Creating our poster

Due to group members being absent we have been unable to fully complete our poster, this is because we have not had the pictures needed. Instead we have print screened the clown mask from the internet, in photoshop I then cut the head of the clown out and copied into Adobe Illustrator, within this I was able to make the background around the mask black. I then brought the picture back forward so it was just the head placed on a black background. I then used a sketch affect, this made the clown mask black and white and looked slightly blurry. I have also filled in the eyes with red, this makes the clown look more scary and fits in with the way it looks in the teaser trailer.

Our poster is not yet finished as the font we are using, 'circus ornate' does not let the file save, therefore we need to download the font again so it works in Adobe Illustrator.

We have now completed our poster using an image of the clown mask. We placed the image in photoshop and used the magic eraser to erase the surrounding background, then we used the magnetic lasso to select the clowns head. To increase the scariness of the clown we filled the lips in black and also made the eyes and nose red, by making the eyes red this makes the clown stand out. We also blurred the edges of the image which made it blend better with the black background. The font we have used for the tag line matches the font used in the teaser trailer which is circus ornate, we downloaded this from the website dafont.com.

Here is the finished item:

Film Poster Analysis

I have chosen this horror movie poster as the villain is a clown which directly links to our teaser trailer. The movie is called 'drive-thru', the title is clear and is written in red, the same colour as the clowns nose and lips; which looks like dripping blood. The tag line is quite long but is spread out for affect, this makes the audience look at the poster for longer. However the tag line is quite cheesy, but this is a convention for a horror movie, for example the tag line for Saw II is "Oh yes, there will be blood". We have selected a tag line that relates to a circus clown "Welcome to the greatest show on earth" however, similar to this movie poster we could expand our tag line to make the audience look at the poster for longer.

The clown being close up to the camera is creepy and makes it seem as if it is looking right at the audience, this makes the context of the poster eye catching, we could use this idea with the mask and the background could introduce the idea of a haunted circus, or the stalking clown. The poster outlines the plot and tells the audience that there is going to be death. The poster doesn't have a release date which entices the audience further, we could use this affect as it is only a poster for a teaser trailer and therefore is not meant to give too much away.

The second poster I have chosen to analyse is the Friday the 13th poster, which I chose for my marketing campaign. I think this poster really stands out as I doesn't give anything away except the release date however it is still clear that it is for horror movie as the hockey mask is known from the original Friday the 13th movies. I think this is a good poster to use as inspiration for our poster, as the clown mask stands out as being something creepy.

Magazine Cover Analysis

I have selected these magazine covers to analyze as I feel that the first one relates to our movie and the second one stands out and will give us positive ideas for our magazine cover. The first poster has a clown on the front cover and the subtitle is "what made clowns go bad?" this links back to the idea that clowns used to be kids entertainment and are now commonly used in horror movies as the villain; this is similar to the story line in our teaser trailer as the clown still has features that would be similar to an entertaining clown such as balloons, but it is also presented as a stalker, and the clowns mask is the main feature that links it to being a horror movie.

I think the top poster really stands out as there is a black background and the main colour of the clowns face is white, these colours contrast and the subtitle is also able to stand out because it is written in white. The clown looks really life like, I like this feature as it is made to be more creepy, I think we should use this feature for our magazine cover to exaggerate the scariness of the clown.

I chose the second magazine cover as it really stands out, and creates a clear understanding of what is included in the magazine without over crowding the cover. The picture is clear and again just shows the scary characters face, this is a good way of introducing the characters that are involved in the movie. The title of the movie is clearly written below, with a tag line underneath to entice the audience into the sequel, this is a good form of advertising for people to research about the first part of the movie.

The normal features of the magazine are included for example the bar code however the main feature of the magazine covers are the villainous characters, I think we should use this feature for our magazine cover to make the clown stand out to the reader.

Teaser Trailer Codes and Conventions

To be able to make our own teaser trailer we have to first understand the code and conventions of teaser trailers. "A teaser trailer is unlike a typical theatrical trailer, they are usually very short in length lasting between 30–60 seconds and often contain little, if any, actual footage from the film itself. It is usually a shortened version of a theatrical trailer. A teaser trailer is usually released long in advance of the actual film. One of the main reasons for the trailer to be called a teaser trailer is because it teases the audience by releasing its teaser trailer one to one and a half years before release of the actual film."

I found this information on wikipedia, through searching on google.

Another feature of teaser trailers is to not necessarily tell the story of the movie but to let the audience know when it is coming out. I found this website which will help to understand further what makes a successful teaser trailer, this way we can look at making our trailer as similar to a professional teaser trailer as possible.

This website shows top ten teaser trailers and why they are successful.

http://www.noisetosignal.org/film/2007/08/top-ten-teaser-trailers.php

My favourite teaser trailer from this website is 'The Incredibles' although this does not relate to the teaser trailer that we are creating it gives us a good ideas that will be useful. This trailer introduces only one character from the movie and doesn't really give much away apart from the fact that maybe Mr Incredible is no longer the super hero he used to be, the trailer is entertaining and lets the audience know the genre is a comedy. We need to take this into account that we must make sure that the audience are able to establish that the genre of our teaser trailer is a horror.

Editing Filming 17/11/09

In the lesson we are editing the film to make the beginning seem less like an opening sequence, we have done this due to the feedback we received after showing our rough cut version. We are doing this by cutting the first shot of Evie sorting out the clothes with Zoe creeping up the stairs, this makes it seem more like a trailer as we have shortened the length of the shots and this also creates a sense of tension.

We have also removed the shot of Evie and Zoe's conversation this it to keep the audience guessing about what is happening. Therefore the whole story line is not revealed, this is more similar to the conventions of a horror movie trailer.

We have now had to edit the music on soundtrack to fit to the editing we have done, however our film has now improved as it builds tension and is less like the opening sequence and more like teaser trailer.

Magazine Research

We purchased this magazine due to its 'Horror Genre' specific articles in this issue. These included actors and actresses who have been type casted for horrors aswell as horror stories, and instructions on how to produce your own horror film for under £45. The images included were inspiring and the articles were extremelly helpful.

Short Cuts we have learnt

Whilst using Final Cut Express, Soundtrack and Livetype we have learnt different shortcuts on the mac.

For example:

'B' for blade, 'I' for in point and 'O' for out point when capturing shots.

'Space bar' to play and pause the movie, 'apple key and R' to render and 'apple P' to play before it has been rendered. 'Apple key and S' to save the project.' Apple and tab' to switch to a different window, this helped when importing the titles to final cut express from live type.

Title Sequences

We used the website dafont.com to download a circus looking font for our teaser trailer, we found one called circus ornate, that fits with the look of an old fashioned circus poster. Which in turn suits our USP (Unique Selling Point) of a fear of clowns and circuses. In order to have the mask effect we had to change the composition of the shot we wanted to mask to 'Travel matte: Alpha' and imported the text from LiveType. We chose to pan the text from right to left so that it is easier to read and also fits with the movement behind the mask. By considering all of this we improved the consistency and flow of our sequence.

Teaser Trailer Test Screening Rough Cut

Today we showed the rough cut of our teaser trailer, without the soundtrack, and receiver honest, objective, and constructive feedback of how to improve it. The overall comments were positive, our main strengths were the use of costume, having the conventions of a horror movie, good use of title sequences, and well framed shots.

However there are improvements that need to be made, the main one being that it is too much like an opening sequence rather than a teaser trailer. Therefore we need to shorten some shots, and take more risks with the editing. Also another criticism was that the titles were not clear enough to read, we might need to slow down the timing add some special affects. The final improvement is to have different ranges of shot.

We are going to take this criticism on board and try to edit our trailer to make it less like an opening sequence. We will do this by cutting the shots shorter and maybe adding more titles to break up the sequences.

Sound Research

Non-Diegetic sound: from looking at clown horror films the typical trend included typical circus high pitched music, voice overs, screaming, footsteps

Diegetic sound: all of the films that we used to look at different sounds all included these sounds; , heavy breathing,shouting,

Problems with Filming

Our first set of actors decided they didn't want to be in our film trailer so changed groups without letting us know which means they were unreliable, so we had to find some other actors in time to capture the shots before we had to hand in our rough copy.

Zoe became ill, so we had to change the story-line because she wasn't able to come to all the filming.

Whilst filming in the priory park we started to lose light as it was getting late so the shots we wanted to get had to be changed because we had to find light, but in the end this was resolved because it started to look effective having silhouettes of the clown instead of seeing the clown in broad daylight.

