Coming up with a Company Name

To create my trailer I will need to have a production company in which creates the film. For this I will have to think of a name and all the different aspects which are involved with this. The name I have chosen to use is Dark Ring Productions. Scream time productions will be a small British advertising company that creates mainstream horror films, which will be low budget.

Key Info:

-British, Based in London

-Founded by Kara Lawrie in 2015

-Produces mainstream horror films

-Focuses mainly on horror genre, not various genres

My production company will be in charge of the advertising, meaning the trailer itself, the poster and the magazine front cover. My production company will focus on mainstream horrors, which will be created on a low budget and the company will be independent. 

Possible Logo:

Legal Considerations for Trailer

Engaging Actors:

When creating a film you must make sure that every person involved in acting in your film, signs a contributors release form. This basically gives you the right to use the acting of these people in your film and related marketing. If someone is shown only in a crowd of people or in the background, they do not need to sign a contributors form.


Term of Engagement:

With the terms of the actors and actresses, producers should be entitles to the exclusive services of an actor for a set amount of days/weeks in order to get all the filming done and complete to a standard they want. In addition, the agreement should set out if the actor will be required for rehearsals and wardrobe fittings. With this the producer can sometimes require actors for retakes, post-synchronisation and other post-production services.

Expenses:

The expenses will be the costs in which the producer will be paying for i.e. transport and accommodation.

Credit:

This should state the position of the actor's credit ( start, middle or end) and whether it will appear on a single card in the on-screen credits. It should also state as to whether the actor will be credited on any advertising material.

Health:

Actors will need to give assurance tot he producer that they are not suffering from any injuries, illness and the like which would prevent them from rendering their services and are often expected to engage in hazardous activities during shooting.

Engaging Child Actors:

If you choose to feature a child under the age of 16, you need to make sure they have a license from their local authority. This license will include medical certificate and detailed information on their availability to film. It is the producer of the film who will need to apply for the license from the child's birth certificate and a school letter authorising absence. The license grant must be kept on site at all times.

Location Agreements:

You should find a location manger to help find suitable locations which you are allowed to film on. Even if they;re untrained, it is a good idea to find someone who is willing to take on the responsibility of finding the locations and making sure you can use them. This involves looking around your local area, finding a location that suits your needs and then finding out who owns it and whether they'll let you use it. You should always try to have a location agreement in place before you shoot on anyone's land. Location agreements should allow you to not only film the place but also grant you the right to rehearse and take stills for publicity. Im your film, you may want to call the location a different name, and your agreement should give you the right to do so.

My Trailer:

When I create my trailer I will need to make sure I follow all the requirements in order for my trailer to be done legally. As I do not have any children in my trailer, it makes it easier for me as I will not need to get a concert form or request time from the children's school to take out to film. I will need to make sure that anything I film and produce is within the age range I have chosen to market my trailer at which is a 15. Including anything which is not aloud in 15 films will be against the law. When choosing my locations, I will need to make sure that if any of the places I choose are owned privately by individuals, make sure i ask permission to film and get their consent. With this I can start to film correctly and will have completed all the correct procedures needed to make my trailer.

Camera Angles, Terminology & more Research

The very first Horror Films (19th Century)

The You tube video below shows a fragment of a dancing skeleton in which this was one of the first ever horror films. It was created by the Lumiere brothers in 1895. Many people took an interest in this from the audience to producers although the genre was not defined until the 1930's. Before they were classed as horrors, they were referred as 'Spook Tales'.

                                 

The very first horror film (below) on record is Le Manoir du Diable (1896), created by Georges Melies. The running time for this first official horror film is just over three minutes. The contents of this short film contains bats, devils, witches, cauldrons, ghosts, and trolls who all appear and then disappear in puffs of smoke.

                               

Research: Cinematography

Before starting to shoot my trailer, I thought it would be best to do research into how to go about it and what techniques would be best for the my horror trailer, I found a really useful site:

http://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/cinematography-tips-for-horror-filmmakers/

This site has helped me to think about the different shots, angles and techniques I can use and how to go about filming them. The website has gave me ideas to help me with the different shots I can use to make my trailer more effective. It has also made me aware of different filters I can use to help me with the overall scary effect of the trailer. This research will help me when planning my shooting and scheduling script as I will need to include on these the different shots I will be using and with the help of this research the shot types I use will be more varied and different, initially meaning my trailer will be to a better quality.

