Changes In Exposure Magazine Cover

I have made a few changes to my magazine cover, Exposure -

Undead Nightmare - Trailer Analysis

Since finding so many links between the genre of my film trailer and the Undead Nightmare game, I have chosen to analyse the trailer in more depth. I felt it carries many conventions of a Horror film trailer, even being a video game.

• The title of the game gives an immediate feel of a Horror style narrative. However, other than the title there are many classic Horror genre conventions you would possibly find in a film trailer. The opening setting shows a man in a cemetery digging graves, not an every day action  you would expect. The weather is dark combined with rain and lightning, adding to the negative and scary feel. This also sets up for the viewers to expect something evil or fearful to appear.
• The opening is followed by the introduction of new characters. It's unclear who or what they are, as quite typical of a Horror genre, they are just quick moving sillouhettes. However, the audience know that they aren't human by the way some of them crawl and others move in strange/not-human ways. This adds to the suspense, with the audience unknown to what these characters are.
• Throughout the trailer, most the scenes are in dark settings. They look to be either at night or in dark and dingy weather, adding to the Horror effect.
• A lot of the settings are in a deserted and alone, which are really typical conventions of a Horror genre. Eg. Many Horror film settings are in places such as abandoned houses.
• The shots used in the trailer are quickly cut together, creating a fast paced, adrenaline rushed feel. 
• Spooky music builds up the suspense through the use of stringed instruments and slightly atonal. 
• The music builds up to the scream sound effect.
• Throughout the trailer there is a Green/Yellow colour scheme. The title's are in this colour and perhaps give it a sense of rotting and nature.
• The close up shots on humans emphasise their fear of the undead, while on the zombies, it shows more details (Blood and decay).
• The trailer adds extras such as bats, animal bones, blood and graves which adds to the typical Horror conventions and themes.

Cross Media Link - Undead Nightmare

In my spare time I have been playing Playstation 3 game - Undead Nightmare. I feel this has really linked in well with my own project, based around a Zombie-Horror genre. The game follows a narrative set in the early 1900's in Western America. It follows around the corner from the story of the original game "Red Dead Redemption". However, this one isn't just a sequel to RDR, but a completely different story line. In UN, main  character John Marston follows clues in which he finds a zombie/undead outbreak along the American border and into Mexico. I like the fact that most Zombie films and games are set in a modern time while UN is set over 100 years ago, in a wild west/cowboy feel environment. The narrative isn't unrealistic like some Zombie films and games. The game requires you to follow clues and enigma codes, unrevealing possible causes of the outbreak. With the zombies being the main villain/threat in the game, Rockstar have had to build their characteristics with a huge amount of choice. Rather than having all the zombies being the classic slow movement based and dragging feet, they have ranged it by having different types of the undead characters. The usual undead move at a normal quick walk pace, while other zombies such as "Retchers" will spit liquid at you. Other variations of characteristics include "Brutes" who are a lot stronger and larger, and some zombies who will crawl in zig-zag lines, making them harder to kill. The characteristics of both characters and zombies have given me more ideas in how I will construct the characteristics of my own. I also like the narrative basis a lot more in comparisson to other Zombie/Horror films I have watched recently.

Opening Scene Trailer Story Board

I have made a rough sketch of what I will be filming in the opening scene of my trailer -

New Storyboard Scene 1 Trailer on Prezi

Media Film Magazine Feedback

When creating media related projects, I always feel it is necessary to receive as much feedback and opinions on my work as possible to allow me to improve and remove mistakes. Such suggestions have been made to my film magazine cover, which I didn't notice. Improvements I'd like to make include -

 

• On the left cover line I didn't notice that "adrenaline" was separated into 2 words by not making the text box large enough. I want to edit it so the word will all fit on one line.
• I also feel that the website at the bottom left of the cover could be moved slightly more central.
• Lastly the box with "Exclusive First Look" in, could possibly be slightly re-positioned. 

Trailer Setting

Now that the season/weather is creating more of a dreary and grey effect I feel it will make a good setting for my trailer. I plan to shoot parts of my trailer in the woods next week. The setting will be St. Helen's Woods in Hastings. Although some of the woods is a public area, I feel I can turn it into a deserted setting by the camera shots I will use.

For the woods scenes I will upload a story board plan tonight. I also have a story board plan for the previous scenes of my trailer which will be set around the college (Parkwood) and my home.

Magazine Cover - Exposure

Today I've finished designing my film magazine cover, Exposure. I used Photoshop as the designing program.  The main title is in the "Mars Attack" font, which I was able to sample from "Dafont.com". Over cross media connections I've included are the blackberry/smartphone bar code and a magazine website.

Delicatessen (1991)

In the past few days I've been watching and analysing parts of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's film Delicatessen (1991). The film is set in a post-apocalyptic setting, which the cause isn't clearly described. Food and supplies are scarce, with the currency being anything from shoes to lentils. The story shows a landlord of a block of flats, who has turned to using his newly hired employees as meat to feed the local families. As the butchers daughter becomes more attached to the latest employee, she seeks help to save him from her father and odd tenants. While many were perhaps put off by the film being in french, therefore subtitled, or perhaps the black comedic side to it, I found the film a great combination of quirky sketches such as the "squeaky spring" scene and the horrific themes of eating the employees and killing off tenants of the building. While the story line is relatively simple, I enjoyed the emphasis on all characters having strong personalities and their own personal traits. One thing that was clear about the film, from the very beginning was the theme/colour scheme of a murky, yellow/orange, which even the fog was coloured in, carrying throughout the film. In a media talk, someone mentioned this is similarly sometimes present in JPJ's more popular film Amelie, but with the scheme of green. From this I can take the horror conventions, such as the murder of characters and I personally would like to enforce a similar idea like a running colour scheme in my trailer. Elements such as the comedy side won't be as present, but to conclude, I feel it was a useful resource in helping me with my own project.

