Research of White Noise

Research of White Noise



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E-MtJBAZvw This link shows the TV static effect we want to use at the beginning of our teaser trailer. This is going to link in to the television newscaster scene.

These are examples that we could implement at the beginning of our teaser trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qeh1tSp20BA&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH54cp2ggFk&feature=related (This provider overtly states that this is copyright free)

News Reader Script

one idea we had

Script

Newsreader: It has been reported that two boys from Townley in Bexleyheath have been missing for a week, following the disappearances of two boys three days prior and the murder of Danny Richmond. The boys are all members of local football teams in the borough....The area which is known to be quiet and peaceful, has suddenly been turned into a murder scene. Police are yet to find a suspect and are appealing for witnesses...we now turn to correspondent, Nick Barker.


This is going to be used in our teaser trailer.

Story Board

Audience Research

Audience Research

1. How old are you?

16-17[] 18-21[] 22-25[] 26+ []

2. What is your gender?

Male [] Female []

3. What is your ethnicity?

Black African[] Black Caribbean[] Black other[](please state)……………….

White[] Mixed race[] Asian[] Other[](please state)………………..

4. What kind of horror films do you like?

Slasher e.g. Scream[] Horror comedy e.g. Shaun of the Dead[] Zombie e.g. Dawn of the Dead[] Splatter e.g. Saw[] Monster e.g. Jeepers Creepers[] Japanese Horror e.g. The Grudge[]

5. What kind of ‘main killer’ would you prefer?

Female[] Male[] Group[] Monster[] Other[](please state)…..

6. What weapon is most interesting to you?

Knife[] Gun[] Supernatural powers[] Cutlery[] Other[](please state)…..

7. Who would you rather go to the cinema with?

By yourself[]Partner[] Few friends(4-5)[] Big group of friends [] Parents[] Other[](please state)………

8. Do you buy film magazines? E.g. Empire, Total Film

Yes[] No[]

9. If yes, how much do you pay?

£1.50-£2.99[] £3.00-£3.49[] £3.50-£3.99[] £4.00+[]

10. Are you influenced by film advertising? E.g. Trailers, posters?

Yes[] No[]

Props Preparation

This is the process of the making of on of our props for our main killer-a necklace of severed fingers. Our ingredients were moulding clay, latex and a paint brush. We tried two methods:
1) Pouring latex into a clay mould of a finger.
2) Painting a finger several times over to form a finger mould.

This is method 1. Here we moulded clay around our finger then poured latx inside.

Here we poured the excess latex out of the clay mould.


Here we started method 2. You can see Morin putting the first layer of latex onto Tiffany's finger.

Each time the latex was drying on the finger we had to put the brushes in water to stop the mouth sticking together.



Whilst the latex is drying on the finger, the second layer is poured into the clay mould

We then proceeded with the same coat and dry effect on the finger until the latex was ready to come off the finger.

Latex setting in clay

Meeting 4

Organisation: BluWhsiky

Members present: Cheyenne Dwyer, Morin Keshiro, Tiffany White

Date/Time: 20th October 2010 - 1.30pm



We discussed in detail the make-up that will be used for the props. To make the necklace of fingers we tested out two techniques, one using clay and another using Latex. We finally came to the decision that Latex would look more like a human finger.

We also discussed questions for our audience research and where should post it to get the best feedback. We decided to put our questionairre on an online survey generator and we can promote the survey on our Facebooks for more people to fill out the survey.

Morin's Textual Analysis- Tron Legacy-Movie Magazine

Textual Analysis of movie magazine – Tron Legacy

Empire is the biggest film magazine in Britain and is highly acclaimed of their movie reviews and features. I chose Empire because I am a regular reader of their magazines and website and they encourage film fans in keeping up with the latest in the film industry.

The denotation of the magazine cover is that it consists of a colour, long shot image of a futuristic man on a very advanced motorcycle. The magazine cover is focused on the forthcoming science fiction film ‘Tron Legacy’ which is a sequel to the 1982 film, Tron. The male character on the cover is ‘Sam Flynn’ played by Garrett Hedlund and the film was directed by Joseph Kosinski. The background of the photograph is dark black-ish blue, with very bright laser lights shooting out in line with the motorcycle, from a bright concentrated glow on the left side of the cover. The dateline shows that the cover is very recent (August 2010) and it shows the price, which is quite high for a magazine. The price suggests the content of the magazine is world-class publishing and contains a huge amount of information a film fan would be very pleased with. A barcode is also included in the bottom left corner and indicates that the magazine has to be bought.

Behind Sam’s head is the Empire masthead- which is normally a bold, red colour, is illuminated in the same way as the futuristic motorcycle so the whole magazine cover has a consistent theme of bright lights. The font used is sans serif and three dimensional which emphasises the modernistic and leading-edge themes that run through the cover. The style of the font is also very similar to the way ‘TRON’ is written on the theatrical poster of the film. Above the masthead reads “HUGE COMIC-CON PREVIEW!” with ‘comic-con in bold yellow fonts and this is Empire selling exclusive ‘sneak peek’ photographs, features and articles on the comic convention that is hugely popular with film fans.

A key selling point of the magazine cover that Empire has used is the “Magazine of the year 2010” label they have included to he cover. It shows their esteem within the press industry and gives a ‘passer-by’ a reason for them to buy the magazine. It also highlights the good reputation that Empire is known for and is a credit to their name.

