Problems during filming.

There was a huge problem while first filming our teaser trailer. As we are a small budget company we did not have the right apparatus to make a dull college look like something out of Hollywood, or to make the college look like a conventional high school in an American production. Looking at most British horror films there are not many which are situated in a school or college, and many of them are parodies and spooks of American movies out of Hollywood.

When researching into the British horror movies the best movies which came out of this genre were ‘Sweeny Todd’, ‘Eden Lake’ and ’28 Days later’, these films did not fall into the genre in which we wanted to be part of.

The following films all have big budgets and as they were filmed in Britain, we didn’t want to take away the old and drearily London which British horror films portray London to be. This is why we didn’t want to use the class rooms, which we initially wanted to use as a location, but instead have opted to use a studio and one classroom but we are going to transform it, to make it not look like one.

Sweeny Todd – the way London is conveyed here, makes it look like it is very dull and a scary place to live in. before the era of Sweeny Todd, stories such as Jack the Ripper have kept London alive with a murderess temperament, which is why the British college didn’t work, as it didn’t have the same dull presence, unlike the set of Sweeny Todd.

We also had many problems with making the college look like it was part of a horror film, we could have played on this as we could have made it seem scarier and more thrilling for the audience, as they think that it such a normal situation that they would be more frightened. However this was not the case, as it looked like we were making a spoof film or a comedy film.

Other problems that arose were the noise level in the college while trying to film. We tried our best to use the college atmosphere and incorporate it into our teaser trailer but it just wasn’t working. We tried to increase tension by using hand held shots and steadi cam, but we kept on losing focus. The lights we were using kept on reflecting off the walls and on the windows, which gave it an unprofessional look.

The image to the right shows how modern the setting was, and this wouldn’t of worked as a good trailer, as most modern films people expect a lot of excitement from them and we don’t have the budget for a huge horror film.

We have decided to keep the name of the teaser trailer ‘Satan’s Mistress’, and just shoot something which is quick and effective. We looked at possible ideas, and we came up with the idea of using witch craft and hoo-doo. We thought this could work better, as some people are very superstitious and this could have a good affect on them.

While watching certain witch craft films, your mind over runs you, although you know there is a high chance that it isn’t real, you always have the doubt and the conscious that it could be true.  

Back Stage

Here is Dark Room Productions backstage.

The imagine on the right demonstrates some of the obstacles we had to overcome in terms of the lighting as some of the crew had to go into smaller spaces, in order for the lighting to be effective.

More images coming soon.

Treatment

Satan’s Mistress

The genre we will be part of once the final production is made is Horror; the sub-genre that our teaser trailer will conform to is supernatural. The supernatural genre has an opening slot, with films such as: Final destination, The Omen, The Haunting in Connecticut. The format of the teaser trailer will be a short film which will be 30-59 seconds long, for added impact we will have a range of different shots, which will be quick and short, to dramatise the horror of the trailer.

The content of the film will be about an estranged, divorcee secondary school teacher who has a unity with the devil.  Her dislike for males is evident when scenes of her torturing a young male is predominate throughout the trailer. The constant juxtaposition of good and evil is shown through the use of bibles and symbolic use of Christian elements will be used in the trailer to show her pact with the devil. The contrast of good and evil will also be shown, by using a young boy to connote innocence and the evil of the teacher will be portrayed by her costume and make up, alongside the crucifix’s and the bibles that will be used in a non religious way by the teacher.

We will use a HD camera to film the teaser trailer and also use a Canon E05 450DDigital SLR Camera to take the raw images for our magazine and posters.  We will also use out skills in Photoshop to edit these raw images.

 The intended audience of our teaser trailer will be 16-25 year olds, with the output of horror movies dipping in the 80’s and 90’s the gap for horror movies other that slashers had been left open, which allowed for movies which both sexes will enjoy to be made such as fantasy horrors and supernatural  movies. Therefore the intended audience will be for both male and females.

The idea of making a film which would scare people startled us at the beginning, however the idea of having something which could happen in reality, was the core of our idea. The conclusion we came up with was to have the main set being something which people will feel comfortable in, the idea of the filming being in a school/college was the main focus, as people should feel safe there, and the idea of a demonic teacher in a catholic school was a rationale interpretation.

