Research on Location Of Filming

We had many factors to consider when planning creating our horror movie teaser trailer. One of these factors was where we should film it. We considered a number of locations and agreed that a school (our college) would be ideal as we did not have to travel anywhere with the filming equipment and filming permission was easily granted. We also considered the story line and decided our college would be ideal for filming as we could make use of classrooms and corridors, both places used by janitors.

We researched a number of other locations where we could film. We considered some woodland with a cabin like the one pictured below and considered using it as the janitor’s house; however a number of different factors such as finding an appropriate area with such buildings and surroundings made this difficult for us so we decided to keep the filming within the school.

Other research revealed that the underground system is a good place for filming and had been used on a few different occasions, such as the location of the film ‘Creep’, which is about a woman who is locked in londons underground system and is being targeted by something very scary and mysterious released in 2005. Gaining access to the underground after hours would have been virtually impossible which is another reason why we kept filming within college grounds.

From further research I have found out that the decided location of horror movies depends mainly on the type of horror genre. For example, ‘Slasher’ films such as ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’and ‘Friday the 13^th’ are usually based in open areas such as a desert, woodland or the country side. However ‘Thrillers’ are usually based in more commercial areas such as the film ‘What Lies Beneath’, although it is not located in a busy town, there is still evidence of a community, such as their neighbour and the womans friends visiting the house.

Horror Movie Questionnaire Answers

Question 1

33 people 1-5 times

7 people 6-10 times

0 people 10 +

It is clear to see people are fond of trips to the cinema, however not to often

Question 2

29 yes

11 no

This part of the audience research tells us that the majority of people prefer to buy the dvd to keep for their selves.

Question 3

20 yes

20 no

From this we are able to tell there is a fair amount of people who like to watch horror movies, however they might be too explicit for some audiences who may prefer to watch a comedy or action movie.

Question 4

10 Comedy horror 3 romance horror 6 thriller 15 slasher 3 monster movie 3 science fiction

This part of the audience research allows us to recognise that comedy horror and slasher movies are the most preferred genre when. This helped us greatly as we thought a slasher movie would be the best choice of genre when we had to make a decision of what trailer to make.

Question 5

30 true event 10 fictional

From question 5 it is clear to see audiences prefer movies based on true events. We can tell this as 75% of the people who answered this question made it clear. This helps our group greatly as we will now have to decide whether it will be a good idea to base the trailer on a true event.

Question 6

40 yes 0 no

From question 6 , we can tell without a doubt that the trailer is very important as 100% of the people who answered the question said the, they do watch the trailer before the film. This tells our group we must be very careful with the teaser trailer, ensuring not to give too much away but still dragging our audience in with an exciting, tense trailer.

Question 7

23 yes 17 no

From question 7 we are able to tell that some people jusge a movie by the trailer however almost the same amount don’t, this allows us to understand we must include a sufficient amount of information about the trailer, however at the same time do not give too much away.

Question 8

30 yes 10 no

Question 8 allows us to understand people are usually attracted to a film by the poster. Now we are aware we must make the poster very powerful and catchy. Other research reveals that film posters usually show the main character and we will also bare this in mind when making out poster.

Question 9

Its fine 11 the wait is annoying11 I like the suspense13 I don’t watch the film 5

From question 9 we can see that some people don’t mind the wait and like the suspense it brings with it. We can also see some people don’t like the wait and would prefer if the release of the trailer and the release of the film were closer together. The research also tells us a small minority do not bother with watching the film as the trailer is sufficient for them.

Question 10

Red 32 blue 1 yellow 0 orange 7

Question 10 tells us that the vast majority of the people who answered the question believe red is the most appealing colour for a horror movie trailer. I believe this is because red connotes bloodshed which links in with the conventions of a horror movie, as there is usually some bloodshed in them.

Question 11

11 yes 29 no

From question 11 we can see that most people prefer to watch the film than read the books. This may be because the films are tenser and have the audience in more suspense. Films are also more exciting to watch which could explain why most people prefer to watch them.

Question 12

Red 32 blue 1 yellow 0 orange 7

Question 10 tells us that the vast majority of the people who answered the question believe red is the most appealing colour for a horror movie trailer. I believe this is because red connotes bloodshed which links in with the conventions of a horror movie, as there is usually some bloodshed in them.

Question 13

20 setting 5 location 15 character

From question 13 we can tell that the setting is what most people look for in a horror movie before they watch it. We can also tell that the character is very important when people want to know what movie to watch and the location carries a small amount of significance.

Question 14

10 blood 22 deaths 5 darkness 3 hacks and slash

From this part of audience research we can tell that deaths play a vital role in a successful horror film. Blood, darkness and hacks and slash also add to the goriness, suspense and mysteriousness of the film.

Question 15

38 yes 2 no

Question 15 tells us that the vast majority of horror movie fans can handle the goriness of the film and prefer to watch the film right the way through.

