Audience & Institutional Research

Target Audience

Pearlanddean.com
Examples of similar trailers of horror films to mine. I looked on pearlanddean.com for similar films to my horror film trailer. This was for me to see what kind of audiences i can have for the kind of horror film that I am making. This will provide me with the details that will make it easier. I will also be able to have brief information on which gender is likely to watch my film and the bbfc of my horror film.
 
Sorority Row



Genre(s):  Horror
Director: Stewart Hendler
Film cast:  Briana Evigan , Rumer Wills, Jamie Chung, Audria Patridge, Carrie Fisher
Certificate:  15
Distributor: E1 Films
Running time:  101 Minutes
Families focus: 15-24
Gender-Male: 15-24 Female: 15-24
Culture 25+ ABC1
Similar to The Crazies


The Crazies



Age- 15-34 mainly the 15-24
similar to The Crazies
Gender-males 53% females 47%
Genre(s): Horror
Director:  Breck Eisner
Film cast:  Danielle Panabaker, Joe Anderson , Radha Mitchell, Timothy Olyphant
Certificate:  15
Distributor: Paramount
Running time:  101 Minutes


Cabin Fever



Age-15-24 59%, 25-34 27%, 35-44 9%, 45+ 5%
Gender: Male-60% Female-40%
Class- AB 28%, C1 36%, C2 20%, DE 16%
Genre(s):  Horror
Director: Eli Roth
Film cast:  Jordan Ladd, James Debello, Rider Strong, Joey Kern, Cerina Vincent
Certificate:  15
Distributor:  Lions Gate UK Ltd
Running time:  94 Minutes

Below is an copy of the questionnaire that i used when i was doing my audience research to have an insight on what people like to see in horror trailers and what they like in horror trailers.

Questionnaire

Trailer questionnaire

1. What do you think makes a good horror film?

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2. What do you think would be a good way to make a film scary?

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3. How much in the trailer do you want the voice over to tell you?

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4. Do you want the background music to be constant throughout the teaser trailer or to cut in and out?

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5. What information do you feel is necessary at the end of the film?

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6. What do you think is the most important factor in a good film trailer?

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7. What horror film trailers do you believe are good examples in making a horror trailer?
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My results show me that the majority of the respondents are male between the ages of 15 and 31 this indicates that I should make a teaser trailer that would appeal to this demographic. The results also show that the genre of trailer I should make is between comedy and horror; I have decided to create a horror film teaser trailer as I personally prefer the genre.

The teaser trailer will be roughly 30 seconds long as this follows the conventions of a real teaser trailer and this was the preferred time frame from my questionnaire. The results also show that I should have strong heavy non copyrighted music in the background for my trailer, my teaser trailer will also be fast paced and with action scenes.

Also looking at the similar horror film from pearl&dean.com, i discovered that most of my audience will likely be male from the age of 15 to 31. it starts from 15 because this is my limit for my target audience so will will be certificated 15 by BBFC due to the similarity it has with the above films from pearl&dean.com. 

Institutional Research

My Production Company (Trouble Pictures)

As I was creating our own film institution, I wanted to have the perfect name that would represent my film in a good way. The fact that ‘Trouble’ is an advantage for because it is a word that resembles problems which is something that is common in horror films. Trouble Pictures is also a catchy company name that will be easy to remember therefore gaining a good audience who will remember the the name easily.
Above shows the style font i chose to represent as my institution’s/company's logo. I chose it because it looks spooky and distorted and damaged like something that happens to people in horror films. this means that it ideology that i was creating for my institution.

Film Distributors (Horror)

I did some research into different film companies that distribute films to help me decide which one I will choose to be the distributor of my film through my company Trouble Pictures

New Line Cinema


New Line Cinema, often simply known as New Line, is one of the major American film studios. It was founded in 1967, and although it initially began as an independent film studio, it became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996. New Line Cinema operated several divisions, including theatrical distribution, marketing, home video, and was a partner in new (and relatively short-lived) distribution company called Picturehouse.

