Institution Analysis:

      Institution Analysis: What sort of company would have made your film?  How did you create your own production titles and how did you place them conventionally in your trailer?

Research:

Twisted Pictures:

There are millions of big names within the horror movie industry and many fans who will go out their way to see the latest horror movie. Horror films have become one of the most highest grossing film genres to date. "Twisted Pictures" is the most successful institutions within the horror genre who has grossed more than half a billion dollars from one of the most popular horror movie series "The Saw Series".Twisted Pictures aim towards making horror movie.Twisted Pictures have only been present in the horror industry for the past decade, since around 2003. Other movie companies such as Hammer productions are far more well knwon around the world due to their huge success with dozens of films. This shows that there is a lot of competitions to be the best institution.

20th Century Fox:

The 20th Century Fox film is a very popular and famous institution. It is part of a lot of amazing films, the company was founded in 1935. 20th century fox is a very famous and well known institution and has distributes many successful films, "Star Wars" is one of its most well known Sci-fi trilogies, its considered to be a "space opra" which is names by its fans. The 20th century not only focuses on films it also focuses on TV programmes a well known continuous TV show made in America is "The Simpsons". This is not only famous in America it is also famous in the UK. The 20th century fox tends to focus  on family films as they believe they are more profitable. The 20th century fox does also support horror films but they do not tend to be as successful as the family films. 

Universal Pictures:

Universal Pictures has experimented with Horror Movies also. The famous films they have produced is films such as the American pie series, The fast and furious series and films such as Dawn of the Dead and sequels to the living dead series by Romero. Universal is also a very well known institution which supports many different genres of films, it is very popular and audiences who see films are supported by this are a lot more convinced to see the film.

EA games:

 

EA, is a well known gaming industry and is known for its amazing history in games. The Horror genre is shown through many horror games such as the walking dead and other similar games. 

All of the research above was previously done to find out what the logos were like and how successful they had all been and to see if certain institutes link to certain films. If one of these production companies were to make our film it would be 'twisted pictures' this is because they purely focus on horror films and a lot of horror films have been made by them. Films such as the Saw series which is a very popular and successful series and a lot of fans follow this, this meaning that people who are fans of this series will see that our trailer has been made by them and they would be interested to see how successful this film would be. This meaning our fan base and target audience would increase and make our profits very successful. We decided to create two institutions, these involve, hands on productions and sinister pictures. These both link to our trailer really well. I think that our instituations with we have made are very successful and link to our film and also link to the institution 'twisted pictures' this is because it is a very simple design, very similar to our 'sinister pictures' because of the colouring and the images used. This makes our trailer a very credible trailer and would stand out to a wide audience. 

Use of titles:

How did you use titles and how did they advertise your film in your trailer?

Titles are a very important part of both advertising the film and during the film, this meant a lot of different research had to be done before making a final outcome. We also made two different titles for our trailer before we added them in because we wanted them to be as successful as possible. The most common colours used in the titles for successful horror films are black, white or red font. This meant we had three different colours we could choose from so we stood out to our target audience. The colour red connotes blood, meaning a lot of gore is most likely going to be involved, which when we interviewed our target audience they said this is what stood out to them because they like the 'gore factor'. The colour black connotes death, this means that the target audience in which we are aiming for would not be suitable for the film, but black also adds sophistication. Finally, the colour white connects with our protagonist because it links to her innocents and vulnerability and also links to the colour top she is wearing once she has been attacked. 


Research of titles:

We researched the titles above to see how they stood out and it is clear that the colour red was a very unoriginal idea. We thought that it was better to be slightly unique and do our titles in the colour white. We also believe that the colour white links more to our trailer because throughout the protagonist is in danger and shows her innocence and the colour white links to this well. The capital font used also makes our titles stand out a lot more meaning the audience look at the title before anything else and makes the name stick in their head. Our poster and Magazine front cover are also very dark meaning the colour white really stands out and is very eye catching which makes our products stand out a lot and advertises it well. 

