to happen. The speed of these shots of people shown builds up the excitement from the fear. A black screen follows with text saying "the las act" in capital letters, silver font informing the audience as it's the last it could be the best of these horror "Saw" plots.

0:17-0:22 fast close up shots are shown of two men in the window display and the passing people watching them in fear. Diegetic sound is used when one man shouts "help us" through the window as he's scared of the situation he's in, close up shot focuses the death trap the 2 men are in, both are frightened which is showed through their face expressions and quick body movement from their frustration of trying to free themselves. Close up is shown of one of their hands aswell to focus on him been chained to a dangerous machine. Camera flash editing with non-diegetic sound effects of it is used to focus the audience to the bizarre situation the 2 men are in of their death trap. Birds eye view is used to notice the many shocked/terrified faces of the people watching. A lot of shot reverse shot is used to build the fear in the audience and tention.

0:23 follows another blackout shot with silver text in capital letters saying "of a legend" intersting the audiece to the suspicion in the horror genre. Then a fade in effect shows a close up of the "Jigsaw" man looking at someone in a scary way. 0:24 a big close up is shown of a small tv playing the video recording of Jigsaw a scary looking doll, this is a typical character of horror. 0:25 it goes back to the people infront the window display of the 2 men in their horrible situation in a medium long shot, next in a medium close up 2 mannequins are displayed with an active saw machine inbetween them making a digetic sound of the screeching machine to make the audience jump, then it leads to a close up shot of the people watching and amongst them 2 women have their hands infront their mouth to show they're horrified which then follows a really quick blackout edit into 0:28 where 1 of the man in the display is struggling in terror to release himself, this is shown through his fast reactions and his red face on a close up shot. Leading on from that some policeman rush past the watchers which at the left bottom corner of the medium close up shot a women is identified who by the face expression is scared with disgust with the hint of her opened mouth. Next the saw machine is in a big close up shot moving towards the audince making screeching diegetic sounds to put the audience in terror aswell as the watchers who are in the background of the shot.

0:29 a back screen with text in capital letters of silver font says "this halloween" with a a spooky khaki green mist around it and a hook linked to a chain shatters glass to bits launching them towards the audience to put them in fear. An edit of 3 different small shots with the tint of blue comes up in 0:32, this creates a spooky effect and builds tention in the audience when one guy screams which is a diegetic sound. 0:34-0:37 an extreme close up shot focuses on a particular part of a machine making turning movements does a fast cut to a swirly red and white target spinning fast to allow the audience think what is happening, nect anothe fast cut is made to a frightened, breathless man locked up in a broken car to let the audience know something scary is about to happen. another fast cut is made to birds eye view to focus on a women and a man who could fall into their death trap, their danlging leg moving shos they're terrified, next on a cose up shot the man lets go and falls down to his terrible death. Black screen follows with silver text in capital letters saying "witness the final cut" and shattered glass flying towards the audience and faded still big close up shot of the saw machine, it leads to a meaning of this being the most horrific of the "Saw"movies.

0:40-0:45 a big close up shows a light turning on to grab the audiences attention to more horrror scenes, the follow up shot is of a strange machine on the ceiling in a close up shot then to a medium shot shows a guy trapped in a cage being pulled away from the screen to show something awfully scary is bound to happen to him. In differnt types of shot that man around his death trap is shown building tention of the audience, big close up is shown of the spikey death trap he could fall in.

0:51-0:53 shows a sharp saw parts flying across the screen above the audience at a cinema room to bring the fear in the adience watching the trailer with the ones in the shot. 0:53 a long shot focusing on a fiery blast coming out of a warehouse to scare the audience. 0:56 a big close up in a high angle shot shows the fear in a women's face from her sweating, screaming and her widely opened eyes as she is about to die from the machine slowly moving towards her face.

