Magazine Cover and Film Poster

Draft of Magazine Cover and Film Poster

To help with the actual making of my magazine cover and film poster, I drafted a draft copy of each to give me an idea of how I would like my magazine cover and film poster to possibly look like.

Magazine Cover Draft

This is the draft for my film poster. I hope to use a central image consisting of two images: one of the demented woman with a weapon in hand and another of the victim in the background tied to the chair, looking scared and struggling to escape. I also intend to use deep focus, making the demented woman stand out against the victim. The colours I hope to use are similar to the colours I would like to use on my magazine cover: dark blues, rich shades of red and blacks and browns. I feel that these colours will successfully portray the 'thriller' genre of our film trailer. Again, similar to my magazine cover, I intend to make the text on the film cover fit into the thriller theme by playing around with it, for example, I have turned the hyphen in 'un hinged' into a hammer - this will help portray our thriller genre as we have included a weapon, which suggests violence and also a hammer is fitting as this will possibly be the weapon we use in our film trailer. I will also use a billing block at the bottom of my film poster as this is a reoccurring aspect of a film poster and will ensure that my film poster looks professional.

Magazine Cover Draft

This is a draft of my magazine cover. I hope to include a central image of the demented woman from our trailer on the front of the magazine, as I feel this will be a appealing image and attract the target audience, especially as the woman is a main character and aspect of the trailer. I also hope to place text in the centre of the magazine cover, on top of the central image. I would also like to play with the text, by making parts of the text look like things to do with our 'thriller' genre, for example, I have made the top of the 'd' on 'un-hinged' look like a hammer. Many film magazines do this, for example, during my research, I looked at a copy of Total Film magazine which had the film Inception on the front cover, and the Total Film logo was made look like apart of the film. I also intend to use other typical aspects of a magazine cover, for example, pugs, plugs, left hand third, a masthead, etc. Colours I intend to use will be dark blues, browns, blacks and rich shades of red, which I hope will represent the 'thriller' genre of the trailer. 

The Total Film logo adapted for the film cover for Inception


Drafts on Photoshop

Possible Logo for my film

Above is the possible logo I may use for my film poster and also on my magazine cover. I have decided that the use of the colour red will be effective for the font as blood often represents blood, especially a red of this shade - this will help portray my genre of thriller/paranormal. I have also decided to write the title of the film in uppercase, as uppercase often suggests more urgency and importance, which could be related to danger, which again relates to my chosen genre. I have decided to use the shadow of a hammer shape as the hyphon in 'un-hinged' as it relates to our film trailer because the demented woman will use a hammer as her weapon. Also, the use of weapon relates to the the genre of thriller as weapons are associated with violence which is a common theme in thriller films. The shadow I have used to outline the text and the hammer is effective as it makes the text stand out more making it more eye-catching - also, the white shadow can be related to the theme of thriller/paranormal as 'shadows' and the colour white are associated with ghosts.

Possible magazine cover (without photos)

Above is the design of my possible magazine cover, but minus the photos. I intend to use a central image of the demented woman and have placed the other aspects of the magazine cover around where I picture the photo to be placed, which would be a full length shot in the centre of the page. I have used the logo for the Un-Hinged on the magazine cover as well as on the film poster as I feel it is important that the logo is reoccuring as this represents professionalism. My masthead for the magazine is simple, which allows the contents of the magazine cover, for example, our film logo, to stand out accordingly. On my magazine cover, I have included the usual aspects of a magazine for example, plugs and pugs and also a price and a barcode. I have also ensured that the colour scheme of my magazine matches un-hinged logo and have used colours that compliment it for example, all of the pugs and plugs match the logo as they are red, grey or white.

Process of Gathering Photos

Below are some of the photos we took to go on our magazine covers/film posters. Some photos also show the process of making us look like the characters in our trailer through the use of costume and make -up.

 We used a back combing effect on Emma's hair to make it bigger and wilder to make her appear demented.

We used water to smudge mascara and eyeliner around Emma's eyes to make her eyes look dark, making her appear tired and old.

We used purple eyeshadow and black eye pencil to make a bruise effect by smudging them into Emma's skin. We used the same effect below on my face, and also smudged eyeliner around my eyes to give the image of a black eye to show that the victim has been beaten by the demented woman.

