Focus Group

I like this film poster because it has a cold look to it and just looks spooky. When looking at this poster it makes me think there may be some kind of secret or hidden message due to the images in the face and this makes me want to watch the film.   

I didn’t really like this poster because it didn’t look that scary but, I did like the fact that there is a close up of the face and has photos in the face which keeps my interest pulled in.

When looking at this film poster it makes me think that the film may be confusing and some kind of evil may be in photos due to there being loads of photos in the face, and this is what will make me go to see the film.

I think that this horror film poster does not look that scary but it looks more mysterious as there are photos in the face, but I like the colours that are used it makes it feel more cold.

By constructing a focus group it has enabled me to have a better understanding in to what people like to see in horror film trailers. I got examples of previous horror film posters and simply asked people what they liked and didn’t like about them and also, what attracts them most to the film posters.

By doing this it will enable me to know how to appeal my film poster and film teaser trailer to my audience using the correct codes and conventions in the best way to represent the genre of film.  

Analysis on film trailers

Horror,

Jeepers Creepers 3

This screen shot represents the genre, which is horror as the text has a glow affect around it and looks like it has been hand written, which gives the audience a sense of realism.

The back ground is black which has connotations of death or evil and the text is white which stands out to the audience. As it has the glow affect it makes the film trailer seem more spooky and mysterious.   

Here is a close up of the killer. This is used to show the audience the facial expressions of the killer and how evil the killer looks.  This pulls the audience interest into the film and tells the audience what genre the film is which is horror. The killer looks slimy and has big teeth that indicate that this film will have some kind of killing going on. The killer is clearly shown to be some thing out of the ordinary and this can attract the target audience. It has dark lighting such as black and a dark greenish colour which represents the darkness and evil in the killer.

The music at this stage in the trailer is slow and tense that builds up the tension and makes the audience more gripped to the story line.  

Here it shows the audience what the killer looks like. To make the killer look more scary smoke has been added at the bottom to make the killer look more deadly.

The composition of the killer tells us that he is strong and evil due to the long shot at a low angle used to show the audience what he looks like. The camera is looking up at the killer to show he has power and is strong.

Jeepers Creepers is a well known film, which has two pervious films, so this film trailer has an advantage of appealing to its audience because it is already known for being a horror film trailer, and already has a fan base, so people know what to expect. The symbolic codes around the colour of the title are death, evil and blood, this is because the colours are red but with white as well that could mean that there is good characters as well. The fact that there is a number 3 in the title tells the audience that this is the next film made. The title is not in a straight line. Its letters are different sizes and look spooky. In the trailer is has a back ground song which talks about Jeepers Creepers, so the song has been linked to the title, which shows that the killer is creepy.

Adventure,
Pirates of the Caribbean

Pirates of the Caribbean is an historical adventure film. This is shown by the long shot used to show the audience the location and the customs that are worn. The use of the long shot shows the audience big room, the big paintings on the walls and the gold colours on the cloth on the table. This represents the wealthy characters in the film and this is easily noticeable to the audience.

The music used at this moment is starting to get faster and this keeps the audiences attention.

There is also a voice over used and it says, ‘oh Jack Sparrow’ then the camera looks at the character Jack, this shows the audience what the character is called.

This shot shows the codes and conventions of adventure as it shows a fight happening on a ship.

The music used here is fast and dramatic which is getting faster and pulling the audience in. the lighting here is dark which represents the period of time it is set in. This is because back then they did not have electricity so would have used candles. But it could also be dark due to the time of day it is, which is night time.

There are loads of binary opposites taking place in this film trailer, which are day vs night, bad vs evil.

This film trailer puts the actor’s names in it as they are well known and will bring more of an audience in as these actors will already have a fan base.

Johnny Depp has been in the pervious Pirates of the Caribbean films and is known for being the funny character. The lighting is dark and grey which could represent that there is more to this character. His name is in white with a glow in the middle of it which is using the codes and conventions of adventure as the glow could represent the adventure in the character.

The music has a sort of heroic deep and fast sound to it which builds up the interest within the audience. As this is a way of advertisement, it uses assumptions that the audience will appeal to this music and therefore pull a wider audience in.

Here is a long shot to show the audience the location. It shows that the characters are on an adventure, and this clearly shows the genre of the film. The film is about pirates, hence the reason why the title has ‘pirates’ in it. The compositions of the characters are on the bank and the camera is looking over at them, which is telling the audience what the genre of the film is, which is adventure. This is due to the location.

The music helps build that idea of adventure as the music is starting to get faster and there is a voice over that say’s ‘you could guide an expedition’ this is said as soon as this part is shown, so it is basically telling the audience what is going to happen, but not giving to many clues away, but teasing the audience.

                                

Action

The Expendables

 The army trucks represent the genre of The Expendables. This is because it is showing that there will be some kind of action going on. The lighting used here are mainly dark colours that could represent the bad that is going on. This shot uses a long shot to enable the audience to see what is going on, and due to the army trucks and the castle, it will pull the audiences interest in and ask them selves what is going on.

