Research & Planning: Film Magazine Covers

I have looked at different magazine front covers from Empire, Total Film and Sight & Sound. I have taken pictures from the internet to look and analyse even though some are not the same genre as what my trailer will be, I have looked at how these other films & genres have been highlighted on each magazine.
Each of them have different colour themes, fonts and images but this is to keep with the theme of what film is being advertised on the cover. The magazine title fonts stay the same all the time but the colours may differ depending on film and genre. Each have different features each time to make the magazine different and attract the audience. The images are each to do with whatever film is being shown and each image differs when it comes to the cinematography. Most images are medium close ups which is the norm for a magazine although a couple of others have long shots perhaps to show the character more or to show the costume of the character.

                                                                  Total Film

Empire

Sight & Sound

Research & Planning: Week Plan

My plan for the week is to:

• Look at different fonts for my film title.
• Look at other film magazines and how they are set out.
• Produce our audition poster.
• Research Crown Courts & Jury Services.

Research & Planning: Risk Assessments 2

This is our other risk assessment for Hyde Clarendon College and about the hazards that could take place and the solution for them.

This is our other risk assessment for the Crown Court where again we have taken the hazards into consideration and also the solutions of them.

Research & Planning: Risk Assessments

This is one of our risk assessments for the Crown Court in Manchester that we want to film a part of our trailer outside of.

 

This is the other risk assessment sheet that is for Hyde Clarendon college where we will be filming the majority of our teaser trailer.

Research & Planning: Location Recces

This is our location recces for both of our locations - Crown Court & Hyde Clarendon College.

We have taken the hazards of these locations into consideration as well as including our lighting, power, sound and shooting information. We have also included images of our locations and added extra details.

Research & Planning: Script

SCRIPT

VERDICT - NOTHING STAYS DEAD & BURIED

Scene 1 - Interior - Courtroom - Daytime

Judge - What is your verdict? Guilty or not guilty?

Jury Member - We have come to a decision.

Judge - Has the Jury come to a decision?

Scene 2 - Interior - Courtroom - Night time

Character 1 - Katy Leigh, was you murdered by Johnny Allman?

(Pause)

Character 2 - Is Johnny Allman guilty?

(Breeze drifts through the room)

Character 3 - Can you give us any sign that you're here?

Character 4 - I don't like this idea anymore.

(Lights flicker on and off, table shakes, cursor moves on board. Word 'yes' appears)

Character 5 - Katy if you're here can you tell us what happened on that night of the 08/08/08?

(Room jolts and character number 6's head slumps forward whilst her body shakes. Her head rises and her appearance has taken one of that is injured and her eyes are red)

Character 6 (Demonic Voice) - YES!

Scene 3 - Exterior - Outside Court - Daytime

Reporter - My name's Kevin Williams and we're here to discuss the fact that Johnny Allman may or may not be charged with the murder of young Katy Leigh.

Journalist - Hello my name's Dianne Wickham and I'm outside the Crown Court in Manchester where the case of Katy Leigh's murder trial has come to a horrific end.

Research & Planning: Shooting Schedule

This is the Shooting Schedule for our teaser trailer. 

Here we have worked out where we will be filming our trailer and we have put the addresses and telephone numbers down for where we will be filming. We have also said whether permission to film at these locations has been confirmed. We have even stated exact times that we will be filming. 

Research & Planning: Shot List

This is one of the Production Documents that I have done for Cinematography.

It is the Shot Type list showing all the different shot types that we will be using in our teaser trailer and I have also explained a bit why and when we will be using each shot.

Research & Planning: Week Plan

My plan for the week this week is:

• Start on Production documents - Location Recces, Risk Assessments, Shooting Schedule, Shot list
• Make a script for our teaser trailer

Research & Planning: Group Meeting 3

Last week we was a bit behind with production due to Nathan being ill and not being able to make it into college.

This week we are going to consider doing some of our auditions and also starting to make our audition poster. We will also be getting some production documents finished as well as finishing off our script for the teaser trailer.