All of the characters which will be staring in the film will be from our own production team, so there will be no trouble finding actors. The feasibility of the teaser trailer is possible as there are no dramatic stunts which have to be shot and there are no outrageous effects we have to make. The whole teaser trailer should therefore be a success.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Update No. 6

When filming a minor and also because we are using an actor who is under the age of 18 we have to ask for parental consent, so we have sent out a letter to the parents of the actor, to ensure he is able after we have had their agreement.

Satan's Mistress - script

      Although we want to use mainly music to build suspense, we thought that the idea of using a script was a good idea. We used this basic script as a basis for what we want the characters to say; however this script is just a basic outline on what the characters need to do, as there will not be much talking as it is only a teaser trailer. The main point of using a script is so that, the characters as well as the director knows what they are doing

Script for Satan’s Mistress

SCENE 1

                Opening shot is of the young boy being tortured – non-diegetic music and heavily breathing.

 SCENE 2               

                (TEACHER WALKS DOWN THE CORRIDOR-FOLEY SOUNDS OF HER WALKING)

SCENE 3

                Louis: ‘have you seen the new RE teacher yet Soph?’

                Sophie: ‘Nah not yet, why?’

SCENE 4

                Samuel: ‘what do you want from me?’ – followed by him repeatedly screaming for help

SCENE 5

                (THE PUPILS IN THE CLASSROOM ARE TALKING LOUDLY)

                (TEACHER WALKS IN FROM THE CLASSROOM DOOR)

                Ms. Black: ‘sorry I’m late…’ – (AND SLOWLY PULLS BACK THE HOOD OF HER CAPE)

SCENE 6

                BIBLES ARE SLAMED DOWN ON THE TABLE

SCENE 7

                (QUICK CUT TO SAMUEL SCREAMING ON THE CRUCIFIX)

SCENE 8

                (MS.BLACK IS WRITING HER NAME ON THE BOARD AND THERE IS BACKGROUND NOISE OF THE CHILDREN TALKING)

                Ms. Black (screams) ‘SILENCE!!

(Looking at Louis she points at the door)

                Ms. Black: ‘my office NOW’

SCENE 9

                (Louis is walking to Ms Black’s office – Foley sound are being used to create tension)

                Foley sounds

·         chains rattling

·         Screaming ECT…

SCENE 10

                (SAMUEL IS SCREAMING AND THE MS BLACK IS LAUGHING)

SCENE 11

                (LOUIS WALKS INTO HER OFFICE – FOLEY SOUND OF DOOR CREAKING OPEN)

Extreme quick cut to Ms. Black showing her demonic traits.

Update No. 5

          Each of DRP have analysed a magazine,  a poster and a teaser trailer all from the horror genre, this will give us an insight into the conventions that are needed for our media products to be effective and also if we don’t know already, it will give us a greater insight into the horror genre.

Textual Analysis - 3D Teaser Trailer - Bronagh Hunte

Film: Saw 3D

Director:  Kevin Greutert

Producers: Mark Burg

Production Company: Lions Gate

Length: 49 seconds

Release Date: 26^th October 2010

Genre: Horror/Torture

 Actors: Tobin Bell

Origin: Sequel to 6 other Saw films

Synopsis: Saw has become one of the most successful horror franchises in recent years. Revolving around the saga of the Jigsaw Killer John Kramer a mild-mannered toy maker turned vigilante. Jigsaw's motive is to make his victims appreciate the life that they have taken for granted; rather than killing his victims outright, he traps them in situations which he calls "tests" or "games", to test their will to live via physical or psychological torture.

The teaser opens up with a close up of a television set which has nothing on the screen apart from the fuzzy background, this connotes mystery as from the previous saw movies, when the victim was coming around from his conscious state a fuzzy television screen would be shown and then on some occasions it would cut to jigsaw who would then tell them their task they have to carry out in order to stay alive. This shot is used at the beginning as an insight into what the movie is going to entail and the fate of all of the victims involved.

There is a voice over of Jigsaw ‘the game has a new design’ this suggests that he didn’t plan the game as in all of the other Saw movies there has been the same kind of plot, however this connotes that there is someone else behind the killing as ‘new design suggests.  There is a fade into a long shot which introduces the first victim. The man is standing behind a car with a smashed window. You can just about see the man and he looks as if he is controlling something, which suggests that either he has to make a decision based on someone else’s fate or he is in control of his life. The setting for this shot is uncanny. The low key lighting and the green highlight on many of the props such as the car, t juxtaposes the common colours used in the horror genre, with them normally consisting of red. This is almost like the plot of the movie which differs to many horror films where there is normally a killer behind the brutal torture the victims go through; however in Saw the people decide their own fate, which suggests why common features of horror movies are not being used in this one.

