Certificate Research

• From researching the different certificates that films can have, it is clear that a lot of them are unsuitable for a horror film as they would mean that people of a too young age would be able to view them and they would be too frightening for them. The certificates that would be unsuitable (PG, U, 12) are below; PG - Parental Guidance, would enable people of any age to view our film, which would be a very bad decision, as a parent may take their 7 year old to view our trailer, without them realising what our trailer may entale. U - Universal, would also be unsuitable as Universal means that there is nothing unsuitable for children, which in our trailer, there probably will be, so we do not want children to watch it. The Certificate 12 would also be unsuitable as by rating it as a 12, our target audience of 15-24 would probably not watch it as they would assume it is not very scary due to it being such a low age rating. Also some parts would probably be too scary for a 12 year old.

• When you view a horror film the certificate is generally higher than these ones, as the content of the films is completely different. If you watch a film with any of the above certificates, it would probably not scare you very much, as that is not what the aim of the film is. Horror films are generally aimed at an older audience because of the terror it may cause.

• The two certificates above would be more suited for our film, as we are aiming to do a horror film, and by having either of the other 3, the target audience wouldn't be a high enough age, so not many people would want to view it, as it would be too scary for them. 15- is a good certificate to have, as many 15 year olds go to the cinema nowadays, and the 15 certificate allows you to include murder and blood. Although 18 is a good certificate for a very scary horror film, we do not want to limit the audience members ages that much, as we may get less people viewing it compared to if it was a 15.

Conclusion

• In conclusion, I think the certificate we will most likely use for our film will be a 15, as people of this age are more likely to watch horror films, and it would reach a wider audience as people may believe an 18 will be too scary for them. Also if we were to do an 18, less people would be able to watch it as it would be a too high age rating for them, but with a 15, anyone from the age of 15 upwards are able to watch it, so we would get a wider audience with this lower certificate. Also the main ages of people who view a horror film are 15-24, so we would be fitting into this group of people with our trailer.

Institution Research

Dream Works Pictures -


This institution is a very well known and popular film brand. A lot of films produced are animated and aimed more for children though, so using this as our institution in a horror film may create the wrong idea of the effect we want our trailer to have. This logo is very widely associated with 'Shrek' which is obviously not a horror film, so by putting this logo, we may be attracting the wrong audience for our horror trailer. Some of the films that have been produced include:

• Shrek
• Meet The Parents
• She's The Man
• The Ring

Although 'The Ring' is a horror film, the other three are comedies/romcoms. As the majority of the films produced by this logo are comedies, it would not be suitable for our horror trailer.

Paramount Pictures -

This logo is another well known brand, that is very popular and famous. This may be a good logo for our film as from the start, it would be recognisable. The films produced by this company generally do well in the box office, so by having this logo, an audience member would probably expect our trailer to be of that standard and be encouraged to go and watch it. Some of the horror films they have produced include:

• Friday the 13th, Gross: $64,997,188 (USA) (19 April 2009)
• Paranormal Activity, Gross: $193,355,800 (Worldwide) (21 January 2010)
• Sleepy Hollow, Gross: $206,071,502 (Worldwide)

From looking and these films and their gross in America and Worldwide, Paramount may be a top choice for our final institution choice. 

Ghost House Pictures -

Ghost House Pictures is a very horror based institution. This is made apparant by the skull in the picture above. Ghost House Pictures have produced films such as:

• 30 Days of Night
• Drag Me To Hell
• The Grudge
• Boogeyman 2

If you continue down the list of films they have made, it is clear that they are widely associated with the horror genre as most of their films are not suitable for young children and are horrors. Most of the films they make are widely successful in making people jump due to the different editing and camera shots. Looking at the film 'The Grudge' the way it is made is very effective, as no other film has had the idea of having a girl with her hair over her face, who is really pale making a loud croaking sound. Although GHP would be a good institution, we did use it last year for our film, so this year we would want to use a new logo.

