Research and Planning: Podcast

  

This podcast documents my work and research so far on my A2 Media Course, in terms of planning for the production of my film trailer.  

Research and Planning: Trailer Conventions

Typical conventions of a trailer:

Montage, name, release date, titles, voice over, production company.
These are features of which I will need to use in my trailer.

EXAMPLE OF TRAILER I WOULD BE ABLE TO RECREATE:


This film is of the horror/thriller genre, and this is an example of a trailer I would be able to recreate. The camera effects are basic, in order to make it seem as though a member of the group have filmed the scenes. This is something which I would be able to re-create, due to the fact that there are limited special effects, and the location would be easy enough for me to do something similar. 

EXAMPLE OF A TRAILER I WOULD BE UNABLE TO RECREATE:

The Messengers is a horror genre, and although the majority of the trailer would be easy for me to re-create, there are many parts which would be too difficult for me to recreate with the technology and budget I have access to. A major example of this would be where the woman's face appears in the wall, or her feet appear in the bed. This would prove too difficult for me to do something similar. 

Research and Planning: Questionnaire Results

These are the results from our questionnaire, which we have been able to turn into graph form. 

From the results, we have found that some of our target audience would like the villain to be revealed, yet slightly more would prefer the villain to be hidden. We also found that more people would prefer titles than a voice-over for this type of horror/thriller. This sis something which we will plan to take into consideration when creating our trailer. We also found that significantly more would like the villain (stalker) to be male, this is something which as a group we will discuss, in order to decide what gender the stalker should be. 

We also asked what a good location for a horror/thriller would be, 

some of the answers we were given included: 

House, Forest, Underground Carpark, Shopping Centre

 As a group, we plan to see which is the most accessible to us, and which we think will work the most for our type of film. 

Research and Planning: Questionnaire

Our group has made a questionnaire which we are going to hand out to our target audience, in order to get a bit more audience research to help aid our trailer. We asked questions based on editing, sound, mise-en-scene and cinematography. This is to help give us an idea of what our audience wants to see from a trailer.

This is an example of one of our completed Questionnaires .

Research and Planning: Group Discussion

I have chosen to work in a group to produce our trailer. 

We have had a meeting today, in order to discuss job roles and our idea further. 

I have taken the role of Cinematography, and so this means that I will be filming, as well as concentrating on which shot types and angles we will use. 

Paige Lowe has taken the role of Mise-en-Scene, and so she will be dealing with setting, costume, props etc, as well as lighting. 

Bethan O'Rourke has taken the role of editing, and so she will be putting together the footage we have shot, as well as working on editing transitions. 

We have split the role of Sound between the three of us. Where we will be looking at backing music/sound effects for our trailer. 
We have decided as a group that we will be going with our first plot idea (featured in the pitch), of a stalker. 

Research and Planning: IMDb Research

Research and Planning: Audience Prezi

Trailer Target Audience on Prezi

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Trailer Target Audience on Prezi

Research and Planning: Trailer Idea

For our idea, we decided we definitely wanted to make a trailer of the horror/thriller genre. 
We had two ideas for the plot, either a massacre or a film which involved a stalker. 

We have decided that we are going to go down the route of the Stalker plot. 
We thought that this would allow us to be more creative with the trailer, 
whilst trying to make a more original trailer. 