From the shot of the man in the car, there is an extremely quick cut; this shot is a close up of the symbolic use of a pig, which is the common feature in the Saw saga. From recent saw films, we understand that Jigsaw has actually passed away, and he needs his associates to help him carry out his plans. This is the reason for using the pig masked character to help him. The idea of using the mask has a slight comparison to other horror movies, just as ‘Friday 13^th’and ‘Halloween’ where the killers are masked; contrary to this the killer is not behind the mask and only bringing them to their fate. 

There is another wipe, which is extremely quick to a woman who is being hung up by her wrists, on a sort of train track. In the background there is an ambulance, the trap the women is in looks inescapable and with a huge spike coming towards her, and with both her legs and arms being tied up there looks as if there is no escape for the women. However the ambulance suggests there is help around the corner, which is not a common convention of a horror movie.  The common convention in this scene however, is the conventional character, who is a pretty blonde woman. The woman is wearing a pink top which follows the convention of her being the ‘typical blonde bimbo’ in the horror film. The use of this character may tie in with the scene as she has no hope of survival, which follows the convention of a horror movie, as the stereotypical blonde woman dies, without any form of help, the way she is tied up with the huge spike coming towards her on a train track shows there is no escape.

The male character that was previously in the other shot behind the car appears again and is now in the car and in a lot of pain from his facial expressions. The close up explores the mans torso, he has significant tattoos which cover a large part of his torso, and he also has sever burns on his back. The lesson, in which Jigsaw may be giving him, is if he can damage his skin from excessive tattoos, then he can deal with the pain that burning can do to the skin. The mans facial expressions show a lot of anguish, also contrary to the first shot which the man appeared in he is not wearing the same vest top in which he had on. This also backs up the evidence that Jigsaw wanted to see the ‘damage’ he has done to himself.

‘Fear’, ‘Suffering’ and ‘Death’ are the word which are over heard and said by Jigsaw; Jigsaws voice is eerie and dull which is conventional with many horror films. These words and the triadic structure they are in suggest he is telling a story, ‘beginning, middle and end’. This is what the people go through, upon receiving the challenge by Jigsaw.

There is then a cut to people who are gathered outside a sort of museum, where there is a 'test' being put on show. The dynamics for this torture scene is contrary to the normal torture scenes, where they are always inside an institution or a persons home, they where never made public. The non-dietetic sounds of when Jigsaw says that the ‘design is different’ implies that he now wants people to be able to see his work, as it is the last in the franchise, he wants people to think about their mistakes they have made and to change them, this is what he makes his victims do, realise that they have done something wrong. With the use of 300-400 extras outside a public building, backs this is up as the victim is behind a glass window in full view for everyone to see. The costumes of the extras are very formal which suggests they are in the city. With there smart attire and the setting being skyline buildings, this appears to be a huge business industry, where lots of people would be gathering around, which adds to the sincerity of the man behind the glass window. The people can only watch in horror as the man has to fight for his life. The audience watching can relate to this, as their non verbal communication shows there discontent for being made to watch this: in relation to the audience who are watching the film/trailer.

  

The fact that it is the final Saw movie to be made is emphasized at the 3D effects which are used.  There are plenty of special effects which are used which ties in with the writing which comes up on a black background. The writing is a dusty colour which adds to the awe of the trailer. As this is the final movie in the Saw franchise, it is made to be grittier and the dismay of the film calls attention to final one, as the writing says, ‘you will witness the final one’ and a non-dietetic voice cover says ‘the dynamics have changed’ which combine with the mystery of the new vigorous attempts of Jigsaw.

The trailer does not give away the whole plot, which many films do not, as it is only a teaser trailer. Although this is the 7^th in the movie franchise, it is still fresh and exciting as it is in 3D and people know what it is going to be about. The fact that they have made 7 movies is exciting as people will wonder how many more disturbing ideas the producers can accumulate. The quick cuts and the pace of the editing also adds to the suspense and although not giving too much away, gives the audience a great incite into what is about to come to cinemas.

