The Enigma Codes Theory applied to our production "The Disturbed"

Enigma codes pose questions to the audience which will then be answered later in the film. Examples of enigma codes are 'Who is that?', 'Where are they going?' etc. Enigma codes are an important aspect of any film as it enables the audience to become intrigued about the film and influence them to continue watching the film. In our trailer we have used various enigma codes to entice the audience. For example the audience will be asking 'Who is that?' when they are shown an over the shoulder shot of a suspicious figure following the victim. This means that the killers identity is an enigma as the audience will want to find out who the killer is by watching the film. This leads on to the next question 'Why is the victim being followed?' and 'Where is the victim going?'. These questions are all questions the audience wants answered and the only way to get these answers is to continue watching the film. 

Other enigma codes we used were 'What has happened to them?'. This is when the audience are shown a long shot of the victim being dragged through the woods. The audience cannot be sure what has exactly happened to them but will be intrigued to find out which, again, will make them want to continue watching our film. These enigma codes have all been recognisable in our trailer. During our audience feedback a strength of our film was that our mixed story line made the audience question what is happening which enticed them to continue watching.

Todrov's Theory applied to our production "The Disturbed"

Todorov's theory states that a film and a trailer can be broken down into five sections. These sections are an equilibrium at the start, a disruption of that equilibrium, a recognition of the disruption, an attempt to repair the disruption and the final stage of where the equilibrium is restored. In our film we applied three parts of this theory. The first section of the trailer focuses on the character of Cory in his house, which seems to be an uneventful scene as he seems relaxed. Then Cory is followed and murdered in the woods-showing the disruption of the equilibrium. Other characters in the film recognise the disappearance of the victim and are then targeted themselves. The trailer then ends with a bloody hand print on the door suggesting our protagonist, Rachel, is in trouble. This flouts Todrov's theory as the equilibrium is left un-restored and instead an enigma is created, leaving the audience with more questions than answers. 

The Cultivation Theory applied to our production "The Disturbed"

The theory states that repeated exposure to the same message, such as an advertisement, will have an effect on the audiences attitudes and values. A similar idea is know as desensitisation-which suggests that long term exposure to violent media makes the audience less likely to be shocked by violence and more likely to behave in that manner. We apply George Gerbner's Cultivation theory to our film by using a black hooded murderer as the main antagonist. We also use the idea of a girl home-alone and being vulnerable in her own home which has a horrifying effect on the audience; they believe it could easily happen to them, even in the sanctuary of their own home. The mise-en-scene of the antagonist is another way we incorporated the theory into our film as the antagonist wore a black hoodie-creating a negative perception of those who wear hoodies, causing the audience to see them as dangers. The black hoodie could also be associated with gangs which could make the audience fearful of gang culture.

The Uses and Gratifications Theory applied to our production "The Disturbed"

Our film also makes use of the Uses and Gratifications theory which states that there are five reasons why audiences consume media products-to be informed and educated, to identify with characters and situations, to be entertained, to be able to socialise by discussing the film and to escape from everyday life. Four of these are applied to our film but we do not inform or educate the audience as the purpose is to frighten and entertain them.  Our audience will have many reasons to watch our film, one of which would be to identify with the characters. In our film, the characters have day to day lives that our audiences could relate to. They also offer different vices and virtues that, we like to think, our audience can relate to. The opening "Based on a true story" also allows the audience to relate to the film; it was a true event that could possibly happen to them. Another reason why our audience would enjoy our film is because its' main focus is to terrify and entertain the audience as they are left trembling in their seats. The third reason would be to offer escapism as our film allows the audience to follow the lives of other people and see how they deal with the terrifying situation they have found themselves in. It also allows the audience to immerse themselves in a world distant from their own-allowing to forget their problems and enjoy the film. The final reason of socialising and discussing aspects of the film can also be applied; there are many enigmas established throughout the film, leaving the audience with more questions than answers which could prompt a discussion to see the views of others.

The Male Gaze Theory applied to our production "The Disturbed"

The Male Gaze theory states that films are from a male perspective and objectify women, such as in Cabin in the Woods. This theory can also be applied to our film as we use two women in our trailer, in which one of them wears provocative clothing. However only one of the women has a main speaking role whereas the other is only there to fulfil the satisfaction of the male viewers. The plot does, however, focus on the female character of Rachel as she is the main protagonist and the character to solve and stop the killings in Surrey. This subverts the theory as the woman plays a bigger part than the male characters, which allows the film to appeal to both sexes as it does not, solely, focus on one gender.

Research and Planning

What real media and audiences did you look at?

We looked at a variety of different horror films such as 'Cabin In The Woods', 'The Blair Witch Project' and 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'. We looked at these films because these all adhere to many of the typical conventions of a horror film. This meant we were able to take on board what we have seen in these films and work them into our film. This would mean that our film would be more recognisable as a horror film to our audience. This would make our film more enjoyable for the audience.
We also looked at our target audience. We looked at individuals who had a keen interest in horror films. We did this because they would know the typical conventions in a horror film. This meant when we questioned them about what they would like to see in our film it would be reliable and accurately similar to real horror films, therefore making our film similar to successful well known horror films. We used the same media and audiences for both AS and A2. We did this because we chose horror as the genre for both our media productions which meant all our research was relevant to both our productions. For our AS production we had to construct a two minute opening, so we looked at successful horror film openings. However, for A2 we needed to construct a trailer so we looked at horror film trailers such as House At The End Of The Street.