Miramax Films




Miramax Films is an art house/independent film production company that both produced and distributed films including foreign films with over its 31-year history.


Columbia Pictures




Columbia Pictures a film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment. It is one of the leading film companies in the world, a member of the so-called Big Six. It was one of the so-called Little Three among the eight major film studios of Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Rogue Pictures




In 2004, Rogue Pictures was launched as a label under Universal-owned Focus Features, with the label's goal being "high-quality suspense, action, thriller and urban features with mainstream appeal and franchise potential". In 2005, Universal expanded the operations of Rogue Pictures so it would become a stand-alone division. Rogue Pictures's new goal was to distribute 10 films annually. Toward the end of the year, Universal and Rogue signed a deal with the newly formed production company Intrepid Pictures to produce, co-finance, and distribute films

Universal Studios



Studios (sometimes called Universal City Studios or Universal for short), is one of the six major American movie studios. Its main motion picture production/distribution arm is called Universal Pictures.

Chosen Distributor

The distributor that I have chosen to use is Universal Pictures as it is a well known distributor as it is one of the major American film studios. I have chosen this company to distribute my company’s Trouble Pictures horror film The Watcher which i have produced. I also chose this distributor because although it distributes and different genres of films, it has distributed quite a lot of successful horror films such as The Unborn, Drag Me to Hell and Dead Silence etc. This shows that this distributor has a good knowledge of horror films which will be an advantage to the distribution of my film.

BBFC Rating

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-government organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom. It has a statutory requirement to classify videos, DVDs and some video games under the Video Recordings Act 2010. The BBFC currently issues the following certificates. The category logos were introduced in December 2002, replacing the previous ones that had been in place since 1985.

Symbol Name Definition/Notes


All ages admitted, there is nothing unsuitable for children.
Parental Guidance General viewing, but certain scenes may be unsuitable for children under 8.


This means the film may be unsuitable for under 12s. Those aged under 12 are only admitted if accompanied by an adult at all times during the performance (cinema only).


Suitable only for those aged 12 and over.
No-one younger than 12 can rent or buy a 12 rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game.



15 means only for those aged 15 and over.
Nobody younger than 15 can see a 15 film in a cinema. No-one younger than 15 can rent or buy a 15 rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game.


Suitable only for adults.
Nobody younger than 18 may see an 18 film in a cinema.
No-one younger than 18 can rent or buy an 18 rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game.


Restricted For adults only.
May only be shown at licensed cinemas or sold at adult film shops, and only to people aged 18 or over.
My Films/Trailer’s BBFC Rating

Looking at the age certifications chart above from the BBFC classification, my film is rated at 15. i believe this because it does not have any sexual scenes however it contains a quite a number of violent scenes which makes it a 15. I also say that is classified a 15 because i looked at similar films to mine during my research and discovered that most of them are classified at 15 which is why i chose mine to be a 15.

Above is the 

Magazine Front Cover Analysis

For my research i had to analyse three magazine covers and look at their different conventions shown on these covers.

below are three magazine front covers that I analysed

Batman:The dark Knight Magazine cover Analysis

Ironman 2 Magazine front cover

Hellboy 2 Magazine Cover Analysis

Poster Analysis

Poster Analysis

Below are 3 poster analyses from 3 different horror movies. I will be looking at how they are laid down, how the characters are portrayed and what other features draw in audiences.

Friday The 13th

Above the analysis of Friday the 13th poster.

