Introduction

For my media project we have decided that we are going to make a horror trailer, we have watched films such as 'heartless' and 'The Omen' for ideas on how a horror trailer should be, and what bits should be shown on a trailer. We also practiced on making trailers by getting bits out of the film 'the omen' and then make it into a trailer. In this I will be telling you all about my progress through this project, such as research, the making of the trailer and the end result.

Research

Conventions of horror- Horror has many conventions which make it easily known as a horror, there are things like symbols. In horror films there is always many symbols to trigger a type of emotion, there are symbols such as religious symbols, devil symbols, hidden faces, monsters, blood and guts, skulls/ bones, red and black colours, disease, mental disabilities, cats, smoke and crows, these are all symbols which have alot of meanings which all relate to the horror genre depending on the situation. Locations in a horror are also very important, these usually consist of things like haunted houses, graveyards, forests, basements, cellar or attic, churches and sometimes schools, these are all iconic when it comes to representing a horror film. Lighting is also another thing which is important when making a horror film, dark colours and night time are the most commonly used, but there are also things like shadows, chiaroscura, fire, the moon and torches are all also commonly used, especially the moon. sound/music is usually what makes a horror film scary cause it plays with your emotions, things like opera, dark-rock, strings, wind, russles, growls, screams and high pitched noises and sounds are all things which can either let you know what it about to come, or it can trick you abit and give you something completely unexpected. Themes for horror films are always going to play a major part, isolation, suspense, supernatural, occult, vampire, zombie, werewolf, madness, phychos, slasher and science are all themes usually used in a horror film. Lastly characters, this is what essntially makes a horror film what it is, the characters are always easy to know and are usually very stereo typical, there is the bad guy/ villain who does the bad deeds, there are vampires, zombies, werewolves, murderers, spirits, ghosts and demons, these are alol what you would expect from horror films, and most of the time they are what you get. Then you have the victims, theres a main chracter, the good guy who knows whats going on and how to resolve the problem, then theres the guy or girl who doesnt believe the main character and ends up finding out the hard way, and lastly you have like a wise old man or woman who tells you about the urban legend or myth, or about the stories of when they encountered this evil being.

For my research I have looked at some posters that could give me ideas on how my poster will look like, or my magazine front cover for the horror film. I first looked at this poster of paranormal activity 2, this is a good example of a poster because it doesnt give anything away about the film, but leaves you in suspense, it makes you want to know what its about, the slogans are also good because its like giving you a warning to not watching it alone, it also is a good way of getting alot of people to watch it together. The colours are black and red which symbolises evil, blood, the devil religion, it all has a meaning. the fonts are slightly bent which gives it that slight effect that the film is slightly twisted and mind bending.

The second poster I looked at is the exorcism of emily rose, this poster is good for getting the audiences attention, it shows u a slight glimpse of what the film will include, but at the same time still keeps you wondering what it could possibly be about and what will happen, so it makes the audience look further into it, but this is also a good idea for a poster, its simple yet effective. The colours are white and grey because of the mist, this symbolises spirits and ghosts, and possibly possesion, this is also religious which signifies christianity and priests. The colour of the title and the fonts used show that its quite a sophisticated film but also quite bloody and dark, the slogans ''based on a true story'' this will get the audience more into it because they will be thinking that this actually happened in real life.

The third and final poster I looked at is the Rec 2 poster which i dound quite eye catching, this poster attracts attention thanks to its dark colours which at the same time are quite eye appaealing. The main colours used are red, black and white. these all symbolis what i have said about the posters above, it has red for religion, blood and the devil, it has black for the darkness, and lastly it has the white which signifies spirtits or demons. The slogan means ''Do you dare return'', which for the people who understand it it would get them interested about it. The fonts used add to the effect of the film being camera based, because it is a camera recording whats going on which is hand held, and that gives the audience more of an idea on what the film is about, so this is also a good idea for a poster.

Conventions of trailers

Trailers are always ways of giving out information to the public which will let them have a slight idea of what they are in for, trailers usually have information such as the title which is the name of the film, the release date, the reviews, the age rating, soundbites, the main characters (actors), the genre, narration, the institution and inter titles, these are all pieces of information that a trailer should essentially give to the audience.

The conventions of a trailer are that they should usually be 1-3 minutes long, they should have a release date, have hints of action, scenes of the film, logo, production credits, bits of review, flashing transitions and editing crescendos.

Film trailers I researched

The Grudge is the 2004 American remake of the Japanese film Ju-on: The Grudge, and the first horror film in the Ju-on series, Ju-on 1. The film is the first instalment in the American horror film series The Grudge. The film was released in North America on October 22, 2004 by Columbia Pictures, and is directed by Takashi Shimizu (director of the original series) while Stephen Susco scripted the remake. In the same tradition as the original series, the plot of the film is told through a non-linear sequence of events and includes several intersecting subplots.

The film has spawned two sequels: The Grudge 2 (which was released on October 13, 2006), and The Grudge 3 (which was released on May 12, 2009).

Synopsis

The Grudge describes a curse that is born when someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage or extreme sorrow. The curse gathers in the place where that person died. Those who encounter this murderous supernatural force die and the curse is reborn repeatedly, passed from victim to victim in an endless, growing chain of horror. The following events are explained in their actual order (which differs from the order shown on film).

The film opens on Dr. Peter Kirk (Bill Pullman), an American university professor in Tokyo, standing on his apartment balcony looking across the city. Inside, his wife Maria (Rosa Blasi) wakes up, sees him standing outside, and asks if something is wrong. Without any word or hesitation, he flings himself over the edge of the balcony. A crowd of horrified bystanders gathers around his crumpled body in the street. This is typical of the start of a horror film and already indicates that weird things have started happening.

