2. Promotional Package Brief
2. A promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer,
together with a film magazine front cover featuring the film and a
poster for the film.
For my project this year, I decided to pick the second brief, which focused on
creating a promotional package for a new film, which would include a teaser
trailer, a film magazine front cover featuring the film and a poster for the film.
I picked this specific brief due to the fact that it appealed to my interest, and
creating a film trailer would be a new experience for me, as I have never had
experience with creating one before.
I decided to pick the genre of a horror movie as the genre of the film because of
the fact that they generally allow for two parts to the trailer, one part where the
trailer has a particularly happy and cheerful vibe and then, usually half way
through, suddenly shift to a darker and more intense vibe. This is something
which has always appealed to me, and I’d love to try and replicate this concept
to the best of my ability.
3. Audience and Distributors
Based on the genre of my film trailer (horror) I have decided that the target
audience for my film will be young adults and adults, and I will try and avoid
conventions which could market the film towards a younger audience.
As for the distributor of my film, I
would choose to publish the film under
Lionsgate Films. They are a large film
producer/distributor, who have already
had experience with many popular
horror movies such as ‘You’re Next’,
‘Texas Chainsaw 3D’ and ‘Saw’.
Because of these notable releases, I am
confident that Lionsgate would be the
right distributors for my film and film
trailer, unlike companies like Disney
that tend to lean towards family-
oriented/child friendly films.
4. Initial Ideas
I hope to use real locations from around the area to shoot
the trailer. Possibly in a dark house, or perhaps find an
old, derelict building somewhere to film the scenes.
This would have advantages as it would enable the
setting and trailer itself to look real and authentic. I plan
to film all of the trailer using natural lighting. This would
further produce an authentic and realistic setting which
would help make my trailer appear more professional.
Unlike other genres, artificial lighting is not too much of
an issue when filming a horror movie/trailer, especially
in some of the darker/unsettling moments of the film.
5. Trailer Inspiration – You’re Next
Much of the inspiration for creating my film trailer comes from
existing movie trailers, specifically those in the horror genre. One
example I watched was the trailer for the film ‘You’re Next’.
Things I picked up on:
1. Starts normally, full colour, fade transitions.
2. Happy emotions/cheerful, calming music
3. Text displayed over video (fade in/out transitions)
4. Sudden shift in vibe. Intense music, dark colours, clips end suddenly
rather than with transition.
5. Lots of short pieces of footage played in rapid succession.
6. Camera angles more close-up to emphasise individual character’s
emotions rather than the cast as a collective.
7. Emphasised sound effects
6. Trailer Inspiration - Alien
Alien is a 1979 sci-fi horror film.
The main thing I picked up when
watching the movie, and something
that I will incorporate into my own
trailer, is the use of music, or perhaps
the lack of it at certain points.
Unlike other genres, no music playing
in the background can work well to
build suspense, and music is not
required throughout the whole trailer,
with dramatic music playing at the key
points that will hopefully make the
audience scared. This contrast between
lack of music and music accompanied
with the suspenseful and scary
moments of the film help to emphasise
the fear and drama that is going on
within the film.
7. Trailer Inspiration – Apartment 1303
While watching the trailer for the film ‘Apartment 1303’,
I picked up on the use of editing.
One of the main things I picked up on, and I see as a
convention of a typical horror film, is the use of quick,
sudden jumps between shots during the more intense
and dramatic parts of the trailer, probably used to show
the chaos of what is happening, the confusion and
disorientation, mirroring how the characters on-screen
would be feeling.
Shots tend to last no longer than a second or two during
the intense parts, however parts with silence or a calm
tone appear to last longer, building suspense until the
next big dramatic point within the trailer.
8. Poster Inspiration – The Amityville Horror
Much of the inspiration for creating my
poster design, one of the other tasks
within the brief, comes from existing
horror movie posters. One example I
watched was the trailer for the film
‘The Amityville Horror’.
This poster appears to give off the
impression of a horror movie poster.
One of the things which stands out to
me is the use of red text against a black
background. Unlike other posters for
films of other genres, there is minimal
text on this one, and, instead, a
simplistic title on the lower half of the
poster, rather than large, heavily edited
fonts and text across the centre of the
image or placed at the top of the image.
I will use this simplistic text located on
the lower half of the poster in my own
design, as it appears to be very
simplistic while still giving the theme of
fear.
10. Magazine Inspiration – Empire
For the film magazine front cover, I
spotted this design from a cover of
Empire magazine.
One of the main things which I picked
up on when taking a look at this cover
was the lighting.
The left hand side of the cover is
entirely dark, with no light whatsoever.
The right hand side of the cover,
however, is illuminated, revealing,
partially, Hannibal Lecter’s face,
prominently focusing on his eye and
facial expressions, revealing a
menacing expression. This creates the
desired impact of conveying the theme
of the movie and attracting the
audience, however still manages to
remain simplistic.