Textual Anaylsis - Caroline

Textual analysis -Teaser trailer

Film- Saw IV

Director-Darren Lynn Bousman

Length-55 seconds

Release date- 26th October 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdLXjIu6UhM

This textual analysis will be focusing on the teaser trailer of Darren Lynn Bousman’s ‘SAW IV’, which was distributed by Lions gate in the United States and Maple Pictures in Canada. The film was shot in Twisted Pictures studio, and was released on the 26th October 2007. The film is the fourth make out of the saw franchise which the first movie of Saw was directed by James Wan. Bousman has since then directed saw 2, 3 and 4. The teaser trailer is 55 seconds long which is a perfect length time because it stays within the 60 minute mark.



The teaser opens up with the first 10 seconds of showing the audience the film company and the production team of Lions gate and Twisted Pictures. After the opening credits of the production team there is a fade to what looks like a garage or studio, it is difficult to make out what it is. The scene has an uncanny atmosphere to it with non-diegetic music playing in the background. This sound has elements of an eerie feel to it which leaves the audience feeling un-settled and uncomfortable. There is low key lighting which gives a dark and gloomy affect and brings awareness to the audience that danger is lurking. Fans of the film will already be aware that this uncanny studio is of course the place where Jigsaw tortures people and the fact that the director has started the first scene with the studio already notifies the audience that their is still going to be a lot more torturing and pain in the sequel.


A fade transition follows to allow the shots to blend well with each other and this also adds to the slow and calm pace of the teaser trailer. The pace is at a slow pace, this is done I believe to be able to catch the audience off guard. They believe to know what is going to happen but the editor has started off at a slow pace then build the pace up gradually to increase in the tension of the plot. The fade goes in to a black background with the release date slowly fading in `26th October’. The Saw films are well known to be released the holiday of Halloween as this adds to the whole negative characters of evil and sinister beings.

The shot that follows is of a man tied up I wires but this is done as if it is being projected by a projector on to a brick wall in the same studio as the torture chamber. The reason why the director has decided to use the projector is because in the Saw films. The protagonist character which is Jigsaw uses the television screen to give the victims set of rules. With the use of projecting someone who is being tortured on a wall informs the audience that the director has still followed the norms of the previous Saw films. This still allows the film to remain as part of the franchise just like the Batman films. The Batman films always have the bat logo and with the saw films it is all about the technology of communicating to one another. Also with this shot the non-diegetic music has changed. It has become faster paced and has increased in volume. This is in contrast with the beginning music where, it resembles a church melody, with a calm angelic sound. Now the sound has become more aggressive. This helps build up tension in the audience because now they are bracing them selves for the torture and pain which is well known ion the Saw franchise.


The lighting still remains dark with the undertone of green. Throughout the whole teaser trailer the transitions are fades. This is done to help build the elements of surprise and mystery because we as the audience don’t know what is going to happen, and in the film surprise is one of the main themes in the film. We as the audience don’t know if the victim is going to survive and this is what the director wants us to still be trying to figure out through the trailer. The words then appear of `the traps are set’. This informs the audience of the dangers that are going to take place. The traps are being put into order and already this builds up some sort of hysteria to the audience because we are now excited and wanting to know who is going to be Jigsaws victims. This links in with the previous shot of the male character being tied up which was projected on the brick wall. The colour of the text is white which is in contrast with the black background. It denotes the meaning of good and evil. How the villain is evil (Jigsaw) and the police force who are trying to save the victims are good. But in a Saw film it is all about trying to save yourself so at the end of the day the audience don’t actually know who is good and who is evil.


I believe that is why Jigsaw wears a mask because he is just portraying the human beings lifestyle. People don’t really know who each other really are until they are put into certain circumstances where their true personalities come out. After another fade 5 quick shots are then shown of victims being tortured. This is now done at a quicker pace in contrast with the original shot of the male character being tied in ropes.


