Camera Tests

The purpose of taking trial and test shots prior to actually shooting our trailer for The Unknown was to determine any adjustments which needed to be made in order to ensure we would've achieved maximum efficiency when shooting the actual trailer. Many high end institutions also do the same in order to ensure that a trailer and in this case horror genre movies, maintain realism and professionalism upon its release. Here are some pictures of our test and trail shots prior to our actual shoot for The Unknown.

Production paperwork- Location visit

Production paperwork- Filming Schedule

Poster Analysis

Connotations and denotations:

Once these psychological horror film posters hit the box offices it will be evident to its consumers that this comes from a certain hybrid genre. Immediately we are struck by the both of these posters containing hand held cameras and having dark enigmatic colours surrounding the majority of the film posters. Through having the horror poster institutions deliberately including hand held cameras within their posters it creates a sense of audience interactivity as it connotes to the consumers that these films will be shot through a hand held camera therefore creating a fast paced, real life event horror movie.  In addition by having the hand held camera in use it creates an unnatural angle for the consumers to view the poster, this therefore makes the audience want to find out why the angle of the camera is of a low one (the poster on the left) for example therefore creating a sense of suspense and enigma thus resulting in demand for the movie upon its release.  Lastly, the hand held camera also gets the consumers from the target audience being able to relate to the movie through owning this type of technology therefore creating a sense of real life which therefore will result in further revenue for the box office institutions as having a sense of real life elements within the movie will create demand in relation to Blumler and Katz uses and gratifications theory. In relation to the media theorist; audiences will want to see a movie to escape and relate from a personal view. This is further enhanced by having a hand held camera on the front of these posters as the target audience nowadays are in use of hand held technology and are constantly in contact with web 2.0 technologies. Therefore by the media institutions involving the hand held camera within the horror posters, it’ll result in demand being created for the movie as consumers wish to have some sort of interactivity with the horror movie in order to escape and relate it with their everyday lives and this can be shown by involving a hand held device on the front of the posters.

Conventions on the posters:

Both of these horror posters contain many conventions which are commonly associated with their psychological and paranormal hybrid genre. For example;

-          The common convention which can be seen by the target audience is the uses of the colour black. The media institutions have deliberately used the dark primary colours in order to connote the common conventions which are seen within this genre type of film. The colour black connotes to the target audience; darkness, enigma, paranormal events, death and mystery therefore by having heavy uses of this colour on the front cover of the posters, it will appeal to the target audience as they wish to know why the colour black features so heavily and if the common conventions associated with the colour black will be evident within the movie itself. Furthermore, the colour black is also a constant code with many horror films as it heavily endorses and creates and enigmatic atmosphere along with being a consistently used convention by many media institutions.

-          A conventional camera shot and angle has been used on both posters to appeal to the target audiences. For example, one poster has used an extreme close up shot in which the consumers are instantly hit with the facial expressions of the actor being used on the front cover. By having this extreme close up in use on the poster it conveys the common conventions seen within horror movies such as fear and danger. The sense of fear is being enhanced by the body language and facial expressions. By having the low angle of the camera looking directly up at the actor, it represents the actor as being in control however by having the mis-en-scene set in darkness around him and the sense of fear being represented within his eyes, the target audience can see and feel a sense of danger. In addition, by using this type of camera shot it makes the audience and consumers feel highly uncomfortable as being this close to someone’s face is unnatural and unconventional in everyday life. This therefore makes the consumers create demand for the movie as they wish to see why this individual is in such an unnatural pose and feeling uncomfortable. Furthermore, these types of facial expressions and body languages being represented are common conventions within a horror movie.

Non verbal language being created to the audience/camera angles:

Due to the position of some props and body language being represented to the consumers by the iconic figures used on the posters it creates demand for the horror movies and also connotes the common codes and conventions seen within this genre of movies.

-          By having the camera angle shot from a low angle within the Blair Witch Project poster it represents to the audience that this iconic figure is an protagonist that could possibly be in danger

-          The low camera angle represents a sense of uneasiness for viewers of the poster as they wish to find out why the camera is in such an unconventional position

-          The low camera angle shows the sense of fear within the protagonist’s eyes therefore creating suspense and enigma for the audience who wish to find out why he is feeling uncomfortable and possibly in danger. By having the majority of the primary colours used as dark and black it further extends the fact that this protagonist may be in danger due to something peering out from the dark woods within the film poster.

-          By having the iconic figures within the Paranormal Activity poster sitting in an unnatural manner within the bed’s it connotes to the audience that they have been awoken by something which could possibly be of some danger towards them

-          The body language represents to the audience that something unnatural and or paranormal is about to happen to the couple within the bed. The audience can easily extract this information from the finger pointing gesture being symbolised by the female actress.