Shots of where we are filming

Reigate Priory Wood: We originally chose this location as it would be really creepy, and a good setting for a horror movie, however we had problems when filming as the lighting was inefficient.

Reigate Priory Park: We chose the park as the a shot of the clown swinging on the swings would be really scary, also at night the lighting is slightly better than the woods, this is also an ideal location for the characters to be walking through at night therefore it is realistic that the clown could be stalking her.
Morrisons in Reigate: Morrisons in Reigate is also another realistic location for the clown to be stalking the characters.
Reigate High Street: The idea of the clown skipping through Reigate high street, whilst getting terrified looks from passers by would be a good convention for a horror movie.

Links Needed for Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJKTulq_lQI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVOeBUraVI4

Links needed for our trailer

Horror Movies Information

Read Advice

The 10 Best Horror Movies of the Last 10 Years Oct 05 '06 The Bottom Line Horror films are an ever-changing breed of movies, and keeping them interesting to new audiences keeps them fresh in our minds. I thought it would be a neat idea to come up with a list consisting some of the best horror movies in recent years. My idea is to create an updating list of what I feel are the best horror movies of the past 10 years, that would add new films, and remove older films as time progressed. The horror genre is an ever-evolving part of the film world, and there are no shortages of viewing possibilities. There are however, a limited number of slots on my list, and a whole host of films that don’t deserve to make anyone’s list. So, its time to take a trek through some of the best horror films to come out in the last 10 years, and hopefully a nice list of enjoyable films will appear for the many fans of the genre. ***The Current List Extends From 1997 to 2006*** 1998 – Ringu (The Ring) Later turned into am American film called “The Ring”, Ringu was a 1998 Japanese horror film that put a new spin on horror films. The premise of the story, was that there was a video tape circulating, that when watched by a viewer, gave them a life-expectancy of only 7 more days. As a viewer, you get to see almost the full tape that the main characters watch, and to say the least, it is off-the-wall. Mixing in horrific imagery with a lot of black and white shots, you get a video that is scary to watch in itself. As death finds some of the main characters of the film, the film becomes even more interesting. This is one of those films that isn’t easy to figure out while you are watching it, but being so original in premise and plot, I really enjoyed seeing it. The American version would have made my list too, if not for this one, and the story was strong enough to deserve a sequel (though the sequel failed in my opinion). 2000 – Final Destination When a group of high school students are getting set to fly off to France, one of them has a premonition of the plane exploding in mid-air. Finding truth in his own visions, he frantically tries to pull off his closest friends, and makes every effort to get off the plane. When he is thrown off, along with everyone else caught up in the ruckus, it seems that he was just imagining it all. In the background, the plane suddenly explodes, and it turns out that this kid (Alex) has saved all of these people from certain death. The only problem though, is that “death” has taken on more than a whimsical form, and it wants the people who have escaped its clutches. The story sets itself up to show that it will be coming after everyone that survived the plane explosion, and that there may actually be no escape. What ensues is a pulse-pounding jaunt through many life-and-death experiences where the main characters are forced to constantly face their mortality. The theme of the movie worked well enough to sustain 2 sequels, but the original thought of the first one is still far superior. 1999 – The Blair Witch Project To the naked, unquestioning eye, this film appears to be a documentary about 3 students that go off into the woods in search of the infamous Blair Witch. What they find is far more than they bargained for, and quickly find themselves in an unexpected set of situations. It’s not quite a documentary, but a film shot with a small budget, in which horror is depicted in a straight-forward, imaginative process. What I enjoyed about the story, is that it played more on the mind than anything else, and if you could suspend disbelief for the time you were watching this film, it was truly scary. In fact it is one of the few times that I have found myself really taken by a movie in that fashion while in a theater. Blair Witch was a smashing success in the box office, bringing in over $140 million when all was said and done. To be certain, it was a cultural phenomenon at the time it came out, and one of those films that you have to see at least once. I enjoyed the realistic depiction, and really felt that the film was well-done, thus ensuring it a spot on my list. 2001 – The Others Nicole Kidman took a stab at the horror genre as Grace Stewart in The Others. A mother of two, she has to be over-protective because of the rare ailment that her two children suffer from. They are both photosensitive, basically meaning that they could die if they come into contact with too much natural light. This adds an extra layer of drama to the story, and helps in part to develop not only their characters, but that of Kidman as she strives to protect them from everything. That is not going to be easy though, because it appears that the house in which they live is haunted, and with many strange occurrences taking place around them, it doesn't seem like a safe place for a family to live. The mansion in which they live almost becomes its own character in how it is depicted, and it sets up a lot of the dramatic under-tones that let the story develop naturally in its progression. Kidman was extremely good in the role of this mother, and I thought that she was a perfect casting choice as the lead. With her husband fighting in WW2, she may have nowhere to turn for help and becomes the sole protector of her own kids. An unexpected success of a horror film, The Others was choreographed very well, and even though there are some slow moments in the film, it is well worth its spot on my list. 2000 – What Lies Beneath Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) directs this film about Claire Spencer, a woman married to a Professor, who finds herself the target of a ghost. "The target" meaning that the ghost is appearing to her, and seemingly trying to tell her something in an unorthodox method. Michelle Pfeiffer plays Claire, in what could be one of her better roles on film that I have seen. She takes on the personality of at first a timid woman, who after a short time gains confidence in dealing with supernatural occurrences happening around her. To say the least Pfeiffer plays the part perfectly, drawing in the audience to her plight as the couple tries to renovate the old family home of her husband Norman (Harrison Ford). Ford's part in the film plays a second fiddle to that of Pfeiffer, but this turns out to be a good thing as we get to explore more thoroughly the psyche of Claire. With a ghost appearing to her, suspicious neighbors, and a deepening mystery taking place, Zemeckis does a great job at running the emotional