Film poster analysis

This is my analysis of the film poster Friday the 13th i have identified the conventions of posters and horror posters.

Film posters

Film posters are another way of advertising a film, they can be put anywhere including magazines, cinemas and bus shelters. Using a poster allows the makers to advertise the film so it builds up recognition. here are some example film posters.

Horror trailer analysis

I am going to analyse the film trailer for paranormal activity which has been a massive hit and attracted millions of viewers, like my film trailer the whole thing is shot using handhel cameras to add to the sense of realsim, this technique has also been used in films such as cloverfield and blair witch project, these two films are similar because they aim to scare the audience by making the footage seem real and as if it has just been found.



Paranormal activity like blair witch project gained popularity through advertising the film before it came out, paranormal activity did something different though, they made people sign a petition if they wanted the film to be shown in their local area so people got hyped up about the film and started asking questions like "what is it all about?" This increases popularity and makes people curious about the film. This trailer isn't like most trailers, it is a mix of footage from the film and footage of peoples reaction in the cinema audience, before the film came out it was said to be the scariest film ever, by showing footage of people looking scared, jumpy and even distressed it makes people believe that it really will be scary which ultimately wants people to go and see it. They also use quotes from film magazines including ones like "paranormal activity is one of the scariest movies of all time"


After looking at various trailers i have decided that it would be best to create a teaser trailer for my film i think the most the trailer should last is one minute, in that time the viewer will be able to find out some information without ruining the whole story. The definition of a teaser trailer is as follows "a preliminary advertisement in a campaign that attracts attention by making people curious to know what product is being advertised" (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/teaser. This is what my trailer is going to do along with the poster and film magazine front cover.

unedited footage

This is the footage that i have captured for the trailer, i must now begin to edit it. One problem that i have found is that my actors were laughing after each scene had finished and sometimes while it was still going so i am going to have to edit these bits out or it will completely ruin the image of horror and terror which i am trying to show.



After a few attempts at editing the software i have found it difficult to get used to, however, i am going to look at online guides which will guide me through how it works and what each button does, i will show the edited footage later on in the blog. I feel that i have enough time to 'mess around' with the software so i can fully understand how it works. Another alternative would be to use windows movie maker but that program is very basic and i will not be able to get the same finish, Adobe premier pro is much more advanced and has many more features.

Adobe Premiere pro



Windows Movie Maker

Location shots

In the storyboard i decided on some locations that i felt would be the right setting for a horror trailer, after this i went out and looked at various locations to see if they would follow the conventions of horror films which are secluded or enclosed locations. due to the nature of the film it was also important that i found a location that gave the impression of being surrounded by trees, here are the location shots of where i will film my trailer.

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Shot location 1 was taken in a car park in yaverland, i will film the scene where the camera looks into the rear view mirror to see the attacker sitting in the back seat, i decided this was the best place to do it because at night time the car park is empty so it gives the impression there is no one around, this also made sure that there were no members of the public in the shot which would have ruined the effect.

Shot location 2 was were i would shoot the scene where i am running through the forest being chased by the attacker, i chose this place because there is plenty of room to run but when filmed it gives the impression of being surrounded by trees

Shot location 3 is a secluded road i found which is perfect for filming on because it is quiet and therefore there is no traffic to interrupt filming, due to the fact some of the scenes involve using a car finding a quiet road was vital.

Storyboarding

Storyboarding is an important part of the film making process as it allows the maker to plan what they will be filming. A series of images allow the maker to imagine what the captured footage will look like.My storyboard can be seen above and i have included everything that will be in that certain scene including shot size, camera angle and sound effects.

Results of questionnaire

I Produced a questionnaire which was made up of 13 questions which i thought would help me the most to understand how to produce a good film trailer. Above are the results of 5 of the questions which are the most relevant to the project. The questionnaires were given to 20 people of my age. I thought this was important because i have already identified my target audience which is 16-25 year olds.