The Final Cut.

Influences.

Throughout the creation process for the Film Trailer although we have had strong ideas as to what we wanted included within the project and what would work best for the specific Audience we had aimed our Trailer at, we also garnered inspiration from various works prior to this. This was explored so that we could understand what pieces were effective in frightening an Audience within the Horror Variety and how we could work towards making our piece a stand-alone project and original in its own context.

Characterisation...

Originally, my partner and myself wanted to have the Antagonists identity sealed behind a mask so we could never come to terms with who the masked killer is, this always adds to the fear factor within the Audience as it never unveiled as to who the killer is and continues on the mystery. This even creates a possibility that somebody like this truly exists within society terrifying the Audience themselves. This is present in a significant amount of Horror features as it proves successful in Cinema to have a masked killer at hand (e.g. Scream, My Bloody Valentine, Friday the 13th).

We drew inspiration from the film 'The Strangers' this is because of the omnipresent Antagonists terrorising innocent people, the lack of identification and the overall Dramatic suspense which makes the Movie so intense. During the creative process of the piece it was around the time of Halloween which inspired by not only the masks and costumes but the frightening elements of the Holiday itself.

We wanted to create our own style of mask as opposed to buying a ready made one which draws similarites and intertextuality from a Film Such as 'Scream' as that is unique and original for the Film itself, in its own context. We imagined the Anatgonists to be stylised in a plain white masks (Similar to that which is featured in 'Phantom Of The Opera') but opposingly would have blood stains smeared down it. The emotionless and blank expression on the masks face makes it more effective on the Audiences attitude towards it, and this ended up being the Final characterisation for the Antagonist.

Trailer Inspiration...

A Film which we found exceptionally useful throughout the creation process was 'The Strangers' as it plays strongly on Freytag's Triangle which follows the semesters that Films within the Horror Genre should abide to the conventions of. The level of intensity and accumulation of the Dramatic impact throughout the Trailer really frightens the Audience even without seeing the Film itself, which is the impact we are aiming for. Generally, Audiences do not too often find themselves petrified whilst watching a film Trailer as they do when seeing the film itself, but we want a larger impact than this, and we want to create the same level of Fear as they Trailer for the said Movie does. So we want to try and construct a massive high rise in the Action and Fear levels as well as including an intense climax that will be drilled into Audiences mind after watching, after the inclusion of a rapid build up to the events in the beginning trimester of the Trailer, which again will hopefully scare our Audience. Although we planned to apply to the Freytag Triangle, we wanted to produce a piece that goes against some of the conventions to not make it apart of your 'Stereotypical' Genre piece. As much as the Film became a major influence for us we do not want pay homage or play on parody of this film, we instead want to use this as a guide of how we want our Trailer to play out, there will be some intertextual references such as the 'Masked Antagonists' but we want out Trailer to stand out on its own and be original in its own way.

Poster Influences...

For the Film Poster we wanted to create a striking yet effective piece of imagery that would grab the Audiences attention from a slight glance. Yet, we also wanted to convey the dark and cynical elements which are involved in the piece through the poster, but also doing this in a unique and modern way. Black & White tones seemed to portray this the best, and so we researched into the Poster Imagery of previous films, especially more nostalgic films. The Exorcist which has an original styling and very striking piece of imagery to represent the Film itself, especially with the black and white to connote to the dark themes within the Film itself. It is obvious that our Film Poster plays homage to this stylisation of imagery yet we have made it so that it interlinks with our Film Project and has its own unique elements within.

Evaluation

1. In what ways does your Media Product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real Media products?

With the Media Product I have created (Containing the Main Product and its Ancillary Texts) I feel that as a whole the Poducts do not only conform to the stylisations of Real Media Products but I also comprehend that they challenge some of the typical aspects in which would be expected of such a project yet does also develop some the exisiting conventions but also new ideas. By doing this it allows my Product to be more accentuated to an Audience but also allows to stand on its own without becoming unidentifiable yet recognises the Genre it fits within. For me, it was important to create a product that did not completely conform to conventions and contained the inclusion of anti-conventional elements so it became its own stylisation and a stand alone Production, and differeniated from other products. In some ways, I feel I have accomplished this.