Research & Planning: Cinema Research

For some further research I have looked at some local cinema listings and looked at which certificates were the most popular that were given to horror films. I looked at film listings from Cineworld, Odeon and Showcase. The certificates that are most likely to be given to horror films are 15 and 18. 15 films will be made for a more wider audience whereas 18 rated films will be a more limited audience but will be a lot more scary for the audience.

All of these films shown here have a 15 certificate, therefore they will not be as scary as 18 rated films and they have a wider target audience.

Research & Planning: Micro Elements

The micro elements that I am in charge of are Cinematography and Sound.
I have researched images, trailers and sounds that I have liked and thought would be useful when it comes to filming my own teaser trailer. I have looked at different shot types and sounds and thought about which ones would suit best with my genre and storyline.

Low angle shots

High angle shots

Close up

Medium close up

Long shot

Two shot

Point of view shot

This is a film trailer for the horror film 'White Noise'. This is a supernatural/possession style of horror film which is the same as what my style of horror film will be. There are some differences with this film and what I want to be showing for my teaser trailer. I have looked at this trailer though as I see this as a good film for its sound style. There were the uses of voiceovers to create a slightly narrative form for the audience and also it seems to be more directly addressed to the audience. There was also character speech at some point to show the audience teaser parts of the film itself and the audience could also see some of the characters. These may be used for a slightly more eerie affect. Also there is the use of what is said to be real sound footage of a person beyond the grave communicating through electronics. This creates a shocking effect for the audience as it is more realistic as the footage is from actual real life. This itself makes the film seem more scary.

Research & Planning: Publication Plan for Film Magazine

Publication Plan on Prezi

This is my Publication Plan for my film magazine. I have included things such as my magazine title, positioning statement and price on here as well as mentioning the regular and featured content. I have also mentioned the distribution, frequency of publication and the rationale to say what the aims of my film magazine are. 

Research & Planning: Magazine Slug Line Ideas

I have been thinking of some ideas for my film magazine slug line and these are some of the ideas that I have come up with:

• For the bigger picture
• Bringing the silver screen to you
• Bringing you the silver screen
• Your movie muse
• For film fanatics

I personally like 'For the bigger picture' and 'Bringing the silver screen to you' as they sound more professional and interesting.

Research & Planning: Film Magazine title ideas

After drawing my two drafts for my film magazine and making a plan of the week I decided to come up with some ideas for my film magazine title. I tried to relate the names to media language and relate it to film, cinema and movie. Here are some of my title ideas...

• Silver Screen
• Cinematic
• Movie Mayhem
• Film Fanatic
• Big Screen
• Motion Picture

I personally like the title Cinematic as I think it sounds more professional then the others and it is one word alone which is similar to a lot of magazines out there.

Research & Planning: Week Plan

My plan for the week will be:

• To complete items for production documents
• Consider starting our auditions
• Make-up tests
• Test shots of our location

Research & Planning: Magazine Front Cover Drafts

Here are my drafts for my film magazine front cover that I will be producing soon. I have made two different ones keeping some things similar but changing other things. I will compare these and see which one I think will work best for my magazine. I may even take ideas from each of them and put them together.

Codes and Conventions:
- Image to attract audience

- Barcode, date and issue number to make it look like a professional magazine

- Website to make it seem more official

- Masthead so people know what the magazine is

- Slug line to attract the audience and again, make the magazine recognisable

- Other features added to show what else will be in the magazine

- 3 colour theme to make it look professional

- If the magazine is a special edition this needs to be shown on the magazine for the audience to see

Research & Planning: Influences

Here are a few trailers of possession/supernatural horror films that I have chosen to put on this post to show my influences for wanting to choose to do this kind of horror film. The storylines are similar to what me and my partner are doing for out trailer. I also like the cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound and editing techniques in all of these trailers.