Our titles practised:

 FINAL PRODUCT:

All of our titles were created using 'Adobe Premiere Elements'. We also used the snipping tool to cut down the title and this was very helpful when getting the title into its size. We decided as a group to use capital letters in both of the titles to make it stand out and make the tile look dramatic and dynamic and this will hopefully suggest that the trailer is going to be full of horror and drama. The colours used in both titles are white with black backgrounds, this allows the titles to stand out from the black background. The white colouring also shows innocence which suggests our main character is a young girl who is unaware if the danger she is going to be in. As a group we decided that the second title, the font used was 'Adobe Casion Pro' which made a white outline, this adds a creepy effect, suggesting the middle title has been cut out. We decided it was the best title because it is not as innocent as the first title and it links more to our horror trailer. 

Brand Identity:

        Brand Identity: How have you established a brand identity?

Creating our own trailer, poster and magazine front cover allows us to add our own individual ideas into them and allows us to make our own decisions on how we want our final products to end out. We wanted our brand identity to be very strong, meaning that our products will turn out successful and unique. The main question we were all asking ourselves was 'what would our target audience enjoy and be drawn into?' this allowed us to excel ourselves and stand out to people who enjoy the horror genre. A lot of research was involved when trying to make our poster and magazine front cover but we also added our own ideas to make sure our products were unique and would stand out for being different and exciting. 

Our production titles make our brand identity successful, we created our own individual production title 'Sinister Pictures' this adds a credible effect on our trailer because it makes our trailer look professional and look like it is going to be successful because a unique and sophisticated company has  supported our film and wants to make it work. The triangle used is a very unique image also and it makes our trailer also stand out to our target audience because it is not childish in any way. We also created another production credit called 'Hands on productions' this links more to the horror genre because it has an eerie tone. The idea of 'hands on' also links to our title 'snatched' because it suggests the antagonist is not going to give up and is going to get her. 

When thinking about our brand identity we also had to think about our target audience, it is a well known that horror films are usually aimed at a younger audience because they stand out to a younger age group and allows the film to be a lot more successful the wider the audience is. The typical target audience age is 15+. We did a lot of thinking about what age group we should pick because we also want our trailer to be very successful, we came to the conclusion that the age of 15+ is a very wide audience and is a good age to set. This meant that we were not allowed to include deaths and a lot of swearing. This did limit us slightly because we did have to watch the type of language we used and the make up we created on the character s but it did work successfully. 

The main area where our unique brand would be noticed is in the name of our film 'Snatched'. Our unique title gives the audience an indication of what our film is about but is not clear enough to what is being snatched. The word 'snatched' means something or someone has been quickly seized in a rude or eager way, this would straight away scare our target audience because it is suggesting the person in our film has been snatched in an aggressive and horrid way, meaning that a lot of emotions are already explored before the film has even been released. Our magazine and poster covers were all edited using Photoshop, this was very successful as it made the two pieces a lot darker and eerie, again conforming to the horror genre. Both the magazine and poster make the title a lot clearer because of our original photography. The antagonist in our poster is shown to be grabbing the protagonist and this conforms to the meaning of the lexis 'Snatched' 

Use of camera:

Use of camera:

Long Shot:

This long shot was very successful as it is introducing other characters in the trailers which are not involved in the trailer a lot. It is clear that they are looking for their friend who has been taken. The audience might think that they are also in danger and make them feel on edge, this conforms to the idea of a horror trailer because our aim is to make the audience feel as if they are also involved in trailer. This also helps because the long shot allows the audience to see where the trailer/film is set meaning they might be able to picture themselves being there. The environment also allows the horror trailer to conform and add a eerie effect because it is the woods it is a very mysterious location and really links to our horror trailer. The location especially links to our film as it is easy for the antagonist to hide and grab the protagonist. 