The Movie Poster was a convention which we strongly followed the stylisations of as we wanted to create a piece which was correlating with the Genre but was unique in its own form. The imagery of the piece was central so it was obvious to the Audience what was being emphasised, if we were going to change and challenge its stylisation by having a much larger positioned moreover to one side of the Frame then it would be more difficult for the imagery to be accentuated to its Audience. The imagery of the piece is Dark Toned, Black and White (Influenced by Film Noir stylings) eerie and sinister in its own respect which is very typical of a Movie Poster within the Horror Variety as you want to create a striking piece which will grab the Audience yet makes them aware which Genre it fits into. Also, we follow the conventions by featuring the Anatagonist on the Poster yet they are distorted so we do not get a clear image of them, instead they are manipulated by Shadow and Glass. We felt that this piece of imagery complimented the Film's Title 'Intevention' due to the plot of the piece and that this worked well as an Eerie poster for the promotion and delivers a thrill to the Audience. Strange imagery as such appeals to Audiences in search for a Thrill yet not giving too much away about the Plot itself makes Audiences want to see the Film and answer the questions that arise in their minds.


When it came to Characterisation of the Antagonists and the Protagonist of the piece for this area of the production the decision was made to go against conventions which the Audience would expect. Instead of casting one of each the Antagonist and the Protagonist in a 1 vs. 1 showdown, instead we cast 2 Antagonists so there was double the power the Protagonist had automatically giving the Antagonists an advantage. This does not typically happen in a Horror Film, instead there is usually 1 Antagonist who is equally feared and garners a huge amount of power just by the sound of their name, even if there is a larger group of Protagonists, they still fear the featured Enemy. The Protagonist was conventional and conveyed as your Typical, Young Adult who is living their life and does not stand out from the crowd, an element which made sense to follow. As for the Antagonists, it was important we did not give them names as when an Antagonists name or nickname is known then it makes them seem less frightening, we wanted to keep the mystery and unknown factor alive to scare the Audience. We also decided to make one of the Antagonists Female, usually this is unexpected of a Film and the Female is usually the lead empowering Character, but we wanted to go against conventions and instead make one of them nameless, frightening, powerful and Female, just as dominant as the other Male Antagonist.

Another convention which our Trailer tackled was the emplacement of the Setting within the Night Time. This is very conventional of your typical Horror Film as the majority of them the action unfolds in the Darkness and eeries of the Night. It was important to stay true to this convention as Horror is generally linked to the darkness and the night time environment makes everything more frightening. Usually, by Horror being associated with the Darkness means lack of being able to see your surroundings, distorted vision and the use of Shadows to heighten the Fear as everything is made to look scarier and larger. We did film some shots during the day and then when we finally made it to filming at the Night it was interesting to see how the shots contrasted to one another and what a huge different it made to the overall portrayal of the Trailer. By filming at Night it made some of the shots more interesting as there became a strong play on eerieness of the shots and the shadows within them to make them seem more frightening. Also the outline of the masks was less visible than filming at Night, as if we filmed during the day then the Antagonists would become more visible because of their dark clothing against the light of day. This made the overall turnout of the Trailer more effective as the Darkness makes elements seem more intense and suspenseful at Night, the scarier the Trailer the more likely the Audience will attracted towards it.

The Use of Captions within the Trailer is one of the conventions which we applied to our own Product. The captions within a trailer allows an Audience to momentarily understand a small fraction of the Plot and revealing only a small amount of detail as to what is happening. This is so that the Audience will begin to create questions in their minds in hope that when the Film is released then they will return to see what actually happnens. This generally occurs in most Horror Trailers so that the Audience can understand what is going on even if the Trailer is not in Chronological order.

On the Film Magazine, there are various elements which generally cannot be challenged as they are deemed necessary for a Magazine. For example, on Our Magazine we found it compulsory to include a barcode on the Front Cover so that it is able to be scanned we being purchased at a Store. Intially, it could be placed on the back on the Magazine but then it would go un-noticed and a cashier would need to notice it easily, it also contains the price on it, so sometimes if there is not Price Pug included then a person will look for the barcode to find out a price. Generally, there is continuity with the positioning of the barcode for most companies and the magazines they produce so changing the positioning would prove confusing as People learn to notice that a barcode is always placed in the same position.

A convention which is also included on the Front Cover of the Magazine is the Title of the Film but it is stylised in the same Font as seen on the Film Poster itself, so it is easier to recognise. This is done for Audience benefit and so that it advertises the Film as a part of the promotional campaign. This did not seem appropriate to remove and change because by altering the style of text for the Title of the film then it would not be easily recognised by the Audience. It is done so that there is not huge confusion with the campaign and so that there is continuity throughout. It is important keep the advertisement for the Film similar so that Audiences who support the film can recognise its appeal.

