Researching similar products

How are films funded?

How are films funded?

Film name and fonts

All of the above are the initial ideas for my film trailer name. After looking at different names that you can see I decided to call it ‘Scratching the surface’ because it links well to my story line of a group of young children searching for their grandmas spirit under the surface but are faced with an un-invited character. The phrase ‘scratching the surface’ I found will be good with attracting my target audience because its like uncovering a mystery that is unknown and the consequences that will be faced along the way.

The film name on the left third down, I really liked this one when I was editing all of them I thought the effect was good because the words had dropped a little lower leaving a bit of a shadow above it. I loved the film name un-invited but I soon found out that there was already a film out with this name.

The film name that I would like to use for my film trailer is going to be the one in the top right hand corner. I feel this will be suited well to the point of my film and it looks really mysterious and with the scratches behind the text it looks really affective and I think will stand out to the audience. It could bring suspense to the audience because they will be wanting to find out what will be underneath the surface and what will it do to the characters.

Dyer Star Theory

Dyer Star Theory - slideshow

Legal Responsibilities

Legal responsibilities

When making a film there are a variety of different legal responsibilities that need to be taken into consideration, this is so there can be no mistakes when in the process of film making that could disrupt it. One of the biggest responsibilities is plagiarism, not copying an existing original film is vital or following the storylines of TV programmes. Not only could this lose viewers because they have previously seen something the same but also the directors and production companies of that film/tv could sue you and lose money and possibly lower the reputation of the film before its even released.

Both for my film trailer and magazine, following on from my BBFC research I need to make sure that my age classification is under the right category that would appeal to my target audience. For example as my genre for the film is horror, there is possibility to be some blood and weapons that could come across offensive to the younger generation so finding the age classification that is suitable for who I wanted to read the magazine and watch the film is really important at this stage. If there were inappropriate images within the magazine and a child under the age of 13 for example brought it their parents could sue the company. 

Also with censorship I need to make sure that nothing harmful or sensitive that could offended any of my target audience or anyone reading my magazine or watching the film. This is why I have to be very careful who I promote them both. For this reason my target audience for both my film trailer and magazine will be 15 and above this is so the content within them wont be a problem to this age and they are at a suitable age to be involved with this type of media.

Magazine Audience Profiles

Magazine Audience Profiles

Film Name ideas

Ancilliary Task 1 - Magazine front cover - Initial thoughts

Ancilliary Task 1 - Magazine Front Cover BRIEF

We have been asked to create a magazine front cover for a film review magazine, advertising my new product that i will be releasing. Throughout the magazine front cover we are required to use our own images that we have taken ourselves, as well as our own content and creation of our layout.

Primary research - Questionnaire Results

After questioning my audience directly prior to sending out this questionnaire, it was clear that they all thought my film trailer would be a lot more successful using the genre of Horror. This gave me a start to different specific ideas i could do and particular questions that i needed to be answered my questionnaires for my primary research. 

Todorov Theory

Production Companies

Film Inspiration - Horror

Conventions of Horror Films

How are conventions so effective on an audience?

In any type of film that is produced the conventions within them are the most important factors of the film becoming successful and is very effective with the audiences decision of how they feel about the film. Throughout a film the conventions used are the bits that bring the film together and create the whole story and realistic feel of the film. Within a horror film the conventions have to be carefully researched in order to make the film successful, making sure that all the editing and lighting effects are correctly positioned so that each section looks real and brings across the atmosphere feel to the audience. With a horror film, making sure the lighting is dark and creates shadows from the minimal light being shone through will be more effective on the audience because it relates back to the meaning of horror. Also the setting for a horror film needs to be thought about because of what the story will tell and how this will be put across in the most effective way to an audience. For example, if it is a paranormal film then filming in somewhere like an old mansion or just a normal house will be the best place because of all the props that can be used during filming and will sometimes make the cost lower. Sound is another effective convention because it can emphasis on what is going on and can sometimes give the audience false reactions because of the suspense that the sounds create. Like a scream will make the audience scream. Editing is another important convention because it pieces together all the important scenes that have been filmed and creates the story of the film. Having a variety of different shots also is effective on the audience because it can create a different because it creates a different point of view from each angle and can see different things.

Promotional Material for typical films

Intended Target Audience

Paranormal Activity Case Study

Paranormal Activity

Budget

$15,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend

$19,617,650 (USA) (16 October 2009) (760 Screens)
$77,873 (USA) (27 September 2009) (12 Screens)
£3,593,762 (UK) (29 November 2009) (394 Screens)

Worldwide gross - $196,681,656

Filming Locations

San Diego, California, USA

California, USA

USA

Bavarian Drive, Rancho Peñasquitos, San Diego, California, USA

Production Companies

Solana Films

Blumhouse Productions – Founded and ran by Jason Blum. The company produces micro and low-budget genre movies.

Distributors

·       Paramount Pictures (2009) (USA) (theatrical)

·       DreamWorks SKG (2009) (USA) (theatrical)

·       Distribution Company (2009) (Argentina) (theatrical)

·       E1 Entertainment Benelux (2009) (Netherlands) (theatrical)

·       FS Film Oy (2009) (Finland) (theatrical)

·       Golden Village Pictures (2009) (Singapore) (theatrical)

·       Icon Film Distribution (2009) (Australia) (theatrical)

·       Presidio (2010) (Japan) (theatrical)

·       Senator Film (2009) (Germany) (theatrical)

·       Thim Film (2009-2010) (Austria) (theatrical)

·       Village Films (2009) (Greece) (theatrical)

·       Viva International Pictures (2009) (Philippines) (theatrical)

·       Argentina Video Home (2010) (Argentina) (DVD)

·       Audio Visual Entertainment (2010) (Greece) (DVD)

·       Bazuca Films (2009) (Chile) (all media)

·       CatchPlay (2009) (Taiwan) (all media)

·       E1 Entertainment Benelux (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD)

·       E1 Entertainment Benelux (2010) (Netherlands) (Blu-ray) (DVD)

·       E1 Entertainment Benelux (2010) (Netherlands) (VHS) (limited edition)

·       FS Film (2010) (Finland) (Blu-ray) (DVD)

·       Film1 (2010) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)

·       Intercontinental Video (2010) (Hong Kong) (DVD)

·       Paramount Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (VHS) (limited edition)

·       Paramount Home Video (2009) (Canada) (DVD)

·       Paramount Home Video (2009) (USA) (DVD)

·       Prisvídeo - Edições Videográficas (2009) (Portugal) (all media)

·       Senator Home Entertainment (2010) (Germany) (DVD)

·       Senator Home Entertainment (2010) (Germany) (Blu-ray) (DVD)

·       Wild Bunch Distribution (2009) (France) (all media)

Technical specifications

Sound Mix	Dolby Digital
Color	Color
Aspect Ratio	1.85 : 1
Camera	Sony FX1 (Zeiss Zoom Lenses)
Film Length	2,350 m (Portugal, 35 mm)
Negative Format	HDV (1080i)
Cinematographic Process	DV HDV
Printed Film Format	35 mm D-Cinema