Media Evaluation Question 1

Media Evaluation Question 1

Usually, most horror film trailers will share similar conventions and forms, in the sense that they are all designed to entice the audience into watching the film by intriguing them and making them interested.

In comparison to our horror trailer, I think we have displayed many of the different conventions of a professional horror trailer. For example, the first thing the audience would be able to notice when watching the film is that the genre is of the horror nature. We were able to do this by creating suspenseful scenes and we incorporated long and short takes in order to shock the audience. This is a typical technique used by many horror producers and we thought this would be an important aspect to include. Another trait of our trailer which is similar to those made by professional directors is that we only show the name of the film right at the end of the trailer. This occurs in almost every trailer for films in general, and it is done in order to leave the audience with the name of the film stuck in their head, coincidentally, they go and watch the film. One aspect which separates ours from those made in the professional industry is that we didn’t have the luxury of being able to include well known stars such as Johnny Depp or Christian Bale.  We were only able to use students in our horror trailer therefore could not try to entice the audience with the actors themselves, which many film companies do. However this was not a hindrance to the group as many horror films in particular rely more on the actual content of the film and the thrills and adrenaline rush that the film gives the audience. For example, the SAW films never include many well-known actors however the brand is one of the most successful in the horror industry, suggesting the audience is more interested in the content of the film than the actors in it. In comparison to genres such as Romantic Comedies and Dramas.

While making film trailers, horror producers will target their trailers at a specific demographic who they believe the film will be enjoyed by. For example, the horror genre is mainly followed by people of ages 15-30, as our research showed, so we tried to aim the film at that group of people in particular. We did this by making sure the trailer was quite modern and used a complete teenage cast, this means the target audience would be able to identify with the characters, and after watching the trailer, they would instantly want to know what was happening with them. The trailer gives small snippets of what the boys, myself, Kieran Brown, and Louis Casely, go through in the trailer, and the audience would be drawn in. It was important that we used teenage actors of ages 17 and 18 because in recent times, films which are based around a teenage age group have been very successful, such as the Twilight Series, Project X, and even more so, Harry Potter. The audience instantly builds up a relationship with the characters when the realise they are of the same age, therefore enticing them to see the film. Films which include a teenage character base have been very successful mainly due to the fact that people of ages 14-25 is the age demographic which watches films the most. This is one convention which our film shares with many modern films. 

Although our horror film included teenage actors so the film would automatically be associated and aimed at that audience, the actual story line and genre of horror was very much aimed at an older audience due to the fact that the film is not just a normal slasher film, where the main focus is blood and gore, which a teenager would normally enjoy. The film is in fact based around psychology which is a rather adult approach and genre of horror film. This would not be easy to understand if the audience were quite young and only used to gorey slasher films. So in this sense the trailer does not follow the usual conventions of a horror film aimed at the demographic of 15-25 year old audiences. 

Most horror trailer share the convention of using a mixture of quick and slow shots, generally building the pace as the trailer progresses and intensifies. We included this convention in our trailer as we thought this was very important to cement the idea that the film was of the horror nature. In order to increase tension in the trailer we used a mixture of dark and light conditions. This was used to confuse the audience and they would be disturbed by the lack of continuity in the trailer. The way the audience would be confused by the trailer would be appealing to a producer as it means the audience would want to watch the film in order to work out the confusing elements. We also used sound in the trailer to create suspense and atmosphere. Another element of the trailer which is similar to other trailers of the horror genre is that we used red text while showing the title of the film at the end of the trailer, this is a common techniques used by horror producers due to the way the colour red is often associated with blood, fortifying the idea that the film is of the horror genre.

As previously mentioned, we used sound in the trailer, creating an atmosphere and making the trailer more suspenseful. We were able to edit a sound clip making it speed up throught the trailer and the final part of the trailer was very important as we have a shot of the evil character, Isaac Reeder, wearing the burlap mask appearing over the shoulder of myself, this was a very important shot as it was very powerful and the final shot the audience would see. The sound in the clip added to the shot as the sound climaxed just as the character leant over my shoulder. The effect of this was typical of the horror genre and is a classic convention of horror trailers used to give a final scare to the audience, so in this sense, the trailer followed horror convention. Sound is very important in any film trailer as it plays on another of the audiences senses, and without the use of sound in our trailer, it would not have been as effective and scary.

A convention of horror films which we closely followed was the location where the filming took place. We all decided that the location had to be one which would simply only ever feature in a horror film, therefore we decided to film the trailer at an abandoned churchyard. As you can see from the image below, the location is perfect for a film of the horror genre, forming an atmosphere of its own due to the instant association with death when thinking about a graveyard, adding to the creepiness of the trailer.

 This form is very similar to other horror movies as the location where something happens has to be scary itself in order to make sure the audience is aware of the horror in the film. For example, a comedy film would never be filmed at a graveyard and a horror film would never be filmed during the day in a busy city.

One convention which our trailer did not follow is the actual type of horror film which the trailer was based around. The current theme for popular horror films is those based around blood, violence and gore. However, we did not want to conform to the usual trend and we actually wanted to make a unique horror film based around effecting the audience psychologically and indirectly instead of the usual gore-fest films which scare the audience because of the blood and gore, but only for a certain amount of time. Instead, we wanted to create a trailer which would make the audience think about the trailer for a long time, and so it would play on their mind, like films such as Paranormal Activity, which has been very successful. The film contained subliminal messages, hence the name subliminal, as we could not think of a film that has done this before. We wanted to differentiate our film from others on the market and steer clear of the usual film conventions and I believe we successfully did this.

The next comparison to draw between our trailer and a professionally made one would be the use of camera techniques and shots in order to set a mood and influence the audience. Professional production companies have the ability and technology to create extravagant shots and scenes, using hi-tech cameras, cranes and other tools, however we did not have this sort of equipment at our disposal, therefore the shots themselves are fairly simple as they are all made to look hand-held, which is a common form in horror films. However one convention we have followed is that we have used a wide range of angles and shots while filming the trailer, in order to disorientate the audience and therefore establish and re-enforce the idea that the film is a horror.

The final comparison with professional horror films I will discuss is the use of the Antagonist in the trailer. Although he does play a large part in the trailer, because all the fear is actually based around his mystery, he is very rarely shown, only twice, and in both of these shots, he looks particularly menacing. We deliberately wanted to only briefly show the antagonist because we wanted the audience to be intrigues by him, therefore would want to watch the entire film.

Overall, I was pleased with the way our horror trailer compared to those made by professionals as we only had few resources and very little in terms of hi-tech equipment. In order to make the trailer more conventional and follow the forms of professional trailers, we would have to shoot much more complicated shots from elaborate angles.

Kieran Browne