The main cover photograph of Sam Flynn shows him looking serious and intense. He is looking away from the camera to his left and this suggests he is looking back at something or someone that is possibly chasing him. His costume is very protective and hi-tech and is almost robotic with bright coloured lights on his outfit, complete with an aerodynamic helmet. The cutting edge motorcycle which in the Tron franchise is known as the ‘Light cycle’ takes up most of the cover has a huge and intimidating presence. This image was used to promote the film and create a buzz because the Light cycle has been regenerated since the first film and is a significant vehicle to the franchise. Sam Flynn’s non verbal communication is very deep and depicts the tone of the film which involves a chase of life and death.

The main cover line reads “TRON LEGACY” and is described as a ‘world exclusive’ which connotes that Empire magazine has a first hand scoop on Tron Legacy which should entice the reader. ‘TRON LEGACY’ is written in large, block and brightly lit font which follows the same theme of the colour scheme of the cover. The subheading coverline reads “First look at the most incredible 3D movie ever” and is capitalised and written in bright yellow fonts. This is a selling point for the film and the magazine as Empire’s opinions are highly respected. 3D films have become a reproduced phenomenon this year with almost every film having 3D versions. Empire describing Tron Legacy as “the most incredible 3D movie” is meant to encourage readers to go and see the movie, both the younger generation who might not be familiar with the first film and the 80s generation who would be curious to see how the sequel will compare to Tron.

Other cover lines focus on upcoming films due for release with a slight focus on those adapted from comic books like Captain America, Green Lantern etc. This correlates with the text above the masthead as there is clearly going to be a lot of content on future comic book films. The other ‘+’ feature that reads ‘Spielberg Cameron & Zemeckis reveal the future of movies’ is another selling point of the magazine as the names mentioned are highly acclaimed film directors. Their opinions on the future of movies would be highly respected and sought after and avid film fans would be very interested in reading the article/interview. The font used for the cover lines are also sans serif which again, connote modernity and the bright yellow and silvery-white colours correspond with the cutting edge, futuristic theme of the magazine cover.

In conclusion, I would suggest that Empire’s main target audience readers are 18-35 year old, white males and females who have a good knowledge and genuine interest in movies and would be willing to pay £3.99 for a magazine. Empire is a British magazine and is very popular in Britain; it is most likely that their audience are British. However, their website is also well known and this would attract people from around the world. Also, movie fanatics cross the boundaries of their target audience as there are famous and reputable movie stars outside that audience; so Empire could have and be reaching out to other fans.

Cheyenne's Magazine Textual Analysis

Total film published by Future Publishing is Britain’s second biggest selling film magazine. The magazine was launched in 1997 and is published every four weeks. The film is also licensed to publish local editions of the film in countries such as Turkey, Russia and Serbia.

 The magazine provides a range of features from people who work behind the scenes such as the directors and producers to up-coming actors. The magazine in 2004 also produced a total film survey which gave a list of the greatest British films of all time. The target audience for this magazine is likely to be from aged 15-35. However, the main target group is 16-24 who are of middle class backgrounds and Caucasian.

 The denotation of the magazine cover is a medium long shot of a single image of the character Iron man. His NVC stands very bold with the characters’ hand facing in front with a Bluish light shining off it. Behind the character appears to be a Bluish background likely to be the reflection of the blue light from his body armour. The body armour is made from metal with Red coating. The face of the body armour is gold with a blue light with the characters’ eyes shining Blue light.

 The image of Iron man is very symmetrical connoting the control the image has on the magazine cover with the coverlines on either side. The lighting used in the shot is very low key and becomes much more shadowed at the bottom of the shot. At the top of the shot there is high key lighting likely to be used through editing to have some elements of the film. The lighting enables the characters NVC to come out and helps to show the Blue light that is being reflected throughout. The lighting also connotes the power that Iron man has which is also shown in his NVC. The use of lighting and editing in this shot keeps the character in his elements so to portray what he does in the film. This is common with Total Film magazine covers; they are likely to be edited so it is adjusted for the film purpose. Iron man also has full eye contact with the audience engaging the reader which Total Film try to achieve.

 The costume of the character connotes a masculine build and the colour Red instantly draws the attention of the audience which creates an over powering message for the audience.

 The masthead is a White sans serif font with the ‘Total’ written in Black Sans serif font. The masthead is very bright and fills up the typeface making it recognisable to audiences. The masthead is edited in a different way to the rest of the magazine for this reason. The bold masthead is very eye catching to the audience and connotes a modern feel as most films today are aimed at young people aged 16-24. This age group in particular will be attracted to this magazine. It appears that the text ‘FILM’ is in bold compared to ‘Total’ as that is what the magazine is about and it instantly tells the audience that it is about film. The standard bar code is at the bottom right corner which also has the publishing company of the magazine advertised. It is conventional for most barcodes to be placed in the corner of a magazine or sometimes at the back.

 The coverlines on the cover is carefully placed not to distract the focus of the main image. The coverline placed in the middle is about the character. ‘IRON MAN’ which is in bold serif font tells the audience that it about this image that they are looking and also that the main story will be about the new Iron Man film. The coverlines on either side don’t distract the image which allows the audience to focus on what the magazine is trying to sell them. The coverlines are in Sans serif font which connotes modernity to appeal to young readers. The colour palette used for the coverlines is White and Gold as not to clash with the Red used on the single image. The Gold coverlines help to attract the audiences’ attention of what else is in the magazine as well as the main feature but doesn’t take away the attention of image. The colour palette used in the magazine cover such as Gold is a colour that connotes power and supremacy and everything masculine. This echoes Iron Man’s image. The coverlines are also very minimal so not to make it complicated for the reader and so it doesn’t run over the image too much.

