Film Magazine Front Cover and Film Poster Mock Ups

Film Magazine Front Cover and Film Poster Mock Ups

Research and Planning

Original Brief

This year following from my Foundation Portfolio, I have now been set the task to create and Advanced Portfolio including a Horror Film trailer, a film magazine front cover (featuring the film) and a poster promoting the film.

I will be doing in-depth research into what genre and sub-genre my film trailer will be from. I have decided that I will be doing a Supernatural and Psychological. This will be done by researching all horror films that come from that subgenre as well, and analysing the trailer. In addition, I will look at what are the key and common elements are in horror films and what make them effective and appealing.

In order for me to know what my target audience is, I need to conduct a Target Audience Profile. This will consist of my audience’s age bracket, gender social class and occupation. It will also contain their personality, which is important for knowing how their personality would reflect on what they would expect to see in a horror film trailer.

Next, I would need to construct a questionnaire and hand out to people who represent my target audience. I will be doing this because; part of my research and planning is to find out, what my audience would want to expect to see in a horror film trailer. The questions will consist of a mixture of multiple choice and open choice questions. They will ask my target audience about their general interest in films and what features make a horror film more effective for them. After I have distributed my questionnaire, I will collect my questionnaire and analyse the results by portraying the findings in graphs, to create statistics, and therefore this should help me plan out what I should include in my horror film trailer, poster and film magazine, ensuring I meet the demands and satisfy my target audience’s need.

After I have completed my questionnaire research, I will be putting together a focus group. This will consist of a selection of different people, all representing my target audience. The focus group will show, people who had taken part in the questionnaire, expressing their thoughts and opinions, on what they would expect to see in a horror film trailer and why and what features would impress them the most. They will also be talking about the concepts that they would not want to see, so if gives me a criteria on what to do and what not to do.

To continue, I will also be exploring the codes and conventions of film trailers, film posters and magazine front covers. I will portray this by showing reference to existing media texts. This will be looking at the sub-genre that I am working within this year, which is psychological and supernatural. The different types of conventions, that I will be looking at will be, Sounds, Setting, Sights, Lighting, Iconography, Costumes, Characters and Weapons. I will be expressing the true functions, that all these key areas represent, and how they satisfy the audience.

Furthermore, I will be working out and outlining a narrative for my film and film trailer. As I have decided that my sub-genre will be psychological and supernatural, I have taken inspiration from existing films, such as ‘Orphan’ and ‘The Sixth Sense’. This is because a child is the main character, but is shown as the killer in one film and in the other film the child is shown as the victim. My film narrative will be psychological, as it will still be showing the traditional conventions that a psychological horror film does, which is to frighten the audience mentally and try to get in contact with the audience’s worst fears and nightmares, by revealing the emotional side of the human mind. The Supernatural aspect will also be portrayed, by showing some kind of unknown spirit always present with the killer.

In addition, I will be working out initial ideas for my film poster and film magazine front cover. I intend to create a symbiotic link between my three texts by showing a long shot of the killer, to show dominance and power. This will also create a gloomy effect, indicating the character’s significance. I would use an isolated background, which is a main convention of the setting.

Following this, I will then present a pitch to my peers outlining my creative ideas including my target audience, which sub-genre I have chosen, inspirations from other existing horror films within the sub-genre I am working in, a narrative including the style of my film and a basic plotline, locations of the scenes in the film trailer and other creative ideas which would help to promote my package. The reason why I will be doing this is to gain back positive and negative feedback including improvements and extra ideas to help flourish the current stage the idea process is at, and use the feedback in my production pieces.

To continue on from presenting the pitch, I will then analyse and present the feedback from my pitch to my peers, explaining how I will address their improvements suggested, and what actions I will be taking to do so.

I will then carry out further research into the background and history of the genre and sub-genre I am working within. This will be done through the Internet, film magazines, the library etc. This will help me and give me a better insight into the genre I am working within.

In order to make sure that I have a professional and effective promotional package, I will analyse existing media texts such as, film trailers, film posters and film magazine front covers. This will enable me that I will have all the codes and conventions that make these 3 pieces of media effective, met correctly.

I will carry out research into styles and techniques favoured by a director that inspires me, this will help me further extend and expand my ideas for my film trailer, film poster and film magazine front cover.

To continue with the codes and conventions that make a horror film trailer, film poster and film magazine front cover, I will explore and analyse ideas for costume, hair, make-up, props, locations, use of camera and use of lighting. This will be followed by carrying out and recording a reconnaissance.

After I have finished my Research and Planning, I will then carry out and analyse some practise shots and show evidence of this, by showing it on my blog. I will consider and choose carefully actors to perform in the trailer and pose for images that will be used in the still media pieces. In order to help me shoot my trailer, I will produce shooting schedules and call sheets, to make it constructive and easier to follow.

For my film trailer, I will be creating a storyboard, to help me see what would be included in the film, giving details on the timing on the cuts and editing, information on what sound whether it would be digetic, non digetic, contrapuntal or parallel sound in the scene, and what different types of lighting would be used.

I will produce mock ups as I did for my preliminary task and foundation portfolio last year. I will include more than one. The mock ups will be of the ancillary tasks, and they will include of the key aspects of what is going to be included. My blog will show the evidence of progression. Finally I will be carrying out a post-production questionnaire, asking people that represent my target audience, asking them what they think of my promotional package and whether they would go to see it in the cinema. I will also be asking them whether I have met the criteria of the codes and conventions, which make horror film trailer, horror film magazines and horror film posters effective, thus doing this I have satisfied their needs. This will then be followed by an evaluation, which will involve me, giving a detailed over view of my 3 pieces of media, and also expressing how I found this project and what were all the positives and negatives. The positives would be explained by what I enjoyed the most, and if there were any negatives, I would express what they were, and then explain how I overcame them, and what the end result was after I solved the issue.

Background Research of which genre and sub-genre my film will belong to

Genre: Horror

Sub Genre: Psychological and Supernatural Horror

This year I have decided to present my film trailer, which is one being portrayed through the genre of Horror. Films that originate from the Horror Genre, strive to achieve emotions of fear, horror and disgust from its audience. Horror films normally look at the viewer’s worst fears, nightmares and the general illusions someone in a horror film could have, of the terror and unknown. The most common elements of the Horror Genre are torture, ghosts, guts and gore, Satanism, ancient curses, demons, vicious animals, vampires, cannibals, haunted houses, zombies, Forests, Woods and many more.