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