Photo Shoot Experience

After using the photo studio at Hastings College today, I feel I have gained a lot of new skills which I can re-use in later projects. I was already familiar with some parts of the equipment and some not as much, adding to my knowledge of photography, which I found both useful and enjoyable. The shoot was prepared by changing to my film costume and fake-blood staining the t-shirt. I decided not to wear a coat/hoody. We experimented with the lighting, reflecting it more directly at me and slightly away, creating effects such as different shadows or none at all. From this I was able to learn how to use lighting in a photography studio successfully. We also experimented using both the white and black backdrops in the photos, with both emphasising certain colours. I found the white background more suitable for my magazine cover photo. In conclusion, I feel it was a great opportunity taken to learn new photography skills and has made my magazine cover look more like a professional film magazine with the help of the proper photo studio.

Day Of Magazine Cover Photo Shoot

I will be taking photos for my magazine cover today at the photo studio in the Hastings College site. I have booked it from 4-5pm and asked Emily to help (take the photos and aid with lighting). In the shoot I have chosen to wear the costume I will use during the film to make it more related to the horror theme of the magazine and for the fact it makes it more clear I am the main character. In other films costumes may be criticised for being unsuitable for the characters requirements, therefore I will be wearing clothes which allow the character to run, fight etc.

Costume - Plain white t-shirt (ripped and blood stained), Hoody or Coat, Tracksuit Bottoms, Trainers.

Props - Cricket Mallet, Fake Blood, Shotgun Shells.

Photo Studio

I have booked the photo studio at Hastings College on Thursday evening to take photos for my magazine cover.

Edited Synopsis

Genetic Engineer Leonard Brant finds himself in a world infected by zombies after illnesses thought to be cured and modified by himself and a team of scientists start to re-appear. Patients start to show obscure symptoms, leading to the death of millions, before awakening to kill and convert the few survivors. Will the planet survive this biological massacre or will it be consumed by fear and terror?

Audience Evaluation Questionnaire

In order to see if my predictions of audience targets are correct, I have designed a short questionnaire which I will give to different age groups tomorrow. I also think it will be useful to show me what I need to include for it to appeal to a wide audience.

Half Way Evaluation - Audience

I personally feel that my main target audience will be males gender wise, but hopefully with the different use of female characters, female audiences may feel more interested. Age wise I think it will range from teenagers to middle age.

I thought that to see if my predictions are right, I will design a short questionnaire to ask different age groups and genders if they would be interested in watching my film.

Half Way Evaluation - Representation

In this post I thought it would be important to evaluate how I have represented different social groups in my film trailer, poster and magazine cover. I found it important to consider how I've chosen to represent groups such as gender, race and age among others.

Film Trailer

In my film trailer I will be playing the main character. I will represent my character as perhaps not the clear leader, but as a clear main character using my voice as over-layers on the trailer. The character will perhaps come across as dominant while being shot in the more action filled scenes but on the other hand show their sense of fear in shots where they are chased by the villains. I will be using a female character to keep gender roles quite even. I do not want females to be represented any lower in ability in comparison to men. The trailer will hopefully show that ranges of ability are present in both genders. I feel that showing more able/strong character roles will emphasise that they are fighting for their lives everyday, adding to the fear and suspense, hopefully making the audience feel similar emotions. Most my characters will be white, simply from most friends and people interested in participating are white and not from different ethnic backgrounds. I would hope to find other people from different backgrounds to play in my trailer. One issue I face is with age representation. As most of the people I have asked to play in the trailer are college friends, most will be the same age. However, I will be asking various family members to play in my trailer to show characters ranging from all ages.

In both the poster and magazine cover, I will be the only character to be involved, therefore having little representation. However, it does relate to my character being shown as the main focus. Also the use of props such as weapons will suggest that my character is dangerous, possibly violent but brave.

Half Way Evaluation - Narrative

Being roughly half way through the project I have evaluated how narrative theory has been incorporated into my film trailer, poster and magazine cover. I found it useful to look at how I've used aspects such as - Setting, Characters, Binary Opposites, Equilibrium, Themes, Emotion Content and Enigma Codes.

Trailer

• I have pretty much finalized the settings I am using in my film trailer. I will be using the following - School Grounds, St Helen's Woods, Hastings Seafront, My House. I've found that woods are quite a conventional setting in Horror films as they can be so absent from the public. However, I find it interesting how films can be shot, looking as if they are in a deserted area but are in a really public area, showing the skill of the director working with little setting opportunities to create a unique effect. I will shoot parts in my own house in the dark, creating the more suspense filled parts. I will upload a story board for the first sections of my film trailer in the next few days.
• I will play the main role in my film trailer. However, I will be emphasising some of the female characters as being able to cope in the dangerous circumstances. I think that the gender roles will be a lot more equal in my film, in comparison to similar films. In relation to character based narrative theories such as Propp's theory, the zombies will be the obvious villain. But in relation to the theory, I don't want to clearly demonstrate character types in too much depth in the trailer as it's only meant to be a teaser. Character roles should be shown as developing more in the actual film.
• The obvious binary opposite will be the zombies and the humans. But it won't be as simple as just 2 sides as there will be disagreements among the human characters mixing values creating more than just two split sides.
• In the trailer I don't want to show such depth like is the disruption of an infection solved.
• The trailer will show themes of horror, darkness and fear, hopefully being reflected by how the actors and actresses portray their characters in the trailer.

Poster

• The setting will be in St Helen's Woods, showing the distance from public society. 
• The character will be alone, reinforcing the sense of zombies dominating the world.
• It will show a clear idea of the two sides of the film, having the human being chased by the zombies.
• Emotion wise, it will show that the humans are forever having to run and live in fear of the infected.

Magazine Cover

• On the magazine cover there will be less emphasis on the setting as it will be shot in a photo studio.
• The main character will be myself on the front cover.
• The emotion displayed will hopefully show the stand being taken against the zombies but also a sense of always being in fear.

