The poster will be in colour with a black background and white font. The eyes pictured in the poster will also have the contact lenses in that we have chosen to use as part of our costume for the main character.
After conducting the survey to find out what font to use or our title, the result was that the 'Slammer Tag' font was the most popular. Therefore the logo for our film will be:
The title of our film will be 'The Sight'.We have looked through many fonts to find the right one for the title, this is the list of ones we thought would be suitable:
This is excellent! You are working really hard on this coursework so well done! I know you have also started to storyboard this project. I'd like to see some location shots, caasting shots, props lists, costumes, shooting schedules etc. You need to get filming this asap and over Xmas hols. If you haven't already, and you require it then book your equipment out now as there may not be any otherwise as there are several groups wanting access to cameras etc over the hols!
Mrs A
I have found four trailers that have similar themes to what my group is aiming for:
The four narrative theories are by Propp, Todorov, Levi-Strauss and Barthes.
Propp states there are eight main characters in any media text; The Hero, The Villain, The Helper, The Dispatcher, The Donor, The Princess, The Father, The False Hero. Often one character occupies multiple roles and not all of the later characters appear in all media texts. In our film the characters are as follows; Hero = Sammael, Villain = Lucas (the demon), Helper = Shelton, Dispatcher = Destiny (Sammael was born to do this), Donor = Dwayne & Shelton, Princess = Safer world, our film doesnt really have a father or a false hero.
Todorov states a narrative is driven by equilibrium, disruption, re-equilibrium. In our film the equilibrium is that Sammael is hunting the demons, the disruption is he has just killed an innocent police officer, and the re-equilibrium is that he saves the world and passes on his powers to another.
Levi-Strauss states that all narratives must have binary oppositions or conflicts between two sets of things. For example in ours it could be Good vs Evil, Sammael vs Demons or Alive vs Dead.
Barthes states the enigma code is in most films. The narrative is driven along by enigma then resolution. This is true for our film
Stereotypes are used in media so that people don't have to think about people. If someone has ginger hair, green clothes and drinks a lot and fight a lot people know he is your stereotypical Irishman.
tackie bottoms, caps and bling you think of Chav. Stereotypes just make it easier for us to watch a film and enjoy it knowing whats happening but not having to think about it. For example if you see an Irishman turning down a pint at a bar we would ask the question why isn't he drinking that? and this would lead to confusion which many of todays audience dont like while watching films. The fact is stereotypes no matter what are not real. Noone in the world is all the things that make a stereotype. They may have traits of the stereotype but they don't actually exist.
We have decided to not use stereotypes too much as we are looking to create a more realistic feel to the characters, so they have darkness and light is they are a good character, or they have reasons they are doing something if they are doing anything that is going to harm people that make them do it. This may limite the audience of some of them may not find the film as enjoyable but realistic characters are a trait of British films rather than the Hollywood stereotypes.
The main characters in our film will be:
Sammael: He is an outcast for society and on the run from the police. He is one of the chosen warriors against the souls and has many characteristics of a protagonist i.e. courageous, self sacrificing and intelligent. However, unlike most protagonists due to his past and having suffered from guilt of not being able to save his family he drowns his sorrows in drink, he doesn't care if his actions please anyone or if he hurts the feelings of others and he tries to always stick to himself. This is staying away from stereotypes as it shows that no matter what you do as long as it helps people in one way (killing souls) then you can be seen as a hero by some.
Shelton: He is a man who has been wrongly accused of murdering a whole family. He grew up on the streets with no father and found his family in his crew. He is the youngest of 4 brothers and 3 sisters. He has had a hard childhood being arrested for pickpocketing, grand theft auto and assault. He changed when his mother died and he was the only one in the family not dead or in jail to go to his mothers funeral. He goes after the killer but after putting a gun to the killers head stops as it is 'not what his mother would have wanted'. The killer is murdered the same night and Shelton is arrested due to witnesses seeing him in the area. All this hate has made him hostile and he seems not to like or trust anyone. He seems to be the typical 'Black, Ghetto, Gangster' but really he has a huge heart and only wants to help the people he holds close to him. Again this means he is not the stereotypical gangster on the inside but may seem that way on the outside.
Dwayne: He is your typical cop who breaks the rules to keep everyone else by the rules. He could be classed as the stereotypical 'Dirty Cop'. He hopes to rid the streets of crime and wants to catch some of the most violent and evil criminals around. He is represented to be the bad cop in the good cop/bad cop relationship with his partner (who is killed by Sammael). Once his partner is killed we see he wants revenge and bad. Once he catches Sammael he treats him like the scum of the earth. Once Sammael saves him Dwayne feels like he owes him his life and vows to try and help him find a way to keep everyone safe.