The Exorcist



The poster design for The Exorcist contains several important semiotic elements. The most obvious of these is the extreme contrast between light and dark elements of design
In this poster, through a coded visual language that arranges significant elements into a coherent and meaningful whole. This process of visual coding is understood as semiotics. We learn through experience to understand these codes.
The poster design for The Exorcist contains several important semiotic elements. The most obvious of these is the extreme contrast between light and dark elements of design. In art, these exaggerated contrasts are designated by the term chiaroscuro. This is the device by which the relative contrast between light and shade is used to give dynamic form to the objects in the picture. Inevitably, the art of shadows has always been understood as morally symbolic.
So, the poster locates the film precisely within a tradition of American cinema and also within the wider tradition of moral narratives that simplify everything into black and white. These implicit references to the moral landscape of chiaroscuro are further heightened by the use within the poster design of old-fashioned street furniture. The street lamp and the railings conjure up a powerful, and slightly disturbing, sense of decrepitude.
It's easy to forget that until recently our cities were full of private spaces and dark recesses. The sodium-glow of access-all-areas modernity has developed as a consequence of 24/7 consumer culture.
The hat, coat and bag combo, worn by the protagonist, distinguishes this quasi-medical professional as belonging to an earlier age.

Above is the analysis of the Hatchet poster.

Evaluation

During the evaluation of the horror posters I noticed that the main conventions of the horror film poster genre are that the edges of the posters are darker than the centre of the poster were the main characters or thing is featured. This can be seen especially strongly in the Friday the 13th and Hatchet posters. this is a convention i am going to be adding to my poster when doing the ancillary task.
Another convention I have noticed is the colour and size of the text,this in almost all of the film posters I have analysed is a dark red colour which a colour related to blood which is especially prominent in the horror film genre. This is also another convention that I will be adding to my poster. the title of the films are also written in very large fonts making them stand out from the rest of the text. i will also be adding this to my poster.

All posters also have tag lines which draw in audiences for example in the 'The Exorcist' it says /the most terrifying movie of all time', this draws in audiences because they might really what to know why this movie is the most terrifying of all time.
Another convention that i notice in the analysis of these posters is that at the bottom of each poster it shows the production credits that narrates the stars in the film, director (s), producer etc, i will be adding this in the creation of my poster. 

Trailer Analysis

Film Trailer Analysis

Fast and the Furious 4 TRAILER

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement

In this sequence there is use of a lot of tracking shots due to the moving cars a few of close ups and a lot of mid shots and and a few long shots and Pans. it also has a few zoom ins. it does close ups on the characters in the film mainly the main characters to give us the views an ideal of who is in the film.

Sound

At the beginning it has with  diejetic sound car skidding then non diejetic sound (then music instrumental) and a beat of dialogue from the characters of the films. However there is still diejetic sounds of cars crashing skidding at the same time as the non-diejetic sounds (music)plays

Editing

This trailer has scenes that are 2 sec cut and some longer but no more than 3-4 seconds. It also has a few pans and whip pans.  

Mise en Scene

Beginning road and cars then different scenes in different areas(deserts, club and car garages. at the beginning the first scenes of the trailer are shown in day light were the weather is sunny and clear. however the trailer has a mixture of day and night.

Characters

Vin Diesel (Main character)

Paul Walker (2nd main character)

Michelle Rodriguez (supporting actress)

Jordana Brewster(supporting actress)

Locations

Dominican republic border road then different locations in the next half the trailer. In this trailer there are lot of locations which include deserts, inside clubs, residential areas and town.

Narrative/Plot

Trailer opens with a crew hijacking a fuel tank then the next half of the trailer there is a man hunt. The man hunt comes after a member of the crew is murdered then one of the members hunts for the murderer David Park. An officer’s search of a drug lord leads him to David Park who is also been hunted for murder. then the two team up (the officer and the crew member. 

Themes

Streetcar Racing and hijacking and Drug trafficking 

Visual Style

the graphics are high quality and modern as well the picture more like HD version.

Genre

This trailer has a lot of action in it so its more of an action and thriller film.

BELOW IS THE TRAILER OF FAST & THE FURIOUS 4

Freddy Vs. Jason

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement

Starts with close up shots of the main characters Jason and freddy. Then a combination of mid shots and wide shots. the camera are placed on the right side of most of the characters in the trailer.

