How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Marketing a film is an important part of the film's release because the success of the film and the amount of interest generated for it is partly determined by how the distributors advertise it. Each film has its own unique distribution plan and some of the main decisions in this are when and how to market and release a film in order to improve its chances of success. To do this the distributors must have a clear understanding of their target audience, what other films are being marketed at the same time and whether they will be a threat to the realease of their own film and what their film's unique selling point will be. The obvious ways in which films are advertised, and the products we have created, are posters and trailers however, companies also use a number of other methods to create interest around their new film. These include online and mobile advertising e.g official websites which can be accessed at any time and help to build interest for a film from a very early date as they often release exclusive teaser images and sneak peaks from the film, publicity interviews with the stars of the film, advance screenings which can help to genereate word of mouth before the main release of the film, merchandising and the film's premiere which creates a 'buzz' around the film on its official release.

To accompany our teaser trailer I produced a film poster and a film magazine cover which would be used in the film's marketing plan. I believe that my teaser trailer and ancillary texts work well together. The poster has more reference to the trailer than the magazine cover but this is because in the media industry the distributor of the film doesn't  have control over what is put in magazines as that would be up to the magazine company and their editors. However, promotional posters are controlled by the distributor and are a very important component in the marketing campaign of a film. This is because they are displayed in various places in order to appeal to the film's target audience for example, in bus shelters and on billboards. A film poster will also be displayed inside and outside a cinema just before and during the film's theatrical run. However, there can sometimes be a dozen or more different posters displayed in a cinema at any one time and so the distributors of each film have to work hard to make theirs effective and to make it stand out and appeal to audiences. Posters usually feature one main image that shows the stars of the film, indicators to the genre of the film, the names of the main stars, production values (director etc.) and a tagline to generate interest.

- The main image on my poster is an extreme close-up on the eyes of the monster/villian which links to the various close-ups and extreme close-ups that were used on her in the teaser trailer. The emphasis and attention given to this character allows the audience to understand that she plays a significant role in the film. The images in her eyes are stills taken from the trailer and show victims of the film. They look like reflections and so it appears that she is looking at them and so could suggest that she is an evil character. Therefore, the image links to the trailer and gives narrative clues to the audience.

- The colour scheme of the poster is similar to that of the trailer. It is dark and the browny/orangey colours looks like the face has been lit by candlelight. The dark colours are a typical horror convention and so give away the genre of the film. Also it again suggests that the character we can see is evil even though a young innocent child in normal light would suggest otherwise.

- The tagline 'Now she's home to celebrate' links to one of the intertitles used in the trailer '... now someone's back to celebrate'. We used these because 'celebrate' links to the title 'Happy Birthday'. The rest of the poster and the trailer anchor these because without the dark images and other typical horror conventions these statements would not seem sinister. The genre allows us to understand that there is an element of irony in the word 'celebrate' and makes things seem more tense and scary.

- The magazine cover agains shows a picture of the villian/monster and so again she can be identified as an important role in the film. The innocence of a young girl holding a teddy bear is contradicted through the dark and shadowy colour scheme. The character is looking straight at the camera and so draws the audience in by making eye contact.

When creating my ancillary products I took the conventions from existing posters and magazine covers into consideration so that I was able to create something that looked professional.
On my poster I took inspiration and formulated ideas from the posters I researched. I used an extreme close-up of a facial feature as my main image, like the 'Prom Night' poster. I also added extra images in to this image to shock and create interest in the audience. I added images of victims into the eyes of the girl which is similar to the idea used on the 'One Missed Call' poster. I included a main image, the title of the film, the main actors names, a tagline, a release date, a website and a billing block on my poster which are all things that can be found on professional posters.
On my magazine I used a mid close-up shot of our villian. I made the title of the film the main headline and placed this in a large font so that it stood out and it is obvious that it is the main article and selling point of this issue of the magazine. I also made up some smaller articles that I placed at the side of the cover. I included a barcode to make the product look more realistic.

what the trailer and poster say about the film
what real distributors do (booklet)

Existing Film Magazine Covers

In three of these magazine covers the image is a close up of one of the main characters from the film featured. The film is the main headline on the magazine and can be identified through a title in a large and bold font. All of the characters are looking directly at us and so we are drawn in and feel compelled to look at the magazine. Usually the colour scheme of the writing fits in with the dominant colour of the image as this creates compositional harmony and a pleasant product to look at. If a front cover is pleasing to look at then people are more likely to be drawn in by it and as a result are more likely to want to buy it. Along with the main headline there are also smaller articles advertised on the front cover and are presented in a smaller font usually along the sides of the cover. The images and text overlay eachother but designers will have made sure that no mechanical barriers are created so that everything can be seen and read easily. All the covers feature coventions such as a masthead, main image, main headline and a barcode. Some of the covers shown are more mainstream and others feature more independent films. When creating my cover I will have to decide on what sort of magazine I want to create depending on whether I believe our film to be mainstream or niche.

Ancillary Text Experiments

When creating my film poster and magazine cover I had to choose an image that I thought would look effective and dramatic. I decided to use a picture of our villian on both as she is the main focus of the film and is the main basis of the storyline. I also think she is a good character because she uses the idea of binary oppositions as we have created her using icongraphy of innocence by dressing her in a white dress, giving her pigtails in her hair and giving her a teddy bear to carry around. I therefore shot a number of images of her in front of a plain background from different angles and shot distances so that I could choose which ones I thought looked best for the poster and magazine cover. These are the two images I used on my ancillary products.

