Magazine Cover

I used Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 to create my magazine cover, I used Photoshop because it makes the product look professional and after a while the software became easy to use.

 

First stages of production:

 

This is a screen shot of the first stages of production, so far I had added the photo and used the "quick selection tool", this allowed me to remove the background quickly which is effective. I then added the images of hands I had taken and used the same tool and placing a few hands around the border of the page to look like they're reaching out for the boy. I used the "clone stamp tool" to erase the iris of the eye, this made the character on the cover look "possessed" and lifeless. After all of that I went round the edges of the person and the hands with the eraser to tidy them up.

 

Final stages of production:

 This is the product in its final stages of production, an effect, Conte Crayon, has been added to the image to link to possession as it made the image look ghostly and the black and white brings out the eyes, acting as a focal point. I followed the conventional layout expected on a Empire Magazine cover including the Masthead, imperatives/ puffs etc. To link my cover personally to my theme of horror, I used the eraser to gently rub the edges of the Masthead, Imperative and "cross" to create a distressed and grungy look. 

This is the Final look of the Magazine front cover:

I will explain my final product in more detail in my Evaluation.

Story Board for Trailer

I created a story board to make filming easier. It will make filming easier because I will know what clips are shot when and all the details needed. Therefore making filming my trailer quicker and more organised. Some shots have been changed to improve the "flow" of the trailer and make it easier to understand.

Shot 1- Establishing long shot of the street to show the audience where the action is taking place. Lighting source from the street lamps.
Shot 2-Shot of car appearing from the background. The car will be out of focus. Radio can be heard faintly.
Shot 3- Side mid shot of the side of the car, You can see the first character (Mum) driving and possibly the second character (Little Boy). Radio can be heard more clearly, music starts to tune out.
Shot 4- Close up of car radio. Music tuning in and out so is turned off.

Shot 5- The car runs over something, mid shot of car but so wheels cannot be seen. Shocked expressions on characters faces.
Shot 6-Long shot of car indicating and pulling over to the side.
Shot 7- Shot of mum getting out of the car, you can only see the characters legs as it adds a tense atmosphere because you cannot see the characters face or the environment around the character.
Shot 8- "From the creators of Saw and Insidious".

Shot 9-Shot of character looking under the car to see what she hit.
Shot 10-Shot of character getting up from looking under.
Shot 11-High angle shot of character (mum) looking around after noticing little boy isn't in the car.
Shot 12-"Based on true events".

Shot 13-Close up of mobile phone dialing "999"
Shot 14- "The following phone call was recorded...(Ringing tone heard)" Panning shot of car whilst characters speech is heard calling the police.
Shot 15-Long shot of car, villain is seen for the first time. Villain stands there and turns head towards camera then muffled phone noise is heard.
Shot 16-"9 months later"

Shot 17-Tracking shot of houses.
Shot 18-Tracking shot / medium shot of tree which shows a Missing Poster (Little boy).
Shot 19-Door bell noise is heard as 3rd character (main character) is seen for first time.
Shot 20- Mid shot of hall way "you can have Lucifer's room...".

Shot 21-Mid shot of stairs leading up to Lucifer's room, "it's straight upstairs".
Shot 22-Long shot of girl peering out from blinds, Bang noise is heard.
Shot 23-shot of wardrobe where bang came from. Eye line shot.
Shot 24-closeup of light switch then low angle of girl looking around. Light switches off.

Shot 25- Mid shot of mum and girl eating at table. Girl asks "What happened to Lucifer?" Mum replies "I don't know...".
Shot 26- "One minute he was here..." shot of little boy and mum in car driving.
Shot 27-"The next minute he's gone"  high angle shot of mum calling for Lucifer but her speech isn't heard over voice over.
Shot 28-blank screen while "disappeared is heard.

Shot 29-Low angle shot of girl looking into the attic.
Shot 30- girl asks "Who lived in this house before?", Mum replies "I'm not sure, why?" Close up of content in box.
Shot 31-Girl says "I found this box", Mum says "What's this sign?" Close up of sign.
Shot 32- "search devils symbol" Close up of search engine typing in sign, Search engine won't be Google.

Shot 33- Search results shown from shot of computer screen.
Shot 34-Close up of image of devils symbol "That's it! That's the symbol".
Shot 35- Devil appears from the background when characters are looking at the computer, bang noise is heard.
Shot 36-"When the angel leaves"

Shot 37-Mid shot/ high angle shot of girl on her phone at night, light source from phone shining on her face.
Shot 38-clicking noise is heard from the wardrobe, girl ignores it and lies down.
Shot 39-"The devil arrives"
Shot 40- either she looks back at wardrobe, nothing is there but when she turns back the villain is standing in the corner. 2nd option is the villain appears from the wardrobe. Heartbeat is faintly heard.

