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.

Have you collected at least 3 DVD covers from the same genre?

I have chosen the three DVD covers as follows: Prom Night, Friday the 13th and Scream.

Have you annotated them?
When annotating the DVD covers, 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 DVD covers as I thought they were the most simplistic in terms of images used, as they all use one main image for the front of the DVD cover. Thus, the back only uses a couple of still shots from the film and not too many. I thought that these would be the easiest for me to transfer onto my own DVD cover.

Have you completed writing your script?

To write my script I had to research some of the formats used when writing it. Google was a lot of help to me when doing this. I tried to include what I thought was typical iconography and narrative structure into my own script. I chose the title, 'Voices in the Dark' as I thought it was the most appropriate. Its length is the instructed maximum of 10 pages.

Voices in the Dark

Synopsis of my script

I decided that if I was to go about writing a script, I should first think of the storyline for my script. I typed up a quick synopsis to help me start:

In an isolated village named ‘Tekopan’ located on the outskirts of town, lived a small family who seemed normal in the eye of an outsider. However, they had a secret, their son Aaron Lawson suffered from a brain disorder that caused him to hear voices. One night, at the age of 12, he watched the murder of his sister. However, silenced and unable to do anything, he realised that it was he who killed her.

Six years later, a group of friends stumbling upon this rumour decide to camp out at village Tekopan to see if they could uncover some unknown truths. However they discover too much and now Aaron, he's after them.

Characteristics of opening sequences in horror–teen slasher films

To help me with my script writing, I decided to embark on a series of research to help me figure out some key characteristics that appear in horror films. Here are my findings;

Opening sequences in horror-teen slasher films always have the signifiers of genre to connect with the audience to make them aware that they are watching a horror film. The conventional settings that usually appear in horror films are mainly small communities or isolated places. These are present in the 5 texts I’ve seen; Friday the 13^th (2009), Prom Night, I know what you did last summer, Urban Legend and Sorority Row. However, Friday the 13^th is the most typical of the lot, as it includes a large variety of settings typically conceived with horror films. These include a small community that is isolated in the midst of dark woods, and that this community has an abandoned cabin near a lake, also this small community holds a ‘dark’ history. These types of settings are used to connote isolation or the mere idea of ‘being alone’ or ‘helpless’.

The conventional technical codes used in horror films are there to create tension and suspense. The typical camerawork that is used is POV shots, as they allow the audience to see the world through the characters eyes and this creates a suspenseful atmosphere as the audience don’t know what to expect; an example of this would be in the opening scene of Urban Legend in which the character Michelle looks out of the windshield around the ‘isolated’ gas station. In addition, handheld shots are commonly used to arouse feelings of fear and terror and expecting the unknown. Furthermore, extreme close up shots on the characters or in this case ‘victims’ face can portray to the audience the characters emotions which can identify fear and horror. Also, editing is a large factor in promoting unsettling tensions and suspense to the audience – the editing is mainly quick cuts. In horror films, the audio codes are one main factor as the film wouldn’t be scary without them. Disturbing diegetic sounds such as screaming or fast paced footsteps can create uncertainty within the audience. Also, non-diegetic sounds such as heart beats and loud thunder can cause audiences to grip their seats with suspense or jump out of their seats with horror.

Typically used iconography can help the audience identify the horror genre. Props such as a weapon most commonly identified with the villain of the film include weapons and masks. These are all true to the 5texts I’ve seen as they all include a symbolic weapon used; such machetes, axes, knives, bear traps and masks that typically cover up the villains face. For instance, in Prom Night, the villain’s choice of weapon is a knife.

Moreover, the characterisations of teen slasher films often live up to the conventional expectations. For instance, the main protagonist who either ends up as the ‘victim’ or ‘hero’. A group of teenagers who are seen as immoral and live up to negative representations perceived by audiences through media texts; as in teenagers who are seen as ‘stupid’ for going into unknown places, often involved with taking drugs, binge drinking, and having casual sex. What follows’ after, is the villains who in teen slashers are mainly serial killers which links in with the narrative structure of a villain who has experienced a distressed childhood or has some sort of medical issue.

http://www.filmsite.org/horrorfilms.html
http://prezi.com/gyiyvk3ap08-/codes-conventions-of-thriller-films/

Which scripts have you read?

The two horror film scripts that I have chosen to read are Scream and Urban Legend, which are two famously known slasher films.

After thoroughly reading through both scripts, I then began to annotate the two. One at a time, of course. I highlighted any aspect of the script which I found interesting; such as the succinct descriptions of characters when they are first introduced, the dialogue used which is relatable to the target audiences and the use of the script layout to create action filled or tense scenes.

Out of the two scripts, I much preferred Scream as it had a lot more cheap scare scenes used compared to Urban Legend. However, it felt as though Scream dragged on too much whereas Urban Legend was short yet still effective.

For my script, I shall use elements found in both.

Research 3-5 texts that are conventional of your chosen genre

Which texts have you chosen?

Friday the 13^thProm Night
I know what you did last summer
Urban Legend
Sorority Row

Have you annotated at least 3-5 opening scenes for your chosen texts?
I have annotated all of the 5 texts listed above. The quick notes I made were separated into different categories, which are as follows; narrative structure, character types, settings, camera angles, editing, costumes, prominent colours, ideology, non-diegetic sound, diegetic sound, titles/credits, lighting.

Research the target audience of your 3-5 texts.
For this part of the research, I looked into different vlogs and blogs of film goers and generalised their input into different categories. Gender, age range, lifestyle, attitudes and beliefs, interests/hobbies, where/how would this text be consumed?

What genre or sub-genre have you chosen?

I have chosen the genre horror, alongside the sub-genre slasher.

I made my decision based on the sole reasoning that I adore the horror genre and the narrative styles that lay behind it. Also, a lot of the horror film posters can be quite tongue-in-cheek or intriguing to look at.

Which brief have you chosen?

There is an option to pick between two briefs. They are as follows;

#1 Television
Pre-Production:

• A script of the opening scene of a new series

or

• A storyboard of the opening sequence of a new series

Production:

• A poster and DVD cover (front and back) promoting the new series

or

• A magazine front cover and a double page spread featuring the new series

#2 Film
Pre-Production:

• A script of the opening sequence of a new film

or

• A storyboard of the opening sequence of a new film

Production:

• A poster and DVD cover (front and back) promoting the new film

or

• A magazine front cover and a double page spread featuring the new film

I decided to go for the option of brief 2 (#2 Film).