How research impacted our idea

How Research Impacted Our Idea

My Idea

Before creating our trailer as a group, we all came up with an individual idea to present to each other when conducting the idea of our trailer.  My idea was to create a supernatural thriller that would be based around a circus.
My original idea was to base the trailer in a wood setting that would be implied to be the area of which a circus used to be based.  The trailer would show how a group of teenagers would go camping in the woods but would be faced with demon clowns wanting to get revenge for their beloved circus getting closed down.
I thought this would be a good idea as there is not anything similar to this out there yet and there is already an existing fear with clowns for many people.

Questionnaires

Audiences and Institutions: The Woman in Black

Primary target audience:
Those who enjoy films of the horror genre. In particular those who enjoy the supernatural kind, as this film is based on ghosts and supernatural activities (shown through their marketing campaign).The primary audience are the ones who are most likely to see the film and those it is most aimed at.


Secondary audience:
This is a nieche audience who the film may also appeal to. The secondary audience for the woman in black is for people who are a fan of Daniel Radcliffe as well as those who enjoyed Harry Potter. This intention of theirs is shown through their focus of him within their advertisement as well as his own attempts of promoting the film.





The woman in black was marketed in a strategic way so that sales are maximised and the movie had the best chance for high publicity. The marketing for this film consisted varied greatly due to the large target audience; there was the teaser campaign, the main campaign, the online marketing, the social marketing and the merchandise. In the woman in black teaser trailer- we learn a bit about the setting, and the fact it’s in an old house, in an past era, which helps to set the scene. We also learn that Daniel Radcliffe plays the main character, as he is the main focus of the teaser trailer. They also had adverts, trailers, posters, articles, social networking and radio which allowed their advertisement to reach a great variety of people that may be interested in different multimedia products. The use of social networking was used on a large scale because they know the age range of Harry Potter fans (teenagers) use it greatly. Danielle Radcliffe himself was very on board with the marketing of this film, with him personally tweeting and Facebooking about the film, and doing many interviews and online videos about the film.








I believe that the marketing of is critical for the success of a film. If the marketing is on a large and aimed at the appropriate audience then it will reach those who are interested and then encourage them in. Marketing helps to get a film talked about as well as creating a positive buzz before the film is even released. The woman in black was marketed on a huge scale with many methods being used to reach as many potential viewers as possible. Overall, I believe the way the woman in black was marketed played a very large part in the scale of its success as they had much coverage and many people ready and willing to go at see it.


The release of the film was on a large scale with the film being shown in 2,855 screens in America in its opening weekend. Earning $20,874,072 and 412 screens in the UK earning £3,153,020.







The budget for the woman in black was 15 million USD. The box office trends show that the woman in black was a high budget film. However, due to the large scale of the marketing this increased the budget further. The weekend that the film was first shown, it made $54,322,273 which is already close to creating a profit. The worldwide gross resulted in around $4128956290, which shows the large extent to how profitable this film as well as the overall success.

I believe the film was successful due to the large extent of marketing, in particular the fact it had incredible support from Daniele Radcliffe as he took a personal approach to the marketing and allowing the marketing campaign to use him on their different approached. Another reason for the success of the film, is the fact that it is based on a popular book that people may have read and then want to watch the film. It is also a west end production that may have influenced a higher class of people to watch the film.

Film distribution

What is meant by the term film distribution?

Film distribution is the process of making a movie available for viewing by an audience. This is normally the task of a professional film distributor, who would determine the marketing strategy for the film.



What does a film distributors do?
A film distributor is responsible for the marketing of a film. The distribution company is usually different from the production company. Distribution deals are an important part of financing a film.

The distributor may set the release date of a film and the method by which a film is to be exhibited or made available for viewing: for example, directly to the public either theatrically or for home viewing


How does reach relate to film distribution?

This refers to film distributors reaching their audience in order for the film to even be successful. This is usually to encourage audiences to go to the cinema and maximize audiences.


What is meant by a marketing plan?

A marketing plan is a documents that illustrates future marketing and advertisement plans for the film and how they plan to achieve goals and meet targets.


What is meant by a film distribution plan?

This is the plan in which managers create in order to make sure the film reaches all business sectors and goes to the appropriate sales places. This is from the cinemas to when the film is ready to be released on DVD and Blu-ray.


What is the difference between advertising, publicity and promotion?

Advertising is showing the product to the public through different uses of multimedia, publicity is when something is given attention from the media and promotion is an action that encourages people to purchase the product.


Here is an example of different uses of film distribution advertisement and how Paranormal Activity approached their audience.








https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wiypresvrs

Cabin in the Woods- Representation of women

What were Jeremy Tunstall’s 4 character roles for women and do they apply to The Cabin in the Woods?

Tunstall said that women’s roles were to be domestic, sexual, be a consumer and be marital.  Cabin in the woods does not follow his theory as neither of the girls follow the role he claims they should.  Looking at Dana, we can see that she wasn’t seen as being domestic, she wasn’t sexual, she didn’t come across as a consumer and wasn’t marital.  Then looking at Jules, although she was sexual and a consumer she wasn’t domestic and marital therefore, neither girl follows his theory.