Possible Photos for Posters/Magazine Covers

Final Individual Magazine Cover

This is my final magazine cover. I used the colours red, black, white and shades of grey as they are all related to our chosen genre of thriller/paranormal, especially the colour red as it is often symbolic ofn 'blood' which relates to violence - violence is a major aspect of our film trailer. My previous magazine cover had used a different film title, however, once my magazine was fully finished, I decided to change the film title to this more simple one as I thought it enhanced the professionalism of my magazine cover and also made the film title stand out more against the predominantly black background of the cover. I used the cut tool to add my central image onto my magazine cover, then edited the colour and the outline of the photo. I used a colour filter tool to make the photo appear slightly red, which again, relates to our genre whilst matching to the reoccuring colour theme of the magazine. I also used the liquify tool to go around the outside of the central image, pulling out parts of the edge of the photo to make it appear more distorted and weird, which relates to our thriller genre. One effect which I felt was very effective was the 'unsharp mask' tool, which makes the image look sharper and also enables you to change the contrast and colour of the photo. This improved my image as it made it more suitable to my genre of thriller by making it appear more stand out and scary. included many professional aspects of a magazine cover, for example, my use of plugs and pugs and also the fact that I have overlayed the central image so that it slightly overlaps the Masthead, which is a technique that many popular magazines use and I hoped that this would enhanced the professionalism of my magazine cover. Furthermore, I ensured that my plugs and pugs matched the colour scheme of my magazine cover, again to show the professionalism of the magazine and to also fit in with the thriller genre. An effect I think that really helped to enhance the effect of my central image is the use of shadow I have used around its outline. The black 'glow' makes the image stand out against the dark background, which is important as the photo is quite dark itself and it is vital that the photo stands out as it is portraying the main aspect of the film and advertising it to the readers of the magazine. I also feel that the use of shadow symbolises a 'ghostly' eerie feel, which again relates to our chosen genre. The glow also enhances the hammer, which is an important prop used in our film trailer as it portrays the theme of violence and danger, which advertises to the readers of the magazine that the film is scary, making them want to watch. Another case in which I have used the shadow effect is around my plug which says Exclusive, interviews and photos inside. Instead of a white or black shadow, I have used red which allows the plug to stand out, which is it's main purpose on a magazine cover. The colour red is also symbolic to our genre and gives the illusion of 'blood', which can be related to our thriller genre and also gives the illusion of the paranormal, which again, coinsides with our choice of genre. My magazine cover differs slightly to my previous draft, for example, I decided to change my film title font and layout and also changed the placement of my photo. This is due to my exploration of the program Photoshop, which enabled me to discover new interested effects which I feel improved my magazine cover's professionalism and also helped it to relate to the them. I have priced my magazine at £3.50 as I feel that this is a typical price for a film magazine, for example, Empire Magazine is £3.99.

Final Individual Film Posters

Above is my first Film poster for our film Un-Hinged. I decided to make the poster really simple and plain, as I feel that too many effects and text can make them appear unprofessional and also, the lack of aspects on the poster builds the suspense for the viewer of the poster, making them want to know what the film is about, which is the purpose of a film poster. I decided to use the same film title font and colour for my posters as my magazine cover, as this again, shows professionalism and makes the film appear important as it could have a recognisable 'logo'. I used a medium close up placed in the centre on my film poster as this immediatly makes the character (demented woman) appear intimdating and scary. I also found that many other film posters, such as The Orphan and Insidious used central images, which inclined me to also use a central image as those films are of a similar genre to our thriller genre. I used the cut tool to cut around the image and then placed it onto a dark grey background. I then used the shadow tool to outline the edge of the photo, which disguises any mistakes when using the cutting tool and also makes the image stand out slightly. The use of a black shadow effect also relates to our genre of thriller, as shadows are often associated with fear, which is a major aspect of our film. One effect I used was the unsharp mask tool, which significantly changed the image by making the demented woman's eyes appear darker and more outlined and stand out and also made her skin lighter which highlighted the bruises on her body. I also used this tool to lighten the image, making it appear shadow-like on the page. This relates to our genre, as it gives a ghostly, eerie illusion. I also used the pen tool to add red to the demented woman's eyes, which makes her appear more frightening. I also decided to slightly darken the colour of my film title, changing it from a slightly brighter red to a darker shade of red. This portrays the dark atmosphere of the genre and the film and also makes the text merge into the poster itself slightly, which could give the illusion of someone hiding, which relates to our genre. Although I have ensured that the text slightly blends into the background to portray this, I have also added a light grey shadow around the outline of the text as I feel this makes the film title stand out. This is important on a film poster, as they title of the film is a significant aspect. I also used the shadow effect as the light 'glow' gives the illusion of ghosts and relates to the paranormal genre. I also used the brush tool to add an effect through the film title, which makes it appear to have a scratched effect, giving the illusion of the attack of the demented woman. This 'scratch' effect also relates to our thriller genre, as it makes the text appear disoreinated and effected, which is similar to many texts used in projects of this genre.