Lucas: He is the stereotypical demon who wants to bring hell on earth and end the world. He wants to destroy humanity.
Our target audience will be white Caucasian males aged from about 18-25 who are middle and working class. Our wider secondary audience will probably be females of the same status. I think this film will appeal to this audience as it can be linked to the fear of invasion and people trying to take over by force. This can be linked to immigrants and terrorism. Also it can be linked to family issues which many people in this age group may have but will be trying to get away from. This may work as a horror film as it addresses both these fears of people in the UK of terrorism and family problems.
Our film will be aimed at aspirers as they will be motivated by the smart ideas and status. It isn't for mainstreamers as the British Film Industry is not as well known as Hollywood. It is not aimed at succeeders as this film doesn't emphasise power or control over the rest of the world. It is not aimed at reformers as this film is not about making the world a better place or trying to save society. Our secondary consumers would be the individuals as it is a unique film unlike any of the others and can not be put into a specific box.
Our film covers Maslow's Hierarchy of needs in a unique way as the main character starts at the bottom of the scale just fulfilling the Physiological stage. However as the film moves on we see him work his way up the hierarchy to reach self-actualization. This is good as it shows people that anyone from the bottom of society is able to achieve self-actualization.
The Classical Narrative System:
1. The narrative is linear and chronological
2. Events are organised around the ideas of cause and effect
3. The action is driven by one central character
4. The narrative has a definite closure
5. The goal in the narrative is clear
6. Narrative is driven by equilibrium, disruption, re-equilibrium
7. Narrative is driven by enigma - resolution pattern
Our narrative structure would follow the typical narrative structure in many ways. The film will not be in chronological order, there will be flash backs in the film to explain the back story. All of the things that happen in the film are going to be organised by the idea of cause and effect, enigma - resolution and equilibrium, disruption, re-equilibrium. The narrative will be driven by one central character (Sammael) and we know what his goal is, to stop the souls from being released into the real world. The film also has a definite closure.
We are creating a teaser trailer for a psychological horror thriller.
In our story our protagonist (Sammael) is able to see into a parallel universe when his eyes are closed. Once in this parallel world he can see into the souls of people who are both dead and alive. The souls of the dead are put to rest but the tarnished souls of anyone, such as murderers are trapped in this parallel world. A living person's soul can be changed through what they do so a murderer would have a tarnished soul where as a doctor would have a clean soul. Whilst in this world the souls are able to affect the real world. They are behind freak accidents and deaths which are unexplained. They can also kill but this leads to their power being drained and if drained too far they are cast to hell.
Sammael is one of the few warriors who are chosen to fight against this evil from birth but he ignored the idea of a parallel world thinking these no more than freakishly real nightmares. He slowly became an insomniac, not sleeping but never growing tired. When his girl friend, sister and brother all died at his 18th birthday party he tried to make sense of this. As he closed his eyes while holding his girl friend in his arms he saw an arm holding onto her. When he opened his eyes to look up he saw nothing. He sought out answers from 'The Hand' an ancient power who his family had talked about for years.
The film would start with Sammael on the run from the police (lead by Inspector Dwayne Jackson) after an accidental killing of his partner who was investigating a burglary. He traipses through bars getting into fights and kicked out of clubs. He is seen by all as a social outcast moving from place to place causing trouble where ever he goes. He is on the hunt of the group of demons who killed his family but his life on the run from the police ends with him getting arrested by Dwayne and sent to jail. Whilst in jail he attempts to save the life of an innocent inmate (Shelton) while struggling to come to grips with the fact he is surrounded by the souls of many murderers and rapists.
The jail is destroyed during a riot and Dwayne helps Sammael escape with Shelton after almost being killed by a demon but Sammael saves him. They all end up on the run. Sammael finds that certain places are hot spots for the other world activity and that a demon is trying to split some of these hot spots to release the souls into the real world. Sammael Dwayne and Shelton go in search of the 'Chest of Luso' which is a legendary set of weapons that can be used against the souls and also holds the 'Blade of Luso' which can cool the hot spots closing them and meaning less activity happens around that area. Sammael and Shelton go on a quest to the 'TS Caverns' and works their way past many obstacles till he gets out with the 'Chest of Luso'. Unfortunately Dwayne is shot whilst saving Sammael and he dies.
Sammael returns to find the hot spot which the demons are trying to open. Sammael finally kills the demons but is also killed by a police officer. His soul is dragged through the hot spot by the demons and he dies. Shelton lowers Sammaels body to the floor and some red mist exits sammael and enters into Shelton. Shelton then runs from the police. The film ends with Shelton and his girlfriend having a baby. Shelton kisses the baby and the smoke enters the baby. We then see the baby open its eyes and he has 'the sight'.
