Production Targets

You should be evidencing more of your journey at this important stage! Your group has been on such a fantastic journey this year and your efforts are bearing fruit.  Make sure you are video blogging production choices and stages to evidence your progress - plus this will help you in the run up to the exam in order to be able to reflect on your technical choices.

Target audience on Chosen Genre

We decided to base our film trailer on thriller/horror. The target audience for horror films are generally based on people aged 18+ as it includes violence and aggressive language. By researching films with the same genre as my film trailer, we are able to see who our main target audience is and who we should specifically be aiming our film trailer at. One of the first films that we decided to researched about was Taken 3. This is because it fits into the thriller genre that we have in our film trailer. by looking at table, i have found that the percentage of males that watched the film was 53% and the women was 47% and so there is not as big a difference to what I thought there would be. This shows that we could aim our film trailer at both male and females as it would appeal to them both. The table also tells me that the age range for this type of film would be 15-24 years old, which fits in with our film trailer as our film is going to be rated 15. This may be because the main character is suggested to be a male character which is played by Liam Neeson, who happens to be a well known actor.

 The second film that we had decided to look at was Silent Hill which is based on the horror genre. With this film we found that the percentage of women that watched it was slightly higher than the men's as it was 51% and the men's is 49%. Although this is only a slight difference it suggests that women enjoy this particular genre more than men. This may also be suggested as the main character is suggested to be a female and so they may feel as if they could relate to her mood and emotion. 

By doing this research, it has helped me to recognize and understand what genre of film appeals to a particular gender and so I am able to base my film trailer to engage a specific target audience. 

Actors Description

Charlotte Weston 

The reason we have chosen Charlotte Weston to play our main role as the vulnerable young adult in our trailer is due to her experience in the drama industry as she has attended theatre school since she was seven years old; has achieved grade 6 in her music and drama exams. Playing lead role in Annie, Hairspray and Cats this infers that she has the confidence to be put up in front of a camera and perform a fantastic performance. This then implies that her acting will be much more advanced, overall making our trailer look more professional.

Jack Jennings:

We have chosen Jack to play our antagonist in our trailer. He attended Brit School and came out to achieve a job in lighting. He works in the drama industry, but does lighting, setting and sound for performances. Due to him being reasonably tall as he is 22 we decided that this will make our trailer look more professional as we do have an adult for our antagonist compared to a boy our age.

Sarafina:
Sarafina. who plays the role as a young girl in a middle class family, showing her life is all well and happy, before taking the turn for the worse, juxtaposing to the older actress Charlotte Weston who represents a young frightened girl who has nobody. Sarafina currently takes drama at her school as well as attending an outside drama club. She has taken part in acting in plays such as Wizards of Oz and Snow White. She is 9 years old but we found she had a lot of confidence when performing due to experience in front of audiences.

Online Tutorials for our Trailer

The victim, played by Charlotte Weston will need to have a natural but feminine look as she is at home, expecting a quiet and normal night in. Therefore, I have looked at natural make up tutorials that will allow me to achieve a look most suitable for our character. The products we are mostly like to use is foundation, powder and blusher to give her that glow. We aren't too focused on the lips or eyes as again, we just want it to look natural. For her hair we would like to incorporate the plait, this could be successful as it may remind the audience of a young girl adding to her vulnerability.

 

 

 

 

For our antagonist, I found this tutorial was the most useful however we wouldn't want to copy everything as our antagonist is a male. From this tutorial I found that the effects of shadowing would be effective in our trailer as that is what the antagonist will be displayed as. Throughout our trailer the antagonist is only shown in dark and is contained as a mystery throughout to add enigmas for the audience. This has given us the idea to use dark eye shadows such a grey and black to contour the face to add shadow and depth into it. 

Representation and stereotyping in our film

In our two minute trailer we followed the representation and stereotyping in our film by following the conventions of a horror. For example, we have incorporated the character of a vulnerable girl who moves into a house that is on sale that no one has lived in for years. This is stereotypical as the audience can put themselves in the characters shoes and know that they would not move into a house that hasn't been sold for years in an abandoned street. This adds tension to the fact that we know something bad is about to happen. However, the girl is portrayed as 'stupid', a representation of young girls in horrors as she is oblivious to the danger and her surroundings. There is also an antagonist, who is displayed as a dark figure and sneaks into her house. When she hears a noise and goes upstairs this is where it shows the girl to be stupid which is a representation for girls in horror movies to be. This then frustrates the audience and puts them on the edge of their seat. The antagonist is a man, which again is a representation as men are displayed as dangerous and threatening towards younger girls, therefore this can make the audience feel even more tense. This is because men are known to be strong and dominant compared to a weak girl that us, as the audience, feel we need to protect. 

 

The setting we then chose was a house; when we show the house in the trailer it is going to be shown when it is pitch black outside to create more of a creepy and frightening atmosphere, which is stereotypical for a horror. We aren't incorporating the representations such as a haunted house, demons, etc as we want this horror movie to be quite realistic so the audience can put themselves in that situation to add to the thrill and scare of the trailer. I believe this is successful as it will make it much more mysterious and frightening compared to the supernatural. The house is also intriguing as everybody is meant to feel safe and secure in their own loving home, however the way we portray the character and the home we can see that she is far from safe.

Last House on The Left - Poster

 The only bright colour that is on the poster is the bright red which makes it stand out to the target audience more. Considering it is only the word 'House' That is written in red suggests that it is the main object of action within the film. The colour red gives the connotations of danger and blood/violence which instantly tells the audience that it is a horror film. 

The dark background reflects the mood of the film which is dark and mysterious, which visually informs the audience that it is a horror film. Also the mist in the background create a sense of mystery for the target audience but also builds a spooky but questionable atmosphere around the image of the house.

There is a glow around the back of the house showing a contrast between the dark background and the brightness of the house but is also marking its importance to make it stand out from the rest of the poster. 

The tagline is positioned right below the main image of the poster which makes it eye catching for the audience to see, ensuring that they do not miss it when they are looking at the poster. It makes direct reference to the film but also gives a small insight to the plot and what the film is about or what we as the audience can expect from the poster. 

Genre conventions in chosen film trailer

The genre that we chose to base our film trailer on is thriller/horror. This is because we were intrigued of the way we could play around with different ideas that fit into these two genres. One of the main characteristics that are featured in a thriller based film is the antagonist having a hidden identity. This catches the audiences attention in which typically would make them want to go and watch the film when it is released. Typically, the antagonist goes out for revenge from a past event that has taken place that maybe the audience do not know of. However, we are not going to give away too much of what the antagonist is up to or why he is presented in the way that he is within the film trailer. The conventions of an antagonist in a horror film would be male and would have a dark shadow being filmed which is done to inform the audience of awareness and danger. We are going to be using this when creating our film trailer as we are going to have a male character dressed in black clothing and we are going to use some shots of his outline or his shadow to create suspicion for the target audience. 

The typical age certificate for a horror film would be 15-18 as it typically contains strong language and acts of violence that is not suitable for younger children. We have decided to make our film trailer a 15 as slight violent acts may be suggested in the film trailer and strong language may be used. This will make the audience recognise the genre of the film and what type of audience it is particularly aimed at.

The setting for a typical horror would be somewhere dark such as a abandoned house where there suggests isolation from people around. This could be somewhere in the middle of nowhere or somewhere that has a dark past or background behind it. The location for a thriller film is somewhere that the audience are aware of what the theme is. This could be somewhere that starts of calm such as a normal family home, making it as close to reality as possible, helping the audience to connect with what is happening in the trailer. Thinking of this, we have decided to have the main setting in a home where there is suggested to have dark secrets that is up for sale for a cheap price. This may also allow the audience to relate to the film trailer as they may think about how they may feel in a similar situation that could happen to them at some point in their lives.

Shots that are typically used in thriller based films are quick cut shots that are fast paced in some areas which are also quite catching in a horror based film. This will allow us to create our trailer in this way and so out target audience are able to understand what theme the film trailer fits into. The conventions of both of these two types of genres is that they use a range of different shots such as long shots and extreme close ups to create atmosphere and tension for the audience, making it more exciting for them to watch.