Initial Teaser Trailer

The video above is our initial draft of our teaser trailer, edited on Sony Vegas 9.0.

As a whole summary, students in the class were impressed with out production so far, however it does have it's faults:

• The teaser trailer being too long. At 1:55, our aim is to make it below 1:30. This is our target because other teaser trailers we have analysed advertising well known films are commonly 30-90 seconds.
• The resolution of the screen is incorrect, a minor mistake, but makes some images noticeably out of scale.
• During Molly's voice over, there is a slight hiccup in her grammar, that we recently only just noticed. The wording: "several news paper reports suggest these disappearance" is incorrect, and should be plural, to sound like "these disappearance's".

Pilot Study Questionnaire

Rough Cut 2

Rough Cut 1

The video above is the groups construction of a rough cut version of our final piece. From this we hope we gain receive valuable feedback from other class members.

PLEASE NOTE: this is not a final version! Just an experiment of placing clips in an order.

Editing Software

Once we had all the filming completed the next step was to put it together. Our first editing piece was done using Microsoft Movie Maker 2.6. This program enabled us to create two rough cut versions. Both versions were different, as their clips, ordering, sound effects, transitions etcetera were different. From the target audience's feedback we as a group analysed what we needed to do to make this teaser trailer appeal to their interest. Window Movie Maker served it's purpose; to create two rough cuts of different styles. However, we feel didn't show off the group's creativity, and so Giul's promoted the idea of using Sony Vegas 9.

"Manufacturer's Description-

Vegas Movie Studio Platinum Edition software has everything needed to produce spectacular HD movies. Edit video in nearly any format including HDV and AVCHD. Powerful features for video compositing, color correction, and soundtrack creation help you get feature-film results in your home studio. Use the surround sound mixing tools to create 5.1 soundtracks. Choose from hundreds of professional 2D and 3D video effects, titles, and filters. To share, upload movies to YouTube, burn to Blu-ray Disc, or author DVDs using beautifully designed themes or create custom menus and graphics. Exclusive Sony Show Me How interactive tutorials help you get started fast."

Sony Vegas Pro 9 isn't the most recent version Sony have to offer, but Giuls has access to this Software at his house. With experience making montage clips of PS3 game play, Giuls has good editing skills and a confidence understanding of this program. The total amount of clips we took on the scheduled dates were 144. A large quantity, but we chose the best by eliminating one by one. Importing the movie clips into Sony Vegas we were able to keep the HD quality, however this did slow down computer processing time, which was one downside, but the outcome would be well worth it. As a group we met up at Giuls' house quite frequently to finish it as soon as possible. As you can realise from the picture above Vegas Pro offer more optional feature's, hence why it's available at a price.

Production company animation

Sound track

Choosing the right soundtrack is an important decision for film producers. Some films of higher budgets have pieces of music written especially for them. A Composer such as John Williams is highly renowned in the filming industry for creating soundtracks that flow parallel with the narrative and themes. His career has last for almost 60years, and has composed for films such as Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, E.T., Superman, Indiana Jones, Star Wars etc...

Because our film is for the purpose of a media A level, the funding is not necessary, and getting a custom soundtrack is only possibly if we make it. It would be possibly to make a music sound track, but unfortunately the technology available to us is too novice. The only composing program available to our school is Sibelius, which is technically good for rhythmic composition, but not instrumentally. I have experienced this software at GCSE music and found it easy to work with, but it gave a poor automated sounding product as an end result.
The alternative method would be to use a soundtrack already created.

The sound the group and I want is a type that denotes the horror genre, this in musical terms requires the songs to be in a minor chord, as this chord type projects a sense of sadness, pain and anger. The alternative chord type is major, which projects a happy joyful moment, which would be ironic and not doing the job we initially selected.

The song we have chosen to be part of our soundtrack and to appear in the teaser trailer is called 'Final Hour', by X Ray Dog...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo2_s7J8-JA&feature=player_detailpage

The track is a slow tempo piece, which is of a minor chord like we initially selected. However, the piece is known and renowned as a intensifying movement that is themed very much around the action genre. But with action come violence, which is the main theme we as a group want to show and we all feel this piece of music does exactly that.

Locations of filming

The image below is the office set, located at a group members house. This set is used in the film as Molly's room for investigating the murders. She spends many hours in this room, and is shown in the teaser trailer. Showing this footage in the teaser trailer allows the audience to understand that she is the Protagonist, and the character who tries to solve the mystery in the thick mist. We will follow this character throughout the storyline to understand her point of view.