Sound

The trailer starts with non diegetic sound bells while the written words show.Then there is diegetic sound of a girl saying “warn your friends, warn everyone.suddenly after her speech more non diegetic sound of music at fast tempo starts to play with a few diegetic sounds, a few dialogues, knife sounds, screams and fighting.

Editing

This trailer has fast editing that is limited to a max of 3 sec cut for the longest picture but most of the pictures are 1 or so.

Mise en Scene

unpopulated lakeside, dark creepy cottages, maize land, panicking characters(scared), running around, Night time

Characters

Freddy Krueger- the a disfigured dream stalker who uses a glove armed with razors to kill children and teenagers in their dreams, which ultimately results in their death in the real world. 

Jason Voorhees- the masked killer who stalks and kills his victims.

Kelly Rowland- victim of freddy Vs Jason

Monica Keena- also a victim of freddy Vs Jason

Locations

lake side, cottages, laboratory 

Narrative/Plot

A deep voice that says the name of the film (Freddy Vs Jason) at the end of the trailer.

Themes

Stalking and killing of teenagers

Visual Style

Genre

Horror

BELOW IS THE FREDDY Vs JASON TRAILER

Seed of Chucky

Camera Shot/Angle/Movement

Wide sot showing the entire living room then the camera;a tracking shot going up stairs in a point of view angle. then an attack on a man that picks up the point of view character. then the rest of the trailer has mid shots and two extreme close ups of the main characters eyes chucky and glen as well as Tiffany Tilly. there is also a shot reverse shot between a short exchange of words between Chuck and Glen.

Sound

It start with non diegetic sound of thunder, a vibrating sound made by drums. This trailer has a lot of diegetic dialogue in it as well as non-diegetic sound of music composed of drums, violins then the last 30 sec there is non diegetic sound of hip hop music. 

Editing

This trailer sequence has 2 seconds max between each cut

Mise en Scene

Starts inside a mansion then the rest of the scenes in the trailer are outside the mansion, press podiums, and streets as well as 

Characters

Charles lee “chucky” Ray the main character (scared doll)

Glen Tilly Ray wife of chucky the main characters wife (doll)

and Jennifer Tilly as Tiffany Tilly (the dolls victim)

Locations

Mansion, film studio and in a road during the last scene of the trailer. 

Narrative/Plot-A mans deep voice saying what happened in the last film and what to expect in this film trailer as well as the release date of the movie.

Themes

Visual Style

Genre

Horror 

BELOW IS THE TRAILER OF SEED OF CHUCKY

Textual Research & Planning

For my research and planning i will be looking and three different horror trailers from to pick out conventions which i will use as guidance to my final horror trailer. I will also look at two different posters and magazine covers and analyse them individually. 

Trailers

I am going to look at three trailers from Fast and the Furious 4, Freddy Vs Jason and Seed of Chucky. for the creation of my teaser trailer i will produce a questionnaire that i will give to different people to find out want they think a horror trailer should be like etc. i will also produce a script and a story board which i will use for the making of my teaser trailer.

Magazine Cover

As with the trailers i will again look at 2 different film magazine covers from Empire. I am going to look at the conventions used for the designing and laying out and then i will create my own magazine front cover for my horror film.

Poster

I will also analyse two horror posters. I will be looking at how they are a designed and structured so that i will be able to produce one for my horror trailer that i will use as my final product.

Website

Finally i will create a website homepage for my horror film. to make sure that i do a good home cover i will look at how major films have done their website home-pages and from there i will create a unique one for my horror film.

A2 Media Studies Brief

A promotion package for my new horror film. This package will include a teaser trailer accompanied by one of the following:

• A website (homepage)
• A magazine cover (front cover that will show the film title and an image of the film)
• A poster for the horror film.

I personally have chosen to do the trailer accompanied by a magazine front cover and the website homepage.