Friday, 9 May 2014
Saturday, 3 May 2014
Friday, 2 May 2014
Thursday, 1 May 2014
Wednesday, 30 April 2014
Tuesday, 29 April 2014
Sunday, 27 April 2014
Choice of Trailer
We decided to make a highlights trailer, this means we pick out clips from the entire film rather than focusing on a certain scene / time. We decided highlights was a good fit for our trailer because we could show off some of the special effects that we wanted to include. In a scene trailer only spanning a portion of the film we could only really show one or 2. Making a highlights trailer also makes it easy to convey the narrative whereas a scene trailer you could only really get an idea of what is happening at one specific point and not the big picture.
At the time of planning this trailer there is a news article about Suicide Pact's in Japan. This gave us the idea for the film since we could tie in to a real life scenario, which -in my opinion- makes the trailer more effective since this is a situation that actually happened.
At the time of planning this trailer there is a news article about Suicide Pact's in Japan. This gave us the idea for the film since we could tie in to a real life scenario, which -in my opinion- makes the trailer more effective since this is a situation that actually happened.
Favourite Image Analysis
My favourite image is from the film 'The Hitcher' (1986). This is my favourite image because I like the subtle way that the antagonist John Ryder (Rutger Hauer) is threatening Jim with a somewhat strange gesture.
The saying 'Coins on the eyes' comes from ancient Greece where they would bury their dead with a coin on each eye so they could pay the boatman to cross the river styx to get to the afterlife. So when Ryder places these coins on Jim's eyes he is saying that he is doomed. This scene takes place straight after Jim thinks he has the upper-hand on John and holds a gun at him. We find out the gun has no ammunition and Jim is completely deflated by this and is almost ready to give up. This is shown through this picture since he has a completely lifeless facial expression and has his head tilted back, almost as if he'd passed away.
Wednesday, 26 March 2014
The Hitcher: Personal Film Review
A young man name Jim Halsey is transporting a car to San Diego when he sees a man hitchhiking at the side of the road so Jim pulls over and gives him a lift. We quickly find out that John Ryder (the hitchhiker) is a psychopath, as they pass a stranded car containing John Ryder's earlier victims, he starts to threaten Jim with a knife. Jim successfully kicks John out of his car but for the rest of the film, Ryder manipulates Jim from afar putting him into a terrible position with the police.
One of my favourite scenes is when Ryder meets Jim in a cafe and sits in the seat opposite him. Jim pulls out a gun and aims it at Ryder under the table and Ryder reciprocates with his hand in the shape of a gun. I feel this scene is effective because it convey's how twisted Ryder is by tormenting Jim and making him feel like he's in power since he has the gun, but taking that power away again by just knocking on the table.
Another effective scene takes place after Ryder is arrested and in the back of a police van. Even with Ryder arrested Jim still isn't satisfied and will only stop when he is dead. Because the audience and Jim are the only people that understand what he's capable of and the police don't take him quite as seriously, this foreshadows his escape. The audience are feeling uneasy when he is in the back of the police van and are expecting something to happen, so when we get the point-of-view shot from Ryder looking at the shotgun in the lap of the officer next to him and smiling to himself, the audience knows he is going to escape. I feel this is an effective scene since all this is told to the audience just through him smiling, rather than an action-packed fight scene in the back of the police van.
For an 18 rated horror film there isn't a lot of body horror it's more based around psychological torment than physical threat. The only occasions when there is quite a lot of body horror used is in the police station when Ryder kills the officers on duty and let's Jim out of his cell. This shows us what Ryder is capable of and he is very skilled at killing, but it also more importantly shows us that he can quite easily just kill Jim at any point he likes, the only reason he hasn't is because he enjoys playing the voyeuristic puppet master more than killing.
There is restricted narration used when Jim looks in the car with the family of Ryder's victims in. We never see there bodies but we see Jim throw up after looking inside. This can be more powerful than showing the corpses especially back in 1986 when special effects weren't quite up to the standard they are nowadays.
The film is set in the middle of no where to give the feeling of solitude, and also we see that there are mountains in most directions which gives the idea that Jim is boxed in and there is no escape. This is very common in horror films to give the protagonist no way out.