I created a few different variations of my horror poster. Originally I made a portrait version of it which worked well but I felt that there was too much blank space on it where her forehead was which drew attention away from her eyes. So I then made one using just one eye but I didn't like this as much as the one with two eyes. To overcome the problem of the blank space I decided to use my original poster but turn it landscape so that I could stretch out the image further so that it was more a closeup on her eyes. I liked this final attempt the best so I used this as my final horror poster. Below are my first attempts.

My horror magazine has not had much experimentation done on it but in the first version of it the picture is further up and underneath the title slightly. For the final procuct I moved it down further so that it can be seen clearly. I also reduced the amount of the white gradient at the bottom of the cover in the final version as this looked better and made the image appear darker which links to the horror genre more.

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

We held a small screening and asked a number of people from our target audience to watch the trailer and give us comments on what they thought worked well and what didn't. We collected our feedback in the form of a verbal discussion in which we took notes on what people said. This is similar to how a real distribution company would collect audience feedback as they often hold pre-release test screenings after which they ask the audience members to fill in questionnaires on what they thought. This enables distribution companies to predict how successful the film will be once it is released and whether it appeals to their target audience as well as more widespread audience. We asked our audience to make comments on both the product as a horror text and as a teaser trailer.We decided to give our film a 15 certificate so that we could encorporate interesting scary scenes and a good amount of gore but also so memebers of our target audience could watch it. Our target audience were males and females (however, mainly males) in their middle teens to early twenties.

- One of the main good points of the trailer was said to be the music. It created atmosphere well as it was eerie to begin with and then built up well and was tense throughout. The children singing in Happy Birthday in the background worked well as this was creepy and disturbing. People also liked the sound effects such as the bangs and sound of lighting as they said this also added to the atmosphere and put emphasis on some of the visuals. It was felt that the music and the visuals were editied very well together and worked successfully together in the trailer.

- The mise-en-scene was also commented on. Our viewers felt that we had put a lot of effort into our costumes, lighting and gore. The wounds we created on the actors were said to look effective and realistic and fitted the horror genre well. Our low lighting worked well as it created darkness and shadows and our use of motivated lighting from the candles in the birthday scene was sucessful. Someone also thought that the black and white effect we put on some of the shots was good and they particularly liked the shot of the little girl right at the start because they felt that her candle was symbolic of her power because it was the only thing that lit the scene.

- We used iconography of innocence with our villian. She is a little girl with pigtails who carries a teddy bear round with her. She wears a white dress which connotes innocence and fragiliy. We used the idea of binary oppositions with this character as she looks sweet and harmless but is in fact a demonic child. People said they liked this character because her innocent look made them feel uncomfortable and nervous with the fact that she is actually evil.

- It was felt that the narrative was set up well. The audience were given enough to feel teased but not too much was given away. They liked the use of the idea of 'the return of the repressed' as this fits in with the horror genre. Also the use of a specific date (the birthday) is typical of horror films.The inter-titles helped to establish the story and someone commented that the broken sentence and repitition of a grammatical structure worked well and kept them hooked because they wanted to know what would be said next. They also liked the irony of the word 'celebrate' as they knew that it wasn't really going to be a happy celebration. Instead it would be a horrific sequence of events.

- A small point that someone made was that they liked the website that we put on screen right at the end of the trailer as this made it look more professional.

- The structure of the trailer got mixed opinions. It was felt that it was really good because it started slowly and then built up and got faster. This change of pace kept it interesting and people wanted to see more. However, many people did not like the ending as it slowed down again and they said that this took away the tension and emphasis that we had previously built up. They said that the shot of the dripping blood ruined it abit aswell because it looked too fake compared to how good our other scenes of gore looked.

- One person felt that we had put too much gore in the trailer and that because of this they wouldn't expect there to be much more in the actual film because they will have already seen it all.

- One of the main criticisms of our trailer was that there was no dialogue and as a result the audience felt no connection to any of the characters involved. They felt that they would feel more sympathy with the victims if they could hear some dialogue from them.

From this feedback I have learnt that music and sound are very important factors in a trailer as many of the audience said that it complimented the visuals really well and established a strong scary atmosphere right from the start of the trailer which of course is something that you would want in a teaser trailer because it creates interest. It is definetely worth putting lots of time into making the trailer as the final product will come out looking much more professional. Our wounds took a long time to create but it paid off in the end because many people complimeted them and said they looked realistic and fitted well with the horror genre.

If i made the trailer again I would put dialogue in the trailer as this would make my auidence feel more connected to the characters and so would feel more involved in the trailer. As a result they would be more likely to go and watch the film because they would be more curious and concerned to find out what happens to the characters. I would also make sure that the ending was much more dramatic so that it sticks in peoples minds and makes them excited about seeing the film rather than leaving them with a negative view of it. The end of the trailer is seen last and so would be remembered the easiest by viewers and so we should have created something that would leave a strong and lasting impact on our audience. Perhaps a scene that would really have shocked the auidience or made them jump would have worked well.

