Research-witchcraft

Our teaser trailer can be compared as a supernatural thriller. This is because we have incorporated elements of witchcraft and black magic. Here are images of stereotypes of witches. There are set to believe that there are two types of witches. The White witch and the Black witch. The white which is mostly known for being the good witch and the Black witch is mostly known for being the bad witch.

On the other hand even though when dealing with witchcraft some of us may now The White witch to be the good guy some films represnt them as negative characters. Such as the White witch in Narnia. She is the villian in the film. However stereotypically some film makers stick to the idea of the White Witch being the heroine such as in films as Alice in wonderland were the white witch is good.

In our teaser trailer we use elements of seduction and lust, because our protaganist character wears red shoes whihc the colour of red connotes the theme of sex, desire, betrayal and revenge. In images were witches are represented they can be seen in two different lights. First one is seen as ugly and creepy. this is well known in the animation `snow white and the seven dwafs' were the wicked queen dresses up as an old lady to persuade young snow white to eat the poisoness apple. Here the witch is benched over which gives the illusion of her having a hunched back and also her facial apperance is not very attractive as she has a mole on her face. The second way in which withces can be seen in a different light is as a attractive being. This is done so that it is able for the witch to decieve their victims mostly males. This can be suggested, that because our protaganist is attractive she is able to get her victims easier because of her beauty.

Our teaser trailer has elements of voodoo dolls. In our media project we can see that the female villian purposly cuts herself so that her blood drips onto a chain of paper men, then their is a shot of a boy tied up on a cross with blood all over him. This can be sugested that what ever she does to the paper men it will effect the male victim. The idea that the paper is so fragile and it can easly rip shows that she has a strong power over the males. This can also lead to a sexist theory at the fact that a female is dominant over a male when sterotypically in horror films the victim is always a female with blonde hair and lacks intelligance. However some can argue that yes the villian is a female but the title is satans mistress so isn't their a hidden innuendo that the devil is the one who is in control and is he a male

Age certificate

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), is funded by the film industry whihc is run by a non governmental organisation. who are responsible for the national classification of films within the UK. It has the rights to classify videos, Dvds and some video games under the Video recording act.

Universal is the name of this logo. It is suitable for all ages and films with this logo should not upset children over 4. For example- The Incredibles.
P.G stands for Parental Guidance. All ages are acceptable but certain scenes may be unsuitable for children under the ages of 8. E.G `The Simpsons movie'.

12A- This logo was recently introduced in 2002. It is only used in cinemas. Films under this catergory are seen as unsuitable for very young people. Those children who are under the ages of 12 should bge accompanied with a adult. Particularly 18 or over. film sunder this catergory may contain mature themes such as discrimination, soft drugs, sex reference and moderate violence. Examples- `Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'.
Nobody younger than 12 can buy or rent a 12 rated VHS, DVD, Blu Ray disc, UMD or game. Films in this catergory contain discreet sexual activity, brief nudity, infrequent use of strong language and infrequent drugs.

Films under this catergory contain adult themes, hard drugs, strong words, moderate-strong violence/sex references and mild non-detailed sex activity. Example` Good Luck Chuck'.

Under this catergory only adults are admitted. Nobody younger than 18 can rent or buy, 18 rated DVDS, Games etc. Also nobody younger than this age can go to watch a 18 rated film in the cinema. Films under this catergory do not have a limitaion to the amount of bad language used. Hard drugs are generally allowed and strong violence/sex references along with non-detailed sex activity is also allowed. Examples `Saw III and Jackass 3D'.


Only adults are admitted to this catergory, and can only be shown in licensed cinemas and sex shops. Films with this rating have material that the BBFC does not allow in its 18 rating, because the violence and sex shown is stronger R18 DVDs, VHs and films. However there are still cuts in this material, more cuts are demanded in this catergory than any other catergory. Example `Deep Throat'.

