Work Begins- Identifying a Concept/Planning

In order to begin planning our concept, myself and my group held a discussion about different ideas and storylines we each had. It was no suprise when we soon disco

vered that each of us had completely different visions about what our horror movie trailer should be like. However all of us were willing to acknowledge each others opinions and consider every idea for our trailer.

'Name of Trailer'

Vanessa had thought of a name and was really keen to share it with us in which we all later agreed to ' Midnight Massacre 2' - The Return of the Maskarade. The reason why we chose to decide a name for our movie first was so that it would ensure that mysel

f and Chantel and Vanessa were in the same boat in terms of themes for our trailer. It would be no good if me and Chantel had decided on another film name which had a completely different meaning to Vanessa's. Having decided a name, it was then easy to steady our thoughts on the basic storyline of our trailer. During our AS Media course, we had seen many films which were almost 'clique' you could say and we wanted to change that. We knew most of the other groups in our class would have simply decided the name of their trailer and we wanted to be different. The reason we chose to do a sequel was because we not only wanted our film campaign to be different, however we wanted to introduce more excitement for the audience.

The name: 'Midnight Massacre 2'- The return of the Maskarade, infers that there has been a previous movie. This makes the viewers more engaged wi

th our trailer as they would want to see the sequel.

In order to make our newly found name more interesting, we added a twist to the spelling of M-A-S-Q-U-E-R-A-D-E and instead spelt it as, M-A-S-K-A-R-A-D-E. This immediately gave the group the idea to make a mask a major feature in our storyline.

Above: Images of notes we made during discussion of concepts for trailer.

'Basic Storyline'

As a group we decided that our trailer would be of great success if we did not solely focus on just the trailer, but the story behind it. We felt that if we made up a whole story describing the characters in our trailer, where they lived etc, then it would be easier to make up our trailer. I suggested the idea of a woman jogging in the park with her dog in the evening with no idea she is being followed. I informed the others of my idea as at the time I thought it had been a sensible decision as it was not hard to find a character role to play the woman and also a park was a location that was in reach of us and not too unrealistic. As time was a key feature in our trailer, (hence the title MIDNIGHT Massacre) I thought we could frequently refer back to a shot of a clock counting down to midnight, also building suspense for the viewer. The others in my group thought this was a good idea. Chantel then suggested that the woman should have headphones in her ears. I tho

ught this was a good idea as it would create a sense of realism and would have more effect on the viewer when we introduce more scarier parts of the trailer. In order to again create suspense we decided that the viewers should not see who or how the woman is killed.

'Breakdown'

We had made a lot of progress when we were informed by our teacher that our location (park) was predictable and in his opinion many students across the country would also use that location for their movie trailer. One thing our group wanted to be was unique and different so we made it our agenda to work around this fatal flaw and change the storyline of our trailer. Although we were all disappointed by this, we appreciated the fact that it happened sooner rather than later as we were only in the planning process.

Research Into Horror

'Horror as a theme'

In my opinion, horror is something of intense and profound fear. It is intended to or has the ability to frighten its viewers, sending a chill down an individuals spine or inducing feelings os horror and terror. As a fan of horror movies myself, I feel if the movie did not have elements of supernaturalness, fear and maybe consisting of thriller, then the film would not be worth watching or do credit to the film genre 'Horror'. Horror movies have always been a popular genre in film and theatre and has greatly competed with other film genres such as 'Comedy' and also 'Romance'. Some of the most popular horror movies include 'The Exorcist', 'The Ring', and also 'Chuckie'. However these are all quite recent productions. During research, I found out that horror films date back to the 1890's with the first depictions of supernatural events appearing in George Melies' 'Le Manoir du diable', in english meaning the haunted castle. (Click here for link to film outline)

In order for my film production to be of good standard, I will first need to ensure that I personally thoroughly understand the concept of horror and what it means to me and others. Below is a spider gram which I made. I included all words which I associated with horror/movies and which I could incorporate into my own horror production.