This is my second film poster. I have used similar effects as my previous poster, however, I decided use a different photo with a different angle to see which I felt looked more effective. Similar to my previous poster, I used the unsharp mask tool on Photoshop, which made my photo stand out and appear more sharp. It also makes the bruises appear more defined and noticeable, which is effective as it makes the demented woman appear more battered and troubled. I also used the liquify tool to make the outside of the photo more jagged and sharp, which was useful to cover up any mistakes made when cutting around my photo. It also made the photo appear sharper which could make the demented woman appear more intimidating rather than using a soft blur around the edge which would create a softer atmosphere. I also used the pen tool to add red to the demented woman's eyes which makes her appear 'paranornal' and out of the ordinary, as it is not the norm to have red eyes. This further portrays her an intimidating and dangerous character, especially as the colour red can be associated with danger. Another effect I used was the outer glow around the edge of the photo. This relates to the paranormal genre of our film and and portrays the demented woman as eerie and as there is something odd about her. It also makes the photo stand out more, which is important as the image of the demented woman is the central image of the poster and gives the audience an idea of what the film will be about. I used the same 'un-hinged' title on both of my posters as I feel it was particulary effective and suited my genre of thriller/paranormal, for example, the use of colour. Red is a colour which is often associated with danger, therefore, it matched to our genre as danger is often a main aspect of thriller/paranormal films. Also, red is often related to 'blood' which is something linked with violence, which again is a key aspect of our film. On my title, I used a brush effect which gives a slashed effect across my text. This makes it look as if someone has slashed the title, which relates to our genre and also makes the title look less plain and a bit more interesting. In addition, I also ensured that my central image faded slightly into the dark background, by changing how transparent it is. This relates to our paranormal genre as it gives the illusion of ghosts, as they are often paler and fade into the background, therefore altering the transparency supports our genre.

Final Decisions and Storyboard

After our audience research, we made our final decisions as a group regarding plot and genres. We discussed the plot of the film trailer as a group and made notes. We later worked on a storyboard, showing the different scenes of the trailer. 

Genre

Our audience research helped up determine the genre for our film trailer; this will be thriller paranormal.

This mood board shows some photos and fonts that are associated with our chosen genre. We decided to make a mood board as we felt it would give us some idea of what we could use in our own trailer, magazine cover and film poster.

Plot

We decided that the plot would consist of a demented woman luring and attacking a young student whilst they are out conducting a survey for their work. The victim will knock on the demented woman's door, unaware of the danger she poses. They will then be shown tied up and gagged to show they've been captured. We have also decided to include a 'home video' at the beginning of the trailer showing the demented woman as a happy young child, which will deepen the plot and give the audience some questions to think about the story of the film.

Scripting
We have decided that we don't need a script for our film trailer as we don't have any dialogue in our trailer. However, we intend to use superimposition throughout of trailer. It will say the following:

Costume

The Demented Woman:  

This costume will consist of a dark vest top, black leggings and a dark over sized cardigan. The dark colours represent the negativity of her character. The over sized cardigan also portrays her as fragile and mentally unstable which is significant for this character, as she has to be portrayed as demented.

The Victim:

The costume for the victim should consist of casual clothing to show she is a teenager. It always makes her appear normal and ordinary, suggesting that this type of attack can happen to anyone at all, making the audience feel more fear. Her costume is representative of what young people today typically wear, ensuring the audience relate to her.

Props

The most significant prop we have used in our trailer and publications is the hammer. The hammer is representative of the danger the victim is in and also portrays the demented woman as dangerous and mentally unstable. The hammer should look old and rusted, suggesting the amount of times the hammer has been used by the demented woman, reinforcing her as a dangerous character.