Every Film Trailer follows the convention of Freytag's Triangle which states the Beginning, Middle and Ending elements of a Trailer (Rise, Peak and Fall respectively). Each element of the Trailer comments on specific parts of the gaining of Momentum within it, for ours specifically it does follow this convention and is portrayed through the use of Music and Sound majorly. The Music follows a pattern which clearly conveys the change of pace and tempo at crucial moments throughout the Trailer which changes the mood and tensions within its Audience. Introducing the Trailer is the beginning of the Soundtrack which is a version of a Child's Music Box chiming a soft melody, which is conventional of a Horror Trailer as elements which involve Children within a Horror generally make Audiences feel uncomfortable anyways so by using such a Melody will make an Audience feel on edge, this will happen immediately as this Music is the Tune which introduces us to our Trailer. The Sound effect of a bang on the door breaks the ambiance and is the turning point for the Trailer, which then begins to increase in Tempo and Pace as it progresses. The shots increase in speed being cut accordingly to the beats within the Soundtrack which gains the Momentum and begins the rise of Tension aiming for the Peak of Drama and Action within. As it finally reaches its peak, the Music fades out and a Heartbeat beginning to race and increasing in volume, this can be seen as the representation of suspense and intensity of an Audience member's emotion at this point in the Trailer. This specific section of the Trailer plays contrast to the introduction and leaves the Audience reeling and on edge. Freytag's Triangle is a representation of the Journey an Audience is taken on throughout the progression of a Trailer, according to it, it begins slowly and gradually gains momentum, this draws the Audience in, once they have a thirst for what will happen next the action of the Trailer begins to build rising tensions and getting the Audience on edge, ultimately slowly enticing them and then leaving them reeling at the End. These are the conventions in which our Trailer will concur with.


2. How effective is the combination of your main Product and ancillary texts?

It is a hugely siginifcant for the Mainstream Campaign elements to relate to the other core promotional elements of the project as they all need to create a distinct connection for the public throughout the entire advertisement of a Film. There is a strong importance for all the advertisement material to interlink so that Audiences understand what exactly is being promoted otherwise there will prove complications when comes to making the link between each element. The main aspects which are a part of the Promotion campaign is the Teaser Trailer, an advertisement within a Movie Magazine, and the Movie Poster. All of these factors become the distinctive promotion for a film and are generally unique from other film advertisements as there will always be another campaign in which there will be competition with to garner the most Public Attention and Audience Numbers. This builds momentum for an all-important strong Opening Weekend Figures which is the biggest and most significant Weekend and Element for the Release of a Film. This Promotional Package acts as a guideline for core advertisement campaigns for all Films within the industry. Throughout the production process we worked hard to make it clear that there was an obvious link between the combination of both the Main Product and the ancillary texts respectively so that the Audience would clearly acknowledge this, personally I feel that we achieved this and the overall campaign proves successful and have a strong interlink.

It is essential and ideal for the Text/Font stylisation used within the campaign to be continued throughout each piece so that is it recognisable for the Audience, being used on various aspects which have any significant relation to the Film itself so that it can be easily drawn to. This is done for Audience purposes so that if the Film Poster is viewed or they read an article about the Film within a magazine or newspaper it can be easily linked to the Promotion for 'Intervention'This is conventionally what Official and Professional Film Production companies create and release for their own projects they produce as a part of the USP for the Film. In order to make the Production for our own Coursework Project look as high standard and professional as possible, we tried our hardest to follow the conventions of Film Promotion in order for this to apply to our own work; these are aspects which are used within realistic Film Production which creates the campaign for the film. because the same stylisation has been used throughout. Typically, the Text element of the Film's Promotion becomes part of the iconography of the Movie as a whole as the Audience can depict the text and immediately interlink this with it.

For the promotion of the Film you also need a distinctive and striking image which the Audience can parallel the Film with the Text and the accentuation of the Movie itself. This photography would be featured on the Film Poster and inside Magazine which would have the inclusion of a Special Feature for the film as a part of the campaign. We wanted to create a piece of imagery that would be powerful and striking for the film yet has strong relation to the Film's subject matter and plot outline. We decided on using an image which we took during the Filming Process of the Trailer which was inspired by a shot we set up during. It contains the Protagonist Hidden infront of the lower half of the Door Frame, crouched down below the Frosted-Glassed Window inside the interior of the house. Whilst an Antagonist is behind the glass to the exterior of the Door Frame, staring blankly into the house. The image is distorted so that only an outline of the their figure is available to be viewed, this is in an attempt to enter the house, assuming that they are trying to get the Protagonist yet we are unaware as to whether the Anatagonist knows the presence of the them hiding below the glass. This photograph was chosen as it is different yet striking for the Film Poster imagery. We find that this specific image works hugely well with the plot for 'Intervention' as all that seperates the Antagonist and the Protagonist of the Film is a single door and window frame, almost within the 'safe' and 'secure' domain of the Protagonists own comforts which gets the Audience arising questions e.g. How safe really is your house? Could this happen to me? Does the Antagonist know that she is hiding just below him? Is she aware he is right behind her? Such questions can arise shortly after seeing the Poster which then garners the Word of Mouth element of the promotion as more people would talk about it and want to go and see it to get these questions answered.

