research

What is the target audience for horror films? 

The target audience for horror films would have to have a strong heart as the norm for horror films are shocks, surprises and suspense. The audience for horror films would also have to be not easily distressed or disturbed as in many horror films including my own there could be distressing scenes that could cause psychological harm to those who are not ready or do not enjoy this genre of movie. Of course the audience also has to be older especially for the film trailers I looked at and my own one as the BBFC, the company in charge of giving movies their certificate ratings says if there is horror meant for a child it must be mild peril and there must be a good positive resolution to it in the end. Therefore true horror films have to be for an older audience as in a lot of the horror situations there is not a positive resolution especially when characters die which is majority of the time. As well as this the target audience obviously must enjoy being frightened, made to jump, being in suspense and open to being shown disturbing scenes or situations, as many of today’s horror films are getting more imaginative as to how to “punish” their victims and to scare the audience in ways they would not expect, which is what being scared is all about. 

Production Company

When looking at different production companies to produce my film I wanted one that had a lot of experience in production films with a horror genre, so that they could use their experience from other films to benefit mine. A really good company I found was Hammerfilms which had produced numerous horror films in the past and was their speciality; however all the films they produced were very long ago and they haven’t done a recent one. I therefore disregarded this company as it would not be as experienced with newer film production techniques as some. So I chose to use Twisted Pictures the company who produced “Saw”, showing they can use all the latest production techniques and think of new innovative ways to show present the film. This company also produced “Childs Play” a film I looked great depth in to and gave me inspiration for my trailer therefore making it similar and adding to my reasons for choosing “Twisted Pictures” as my film production company.   

Stephen King’s IT Trailer

The name of the film is told to us at the end, like majority of other film trailers so that the title of the film sticks in your head last and you remember it. But the title of this film is said twice once by putting it on screen and the other an actual scene from the film in which “IT” is written in blood on a wall giving it more chance of being remembered as it is not the usual way a title of a film is presented.

We are not told who is starring in the film all we are told is that it was written by Stephen King who many people are a fan of and would see the film because he wrote, so there is no need to try and attract people by promoting and well known actor and there will be some who the trailer has persuaded to see it because the film is by Stephen King. 

The action shown in the trailer is majority thriller as it shows the actions made between the clown and the characters trying to avoid it. However they show hoe demonic the clown is in a lot of the scenes used and there fore it can be said that all the scenes are thriller/horror action meant to take the interest and catch the eye of those who enjoy this genre.

The speed of the scenes shown in this trailer are the same speed they would be shown in the film, however the trailer shows many of the high pace action/horror type scenes such as the people screaming and the clown dragging the boy down the street drain and so the trailer itself can be considered high pace. This could have been done to just show the audience what they can expect if they go to see this film and to show them the pace it will be at so that those who do not like or do like this type of speed can react accordingly to the trailer. 

The speed of the scenes say the same, however the first scene showed is a little girl playing and then a clown appears and the scenes after are all the horror scenes where all action happens so the pace of the trailer changes to faster livelier pace. This probably reflects the style the film is shown as I imagine it would have slower scenes to build up the tension and then faster action scenes to realise that tension in a scene with a lot happening. 

There is not much information given by the trailer about the film other the fact that it is about a demonic clown that torments different people in a number of different ways for example coming out of the drain while the man was in the bath. Of course we are also given an idea of the type pf genre the film is just by the style of the scenes shown throughout the trailer and the way there characters are presented, even the way the title is presented at the end all point towards what type of film this is.   

This trailer is aimed at those who want to see a horror/ thriller film due to the scenes shown, which are the thriller scenes which majority young children would not like and of course an older audience would probably not be affected the same way, this is probably 15+ maybe 18+ depending on the way the clown disposes of the characters. This trailer is also not aimed towards those with a phobia of clowns and this would obviously be a film and even a trailer they would not want to see due to the fact that a clown is the main agonist throughout the trailer and movie. On the other hand though this trailer is aimed at those who enjoy Stephen King and his work as it comes up with his name when the trailer shows the title. 