The music that is playing in this part is dramatic but at the same time it has a seriousness sound to it. This is a common sound that can be related to action films.

This shot represent the genre, action. This is because it is showing the traditional ‘ass kicking’ that is usually seen in action film. The fire behind, lights
It up and the brightness from the flames and the dark colours (black) could represent a good vs bad fight.

The music used here is a like a rock type of music that is loud and fast, which follows the narrative of action, as it could be representing the fastness of the fight.

“They are the world’s greatest mercenaries. The only life they’ve ever known is war. The only loyalty they’ve ever had is to each other” this is what the voice over says at the start of the trailer. It ends with a rock song and sound effects of knives, guns, military vehicles and explosions. This is in between the rock music that is linked to the narrative of action.

The close up image of the skull could be linked to the fact there is a motorbike and the fact that the music is rock, could represent a hard life that the characters live, having that type of action packed life style. ‘Expendables’ is the logo these characters have and it represents the job they have, which is to kill people.

In this medium shot of the money the genre is well presented as in most action films, you tend to find that a large amount of money if involved. This tells the audience that some thing bad must be going to happen to have that amount of money. The bag its self just looks a bit suspicious. Just after this the characters are shown and these characters are well known to be in action films and ‘ass kicking’ for instance, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Bruce Willis and many more. This pulls in a wider audience as there are many well known famous actors that are known for action films.

Sci-Fi

Humanity's End

This shot shows how epic Humanity’s End is. Its representing its genre, Sci-Fi due to the space ships in the sky, and the beam of light in the centre of the shot. The colours used have a warming feel to it as the colours are browns and dark yellow/orange. The dark colours could represent the bad starting to come but the light colours could represent that there is goddness waiting to defeat the badness.

The sound used at this part audience interested because it is making them think what is going to happen. of the trailer has a sound to it as of to say that some thing is coming, this keeps the

This shot uses dull colours such as grey and black which represents that the baddies have taken over. This shot also shows the science in the film as there is some kind of platform or floating in the air.

The music here is loud and builds up the tension and pulls the audience in. It gives a feeling that something epic is going to happen, which follows the genre of Sci-Fi

This long shot enables the audience to see the action which is going on. It uses dark colours such as black and greys to represent the evil or badness that is taking over, but at the same time there is an explosion which is white, this represents the good characters fighting back.

The shot clearly follows the genre of science. This is due to the alien ships flying around in the sky and a huge explosion. These features are things we expect to see in Sci-Fi films.

At this part of the trailer, a voice over is used, ‘a dark force is risen to bring an end to humanity’ this is linked to the title of the film, Humanity’s End. The image shown indicates to the audience that some kind of alien is going to take over the human race, and the images also follow the genre of Sci-Fi as there are ‘out of this world’ aliens with guns.

The compositions of the characters are running towards the camera so this could represent that they are coming to take over.

The music used here has a loud but deep base to it which builds up the audience’s interest and keeps them gripped to the action. This follows the narrative of Sci-Fi as it uses the tense music when the aliens are on screen.

From analysing different genres of film trailers it has helped me to know what codes and conventions to use to make a successful film trailer. It has also enabled me to use the appropriate camera shots, music and colours to use in my film trailer to represent the genre I am doing.

Graphs from questionnaire results.

From analysing my questionnaires I found that the majority of people that answered the questionnaire were in the age group of 15- 20 years of age.

 

The majority of people that answered the questionnaire were female, with 28 being female and 22 being male. It is roughly equal between both genders that answered.

The results here clearly show that horror was the most popular genre that people prefer. If I decide to make a horror film trailer I would have a wider audience as 32 out of 50 people said that this was the genre the preferred out of the rest. This is over half the people that answered my questionnaire.

 

from these results it clearly shows that the genre is what attracted people most to a film trailer, this is shown by 22 out of 50, choosing the genre to what attracts them to a film trailer. This is all most half the people that answered my questionnaire.

 

This graph shows that colours were the most popular answer in to what attracts people to a film poster. However all the answers where very close so it is still important to take this into account, and still using the rest of the answers as an important element when creating and producing my film poster.

 

Once again there are similar results in this graph. Even though dark colours was the most popular in what people expect to see in a horror film trailer, the killer/ ghost was only behind with having only a few less people that choose that one. Dark colours had 17 out of 50, and the killer/ ghost had 16 out of 50.

 I asked ‘when going to watch a film, what do you base your choice on?’ this was so that I have a clearer idea how to target my audience and get them to watch my film. 31 out of 50 people said that they base their choice o the genre of the film, so when making my film trailer I need to make sure that the genre is successfully shown.

 By following the narrative on horror, I asked, ‘what scares you the most in horror film trailers?’  32 out of 50 people said that when things suddenly jump out’ scares them the most. So when making my film trailer I need to make sure I have this element so that it appeals to the target audience. However, it is still important to take into consideration fast tense music and dark lighting as these are also seen in horror film trailers. 