By combining both the Font Stylisation and the Mainstream photography of the project, it creates this iconic piece of imagery unique of the USP of the Film which makes a distinct connection for the Target Audience of the Main Product and the acinllary texts respectively. This creates effective campaign and an accentuation on the promotional package for the product and gets Audiences wanting to know what happens next.
3. What have you learned from your Audience feedback?

Intially, we created our first planning stages and ideas for the Trailer and the campaign for the film, it began with the word of mouth element to increase our options, enabling expansion on the original ideas for the Trailer. This allowed us to understand other peoples views on what they would expect from a Movie within the Horror Genre and how our ideas assisted and created this. As we wanted to further expansion on the ideas being played on, we created a Questionnaire on one of the blogs which allowed Members of the Public to select answers from a series of multiple choice questions, all of which gave various options to broaden the research and so that there was not such a limited amount of answers and disallowed audiences to give a larger opinion as opposed to there being very few options. The more options we gave to the Audience meant a more honest and wider range of opinions which is what we wanted because not everyone has the same opinion on what they would expect. The ultimatum of doing this was to receive feedback which had the potential to change and evolve our initial ideas into something to a much higher standard and preferable of our Target Audience.This was important for us to do this as we wanted to understand the wants and needs of the Audience some the piece came to life and became more realistic for the Audience and to create something which would be liked and viewed by them.

Some of the questions we asked were not as refined as others and were simple 'Either/Or' answers, these mainly being Gender and Age. By asking these questions we could closely understand who the type of People answering the Questionnaire actually were and who we could aim our Audience at, understanding whether it matched our Primary Target or whether we would have to alter this. From the Public who voted, we found that a larger sum of the answers came from the Female Majority only to be closely pursued by the Male voters. The majority Age Bracket ranged from Teenagers around the age of 14 to young adults in their early Twenties, this becoming a exact match for the Mainstream Audience we would be aiming this at. The '18' rating would have proved to be too high and would not have attracted a large Audience and we did not want to include elements which could potentially distract our Audience from wanting to see it e.g. Gruesome imagery or upsetting/uncomfortable plot elements. The '15' Rating is the preferred option specifically for the Trailer we have created and our original idea to follow but by an Audience completing this and understanding the Age Range who was answering it confirmed this for us.

By creating a Horror Trailer you are at the risk of potentially disappointing your Target Audience when creating the elements and campaign for the project. You come to face various obsticles such as options you are willing to place within the Questionnaire itself and aspects of the Trailer which you want to get correct. Especially with a Movie within the Horror Variety you become at risk of the Plot and Mise En Scene of the story seeming too farfetched for the Audience to believe. For example, a problem which arose was the characterisation of the Antagonist for the film, we had an imagery of how we expected them to be stylised but we wanted to further the options so the Audience would not simply be confirming our Idea instead of being offered other options. We also wanted to them to be feared and frightening without being too conventional and unrealistic so it would appeal to the Audience and reach their expectations so it would set the right eerie atmosphere for the Film. We created a Multiple-Choice Question which gave them a list of different stylisations and options which they could work with and imagine the enemy of the Film to look like, this helped widen the range of imagery for us to create the Dark Antagonists we was aiming to make which would terrify our Audience in hope that it would appeal to larger range of People within the Target Audience to want to view the Film for the Thrill, Excitement and Fear Factors it would offer.

4. How did you use Media Technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Throughout the entire production and creation process for our coursework there has been significant use of various types of Technologies to help create the final product and the theory which it applies and parallels to it. Most prominently, the use of the Website 'Blogger' has proved to be the most frequently utilised piece of Technology. The use of this proved to be a more modern way to create our coursework, a place where can place our work onto and saved without it being lost. It also allows use from any computer be it at school, depending on whether there is a internet connection or not allows us to access the site, it also allows us to work from home too. This is instead of placing all our work into folders where everything would have to be printed off and placed into it, this risks mistakes to be printed, loss of work and not enough space to allow us to write as much as we would like to because of the limited space. This wise use of technology also allows us to re-visit our work and add or subtract anything we want to and from the blog, providing a reliable access, easy usage and quick saving facilities, this has proved successful in comparison to previous years where folders have been used. For the Members of Staff tracking our work, it also allows them to quickly and easily see our progress throughout the project, and post on our blogs for feedback on improvements if needed. It also features a hyperlinked index on each Blog so a teacher can go straight to the post they want to view as opposed to searching through a folder to find the appropriate piece. Prior to this specific piece of Coursework, we used the same Technology to create our AS Level coursework which proved successful for us Students and also useful for the Teaching staff. As we had used the blogging system before, it proved easier for us to create and work our way swiftly through the blog and all its components e.g. Adding the questionnaire posts down the right hand side of the page.