'What Horror means to me'

(Common elements of horror)

(Click Image Below)

Words which I associated with horror included: Vampire, Ghost, Massacre, Black, Scream, Children. These are all words which I found were common elements in recent horror movies such as the ring which features an evil child who has been living in a well for many years and also Let me in, another horror movie which the storyline includes a female child who is also a vampire.

Above: Child in 'The Ring' & Child in 'Let me in'

'What Horror Means to others'

I decided that I would also have to collect some qualitative data, and find out what horror meant to other people than myself. I felt this will be beneficial to do prior to the starting of my film production as I am not making the film trailer or poster for myself. My trailer and poster will need to appeal to audiences of different ages and genders. Therefore I decided to ask some of my friends and family some questions based on horror, which I felt would assist me and also steer my thoughts, when I have to decide the concept of my movie.

Q1:) When you watch a horror film/trailer, what do want or expect to get from it?

Answer:) Well, when I watch horror trailers, the main thing I look for is for it to be able to scare me. I enjoy the thrill I get from watching it and not knowing what is going to happen next. Erm, when I watch horror trailers I want to find myself sitting there afterwards with a urge to go and watch the film.

- Monique Joseph, 17

Q2:) What effects or characteristics of a horror movie trailer appeals to you?

Answer:) Sound. Sound is important as the theme tune of a film trailer can affect the viewer and change their mood. Like, for example if there is a quiet atmosphere or a scene where there is no sound and suddenly we hear a BANG, it is likely to shock the viewer. I like things like that.

- Hollie Bowden, 19

Q3:) How far do film posters motivate you to go and watch a film?

Answer:) Quite a lot really. But I think its more the word of mouth. For instance if I've heard a lot of people talking about a certain film and giving good feedback about it, I would want to and probably would go and watch it. But film posters are also important, because it promotes the film and there are a few films which I have seen on the sides of buses for example and thought 'Yeah, I'm gonna watch that, that looks good!'

- George P. Miller, 16

Q4:) Do you read/buy film magazines? If yes why and what attracts you to read/buy it?

Answer:) I do sometimes but not as much as I buy music magazines. I buy film magazines because I want to read film reviews and see what films out there are good or suit my taste in film for example if there is a good review about a film which specializes in the comedy genre then I would go and watch it. Erm, what attracts me to buying it in the first place? I would say the cover page and the stars it features how well it sells the stories and articles inside it, because nobody wants to buy a boring looking magazine.

- Karl Nelson, 20

'What I learnt from this'...

From asking these questions, I have learnt that horror movie trailers are incomplete is they are missing the 'thrill-factor'. As the whole purpose of a film trailer is to make the viewer want to see the movie, it will be essential that my horror movie trailer stands out from previous horror trailers and includes elements such as dramatic sound and other effects such as echoes and overlapping sound in order to engage the viewer and make them want to see the movie. It never occurred to me how important sound was, however by Holly's response I was able to conclude that sound is just as important as what is physically going on, on the screen, especially in the horror genre. From this primary research I also concluded that film posters are important in terms of promotion. There are many ways of promoting movies such as on buses, billboards and also through the internet. Film posters also help to create brand awareness as if people repeatedly see your film poster in many places, they will begin to get familiar with the style and also theme of your film making it more recognizable and increasing the chances of them going to see your film. Karl's response was useful as it helped me to understand how important the cover of film magazines are in attracting people to buy or read the magazine. This will be important when I am designing my own film magazine cover as I will need to ensure that it appeals to readers of all types and looks interesting enough to attract readers to it.