Existing Film Posters

By looking at exisiting horror posters I have learnt that there is not a set format for them and that the layout of each is different. The placement of the title and tagline seem dependent on the size and shape of the image whereas, the release date of the film is always at the bottom of the poster.

I looked at the 'Orphan' psoter as this fits in well with the narrative in our film. The poster shows a young girl and we presume she is an evil character because of the tagline and the fact that she does not appear to be a victim like the woman on the 'Prom Night' poster does.

I like the idea on the 'Prom Night' poster of showing an extreme closeup of a specific feature, in this case a screaming mouth. This creates enigmas because we do not know exactly who this person is.

I think the 'One Missed Call' poster is very clever because at first glance it just looks like a face/mask. But on further inspection you realise that the eyes are actually screming mouths. I think when you notice the hidden image it shocks you because you were not expecting to see it there. It also prompts us to think that the person is the villian in the film and the screaming mouths represent his victims.

On both the 'Prom Night' and 'One Missed Call' posters female victims are shown which links to the idea of the final girl which is a typical horror convention.

The posters carry a dark colour scheme and so indicate the horror genre. The idea of faces and people being in the dark creates mystery and suspense.

My Horror Poster and Film Magazine Cover

How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Here is a list of the programmes and equipment I used in this project:

Garageband: We created some of our soundtrack using garageband because we could not find a soundtrack that was suitable for all of our trailer. We wanted a slow paced beginning but a quicker ending so we decided to create the start ourselves. To do this we used the keyboard and the synth pad 'izmir ambience' as this created an eerie and creepy sound that worked well at the beginning of our trailer. We also recorded ourselves singing 'Happy Birthday' and editied it to make it sound like a little girl singing to link to our monster/villian. We placed this quietly under the music which gave it a spooky effect. We also added sound effects such as bangs to create emphasis on certain visuals.

Creative Commons websites: We found the main soundtrack for our trailer on one of these sites and we were able to use it because the sites offer free downloads on royalty free music. We had it playing throughout our whole trailer but only very quietly at the start so that the music we made on Garageband can be heard the best. It gave what we made a good background beat and as the action on screen quickened we changed its volume so that it became louder and out own music stopped. This added to the trailer's build up of suspense.

Final Cut Pro: This is the software we used to edit our trailer. I enjoyed using it because it gave us a lot of freedom to do what we wanted as it contains lots of tools and features to help create a professional looking and effective piece of work. It allowed us to turn some of our clips into black and white, add filters and effects to clips and to speed up or slow down clips.

Photoshop: I created my horror movie poster and magazine cover using Photoshop. By using this I was able to edit my images to give the effect I wanted on my products and I was able to easily add text and any other graphics that I wanted. I also created my horror moodboard on Photoshop because the features on it enabled me to layer images and create an interesting montage that included various images and different ideas.

Blogger: This is a web 2.0 site because the content on it is generated by its users. I have used Blogger to document and record the different stages in this project. Once completed it will show the progression of my work from the early researching period to the planning and creating of the finished horror teaser trailer and ancillary texts. An advantage of using blogger to document my work is that in the research stages I could analyse film trailers and post the link of the video onto the blog so that people could see it for themselves and see where I had taken my points from. Similarly, it was also easier to analyse still images using flickr. In the production and final stages I was also able to upload my own work and write about that and also put our finished trailer on the blog. A possible disadvantage of blogger is that when writing about my work or analysing trailers I could possibly be inclined to go into less depth as I know the reader of my blog can see the trailers etc for themselves and so can see what I am talking about. However, if I were to write an essay I would be required to be much more detailed in order for the reader to be able to visualise what I am talking about. Overall, I enjoyed using blogger and preferred it to using traditional methods as I think it is well suited to this stlye of work. It was also easy and simple and I felt that it made my work much clearer and easier to understand along with making it interesting to look at as well as being informative.

Flickr: Again this is a web 2.0 site. I have used it to upload and analyse still image clips from film trailers. By using Flickr I am able to creative interactive analysis. It makes my work clearer as when the image is viewed the viewer places their mouse over it and a note will pop up explaining what can be seen. This ensures that the viwer knows exactly what part of the image is being referred to.

Still Camera: I used a still camera to take pictures for the poster and magazine cover.

Video camera and tripod: These were used to film the footage for the teaser trailer. Even though the finished trailer is just over a minute long we made sure we filmed more footage thgan we needed so that we had more variation and choice when it came to editing. When filming we shot the same scenes more than once but changed the camera angle, lighting etc each time so that we could pick what we thought looked the best. This meant that once we had filmed everything we didn't have to go back and re-shoot. The tripod meant that our shots were steady and we could create movement in our scenes by using tilts and pans.

Youtube: I used this site a lot when researching horror trailers and teaser trailers. I was able to upload the videos onto my blog so that I could analyse them and recognise conventions of the horror genre that had been used. I also took printscreens from some of the trailers if there was a specific shot that I found useful and interesting and then analysed those on Flickr.

LiveType: We used this programme to create the title in our trailer. This made it look better because we had a large choice of fonts, effects and motion paths and so we could pick ones that suited our trailer the best.

In what ways does your media product, use develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The top nine images are stills from our teaser trailer.  The bottom nine are from real, exisiting trailers.