How did they inform your thinking about your media production?

The real audiences we looked at informed us about what they would like to see in our horror film.
This helped us with ideas for our 2 minute opening and trailer as they would be our target audience so we wanted to include things they most wanted to see. Also, if we made it appealing to the small sample of people we looked at, it would most likely appeal to a much wider audience.


How did you record all that research?

We recorded our research for our AS production by analysing two minute openings and making a note of what conventions the openings have adhered to. We could then use these conventions in our own film to make it more appealing to the audience. For A2 we used the same method, however instead of analysing two minute openings, we analysed horror film trailers. These informed us about what we should included in our trailer, therefore making it more conforming to the horror genre.

What primary research was undertaken?

AS: The primary research we undertook for our AS production was a questionnaire that we distributed to a number of people. The type of questions we included were about where they would most like to see the location for the film set, which murder weapon they preferred and if the murderer should have an iconic costume. The purpose of this questionnaire was to get an idea about what our typical audience members expected to see. This meant that we were able to adapt our opening two minutes to live up to the audiences expectations which, in turn, would make our film more enjoyable for our audience.

A2: The primary research we undertook for our A2 production was the same as what we did for AS. We kept the same method for extracting our primary data as it was the most effective way to reliable results.



How did it inform the production?

AS: We were able to understand what our target audience most wanted to see in our film e.g. murder weapon, location etc. So, as the most popular location was a woods we set the location for our film in a woods. This meant the audience would be most likely to enjoy watching our film as they would prefer the location.

A2: Similar to AS it meant we were able to include what the audience most wanted to see into our trailer. We changed some of our ideas in order to cooperate with the audiences preferences. E.g location.



What is the effectiveness of these kinds of research?

For both AS and A2 this research was very effective as it provided us with up to date information about our target audiences preferences. This meant we were able to adapt our production in order to suit our audience which would make it more enjoyable for them.



What quantitative and qualitative analysis methods were employed?

For both AS and A2 the quantitative analysis methods we used were questionnaires. We used closed questions in our questionnaire which meant the individuals answering the questionnaire had to chose one of the answers we had written on the page. This meant we were able to get a quantitative result which made it easier for us to understand what are target audience's preferences are.

The qualitative analysis methods we used were interviews with target audience members. This meant that we were able to get unique answers from each individual but could also be relatable to other target audience members.

How did the results from these inform the production?

These results informed the production as we were able to determine what our target audience would like to see, which allowed us to successfully modify our film ideas to adhere to what the audience wants to see.



What is the effectiveness of these kinds of research?

These kinds of research are extremely effective as it means we were able to successfully adapt our film to suit the audiences tastes. This means that they would be most likely to enjoy our film. It also means our film is likely to be successful as we know that from our research we are including things the audience wants to see. This lessens the risk of failure for our film.

Evaluation Activity 4

Adobe Premiere Elements 10- We used Adobe Premiere Elements 10 to edit our film. We decided to choose adobe because it was fairly simple and easy to use. Our film was only just after one minute long so we didn't need to use really complicated software to edit. Also because our film was relatively simple we didn't need anything too complicated. Adobe Premiere Elements 10 was best suited to our film. The group and I have no experience in editing as we have never edited before so we also didn't want to use anything too complicated otherwise it would of taken us too long to edit which would have pushed back our finishing time. Despite Adobe Premiere Elements 10 being fairly simple in our editing process, it did offer a variety of different effects and transitions. This was good because it allowed us to choose between different effects and transitions which would best fit in with our film to make it the best it can be.

Blogger- We used blogger to upload everything we have done throughout the year. Blogger was an effective website that we used as we were able to document our progress and keep a track of everything we have done. It has showed our journey right from the very start up until now so it allows us to see the progress we have made over the past few months.

Camera- The camera we used was a DV1 camera. This was the most important aspect in the making of our film because it was the item that captured our film. It was a decent camera as it did the basics (take pictures, film etc.) however it was not as good as we would have hoped. The picture was fairly clear however we had issues with zooming. Throughout our film we needed to zoom in during one of our shots however we were not able to do this. This was because when you zoomed in during one of the shots it was very jumpy which resulted in a very bad quality clip. This therefore meant that we could not zoom in during our shots.




Youtube- We used youtube to share our finished product with our audience. It is very simple to use so did not cause us any problems when it came to sharing our film. Youtube also played a big part in our research. We were able to watch other openings to films of our genre and get ideas from them and also see the conventions they follow and if they subvert any of the conventions. This helped us establish what we needed to do to make our film successful.

Evaluation Activity 2

Our poster, magazine and trailer all compliment each other as they are part of a consistent and recognisable advertisement campaign. Each one was unique and had a different format-allowing our audience to see the film from a different aspect.