The internet proved to play a massive influence on the overall production of the Blog, making huge use of various websites in the creation process, 2 of which are Scribd and YouTube. With Scribd, it is a Website which allows you to Upload and Download your own Documents from your Computer onto the internet so it can be viewed by others and put onto multiple different Websites (In this, for display purposes on the Blog). Specifically, it was utilised when displaying the Grids of 9 as they were created in the form of a Word Document and a Grid cannot be filled in and created in its own post on Blogger. So by uploading them onto this website a code can be embedded which acts as a Hyperlink for the post on the blog and is displayed to its readers. With YouTube, compared to what it used to be it has now become very versitile and works well with a vast amount of Websites. The technologies of YouTube allows you to embed a code which would directly place the video itself onto a Blog post so a reader could view it. By placing it onto our own post it disabled others having to search for the exact video we were analysing or trying to show to them, it also rids of Hyperlinking and leaving other tabs open whilst writing about the Video, instead it was right in front of you and still acted the same as if you were on the website itself. It was mainly used for viewing other Trailers which we analysed and for viewing purposes from other things which may have played influence on creating our own ideas. Various other Websites such as Google and Wikipedia also proved to be hugely helpful when it came to creating the blog and researching different pieces of information from Theory for different parts of the Blog to Google Images to find different Posters, Shot Compositions etc. This was the most significantly helpful, reliable and easy to resource to access on the Internet due to its easy structure and mega amounts of material and links it produced.

Intially the production stages for the Main Product and its Ancillary Texts were created by using Technology featured on a Apple Mac Computer which had pre-installed software included on it. For the editing process of the Video Itself we used a program entitled 'Adobe Premiere Pro' which is a newer piece of software which allows various types of editing techniques combining elements from other Adobe programs such as Photoshop and After Effects (This program was not a Technology we made use of respectively). Both my partner and myself had never been introduced to or ever used Premiere Pro so this was completely brand new to us both and became a new learning curve for the both of us and allowed us to experiment more with the Technology to see where our creation process would take us. Eventually after a short while of cutting, pasting, learning the tools and figuring out what each one done and playing around with software for a while we felt we were confident enough to begin the main production of the product. For mainly the Captions and Ancillary Texts we utilised Adobe Photoshop, a program which both my partner and myself are familiar with from previous uses of the software on the coursework prior, so all the tools etc. were easy to work around with and the program was easy to monouvre due to previous expirience.

A large majority of the Planning Stages were written down on Paper which is how we created the storyboards, the planning stages and designs for the Posters and Magazine covers, like we did previously with our AS Level coursework. This was the easiest way to make these in the creative process so we had them right in front of us and if editing changes needed to be made then they could be. After this was accomplished we then scanned them onto the computer and uploaded them onto Our Blogs to show the planning stages of the Sketches and what our original concepts for the Finalised piece looked like for us. During the production process we decided to get a feel for the Camera Equipment before we began the filming process for the main scenes of the Trailer, another Brand New technology to us as before we were lent the hardware we were only familiar with Small and less Technical camcorders and Digital Cameras. We made use of our own Digital Cameras but borrowed from the School a Digital Handheld Video Camera, a Tripod and made use of Mac Computers for the early stages of the editing, designs and compositions of the project.

Final Product Elements.

Final Film Poster.

Final Magazine Cover.

Trailer & Audience Feedback.

Audience Feedback.

Audience Member #1:

"I genuinely thought it was real... that is so good!"

Audience Member #2:

"Oh my gosh, that is excellent, how scary! That is very, very good."

Audience Member #3:

"Wow! That is actually amazing!

I actually forgot I was watching Trailer for Media. Honestly,

thats probably the best Media Trailer I have every seen you have followed the theories extremely well and the conventions, I also liked the camera you used aswell it was really good quality. I

like how you dont rely on dark lighting to make it frightening and how you have gone against conventions of a Horror Trailer. 0:50 is a good shot as it is right on the Rule of Thirds."

Audience Member #4:

"I thought it was a film trailer. You know what, I thought it was The Strangers 2! It's really good, it's very weird, the ending was strange in a good way, very weird."

Audience Member #5:

"It was SO good,

proper professional

and it actually made me feel really tense about a Movie

which doesn't even exist... But still, that's how good it was!"

Audience Member #6:

"I love the production company name - very realistic.

