Preliminary Focus Group

I interviewed a group of people who are the target audience for my product (horror films) before i began constructing my own to find out the key things are they enjoy, so i can then get feedback before i start my construction.

The question i am going to ask my focus group are

What did you like about the clips?

What didnt you like about the clips?
Would the clips make you want to watch the film?

The First trailer i showed my focus group was paranormal activity i interviewed 3 people here is their answers to my questions.

Respondant 1:
1) What did you like about the clips? I liked the hand held camera used in paranormal activity, made me on edge as you didnt no what to expect.
2) What didnt you like? I didnt really understand the story line of paranormal activty there was to much going on in a short space of time, it just wasnt clear.
3)Would the clips make you want to watch the film?
 yes

Respondant 2:
1) What did you like about the clips? good use of sound, it fitted in really well, good use of younger characters as they are seen as innocent, good use of blackouts make you on edge and nervous. 2) What didnt you like?. It is a bit to short, dont really understand whats happening
3)Would the clips make you want to watch the film? no

Respondant 3:
1) What did you like about the clips? I liked the build up of suspence with the music and the chanting from the girls, i really like the dramatic fade to blacks, i also like the use of low key lighting2) What didnt you like?.i dont like the characters they are too young, they almost distract me
3)Would the clips make you want to watch the film? yes
 
The Second trailer i showed my focus group was paranormal activity i interviewed 3 people here is their answers to my questions.


Respondant 1:
1) What did you like about the clips? i liked the sound affects in orphan they were really effective and made me jump.
2) What didnt you like?  The start of the trailer is a bit slow in getting into the actual story line and scary bit.
3) Would the clips make you want to watch the film? yes

Respondant 2:

1) What did you like about the clips? i like the build up of fast paced editing and then the fast cross cutting its really effective with the fast paced music2) What didnt you like? I dont like the long introduction as i dont really understand whats happening
3) Would the clips make you want to watch the film? Yes

Respondant 3
1) What did you like about the clips? I like the look of the story line it looks different and really intresting the music fit in really well with the speed of the editing i like the dialogue as it explains more about the story and breaks it up a little.2) What didnt you like? It was quite long i think id of prefered to have seen more at the cinemarather most of it in the trailer
3) Would the clips make you want to watch the film? yes

Audience research survey

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Drag me to hell magazine front cover analysis

Layout

The route of the eye shows what the audience see first when they look at the poster, The first thing to meet the eye is the woman the route of the eye runs through her face which is important because its distressed so the audience know she is the main character. The route of the eye then runs through her body where you see the monster hands this also is important as it tells the audience more about the film. Finally the route of the eye runs through the masthead which is located near the bottom having it at the bottom means its more memorable if it conforms with the route of the eye. The principle of thirds also focus on the woman this is because she is the main character and the poster makes this obvious by making her stand out. The hot spots focus on the monster hands this is because these are clearly significant in making the woman distressed.

Image:

The main image is of the woman this overlaps another image of the location which is the house. The flames over lap both pictures this is significant as it means that its dominant and important if it overlaps two pictures.

Colours: The poster uses colour which is not common but they have fogged it over in a grey colour which does conform to conforming to the conventions of a genetic film poster. The flames are in bright orange and red to make the poster stand out they are at the bottom as well which means they are more memorable which is helped by the bright colour, the colour shows dominance which is realistic to fire. The fonts are in white to make them noticeable and eye catching against the busy background.

Font:

There is a lot of writing on this film poster which doesn't conform to the conventions of a genetic film poster making it unusual and unique. The pug is in a small serif font making it hard to read. The masthead font is in bold San serif making it readable and stand out it is also distressed which relates well with the surrounding flames, and helps the audience relate. The credits are at the bottom which is the convention of a genetic film poster and 'coming soon' is bolder to make it eye catching so the audience is excited and know it is coming soon.

Sorority row poster analysis

Layout

The route of the eye shows what the audience see first when they look at the poster, The first thing to meet the eye is the house this is important as it is the main location of the film, its also covered in flames which suggests its not a happy film. The line then goes threw the centre focusing on the girls this focuses on friendship as they are lying together. In the centre of the principle of thirds you can see all the girls faces this is important as they are the main character and the memorable part of the poster. Also in the centre principle of thirds at the bottom are the credits but central in bold is 'coming soon' this is highlighted as its also important as it will get the audience excited. The Masthead dominates the poster.

Image:

The main image is of the girls on top of each other this shows they are important and must be the main character as this image is the background image of the poster. The poster image is important as its the audiences first introduction to the characters.

Colours:

The fact they are in black and white are important because black represents death and white represents innocence. The only other colour is the orange flames which connotes danger this makes the location stand out as its luminated by orange.  The Masthead dominates the poster, because the white writing contrasts the black background and is underlined by red to highlight it even more and red connotes blood which connotes my horror genre.

Font:

The font on this film poster is quite basic the mast head has a part distorted font with some of the letters being bigger and bolder so it stands out they also use the same 'o' as in the image of the house window this means it must be of some importance if they have highlighted it. The pug is in sans serif font to emphasis everything else on the poster and also to simplify the words as the words aren't meant to have a nice meaning.

Creep Poster analysis

Layout

This poster is very cleverly laid out its landscape which is quite rare for film posters making it eye catching but its also laid out in the theme of an underground with it being in black and charcoal colours representing a realistic underground tube. The route of the eye shows what the audience see first when they look at the poster, The first thing to meet the eye is the train this is central to the poster and covers all of the hot spots this means its important but in positioning it centre makes it eye catching. The poster is quite plain with nothing at the top only central and the bottom the basic layout makes it very dramatic though. The pug/quote dominates the poster with it being in the centre of the principle of thirds, this is because it gives a good description of the film.