The office has been design before the filming, as we needed time to create the collage of newspapers, that were full of murders. Another prop on the wall is a map, this map will have marked crosses/ circles to represent murders and releva

nt locations to solve the mystery. The PC will be on a website relevant to the murders, possibly a news site, where there are articles of recent murders.

The teaser trailer will show clips of various shot types of her solving the mystery.

The Chapel/ Church we are using is based in pottersbury. This church is available for us to use as Ellie Gocher's grandparents are the caretakersof the church,and have access to the key. With our permission slips we can prove we have used the church setting uder the agreement of the church's caretakers.

Sunday's Child Font and Editing

The font we initially chose was 'Piece's Of Eight'. To develop this font to another level to make it unique, I edited the font in Macromedia Fireworks. I chose this program because I am capable of working effectively with the controls, because of previous use in the past. The effect I tried to reach was a gore/rough textured look. To get this I played around with the features of the program.

The settings I chose to edit the text first was under the pain brush tool, where I played with the properties, where I could get really specific details. Above is an image of the specific settings. The Image below is the paint brush using black paint.

The image below is what I got when I placed the black over the red paint. This was the effect I wanted to apply to the Pieces of eight font. The colours together connotates death, pain and anger, which relates to the narrative of 'Sunday's Child' and the horror genre. The texture and style mixes the two colours in, and the red cracks into the black, giving a blood streaming effect.

Below are final images of the film title. Transparent and black background versions were created, this allows the team to engage the image in different background colours.

'Sunday's Child' Title

Above is the final title of the Horror/ Thriller teaser trailer that we are planning on making. The title 'Sunday's Child' was introduced to the group whilst deliberating a group name during one of our group meetings.

The font is called "Piece's of Eight", that I found on the internet, where I then downloaded it to Create the title, which was then abroved by the group.

The name relates to the children's nursery rhyme/ poem, which is a method for teaching the days of the week for youngsters. This links in with our narrative, where children are kidnapped and murdered. Sunday is the traditional day of peace, from the bible, where god rested on the 7th day when creating the World. An ironic day for violence.

Sunday's Child Poem.

Mondays child is fair of face,

Tuesdays child is full of grace,

Wednesdays child is full of woe,

Thursdays child has far to go,

Fridays child is loving and giving,

Saturdays child works hard for his living,

And the child that is born on the Sabbath day

Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.

The title 'Sunday's Child' was'nt the original name. Our first name was 'The Unholy', but we thourght as a group it was giving too much away, as the film is about the unholy children not believing in God, and then to be murdered for their Atheist beliefs.

Permission

Dear …………………………………………,

We as a group are currently creating a teaser trailer, film poster and website for our A2 Media piece of coursework and I would kindly ask for you to give your consent to use both the still and moving captions taken of you over the month of November 2010.

If you are happy to give your permission for the said use of your captions, would you please sign at the bottom of this letter and return to a member of the group.

We will also be pleased to show you the final product and would appreciate later feedback.

Kind Regards,

Lewis Tillyer, Chris Mahoney, Guilano Rapoz and Ellie Gocher

I ……………………………………………. Give my permission for you to use all captions taken of me in November 2010.

Signed

……………………………

Actor Profiles

Molly Bell- Molly Bell

Molly is familiar with acting as she attends weekly to a Drama school at the Derngate in Northampton. We as a group know Molly through our team member Giuliano Rapoz, who also is part of this Drama School. At the age of 15 she is studying her GSCE's, and is willing to give her time to us.

Annie Bell- Keira Berry

Keira plays Molly's younger sister in the film. She also attends drama school where she was scouted to play a part in a Vodafone Television commercial. The group knows Keira through Lewis and myself, as we know Keira from Whittlebury Primary school. Aged 11 and now attending Sponne secondary school she is mature for her age and is a promising hope to be part of a professional media filming production.

Molly's Mum- Tania Tillyer and Molly's Dad- Bryan Tillyer

We have Lewis's parents playing Molly's parents, as they both are comfortable being filmed on camera, and are supportive of Lewis's studies. Along with this we can use the Tillyer household as the Bell's. We are planing on filming a few shots when Molly is carrying out an investigation of the child kidnaps. Bryan and Tania are ideal for the job because they are free during the weekends for us to film, and fit the right age category for stereotypical parents of Molly's age.

Priest- Lewis Tillyer

Lewis has volunteered to play the role of the priest. Although he is a teenager he has a mask to cover his face, and so the identity is kept secret. Lewis is not old enough to be a priest, and if we were to make the film we would of chosen someone different to play the part. Lewis is aged 17 and has no experience acting, but nonetheless, he is confidently in playing the part of the mass murdering paedophile priest.