 Above the ‘M’ is the dateline which is May 22^nd along with the issue publication. They have also given another source which is their website so more information can be accessed. This could also be a unique way of Total Film and where they decide to place their dateline. Most datelines are often placed where the price is. However, some magazines tend to change specific parts of the cover as there maybe a new release of a film. 

Saw IV Poster Textual Analysis

Director: Danny Lynn Bousman

Release Date: October 26^th 2007 (United States, Canada & UK)

The movie Saw IV comes from a franchise that has been producing films since 2004. Saw IV was released on October 26^th in the United States, Canada and the UK and in Australia was released on October 25^th. As of the success of the previous films, Saw IV was likely to be a hit with gross revenue being over $136 million. Saw IV was distributed by Lionsgate and Maple Pictures.

 The films’ target audience is likely to be males aged 16 – 24 as this age group is the most likely group to go out and watch films like this. However, there are also older characters in the film so another age group may also be from 16 – 35.

 The release dates of Saw films are all in time for the month of Halloween. A typical trend of Saw posters and teaser posters are that they are very minimal in what information they reveal to the audience.

 The Saw IV film poster does follow conventions of the Horror genre, such as the use of low key colour palettes to create a mood. Colours such as Black, Red, Grey and White are colours commonly used in Horror film posters. Another convention is revealing a character that is covered in blood or seems to look unusual creating confusion to the audience. The use of graphics on the film posters to create these effects is also a common convention of Horror posters. The effects are used to do one thing which is persuade the audience to go and watch the film or be enticed by the franchise before the film arrives in the theatres.

 The colour palette used is very cold and creates an unwelcoming feel. The central colours on the poster are Grey and Silver. These colours simply connote a sharp shiny metal which is dangerous when not handled carefully. Therefore it complies well with the film as metal is used throughout many of the Saw posters to cut up bodies. The colour grey also has a variety of meanings, being associated with calmness, plain colours like this give off the sense that someone has died or their innocence has been mistaken. Also, as the previous posters have shown body parts this poster can only reveal more about the coming film. The undertones of White being used connote the films clinical nature with the use of props which help to create that throughout the previous posters. 

 The only prop used in this poster is the weighing scale, which is likely to be holding one of the characters’ head. The face of the male character is very pale and harsh low key lighting used but also gives a subtle mood to the poster. The head of an unrevealed character in the scale parallels with the mood the poster portrays. Furthermore, the character NVC shows no emotion and his facial expression is plain. Although there is unbalance everything is under control. The weighing scale has also been placed at the right side of the poster illustrating that there could is a twist to the film.

 The simplicity of the poster demonstrates that the directors and producers of the film now want the audience to focus on the film itself rather than who’s in it. However, earlier in the franchise this was not the case.

 The font is serif which connote that the film is quite old fashioned but abstract as some letters are small and some are larger than the original size. The 4 is also in roman numerals which suggests the old fashioned feel about the film. The colour of the text is also in Black which stands out to the audience. This along with the image adds to the films portrayal of being unbalanced. Placed underneath the film title is the tagline which says ‘IT’S A TRAP’ in capital letters. The use of capital letters warns the audience and stresses more hype around film.

 At the bottom of the poster is the website if people want more information and the film studio Twisted Pictures and Lions gate entertainment who distributed the film. The website may also have details on the campaign and critics about the film.

Morin's Textual Analysis Poster - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Textual Analysis of ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ Poster

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a horror film by Tobe Hooper released around Halloween season on 1^st October 1974. It was distributed by New Line Cinema who also distributed A Nightmare on Elm Street, a hit horror film of the same era.

Film posters are produced to primarily advertise the film visually and to create a buzz without any audio or acting e.g. watching a trailer.

The lighting used for the poster is quite high key and bright on the foreground. The main image looks like it has been hit by yellow sunlight which is quite unusual for horror movies. However, for a film shot at that time, bright, ‘cartoony’ images were common for horror movies e.g. John Carpenter’s Halloween. This is because of the limited visual effects technology with CGI being only about a year old. The poster has a white background which makes the main image and texts stand out.

The lighting emphasises the image of the female character who appears to have her hands tied and her non-verbal communication; which is important because her face and hands is all that we see, suggests she is being tortured and in horrific pain. It also looks as if the high key lighting is the cause of her pain as it is so direct to her and this I think is a clever play by the director.

The other main image is a long shot of Leatherface, the main villain who we see wielding his chainsaw. Although his costume is a normal attire of shirt and trouser, it contrasts his disfigured face and the prop he is holding. This creates a disturbing mood because for the time when the film was released, despite no blood is being spilt; it is still quite graphic and unsettling.