The film uses pathetic fallacy to create a moody atmosphere. The first scene in the film it is raining which usual connotes sadness, this is very common for horror films. This scene also takes place during the night which means that they can use low-key lighting which adds to the bleak atmosphere.
There are several examples of parallel music throughout the film such as long, choral sounding notes when Jim is exploring the abandoned gas station to make it seem more eerie. They also play fast-paced exciting music when Jim is trying to steer the out of control police car he's in.
When John Ryder is holding a knife to Jim's eye, Robert Harmon (the Director) uses an extreme close-up. This sort of cinematography is used to make the audience feel uncomfortable since being this close to someone is disconcerting, especially with the addition of a knife.
Just after Jim kicks John Ryder out of his car we get a shot of John on the ground and a fairly high angle, but when John Ryder stands up the shot changes to a very low angle nearly to the point of being vertical. This shows the audience that John hasn't been defeated and he's only just beginning.
The end of the film is unhappy - like most horror films - because Jim can't be together with Nash since John Ryder kills her. Even though the antagonist does die, we don't go back to an equilibrium since Jim has been changed by the events that happened to him. Jim has became a cold-blooded killer like John was, we see this when Jim shoots Ryder 3 times with a shotgun, but shows no emotion and just keeps a blank expression.
The restricted narration I mentioned earlier could go well with a low-budget trailer like the one we're doing in class. It is quite easy to get a good locking vomit effect but very difficult to show extreme gore. Therefore we could still convey the same idea of a mutilated corpse without having to spend a lot of money getting it to look realistic.
I feel The Hitcher's use of collision cutting would also be a good technique I could use in my own trailer. The film uses it when Jim is in the back of a police car on the radio to the captain, he is speaking calmly and there is no music playing, but suddenly Ryder fires a gunshot through the side of the car. At this point There is lots of screaming, the cars engine becomes louder, fast paced music starts which is a massively different from moments ago where it was slow and quiet. This is a simple technique to do, but it's still quite effective.
One aspect of the film that I didn't particularly like and wouldn't want to include in my trailer, is the slightly unbelievable skill at killing that Ryder possess. A prime example of this is when he manages to kill an entire police station of armed officers and their dogs without even waking up Jim. I feel that in my trailer I'd like to keep to a more realistic antagonist, because something that is believably real -in my opinion- is more scary.
For me, the most enjoyable part of the film takes place when Ryder meets Jim in a cafe. You get to see Jim's face light up with anger and excitement when Ryder sits opposite to Jim and he has a gun in his hand. Jim really thinks that he has won, and he's in control of the situation, but Ryder turns the situation around when he pretends to have a gun. I like this sequence because we get close-ups on both characters and we can see both their reaction as the scene progresses.
One of my favourite scenes is when Ryder meets Jim in a cafe and sits in the seat opposite him. Jim pulls out a gun and aims it at Ryder under the table and Ryder reciprocates with his hand in the shape of a gun. I feel this scene is effective because it convey's how twisted Ryder is by tormenting Jim and making him feel like he's in power since he has the gun, but taking that power away again by just knocking on the table.
Another effective scene takes place after Ryder is arrested and in the back of a police van. Even with Ryder arrested Jim still isn't satisfied and will only stop when he is dead. Because the audience and Jim are the only people that understand what he's capable of and the police don't take him quite as seriously, this foreshadows his escape. The audience are feeling uneasy when he is in the back of the police van and are expecting something to happen, so when we get the point-of-view shot from Ryder looking at the shotgun in the lap of the officer next to him and smiling to himself, the audience knows he is going to escape. I feel this is an effective scene since all this is told to the audience just through him smiling, rather than an action-packed fight scene in the back of the police van.
For an 18 rated horror film there isn't a lot of body horror it's more based around psychological torment than physical threat. The only occasions when there is quite a lot of body horror used is in the police station when Ryder kills the officers on duty and let's Jim out of his cell. This shows us what Ryder is capable of and he is very skilled at killing, but it also more importantly shows us that he can quite easily just kill Jim at any point he likes, the only reason he hasn't is because he enjoys playing the voyeuristic puppet master more than killing.