Dead Children- Kyle Tillyer and Zini Rapoz

These two kids are young (11 &12), and their parts in the teaser trailer is to play the role of dead children in the playground. These children just about fit the age range we want. Zini is team member Giuls' younger brother, like wise with Kyle and Lewis. Having younger siblings feature in the teaser trailer is good, as we can directly tell them what we want without any hassle. Giuls' brother also attends the Derngate Drama classes, and therefore is comfortable with acting, whilst Lewis' brother carries through the same confidence.

Updated Storyboards

These storyboards took lots of planning, as each frame had to resemble each shot in the teaser trailer. Using a copy of this whilst filming we could easily film the right shots courtesy of the storyboard. Each picture has it's own caption besides it, stating the character postition, shot length, angle and shot timing.

Shooting Schedule

The image image below is a professional time schedule created by myself that the group used. These three tables acted as a reminder, a piece of material that we could later turn back to and follow.
The Tables told us When we were filming, Where the filming would take place, What we needed and Who we needed to film. The shooting schedule shows our organisation as a team and that we have our time management sussed out.

Group Presentation / Pitch

These Images below represent the groups slide show presentation that we used as a visual medium to present our work to the pretend production company (rest of the yr13 class) that we aimed our film production at, for the financial support that real life producers do (eg Steven Spielberg, James Cameron etc). This task was the closest thing to the real pitch and as a simulation we presented our work in a formal manor. The pitch went well as we pleased the rest of the class with our constructive ideas in the narrative and physical products. We rehearsed the pitch before hand for confidence and to decide who takes the roles. We equally presented our idea in speaking to have an equal input to the task. I also controlled the presentation through the computer that displayed on the large over head projector.

Film Plot- Sunday's Child

• Opens with a young girl running from an un seen threat and eventually getting brutally killed by a hooded character.
• Credit Sequence
• Few months later, the village (the girl killed was from) are throwing a fete.
• Little girl goes missing
• Police are investigating, forensic science teams, etc. But they cannot trace the girls whereabouts or the killers.
• Girls parents begin arguing more and more and the mother has turned to drinking.
• Girls older sister cant stand problems at home anymore and as police cant find anything she begins to create her own investigation.
• Girl begins to investigate around the village, asking citizens what they saw happen at the fete, where they were etc. Uses microphone to record investigation
• Other incidents begin to occur- a small group of children (all similar in age to the previous) go missing from the village playground.
• Police get nowhere with investigation.
• Molly finds security in her boyfriend, her parents disapprove of her having a boyfriend, arguments occur between parents and molly, they blame her for daughters disappearance.
• Whilst investigating one day, few days after playground incident, molly is walking down a road in the village and senses someone/ something watching her, making her insecure, when she turns to see what’s there she sees no one. As she turns back she bumps into the village priest. He apologises and comments on molly’s sisters disappearance and how he hasn't seen them both in church for several months. Molly smiles and carries on walking.
• Molly arrives at the playground and looks around for any signs of evidence. She cant find anything. As she goes to leave she notices a large adult size shoe print of some mud on the path. She quickly takes a photo and returns home.
• Whilst looking at the shoe print image on the computer, struggling to find any clues of suspects from it, she sits back in stress. As she does so, she notices a pattern of mud on a flyer in a pile on her desk. She suspiciously picks up the flyer, for it to reveal the same footprint as the image. Unaware of the priest watching her outside the window (masked)
• Flashback- when molly bumped into the priest, dropped some flyers and the priest accidentally stepped on one.
• Molly quickly grabs her bag and microphone and runs out of the house (night time).
• Molly runs to the village church, the lights are on inside unusually and the door is unlocked.
• Molly creeps in quickly, looking around for children and the priest.
• Suddenly as she walks round the corner and into the main church hall a horrible smell hits molly and she sees all the missing children, all dead in the church pews, etc.- ‘Sunday school’ style.
• Molly runs to her sister to see if she is alive- she doesn't move suggesting she's dead .
• As she stands in the church, breathing deeply and beginning to cry, the priest appears from shadows and begins to loudly preach and pray, cornering molly.
• As the priest leans into her, raising his blood-stained hands, molly takes out a bible from behind her back and smacks the priest around the head.
• As the priest crouches in pain, molly pushes past him and begins to run for the door.
• Just as molly is about to reach the door, it swings open and a crowd of the village adults swarm in.
• Molly is relieved and quickly reveals how the priest is the killer and they have found him, however, the adults all ignore her and continue to walk towards her, forcing her back into the church , whilst chanting prayers.
• Molly begins to panic and scream- “what's wrong with you?”, “he killed them all!”, “he’s right there! Why won’t you help me?”
• Adults all crowd around molly and the priest leans in and sedates her, she screams and then blacks out.
• As she wakes up, slightly dazed at first, she notices she is outside and all the adults are down below her. Molly looks around and has realises she has been crucified. Molly screams in pain and disbelief of it all.
  