The main, and most obvious, link between them is the establishment of its horror genre. Each of the pieces included the props from the film,including a knife and dark hooded clothing-which is a clear indication to the genre. It was most difficult to make the magazine cover look like a horror magazine as we had to use various pictures, a mix of original and existing pictures, to compliment the final picture. We also had to make it look as sinister as the poster and did this by creating a fogged out background-setting the scene for the trailer. We gave prevalence to the main antagonist in both the poster and the magazine because we wanted to create an idea that this antagonist would not disappear and be every where you look. This made it clear that the main focus of the trailer would be the antagonist and this is evidenced in the trailer as we have various POV shots from the antagonist-to allow the audience to experience the antagonists side instead of the protagonists side, like many other horror films do. This gave the campaign its own unique feature; films usually focus on the protagonist and aim to make the audience feel for them where as we aimed to make the audience become, a sort of, detective in order to work out the mystery-viewing from the perspective of the antagonist and from a neutral perspective. At the same time we also focused on the main protagonist, Rachel, in the trailer by showing her to be different to the other characters and was also given prevalence in the trailer. This follows Claude Levi-Strauss' theory of binary oppositional forces; the stories focus on the conflict between opposite forces, in this case it is between good and evil. To make this binary opposition clear we had the the main protagonist wear white casual clothing and the main antagonist wear black hooded clothing-which makes it easily recognisable for the audience. The trailer supports this theory as the first half focuses on the antagonist, including POV shots, and the second half focuses on the protagonist and how she will survive this masked murderer.

The next obvious feature that links our campaign together is the title of the film; it is on all three pieces and is, hopefully, one of the main focal points.The titles on all three pieces is big and bold-with the most obvious part being the blood splatter behind the white text. This allows our audience to identify our advertising campaign and understand that they are all related. On the magazine front cover, the viewer will recognise the antagonist and the title as it is shown on both the poster and the trailer-making it the main feature of our advertising campaign, making it feel like the antagonist is following them around. In the trailer the title is shown right at the end, with the rest of the credits, making it very obvious and recognisable as it takes up the whole screen. This conforms to the conventions of a horror trailer; if the title was at the beginning the audience may have forgotten it by the end, whereas it the title is at the end the audience maintain their interest and are more likely to be interested in the film. Overall the title is another main focal point as it is reinforced throughout the campaign-making it very clear for audience to identify.

Another way that our advertising campaign successfully works together is through showing the film in different ways. This is highlighted in the differences between the poster, trailer and the magazine front cover. The trailer focuses more towards the storyline of the film whereas the magazine is more informative and focuses on the behind-the-scenes side, This allows the audience to get to know the film on multiple levels as they see the film from behind and in front of the camera. It also allows the audience to see how each scene was created-allowing to feel involved with the experience. The poster, however, aims to give as little away as possible-creating many enigmas. The "Enigma Codes" theory, devised by media theorist Roland Barthes, states that the purpose of the author of a media text is to keep the audience guessing through establishing enigmas for the audience to work out. Our campaign conforms to this theory as the audience are left guessing and trying to work out the motives of the antagonist and who he is.

The magazine front cover offers a slightly different perspective as it includes five star reviews and interviews with the actors-which gives the audience another reason to watch it as the film is highly rated and successful. This conforms to the "Uses and Gratifications" theory by Blumier and Katz (1970), as it fulfils the need to interact with others- as it allows the audience to watch it and talk about it with others. It also gives information that the poster nor trailer have as it has the feature of behind-the-scenes interviews, allowing the audience to understand the film and gives them something to discuss with their friends-again conforming to the "Uses and Gratifications" theory. The trailer on the other hand also conforms the "Uses and Gratifications" theory; offers a different perspective into the world as our film is a true story-creating a sense of fear and causing the audience to reinforce themselves.

Overall each part of the campaign works both individually and together to create a successful marketing campaign that is easily recognisable and is appealing to our target audience. There are many enigmas established and we have used many theories to help boost the impact of our campaign. Despite the different parts of our campaign having their own unique techniques and using different features, they all still clearly link together and make a strong, successful marketing campaign for our film. 

Audience Theories (The Cultivation Theory)

This theory also treats the audience as passive and it suggests that repeated exposure to the same message, such as an advertisement, will have an effect on the audiences attitudes and values. A similar idea is know as desensitisation-which suggests that long term exposure to violent media makes the audience less likely to be shocked by violence and more likely to behave in that manner.

What does the theory suggest?	Strengths?	Weaknesses?
As audiences watch more television or films, they gradually develop certain views about the world, some of which are false.	This approach draws attention to the fact that audiences gain a lot of their knowledge from the media and also recognises the important role the media plays in our lives.	This approach can effect viewer’s perceptions and is hard to prove if accurate or not.

Audience Theories (The Two Step Flow Theory)

Katz and Lazarsfeld assumes a slightly more active audience and suggests that messages from the media move in two distinct ways. First, individuals who are opinion leaders, receive messages from the media and pass on their own interpretations in addition to the actual media content.

The information does not flow directly from the text into the minds of its audience, but is filtered through its opinion leaders who then pass it in to a more passive audience. The audience then mediate the information received directly from the media with the ideas and thoughts expressed by the opinion leaders, thus being influenced not by a direct process, but, by a two step flow.

This theory appeared to reduce the power of the media. and some researchers concluded that social factors were also important in the way in which audiences interpret texts. This then led to the idea of active audiences.

Audience Theories (The Active Audiences Theory)

This idea was created by the "Two Step Flow Theory", which was in a previous post, and sees the audience as individuals who are active and interact with the communication process and use media texts their own purposes. It is the active audience model and is considered to be a better and more realistic way to talk about audiences. We behave differently because we are different people from different backgrounds with many different attitudes, values, experiences and ideas.

Audience Theories (The Uses and Gratifications Theory)

The model stems from the idea that audiences are a complex mixture of individuals who select media texts that best suit their needs-which goes back to "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs".

