Monday, 28 February 2011

Evaluation question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge forms of real media products?

In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
When first embarking upon creating my zombie horror teaser trailer, I wanted to create a high quality trailer which reflected the codes and conventions of a professional teaser trailer, incorporating the features which are included. The genre of zombie horror I am working with is also hard to create realism, and stray away from comical aspects. So to create this verisimilitude, I looked at a range of existing texts and pulled intertectual references to gain inspiration and ideas for my own production.
Creating a promising zombie character was perhaps my greatest challenge.  There are two types of zombie typically seen in zombie horror films,  George.A.Romeros slow moving zombie, which is often seen in films such as Night Of The Living Dead (1968) or a modern take on the zombie character in films such as 28 days later by director Danny Boyle.  I decided to go with the more modern take on zombie, this was for a number of reasons. One being to get a preffered reading from my target audience who are generally of a younger generation, who will be familiar with the more modern take on the zombie character. The film I mainly looked at from a zombie aspect is 28 Days Later (2002) by Danny Boyle.

I took inspiration from the 28 days later trailer and considered it as one of the most important sources I looked at, as it gave me an idea of how I wanted my trailer to look like and the general features which are incorporated.  The use of the white writing at the beginning on a black background with words which are related to the genre ‘Exposure’ etc, is something I wanted to incorporate into my product. A clever way of building suspense, with flickers of the film inbetween to give a glimpse of horror then speeds up with quick editing, messing with the heartbeat.


When considering real media products in the zombie horror genre, special effects and make-up are a huge part of creating a realistic zombie look. I made this section an important priority. Whilst researching I came across Tom Savini who was known as George Romeros wingman. I looked up his work on various past horror films Dawn Of The Dead (IMDB) and Friday 13th..(IMDB)


                                          Tom Savini

After studying the way in which he incorporated make-up for a zombie look, I went on to experiment with my own. I used white make-up and black shadow to signify a dead-look, using fake-blood to signify the gore factor. Below are some extra pictures taken by me on set whilst producing the special effects.







I wanted my ancillinary texts to reflect real media products, these texts include a film magazine cover and film poster. When creating my film magazine cover, I wanted to include features on actual film magazine covers such as Empire, the biggest film magazine in the U.K and Total Film magazine. These features included a bold title, I chose ‘CUT’ to relate to the general film theme, but also incorporate the horror genre. I also included feature pictures, which show what is inside the magazine. The other feature stories are horror related, as it is a low-budget horror film magazine. This includes an exclusive interview with legendary make-up artist Tom Savini and up and coming summer zombie horror films.






Like most typical zombie films, the zombie represents something significant. For example a particular generation or social group. I decided for my zombie cast to represent a region of the u.k. Southerners came up to the north for a weekend away, where the find out the yorkshire dales is infected. They then become lost and go on a terrifying journey of being attacked/chased/infected etc. They are the worst group of people you could possibly face e.g a group of mobs.















Soundtrack

I used the software Garage Band on the MACS, which was relatively easy to use. Considering I had used it in my A.S production I was able to move on quickly with producing it. I experimented with the different instruments provided for me, using synth sounds which are more suitable to create a creepy music track. From previewing various trailers, I found that the music starts slower at the beginning and becomes quicker. This is what I tried to achieve producing a few different pieces.

Re-draft of Magazine cover.

After recieving feedback from the previous drafts of the magazine covers I created, I again re-drafted my magazine cover. I took the feedback which I recieved, that I should change the background picture because it was too similar to the poster. I lowered the 'CUT' title, to incoporate a feature add of fake blood, which is often seen in many exisiting products. I changed te font to make it stand out more, also making the star 'ALICE TAYLOR' bigger.

The various stages created on photoshop:





AUDIENCE FEEDBACK FROM DRAFTED MAGAZINE COVERS.

-Try and take some additional photographs, some of the pictures you have looked at are quite bad quality and pixelated.

-Look at more extensive research into magazine covers, there are generally more stories incorporated.

-Good use of photoshop, try experiment with different fonts also however.

Final draft of poster

When I did my first draft of my poster, people were impressed by the close-up image and effetcs. However felt it lacked features and aspects which would be on real media posters. I then went back to photoshop to finalise my final draft of my poster, I incorporated reviews which are an important aspect of a poster and made fonts bigger in places.

background image



Final draft

.Storyboard and Screenplay

Specific horror magazine research.

Fangoria. (official website)

First named in 1978 under Fantastica, made as a companion to the science fiction media magazine Starlog (just as Starlog covered science fiction films for a primarily teen audience, fantastica was designed to cover fantasy films for a similar audience. (official website, fangoria magazine)
- This is particulary important for me as I will be producing a magazine cover of a horror genre and will be targetting a similar audience.

Joe Bonham edited the first issue, shortly after publishing, the competitor of Starlog films, Fantastic films magazine pressed unfair trading and that the magazines would be too similar for the audience. (official website).


Horror film magazine covers have their own identifiable features, such as typical red, black and white colours. These to signify blood, death, gore and the serious attitudes and themes but forward in horror films. The font is also quite specific, bold font and font which  had a fang effect on it to add further anchorage for horror fans and the audience.