1:00 a medium close up shot is shown of a person in a creepy pig face mask. Lighting is on the person in the mask to make the shot look scary when focusing on the creepiness and having no light on both sides of the creepy mask person. 1:04-1:08 a lot of fast cutting is used to show differnt people in their death traps building up the fear in the audience. 1:04 a man strapped to a wall is zoomed into to show that the guy is getting more na d more terrified. 1:14 high angle shot is shown of the powerful, dangerous machine moving towards the victim. 1:15 the women is zoomed into to focus on her getting scared and diegetic sound of her gasping shows it too.

0:07 is where diegetic sound of background music begins to play starting with bell noises, creepy wind noises in 0:11, bells agin at 0:12 and the music building up at 0:15 to emphasise on the death trap situation. 0:17 the music jumps using a non-diegetic sound. 0:18-0:19 diegetic sound of the 2 men groaning and squirming reflects their terrified feeling. 0:21 sharp non-digetic sound effect is put on to build tention in the audience, it sounds like an active saw machine. 0:25-0:26 Jigsaw speaks in a creepy voice, this is a diegetic sound. 0:33-0:43 Jigsaw speaks again in his freaky voice. 0:54-1:11 the "Saw" theme tune is played in th background as a non-diegetic sound building up the tention in the audience throughout the end of the trailer. 1:08 Jigsaw says "game over" which is a diegetic sound meaning the film has with a lot of scary games involved grabbing the attention of the audience.



The Expendables

0:00-0:01 is a big close up of Sylvestor's face showing his roughness indicating he's the leading man, then a straight cut goes into a medium close up of Arnold talking like he's the decision maker. This is a diegetic sound of his voice. Next 5 quick big close up shots introduce "the team of legendary warriers.." as the voice over commentates, this is a non-diegetic sound in 0:04-0:06. This then leads to a big close up of a gun in someone's hand who is shooting away, the gun/bullet noise is a diegetic sound. 0:07 is a long shot of a war going on and the setting exploding, next a straight cut goes into a medium long shot of a plane flying in the darkening sky. The war is represented by the army vehicles and uniform. 0:17 shows a guy leg going down to the ground to kick another guy to get him to fall down, in the background 2 other men are already collapse on the ground. 0:20-0:21 a diegetic sound comes in of a man saying "come on let's see what you got" to mean he is ready to begin a bit of action, in this close up shot shows that the 2 guys are about to start a fight or something similiar related to violence. As it is a 2 shot it's showing an enemy connection between the 2 of them. 0:25 is a birds eye view of one man smacking another man to the ground, this angle is focusing on the action between the 2 men.  0:26 a low angle shot points out that the man lifting the other man is in power. 0:36 is a long shot of the action "warriers" walking in line next to each other towards the screen and dead bodies all over the warehouse showing that they have accomplished their mission. 0:43-0:45 is first a man in his uniform shooting upwards at something off the screen, then follows a medium close up of the top of a tower exploding in the night sky which emphasises on the explosion as it is a birght orange colour.

Research and Planning: Test Poster

This is a film poster for a horror movie

• Background Picture - I selected a picture of woods as that's the main setting for the horror theme of the film and I used it as the whole background so it stands out.
• Main Pictures - Bunch of teenage friends and a couple are amongst them, only victims shown on the poster as it usually is on horror film posters.
• Font & Colour - I chose 2 different shades of green as they con-notate mud and leaves which represent the 'scary' woods setting. The font I chose is 'mechanical fun' because it looks like a horror font.
• Layout -Actor name at the top, film title underneath in large font size, 'coming soon' under that on the right hand side and the pictures at the bottom/center. I have chosen this layout as film posters tend to be like that.
• Editing - I used the 'cartoon' filter, the background has some yellow, orange and green to it so this filter makes it seem like the plot links to the woods and these chartacters. Also I had to use the polygonal lasso tool to cut around the characters and the rotation so the characters fit in well to the poster.

Research and Planning: Pitch

In this presentaion I have done some basic planning for my teaser trailer such as plot ideas with explanations of which films one reflects on. I included my research on the horror and action film genres and inserted typical horror/action locations.