We also used a school ringbinder folder as a prop. The victim holds the folder whilst she is doing her door to door questionnaire. The folder makes her appear innocent due to the fact that folders are often accociated with school children. It also makes the audience able to relate to her more.

We also used tape (masking tape) as a gag on the victim. This portrays the demented woman and dangerous and evil as she has captured the victim and gagged her. This prop adds to the fear factor of the trailer and is also a prop commonly used in films of this genre suggesting that we have portrayed the genre well.

Casting

Emma: We decided to cast Emma as the role of the demented woman due to her eyes. Her eyes are very big and she can make them look evil, which adds to the fear the audience will have of this character. 

Ruby: We decided to cast Ruby as the role of teenager as she looks around the age we would like our character - typically 17-18years old (student age). As some of our target audience are this age, we feel they'll be able to relate to her the best out of the other actors we auditioned. 

 Beth: We decided against casting Beth as the role of the demented woman as she looks too cute to play this role. Her cuteness also makes her appear younger and we wanted the demented woman to look slightly more mature. She also looks very innocent and we didn't want the character of the demented woman to appear this way. We also considered Beth for the role of the teenager, however we thought she looked slightly too young to play this part. 

 Steph: We considered Steph for the role of demented woman and teenager, however, we decided her look was too innocent and cute for the role of both: the demented woman can not appear cute or innocent and although the teenager is supposed to be innocent, we felt Steph looked slightly too young for the role.

Rosie: We considered Rosie for the role of demented woman due to her long hair, as we felt this would be easy to create messy, crazy looking hairstyles. However, we decided against it as we felt she looked too innocent and cute compared to Emma.

Location

We have decided to film our film trailer at my house. As you can see, my house has brown window frames that appear quite thin and because the paint is slightly flaking off them, this gives it a scary, thriller kind of feel. The grass outside my house is slightly overgrown, which again, relates to the thriller theme as many films of this genre use locations that are slightly unruly and messy. The location of my house is in a quiet close, which gives the audience the impression that bad things can happen even in the quietest, normal areas. The quiet, privateness of the area also made it easier to film here as we weren't interrupted by distractions such as cars or pedestrians.  

Storyboard
We have drawn up a storyboard as a group showing each scene of the trailer. My storyboard along with analysis, shows the different shots we intend to use, along with other apsects of the trailer such as costume, camera effects and how we intend to edit each scene.

Above is a storyboard showing the first four scenes of our film trailer.

This is the second part of our storyboard

Scene One

For the first scene of our film trailer, we plan to show a 'home video' style clip of a happy, normal young girl - this turns out to be the demented woman in the future. The significance of the clip is to show the audience how normal the demented woman was before the present time. We intend to use a sepia effect for the filming of this scene, which will show the age of the 'home video'. We will also use hand held camera, which will show the fact that it is supposed to be a home video. We plan to use a child for this part as the use of child often signifys innocense and purity, similar to the main characters in films such as The Orphan and Insidious. The innocense of the child contrasts completely to the next scene, which shows a the demented woman in the present time. The sound in this scene will be diegetic sound, showing the child laughing and having fun and also showing her mother talking to her. We may also use a non diegetic soundtrack of a child's mobile or lullabies/nursery rhymes, as these all link to the innocense of the child. Props we intend to use are outdoor toys, which also symbolise the innocense of the child, completely contrasting to the following scene.  

Scene Two

Scene one will suddenly cut out, revealing scene two. The sudden cut will show the significant contrast of the two scenes. This scene shows a woman sitting in a rocking chair/old sofa chair looking out of the window. We intend to use a dim colour effect to make the room appear dark, which links to the dark genre of the film trailer. There will be silence in the room, apart from the creaking of the rocking chair, which will instantly represent the eeriness of the scene. If we can't use a rocking chair, we will use a sofa instead and replace the rocking chair creaking with the ticking of a clock. We have decided to use a long shot for this scene, which shows the whole of the room, giving the impression of space around the woman, suggesting that she is lonely. We have also decided to use a long take, which will create tension and suspense for the audience, along with the creaking/ticking sound.