1. Close-ups of the villian/monster are often used. Children are used in horror films to create a disturbing contrast between their stereotypical innocence and the horrific themes used in the films. It is the idea of binary oppositions that imply their opposites. In the case of some horrors children are sometimes cast in the role of a sweet, cute and vulnerable victim who has done nothing wrong. Or an evil and sinister demonic or possessed chracter who plays the part of a the monster/villian which makes the film extremely unnerving and uncomfortable to watch. It seems as though sometimes it is a case of one extreme to the other.

2. Shots taken from further away can be ambiguous as the viwer is unsure as to whether who we can see is good or bad. In the case of an evil character the idea of appearing and lurking in doorways creates elements of suprise and the unexpected arrival of a character can cause jumps. It also brings the idea of being watched and followed.

3. Close-ups of victims allow us to see their facial expressions whether they be ones of pain and/or fright. Gory wounds can be accentuated by using close-ups aswell which is important as gore is one of the key conventions of horror.

4. When characters are unaware that they are being watched or that there is something behind them and the audience can see something that they cannot it creates suspense. We do not know whether the character will notice or if the monster/villian will do anything and so we are left on the egde of our seats and therefore are hooked to the trailer.

5. Extreme close ups are used. Usually of victims because the closeness of the shot allows the audience to feel a connection to the character and therefore are on their side and feel sympathy for them. They also show emotions such as suprise, shock or terror and they can be used to draw attention to small details e.g. to wounds.

6. Horrors set within a familar environment such as a family home are unnerving as they seem less far-fetched. They are more psychologically worrying as the audience could be able to place themselves in the situation of the characters more easily. These screen shots show staircases which are sometimes used in horrors as pychoanalytically they could lead upwards to attics which hold connotations of madness and being upstairs traps people as they cannot easily escape from the building. They can also lead downwards into cellars and basements which are dark and secluded and so connote terror, death and seem very sinister. Hell is also linked to the idea of going down underground.

7. Scenes of horrific and unpleasant deaths are shown to shock the audience. In trailers it creates interest for the film because the audience are curious to find out who has been killed and how it happened. In these pictures someone has been hung.

8. A typical convention in horror films is low key lighting as this creates areas of darkness in which things can hide and so creates suspense. Candles can be used in scenes as they give off some light but also create lots of shadows.

9. Shadows give a creepy and eerie atmosphere as they can distort and change our perception of something or someone. Sometimes it can be unknown as to who the shadows belong to but most of the time we would guess that they belong to evil characters as they appear unexpectantly and it is unclear where the character actually is. Something unknown is unnerving and creepy.

I have used the following conventions of teaser trailers:

- the teaser is just over 1 minute long

- it does not give a specific date for the release of the film but does give a vague one

- the distribution and production company are given but other details such as the actors names are not

- clues are given to the narrative of the film but at the same time not too much is given away and so curiosity and interest is generated

Happy Birthday teaser trailer finished

Teaser Trailer Story Boards

Horror Mood Board

My horror mood board clearly shows my interest of dark, abandoned woodland locations and perhaps the use of an old creepy house

I would like the idea for the trailer to be set at night time because I think this makes the whole thing seem more sinister and disturbing

I like the idea of gore in horror movies so I have included pictures containing blood and serious wounds

Female victim/heros are shown as these are a typical convention of horror films

I have included some pictures of male villians

I like the idea of children being used in horrors as I think their innocence creates a unnerving contrast to the events that take place in a horror. I feel the use of them is very successful in making the the audience feel uneasy and uncomfortable. I particularly like the idea of a child being the villian

My Horror Film Idea

Over The Edge

*A teenage boy is bullied by a group of people at school

* As revenge he fakes his own death in order to make them feel guilty and regret what they have done to him and what it led him to do

* He plays on their minds by occasionly allowing his bulliers to see glimpses of him. They think that they are being haunted by his ghost

* The ringleader of the group (the final girl) is taking his death the worst because she feels the most responsible. One time when she sees him she attempts to talk to him and pleads with him not to haunt her anymore. He moves towards her and in a panic picks up a chair to defend herself and hits him over the head with it.

* She then of course realises that he wasn't dead at first and has now just murdered him herself

* She now feels even worse than she did before and her guilt drives her mad and tips her over the edge

* She becomes uneasy and is paranoid that her friends know about what she has done and convinces herself that they are conspiring against her and will turn her into the police

* As a result she turns on them herself and kills them off one by one to protect herself and keep her secret hidden

* But of course she had now killed more than one person and is easily found guilty by the police

* She does not go to prison but is instead sent to a mental institution

Mood Board

Questionnaire Results

What is Your Favourite Horror?

Males:
Halloween (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LydgEmQWOp0)
Blair Witch Project (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zfAdZq3Ygg)

Saw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFQebvkii90)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l7WLabRkTs)
Death Racers
Battle Royale
Three males didn't have a favourite

Females:
The Exorcist (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGdbbVcKJlc)
Silent Hill (x2) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5mT5LhbRJw)
Saw (x2) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFQebvkii90)
One Missed Call (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1F7hJNsi5M)
Blair Witch Project (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zfAdZq3Ygg)
Two females didn't have a favourite

When You Think of Horror, What is the First Thing That Comes to Mind?

