1. A promotion package for a new film, to include a new teaser
trailer, together with two of the three following three options.
• A website homepage for a film.
• A film magazine front cover, featuring the film.
• A poster for the film.

2. What are the conventions of a
horror teaser trailer?
 The trailer usually lasts 1.30-2minuets.
 The idea of a teaser trailer is to make you aware of the new
film.
 The audience get the idea that there will be a film released
soon.
 The reason it is called teaser is because, it doesn’t give
anything from the film away.
 The pace usually starts slow and then picks up.
 The teaser trailer is usually made when editing the final
production, this means some parts of the teaser trailer might
not be included in the final film.
 Uses similar editing techniques all the way through, for
example dip to black, that creates suspension as well as
leaving the audience in anxiety.
 Diegetic and Non diegetic sound, fit the piece and you have
both included within your trailer.

3. Research
Looking through many different horror trailers, made me start analyzing
them and I found many similarities between all of the trailers. First of all
at the start of the trailers there is the green band sign as well as film
companies, the green band sign which intends that the trailer has been
approved for all audiences by MPAA’s standards. I wanted to include
the green band on my trailer to make it look professional. I also created
my own film production company trademark which was JLA
productions, I used Photoshop to create this picture, which I think gave
my film its own identity at the start of the film. I also inserted some well
known film companies at the start of the film, BBC films and Trademark
films, this is to create a professional look to my film trailer with all three
film companies.

4. In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?
 Whilst doing research on horror trailers, it
became clear the conventions of a horror
trailer, is that you have to start your trailer
with an establishing shot of where the film
is set. There needs to be a calm tone and a
slow pace build up, to a fast pace scary
edited together, what I would call the middle
section of the trailer. Then at the end of the
trailer, the pace slows right the way down
and something shocking happens. Here is
how I have tried to recreate the same
conventions, structure and pass to create
my horror trailer. First of all I have created
an opening in which it sets the story for my
trailer, (calm tone and slow place build up).
I then move into an establishing of where
the trailer is set, but in a spooky manor with
the mist. As well as the change in music.

5. Before we started filming whilst looking
through different horror trailers, it wasn’t
just the footage that had the effect on the
viewer, but it was the lighting, sound mise
en scene, camera angles and shots. Some
of these can be added during the editing
stage, or before and when you and the
team are filming.

6. Mise-en scene
We wanted to get the mise-en scene exactly right for the two characters, Daisy the
Babysitter as well as the stalker played bye myself. We wanted daisy in casual cloths,
which I thought we portrayed very well, as she was wearing a zipped up hoody and
jeans, on the other hand we wanted myself in all black cloths to conceal my identity.
Before there is any horror points daisy is sat on the settee watching the news, in a
family home. This brings the pace of the film down until the horror starts to happen.
Another scene which was really important for mise-en scene was 0.32 seconds, where
you were able to see Josie asleep in her bed and Daisy checking she was ok. This was
important because we wanted to make sure the room looked like a child's room, but it
also needed to look professional. The light when the Josie is sleeping I think was a
really nice touch to add to the scene. On the other hand the Mise-en scene had to be
right for the scary parts as well, for example at the end of the film 1.22 with daisy tied to
the chair, we looked through the chairs I have in my house and picked the wooden one;
as well as selecting the rope, gag, and knife.

7. Sound
I used many different sound clips in
my trailer, some diegetic but to give
the creepy and spooky effect a lot of
the sound was also non diegetic. To
edit the sounds I was used for my
trailer I used a program called
logic, I used logic cut up my
music, as well as increase the bass
on some of the horror tracks and the
treble on others using the EQ
master, as well as the mixer. I also
added compression to the tracks
reverb and other plug ins, to create
the effects I wanted for my teaser
trailer.

