Third section of report

Conclusively, the overall results of the final products are effective. When compared to the texts that I have researched I have aimed to follow the codes and conventions of horror film DVD covers and posters. Starting off with my DVD cover and poster I have followed the basic media language of following the formats and symbols used and also the way that I have laid out the text makes it recognisable that it is under the category of horror. I have included a lot of the genre conventions of horror, such as the use of the colour red which has connotations of evil or more obvious, bloodshed. In addition to this, the use of the colour black which is typically seen on a lot of DVD covers and posters of the horror genre. I have also used the font ‘Trajan Pro’ which is typically conceived with the horror genre as it is widely used on an array of horror posters such as ‘Urban Legend’ and ‘I know what you did last summer’. Also, I was aware of the narrative codes and conventions most typically used and made sure to include them in my production pieces. An example of this would be that I use close up shots: for instance on the front of my DVD cover and for my poster. Also, I used extreme close up shots too, which can be seen on the back of my DVD cover. The weakness however, for my production pieces, is the fact that I have a lack of representation of different races and thus it may not target those who are not Caucasian. However, I feel as though I have engaged the target audience that I had intended, I know this because I shared my work on a social networking site and received positive feedback on the fact that I have created a suspenseful mood. 

Second section of the report

The texts that I have chosen to research for my DVD cover was as follows: ‘Prom Night’, ‘Friday the 13^th’ and ‘Scream’.  The target audience for both texts of ‘Friday the 13^th’ and ‘Scream’ are incredibly similar based on the fact that they are aimed at 17-18 year olds, however they could attract older audiences as well since they contain certain factors that may interest them. This can be seen through the use of teenagers or young adults in the films and that elements of sex and ‘partying’ are involved, which are commonly associated with teenagers; by doing this teenage audiences can feel as though they can relate to the text. However, the target audience for ‘Prom Night’ differs largely from the other texts as it is aimed at anyone aged 13 and above as it is a PG-13 rated movie and includes elements of high school and the commonly associated big event of prom. Also, the body count is low and scenes of violence are done off-screen, unlike the other two texts which are very graphic. I first formed an idea of who the target audience might be for these texts by looking at the factors involved in the film and whom it may be aimed at. After this I used the web to research what horror film fanatics thought the target audience might be. I did this by visiting online blogs and student forums. I used this information in my production piece by certifying my film as ‘R’ or also known as ‘fit for viewings by persons aged 18 years or more’.

Furthermore, I used the texts, ‘Prom Night’, ‘Scream’ and ‘Mirrors’ to give me inspiration for my poster. I chose these texts as the posters that were designed for them were simplistic yet effective. All texts included one main image of a female looking as though she is in a vulnerable position.

Have you completed the first section of the report following the completion of your pre-production?

First Section of Report

My DVD cover

Explaining how I made my DVD cover would take as long as it took me to make it, which is long. I just have to say that I used a lot of the blending mode options, the gradient tool and Trajan Pro. However, I will also add that this video tutorial aided me on my journey into creating this DVD cover. I also had to painstakingly search industry logos and also make my own industry elements too. So good luck.

My poster

The measurements I used for this poster is the same measurements as an A3 paper (420 x 297mm).

The making of this poster was quite simple. The first step I took was to fill the background in black, as this is the most typically used colour for horror film posters.

I then added my image to the background, and then used the blending mode option 'hard light, which created a harsh effect. After this, I used the dodge tool to create some odd colouring to the lips and nails, to give it that 'beat' and 'grunge' feel.

After this, I used the gradient tool to feather out the neck and shoulders. I did this so I could just have the floating head image. Which I thought would be better suited in this case.

The next step that was partaken was to add the tagline 'Make sure that you are listening.', in which I used the Trajan Pro font. As this is the most commonly associated font with the horror genre. And which was found in the posters I researched too.

I then added the billing credits in which I used a font named credit block, which is free to use. After that I added a copyright notice on the bottom of the poster.

The following thing to do was to add some industry elements in which I added a 'original film' logo and created my own of 'deadwood films' to include on the opposing side.








After all this, I used the font 'Pulse Sans Virgin', which can be found at dafont. And then using the Trajan Pro font I added some final additions, such as the actor and actresses name, alongside the script writers name.

Once this was completed, I carried out the last step which was to add the paper texture on top, which gave it a nice finishing touch (I did not include the image here as it can be seen above).

Photos for my poster

Looking back at my researched posters, I decided that I did not have to take as many pictures as I officially thought I had to. Thus, I only took one photograph.

This photograph is to be used as the main headshot for my poster. I also decided that I wanted to use an overlay texture and landed upon a texture of a grungy looking paper, which has been stated that it is free to use.

Have you collected at least 3 posters from the same genre?

I have chosen the three posters as the following: Prom Night, Scream and Mirrors.

Have you annotated them?
When annotating the posters, I commented on aspects such as the layout, fonts used, language and register used, mode of address, use of colour, images, industry elements and brand image.

I chose these three posters covers as they were the most simplistic and that I could easily replicate something close to these.