The stories are also horror related, giving me a taste of what type of stories I should include in my magazine and on the cover.

production logo.

When embarking upon creating a production logo I researched exisiting media products to enable me to produce a realistic product.
Some of these include:
 I liked the PIXAR (OFFICIAL SITE) production logo and wanted to create something similar which would reflect the genre I was working with, the simplicity of the background but the power of the writing was something I wanted to achieve
 These are the production logos I created to represent my teaser trailer, they were done in the programme Photoshop where I experimented with different background effects and fonts, the red to clearly signify blood and give anchorage into the genre, the blood dripping is clearly a stereotypical way to signify horror but I feel it works generally well.

Sunday, 27 February 2011

Additional magazine cover photos.














These pictures were taken as additonal pictures to use as the front cover image of my magazine cover as the audience feedback reflected that I couldn't use the same two images on the magazine cover and poster as it wouldn't happen in real life on real exisiting media products.

Software

I am using a number of different technologies, some new and some old to create and produce my project,
Photoshop CS4

This programme allows me to edit my ancillinary tasks to a high level of quality. This was apparant when I started making my film poster and film magazine cover, I could over layer images, experiment with verious filters and colour effect which fit in perfectly with the genre I'm working with.



Garage Band

This programme I am familiar with from last years project, it helps me to create the music which will fit into my piece of work. I soon realised after watching various horror trailers that the music/sound is extremly important, it can effect the mood or how the audience portrays the product. This programme allows you to experiment with different instruments and different tones to create the sound you want.

Final Cut

A brand new and unkown programme to me, with using I movie last year to create my project. Final cut is a more sophisticated and professional way of editing a production, with neater cutting tools and a larger variety of editing tools.

Tuesday, 22 February 2011

Book Of The Dead: By Jamie Russell

Blurb.
AMAZON.

When there's no more room in hell...

One of cinema's most enduring monsters, the zombie has been terrifying audiences around the world for decades. Book Of The Dead charts the ghoulish history of zombie cinema, from the creature's origins in Haitan voodoo and its cinematic debut in 1932s White Zombie (IMDB), right up to recent blockbuster hits like 28 days later (imdb), Shaun Of The Dead (imdb) and Land Of The Dead (imdb).

Covering hundreds of movies from America, Europe and Asia, this extensive history chronicles the zombie's on-screen evolution from Caribbean bogeyman to flesh-eating corpse. Along the way, Book Of The Dead takes in Bela Lugosi B-movies, Italian Gore films, blind monk-zombies, shot-on-video backyard epics, all-time classics such as I Walked With A Zombie, Night Of The Living Dead (IMDB) and Dawn Of The Dead (IMDB) and the videogame phenomenon of Resident Evil (WIKI).

Complete with hundreds of stills and artwork including 64 stunning pages of colour illustrations, and an exhaustive filmography, Book Of The Dead explains why we continue to be so fascinated by these fugitives from the undertaker.

...the dead will walk the earth.

I used this book to help me extensivly with my zombie research, it gives valuable information about a range of zombie horror films created from a wide variety of artistic views.

The chapters include:

Caribbean Terrors.

The Zombie Goes To Hollywood

Down And Out On Poverty Row

Atomic Interlude

Bringing It All Back Home

Dawn Of The Dead

Splattar Horror

Twilight Of The Dead

Zombie Filmography

Thursday, 17 February 2011

Target Audience.

If making this film in a full length narrative, a high level of gore/horror would be used due to the extent of special effects. The rating I would give the film would be 18, so the teaser trailer is rated the same. The general target audience would be people aged 18-24, people aged 16 plus are however likely to watch it on release of DVD.

The target audience would be a higher proportion of a male audience. This is mainly due to it being a low-budget zombie horror film - it's quite a raw and basic horror film, with lots of gore. This is the rating I believe the BBFC would give my zombie horror film

BBFC (British Board Of Film Classification)

I also need to consider nationality, ethnicity and social class.

Most films even if spoken in the English language are offered in subtitles also. My film is in the English language so will generally targetted at people who speak the english language, however I will offer various subtitled languages which in the long run may help my low-budget zombie flick gain a wider audience. The genre isn't particulary aimed at any ethnicity inparticular and their arn't any ethnicity related themes included in my zombie horror flick.

Wednesday, 16 February 2011

'His name was Jason' 30 years of friday 13th.

'His Name was Jason' DVD - 30 years. (IMDB)

Amazon link.

This DVD is significant on a number of different levels, not only linking into the horror genre I am basing my project in. But containing interviews with proffessionals within the movie industry, including Tom Savini, the one particular make-up artist I used within my work.

Trailer of DVD.

Monday, 7 February 2011

Analyisis of various horror trailers

28 days later (28dayslaterthemovie) 28 DAYS LATER (2002)

Background information: 2002 zombie horror film directed by Danny Boyle. Screenplay was written by Alex Garland. The basic storyline and plot follows the storyline of the release of the highly contagious 'rage' and focuses the struggle of four survivors.