gambit with Pfeiffer's character. What ensues is a film that at times seems to follow too closely the stereotypical horror film where each shadow tries to scare/shock the audience, but at the same time evolves to become more than just a scare-fest. What Lies Beneath has one particular scene that may stick with you far after you have seen it, and that in itself could make it worthy of a top horror list. 2004 – Saw It's interesting to note, that in three successive years, there has been a new "Saw" film hitting theaters right around Halloween. The cause of this is quite simple, because it takes a good idea, and stretches it to appeal to a wide audience of theater-goers. Included in those audiences was me on the first day that the first film opened in 2004. Saw is about a perceived serial killer, who puts his victims into positions where they must make choices or die. A good example is giving a beautiful woman the chance to live disfigured, or to simply die because they won't be able to go on living with the external physical beauty they have grown accustomed to. The killer puts them in no-win situations, all of which don't seem to tie together, and one in particular serves as the main story of the film. Danny Glover stars as Detective David Tapp, who is hot on the trail of the killer, but cannot figure out just what is motivating him to do the things he does. Through-out the film, we get to see many of the situations, including a central one where two men have been chained in a room, and left with a saw that will not cut through chains, but could help them free themselves nonetheless. This is a film that deals more with the fears that we all live with, and even though some of the motives are stereotypical, the film still worked for me as something original in concept. I liked Saw, and it is one of those films which does a great job at being dark in the right moments, but also lets the audience think-forward on their own at other times. You may even notice Michael Emerson from "Lost" if you pay close attention to the characters. 2004 – Yogen (Premonition) Yogen (Premonition) is a Japanese film about Hideki Satomi, who seems to be having premonitions about events that are set to take place, but which he hasn't figure out how to alter or prevent. Included in those is the horrific accident at the beginning of the film which he is forced to witness and relive again and again. A newspaper appears on his door-step that leads him to see these events before they happen, but the origin of that newspaper goes unknown. He becomes obsessed with discovering the origin of a newspaper scrap that tipped him off to the events, and goes into a quest to find out if others can do what he has been doing. Can he prevent the original accident? Is he in control of his own destiny? How in the world is he finding these newspapers in advance of tragedy taking place? Yogen is not one of those films that is easily explained, and nor should it be. It is a very involved horror film, that does a great deal to exude a certain sophistication missing from many recent slasher films. Smartly crafted, and even better written than a lot of dramas I have seen, Yogen is one of those films that you must see if you are a fan of the genre. Though it is in sub-titles, it doesn't lose any of its drama, and I felt that at times having to read the story taking place actually added to the taughtness of the film. 2003 – Identity When an intense rainstorm hits Nevada one night, it traps ten strangers at the same local hotel, and forces them to get to know each other even if they don't care to. The reason for this, is that a killer is in their midst, and appears intent on picking them off one by one until everyone is dead. Surrounded by flooding water, there seems to be no escape, and all of the characters are forced to face the situation, and the killer, or risk becoming the next victim. Though a serious of coincidences the characters start to figure out information about each other that they have in common, and the audience is treated to an interesting story that goes a long way to keep its viewers in suspense until the very ending. The cast is packed with recognizable actors that include John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, Alfred Molina, Jake Busey, and Rebecca De Mornay just to name a few. Each of them has their own story that is going to be shown before the film comes to a climax. Both chilling and horrific at the same time, Identity keeps its audience involved by exploring the fear of being trapped and lacking the knowledge of what is occurring around you. I think that the acting helped propel the story to even greater heights, and that in the end Identity was one of those films that is more than just a horror film, but is actually a well-crafted drama that is both scary and intriguing at the same time. 2004 – The Butterfly Effect Ashton Kutcher stars as Evan Treborn, who has experienced many stressful and affecting memories in his life that has caused him to develop many memory blocks. You could say his mind is protecting him against the tragic events that he has experienced, and has helped him to block out the bad things in his past. Keeping a journal for his whole life though, he realizes that he can actually remember those blocked memories if he focuses on them, but at the same moment go back and change something that happened in the moment originally. One part an exploration into the mind, and one part a manipulative time-travel experience, it seems that Evan can change what happened the first time around. With the power to alter his own life, and all of those around him, he is intent on changing one specific thing that could become all-consuming if he is not careful. With each jaunt into the past, we get to see more of the characters developing, and the interesting thing to note, is that when he comes back many things have changed that we as the audience are able to note throughout the film. The title of the film comes into play, as no matter how small the event he changes in the past is, it can have rippling and unexpected results on many other things. Kutcher is good in this sub-dued role, and I really enjoyed the originality of the story as it ties elements of horror with time-travel. Interesting until the very end, The Butterfly Effect makes you think about what every small even in your life could mean in the whole scheme of things. 2002 – The Mothman Prophecies Loosely based on real events that took place in Point Pleasant, West Virginia in 1967, the Mothman Prophecies is a dark and dramatic film that ties a belief in the supernatural with occurrences that simply cannot be explained. Richard Gere plays reporter John Klien, who ends up investigating more than just what has been happening in the town, but a tie that connects it to events in his own life. There are times where Gere seems a little wooden in the role, but I really enjoyed the subtitles that the story allowed itself to build upon. The film turns out to be more than just interesting, but also provides a taught atmosphere where the audience has no idea what is going to come next. With premonitions seemingly coming true, and warnings becoming prevalent that something big is about to happen, the audience discovers what is going on at the same rate as the main character, and because of this a lot is left open for interpretation. No matter how you look at it though, this is a horror film that can be chilling if you consider that it has a basis in real events. Link to the The Best Scary Clown Horror Movies