The trailer features quite a lot of text, some being big and conspicuous and some being very little in font size. The main text which is even more noticeable than the film title itself reads “Who will survive and what will be left of them?” The colour of the font is black and connotes death and darkness and the size of it which takes up almost half of the poster, jumps out as you and is the first thing you take in about the film. The tagline evokes fear in the reader as it immediately lets us know that there will be death and violence and already, a bit of the plot is revealed. This sparks a buzz with the audience. Another piece of text reads “America’s most bizarre and brutal crimes!” which refers to the notion that the film is presented as a true story. Although the characters such as Leatherface might be fictional, it is based on notorious killer Ed Gein. This shows to the audience who would have been more familiar of him at that time that a great tragedy was about to be re-lived on camera and would have everyone talking. This leads on to the other piece of text at the bottom of the film title which leads “What happened is true. Now the motion picture that’s just as real.” It has a very serious tone that connotes fear and terror because the audience know that there is some truth to the claim. The different texts used on the poster build up interest and controversy amongst people, so much that the film was banned in several countries. There are no clearly visible names of actors used on the poster because the cast were relatively unknown and also they are selling the film and content, not the cast.

In conclusion, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre poster follows basic conventions for a horror movie by trying to create a buzz and persuade their audience to go and watch it. This is achieved by the main image of a female expressing pain and anguish which is consistent to the main tagline “Who will survive…” Taking into consideration the year the film was released, a limitation is that not enough special effects were used and also because of the controversy surrounding the film, it would have been difficult to include positive critic’s comments.

Meeting 3

Organisation: BluWhisky

Members present: Cheyenne Dwyer, Morin Keshiro, Tiffany White

Date/ Time: 12th October 2010 - 1pm




As a group we discussed in-depth more of the shots we have decided to use in the trailer. For example at the beginning of this youtube clip there is a tracking shot used. This will be used for the when the camera tracks out to an over the shoulder shot of the female character facing the TV.

One of the camera shots will also look like this where it shows the news reader.

To create the 'scary' effect in the eyes we have decided to use photoshop or through editing the video.

Props:
Props that will be made are:
- Fake hand
- Neckalce of fingers
Made from modelling wax, latex and fake blood.

Tiffanys Textual Analysis of Empire Magazine

Empire is a British film magazine that is published monthly. The first issue was produced in July 1989. The actor who is used on the front cover is Hugh Jackman famously known for playing Wolverine in X-Men or Wolverine.

I feel this type of magazine would target a male audience, aged 16 – 24, probably middle class living who are generally very interested in media and film.

I feel the background of the cover it quite interesting. You can see the sky with blue/white clouds that is actually very beautiful. The way Wolverine stands in the middle of the background and his posture gives the ‘he is here effect’. You feel that he is super human.

The colour scheme of the poster is various shades of blue, white and black I feel this relates to x-men. The majority of x-men posters always have a bluish/greyish element to it.

The masthead is in a bright red serif font. The font and colour is very eye catching and stands out to the audience. The colour and the font for empire masthead is like signature of the magazine, it never changes and is a key way of selling the magazine. The magazine has become branded and a prestigious film magazine that’s why its so important for it to stand out. The P is not visible in the masthead it is cover by Wolverines head. This is not a problem because empire is such a well-known film magazine, this abides by the conventions that most well know magazines go by. `

By the barcode being at the bottom right of the magazine abides by magazine conventions of barcodes being at the bottom of the page.

The lighting that is used fades in from low key at the top of the page to high through most of the photo. The clouds block some of the light shining through which gives the cover a mysterious element. I feel the lighting that is used is appropriate for the genre of film x – men is, x-men is a sci-fi action film. If x-men were a horror we would see a dramatic change in lighting from high key to low key.

Wolverine is dressed quiet ordinary, however his posture, facial expression and claws piercing through his knuckle show the audience that is not an ordinary individual. The way he is dressed may symbolise that he is or used to be and ordinary person but something changed. The hair on the face of wolverine and the muscles shows that he’s a real man, a lot of hair normally symbolises a real man.

The pricing and date has been placed in the arch of the M in empire, this is quite a smart place to position the price and date because it does not take any extra space up on the page and still gives it a unique look. Also the writing follows the same shape as the V going from longest sentence to shortest word.

The magazine has various subheadings on the front cover. Some of these consist of star wars and ghostbusters, this shows that the magazine targets a range of audience. This makes the target audience very diverse and can gain a lot of money due to the many audiences it attracts. The heading at the top says ‘ wolverine has returned for empire’ this makes the audience feel that this is an exclusive issue. It also shows that wolverine is a important character. Most of the readers would have already know of wolverine due to marvel comic book and x-men movies.
There is a website link underneath the masthead. This is good advertising for the magazine so even if people do not buy the magazine they can still see the website link and read online. On the opposite side of the page it says worlds biggest film magazine in capital letters, this shows the audience that there is no film magazine better than there. Also the part about x-men is in a bigger font than the rest this shows that x-men is the magazine special.

Textual Analysis of Saw IV Teaser Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdLXjIu6UhM

Saw IV comes from a popular horror movie series, Saw. The series began in 2004 and the first movie was directed by James Wan. However, Saw IV which was released in October 2007 was directed by Danny Lynn Bousman, another American director and screenwriter. The film was distributed by Lionsgate entertainment in the United States and Maple pictures in Canada. The film being released at this time of the month made the film more convenient as October is the month of ‘Halloween’. The trailer is 55 seconds in length which is just below the 60 second mark.

 In the opening 7 seconds of the trailer, there is an introduction to the film company that distributed the film, Lionsgate. The font is son serif and the lighting is a very low key lighting with a reddish colour setting the mood creating a scary for the audience. The opening of the doors appears to mirror the opening of a chamber door for example. The shot fades out and cuts to a shot of the production company ‘Twisted Pictures’ which specialise in the making of Horror movies. The non-diegetic music of the choir singing is low and slow, connoting a sense of peace and gives a moderate tone to the opening. However, as many Saw fans know the pace is likely to quicken up.

