Evaluation Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main and ancillary texts?

Evaluation Question 2 on Prezi

Evaluation of Planning

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions in the Horror genre?

In our film trailer we have represented the genre using various aspects such as characterisation, themes, settings, iconography, typography and colour and sound. In planning the trailer, we considered how the product would challenge conventions as well as adhering to them.
The trailer's establishing shot is suggestive of the horror genre as it depicts a stark, cold (implied by the adjustments to the hue) environment. The framing of the trees and the imposing building tells the audience from the outset

The characters portrayed in the trailer are stock characters which the audience would recognise and help them to identify the genre of the trailer.

Designing main titles and the film poster

I decided to use this font, Times and Times Again, as it is a serif, commonly associated with horror films and because it has a creepy, distorted feel to it and close kerning between the characters. I think the mix of upper and lowercase letters in the title adds to the dramatic effect created by the contrast of colours in the main title and poster.

I used layer effects in Photoshop to give the poster a grim, grungy look

Editing: Log sheet

Whilst filming, we have also begun the editing process using iMovie but before that we reviewed our footage using a log sheet. As you can see, the log sheet is very helpful in allowing us to organise the clips we will use in our trailer and make decisions regarding what needs to be re-shot due to visual or audio issues. Using the time markers I made on the log sheet (e.g. "00:02 to 00:12") in iMovie also sped up the process of cutting the clips.

Shooting 'VOID'

We have started shooting our trailer in the school's underground void, the setting for the murders of the teenagers. The footage for the montage will appear at the end of the trailer, building momentum and using suspense to engage the audience.
Below is a still example of how we used a canted angle, minimal lighting and an out of focus shot in our filming to create a dramatic effect in a scene in which the killer approaches the viewer/ the camera. Additionally, the slow pace adds to the sense of unease the viewer feels at this point in the trailer.

Digital Marketing

The 'Tweet Your Scream' Twitter campaign was created to promote the film Paranormal Activity which not only engaged the audience with the film but also built up a fanbase for the movie by encouraging the audience to tell others about their experience watching it. This marketing campaign boosted the popularity of the film -which was a low budget and (initially) limited release feature- enormously.

In my own production my group's digital strategy could consist of integrating blogs, a YouTube account and social networking sites like Facebook of Twitter. Further initiatives could be using instant messaging, e.g. using the BlackBerry Messenger service to connect with audiences who want to know about the film's plot and message fans on the release date. Another idea could be linking Twitter accounts or blogs for the characters in the style of the Skins webpage. The digital campaign could function as a network built around a main website (the address of which would be featured on the poster) which integrates the Twitter feed on the character biography page; features clips from the YouTube account on the main page. The purpose of our digital strategy is to explain aspects of the story and characters in greater detail to the audience, making them want to see the film.

We could further interact with the audience using the everyday aspect of the plot and ask Twitter users to post about their worst detentions on the site.

Makeup and Special Effects

In the Film's Cool session last Thursday, we were given a talk about industry practices by Oscar winning makeup artist Christine Blundell and Cliff Wallace who also gave us advice on how to do special effects and make up for a horror movie on a budget. For example, I found out a low cost method of creating fake blood using food colouring and golden syrup. Cliff also advised that for the scene involving the wounded character, we should also use painted tissue pasted on with Copydex to look like skin/flesh cut with a knife.

An example of Christine's work