Posters for Trailer and Marketing

One poster is for use in our actual trailer as a key prop.

Font Ideas for Poster

We used the website www.dafont.com to research different types of texts we can use on the poster to be shown in the movie. We used the tag line from our movie 'welcome to the greatest show on earth' to test out different fonts.

Here are some examples that we tried out

we decided a font called JF Ringmaster was appropriate for our genre and type of film with clowns and circuses involved.

Poster Ideas

We have been designing a circus poster for our film, it will firstly be shown as a normal happy poster advertising the circus, the poster will then switch to a different poster with the same background but with the scary clown mask we are using as the main picture.


Here are some examples we have found that have given us ideas for our poster:

The conventions of this poster is showing the friendly side to clowns, and how they are usually entertainment for children at the circus. The bright colours used connote a positive atmosphere, and the quote underneath 'the children's favourite clown' conveys this clown is friendly.

We chose this poster as we liked the background as it was similar to a circus marquee, we also liked the magicians hands in the middle which conveyed mystery and magic.

These are some posters that we will use to inspire our scary poster:

Shot List

1. Shot duration: 22 seconds
Description: Lionsgate introduction
Transition: Fade into black
After the introduction applause will begin and there will be a voice over saying “welcome to the greatest show on earth”

2. The first shot is a mid shot of the clown walking down the street carrying balloons that are dragging along the floor; it will be set at night in Reigate high street. The music is going to be scary clown music; the shot will then cut to a close up of one of the red balloons that will pop and splatter red paint.