Scene Three

A straight cut will be used to show the transition from scene two to scene three. A mid shot will show the woman sitting in her chair, with her head down and all of her hair hanging over her face. The camera will slowly zoom in closer and closer, until the shot changes from a mid shot to a close up. The slow zoom will create tension for the audience as it is obvious something is going to happen. The woman will then lift her head up suddenly and a horror thudding sound will play, in order to shock the audience, along with the shock of her suddenly lifting her head. The costume of the demented woman will consist of a baggy cardigan, and her hair will be messy and unruley. We intend to use make-up to make her appear paler and her eyes darker. At the editing stage, we hope to make her have red eyes, which will coinside with the demented theme. The sound in this clip will be silence, except for the thudding sound when the woman lifts her head.

Scene Four

Scene three will slowly fade to reveal scene four, which creates a sinister atmosphere and gives the impression that something is going to happen. Scene four shows a young female student walking up the path towards the demented woman's home. We hope to use a long shot showing the girl from behind as she's walking towards the door - the fact she is shown from behind suggests she is vulnerable and gives the impression that something is behind her. We intend to use slow mo as she walks up the path, but also jump her forward which makes the clip seem disorientated which links to our paranormal/thriller genre. The costume of the girl will consist of casual wear and a backpack, which could represent her innocense which instantly shows she is a victim and in danger. She will also have a clipboard - this prop will also support her innocense as her motives are not to harm, but to simply take a survey. Whilst the girl is walking up the window, the demented woman is looking out at her. We intend to show this by using an over the shoulder shot, to show the woman looking out of the window and the girl actually outside the window. We will also use deep focus, which will highlight the girl and again, make her appear innocent. The non diegetic sound used throughout this scene will be slow, eerie music, which will indicate the danger the girl is in. Also, as the girl is edited to jump forward, a thumping, horror sound will play at each jump, which will further emphaise the danger the girl is in. A high angle shot will be used to show the girl from below as she is knocking on the door. Use of the shot makes the girl appear small and vulnerable, which portrays her role as a victim. The girl will then look up, causing the woman to step back from the window.


Scene Five

Scene five will show the young student girl knocking at the demented woman'd door. We intend to use a mid shot, showing the girl from behind, which instantly makes her appear more vulnerable, as if someone is behind her. This supports our thriller genre. Diegetic sound used will be the knock of the door, which can be related to our thriller genre as it creates suspicion and suspense. We will continue to use the non diegetic thriller soundtrack throughout this scene which will be a heavy, beating sound. This will help to create tension for the audience and suggest that something bad is going to happen. During this scene, the woman will be looking down at the girl from the upstairs window, perhaps from behind a curtain. The use of curtain as a prop again creates suspicion and suspense and it relates to our thriller genre and also suggests that something is going to happen. It also makes the girl appear vulnerable as she is being spied on. A high angle shot will be used to show the girl from below, from the demented woman's point of view (so, also a point of view shot). This will make the girl appear vulnerable which portrays her firmly as the victim of the film, which relates to our genre of thriller. We also intend to show the demented woman's reflection in the window as she's looking out because this creates a eerie atmosphere and again, supports our thriller genre.


Scene Six

Scene five will quickly flash into scene six, using a straight cut; from this point, fast cross cutting and faster transitions will take place as the drama begins to become more shocking and exciting. Scene six will show the young girl tied to a chair, first showing her feet tied to the chair then slowly tilting upwards to show the rest of her body tied to the chair as she struggles to get free. The camera will also zoom in at this time too, so that when the shot reaches the girls face, it will be a close up, showing her fear and suffering, which relates to our thriller genre. The use of props, for example, the rope she is tied with and also the gag in the mouth also relates to our genre of thriller as they are props often used in films of this genre and they are also objects that symbolise fear and violence, which are common themes throughout films of this genre. We intend to use both diegetic and non diegetic sound during this scene: the non diegetic soundtrack will carry through from scene five, but will speed up, with the beats becoming deeper and faster, which will intensify the fear factor and the tension of the trailer. Diegetic sound we intend to use is the sound of the girl gagging and struggling to the break free from the ropes. The scene will also be quite dark, along with the other scenes in the trailer, as we intend to edit the trailer to make it look as if we've used a dim, blue coloured filter, which will give the illusion of darkness, which supports the dark thriller genre of the film.


