Director's Commentary

Evaluation

The trailer we created follows many of the typical conventions used in authentic teaser trailers. Using a sequence of short clips with fast paced editing builds suspense, creating tension in the trailer. At the beginning of the trailer we decided to used hand held shots, to show the scenes from the killers perceptive perspective. These are techniques we see day to day in horror trailers. Typically teaser trailers are short ranging from 30 seconds to a minute; this was one the main conventions we included when we produce our own trailer. To make the trailer look more realistic we included our own production logo’s, which are commonly seen in genuine teaser trailers. We made each production logo look unique, but still used a basic red and black colour scheme to connote the horror genre. Another convention we used was to place the films name ‘Ward 13’ at the end of our trailer. We did this so the audience would know what film the trailer was advertising. We also put coming in 2010 to finish off our trailer. Although this is one of the most obvious conventions used in genuine trailers it seemed like on of the most important.

We decided to use fast paced music to create anxiety in the trailer. This type of music is typical in especially the horror genre as it usually comes to a climax allowing tension to be built visually. We added a heart beat on top of the music to show the distress of the victims. We then placed screams into the trailer, a convention used typically in the horror genre to connote anguish. Although we have used a lot of the conventions seen in genuine teaser trailer, we also challenged them. As we filmed the majority of our scenes in the day, we broke the convention of horror trailers being set mainly at night. We did this as we thought it would be more realistic for a teenage girl to be alone in the park during the day.

Having already looked at existing film magazines like 'empire' and ‘Entertainment weekly', I had a basic idea on the conventions I wanted to incorporate into my design. To begin with, the magazine name ‘Film weekly’ is written in a bold, clean cut font. The title is placed behind the cover stars head connoting the fact this is an established magazine. This is a convention used in almost all the magazine I looked at. We also placed the article names along side of the main image, typical to genuine film magazines. Like the cover images used on 'Empire' we took a mid shot of the films main character. We did this from a low angle to connote the killer’s status and power over the reader.

http://www.empireonline.com/magazine/

http://www.ew.com/ew/inside/archive/0,,,00.html

However, by challenging the typical layout of tradition movie magazines we were able to produce an affective cover. We did this by placing the films name ‘Ward 13’ in a bold font at the bottom of our magazine. This challenges the magazines name showing the article inside is just as important as the magazine itself.

Our film poster follows traditional conventions in numerous ways. The main image, a long shot of the films protagonist shows not only the main character but gives a brief insight into where the film is set. This type of image is commonly used in film poster. Another convention we used was to place the films name ‘Ward 13’ boldly at the top of the poster. We felt this drew attention to the poster, leading the viewers eye from top to bottom.

Unlike genuine film posters we did not include the actors names in our poster. This was because we wanted the main focus to be on the film and its story line, rather then the actors starring in it.

Having looked at existing publicity campaigns, it was clear our own production work combined together made an effective campaign. We used continuous themes throughout the work, keeping recognizable costume and typography in each publicity piece. For example we used the same font through out all are production work when writing the films title ‘Ward 13’. This was so our work would be recognizable as a whole. We also wanted the 'Ward 13' name to become almost like a logo on each piece of work, connoting the horror genre. Our killers costumes was also important when producing a consistent advertising campaign. We used the same costume across our campaign. Whilst planning our project we came across the publicity campaign for the film District 9, this not only included a normal film poster but a 'warning Aliens' posters. This was something we wanted to included in our own work creating a escaped criminal 'wanted' poster. For this we used a mid shot of our main characters which was clearly the same as that featured throughout our film campaign creating a obvious link to the rest of our publicity work.

Using the concept of synergy we produced a four piece publicity campaign to advertise our film 'Ward 13'. Each of these uses a different form of media to reach the public, constantly reminding them of the product or film in our case.

As our target audience is teenagers, we had to make sure are work would appeal to people of a younger age group. We did this in a number of different way, the most obvious being the use an entirely teenage cast. This is clear throughout our production work as the people in the trailer, poster and magazine are clearly teenagers. Also because are story is based on 19 year old David Slash; it is easier for our audience to relate to the character as it is reprehensive of their teenage social group. Conventionally horror movies are targeted at young adults aged 18-25. As this is the case, we had to find a way of targeting our film at a slightly younger audience to meet the brief we were given. We did this by making the storyline more relatable to people of a younger age group. We also focused our magazine at specifically teenagers, making the articles featured on the cover appeal to people aged 15-19.

Once we had finish our publicity campaign, we asked a group of teenagers what they thought of our work. When we had gotten feedback we decided to make some changes to improve our final product. One improvement we made was the change in our trailers soundtrack. The teenagers we asked suggested we made the music more intense, we did this adding a heartbeat to the final soundtrack. They also suggested that we made the colouring in the magazine a lot brighter, so the blood on the shirt would stand out.

Although we made a few changes, most of the feedback we receive was extremely positive. The feedback showed that the audience really like the props we used, saying that they made the entire project a lot more theatrical. From the feedback we received it was clear we had achieved a project that appeal to the audience we were targeting and that the final product was finished to a good standard. We also set up a facebook and youtube account. Both of these included most of our production work I.e. the poster, magazine and teaser trailer. We created these as we wanted to see the reaction the film got from our peers. Both web pages got substantial feedback, with people commenting on what they thought of all our work. The feedback we got from this was again very positive. Comments included;

• ‘Great trailer, cant wait for the film’

• ‘Nice trailer, the villain looks genuinely scary with that mask on!"

We also asked the audience if our film campaign reminded them of any pre existing publicity campaigns, from this we established that a few of our group thought the campaign was similar to the campaign used to promote films District 9 and the Blair witch project, as they also created additional warning posters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPwqle-7A4I

http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=ward+13&init=quick#/group.php?gid=168380608966&ref=search&sid=537472053.27074203..1



Here is a short video we produced for our audience feedback. We asked a number of people in our target age group what they thought of our work and different ways to improve it.

These are the questions we asked;
1. Does the film appeal to you? why?

2. Does the film appeal to your age range?

3. What do you think of the characters and conventions used?

4. What do you think of the camera editing?

5. If any changes were to be made, what should they be?




From this we received mostly good feedback, with all most all the people we asked saying they liked the element of surprise in the trailer. We also learnt that the use of candles to connote the horror genre work extremely well, as this was something a lot of people commented on. All in all I feel the campaign has works well together as a whole and appeals specifically to our target audience. As we mainly recieved positive feedback from our targeted age group I think we have managed to create a project fitting with the teen horror genre.

Although most of the feedback we receive was positive we were given some things to work on. A few people said they didn't like the mysterious feel of the trailer and would of preferred if they were given more information on the film within the trailer itself. They also questioned the use of handheld shots at the beginning of the trailer. If we had more time we probably would have used a tripod as it would have made the shots look more professional.

Throughout the different staged of the project we used a range of different media technologies. These include;

• Cameras video/still
• Photoshop
• I-movie
• Word
• Excel
• Facebook
• Youtube
• Safari
• QuickTime

The main use of media technology is the use of cameras. We used both video and still cameras whilst producing our publicity campaign. Then transferred the footage we had filmed into our second media technology; I-movie. In my opinion this was the hardest technology we had to use as none of the group had that much experience with the program. Whilst we were using I-movie to edit, we were also using another Mac program to produce the trailers music; Garage band. When all the elements to the trailer were completed we had to export it to QuickTime, this was so we could upload it to our blogs. Using new media social networking sites like facebook and Myspace we were able to create fan webpage’s to help advertise the film. We specifically used facebook as this is a social networking site commonly used with are target audience of 15-19.

Again we used a camera to produce the still images for our magazine and poster. Once we had taken these images we uploaded them onto the computer using a firewire, where we started editing using Photoshop. We downloaded a font from internet site www.dafont.com. When we finished all our production work we started work on are electronic evaluation. We did this using www.blogger.com, a popular blogging website on the internet. We also used a number of convergent technologies when creating our publicity campaign including multi function cameras and internet blogging.