Comparison of thriller movie posters

Here are images of the posters The unborn and Legion. Both posters share similar qualities, such as the colour schemes. They both have the blue background and white text. This can some how look heavenly almost. cloudlike and peacful however because they are horror films it adds a sense of chill to the audience because we know the sky and cluds to be soft and peacful and it is weird at the fact that it is being represented with death and evil spirits, when you associate the sky and heaven with angels and God. Also their is some sexual connotation with the imagery. Both imges show the protagonists wearing little clothing. In the Unborn the female is wearing a vest and underwear in which you can see part of her bootom while in Legion the man has his whole shirt off in which you can clearly see his chest and stomach.

The happening and the eye just like the unborn and legion have the same blue colour scheme however the blue is darker and so brings more mystery and creates a eerie feel.

Trailer comparison-Thriller genre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjxa9gSjpJA

The first thriller trailer that I looked at was `The Eye' starring Jessica Alba.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG36gG7QXZc&feature=related
The second trailer i looked at was `The happening'.

The British Board of Film Classification - BBFC

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom. It has a statutory requirement to classify videos, DVDs and some video games.

All films and video games rated by the BBFC receive a certificate, along with "consumer advice" detailing references to sex, violence and coarse language. If a certificate specifies that a film or video game is only suitable for someone over a certain age, then only those over that age may buy it.

The BBFC can also advise cuts for a less-restrictive rating. This generally occurs in borderline cases where distributors have requested a certificate and the BBFC has rated the work at a more-restrictive level; however, some cuts are compulsory, such as scenes that violate the Protection of Children Act or Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act. The final certificate then depends on the distributor's decision on whether or not to make the suggested cuts. Some works are even rejected if the distributor refuses the cut.

Also refere to : http://thedarkroomproductions.blogspot.com/2011/01/age-certificate.html 

Marketing our film

Marketing our film

Promoting a film via London transport is an excellent way for the film to get noticed and an easy way to attract a vast audience, not only because London is a very big city but because the majority of people use public transport making use of trams, tubes, buses and trains.

A way of promoting a film via the internet is also a very good way. The best forms of this is through, email, posters, and links to websites.

Theatre

Trailers are the most popular way of promoting a film, the film trailer used in the time before the actual movie of the customers choice is about to start, is usually a longer version of the teaser trailers used on TV and the internet. This gives the audience a bigger insight into the film, and clearly as they are at the cinema, they are interested in films, and this will give them a broader understanding of the film.

Print

Films are also advertised using the method of printing in newspapers and magazines. The most popular one of these two is in the newspapers as they are usually free or inexpensive. Offers in newspapers also include free cinema tickets or promotional advertising of 2 for 1 which will entice the audience more it will be more appealing for them to go to the cinema because it is inexpensive.

poster comparsion - monster horror

Trailer Comparison - Monster Horror

I looked at the trailers for 'The Mist' and 'Cloverfield' both are almost created in the same way:

Both trailers start off with sence of somthing bads going to happen but both trailer leave the viewer with the questions of whats going to happen next and what is causing the terror, but both don't share the same musical reference. 'The Mist' begins with a voice over, with music creating tension leading up to somthing on the other hand 'Cloverfield' if different not havin at all but has the same affect to draw in the view with screams and loud noise of destruction.

Both trailers have the same concept buh different techniques for instance 'Cloverfield' is filmed in a way that it seems to be shot with a handheld camcorder, the footage is shakey and somtimes aimed at the floor restricting the views view of whats going on. 'The Mist' is filmed in the more traditional way with running tracks, cranes, trypods and steadicam and other equipment.

