Horror Typographies

 

I have researched fonts, which were specifically for horror. We did this to get an idea of what kind of fonts we would potentially see in our horror campaigns. Some represented sub-genres for example, grunge or zombie horrors. Whereas others were more commercial and serious which relates perfectly to what I wanted for my final product on poster, trailer and magazine page. I researched these fonts from DaFont.com and from there searched for a range of fonts which appealed to me. I used the title 'promiscuous ghosts' as this was a possible idea that I've been considering for the horror idea. Horror movies have a particular typography in posters, text in trailers,and all campignes as they have developed a general recognition throughout time. This requires a certain type of font such as the ones previously reseached.

Horror Distributors

Some distribution companies specialize in prominently horror movies and focus on the P&A (Prints and advertising) for particularly horror movies.


Main horror distributors:

1. http://www.hammerfilms.com/
2. www.arrow.com
   
3. www.braindamagefilms.com/

These distributing companies provide P&A for niche markets and bigger producers. Some films are just straight for DVD release.

 film value chains are how a profit is made by films in the UK industry this can be by screening it in theaters, selling it to DVD'S, selling it to SKY ect. The british film market doesn't make a huge amount of profits in comparison to USA companies. 

 

Voice Overs

Voice over - A piece of narration in a movie or broadcast, not accompanied by an image of the speaker.

In some film trailers, Voiceovers can be a very significant aspect. Voiceovers are often dipicted by the genre of the movie, for example, a serious documentry film is highly unlikley to have a voice over on the trailer as it is more suited for fiction type genres.

Functions of a Voiceover.

• Voice overs can reinforce the title of the film
• Helps us make sence of the narrative by giving the target audience background information
• Informs us about the Main characters
• Showcases the stars in the film
• Informs audience about production and producing comanies (directors especially)
• Builds a sence of anticipation 
• Sets the tone for a film
• Summarise the storyline for the narrative

Conventions of a voiceover

• Usually a males voice
• American accent
• Deep typical tone
• Exaggerated and stressed words i.e. the film title
• Different tones for different genres
• Often authoritative
• In unison with music and often words on the screen 

An important aspect of Voice overs is that they work in conjunction with what is playing on the screen and help set a scene and mood.

 Here are some examples of film trailers with Voiceovers:

Honey 2

All of these trailers have many things in common. For example they are all non-fiction genres and are for a younger niche audience. This can justify the use of voiceovers.Voice overs can set the mood of the film as mellow and not serious/tense. Voiceovers fail to build tension within a movie as the sound non-digetic.

 In this trailer it gives us information regarding production companies and other essential components towards the film. In this instance it shows the 'Universal Pictures' and the  mentioning of  the music featured in the film (in Honey 2 this includes La Roux, Estelle and Far East Movement.

 The voice over adds/builds a sense of anticipation about the film, having an exciting and upbeat tone to their voice, and in honey 2 the voice over suits the mode of address, i.e. teens. It exaggerates on the main character, inviting you to 'join in' when the voice over states, "When the battle begins, go every step of the way", setting an exciting tone which is encouraging people to see the film. The upbeat ton especially relates to the pace and atmostphere of the movie itself. This may have an effect on the audience which would inform them, adds a sense of anticipation to make them want to see the movie even more which is highley influenced by the cast and music.

It reinforces the title of the film, and in this case says it in the end, to be a lot more likely to remember the title later this is to lure the audience to remember the movie. The build-up which led up to the title sets the excitement for the release of the film, encouraging people to see it.

Here are some more trailers which use voiceovers as a narrative or an reinforcement of the movie

The karate Kid

The Smufs

Here is a useful video of voiceovers and how they work:

Distribution Information

Without distriubution companies, film production wouldnt exsist. All potential production work has to have a distribution company assigned to them to pay for things such as mainly P&A (production & advertisment) which are two of the most important elements to distibution of a film or any form of media.

What is acquisition?