8. Sound
To continue I used logic to piece all of the music together and the, bounced it
all down into the format that worked on Adobe Premiere Pro which was MP3.
Finally I used automation as well as using the master on premiere pro, this
allowed me to have smooth but changing music between, my audio clips to
create a piece of music that fitted with my footage. At the start of the piece
there is a childlike piano playing, to create the scary and suspicious
atmosphere, which then develops into an ambient horror noise, I used this
music because when there is dialogue, you can still hear it above of the music.
There is then a heartbeat which I used, I added a bass boost to it and fiddled
with the timing so the beat got faster and changed the grand master so the beat
got louder. Finally there is a fast paced music which constantly is clipped on the
master, for the reason that the music does not sound nice at all and as well as
the video is trying to make the audience jump. The music then goes back to the
original childlike piano. This is effect is used in many horror trailers and is a
convention I used used in my trailer as well.
Heartbeat
Automation

9. Lighting
During filming we had to film each scene with a different mind set, first of all
during filming you need to take into consideration not just the shot angle and
movement, but also the lighting mise-en scene and sound. All of these different
conventions contribute to the final trailer. For many scenes in my trailer we
used different lighting effects, the first establishing shot is set in the mist, which
with the music sets the rest of the trailer in a unnerving and apprehensive tone.
Furthermore for my ending scene we placed the chair in the middle of the
room, with four different sets of lights on all of the walls, we picked this room
because of the lighting as well as the space to create the right effect. Lighting
for myself proved to be a very useful tool which I used to my advantage, to
create the best atmosphere for my trailer.

10. Camera angles and shots.
Before we started to film as a group we decided not to have
anything to difficult, so instead we used simple shots but
executed them well. At the start of the piece I used a medium
shot to record the conversation between the characters, the
mother and babysitter. I used this to set the trailer so everyone
got into there mind sets what the trailer is about. A medium shot
is a simple shot which is not shocking at all so the pace at the
start of the film is slow and calm. This carries onto the next shot
when we look at the child in bed asleep. The mood then
changes in the next shot when we do a pan of the outside, when
there is mist all around the house and you get the feeling
someone is there watching the house. This sets the scene but
starts to create a slight scary tone to the trailer. This is proved in
the next shot when there is a low angle shot, 0.49 when the
stalker is watching the babysitter.

11. Camera shots
I then used the over the shoulder shot to get the reaction, of the
babysitter in my trailer of someone smashing on the door 0.55. The
reaction looked great and really effective. I then at the door used the
over the shoulder shot again to 1.00. This gave the suspense that
someone was going to jump out into the babysitters face, but the
attacker doesn’t. We then did a close up of the babysitters face and
then a side on view of when the attacker, strikes her down 1.05. From
this angle you can clearly see her get struck down to the floor. There is
then a zoom out from a close up of the babysitter and you can see the
legs of the attacker 1.08. This is another establishing shot to show that
the attacker is now inside of the cozy house.

12. Camera Shots
For the last section of the trailer the pace sped up dramatically,
therefore some close ups and medium shots were used, as well as tilts
and other camera shots and angles. The medium shot of the baby sitter
outside the house trying to get into the house, this medium shot is
distressing for the audience as well as the first time you get a shadow
of the killer, which interests the audience because they want to see the
face of the killer but don’t 1.10 The drag scene is in time with the music,
which gives it more of an effect as well as being extremely fast1.13. We
then have a close up of the killers feet scene before the final scene,
which is effective because it shows that the killer is now in the house
1.19 which sets up the final scene. In final scene, we see a tilt up from
the bottom of the chair to the face, which reveals that daisy is tied and
gaged to a chair he raises the knife and there are 5 shocking pictures
that quickly appear on screen. This is a distressing and scary image for
the audience and leaves them on edge wanting to see more.

13. Editing
Once I had put all of my footage into place there was a
lot of editing, to be done to create a decent teaser
trailer. To get a sense of continuity during my trailer was
extremely difficult to achieve, but the tool dip to black
helped me create this. I used the razor tool to cut all of
my footage up on premiere pro, as well as the pairing
tool in which I took away the audio in some clips and
replaced it with my own audio. Furthermore I also used
another editing technique for the pictures at the end of
the footage, called push which allowed me to quickly
bring all the shocking images on, within 2 seconds. To
create the titles at the end of the piece, I used
the, create a title in Premiere pro, so that the end
sequence looks professional to the audience.