Research and Planning: Audience Theories

The Hypodermic Needle Theory
What does this theory suggest? 
This theory suggests that an intended message is directly received and understood by the audience, the mass media having a direct effect on the viewer. This being immediate and powerful.
Strengths of this approach? 
If the media is positive, then it has a positive effect on society. This also gives the media power, as it shows that the media can influence societies ways of thinking.
Weaknesses of this approach?
Assumes that we cannot have out own experiences, or views on the world. We only believe what we are told by the mass media.
Cultivation Theory 
What does this theory suggest?
This theory suggests that the more that we are exposed to the media, through film or television, the more we start to take this outlook on the world. For example, if we watch a lot of films which contain violence, we begin to see the world in a negative way; believing that it is this way.
Strengths of this approach? 
TV carries power and influences the way we live.
Weaknesses of this approach?
Forgets that family/social/financial situation can affect our upbringing.
Desensitisation
What does this theory suggest? 
The theory of desensitisation suggests that the more we are exposed to something through the media, the less surprised we are by these acts. For example, if they are constantly exposed to violence through the media, we are less shocked by these events, for example we are not as shocked by blood or gore.
Strengths of this approach? 
Theory which explores how much violence we are exposed to
Weaknesses of this approach?
Some people may not see this violence to be anything less shocking in real life. They could still find events horrendous, despite how much they are exposed to. We cannot prove that someone does not find an event shocking.
Modelling/Copycat Theory
What does this theory suggest? 
The theory of modelling/copycat suggests that if something gains a lot of publicity in the mass media, for example violence in films, then people in real life will copy this.
Strengths of this approach? 
Can be seen through certain crimes carried out in the real world. for example the killer who posed as the joker, or Grand Theft Auto killings.
Weaknesses of this approach?
We could say that mental state is not taken into account, someone who copies these acts may also be mentally ill, as it is clearly not normal for someone to act out something which they have seen in a film.
Uses and Gratifications Theory
What does this theory suggest? 
The theory of Uses and Gratifications assumes that we are more intelligent, and will only take from the film what it is that we need, and leave behind the information that we do not. We do not have the urge to copy films.
Strengths of this approach? 
We determine what is on screen, assumes we are intelligent, we understand the media and take from it what we need.
Weaknesses of this approach?
Assumes that the media has no power, and cannot influence us.

Research and Planning: Film Regulations

Trailer 

 I think that due to the genre of our film being a Horror/Thriller, that the trailer should be rated a 15, this would therefore allow us to keep the Horror aspects to the film in the trailer, which would attract the typical horror audience to come and watch the film. Due to the fact that out plot is to do with a stalker, this may cause some disturbances to younger audiences. Also, our film plans to contain violence, and so I think a 12 rating would be too young for this.

Film 

 

I think that the actual film should be an 18, this being because the film may contain sexual references, due to the fact that the stalker is sexually in love with the young girl. However, we have chosen to not include this aspect in the trailer, as we wanted the trailer to be a 15, in order to not cause a massive restriction, so that a buzz would still be created around the film. Our film would need to be of a higher rating due to the fact that it is unsuitable for younger audiences to watch.

Research and Planning: Trailer Analysis - Alone With Her

Alone With Her

Genre

The trailer for the film "Alone With Her" is clearly of the thriller/horror genre. We can slightly see throughout the trailer Carol Glover's theory; the idea that the final girl is terrorised throughout the film. We can see this in Alone With Her, as he is filming her whilst she is unaware, throughout the whole of the trailer, and she is getting increasingly distressed and terrorised throughout the whole film; she does not know that she is being watched, however we get an idea that she can sense something is going on/some form of disruption. Although she is not "terrorised" at the beginning, you can see by the end of the trailer, that some form of encounter with her stalker is happening. 

Representations 

We can clearly see that Laura Mulvey's theory of The Male Gaze has been used extensively throughout the trailer of Alone With Her, due to the fact that everything is seen through the perspective of the stalker, Doug, as the film is shown through what he has filmed of the young woman, Amy. Mulvey's theory said that The Male Gaze shows women through the eyes of a man, this meaning they are objectified, and either seen to be Mothers/Wives who should stay in the home, or sex objects. At the beginning of the trailer, it is quite obvious that the women are seen to be sex objects, as Doug's camera shows him looking at a topless female on the beach, down a womans' t-shirt, and up a girls' skirt. We can say that this is an example of the male gaze, as it is showing the women as objects.
We can also say that this follows certain stereotypes. The idea that men are always looking at women is clearly seen throughout the trailer, as the film shows everything through the eyes of Doug, the stalker, from shots which he has filmed of women. We could also say that it follows the stereotypes of young women being naive. The fact that Amy has allowed someone to learn so much about her, shows her to be naive.