Warner Bros Pictures

From researching this film institution, I do not think we will use it, as they have not produced many horror films, and are mainly associated with every other genre including action, sci-fi and adventure. Also a lot of their films are aimed at a younger audience, and most people's assumptions when they see this logo is that it is going to be a light hearted film. Some of the films they have produced are:

• The Harry Potter series
• The Exorcist
• The Matrix series
• Star Wars

From looking at these films, it is clear that the genre of films this company produce would not be suitable for our trailer. When I look at this logo, I also think of Bugs Bunny, so if we were to use this, people may think our film is a joke.
Overall from the research we have done of these film institutions, I think the company we will probably use would be 'Paramount Pictures' as they have produced more horror films than the majority of the other institutions. 'Paramount Pictures' will be a good institution to use because they are widely popular and well recognised. By using them, hopefully there will be high expectations of our trailer. 

Comedy Cliches

Romance Cliches

Horror Cliches

The Possession - Supernatural trailer

I think the target audience for this film would be 15-24, as it is a supernatural horror, and teenagers mostly do enjoy being scared by a film. I think this film could be for males or females, as both genders do enjoy horror films. Some of the features that are appealing to the target audience would be the fast paced scenes and darkness, as everything is always more scary when it is in complete darkness due to the fact that you can’t see everything in the shot and anything could be lurking. Another feature that is appealing could be the family, as you are supposed to feel safe being with your family, but in the trailer it makes you nervous. 

At the start of the trailer there is an establishing shot, which shows the location of where the film will take place and what the house and surroundings look like. This may be to show the audience that the house is kind of scary looking to begin with, and it is surrounded by trees so quite isolated, therefore making it more of a scary location compared to a flat or semi-detached house in a clear area. We then see close up and mid shots of all the characters, to establish who's story we will be following and who the film will be based around. Accompanied to this is quite slow, repetitive chilling music, which sets a tense feeling. Along with the music is the characters talking, who are all laughing and joking around, which makes the audience think nothing bad is going to happen, but the chilling music suggests something is.

Following on from this, we see the characters go to a 'yard sale' where one of the children find a wooden box, and are interested by it so decide to buy it, which leads the audience to wonder what could be in that box. The 'Dad' character then tells his daughter 'whoever made this didn't want anyone to open it' to which the daughter finds a way too. By the Dad telling his daughter it wasn't supposed to be opened, it makes the audience wonder 'why not?' and what could be so bad inside it that it shouldn't be opened, encouraging the audience to continue to watch it to find out what is inside it and what will happen. 

As the daughter starts taking small objects out of the box, the music turns very silent, and a faint banging can be heard, which is much more chilling than the music at the start. The intertitle 'based on a true story' then comes onto the screen which is frightening to the audience as the story being shown has actually happened to someone, and by knowing this the audience are persuaded to watch the actual film to find out what happened to a family because of a box. 

The scene then follows onto various short, quick scenes of different family members talking with a fork banging on a plate in the background. As the scenes progress we see the girl who opened the box forcibly 'shoving' loads of food in her mouth and banging her fork, with a faint sound of whispering in the background, this makes the audience wonder where the voices are coming from and whether the box has done something to her. There is then a mid shot of the girl and the dad's hand where she stabs him with the fork. There is then quick shots of the girl and the dad which show him in pain, but since they are so short the audience do not fully know what is happening. 

The next scene is quite dark with only blinds letting in light, with the box on the windowsill. As the camera focuses on the box it slowly opens. There are then many quick shots of the dad asking religious people what is happening, and the daughter ending up in dark places doing unnatural things like standing in a deserted petrol station with bats flying down her throat etc. 

There are various intertitles like 'This August' 'Darkness' 'Lives' 'Inside' which follow onto people with parts of their skin sticking out, like there is something inside them. The scenes change really quickly which makes the audience unknowing of what is happening, and the music turns to what sounds like many people whispering something over and over. The music is very frightening which sets a feeling of fear deep inside the audience member, and since the scenes are so quick they want to watch the film to find out where the scenes are in the actual film.

Just Go With It - Romance trailer

Intertitles are quite common in this trailer. From the very start there is an intertitle 'every guy has an angle' which intrigues the audience to find out who this guy is and what his angle is, making the audience want to continue to watch to find out a bit more about him. It then follows on with 'and this...' 'is Danny's.' From this point the audience know his name and what he looks like, and what his angle is, so they are encouraged to keep watching to find out how he uses this angle of his. 'But this February' 'It's about to get real.' These intertitles give us an idea of when it will come out, and also that there is going to be a twist to his angle as we see him meet a girl he really likes who finds his angle of having a wedding ring. 'From the producers of Grown Up's' tells us another successful film by this company, so we are encouraged to see if the film is just as good as 'Grown Up's.' Towards the end of the trailer the intertitles 'Once you start a lie... It's hard to stop' appears which informs us that he has created a huge lie that he has to keep going with or she will find out what he is really like and dump him. From the intertitles, we learn quite a lot about the character and his situation, and also about his 'sidekick' which is also his receptionist/dental nurse.