 The shot that follows is quite brief; there is a sound bridge of the non-diegetic music of the choir. This is an establishing shot of an underground trap setting. The lighting in this shot is very precise and prominent. Although, overall there is low key lighting, high key lighting is used in some areas revealing information to the audience of what the setting may be. This connotes unease within the audience as the information reevealed is vague. As in the previous films some of the killings are likely to take place in a ‘mausoleum’. This opening is conventional of most horror movie settings.

 The shot then fades out into a black screen, the date of the release then appears in a White Greyish serif font which is patchy. The graphics used is very effective as parts of the font are covered slightly in a Greyish colour revealing to the audience a sense of uneven feeling and uncertainty. By this point the non-diegetic music begins to pace which builds up tension.

 The camera shots are all in time with the non-diegetic music throughout the trailer, the music changes tune and the pace of the music quickens. This pace creates a haunting tone and reveals the quick pace at which things are happening and conveys confusion. The shot fades out and the camera tracks in from the side to low angle shot of a boy trapped behind bars. As the audience see this scene they can then establish that this location relates to the previous scene with the clue of the green ominous lighting. The tracking in of the camera towards the character reveals his NVC. His facial expression is afraid and scared and appears to be looking up at something, the positioning of his body makes him look vulnerable. Also, the low key lighting further expresses fear amongst the audience and the tracking in of the camera builds up tension in the audience as the camera closes in to the shot.

 As each camera shot fades in and out there is a non-diegetic beat of a drum which paces along each time a shot appears. The low key lighting of the font, ‘THE TRAPS ARE SET’ is also in a White Greyish Serif font, part of the ‘T’ is covered and some of the font has a patchy looking texture. These graphics are very effective as it reveals to the audience something about the plot. The caption is also in capital letters which consist of being very bold and in the audiences face catching their attention immediately.

 The shot then fades and cuts to a Low key light setting with a Bluish projection on the wall. Two male characters are revealed, they are both quite macho, which is very stereotypical. The positions look as though they are about to fight. The camera cuts and tracks in from the left to a projection of a woman, her facial expression looks afraid and likely to be vulnerable scared and likely to be screaming. This we can compare to the previous shot as it is very stereotypical to have a man holding a weapon as they must appear as heroes, often the woman is portrayed as the weaker counterpart.

 The different angle at which the camera reveals the characters illustrate also the different parts of the wall in the ‘underground trap’ setting. This shows the audience that all this is happening in the same place.

 The shot dissolves into another projection of a man in a suit with his hand on his neck. The projector lighting is low key but an off yellowish colour. The use of the dissolving shot connotes a possible connection between the victims.

 The projection of these characters on the wall is important as it helps the audience to remember this is as a key feature in the film. The non-diegetic music by this point is extremely intense and the harsh low key lighting in this scene mirrors the characters facial expression. The colour palette looks bluish makes the setting look cold and dead. In this scene the man is also wearing a suit connoting a connection between this character and the character from the previous scene. A connection between characters is a common convention in horror movies. The projection also connotes the way in which the killer sees the character or how the character may die, it’s almost as though we are in the mind of the killer. The non-diegetic music is pacing at medium speed in this shot. There is a sound bridge to the next shot and the music gets louder. This is an MCU shot of a man who appears to be lying down on something. The shot reveals to the audience his NVC to which he looks very lifeless. The camera is at a low angle and the lighting is low key.

 The camera then cuts to a Black screen with the non-digetic music quickening up creating intensity and then slows down. ‘IF IT’S HALLOWEN’ fades in a White Greyish serif font. Halloween is in a bigger serif font grabbing the audiences’ attention and maybe a feeding the audience clues. The font has a patchy rough texture which connotes the use of the weapon and how a ‘saw’ is used. At the same time we, the audience also hear non-diegetic sound of a man and then a woman screaming. The non-diegetic music continues as there is a cut to the next scene. The shot is a low angle close up shot of man hanging from what appears to be a chain. The lighting used here is very low key. The low angle shot in this case connotes that the character looking up at the male actor has the power and the other character looks vulnerable.

 A significant part of this trailer shows a MCU shot of a White circus mask with Red spiral paint on both cheeks, Red paint on the mouth opening, dark eyes and a Red bow tie at the neck area which looks similar to a tuxedo. The lighting is extremely low key around the mask area; this creates mystery behind this character. There is a voiceover of a woman talking in a shaky voice saying ‘I’m sorry’ her tone sounds as though she is pleading with someone. We then hear a voiceover of a man in a very cruel tone saying ‘you think it is over, the game has just begun’ this voiceover insinuates that the game had started a long time ago. It also offers prequels to the film as this is the fourth one in its addition to the franchise. It also reiterates the franchise reminding the audience.  

 In addition, I’ve come to realise that it is extremely important to have editing and different camera angles in a trailer to convey the right message to the audience. Also, the use of the circus mask has been used in clever way to hide the identity of the one of the characters. The teaser doesn’t reveal too much information about the film as the dialogue is limited as well as the limitation of low key lighting. More information about the film can be found on the website which is provides information about all the Saw movies.  http://www.officialsaw.com/

Tiffanys Dead Snow Poster Textual Analysis

Dead Snow

Director – Tommy Wirkola

Release date – 31 August 2009

This poster was found on google.