Final Trailer

Editing

Once we had finished filming it was time to start editing. We imported the footage we wanted to use into i-movie and started with our film trailer. We put the scenes in order of how we were going to use them and cut them to the lengths we wanted. We then placed them together using our storyboard as a constant reference. Once we had the shots together it was time to add transitions to smooth out the jump in-between shots. We added a fade between the shots as it was the simplest transition we could find. We then began to add affects to some of the shots to make the trailer look a lot more professional. We added an old style film affect to the girls praying scene, repeating this twice in the final trailer.

When we had finished with our film clips we started on credits. We produced are own production logo's like those seen in real movie trailers. The first, is for a fictional company called film works, we used an italic font for the first part of the name making the logo look extremely soft contrasting with the bold font used for 'works'. We kept the black, white and red colour scheme to connote the horror genre.

The second, a logo for company 'Low films' uses a bold font throughout the logo. By adding a white drop shadow we were able to produce a bold eye catching production logo. We added both these logo's to the beginning of our trailer to make our final work look more realistic.

Finally we added the films name 'Ward 13' to the end of the trailer so the audience would know the films name, we also added the films release date.

When the editing was done it was time to add in sound. Originally we tried to use garage band but found it hard to produce the sound we liked. In the end we decided to use some non-copyrighted music from www.freeplaymusic.com. We picked a sound track called 'Abandoned infirmary' which gave the trailer a creepy atmosphere. We then added screams to the end of the trailer to finish off.

Filming

One we had finished planning we were ready to start filming. We filmed over a two day period, shooting after school at each different location. For our first shot we headed to Whittington hospital, we needed a close up of the hospitals sign to give the viewer a basic understanding of the trailers storyline. We decided to shot free hand as if the sign is being seen from the killers perspective. We then moved across the road to the Archway campus to film the hospitals establishing shots. Although the campus isn't actually a hospital because of its gothic architecture we thought it would be the perfect location for 'Ward 13'.

Our second location was Hampstead heath. These shots took a lot longer as we had more to film. Firstly we filmed the running shots, we got Yann to run around the camera whilst we tracked him. We did this as it was the most efficient way to get long running shots without taking the camera off the tripod. We then shot the girls praying scenes in a hidden corner of the heath. We placed red candles around the area and started to film. By zooming in on the candles we were able to create a very sinister shot. We then shot the killing scenes making the villain run up behind the girl. we shot this at a low angle to show the power the killer has over the viewers.

Lastly we shot a close up on the killers face whilst blood was being thrown over him. Again we shot this at a low angle with the killer looking down on us. With this shot we waited until the blood dripped off the mask before we stopped filming for the day.

Magazine Cover, Planning and Production

The magazine was the final production piece we had to create. Having already taken the images when producing the film poster it became a matter of just picking the photograph we wanted to use. In the original storyboard we had planned on using a mid shot so we could incorporate the killers bloody shirt. By taking the image form a low angle we were able to draw more attention to the costume connoting the idea of slasher horror. When we had selected our image, a flat plan was created to give a rough idea on where everything would be placed. We also wanted to have a basic idea of the conventions we were going to use in our production work.

-Flat plan -

-Original Image-

Once we had chosen the final photograph we had to import it into adobe Photoshop to start editing. We played with the brightness of the image to give it a sinister look, then adjusted the colour making the red tones a lot more vivid. As a group we decided on the name film weekly , a simple yet clear name denoting what the magazine is about. We then looked at the typography of existing film magazines to help decided on our on font. Eventually we picked a font called aharoni adding a red drop shadow to create a 3D effect. We ended up putting our image over the top of the magazine name to show the films importance. Also by doing this it shows the magazine is a well known publication and that the content is a lot more important then the magazines name.

We added the films name 'Ward 13' to the bottom of the magazine keeping the same font as in the poster, this was to make sure our publicity campaign was consistent with each other. We then placed article names on each side of the image making the main headings white and descriptions red. This contrasts with the magazine title using the same colour scheme throughout. We then placed an emboss on the headings to make them stand out against the white shirt in the background. Because the articles relate to the horror genre we decided to make our magazine a 'Special horror edition' allowing us to focus purely on making out magazine a focused on the genre as possible.

