Task 10 - Evaluation

1.       In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge form and conventions of real media products?

We were asked to produce a horror film as part of our AS media coursework. Our media product 'Aura of Evil' uses, develops and challenges the forms and conventions that can be found in real film openings of the horror film genre. We used a conventional soundtrack in the form of eerie and atmospheric music in order to complement the onscreen images and contribute to the uneasiness felt by the audience within the first minute or two of the film. The music becomes gradually louder, which grips the audience and adds suspense. The same music track  is used throughout our production, however, it becomes slightly quieter in some places which allows for the dialogue to be heard more clearly at significant parts. At some points within the production however, it is important that the volume level of the  music is increased, in order to create tension, which then leads the audience to a climatic place while watching the film. This is a conventional aspect which can be found in a number of horror films, which can already be found on the market. 

We used incidental music which is parallel to the onscreen images in the sense that with the soundtrack and film combined, the audience feels increasingly unnerved. This is a conventional aspect of horror film making that can be found in a number of other films, for example 'Halloween'. In some cases, the soundtrack becomes famous itself, Halloween is a successful example of this.

We used a creepy-looking font for the opening titles which was coloured red, against a black background. This is also a conventional aspect of horror film openings. A plain black background is almost always used within the opening sequence of horror films because this colour has the connotations of darkness, the unknown and death. The use of a red font in the context of the horror genre has the connotations of blood, passion and the devil. Therefore, by incorporating both of these colours and using them combined together, it creates a haunting feel and prepares the audience for the potential fright which they may experience while watching rest of the film.

The conventions of the horror genre have been adapted and challenged in the sense that the antagonist is an attractive, young female. This is less common in the horror genre, but can be found in films such as 'Jennifer's Body'. A male antagonist is very common in this genre, and can be found in a great deal of films, such as; 'Friday the 13th', 'Nightmare on Elm Street' and 'The Last House on the Left'. Males are usually selected to take the role of antagonist, due to being the stronger, and stereotypically more dominant sex. We wanted to challenge this convention by using a female as the antagonist, who is significantly smaller and less strong than the male in the film. The antagonist, despite the difference in size between her and the male, still manages to kill him. The character ‘Jim’, despite being a 'stronger' male is killed by Aura a 'weaker' female, while Georgia, the other female lives. Therefore the two girls within the production are ultimately shown to be stronger. This somewhat unconventional aspect of our media production may attract a wider audience due to being unique.

We used a young cast to challenge horror conventions, a typical cast in a horror film would generally be in their young 20’s. We concluded that our film would be more controversial if we showed teenagers in a situation where lives are in jeopardy as opposed to young adults, who would be much more likely to take care of themselves.

2.       How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Or media product represents the particular social group of teenagers. In our film  production, there is a couple seemingly on a romantic date. They are Caucasian and are casually dressed in neutral looking clothes, which do not conform to any particular stereotype at a first glance. However, by the tattoos and checked shirt, and fashionable trouser braces that the boy - Jim is wearing, you can tell that he is perhaps into an indie rock genre of music. The girl is dressed in a dark, navy blue play suit with white polka dots, she seems to appear to be into an indie rock genre as well as the boy, as the way in which they are dressed compliments each other, and they look as if they match. This conforms to the stereotypical idea that teenagers from the same social group will usually 'get together'. Although you can tell that there is a slight stereotype from the clothes that the characters are wearing, we chose to dress the characters in simple clothing, which does not obviously conform to a particular social group. By doing this, we though the viewer would be more inclined to see that the characters in the production represent teenagers as a whole as opposed to just one particular social group, therefore enabling the viewer, no matter what social group they are in, to relate to the characters.

The couple appear to be of a middle class background, as the home that they are in is clean, tidy and decorated nicely, this indicates that the boy (owner of the house) possesses wealth. The girl also uses a Blackberry smart phone during the production, which could suggest that she has an abundance of money, and can therefore spare enough money to buy a 'posh' mobile phone.