Close up:

We used quite a few close ups in the trailer, especially to show emotion. This close up in-particular is very successful because it is a very personal item and is not something which is dropped only if someone is in trouble, this adds fear to the because it suggests the unknown and why has the phone been dropped, meaning it adds mystery. It is a very private item and the shot shows someone called "Claire" ringing, this adds a sad emotion as is it clear that the phone is the missing girl and someone is trying to look for her. People in the audience, stereotypically mums would feel very sad about this as they might put their children in that position. 

Tracking shot:

We used quite a few tracking shots in our trailer to add excitement, this allows the audience to feel excited but also on edge because it will make them feel like the antagonist is going to catch the protagonist and they want her to get away from something bad that could happen. I think the tracking shots were the most successful parts of the trailer because they add thrill and engage the audience. 

Sound:

How does your use of sound compare with trailers of similar genres?

 Our use of sound in our horror trailer conformed to the horror genre very well, this allows the audience be drawn into the horror trailer and also adds an eerie effect. Our sound involves one of our group members 'Hannah' singing ' Teddy bears picnic ' this is a very well known nursery rhyme which is known by parents and children. Hannah put on a voice which suggested she was a child, this would stand out to the older audience because it would relate to them if they had children and it would make them feel emotional because it could happen to their children. It would also scare a younger audience because it is a very eerie voice and it suggests that the girl is like them and is very innocently walking through the woods and would not expect anything to happen. 

At the beginning of our trailer we have one of the protagonists friends explain what has happened to her friend and how it has affected her. This could subvert the start of a horror film because the film starts emotionally and is not scary. Although this is the case the audience will be drawn into the trailer because they will want to know what happens. The non diegetic sound at the beginning could also trick the audience because they think that they should not be scared and then all of a sudden the protagonist gets taken and this could make the audience jump, this then adheres to the genre of horror. 

 The non-diegetic sound included in our trailer is similar to the horror trailer, "Nightmare on elm street" this has children in the background singing whilst you see clips of children playing games. This has a similar effect to our trailer because it links to the protagonist in our film. The song subtle suggests that the woods is full of evil things and if you go into the woods will you leave again? Our trailer shows the protagonist getting taken and then at the end of the trailer we are shown her in her friends car, this suggests that she does get out which could again confuse the audience. 

Narrative:

·     Narrative: How do you establish the narrative in your trailer and what is established in the other two productions?

     Narrative is the way the different elements in a story are organised to make a meaningful story. Bordwell & Thompson, defined narrative as “a chain of events in a cause-effect relationship occurring in time”. We decided to create a Horror trailer for our A2 coursework. The reason we decided to created a horror trailer is because all of my group, including myself have had experience creating horror themed work. This is because in AS we all based our coursework on the genre horror and this really helped us in our A2 coursework. 

One theorist which really links to our trailer is the theorist which really linked to our trailer was "Vladimir Propp" suggested that characters took on the role of narrative 'spheres of action' or functions. 

1.The hero, usually male, is the agent who restores the narrative equilibrium often by embarking upon a quest (or search).

2. Propp distinguishes between the victim hero, who is the centre of the villain's attentions, and the seeker hero who aids others who are the villains victims. The hero is invariably the texts central character.

3. The villain who usually creates the narrative disruption.

4. The donor gives the hero something, it may be an object, information or advice, which helps in resolution of the narrative.

5. The helper aids the hero in the task of restoring equilibrium.

6. The princess (the victim) is usually the character most threatened by the villain and has to be saved, at the climax, by the hero.

7. The dispatcher sends the hero on her or his task

8. The false hero appears to be good but is revealed, at the narrative's end, to have been bad. Characters can fulfil more than one sphere character type, for example; a princess may also be a helper.

The one that links to our trailer the most is 'the false hero' this links to our trailer because the protagonist (Hannah) comes back to haunt her friend at the end of the trailer this will confuse the audience because they will wonder why she is back to haunt her friend and could suggest that her friend was the one who took the protagonist and murdered her. The reason this links to Propps theory of the false hero is because at the beginning Hannah the Protagonist is a very innocent, vulnerable girl who appears good and then at the end she turns into a bad character who haunts her friend who is shown to be supportive when looking for her in the woods when she goes missing. This conforms to the expectations of a trailer because it leaves the audience questioning why this happened and will encourage them to go and see it. 