The unique selling point for our film is the fact that it is not just a horror film but it has many sub genres in it and it is also a hybrid with thriller.
Our text will do everthing that a typical horror film would do for the audience in the fact that it will have parts that scare them and it will hopefully make them jump and keep them hooked, however, it will do this in a psychological way aswell as it will have aspects of a psychological thriller in it. It will try and make the audience think about it and try to get them involved in trying to understand what is going on and how our Protagonist will overcome the odds.
The sub genres of horror that are going to be shown in this film are; Gothic (because of the monsters), Fantasy (because it has a paralll universe), Psychological and Thriller.
We hope to bring a lot to the horror genre as we are creating our own monsters that dont exist in any other film so we have a reason fr people to maybe find this film interesting if they are getting bored of the old vampires and wolfman films.
These are some of the results my group gained from our audience questionnaire:
Question: What Sub-Genres of Horror Films Do You Like?
Questionnaire
Age.... Gender.... Parents Socioeconomic Status........ Race..............
Do You Enjoy Watching Horror Films?
Yes
No
If So What Is It You Like About Horror Films?
.............................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................
Have You Seen A Horror Film In The Last 6 Months?
Yes
No
Have You Seen Any British Horror Films? If So What?
Yes
.............................................................................................................
No
What Sub-Genres of Horror Do You Like?
Techno
Slasher
Gothic
Fantasy
Torture Porn
Black Comedy
Cult
Thriller
Psychological
Zombie
Body
What Are The Typical Scenes You Like To See In A Horror Film?
..............................................................................................................
What Key Scene Do You Always Enjoy In A Horror Film?
..............................................................................................................
Do You Watch Horror Films On Your Own Or In Groups?
Own
As A Couple
Group Of 2-5
Group Of 5 +
What Age Rating Would You Say Are You Favourite Horror Films?
12
15
18
This is the questionnaire my group used to gain primary research into our target audience.
The film that we are going to create a promotions package for is going to be a horror film.
The horror genre is popular due to the fact that media critics claim it has
In our teaser trailer we plan to use shadows as our 'monster' and also to create fear and anticipation in the audience, this is a technique used by many films. For example, in '28 Days Later' (2002) Danny Boyle shadows of the infected are used to create anticipation in the audience before the infected are actually seen.
Well done guys! You have done some good research here already. I'd lie to see you conduct some primary research to help you define your target audience clearly and also to help you to clarify your ideas for the tasks. Quantify this information and evaluate your findings in relation to your ideas etc. Use the checklist to ensure you have covered all angles for your research.
Mrs A
The marketing campaign for Danny Boyle's '28 Days Later' (2002) gives a similar brand image that we are trying to promote.
The trailer causes a feel of fear and anticipation as although it draws us in enough to understand what happens but without giving any of the story away. The brand image this trailer is trying to push is that it is dangerous, devastating and infectious this is put across by the way in which each stage of the 'virus' is shown.
We have decided to create a teaser trailer for a British horror film.
Our initial idea is to have a parallel world that only certain people can see, but only when they close their eyes. The parallel world is full of 'monsters' in the form of shadow like creatures that attack and kill their victims. Our protagonist is a young male who as a child discovered he could see a parallel world when he closed his eyes, but didn't realise the power that is had on the real world. However, seeing his sister killed by one of the deamon shadows, he realises that he needs to protect the people close to him.
The institution that our film is going to belong to is the British Film Industry. This is because Hollywood films are usually higher quality and they use a much larger budget. British films also generally have less promotion an distribution. This means they are not as well known as Hollywood films as they dont get the hype a Hollywood film gets before its release. Another reason we will probably be in the British Film Industry is because we will be using a whole British cast and crew to film our teaser trailer and our target audience will be mainly British.
An early example of the teaser trailer was for 'Superman - The Movie' (1978) directed by Richard Donner:
The trailer was made to re-invigorate interest in the film as it was already nearly a year late. This marketing move was successful and the film was a massive success, being nominated for three oscars.
Another example of an early teaser trailer was for 'Batman' (1989) directed by Tim Burton:
The reason Warner Brothers created this teaser trailer was, again, for a specific reason. It was an emergency marketing move that successfully convinced angered comic book fans that the film would stay true to and respect the source material.
After these teaser trailers successfully aided in making the films massive successes, Hollywood started to create teaser trailers for most of their films, releasing the trailers long before the film's were due to be released, sometimes even before the films had finished being made.
A brand is a particular make of a product. There may be many different brands of the same product, for example chips. Branding is more than just advertising, it is about creating an image that the public associate with a particular type of product - an image and a message that will influence them into buying the same product over and over again.
Our group is made up Bethany Eddleston and David Perkins. We have decided to create a promotions package for a film and the first thing we are going to produce is a teaser trailer.