The ages of the characters in the production vary slightly, the boy (Jim) is aged 19, the girl (G) is aged 16, and the vampire (Aura) is aged 17, therefore the ages represent an audience of teenagers, but not a specific age. The fact that the boy is the first to die despite him being the oldest, seemingly suggests that age will not always be an advantage in life. Furthermore, the fact that men are supposed to be the stronger and more dominant role over females, yet the male is the one who is murdered, goes against this assumption, and therefore shows that gender does not have an advantage. This empowers women, as it shows that they have the strength and control over men. In the first part of the production, the girl is shown to be weaker, as the boy 'tries it on' with her and she appears to not be in control of the situation, however as the boy goes outside and is seduced and killed by the vampire, the power is given over to women.
The vampire - Aura is infact South African, but conforms to the social stereotype of an 'indie/rock' type of person, similarly to the Caucasians in the film. This therefore suggests that they are all part of the same sub-culture, and perhaps know each other from college or school. This idea is futher implied when Jim addresses Aura by her name, but seems shocked when she seduces him and bites his neck. It seems that they already know eachother, but he was unaware of her alterior motives, and evil nature.

We chose to not include older characters in our production, which therefore shows that the film is aimed at a younger audience (15-25) which means that this age group will be able to relate to the characters more than an older audience would be able to.

3.       What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

The media institution that might distribute our product would be a British company such as Film Four. This is not a particularly large film company. It would be likely to be in favour of producing our media product because it is a low budget production and does not use CGI and special effects in it. Films associated with Film Four do not generally incorportate an abundance of CGI and special effects, therefore making our production particularly favourable to this corporation.
We did not want to use special effects in our production, because we wanted to enable the audience to concentrate on the acting and become engrossed in the story line, as opposed to being distracted by constant, big-budget special effects. However, if we were less pushed for time, and had more of the rescources available, which would be needed to create special effects, we may have experimented and used some within our film production.
Film Four is a British corporation which would be suited to our product because the majority of our cast is British, however with the exception of the vampire - Aura who has South African origins.

Overall, our film relies more on the storyline and acting within the film, as opposed to a 'theme park/roller-coaster' film which has less of a storyline, but incorporates copious amounts of CGI to literally give the audience an adrenaline boost as they watch the film, similarly to being at a theme park. Due to a lack of budget, creating this type of film was unfortunately, not an option.
We wanted to produce a film which felt 'real', which makes the audience feel in a way which is similiar to how 'The Blair Witch Project' makes its viewers feel. This film a sense of verisimilitude because it is seemingly filmed by students, therefore making the film, in my opinion, much more scary than a horror film with a high budget, purely because it seems more believable that the story of the Blair Witch actually happened, and has been documented. The use of handheld cameras within this film makes it seem almost as if the content of the film was captured by accident.
We produced our film using a low budget, due to a lack of funding, and ultimately, time to raise funds. However, there a number of other films which have also been produced on a low budget, but still appear to look exceptional and professional. With this as inspiration, we knew we would be able to produce an appealing media product, if all was to go as we planned. Due to careful consideration to all aspects of the planning process, our film was produced successfully and therefore looks professional and of a high quality.

4.       Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience would be predominantly teenagers, over the age of 15 as this is what the rating for the film is. It is unsuitable for people under 15, and it might not appeal to adults a lot older than 25, due the the fact that the characters within the film are teenagers, who adults may not feel they are able to relate to. However, adults may enjoy this film as they feel they are able to re-live their younger days vicariously through the characters within the film. Due to our production being a horror film, the target audience would ultimately be horror film fans, who are not fazed by elements of blood and gore. 

Before deciding on the rating of 15, we were required to study the criteria for a 15 film, to ensure that it would be suited to our product, we did this by referring to the website: http://www.bbfc.co.uk/, by looking at this we concluded that our film is best suited for a 15 rating. This is because our film does not show scenes of graphic violence or gore, similarly to how an 18 rated film would, but indeed implies that there will be some later on in the film. However, our film would be unsuitable to be rated as a 12 due to the fact that there is some blood involved, though not enough to cause major discomfort for the viewer, if they are of the recommended age. There is also scenes of a sexual nature implied early on in the film as Jim suggests that him and G 'go upstairs', however this does not manifest into sexual activity as they are interrupted by a phonecall. Later on in the film, however, sexual activity may be shown. Therefore, nobody under the age of 15, ideally, should be viewing this film due to its underlying adult themes. We realise that by rating our film a 15 we may be missing out on a potential audience of those younger than 15, but due to the nature of horror films, it is completely inappropriate to rate a film like this any lower than 15 due to its content. The rating is therefore a warning to those younger than 15.