        The Enigma Code suggested by Roland Barthes refers to any element of the story that is not fully explained and hence becomes a mystery to the reader. It teases, tantalises and engages the audience through puzzles, cliff hangers and unanswered the questions. This links to our trailer because our trailer consists of lots of unanswered questions which conforms to the expectations of a trailer. This is shown when the protagonist 'Hannah' is 'taken' walking through the woods with her dog and it is very unexpected, this also comes to a surprise for the protagonist as she is not expecting it, this would make the audience feel sorry for the protagonist, this could subvert our idea of a horror themed trailer because the audience are suppose to be terrified not feel emotional. This unanswered question would encourage the audience to want to watch the film once it comes out, this is because they will want to find out why she was taken. Another part of our trailer which made it successful and seem like a trailer was the unknown antagonist. This was successful because the audience will be wondering who the person is and why they want to take Hannah. The antagonist is completely covered up with black clothing and props, the colour black links to bad things and conforms to our stereotypes of an antagonist, it also adds another unanswered question to the trailer, linking it to Barthers Enigma code. 

The theorist Strauss also links a lot to our trailer. He suggests the idea of 'binary opposites'  he suggested this as the world is arranged in terms of oppositional forces and values. He was not so interested with exploring the order in which things happen, but more focused on the arrangement of these oppositional themes in a media text. This links to our trailer because our protagonist is shown to be wearing white meaning she is innocent and vulnerable, whereas the antagonist is wearing black to show he is evil and a bad character. It is also shown when the protagonist hannah is the good, innocent character whereas the antagonist is shown as evil which shows opposites which makes a successful horror trailer. 

Post-production:

Post-production: 

From the audience feedback we gained for our opening 2 minutes in AS i learnt a lot from one moment in - particular. This was the pink bag which was dropped by the protagonist as she was being chased by the antagonist. The reason i believe this is because we made the pink bag a large aspect but we did not act upon this meaning it could have confused the audience. The idea of the bag falling on the floor is quite a big deal and shows how scared the protagonist would have been because a bag is full of personal items and nobody would ever drop something so important suggesting the protagonist was very scared. However it was suggested that we created the build up of the film very successfully by cutting in-between different shots of the victim and the protagonists feet, this allowed the audience to feel scared and on edge. For our editing the review was overall very good, except for one jump cut. It was useful to know that we made a mistake in the opening two minutes as it showed the opening two minutes to look less successful, this allowed me to understand that when filming for my trailer if i did make a mistake then it would look less professional which allowed me to understand that more time put into the trailer makes it more successful. It was suggested in our audience feedback that it would be must more effective if the music was louder and more upbeat on parts where the audience would feel tense, such as the chasing scene. This was very clear once we watched the trailer in front of our peers. To improve on our sound we looked up different sounds and researched how to make the sound louder. We found out how to make certain areas of the clip louder by using the editing tool volume. This was successful as it made our opening two minutes a lot more tense, conforming to the horror genre. The post production process made the whole production a lot more successful and really helped us to create a successful two minutes. 

I have developed these skills at A2 quite easily. For example i realised that leaving things to the last minute makes media studies as a whole very difficult and has allowed me to be aware of the time. For example, in AS we thought that it would only take a day to film our opening two minutes which in reality this was not the case as we looked over the shots we had taken and realised there was room for improvement and we wanted to get the best grade we could. This year we gave ourselves lots of time to film, we started at the beginning of December and it was not due until March, this allowed us to get a lot completed. We also included parts in our trailer which link to the idea of the bag, such as the phone, this is another item which is a big part of someones life and it not a common thing which people drop on the floor without them being in trouble and we made more of a deal of it in our trailer. It was very useful getting feedback on the AS opening two minutes as it made me focus on this in our trailer.