The genre of this film is romantic comedy. This is obvious to the audience as it is focused around a girl and boy, and to do with relationships and struggles within a relationship. It is also a comedy as there are humorous parts to it, and the dialogue from the characters is also that of a humorous nature. It is also known to be a comedy as the different way he describes his 'wife' at the beginning of the trailer, are ridiculous ways to make the audience laugh. 'My wife beats me in front of my kids.'

The pace of this trailer is quite fast at the beginning with quick shots of women and a wedding ring, to emphasise the main focus of the trailer, following on with longer shots of conversation scenes and different women that he is talking too and flirting with at clubs. The shots are not particularly fast so we are able to establish characters and their relationships with each other in order to understand the film more. By the shots being longer, we also discover how he makes his lie believable, and who he sucks into his lie with him. They are also humorous being longer as we see silly stuff being done by the characters, like his 'wife' talking to 'their kids' on the phone, which was not originally part of his lie which makes the trailer more appealing to the audience as they want to see the progression throughout the actual film.

At the beginning of this trailer, there is a high angle shot to show the location of a club which is effective as it can be a typical place where boy meets girl. Following on in the trailer there are close ups of faces and his wedding ring to show the audience who the main characters are, and his main weapon within the lie, which is the fake wedding ring. A lot of the shots throughout are mid shots, as it shows conversations and characters so that the audience are fully involved in what the characters are talking about and their facial expressions. There are a few close ups when his 'wedding ring' is concerned and some long shots to show locations and people together, as it helps give the audience a feel for where the characters are so we are able to feel what the character would be feeling. For example when they have the romantic night on the beach, we assume the film will show their progression within their relationship from there onwards, so generally the audience feels happy for them.

I think the target audience for this film would be females within the ages of 12-24, as there is nothing that shocking in it, to make it have to be a 15. The target audience would most likely be females as generally the male gender find romance films not to their taste, and do not enjoy the cliche 'boy meets girl' 'boy falls in love with girl' etc. I think the target audience could be anything from 12 upwards, as it is an easy film to watch, and is good for a laugh.

I think the unique selling point of this film, could be that it has quite popular/famous actors and actresses, for example Jennifer Aniston, Adam Sandler etc. Also that there is a big lie throughout that just keeps getting bigger and bigger until it is about to blow up, yet the characters still go along with it.

In this trailer there is a lot of dialogue throughout, as there are a lot of conversation scenes, towards the beginning being his different lies he tells women to have a night of fun, and then after he meets 'the one', the different lies he has to create with his receptionist to keep the lie alive. For example 'my wife beats me in front of my kids.' By putting short lines like this in, the audience are intrigued to see other lies he has created to catch women, so are encouraged to go to the cinema to see the full film. Through the rest of the trailer, we see the progression of the lie, and who else gets involved in it and how they try to keep it believable. For example he is getting a 'divorce' so the wedding ring was only there because of that.

At the beginning of this trailer the music is very upbeat and happy, which fits in with the jokes about 'his wife' and the wedding ring. After he meets 'the one' a love song comes on with is slow and dramatic which creates a romantic mood for the audience and shows how the characters are feeling. After she finds his wedding ring, the music changes to upbeat and funny again, as we hear how he is going to make his lie about the wedding ring believable. After 'from Columbia Pictures' the music changes again to a slow, old song so that we are completely focused on the mood and what is happening. In this trailer the music is essential as it shows us what feelings we should be feeling, and the mood we should be in.

In this trailer there is a voiceover at some points, for example towards the end where the voice says 'From Columbia Pictures' and when the actors/actresses names are being read. The effect of reading the film company and actors/actresses names out loud is that the audience fully acknowledge who is in the film and the film company, so that if they like those actors/actresses and they have done other good films in the past, the audience will want to see this film too as it should be brilliant due to those actors/actresses.