I asked people what they prefer out of the following, unexpected twists or cliff hangers to find out which one would be more appealing to the audience. This is so that I can end my film trailer that will make people want to go to watch it more. The majority of people, 41 out of 50 people said that they prefer unexpected twists.          

‘Who do you mainly watch movies with?’  The main purpose of this question was to find out who people tend to watch movies with, so that I have a clearer idea on who to target my audience at. 31 out of 50 people said that they mainly watch movies with their friends so I will take that into consideration to make sure my film trailer has the feeling to it that will appeal to a group of friends.

I asked people ‘if you had the chance to make a film trailer, what genre would you do it?  I asked this question to find out which is the most popular genre that people would pick. The results tell me that over half the people I asked said that they would pick horror. This is shown by 31 out of 50 people picking horror. The rest of the choices where very low with around 6 people or less choosing the other genres.

From analysing all the questions it has given me a clearer idea on who to target my audience at and what genre to make my film poster. These results have also shown me what codes and conventions to use if I was to make a horror film trailer. This is shown when I asked the question. 'what scares you most in a horror film trailer?' by asking this question it has enabled me to now make the correct choice on to what elements are needed to successfully let the audience know what the genre of the film is.

Analysis of film posters

This film poster followers the codes and conventions of horror. They do this by using colours such as red and black to represent the darkness, evil and death in the  film. The colour red is related to blood which is a main code and convention in the horror genre. It uses a simple two coloured theme successfully which makes it feel scarier. The connotations around these colours, red and black, is evil, death and darkness. The image is about the film, which is a zombie. This attracts the audience as it indicating to them, the genre horror. The title is big and bold that stands out and attracts the audience’s eye, and it is red which gives the feeling of blood and death which relates to the genre, horror.  This is also to make the film seem and feel more dark and scarier, which appeals to its target audience. The slogan is effective in conveying the main idea of the film. This represents the ideologies in the film.   

The release date is in the bottom right hand corner in a spooky glow to it. It’s out in October which is the month of Halloween, traditional known as a night of horror. 

 

 

The position where the characters are placed shows that this is a romance because you can see the close link between the two characters. This seriousness look on the women’s face shows that this is also a drama.

It uses pure colours such as white which represents the good and love in the characters with connotations of the strength between the two, this is also shown with the male on top of the female with his hand on her.

The title is in white which stands out with a blue background. This represents its context this is because the white represents    the pureness in the characters life’s and the goodness. This film poster clearly gives its message to its audience as the lighting is bright and makes the characters look good and romantic.

The effect of having the actor’s names on the poster is that the audience will recognise them and will bring in a bigger audience as the actors are known. The month that is out is august and that is round about the time of autumn, and the brown gold colours represent the month is it out in.

The genre of Avatar is Sci Fi. This is represented through the codes and conventions, for example, the blue dots on the face can be represented to be mysterious and magical. The close up image of the face and the eye shows the narrative of the story because it gives the audience a teaser of the film and it also gives the audience an insight to the story. It also shows the emotion is the eye, as this is the first thing that draws the audience’s attention.

The title ‘Avatar’ is blue with a glow effect around it, this makes it eye catching for the audience to notice. The colour theme for this film poster is black and blue, this works well with the genre, Sci Fi because it makes it feel cold. The black ground also makes the blue face stand out.

At the top it says, ‘from the director of Titanic’ this is used to make people think that this should be a good film as Titanic won awards and is a well-known film. And also this is the purpose to get people to go watch it. The image does not look like a real person and that contributes with the title as it gives realistic conventions of the genre. 

Four Lions is a comedy and this is represented through the medium shot image of a crow with a bomb on it. This also gives the audience a teaser of the narrative which tells the story. The colour theme is white and green, these colours are bright and cheerful that gives that indicates to the audience that this film is funny. The birds face looks comical and this implies to the audience that this is a comedy film, and also with ‘FUNNY’ written at the top half is obvious what the genre is.

Chris Morris is written in bold at the top of the title so that the audience can clearly see who made the film, and this will bring in the fan base he already has.  The text is written in white that stands pout to the audience and is easy to read. The colour green can represent a natural look, which challenges the stereotypical view on bombs.

From analysing different genres of film posters it has enabled me to know what codes and conventions to use to address the target audience when making my film poster. For example, an ideology on a horror film poster is the character (which could be the killer or vitctim) which represents the genre or what the film may be like. Not only has analysing film posters helped me to know what codes and conventions are needed to successfully reach their target audience,  but also other key elements such as symbolic codes are needed that will allow the audience recognise the genre, for example, a knife will indicate that murder will be taking place so therefore the film is a horror. Also connotations are used to represent the genre, for instance, red and black which gives of the idea of death. This will give the audience enigma codes which will make the audience interested and make them want to watch the film.