5.       How did you attract/address your audience?

We attracted the target audience by building suspense from the moment the film begins. The company logo we used was a picture of a cobweb, due to our company name being 'Cobweb Studios'. We chose to use an image of a cobweb because they are associated with spiders, due to being produced by them. Many people are frightened by spiders, or at least feel a little uneasy when around a spider, therefore by using this image, a sub-conscious sense of uneasiness is felt but the audience before they have even started viewing the film itself. The audience will be attracted by the sense of anticipation and fear as they wish to view the film in order to see how the film will manifest. The opening titles attract the audience by building suspense which gradually becomes more intense as the opening titles roll. The text fades from one sentence into the next, giving a 'creepy' feel. The loud, gradually building eerie music compliments the title sequence and attracts the audience by making them feel that the music is building up to something big and scary.

At the very beginning of the film, the couple are shown to be watching a horror film, this is implied through the sounds of graphic violence which are coming from the TV. Throughout the opening sequence, the storyline is implied but not fully revealed which leaves the audience with the anticipation of coming events, and ultimately, the desire to watch the rest of the film in order to see how things fall into place.

In order to make the target audience aware of the film, we would be required to advertise and market the film. We would have to use viral and traditional marketing. Traditional marketing is most commonly used for promoting and marketing a film to the mass audiences. Posters, trailers and reviews would be used to market the film in a traditional way. Viral marketing is a more modern approach, now that the internet is an aspect of many people’s everyday lives, it is easy to spread awareness of a film and use the internet as a medium to promote a film. Certain videos or screen grabs from the film can be placed on the internet, which spread virally enabling people to pick up information about a new film in a non-traditional way. 'Clover field' and 'The Dark Knight' have both exploited viral marketing prior to their release, which has turned out to be upmost successful. Online teaser trailers and photographs could be drip fed online, with featurettes, Facebook pages, pop-ups, online news reviews and weblogs used to support the promotion and overall awareness of the film.

6.       What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I learnt a great deal about various technologies which I had never used prior to the creation of my film opening. Before the film itself was shot, I was required to give evidence of thorough planning. This was done digitally with the use of the website 'www.blogspot.com'. Different entries were recorded with a breakdown of each aspect of the planning process fully covered, from the analysis of existing films, to research into the genre. Microsoft publisher was also used in order to create mood boards to demonstrate a collaboration of images associated with each genre - thriller, horror and romcom. An image of each mood board was then uploaded onto my blog.

To film and produce the film itself, we used a Sony HD touchscreen camera. This high quality camera produces professional-looking shots. To ensure the shots were steady we used a tri-pod to fix the camera onto which we could alter the position of, by using the leaver, in order to create 'pans' and 'tilts'. While using this equipment, we ensured that we adhered to the 180 degree rule at all times, as this is a very important aspect of film making, which ensures continuity.

We used Adobe Premiere Pro to edit final cut of product. We uploaded the final shots onto the computer and selected the best ones. Due to never having used this programme before, we were able to learn a lot about it as we went along, and demonstrating new skills. We experimented with different effects within the programme, and through trial and error, concluded which effects looked the most professional.

We then imported 'royalty-free' music from the website: 'www.incompetech.com' in order  to use as the soundtrack for our film opening. We downloaded it and inserted it into Adobe and made it fit with the images of the film. We figured out at which points the music needed to be louder or quieter, for example, when no dialogue is apparent, the volume level of the music is raised slightly.

7.       Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Since our preliminary task, I feel I have learnt a great deal about what must go into the process of film making. The skills which we first learnt in our preliminary task have been improved through practice. We have improved our camera skills such as; match on action, close up, medium shots and long shots, the 180 degree rule has also been incorporated into our film, which give the production more continuity and verisimilitude, as the actors are not switching sides. All of these implemented improvements have added to the execution of professional looking shots.

During our preliminary task, we were slightly rushed for time, which in turn meant that we did not have time to get many shots. We ensured that for the production of our final media product, we allowed ourselves enough time to take more than one shot and choose from it the best one, as it is better to have more than enough shots than not enough to choose from. We started filming well before the deadline for filming, to ensure enough time for the editing process.

We decided to experiment with different filtering effects for our final product. For our preliminary task for example, we relied on natural light, however, we decided that for our final product we would use a colour filter to alter the effect. We experimented with a variety of different colours, but in the end we decided to use a blue tint, in order to make the product appear 'cold' and haunting.

Danielle and I found that from our preliminary task we would be able to work well together in order to film our final product. We both had similar ideas on the type of film that we would like to create, which meant that compromising on differences in regards to production and creative ideas was not an issue, as we were already united on our favourite ideas for the film. Therefore enabling us to produce a final piece which we were both very happy with.