The model suggests that media audiences are active and make active decisions about what they consume in relation to their social and cultural setting and their needs.

This was summed up by theorists Blumier and Katz in 1974; "Media usage can be explained in that it provides gratifications related to the satisfaction of social and psychological needs." This means that audiences choose to watch programmes that makes them feel good, for example Soaps or Sitcoms, or give them information that they can use, for example news and world events.

What does the theory suggest?	Strengths?	Weaknesses?
Instead of researching what the media do to the audience, this approach studies what the audience does with the media. This approach also takes account of people’s personalities and personal needs.	The audience is seen as active and reasonably intelligent. Life experience in general is regarded as more influential than experience of media. The pleasures that the media offer audiences are not regarded as negative.	Too much optimism about the ‘power’ and ‘choices’ of an active audience can distract us from the power certain texts have, or the influence that media institutions and ownership may have on texts and understandings.

Audience Theories (The Receptions Analysis Theory)

The theory was put forward by Professor Stuart Hall and looks at how audiences interact with a media text, taking into account their situated culture. The theory suggests that social and daily experiences can affect the way an audience reads a media text and reacts to it.

What does the theory suggest?	Strengths?	Weaknesses?
Audiences are seen as active producers of meaning, rather than as merely consumers of media meanings. They make sense of media texts according to their social position and their gender.	This approach values highly the specific, personal and contextualised responses of individuals and groups. People’s life experiences are important influences which enable them to make active choices as members of media audiences.	The readings and responses of the audience are given more emphasis rather than the institutional aspects of the media. Some researchers can get side-tracked into analysing audience lifestyles, and thus media reception is sometimes neglected in favour of a more holistic sociological approach.

Audience Theories (The Hypodermic Needle Model)

In this model the media is seen as powerful and able to inject ideas into an audience who are seen as weak and passive. It suggests that a media text can inject ideas, values and attitudes into a passive audience who might then act upon them. This theory also suggests that a media text has only one message which the audience must pick up. The theory stems from a fear of mass media, and gives the media much more power than it can ever have in a democracy. Also it ignores the obvious fact that not everyone in an audience behaves in a same way.

What does the theory suggest?	Strengths?	Weaknesses?
The theory is injected in the audience like a syringe used to inject a drug into the body, and it directly injects a message into the minds of the audience.	The approach draws attention to the power that media producers have, and to the importance of the forms of media to which audiences have access.	The “injected” audience is seen as passive and powerless, however they have they are smart and create their own perceptions of the media. It also suggests that all people think the same way, however we are each individuals and have our own ways of thinking-creating our own perceptions.

Audience Theories (The Male Gaze)

Laura Mulvey came up with the term ‘male gaze’ and she argues that in films the audience view the film from a heterosexual male point of view- where woman may be objectified in films for the pleasure of the male viewer. The theory suggests that characters,narratives, plots scenes,etc may be designed to appeal to a male audience.

Audience Theories (The Utopian Solution Theory )

Richard Dyer states that entertainment texts offer audiences a ‘Utopia’ or perfect idea that they can access through media consumption. This ‘Utopia’ is in contrast to the imperfections and difficulties audiences face in their own lives and offers a perfect alternate dimension. Evidence of the "Utopian Solution Theory" can be seen in the popular film series of the "Hunger Games" as the audience are positioned to see Katniss Everdeen try overcome great odds and succeed in winning the tournament-while protecting her loved one, allowing the audience to take pleasure from her triumph.

Audience Theories (The Enigma Theory)

Media theorist Roland Barthes devised a theory of the enigma code, in which he claimed that the purpose of the author of a media text is to keep the audience guessing through establishing enigmas for the audience to work out. These are conventionally revealed in the final scene of the film. This is a useful tool for a trailer, as establishing enigma codes makes the audience want to find out the answers to the enigmas and go and see the film.

This theory related to our horror trailer as we include many enigma codes which allow the audience to keep guessing as to what is happening during our film. For example, the audience will be wondering why the victim is being followed, and why the victim is being dragged through the woods. These influence the audience to continue watching the film in order to find out the answers. 

Audience Theories (Todrov's Theory)

Todorov's theory states that a film and a trailer can be broken down into five sections. These sections are an equilibrium at the start, a disruption of that equilibrium, a recognition of the disruption, an attempt to repair the disruption and the final stage of where the equilibrium is restored. 

Here narrative is not seen as a linear structure but a circular one. The narrative is driven by attempts to restore the equilibrium. However, the equilibrium attained at the end of the story is not identical to the initial equilibrium. Todorov argues that narrative involves a transformation. The characters or the situations are transformed through the progress of the disruption. The disruption itself usually takes place outside the normal social framework, outside the ‘normal’ social events.

For example:

• A murder happens and people are terrified.

• Someone vanishes and the characters have to solve the mystery.

• The character start to work out the pattern and track down the murderer.

• The characters try to catch the murderer by setting up traps and attempt to get the police involved.

• The antagonist is caught or killed and the characters live the rest of their lives, well the ones that remain. 

