Movie Magazine Front Cover

After extensive research into front covers of movie magazines I have begun to produce the cover for an edition of 'Total Film' promoting my movie 'Vanish'.

I begun with using the original logo from 'Total Film' as I decided to work around this. I have noticed that movie magazines tend to adapt the their logo to fit the specific themes of the movie that they are promoting on that issue. As shown in the examples to the left and right. For this reason I played around with the logo for a while until I found an effect that I feel best fits my movie. To create it I just used the recolouring effects on Microsoft Power Point on a plain white version of the 'Total Film' logo. The effect that I have selected, I feel, gives the impression of blood splattering across the bottom. This I feel is appropriate as it fits with my horror genre.

Once I had produced this logo I then when about producing a suitable background. Again, I decided to play around with the effects on Power Point, however, I was very careful when selecting the background that the colours did not detour away from or wash out the main logo. I felt that all of the potential backgrounds produced this way made the front cover look cheap, low budget and very unprofessional. After much experimentation I thought that it may work if I were to use a screen shot of the film footage that I had already gathered. From this I used a screen shot of the outside of my house as it is a central location of the film and adds a very eery feel to the poster. In addition to this I have added a black and white filter to it for more impact.

Film poster Research

 Before producing my own film poster I have researched and analysed three existing movie posters in order to gain an understanding of the different codes and conventions used to make the production of my own more successful.

Pulp Fiction

Pulp magazines (often referred to as "the pulps") are inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 through to the 1950s. The term pulp derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines where printed; in contrast, magazines printed on higher quality paper were called "glossies" or "slicks".

The movie of Pulp Fiction has a very deliberate cover as it has been created to look like one of these magazines. This is shown by:

-the pricing of the poster (10 Cents)

-the use of a masthead (title of the film)

-the main characters of the film are listed down the left hand side of the poster just as articles within a magazine would be

Another way the poster has been made to look like the front cover of a magazine is that all the edges around the right hand side are crinkled, creased and torn giving the impression of an old, worn magazine.

American Psycho

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Posters such as the one used for 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' hold a lot of information on them  and a potentially complex background, which can be seen as very distracting for the audience. It can be said that more simplistic posters create more intrigue for the viewer and are therefore more effective.

For example the 'Skyfall' poster gives nothing away about that particular film, rather it uses the traditional Bond background with the caption 'coming soon' at the bottom. This is effective as it excites fans and makes them want to know more about the film.

Feedback

The following presentation consists of feedback that I gathered from peers and my teacher regarding the first draft of my Vanish movie trailer.

 



Target Audience (secondary Evidence)

Horror movies are particularly popular amongst males and under 25's. Over a third of a typical horror movie audience will be aged 18-24. Horror movies are a highly effective means of reaching an audience not afraid to go out at night.




Horror Movie Age Profile:

Base: National Metro

Source: Roy Morgan

Horror Movie Gender Profile:

Base: National Metro

Source: Roy Morgan

Short Films

Todorov's Narrative Theory

 Todorov in 1969 produced a theory which he believed to be able to be applied to any film. He believed that all films followed the same narrative pattern. They all went through stages called equilibrium, dis equilibrium and restored equilibrium.

There are five stages the narrative can pass through:

1. A state of equilibrium
2. A disruption of that order by an event
3. A recognition that the order has occurred 
4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption
5. A return or restoration of new equilibrium

 Direct Address

Definition:

 Communication that is explicitly indicated as being targeted at a current listener, reader or viewer as an individual.

Examples: 

Looking at or speaking directly to the camera/audience

Using on-screen text to address the audience

Using a voice over to address the audience

Research of Short Films

 From researching short films, particularly animated ones, I have discovered that they rely heavily upon sound effects and music as oppose to continuous dialogue. This perhaps is due to the fact that it will save time and money on using voice actors. In addition a lot of on-screen text is used to introduce the short film and help with the plot, again to avoid using voice actors. Furthermore as the film has a very limited time-frame the audience is 'thrown in' to the story in the sense that no background information is given or explanation about the plot. 

 Short films appear very difficult to create as the writer needs to compact a story into a short amount of time, while ensuring that during this process the film still connects with and engages the audience as well as creating enigma.

The following Prezi consists of in-depth research, conducted by myself, into the sound used within horror movies. The codes and conventions displayed within this Prezi will later help me with the production of my own horror movie trailer.


 

'Why our brains love horror movies'

The following article is research I have obtained as to demonstrate the appeal to audiences of horror movies:

"The fact that some people like to be scared out of their wits never ceases to baffle those of us who would as soon see Freddy Krueger slash his way through A Nightmare on Elm Street as we would have surgery without anesthesia. But to masters of the genre, as well as to experts in media psychology, it makes perfect sense. In Danse Macabre, Stephen King described “terror as the finest emotion, and so I will try to terrorize the reader.” What makes it so fine? “One of the major reasons we go to scary movies is to be scared,” says Fischoff. But the scare we crave—and this applies to haunted houses and spooky corn mazes no less than to horror movies—is a safe one. “We know that, in an hour or two, we’re going to walk out whole,” says Fischoff. “We’re not going to have any holes in our head, and our hearts will still be in our bodies.”

“If we have a relatively calm, uneventful lifestyle, we seek out something that’s going to be exciting for us, because our nervous system requires periodic revving, just like a good muscular engine,” says Fischoff. A 1995 study found that the higher people score on a scale that measures sensation-seeking, the more they like horror films. “There are people who have a tremendous need for stimulation and excitement,” says Fischoff. “Horror movies are one of the better ways to get really excited.”

He suggests that the appeal to teenagers also goes beyond thrill-seeking and catharsis. Horror movies help young people learn to manage terror. “They can either succumb [to frightening images] or learn to manage,” he argues. “By learning to suppress feelings and display mastery or cling to others in a dependent ploy for protection, a person learns to cope with another aspect of his or her environment, a skill that may be useful in dealing with more than just horror pictures.” That may explain another oddity of the genre: horror movies are popular date films. “Teenage boys enjoyed a horror film significantly more when the female companion... expressed fright, whereas teenage girls enjoyed the film more when the male companion... showed a sense of mastery and control,” Walters argued."

Source:Why our brains love horror movies by Sharon Begley

Brief History of Horror

Horror has over the years changed and adapted to suit the audiences change in what is deemed 'scary' or can shock them. With new inventions in cinema such as 3D and digital systems a the found footage sub-genre and references to technology or considered scary to a more modern audience, as they can relate the film to their own personal devices which can cause a sense of fear. The modern horror genre is a blend of sub genres that have changed through the decades, copying previous films and emphasizing the same things. It has altered the stereotypes of women and teenagers with how the directors cast and depict the actors.

 

 

 

For further historical information about the horror genre visit:

 

http://www.horrorfilmhistory.com/

 

 

What is Horror?

Horror is a film genre seeking to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's primal fears. Inspired by literature from authors like Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, horror films have for more than a century featured scenes that startle the viewer. The macabre and the supernatural are frequent themes. Thus they may overlap with the fantasy, supernatural, and thriller genres.
Horror films often deal with the viewer's nightmares, hidden fears, revulsions and terror of the unknown. Plots within the horror genre often involve the intrusion of an evil force, event, or personage, commonly of supernatural origin, into the everyday world. Prevalent elements include ghosts, aliens, vampires, werewolves, demons, dragons, gore, torture, vicious animals, evil witches, monsters, zombies, cannibals, and serial killers. Conversely, movies about the supernatural are not necessarily always horrific.