 

Our Finished Production

Task 9 - Title Orders & Logo Designs

Our film studio will be named 'Cobweb Studios'. We will encorporate an emblem of a cobweb which will appear as the studio name does. We have chosen to use an image of a cobweb, because this is a product of a spider, which many people are frightened of. Therefore an image of a cobweb would leave people feeling subconsciously uneasy before the film has actually started.

 

The way in which the titles are ordered is of great importance. in order to ensure that our film looks professional, we must aim to order the titles in the same way that they are ordered in proper films. 

(Film Studio) Presents

A _____ Film (optional)

Main Actor

Major Actor(s)

Film Title

Written by _______

Camera Person

Music by _______

Produced by _______

Directed by _______

Task 9 - Production Schedule

When will you film? Two separate times according to location; 7pm, 07/02/12 and 7pm, 10/02/12. This allows time for playback and editing.

Where will you film? Living Room at Nirvana's house and outside in the back garden.
Who will you film? Major and main characters - James Price, Georgia Sinclair and Laura Sinclair.
What will you film? - Which aspects/scenes of your storyboard will you film? The basic plot of the story will be filmed; all of the listed shots of the storyboard will be used.
How will you film? With a range of camera angles, close ups and framing. For example the opening will encompass a medium long shot to establish the setting and surroundings of the scene.
Equipment needed? HD Camera, Tripod and props such as fake blood and a mobile phone. The phone is significant, as the phone call G receives allows for the scene to change. The fake blood is also important for making the killing of Jim look scarier and more realistic, thus enhancing the verisimilitude of the scene.

Task 8 - Casting

Major Character: (Aura Compton) Laura Sinclair

Main Character: (Jim) James Price

Main Character: (G) Georgia Sinclair

The scene will be established with G and Jim. Aura will not appear untill around 1/3 of the way into the opening sequence.
These actresses and this actor was chosen because my group collectively decided that they closely fit the characteristics and appearance of how we wished for our characters to look in our film opening.
We wanted Jim to look like a typically good-looking teenage guy...
We wished for G to look like a cute, blonde, 'girl next door' who gave off a sense of innocence and uncomfortableness when she finds herself in the position of being with a guy who seems to want to take things further than she does. she must be wearing 'pretty' make up, which is not particularly 'heavy'...
Aura needed to be opposite to G. We wanted her to have long dark hair, with red lipstick and long, heavy make up. Instead of being shy, she needs to be over confident and knows what she wants.

Task 7 - Role Allocations

My group consists of Danielle Iliff and myself. We both thought up the main storyline of the film opening, so are both responsible for the allocated role of the writer.

There are other roles which need to be considered for this film making process. Danielle was chosen as the camera person as during the production of our preliminary task she showed exceptional skills behind the camera. It was agreed that Danielle is patient and steady-handed enough to be able to execute shots which will almost always be acceptable, and will reduce the amount of time wasted on re-shooting aspects of the film opening.

I was chosen as the director because I have good leadership skills and can successfully keep control of situations which are potentially stressful while maintaining clamness within myself and amongst my group. Also, i have a very clear understanding of the narrative due to it originally being my own idea.

Both Danielle and myself have agreed that we will share the task of editing together, and will be responsible in ensuring that the film is edited completely, to a high standard, which looks as professional as possible.

I will take on the role of make-up artist, and will take responsibilty in ensuring that all of the required props are available for us to successfully film on time.

Task 6 - Possible Characters

Major Character Profile: Female Vampire

Name: Aura Compton

Age: 246 - Disguised as a teenager of the age 18
Characteristics: Moody, confident, promiscuous, hard to get along with, beautiful
Preys on young attractive males by seducing them to lure them in, only to kill them and drink their blood in order to remain young and beautiful. She is clever, and knows how to cover up her tracks so ensure that she will never be found out. She makes sure that she is not the last known person to have been seen with a particular guy, so that someone else will be framed, and she is left to carry on without being caught.

Main Character Profile: High School Student

Name: Jim

Age: 18

Characteristics: Friendly, attractive, caring, easy to get along with

People can sometimes take advantage of his kind nature. Easily lured in by Aura without realising the danger he is in,

Name: G

Age: 16

Characteristics: Innocent, pretty, talkative, fun, shy

Jealous of Aura, always assumed that she had feelings for Jim. She is not particularly confident, especially with guys.