Non-Diajetic sound used, harsh and loud music to signify a serious mood/tone. White documentary style writing on a black background, to give information on setting/location and narrative. Qucik shots and fast-pace editing used to fasten the pace which links in with the genres codes and conventions. Non-diajetic screaming heard to make the audience feel uneasy. Words which link in to genre such as 'Exposure' and 'Infection', used as effect as they are bold uneasy statement words often used in a negative way. Used of red colouring for the words to signify blood. Flashy editing used, shots of rats to signify dirt and abandonment. Further shots of fire and explosion to add to the theme of horror. The use of the main protagonist introduced in this trailer where he has no clothes on, gives a further contributing factor that he is really on his own, signifying he is bare and exposed. The music is played at certain points, to build up tension and then create a shock factor. Long-shots of London abandoned signifys civilisation isn't present anymore, his voice echoing in London is a huge shock factor considering the reputation is has of the hustle and bustle of one of the most important cities in the world.

Shaun of the dead (wiki)
The Realease date lied in 2004, where the budget consisted of over $4m, directed by Edgar Wright the production company was forwarded by Studio Canal and Working Title.



Dawn Of The Dead (2004) (wiki)

Budget: £28m
Production companies: Strike entertainment
Analysis.
.People holding weapons- suggests violence and perhaps and 18 certificate rating.
Pace of the trailer changes when shots of people and fire on the streets, abadonment.
.Steady and slow music over production logos.
.music slows down again as titles come onto screen.







HOSTEL
2005
$4.5m
.Mentions the directors past films ( common factor in trailers)
.Titles fade in and out and are done in serif font.
.Music gets louder as the editing and footage becomes quicker (something I want to invlove in mine)


ZOMBIELAND (wiki)                       ZOMBIELAND (offical International site
2009
COLUMBIA PICTURES

.Music stops when it comes to a kery comedy part
.Fast pace editing- mess with heartbeat and quicken the pace.
-Sans serif font used.
Establishing shot
-Main character- stereotypical masculin dominating male.



Other horror films I looked at Modern and Old:
Frankenstein (1910) (IMDB)

The phantom of the opera (2004)(IMDB)

Dr Jekyll and Mr.hyde (1931)(IMDB)

The Tell-Tale Heart (1934)(IMDB)

The Body Snatcher 91945)(IMDB)

13 Ghosts (1960)(IMDB)

Psycho (1960)(IMDB)

The birds (1963)

The haunting (1963) (IMDB)

A nightmare on Elm street (2010)(IMDB)

Childs Play (1988)IMDB)

Final Destination (2000)IMDB)

The grudge (2004)IMDB)

I looked at all these trailers to get a general idea of the horror genre, the themes used and the stereotypical codes and conventions. This then hopefully enabling me to achieve a realistic teaser trailer.Some of the horror movies without trailers were still benefitial for me to watch, to get a general overview og horror plots.

Saturday, 5 February 2011

Up and coming horror films 2011.

I researched the up and coming horror films of 2011, firstly zombie horror films to link in with my genre, but horror films in general to use as a feature on my low-budget horror magazine cover.

Scream 4.(IMDB)
Directed by Wes Craven.



Priest (2011) (IMDB)




Rabies 2011 (IMDB)



Evidence 2011 (IMDB)



Grave Encounters 2011 (IMDB)





Source from Up and Coming horror films - http://www.upandcominghorrormovies.com/

Also searching on youtube - various trailers came up which I may have never discovered. They all link togetether within the horror/thriller genre.

Thursday, 3 February 2011

Adapted narrative outline.

As I found difficulty in accessing a pub to shoot as a location due to time issues, I slightly adapted my narrative outline to rather than include the pub, include a more diverse range of shots to make up for the fewer locations. Here I explain what I want to include in my narrative.

Magazine cover drafts

After the audience feedback I recieved from my first attempt at a magazine cover, that it was too basic, it lacked some of the features exisiting magazine covers have. Also that I needed to make it more identifyable as a low budget horror magazine.

I went on to create two versions of two different pictures, using more storys and attempted to show different features in the magazine also.
Version 1:




The problems I found with this is that the quality of the picture when blown up big is quite poor.


Version 2:




Final poster.

Poster attempt 1

During my first attempt in making my film poster, I used photoshop to create my image. I started with the original image of photographs I took outside my filming which links in with my teaser trailer.
Stage 1:
Stage 2: I then added a background with lots of clouds- making this darker by using a filter in photoshop.


I incorporated a mask over the image, to create a further glazed over eyes ghostly effect.
Then a background was used from a previous photograph was incorporated to signify the dark areas of the moor.
 I then created the font for the title using a chiller font - filling in the bottom with red.
Final image for attempt 1.

The rating will be 18, due to the level of gore.
Audience Feedback


Possibly arrange a series of posters, incorporating different characters and tag lines, 5 is the average amount.
Put the main characters name in bold 'ALICE TAYLOR'.
Low budget -website, blog etc.
Edit the top of the head so light is all around it.
Film company logo/production label and cinematographer.
Experiment with different tag lines some suggested were - Dead Cld, Cold as Hell.

The red and white works and the font works, the image works-quite striking and effective.