Halloween is a 2007 American slasher film written, directed, and produced by Rob Zombie. The film is a remake/reimagining of the 1978 horror film of the same name, and the ninth film in the Halloween film series. The film stars Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Sam Loomis, Tyler Mane as the adult Michael Myers, and Scout Taylor-Compton as Laurie Strode; Daeg Faerch portrays a ten-year-old Michael Myers. Rob Zombie's "reimagining" follows the premise of John Carpenter's original, with Michael Myers stalking Laurie Strode and her friends on Halloween night. Zombie's film goes deeper into the character's psyche, trying to answer the question of what drove him to kill people, whereas in Carpenter's original film Michael did not have an explicit reason for killing.

Working from Carpenter's advice to "make [the film] his own", Zombie chose to develop the film as both a prequel and a remake, allowing for more original content than simply refilming the same scenes. Despite mostly negative reviews, the film, which cost $15 million to make, went on to gross $80,208,039 worldwide, making it the highest grossing film in the Halloween franchise in unadjusted U.S. dollars.

Synopsis

On Halloween in Haddonfield, Illinois, having already shown signs of psychopathic tendencies, ten-year-old Michael Myers murders a school bully named Wesley, later his own sister Judith, his mother’s boyfriend Ronnie, and Judith's boyfriend Steve. After one of the longest trials in the state’s history, Michael is found guilty of first degree murder and sent to Smith's Grove - Warren County Sanitarium under the care of child psychologist Dr. Samuel Loomis.

Michael initially cooperates with Dr. Loomis, claiming no memory of the killings; his mother, Deborah, visits him regularly. After a year, Michael becomes fixated on his paper mache masks, closing himself off from everyone, even his mother. When Michael kills a nurse as Deborah is leaving from one of her visits, she can no longer handle the situation and commits suicide. For the next fifteen years, Michael continues making his masks and not speaking to anyone. Dr. Loomis, having continued to treat Michael over the years, attempts to move on with his life and closes Michael’s case. Later, while being prepared for transfer to maximum security, Michael escapes Smith’s Grove, killing the sanitarium employees and a truck driver for his clothes, and heads to Haddonfield, On Halloween, and then the terror begins from there.

Paranormal Activity is a 2007 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Oren Peli. The film centers on a young couple, Katie and Micah, who are haunted by a supernatural presence in their home. It is presented in the style of "found footage," from a camera set up by the couple in an attempt to photograph what is haunting them.

Originally developed as an independent feature, the film was acquired by Paramount Pictures after representatives attending a screening were impressed by it. Paranormal Activity premiered at Screamfest Film Festival in North America on October 14, 2007, was shown at the Slamdance Film Festival on January 18, 2008, and screened at the 36th Annual Telluride Film Festival on September 6, 2009. It received a limited U.S. release on September 25, 2009 and nationwide release on October 16, 2009. The film earned nearly $108 million at the U.S. box office and $194 million worldwide. Paramount/DreamWorks acquired the U.S. rights for $350,000. It is one of the most profitable movies ever made, based on return on investment, although such figures are difficult to verify independently as this is likely to exclude marketing costs.

Synopsis

In 2006, Katie (played by Katie Featherston) and her boyfriend, Micah (Micah Sloat), are a young couple who recently moved into a two-story tract house in suburban San Diego, California. Katie claims that a ghostly presence has haunted her since her childhood and believes that it has followed her to their new home. She hires a psychic, Dr. Fredrichs (Mark Fredrichs), who assesses that she is being haunted not by a ghost, but by a demon. He says the demon feeds off negative energy, and its intent is to haunt and torment Katie no matter where she goes. Before leaving, he advises them not to taunt or communicate with the demon, and to contact demonologist Dr. Johann Abrams for help. Instead, each night, Micah mounts a video camera on a tripod in their bedroom to record any paranormal activity that might occur while they sleep in the hopes of solving the problem himself.

The camera manages to capture several supernatural phenomena which remain minor at first, including the bedroom door moving by itself, and the sound of rapid footsteps downstairs. As Micah consistently taunts the demon, the phenomena gradually grow worse, including loud bangs and strange noises reverberating from deep within the house. One night, Katie awakens to spend several hours standing by the bed staring at Micah while he sleeps before going outside to sit on the backyard swing. (Such long stretches of time, which occur several times in the film, are typically shown on screen in fast motion, as if the recording is being fast-forwarded.) Micah awakens and goes in search of her, but when he tries to convince her to come inside she refuses, her voice dreamlike and detached. When Micah goes inside to get her a blanket, he finds the TV turned on in the bedroom and is then startled by Katie, who has followed him inside but says that he woke her up. Micah shows Katie the recording in the morning, but she has no recollection of any of it, including the conversation they had at the swing. Katie, already irritated by Micah's flippant response to the situation, becomes irate when Micah brings home a Ouija board despite Dr. Fredrichs' warnings. While the two are out of the house, the Ouija board's planchette moves on its own and a small fire erupts on the board, extinguishing itself moments later. The next night, Micah sprinkles talcum powder in the hallway and when the couple is again awoken by noises, they find non-human footprints leading to the bedroom from the attic. In the attic, Micah finds a burnt photograph of a young Katie, which was previously thought to have been destroyed in an unexplained house fire.

The morning after a particularly intense haunting, a loud bang is heard and they discover the glass over a photo of them has been smashed with Micah's image scratched underneath. Dr. Abrams is abroad when Micah finally agrees to invite him, so Dr. Fredrichs comes instead. Upon his arrival, Dr. Fredrichs immediately has a sense of dread. He apologetically leaves despite their pleas for his help, stating that his presence is only making the demon angry, so then the action begins.

Trailers of the films i researched above: