Magazine Audience Research Answers

Magazine Audience Research Questions

Trailer Audience Research Answers

Trailer Audience Research Questions

1. Do you favour long or short trailers?
Yes
No
2. Do you like trailers with jump scares or without?
With
Without
3. In the trailer, would you like to see more of the antagonist, or more of the protagonist?
4. Do you prefer a trailer with voice overs and dialogue or one without?
With
Without
5. Do you like a lot of text to be in the trailer?
Yes
No
6. Would you like for the resolution to be shown in the trailer?
Yes
No
7. How should the narrative of the trailer be structured?
Linear (in order)
Non linear (not chronological order)

Synopsis Audience Research Answers

Synopsis Audience Research Questions

Synopsis: A virus is fast plaguing London city, a deathly burger virus. Victims suffer from a quick and painful death, before turning into flesh eating zombies in search of fresh human bodies to devour . its nearly Halloween, and a group of teenagers: Charlize, Elena, Marcus, Jenny and Tim are out shopping for their costumes. All is well until Charlize starts seeing things; the undead. 
Are they able to Escape the Bite?

1. Does the title go hand in hand with the synopsis?
Yes
No
2. Is our synopsis easy to understand?
Yes
No
3. Should most of the trailer be shot in a fancy dress shop?
Yes
No
4. Does the synopsis explain the whole film?
Yes
No

Poster Audience Research Answers

Poster Audience Research Questions

Art Designs: Costume, Character, Location, Props, Make Up

Character costume moodbaord from aishales

Locations Moodboard from aishales

Props x Make Up Moodboard from aishales

Audience Essay

Narrative Essay

The narrative of a film is always created using a specific structure that has to be followed, in order for the film to actually become what its meant to be. There are many theorists that have created ideologies as to how a film should be ideally constructed. In this essay, I'll be explaining what this structure is, and apply it to my own film trailer. The first theorist is Propp, who came up with the idea that in films, there are always some characters that could always be seen. These characters were: the hero, the villain, the helper, the princess, the dispatcher and then the false hero etc. The theory that these type of characters can be found within a movie does, in fact, apply to our film trailer; although it falls into the category of zombie horror - so these type of characters have been changed to fit the sub genre, showing the type of characters that can be found within a zombie film. Out horror trailer includes: the survivor, the sacrifice, the betrayer, the moron, and the expert; highlighting that Propp's theory applies to our film trailer. The second theorist, is Todorov. Todorov conjured up the theory that a film is made on the the structure and form of an: equilibrium, disequilibrium and a resolution. The equilibrium in a film is essentially "the calm before the storm", where all is fine in the world, introducing characters and setting the scene. The disequilibrium is when problems start to arise and the threat has been made aware, as people start dying one by one. Lastly, the resolution is where everything is resolved (or is it?) and the final girl steps up to the threat/villain or is left on a cliffhanger. Todorov's theory can be applied to my film trailer as it involves his structural form. The equilibrium in The Flesh Eaters is when the young teens are in a fancy dress shop, trying on costumes and having fun; introducing the main characters. The disequilibrium, is when the threat has been made aware to the viewer; in this case, when zombies start to appear and start eating everyone. The resolution of the trailer has been left as an enigmatic cliffhanger to keep the audience on their toes when watching the film trailer. Levi Strauss is another theorist that'll be discussed in this essay, as he created the idea that binary opposites are embedded within films, and they can be seen by anyone anytime, anywhere. For the horror genre, the main binary opposites that people will find would be the typical "good vs evil" concept, which can be implied through many ways, for example "hero vs villain". Strauss' theory coexists within our film trailer, as the binary opposite that can be found will be "life vs death", as living humans are trying to fend for themselves in a world full of flesh eating zombies - the dead. To end, I'm convinced that the three narrative theorists that I've discussed in this essay link in with each other to make my horror trailer work. Without one theory, the other theories will cease to exist.