Magazine Cover Idea

I will be shooting my magazine cover main image in a studio at Hastings College. I think that shooting it in a studio will give it the professional edge over others and make it look more like existing magazines such as Empire. The photo will be myself in the costume I will use in the filming of my trailer. I will wear make up in terms of fake blood and dirty looking colours. The costume will need to be ripped and look aged. However, I do want to put emphasis on a sensible costume in comparison to many horror/zombie films where characters costumes are questioned on terms such as ease of running away from villains in and comfort. I will use props such as a fake gun or knife, whether I hold them or just have them attached to me will be something I can experiment and decide during the photo shoot. I will book permission for the studio in the next few days.

Half Way Evaluation - Textual Analysis

Being about half way through my project I have been evaluating my progress so far. I have established that the genre of my film will be based around Zombie/Horror, incorporating other themes from genres such as Action. I have also stated that I would like to verge away from some of the stereotypes of the genre, in such things like character roles/stereotypes and narratives. I feel that the genre choice is highly influential in the process of designing my trailer, poster and magazine cover.

Trailer

• The trailer will use typical horror conventions (blood, gore, suspense).
• Use of special effects and props such as blood and make up.
• Sense of a "scare factor".
• Zombies will be the villain role in the narrative, but also having disagreements and perhaps hidden opposites between the living.

Poster

• My film poster will be shot in the woods (St Helens Woods) where parts of the trailer will be filmed.
• I have planned the poster in an earlier post - POSTER PLAN
• The character will have their back facing the audience.
• Zombies in the background approaching, slightly hidden.
• Unconventional compared to existing Zombie film posters.
• It will show the ongoing run the main characters face against the zombies.

Magazine Cover

• I have made a rough draft of my magazine cover on Photoshop (will upload when possible).
• I am going to use a white, black and red colour scheme.
• The main image will be shot in a photo studio - Hastings College.
• I have put unique aspects on my magazine cover using convergence ideas with websites, tv stations and blackberry/smartphone scanning bar codes.

Film Poster Analysis 2 - Horror/Zombie

After analysing  the poster of film Foxy Brown, I have researched into other posters in the Zombie/Horror genre. I have looked at differences and similarities in examples such as 28 Days Later, Dawn Of The Dead, Night Of The Living Dead and Dawn Of The Dead (Remake) -

• Main Conventions - The main photo is of the main character, alone in the city of London. The way you can see famous landmarks such as Big Ben in the background reinforces the sense of being alone in such a large place. The red eyes are also an important part of the poster. This contributes to the evil and fear of the zombies, and contributes to why the zombie virus is called "rage" by the disturbing look and colour of the eyes. It's clearly a zombie horror film, given away by the quote in the middle/top section of the poster. However, if the quote wasn't there, the bio-hazard symbol definitely suggests there is some sort of virus outbreak being part of the main story. The eyes also are a main factor.
• Film Language - The poster's main colour dominating the scheme is red, having a heavy association with evil, fear, panic and death. The layout could be seen as interesting having the zombies eyes at the top, the bio-hazard symbol in the centre and the lone character at the bottom. It could be argued that this is a suggestion that the bio-hazard is the center explanation of the film, with the 2 sides of characters being the "rage" infected zombies (being on one side/at the top) and the left over humans (at the bottom). 
• Structure - The above point relates to the structure.
• Advertisement Techniques - The quote at the bottom "Your Days Are Numbered" perhaps makes the audience interested to see this directer/writers adaption of an end of the world style film. This is made even more personal by it being set in London and the use of famous and well known landmarks. Also the top quote makes it clear that Danny Boyle directs the film, perhaps pulling in audiences with his already established reputation.
• Audience - Obviously already established Zombie/Horror fans. 

I've found in my research, that a huge similarity between Zombie films is that the posters are usually heavily based around the zombies, not the main character. A lot of them emphasise the eyes, or some the whole face. In my plan I want to include full shots of the zombies, more similar to Dawn Of The Dead (Remake), but in a different environment (Plan made in other post). 

(Dawn Of The Dead Original)

(Night Of The Living Dead)

(Dawn Of The Dead - Remake)

Film Poster Analysis

During the process of creating my poster I have been researching conventions of various other posters to add ideas for my own. My first example given to me was "Foxy Brown" (1974), even though this didn't come into the Horror-Zombie genre, it allowed me to exercise my analysis skills and gave me general poster ideas -

• Main Conventions - The main character is portrayed as violent, perhaps suggesting it falls more into the Action genre. However, the way she dresses and the use of other women, perhaps suggests the film is still trying to hang on to the fact she is still a sexual icon. The action is reinforced by the use of guns, fighting and other weapons.
• Film Language - The colours used are bright and ones that are generally associated/worn in the '70's. The poster has quite an interesting layout, with the main character being in the middle, but surrounded by other smaller images in a sort of collage style. This reinforces the fact that trouble is based around her mean attitude. 
• Structure - From the poster you can see that it's more of an action based film due to the violence in the poster. It's obvious that it's based around Foxy Brown.
• Advertising Techniques - The film pulls the audience in perhaps through the revealing clothing and for Action fans, the violence. For female audiences, with the fact the main character is a dominant female, they may find that appealing.
• Audience - As I said it could be a female audience with Foxy as the main character. The film would appeal to males as well, with the sexual attraction and the action. It could also attract a large black audience, with less main characters in blockbuster films coming from an Afro-Caribbean background.

Film Poster Rough Draft

I have roughly planned my film poster using other photos from various sites, using a Prezi to show my annotations. My plan will be to take a photo of the main character with their back facing to the camera, in a forest (St. Helen's Woods, where I will shoot some of the trailer) with perhaps some zombies in the background to show how the main characters are always running from the villain of the narrative, the zombies.