The soundtrack is awesome! The Trailer really fits well with it.. love how its really melodious at the beginning when the establishing shots appear at the beginning and gradually changes as the Trailer unfolds. I l

ike the way the capion flickers on the screen, very 'eerie' - The quotes/captions at the end are reali good, very conventional of a trailer, plus I love the way they flicker in Time with the sound. I l

ike the way the establishing shots pan and also really love the Mirror Shot. I also l

ike the way the shots towards the end Flash to the Tempo of the Music."

Audience Member #7:

"It is done very professionally."

Theory.

Film Noir Influences.

A significant of portion of the 1940s Stylisation of Film Noir drew strong influences from the German Style of Expressionism. It is known as a Visual Form which accentuates skewed angles and nightmare images. For Our Trailer we contemplated these ideas and drew influence from them for ourselves, utilising the styles and creating our own styles in our compositions as we felt the use of Nightmare Imagery would be appropriate for the Film Genre we were tackling.

The Graphic styling and Brutal Imagery portrayed within Film Noir were influenced by an Artist, a Photographer named WeeGee. Although we are creating a Trailer from within the Horror Variety, we did not want hugely Gruesome and Graphic imagery, we wanted styles which would Haunt the imagery into the Audiences Minds and frighten them yet want them to watch the Film, not to disgust them and drive them away from a viewing.

Chiaroscuro is an Art Form, it is heavily accentuated in Film Noir - it plays on hugely iconic and distinctive contrasts between Light and Dark to create bold adversity within a piece which significantly emphasises the piece of imagery being portrayed. We wanted to use this stylisation to influence elements of Our Trailer and Campaign for 'Intervention' as we thought it prove effective trying to involve iconic styles which could be conveyed for Our Target Audience. Within the Trailer itself Chiaroscuro is utilised in parts such as various shot compositions e.g. The Antagonists underneath the Glow of the Street Lamp towards the end of the Trailer - This plays strong Homage to Film Noir and this specific style through the contrasts of Shadows, The Darkness versus the Light and the Imagery itself. We wanted the Trailer to reflect the styles of Dark Imagery and Compositions from Film Noir as we thought it would be perfect for Our Sinister Themes being conveyed within it and also how the Dark Elements creative this Horrific Effect. Another element of the Promotion Campaign for the Film which plays Homage to the Film Noir Era is the Film Poster itself. The strong use of Shadows, the Black & White Style and the Shot composition play on this Old Style of 1940s Imagery in Our Own contemporary creation for accentuation to the Our Target Audience of the Present. Although, we did not want to rely on the Darkness to create the eerie atmosphere we are aiming to create as a large amount of Our Trailer goes against conventions, and we just wanted to use these styles as influences to make it our own.

Freytag's Theory.

Freytag's explanation for both Film and Play is that a piece is segregated into 5 sections (or for a Play, Acts) which consists of Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Dénouement, for some this is referred to as a Dramatic Arc. Not only can this theory can be applied to Film & Play but can also be related to a variety of Short Stories & Novels. All these Factors combined synergystically, if done correctly, will unite together to create an effective message portayal within it. After extensive Research into the Theory Itself I have applied this to my own Project.

Exposition

Within Our Trailer the elements which creates the Exposition begins with an Introduction to the Environment, specifically for ours it conveys Exterior Shots of the Church and Interior Shots of the Household through Establishing Shots. Un-conventionally our Trailer does not introduce us to the Antagonist, instead we just witness the Protagonist whom is at first seen as scared until the Dramatic Elements begin to unfold after we hear the "Door Banging" thumps, frightening the Audience. The conflict of Themes conveyed within the piece are not portrayed at the point of Exposition, the main plot becomes more aware for the Audience futher into the Rising Action section of the Dramatic Structure.

Rising Action

Usually, the Rising Action portrays the complications and obstructions in which the Protagonist of the Trailer comes to face as they try to progress further on within the piece in attempt to reach and achieve their objectives (Generally intercepted by the Anatonist). For this section of our Trailer this depicts the introduction of the Antagonists to the piece and how they begin to torture their victim, building tensions within the audience. Their reasons for doing this is unknown for the Audience which assists the Trailer in garnering attention and attraction to further induce them into viewing it.

Climax

Generally recognised as the moment in which there is a Dramatic Twist within the plot which illustrates a significant turn for the Protagonist, something that can inverse the objectives of the character. This can go one of 2 ways, very well (in their favour) or horribly wrong, either way this thickens the plot of the story ensues a more thrilling and intense moments within it, building momentum for the Trailer.