Representation Essay

Representation speaks of the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way; an in this case, the ways in which the media portrays particular groups, communities, experiences, ideas, or topics from a particular ideological or value perspective. In terms of film, there is always a deeper meaning and subtext about what is presented to us on the cinema screen. The genre of horror could be seen as hegemonic and also patriarchal, as males dominate this genre. For my horror trailer, titled “The Flesh Eaters”, I’ll include the theories of representation (discussed in this essay) to give my film trailer as a whole a deeper meaning. Laura Mulvey’s theory was based on the “male gaze”, constructed from the idea that most cinema viewings are dominated by a large male audience, and by displaying the female body on the screen, it attracts the male eye; highlighting the fact that female characters are shown on screen for the sexual and erotic pleasure of men, controlling women, and making them an object of the gaze. However, feminists have divided this theory into 3 sections: how men look at women, how women look at themselves and how women look at women. Mulvey’s theory can be seen in the horror trailer of Tucker and Dale vs Evil, where the female character that is shown repeatedly in the trailer is attractive, and she’s sexualised through mise-en-scene, as she’s shown wearing provocative clothing; very short shorts and a crop top, which reveals her assets, attracting the ‘male gaze’. The concept of the male gaze can also be seen through camera angles in Tucker and Dale vs Evil, for example, a medium-long range shot of the blonde female getting blood squirted all over her, whilst in her skimpy attire, which also carries sexual connotations. This theory can be applied to my film trailer, although it won’t be to this extent, as my trailer will consist of close up shots, and also panning shots of the female protagonists, when trying on Halloween costumes (Charlize, Elena and Jenny). Carol J. Clover came up with the Final Girl theory, in which the surviving girl battles the antagonist. The Final Girl is the “virginal good girl”, she also has a masculine name and has some male characteristics, and is also presented to be intelligent and resourceful in comparison to those around her and those that eventually becomes one of the many victims, which is why she survives in the end. However, this could be portrayed as a patriarchal ideology, as females are being portrayed as “not woman”, and at the same time “not man”, women do not have their own identity in the genre of horror. This concept can be found in my film trailer, although it falls into the subgenre of zombie horror. Charlize is the final girl that will be seen in my horror trailer. Her name is the feminisation of the male name, Charles; this shows the theory of how women are seen as “not woman” and yet “not man”, showing the patriarchal ideology. However, postfeminists will see this as Charlize being liberated from men, seeing as she’s the final girl, and has feminised her name, breaking free from the chain that the patriarchal society has bound her in, which is a unique selling point for the film, as zombie horror tends to not have a final girl, and the fact that the name of the final girl has the feminised version of a male name shows that The Flesh Eaters is bringing something new to the zombie horror table. Sarah Dobbs introduced the theory of "Scream Queens", in which women are celebrated for their looks and not for their brains, talent and intelligence, and also seen as very easily expendable victims. However, she also says that they can be seen as protagonists and also main characters. Dobbs goes on to say that female protagonists are rare, and complex and interesting female characters are even more rarer. In the production of The Flesh Eaters, "scream queens" are portrayed, when Elena is being eaten by zombies. The Flesh Eaters contradicts Dobbs' theory, as the lead character is a female, and she doesn't come across to the viewer as a "scream queen". This showcases women in an impenetrable way, as the final girl (Charlize) is a smart individual, and isnt lacking in the brains department. Post feminists would say that this shows women being liberated and are now fighting back/against male views - also counting as a unique selling point of our film. Kim Paffenroth suggested that zombies can be metaphors for diseases, issues and plagues that reside within our culture as a whole; further implying that zombie films have a deeper meaning than meets the eye. Zombie films could be metaphors of consumerism in society, like in Dawn of The Dead, in which zombies were shown in the supermarket/shopping malls, implying and highlighting the fact that maybe the human race is subject to consumerism, that we continue to buy more and more things to fulfil our needs, but our needs are never really met, so we buy even more and the cycle continues; making zombies look like capitalists, as they consume more and more flesh, whether they are full or not. Paffenroth's theory applies to our film trailer, as the zombies could be a metaphor for capitalism and consumerism. This is because the origins of how people became zombies in the first place was because they bought fast food (McDonalds) in which there was a virus, which ultimately turned the humans into zombies; showcasing that people in e the real world know that buying fast food on a daily basis is bad for their health, but they give into capitalism and buy it anyway, turning them into simpleminded creatures. The zombies in The Flesh Eaters could also be seen as metaphors for gang culture within the UK, as the zombies look the same and dress the same, and also travel in packs, terrorising the rest of society.

