Re-Shooting

Our initial idea was to have all the shots shot in the dark as we decided this would add to the horror element as the darkness and the shadows would help to create a good mise en scene in the trailer. Me and Mia shot the whole of our trailer in the dark with the aid of a lighting kit, however when we uploaded the videos to edit in premiere pro it was clear to see the idea of shooting in the dark made our shots look unclear and grainy. We then decided to re film the whole sequence we had filmed in the dark again and chose to use a foggy day as we thought this would add to the mise en scene, when we uploaded the new footage we could see that it was a much better quality and the foggy background was a better mise en scene than the dark as the misty background added a scary look to the shots.

Another issue we had with filming was the middle sequence, we first decided to show the story that the two characters (Reygan and Gemma) got lost when the sat nav guided them the wrong way to a deserted lake, however after editing the first part of the trailer together we decided this would be too difficult to explain and make sense so we decided after the old fashioned newspaper fades out it fades into the present day newspaper and the two characters find it and decide to go there to investigate it and the scary character (Mia) haunts them.

Video Inspirations

Myself and Mia looked a different existing horror trailers to analyse them to see how they use the different effects to make it more dramatic and scary. We chose to look at this unofficial trailer of the ring to look closely at the main character Samara Morgan and the way she acts an moves in the video so as to use these in our own one to make our character more scary. When she crawls along the floor we saw this as very effective to use in our own trailer as it heightens the horror element, the way her body moves along the floor is out of the ordinary and scary which is typical for the main scary characters to look/ act in a horror trailer. We especially liked the costume of her in this video as we feel it adds to the frightening effect, the long hair and white clothes emphasize the horror element as you cant see her face which instantly looks quite daunting and scary. We will try and aim to recreate this type of look in our our horror trailer as we think it is very effective.

Audience Feedback From Questionaire

Both me and my group member Mia devised a series of questions regarding to horror trailers so as we could use these answers when editing together our own horror trailer which would help us to meet the requirements of our target market. After posting the questionaire on our blogs we analysed the feedback:

What gender are you?

The feedback we had to this blog was a mixture of male and female as we are aiming to target both.

What is the main element that excites you in a horror trailer?

The majority voted that they prefer to see lots of shots of the main scary figure so as to keep the pace fast and flowing which overall makes it more scary.

Do captions help you to follow a horror trailer?

It is clear to see from our feedback to include captions as all of the people we asked voted yes as it enables them to follow the story better.

Does dialogue help you to understand a horror trailer better?

After analysing the answers it is clear to see our target audience prefer a horror trailer to not include dialogue.

Does screaming or quick noises help to build up tention in horror trailers?

The majority of the people we surveyed answered yes as it makes the whole trailer more jumpy which is typical of a horror trailer.

Do you prefer more quick or slow paced editing?

All of the voters said they preferred quick editing so as to reflect the pace of the trailer.

What type of music helps to build up drama for you in a horror trailer?

The majority of the people we asked said they liked a slower start which builds into a quick paced climax of horror images and action.

What type of characters do you like to see in a horror trailer?

All of the voters said they liked to see a mixture of the victims as well as the main scary character in the trailer.

How we can use this in our own trailer

After carefully analysing the results obtained from the survey it is clear to see we are aiming our trailer at a mixed gender market. The target market prefer a more quick paced editing which reflects the shots of a mixture of both the victims and flashes of scary character. The type of music needs to have a slow start so as to show a state of equlibreium which then builds into a fast paced climax of quick music and editing. Also we now know that our audience prefer captions to dialogue as it helps them to follow the trailer easier. This survey helps us into creating a trailer suitable for our chosen target market of teenagers and young adults.

film magazine

Film Magazine

empiree

Empire Mag

The Return

Ring

Looking at Film Posters

The Grudge 2

Initial Ideas-Characters

Initial Ideas- Characters

Our initial ideas for the use of characters was to use two victims and one main protagonist character who was visually scary looking. Our reason for doing so was because after looking at existing horror trailers they conventionally have a scary figure in them.

For our scary character we initially thought to have her dressed in an old fashioned victorian style outfit so as we could recreate a flashback in our trailer of her drowning in the past and now at the present day so as to emphasize the movement of time in the trailer. We chose to use a young girl as it connotes vulnerability, we chose to have her make up as a powdery white face, with pale lips with cuts around them, around the eyes we chose to use a brown eyeshadow to create bruising with red at the cracks of the eyes to make them look sore. The overall effect of the makeup was to make her look deathly, ghostly and scary so as to make the audience jump when she is on screen as this is typical of a horror trailer.

For the other two characters in the trailer, we chose to make them look like an everyday teenagers, dressing them in normal clothes such as coats and tights so as the audience can relate them.This further engrosses them into the trailer as the target audience of young adults and teenagers can relate to them.

This is one of our characters who was the victim, we chose to use Gemma as she looks like an average teenage which the target audience can relate to. By having a person who they can relate to heightens the horror tention as they can involve themseleves in the film more as they can imagine theirselves being in a similar situation.

Choosing Music For Our Trailer

The music we chose for our trailer needed to fit the story we chose, so needed to start off slow and then slowly build up into a fast paced climax. The reason for having a slow start was so the film the state of equilibriumm which then further builds to quick paced editing and horror images to create a sense of panic and suspense so as to keep the audience wondering what is going to happen next and so eventually at the end of the trailer want to go and see the film as they cant wait to see what happens next.

After looking at different soundtracks to use for our trailer and trying to match them our initial ideas, we decided this would suit our trailer best as it has a really slow build up and a fast paced climax. The track is quite lengthy so we decided we would cut the track down to suit our trailer and storyline.

Initial Ideas

Location Initial Ideas

The location was going to be a major part of our trailer as the whole story line is based on a young girl drowning in a lake. The locations in conventional horror trailers are dark, eerie and spooky so as to set the tone for the rest of the film, the darkness adds to the suspense of lurking in shadows. A forest would help to set the tone for a horror trailer as it is hidden and remote which helps to build up drama in the trailer. It would be ideal for the filming to be done when the sky is foggy or grey so as to help build up the mise en scene of a spooky atmosphere, the weather is going to be a vital part of when the filming can be done as a sunny, clear day would not dramatise the effects of a horror trailer. The initial idea for using a lake as a location was to help build up the sense of horror, a lake connotes the feel of danger which adds to the uncertainty of a quick fast paced horror action.

Detailed Analysis Locations

I chose to look closely at the way locations are used in the trailer Eden Lake. The first scene show an arch of trees, which then goes to a tracking shot of the top of the trees, the effect of the locations connote to the audience that it is a remote place which adds to the drama of the trailer. The effect of the moving location also shows the state of equliberium and a state of normality before the action takes place which is typical of horror trailers. After seeing this technique I am going to use this in my own trailer so as the audience can relate to it which further engrosses them into the trailer. The next shot shows an establishing shot of a lake surrounded by trees, this connotes to the viewer that it is a deserted place, which makes it more scary as it shows that the two characters are there alone, then there are shots of a lake the surroundings are dark and there is a misty reflection which makes the trailer more daunting and eerie. From seeing this trailer, I like the effect the lake and the forest has so as to make the trailer more eerie as the technique of reflections and dark shadows adds to the suspense and therefore make the audience more on edge which is typical of a horror trailer.