Males:
Thrill
Blood (x3)
Tension
Death
Jumps
Severed Limbs
Scary (x2)

Females:
Screaming (x2)
Suspense/Fear
Scary
Human Eating Killing Characters
Chainsaw
Blood (x2)
Gore

Explore How The Horror Genre Represents Women

Representations of women in the horror genre differ from the 'classic' approach to women in other film genres and in the media as a whole.

We usually expect to see women objectified in films and this is very often in a way that concentrates on their sexuality and narrowly defined physical beauty. Stereotypically they are emotional, submissive and defined through their relationships with men. Female characters rarely seem to be given a very strong identity and as a result we, as the audience, find it more difficult to identify with them compared to how easily we could identify with a stereotypically strong, dominant and independent male character. Women are weak and presented as damsels in distress who must be saved by a male character both physically and emotionally.

Cinematic techniques are used to show women as objects to be looked at and men as subjects who look at them. This is known as the 'Male Gaze' because the audience are literally put into the eyes of the male characters (usually the main protagonist). Camera shots and movements that help to objectify the women include shots from the males' point-of-view and reaction shots of the male when he looks at a woman. Long shots are used of the women which discourages identification with them as we don't see their facial expressions clearly and therefore we are unable to know their emotions easily. Tilts up the body including fragmentation of certain body parts e.g. the legs concentrate on a woman's physicality and acts as a sexual display for the male's advantage. The 'Male Gaze' is a sadistic and voyeuristic way of denying women their own identity.

According to Jeremy Tunstall (The Media in Britain, 1983) representations of women in the media are emphasised by the women's domestic roles (domestic), their sexuality (sexual), the idea of women as consumers (consumer) and the women's roles in the family (marital).

Many of the dominant ideologies mentioned above are challenged by the female protagonist in the horror genre, which is interesting as this is the only genre in which it is obviously and almost always done. Although the protagonist challenges the above ideas there is no denying that there are still sometimes less important female characters which help to reinforce the stereotypical ideas of women.

Instead of a weak submissive female character the horror genre often provides us with a stronger more independent female protagonist who survives until the end of the film. She is known as the 'Final Girl' and instead of being an object of sexual desire she is often boyish and not obviously beautiful. In 'Halloween' (John Carpenter, 1978) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LydgEmQWOp0) the main protagonist, Laurie, is virginal and this appears to be a possible reason as to why she manages to survive. Her friends Annie and Lynda are both sexuality active and are killed before or after having sex. They are presented as sexual because of this and also through what they are wearing. Annie gets her normal clothes dirty and so spends most of her time on screen wearing just a man's shirt which clearly draws attention to her legs. These two characters therefore reinforce the idea of women as objects.


The idea of the final girl is interesting for a number of reasons. Firstly because her appearance is not the most important thing but also because she is independent and does not need to rely on a male character to help her out or to define her identity, as in other genres. Jeremy Tunstall said that one of the ways in which women are presented in the media is through their family roles (marital). This sometimes appears to be the case in horror films but as the plot progresses we often find that this idea is then challenged. For example, in 'The Shining' (1980) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfout_rgPSA) and 'Eden Lake' (2008) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6j3K4MmOKs) the main female characters are first presented as wives. However, as both the films progress the husbands are separated from the women either physically or mentally and this allows for the women to show their own identities.

The female protagonist is presented as a subject rather than an object and the male gaze is not used on her. Instead we are able to identify with her because close-ups are used on her which allows us to see her emotional reactions and POV shots from her perspective allow us to see things from her eyes and therefore we feel that we are in the situation with her.

The audience identify with her further because as well as being a hero she is a victim. Her victim/hero role allows us to create an emotional attachment to her as her escape from the villain is not easy. For example, in 'Halloween' Laurie discovers her friends are dead and is then pursued by the killer herself and is alone in trying to defeat him. Interestingly, the female is often demonised in her struggle and ends up harming and sometimes killing other characters in order to survive. We see this in 'Eden Lake' when the protagonist kills two of her enemies without really thinking because she had gotten to a point of desperation and her own survival has become the only thing that matters to her. Even though it could be argued that she has become evil herself the audience still feel a connection to her and want her succeed because we have identified with her and feel that we are in her shoes. We have followed her struggle and distress throughout the whole film so understand why she has resorted to extreme measures.

The horror genre represents women in a much less sexist way than other film genres. Even though there are sometimes still female characters that fit in with the stereotypically objectified and helpless representations of women, horror films adopt a strong female protagonist who challenges the 'classic' ideas of women and appears to take on a more typically male role by being independent, intelligent and powerful. She doesn't rely on others to survive and manages to come out on top despite having to fight her way there without any help. As a result of her 'male characteristics' she has her own identity and therefore the audience are able to identify and relate to her.

Distribution and Marketing

Every film has its own unique distribtion plan which is developed in agreement with the producers and/or studio of the film. The main questions considered are when and how to release a film in order to make the most of its chances. Once distributors have considered what a film may earn they prepare a budget to release it. Launching films is expensive and risky and therefore a lot of thought is put into it. In the UK the distributor pays for all of the release costs including marketing and the duplication of prints (35mm and digital). Each film release is individually planned and the final distribution plan is only confirmed once the entire product is available to view.