 

Nightmare on elm street poster

The image shown in the poster tries to convey a mood of fear and suspense as it shows the main villain of the film looming over a woman who the audience can tell from her face is terrified. It is also trying to get the audience to see this is going to be a film full of anxiety and a film full of suspense. The colour scheme of the poster is very bold with a mixture of dark colours, the black and bright colours to really show the contrast and details of the villain. The colours they have used, black orange and red also really get the idea across that this is a horror film as they are typical horror as black for darkness and red for blood. It also suggests that the film is going to be very intense as the colours it uses are presented and the image of the villain stalking the young girl is intense as well. The image shown on the poster is also intended to “tease” those who enjoyed the first set “Nightmare On Elm Street” movies and it teases them by showing the main character is back but he is silhouetted possibly suggesting that he has a new look or that something is different about him. This could make some people go see the movie so as to cure their peaked curiosity to see if this villain is the one they remember from the older films past.

There is no mention of those who star in the films and the only face that is shown is not really shown clearly because of the dark colours. This posters main selling point and the thing they are trying to promote is the villain as this film is a re-make and the original had a very large following and the main character, the villain was extremely well known so they are promoting the fact that he is back in it rather then the quality of the stars of the film. 

The tagline on the poster states “he knows where you sleep” showing the audience that this film will have something to sleeping and possibly dreams. This also gives that impression that the villain in this is somehow super powerful and he is a supernatural being which brings in the audience of those who enjoy superpowers or weird things in the films they watch. 

The attention gained by this poster is different ways depending which of the audience this poster appeals to is looking at it. Those who are a fan of the previous movies will feel excitement and pleased to see that the films they loved are being remade and possibly improved. However the style of the poster with the colours the way the characters are presented on the poster, the villain looming over the victim would entice those who are looking for a suspenseful horror film as it is quite obvious this is the genre of movie due to its slightly frightening tagline the colour of blood and darkness used and the history of the “Nightmare On Elm Street” films before this one.

Stephen King's IT poster

The images shown on this poster convey a number of different ideas and emotions on to the audience. As the pictures at the bottom of the screen show the actors but no names this shows that the poster wants you to focus on the images of them and possibly think about whether there is a relationship between these people and to speculate what it is. There is also the main image on the poster and that is of the clown which is usually a cheery figure in society who brings comedy, however the clown is rather demonic in this image making this a kind of oxymoron. It also gives a clear image of the antagonist of them film which may take away from the suspense but it contributes as it grabs the attention of those who see the clown character and are quite interested by it. Also it looks like on the poster that the clown has ripped his way on to it with his green demon hands like he is trying to get out of the poster and trying to get to you, involving the audience in the poster and makes it a bit different to other posters so it will stick in the audiences mind as something out of the ordinary. The clown is the main colour on this poster emphasising that he is the main item of focus on this poster and the main attraction of the movie. The white background could also symbolise innocence and the clown is ripping it apart and taking its place. 

There is no mention of the people who are staring in this film, however Stephen King the author is mentioned and he is very well known and has a quite a large following of fans so the poster could be trying to attract those fans in to seeing the movie. The poster wants the audience to focus mainly on the clown and the movie title which is presented in red on a white background to make it really stand out and also to possibly insinuate that this will be a bloody gory film was the only word in red is “IT” who is the antagonist. 

The tagline says “the master of horror unleashes everything you were ever afraid of” which really heightens and highlights the clown is very skilled in the horror workings. It also promotes the idea that this film has a very high horror level as they promote their villain being the master of it, this use of language excites the audience that want to watch the film because of its horror genre. The tagline also suggest that there is going to be some phobia exploiting as it states everything you were ever afraid of, of course this film is already playing on phobias as there are those who are afraid of clowns. However this uses of language would also excite those looking for a really terrifying film and possibly appeal to the audience of those who are really picky with their horror films as it suggest that this film is offering a bit of everything in the horror department. 

This poster uses both visual and verbal to entice and excite their audience. They uses subtle promises of master horror to catch the attention of the hardcore horror enthusiasts and it uses the visual to catch the attention of those who are maybe not as fussy about their films, as the visual is very eye catching and it seems to offer something different with a rather unusual choice of antagonist. 