-          The damsel in distress theme is also being portrayed within the horror film poster as the male actor is trying to comfort the female actress by having his arm close to her. The proximity between the two actors shows to the consumers that these two iconic figures are clearly distressed and staying very close to each other for protection.

Mis-en-scene and colours:

-          By having both posters containing dark colours such as black being the primary colour it connotes to the audience a sense of enigma as the uses of the colour are being used to cover up some iconic symbolisers which may connote to the audience of any hints about the movie itself

-          A great example of this can be seen within the Blair Witch Project film poster as the black is used to cover up the protagonist’s mouth therefore hiding any immediate facial expressions which may show to the audience what mood he is feeling or if he is in any immediate danger. This therefore creates demand for the movie as the target audience wish to find out why exactly his mouth is hidden out of view and if he is in any danger.

-          By having the setting of the poster taking place within the woods it also arises further enigma and also connotes to the audience that this horror film may have significant links to psychological/slasher elements within it as many consumers of horror movies today associate the woods or forest with murder scenes and/or paranormal events

-          The  fact that one main colour consisting of dark primary colours connotes to the audience the elements and codes which may be evident within the horror films

-          For example; the dark blue used within the Paranormal Activity is significant as it connotes to the audience that the film is being shot through a hand held device which is heavily endorsed through the lines across the screen creating realism and in relation to Blumler and Katz’ theory on uses and gratifications, will create demand from the target audience

-          The black used within the Blair Witch Project is significant as it connotes to the audience enigma and darkness which are common themes which occur within the film

-          In relation to the Paranormal Activity poster, the type of colour used for the text connotes the common themes which may be portrayed within the film itself. For example red connotes to the audience that themes such as; blood, death and danger may be shown within the movie which is again another convention within horror movies therefore creating demand for the movie upon release.  In addition, due to the intertidal being luminous in the colour red it immediately catches the consumer’s eyes and draws them in to see the movie. The fact that the words ‘Paranormal Activity’ are in an luminous effect it shows to the audience that something big and bright is about to occur within the movie therefore creating demand and revenue for the media institutions.

As a promotional package, these film posters released by the media institutions immediately appeal to the target audiences due to the common uses of the codes and conventions of a typical horror genre poster, the USP’s and the elements used to connote a sense of realism. The typical uses of the dark primary colours, representations of the actors and actresses used on the covers, the camera angle and shot types all connote to the audiences themes which will not only be shown within the films itself, but are also portraying the conventions of a horror genre. The dark colours connote enigma and fear, whilst the uses of the colour red promote a sense of danger and blood, all of which help to successfully promote a horror film as these conventions appeal heavily to the target audience therefore by having the posters further enhancing these elements will result in a huge revenue for the media institutions and demand created for the movie once its released. In addition, by having one of the horror posters containing an unconventional camera angle (The Blair Witch Project) it has resulted in the film having a unique selling point as this type of shot is uncommon among many horror genre’s therefore by having this single poster portraying this camera angle it makes it unique in comparison to the other conventional hybrid genre horror movies identical to this therefore appealing to a wider target audience and creating demand for the movie. The camera angle makes the consumers feel uncomfortable and makes them want to know why the camera is positioned in the way that it is. Lastly, both horror posters share almost identical target audiences in the sense that it’ll appeal vastly to older teenagers, however due to the Blair Witch Project poster containing a hand held camera it may appeal to an older audience and consumers of who are wealthy enough to own hand held devices as they will be the ones most likely to be able to relate to the movie through being able to actually afford and own this type of technology. In relation to the audience demographic scale, I believe that the group most likely to view both movies will be from the C2-D category.

Location Pictures

Our choice of location:

Our choice of location had to revolve around our plot for The Unknown, whereby an innocent girl called Annie (protagonist) is being stalked and haunted by the unknown spirits which are upheld within a house. As a group and collectively, we had decided that ideally the location would have to be set within a house which is situated within a sub urban neighbourhood. During our research we had conducted we had concluded that the ideal location will be a local and nearby house which will look identical to the houses situated nearby. The reason why we had decided to do this is because the opening establishing shot within our trailer is of the house therefore if we were to show a house which had looked typically spooky and derelict it would’ve given the plot away to the target audience immediately which is however quite conventional in some horror genre movies. Moreover, the plot also includes Annie moving into a new home therefore if the house were to be derelict it could’ve possibly confused the target audience and we may have possibly lost our sense of realism. In addition, due to this sub-urban neighbourhood holding some key conventions of a horror genre film, we had decided that this location will be ideal. For example, during the hours which we had conducted our shooting, we had found that through our extensive research that the tree’s which were located directly outside the homes had been given a shadow at a certain time of day therefore by using these spooky shadows during our trailer, it connotes to the audience that this house has a sense of enigma and spookiness about it. Also, after researching about the possible weather which we may have to expect during our times of shooting, we had found that the house will look ideal within the location during the days of which the sun was not present as this had allowed us to use natural sources of light to gain some key luminous and natural lighting in and around our location thus connoting to the target audience a sense of realism about the film along with enigma also. Lastly, due to some logistical problems which we had previously encountered when trying to shoot at several other locations, having set a the film within the sub-urban neighbourhood had allowed us to combat a logistical problem as we were located within a 5 mile radius in order to transport our equipment successfully.