Dead Snow was released at different times throughout the world. In Norway it was released 9 January 2009, 19 June 2009 in the US and 31 August 2009 in the UK. Releasing the film at 3 different times of the year could help to bring the maximum amount of profit to the film, it helps the film get constant publicity throughout the year. Two companies distributed dead snow, Euforia Film in Norway and IFC films in the US.

The chain saw with excess blood on it and the head with blood splattered on snow convey that it is a horror movie poster. The blood on the chainsaw and head gives away that it’s a slasher type of horror movie. This poster abides by typical horror movie conventions by showing the killers on the poster, the eyes of the head on the floor stare straight at the audience which makes you feel quiet tense or like hes is coming for you next. Also the fact that the eyes are so wide open means that it is a zombie. I think this is the effect that the poster producers are trying to do, make the audience feel tense. Although there is a head of the zombie there is no sign of the zombies body, this leaves the audience to wonder.

I feel this poster would attract a predominately male audience, the whole war and slasher affect would attract males slightly older than the normal 16 – 24 age range but maybe a 24 – 32 age range especially because of the nazi aspects. This film may not have been released in a country such a Poland because of the sensitivity of the topic.

Bold font is used on the poster, this is typical because most film poster use a bold font. It makes it eye catching for the audience to see.

The title ‘Dead Snow’ is in a bold font, inside the font you can see scenes from the film or photos spefically taken for the film posters purposes. I feel the pictures inside the titled would be more suited for an action film than a horror, however I like the fact that it adds a new element to the poster. The title is very eye-catching especially with the people inside the title.

There are three colours used in the colour scheme, all of theses relate to each other and all have reason to be there. You have the off white colour for the snow which relates to the surrounding. The blackish grey clothing represents the SS uniform that is based on the nazi theme. The red colour on the snow and chainsaw let the audience know that it is a horror movie, excesses blood on a poster is always a sign of a bloody horror.

We see various characters in the poster. In the background we ca see zombies heading to the font of the poster or in war positioning. It’s all very distinctive that all the zombies are dressed in war/military typed uniforms. This gives away that the film is related to war. The uniform what the zombies are actually wearing are SS nazi uniforms which relates to the nazi zombie theme. The zombie head on the ground with its eyes wide open tells the audience that it is a zombie, because normal the eyes would be closed if the person were dead. The man holding the chainsaw who’s face we don’t see if wearing more clothing this conveys that there is a showdown/war between normal people and the zombies. You can also see two other weapons in the man holding the chainsaws pockets this shows that there is a good fight between the zombies and humans, all the weapons also shows that the zombies are hard to kill.

I feel this poster gives quiet a bit away about the film, you see the uniform, from the skin of the head you can see it’s a zombie and the cabin there in is also revealed. From the poster you can see the main parts of the movie, most of the movie is set in the snow or in the cabin, the only thing that the poster is missing is the victims.

At the bottom of the poster we see typical actors names, directors and writers which conveys by the usual conventions of a movie trailer. The is also a link to the dead snow website at the bottom, this is in red to make it stand out against the names of the directors and writers.

Meeting 2

Organisation: Blu Whisky

Members present: Cheyenne Dwyer, Morin Keshiro, Tiffany White

Date/Time: 8th October 2010 - 2pm





As a group we discussed the layout of our movie trailer. We did this by composing step-by-step scenes of the trailer.

Our step-by-step scenes are:
White noise
Flash to ‘The Cannibal’ standing in the middle of the screen.
Fades into the news screen
Broadcast about the disappearances of local footballers.
‘The Cannibal’ turns off the tv
She laughs as we begin to see footballers belongings on the table and weapons
As she turns around we see the victims

This is a brief idea of how we would like our trailer to pan out.

We also discussed all the different props we will need for the trailer such as costume, fake weapons and blood and how we would go about getting these items. For the costume we will use out clothes that we have at home and for the fake weapons and blood they will be shop bought.

Morin's Textual Analysis of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Trailer

Tobe Hooper’s ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre-1974: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=285ImXTYdsg

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF ‘THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE’ TRAILER

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a 1974 classic horror film directed by Tobe Hooper and has been turned into a popular franchise consisting of 6 films which are sequels and remakes. The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a fictional horror; although portrayed as a true story, about an isolated family of cannibals who prey on a group of youngsters travelling through rural Texas. My textual analysis is based on the trailer of the original 1974 Texas Chainsaw Massacre which was a very controversial film at the time of release because of the graphic and violent content, causing it to be banned in several countries including the U.K. However it is critically acclaimed and known to be one of the first films to start off the ‘slasher’ genre in horror films. Also, it gained commercial success especially in America taking in $30.8 million at the box office.

The manner in which the trailer begins is that the audience is thrown straight into the action of the film unlike common conventions used in modern horror trailers, where the first few scenes are peaceful and calm in order to deceive the audience. The trailer starts with the title of the film ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ in big, bold and yellow serif fonts on a black background with the image of a chainsaw in the top left corner. The font suggests that the film is quite old because it is a very traditional and basic type of font with nothing fancy. The lack of any special effects with the beginning implies the use of old technology and we the audience can note the difference between a 1974 trailer and a more modern trailer. The first sound we hear is the diegetic sound of the voice-over narrating. The narrator stating firstly “What happened was true” gives a chilling and eerie effect because it resonates with the audience as we begin to take in the terrifying scenes that the trailer will show.

