1. How does your media product use,
develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?

2. TRAILER

3. In my trailer I used similar conventions
from the film Blair Witch Project. I
used a similar narrative of teenagers
recording footage using hand held
video cameras. Also I introduced the
narrative using titles at the start, white
font against a black background so that
the audience are informed of the
storyline of the film. I found using
titles is a common convention in
horror film trailers as it appears to be
much more effective than the use of
voiceovers in order to create
atmosphere and build suspense with
in the audience.

4. A decided on filming my trailer from a hand
held camera perspective as I researched
popular horror films and ones that audiences
found most frightening, I found that
Paranormal Activity and also Blair Witch
Project used the hand held camera effect.
Audiences found this most scary as it created
a greater sense of realism for them, thus
making the film even more terrifying. Also,
the quick movements and unsteadiness of the
camera is used to create a sense of panic and
chaos rather than just using smooth camera
movements.
Another convention I used to introduce the
narrative was scenes of the main character in
distress talking to the camera in a close up
shot in low key lighting with torches.

5. I decided to use a “normal family
home” as the location for my teaser
trailer. This is a common feature in
horror films to create realism for
the audience rather than using a
fantasy location. Using the location
of a family home is convention used
regularly in horror films, for
example one of the similar trailers
that I researched, Paranormal
Activity is shot entirely with in a
family home. I wanted my trailer to
have a Paranormal Activity esque as
this has been popular amongst
audiences.

6. The main character in my trailer is wearing white clothing and has blonde hair,
this is to convey a representation to the audience of her being innocent and
vulnerable. However at the end of the trailer this character becomes
possessed by the ghost/demon which is terrorizing them and she becomes
evil. This is contrasted with the mise en scene used, the white clothing
representing purity contrasts with her now becoming evil.

7. In my trailer sound plays a large part. I use the common diegetic sounds of screams
and bangs to show fear and panic. I developed an idea from a scene in Blair Witch
Project where the main character is directly addressing the camera. I used this a lot
more through out my trailer and kept cutting back to scenes of the character
talking to the camera which also gave the audience more of an insight in to the
narrative.
Also I used scores and stings in my trailer, another familiar convention of horror
film trailers to create suspense, an example of when I used a sting is when the I cut
from footage to the film name “Ouija Board” just to create some emphasis around
the title.

8. MAGAZINE COVER

9. I developed the layout and style of my magazine cover by basing it up on
Empire magazines front cover, specifically “The Hobbit” issue shown above. I
decided to use the same colour scheme of white and red as it looks effective
and from audience research I found this is the most popular colour scheme. I
opted for using a simple layout as it is much more clear yet I feel is effective and
also allows the close up image to be the main focus. I darkened the photo like
in the Empire cover in order to give it a more eerie effect. I developed this idea
by adding more text such as the banner at the bottom and some cover lines.

10. FILM POSTER

11. I developed my poster design from the Paranormal Activity posters using a
similar, simple layout and also using an image that appears to have been taken
from camera footage with a blue tint to it in order to create a supernatural
element. I also added a blue tint to the text in order to convey a supernatural
feeling to the poster. I decided to use a close up image as it is a convention
often used for horror film posters and I also used make up for the model to
enforce to the audience that this is a horror film i.e. the blood on her face and
smudged make up makes her look quite frightening.