The use of their being a variety of victims this shows the audience the amount of people are going to be tortured or possibly give us a clue because for all we know their could be plenty more people going to get hurt. The last shot is of a man possibly a police officer because on his countenance the audience can see the uneasiness he has and his head is looking down which suggested how he feels powerless against the unfortunate events that keep occurring. It then fades faster this time to a dark background with the text `if it’s Halloween’. this is the first half of the sentence because it then cuts to the man as before in the previous shot but this time screaming in agony as he tries to undo something but the audience is unsure of what he is being tied up in because of course this is a teaser trailer and the director doesn’t want to much to be giving away. It then fades it the dark back ground with the white text saying` it must be saw’. Now the non-diegetic sound has changed to screams and loud machinery instead of the fast paced music. It then cuts not fades this time, to variety of people under pressure and I pain. Throughout the whole teaser trailer all the shots are taken form low angles this is to show how powerless the victims are from this evil force. It then cuts to the image of Jigsaw on the television screen for about 2 seconds, then fades to the title Saw IV, this is done at a slow pace to bring attention to the title of the film.


All of the shots of victims are still being projected on the brick wall. There is a fade to a black background with just a voice over of Jigsaw saying `you think it is over…but the games have just begun’. This adds a chill to the audience because it is all dark and we don’t know where he is coming from. It then cuts to big plastic bags with what looks like blood inside but this a quick shot so the audience is not able to figure out what is exactly inside the bags. It then fades back to the release date just to finally remind the audience when it should be out.

Film Poster Textual Analysis – Bronagh Hunte

The film title: Saw 5

Year of the film release: 24^th October 2008

Director: David Hacki

Producer: Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan

Production/Financing Company: Lions Gate

Actors: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor and Scott Patterson

Films origin/info: Saw is part of a franchise and a sequel from four other films.

Synopsis: what is the film about? The film focuses primarily on the events that led up to Detective Mark Hoffman becoming an apprentice of the Jigsaw Killer, as well as his efforts to prevent anyone else from learning his secret.

Saw 5 by David Hacki is one of four other sequel films, released in the UK on the 24^th October 2008 and was distributed by Lions Gate.

This poster was displayed on Billboards, film theatres, in magazines, the internet, and most commonly on the side of busses, this is a way to entice the audience and persuade them to go and see the full movie, or research more in to on the internet and on the films website.  

The main colours used in the poster are low key and it has a grey scale it also has a white edge around the characters face which highlights the detail and the prop used. The colours used have the characteristics of death and misery.  Grey can also symbolise a variety of topics such as a decaying body, mourning or the connection between good and evil which links into the plot of the movie, that being ‘innocent’ people making bad mistakes and they are therefore punished for their wrong doing.

The posters in the Saw franchise only ever have one main image as the focal point, this is due to the major success in which the previous films have had, the use of using one image also heightens the audience want and almost need to see it, and it causes anticipation amongst the audience and for the release of the film. The Saw franchise rarely have very ‘busy’ posters and their posters leave the audience wanting to see more, this poster does not give anything away, it does not have the release date of the film, the actors names, no information about the plot, which is why they have been given the name ‘teaser posters’. The main image in the poster is a man who appears to be either naked, or his torso is uncovered, this may relate to the victims of the film as they are vulnerable. The connotations of nudity in the horror genre connote a sense that the person who is naked is in a bad situation and are defenceless. There is also another connotation that nudity can uphold, and that being that the stereotypical teenager in a horror film is partaking in sexual activities, however this is not the case in Saw, as very rarely have they used teens being the main characters in the movie.

The male in the poster, has a human fleshed mask. The previous films in the Saw franchise, the audience are led to believe that ‘Jigsaw’ is dead. The audience are enticed to see the fifth one in the franchise to uncover their suspicions. As the poster suggests, someone is carrying on his role as they are wearing his flesh as a disguise. This is also emphasised, as we know that the main character from the Saw films ‘the murderer’ is an old male; from the image on the poster, the male doesn’t look very ages, which we can see from his broad shoulders and his hair, although the poster has a grey scale, we can clearly see that it is not grey which would lead the connotations of a older man. This shows that someone must be carrying on his work as we know from the previous films that the male lead of the films was very old and fragile. We can also see this from the mask, as the mask has wrinkles and looks like an older person. In relation to the previous films, if you are able to escape the trap which you are in, you are granted freedom, however in one of the films, there was a young girl, who after escaping helped Jigsaw and became his accomplice. This may be the case in this film, as the pigmentation from the males body is not even, this suggests that he may not look after himself, or that he has done something which Jigsaw believes is wrong, as he has cancer and he believes he led a good life, which is why he is punishing people who take life for granted. So this suggests that the man behind the mask got out of the life endangering trap and now went on to finish of Jigsaw’s work. The convention of the killer being Caucasian is followed throughout the Saw franchise. The majority of films the killer is a male and the mainstream idea is that he is Caucasian.