Research and Planning: Regulation

I am deciding to certify my film as a '15' or '18'.

If it is rated '15' then people have to be 15 and over to watch this film as it can produce strong horror threat. There may be frequent use of strong language e.g. ‘fuck’ been used once or twice. There are some sexual activity included and no nudity. Violence will be strong and scenes with blood could show in some detail.


If it is rated '18' then people have to be 18. It is most likely to produce strong horror threat. There may be use of strong language e.g. ‘fuck’ been used frequently. There are some sexual activity included and nudity. Violence will be strong and scenes with blood could show in close up shots with detail.

Research and Planning: Genre Essay



Horror

 In this genre the films are likely to disgust, horrify, scare the target audience and could bring out other emotions similar to these. Some shots in these films can make the viewers jump. The films can be often mixed with the sci-fi, thriller and fantasy genres. Most common characters of horror are the ghosts, monsters, vicious animals, demons, werewolves and vampires. Horror films frequently can deal with an evil force, event, or personage, mainly of supernatural origin into the everyday world. Settings of this genre could be in abandon buildings, haunted mansions, dark alleyways, in “safe” homes. Examples of this genre are ‘Saw’, ‘The Strangers’.

Action

In this genre the films are likely to “wow” the target audience and get them excited as action thrilled physical features, extended fights and frenetic chases could be involved through hero roles of characters. Heroes are usually the main character including the marvel heroes. Character development is recurred from the explosions, fist fights, gunplay and car chases. These films can overlap the thriller and adventure film genres. Specific props/elements of action films are weapons, vehicles mainly sporty/posh cars, fake blood. Settings of this genre are often based in offices, busy streets, secret agent location, and war fields. The plot typically starts with a problem and ends with a solution. Examples of action films are ‘War of the World’, ‘Mission Impossible’, ‘Charlie’s Angles’.

Comedy

In this genre the films emphasize on humor a lot. Happy endings are typically part of the plot. Unlike other genres comedy films pay more attention on the main character as they can take focus on their foolishness, weirdness or dumbness. Plots can be based on social life mainly of love affairs. Settings can be in parks, homes, clubs, and beaches. These can be similar to the romance genre as they can be linked. Usual characters can be bimbos and geeks. Examples of these are 'Knocked Up', 'Bruce Almighty'. These films also can be parody or spoofs of other genre films such as action, horror films. Examples of these are ‘Vampires Suck’, ‘Scary Movie’ series.

                                  
 Drama

In this genre it deals with deep emotions through realistic characters and plot situations. Issues raised could involve alcohol, drugs, races, religion, crime and poverty. The plot of these films can bring up situations happening between the main character, others, society and even natural phenomena. This type of genre can frequently be linked with the action genre. Typical characters can be young boys who are messing up their lives or even older male/females who are depressed from work and family life. Regular settings may be located in countrysides, sea, town halls, hotels. Examples of these films are 'Memento', 'Inglorious Basterds',  'Gladiator', 'Sin City'.

Research and Planning: The Test

This is a test I did in a small group for my advanced portfolio in media studies. We had a choice of doing either journey, chase or interrogation. We decided as a team to video a chase around the college premises based on the horror gene. My role of this group work was the acting part running around pretending to be chased. With the filming and editing we tried our best to make it realistic specially with the sound clips e.g. psycho theme tune. Stephanie and Laura helped with the editing on the I Movie application and Stephanie took the role of recording.

For cinematography we have used birds eye view, high angle shot, medium close up, mid shot and point of view shot. The edits we have used are fade, straight cut, black out and a ripple effect in 1:14 of the video. We have put a sci-fi effect on majority of the trailer and at small parts a x-ray effect to give it that scary look so it reflects the horror genre. Also speed of video is slowed down and speeded up at certain parts to flow with the psycho theme tune. We have done one part at a fast speed and the clip going backwards which helps make it creepy from 1:23 to 1:25.