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Inspirational texts - Magazine Cover

          Magazine Cover          

For the main image on the magazine cover are the main characters that star in the film. Their facial expressions show that they look scared and anxious and they are positioned holding one another’s hand which gives us the impression that they are comforting each other as they are terrified. The movie titled is right in the middle and this is what will get the reader’s attention straight away. Also in a bold font using the colours black, red and white which we can relate back to the film poster, which shows what this movie represents. Other features such as the magazine’s title and sub heading “how a tiny $11,000 movie became a big, scary smash” tells us that this film has become really big at the cinema which will encourage more people to go and see it.

  In this horror magazine front cover we immediately recognise the cover model which is popular mass murderer Jason, from horror film Friday The 13^th. We don’t always recognise Jason from being the killer in the film, but what makes him with the use of costume and props. Here we see that he is wearing his famous white mask and has the terrifying machete which he uses on his victims. When making a villain for a horror film, they would need several things to make up their image and make them memorable to the audience. Also the main headline ‘Friday The 13^th’ is used in a crooked, bold text in a red font which could signify blood or death. On the side we see other images, accompanied by sub headings. The images are mediums shots of characters from other horror films that feature inside the magazine. They look like they have been edited so a shadow effect has been used on their face which could suggest evil or mystery. For the magazines mass head we have the magazines name ‘SCREAM’ which is presented on a wooden sign and looks as it has be painted on but not very neatly. The wooden sign has also got blood splatter on it which is common in horror and adds more of an effect on the magazines overall cover and purpose of it being a horror magazine.

This magazine cover is of popular film magazine 'EMPIRE'

Inspirational texts - Posters

Movie Poster 

In the Paranormal Activity poster, you can see that they have used the main image from a scene in the film that has apparently been taped by the actors who feature in the film. It shows them pointing at something where we can immediately see that there is a figure on the door. This could be used to make audience curious about what it is and tempt them to watch the film to find out what it is all about At the top of the poster they have used a review from someone who has watched the film to assure us that we will be scared from the film by saying “nightmares are guaranteed”.  The whole of this poster is quite dark with a black background which could signify that all horror events occurs at night which related back to the image used where the couple are in their bed. “Don’t see it alone” is seen as a warning but we don’t just see it as part of the film, we see it as the whole experience that it is trying to sell us and are more than likely going to follow what the poster is saying.

For this movie poster of gore film ‘Saw’, the full theme of the poster greyscale. This could be used to make the audience feel uncomfortable as there looks like there is no life what so ever. Also the colours look very hostile and clinical, which can remind you of hospitals or dentists, places which can relate to the audience as they are places that we don’t particular like to visit. Images used in this poster are what seem to be rotten body parts which give off negative connotations of torture and death. This can make the audience seem uneasy but can intrigue them about what the film is all about. Commonly in horror posters, we usually see the villain or the main characters, but on this poster we just see body parts, which make it mysterious as in to whose body parts they are and what has happened to them. Right at the very top of the poster you can see the edge of what appears to be a saw, which instantly relates to the movie title. I think that we as an audience see the word ‘saw’ as dangerous, as even though we use them for DIY and other things. This movie poster has also added a quote from a company which says "SAW WILL MAKE YOUR BLOOD RUN COLD". Taking quotes from what people have said about the movie drives audiences to go and watch it, as if the film has good, positive quotes like SAW has done on their poster, it will tempt their audience to go and watch their film.

This movie poster is for the remake of popular slasher horror "Friday The 13th" where we see the terrifying serial killer 'Jason' return to the big screen to approach his new victims.What I love about this poster is that the main image used is of Jason's trademark mask which audiences will recognise instantly.The way in which the mask is presented, portrays a very grungy and uncomfortable feeling. It kind of sums up all the work that the killer has done over the years and this is the condition that the mask has been left in. The scratches around it show the attempts of the victims trying to fight back but failing which summarises Jason as a very dangerous person which would make audiences feel threatened by this poster. I also like how the lighting is used on the image, being bright on the top of the mask but gradually fading towards the bottom. The eye holes have also been blacked out so that they reveal no recognision of the killer, making him appear more misterious as no one knows his true identity. The colour scheme used in this poster is kept very simple using only white, red and black, which are commonly used in a horror poster as the red signifies danger, blood and warning, the black signifies a very dull and miserable atmosphere with no life. We could say that the colour white could signify some hope of defeating the enemy, but the white that is used on this poster is a very dull, dirty shade which is really off-putting. The text used in the poster is very limited which I like as it does not give much away which drives audiences to find out what Jason will do next and if he will be defeated once and for all. I think that is probably why they haven't put the actual title of the film "Friday The 13th" on as it is a remake and recognised by many people already. I also love the idea that they have only used the release date and I also think it is very clever how their main text area relates to the movie title. As the film is released on Friday 13th, this also adds to the experience of watching the film, it will make audiences feel daring as well.