Storyboard - Sundays Child - Teaser Trailer

External factors

With our media production being part of an A level, we can only do our best with the technology around us, as we are not expected to use our own money for this study. The external factors that may hinder our production would be:

• The Weather- This is a problem that is entirely out of our control. If it snows, it snows, however we will just have to cope with this and carry on with the filming. If the conditions are so bad that we're not able to meet as a group, then we will have to re-schedule our shooting to another date.


• Illness- Being ill is another thing to consider, as it depends on who it is. If one of the scheduled actor's/ actresses are ill then we will have to amend our planning of shooting dates to another time. If one team member is off ill, then I think the rest of the team must carry on as we have limited time with our actress (Molly Bell).


• Technology- With our non-existent budget we will have to make do with the technology we already have. An advantage of this would be that we are already familiar with the hardware/software, and so we can easily reach our penitential as a group if we work together. Creating science fiction effects/ live mix special effects is our of our capability. An example of the software would be 'Magix Video Pro X 2.0'. Editing software is something that every has in our group. HD video cameras, SLR camera's, Tripod's, laptops etc are found around the groups personal belongings.


• Setting- The places where we are filming are'nt the most spectacular, but whilst planning our production and narrative we would have an understanding of where to film. For example permission may hinder our chosen location, and so we would have to of chosen a realistic location.

SUNDAY'S CHILD - FILM SYNOPSIS

Sundays Child

Waltonbury, a small and secluded rural village on the outskirts of Hertfordshire, has always been recognised for its close knit community where everybody knew everyone and secrets were unheard of.

That is until the first child went missing…

She’s young. She’s beautiful. Her corpse, laid bare in the bypass betrays no secrets, that is except for strange numbers seared onto the inside of her cold lifeless hand.

The first body was a warning.

When Molly, a teenage girl living in the village discovers that her sister goes missing, terror spreads through the isolated town. Molly begins to fear that a brutal serial killer is stalking the village streets; a shadowy madman without mercy or apparent motive. How could this be happening in a place so serene?

The final body…might be hers.

With the death toll rising, Molly races to expose a deadly conspiracy and the sadistic killer at its heart, and every move she makes could be her last.

Film Institution

The image that we took ourselves was taken at nigh time. We timed this shot for the dark effect, as it ties in with the horror theme. It also ties in literally with the name; ‘Dark Path Productions’.
Our aim was to collect a few shots on the camera, preferably a long shot of a narrow road along with a street lamp.
With Lewis taking the shot on a high quality SLR camera and myself directing him we were able to collect the shot we aimed for.

In this image we can see:

• 'Dark Path Productions' - font style=Northwood High
• An over exaggerated moon,
• A clear nights sky with shining stars,
• An animated shooting star/ Flying comet,
• A path/ road going into the darkness,
• A shining street lamp revealing the path/ road curve into the distance, and
• Trees on both sides of the road.

The moon has a good presence to the logo, as it is a very large object that obits earth, it has only been explored by few people and has much more to show then what we already know. The fact that it is a full moon adds superstition. All these facts alone denotes the personality of the Production Company; mysterious and superstitious, linking to the horror genre.

The clear night sky lets us view the over sized moon, as well the shooting star. The clear sky suggests a clear successful journey for the production company.

A shooting star is a special sight, as it is rare to see due to covering clouds and unpredictability. When a shooting star appears people praise it, like it is a pleasure to see. These facts all boost the reputation of the production company, as a special figure within the filming industry.

Below all the fantasy features is a path, lit up first by a street lamp, but then travels alone into the distance. This has a literal connection towards the name and a connection to the typical narrative structure of a horror. From the characters point of view the light symbolizes the equilibrium, but then after that comes the inevitable disruption. After the disruption comes the recognition, where another light source shines the path. After the recognition it is the protagonists responsibility to chose the right path to get to that final street lamp. The character may use sense and look up for answers, where the stars may direct the character to that happy ending. A risky decision that is rarely completed by the protagonist in horror movies.