Narrative

Throughout the trailer, "Alone With Her", in terms of Propps' character theory, we are made aware of who the villain is. We can clearly say that the Villain is Doug, the stalker. He is the one who is causing the upset and disturbances in the film, by watching Amy. We know this from the very beginning of the film, when we see him putting a camera in his gym bag, we know that this is a disturbing thing to do, to film people without their permission. However, I am unsure of which role should be assigned to the the character of Amy, .it is clear that she is the one fighting the villain, and so should she automatically be assigned the hero? It is hard to tell from the trailer, as we are obviously not shown what happens at the end of the film. We can however, say that her friend is seen as the "helper" as in the film, she is seen as the one who suspects the villain, and therefore is helping the hero in terms of fighting the villain.
Goffman's Character theory can also be seen throughout the trailer, we would say that Doug is the "Protagonist", as he is the main character. This being because we see the film through his films, and so this helps us to understand him more as a character. We would see the young woman whom he films to be the "deuteragonist", as she is seen as the secondary character. We can then see her friend to be the "bit player", as she is a minor character, however we can say that she is important, as she is the one who suspects the stalker.
In terms of Active characters, we could say that Doug is a passive character. We see the story through him, and we do not see his face often in the trailer, however he has an affect on the other characters in the film. We see the Amy to start the film as passive, as she is unaware of what is going on, and is just being watched as she goes about her life, however as she begins to suspect Doug, and towards the end of the trailer, she becomes quite an active character during the confrontation. Amy's friend could also be seen as active, as she is the first one to suspect Doug, as she helps Amy 'defeat the villain'. 


Audience

I would say that the audience for the trailer would have to be quite active, in order to look at how Doug is finding out all the information about Amy. As the film is a thriller, it is important that the audience keeps up with events in the film, and so I would say that it is important for the audience to be concentrating on the film in order to fully understand it.
In terms of uses and gratifications, we take from the film that it is easy for people to find out things about your lives. The trailer emphasises this through the words "your lives are not as private as you think".This shows how easy that is for people to find out every detail about you, and makes us question whether we are open to giving out too much information, for the simple fact that Doug found it so easy to receive all of Amy's information and personal life.


Media Language 

Cinematography
The film has been shot through hand held camera work. This is effective, as we assume the film is being recorded from the perspective of the stalker. In this sense, we see what the stalker does. We know that it has been shot on handheld camera, as we see Doug conceal the first camera in his gym bag, Other shots have been made to look as though been shot through cameras which Doug has placed around the home.

Editing
The editing begins very slow paced, however it then speeds up when Amy's friend becomes suspicious, this being to add tension. The trailer shows a selection of clips, a montage, from the various different cameras of which Doug has concealed both around the house, and on his person.

Sound
The scene begins with music which shows that something is not right, there is a sense of building up - which creates tension for later on in the scene. Dialogue is used throughout the trailer, however it does not always show the source of dialogue, for example when he is enquiring about the cameras, it does not show his face, but we know that it is Doug speaking.

Mise-en-scene
In terms of location, the beginning shots from the beach are typical for someone who is of this nature. The fact that he is a stalker/quite perverse shows that the beach would be the perfect opportunity for him, due to the fact he is easily able to get shots of girls with minimal clothing. In terms of costume, he also looks like the typical stalker. The fact that he appears to look slightly geeky may show that he is wanting something he cannot have, or that is out of his league.

Research and Planning: Trailer Analysis - Obsessed

Obsessed

Obsessed is a film that was brought out in 2009, and given a certificate 12A. I chose this trailer because it involves a stalker/obsessive woman, and despite it being a woman who is the stalker, something I have not yet considered, I think that the style of the trailer could relate to any stalker film, whether male or female

Genre

The film 'Obsessed' could be seen to show some aspects of Steve Neale's theory on genre, "Genre is a repitition with an underlying pattern of variations." We could say this, due to the fact that the film Obsessed seems to show the similar aspects to the more dated film, such as "Fatal Attraction". The idea of the female being the 'bunny boiler' is repeated through many films. The fact that the woman becomes too attached, goes crazy, or tries to split up a marriage is a recourring theme through many films of this genre. We can obviously see some variations from other films, however when you look further at the connotations of Obsessed, the idea of the film is very similar to Fatal Attraction and similar films.  We could also say then, that we could apply Andrew Sarris' theory to Obsessed, who said that if a film has an exisiting recognisable style, it could draw on an exsisting audience. We could say that Obsessed has a recognisable style, and so it would draw an audience similar to the films before it, due to the fact that the storyline is similar. Although Obsessed is a much more updated and recent version, it could be possible that people who liked films such as Fatal Attraction, would then like the more up-to-date film Obsessed.


