Assignment 3 - Evaluation

1    How the aims of the production have been met

The aim of our project was to create a successful horror movie trailer following all the conventions and themes a horror trailer consists of. We were quite organized in terms of actors, props, costume etc. For the actors, we used a teenage girl to play the teenage victim, this was obviously very effective, the actor knew exactly how to react and play the part of an average teenage girl, who obviously goes through a lot of trauma. The monster was played by someone tall who could easily surpass as a daunting character, there really wasn’t much too it. As for props, we used a plain white mask for the monster to where, the mask made the monster look a lot more mysterious and intimidating. Costume was a big part of our trailer as it made the characters recognizable to the audience. The victim wore stereotypical, teenager outfits, so that the audience knew exactly who she was. As for the monster, he wore all black the entire time, black connotes darkness and horror therefore it was perfect. the therapist wore a white doctor coat, glasses and tied her hair up, this made it clear to the audience that it was a therapist, due to the formal outfit. To film the trailer as a whole we managed our time pretty well, we spent about four weekends to film different scenes for our trailer, before the deadline.  We filmed the entire trailer with a DSLR camera for crisp and sharp shots with great quality.  We filmed from multiple different angles to get the most effective trailer. We used low angle shots making the monster look very daunting and scary and high angle shots on the victim, making her look weak and vulnerable.  Because we were creating a horror movie trailer, and most of the scenes were during night time, most of the lighting had to be dark to emphasize on that, however for the therapist shots we used natural, bright lighting. To edit the trailer as a whole we used, Final Cut Pro. To transition from scene to scene we used black outs quite a lot and flickering light, this really emphasized the horror aspect of the trailer. We added captions in a creepy font, we also didn’t reveal most of the plot to leave the audience guessing and questioning as to what will happen next.

       How the product applies appropriate codes and conventions and uses appropriate media language

We followed the conventions of a horror movie trailer, to make the trailer more recognizable and effective. Most of the scenes were shot in dark lighting. We did quick shots, adding tension to the trailer and we used a stereotypical monster, behind most horror movies. We also used the main demographics for the victim, an average teenager. Therefore, overall, we definitely followed the conventions of a horror trailer. We also used short captions not revealing much of the plot, just adding tension and helping the audience understand and engage.

       How the product represents people, places or events

We presented the people in the trailer to be very recognizable as what they’re meant to be. We presented the victim as an average teenage girl who is weak, vulnerable and afraid. She is a teenager therefore she is already stressed, turning her creepy monster-filled dreams into a reality, adds to the mix creating the ultimate stressed and frightened victim. She screams quite a lot suggesting that she is afraid and doesn’t know how to control her feelings. The fact that she’s usually struggling in bed suggests that she’s always stuck in one of her nightmares. The therapist is presented as a dedicated, serious woman she is straightforward and clear with her questions, however doesn’t go in much detail about the teenager’s nightmares. The therapist is serious, hard-working and unafraid to help. The monster is presented as a dark, creepy demon that shows up in the teenage girl’s reality. He is quiet and can be anywhere. The plain white mask suggests how anonymous and mysterious the monster is, this adds to the tension and makes the audience wonder who the monster really is and if he’ll ever show himself. Most of the shots were filmed at a normal house; this was supposed to be the victim’s house, more specifically her bedroom where she would sleep. The scenes of the nightmares were mainly shot in an abandoned house that we found, the house was quite dusty, dark and vacant with broken furniture this gave a very haunted and horror affect and so we filmed there. The therapist scenes were filmed in a clubhouse that looked very similar to a small doctor’s office.

1     Where and when the product would be exhibited/distributed

We'll distribute the film in cinemas, under the genre of; horror, thriller. We will put age ratings on the film as we believe it should only be suitable for most teens and adults. We will not be putting our movies online for free as we eon't make any profit, instead we'll sell it online. However on YouTube and other social medias we will only distribute short clips, trailers and teasers, to grab the audience’s attention and get them to buy tickets or stream the film online and watch it.

       What regulations and controls might be applied to the product and how these have been taken into consideration

The film is definitely not classified as Universal, therefore not everyone can watch it. we are going to add guidelines to the film. The film will be classified as suitable for 12A, therefore 12 years or over. This is becaue there will be a few disturbing scenes. The film will also contain quite a few thrills, that will raise the audience's anxiety, which once again is not suitable for younger kids.

       The strengths and weaknesses of the product in terms of meeting the needs of its audience

Because our trailer is horror, our audience would be searching for sense of fear and thrill, when watching our trailer. There are quite a few shots that encourage fear within the audience as they're very creepy and timed at the right moment in the trailer. Other shots. especially the starting ones, add some context and narrative to the plot of the movie to get the audience hyped and persuade them to watch the actual movie. Most of our shots followed the recognizable conventions of horror trailers to invoke the similar sense of terror in the demographic they feel when watching other horror trailers. Some shots however, could have been more carefully planned to get a more successful response from the audience, like the scene where the victim is huddled in a corner or looking up the stairs.