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

By Naideene McHugh

Trailer

The beginning of my horror trailer compared to real Horror trailer beginnings

BBFC audience certificateMy Horror trailer starts of with the BBFC audience certificate which is usually positioned at the beginning of real horror film trailers. My reason for positioning the audience certificate at the beginning of the trailer so that my product would conform to the conventions of real horror trailers. Real film trailers usually begin with the audience certificate. The audience certificate’s purpose is to alert the audience of the rating of the preview. Mines being rated a 15- warns the audience of the offensive content not suitable for those under the age of 15. I did however change the format of my audience certificate due to my target audience. Seeing as my horror film is a British film It would have had to be rated by the BBFC rather than the MPAA which is the American equivalent to the British classification system. There fore it made sense to put the BBFCs audience certificate instead of the usual green MPAA certificate. I further personalised the certificate on Photoshop to insert my film trailer ‘s title “ Manifest” so that my trailer looked professional.

First shots in my trailer Manifest

In the first shots of my trailer I conformed to the conventions of a real horror trailer by setting the scene with a series of establishing shots. To reveal the location of the horror and to also conform to the symbolic conventions of horror trailers uses of buildings to create enigmas as well as connote the stereotypical ‘haunted house’ scenario. Having this in mind enabled me to create mystery, and a dark sinister tone to my trailer. I also used a white/cream house with low key lighting to hint the possibility of disequilibrium in the trailer. The fade dissolve edit was also used to connote the supernatural presence within the film also to conform to genre specific conventions of my horror trailer’s sub genre; which is a psychological/supernatural thriller. Like in real horror trailers the first shots are vital building blocks for setting the tone and atmosphere of the trailer and needs to grip the audiences attention.

Orphan and Sinister trailer’s opening/first shots

Similarly to orphans trailer opening I have used a voice over to start of the narrative in order to guide the audience to the relevance of the house and hint that the next scene will be inside the house.“ I think this dream will come true” merges the ghostly pale establishing shot of the house with the dream of the myths and the manifestation to instantly hint one of the main features in the narrative which is a common feature of horror film trailers including sinister. In sinister the voice over is of a conversation which relates to the house and also focalises the audiences attention to the importance of the house. Just like sinister and orphan, I have incorporated this feature into my own trailer to conform to the conventions of horror as well aw creating an early enigma which orientates my audiences view of my narrative.

The position of the production company logo.

occult

Another aspect of my trailer which conforms to the conventions of a real horror trailer, is the position of the production company logo. I chose to position my company logo after a semi-climatic point in my trailer, by position it after the hint to the disequilibrium within my trailer helps to grip the audience. The break in the tension will excite the audience to watch the footage after the logo as well as creating a crescendo introducing the production company to the audience, which acts as a form of credit. This technique is also used in the teaser trailer for the horror film “Occult” which is very similar to manifest in terms of genre and the way in which shots are ordered. I challenged this convention

through the edits I included changed the format to suite the dark evil tone of my trailer by adding a filter on the shot of the logo. Making it slowly emerge from the dark. I reduced the contrast and brightness to conform to the dark visual effects of horror. Just as how in orphan the studio logo is stylised to match the film, I also imitated this. As it isn’t a common feature. Therefore my trailer will have a unique selling point.

Graphics /Typography

The use of graphics and typography was also used to conform to the conventions of real horror film. Styles the graphics on my film trailer title are reflective of my trailers tone and the plot of the film. It also foreshadows the characteristics of the manifestation of the young victims within trailer. I tried to imitate this feature from the horror trailer Jessica bell. The white/cream to connote the good vs evil which is represented by the mouldy green. I also used this in my trailer typography . The white bold font of the manifest also represents the pure souls of the victims being overpowered by he manifestation. The evil is represented by the graphics (the fire ) and the darkness surrounding the title and the scratches on the letters.

Another convention of horror which I conformed to was the, usual accolades which are present in real horror trailers, this is to refer to previous successful horror movies made by the same producers. It also increases the rating of the actual film being advertised, in as the audience will have something to compare the film to , therefore they would have high expectations for the film. This is used to further grip the audience and encourage them to go and watch the film. This only applies to audiences who are famillar or have watched the film in the accolade. By including this feature my film trailer conformed to the conventions of real horror film trailer’s.