Falling Action

Usually, this is the Section of the Trailer where we see suspension between the Protagonist and Antagonist with moments becoming edgier and more intense, drawing closer to an ultimatum for the plot which has proven a challenge for both the main Characters within. This becomes the part of the Trailer where the survival of the Protagonist is doubted as the Antagonist draws closer and garners an advantage over the Protagonist (in the Case of Our Trailer, there is 2 Antagonists therefore proves that our Protagonist is at a disadvantage and will struggle to look out for both of them, further struggling to get away from them). Our Trailer specifically shows how resilent and unexpected our Antagonists are and there is no point which we are certain that the Protagonist is safe and secure, yet we are certain of how resilent, eerie, sneaky and unsuspecting the Antagonists are. At this point, the Trailer draws closer to a conclusion and creates this idea that the Protagonists fate is unknown, intreguing the Audience and causing tension.

Denouement (Resolution Or Catastrophe)

This applies to closing of the Trailer and how it comes to an end, comprising various questions to be asked, generally leaving its Audience reeling wanting to know how it ends, or what happens next, whether the Protagonist survives or not. Normally, for this specific section, the Trailer would emit a sense of a relief and release of all tensions and suspensions dealt with in the piece, but with the Horror Variety and Our Trailer speifically this does not occur, in fact the direct opposite happens. Tensions reach their peaks, Audiences are left frightened, phased yet wanted to know what will happen next as the fate of the Protagonist is left unknown, which is the factor that brings them back to Watch the Full-Length Feature. Although the Trailer is concluded, the Plot of the Story is not.

Advertisement.

The Movie Advertisement Conventions.

During the process of promotional development for a film, it is hugely important for USPs to be utilised. This is something in which convinces its target Audience to want to, in this case, go see the Film a company is advertising as opposed to other movies which are being released parallel to theirs. There are various elements which create a USP for a Film:

Promotional Posters, Magazine Covers, Websites, and the most important factor of the Film's advertisement, the Trailer itself. All of these elements compliment one another and are all utilised to create a successful campaign for a film and synergistically causing the "Word Of Mouth", spreading awareness of the film, and creating an impact on the Public. Although, not all campaigns are successful, sometimes they do not connect with the Public or even have a lack in advertising for the Film so it does not become a success.

A campaign generally works in stages, and they go as follows:

☆ The Promotional poster, this establishes the Genre and begins to build momentum & awareness of the Film.

The Most significant part of this type of Promotion is to create a 'Theme' and a symbolisation of the Film which reoccurs throughout the advertisement (Conventionally, a style of Font or a piece of Imagery which people can recognise the Film for).

This becomes iconic for the Movie and can be used in other aspects of the campaign (e.g. The Trailer, Magazine Cover or Website) to illuminate it for the public eye, becoming a symbolisation for the Film which makes it recognisable. International Release depends on whether the promotion for the Film changes or not so it relates to a larger audience, depending on the Area of Release.

☆ Ultimately, the Teaser Trailer and the Theatrical Trailer are created and released for Public exposure, building on the promotion campaign for the film and causing more people to become aware of the Film's release.

Throughout the process of creating our own teaser Trailer for Our Target Audience, we must create our advertisement campaign to parallel our Trailer. The campaign includes a Promotional Poster and a Magazine Cover.

For the Trailer we are creating it would be appropriate to release internationally so the Film would garner exposure from overseas Audiences, but Horror Films are not strongly received by a large amount of Audiences.

The Promotional Poster Development.

The Original Photograph which was taken during the filming process.

We created our First Cut of the Promotional Poster which detailed our idea for the Title of the Trailer which was "The Tormented" as it connoted to the story of the film (An young, innocent girl being intimidated and stalked by an unknown Antagonist). The Black & White effect connotes to a 1940s Noir Styled Poster, interlinking old Horror Styles into our Media Project.The light being projected behind the image of the Antagonist highlights and outlines the figure yet also slightly highlights the features of the mask to make them seem more intimidating as we cannot see their face. The image is a Screen Capture from some of the footage we had filmed and we felt that imagery worked as it was a in-sight shot from within the film to make it seem more realistic and not so entirely edited. Also, to give the audience a taster as to what happens within the film.

Before we made any finalisations for the Promotional Poster we considered ways in which we could improve the imagery and making it more effective on our Audience by not only criticising our own decisions but also receiving constructive Criticism from others, so we got more than two opinions.

Initially, the Title was finalised as The Tormented but after some discussion we decided that the Title seemed to be too typical and conventional of such a film within the Horror Genre. We had already concluded that we wanted to go against convention so removed "The" from it and change it to 'Torment'. After further questioning to get the Title of the film at its best it was thought that 'Torment' sounds too cliche and not as frightening because it was very conventional. We wanted the film to not only emit a horrific playout and scenario but also convey a Universal message to society that situations like this occur frequently throughout the world and it makes it more real as it is something which can happen. Ultimately, the Title therefore became 'Intervention'.