- Audience
Another main decision the distributors make is what audience they are going to target the film at in order to maximize the films success. A detailed understanding of the target audience can determine how and where a particular film is promoted. However, as well as keeping sight of their core audience the distributors will also attempt to 'break out' by attracting as wide an audience as possible - from niche interest groups to broad mainstream groups of all ages.
Market research will be conducted to gain audience understanding before the film is released. This can often include test screenings followed by a questionnaire so that the distribtor can formulate a more confident idea of the expected audience at the box office.

- Risks and competition concerning release plans
- Competition is a primary consideration as a distributor will have to know what other distributors will be releasing at the same time in order to know whether there will be competition for target audiences and the amount of screens available in the cinemas. Predicted release dates are often changed as distributors fight for position each week.
- Is the film a mass market blockbuster or a specialised film
- Does the film feature any well known actors and/or famous directors or producers
- Are any cast members available for publicity or a premiere
- Is the film being released for a holiday period such as school holidays
- Will the film have any hopes for award nominations
- Is there already a buzz suurounding the film for example, is it based on a book
- Is it a sequal or franchise, if so what will make it able to do as well or better than it's prequel?
- Has the film already been released in other parts of the world and encouraged positive word of mouth
- What certificate has the BBFC classified the film with?

- Types of Release
- a saturation release 'at cinemas everywhere' could mean that a film opens simultaneously in 1000 screens across the country, usually at more than one screen per multiplex. This type of release is often used for large scale sequels and star-led holiday releases in order to accomodate large numbers of people eager to see the film when it first comes out.
- in contrast to this a specialised film may be released in a maximum of 25 screens in selected locations only, usually including London and university towns.
- In rare cases a film might be 'platformed' in only one location such as London before being ditributed elsewhere.

As well as a distribution plan every film also has a detailed marketing plan. The objective of this is to raise awareness and create interest for the film. Audience members must be reached in interesting and compelling ways in order to persuade them that this film will be entertaining and worth watching. There are three areas of marketing which are advertising, publicity and promotion.

- Advertising
- Posters: there can be large numbers of posters displayed in a cinema foyer at any one time and so distributors and designers must work hard to make theirs stand out and attract audiences. Posters are also displayed in places such as bus shelters and billboards. The UK has approximately 250,000 poster sites at the roadside or by railway platforms.
- Trailers: distributors have to work with the audio and visual content they have available to them as this can sometimes be limited due to some trailers (teasers) being made and released before the film is fully completed. Distributors will brief specialist agencies on creating the trailer to include a representative glimpse of the films best bits without giving too much away.
- Online and mobile: the internet is used to release snippets and teaser images from a very early stage. Many films also have their own websites on which things like stills galleries, trailers, blogs and video diaries can be found.

- Publicity
- interviews: with the film's cast including actors and directors
- TV and press releases: publicists will often arrange events to which a large number of journalists are invited to interview the cast and find out more about the film. Press kits are also produced which include cast and crew lists, biographies, facts about the production and a synopsis of the film.
- premieres: these are arranged as an official launch for the film and give an opportunity for photographs and red carpet interviews. The main aim of a premiere is to give a film an entertaining and high-profile launch in order to create a buzz about the film.

-Promotion
- merchandise: manufacturers are licensed to use logos, images and characters on products in a range of all sorts of things such as toys, clothing and calendars. Each film usually also has an official soundtrack available to buy. Most films do not make a profit from their theatrical runs alone so the selling of merchandise is very important.
- competitons: certain TV channels or publications sometimes have competitions in which people can win film merchandise or holidays to the location of the film. This sort of exposure helps to broaden the film's campaign and create additional talking points surrounding the film.

Horror Trailers

Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)



At the beginning beginning of this trailer we could be led to believe that the genre is action because we see a man being persued by people in cars and being trapped inside a building. However, as the trailer progresses we realise that it is in fact advertising a horror film as we soon see a teenage girl explaining to someone about her nightmares. The mise-en-scene suggests horror as a lot of the scenes we see are set at night time - a typical convention of horror films. We only see glimpses of the villian through most of the trailer which creates suspense and only see his face right at the end which is shown to be disfigured and scary. We often see a clawed hand and so presume this belongs to him and that he uses it as a weapon. Other indicators of the horror genre are screams, shadows and the inter-titles are in red and black with a blood splattered background. The red connotes danger, death and panic. The music is eerie because it is of children singing what sounds like a nursery rhyme. The music is contrapuntal and makes us feel un-easy because it contrasts against the scary scenes that we are watching. The song relates to the story of the film as we hear the line 'never sleep again' sung.
The name of the movie is indicated at the end of the trailer. However, we are already given some clues into the name through the shot showing a strret sign of Elm Street and well known scenes for the original version of the film. For example, the children skipping, the hand coming out of the bath water and the girl rising out of her bed into the air.
The production values of the film are made clear because right near the beginning we are told that the studio is New line Cinema and after we see the man being chased we are shown that the producer is Michael Bay who is a well known name.
There is no voice-over in the trailer but dialogue from the film is used to give clues into the story and back up the visuals we see.