 How is Dana typical of Clovers ‘final girl’ theory?

Dana is very similar to the codes and conventions of a typical final girl.  Jules’ feminist characteristics emphasis Dana’s lack of them which really highlights that she fits Clover’s role.  Dana is very androgynous, she comes across as virginal and fights back against the evil within the film.  She comes across as a very ‘good’ character as she doesn’t get drunk, high and is cautious of doing anything that might have negative effects-  seen when going down to the basement.  However, when she is faced with evil, she knows how to fight back- seen when she is escaping the campervan in the water.   She doesn’t wear provocative clothes and dresses androgynous, she also get on with male characters as friends rather than a sex objective to be flirted with and seduced.

Jules undergoes mental and physical transformations during the film, what are they and how do they cause her to become a horror archetype?

At the beginning of the film, we learn that she has dyed her hair from brown to blonde.  The scientists claim they did this and it has made her appear as the ‘dumb’ blonde.  Her mental change is the side effect of the hair dye, this makes her think less and do what people tell her to (shown in the dare game when she ‘makes out’ with the wolf.  This makes her become the typical dumb, blonde whore which is usually the first to be killed.

Is Mulvey’s male gaze theory exemplified in the film and if so, how? Thank about framing, camera angles and POV shots.

This is mostly emphasised with Jules as she seen as a sex symbol and more sexually attractive.  The camera angle used of her are usually focused on her chest and leg areas. Low camera angles and low key lighting makes her appear as seductive as well as the fact that she shows much more skin than any of the other characters.  The male gaze is used mostly when Curt is admiring in her, this is used particularly when they are having sex with a POV shot from Curt. 

In the film we, as an audience, are made to be voyeurs; when does this happen and why is it important in regard to representation of characters?

We are made to be voyeurs because we can see the scientists in the lab and we know they are controlling the environment around them and the group of teenagers themselves.  They are unaware of this however, which makes the audience voyeurs.  This reveals that the scientists hold a lot of power and are being represented as controlling, important and powerful.  Marty does realise he is being watched knocking the lamp.  This shows that Marty is seen as character aware of his surrounding with an imaginative mind.  We also are slight voyeurs as we spectate Dana through the eyes of Holden (point of view shots) when he takes the picture down and reveals are one way window.  This reveals that Holden is a very honest person to tell Dana what he can see, as well as Dana being very vulnerable to others watching her. (This is the same as the scientists watching her).

Summarise the way women are represented in The Cabin in the Woods.  Are they objectified and there to provide satisfaction for heterosexual makes and/or do they fulfil another role/purpose?

In the film, we are presents two very different women who both have different images and personalities.  Jules is objectified and does provide satisfaction for heterosexual men.  Within the film, we see Jules dance provocatively, make out with a wolf sexually, dressing with little clothing and we also see her half naked.  On the other hand, Dana is represented very differently as she is a typical ‘Final girl’ as she fights back, survives until the end, virginal (or close to) and comes across as androgynous.  There is also a third girl in the film, there is a woman in the lab who seems to disagree with what the scientists are doing but continues to go along with this.  This shows that women are represented as a non-dominant gender and will submit to what men want- they are the bosses.

The Crazies

Does The Crazies follow the CHN? Why or why not?
I believe that The Crazies does NOT follow the classic Hollywood narrative as it doesn’t begin normally as the opening scene is of a village on fire and very derelict which is not the norm.  In addition to this, the ending of the film does not return to normal as you can see the characters being followed which implies that they are not safe and that the cycle of the film is now about to repeat itself.  These two factors do not follow the classic Hollywood narrative as the theory states that the ending and the beginning is both supposed to be normality.

How many of Propp’s character types can be identified within the film?
The villain- In The Crazies, I would say that the government is the villains as they are the cause of the virus and that it what is leading to the people being a threat to others and the disruption of the village.
The hero- The hero’s in the film can be seen as David and Judy as they both plan on saving their village and preventing the damage happening as well as the virus spreading.
The donor- Russell can be seen as a donor as he provides an escape for David and Jody by distracting the police.
The helper- Russell can also been seen as the helper as well as he is constantly by David’s side and is seen as his second in command. 
The princess- This could been seen as Judy’s baby as their happy life with the baby, is their reward if getting out of the village alive.
Her father- There isn’t really a rather within the crazies as there is no one actually giving out the reward.
The dispatcher- This could be the person in the truck who Russell kills as him and the soldier gives them information on the virus which results in them having the knowledge of having to leave the village quickly.
The false here- This could also be Russell because although he helps Jason and Judy, it turns out that he does have the virus and takes away the potential get away when he kills the man in the black car.

List five examples of binary opposition in the film and explain them briefly.
Binary opposition is the opposite values that reveal the structure of media texts.  The first example in the film is healthy and the infected which describes the difference between David, Judy and Becca compared to the characters we see with the virus.  The second binary oppositions is the government and the innocence of the people.  This is seen as the government are clued up and protected by their gas masks compared to the people of the village who have no protection of the virus.  This leads on to the third opposition which is the difference between the power of the government and the lack of power that the people of the village have over the virus.