• Acquisition is asset or object bought or obtained. In media distributing company’s acquisition is an act of purchasing, so the distribution companies buy/obtain the film production of the producers. 
• A third-party sales agent, acting on behalf of a producer

• A continuous flow of new content from a parent studio

• A studio or production company with whom the distributor has negotiated an output deal covering a slate of titles

• A single title acquired at any stage before, during or after production

Major distributors

1.      Major distributors are companies such as Columbia pictures, Paramount pictures ect... these types of companies tend to have acquisition over the major film directors with big cast in

Independent distributors

2.      An independent film, or indie film, is a film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly outside of major film studios. The term also refers to art films which differ noticeably from most mass marketed films. In addition to being produced by independent production companies, independent films are often produced and/or distributed by subsidiaries of major studios. In order to be considered independent, less than half of a film's financing should come from a major studio.

Marketability

3.      A measure of the ability of a security to be bought and sold. If there is an active marketplace for a security, it has good marketability. Marketability is similar to liquidity, except that liquidity implies that the value of the security is preserved, whereas marketability simply indicates that the security can be bought and sold easily. This has the potential of being sold and becoming popular to have marketability

Playability

4.   Playability means something which is capable of or suitable for being played or played on and has the potential.

5.      -The ideal time for a distribution deal to be in place would be when the film is not yet produced or filmed in any way as the distribution companies can help out and set a budget for the film.

6.   -The UK film council can often get involved in filming production. The national lottery also can sometimes fund UK film productions.

7.     - Ticket sales generate more money for films in the UK than home entertainment market.

8.    -A Distribution plan is a mutual fund's plan to charge distribution costs such as advertising to the investors of the fund. This includes where to distribute the money for example, £100,000 on billboard advertisements, £20,000 on magazine advertisements ect...

9.    -The BBFC (British board of film classification) is in charge of awarding film classification certificates. It is A highly expert and experienced regulator of the moving image (especially film, video/DVD and video games), and also a service provider for new and developing media.

10 This is a digram showing the outcomes of strategies of distribution ect...

This is a distribution cost graph which shows what exactly P&A will include and print prices depending on the budget and the publicity of the film potentially.

Horror Poster Photo Editing

In order to create a Horror based image, textures and editing are required. We experimented with this on Photoshop with secondary images and different textures provided by websites.
This is the before image...

I figured i would choose an image of a close-up female with pale eyes so i could edit it and manipulate the colours which would allow it to stand out on the textures.

This is the After image... 

With this image, I only added one layer of texture which was originally a photo of leaves and earth. 

I placed this image over the original one and adjusted the saturation of the image to enhance the colours. I then chose an effect called "Burnt light" which made it look as though the leaves were on fire and had been illuminated. I then rubbed out the effect which was still on the background, I erased all of the effect everywhere apart from her face, neck and body. I also erased the effect from her eyes and lips which allowed them to stand out and look extremely abnormal hence the genre; horror. 

2)

This is another image before it has been edited. I have purposefully selected to choose an image of a female with luminous eyes as they will stand out on the textures I created

Before

This is the image after it had been edited. I had added 2 textures to this one and blended them in together by using the brush tool an setting them to different types. for example i changed both layers in to 'soft-light' as it brings the original image out and you are still able to see the shapes of her face

 After

These are the two textures i used to edit the picture. The finished product now looks abstract and scary. It looks as though her face is cracked through the rust.

Structure of Film Trailers (Todorov's theory)

The structure of a Film usually follows the traditional Todorov's theory. This includes a rather cliche approach to films of all genres which seem to follow the same pattern and the same narrative state. 

1. A State of equilibrium at the beginning, where setting and script is balanced and all is neutral.
2. A disruption of equilibrium by some form of action or surprise out of the ordinary which makes the setting then uncomfortable and unbalanced.
3. A recognition by a character(s) that there has been a disruption and moods are unsettled.
4. An attempt to repair the situation/prevent the disruption from going and further.
5. A re-installment of the equilibrium and things usually turn out okay and the situation is fine again.

However, of course, Todorov's theory doesn't usually occur in film trailers to the fullest as film trailers do not show the ending/conclusion. however the theory is somewhat outlined in Tomboy. The following steps follow Todorov's steps however in unison to the film trailer. 