Research & Planning: History of Sight & Sound Magazine

Sight & Sound is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). The magazine was first published in 1932 and in 1934 management of the magazine was handed to the BFI, which still publishes the magazine today. In 1991 it merged with another BFI publication, the Monthly Film Bulletin.  The magazine was edited by Gavin Lambert from 1949 to 1955. From 1956 to 1990 it was edited by Penelope Houston. It is currently edited by Nick James.

Research & Planning: History of Total Film Magazine

Total Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year which is once every four weeks. It is published by Future Publishing. The magazine was first launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and also features. Guest editors have included Peter Jackson, Kevin Smith, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Each month, Total Film provides a range of features from full-length interviews and photo shoots with up-and-coming actors and directors. Editions of Total Film are released in many countries like Turkey, Russia, Serbia, Croatia, Indonesia, and many others.

Research & Planning: History of Empire Magazine

Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. The first ever issue was in July 1989. The magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer Consumer Media purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008. It is the biggest selling film magazine in Britain. As well as film news, previews and reviews, Empire has some unique regular features.

Research & Planning: Magazine Front Cover Analysis

Empire - The Shining

You can tell that this is a magazine due to the masthead 'Empire' which is a well known film magazine and there is also the main article title 'The Shining'. A barcode, date and price is also included to show that is a professional magazine. This is a special edition magazine as it doesn't include its usual slug line. Instead it says 'The 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time.' Other articles are included too to show that it is a professional magazine. '100 Covers To Choose From' is an example of this. These grab the readers attention and make them want to read the magazine. 

The genre is seen as clear because we can see that it is a horror film being shown on the front cover. The Shining is a well known horror film too so people will know the genre when they see the image. The colours are kept to the three colour theme like most professional magazines do and this makes this magazine looks professional as the three colours are black, brown and pink. They are dark colours too to represent the horror genre.

The narrative could be assumed by the audience that the main character shown on the cover could be a murderer as his facial expression is showing some amusement about what he has done. 

There is only one character shown on the cover so this could be showing the protagonist to the audience. The character on the front is representing the villain character type and the audience can see this due to his facial expression where he is looking evil but happy that perhaps he has found his victims. The setting cannot be fully seen but the audience can see that he has his head through a door that looks as if it has been broken into. This shows to the audience that the character is representing the villain and it also gives a clue that the genre is a horror.

The target audience will be people around the ages 25-40 or anyone out of that age loop who may be interested in this magazine could be horror fans or big film fans. People who are interested in older horror films may also take an interest in this magazine because The Shining is the image on the cover and that is a well known older horror film. 

The image on the front cover is the same as the image on the DVD cover for The Shining. This could have been done as the image will be recognisable to the audience and would attract them to the magazine. A close up has been used to show the protagonists face and highlight his amusement. "I'm not gonna hurt ya, I'm just gonna bash your brains in!" This is something added onto the magazine which is a line from the film itself. People who have seen the film will know what that is about but even if people haven't seen the film then they can easily assume that the line is taken from the film. This line also again shows the horror genre and gives an idea of the narrative.

Research & Planning: Magazine Front Cover Analysis

 Sight And Sound: The Exorcist

You can tell that this is a magazine due to the masthead 'Sight And Sound' and the title of the main article 'The Exorcist Returns'. This also shows the genre and shows that it is a horror because of the film included on there as the film The Exorcist is a very well known horror film. There is also the barcode to show that it is a proper magazine with a date and price included. The title of the main article and the masthead are in a different colour t the background, this could be to make them stand out more to its audience.  This magazine seems to be a special edition as it has been kept more simple than then other 'Sight And Sound' films. No slug line is even included on this magazine.

The image is kept fairly simple and shows that the narrative is a horror as the image is of the front cover of The Exorcist film. The title of the main article could show the narrative to its audience as people could think that it is about another Exorcist film or that it could have been remastered as it is an old film or it could be for the fact that it may be viewed on television. 

