MICHAEL MCKITTERICK

Pitch for A2 Media Project

Promotional Package Brief

2. A promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with a film magazine front cover featuring the film and a poster for the film.

For my project this year, I decided to pick the second brief, which focused on creating a promotional package for a new film, which would include a teaser trailer, a film magazine front cover featuring the film and a poster for the film.

I picked this specific brief due to the fact that it appealed to my interest, and creating a film trailer would be a new experience for me, as I have never had experience with creating one before.

I decided to pick the genre of a horror movie as the genre of the film because of the fact that they generally allow for two parts to the trailer, one part where the trailer has a particularly happy and cheerful vibe and then, usually half way through, suddenly shift to a darker and more intense vibe. This is something which has always appealed to me, and I’d love to try and replicate this concept to the best of my ability.

Audience and Distributors

Based on the genre of my film trailer (horror) I have decided that the target audience for my film will be young adults and adults, and I will try and avoid conventions which could market the film towards a younger audience.As for the distributor of my film, I would choose to publish the film under Lionsgate Films. They are a large film producer/distributor, who have already had experience with many popular horror movies such as ‘You’re Next’, ‘Texas Chainsaw 3D’ and ‘Saw’.

Because of these notable releases, I am confident that Lionsgate would be the right distributors for my film and film trailer, unlike companies like Disney that tend to lean towards family-oriented/child friendly films.

Initial Ideas

I hope to use real locations from around the area to shoot the trailer. Possibly in a dark house, or perhaps find an old, derelict building somewhere to film the scenes.

This would have advantages as it would enable the setting and trailer itself to look real and authentic. I plan to film all of the trailer using natural lighting. This would further produce an authentic and realistic setting which would help make my trailer appear more professional. Unlike other genres, artificial lighting is not too much of an issue when filming a horror movie/trailer, especially in some of the darker/unsettling moments of the film.

Trailer Inspiration – You’re Next

Much of the inspiration for creating my film trailer comes from existing movie trailers, specifically those in the horror genre. One example I watched was the trailer for the film ‘You’re Next’.

Things I picked up on:1. Starts normally, full colour, fade transitions.2. Happy emotions/cheerful, calming music3. Text displayed over video (fade in/out transitions)4. Sudden shift in vibe. Intense music, dark colours, clips end

suddenly rather than with transition.5. Lots of short pieces of footage played in rapid succession.6. Camera angles more close-up to emphasise individual

character’s emotions rather than the cast as a collective.7. Emphasised sound effects

Trailer Inspiration - Alien

Alien is a 1979 sci-fi horror film. The main thing I picked up when

watching the movie, and something that I will incorporate into my own trailer, is the use of music, or perhaps the lack of it at certain points.

Unlike other genres, no music playing in the background can work well to build suspense, and music is not required throughout the whole trailer, with dramatic music playing at the key points that will hopefully make the audience scared. This contrast between lack of music and music accompanied with the suspenseful and scary moments of the film help to emphasise the fear and drama that is going on within the film.

Trailer Inspiration – Apartment 1303

While watching the trailer for the film ‘Apartment 1303’, I picked up on the use of editing.

One of the main things I picked up on, and I see as a convention of a typical horror film, is the use of quick, sudden jumps between shots during the more intense and dramatic parts of the trailer, probably used to show the chaos of what is happening, the confusion and disorientation, mirroring how the characters on-screen would be feeling.

Shots tend to last no longer than a second or two during the intense parts, however parts with silence or a calm tone appear to last longer, building suspense until the next big dramatic point within the trailer.

Poster Inspiration – The Amityville Horror

Much of the inspiration for creating my poster design, one of the other tasks within the brief, comes from existing horror movie posters. One example I watched was the trailer for the film ‘The Amityville Horror’.

This poster appears to give off the impression of a horror movie poster. One of the things which stands out to me is the use of red text against a black background. Unlike other posters for films of other genres, there is minimal text on this one, and, instead, a simplistic title on the lower half of the poster, rather than large, heavily edited fonts and text across the centre of the image or placed at the top of the image.

I will use this simplistic text located on the lower half of the poster in my own design, as it appears to be very simplistic while still giving the theme of fear.

Initial Design for Movie Poster

Magazine Inspiration – Empire For the film magazine front cover, I

spotted this design from a cover of Empire magazine.

One of the main things which I picked up on when taking a look at this cover was the lighting.

The left hand side of the cover is entirely dark, with no light whatsoever. The right hand side of the cover, however, is illuminated, revealing, partially, Hannibal Lecter’s face, prominently focusing on his eye and facial expressions, revealing a menacing expression. This creates the desired impact of conveying the theme of the movie and attracting the audience, however still manages to remain simplistic.

Initial Design for Magazine