Existing Horror Films

Horror Theories

Research of Horror Film

Sinister (2012)

Genre: Horror, Mystery

Time: 110 minutes long

Director: Scott Derrickson

Writers: Scott Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill

Plot Synopsis:

True-crime writer Ellison Oswald (Ethan Hawke) is in a slump; he hasn't had a best seller in more than 10 years and is becoming increasingly desperate for a hit. So, when he discovers the existence of a snuff film showing the deaths of a family, he vows to solve the mystery. He moves his own family into the victims' home and gets to work. However, when old film footage and other clues hint at the presence of a supernatural force, Ellison learns that living in the house may be fatal.

Budget: $3,000,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend: $18,007,634 (USA) (12th October 2012)
Gross: $48,056,940 (USA) (28th December 2012)

Target Audience:

The target audience for Sinister would be people who enjoy horror/mystery films. This is due to the fact that it doesn't hold back with what it includes in the film with regards to the blood, gore, freakiness and violence. The film does contain quite a few typical conventions you would expect to see in any horror and what you do. Some of the target audience who like horrors may prefer niche independent films in this case, Sinister is not the right one for them. Whereas people who are into stereotypical horror's will love this film as it is full of it. Within this film they use different aspects such as using a foreign symbol which is now a common trait in horror films as it can represent hell/demon which is a popular aspect to add into a film. The whole storyline follows the path of crime  therefore this film will appeal to people who especially like this genre.

Methods of Marketing:

For marketing, the film did a number of different aspects. They created an official page for the film which was published on site and a site for Japan too. They also created an official Facebook page which kept them interactive and social with the audience. By creating their official page for the film they were able to give the target audience information and cliffhangers to the film which would help with promotion as people will want to go and see it more. The Facebook page mean't that people could interact directly with the film and post on the wall to ask questions and queries. This page also gave away spoilers and any links to new methods or marketing. As well as this, there were a number of pictures released which gave away parts of the storyline to the audience to make them want to go and watch the film more. An official poster was released to make people more aware of the film and as well as a poster, a teaser trailer was first released and then an official full length trailer was released, this would've built up the anticipation of the audience and help with reaching a goal with revenue and the Box Office.

The aim of the website was to provide as much information about the page without ruining the plot. The official site would contain links to new methods of marketing therefore would link it all up and make the audience aware of everything available to do with the trailer. This makes it an effective website and allows the audience to stay up to date. The aim of the Facebook page was to create a page where the audience can be interactive and ask questions about the film and providing they don't give away to much, the organisers of the page can reply. The posters aim was to make more people aware of the film, if they see a poster which looks appealing to them they're more likely to want to watch it or go and look into it more. The poster can also be displayed in a variety of good promotional places such as cinemas, side of buses and advert boards. The aim of the teaser trailer was to get people excited for the full trailer and build up tension, this would've created a bigger hype for the main trailer meaning it will be more successful. The trailer was also released first at a film festival in the USA which would've highlighted the release of the film and gained more attention from the audience and possibly people who did not intend on going to see the film.


The Main Cast:

Ethan Hawke

James Ransone

Nicolas King

Juliet Rylance

Trailer Impact on audience

Trailers impact the audience a lot. The trailers are created to give the audience a taste of what the film will be like and this will help them to decide whether they like the film, are interested in it and whether they want to take time out to go and see the film and pay money for it. Therefore the trailer is a big part in the success of a film and is needed to gain a bigger audience for the film. If a trailer has been marketed well and produced well, this would mean that the trailer would create a larger amount of people who want to go and see the film therefore it will make more money.

Trailers are what are used to give the audience a taste of what's to come with the film therefore they must be good and gripping. In order for a trailer to be successful it follows conventions of a trailer and contain suspense for the audience in order for them to want to see the film. The trailer must not give away too much of the plot of the film as this would mean there would be no point in the film as everything would be seen in the trailer.

Research: Cinematographers & Composers in Horror

Research: Directors, Producers, Actors/Actresses in Horror

Story Board

Mood Board

Production Companies, Methods of distribution & Film Funding

  

20 key features

For trailer:

  1. Hand held shot of the three characters talking.
  2. Over the shoulder shot of characters in start scene.
  3. Start scene following the 180 degree rule.
  4. Jump shot of character walking away to speed up time.
  5. Close up of characters face to show their confusion while doing research.
  6. Establishing shot to show scene the character is in, the woods.
  7. Pan up when character stumbles and falls in the woods.
  8. Jump shots towards the ended showing various suspicious scenes, very fast motion.
  9. Long shot of the villain in the trailer to establish the character.
10. Establish shot of graveyard to show another location.
11. Medium long shot in order to show characters emotion and show what they're doing.
12. High angled shot showing the character on the floor, emphasizing they're the victim.
13. Master shot to show the scene at the boating lake.
14. Voice over image when character is distressed.
15. Time reversing of clip of rain falling down the window.
16. Rule of thirds to show the most important character in the trailer, the villain will not usually be in the center.
17. High angled shot to show trees in the woods.
18. Shallow focus to show the main character in the front with the villain following behind not in focus.
19. Tracking shot to show character walking along a path.
20. Two shot showing characters having a conversation.