Representation

We could say that "Obsessed" breaks some stereotypes, as when we think of a stalker, we seem to assume that it is usually a male stalking a female. However, obviously this is not always the case. In Obsessed, it is a woman who is obsessed with, and is stalking the male whom she works with. This could show a role reversal. However, we could aslo say that some aspects of Obsessed convey stereotypes. The fact that the woman is clingy, is something which is portrayed often about women. She is reading into things too much, which is a stereotype of females. We can also see a stereotype coming from the wife. We could say this, due to the fact that she seems insecure, and worried about her husband, when she finds out that he has a woman working in his office. This is something which we associate more with females. Also, the trailer could follow a stereotype of the male being the one that is cheating. However, there is an exception to this, due to the fact that the male is the one who is trying to stop the woman, he does not want the affair. This breaks the stereotype of the male cheating on his wife.
We could also say that Laura Mulvey's theory of "The Male Gaze" is used in this trailer. The theory of The Male Gaze looks at women being seen through a mans eyes; this could mean they are seen as either sex objects, or alternatively seen to be a mother and house wife. At the beginning of the trailer, the woman is seen to be objectified. This can be seen through the shot types, of the woman's short skirt, and the way she is portrayed. Particularly when the boss of the office says that it is "always nice to have a pretty girl around the office", and the shot type shows her walking away from them. We could also say that the wife in the trailer is seen through the eyes of a man, we are not made aware of whether she has any occupation, and she seems to be a hose wife and mother, who looks after their little boy and waits for her husband to come home from work.


Narrative

In terms of narrative, we could say that all three characters in the trailer are "active", the stalker and the main male characters wife being more active than the male. We could say this because the wife seems to make all the decisions, and she is the character who chooses to face the stalker head on, as we see at the end of the trailer.
We can also see Todorov's Equilibrium Theory throughout the trailer for "Obsessed". We see the equilibrium at the beginning of the trailer, as there is harmony for the main character, he is at a normal day at work, where he has a new co-worker. There are no problems for the main character at this point, until the disruption of the equilibrium, when the new Office temp comes on a bit too strongly. We can see that this is causing distress to the main character. We can also see the disruption through the way in which the character's wife is becoming concerned and insecure over her husband working with the new Office worker. However, we are unsure as to whether or not the Equilibrium had been resolved, due to the fact that the last point in which the trailer shows, is off the Office temp and the Wife are having a fight, and we are unsure whether either of them are okay. However, the fact that the wife is going after the stalker, shows that she is trying to resolve the problem.
It could be said that you can loosely see Character Types from Propps Theory in the trailer. It is obvious to whom the role of Villain should be given to; the Office Temp/Stalker. However, we could say that the main male character is a hero, as he is the one whom is going into battle with the villain, however - he is not the character who resolves the situation head-on, it is his wife who does this. I think the trailer is a lot more complicated than it may seem, we cannot assign roles to each character, as we are unsure of each characters role in the film, as the trailer does not show us the end result, purposely.


Audience

In terms of audience, I would say that the film Obsessed requires the audience to be quite active, it seems to be one that you have to concentrate on, in order to pick up the initial clues given to the audience, that the woman was to be psychotic and a stalker. We can see in the trailer that the clues are given initially, when the woman is in the lift, the clues gradually progress into something totally out of hand, and so the audience needs to be concentrating on this, in order to understand the basis behind the progression into the feud between the wife and the stalker.


Media Language

Cinematography
A jump cut is used when the woman is trying to seduce the man in the bathroom whilst at the party, I would say that this is in order to show the struggle of the man, as this is not something that he wanted. The shot types also showed a close up of the woman's thighs, which emphasised how short that her skirt was, in order to foreshadow later events in the film/trailer.

Editing
The editing is very fast paced, in order to create tension, due to the fact that the film is of the Thriller genre. A short montage was also used in the trailer, when the wife has phoned her husbands friend, short clips are shown to the scene from the hotel room, where the woman has tried to kill herself.

Sound
Throughout the trailer, sharp music is playing, which adds more of a tense atmosphere to the trailer, this becomes more sharp throughout the trailer, being emphasised when more drama is erupting. Also, when the wife is on the phone trying to get hold of her husband, the dialogue sounds hazy as the word "Derek" is repeated, this indicates to the audience that something has gone wrong.