The Wording layout for the Tag-Line had to be re-worked as we thought it would not be as effective. Originally it was "Because once you find out, you won't forget..." but we came to the decision that this would be more effective if it was broken down into smaller captions. We loved the idea of "Won't Forget..." but instead was worked into a Statement-Stylised caption and became "Some people just do not forgive and forget."

The Production Credits positioned at the bottom of the poster worked well and gave it a more professional edge to it. But some of the information contained within it had to be changed due to the addition of the second Antagonist.

The Decision was to keep the Title Text of the Film Poster as the eerie stylings it emitted created a Horror Effect for the Trailer. Making it seem apart of the Horror Variety and accentuating to Audiences of its Dark Themes. As for the Tag-Line of the Film Poster we decided to keep the style of the text as the simplicity of it accentuated the Dark Tones as it is not urging itself onto the Audience yet is still visible through the Black and White contrast.

We made the decision to keep the main image as the lighting and the shadows complimented each other which worked well for the Horror Theme. Although the Protagonist is knelt down in front of the door 'Hiding' from the Antagonist as he has discovered her whereabouts. We wanted to lighten the image of the Woman without brightening the entire shot as it would not seem as realistic and would make the overall image too light to be a poster for a film within the Horror Genre.

☆ So, we had previously taking a picture of the exact same shot, as opposed to a Screen Capture which was significantly brighter than the shot from within the trailer. We was unable to utilise that image as it was too light and the shot composition was not as good as the Screen Capture, so we lasso round the image of the Protagonist on Photoshop and combined this with an identical, darkened capture to slightly enlighten the Female without brightening the entire image.

The Magazine Cover Development.

After finalising the Mainstream Promotional Poster for the Trailer we continued onto the next element of the campaign, which was the Magazine Cover.

As the Main imagery of the Poster was iconic for our Trailer and the Magazine which we are creating for the campaign is promoting the Film, it seemed appropriate to include elements of the Poster on the Cover itself so the Audience would recognise the Film e.g. The Title. Initially, we wanted to utilise previous images we had taken during the filming process as apart of the Advertisement to widen our imagery and promotion of the film. When it came down to creating the Cover itself these images were not as effective as the Mainstream Poster Image.

We re-positioned the Image of the Poster slightly to the Left, cutting some of the image but not ridding of a significant amount so it was unrecognisable. It allowed the Magazine to have a strong promotion of the Film as it used the Main Poster itself in its Advertisement, which raises awareness of the Film.

Distribution.

For the Distribution Factors of producing the Final Product, there is a hugely significant thought process and a large amount of Research needed to produce an effective campaign. There are drastic and huge decisions needed to be made though the Creative Process which consider the right elements for it to appeal to the Audience of choice. You have to take into consideration Casting, Costumes, Locations, Mise-En-Scene, Editing, and the right camera angles and compositions to illustrate the appropriate Themes, Tones and emotional intentions.

To Produce a Film which could potentially become a Box Office Smash there would have to be a mass promotion campaign for the film. Promotional Campaigns for the Promotional Poster would include advertisement within Cinemas, Bus Shelters, the sides of Busses and Billboards this would begin to gain momentum for the Film's release. This would prove profitable as it would to create a wave of Word of Mouth, this proving to be one of the most effective forms of advertisement.

Another effective form of Advertisement is through Social Networking Websites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Myspace etc.) placing and spanning multiple promotions for the film. This would prove effective as a huge majority of People utilise them daily and because of the Day & Age we live within Social Networking is massively significant as people want to stay in contact with others - It has become apart of a huge amount of Peoples Everyday Lifestyles so to spread adds throughout them would raise awareness of the Film.

For the Trailer itself it would be shown within commercials of Film screenings which fit the Horror Genre, to build its Target Audience and raising awareness of the Films release. Another proven effective form of advertisement is through Commercial Broadcasting for the Film, this would occur during which a hugely significant amount of the Target Audience would be watching Television, by doing this is would raise awareness of the Film more, but because of the Dark and Horrific Themes, it would placed within a later slot of the day, after 9pm.

Taking into consideration all the promotional elements for the Film and creating this campaign to make the project unique and memorable for its Audience, there would have to be signifiers for the Audience recognise the Film from others (USP). If well produced there would be factors which Assist the Audience in the recognisation of the film and making the Film more unique and differenciating from others e.g. The Imagery Presented, the Tag-Line or more significantly the Title stylisation. If all elements are proven successful and accomplished in a synergistic manner then all the elements will combine together to create a campaign which causes the Word Of Mouth element of the promotion to become huge and the Public would become more aware of the Films release.