Click on the stills to see notes about them:

horror still 1
Originally uploaded by Jasmine Gardiner

freddy
Originally uploaded by Jasmine Gardiner

Hide and Seek



The genre of this trailer is first easily distingushable when we see the shot of the bath with the words 'You let her die' written on the tiles. The writing is in red and so we presume that it is written in blood. The titles at the end are blue, black and white. They also have an eerie lighting effect on them. The colour scheme appears quite spooky and sinister. The horror in this film is psychological and the idea that the young girl has an imaginary friend is suggested in the trailer however, it is not made clear and so therefore the trailer has created an enigma about the film. Alot of spooky scenes are set at night time which is typical of the horror genre. The limited amount of light creates added suspense because we are unaware of what might be hiding in the shadows.
The name of the movie is revealed near the end of the trailer. Links are made to it in the trailer such as when we hear the little girl counting and right at the end when he says 'come out, come out wherever you are'.
We see the 20th Century Fox logo right at the beginning of the trailer so know that the film has been made by a big studio and so probably had a high budget. The names of the two main actors are revealed. Dakota Fanning and Rober DiNiro are both well known names and so the film has recognisable star power. The use of a young star makes the film seem more horrific because of the fact that she appears to be possessed which is a horrible thought as typically a child is supposed to be sweet and innocent.
There is no voice-over and dialogue is used to give away some clues about the narrative. There are two inter-titles right at the end which again give clues into the story and act as a tagline for the movie.

Click on the stills to see notes about them:

hide and seek still 1
Originally uploaded by Jasmine Gardiner

hide an seek still 2
Originally uploaded by Jasmine Gardiner

Teaser Trailers

Here are some teaser trailers. One is for a horror film but the other two are not:

Saw VI


This teaser trailer for the upcoming Saw film follows most of the conventions of a movie trailer. There are inter-titles and a voice-over that give us clues as to what the film is about and we can guess the genre through the use of sound and the visuals. We see and hear people screaming and we see a butcher's knife in the trailer which tells us that it is a horror film. The background of the inter-titles is red which could connote blood and danger. The editing is fast paced which creates suspense. Other indicators of the horror genre are things like the low-key lighting and the darkness and shadows it creates. Also the characters suggest it because they are all scared, trapped and paniced.

Dialogue from the film has been used to create enigmas about the film and leave us wanting more. The voice-over repeats the name of the film twice so that we remember it. Once in the tag line 'If it's Halloween... it must be SAW' and at the end when it says the title on it's own. The tagline refers to the whole series of Saw films as well as just this one which means that is trying to sell itself to existing fans of these films.
However, we don't see any production values in this teaser trailer whereas in full length trailers we usually find out things like the studio, director and actors.

Saw 6 still
Originally uploaded by Jasmine Gardiner

The Dark Knight


This teaser trailer conforms to some but not all of the conventions of a full length trailer.
We get some clues into what the genre is but because the trailer does not actually contain any footage from the film we cannot look at the mise-en-scene and are still unsure. However, the visual we do see shows blue beams of light being shot out and then we see the batman logo which then starts to crumble away and disappear, almost like an explosion. This therefore suggests that the genre of the film is action. The music reinforces this idea because it is fast paced and fits in to what we can see. Throughout the trailer it builds up which creates suspense.
There is no voice-over or inter-titles but we hear dialogue from three different characters which give some clues into the narrative and again into the genre. We hear one character talking about a mob and another talking about people dying so again it suggests action. We don't see the characters and this creates curiosity among the audience because they want to know who these people are and what they look like.
The name of the film is given away at the end of the trailer but most people will already know that it is a Batman film because they will have already recognised the logo. The title of the film does not contain the word 'Batman' because the makers of the film will presume and expect people to be familiar enough with the logo to recognise that it is a Batman film.
The beginning of the trailer tells us that the production company is Warner Brothers and straight afterwards we see the Legendary Pictures name and logo. We know that the film has high production values because of this.

Up


This teaser trailer does not follow many of the conventions of a full length trailer.
We are given some ideas of the genre because as the film is animated we presume it is going to be for children. The use of balloons also connote ideas of playfulness and childhood. However, we are still unsure as to whether it will be a children's adventure or children's comedy etc.
The name of the movie is given at the end of the trailer along with the studio. The film will attact audiences with it's production values because Disney Pixar is a well known and loved studio and has had many hit films in the past.
There is no music or voice-over in the trailer and we only see one character right at the end who says 'afternoon'. The lack of voice-over, dialougue and inter titles means that not much of the story has been given away. The only clues we get into the narrative is that there is a house floating in the air held up by balloons because these are the only things that we see in the trailer.

Applying Propp's Narrative Theories To 'The Shining'

In 1975 Vladimir Propp analysed a number of Russian folk-tales and found that they shared common narrative structures and character roles.