'Bloodshed High'- Applying Recognisable Conventions of Trailers-

Prior to the start of my production work, we were set a task in which we were told a name of a film in which we could interpret in any way and as a task we had to make a trailer. In order to apply the recognizable conventions of trailers, in groups, we came up with ideas about how to market and promote a film. The name we were given was 'Bloodshed high'. As this has obvious links to the horror genre we decided that we would make a trailer which was of the horror genre and as we wanted to have a unique approach we included elements of comedy which we believed a cross genre such as horror and comedy is rare which is why we decided to also use this as one of our USP's (Unique Selling Points).

Approaching the task was quite difficult at first. Firstly as a group, Vanessa, Chantel and I asked each other is we each had any ideas in what our trailer should roughly be about. The name 'Bloodshed High' reminded us all of a typical american high school which is how we linked this to our horror concept of a school retreat that goes horribly wrong. The one thing I have learnt about trailers is that they DO NOT GIVE AWAY THE STORYLINE of the film however the excite and tease the viewer leaving them with no option but to go and watch the film. With this knowledge in my head we decide that we should include many rapid shots to raise tension for the viewer. We each jotted down our rough ideas before coming together as a group to discuss them and also decide how we were to present it to the class. We also discussed areas such as sound, location and also the props that we would use to attract the viewer.

Our USP, we decided was not only that it was a cross genre between horror and comedy however I thought it would be a good idea if we could include famous actors/actresses in order to create brand awareness. As a group, we concluded that Megan Good (shown below) was a good actress to feature in our movie as it would encourage all of her fan base to watch our movie and would also introduce other movie lovers to watch our movie after having seen her featured in the trailer. Also Megan Good has starred in other films which have a similar target market as our film such as 'Scary Movie'. Another USP which we thought would be a good idea was if we made 'Bloodshed High' 3D. Although this is becoming more common nowadays we felt it would stand out from many other movies and would enhance the sense of fear and gore in our most frightening parts of the trailer/movie.

We decided to make our trailers directors be from a company named 'Filmworks', which is not only a well known company but will also raise audience expectations for the movie. For example if we knew a film was produced by Disney, the viewers would probably expect an animation movie which targets families.

BELOW: Image of Megan Good and 'Filmworks' production company logo.

This task not only gave us an insight to see how it would be to work with eachother as a group prior to our actual production work, however it taught me that:

• Trailers are NOT movies- There is a different way to approach trailers. Movies tell the full story in chronological order. However trailers purpose is simply to tease the viewers and allows you to play on elements for example including snippets of the best parts of the movie and showing them in a confusing and random order.
• Audience expectations are key- Viewers have different expectations of trailers or movies depending on many factors such as who the production company is for example.
• How to engage the audience-Audience can be engages into trailers by concentrating onthe simples of elements such as sound or props.
• How to apply knowledge- Most importantly, this activity showed us how to apply our knowledge to our own production.

BELOW: Is a video recording of our presentaion which we presented to the rest of our class marketing our trailer. (From left to Right: Chantel, Melissa(Myself) and Vanessa)

Class Based Research-Analysing Film Titles/Posters

I conducted some research in class which I felt would benefit my horror poster production. As a class, we looked at 4 different film posters

The first film poster I analyzed was a poster called 'Due Date'. My first intentions of this film judging by the title was that it had something to due with time or a long wait or build up to the main plot of the film. After looking at the poster, the letters in capital letters suggested to me that this was a date of importance. The white colour used which made it stand out from the rest of the poster as a whole also highlighted its importance. Prior to seeing the poster, I would have thought that this film was either of the drama or romance genre, however after I had seen the poster, it was clear that it was a film which had many elements of comedy in it.

The second film poster I analysed was for a film named'case 39'. My initial thoughts of this film was that it was one of mystery or maybe had some relations to crime. Once I was able to view the poster, it supported my thoughts due to the plain style of font used suggesting it's seriousness. Also, the white used in the title inferred links with a ghostly or mysterious type of film. The fact that the number 39 is emphasized makes the viewer ask themselves, 'What happened to all the other 28 cases?'.