Dark Room Production Logos Designs

Darkroom productions are a successful film company who specials in making horror films we wanted our logo to represent what we do best.

we had many drafts and rough ideas of what our final idea would be. our first idea was the text dark room and underneath that was productions even though had the text sorted we wanted a symbol or iconic figure. after planning and researching we came to the conclusion of creating a toy robot holding a red ballon the reason why we

chose to use a toy robot was because toy robot are mostly linked to children. children in horror film are mostly seen as creepy and sinister for example the villain in "The Omen" is in fact a child. the reason why we chose a red balloon was because the children play with balloon's the connotation behind the red symbolises blood and danger and this is what our company is all about, our victims being in danger and the loss of blood. To create our final logo we used Adobe photoshop. I used the text tool to type 'Dark Room Productions' in the box. I then free transformed the text. Free transforming the text means to change the shape and size of the actual font into a specific shape to create the logo. The original text was not spaced out but with the help of free transforming I was then able to space out the logo.

After this I downloaded vector art brushes, which are a selection of various objects. The advantage of using this tool is the fact that it adds an extra effect to the logo than it to be just plain. For example the Apple company use the symbol of an apple than to say the word Apple.

Communication between members of DRP

As this is a team based project. It's important that we work together and can keep good communication between the group. It's not just about talking with each other while editing the trailer, or even coming up with the idea for it, but also when you’re not together, using technology to spread your ideas with each other through texts, emails, blackberry messenger or even Whatsapp on a constant basis.

As we cannot be together all the time while we think of ideas, the best form of communication between our group was through black berry messenger. A group was created for Dark Room Productions. However, this came to a substantial halt when one of members left the Blackberry group and consumed an iPhone instead. At first this was thought to be a problem, but we used the application called ‘Whatsapp’ to exchange our ideas and thoughts we also opted for sending text messages and emails via Facebook.

Here are some of the conversations which has taken place between members in DRP

Trailer Comparisons- Slasher

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O76m3kpgPTQ

I've looked at the trailers for 'The Hills Have Eyes' and 'Prom Night'. Both of which seem to have a similar format:

• The trailers both start off quite light hearted, there is lively music at the start, in 'Prom Night' its rock music, which is sterotypical for American students to listen to at that age, and in 'The Hills Have Eyes' the music at the beginning sounds more 60's like.


• They both have high key lighting at the beginning, which connotes that nothing bad is going to happen, but suddenly around half way through the trailer the mood totally changes.


• When the mood changes, so does the music and the tempo of the trailer. The music changes to a darker more intensive sort of sound. In 'Prom Night' the sound effect of a heart beat is used, which also is used in 'The Hills Have Eyes'.
• There are quick cuts used to speed up the tempo of the trailer, this makes it more dramatic for the audience and makes it look more exciting. This change goes well with the change in music, and they work together to create suspense and tension.
• To go with the changing of the mood, the high key lighting changes to low key lighting. This is especially the case in 'The Hills Have Eyes'. The further along the trailer you go, the darker it gets. This, along with the convergence of the quick cuts and the change in music, makes the trailer go from a light hearted beginning, to a colder, darker ending.

SAW Franchise - Inspiration

Saw was a film in which inspired us for our poster ideas, we wanted the main focus to be on the image, as sometimes the text on some posters can be too predominant and take away the main focus and that being the image.

Here are some examples of Saw posters where there is not much text and the overall focus is the image.

The images are really gritty. Lots of questions arise as to how these people have got themselves into the situations. The saturation of the film is also to a grey scale, which is not usual for posters as they normally have a red theme to tie in with the blood used in the movie.

I think this is important as the focus is the image, although SAW is part of a franchise so people can see one of the images and automatically relate it to the previous films. Although we are not part of a franchise, it gives the film a mysterious look and people will want to see it.

Films like ‘Drag Me to Hell’ have the director on the poster to show that it must be a good film to see as they have a good director. Sam Raimi is featured on the poster for ‘Drag me to Hell’, as he is a well respected director and has made films such as ‘Spiderman’. This was not important for Dark Room Productions as the poster alone would attract many young horror fans to want to see it.

Some other posters which also have the same use of using a little texts is ‘Trick r Treat’ , ‘The last Exorcism’ and ‘The eye’. All these posters have a lot of copy space but this has not been used. I think these posters are more affective as they focus more on the image and less on the actual text. When looking at a film poster, the majority of people are drawn to the image and focus on the image used and what is happening. The credits used are not normally looked at and observed, where people have a more pictorial way of thinking they will remember the image and not what the actual text says.

One poster ‘Wolfman’ is extremely effective as it only has the title on the poster. It doesn’t have the date or any credits. This is effectual as the image stands out and it is very memorable, people rely more on the internet now to tell them when the film comes out and they would have to go on the internet to check out the times of the film anyway, so the use of using a very strong image and just the title is something which we have decided to follow too.

Here is another example of the image being really effective and making the audience think about what will happen in the film. in this poster ‘Ruins’ the image is off a group of teenagers in a group, and alike the conventions of most films, the group of teenagers die one by one.

‘Prom Night’ also has the ‘stereotypical’ convention of again a group of teenagers and they die. Although film goers can easily guess the plot, with not much text being on the poster it leaves more to the imagination.

Research - Film posters

DRAG ME TO HELL

MY BLOODY VALENTINE

·         Some of the text on the poster is white and the credits are in orange to tie in with the flames and the burning connotation. ·         The victim on in the image is blonde which is a convention that many horror movies follow. The convention of using a blonde woman as the main victim connotes that she is stupid and ‘dumb’. ·         In most horror movies the blonde female has a nice life and a nice job which ties in with the text. ‘Christine has a good job…boyfriend’ the white text may tie in with the purity and that everything is perfect. The fact that she has hands around her coming from the fire is a direct link to the films name ‘Drag me to hell’. ·         Drag Me to Hell, is a paranormal film, which is why it has satanic references in the title and also with the hands coming from the ‘depths of hell’

·         MBV has a red title, which links in with the blood and the lexis ‘valentine’ which means it could be about valentines day, however, as it is clearly a horror film because of the axe being used, it is a juxtaposition, as it has nothing much to do with the normal connotations of valentines day. ·         The poster is very mysterious as you cannot see the people’s faces, as they are covered up with gas masks. ·         My Bloody Valentine is classed as a slasher horror, you can see this as not only is the film in 3D with an axe coming outward, you can tell by the red theme and also the red text.

Poster Comparison - Slasher Horror

Comparisons:

• 
  
  Most horror films have the title in the lower third of the poster, in this case, 'Prom Night' and 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' support this convention. However 'Asylum' and 'The Hills Have Eyes' don't. This maybe because they are trying to make the film stand out when marketing it, or that it may go better with the picture used in the poster, It certainly does in 'The Hills Have Eyes'. The composition goes really well.




• 
  
  All of the films have one main image which is also a convention in horror posters. 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' however uses more than one picture and fades them together to create an eery effect. This is the same with 'The Hills Have Eyes', at the top you can see what looks like to be some trees, or possibly a line of people, connoting the possible setting for the film.




• 
  
  'Asylum' and 'Prom Night' are the only one out of the four posters I have chosen not to have the Steel Spring credits that you usually find on a poster. They are usually situated at the bottom of the poster in the centre. 'The Hills Have Eyes' doesn't follow this and puts the credits to the left at the bottom.
• They all follow the conventions of the colour schemes associated with horror movies (blue, green and brown). 'Prom Night' has a blue theme, which is pretty obvious. 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' and 'The Hills Have Eyes' have a brown theme, although 'The Hills Have Eyes' supports a lighter, more bage look to it. And 'Asylum' has a subtle light green theme to the poster, this allows the blood that runs from the bold black title to stand out more effectively
• Accept for 'Asylum' they all use low key photography. It makes films look darker and more gritty. This is a convention found in horror posters. However 'Asylum' opposes this with the use of the high key lighting. This may have been done for a number of reasons. It could be to reflect the feelings of the character in the poster, who looks pale, cold and distressed. It may possibly be down to nature of the film too. There is no right or wrong answer to how a film poster should be designed, they usually reflect the nature of the film.