Character Analysis

The Unknown cast list:

-          Protagonist, young girl called Annie (Played by Charu Abrol) – Annie is a young and fragile girl as explained within my analysis of Todorov’s narrative theory and is the main character within the film. The audience can clearly see that Annie is the protagonist within the film as she is continuously featured within the trailer therefore connoting to the audience that Annie is of some significance within the film. Moreover due to the way in which Annie is represented within the trailer through the help of the way the mis-en-scene to convey her, shows to the audience that Annie is in a fragile and scared state. For example, upon Annie’s arrival to the haunted house, Annie is represented from low camera angles therefore making her look weak which therefore enables the audience to connote that this girl is possibly going to be in danger. Moreover, within the house, little flickers of lights seem to unsettle Annie which therefore connotes to the audience that she is fragile and possibly scared of where she might be.

-          Antagonist, haunted spirit (Played by Ashwin Salhotra)- This enigmatic figure is represented to the audience as being mysterious and of some significance to the house in which Annie has decided to move into. In relation to the trailer, there are some cutaway shots showing this dark and enigmatic figure within the house with his identity however being hidden from the camera. Moreover due to this character being represented within dark clothing and surround with low key lighting, it connotes to the audience that this mysterious figure may possibly be the antagonist within the film. We had purposely decided to keep the identity of the antagonist within this film as hidden as the audience will be left in suspense as to who is the figure behind the dark clothing. Moreover many of my analysis and research conducted on psychological/slasher horror genre films had showed me that the majority of the antagonist’s within the films have their identities hidden from the camera during and trailers for example and tend not to be revealed until during the film hence why I had decided to convey this within my trailer in order to portray the common codes and conventions within psychological/slasher horror films and to maintain realism.

Extra’s:

During the creation of my trailer, I had originally included some extra cast members in order to aid and assist with the trailer of The Unknown. However after conducting my research I had eventually concluded that any inclusion of other actor’s/actresses may have diverted attention away from my main protagonist and antagonist within the movie itself. In addition, from researching psychological/slasher horror trailers such as Paranormal Activity for example, this trailer heavily relies on just single characters with an antagonist or just a minimal number of people within a trailer. I had discovered that using the very minimum amount of people within my trailer had resulted in greater emphasis of enigma and fear being portrayed from a single character as more powerful as it doesn’t divert attention away and also using just a single character allows the audience to interact and engage with the movie itself through everyone being their own individual. I believe that this had a greater impact upon the target audience and this can be further supported from feedback which I have received as a result.

Poster Analysis

 

Connotations and denotations:

Once these horror and slasher film posters hit the box offices it will be evident to its consumers that this comes from a certain hybrid genre. Immediately we are struck by the both of these posters containing an iconic figure on it, low key lighting and having dark enigmatic colours surrounding the majority of the film posters. Through both these film posters immediately using an iconic figure shown, it connotes to the consumers of the target audience that these films will contain an element of enigma and possibly slasher type of scenes. Firstly, in reference to the iconic figure shown on the Scream 4 poster, the audience are held in suspense as they wish to know why there is a mask on the film poster and if there is an antagonist within the movie who is represented to the audience by wearing this identifiable mask. In relation to many horror films which appear within the genre the common convention is having an iconic figure on the front with a sense of mystery created, which in this sense is created and upheld by the mask seen.  This convention is also upheld again and created by the mystery figure shown in the Exorcist poster. The audience cannot see any facial expressions on the character, however due to the way in which he is positioned and represented through his body language and proximity from the camera shot creates an element of mystery and suspense for the audience. The consumers from the target audience wish to know who this mystery figure is and if the connotations created through his body language such as mystery and spookiness are upheld within the film itself.   In addition, another common convention within these horror posters and many posters within the slasher genre is the low key lighting used. In reference to the Scream 4 poster the low key lighting helps to maintain an enigmatic atmosphere and spookiness; again another common convention within this hybrid horror genre. For example, due to the way in which the lighting is positioned within the Scream 4 poster, it represents him as powerful and this is also the common denotations created within the Exorcist poster. The denotations being given off by the figure shown in the Scream poster due to the lighting being positioned from a low angle represent him/her as being superior and in power. The fact that the target audience can only see half of the antagonist’s face on the poster keeps an element of mystery as the audience wish to see the revelation of the whole mask. By having the lighting positioned from a low angle represents this individual as powerful also as the audience get the sense of being looked down upon making them also feel venerable. Furthermore, this feeling of vulnerability is shown by the victims within the movie therefore by having the audience made to feel in the same way gives them a sense of audience interactivity which therefore creates demand for the movie as a result in reference to the theory of Blumler and Katz.