Drag me to hell poster

The image used on this poster is supposed to be very eye cathcing and to peak the audineces intrest and there is a lot on the poster to catch a variety of peoples eyes, as it shows demon hands taking a attractive woman down to hell. The woman screaming is the biggest image on the poster so that’s what they want you to focus on as they want you to see the terror on her face to really show the audience just how frightful being dragged down to hell is and the fact she is screaming up can suggest she is screaming to heavan in relation to the film title which could entice those who look at this poster in great depth to see if their assumptions are correct. The main bold colours are of the women the fire and the demon hands dragging her down to hell higlighting that these are the things the movie want you to focus on rather the the backround which is dull grey like colours but still there to show the audience that this film takes place in average little town rather then possibly a supernatualr place like the title of the film could suggest. As well as this the poster does not show clealy who the villian is in this film as it only shows demonic hands which are still very threatening and teamed with the fact that they are pulling her into “the fires of hell” is sufficient enough to be show the audinece a true threat and to catch the peak the intrest of those who wish to know why she is being draged down to hell and just who or what is actually doing it.

There is no mention on the poster as to who is starring in the film because they are trying use the image on the poster to catch the peoples attention and persuade them to see it. Rather then telling you who is starring in it they just have the main character showing where fans or her acting could tell its her and see it because of her. On the other hand the audinece who do not know her would have to be persuaded by other means to seeing the movie. 

The tagline in this film explains some of the plot to the story and shows a twist at the end of it, as it starts out talking about a happy peaceful life for the mina charcter and switches it to talking about going to hell. It catches the audiences intrest by taking this unexpected turn and makes the sudinece want to know what brought this turn about for the main chaaracter, and for those who do want to know what makes this happen for the main character it leaves them in suspense making them want to see the film that much more.

This poster is focusing on it the visual side more then anything as it is evident that they out a lot of design effort and time to really make it eye catching and intresting and to really peak the intrest of those that would be intrested in a horror style film. It also opens up a number of questions for those who really look at the poster such as “why are the hands grabbing her necklace” and it is these questions influenced by the visuals and the other techniques which would make people go to see this film to see if their questions can be answered and just because it looks like a horror suspsense film appealing to those who like that genre. 

Clockwork orange  trailer analysis 

We are told the name of the movie just 10 seconds in to it and are shown flashes of the title throughout the trailer.  This could have been done so that the audience remember the name of it and the way that is keeps flashing on the screen at random intervals could signify that the film will be completely random and chaotic like the trailer. The title of the film is also shown at the beginning, where it is shown after each adjective used to describe the film. This could have been done to show the audience that this film has all the adjectives used in it such as funny it has funny sides to it and bizarre it is going to have some bits that may not make sense and may seem complete random.

We are not told the who is staring in the film at all during the trailer the only person who is mentioned is the director, Stanley Kubrick and even when he is mentioned his name is only mentioned with the title of the film showing that this trailer is not focusing on promoting the stars and those who participated in it. This could have been done so that people will be attracted by the scenes they see and the fact that it is very eye-catching rather then the people who are appearing in it.

In the trailer we see a number of different kinds of actions: we see violent and slightly disturbing actions such as when one of the actor’s eyes is being held open with hooks as someone else goes to out a knife to it. We also see a number of different people laughing which could suggest a bit of comedy or it could suggest that there are simply scenes that the characters in the film find funny whether they are comedy or violent or anything else. 

There is no voice over used at all in the trailer, this may have been done so that the audience would focus and what they are seeing rather then listening to a voice over. Also the fact that there is no voiceover in this film shows that the scenes and the other techniques used in this trailer to get people to see the film are very powerful and also must be very persuasive. 

The speed of the trailer is very fast and the trailer itself is very busy with a lot of fast pace actions and all of the scenes from the film themselves have been fast forwarded and played at a much higher speed such as the scene with the girls at the carnival as they walk and each much quicker then I imagine they did in the film itself. This could have been done to show just how face paced this film is and how this film has a lot of things happening at once in it as it all seems a bit chaotic. 

The speed stays the same throughout the whole trailer sticking to its incredible fast pace, possibly to show that the action from this film is from beginning to end and it never slows down there is always and some form of action in it at all times.  

During the trailer the only information we can gather about the film is by seeing it as there are no words spoken by a voice over. However throughout the trailer many adjectives come up on screen to get the point across that this film will have a lot of different aspects to it and rather then just focus on one genre they will focus on many. This information is given throughout the trailer as the words keep appearing; this repetition is probably used to just get the point across that this film has many different aspects and angles to it. 

This trailer is aimed at an older audience, 18+ and also aimed at those who want to see a thriller film with some comedy and would not mind to see a disturbing scene. This trailer is very diverse as it says in its words that it will have many different genres; however there are a number of disturbing violent and unusual scenes shown so it is not aimed at those who don’t like to be scared or are easily offended or disturbed.