The main image is done photographically with some clear adjustments to the lighting to create the highlight affect around the face of the male; the title is also near the male’s heart. It could have been situated more to the left of the poster, instead it is very close to his heart, which follows on the theme that it is someone who has escaped Jigsaw’s traps and now carries on his legacy and it is something which is close to his heart. This suggests that the character, led a very lonely life or that it was unfulfilled, or possible that he has never achieved something. Because he has achieved the fight to survive it is now something which he truly believes in.

There is not much text in the poster, because as it is the fifth instalment to the franchise people are aware of the film and the previous ones. Horror lovers may have seen all of the films in the sequels, however for people who have only seen one or even none of the films they are still aware of the films and what happens in them. There are roman numerals ‘V’ which means five; the trademark of the Saw films is to have the roman numerals, and this indicates what instalment of the Saw franchise which the film is. The Saw movies are always coherent with the October and Halloween being the event which horror films usually comes to cinema and theatres. Saw 5 was released on 24^th October 2008 which is a few days before Halloween, and follows the tradition of the films in the horror genre being released around this time. The audience for this poster would be the western side of the world such as the US and the UK, as many other countries don’t share the same hysteria for the Halloween celebrations. The feature of the production Company ‘Twisted Pictures’ shows the rare amount of people that may not have seen the film that Saw 5 is a film which is from the horror genre as the lexis ‘twisted’ conveys. It also has ‘Lions Gate’ present which keeps the audience away that it is from a huge production company, and may also tell the audience that it will be good as many films are from this institution.

All of the text in the poster is in capital letters and has no punctuation; this shows the simplicity of the poster. The popularity of the film is also highlighted as it does not actually have the title of the film. This shows that it has a huge fan base and very many people anticipate the film as they don’t even have to put the title and automatically from the image, the audience are aware of what film it is from.

A common convention for film posters is to have the website address for the audience to find out more, as there is no information on the poster. This may have been left out, because as it is the fifth movie in the franchise people are aware of the things they need to do to find out more information. In the first film which was released, the poster contained more information such as the date of release and the website address. With Saw being the highest grossing films, they do not need to have these forms of information, as it is so popular people are aware of the websites and where the audience can find out information.

Textual Analysis- Thomas

Thomas' Textual Analysis

Film Teaser Trailer Textual Analysis – Thomas Eastment

Film: The Descent Part 2

Director:  John Harris

Producers: Ivana Mackinnon and Christian Colson

Production Company: Pathe

Length: 85 seconds

Release Date: 2^nd December 2009

Genre: Horror/Adventure

Actors: Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Douglas Hodge

Origin: Sequel to “The Descent” which was released in 2005

Synopsis: Sarah Cater managed to find her way out of the cave from the first film, however she cannot recall most of the events that happened in the cave, so she has to go back down there with a team to help find her missing friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXf1BCYtcgI

 

The trailer starts off with credits to the companies that made and produced the film, (Warner Bros, Pathe and Celador films) these last for 5 seconds. Non diegetic music is played over that to give a moody tone to the trailer. Then while that plays, you hear the diegetic sound a group of girls shouting, and then a camera shutter, which is emphasised by giving it a louder echo. The non diegetic sound of a voice over starts to play for 13 seconds, telling the audience that The Descent has been classed as one of the “most terrifying monster movie since alien.” The narrator’s voice is quite dull, yet eerie. The same style of voice you get on most horror films. When he says “critics call the descent most terrifying since alien,” it comes up on the screen, and tells you where the quote comes from; the daily star. It has a black background with grey text to keep that dark feel to the trailer. Also you hear the non diegetic sound of a slight ringing noise, like when two blades scrape together.  There’s a lot of echoing in the sound effects, not only to give more tension, but to connote where the film will take place, in this case it’s in a cave, where you hear water echo and rocks falling. You also hear the sound of the monsters that are in the cave, they give a crackling, hissy noise, which sounds quite horrible. This draws in the audience because they want to find out what’s making this noise.  When the monsters finally appear in the trailer, the music intensifies and gets more dramatic. You also hear the diegetic sound of the people in the cave screaming, to show how scared they are, and that they know they need to escape.