He reduced the range of characters to eight different roles. However, one character can occupy more than one role and one role can be shared by more than one character.
Character roles in 'The Shining':
Hero - Danny/Wendy - they are both victims/heroes and Wendy fits into the idea of the horror genre's 'final girl'
Villian - Jack and/or the hotel - Jack goes mad and tries to harm his family and the hotel is the reason for Jack's madness and has a dark past therefore making it a villian aswell
Donor - Halloran? - he arrives in the snowcat which provides a means of escape for Danny and Wendy at the end
Helper/Magical Agent - Halloran and/or Tony - Halloran tells Danny about the shining and Tony lives inside Danny's mouth and tells him what to do and gives him visions
Princess - Danny/ Wendy - when Danny is the hero Wendy becomes the princess and vice versa
(Her Father) - Jack?? - He is the actual father of Danny but is he the father in the sense of Propp's chacter roles?
Dispatcher - the job, Jack and/or the hotel manager - the job has a bad past attached to it so past events could repeat themselves. Jack takes on the job knowing the risks and it's past. The hotel manager employs Jack recognising the similarities between him and the family that got murdered
False Hero - Jack - at the beginning we think he is the hero but as the film progresses he turns mad and transforms in the villian

Propp also outlined a list of thirty-one narrative functions. These were then put into broader narrative groups that show us their place in the development of the plot. These groups are Preparation, Complication, Transference, Struggle, Return and Recognition
Narractive structure in 'The Shining':
Preparation - The first steps of preparation are followed as the family move home to the hotel and have rules imposed on them: Jack must look after the hotel all through winter and Danny mustn't enter room 237. One of the rules is broken as Danny and Jack enter the forbidden room.
Complication - Wendy desires to take Danny to a doctor and Jack wants to write a book but Jack is unable to write and he won't let Wenday take Danny. There is a stage in this group that says the hero takes action against the villian which Wenday does when she knocks Jack out and locks him in the store room. However, this happens towards the end of the film whereas in Propp's structure it is happening very early on.
Tranference - The hero (Danny) receieves a helper/magical agent (The Shining and/or Halloran) but again this is could be happening in the wrong order as Danny has had the shining all along and the arrival of Halloran in the Snowcat also happens near the end of the film.
Struggle - The heroes and villian join in direct combat: Jack traps Wendy in the bathroom and he chases Danny through the maze. The hero is branded: Wendy is mentally branded as she begins to see strange and horrifying things in the hotel.
Return - The villian is defeated: Jack freezes. There is an implyed return home for Danny and Wendy as we see them escape in the Snowcat. We could say that a false hero made false claims because at first we thought Jack was the hero. But again this is in the wrong place as we thought this right at the start and soon realised he was in fact the villian.
Recognition - It is very difficult to fit any of the bits of the film into the parts of this group. It has been missed out entirely and so we cannot apply this part of Propp's theory to the film.

Analysing 'The Shining' according to Propp's narrative theory can be useful especially when looking at the character roles. By assigning the characters to the roles it helps us to understand their part in the plot and how they are used to help the story progress. It stops us from taking characters and their actions for granted. For example, when I first watched the film I wondered why Halloran was made to come back all the way to the hotel only to get killed more or less straight away. But when I thought about it properly and as him as the donor I remebered that it was him who brought the Snowcat with him that Wendy and Danny escaped in. However, when looking at the narrative structure it became too prescriptive and I found that I was just trying to fit parts of the film into Propp's structure just for the sake of it. I also found that the ones that did fit in were not in the correct order and as a result there tended to be big jumps in the narrative and it didn't make much sense. I think it is clear that 'The Shining' does not fit into Propp's narrative structure naturally and that it is very difficult to make sense of the plot if we do try to fit it in.

The Return Of The Repressed

The return of the repressed is a phrase coined by Sigmund Freud where an unconscious thought or feeling presses to be released. The feeling would become repressed in the first place because it would be unacceptable to release it e.g. jealousy towards a sibling. The feeling would tend to reappear in consciousness or in behaviour.
This relates to horror films because of the way that the villian can often be a character with a terrible past which is what causes them to be monsterous. For example, in The Grudge someone has died in a terrible rage and as a result has come back as the monster.

'The Grudge' trailer

This is a trailer for 'The Grudge'



This trailer follows the key conventions of movie trailers.
- It clearly indicates that it is from the horror genre in a number of ways. Firstly, the colours in it are mainly dark and alot of the scenes shown were from night time . The inter-titles are blue, black and white which create a sinister effect and the transitions to the titles from another clip looked like mist moving across the screen which gave it a very ghostly and eerie feel. The music matches the action and editing going on on the screen and is again very sinister as there are sound effects of wind backing up things happening on screen. In the trailer the music builds up until the end and then abruptly cuts off leaving us wondering what is going to happen. There is also a heartbeat used at the beginning of the trailer which again builds up tension and we hear a person scream.
- The trailer has clear production values as the first thing we see are the production company, 'Colombia Pictures', and the director Sam Raimi. At the end of the trailer we see the title of the film and written above that is Sarah Michelle Gellar. We know that she is the main chracter in the film because of this and that the company want to use her to help sell the film.
- The trailer creates interest for the target audience by showing them glimpses of the monster so that they can see that it is scary. However, it is not shown too much so that when the film is watched properly there will still be elements of curiosity, suspence and suprise.
- There is no voice over in the trailer but instead inter-titles have been used to give away some of the story and to create enigmas for the audience. They tell us that the complication in the plot is the monster who 'never forgives... and it never forgets'. The sentences are fragmented into clauses and clips from the film are shown between each inter-title. We also hear dialogue from Sarah Michelle Gellar who backs up what the titles are telling us.