There is only one character shown on the cover so this could lead the audience to think that he is representing the protagonist. The colours are kept dark apart from the masthead and article title to make them stand out. The image itself is black and white just like the DVD cover of The Exorcist. This shows the genre is a horror as the colours are kept dark and simple. The character could be representing the good character that will help solve the problems that happen in the film.

The target audience for Sight And Sound magazine would be 25-50. It could be other people out of that age range too but that would be if they was a big film fan and had a big interest in film. This magazine is for a more academic audience which is why the age range would go up to around 50 for its target audience. People who are interested in horror films specifically might also take an interest in this specific issue. 

The image is a long shot when it comes to the cinematography element of the magazine. It shows the location of the house which the girl possessed lives and it shows the vicar standing outside her house. The lighting looks low key but it is also in black and white. The lighting will be low key to illustrate the genre of the film and show it is a horror.

Research & Planning: Codes & Conventions of a Film Magazine

This is a post to highlight the codes & conventions of a film magazine.

• Masthead
• Main article title
• Slug line
• Image
• Other article titles
• Brief information on each article
• Barcode
• Price
• Date
• Website
• Additional information eg. 'Based on a true story'

Research & Planning: Horror Films at the Cinema

As a part of my research I am going to look at what horror films are on at the cinema and see how many horrors are being shown at the time coming up towards christmas. This is good research for me as then I can consider the release date that will be included on my trailer and poster and I can see when horror films are usually released.

The horror films on at the cinema at the moment.

• Paranormal Activity 3
• Contagion
• Demons Never Die
• Apollo 18
• The Awakening
• Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

This shows that a fair few horror films are released around Halloween time and maybe a bit later. Horror films usually begin to fade out of being at the cinema around christmas time as usually family films are shown and are released around then.

Research & Planning: Upcoming Horror Films

Using an app that is available on Blackberry phones, I went onto Flixster which is an app that tells you about all the films that are currently out at the cinema and films that will be released and the dates in which they will be released. I have looked at this app to see which upcoming horror films there will be and what dates they will be released around.

• Piranha 3DD (November 23rd 2011)
• Dream House (November 25th 2011)
• The Thing (December 2nd 2011)
• The Darkest Hour (January 13th 2012)
• The Woman In Black (February 10th 2012)
• Dark Shadows (May 11th 2012)

This list of horror films continues onto the year 2012 too and shows only a fair few being released. However, there may be other horror films being released amongst these times that may not be available to view on Flixster.

Research & Planning: Week Plan

This is my plan for this upcoming week:

• Decide on a film title idea
• Drafts of poster
• Analyse two different film posters
• Codes and conventions of a film poster
• Discuss the micro-elements that I am in charge of
• Research cinematography and sound

Research & Planning: Film Poster Drafts

 Here are my two film poser drafts that I have designed for my film. I have tried different titles to see which one sounds and looks better as I have kept the same tag line on each one. Cast and crew information has been included on each as well as the additional information of the film being based on a true story. I have tried to make the posters look like an Ouija Board to keep with the theme and plot of my film. On one of the posters, possibly the second one, I could have used some characters on there showing their faces in the background.

Research & Planning: New Treatment

Me & Nathan have changed our film plot slightly therefore we have decided to make a new treatment to show what our teaser trailer will now be like.