Storyline Idea

A main idea that I had form the start for my trailer was also doing a horror based around an urban legend but I hadn't decided on the specific urban legend to do and hadn't thought in detail much about the over all storyline. In order for my trailer to be successful, I need to have a strong storyline for the movie. Even though I will not be making the whole movie, I still need to know how it would go in order for my trailer to work and be a success. When planning for my storyline, I need to think about the three different stages/parts to it. Stage one i.e. the begging which will be the start of the dilemma and how it came around. Stage two i.e. the main part of the film, the cause and the worse parts of it and finally stage three i.e. the resolution and ending to the film. Below I have started to come up with an idea of what the storyline could be:

Stage One:
Group of people (2/3) start, talk about how there is an urban legend in the village and no one knows if its real or not (Show them talking about it in the trailer). One of the members of the group(girl) goes to the library to find out more. They come across a book that contains urban legends (this part shown in the trailer), little does the girl know that by reading this book, she has angered the urban legend and it was once contained in the book but has now been released. The girl starts to get paranoid and strange occurrences start to happen, she feels like she is being stalked, a symbol she saw in the book, starts to show up in places. She is now very paranoid (Shows this part in trailer)

Stage Two:
Strange occurrences start such as, she starts to feel like see is being followed but when she looks around, there is no one there. Symbol which was in the book she read starts to appear in different places and she starts to slowly notice this. One scene she trips and looks behind her to see a figure and this is what prompts her to do research into the urban legend. There are scenes of the occurrences becoming more vivid and noticeable, scene when the girl is walking through the woods, little does she know there has been a shrine made of her by the woods, she walks within inches of it but doesn't see it, although the camera does(shown on trailer). Clare goes back to the library to find out more and discovers she must have released the urban legend. She starts to walk home later that night and can feel a presence around her. She stumbles and falls and then on the screen you hear a scream and think they girl is dead, but she isn't.

Stage Three:
Later she goes back to try and put the urban legend to rest and she thinks she has concurred this and from what the viewers see from the trailer, it appears she has, but there is a twist at the end, the urban legend (The Hook Man) has a twin and throughout all the occurrences happening, this was from both of them meaning only one has been put to rest and the other is still out to get her, the girl will soon find out (This is the end of the trailer where the audience find out that there is another one while the character doesn't. 

Trailer Analysis - The Cabin in the Woods

The Cabin in the Woods trailer follows the conventions of a normal trailer as it is 2:25 mins long. This means it is not a teaser trailer, but a full length one. This trailer is different to other horror trailers as at the start of it, it is very misleading. There is a group of teenagers who are going camping together and although this may already seem like a typical horror movie, the non diegetic music which is added is very upbeat and happy which suggests at the start the film is a rom/com or comedy. However, as the trailer progresses, the sound changes to more sinister music which suggests that this is now a horror movie. From this already, I can tell that in order for a trailer to be successful and hit the right genre you want it to, you must make sure you add the right music/sounds in order to crate the right atmosphere, if this was wrong, the trailer would take a totally different direction. By the music changing, the viewer knows something bad is going to happen, making it a horror film.

To keep the viewer interested and occupied, a number of different shots have been used. As well as this, in the trailer 'own footage' is used for a part of it and this is effective as the viewer is more at risk and unaware of what is happening/going to happen to the characters which builds adrenaline for the viewer and that is what they want from a horror.  Long shots have been used to establish the scenes in which the teenagers face and also close up shots have been used. These are essential into showing how the characters feel and creating more of a tense atmosphere for the viewer. This trailer contains a lot of sub titles, which are mysterious and keep you guessing. They give hints into what the storyline could be but never reveal what happens and this is effective as after watching the trailer, the viewer will be more likely to want to go and watch the film to find out what happens. There is also editing included which would keep the viewers interest. It helps to show what one of the characters is seeing after something bad happens to them, which again makes the viewer want to see the film even more to find out what happens. The most common colours for this film are dark colours which sets the mood, there is also a lot of red which connotes blood, death and anger which is what people like to see in horror films therefore this film would be successful. At the end of the trailer, the title is shown, it is shown at the end rather than at the start to make the viewer more likely to remember the title of the film. From watching the trailer and getting an insight into what will happen, of course they will want to know what it is called so by having the title at the end, it makes it effective as they can relate what they've just saw to the title which will help them to remember.