Task 6 - Our Film Storyboard

Task 5 - Script

Script will not be a major element of our film opening, the audience will be captivated more so by the on screen images. However, we have concluded that a small script is necessary in order to set the scene. This script will be fairly flexible, and improvisation will happen while on set, where the actor/actresses and producers will be able to make suggestions if and when necessary. We have built a frame for the type of dialogue that we are looking for:

Part 1

Jim: (looks at G for a while, hesitating) Shall we go upstairs?

G: oh..erm..well- (lights turn off)

Jim: (whispers) oh for god sake (turns on lights and returns to room) -so what do you say-

G: (receives phone call of mother) sorry my mom is calling me. okay mom, I'm really sorry, ill be home soon. (to Jim) sorry i've got to go.

Part 2

Jim: (finds G's purse that she left, he picks it up and goes outside to return it to her) Aura! aaaarrghhhhhh!

G: (sees Jim dead, screams) aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!

Task 4 - Certificates

A 'U' rating  means that the film is  suitable for anyone of any age, including small children. it ensures that there is nothing unsuitable for children in the film, for example, the absence of bad language, violence/gore, anything of a sexualised nature and drug use etc.

A 'PG' rating means: parental guidance which differs to universal in the sense that some elements of the film way touch upon subjects which would be found more strongly in films with a higher ing. However, many children would not understand these references, making the film suitable for them to watch, at the discression of their parents. This type of film should not upset its audiences, and my be enjoyed by parent/guardian if there are a few elements to the film that they understand, but know that their child will not..

A '12A' rating states that you must be 12 years or over in order to watch this film alone, but the film is suitable for a younger audience, as long as they are accompanied by an adult aged 18 or over. This certificate is only apparrent in movie theatres. The film will usually turn into a 12 rating when it is released onto DVD.

A '15' ratied film will have a great deal of difference in terms of content than a 12 rated film. Adult themes will be apparrent; such as sexual references, bad language, violence/ gore and mild drug use are present and therefore are not suitable for slightly younger audiences due to their lack of knowledge and may cause them to feel disturbed by what they see. It is illegal for anybody under the age of 15 to view films with this rating. it is hoped that 15 year olds and over will not wish to engage in activities such as ones shown as they should be mature enough not to let it influence their decisions.

An '18' rating means that nobody under the age of 18 can legally purchase or view the film. Strong sex/sexual references, extreme violence, drug abuse etc may occur graphicly and frequently therefore making the content unacceptable for younger audiences. Gore and verisimilitude within this age group are more believable as boundaries can be pushed due to the mature mindset of the audience.

Our film 'Aura of Evil' will be rated '15' because it will not necesarily show scenes of graphic violence or gore, but it will imply a violent death of a character, although this is not actually shown. There is one account of strong language, although this is whispered and may not be noticed by the audience. A sexual situation is implied, but does not manifest, therefore meaning that the film is suitable for audiences of the maturity of 15 years and older.

Task 4 - New Plotline

The concluded final idea for our owning sequence is a combination of 2 of our previous ideas. Ideas 2 + 3 have been combined together in order to create an original idea.

Our film will be called 'Aura of Evil' and opens with a young couple (Jim & G) within a cosy, house location semingly on a date and are sitting by a romantic fire, while enjoying watching a horror film. The body language of G suggests that she feels a little uncomfortable, as she anticipates Jim's intentions for things to progress from sitting and watching a film. When he suggests that they go upstairs, the lights suddenly turn off. The calm atmosphere is replaced by a sense of uneasiness. The boy goes across thef the room to turn on the lights, and upon his return appears a freaky-looking girl peering through the window, into the room where the young couple are sitting. This leaves the audience feeling uneasy and anticipating what will happen next, and what the significance of the girl is.

G shortly after then receives a phone call from her mother requesting her to go home. She gets up and leaves rather abruptly after saying goodbye to the Jim, however being unaware that she has left her purse behind at Jim's house. A few moments after she leaves, Jim realises that she has left her burse, and picks it up witht the intention  of catching her up and returning it to her. However, he meets his fate as he is approached by the freaky girl who had been peering through the window. We assume that Jim knows this girl, as he calls her by her name 'Aura'. She pushes him up the wall and proceeds to biting his neck. He screams for help, but he is not heard. Aura freakily stares into the camera with a blood covered mouth and leaves Jim on the floor in a heap. The name of the film 'Aura of Evil' is shown here. We then see Jim lying on the floor with blood surrounding him. we get the impression of time having passed. G returns to his house to collect her purse, but finds Jim lying, dead. She screams.