3. The red “blood” will splatter onto the clown poster, the first poster shown will be of a friendly clown. This will be a point of view shot of someone looking at the poster the poster will then flicker in black and white and the change to the scary clown face. The circus music will begin to cut out, as if the track is broken, and then stop to silence and the screen will fade to bright red.

4. The next shot is of the tagline that is “Trick or treat?” which will be shown in black writing on the red background. Creepy background music will begin.

5. The next shot is of the front door and the doorbell ringing someone comes to answer the door and another point of view shot of him or her opening the door, this will change quickly to an extreme close up of the clown mask with a loud scream and that will cut to an all black shot then just the date the movie is coming out will show.

Links to youtube sound effects
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVOeBUraVI4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruidM0nfUdc

Camera Shot Research

here are some example of photos we took:

We have carried out a task to improve our shot composition. This will improve how we frame shots, including and excluding elements, shot distances, selecting mise-en-scene- including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting. The picture above shows the rule of thirds,The rule states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.

Questionnaire to find out about the target audience

Questionnaire about horror movies


1. Age

2. Are you male or female

3. Do you like horror films? Yes No

4. If you don’t like horror films then what is it that you don’t like about them?


5. What kind of horror film do you like to watch?


6. What is it that you like about horror films?


7. What sort of things do you expect to see when you watch a horror film?


8. Do have a favorite actor/actress that you like to see in horror films (please state who and why)


9. What is your favourite horror film and why?


10. What is your least favourite horror film and why?


11. What time of day do you like to watch a horror film?


12. What film certificate do you usually go to watch?


13. Where do you like to watch horror films?
Cinema
Online
DVD
Other

We have carried out primary research in the form of a questionnaire to discover he target audience for horror films, and what they like/dislike about watching horror films.

We asked 6 males and 4 females, age 17-18. The results show that 90% of people like horror films. The only reason for a dislike was "because they are boring". All of the target market said the reason for liking horror movies was to keep you on the edge of their seat, they enjoy the suspense and adrenaline they get from being scared by the movies. The most popular type of scary movies were the ones that involve one main villain, for example Halloween and Friday the 13Th. Another popular type of horror movie was ones with infestations of weird characters or zombies.

90% of people said they expect to see a villain, a victim and a lot of violence in horror movies; for example blood and gore and terrifying murders.The target market's favourite movies were; Halloween, Saw, Drag me to Hell, The grudge, The strangers, Friday the 13th, Shaun of the dead, and Stephen King's IT. The reasons people had for these movies being their favourite were good plot lines,based on true stories, really make you jump, or a particular character that is terrifying.

People also had movies which they particularly disliked, their reasons for disliking them were because the movie was unrealistic, too violent and gory or the story line was too boring and the movie was slow moving.

People generally see movies that are rated 15, with some people watching 18's. They tend to watch the movies at night; it makes it increasingly scary, 50% of people said they would rather watch scary movies at home than the cinema, maybe because of the rating of the film or the cost of watching it.

Characters- The Villain

The villain in our film is going to be a evil clown. A Clown is an artist or performer who pretends to be a fool or foolish and acts out or acts up, in order to amuse his audience. In short, he's a comedian, someone who tries to make you laugh by being funny. A clown is perceived to be an entertainer usually at the circus or kids parties therefore creating a clown that is the complete opposite to this will be terrifying, and the familiar childhood image of the clown will be changed.

The image of the evil clown is a development in American popular culture in which the playful trope of the clown is rendered as disturbing through the use of horror elements and dark humor. The image of an evil or scary clown has been used in other horror movies. A well known one is the joker, in batman, who is a murderously insane evil super villain with a disturbing clown-like appearance. Another well known clown character is from Stephen King's novel It, as well as the TV movie featuring Tim Curry, which revolves around seven children who are haunted by an evil shape-shifting creature that often takes the form of an evil clown named Pennywise.