Enigma Codes

Enigma codes pose questions to the audience which will then be answered later in the film. Examples of enigma codes are 'Who is that?', 'Where are they going?' etc. Enigma codes are an important aspect of any film as it enables the audience to become intrigued about the film and influence them to continue watching the film.
In our trailer we have used various enigma codes to entice the audience. For example the audience will be asking 'Who is that?' when they are shown an over the shoulder shot of a suspicious figure following the victim. This means that the killers identity is an enigma as the audience will want to find out who the killer is by watching the film. This leads on to the next question 'Why is the victim being followed?' and 'Where is the victim going?'. These questions are all questions the audience wants answered and the only way to get these answers is to continue watching the film. Other enigma codes we used were 'What has happened to them?'. This is when the audience are shown a long shot of the victim being dragged through the woods. The audience cannot be sure what has exactly happened to them but will be intrigued to find out which, again, will make them want to continue watching our film. These enigma codes have all been recognisable in our trailer. During our audience feedback a strength of our film was that our mixed storyline made the audience question what is happening which enticed them to continue watching.

Evaluation Activity 1

Screenshot 1 which shows the title of our film "The Disturbed" which is shown in the film trailer, poster and magazine.as you can see the title of our film "the disturbed" has a blood splattered pattern on the title which connotes to the audience that the film will be a horror.another connotation within mise-en-scene is the slashing effect through the main title of the film suggesting to the audience that the film will conform to traditional stereotypes of horrors by using a sharp murder weapon to inflict pain on an individual, this is against a black background meaning that it has a more effective appeal towards audiences as it stands out and has a sinister effect towards horror films.this title also appears in our film poster and magazine meaning that the audience will instantly recognise the brand of "the disturbed".

Screenshot 2 shows an image of Ryan's character ( the psychopathic killer) dragging Cory's character (innocent civilian) which conforms to the traditional stereotypes of horror genre trailers as it is tightly linked with death/murder from the disposal of bodies.we imposed the effect of body disposal by using a low angle camera shot to enlarge Ryan's character and to connote the effect of power to the audience.The use of this low camera angle tracking shot is highlighted even further by the fact that the setting is in a conspicuous woods in which none will find the two of them.

Screenshot 3 shows an image of Rachel's character (the Innocent girl) making a cup of tea in her cornered kitchen suggesting to the audience that because she is making one solitary drink and the camera use of a mid shot behind the girl within an enclosed space surrounding her might connote to the audience she is trapped, Rachel is probably on her own in a house allowing any attack from intruders to be possible.this aspect of mise-en-scene through solitary vulnerability is very easy to create and common in horror film genres which is one of the main reasons why we chose to create a horror production.

Screenshot 4 shows the audience Cory's character (the Innocent man) being some what stalked through a window by using the camera compositions of a high imposing angle in a close up range suggesting to the audience he is most probably being stalked through his own window in the comfort of his own house; Cory's facial expressions and lack of awareness towards the camera also conforms to the idea of being stalked which is very common in horror genre films.The last aspect of mise-en-scene that could be overlooked by the audience is the fact the camera is tilted on its side which if targeted to the right audience can be seen as a psychopathic killer moving his head to the side in an evil sinister way suggesting to the audience that he has killed and will kill again on this new target leaving the effect of sympathy and worry towards Cory's character.

Screenshot 5 which shows the audience Ryan's character (psychopathic killer) seeming to stalk Cory's character even further by following him down the road at a suspicious distance from which wed expect Cory's house in the last seen (window scene):Ryan's character's clothes also confirm this as he is wearing a dark conspicuous hoodie coat suggesting to the audience that he wants to keep a low profile and that the audience can link in the stalking of prey towards Cory and the killer as its confirmed in various scenes of the horror trailer.However our trailer does actually subverts the traditional stereotype of horror genres by playing the clips in order of what they happened which could have been improved in the editing process of our film trailer.

Screenshot 6 allows the audience to look at the main setting of our film/film trailer which is a suburban house with a caravan outside which might represent to the audience that it is a family home instead of a house for an individual.the horror aspect of this shot comes from the sinister light glow at night which will give the audience the effect of inevitable negative actions towards the people within that house.

Screenshot 7 shows Rachel opening a door to what appears to be no one however in the background it shows Ryan's character (the psychopathic killer) standing vigorously towards the path of Rachel's character (Innocent girl) thus confirming to the audience that there is an apparent killer in the trailer that has been killing off all of the characters.this shot used a mid shot to enhance the difference in size between Rachel and Ryan to give the audience the effect of supremacy which is very common in horror genre trailers because of the quick cut that can be used (which we used towards the end of our trailer) before the main antagonist can reach the protagonist thus leaving the audience on a cliff hanger and wanting them to see the trailer.

Screenshot 8 is a very easy and plain but powerful effect showing the caption "Based on the true story" which was used because of the power the sentence can bring to the audience by saying that the sinister events there watching in the trailer actually are in fact true and could happen to them creating an ambiance about the film that most horror films include to bring in a wider audience to watch the film that happened to various people in real life.another aspect of this shot is that we used  plain white text on a dark background to once again give the audience the effect of dark horror sinister ism.

Screenshot 9 is the last shot i will evaluate in respects to audience which shows Connors character (cocky boyfriend boy) walking up the stairs of what we assume is the main setting which was mentioned earlier in the trailer analysis.The emotion Connors character is showing appears to be worry which will denote to the audience that he is worried about Rachel's character being in danger as its the house she appeared to live in earlier in the trailer with the killer behind her conforming to most horror genre films of the Innocent character being killed.The costume worn also is quite out landish which might be a reason why the audience targets the boy as an antagonist which the audience collaborate together to want something bad to happen to him.