We hear the voice over on three occasions in the trailer and the style is quite different to that of a modern day film narration. In the trailer the voice over is authoritative but a lot less dramatic than those of today. This perhaps highlights the time and age the trailer was produced.

The scene transits with a high key ‘flash light’ effect briefly and shows an extreme close up of a decomposed hand. A very similar type of shot is used each time there is a scene change and it has an unsettling effect for the audience. Majority of lighting seen throughout the trailer is a high key, sepia tone and it connotes an ageing, traditional effect.

The next scene shows a long shot of a young man stumbling through a worn out, deteriorated corridor and immediately we see the setting of the trailer and ‘Leatherface’ the main villain of the film. There is a very brief high angle, over the shoulder shot which we see the young man’s face before he is killed. His non verbal communication is full of horror and just 8 seconds into the trailer, the audience experience the ruthlessness and terror that Leatherface inflicts on the group of friends. As he raises his arm up to strike the young man with a hammer, there is a tilt up to a close up on Leatherface and we see clearly the vile villain. His costume is a butcher’s apron and his face is terribly disfigured and ‘latexy’ hence the name ‘Leatherface’. His costume plays on what he does which should mean he specialises in butchering animals, but rather he chops up humans. It also has a hint of irony because his actions portray animalistic behaviours.

After another ‘flashing’ scene transition, we see a female character stumbling and falling into a filthy room full of fluff, ceramics and bones; using a floor level, low angle shot. This type of shot connotes the female has been defeated and has hit rock bottom. The Foley sounds of the props banging together as she falls also connotes an image of chaos and confusion which is consistent throughout the trailer and is evident in her non-verbal communication.

The shot cuts to a slow pan of the room which shows an array of skeleton bones, used as furniture and the diegetic sound of machinery and chickens clucking. The slow pan gives the audience a brief insight into the strange things that occur in the farmhouse. We then see a high angle shot of the female character coming to terms with her environment and her screaming and hyperventilating suggests that she is extremely afraid and vulnerable. This is a common stereotype that features in a lot of old horror movies where the female character is often presented as weak and helpless.

After that, the scene changes to where the female encounters Leatherface in the worn out corridor. The constant screaming as she is chased outside and then captured by Leatherface makes uncomfortable viewing as it denotes the fear and terror the character is facing.

Although the pace of the scenes is steady, the whole trailer has a feeling of speed because there are no pauses between each scene. This gives the audience no room to have a full reaction because the trailer is pieced shot after shot.

The next shot that follows is a zoom in to an extreme close up of another female character in a deep freezer. As she suddenly awakens, her non vocal communication suggests that she is deranged and in complete shock. The gruesome idea of her being put in the freezer shows the insanity of Leatherface who probably put her in there.

Insanity is a common theme that runs throughout the trailer. The acts of Leatherface and his family signify that they suffer from a mental derangement as they brutally kill the group of friends without an apparent motive. The trailer features a lot of screaming, mostly by the female characters, which again connotes the idea of madness, caused by the dreadful acts of Leatherface. Later on in the trailer when a female character is held hostage in the dining area with the cannibal family, we clearly see signs of insanity as they mock and look to her hungrily. As she pleads desperately for her life, this theme is also reiterated when she screams “Crazy! You’ve got to make it stop!” The audience is forced to feel sympathetic towards her as we can tell that she is physically and mentally worn out.

The trailer then moves to a scene outside where it is pitch black at night with the only source of light being a torchlight a male character in a wheelchair is holding. Putting a disabled man with a woman guiding him in the darkness has connotations of immense vulnerability. The darkness portrays the fear of the unknown as a killer could be lurking around without the other characters knowing.

As the two characters move through what appears to be a bushy area, the male character’s instincts kick in as he states “…I hear something. Stop! Stop! ” Unfortunately he is left vulnerable and defenceless as we hear the diegetic roar of Leatherface’s chainsaw and the camera quickly tracks in to an extreme close up of him. The camera now cross cuts between the merciless murder and the female screaming in horror. The use of the torchlight, as a prop, as the only visible source of light is effective because it is the only thing that illuminates the murder ever so slightly. The audience might not be able to see full on the gory detail, but the extreme long shot of Leatherface descending on the man and the ferocious sound of the chainsaw is sickening enough for the audience to watch. It also makes us feel as if we are the female character who has been forced to witness this brutality.

The trailer ends with a chase between Leatherface and the female through the bushes at night where it is extremely dark. We can suggest that she is the 'Final Girl' of the film; a common convention in horror films, and we see that she is left by herself to deal with Leatherface. As he closes in on her in a medium close up, the shot freezes and the title sequence appears on the frozen shot. We also hear the non diegetic sound of the voice-over stating, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. After you stop screaming, you won’t stop talking about it.” With the crashing of what sounds like pots and pans at the very end.

To conclude, after analysing this trailer, I can see the glaring difference between a trailer of the 1970s and one of today. What is most obvious is the quality of technology and special effects used and this is reflected in the editing. However, given the time of production, the trailer is still effective in enticing the audience to see what people won’t stop talking, as the narrator hinted. The trailer was produced to create a buzz around a film that would turn out to be controversial for its time as it was presented as a real life story.

Tiffanys Textual Analysis of Dead Snow Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0StKFLU7G0




Dead Snow is a Norwegian comedy horror made in 2009 directed and written by Tommy Wirkola. The film is based on nazi zombies back from the dead and are out to eat a group of medical students on vacation. For this teaser trailer I have used the official ‘Dead Snow’ teaser trailer that is 48 seconds long, I watched the teaser trailer on http://www.imdb.com/ and on http://www.youtube.com/. Dead snow fits into the sub-genre of a splatter horror movie.