Question 16

Film magazines 9 internet 12 television 17 word of mouth 2

It is clear to see that the internet and television play a vital role in film advertisements. Film magazines are also a good way of advertising the film, although not everyone buys magazines whereas most people watch television.

Question 17

15 yourself 25 in a group

We are able to tell from this piece of research that most people prefer to watch horror movies in a group, as some of the content may be too vile to watch by their selves.

Question 18

Yes 30 no 1o theres no point 0

Question 18 tells is that horror movies shown in trilogy’s are what a lot of people like, possibly because of the suspense left between each one.

Question 19

No one said there is no point. They only stated whether they are good or not.

Question 20

Yes 15 10 no only some movies 15

Question 20 tells us that some people do not mind watching a horror movie by their self despite what movie it is. However we can also see that some people will only watch it by their self as long as the movie is not too harsh. On the other hand some people will not watch the film at all unless they are with someone else or in a group.

Horror Movie Questionnaire

Question 1:

How often do you go to the cinema?

1 - 5 times a month [ ] 6 – 10 times a month[ ] 10+ [ ]

Question 2:

Do you buy DVD’s?

Yes [ ] No [ ]

Question 3:

Are you a Horror Movie fan?

Yes [ ] No [ ]

Question 4:

What type of Horror movie most likely suits your taste?

Comedy Horror [ ] Romance Horror [ ] Thriller [ ] Slasher Movie [ ] Monster Movie [ ] Japanese [ ] Science Fiction [ ]

Question 5:

What do you mostly prefer your movie to be like?

A True Event Movie [ ] Fictional [ ]

Question 6:

Do you usually watch the Teaser Trailer before you watch the movie

Yes [ ] No [ ]

Question 7:

Do you Judge a movie based on the trailer ?

Yes [ ] No [ ]

Question 8:

Are you attracted to a movie when you see the poster ?

Yes [ ] No [ ]

Question 9:

How do you feel about the teaser trailer of a movie coming out so long before the release of the actual film ?

It’s fine [ ] The wait is annoying [ ] I like the suspense [ ] I don’t watch the film [ ]

Question 10:

What colour looks most appealing for a horror movie trailer?

Red [ ] Blue [ ] Yellow [ ] Orange [ ]

Question 11:

Do you read any Horror books ?

Yes [ ] No [ ]

Question 12:

What colour looks most appealing for a horror movie trailer?

Red [ ] Blue [ ] Yellow [ ] Orange [ ]

Question 13:

What do you look for in a horror film before you watch it?

Setting [ ] Location [ ] Character [ ]

Question 14:

What do you typically like to see in a horror film?

Blood[ ] Deaths [ ] Darkness [ ] Hacks and Slash[ ]

Question 15:

Can you sit through a horror movie all the way?

Yes[ ] No [ ]

Question 16:

How do you usually find out about new/upcoming films?

Film Magazines[ ] Internet[ ] Advertiments [ ] Television[ ] Word of mouth [ ] Other[ ]

Question 17:

How do you watch Horror Movies by yourself or in a group?

Yourself[ ] In a group [ ]

Question 18:

Do you think Horror Movies that are in trilogy’s are good?

Yes[ ] No[ ] There’s No Point [ ]

Question 19:

If there is no point, why ?

........................................................................................................................................................

Question 20:

Can you watch a horror movie by yourself?

Yes[ ] No[ ] Only on some moviesa [ ]

Media Evaluation Question 3

Media evaluation Question 3 Ryan Roche

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Here is an Audience feedback video. We asked the following questions to a number of people and compiled the footage to make the video.

The questions asked in the video were:

Overall do you think out trailer followed conventions of a typical horror movie trailer?

Did the trailer reveal a lot of information about the story line?

Do you think the music needs to be changed?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfG6jRrIiaE&feature=player_embedded

After assessing our audience feedback we were able to see the trailer from an audience perspective, as oppose to a creators. Our group decided that we should promote our trailer too all kinds of people via the web. After putting our trailer on youtube.com, we started promoting the trailer further as the comments on youtube.com had already started coming in. As we all had facebook accounts and it was easily accessible, we also uploaded the trailer on to facebook.com and asked other users to watch the trailer and give their feedback. Due to the extraordinary amount of users on the social networking site, we received a large amount of feedback ranging from constructive criticisms and helpful advice to the good parts of the trailer.

Our trailer, entitled ‘Keys’ is a fictional story of a janitor who seeks pleasure from abducting, torturing and usually killing young students who stay late after college, mainly females. I believe the main reason for our trailer collecting mainly positive feedback is because before we made it we handed out a questionnaire to a number of different people asking what they would like and expect from a horror movie trailer. After carefully assessing the data, we were able to understand key concepts of horror trailers people preferred to see. For example a large number of people enjoyed seeing frightening parts that made them jump, whilst a minority preferred a slow paced tense trailer.