• MPAA logo appears first.
• Studio name/animation will appear next which we have called Static Pictures.
• Distribution logo will then come on next.
• Soundtrack begins  which is slow and tense.
• Extreme close up of the possessed character. The eyes are shown all bloodshot.
• Zooms out to a close up of the possessed character showing how ragged she looks.
• Fade to black will then happen here.
• Soundtrack music stops.
• Dialogue begins of the court judge 
• Close up of Judge saying "Guilty or not guilty?"
• There is then a pan edit transition around the courtroom to show the setting to the audience. It also shows the Judge, Jury and Defendant. 
• Jump cut to the next shot to show the fast pace.
• Soundtrack begins again this time all fast and disjointed.
• Birds eye view shot of one member of the Jury dead.
• Jump cut then to the next scene.
• Two shot of two members of the Jury together showing them injured and trapped.
• Next there is another jump cut to the next shot.
• Long over the shoulder shot of several characters running down a corridor and showing the back of the possessed characters head stalking them.
• Again, there is a jump cut to show the fast paced continuity to the next shot.
• Long shot of the possessed character stood in the courtroom. 
• Jump cut to next scene again.
• Burred and disjointed shot of the protagonist becoming possessed.
• Jump cut to next shot.
• Close up of the Ouija Board that then zooms out and pans into a 360 degree circle around the jury members sat around the Ouija Board and the camera is going higher each time turning into a birds eye view shot.
• Soundtrack ends with a sudden stop. 
• Birds eye view shot continues showing the members of the Jury asking the Ouija Board if the defendant is guilty or not guilty.
• Jump cut to next scene.
• Establishing long shot of the outside of the Court to show the location to the audience.
• Fades to black
• Sound of low pitch music.
• Title - Verdict is shown with a voice over.
• Release date is then shown after the title with a voice over again. 

Research & Planning: Final Slugline

Me and Nathan have come to a decision about the slugline for our film 'Verdict' We have come up with a few ideas but have decided on the slugline 'Nothing Stays Dead and Buried' We have chosen this because it relates to the plot well and in the fact that it could be about the victim as well as the actual case itself. It fits in well with the horror genre too due to the words 'dead' and 'buried'.

Research & Planning: Slugline Ideas

Now that me and Nathan have decided our film title we need to think of a slugline that relates to the title and the film.

• Guilty or Not Guilty?
• Has The Jury Come to a Decision?
• What Will They Decide?
• A Decision From Beyond The Grave
• Nothing Stays Dead and Buried

Research & Planning: Final Film Title

Me and Nathan have now decided what our film for our teaser trailer will be called. We have decided to call it 'Verdict' because it is only one word so it is simple yet effective, it makes sense when it comes to our plot and relates well to our plot. It also sounds interesting so it could grab the audiences attention easily and make them want to see the film. It creates tension as the words after this are 'Guilty or not guilty?"

Research & Planning: New Film Title Ideas

Me & Nathan have heard about a case from a student in our class who also studies law and we have decided to change our storyline so we have thought of some new title names to fit with our storyline.

• Verdict
• Ouija Vs Defendant
• Ouija
• The Jury
• The Case
• Court Case

Research & Planning: New Plot

Me and Nathan have recently spoken to a law student and found out about a certain story that would link to our original teaser trailer plot. The law student told us about a recent story that he got taught in his lesson and me and Nathan decided that we liked the idea and we thought that it would be a good idea that we could use this story and base our trailer on the true story. 

It is still similar with the possession storyline but it now is a more interesting storyline than our last one. The possession will still be the main feature of our trailer. The story is about a court case that the Jury decided upon the verdict by using an Ouija Board. Me and Nathan are now using this in our storyline. The main is still possessed whilst using the Ouija Board to decide upon the decision guilty or not guilty.

Research & Planning: Film Title Ideas

For mine and Nathan's film trailer we have to think of the title for our film. We discussed this with the class and these are some of the ideas we have come up with:

• Game Over
• Mind Games
• Ouija 
• Captivated
• Trapped
• Taken
• The Forgotton Ones

Research & Planning: Film Poster Analysis

The medium long shot shows the main protagonist. She is the only visible character on the poster. The shot shows the back of the character so the audience do not directly see the main characters face although we can tell she is a female.
The colour of the poster has a grey tinge that gives us the sense of the genre as the darker colours show that it is a horror.
From the image and the title we can get a sense of the narrative that it is about an exorcism and the girl in the image could be Emily Rose.
The mise-en-scene element of costume is again very typical of possession films as the character is wearing a white gown just like the characters do in The Exorcist and An American Haunting. The white gown could be to show the innocence of the girls but the fact that the gowns then look dirty could show that a darker spirit is taking them over leaving them not innocent.
The location makes the poster look eerie and gives the narrative a more horror sense to it. The tagline just says 'Based on a true story' which makes the film seem more scary for the audience as they know that the events of the film are real. The audience will be teenagers mainly as they watch horror films mostly.
You can tell that it is a film poster through the cast and crew information using the steeltongs font. There is also the date of which the film was released and the website is included at the bottom of the poster.