Film Poster Plan on Prezi

Rough Sketch Of Magazine

Last week I designed a rough sketch of my magazine cover. I've decided that the name of the magazine will be Exposure. I've uploaded a picture of the first draft plan -

28 Weeks Later

In comparison to 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later was slightly more exciting, had more twists in, but on the other hand was probably due to a 5 year technology gap and a $10 million budget difference.

The main family the film focuses on basically brings the virus back into a US protected section of London. Yet again there are many questions asked to how the children escape the safe zone in the first place, why they allow a bitten human back into the base etc...

From the beginning terror and panic is generated, using quick cut editing and handheld shots, when under attack from the "rage" infected zombies. The camera shots aren't a lot different to the original film.

A lot like the original, the story line has many loop holes and many scenes seem unrealistic, ruining a reasonable backbone of a story, with plenty of potential for development.

Even from not enjoying the 28 series, I can take camera shot styles into my own project. A major aspect which I've taken from the film is the decision I'd need to make on whether the zombies in my film will be fast moving like the ones with the "rage" virus, or more slow moving like in The Walking Dead and other zombie films.

28 Days Later

Since choosing to base my trailer on a Zombie-Horror type genre I have researched into films of the genre, such as the 28 series. Directed by Danny Boyle, the 2002 film shows the outbreak of zombie virus "rage", which spreads throughout the UK, infecting millions. Starring Cillian Murphy, his character Jim wakes up in a hospital to find London deserted.

Some of the shots such as the opening, showing the desert scenes of London really reinforce the sense of how Jim is alone, in combination with how small he looks in this huge and destroyed city. Throughout the film, there is a strong use of handheld camera shots adding to the panic, of the characters, especially when they are under attack from the zombies.

Unlike The Walking Dead series, the zombies in 28 Days Later are fast and a lot stronger to the typical zombie in the Horror genre.

However, there was a lot of the film that I didn't enjoy. The story line moves very quickly from one event to the next with little introduction to characters. They simply accept one another's trust as one example, compared to in The Walking Dead where new characters are considered dangerous and are taken cautiously.

Written Genre And Narrative Analysis

Over half term I have completed an assignment based on analysing genre and narrative conventions of trailers. I believe this has really advanced my knowledge of trailer creation through studying these 2 trailers in even more depth than I have already. Details and extra conventions of trailers that I haven't realised in the past have affected new choices for my trailer.

Written Narrative and Genre Analysis

This essay focuses on the creation of narrative and genre features in film trailers. Both narrative and genre features are always present in the film format but are very background aspects that are often not noticed. For example, people know what to expect from films in a horror genre from the classic conventions they have picked up on in other films in the same genre. Reasons such as how the narrative and

The Narrative provides a backbone to the structure on the film. It’s a story type text describing the sequence of situations and providing details of the characters. The narrative simply gives the plan for the film creating the essential details of the world for the characters and events. Genre on the other hand, describes and classifies the text into groups (genres) and even more depth with sub-genres. To determine the genre of a film, it needs to be analysed in depth, showing how it relates to the established “classic conventions” of a certain genre. However, genres are not closed systems, leaving debate open to what genre a film could be placed into after analysing. From this sub-genres are born which branch from the root genre. But, films do need to keep some of the essential aspects to be classed into a certain genre.

2 trailers from different ends of film that will be analysed are The Walking Dead Season 2 and Batman, The Dark Knight Rises. The Walking Dead series are based in a current day world where an infection is created, reaching all over the world, destroying the population. The main character, Rick, awakes from a coma and discovers the zombie/un-dead virus, finds his family and they continue in search of safety. After the first season establishing characters and the story background, season 2 build on this, with a change of setting, building in new characters and uncovering new details of the virus outbreak. In contrast, Batman, The Dark Knight Rises, is the 3^rd in the series and conclusion of the recent Batman films, directed by Christopher Nolan. It is set 8 years after the disappearance of Batman, with organized crime at its lowest in Gotham. After villain Bane, threatens Gotham’s safety with his nuclear plan, Bruce Wayne retrains himself and returns to his duty of the Batman, fighting Bane and his many followers. Both trailers contain quite obvious elements that make it easy to quickly classify them into genres. For example, the use of blood, gore and suspense in the trailer to The Walking Dead suggests it could come under a Horror genre, while in Batman, the explosions, fighting and huge special effects of destruction, could suggest a more Action based genre and the more newly established Superhero Genre.

The Walking Dead series comes under the Horror genre mainly, shown by the themes created using blood, gore and fear. However, the way camera shots, editing, sound and mise-en-scene also contribute to classifying a film to a genre. From the very beginning of the trailer, panic is created along with a sense of adrenaline from the handheld camera movement, which is just shot on the character’s (Shane) face, with movement created by him running. That opening shot is also very close up on his face and so are many other shots in the trailer, showing the emotion and fear of the characters. These handheld and close up shots make it very personal for the audience. The use of this has become so common that some films just use this type of shot, creating its own sub-genre, with examples such as [REC], Paranormal Activity and Cloverfield. The camera shots also generate the sense of being alone in the world contributing to the genre. For example, shots where there is one character being chased by zombies (near the start), makes them seem so small and outnumbered. When they are being chased, especially near the start, the figures are dark, almost just silhouettes, creating a sense of the unknown. The editing also contributes to the genre, with its quick cut shots, showing a fast moving pace of the footage. In contrast, it can also be edited to create suspense, adding little or no sound and then a quick shot to make the audience jump. Also between some shots in the trailer, the frame may just say black for a second, before quickly jumping to the next shot, perhaps creating the suspense again. The expected sounds are included in the trailer, such as screaming, heavy breathing and sounds of breaking bones/injuries, which tend to be typical of the horror genre. There is little conversation in the trailer and many scenes of arguing, reinforced by the quote of “the group’s broken” almost suggesting that everyone is just simply caring for the survival of their own, not those of the entire group. In the trailer, there is a typical use of blood, sweat and dirt on the characters, which is often used in Horror. The Walking Dead uses a strong sense of decay (buildings, settings etc.) and that the characters are deserted in this baron setting to reinforce a sense of them being very alone. Other elements in the trailer included are a running sense of emotions, fear and violence. A major part of the series is the involvement of the zombies, who are the main fear. In a Horror film there is always a villain, whether it is zombies, vampire, madman etc. This involvement of zombies in films has borne a new sub-genre of Zombie Horror. The actors/actresses used in The Walking Dead aren't particularly famous from being in any major films. This is very common in Horror because it makes it more personal to the audience and it’s not as easy to expect what their character will be like. The voice over in the trailer in a large part as it perhaps reinforces the sense of them being alone but also shows that Rick is the dominant and main character of the series.