To finish off we added a barcode, date, website and price (£3.00).

-Final Magazine-

Film Poster, Planning and Production

As part of our publicity campaign, we had to produce a film poster to help advertise the film. To begin design work we looked at some pre-existing film posters to help gain a understanding of the conventions used in normal posters. We created a spider diagram of the different concepts we wanted to include in our poster and came up with a final flat plan.

-Flat plan-

Once we had produced the flat plan we showed it to five 15-19 year olds, asking what they thought of the design we came up with. The feedback we received was mainly good except when it came to the typography. Most of the teenagers we asked agreed that the font should be bolder, so it would stand out on the page. This meant scraping the original idea of using an italic, blood dripped font for the films title. Using adobe Photoshop we was able to put all the elements we originally planned into the poster. Downloading a font from www.dafont.com produced a bold, yet chilling title fitting the slasher genre. The tagline "this will hurt a bit" is a commonly used phrase by doctors and connotes the idea of pain suggesting the film may 'hurt' the viewer. We used a font called ariel bold for the tagline, placing it directly under the films title 'Ward 13'. Both title and tagline are written in red representing blood, denoting the slasher genre.

In the background we used a black and white image of an old hospital ward. After we had figured out the background we started out on main image. We planned on using a long shot of the main character David Slash standing with his arms caught in a straight jacket. For this we took a number of images at different angles to capture the perfect picture. Once we were happy with the image we used a filter to add an artist stoke and blur the image. We then cut the image form its original background placing it in the centre of the hospital photo. In addition we blurred the edges to make the image consistent with the background.

-Original Images-

Finally we added the films release date and production information to the bottom of the poster. Again we used ariel bold for the release date to keep consistency in the poster.

-Final Poster-

Publicity

We wanted to see people reactions to the storyline we had come up with so we produced this publicity poster. This poster is designed to look like a metropolitan police poster warning people of an escaped crimal. We placed the poster around are local area to see the reaction it would cause. We based this idea on the publicity campaign for film District 9, which featured posters warning people of alien attacks. These poster were posted in certain locations featuring the words 'Humans only'. We also looked at the publicity campaign for The Blair witch project. Artisan Entertainment created a hugely successful publicity campaign, creating missing posters for the films characters.

The Trailer, Planning

We started out our project by looking at the key elements of the slasher genre. This helped us to write the final synopsis which we would base our publicity campaign on.The synopsis; Ex- mental patient David Slash is a broken man in more ways then one; after escaping from well known mental facility 'Ward 13' he is hell bent on returning to his hometown to kill his enemies. The film is set in suburban London with David hiding out in the woods where he played as a child. He is wearing a cream straight jacket denoting the fact he has escaped from a mental hospital. He is also seen wearing a white mask hiding his face from his victims, this is iconic to the idea of a horror movie with a stereotypical villains trying to hide there true identities. The mask; a normal white art mask will have the number thirteen engraved into the forehead connoting the films name 'Ward 13', a constant reminder of what the viewer is watching. The protagonist of the film David Slash, uses a old cutting knife in order to kill his enemies.

Our initial idea for the trailer was to focus on only shots involving the films protagonist teen mental patient, David Slash and the weeks following his escape from "Ward 13". Our first storyboard included most of this but became to long for a short teaser trailer. We then cut this down to produce the final plan;

When we had story boarded our trailer it was time to start planning the rest of our production work. Here I have included a copy of our production sheet and shooting schedule;

-Production Sheet-

-Shooting Schedule-

Location

Choosing the filming locations was one of the most important aspects to planning our trailer. We wanted the locations to match the ones in the films synopsis and because of this they had to be just right. For the establishing shots of a hospital we ended up picking two different locations, the Whittington hospital and the Archway campus . For the park scenes we chose Hampstead heath a location close to our school.

-Hampstead Heath-

-The Archway Campus-

Props

We then looked at props and what would be the appropriate costume for the killer. In our synopsis we wanted the killer to wear a white art mask with the number 13 engraved into the forehead. We managed to buy a mask like this in a local costume shop but found it too hard to cut 13 in the forehead. We also bought a large fake knife for the killers weapon.