The trees are either side along the path, which suggests that character that takes this journey can't be escaped from, as the arms of the trees are keeping the character within the path.

The dark scheme is an aspect of 'Pathetic Fallacy' where the human emotions are effected by the visual appearance of nature. The dark night adds superstition and cautions of what maybe ahead.

The name 'Dark Path Productions' is a recognisable name, as Alliteration is used.

Target Audience Profile

From my individual analysis of the group questionnaire conducted recently, I can now come to the conclusion of the films target audience. The film ideally needs a target audience of a certain size to make profit, as most films set out to do.

The first characteristic of the target audience is age; which in this scenario is between 15-25. The film may also appeal to others outside the age bracket as there is always that chance. This broad age group is categorized in my opinion as young adults, who go to the cinema for the social aspect, whether it be with school, college, university or work colleagues. The 'mode' age group we gave the questionnaires out to were 14-17. Using their views on the advertisement products we will know more what to incorporate into the finished products, and later evaluate why we did that. The choice's we decide will be chosen because they will either relate with the typical codes and conventions of the genre horror, ironical, link to a certain theme, and through the narrative.

The gender will be targeted at males and females. The responses we had from the questionnaire research shows that both genders are as interested as each other in horror films.

Social class is not a criteria to consider when discussing target audience, as everyone who has an income can afford to go to the cinema once a month or so, due to our statistics.

Other aspects of representation of characteristics that also are irrelevant are ethnicity and regional identity.

What I do when analysing an extract!!

CAMERA-


Camera shot is the amount of space that is seen in one shot or frame. Camera shots are used to demonstrate different aspects of a film's setting, characters and themes. As a result, camera shots are very important in shaping meaning in a film. Reviewing the examples on the right hand side of this page should make the different camera shots clearer.

Shot Types:

• An extreme long shot contains a large amount of landscape. It is often used at the beginning of a scene or a film to establish general location (setting). This is also known as an establishing shot.
• A long shot contains landscape but gives the viewer a more specific idea of setting. A long shot may show the viewers the building where the action will take place.
• A full shot contains a complete view of the characters. From this shot, viewers can take in the costumes of characters and may also help to demonstrate the relationships between characters. For more information on costumes and acting refer to Chapter 4.
• A mid contains the characters or a character from the waist up. From this shot, viewers can see the characters' faces more clearly as well as their interaction with other characters. This is also known as a social shot
• A close-up contains just one character's face. This enables viewers to understand the actor's emotions and also allows them to feel empathy for the character. This is also known as a personal shot.
• An extreme close-up contains one part of a character's face or other object. This technique is quite common in horror films, particularly the example above. This type of shot creates an intense mood and provides interaction between the audience and the viewer

Angles:

• A bird's eye angle is an angle that looks directly down upon a scene. This angle is often used as an establishing angle, along with an extreme long shot, to establish setting.
• A high angle is a camera angle that looks down upon a subject. A character shot with a high angle will look vulnerable or small. These angles are often used to demonstrate to the audience a perspective of a particular character. The example above demonstrates to us the perspective or point of view of a vampire. As a viewer we can understand that the vampire feels powerful.
• An eye-level puts the audience on an equal footing with the character/s. This is the most commonly used angle in most films as it allows the viewers to feel comfortable with the characters.
• A low angle is a camera angle that looks up at a character. This is the opposite of a high angle and makes a character look more powerful. This can make the audience feel vulnerable and small by looking up at the character. This can help the responder feel empathy if they are viewing the frame from another character's point of view.

Movements:

• A crane is often used by composers of films to signify the end of a film or scene. The effect is achieved by the camera being put on a crane that can move upwards.
• A tracking shot and a dolly shot have the same effect. A tracking shot moves on tracks and a dolly shot is mounted on a trolley to achieve the effect in the example above. This camera movement is used in a number of ways but is most commonly used to explore a room such as a restaurant. By using a tracking shot or a dolly shot the composer of a film gives the viewer a detailed tour of a situation. It can also be used to follow a character.
• Panning is used to give the viewer a panoramic view of a set or setting. This can be used to establish a scene

EDITING-

• A Straight cut break from one shot to the next. Cuts carry the
  continuity of action forward in a straightforward manner, from action to action or place to place.
• Jump cuts are confusing cuts from one shot to the next that do not
  follow the obvious rules of cause and effect. These cuts are usually used to disrupt the
  audience’s attention in order to create shock.
• Fade outs show the screen fade from an image to a black screen.
• Fade ins show the screen fade from black to an image. Both fade-ups
  and fade-downs are used to suggest the passage of time and generally work to give
  the audience a chance to take a breath in preparation for the next scene.
• Dissolves edits show one image slowly disappear as a new image is
  introduced. Dissolves are used to indicate the end of one event and the beginning of
  a new event or scene.
• A Wipe edit is used to show one part of the screen literally wipe over the rest of the
  screen. One image disappears as it is replaced by a new image. This kind of edit
  is not often seen in movies, largely because it looks comic-bookish.
  