Scene Seven

This scene shows the demented woman about to attack the innocent girl. We have decided to use a long shot to show the whole of the scene, as we feel it is important for the audience to see all of the action that is happening. We have decided to use an over the shoulder shot, showing the woman from behind with a hammer raised to the girl, who is sat in front of her. We also intend to use deep focus, switching it from the demented woman to the young girl, which will highlight the young girls fear and struggle to get free and also show the demented woman's actions as she is about to attack the girl. Whilst editing our trailer, we also intend to put a glint onto the top of the hammer, which will make it stand out and show it's significance - also, the use of prop, the hammer, is significant to our genre as it suggests violence which is a reoccurring theme in the majority of thriller films. The will carry through the sound onto this scene, which consists of the non diegetic soundtrack which is a heavy, fast paced beating, horror sound, which relates to our genre as it creates tension and fear for the audience and suggests that something bad is about to happen. Diegetic sounds will include the gagging and constant struggle of the girl as she tries to escape and also the footsteps of the woman as she approaches the victim. The footsteps will be slow and purposeful - we will also use editing to make the footsteps appear shadowy and echoey, which will create tension and suspension, which relates to the genre of our film.


Scene Eight

As the demented woman is approaching her victim, a close up will be used to show the fear on the young girls face. A close up is an effective shot to use to show her fear, as it is close to her face and can show her facial expressions for example, her wide eyes and her heavy breathing, which are all examples of fear, which will portray our thriller genre. The non diegetic soundtrack will continue from the previous scenes, however, it will now be at it's peak, going at a fast pace speed and beating really heavily, to show tension and fear to the audience. Diegetic sound will include heavy breathing and the gagging of the girl, along with her struggling to free herself from the ropes. All of this sound portrays the girl's fear, which supports our thriller genre. Other diegetic sound will include the demented woman's footsteps, which we will edit to become shadowy and echoey, in order to make the appear disorientated, which supports our thriller genre. This scene will suddenly cut to a black screen and the music will suddenly cut to silence, which will create tension and make the audience wonder what's happened to the victim. We then intend to keep the screen blank and keep the silence for a few seconds and then we will insert a sudden scream which will shock and scare the audience, and also suggest what has happened to the victim. A scream is also a sound often associated with fear, which is also associated with the thriller genre. 

Audience Research

In order to understand our audience's needs and wants for film film trailers, we conducted a number of questionnaires and individual interviews, which gave us an insight into what they preferred in terms of genre, effects, etc. We conducted four different questionnaires; a general one about films in general, then once we narrowed down the type of genre our target audience preferred, which was horror/paranormal/thriller, we conducted a more specific questionnaire in order to find out their favourite of the three narrowed down genres. Our third questionnaire consisted of six film posters of the three genres. We gained a lot of feedback on our target audiences likes and dislikes regarding film posters, for example, the types of photos they preferred and the fonts and effects they thought were most fitting to the genre. Finally, after discussing a number of film titles for our magazine, we narrowed down to our final four favourite film titles, and asked our target audience which they preferred through a questionnaire.

Process of conducting our questionnaire:

 General Film Questionnaire

Above is the questionnaire that we handed out to 30 people in our target audience. It was a basic questionnaire about our target audience's needs and wants in general.

What genre of film is your favourite?

This graph shows that the preferred genre of our target audience was horror/thriller, which confirmed our decision to make a film trailer of this genre, as it is the most popular amongst our target audience.

What persuades you to watch/buy films the most?

 This graph shows that our target audience are persuaded by film trailers more than film posters and magazines. Although all aspects of advertisement are important, this showed us that it is vital to make our film trailer as eye-catching as possible so that it attracts our target audience.

What aspects of a film trailer catch your eye the most and why?

Our researched showed us that our target audience are most attracted by the actual clips in a trailer, suggesting that the content of the film trailer is most important to them. This suggests that we must pay close attention to the use of clips and not use to much text on screen, as our target audience prefer to have an insight into what's going to happen in the film. Another highly rated aspect was the music used throughout the film trailer. This suggests that we need to make an effective soundtrack for our trailer as this is one of the main aspects that appeal to our target audience.

Specific Film Questionnaire

After our general film questionnaire, we conducted a more specific questionnaire based on our three possible genres chosen by our target audience: horror, thriller and paranormal.