The teaser trailer begins with an establishing shot of the area, we see the two car driving up to the mountains with the vacationers inside. We see that the surrounding is full of snow and mountains, this relates to the title being ‘Dead Snow’. The lightening in the first scene is very high key, very light you can see that it is clearly daytime, and the mood is very calm and peaceful. This isn’t usually how a typical horror trailer starts. There are continuous cuts between the two cars so we can see all the actors and actresses. The cameras angle looks to be position of the from window mirror of the car allowing the audience to see everyone inside. One of the male characters makes a statement ‘ How many movies start with a group of friends on a trip to a cabin, with no cell phone signal’ this shows the comedy side because this statement is said as a classic joke, it also shows that everything might not be as it seems. Most of the time in any horror movie when there is no cell phone signal something bad is bound to happen. It starts off very slow paced and calm.

There is then a cut to the second scene. This is completely different to the first scene, the lighting is low key. The dramatic change in lighting makes the audience feel something bad is going to happen or be revealed. We see a man who is not part of the vacationers sitting on the chair. For some reason you feel un easy as he begins to talk. The camera is set at a point of view shot, this makes the audience feel like he is telling the story to you. Also the way he chuckles at the beginnings and the camera does a reaction shot to the vacationers faces and they look worried and uneasy adds to the uneasy feel of the environment.

There is then a cut to black then a cut to a eye looking in through a crack, at this scene the lightening is very low key, close to black and it makes the audience feel that something bad is going to happen. The camera cuts to a very close up sho t where you an see the reaction of the women who see the eye, you see the fear on her face.

There is then a fast cut to the living room where she comes in and tells the tell vacationers that ‘theres somebody out there’, you can she that she is very clearly distressed but the scene cuts again not allowing you to see fully the reaction of the vacationers. I feel that the directors may have don’t this to leave the audience hanging, not revealing too much straight away. Also there is low key lighting here which lets the audience know that it is night time.

There is then two more cuts of three people faces, one of which is a women who has a lot of cuts on here face and is breathing very heavily, when she breathes you see cold air coming from her mouth this adds to the affect that they are in a cold place. Also the way the vacationers are dressed in thick coats, snow goggles and hats all relate to the environment of snow. For the three cuts the shot gets closer on everyone’s face it shows this also helps to create a frightening atmosphere, it feels like its building up to something. Also in the three cuts to see the lighting get darker and darker this also makes the trailer feel like it is getting scarier.

There is then another cut to the old man in the cabin continuing telling a story in the cabin. There is a very low key atmosphere. The old man telling the story does not make no eye contact with the audience which makes you feel very uneasy, it brings a sense of mysteriousness to the scene and very dark. He begins to say ‘ believe me when I say this’ then you see a flash of the zombies, this helps the audience know hes talking the zombies, he continues to say ‘ they are evil fiendish devils’ you hear the zombies deep breathing as he says this. The is not very much talking in this trailer but the few words that are used do send shiffers down your spin. I feel not too much is given away its left for the audience to put together.

A fast cut to a scene from outside of the window. The shot starts very wide then crossing into a close up of a face. You see the vacationers looking out from the window. You can see the surroundings is snow at night very dark and very cold. There are two figures moving towards the window. The way the figures are moving make then look inhuman like. Then there is a close up to one of the figures face and you can see it is very inhuman. The zombie breaths out this breathe of white air shows that the surrounding is as cold as it looks. The mouth of the zombie is very dismantled with dried blood, the mouth looks like the skin has been eaten away at. The eyes of are very far back in the head. When the audience sees the close up of the zombies face that’s when you realise it’s a horror and that’s everything is not as it seems. The attire of the zombies relates to the nazi theme, you can see that they are in military dress code. You can also hear the deep breathing of the zombies which is a very inhuman sound, it’s sort of like a snarl or animal like sounds.

The next few scenes are very fast cutting and flashing violent scenes, this shows the action in the film. One scene in particular is a man in a cave presumably one of the vacationers, he holds the fire stick up and you see the nazi flag, the man then says ‘ what the fuck’, this reveals a bit more of the killers in the film and what they are about. You can see the horror and confusion in mans face. The surroundings are like in a cave so you can see that’s its very secluded not published to the world. the position of the flag is on the ceiling so you see the man looking up to the flag which gives a sensation that the zombies are in control.

In more of the quicker scenes you see show down between the zombies and the vacationers in the snow setting. In the last scenes you also hear a lot of screaming and high-tension music. There are very fast camera movements and fast pacing which makes the audience feel a part of the actions a part of the chase. The fast pacing builds more tension than the slower pacing in the beginnings scenes.

The end scene is ‘Dead Snow’ the screen, it has got a blurred red blood background that gives the effect that blood has been splattered on the screen.


I feel that this trailer tells you everything you need to know in the film, it does not tell you specific details but towards the end you can sum up what is gong to happen, without watching the film you already know that there are nazi zombies out to kill a bunch of vacationers. If the audience felt they wanted to know more there was a website for the film http://www.deadsnow.com/ where you can find out more information and see behind the scenes. The screen shot below is from the dead snow website, the website has a runing trailer of the film on the font page.

The picture below is some of the pictures you can see on the website.