Trailer Analysis - The Ring

The Ring is a horror film in which the trailer was released in 2002. The length of the trailer is 2:10 mins which means it is a typical length for a full trailer. At the start of the trailer, the title of the film is not revealed, it isn't until the end that you see the title, this could of happened so the audience are more likely to remember the name of the film. iIf they place the title at the start, the viewer will see it then watch a series of clips to make the trailer so by the time it has ended, the title will be insignificant and won't be remembered but having it last will allow the viewer to relate the trailer to the title. To keep the viewer interested and to keep it the trailer fast paced, a number of different shots have been used. The shots are quick and move from scene to another very quickly to create a tense and dramatic atmosphere. The trailer contains close up shots as well as long shots, the close up shots allow the viewer to see how the characters are thinking and for this horror film it is important that the viewer see's the reaction of the character in order for them to feel frightened and shocked. Long shots are also used which helps to establish the setting, the long shots show that the film is set in dull dark locations, great for a horror film. Throughout the trailer the lighting is dark and gloomy which creates a scary atmosphere and helps to show that the trailer is in the horror genre. The colour blue is a theme throughout the trailer and blue connotes sadness and confusion which is what the film wants the audience to get the impression of. Within the trailer there is also editing done to add effect. Towards the start of the trailer there is effects added to create fuzziness over the shot, this creates confusion and tension and builds up the suspense for the trailer. There is also shots which contain blood which immediately tells the viewer what genre this is.

The sound is important in a trailer in order for the genre of it to be clear, with this trailer, non diegetic music is added throughout the trailer to create a tense atmosphere and to build the suspension, it also makes the trailer a lot scarier. At the very start of the trailer it starts off with voices from the characters in which you can immediately tell they're panicked which creates a tense atmosphere from the very start. When watching the trailer is it easy to distinguish the characters and the roles they play. The main character who is the hero, is placed in the trailer a lot, you also see the villain and the helper. In horror films there is also the character who plays the 'princess' meaning they get saved by the hero and in this case, the main characters son is this, who get's saved by his own mother once she has saved herself. The overall trailer is very effective and from the start you can tell exactly who is playing who and the type of genre it is, which means, for me, I think it is a very successful trailer.

Questionnaire results

By doing this questionnaire i have been able to carry out a lot of target market research and this has helped me to decide on what would be a strong idea and what would work best for my chosen target audience. I have analysed every question and looked closely at the results and this has helped me to decide on what my trailer will be and especially it has helped me with choosing the right urban legend to go to.

Generating Solid Ideas

Items or situations that scare people:

-Spiders

-Clowns

-Falling

-Ghosts

-Snakes

-Guns

-Knives

-Getting Lost

-Bloody Mary

-Breaking Mirrors

-Fire

-The Devil

-Ouija Boards

-Zombies

-Vampires

-Long Corridors

-Darkness

-Time Passing

-Social Situations

-Being Stalked/killed/tortured

-Heights

-Small spaces

-Open Spaces

-Kidnapped

-Run over

-Werewolves

-Possession/being possessed by the devil

Narrative Theory:

Stage 1 - the state of equilibrium is defined

Stage 2 - disruption to equilibrium by action or crisis

Stage 3 - character(s) recognize problem and set goals to solve it

Stage 4 - character(s) try to fix problem, but there are obstacles

Stage 5 - equilibrium is re-instated, problem solved, conclusion

Ghosts

Stage 1:

Ghost Spirit who haunts a house, shows past content of the ghost freaking out a family/taunting them so they move out. Later shows a girl moving in who is making the ghost angry.

Stage 2:

Starts to notice odd occurrences, typical ghost taunts

Stage 3:

Finds a wall with ‘help me’ on it and the girl realises she must help the spirit

Stage 4:

Remaining member of the previous family occurs to help to try and get the girl to stop helping the ghost as they’re know possessed by it

Stage 5:

The girl finds out the member of the family is possessed and ends up killing them in order to set the spirit free and put it to rest. She moves out of the house thinking the spirit/ghost is gone but at the end of the film we find out that the spirit is not gone and the next family are going to be haunted by the ghost.

Characters:

Villain- Ghost, the evil presence in the horror
Hero- Girl who moves in, solves why the ghost is not at peace
Helper- Next door neighbour who offers advice/information about the ghost/spirit and what has previously happened
False Hero- Only surviving member of the family who is offering to give information but is lying as the ghost possesses them still.