Inspirational texts - Trailer

Trailer

The trailer starts off as we assume to be a series of home video tapes which have been recorded by normal people. The whole of the trailer continues being filmed using only a hand held camera which appears to be filmed by the actor in this film. With using a hand held camera it makes viewers believe that this isn’t fake and what you see is real as we as an audience use hand held camera to record everyday events such as holidays, parties and days out. This is something I would like to do in my teaser trailer as I like how it feels realistic. The sound in the background is diegetic, and shows that the actor in the film is explaining what is happening and what he is trying to achieve. We can see immediately that this isn’t normal acting which we usually see in films as it doesn’t seem rehearsed and that they are being recorded just being themselves and that they are actually doing this for real. This relates back to the film looking as feeling realistic to the audience as possible which I would like to achieve.

This is the trailer for horror film 'Sorority Row'. I have chosen to look at this trailer because it has some different features which you wouldn't normally approach in one of your classic horrors. This time at the beginning of the trailer, we see that there are young girls having fun, drinking and being care free which you wouldn't normally see and you could assume that this film could be maybe a chick flick or a high school film.  I like how this is set out differently as you wouldn't expect anything majorly bad to happen. I could maybe apply this to my trailer so it can show and express the saying 'expect the unexpected'.

I found this horror trailer on Youtube and thought it looked very professional and impressive. I liked how there are different settings used in the trailer so that viewers don't get bored of the same location. What I liked the most about the trailer is the use of make-up, I thought that the characters looked extremely terrifying and disturbing, but they looked perfect for the trailer's genre. I would like to apply this to my own trailer so that I can achieve my purpose and make my target audience feel uncomfortable and scared of the characters.  I also liked the music which was played in the background at the beginning as I thought it created suspense and I immediately started to feel suspicious and prepared that something bad was going to happen. Again this is similar to what I would like to pursue in my trailer as I think this sounds used in all horrors make a huge impact and can set the audience on edge. 

Using YouTube, I have found horror trailers which I have used to influence ideas for my trailer.

As part of my trailer will include hand held footage which is the videos that are found on the mobile phone, I have looked into the structure of the Blair Witch Project for ideas.

At the very beginning of the trailer, text appears on the screen which gives you the back ground story of the film. This is something I would like to do on my trailer as it gives off a sense of realism and sets the mood and prepare my audience for what's to come.

Another thing I like about this trailer is the use of night mode in which they use in their video recordings. The 'green' colour of the mode is quite a sickly colour which could signify the feeling we get when we are anxious about something, in this case, what is going to happen in the film. This is something that I would like my trailer to achieve as setting my audience on edge from just the trailer would begin their adrenaline rush and interest to come and see my film.

Horror research!

Horror Research

Horror is extremely popular at the cinema and audiences will initially want to get scared. But studies also say that cinema goers watch horrors to not only get scared but get excited as well. Also, they will go and withstand the terror to eventually get a sign of relief once the film is over.  There are several types of horrors that we as an audience enjoy watching such as slashers or gore, but the majority of horror films today are all based on supernatural, e.g. Paranormal Activity, The Last Exorcism and The Devil Inside.   For the storyline of my horror film trailer, I would like to do something similar and base it on a supernatural event.

Proposal and audience

For my brief I have chosen to do a promotion package for a new film. This will include a teaser trailer, a film poster and a magazine cover. The chosen genre for my film is horror as I think this genre is extremely popular, especially for my chosen audience which is aimed at both male and female aged 15-25.

I have chosen this as my target audience as they are young and the majority of them enjoy going to the cinema frequently in their free time. With the use of diversion, the audience can feel emotionally scared for the characters in my trailer and are mentally trying to save them or come up with a scenario which may help them defeat the evil building a relationship with my trailer and try to become involved with the situation that is occuring. When building a personal relationship with my audience from my trailer, it could be discussed with their friends, who would most likely be their age

Going back to my film’s chosen genre, I think that horror is more exciting and appealing the viewers as their main intention to watch a horror film is to be scared, which is what I want to achieve. In order to do so I must make sure that the use of props, makeup, settings and music all fits in with the ‘horror’ theme.

Reflection of AS coursework

For my coursework in AS I had to produce a music magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread. I went for a indie rock theme throughout my magazine and kept by that design throughout my magazine with the use of orginal photographs, colour scheme and fonts. I did come across a few difficulties in the process of designing my music magazines by changing the colour scheme and layout and making sure that the text was all level, but I was finally happy with the end product. I think overall that my magazine looks proffesional and will appeal to my target audience.

I would like to learn more things when using photoshop so that in future tasks I can confidently use it to high standard.