Image:
The main image is of the underground tube train this helps the audience understand what the film is about, the bloody hand is also centre and stands out as its on the glowing white glass panel blood connotes death which connotes horror this relates to my target audience.

Colours:

The white train contrasts the black background and the red headlines make it realistic and look like a train, the red lights are cleverly placed as they separate the pug/quote words to make them stand out and more dramatic. The red hand stands out as its one of the few things that is in colour this makes it eye catching and will leave the audience in suspense. The whole poster is dark this fits in well with the horror theme.

Font:

The font on this film poster is quite basic the mast head stands out as its in bold and is in white the font is distressed looking to create the same feeling through to the audience, they are able to link the font with the emotions of the characters. The pug/quote is in basic sans serif writing this is because the poster is pretty basic but it makes it more dramatic and more readable. The credits conform to the conventions of a genetic film poster in italics and hard to read and also along the bottom.

Drag me to hell analysis

Drag me to hell, was released in 2009 and is about a young loan officer who evicts an old woman out of her house she then becomes a victim of a supernatural curse. The fact that the main character has a regular job is significant as more people can relate to her. The four technical areas are also key in fulfilling the horror genre.

Camerawork

The trailer opens with an establishing shot this is to show the location of the scene, the shot is of a busy American subway which shows the audience its in a city this makes the location relatable. Through out the trailer we constantly see over the shoulder shots of the main woman and her boss this shows her vulnerability as she is constantly having to be reassured, and the shot makes her look weak compared to her boss this fits in with my horror genre as the victim is always vulnerable.
 whip pan signifies things are out of control.

Mise En Scene

Is used well in this trailer as it distinguishes the characters for example the evil woman has a white eye which stands out this create an unknown element and fits in with the horror genre, the victim is dressed in office uniform making her 'normal' and easily relatable.

Sound
The music they use towards the end is dramatic which has connotations of demons and devils.
Her accent is sinister signifies something bad is going to happen which you would expect from a horror film.
You can hear her foot print which creates tension and puts her in a vulnerable position, which shows her as the victim.
The dialogue is key as it explains the plot, screams also show the horror element.

Editing
slow paced editing to create tension loads of fade to black contentinonal to horror films end of the trailer fast paced editing to show its dramatic and build up anxiety.

Drag me to hell trailer

Creep trailer

Research into similar products: creep trailer

Creep was released in 2004 is about a woman (Kate) trapped in a London tube station, she is being followed by a potential attacker. The genre is horror/thriller.


Sound
This trailer starts with heavy breathing this instantly gets the audience interested as you cant see who is breathing, and it leaves you asking questions such as why are they breathing heavy? where are they? what are they doing? it also creates a mysterious eerie feel to it. You can also hear some ambient sound of the wind echoing which also creates a spooky edgy feel to it. As the character approaches the top of the stairs the breathing gets deeper and heavier and this creates tension as they edge closer to the stairs. As they reach the top of the stairs a high pitch non-digetic squeak is played this creates even more tension as they have reached the stairs and looking down. The sound fades out as we see the character Kate and bridges with the ambient sound of the wind at the tube station. There are ambient sounds of Kate footsteps as she runs this emphasises how alone and empty the tube station is which makes her vulnerable and creates tension. There is also ambient sound of the train which makes the film realistic as it is based in a tube station. As the editing gets faster paced and the characters are running the non digetic music gets faster and louder creating a sense panic, pressure and tension.


Editing


At the beginning there is a tension building scene and to end that it dissolves to black this creates more tension as its a sense on unknown. There are then constant cuts to black with text explaining whats happening the text is backed on yellow distorted tube map which relates to the whole film as its setting is at a tube station. There is sfx used on the text it has the effect of a train stopping and it sparking on the track as it does stop this keeps interest as makes the audience curious of whats going to happen. There are a lot of cuts this shows the panic Kate is feeling and lets the audience relate to her it also is creating suspense, with little snippets so the audience want to watch the whole film.




Mise en scene

Mise en scene is used fantastically in this trailer creating the horror genre. The lighting of the whole trailer is low key, with constant flashes and light ups with torches this creates an intensity There are shadows created from the low lighting and there is a big dramatic contrast. Lightning from below is also used this makes it more eerie and threatening. The tube is really dark you can only see the outline of Kate this is realistic as the tubes are meant to be closed but it creates tension. The makeup of the bloody hand is effective as it shows danger and that something bad has happened and is going to happen. The props of the shutters creates realism and shows Kate as trapped and vulnerable. The rat crawling on the rail shows how dirty and isolated Kate is as they only come out when their alone. The running water also creates tension and pressure as its a sign of danger as it rises it leaves the audience asking whats happening? Kate wears regular clothing this means the audience can relate to her well and recognise her throughout the trailer.


Camera workThe first shot is a pan this introduces the trailer and shows the audience where the character is, this shot then leads into a point of view shot these are effective as it as if the audience is the character it helps involve them. As the camera continues to move forward in the point of view shot it builds tension for the audience as they near the stairs they wonder whats approaching. When we finally see Kate, there is another fast pan this is to show the new scene. There's then a follow shot when Kate walks along the station this shows that Kate is isolated.