After a few weeks we made a group decision to start analysing the feedback we had already started to receive. Youtube.com gave us our most reliable feedback as comments were given by complete strangers, which eliminate any bias. The audience feedback made it clear that the music played throughout the trailer was not appropriate for the genre of the trailer due to the content of the lyrics, although the instrumental played a big part in helping to create the tense, suspect feeling to the trailer. Some suggested the trailer could benefit by putting a whole new sound track in, however some audience members were in favour of the track, stating the kanye sound track "really topped it off". After a group meeting and hard thinking, plus some instructions from our teacher, we changed the Kanye West sound track with aims to enhance our trailer to an even more professional look. Many audience members who gave feedback stated the use of the ENIGMA CODE was a smart decision and fitted in well with the trailer. Many thought by not revealing the protagonist too much played a huge role in adding the ‘horror’ effect to the trailer, as the audience were able to understand there is a killer at large and have reason to believe it is the school janitor, however has no proof. The main reason for doing this was to please the audience by giving to them what they expected to see. We decided to try and follow some forms and conventions of other teaser trailers and the ENIGMA CODE seemed most relevant to our story line.

Another positive aspect of our audience feedback was people stating the length of our trailer was perfect, as it was the common length for average teaser trailers and gave us enough time to create the trailer how we thought the audience would like it. However, whilst we were focusing on making our trailer a specific time, we had to be very precise and careful about what footage we should use. This involved us coming together as a group and deciding which footage is most effective and which should be scrapped. I believe our group could have benefited from posting clips of unused footage on the internet and asking the audience for feedback with regards to which footage we should have kept, as we then could have made some amendments to the trailer to make it better.

Whilst facebook.com and youtube.com were proving to be helpful resources for collecting audience feedback, we were thinking of new ways of promoting our video. We were always promoting the video by word of mouth and urging friends, family and strangers to log on to the internet and give feedback to our video, however we still felt this was not enough. We decided to send our trailer via email to each person on our contact lists, asking them to follow the link to watch our trailer, leave feedback and reply with a more in depth bit of feedback. This is a common promotion technique used by many promoters and we also believed we could benefit from starting our own viral campaign. One user in particular kindly took time to reply personally, giving constructive criticism, addressing the good bits and made relative reference to the use of mis-en-scene, which not many members of the audience mentioned. We were grateful for this as we were not familiar with receiving feedback with such content. The user also stated that we did well to make the horror trailer seem professional although the majority of our shots were taken in bright, sunny conditions, in and around our college. I took time to have a look at fellow media students’ trailers to compare and see where we could have improved. I also decided to have a brief look at the feedback given to the trailers which was similar to ours, to see if our trailer could relate. Again I noticed the audience observing the duration of the trailer and giving positive feedback with regards to fitting it in with the common duration of teaser trailers, which is anything from around 0:45 – 1:00.

Although the time worked well with our trailer, the other parts of the audience feedback have helped me to understand the trailer could have been slightly improved. Due to filming restrictions we were only allowed to film during the day within the college grounds. With reference to the audience feedback, it seems that the trailer would have been much more effective if it contained some night scenes. Before filming we had considered how we would be able to include some scenes which were low key lit, but weren’t able to film after college hours, so decided to use a ‘blue screen’ background and the necessary lighting to create the dark effect. Although this worked well for our trailer, it still did not make up for the natural outdoor night scenes we could have filmed.

After analysing all the feedback and where it came from, we noticed that facebook.com got our video the biggest response. I think this was mainly due to the ‘share’ button. Whilst each member of our group were promoting our trailer on our Facebook pages and were awaiting responses, we also urged other facebook users to click the ‘share’ button, which then automatically posts out trailer on their homepage. This helped promote the video to a wider audience. As facebook.com was where many other media students were promoting their trailer, we were able to swap feedback which meant we were getting feedback from other young film makers. This helped as the feedback made relevant reference to the trailer, giving advice and ideas from other young creative minds. We also needed to generate some feedback for our magazine front cover and movie poster, so decided to promote them in the same ways we did our trailer. The most noticeable feedback was members of the audience stating they were happy to see similarities between the trailer and ancillary texts. For example, the colour scheme used for the magazine front cover was the same used in parts of the trailer. We managed to achieve this effect by using Adobe Photoshop. In order to get the ‘greyish’ effect we had to colour grade the photo and change the colour curves. We also used similar, if not the same fonts to keep that continuous effect flowing. Some audience members stated that the use of keys throughout each piece worked really well, especially as the trailer was called keys and the protagonist was the janitor of a school building.

Overall I believe our trailer generated the most feedback, however it had more time to recieve more feedback. From the audience feedback it was made clear that some audience members thought we could benefit from more footage, however thought the footage that was their was good. If I had a chance to re-do the coursework I would change the music played throughout the trailler from the start, and try to include many more of the scenes that my group filmed. Overall I think the audience was pleased with our final product.