SOUND-


Diegetic Sound- Sound whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be present by the action of the film:

• voices of characters
• sounds made by objects in the story
• music represented as coming from instruments in the story space ( = source music)

Diegetic sound is any sound presented as originated from source within the film's world


Diegetic sound can be either on screen or off screen depending on whatever its source is within the frame or outside the frame.


Non-Diegetic- Sound whose source is neither visible on the screen and has not been implied to be present in the action:

• narrator's commentary
• sound effects which is added for the dramatic effect
• mood music

Non-diegetic sound is represented as coming from the a source outside story space.

MISE EN SCENE-

French for - PUT IN THE FRAME'
Lighting-

The intensity, direction, and quality of lighting have an effect on the way an image is perceived. Light and shade can emphasise texture, shape, distance, mood, time of day or night, season, glamour and it affects the way colors are rendered.

Types of lighting:

• Low Key
• High Key
• Under lighting
• Top lighting
• Back lighting

Colour and Connotations-

• Red - Energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love.
• Pink - Signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness.
• Brown - Suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities.
• Orange - Combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics.
• Gold - Evokes the feeling of prestige. The meaning of gold is illumination, wisdom, and wealth.
• Yellow - Is the color of sunshine. It's associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.
• Green - Is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility.
• Blue - Is the color of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.
• Purple - Combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. Purple is associated with royalty.
• White - Is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity.
• Black - Is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery.

Props-
Objects make up the scene, and when creating a set the director must decide on the Props, as each prop can hold a connotation.

For example:

• A gun- Suggests Violence, Anger and Pain.
• A rose- Suggest Love, Passion and Romance.
• A Football- Suggests Fair play, Respect and activeness.
• A Baseball bat- Suggest Protection, Anger and Violence.
  

Hair and Make-up-
The style and Colour of hair builds a personality of a Character.

Men- Style:

• Short= A clean, professional and well looked after person.
• Long= Lazy and Doesn't pay attention to looks.

Woman- Style:

• Short= Masculine and Modern.
• Long= Traditional and feminine.
• Straight= Pure and innocence.
• Curly= Complicated and Busy.

Clothing-

This factor is important because it can build a strong suggestion of the character personality. Types of clothing can carry out different connotations. Sub-Cultures, Social class, Regional Identity, Ethnicity, Gender and Sexuality can create a characters representation, which can create an opinion for the audience, and can create an individual identity for each character.

• Sub-Cultures- Chavs wear baggy and sporting clothes, Goths wear dark style clothing.
• Social Class- Depends on the exspense of clothes. higher wear designer, middle wear casual clothes bought in regualar high street stores, and working wear second hand, damaged and old clothes.
• Regonal Identity- People tend to wear clothes that are suitable for their living environment. People who live in the country and are into agreculture wear thick sway clothes, whereas in london and city's clothes can vary in style because there tends to be split of sub-cultures, and so clothes vary.
• Ethnicity can be represented through traditional clothing that can be recognised easily, for example and Turban symbolises religion and a eastern descent.

Position within Frame

Selecting where to place the character is the directors job. Each character has a level of importance, and selecting where to put them in the cameras frame gives them a sense of identity, and makes things clear to the audience who are the main characters they are meant to focus on.

CLASSIFICATION

Film classification is a legislation that categorises films due to their content. The categories are age groups and limits under-age viewing because of potential emotional disturbances.

A film is judged upon a few issues, those being:

• Language
• Violence
• Horror
• Sex
• Drugs
• Nudity
• Imitable technique
• Tome
• Discrimination/bigotry
• Realism within fantasy

Universal

- It is impossible to predict what might upset any particular child. But a ‘U’ film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. ‘U’ films should be set within a positive moral framework and should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror.

- If a work is particularly suitable for a pre-school child to view alone, this will be indicated in the Consumer Advice.

Parental Guidance

- General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children.

-Unaccompanied children of any age may watch. A ‘PG’ film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. However, parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger or more sensitive children.