Batman, The Dark Knight Rises, comes more under the Action genre, but also the more recently established, popular Superhero Genre. This famous stamp is reinforced by the DC Comics logo being among the large company ones at the start like Warner Bros. In the trailer, many of the shots are mid-shots, perhaps trying to include as much as possible into the frame, creating an “action-packed”, adrenaline feel. Some of the setting shots are large overview/establishing shots like the one over Gotham city, showing the size and perhaps power of what the city holds. A lot of the shots in the trailer and as quickly cut in comparison to The Walking Dead trailer. The shots like to show the amount of action that’s happening in those few seconds, while in The Walking Dead It’s more based on the characters feelings and creation of fear, rather than settings, explosions and fighting. However, towards the end of the trailer the cuts between shots quicken building up with the sound of the chanting, into the recognisable Batman theme tune, included in the other 2 films. The white font on the black background during credits also reinforces the dark theme of the film but also is used to match the colours of Batman. In Action films, large settings are often used, for example the football stadium and the large city of Gotham. You also may find that the settings are quite urbanized, being in modern cities. The villain in the film is large and dominant, yet another typical characteristic of a “bad guy” in an Action film. His face is also hidden and his voice of an evil, mysterious tone, which makes him more feared. Explosions, heavy machinery, weapons and violence are always in Action films which all occur in the trailer. In quite a lot of films in the Action genre, there is often an attractive woman as a main character either one in distress or as a helper. In Batman, Catwoman plays this role but breaks away from this character type in points of the film by double crossing Batman and being a dominant, physical character. The conversation in the trailer never includes background noise, but just between a few characters. There are parts where they whisper and it sounds quite sinister combined with the suggested evil that is approaching. At the beginning of the trailer, the voice over is a boy singing the American national anthem. This suggests that the action created in the film affects the whole country. Christian Bale has played the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in all 3 of the films; his voice when he is Batman has been a famous aspect of his character, having a deep, sort of croaky take on it. His body has also been an obvious part in the choice of actor, needing him to have strong and large muscles to fill the dominant role of Batman. Another essential actor in the films is Michael Caine, playing a wise character in being Bruce Wayne’s butler, Alfred. The Batman series are quite dark films and this is reinforced by how it is shot, scenes often being in urban areas (alley ways, sewers etc.) and in dark areas. This reinforces the evil and violence, overall contributing to the conventions of the Action genre.

The Narrative of The Walking Dead is introduced by Rick, the main character. His voice over introduces a brief over view of the plot and establishes that he’s the main character. The behaviour of the characters establishes the feelings and emotion between those in the group. The family connections show the sense of combined effort in the series, working together for survival. The music adds to the suspense created in the narrative and the way some of it builds up alongside events in the trailer. The narrative could be compared to some of the character types in Propp’s narrative theory, Rick perhaps being the hero and the villain being the zombies. But it then gets hard as you find some of the characters fit into the same roles and that often the group can work as a team having all equal roles at some point. One that I did think applied was how Shane becomes more the False Hero in the series. The other theory that could be applied is the simple living humans against the opposite, being the zombies/walking dead.

In Batman, the music at the beginning is the American national anthem. And as said previously, it suggests that the narrative is going to involve the whole of America and be a huge event. The anthem then becomes sort of eerie and mysterious behind the speech layers, adding to the dark feel of the film. Batman, being an established character, famous from the original comic books and films in the past, is expected to be in a narrative where he fights a villain, following the themes and typical narrative structure of most superhero comic books. These narratives can closely relate to Propp’s theory: Batman – Hero, Bane – Villain, Helper – James Gordon or Catwoman (?), Donor – Alfred/Lucius Fox, False Hero – Catwoman (at one stage), Princess – Catwoman (?), Rachel, Freedom, Dispatcher – Alfred. These characters perhaps fit similar to the roles of Propp’s theory.

In The Walking Dead trailer, Andrea is shown as quite a violent character, having to shoot both her sister and kill a zombie. She plays quite a dominant, out speaking character while Rick’s wife Lori and Carol are just shot either crying or arguing, showing they’re quite weak to the group. In the series the women often do the washing up and the cooking while the men do more of the physical jobs. On the other hand in Batman, Catwoman is the main female character. She is witty, strong and attractive. On one side it could be argued that it’s great to have a strong female character that outsmarts Batman at one point and can fight as well as a male character can. But then even her costume is still tight and “sexualized” and she still comes across as quite a flirty character.

T-Dog and Glenn are from non-white ethnic groups in The Walking Dead. T-Dog is represented quite negatively in the trailer. Firstly, he slips and cuts his arm on a broken car door, suggesting he’s quite weak and not particularly intelligent. Followed by him asking Dale that they should pack up and desert the group when they are alone, suggesting he’s a traitor to the group. Glenn plays a very little role in the trailer and it’s not until the full series that you get to see his character develop. In Batman, the main ethnic group character is Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), who is an intelligent inventor for Bruce Wayne’s company. He is very much a peaceful character and is well respected throughout the series of films.

In both The Walking Dead and Batman, the men are the main characters and are shown as dominant, strong personalities. However, near the start of The Dark Knight Rises trailer, you see Bruce Wayne with a walking stick, showing his physical weakness that has grown with his age.