Another feature I copied from real horror film trailers was the use of ‘coming soon’ this is used in real horror trailers to introduce the release date.

Lighting

Blue lighting in paranormal activity

Lighting was another crucial part of my trailer. For my trailer to fit the conventions of a real horror film trailer I needed to include low key lighting to establish the dark presence, also to create tension and suspense. Low key lighting is used in many successful horror trailers such as the trailer for the purges. Many of my shots were taken in the night because of the natural dark low keyed lights; further more the street lights helped me to further link back to the genre of my film. Like many horror trailers the lighting and the mise en scene always reflects the genre of the film being advertised. Audiences are able to pick up on the genre of a trailer or even the basic theme of horror by the low key lighting. So just like paranormal activity I took advantage of the use of street lights and lighting effects to , not only conform to real media text, but to create symbolism to my trailer. Which is also anther convention of real horror trailers.

Low key lighting

Low key lighting used in ‘The Purge’ trailer

NVC

The last exorcism

Afflicted Official TrailerDrag me to Hell

The nvc of my characters were also vital. The characters NVC’s help the audience to become familiar with the roles of the characters as well as their different personalities. For example my antagonist Sindell’s NVC is similar to the NVC of the antagonist in the horror film ’Drag Me to Hell’ . The NVC of the antagonist is very important in real horror film trailers as it id the feature which is used to scare the audience. NVC also set apart the protagonist from the antagonist as well as illustrating the change in the character from good to evil. Which is demonstrated in ‘Afflicted’ and ‘The Last Exorcism’ . This feature has been adapted in my own film trailer, because the audience views the manifestation of the main character “veranda” .

How I challenged horror film trailer conventions with the use of NVC

I challenged the conventions of horror trailers through the use of Nice’s NVC . Her present jovial NVC dose not conform to the horror genre as she is depicted as happy. I did this to highlight the naive characteristics of the victim. She is symbolic , representing the attitude of the modern young people to the dream/ myth Veranda tells them about. I also challenged conventions of horror through the lighting- horror trailers usually set in the night time when its dark. However i decided to create disequalibrium in the day time when its light.

Camera angles

Extreme close ups

Low angled shots

Extreme close ups- used in the real horror trailer ‘orphan’ to make her look scary visually and to make the audience speculate her unusual scary behaviour; also make her look scary so that she frightens the audience. Like wise I have included this feature in my trailer to get up close to the effects of the manifestation taking place. Also to highlight the inhuman nature of the evil within the victims.

Low Angled Shots- low angled shots were used in my trailer also to conform to the conventions of real horror trailers this. Was able to create a dominant view of the antagonist and to make the audience feel vulnerable. Te antagonist in both my trailer and the real horror trailer orphan uses the same technique.

Genre specific conventions

Paranormal activity uses the illuminati sign to reflect the psychological/ supernatural genre, this is achieved through the association of the devil and evil sprits with the triangle. The mystery of a secret society also conforms to genera specific conventions as it creates enigmas and mystery to the trailed. Which I have incorporated into my own horror trailer which I feel conveys the genre perfectly. The eye on top of the pyramid connotes the all seeing eye which id at the top of the pyramid where the sun is at its peak. The association with the sun and the all seeing eye links to the sprit and psychological/ supernatural genre of my trailer also. Just as how there has been a possession in paranormal activity , the same events occur in my horror trailer. I also used the same symbol and transition to mirror this distinct feature of the horror genre.

Symbolism

Fire in orphan – burning of the tree house similar to the fire in manifest – eg:Burning of shorts

Link to fire and hell which is commonly associated with the horror genre and there trailers. In my trailer specifically the fire represents the destruction cause by the evil sprits which emerged from the fiery pits of hell which is depicted through the burning shorts. Similarly in orphan the burning of the tree house has a similar meaning to the use of fire in my trailer.

Editing

As the trailer went on i used faster edits. At first i used smooth transitions to connote the equilibrium and nearer the end I used jump cuts and quick cuts to reflect the disequilibrium and to connote the destruction the evil has caused to the victims and the surroundings. This is another way in which i conformed to the horror film trailer conventions as orphan along with many other horror film trailer follow the same pattern.