12A and 12

- Exactly the same criteria are used to classify works at ‘12A’ and ‘12’. These categories are awarded where the material is suitable, in general, only for those aged 12 and over. Works classified at these categories may upset children under 12 or contain material which many parents will find unsuitable for them.

- The ‘12A’ category exists only for cinema films. No one younger than 12 may see a ‘12A’ film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult, and films classified ‘12A’ are not recommended for a child below 12. An adult may take a younger child if, in their judgement, the film is suitable for that particular child. In such circumstances, responsibility for allowing a child under 12 to view lies with the accompanying adult.

- The ‘12’ category exists only for video works. No one younger than 12 may rent or buy a ‘12’ rated video work.

15

-No-one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No-one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.

18

-No-one younger than 18 may see an ‘18’ film in a cinema. No-one younger than 18 may rent or buy an ‘18’ rated video work.

18R

-The ‘R18’ category is a special and legally restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults. Films may only be shown to adults in specially licensed cinemas, and video works may be supplied to adults only in licensed sex shops. ‘R18’ videos may not be supplied by mail order.

-http://www.bbfc.co.uk/

STUDY OF NARRATIVE STRUCTURES

In our set Homework we were set the task to study the narrative structures of Horror Films. This would include writing about the narrative theory's conducted people in the past time, and analysing recent films and how they apply these concepts.


Toderov's Theory


Toderov's theory outlines 5 key stages to a basic storyline structure. Often renowned as the 'Classic' storyline as it's used in so many popular films.

1. Equilibrium introduced
2. Disruption of the Equilibrium
3. The Recognition of the Disruption
4. Attempt to repair Disruption
5. Reinstatement of the Equilibrium

http://www.writework.com/essay/media-writing-and-todorov-s-theory

Propp's Theory

This theory was developed by Vladmir Propp, based on the work of the Russian Formalists. Propp used Russian Folktales as the basis for his theory but it can be applied to all types of fiction as well as many movies.

7 Character types:

1. The hero (seeks something)
2. The villain (opposes the hero)
3. The donor (helps the hero by providing a magic object)
4. The dispatcher (sends the hero on his way)
5. The false hero (falsely assuming the role of hero)
6. The helper (gives support to the hero)
7. The princess (the reward for the hero but also needs to be protected from the villain
8. Her father

http://www.scribd.com/doc/8332774/Propps-theory-in-detail


To fully understand these theories I have analysed some thriller/horror films where I have outlined the Characters and their roles, along with a detailed analysis on the structure on the stories. Horror movies tend to not follow the Toderov's 5 stages chronologically because sometimes there is no happy endings. We can see from my analysis's that there are going to be more disruptions than anything else.

The Grudge

Disruption- The first scene we are shown is a couple in a multistory flat waking up in the morning. All of a sudden the man commits suicide by falling over the balcony to his death in the middle of the street.
Another scene draws us to a house where a young woman explores a house where she caring for a woman who has a disability. She hears noises. Seeking this noise she pops her head up through the attic door where she turns around until the haunting figure comes out of the darkness and kills her.

Equilibrium- Main Character Karen Davis (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is seen wake up in late in day. With her boyfriend they makes their way to work and splitting up during their journey in the busy city to each others jobs in the city.

Disruption- Karen goes to the house where the young girl disappeared and she covers her shift as she is missing, not knowing of the dangers. Karen explore the house until she is found by her boss in a tormented state.

Recognition - Karen is in hospital after a bad day at work. Questioned by the police they search for answers.

Disruption- Karen's boss and boyfriend are next to be perished by the haunting grudge.

Character role in The Grudge

• KAREN - PROTAGONIST - VICTIM
• DOUG - HELPER/DONOR - VICTIM
• ALEX - KAREN'S BOSS - HELPER/ VICTIM
• GRUDGE- VILLAIN
• UNKNOWN SUICIDE MAN- VICTIM
• YOKO - JAPANESE SOCIAL CARER- VICTIM

Analysis of Questionnaire

We created a questionnaire as a group task to assess our target audience. The first part of the questionnaire will tell us more about the target audience, and so we can create a basic target audience profile. The second section tells us more about the target audience's preferences. Using the information gathered we can apply their wants into to finished product.


Q1.
We can see here we had more females answering our questionnaire than males. However 3% doesn't hinder the overall outcome by a large margin, so I think we can continue knowing that the answers my colleagues and I collected are valid and genuine. At the end of the day things could have ended up worse.

Q2.