The Walking Dead would be mainly aimed at Males aimed between teenagers to possibly mainly 40s. The younger generation would show a preferred reading taking a liking to the blood, gore and excitement of the series. While a negotiated reading may be from females or slightly older audiences, feeling they may not like zombie related films, or lots of blood and gore, but may enjoy the excitement and the way it’s set in a modern time. A negative reading would simply not like the fact it’s detailed in blood and violence, perhaps to an older audience and then to a younger audience where it wouldn’t be suitable due to the gory scenes. Batman I think would be similar but there’s a slightly larger audience range, with the new attraction of strong character Catwoman and that Batman has been around since as early as 1939 bringing in audiences that could have seen the older Batman films from 1989 onwards.

In conclusion, The Walking Dead gives a good insight in the trailer to the Horror genre, keeping many typical Horror style conventions but at the same time incorporating new ideas with the newly developed Zombie Horror sub-genre, the more use of action and violence and a quite dominant use of female characterisation. I think it’s a great trailer; the music fits really well and the use of shots create a lot of emotion with the audience that connects with how the characters feel. The set of shots in the opening 20 seconds are some of my favourites also. Batman, The Dark Knight Rises, sticks very much to its expected elements but that would be expected being based on the comic book and being similar to the past 2 films. But this is essential as audiences clearly enjoy the Christopher Nolan series and find them action packed with obvious modern elements added in comparison to the older ones. They are very dark films and I personally think that’s what gives them a great and unique feel giving Batman a different style to a typical cheery, brighter looking super hero like Spiderman. The narratives are established well in both, but it definitely leaves it with plenty to be developed in the actual film/series. 

Poster Plan

I have recently been focusing more on looking at ideas for my film poster looking at a range of examples and also focusing more on those from a Horror genre. In the next few days I will make a rough sketch of my poster plan, thinking about the following things -

• Main Image
• Fonts
• Secondary Images
• Names
• Dates
• Colours
• Enigma Codes
• Theories
• Style
• Review Quotes

Zombie Paint Tester

In half term I experimented using different face paints and fake bloods, towards what I need to buy for my actual filming of my trailer. I basically used a mixture of white and grey as the main parts on the face, with more  black around the eyes, added with drops of fake blood, allowing them to run and smudging some so they look more like larger cuts or bruises.

Zombie Make Up Research

Today I went to a shop in Hastings called Substance to look at make up accessories for my trailer. For characters that are zombies I thought they would need -

• White/Grey face paint as the main layer.
• Black paint for around the eyes and to mix with the main layer.
• Fake blood for on face and body.
• Contact lenses?
• Plastic, pretend cuts/scars? 

I was interested to find out about the contact lenses. I was more interested in finding out whether they're all safe to use and mainly that there's no danger to eyesight. They're just like usual contact lenses and need to be taken out at night etc. They stay in a pot of liquid to preserve the quality. I will not be buying these as accessories for my trailer as they were quite expensive  but if people already have them or want to get them in my trailer, they're welcome to use them. 

The fake blood and face paints I will get online from the same places as I've had experience using them before. 

I watched a video on zombie make up on Youtube, using the plastic pretend cuts/scars. It looked quite realistic and in research looked in budget, so I may use them on close up shots of actors in the trailer.

Zombie Shots Editing Practiced

After shooting some scenes at the seafront today I edited them together on Sony Vegas. I've found some details such as people that aren't zombies creeping into some shots which I will crop out in my final trailer. It's allowed me to practice changing the lighting and colour effects, using a more green/yellow scheme. I also feel I will alter this slightly when it comes to the final piece. I'm pleased with some of the shots as it has allowed me to gain parts for my trailer without organizing people to acts as zombies. I will obviously be filming zombie parts at a later date. One large problem I've found is when I uploaded the video Youtube asked if I wanted them to edit it as it noticed some of the shakes from the handheld motion. I clicked yes but I personally think it's reduced the quality of the video and eliminated the handheld feel in some shots. I may re-upload it without them editing it at a later date. But in the meanwhile, here's my rough edit of some of the shots I took today, accompanied by All Washed Up by Dead Harts -

Hastings Zombie Day

Today I filmed some shots along Hastings seafront at the Hastings Zombie Walk. Some of the shots came out well, and I will use some in my trailer. I have also learnt on Sony Vegas how to change the colours of the video shots, for example I have given some I have practised on a more yellow/green overlay. Here are some of the still shots -

Non-Copyright Sound Effects

In my film trailer I've found that I will need to use extra sound effects to layer over my footage. When I can't make the sounds myself I have found a website where you can download sounds for free which aren't copyrighted. The site is http://www.freesfx.co.uk/. Today I downloaded some such as Zombie style moans and sounds of bones breaking.

http://www.freesfx.co.uk/sfx/zombie

Film Trailer Pitch 1

I had to present my Film, Poster and Magazine Cover Ideas with all my ideas and plans for my project. I have screenshot each slide on my Powerpoint Presentation. I will be revceiveing feedback on my pitch in the next week so I can improve my research techniques and add more ideas to my project.

Note from yesterday - I did not manage to film new footage for my trailer yesterday. I will story board my new ideas in the next few days and film as much as possible in settings outside of college over half term.

Conventions Of Horror Movies

After re-thinking through scene ideas for my trailer today, I went back to simply researching the typical conventions of a horror movie. This allowed me to gain new ideas for to add to my project but on the other hand reminded me of the typical horror lay out so I can tweak it, making the film my own.

Preliminary Footage A2 Media

This evening I have downloaded Sony Vegas Pro 11.0 and edited some of the footage from earlier as a preliminary experiment -

Even though I will not be using much of the footage shot today, it has allowed me to correct my mistakes and given me shots to practice editing together on Sony Vegas. 