Research into the Storyline for my Trailer

I decided that I would create a Horror film trailer as this is a genre I enjoy watching and I feel like I would be able to achieve the best I could by doing this genre. When first coming up with ideas for my trailer, the main idea which stuck out was urban legends. In order for my idea to work I would need to make sure I chose a strong storyline/urban legend to go with. As I had different ideas and didn't know the bets idea to go with, the best idea was to create an online survey for people to fill out. I did this by creating a survey on survey monkey and I have created a separate post which contains the link to this in which people can go onto and fill out. By doing this I would be doing market research and I will be able to find out what the target market want most/like the most. In the survey I have included typical questions such as age and gender and favourite type of genre. However, I have also included different questions to help me with deciding on an idea for my trailer. I have included a question  about different urban legends and which one would be more appealing to the person and have also added questions such as what appeals to you in a horror film and what don't you like to see in a horror film, by doing this I will be able to find out what my target audience want from a horror film and this will allow me to make a good trailer.


I have already experienced some difficulties with the making of the trailer at the start. I first had to think of a solid idea which took a lot of thinking as I knew it had to be a strong idea to make sure my trailer is good. I also, to carry on any further needed to do market research which I am in the process of comparing the results from the survey. After this I thought I was in a strong position but once I had got feedback from my teacher it was clear that I hadn't thought out the whole storyline. I am only making a trailer therefore I will not have all the filming footage from a whole film however, with the trailer it needs to have a storyline to make sense and to grab the viewer's attention and I had just thought of various idea's to have in my trailer and not thought about what the storyline will be and what would happen if I was to make the actual film. In order for the trailer to be successful I need to make sure I fully understand the storyline and to do this I need to have an idea of what will happen in the film. After receiving feedback I also realised that my initially idea for my trailer was very stereotypical and if I just carried on with that idea lone it would be very predictable and probably wouldn't gain the attention of my target audience. From this, I am now in the process of thinking of new ideas to add to the one I have now. I need something that will stand out in my trailer that is not typically done and will grab my viewer's attention, to do this I will need to think of an un original idea which will still keep my film in the horror genre but will bring something new to it. As I need to know overall storyline for the trailer, I will need to plan out what will happen in the film, that meaning I will need to think of more ideas to make sure the trailer is a success.

Horror Film Questionnaire

I have chosen to do Horror for my Trailer, however I have not done any research into this and what the audience would want/like. Due to this I have created a questionnaire on Survey Monkey which will help me with my market research into what the target audience want in a horror film and how they would feel about some of the ideas I have for the trailer. Below I have inserted the link to the questionnaire I have created.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/?sm=oEojFQswXJUMQ4h6WTth6L06bmChZMA497ceVb7FewU17QSIc6mkUsrfuAvY0ywUQ6rb0BkLp2ZK5OBLfeUC75vJxb%2fBFv9CutMQjDaBJWE%3d

I have also created a copy of this survey for handouts so I can ask people directly who are my target audience to fill out the survey/questionnaire, this will provide me with results quicker and I will know that the right target market is being reached.

My Target Audience

Various people watch horror films for different reasons, this may be because they like the thrill from horror films or could simply be because they do not like any other genre's. However, there is a target market in which horror's appeal more to. There are a number of different factors within the target audience for horrors. One of them being age, horror films are aimed more at 15-25 year olds. During the early adult years and older teens, you are more likely to experiment and want to try new things, and also seek thrill more than any other ages therefore a horror film can provide this. Horror films can excite a younger audience more therefore appeal to them more. Also, a younger audience is less likely to be put off by violence or un-natural images than older people therefore they will not feel negative towards the film. Another aspect of the audience for a horror is gender, typically males are more likely to watch horrors because of the stereotype of males being thrill seekers. Violence is something which is showed a lot in horror films and again the stereotype here is that males love watching violence in films. 

Class can also be another factor in the audience for horror films. Horror films are usually aimed at a working class community. This is due to thrill and adrenaline seekers being able to get this from horror films at a relatively cheap affordable price. There are also certain groups of people who horror's target more, a group of friends is a popular one as many do this as a thrill seeking activity they can all do together and enjoy. Another group of people is couples on first dates, this is a common thing that is done. The comfort which is needed at the end of a horror film is why this group of people find this successful. As well as this, they're also good conversation starters therefore are a popular choice of film genre. 

Overall, the overall target audience for a horror film would be a young male aged between 16-24 who is a thrill seeker. If not this, the next is most likely a couple on a first date or have been dating for a while but don't go out, this is because the strong emotion in the horror can bond two people. The audience of horror films often relate to the characters in the film. They often form a relationship due to the similarities and therefore have a stronger emotion pull to the film. The relations of the characters also puts the audience in the shoes of the character gaining a stronger horror effect.