My film synopsis

A group of friends venture into the woods during their school holiday for a camping trip. The area is quiet and remote yet they find strange objects and damp clothes on the forest floor. One friend disappears and everyone doubts each other, everyone is a suspect. The camping trip ends and everyone returns home and forgets the trip, except one girl, who is constantly haunted by what seems to be her missing friend. The girl confesses to her friends but none of them believe her and tell her its all in her head. One by one all of her friends are brutally murdered and she does not know where to run as she fears for her life. One day she returns home from school to discover the murderer is closer to home than she may think...

(The murderer wears a big brown trench coat and a Halloween mask which has lots of black hair and a shrunken head. The killer is actually the girl who has schizophrenia but the audience are not aware of this.)

Creating Magazine Name & Questionnaire

I have made a mind map of possible names for my magazine and I have decided that 'FILM*' is going to be the name of my magazine.

I asked members of the public to vote on different fonts for my magazine name and the majority went with my favourite - Gill Sans Ultra Bold with a star from Berlin Sans FB Demi.

I created a questionnaire and got 25 members of the public from different age groups to fill it out. I then analysed the results and commented on how the answer could help me during the process of designing my magazine, poster and filming my trailer. For example a majority of people (15) would like to receive cinema vouchers as a freebie with a film magazine and this has influenced me to have cinema vouchers as my freebie for my magazine.

Analysing Horror Film Posters

I have analysed various posters from SAW VI and Halloween 2 in my sketch book and highlighted aesthetics I like about them which I will incorporate into the design of my poster.

Here are some of the posters I looked at -

I annotated each poster and commented on what I like and dislike and those elements I would like to develop into my designs. These annotations can be found in my A2 Media Scrapbook.

Trailers

SAW VI Official Trailer-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdRsM6MZOcQ

Halloween 2 Official Trailer-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHslouUNi00

I will use these trailers, which relate to my sub-genres, to inspire me and help start ideas in my head which I will story board for my trailer.

Conventions of a Teaser Trailer and Film Poster

Conventions of a teaser trailer-

• Distributor/Studios
• Image - Best selected
• Exposition - V/O (Voice over), Dialogue, text
• Music
• Text - Actor, Previous films, Director
• Rhythm Change
• Title
• Text
• Cast/Credits
• Release date

Conventions of film posters-

• Large title
• Bold colours (stand out from background)
• Intriguing picture
• Persuasive language
• Main characters
• Certification
• Horror - Eerie image
• Awards/Reviews/Crew
• Tag line/Quotes

Film genres and Sub-genres

Film Genres-

• Western
• War - Anti War
• Sci-Fi
• Drama
• Adventure
• Musical - Dance
• Horror
• Thriller
• Comedy
• Action
• Romance
• Rom-Com
• Period - Epics - Historical
• Crime - Gangster

http://www.filmsite.org/genres.html

I am interested in creating my promotional kit for a horror film. I feel this would be a great genre to work with and I already have many ideas. I am inspired by the films Cloverfield, The Blair Witch Project and REC because of the verisimilitude it conveys by using a hand held camera.

I have chosen the genre horror because I watch many horror films and I therefore have a good understanding of the conventions and what the trailer should consist of.

Horror Sub-Genres-

• Haunted House
• Halloween
• Gothic
• Witchcraft
• B Movie Horror
• Cannibal
• Wolves/Werewolves
• Classic Horror
• Creature Features
• Demonic Possession
• Dracula
• Torture
• Zombie
• Erotic
• Frankenstein/Mad scientists
• Ghosts
• Gore
• Vampire
• Terror
• Supernatural
• Slasher
• Serial Killer
• Satanic Stories
• Reincarnation
• 'Hag Horror'
• Psychological
• Psychic Powers
• Psycho Biddy
• Macabre
• Monsters
• Teen

http://www.filmsite.org/subgenres2.html

I am interested in the sub-genres slasher, teen and torture. I know these sub-genres conventions and I feel I can create an effective film trailer for this hybrid of sub-genres.

Conventions of Sub-genres-

Slasher- Involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a chainsaw or scythe. Also involves thematic and stylistic conventions such as the killers or the victims POV (point of view).

Torture- Involves a psychopathic murderer that tortures victims. Also known as 'Torture Porn' as it may involve mild elements of porn and nakedness. Victims are usually murdered in a violent activity.

Analysing magazine front covers

I printed off various front covers and used media terminology to highlight key aspects on the front cover such as the masthead, date, cover price, issue number, strap line, bar code, plugs and many more. I then picked out aesthetics that I thought worked well and I plan to use these when designing my own front cover.

Adverts in a film magazine

Initially I looked for inspiration and ideas by buying various well known film magazines such as 'Empire' and 'Total Film'. I noticed how the magazines seemed to be entirely aimed at men, to prove this I analysed the adverts and the gender they are aimed at.

Adverts (Count):

• Sports cars (2)
• New hi-tech mobile phones (2)
• Male Fragrances (3)
• Masculine Drinks and spirits such as Jack Daniels (4)
• TV/Electronics (1)
• Channels/Programmes (1)
• Other magazines (2)
• Male clothing (2)
• Music (2)

I also looked at the letters sent in to the magazine by readers. 36 out of 40 letters were from male readers. This also shows that film magazines are traditionally a male product and aimed at men.

Introduction

Hello! I'm an A-Level Media student and this is my A2 coursework. My brief is to create a promotional package for a film containing a poster, a film magazine front cover and a trailer. I plan to be imaginative and creative in order to develop my ideas and designs throughout this project. I will research and analyse examples as well as incorporating Media theory in my work.