There is restricted narration used when Jim looks in the car with the family of Ryder's victims in. We never see there bodies but we see Jim throw up after looking inside. This can be more powerful than showing the corpses especially back in 1986 when special effects weren't quite up to the standard they are nowadays.
The film is set in the middle of no where to give the feeling of solitude, and also we see that there are mountains in most directions which gives the idea that Jim is boxed in and there is no escape. This is very common in horror films to give the protagonist no way out.
The film uses pathetic fallacy to create a moody atmosphere. The first scene in the film it is raining which usual connotes sadness, this is very common for horror films. This scene also takes place during the night which means that they can use low-key lighting which adds to the bleak atmosphere.
There are several examples of parallel music throughout the film such as long, choral sounding notes when Jim is exploring the abandoned gas station to make it seem more eerie. They also play fast-paced exciting music when Jim is trying to steer the out of control police car he's in.
When John Ryder is holding a knife to Jim's eye, Robert Harmon (the Director) uses an extreme close-up. This sort of cinematography is used to make the audience feel uncomfortable since being this close to someone is disconcerting, especially with the addition of a knife.
Just after Jim kicks John Ryder out of his car we get a shot of John on the ground and a fairly high angle, but when John Ryder stands up the shot changes to a very low angle nearly to the point of being vertical. This shows the audience that John hasn't been defeated and he's only just beginning.
The end of the film is unhappy - like most horror films - because Jim can't be together with Nash since John Ryder kills her. Even though the antagonist does die, we don't go back to an equilibrium since Jim has been changed by the events that happened to him. Jim has became a cold-blooded killer like John was, we see this when Jim shoots Ryder 3 times with a shotgun, but shows no emotion and just keeps a blank expression.
The restricted narration I mentioned earlier could go well with a low-budget trailer like the one we're doing in class. It is quite easy to get a good locking vomit effect but very difficult to show extreme gore. Therefore we could still convey the same idea of a mutilated corpse without having to spend a lot of money getting it to look realistic.
I feel The Hitcher's use of collision cutting would also be a good technique I could use in my own trailer. The film uses it when Jim is in the back of a police car on the radio to the captain, he is speaking calmly and there is no music playing, but suddenly Ryder fires a gunshot through the side of the car. At this point There is lots of screaming, the cars engine becomes louder, fast paced music starts which is a massively different from moments ago where it was slow and quiet. This is a simple technique to do, but it's still quite effective.
One aspect of the film that I didn't particularly like and wouldn't want to include in my trailer, is the slightly unbelievable skill at killing that Ryder possess. A prime example of this is when he manages to kill an entire police station of armed officers and their dogs without even waking up Jim. I feel that in my trailer I'd like to keep to a more realistic antagonist, because something that is believably real -in my opinion- is more scary.
For me, the most enjoyable part of the film takes place when Ryder meets Jim in a cafe. You get to see Jim's face light up with anger and excitement when Ryder sits opposite to Jim and he has a gun in his hand. Jim really thinks that he has won, and he's in control of the situation, but Ryder turns the situation around when he pretends to have a gun. I like this sequence because we get close-ups on both characters and we can see both their reaction as the scene progresses.
Tuesday, 18 March 2014
Tuesday, 25 February 2014
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
Horror trailer solo review (3)
I reviewed the trailer for the gory / horror film Day of the Dead (1985). This is the third film in George A. Romero's 'Dead' series, so when this trailer came out the audiences had prior knowledge of what the film is going to be like. The previous two films Night of the Living Dead (1965), and Dawn of the Dead (1978) were known for being very gory at the time but this trailer displayed no signs of gore and even very few horror aspects.
During the trailer they keeps cutting away to a scene in the cinema of people watching the film, and as the trailer progresses we see a zombie sitting in the cinema with the crowd. This scene I feel takes away from all creepiness or fear that the trailer should have had and makes the film look silly.