Day One Of Filming

I started filming the first parts of my trailer today. The setting used was in a science lab at my college. Some of the shots came out okay and I will use in my trailer. Looking back on it, I consider it more as a preliminary as not all the shots turned out how I originally planned. I also had trouble with the tripod as part was missing, therefore having to film it all handheld. Some of the shots really needed a tripod so I will need to re-shoot them. It also allowed me to decide whether I will use the scenes and shots for the final project and I've since thought about changing quite a bit of it. It's been successful as I have started filming early, allowing me to correct these faults with plenty of time. I will hopefully use the Sony Vegas editing program at some point tomorrow to refresh my memory of it and put some of today's shots together, either as part of the project or just a practice. Here are some screen shots from the videos -

Filming Equipment

Tomorrow I will be filming the first part of my trailer. For this I will be using the following equipment -

(Panasonic HDC-SDC600)

I have been getting used to/refreshing my knowledge of using the camera this evening. I have tested it in different light conditions and speed conditions so when I come to film tomorrow I will be prepared. I also have various memory cards to back me up if I run out of space while recording. The battery will be charged over night.

(Velbon DF-40 Tripod)

For when I'm not taking hand held shots I will use my tripod which I'm used to using during past video shooting and photography.

Magazine Cover Idea

My magazine will be a specialist product. It will focus on films but on mainly Horror branching out into the many sub-genres of Horror. It will include the more independently produced films along with the mainstream ones. These films will be reviewed on a monthly basis and news on upcoming films will be included. 

Film Trailer Setting

After college today I went to one of the science labs to ask permission for usage in my trailer. They agreed and were happy to participate in the filming. I will be buying the necessary props tomorrow and hopefully filming the first part on Thursday.

(Organization evidence)

Cast And Props On Trailer Section 1

I have thought about the cast, props and setting I need to film the first part of my trailer.

Cast

• (There will only be a group of scientists in this scene)
• Myself
• 2 Adult scientists which I am hoping will be teachers in science at the college who will be happy to participate.
• Jonny
• Rachel
• Livi
• Natasha
• Matt
• Jonno
• The aim is to have between 8-10 in this scene plus a camera man? I will be or Arron?

Setting

• Science Lab - I hope I can use a lab at my college, I will be asking permission to after college tomorrow.

Props

• Test Tubes
• Syringe
• Papers (As if it's a book) - With a title Eg. Cure to... Something along the lines of.
• Beer bottles
• Wine Glass
• Glasses
• Science Coats/Jacket
• Party Poppers
• White Board
• Pens
• Banner?
• Music/Ipod Player
• Lamplight
• Chopping Board
• Dissection Knives
• Saw
• Fake Blood
• Fake Gun
• Broken Kids Toy
• Open Can Of Food
• Animal Heart

I will add to this list if there's any changes.

Film Trailer Storyboard

Over the weekend I did a rough sketch of the storyboard for the first section of my trailer. I have annotated it on a Prezi -

Film Trailer Storyboard Part 1 on Prezi

First Film Synopsis

Late 2012 and a team of highly advanced scientists find the cure to (…). After millions around the globe queue for the vaccination, patterns start to occur seeing those become sick and deteriorate into critical conditions. Patients start to awake into a zombie like manner, killing and converting the few survivors of the planet. Is there a cure to this flesh eating massacre and who can stop it?

Magazine Genres

Near the start of my magazine research I brainstormed a list of magazine genres. Here I've created it into a Prezi and added examples to some of the genres I came up with.

Magazine Genres on Prezi

When I am designing the front cover for my magazine, advertising my film, the obvious choice would be to include it in a film magazine. However, you sometimes see film features in magazine genres such as Kids, Lad-Mag, Music, Consumer and Health. I thought that as my film will be based around Zombie Horror, it could be a magazine based around just the Horror genre, including the many sub-genres inside.

Empire Analysis

It's obvious that my project would be advertised in some sort of film related magazine, so I analysed the key elements of another Empire Magazine front cover in detail.

Empire Magazine 271 uses very similar design features to the other recent cover I analysed. Cover Lines give a clear indication of what's going to be included in this issue. The Batman logo fits onto the cover and adds to The Dark Knight Rises being the main feature with this use of Iconography. The pose of the main focus; Bane, is difficult to judge. His pose is very much straight and with his mouth hidden it's difficult to see a lot of his facial expression. This leaves only his eyes which are very bleak and show little emotion and then his size which mainly shows his dominance and negative character. 

It's quite clear that Empire is mainly aimed at a male audience. I'm sure that girls also read the magazine but even from looking at the adverts inside, you can tell that it's mainly aimed at guys. This is reinforced by the dark colours on the front. Also one of the cover lines tells of an article inside on the "years best fights, sex scenes and in jokes", perhaps stereotypically popular things in a male's life. Ages could range from late teens to adult. The use of lots of exclamation marks emphasises excitement that perhaps a male would seek. Also the use of the magazine being "ultimate" makes viewers believe they are buying the best. 

The magazine's selling points clearly bases itself around exclusive news and up to date film reviews for readers who are looking for more details than just what's on the screen. It reinforces this in ways such as saying they have the "first official pics" of the new Batman film and revealing the "secrets of Skyfall". These statements suggest that Empire are one of the first film magazines to receive up to date information. It clearly would appeal most to film enthusiasts.

As discussed yesterday, Empire uses convergence by having their magazine and their website.

This issue of Empire can be bought with 2 different covers. One with Batman on and the other with Bane. This gives this issue more of a collectors item feel and would perhaps even persuade some people to buy both editions. It also enforces the binary opposite of the characters in The Dark Knight Rises. 

The mast head - EMPIRE, is in red. The name Empire suggests it's well known, forceful and strong. A magazine that is popular, dominant and confident in its sales.