The third film poster I looked at was for the horror movie 'Let Me In' which is based on the award winning Swedish film 'Let the right one in'. When I heard the title of this film, I immediately identified that it was of the horror genre as the phrase 'Let me in', suggests a form of intrusion or supernaturalness. The poster correlated with my initial thoughts as I was later informed by my teacher that it was a horror film.

The final film poster I looked at was for a film named 'The American'. When I was told the title, I thought it would be a film of the comedy genre or with strong elements of culture. However after viewing the poster I became aware that this was a military film focusing on war. The plain white colour used for the title also highlights the seriousness of the film as it would be confusing if the title for the film was of an animated type of cartoon font.

My Preliminary Task - The meeting

Our AS task had been to construct our own music magazine from scratch. Similar to A2, we were asked to record the process via an electronic blogging system. (Click for link to my Music Magazine blog). Whilst developing the production of my music magazine, I became aware of how important preliminary tasks had been and how they contributed to the finishing product as it makes you as the designer aware of any problems or difficulties you may face later on and help you overcome them.

In preparation for our Horror Production, we created a short clip based on the theme 'The Meeting'. We arranged ourselves into groups of three before planning our storyline. We paid close detail to camera shots and angles and also sound of each shot. As a group we were given a digital camera and asked to record our clip ourselves. This was a challenge as we had little experience of filming or editing concepts. Once the clip had been made, we edited it adding features such as change in tempo and also echo.

Below: Images consisting of the variety of shot types and angles in our clip. Also, below is a video of our finished attempt.

The preliminary task I felt was beneficial as it taught us many lessons such as:

• 'Never hold the camera in your hand whilst recording, it should always be situated on a tripod in order to make the clip seem less 'shaky.'
• The preliminary task has also helped me to understand thoroughly the concept of the continuity editing and how it can make your production seem more realistic.
• I have also learnt that using effects such as 'slow pace', and changes in tempo may infer shifts in time changes to the past or the future.

This will help me when I am constructing my horror movie trailer as it will ensure that my finished trailer is of better quality and enjoyment to the viewer. Also my preliminary AS assignment of designing a template of a magazine, has given me the basic skills in which will be essential in designing my horror trailer's publicity poster.

Blog Research

Before I began my production, I decided to look at other blogs from previous A2 Media students in order to identify the good and also bad aspects of the blog. This I believed would enhance my own blog as I will be able to acknowledge and incorporate good methods into my own blog such as using links to other websites. Also assessing other blogs I felt would help me identify the downfalls with some of the blogs and avoid them in terms of my own production.

Blog 1) www.hangingontheheath.blogspot.com (Click for link)

Advantages	Disadvantages
Visually effective Short clear introduction Includes short videos from friends commenting on the movie trailer Equal balance between text and images/videos Includes many posts clearly taking us through the process of their production	Not enough posts No information about influences or other options they considered such as location etc…

Blog 2) www.gameovermovie2010.blogspot.com (Click for link)

Advantages	Disadvantages
Informative Explanations are clear and easy to understand Includes information about the whole of their production	Very few posts Visually boring Too much text Unequal balance between text and images

Blog 3) www.attackotnerd.blogspot.com (Click for link)

Advantages	Disadvantages
Visually interesting Well thought out and structure Includes clear and informative evaluations Balance of images and text Includes information on other influences Includes facebook comments	Not many posts Title banner may have been designed better Font is not consistent

Reflection on AS Media Alevel

Below is a presentation which I made on a website named 'Prezi' (Click for link to prezi website) in order to reflect on the past year and my AS Media Course. I decided to do this after Pete Fraiser visited our media lesson prior to the start of our course in order to discuss with myself and my peers other forms of electronic evaluation which will make my blog more interactive and also exciting to the viewer.

Introduction: on Prezi

Below: Images taken during Pete Fraiser's lesson.

As a class we discussed each of our difficulties with programmes we used such as Photoshopand also Blogger. We made mind maps based on our progress throughout the year.