Task 4 - Plotline of Film

The concluded final idea for our owning sequence is a combination of 2 of our previous ideas. Ideas 2 + 3 have been combined together in order to create an original idea.


Our film will be called 'Living Dead Girl' and opens with a young couple within a cosy, house location on a date and sitting by a romantic fire. The calm atmosphere is however,disrupted by the flickering, and turning off of the lights. The boy goes out of the room to turn on the lights, and upon his return appears a freaky-looking girl peering through the window, into the room where the young couple are sitting. This leaves the audience feeling uneasy and anticipating what will happen next, and what the significance of the girl is.

The girl shortly after then receives a phone call from her mother requesting her to go home. She gets up and leaves after saying goodbye to the boy, however being unaware that she has left her purse behind at the boy's house. When she exits and her departure is shortly followed by a knock at a door - the boy presumes the girl is returning to collect her purse after realising that she had forgotten it.

However, it is a mysterious girl, who is a friend of the boy's who is seemingly uspet and seeking comfort after a supposed recent break up. 

In a turn of events, she seduces the boy in the kitchen, but instead, bites his neck and there are mild images of blood and gore. She leaves him to die. The girl leaves the scene of the crime to ensure she will not be held responsible. The girl comes back to collect her purse and is extremely distressed to see the boy lying dead on the floor. The audience then witnesses the girl arranging to meet another boy so we are aware of her intentions. The audience after this assume that this mysterious girl is perhaps a vampire.

As the girl was the last person known to have arranged to see the boy, and was the last person seen with him, will she be suspected of his murder? How long will the mysterious girl get away with murdering innocent attractive young men?

Task 4 - Ideas For Film

Idea 1 : A mysterious person with painted nails is looking through a women's magazine and visciously scribbling out the faces of attractive women. The camera slowly edges towards the persons face, but not quite revealing the true identity of the person. Spooky music starts as the opening titles appear. With fast cuts to the persons face showing them putting on make up and harming themselves with a knife. The audience feel a sense of mystery and dread, as it is not until the end of the sequence that it is revealed that this seemingly woman-obsessed person is in fact a man, not an insecure and jealous woman, as the audience would have assumed. The audience is left wondering what the strange mans intentions are and whether he is a transsexual/homosexual/possessed etc.

Idea 2: A young attractive couple are home alone, perhaps boyfriend & girlfriend. They are drinking wine, in a house with dim lighting. The atmosphere appears to be warm and cosy, with a slightly haunting feel. A mysterious, freaky-looking masked person watches from outside the house, perhaps a possessive ex boyfriend of the girl. Their intentions are clearly to hurt them. Wine gets spilled to which foreshadows coming events of blood being spilled. The masked person eventually makes their way into the house and murders the boy, and captures the girl.

Idea 3: Female vampire who is 200 years old who stays young by feeding on young attractive males. She appears to be a 'normal' lonely woman who seems like she wants to share the company of men, little do they know that she needs to eat them to stay alive. She seduces them first, leurs them in before killing them, and leaving them to die. But hiding all evidence at the same time. The audience is left wondering how long she will get away with this for.

Idea 4: Group of teenagers take a road trip into the woods, while they are there, their car breaks down, but luckily they have tents and camping equipment with them. As it gets darker, they hear strange noises, and want to go home. In the distance they see a strange-looking group of people, with some people lying of the floor. They get in the car, and pray that it starts, someone forgets their phone so they get out of the car. The strange people were actually zombies, who notice the person getting out of the car. The zombies sprint over and attack the people, there are elements of gore/blood etc. 

Task 3 - Statistics from The British Film Council Website

This shows that comedy was the most popular in terms of releases and had the highest gross box office figure. The most popular film for this genre was Sex and the City 2, the most popular for the thriller genre was Shutter Island and the top performing for horror was Paranormal Activity 2.

The three film genres that we have been looking at are 'rom-com', 'horror' and 'thriller'. in comparison to thriller and rom-com, horror produced the largest amount of films. However, it was rom-coms which managed to gross more, despite the fact that this genre had the lowest amount of releases. Thrillers have shown to be the least captivating for audiences, this is shown by the lowest amount of gross income in comparison to the other two genres. Danielle and I were initially unsure whether to create a horror film opening due to the fact that most of the films released were of the horror genre, yet this genre was unable to produce the higest amount of gross income in order to justify the amount of films that had been released.