Out of the following genres, which do you prefer?

This graph shows that the majority of our target audience preferred thriller films out of the three genres. This has persuaded us to base our film trailer on this genre, however, we have also decided to link paranormal into the genre of our trailer too - this was the second preferred genre of our target audience, along with horror. We have decided to join the two as we feel that thriller and paranormal together meet all of our target audience's needs and wants, for example, in our specific questionnaire we discovered that the main aspects that catch our target audience's attention was the use of clips throughout and we felt that the majority of paranormal films use a wide range of clips and footage, for example, Paranormal Activity uses lots of clips throughout it's trailer, which I gathered from my trailer research.

What attracts you to this genre?

The majority of our target audience said that the 'fear factor'of a film trailer was what attracted them to watching it the most, so therefore, this suggests that the editing and effects used throughout our trailer will be vital aspects of making the trailer appealing to our audience. The storyline was the second most important aspect, which suggests that we need to include a wide range of clips showcasing the storyline of the film, as oppose to too much text on screen. Three people said that special effects were the most important thing that attracted them to this genre, which suggests that our use of special effects throughout our trailer is important.

Film title suggestions questionnaire

When researching names for our film, we decided to brainstorm a number of names and words associated with the genre of paranormal and thriller. We used a thesaurus to give us some suggestions:

We then narrowed down our search by picking out four possible names which we felt were the most effective and conducted a small questionnaire to discover which title out of the four our target audience preferred:

Which title appeals to you the most?

From our questionnaire, we discovered that the majority of our target audience preferred the title 'un-hinged' which is the film title we have decided to name our film.

Individual Interview

I interviewed a member of my target audience to find out their needs and wants for a film trailer. I started off by asking them which genre they preferred out of horror, paranormal and thriller. They answered 'paranormal' and 'thriller' as they said that both were particular favourites of theirs and were more realistic than horror films which are typically known for their 'blood' and 'gore'. For example, they mentioned films such as The Orphan and Paranormal Activity, saying that these films were more realistic than gory films such as Saw.  They also mentioned the hand held camera used in Paranormal Activity and said that this effect helped to make it appear more realistic. They also said they preferred these genres as the plots are often more complex and believable, whereas horror films can be predictable. 

I then asked my interviewee to view three film trailers of our chosen genre to find out their favourite aspects of the trailer which will give us an insight into what our target audience requires when it comes to a film trailer. The first trailer he viewed was Insidious, which he said was his favourite of the three he analysed. The superimposition used on the trailer attracted my interviewee as they said that the way it looked 'flickery' and 'out of focus' related to the scary genre. They also liked the use of sound, for example, the non diegetic soundtrack used was said to make them feel the tension of what was happening in the trailer. Another factor which attracted them to the trailer for Insidious was the dim colour used throughout, for example, the film looks dark due to the colour filter used and the interviewee said that this portrayed the genre of the film well. They also analsyed the film trailers for The Strangers and The Sixth Sense. They were attracted to the diegetic sound used in The Strangers trailer for example, when one of the masked people appeared on screen a deep, thudding horror sound was played - they said that this contributed to the fear factor. Their favourite aspect of the film trailer for The Sixth Sense was the plot of the film and the fact that it seemed realistic, which was a factor they mentioned previously about paranormal/thriller genre films. They also stated that the use of child in both Insiduous and in The Sixth Sense was effective as the innocense of the children contrasted with the genre of the films.

This information helped us to decide on our final decisions for our own film trailer. For example, our interviewee stated that they were attracted to the superimposition used in the Insidious trailer which has made us plan and prepare some possible fonts and effects we intend to use for our own film trailer as we know this is an important aspect to our target audience. The interviewee also said that he favored the use of child in both Insidious and The Sixth Sense as it portrayed innocense which completely contrasts with the genre of our film and makes the fear feel more scary as it involves a child. This reaffirmed our decision to use a child in our film trailer because we feel it would be effective because of the reasons stated by our interviewee. Another idea we have taken from our interviewee's opinions of the three trailers was the use of colour we intend to use for our trailer, for example, the interviewee said that he found the use of dim light in Insiduous effective as it portrayed the dark genre of the film, therefore, we hope to use a dark blue tinted filter or similar effect to give the same illusion in our own trailer.