-Props-

Research

Trailer Analysis- Jennifer's Body

A teaser trailer is a short 30-second trailer giving a brief insight into a film. Teaser Trailers are usually introduced months before a movie is actually released building up anticipation for a film. The trailer I looked at is for teenage horror ‘Jennifer‘s body‘; The trailer starts with the 20th century fox production logo, this fades into a long shot of someone swimming in a lake. The trailer then cuts into a mid shot and we see it is a woman in the lake, whilst this is going on the audience can hear creepy music playing in the background making us wonder if the girl is in danger. It then cuts to a close up of the girls face, this allows us to see a sinister expression making us think perhaps she isn’t the films victim. The trailer uses a mix of clips from the film and short sentences to help the reader understand the films basic plot. These are interspersed within each other with the clip usually relating to what the viewer has read on screen. This finally ends with the words “would die for” denoting that the girl we initially thought was the victim is actually the killer.

The trailer uses typical horror movie conventions to connote the idea it is part of the horror genre. These conventions are made oblivious toward the middle of the trailer when it is clear to us who the films killer is. Her eyes change colour and the entire feel of the trailer becomes extremely dark. The remainder of shots shown are mainly set at night and the colour red, connoting blood is used when we see her shadow change into a inhuman character. The trailer then switches to show another part of the storyline showing a teenage girl trying to take down the killer. This is connoted by the change in music becoming more fast paced, like an action film.

The trailer then ends with the movies name ‘Jennifer’s Body’ and the films release date. Telling audiences when they can see the film. This is typical of movie trailers as it forces people to watch the entire trailer before they can know its name.

Production Logo's

WARNER BROS. PICTURES
Clouds in the background connote the idea that Warner Bros. usually produces light-hearted comedies or family films. This is also denoted in the colour scheme used in the logo as primary colours like blue and yellow are usually used when trying to target a younger audience as they attract the eye. The actual Warner Bros. logo is representive of medallion connoting a police badge or idea that perhaps they produce mostly action, drama contrasting with the idea of a very family orientated company.

UNITED ARTIST
By mixing a silver font with a dark black background the united artist production logo connotes the idea that perhaps they’re quite a dark company. Also because the typography is written in silver contrasted with the black creates an almost sci-fi look connoting that the company specialises in the sci-fi genre, which is also denoted in the bold font.

Questionnaire

We gave a questionnaire to twenty 15-19 year olds to gain a better understanding on what attracts them to the horror genre. We asked;

-What attracts you to a horror film?
-What is your favourite (slasher) horror film?
-What type of iconic weapons would a villain have in a slasher film?
-What defines a slasher horror for you?
-What is your favourite horror soundtrack?
-Who is your all time favourite horror villain?
-What real life situations make you scared?
-How often do you see a horror film?
-What type of thing attracts you in a film poster?

The main feedback received was that are age group were mainly attracted by movie trailers and posters rather then reviews in magazines. The group also wrote that they were heavily influenced by viral campaigns and advertisements on the internet, social networking sites and television. We also asked people what they looked for in a horror villain. From this we found out that the audience preferred masked killers as they create a sense of mystery. Because of this we decided to make our villain completely masked throughout the film. We also asked about the real life situations that really scared our audience. Most of the group said that they were more scared of the idea of escaped villain or metal patients then anything else.

Film Publicity- Borat

Since its release date borat has grossed over $260 million worldwide, the film was also nominated for numerous awards including a golden globe and Academy award.

The film's success is somewhat due to the help of clever publicity stunts building up the movies reputation. Sacha Baron Cohen's character Borat was seen around popular tourist destinations months before the film's release, even trying to give George Bush an invite to the movies premier whilst on a trip to the white house. Cohen's stunt was timed to coincide with the official vistis by the Kazakh President, who was scheduled to meet with BUsh at the time. Cohen was also seen in Cannes wearing a green mankini before his film was shown at the Cannes film festival creating an idea on what the movie was going to be like. Borat was also previewed at the Comic-Con International in San Diego, California.