21/10/2015 - Log

In between this date (today) and Friday 23rd of October at 5pm, I would have put up the rest of my essays (Representation, Narrative and Audience) and put up my moodboards of the costume,locations and props. This will be of a good quality, and will be done before the deadline so my grades, and the grades of the people in my group are not affected.

Essay on Theorists

The horror genre has evolved over many years since its beginning; and there are theorists that not only pushed the development of the horror genre further, but also other film genres too, not just horror films alone. In this essay, there are five theorists that will be reconnoitred and the way they morph and apply to my trailer. The first theorist I’ll talk about is Altman, who suggested that horror movies offers its audience a set of pleasures: emotional pleasures offers the audiences of genre films are particularly significant when they generate a strong audience response, for example, movies from the j horror genre. Visceral pleasures are gut responses and are defined by how the film's stylistic construction elicits a physical effect upon its audience. This can be a feeling of revulsion, kinetic speed or a 'roller coaster ride'. This applies to my film trailer as the sub-genre I want to make a trailer from is a slasher, as I want produce jump scares and some scenes of gore like in “A Nightmare on Elm Street” or “Halloween” where my inspiration comes from. Another pleasure is that of intellect; genres such as the thriller offer the pleasure in trying to unravel a mystery or a puzzle. Pleasure is derived from deciphering the plot and forecasting the end or being surprised by the unexpected. The second theorist is Metz, who came up with the idea that there are four stages of development within a film genre; experimental, classical, revisionist and parodic. These four stages made horror films what they are today, which is the postmodernists period; where ideas are being taken from films and are recreated into something new, questioning everything that’s been done within the genre since its beginning. Without Metz, I wouldn’t have all the building blocks from each stage of development to create my film trailer. For example, “Psycho”, which is from the experimental stage of the slasher subgenre, relates to my film trailer because it provides a sense of the use of phallic objects being used, and also the convention of masks to hide the identity of the antagonist. Chandler’s theory is very short and sweet. He states that there all genres have subgenres, which is correct as the horror genre has nine subgenres in total. The subgenre that applies to me and my trailer is slasher, which justifies Chandler’s theory. Steve Neale is another theorist, who argues that pleasure is derived from repetition and difference as it expands the genre to match the constant changing palettes of the audience. This also applies to my film trailer, as I’m drawing all sense of inspiration from different films within the slasher subgenre. For example, the concept behind the antagonist from “Friday the 13th” is where the inspiration behind my antagonist comes from. The use of a phallic object in “Psycho” (the knife) was acknowledged and so I will also be using a phallic object in my film trailer (and axe). This highlights Neale’s theories and justifies it, as my film will still be giving the audience some sort of pleasure as its different and new, but repeated. Last but not least, Burton is a theorist that implied that everything to do with conventions and the characters within a novel. He said that there is always a protagonist, stock characters, stock situations, icons, background and themes in a movie. These factors all apple to my film, as the protagonist is the final girl, who goes to summer camp with the rest of her group of friends; which happen to be the stock characters – the cool jock, the ethnic minority, the slut/cheerleader, the nerd, and the3 final girl herself. The stock situations you’ll see in my film trailer: the curious person that wants to find out something or looking for trouble or believes that whatever the situation nothing will happen to them. This is normally the person who says ‘I’ll be right back’ but they end up being killed. This applies to Burton as they’ll be included in my horror trailer, likewise the icons that’ll be used, for example, the axe/knife, the mask, the use of blood, as well as the settings/backgrounds used in typical slasher films, e.g. the woods, a suburban area – showing that my trailer applies to his theory.

Final Treatment

For the final part of our development for our horror trailer, we were told to produce a treatment based on our concept, which includes: our production, film title, tag line, target audience, certificate, sub - genre, theme, synopsis, locations, Prop theory - which allows us to build character profiles and Todorov theory - which includes equilibrium, disequilibrium and resolution; allowing us to conjure up a narrative that the storyline will follow. We've also included our film influences, so people will be able to see where we got ideas from.

The flesh eaters - Treatment 3 from aishales

Concept 2

The second pitch was: Dark Priest

Positives:
- Authentic narrative
Negatives:
- Storyline needs work; rather blurred
- Locations