The bar chart informs us that our target audience for the media products are aged 14-19. This was the best range we could manage and foreshore it would have been nicer to have a larger age group to market our products to. The questionnaires results will therefore cater for the ages of between 14 and 19 years of age. Using the information we have gathered as a team we can plan and apply their thoughts to our group task and subsidiaries.

Q3.

We needed to know whether our target audience watches films. A strong result informs us that the target audience is experienced in film watching and has the knowledge and understanding of what makes a good teaser trailer, poster and film website.

Q4.

These results lets me know that our target audience is a regular cinema viewer.

The most popular choice is monthly, this tells me that people go to the for the big blockbusters that have been highly anticipated by the use of marketing campaigns that include teaser trailers, posters and Internet advertisements to reach the target audience.

Q5.

This directly informs us that the majority of the target audience researches a movie before paying to see it. A wise choice, but this also signifies that the target audience makes use of the products as part of the advertising campaign. So our products; both group and individual must appeal effectively to the target audience.

Q6.

The Crazies, Day of the Dead and Pirates of the Caribbean are certainly the most aesthetically pleasing film posters to the target audience. Applying similar presentational devices will foreshore raise my chances of making a poster that appeals to the same target audience.

Q7.

A huge portion of people voted that the main image should be the most important feature on the page. Due to the result I will manage my time effectively to produce an appealing main image, along with other features nonetheless.

Q8.

In this question we are trying to outline the unimportant features that appear on a film poster.

For the least important figure to appear on a film poster 2 features where opted as the least, those being the font and the background.

Q9.

In conjunction with question 5 we can say that the 3 forms of advertising I will be creating are vitally important to persuade the target audience to view it in the cinema. No one disagreed that they aren't important, and so it will influence the group and myself to create top-notch advertising products.

Q10.

This question will tell me if the target audience judges the film depending on the institution behind it all. The results clearly shows in my favour, as the institution is not an important part in our production piece. However this isn't stopping me from designing our logo whilst considering the concepts adapted by the big institutes.

Q11.

The question I am asking informs me how the target audience accesses the film related information. With no surprise the television is the powerful in response, whilst the website is the second most popular in response, as the internet is the fastest form of media to pass our generation. This answer also tells me that my website is just as important to complete as an advertisement product that appeals to the target audience.

Q12. Who is your favourite actor/actress?

Most popular answers:

· Christian Bale

· Will Smith

· Johnny Depp

· Leonardo Dicaprio

A high majority of these actors/actresses appear in horror films. Johnny Depp for example stars in Sweeny Todd, Sleepy Hollow etc... Studying the previous films staring these actors I could gain an understanding of what the target audience and figure out any devices used.

Q13.

The questionnaire informs us that horror is by far is the most popular film genre. This reassures us that our chosen genre is popular and the target audience is of much relevance. Prior to this questionnaire the group members and my favourite film genre was horror, and we felt that we would be comfortable in producing an advertising campaign based upon the genre.

Q14. From your favourite genre, what would you want to feel from watching the film?

Most popular answers:

· Excitement

· suspense

· happy

· satisfied

· entranced

· Scared

· Emotional

· Laughter

· confused

· Fear

· Loved

· surprised

I mixed response I feel because its either a happy or a scared emotion they want to experience. both don't mix, and so I would have to make the decision that the target audience should fell scared whilst viewing our product, as thats what horror films do!

Q15.

This question will give a good understand of what the website should include. Nevertheless, with a website it is virtually possible to include any of these features, but there are some features that are out of our reach due to the technical side; this statement referring to games.

The results stated that the target audience would want to see a trailer/ preview, cast list and synopsis.

I think they would prefer to see these features because they want to find lots of information about the film before attending the cinema, to determine whether it is worth seeing.

Q16.

The results of this question not so clearly outlines that genre, cast, recommendations and narrative are the most important criteria for the target audience when choosing a film. The cast that we will be managing will be experienced in drama studies, and with our non-existent budget the actors/actresses will not be known. The narrative is down to our creativity as a group to make a successful storyline that interests the viewer.

Q17.

This Question asks what colour scheme they like the most. With red/black and black/white proving to be popular it fits in with the horror genre.

Questions 18-23 asks the target audience to clearly outline their opinion on what's important and what's not. With 1 being most important and 5 being least, the target audience gave their thoughts in numerical rating. The least important response we got was about the inclusion of the main character on the poster, whilst all other responses suggested that everything else was an important feature in work on.

Q18

Q19

Q20

Q21

Q22

Q23