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.
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.
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