Conventions on the posters:

Both of these horror posters contain many conventions which are commonly associated with their slasher and stalker hybrid genre. For example;

-          The common convention which can be seen by the target audience is the uses of the colour black. The media institutions have deliberately used the dark primary colours in order to connote the common conventions which are seen within this genre type of film. The colour black connotes to the target audience; darkness, enigma, death and mystery therefore by having heavy uses of this colour on the front cover of the posters, it will appeal to the target audience as they wish to know why the colour black features so heavily and if the common conventions associated with the colour black will be evident within the movie itself. Furthermore, the colour black is also a constant code with many horror films as it heavily endorses and creates and enigmatic atmosphere along with being a consistently used convention by many media institutions.

-          A conventional camera shot and angle has been used on both posters to appeal to the target audiences. For example, the Scream 4 poster contains a close up image of a mask which is heavily enigmatic and connotes the common conventions within a horror genre. The use of that particular camera shot makes the consumers to feel uncomfortable as this it is highly unusual to be that close to someone’s face unless within an aggressive manner. Therefore  by Scream using it on their poster, it will ultimately result in demand being created for the movie as the audience wish to see who is actually behind the mask and why are they being represented in this manner on the front of the poster.

-          The low camera angle used on the Scream 4 poster conveys and represents the masked antagonist as being in power and superior as the figure is being shown from the bottom up makes the consumers view him/her in this way therefore representing him as being with high importance and with dominating power.

-          The wide shot used on the poster of The Exorcist shows a lone and shadowy figure positioned as viewing a house with its lights on.  This is a common convention within the hybrid genre as it upholds the stereotype of mystery within these types of horror films. By having the lonesome figure stood there with his/her back facing towards the audience it creates enigma immediately as the audience wish to know who this figure is. In addition by having the lonesome figure stood and positioned directly outside a house gives the connotations of this figure being a stalker type of antagonist.

Non verbal language being created to the audience/camera angles:

Due to the position of some props and body language being represented to the consumers by the iconic figures used on the posters it creates demand for the horror movies and also connotes the common codes and conventions seen within this genre of movies.

-          By having the camera angle shot from a low angle within the Scream 4 poster it represents to the audience that this iconic figure is an antagonist

-          The low camera angle represents a sense of uneasiness for viewers of the poster as they wish to find out why the camera is in such an unconventional position

-          The low camera angle represents the masked figure as having power and status as due to the way in which the camera is angled makes the audience have to look up almost therefore giving the masked figure a sense of status and hierarchy.

-          The Exorcist connotes many non verbal language

-          Due to the low key lighting used to illuminate the lonesome figure stood outside a house it represents the figure as being a stalker.

-          Although there isn’t any verbal language used to state that the lonesome figure is a stalker, due to the body language being represented (the fact that the figure is looking directly into a house in an enigmatic way) shows that this figure is mysterious and possibly the antagonist

-          The fact that there is a bright luminous light coming directly from the window and illuminating the stalker positioned outside the house conveys to the audience that this figure has some sort of significance with the room. Due to this film being within a horror genre, this could convey that this figure has returned with a vengeance and motive to kill or harm

Mis-en-scene and colours:

-          By having both posters containing dark colours such as black being the primary colour it connotes to the audience a sense of enigma as the uses of the colour are being used to cover up some clues which may reveal some information about the film itself

-          A great example of this can be seen within the Exorcist poster. The fact that the figure is being lit up but the consumers cannot see the facial features gives a sense of mystery to the audience as they wish to know who this figure is and why are they stood outside a house in this way

-          Also, by having the colour black used, it covers up the identity of this stalker that is being represented to the audience

-          By having the setting of the poster taking place within a neighbourhood which is evident due to the surroundings outside the houses represents an element of real life within the film. This will therefore create demand for the film upon its release in relation to Blumler and Katz’ theory of narrative

-          The  fact that one main colour consisting of dark primary colours connotes to the audience the elements and codes which may be evident within the horror films

-          For example; the black used on the posters creates a sense of enigma and mystery. This is further heightened within the Scream 4 and Exorcist poster’s as the consumers cannot see the identity of the antagonist which is being represented on the front of the poster

-          In relation to the Scream 4 poster, the type of colour used for the text connotes the common themes which may be portrayed within the film itself. For example red connotes to the audience that themes such as; blood, death and danger may be shown within the movie which is again another convention within horror movies therefore creating demand for the movie upon release.  In addition, due to the intertidal being luminous in the colour red it immediately catches the consumer’s eyes and draws them in to see the movie.