  The forth binary opposition is the difference between science and nature.  Science being the virus and causing the people to be infected and cause more deaths in comparison to the norm of the village people who lived in a very natural, farming environment.  The final binary opposition is known and the unknown.  Once David and Judy knew what was happening, they were able to protect themselves compare to the other villagers who weren’t aware of what was happening which lead to their deaths.

Identify the three durations and give an estimate of the time each duration covers.
There are three durations of films and these are- Screen duration, pot duration and story duration.  The screen duration is the time the film takes to show and with The Crazies, this was 1 hour and 40 minutes.  The plot duration is the length of time that the plot covers which is around four days,  the first day which is when Rory gets shot at the baseball game, the second day when bill kills his wife, the third day when they realise the plane crashed and that night when David and Judy get taken away, the fourth day is when they’re running away, the village gets blown up and they get away and then we see the very beginning of the fifth day when they are walking to the next village.  The story duration is the length of time the story covers which is about 3 years in The Crazies as the drug has to be made before the film even begins.

Give two examples of events that cause later events in the film but which occur before the film ‘starts’.
Firstly, the decision to create a drug that makes humans become violent and want to destroy others.  This causes the village people to kill other residences due of the side effects of the virus, resulting in more deaths and murders.
Secondly, the decision of the government to fly the virus to Texas and destroy it.  This event resulted in the plane crashing, the virus spreading and the government feeling they had to destroy and illuminate the village and its people.

List two events from the 92 minute film that happens in a different time and space to the one we are shown.
The first event in the film is that plane crash.  Although we know that it happens at the same time we watch the film, we don’t see it happen only that another character hears the event.
The second event in the film is the army killing all the uninfected residents.  We know this happens because we see the dead people that are previously alive in the film.

History of Horror

 

 

http://www.slideshare.net/MilliePont/history-of-horror-53840034

Halloween

In 1978, John Carpenter created iconic slasher movie- Halloween. The film is about a man who has escaped a mental institution who wants to return to the scene of his original crime in order to continue to his previous work. The film is a slasher horror which shows the murders of teenagers in a suburban area of America. The following questions demonstrate my understanding of the film.




How does the start exemplify a common technical code convention of the horror genre?

The beginning of the film has low key lighting with point of view camera shots which creates an eerie feeling as not all can be seen from the audience. This is parallel to the sound which is also very creepy and creates tension. The first scene also shows a little boy murdering his older sister which is abnormal and shows there is something wrong with him at such a young age- creating the start of a murderous horror film.


How does the setting fit with the horror genre?

It Halloween which is clearly a spooky time of the year which implies horror as well as coming with pumpkins and people dressed up. Secondly, it is set in a small, quiet town which is iconic at this time as it was the start of crimes happening in ‘your own back garden’. This sense of quiet and abandonment makes the film scarier as there is no one to help anyone.





What iconography of ‘innocence’ do we hear or see early on?

The little showed innocence at the beginning because he was at an innocent age which, usually, there is no evil or problems in such a little boy’s life. Secondly, he wore a clown mask which represents innocence as he saw it as a game of something to be laughed at. Further on the film, we see laurie’s innocence as she is only a young, virginal lady who was dedicated to her education. The theme of innocence was also demonstrated in the two young children, with one of them referring to Mike as ‘the bogey man’ rather than an actually person who could exist.


What was the main industry impact of Halloween?

Halloween was a very cheap film to make, had massive success and therefore made a very high profit. Other films followed in their footsteps in hope to also have good profit margins.


Name some ‘slasher’ films which followed on from Halloween:

Friday the 13th, Graduation Day, Happy Birthday to Me, Hell Night, The Prowler and The Slayer.





What are the four plot rules of ‘slasher’ films to
which Halloween began?

1. There is a traumatic event that creates a psychopathic killer

2. The killer returns to the scene of the event on a particular date with meaning

3. The killer stalks a group of teenagers to both sexes with some kind of weapon

4. There is a final girl who is often masculine/virginal who gets away of kills the killer.



Ways in which Laurie is androgynous:

1. Her dress sense is very covered up with little make up and a very ‘Tomboyish’ appearance.

2. Her voice is a lot deeper than the other girls which makes her more threatening

3. She is very intelligent and study based which wasn’t typical for girls in the 1970s

4. She isn’t reliant on a male character and holds herself very well

5. Her attitude within the film is very brave and protective towards others.


What does the extract mean by ‘A reactionary sexual agenda’?

They believe that ones who had sex in the film ended up dying because they had sex. They believe that horror films were there to stop the sexual revolution and to scare teens in to not having sex.


How does the director counter this suggestion and that Halloween has a reactionary sexual agenda?

Laurie didn’t have sex in the film and was still a virgin however, Mikes target was always her so her sexually experience had nothing to do with her survival. Carpenter states that she stayed alive because she wasn’t distracted like the others.


Why does Mike Myers kill his sister?

Many people believe this was because she was having sex and he was ‘copying’ the movement with an object that just happened to be a knife. However, when watching the film and listening to the doctor’s observations, it is clear to see it is just because he a bad person and there is evil in him.

Horror Genre