Research Targets

Excellent effort Bryony - a great start to this year's coursework portfolio! To improve your research further aim to revisit posts and make sure all of the following areas have been addressed: Genre Target Audience Characters Narrative Engimas Titles Camera Composition Sound Mise En Scene Unique Selling Points Pace of editing Make sure you are adding some images in - like in your certificate analysis - to make your blog even more presentable. A really good start - well done!

Planning: Patterns in Narrative

From the trailers I have analysed I can see clear patterns of how much of the narrative is revealed to the audience in effective horror trailers. For most, the trailers show evidence of all but the last stage of Todorov’s theory, revealing enough to entice the audience without giving the whole plot away. Most of the trailers allow the audience to establish the personalities of the characters and the roles they fit into of Propp’s theory. This allows the audience to feel like they know the characters so they feel like they have a personal connection to the film.
The only trailer that doesn’t fit with this general rule is the scream 4 trailer, but being a part of a well-known franchise less of the information is needed to entice the audience in.

Research: Certificates

Most horror films are certificate 15 however some will be 18 or 12 it depends on what is included in the scenes.

 

12 are films suitable from people aged 12 and over, some are 12As allow parents to judge whether a child younger can go see it. A 12 is the lowest certificate that a horror film can be given. When it comes to language the guidelines say the use of words such as F*** can be used but infrequently. Moderate use of words such as b*tch and tw*t.
Nudity and sex scenes should be brief and discrete, verbal sex should be suitable for young teenagers and crude references are disallowed. Violence is allowed detail should be minimal, there should be no emphasis on blood or injuries however brief shots are permitted. Sexual violence can only be implied. 12A is the youngest certificate a horror film can be given an example is 'The Woman in Black'.

 

Certificate 15 can include a lot more then 12 Strong language, violence can be used. Strong references to sex can be used as well as sex can be displayed and nudity is permitted. Brief scenes of sexual violence is allowed as well as discriminatory language or behaviour and drug taking can be displayed. There can be strong threat and menace (as long as it’s not in a sadistic or sexualised way) any images of the strongest gore are not permitted.

 

 If the film is certificated 18 then the content is not suitable for those under 18 and is likely to affect those who are of age. The content of 18 is not restricted in most ways the only restriction is promoting the misuse of drugs. All the bellow are allowed; very strong violence, frequent use of strong language and very strong language C***, strong portrayals of sexual behaviour, strong scene of sexual violence, strong horror, strong blood and gore and discriminative language and behaviour.



We are going to certificate our film 15, so that it restricts younger viewers and we can include strong language, violence, as well as strong threat and menace.

Research: Horror Sub-genres

Comedy-Horror

Comedy-Horror films aim to scare the audience, but also provide comical outlets that let the audience laugh at their fear. These films are more the thrillers that build up the tension until a realise that makes the audience jump.

Teen-Horror

Revolves completely around a teenager or a group of teenagers. Typically, these movies have a large cast and a clear hero or heroine. Teen-Horror films often play upon traditional teenage issues, such as dating and prom, and turn them into suspenseful and thrilling situations.

Monster-Horror

Centers on a struggle between human beings and a monster or monsters. Often, the monster in the film has been created in an “experiment gone wrong.” The monster usually serves as a villain, and the film portrays a hero or heroine that ultimately saves the world from the monster.

Slasher

Revolves around a psychopathic killer. This killer stalks and murders his victims in extremely violent and memorable ways. Though it centers on a specific killer, the violence is what sets Slasher films apart from other horror films. A Slasher film will devote more screen time to portray murder and mayhem than a traditional Horror film.

Supernatural-Horror

Includes ghosts, demons, or other depictions of supernatural occurrences. Supernatural-Horror films are not limited to specific religious elements and can contain more vivid and gruesome violence. They centre a group of people trying tp figure out what killed their friend or family and trying to defeat it.

Zombie-Horror

Portrays mindless human beings who are raised from the dead. These films often include a Zombie invasion, and center around Zombies feasting on human flesh. The plot of a Zombie film then revolves around the struggle between the living, and the living-dead.

Research: Influences of films

What influences horror films?

In a lot of films influences come from budgets and famous actors. The more famous the actors are the more likely people are to go and see it. However with horror a different rule applies. The scarier and higher the certificate the better the horror film. However, like in action films, graphics and special effects can have a big influence. The more money spent on these the better it is likely to be.
However in some horrors the simpler the better. The continuity of horror films can be ruined if too many effects are put on the film, it could look unrealistic and so it would appear less scary. Continuity and realism are the main influence of horror films, if they are not sustained throughout the film, the tension and horror of the film will be ruined, and the appeal will dwindle.

Horror films are not known for their famous casts, and it is rare you will get Alist actors playing parts in horror films. This plays to our advantage.

As long as we maintain the continuity and realism throughout our trailer, we shouldn't need to use a whole lot of special effect. As our film wont be edited to a professional standard it will be best if we have little to no special effects. Really the only editing we will do is putting the shots together, making them flow, and changing the contrast of the colours of the slip to appear more sinister.

Research: Comedy Magazine cover; The Hangover

Hangover 2 magazine cover analysis

 

The masthead 'entertainment weekly' is big and bold in yellow which connotes happiness and laughter typically associated with comedy as a genre, it also suggests that the film is feel good encouraging audiences to go and see it. This also tells us that the magazine is a weekly release suggesting that it has very current information, this means the magazine is likely to be a lower price them some of its competitors.

The colours of the poster are predominantly light and warm linking with the masthead and the expressions on the faces of the main characters. Their Faisal expressions are commercial and mischievous linking to the genre. The plan green background suggests that the associations that come with the characters are enough to get audiences interested in learning about the film from the magazine. The position of the character on the page suggests that they are all equally as important and come as a trio, this builds interest into their relationships to each other. The audience will therefore search for answers inside the magazine.

The title of the film is presented in a similar manner to how it is on the official merchandise of the film, making it recognisable so the magazine appears more official. The big text underneath this 'bad boys' suggests the article is more a character profile than a feature on the films story line, the white stands out clearly against the background. However the text bellow reveals scenes and features that occur in the film. The phrase 'bad boys' attracts attention, sourcing from the cliche 'everyone loves a bad boy' attracting a female audience. The other text on the page is Brocken up by differences in text colour making the text on the page assess able and easy to read, therefore audiences are more likely to read it. Information on the magazine cover is unusually more verbal then visual when it comes to advertising the film, suggesting the strength of the characters allure is very strong.