1. An equilibrium; two young children playing harmlessly 
2. The main character moving into a new environment and seeming quite unsettled and unsure about his surroundings.
3. The recognition; another young child sees the main character 'Mikeal' going to the toilet in the woods, however bending down clarifying he is not a male after all but is a female.
4. Reparation; the mother of Mikeal comforts her son
5. situation ends up being resolved and Mikeal is neautral again as things begin to get better

Tomboy is using the outline of Todorov theory.

The usual trailer structure and lack of resolution  creates a great sense of tension and suspense for the potential viewers and allows them to really want to watch the whole movie which is the whole point of film trailers.

Functions/Codes and conventions of a film trailer

 

Conventions of a Film Trailer:
A trailer will attract an audience into watching the full film.
Sets the genre of the film and creates a feel for the setting
Suggestion of the storyline
Introduces some of the main characters
Draws the interest of the audience by displaying attention grabbing footage.
Made up of quickly paced clips
Slowly builds from beginning to an exciting end.
Usually contain graphics like the film title and opening dates.
May include music and voice over.

Annotated Examples Of Film Trailers

Limitless

Limitless is a hybrid genre of mystery, sci-fi and thriller. It is a 2011 Neil Burger movie.

Features of this film trailer

1. Montage; this film trailer uses a number of snapshots to create the outline of the plot of the movie
2. Quotes of Bradley Cooper (main actor) aimed at the audience (rehtorical questions)
3. Production company logo at the very begining
4. Fastpace
5. popular Kanye West sountrack
6. Special editing effects
7. Title flashes at the end
8. Release date also at the very end

 Uses and gratification theory can be applied to this trailer. It can be described as a form of diversion as the story-line involves the main character Bradley Cooper who can do the unimaginable by taking a pill. This would give audiences an escape from the realities of their lives  as it is pure fiction and  . It allows the viewer to gratify  Personal identity within their viewing of the movie as they can share companionship between the main characters messed up empty life and then full rich happy life. This can create sociable discussions between groups of people. This is simply Companionship through media i.e. "everybody's talking about it".

Toy Story 3

Toy story 3 is a complete different film genre; Adventure Animation. It has a mixed target audience as it is generally Child friendly however adults watch it aswell as it is extremley popular.

Features of this film trailer

1. Famous walt disney production company as the first image
2. Brightly coloured
3. Toy story recognisable typography
4. snippets of recording to explain what is on screen
5. Humerous bits of the movie signifying target audience
6. Slowpace
7. Release date and credits at the end

Uses and gratification can be applied to this trailer. It is simply an act of diversion as it is fiction. Escapism of daily lifestyles which usually works within positive programmes such as this one. Toy story is one of the most popular pixar movies which is a complete stimulus for conversation. very few people dislike toy story even of all ages. It is humorous and is a memorable icon for movies and rarely goes out of fashion.

Functions and codes & conventions of a film trailer

Introduction to A2 Media studies breif

This year, simularly to last year, we will also be doing a lot of coursework which will be worth 50% of our A2 overall grade. Our task is to launch a film promotion package. This includes a website homepage for the film, a film magazine front cover, or a film poster and a teaser trailer which requires a lot of planning and production. Our audience target for the film is teenagers aged 15-25 and most importantly the genre of this is Horror. As we go along all of out  planning and research will be posted on our blogs untill the final finished drafts are produced.

Film posters & links to uses and gratification

Having studied film posters this term, it is apparent that certain
forms and conventions are applied. 

 The Uses and Gratifications theory look at the idea that the media audience make active use of what the media has to offer. There are 4 main components which are the audiences needs, which are met by the media in one aspect or another, and the 4 main reasons are:

1. Diversion: A form of escape from everyday pressures, and a release from everyday life.
2. Personal Relationships: A companionship is gained through the identification with the TV character. There is also a sociability factor through discussing the TV events amongst others.
3. Personal Identity: Where the person is able to compare their own life with the TV characters/situations occurring, which then leads to individual problems and perspectives.
4. Surveillance - Information about current events and what is occurring in the world.

 This is also known as DaPPS.