Evaluation Activity 3

From the audience feedback we were able to understand the strengths and weaknesses of our trailer. From the feedback we identified that our strengths were how we effectively used non- diegetic music to create tension and the use of the black screen with 'Based on a true story' written across it was successful as it also created tension for the audience. Also our shot types were successful. The over-the shoulder shot we used caused the audience to question why the victim is being followed and it encouraged them to continue watching the trailer in order to find out why he is being followed. Also, the close up of the murder weapon was seen as a strength of our film as it emphasises the size of the weapon which could be seen as more lethal to the audience. Another strength of our film was the way we used fast paced shots. This kept the audience enticed to our film and encouraged them to continue watching. The other close up we used was of the victims hand hitting the door at the very last scene. This was seen as effective as the audience will want to know what has happened to the victim and whether she is likely to survive or not. We also successfully used high- angle shots to show our victims are vulnerable and weak. This allowed the audience to understand that they don't have much power and are most likely to be targeted by the killer. These are all conventions of horror films which means our film can be relateable to successful horror films. Our mise-en-scene was also effective, especially the use of clothing. We adhered to the typical conventions of what a killer would wear- dark clothing to hide their identity. By adhering to this it meant the audience was able to recognise that our film genre is horror and therefore may make our trailer more scary for the audience. Also our story line was seen as quite mixed. This meant that the audience were seen small sections of the films which concerned different characters. This meant the audience would be wondering whats happening to each of them and if they are all linked to one another.
However, the weaknesses of our trailer were that we didn't differentiate the transitions we used between shots. This perhaps meant that the audience weren't as enticed to our trailer as we didn't offer anything different which could create tension. Another weakness of our production is that it was hard to understand how each of the characters were linked. This may make it hard for the audience to watch as they will be trying to work out what relevance each character has to one another. So to improve this we could have included a scene of all our characters together with some dialogue which gives the audience a bit of background information as to how they are all linked.

Evaluation Of Our Film

Our trailer starts with a screen with a dark wood-like background. Over the top of this is writing that says 'Based on a true story'. We decided not to use a plain black background because using the wood like background gives the audience the impression it is a wooden building of some sort. This links in with our horror genre as abandoned houses are a typical convention of that genre. It also may make our target audience more interested in the film because it is dynamic and gives off a scary atmosphere right from the start. The text over the top is also relevant to our film genre. As it says its based on a true story it makes the audience feel on edge as what they are about to watch could possibly happen to them. Also,as the writing is white it allows it to stand out against the dark background. This means that the audience will be focused on this.

The next shot is a mid to long shot of one of the victims sitting down inside their house. In this moving shot we can see part of the window. This suggests to the audience that the camera is in fact someone peering through the window at the victim. This creates suspense for the audience as they will be concerned as to why this character is being secretly looked at. This then allows the audience to establish which characters are the victims and which characters are the villains. Also, this shot is at a slightly high angle. This gives the effect that the character is being looked down on, also suggesting him to be the victim. It portrays him as vulnerable and weak. Not only this, but the fact that this character is completely unaware he is being watched also portrays him as vulnerable and an easy target.

 One of the next shots we see is an over-the-shoulder long shot. We are looking over the shoulder of a hooded figure and further down the path we see the character we have already established as the victim. During this 3 second shot we can see that the hooded figure is walking with his head down as if he is trying not to be noticed. This will lead the audience to believe that this character is the villain. Also, in many horror films, such as Friday The 13th and Scream, the villains identity is hidden. Due to the fact that in our film the villain's identity is also hidden, the audience could conclude that this hooded figure we see is in fact the villain. This could represent our villain as sinister as he is unknown to the victims. As the villain is wearing dark clothing they are conforming to the typical stereotypes of horror film villains wearing dark, concealing clothing. This is effective as it will leave the audience with suspense as they will not be able to see the identity of the villain.

The next shot is a long shot of a house. This allows the audience to clearly see one of the locations of the film. As the shot shows its dark outside it could perhaps lead the audience to believe this house is associated with something threatening due to the fact that most horror films connect their murderers to a dark night- to represent something sinister happening. The next shot is an over the shoulder shot of a girl making a cup of tea. This links in with the previous shot as the audience may conclude that the house they were just shown is in fact the house the girl is making the cup of tea in now. Also as the character is just making a cup of tea it could lead the audience to believe she is the victim and she looks innocent, which is the typical stereotype of victims in horror films.

The shot we see next is a long shot of two of the characters and a third character approaching them. The character that was approaching them is the character we saw in the first shot- the one being followed. This could then make the audience now understand that these three characters are all the victims as there is a high chance the character following him at the beginning has followed him to the location he is at now. The location is fairly isolated so it would seem to the audience that they are easy targets because if someone was to attack them, there wouldn't be anyone else around. This puts them in a vulnerable position to the villain.

This then links in with the next shot as we see one of the victims walking alone through an isolated wooded area. He is walking quite fast which suggests he is frightened of something or someone. Also, he shouts out to his friends which could lead the audience to believe that something has happened to his friends. It could also maybe suggest that he is the main target as he was the one who was followed at the beginning of the trailer and hes now the one who has ended up alone in the woods. The shot is a high angle shot. This is typical of horror films as it portrays the character as weak and vulnerable which makes him an easy target. This makes the audience certain that he is the main victim who is most likely to be killed by the villain.

The next shot is a blank screen like the one right at the beginning of the trailer saying 'Of the Surrey Hills killings'. This obviously suggests that murderers do actually take place which leads the audience to confirm their belief that the victims are in fact targets for the murderer.

The next shot actually shows the victim being dragged along the floor by his killer. The victims body looks lifeless however there is no sign of blood. This could lead the audience to question whether he is actually dead or whether he has been briefly knocked out. This could intrigue them as to how he ended up like this and what has happened to his friend. This therefore would push them into wanting to watch the film so their questions can be answered. These aspects are conforming to the usual representations portrayed in a horror trailer as lots of different scenes are shown that do not provide the audience with an answer. Also, the killer is not wearing the typical clothing a killer would wear. He is only wearing a short coat with the hood over his head. This does not completely hide his identity. This could suggest that he had not planned this murder. It could either be a random killing or the murderer just wanted to do it as quickly as possible. These, again, are questions that the audience would want answered.

 However, the clothing of what the killer is wearing in this part of the trailer is different from what we see him wearing in one of the last scenes. In the last scenes he is wearing a long black coat which covers his entire body and his hood is pulled up over his face. From this, we cannot tell who he is which conforms to the usual stereotype of a villains identity being hidden. As the killer is seen wearing two different outfits it could confuse the audience as they will not know what the killer is doing and whether these murderers are actually planned. These are all aspects of our trailer which will make the audience want to watch the full film.

Certificate Research- 18

 Suitable only for persons aged 18 years and over, not to be supplied to anyone below that age. It is illegal to knowingly rent or sell an 18-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or supply cinema tickets for a film with this rating, to anyone under the age of 18.
Films under this category do not have limitation on the foul language that is used. Hard drugs are generally allowed, and explicit sex references along with detailed sexual activity are also allowed. Scenes of strong real sex may be permitted if justified by the context. Very strong, gory, and/or sadistic violence is usually permitted. Strong sexual violence is permitted unless it is eroticized or excessively graphic. Examples of films with this certificate are The Wolf Of Wall Street, Django Unchained, Spring Breakers and Don Jon.

Certificate Research- 15

Suitable only for persons aged 15 years and over, not to be supplied to anyone below that age. It is illegal to knowingly rent or sell a 15-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or supply cinema tickets for a film with this rating, to anyone under the age of 15.
Films under this category can contain adult themes, hard drugs, regular use of foul language and limited use of very strong language, strong violence and strong sex references, and nudity without graphic detail. Sexual activity may be portrayed but without any strong detail. Sexual violence may be shown if discreet and justified by context. Examples of films with this Certificate are Ted, Mama and The Matrix.

Certificate Research- U

U, which stands for Universal means the film is suitable for all ages admitted, there is almost nothing unsuitable for children. Most U rated films include adventures and not many scary scenes because they are aimed at families and young children. Examples of films with this certificate are The Lion King, The Croods, Despicable Me 2 and The Lego Movie.

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Certificate Research- 12

This category applies to cinema releases from August 1989 to 2002, and home media since 1994. It is suitable only for persons aged 12 years and over, not to be supplied to anyone below that age. It is illegal to knowingly rent or sell a 12-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game to anyone under the age of 12.

12A-rated films are usually given a 12 certificate for the VHS/DVD version unless extra material has been added that requires a higher rating. The content guidelines are identical to those used for the 12A certificate. Examples of films with this Certificate are The Hobbit, The Lord Of The Rings and The Perks Of Being A Wallflower.

Certificate Research- 12A

This category applies to cinema only releases since 2002. Films under this category are considered to be unsuitable for young children. Cinemas are only permitted to supply tickets to see a 12A-rated film to children under the age of 12 years if they are accompanied by an adult, aged at least 18 years. However, it is unlikely to be suitable for children under the age of 12.
Films under this category can contain mature themes, discrimination, soft drugs, infrequent strong language and moderate violence, sex references and nudity. Sexual activity may be briefly and discreetly portrayed. Sexual violence may be implied or briefly indicated. Examples of films with this certificate are The Amazing Spider-Man 2, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Iron Man 3.

Certificate Research- PG

Stands for Parental Guidance. All ages admitted, but certain scenes may be unsuitable for young children. Should not disturb children aged 8 years or over. May contain mild language and sex/drugs references. May contain moderate violence if justified by context (e.g. fantasy). Parents may wish to check the film before they let their children watch it. Examples of films with this certificate are Wreck it Ralph and Frozen.

Our Final Film

Film Titles

This image is the title of our film and the production credits. It is a screenshot from our trailer as it appears at the end. The credits shows the audience what each member of the group did-and shows that the work was shared between them. We are very proud of this as it shows that all of our teamwork and hard-work has all eventually paid off

  

Magazine Front Cover

This is our film magazine. It follows the typical features of a horror magazine and uses the typical format of a black background with red coloured text. The images each represent different films and features in the magazines-with two of the pictures being created by ourselves (the middle picture and the top right picture). The image in the middle was taken in the woods and then edited in Photoshop to create a more sinister look. The whole poster was edited in Photoshop with the help of tutorials and teamwork. 