After the image of all the girls is shown at the beginning, there is an establishing shot of the area which the film is set. The mountains are covered with trees, so you know that the characters are going to be placed here. It doesn’t however show that they will be in a cave until you see the characters go down in a lift, with props on which make it obvious. When the characters are going down the lift, there is a mid shot of the main character, this shows her fear and that she is very anxious. She is also in a lift which connotes that she feels trapped, which links in to the characters end up being trapped in the cave. It then cuts to a close up to show her fear is getting worse.

 In the beginning of the trailer, there are about 11 fade in/out transistions, these give the movie a more creepy feel which builds up the suspense of the trailer. When the monsters appear in the trailer, the pace gets faster and  there are a lot of quick cuts. With a mixture of mid shots and close up shots to show the characters trying to escape. The close up shots reveal the emotions that the characters are having and in this case it’s fear, anxiety or pain. What also strikes me is that there is no dialogue apart from the voice over. This suggests that possibly there is some hostility between the characters.

The props and costumes that are used give you an idea that people are deliberately going into a cave and not that they got lost. They wear special suits and hardhats with lights on them. There is also a pick-axe covered in blood seen in the trailer which is something that someone going into a cave would take with them, however it wouldn’t usually be covered in blood, so this shows that film will be of the horror genre because of the goriness. There are also torches and radios seen, which connotes that some of the people going in to the cave are experts at mountain climbing and going into caves, so they’re not expecting problems.

The trailer doesn’t give you a full synopsis of the story, but it definitely gives you the idea, like in most horror films that something is going to go wrong. However this is a sequel to a previous film, so the audience that saw Part 1 will have an idea, but the newcomers, will only get a brief idea of what’s going on which adds to the suspense. I feel that the editing used gave the trailer a fast pace to it, once the monsters had been shown in the trailer, this to me gave it more of a thrill, and would make people want to go to the cinema to see it.

Film Poster Textual Analysis – Thomas Eastment

 

Film:  Texas Chainsaw Massacre-The Beginning

Release Date: 13th October 2006

Genre: Horror

Director:  Jonathon Liebesmen

Producer: Michael Bay

Production Company:  New Line Cinema             

Actors:  Jordana Bewster, Taylor Handley, Diora Baird

Films Origin: A prequel of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The first thing that stands out to me when looking at this poster is the blurry image. It doesn’t allow you to see the person in the image clearly.  There is also a sepia grainy tone to the poster, this is geometrical connotation, the dark tone, and the blurriness is used to create a dark ominous feeling around the poster, which is conventionally used in the horror genre.

You can vaguely see the chainsaw that is in the hands of the person in the image, this links in with the title of the movie (Texas Chainsaw Massacre).  The blurriness of the image also ties in with the storyline, with the main character, Leatherhead, not having a proper face, and in this film, cuts off someone else’s face and sews it over his.

The layout of the poster has been properly planned, everything is in equal space and the colours of the font tie in with the background, with this sepia tone. The “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” in the title has been made bigger than the rest of the words so that it is obvious that is part of the same series of films. There is also the list of the cast, crew members and companies in partnership with this film at the bottom, you see this in a lot of posters, it is a convention that you see a lot in the film industry.

It is worth pointing out the link between the title and the tagline, which you get in most films. This film is named, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – The Beginning.” The tagline is, “Witness the birth of fear.” This makes it obvious that the film is set before the originals that were made in the past, and that it will portray the story of when Leatherhead started his killings. The fonts and the colour of the fonts between the two are the same apart from the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” being more bold and brighter. The tag line is placed on the top of the poster, near the darkest part of the background. The title its self is on the lower half of the characters body in the image. They are at adequate space apart to see Leatherheads blurred face, and him carrying a chainsaw.

The chainsaw is the main prop in this poster, and as it’s not clearly seen, gives it a more menacing approach to it. This connotes that the other characters in the story might not know that he uses a chainsaw, or that it’s his most iconic way of killing people. The blurred face could suggest the same thing, that no one in the story has seen Leatherheads face properly.