The codes and conventions of this horror film poster can link significantly to the uses an gratifications theory as that is the prime element of film posters; to imply the target audience, give insights of the narrative, Depict  which of the 4 categories of gratification it is. this film poster is implying the title of the movie as someone is dragging a young girl downwards, assumably to hell. The target audience seems like Young-middle aged adults from looking at the straight serious typography. Gratification would probably be diversion/distractions purley a movie for the uses of horror movies.

Insidious is a very modern horror movie which made many veiws.

A large title which attracts the eye, bold colours which stand out
from the background, intriguing picture which would attract viewers to
the film, persuasive language which might persuade the viewers to go
and see the film, using the main character's name for promotion, and
the certification will either to ensure that the right type of people
are watching the film. Lighting colour and tone effect the atmosphere dramatically in this case, low key lighting is dominant and uses an important media effect called chairoscuro which is an italian term for when dark shadows and minimal are used to create atmostpheres and effects.

The Uses and gratification for this film seems to be a more prominently male audience. This can easily  be assumed as the font is stencil-like and sharp.  the colors and effects on the images also implies that it can be aimed at males. this gratification may be a mixture between diversity and surveillance as this seems more of a serious non fiction horror.

Horror Film poster analysis.

Here are a number of film posters which have been analysed ruling out the codes and conventions & features allocated on horror posters.

Sub-genres

Within horror genres, there are also sub-genres. A Sub-genre is A subcategory within a particular genre. for example, horror in a general genre, a sub-genre of Horror can be:

• Aliens infuse this subgenre with relentless troublemaking. Interstitial with 'science fiction,' the source of terror is another planet, whose inhabitants are encountered there, or travel to our Earth, if not both. For example 'Alien V Predator'
  
• Dark Fantasy is an interstitial subgenre, and its stories generally feature human evil and strife, rather than supernatural monsters. For example, 'Jeepers Creepers'
• Erotic horror contains a strong sexual element. In this subgenre the sex can be explict, but it's often far from pleasurable. for example, the movie 'Teeth'
• Hauntings subgenre tales feature exactly this. Often the persistant ghost is a specific individual, somehow connected to the building or protagonist. The (supposedly true) novel and film The Amityville Horror are famous examples. 
• Holocaust tales involve mass deaths, whether during the horrific 20th century event of that name; or involving a similar tragedy, past or future. Those deaths might be due to human slaughter, or from a plague or monsters.

• Supernatural (demons, zombies, etc.) 
  These stories focus on various types of monster from 'beyond,' persistantly ruining the lives of a suffering humanity. Often the setting is an isolated village, where the protagonist becomes stranded. For example the exorcist 

• Slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife oraxe. Although the term "slasher" may be used as a generic term for any horror movie involving graphic acts of murder, the slasher as a genre has its own set of characteristics which set it apart from related genres like the splatter film. For example, Chucky which is a huge famous slasher movie which is worldwide considering its grusome.

Annotated codes and conventions; Limitless.

Limitless is a action film released in 2011. It is about a male whos life is turned around by taking pills which miraculously make him outstandingly smart and he can talk his way around anything or get the job he wants due to his outstanding knowledge and sudden talents. the fact that this is fictional is shown through the conventions of the film poster.

The poster uses the usual conventions of a film poster which are pointed out and annotated above. The poster includes some special effects such as the blurr of the city lights which are shown to convey a fastpace living relating to the city they are in (new york) and the males lifestyle change. Already, some clues about the movie are being revealed. 

The features it uses are listed and annotated around the poster 

Features elaborated

• Credits publushed along the top in a orderly fashion naming the significant characters of the movie. This is a signal to the audience to introduce them to the characters in the movie and hopefully lure them in to see it.
• The depiction of themes used in the poster is dedicated to the conventions of the movie itself. It is depicting urban modern speed which the poster is presenting. A modern city in USA in an urban development with a fast pace lifestyle. this can show a lot about the movie and the characters withtin to the audience.
• Not every film poster includes a strapline however this one does, this gives the audience an insight of the actual storyline however also a memorable quote which can relate to audiences lifestyles also "everything is possible, when you have an open mind".
• The film title has the largest font so it dominates the whole poster and is recognisable.