Mise-en-scene
In terms of mise-en-scene, we can see just from the costume that the Stalker is promiscuous. She is wearing short skirts, and clothing which emphasises her curves, she is seen to be very womanly. Where as the wife is seen to be wearing high necked t-shirts or baggy jumpers, this forms a contrast between the two women. In terms of location, the use of the underground car park is seen to be something shady, as this is somewhere that the male has taken the female to tell her that he doesn't want to take things further, but also the connotations show that he has taken her here in order to keep it a secret.

Research and Planning: Audience Research Poll

Research and Planning: Facebook Trailer ideas

In order to find good film trailers to analyse which would relate to what I want to do for my project, I did some further audience research via the social networking site Facebook. I thought that this would enable me to see what would relate to my film, and also what types of films that my audience has already watched.

Research and Planning: The Chase

As this year we are making a Trailer, we decided to make a short chase scene, for which we would have a small practice with the equiptment we will be using this year in Media Studies.

This enabled us to get to grips with using the cameras, and also the editing software on the macs.

Pur chase scene was shot on the video cameras, which helped aid our understanding in how they should be used. It was also important for us to look at the cinematography, in order to ensure we used a variety of different shot types and camera angles.

This being helpful for the production of our trailer, as we have had a taste of how to use the cameras and so it will be much easier when completing our product.

Research and Planning: Photoshop Trial

I have made a trial film poster for the genre I have chosen for my film; Horror. This was just to refresh myself with the uses of photoshop.

I started by opening up a photoshop document, and I turned the background black, as I thought this was the most appropriate colour for a Horror genre film poster. I then searched on the internet for a scary picture, which would be suitable for my poster. As this was just a photoshop challenge, I didn't take the images myself. I found a suitable photograph, which showed a girl with what looked to be a wooden background, I duplicated the layer, and cut out the girl using the magnetic wand tool, I then selected the inverse of the girl (one layer of the background) and deleted it. The reason for this being to change one layer of the backgrounds opacity, without effecting the opacity of the girl, as I wanted her to stand out. I also changed the brightness and contrast of both the background and the girl, in order to give it a more grungey look, but also to brighten the girl more.

I then decided to find another image which I could blend into the background in order to give the poster a more terrifying aspect, as it looked quite plain and bland. I searched on the internet, and found a picture of the haunted stairs, which I have blended into the background. I added this to my photoshop document, however I had to place it behind the duplicate layer of the girl, so that she appeared to be in front of the stairs. I changed the opacity of the image of the stairs, in order to slightly see the tinged background from the original image.

I then got the brush tool, and selected a red colour, to represent the horror genre, I also changed the opacity of this, in order for it to not look like a block red. I put lines down the image in order to look like blood. I also used the pencil tool - in a very thin brush size, in the colour grey in order to make the words "Keep Away" - which I hoped to give the impression that they were scratched into the image. I also got an image of a handprint off the internet, which I then made to look faintly bloody, using both a red and a grey - both with the opacity changed, in order to blend together.

I then downloaded the font for the title of the film off dafont.com, I chose this font as I thought it fitted in with the regular conventions of Horror. I chose to turn this font red, which blended in the red lines 0 and also represented blood, and the images of horror. I also downloaded Steeltongs from the internet, in order to add the film credits onto the poster, just like a real film poster would have.

Research and Planning: Audience Interviews

Our Audience Research footage was a starting point of getting a feel for our audience and what they would expect in the types of films we origionally put forward in our pitch. First we asked which pitch they would prefer, which gave us an idea of which would be more sucessful, this helped us greatly in chosing our idea.
We also got a feel for other aspects to the film, for example character types, location (mise-en-scene) and sound effects.

Research and Planning: Interview Questions

1. What plot idea would you prefer for a horror film?
     - Stalker film
     - Massacre film
    Why?

2. What would be the best location for the above film you have chosen?

3. What sound effects would you expect to hear from a Horror film?

4. What makes the best Horror film?

5. What colours would you associate with this genre?

6. What do you usually expect to see in a Horror film?

7. Would you prefer a Male/Female villain? What makes a good killer/villain?

8. What type of music would you expect to hear in a Horror film?

Research and Planning: Pitch

This is the pitch for our film, we have given two ideas, both with a horror genre.