Project Progression

• I have decided that I will be following the outlines of a Horror/Zombie genre for my project combined with some of my original and unique ideas.
• I have recently found some great examples of camera shots used in trailers that I can use similarly in my own. Eg. Season 2 Walking Dead shot.
• There will have to be some reason for a zombie/infection outbreak which I have yet to conclude on a final synopsis.
• In the next week I will also be thinking of who to cast and whether I will want to act in the trailer or just direct.
• Other people such as help with make up and costumes has also been taken into consideration.
• Such props and costumes/accessories will need to be bought, eg. fake blood etc.
• I will try to change parts of the trailer to perhaps cater to a few more audience groups than some other Horror/Zombie films do by changing some stereotypes, but I will find myself using the classic conventions of the genre. These usually gain a more male audience, ranging from late teen to middle age.
• I want to emphasise dark colours in a lot of the trailer.

Magazine Terminology

As creating a front cover for a magazine advertising my media product is part of the brief, I thought that a refreshed range of terminology was great towards helping me create my personal cover.

• Audience Expectations -  What an audience would expect to read after seeing the front cover. For example, you would expect NME to contain information on upcoming bands and live music reviews.
• Convergence - In which different media mediums (TV, Music, Internet etc.) can link to a magazine. A great example is Kerrang! which has its own magazine, TV channel, radio station and internet site.
• Cover Lines - Smaller references/details to the features inside.
• House Style - The particular style of writing used.
• Iconography - How logos and fonts are used. Such as if a band such as The Black Keys were featured, their name on the magazine may be written in the font they use in their logo.
• Ideologies - A set of ideas and values. A music magazine that is more based on the genre of Punk may have a more anarchistic edge with language to compliment.
• Mise-en-scene - This is simply what else is in the frame. For example, a footballer may be seen in public wearing a pair of "Dr. Dre headphones", with a connotation of wealth and unnecessary spending.
• Mode Of Address - The ways in which an audience is addressed. For example, a lad mag may use language suited to the culture and be of interest to them.
• Pose - The position the person is in the picture.
• Representation - The way in which a group is portrayed in the media form. For example, the Daily Mail newspaper, may represent Muslims in a mostly negative light.
• Sell Lines - A short tag line, showing the main marketing point. 
• Superlative - An adjective/adverb that expresses the person or thing spoken about in your contents. 
• Target Audience - Simply who your product is aimed at.

Magazines on Prezi

Application Of Audience Analysis

I applied some of the audience analysis techniques to video game Battlefield 3 -

• Gender - Male
• Political View - Either? Enjoys violence?
• Age - 15 - 30 (HOWEVER, this is just the age the creators claim it's aimed at, it's often clear with games similar to Battlefield that audiences range from as young as 12 years old, or even lower).
• Race - White, British, American.
• Religion - Atheist? Not as relevant.

Audience Relation

Whether viewers will choose to watch my product and enjoy it was very dependent on certain factors. I did some research and found this was very important in how they relate to the product and make the decision to if they like or dislike the media -



In a discussion a good example was mentioned that wasn't based just around film or tv shows. A class member bought up musician Bruce Springsteen - They enjoyed his music and obviously gained entertainment from watching or listening to him. It satisfied them socially as they were able to attend a Springsteen concert with their parent and having a musical admiration in common with someone from another generation has perhaps become quite rare with the introduction of music that's become engineered intro the latest generation as being the "correct" music to listen to, defeating such common musical interests. They were able to interact with going to the concert and enjoying the experience. Lastly, Springsteen's songs are very much open to relate to as a working class listener and relates to many of his prime time, these values can then be passed down to later generations.

Another debate that was brought up was that "does boredom encourage exciting media content to be viewed" and "does stress encourage relaxing media content to be viewed". On one hand I could agree; for example, I would perhaps be in more of a mood to watch a film like Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels when I am bored rather than stressed as it's exciting and requires a bit of concentration to watch it (not really available when stressed). While when I'm stressed I would watch LA Ink, as I do not have to concentrate. Even though it entertains me, it's a great background program and I do not have to fully concentrate on it. The themes of it also generally relax me. However, if I'm stressed, I may not choose to listen to relaxing music such as Fleetwood Mac, but perhaps listen to aggressive music such as Gallows or Feed The Rhino etc. The anger and "heavy-ness" of this music would create a sort of outlet for my feelings and in the long term make me feel better, allowing myself to share my thoughts with something of similar themes.

Relating to audiences is also very dependent on factors of their own personality and values, such as - 

• Gender
• Race
• Religion
• Political Views
• Sex

Audience Reception Theory

• Preferred/Dominant reading - The writer/producer's main aim, the viewer will enjoy it and it will fit their age group, gender or the target audience.
• Negotiated - The audience will consider viewing the media form, but perhaps reluctantly. 
• Oppositional - The audience will refuse to watch the media form.

When creating my project I will need to consider who falls in to each of these categories, and perhaps try to accommodate as many as possible, or just stick to the conventions of the genre, keeping the norm audience.

I also thought of programs that I watch that perhaps I do not fall into the aimed category. For example, kids show, Spongebob Squarepants, clearly aimed at a younger audience. LA Ink could be aimed at mainly people with tattoos and artists, but I really enjoy the show.

Trailer Idea

Recently I've been developing more ideas to add to my project of creating a trailer, magazine cover etc. I'm pretty much set on using the genre of Horror which still gives me a lot of freedom to branch into other sub-genres such as Gore, Psychological Horror, Zombie etc. I've been adding to my knowledge more by watching trailers in just the Horror genre to extract essential conventions that I will use in my project. For example, The Walking Dead Season 2 trailer really gave me some inspiration for shot types. The opening shot uses a handheld movement on the character's face where he's obviously running from something. The camera shaking with the running movement creates panic from the first second of the trailer. This is a shot I'd definitely like to use in my own trailer. The shot then pans down his body to his feet showing the pace of the motion while he's running. An over view shot then follows, revealing what is chasing him. However, the figures aren't clear, they are almost blacked out. The mystery of what are they also adds to the panic. I also find the part where the gun is being shot in slow motion, seeing the capsules pop out the barrel, really adds to the action and the near death experience of the scene. Just from this first 25 seconds, there are some brilliant shots which will definitely affect how I film my own.