Research & Planning: Film Poster Analysis

A medium close up shows the protagonist. As she is the only visible character on the poster we get a sense that she is the main character.
The dark colours being used on the poster show that it is a dark horror film that creates the atmosphere so it gives us a sense of the genre. The font used also gives the audience that sense that it is a horror as it has a gothic look to it.
From the image of the girl we get a sense of the narrative and from her position we get the idea that she may be possessed and that her body is being taken over by some sort of force. As the image shows, the protagonist is only a young girl which creates more fear for the audience. The audience would mainly be teenagers as the main character looks more of their age group and teenagers are most likely to watch horror films.
The tagline 'Possession knows no bounds' gives a sense of the narrative and genre as it shows the basic storyline of the film to its audience so they know the plot is about possession which is what the image shows.
The mise-en-scene is kept fairly simple as the girl seems to be wearing a white gown which is typical of possession films and could have a link to the film The Exorcist where the girl in that film also wore a white gown.
You can tell that this is a film poster through the use of the cast and crew information at the bottom with the steeltongs font and it also shows the stars names at the top.

Research & Planning: Codes & Conventions of a Film Poster

This is a post to highlight the codes & conventions of a film poster.

• Title of the film
• Tagline
• Release date
• Reviews
• Cast and Crew information
• Company name
• Distribution company
• Image
• Film certicate
• Website

Research & Planning: Foreign/English Horror

Two films that I have watched fairly recently are Let Me In and Let The Right One In.
Let The Right One In is the original of the two films and it is a Swedish film which includes english subtitles. Let Me In is the more recent remake of the original which is an American film.

Let The Right One In is a 2008 Swedish film which was based on a novel of the same name. It got positive feedback off its audience and critics and it recieved awards from all over. Including the Critical Consensus Award, the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film and the Founders Award for the Best Narrative Feature. The film was also ranked #15 in Empire Magazine's 2010 list of "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema"

Let Me In was the 2010 American remake of the Swedish Let The Right One In. However, directer Matt Reeves promoted the film as being a new take on the original film and novel which he was critisised for as it was said the newer film was too similar to the Swedish version. The plot is very similar with only a few differences including the name changes of the characters. The film was #5 among the ten lowest-grossing releases of 2010 from major studios. This film still received some positive feedback as horror author Stephen King wrote "Let Me In is a genre-busting triumph. Not just a horror film, but the best American horror film in the last 20 years." The film also won awards such as the Golden Tomato Award for Best Horror and the Scream Award for Best Horror Movie.

This research has been interesting for me as I have seen that remakes of horror films can be positive but can at times have negative points. It is also interesting to find out how other countries perceive horror films and how well they do in other countries. Let The Right One In has shown that horror films do really well in foreign languages as well as horror films that are of the English language.

Research & Planning: Halloween Films

During Halloween I researched the different horror films that were being shown on television. These are some of the ones that I saw were on TV during Halloween:

• Halloween (1978)
• Halloween 6: The Curse Of Michael Myers (1995)
• Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
• Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning (2000)
• Ginger Snaps: Unleashed (2004)
• Friday The 13th (2009)
• Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
• Night Of The Demons (2010)
• Soroity Row (2009)
• The Final Destination (2009)
• Scream (1996)
• Scream 2 (1997)
• Scream 3 (2000)
• The Fourth Kind (2009)
• Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)

These films were featured during the whole Halloween weekend not only on terrestrial channels such as BBC1 & ITV1 but on Sky Movies like Sky Movies Premiere and Sky Movies Sci-fi/Horror channels.

It also shows that it doesn't matter how old the horror films are, they are always being shown on the television, especially on Halloween.