14. Titles
Many horror trailers use intertitles within there trailer to explain the
narrative as well as allowing the viewers imagination to increase the
tension within the trailer. I found that this convention was a really
effective and useful, I created my own intertitles using adobe
Photoshop.
To create these two intertitles I used a fire image, then dimmed
the brightness and increased the contrast. I then changed the hue and
Saturation and increased the red curser, to create the background. I
then used DA FONT to find the bold writing on top of the background,
which is easy for the reader to read as well as the white color
complementing the background.

15. Titles
Furthermore there are other titles I used to make my trailer look
professional.
A teaser trailer is meant to leave the audience
wanting to find out more, this title achieves this
because it does not give away when this film will
be coming out, unlike proper trailers which usually
give the release date . I have also clearly given
the audience a clear website address so they can
keep on checking when the release date is.
In many horror trailers you often see this still
intertitle, which is a convention made to shock and alarm
the audience.
Finally I created the film title, this is a convention to
all trailers, I decided to use the font that is also
used on my teaser poster for my ancillary task. The
idea is that the audience will start to get the same
image title, into there heads and therefore they will
want to go and see, THE SENSELESS.

16. Was your product an effective
piece?
From the positive audience feedback that I received, I feel that my trailer
has shocked and alarmed the audience, these are the connotations of a
teaser trailer. Here are some comments from my blog.
PembersJohn wrote:
“This is really good the conventions of the teaser trailer fit really well, the
still images tell the plot. At the end of the trailer the last scene is shot
leaving the audience in suspense and then the at the start with the mother
it sets the trailer, and the shot in the bed after is nice to show the child is
asleep and okay oblivious of what is going to happen. The music is really
well put together the transitions are good. Well Done James.”
Thedarkadresss wrote:
This is good - the conventions of the teaser trailer are observed well and
there is a clear contrast between the loud and frenzied music and the
childlike piano.
From just this feedback as you can see the music works as well as the
filming and editing, it has done what a teaser trailer should do shock the
audience but it doesn’t give to much away.

17. How effective is the
combination of your main
product and your ancillary
tasks?

18. Teaser Poster
My idea for the teaser poster was to create a
successful teaser poster, that would grab the
audiences attention. I have created a poster that is
shocking as well as alarming. I have brought parts of
the picture down as well as bringing the contrast up
on daisy herself, to create a feared and scared look
in daisy’s face as if someone is watching her. I have
then put the tag line someone will be watching, this
matches my poster as well as giving a slight hint at
what my trailer is going to be about. Furthermore I
have put the JLA productions sign in the bottom left
hand corner of the poster, as well as the certificate
18 in the bottom right corner to make the poster look
professional.
PembersJohn Wrote:
“This is a really well put together poster it looks
professional the house looks scary as well as the girl
looking scared. The credits as well as the film
company sign and the certificate 18 fits really well. It
is simple, clean, professional and effective.”

19. Magazine front cover
The magazine title I chose for my magazine title was
“EMPIRE” this is the worlds largest and famous movie
magazine. When doing research I found empire has a
limited color scheme, but the magazine in the end looks
simple but effective. The central image has the
conventions of a magazine and I have tried to make it
stand out to the audience. I have tried to make the
magazine look professional, so that it could go onto shop
flaws now the bar code, price, and website emphasizes
this point . The tag line gets the audience
intrigued, because people trust empires views on films and
that is a bold tag line to have at the top of the page.
PembersJohn wrote:
“This magazine front cover fits in with the genre of horror
really well, a strong magazine brand like empire
automatically makes it look official as well as the
date, price and bar code. The image is still has a clear
sense of fear behind it as well as being striking to the
viewer. The girl looks trapped, scared and if something is
coming to get her. The senseless is clear to the audience
and shows the title of the film. The tag line at the top of the
page is also effective as it shows how good this film
actually is if it is the "horror event of the year". Well done
James a really good Magazine front cover.”