Sound

My trailer consists of a series of sounds which build up the tension and suspense of the trailer. A mixture of non dietetic sounds and hard sounds are merged to gather to fit the clip. Which slowly builds up intensity as the passé of the trailer speeds up. Which is similar to the sound effects in ‘sinister’ I used the heart beat to connote the adrenalin and threat to life. It also builds up suspense. Which is also used in orphan as the trailer builds up to the climatic part when a scream is heard from the mother. Like wise in my trailer groans and the hard sound of a monsters groan is used to symbolise the mergence human behaviour with a new beastly nature from the evil. I also used metallic sounds which is also another prominent feature of real horror trailers. In particular sinister uses mostly metallic sounds to build up the cold atmosphere.

Narrative

In my narrative I used mainly female character to appear vulnerable and weak which is a convention of the horror genre as women are usually pictured as weak, helpless and inferior and helpless. The last exorcism includes this as it is a female character who is attacked by the devil and is overpowered by evil. The same applies to my horror film trailer. The narrative also conforms to the enigma code as my trailer has many ambiguous scenes which will leave the audience with a cliff hanger, a mystery to solve. E.g.. What is the manifest? , what happens when the young lose their soul? The plot is mixed up in order to grip and slightly confuse the audience. Which is a common trait of real horror film trailers such as the iconic trailer ‘Alien’.

Magazine

Main image

My man image imitates the main image on empire. The evil eyes are the central focus which attracts the audience as the antagonists steer out at their audience/readers

Mast head

I copied the style of empires mast head to connote the fiery shocking horror which is also within my magazine. The red is also used to connote danger and blood, which is associated with horror. The bold font and the graphics around the mast head it to enhance it is eye catching and engages customer to buy the magazine. It is also a logo which needs to be promoted. Hence the large font and bright colour which is to conform to the conventions of a horror magazine.

Cover lines

Imitated empires style for my cover lines in terms of colour

I arranged the way I coloured my cover lines to imitate real horror magazines e.g. having the name or articles main focus in bright yellow to pull the readers attention. I also included left third to match the way my audience would read .

Main cover line

My main cover line is the largest cover line on the page. Stylised in a similar typography as the title in the trailer. Similarly the main cover line on another empire magazine dose it in the same way to excite and grip the audience. Also to enhance the magazines ascetic appeal.

Empire magazine

Selling line/ issue/ website and price also included to follow the conventions of a real horror magazine.

Barcode

I also included a barcode as this is present on all magazines including horror magazines.

Poster

Main image

My main image is similar to the main image on ‘Drag Me to Hell’. The powerful symbolism matches my films plot. The message the strong hold of evil is clearly shown through the low key lighting in both posters and the fire beneath them visually represents hell and the destruction of the two characters.

tag line

Tag line for The Return

Tag line for manifest

The taglines are also present on my horror film poster to conform to the horror posters convention. The tagline is to create enigma to engage the audience into the sinister tone of the poster. It also makes them curious about the plot, therefore prompting them to closely analyse the posters details. i also used a similar font to create a sinister tone and to reveal that the poster was a horror film poster.

Credits

Credits on manifest poster

Credits on the film ‘Carrie’ horror poster

I included credits on my horror poster to show the cast and the makers of the film. This too is used in real horror film posters. Credits give my poster a professional finish It also contains the release date and the sponsors of the film. Manifests also includes the age rating of the film which is much more beneficial to the audience that leaving it out as it prevents the younger audience from being disappointed. As leaving the rating out will mislead a younger audience into thinking the film is suitable for all ages

Lighting

Using low key lighting is also another way my poster conformed to the conventions of a industry products( a real horror poster) i did this in order to convey the dark atmosphere present in the film and the poster which is mirrored in the ‘Friday the 13th’

Graphics / typography

The hills turn red

The use of graphs and typography was crucial as it enhanced the symbolism, connotations and emphasised the literal meanings on my poster. Fire/flame graphics being the film title on the poster helps to establish the films association with fire, hell, and destruction. The red on the image helps to establish the films association with the evil, danger and the heat of the manifestation in the film as well as the one taking place in the main image. This combined with the typography “manifest” makes the film title exciting an ascetically appealing to the audience. ‘Halloween’ film poster also uses typography effectively in a similar way to manifest’s