Horror trailer solo review (2)
I reviewed the trailer for the gory / horror film Evil dead (2013). I thought the trailer was very good and advertised the film nicely. The trailer started off fairly slowly, with lots of whispering and setting a creepy atmosphere, but it quickly builds up pace and ends an impressive gore effect of the antagonist demon girl slicing her tongue in two. The trailer ends with this scene because it's quite a powerful image to leave in the audience's heads. Another aspect of the trailer that I liked is the way that the music in the background matches the way the titles transition onto the screen.
Horror trailer solo review (1)
I reviewed the trailer for 30 days of night (2007) a gory action horror about vampires. The trailer had a good beginning because it started with a jump scare, which would definately grab the audiences attention. However I don't believe the rest of the trailer lived up to the action suggested by this first scene.
I felt the trailer lacked a lot of action, most scenes with vampires were close-ups as they menacingly look at the camera. Doing this shows off the impressive special effects and make-up on the vampires but took away from the pace of the trailer.
Wednesday, 15 January 2014
Horror trailer class review (3)
As a class we watched and analysed the trailer for the Pusher trilogy, a crime thirller revolving largely around drugs. Averaging out the classes scores out of 10, we rated the trailer 6.
A lot of people in the class thought that when the trailer showed 10 or so clips in about 2 seconds, it was too fast and people could barely understand what was happening in these bursts of clips. Where some people thought this was a negative, others thought it was quite good since it kept up the pace of the trailer, and got a lot of information out quickly.
Everyone in the class seemed to like the gradual increase in speed of the trailer, starting off with conversations and ending with lots of action. We all agreed that the music suited it very well, and accompanied the tempo that the trailer was aiming for well. Also considering that this trailer was advertising a trilogy it kept the trailer at a nice length so the audience didn't get bored.
A lot of people in the class thought that when the trailer showed 10 or so clips in about 2 seconds, it was too fast and people could barely understand what was happening in these bursts of clips. Where some people thought this was a negative, others thought it was quite good since it kept up the pace of the trailer, and got a lot of information out quickly.
Everyone in the class seemed to like the gradual increase in speed of the trailer, starting off with conversations and ending with lots of action. We all agreed that the music suited it very well, and accompanied the tempo that the trailer was aiming for well. Also considering that this trailer was advertising a trilogy it kept the trailer at a nice length so the audience didn't get bored.
Horror trailer class review (2)
We also looked at the trailer for Dawn of the Dead (2004) in class. The trailer was given an average score of 6.5 out of 10. The reason it didn't score higher is that for a zombie film that is known to be very gory, there was a dissapointing amount of body horror, and very few zombies . The use of collision cutting at the start of the trailer had a good impact, it started off with quite a peaceful scene but quickly picked up pace and volume when the zombie girl bursts into the room and we hear screaming when the screen turns black. How the trailer ends was also quite clever, they made it look like the film was breaking.
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
Horror trailer class review (1)
In class we watched the trailer for the film Cloverfield. The average score out of 10 that we gave the trailer was 7.5. The class liked the style of the trailer in that it was a scene from the film rather than a montage of highlights from the film. Showing us one scene draws us into the characters and the audience are more likely to want to watch the film, so they can see what happens to the characters.
A disadvantage to only showing the audience one scene is that we see a very small fraction of the film and it may not accurately represent the rest of the film. We also don't know where in the film the clip takes place, this is an issue because it would be a completely different film if it ended with this clip as opposed to beginning with it. The reason the trailer didn't score higher than 7.5 is that there wasn't enough gore, or aspects of horror in the trailer, it came across as more of just a dark action film, than a horror.
Stereotypical fan
Our horror film will be aimed primarily at working class men from ages 18 to 40. We chose this demographic since our horror film will heavily feature gore and action which is more suited to males, and we are assuming the film would be rated 18 plus. From our horror sub genre analysis we found that E, D, C2 and C1 were most interested in the sub genre of horror that we chose.
People most interested in our horror film would be mainstreamers, reformers and outsiders. These are the psychographic classifications that would be most interested in a horror film. A stereotypical fan's favourite films would typically be the saw films, because of their excessive use of gore and films like the expendables where the reason you see them are for the action rather than a storyline.
Friday, 10 January 2014
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