20. How would the three texts work
as a strategy for marketing ?
Advertising is essential within my product, there is
know point in making a product if it is not going to
sell. My teaser poster grabs the audiences attention
and gives just enough information away, for you to
hang on and want to watch the trailer. On the other
hand my Empire magazine is has a red title it would
stand out on shelves, the audience will want to pick
up and read about my movie. Finally my teaser trailer
drags people in with the typical conventions of the
horror trailer, and then gives the viewer the website
so they can look up more about the trailer. All three
work really well together as a team and lure people in
to watch the film.

21. What have I learnt from my
audience feedback?
 As a group we also went round and gathered
information from our piers and teachers, about
the movie title for our film “The Senseless”.
 My audience feedback has been extremely
helpful as it has let me been able to pick
through my work and let me see, if I have got
the right conventions for my teaser trailer, as
well as seeing if my two ancillary tasks have
been created to a professional standard .
 Audience feedback was mainly gathered from
blogger but, my work has been shown to
friends and family, as well to who have all
given me critical feedback.

22. How did you use new media
technologies in the
construction, research, planning
and evaluation stages?

23. Construction
To construct my film I had to use cameras and recording equipment.
This was the first time I had ever picked up a camera so I had to be a
fast learner, the camera was a standard video camera. My group and I
had problems at the start when we went to our first location. But once
we had got used to using it the second time, it was worth it for my final
teaser trailer. Although we had a basic video camera we did however
have a really good sound kit, which made a massive difference to my
teaser trailer. This included the microphone, probe stand, a shotgun
stand to hold the microphone dead still, headphones as well as
adjusters to pick up where the sound was coming from . We all
swapped round and each had a go at using all of the equipment.

24. Construction
Furthermore there was one program I was a complete novice at, this was
adobe premiere pro CS5. This was very difficult all of the editing and
getting the right effects on the clips, as well as making sure all of the audio
was set to play at the right time took hours on end. But in the end I
produced a decent teaser trailer.
I have used logic before as I have access to it at home and then I
realized, we also have it in school. But this was a learning experience all of
the automation, fades all took a lot of time as I have never been that in
depth into the program.
The last program I used was Photoshop for my teaser Poster and Empire
magazine which took a lot of editing, to get daisy to look like that on the
poster. Combined with Photoshop I also used DA FONT which enabled me
to access the text I wanted for my ancillary tasks.

25. Research
 For all of the horror trailers I have
researched I used YouTube which let me
watch countless horror trailers.
 Furthermore I used Google as a search
engine, for all of the horror posters and
magazines I looked through to make sure
my own poster and front cover fitted in with
the genre.
 I used blogger as well to search through
previous students blogs, to keep me on the
right track, as well as picking different
ideas I may like to include in my horror
trailer.

26. Planning
 All of the planning and research is
stored on blogger, but a lot of it was
hand written before. It was then
transferred onto my blog. YouTube also
let me embed videos onto my blog, so I
was able to analyze all of the horror
trailers online, which made it a lot easier
if you have the video in front of yourself
playing.

27. Evaluation
 For my evaluation I used Microsoft
PowerPoint 2011, this program allowed
me to insert pictures, text, and diagrams
to analyze your own work. I intend to
upload this slideshow to blogger by
using slide share, which will let me
embed the slideshow onto a blog post.
Slide share makes the format that will be
compatible for people to read and flick
through.

28. Conclusion
 This has been a huge challenge and experience
which I have enjoyed thoroughly. I have picked up
new skills as well as using new programs. But I am
very happy with my finished project, I think my trailer
reaches all of the conventions of a horror trailer. If I
had to do the experience again I would check how to
work the equipment before I went and filmed, be
more organized and to make sure I focused on the
little details, as well as the bigger ones. As well as
saving my work regularly because when we
experienced a power cut, I lost all of my work and
had to start again. I can now appreciate, how much
work goes into a trailer let alone a full blown
production.