Movie Poster

The poster was created in Photoshop, along with the magazine and titles, and proved to be a struggle, but an adventurous struggle as I myself had never used Photoshop before and neither had any of the other members. We used the help of online tutorials and began the process of creating our film poster. We started with the background. For this we had to find the right background that offered the idea of a dark sinister film. Next was the titles. We researched how to separate the letters from each other to make it look more professional and then placed blood splatters behind the text to make it look like the victims blood.  We then moved onto the production credits which was simple as we just made some text larger than the others. The final part was the main image and proved to be the most difficult as we had to make sure it looked the best it could be. When it was finally finished we used some blending tools and altered the gradient to create the misty image.

Video Blogs

Magazine Cover Analysis- Total Film

The main image of the magazine is Spiderman himself. This links in with the title so that the audience can get an idea of what the main character looks like and also as the image is fairly big the audience will be able to easily identify that it is Spiderman- particularly the costume which is extremely visible. Underneath the title 'The Amazing Spiderman' there is four different words: 'New Guy, New Girl, New Spin and Spidey's back'. This is talking about the new features of the film. This will excite the audience as they will want to know how it is different to the original Spiderman films. The film title 'The Amazing Spiderman' is written in bold across the centre of the magazine cover. 'The Amazing' is written in white. This is effective as it will stand out against the fairly dark background. It is also eye catching to the audience. 'Spiderman' is written in yellow. The point in this is that it stands out compared to the white text and white is fairly plain. So the yellow stands out even more, drawing the audiences attention to it. This makes them fully aware it is a Spiderman magazine so if they are fans of Spiderman, or just have an interest in it, they are more likely to look at it and read it. There is information about what the magazine includes at the side of the front cover. This gives the audience an insight as to what is included in the magazine. This could therefore attract a wider audience as there is more likely to be something included for everyone. We can also see there is a puff on the side of the magazine. This will excite the audience as it says about great films being released in 2012. This will attract more people because they will want to read the magazine if they are interested in films.

Relevant Online Tutorial

These tutorials have taught me how to use the gadget "Chroma key" on adobe premiere elements 10. This will allow me to change the background of my trailer which would come in handy for the titles. At the moment my titles are on a white background but with the use of this new gadget I can make the title on a plain black background to help it stand out. This is effective because it will make our film more interesting to watch as the audience will be able to clearly see everything and it will also look more professional. This means that the audience are more likely to want to watch our film and enjoy it more. 

Mood Board

Updated time Management Schedule

The table below shows the schedule for our upcoming trailer of our new film called "Psycho". We filmed in various locations, including Ashtead, Leatherhead and Fetcham. This gives the audience a sense of realism as it is set all over instead of just one location. Each individual had a role in the planning but when it came to creating the trailer we all shared the roles with helping in the filming and editing to give us a better understanding and experience of the production.

The mise-en-scene, such as the clothing, was chosen specifically to get a certain reaction from the audience so they understand who the main protagonist is and who the extras are too. The black clothing of the main antagonist (Ryan Eastman) shows he is the murderer of the film and is the evil within the home of our main Protagonist. 

The lighting of our film is quite light as it is in a house but is dark at times, especially in the woods, which adds to the Horror aspect. 

We used many shots, including high angle shots and close ups, to show the vulnerability of the characters and enhance the situation they have found themselves in. 

Production Update

On Wednesday 7th January we travelled to Fetcham to continue the production of our film, "PSYCHO", and we used a variety of camera angles and locations to add a dynamic angle to our film. Each individual had a different role; Connor's role was to help film and also star in the film, Rachel was the main protagonist and also played a directing role in the film too by offering ideas, Ryan was the antagonist and I was also a Director.

On the day we filmed most of our trailer and included many aspects from the horror genre, including props, such as knives, suspense-packed scenes and the idea of a vulnerable woman home alone. We had very low lighting to give it that horror aspect. The mise-en-scene of the antagonist was a long black coat that covered the entire body of the murderer as if he was a shadow-we chose this colour as black is the typical colour of an antagonist but also because the colour black connotes evil and darkness. He then had a knife in his hand which was his murder weapon for the film but throughout the film other props/weapons would have been used.

Practice Film Titles

In this post I will examine different types of film titles and analyse each one to see if they suit our film.

This font is the "Face your fears font" and it is quite simple but is my favourite at the moment as it does have a sinister look to it and it looks like the killer has written this with the victims blood. I used a red font to connote danger and give the audience an indication to what the film will include.

This font is the "You Murderer" font and is similar to the first font and offers the same sinister look. The font looks as if it is the victims blood smeared onto a wall and the choice of red again connotes danger. This is a great font that offers a "slasher" theme to our film but I think that the first font looks more realistic.

This font is called the "Lumos" font and it is different to the others as it's not red and it's very plain. This font is plain and simple which follows the codes and conventions of a horror films as it is similar to other horror film titles, such as "Texas Chainsaw". The font stands out and is very sharp which gives the audience the indication that the film will be sharp and straight to the point. 

This font is from the horror movie "Scream". It has all the letter aligned apart from the sharp "W" as it stretches down lower than the other letters. This font may make the audience associate our film with "Scream" which is good because "Scream" was a successful horror movie, however we would like our film to have it's own style of font instead of just copying one that has already been used. 

This font is from the horror movie "Friday the 13th" which was another very successful horror movie. The font is not too bad but is a bit simple and plain for our movie. 

Overall I believe the top two,"Face your fears" and the"You Murderer", fonts are the best fonts for our horror movie as they offer a sinister theme and look like the victims blood smeared across a wall, which is perfect for our horror film. They also do not look very sketchy and could be seen in a big blockbuster movie.