Generic Codes and Conventions of Horror Movies

Generic Codes and Conventions of Horror Movies

Visual Codes/Iconography
• An old, dark house
• Cemeteries
• Laboratories
• Suburbs of big cities
• Deserted villages/countryside
• Woods
• Isolated places
• The unknown- spirits, haunted characters
• Hidden motives
• Creepy children
• Vampires, zombies, werewolves, ghosts, monsters
• Masks- clowns, hockey mask, balaclava
• Murderers
• Heavy make-up

Narrative Conventions
• Suspense builders
• Unconventional non-manifestation of the monster
• Blood/death/killing/brutal attacks
• Villain/ Victims
• Evil
• Weapons- machete
• Gore/violence
• Screaming
• Chase sequences

Character conventions
• The hero- the one on the quest and the one who saves the day
• The villain- the evil one who causes the disequilibrium
• The helper- a person who helps the hero on their quest
• The victim- at the mercy of the villain
• The donor- someone who has a something special which will help the hero
• The joker/idiot- the one who gets people in trouble/danger

Music/Sound Conventions
• Famous suspense building soundtrack- jaws music
• Silence- sudden explosion/scream/loud noise
• Screaming
• Creaking doors/floorboards
• Evil laugh
• Heavy breathing
• Muffled scream/ shouting
• Sobbing

Marketing Campaign- Friday the 13th

Friday the 13^th

(2009)

Director: Marcus Nispel

Release Date: February 13^th 2009

Tagline: Welcome to Crystal Lake

Starring: Jared Padolecki, Danielle Panabaker, Amanda Righetti,

Travis Van Winkle

Distributor: Warner Brothers of New Line Cinema in North

America. Paramount distributed in most other territories.

Word of Mouth

Friday the 13^th is a remake; therefore there was a lot of buzz created and expectations to be reached. In the teaser trailer the producers name is shown, and that is from the director of Texas Chainsaw Massacre as a result people will be attracted to the movie if they liked similar movies or the well known producer, Michael Bay.

TV/Press

The first TV spot, January 11^th 2009, for the movie was a 40 second trailer, which revealed the title of the movie, and the distributors. The voice over tells the story of Jason, “His name was Jason, and today is his birthday” an important line from the movie. (http://www.trailerspy.com/)

Online/Mobile

There is an official website for the movie which gives information about:

The DVD, cast, downloads, photos, videos, Ecards, soundtrack and official shop. http://www.fridaythe13thmovie.com/

Complementary Media

The film was met with primarily negative reviews, with an average of 4.2 out of 10, however on the opening weekend it still managed to earn $42 million. However some reviews complemented the film, Alonso Duralde wrote, “the film should please slasher fans”. There were also blogs for the movie, for example www.scabbyhorror.blogspot.com that has behind the scenes footage and votes and discussions about the movie.

Poster

There are 4 main posters for the movie which each portrays a disturbing picture.

Trailers

There were five different trailers for the movie. The trailers include classic conventions of a horror movie, including scenes from the movie, which leave you on the edge of your seat. Jason’s hockey mask is shown a number of times as well as the sign for camp Crystal Lake, where the terrifying bloody action takes place. The first trailer to be shown was during the 2008 scream awards. The teaser trailer also has a voice over, which reveals the story of Jason “His name was Jason and today is his birthday”.

Editorial Content
The film was criticized for its continuity errors a number of times, which would only be noticed if the film was watched repeatedly. Another criticism was for the crew and equipment being visible in a few shots. There were also plot holes, for example Jason being able to control the electricity around the camp even though it’s been abandoned for a number of years.

Merchandising

There is a huge amount of websites selling the now well-known Hockey masks, and the sales of these were huge after the movie was released. Also Jason toy figures, t-shirts, posters, as well as the DVD, which has an extended and more terrifying version.

Premieres

New Line Cinema organized the Los Angeles premiere for Friday the 13^th, it took place on Monday February 9^th at the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, which was appropriately decorated with a black carpet instead of red for the stars to walk down.

Preview Screenings

The first preview screening was at the 2008 Scream Awards, and Kansas City Horror Club hosted the only complete screening of the movie on Monday February 9^th.

Bibliography

http://www.scabbyhorror.blogspot.com/

http://www.fridaythe13thmovie.com/

http://www.trailerspy.com/

http://www.worstpreviews.com/media.php?id=158&image=1&place=posters&place2=poster

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758746/

http://www.fridaythe13thfilms.com/site/merch.html