Despite being unsure at the begininning, we warmed to the idea of creating a horror film, but thought it to be a good idea to produce a questionnaire which would be given to a number of people who fall into the target audience for our film (15-30) to ensure that we woud be catering for the desires of our audience when making the film.

Task 3 - Results from Questionnaire

Task 3 - Concluded Findings from Film Questionnaire

    As part of our AS media coursework we have been asked to create a two minute opening sequence for a new horror film. In order to find out what audiences would like to see within a new horror film, we were required to conduct a questionnaire which was then handed out and completed by a number or participants. The overall findings are as follows:


What is your personal favourite horror film:

  Final Destination (3), Halloween (1), Insidious (1), Saw (3), [Rec] (1), The Grudge (1)


  The films stated above vary in the type of horror film that they are. The most popular films were 'Final Destination' and 'Saw'. Both of these films differ in the type of horror film that the are. 'Final Destination' is an American horror/thriller which follows the lives of young people in persuit of cheating death. The film has a distinct story line and is primarily aimed at teenagers. 'Saw' however, is aimed at an older audience due to its rating being an 18, contrasted with 'Final Destination' being a 15 therefore containing a lot less gore than 'Saw' does. Neither films contain particularly famous actors and actresses, but enthrall the audience with its compelling story.


  What is your favourite type of music to be included the opening of a horror film:

   Orchestral (3), 'Dark Music' (4), Increasing Tempo Piano (2), Atmospheric (1)


   The most favoured type of music which audiences would like to hear within a horror film is 'Dark Music' which can be a combination of atmospheric, and increasing tempo music (perhaps orchestrial) which creates an eerie feeling for the audience and implies darkness and fear.


   Preferred gender of:

       Protagonist: Male (6) Female (4)
       Antagonist: Male (8) Female (2)

The majoity of the participants asked have concluded that they would rather see a male gendered protagonist and antagonist. 


Most expected colour of opening titles:

   Red and Black (8)

   Red (1)

   Red, Orange and Yellow (1)


   All of the participants asked decided they would like to see the colour red in the opening titles. However, the most favoured option was red comined with black as this was favoured at the most 'spooky' looking colour combination and is a common convention found in the opening of horror films. A red coloured font against a black background is particularly creepy-looking and is somewhat conventional for horror films.


   Favourite type of killer:

   Zombie: (5)

Vampire: (0)

Ghost: (2)

Child: (1)

Axe murderer: (0)

Cannibal: (1)

Normal person possessed: (0)

Attractive Female Villain: (1)


Our participants comcluded that they most favour horror films which revolve around the ideas of 'zombies'.


Preferred type of Film:

    Linear (7)

    Non-Linear (3)
  
  When asked whether the participants would rather watch a linear (chronological from start to finish) or non-linear (jumps back and forwards, perhaps to suggest a character's flash backs) they concluded that they would prefer to see a linear film. This film type is generally easier to follow, therefore since horror films are usually based on gore, anticipation and threat, a non-linear film is not always necessary as the audience is interested by the effects within the film, more so than a complicated storyline which invokes flash backs in a non-linear style. 


   Preferred location of Film

   Woods: (5)

House party: (3)

Suburban Street: (2)


Prefer to see a twist?

    Yes: (8)

 No: (2)


Ideal rating?

   12: (1)

15: (5)

18: (4)

Overall, people would like to have parallel sounds that compliment what we see on screen during the opening sequence. For example, a scary image will be complemented with the sound of eerie music which makes the audience feel uneasy and unnerved. The title colour most dominantly wanted by the asked participants was red and black, and a linear narrative was more favoured. This type of narrative is generally the easiest to understand, as it goes in a chronological order. The horror genre is not one for captivating its audience with a thought-provoking analytical storyline, but uses gore and brutality to shock and frighten audiences. The favoured type of killer is zombies and more people wanted a twist at the end of the film, as well as an element of black comedy.  The majority of people would like to see the film being located within the woods. The overall rating would be expected my participants to be a '15'.
Although our participants concluded that they would prefer to see a male antagonist, we have challenged the conventions which are followed by many horror films by allocating the role of antagonist to a young attractive female.