His costume, from what I can make of it is of a scruffy outfit, nothing special, which suggests that he doesn’t really clean or wash properly, and this links in with the portrayal of a gruesome film with lots of gore and blood. It also goes nicely with the colour scheme of the poster, his outfit is not too dark and not too light. Too me, it has a greyish blue tinge, and the greyness compliments the dark sepia colour.

In the characters right arm it looks like his carrying something, and it’s impossible to work out what it is. It could be an animal, or a head, which would go nicely with the chainsaw, or it could be something different. Whatever it is, it has been blurred by the sepia colour so that the audience can’t work it out, and this would therefore entice them to go and see the film, the chainsaw and the scary face in effect may have already done that, but they are making it hard for the audience to see them image so it looks more intimidating, and more interesting. The poster itself is simple, but it’s not plain and that’s an important part of making a poster, sometimes little is more and that has certainly worked with this image in giving it a moody feel to it.

Magazine Cover Textual Analysis – Thomas Eastment

 

Name: Total Film

The cover of this magazine denotes the image of Batman standing in front of a dark gray background, just under the masthead, “Total Film”. It’s been made to look as if someone has drawn over the Batman, and crossed out the cover lines and written a new cover line above them. Instead of “Rough Justice, the Dark Knight Wages war on terror.” It has been changed to, “Complete Chaos! Joker Wages war of Terror.”

On the picture of Batman, the ears of his suit are covered up by the masthead. And in red pen, someone has drawn them on, and over his mouth, made a line with the red pen. This connotes that, “the joker,” from the Batman franchise has taken over the magazine cover and completely tried to demean Batman, also the word “freak” has been written over the main body of Batman, showing that within the story he is seen as an outcast or problem by other characters, but, most likely the same one who has written over the main cover line, “the joker”. The cover line is of the same style you’d expect to see on the headlines on the newspaper, this connotes the probable storyline of the upcoming Batman film that was about to be released is to do with “the joker” working against Batman. Underneath the main cover line, there is another one, telling the readers that there is “in depth access” into the film, this could persuade the reader to buy the magazine and find out more about the film.

There are more cover lines on the right hand side of the cover to tell the readers what else will be in the magazine. All of the most interesting or well known names are highlighted by being bold for example, Ben Stiller, The X-Files and Charlie Sheen, which will make them stand out more, and will make the reader more likely to buy the magazine. This theme is held throughout the whole of the front cover, as the masthead also has a bold work and a smaller word. “Total,” sitting in the top of the letter “F” in film, “total” is also not in white, it’s the same colour as the background to make it stand out more in the whiteness of “film”.  

Underneath and over a bit of the word film, there is a puff, which promotes a free product with the magazine. The word “free!” is written in black so that it stands out more to the audience. The exclamation mark that’s used makes the word free much more powerful, because it makes it seem more important. The word “sex” is made the boldest word though, and this word always seems to have an impact. The nature of the word seems to make people want to stop and read, and this is why the makers of the magazine would have used it on the front page to make more attention.

The front cover also has the same things that you would usually see on the front of a magazine, there is a bar code at the bottom left hand corner of the cover. There is a link to their website at the top of the cover. This means that the readers can go onto the website to find out more about films and other information that you would expect to find in the magazine. The website would also provide you links to other websites which would give you information that relates to similar subjects to that film. For example they may have a link to a website which gives film reviews, or film information, or links to official film websites.

With magazine covers, and just like anything else, there are conventions that are usually followed. For example with movie magazine covers, you are likely to find that the main image on the front page will be from a film, or a character from a film thats about to be released. They all have bar codes at the bottom, so that they can be scanned when they are purchased by readers. There are coverlines to give the reader an idea about whats going to be featured in the magazine. Of course in film magazines, all of the articles in there will be film based, which is whats in this magazine cover. The covers will have a price, usually in very small font, either at the top, or just above the bar code. Mastheads on the front of the covers are usually at the top too, however, it's not rare to see them in the middle or at the bottom. It's not uncommon to see a puff either, these are small shapes that contain text which stands out to the reader, making the cover look more fulfilled and generally nicer to look at.

The magazine cover follows the convention that most other magazines have. The masthead is at the top of the cover, with cover lines, which tell the readers what will be in the magazine. There is a barcode which is on every magazine front cover, so it can be scanned upon purchase. There are puffs to make the cover more attractive and the use of the odd different colour, to make it catch the reader’s eye.