Shot 41- "There was something here, something was stood here" mid shot of girl and mum looking at wardrobe.
Shot 42-"we'll set up some video cameras, but I'm telling you nothing's here" close up shot of mum setting of video camera. CCTV effect. Static cut shot possibly.
Shot 43- Changed. Girl walks into bathroom to see devils symbol painted on the mirror.
Shot 44-"When he arrives"

Shot 45-Girl wonders where mother character is, Close up shot of girl. "Where are you?".
Shot 46- shot of kitchen door, extreme close up of door handle as girl twists it.
Shot 47-"Oh my God!" close up of girls face as she covers her mouth with her hands.
Shot 48-"You can't escape" Tense music starts followed by series of quick shots.

Shot 49- Girl tied to chair.
Shot 50- Tracking Shot of girl running through the street.
Shot 51-CCTV footage of bedroom door slamming shut.
Shot 52- Changed.

Shot 53- Shot of girl on the floor crawling with villain with knife following behind.
Shot 54- Close up f girls face and series of flashes from a light.
Shot 55-Title "Lucifer"
Shot 56-Final shot of villains face close up.
Shot 57- Release date and any other information.

My Film Magazine- Planning and Research

There are many film magazines to choose from, the most popular British film magazines are Total Film and Empire. I have decided to go with Empire Magazine because I like the layout of the front cover and I think that the Masthead, which is coloured red, will suit my theme of horror as it relates to blood, death and gore. 3 different Empire Magazine front covers:

Below are three drafts of my magazine front cover, I decided to make three because it shows a range of compositions that I have thought about. All my layouts have to be similar to Empire Magazines as that is the magazine I am choosing to advertise my film and it shows synergy, allowing their audience to feel familiar with the magazine.

Layouts
The layouts below are my rough guides of my ideas for my film magazine front cover. 

1.

This is my favourite layout out of the three because I like the composition of the page and there is no negative space. I may have the central image behind the masthead rather than over it as the magazine is well known and will have a larger target audience than my film. The background of the magazine will be a dark colour to match the theme of horror. I would like the central image to be a mid-shot as this is common among Empire magazines and shows the body language of the character. The film name will be placed clearly over the top of the central image with some small information about the film, for example "You think you know your family...think again", just something to make the audience want to know more and read on. I have included, beside my image, small images and a small amount of information about other popular films that may increase the audience to buy the film along with text at the bottom of the page. I may change the text at the bottom to what things are featured inside the magazine.

2.

I am not so keen on this layout as I don't like the 3 boxes on the left hand side as they look as if they would stand out for the wrong reasons on a horror film magazines cover. I also am not keen on the negative space between the 3 smaller images and the central image. I do however like how there isn't too much information so the viewers can focus on the central image.

3.

I think this layout looks a bit too boring and bland because there's not much interesting text and only one image on the page which may not appeal to a younger audience where images catch their attention over text. This would make the central image stand out more but the magazine may not be seen if it was put up next to competitor magazines because it looks less exciting.

I have decided to go with layout 1 because I feel it is the most attractive out of the three layouts.

Below are three drafts with the same composition as layout one but contain different images and texts.

Layout 1

This is my favourite layout as I think it looks a lot more interesting than the other two and is more innovative in its design. The hands pointing towards the character draw the viewers attention towards the center. I also like how the cross links into my trailer and how it has been adapted.
The layout doesn't look to over done or too plain.

Layout 2

I wasn't sure on this design layout and there isn't a focus point n the image to catch viewers eyes. Everything looks a bit out of place especially the films title as it looks as if it doesn't fit in with the page. The bottom of the page looks pretty empty and the cover lacks some content.












Layout 3

I am not a big fan of this layout because it looks boring as there is not much text surrounding the image and the image itself isn't reasonably eye catching. However i do feel that the image of just the face covered by the villains mask creates a sense of mystery and vulnerability linking to my chosen theme of horror












I have chosen to go with layout 1.
I have recieved feedback from 2 peers on my chosen layout. They talked about what they liked and disliked about my magazine cover draft. (Natasha Bowman and Lauren Melchor)
They said they found the image quite busy and intereseting to looks at, especially the hands that they found to be eye-catching, but they did say they found the hands a bit confusing. They said the magazine cover follows horror conventions like the use of the colour red. They liked how the 666 number on the plus bar linked to my film. They stated that the hands are like an enigma code for the audience wanting to know more. They also said how they thought the composition of the magazine was good and central.

Primary Research- Film Posters (Focus Group)

For my primary research into horror film posters, I carried out a focus group with a total of 5 people both genders and between the ages of 15 and 42. I carried out a focus group as I was able to receive multiple opinions from a wide range of people where answers could be expanded, this is qualitative research about the quality not quantity of responses. I asked the questions below to my focus group in order to gain information on what their opinions are of horror posters and to also inspire me when it comes to designing my own film poster.

The answers received for Question 1 were that the majority of the group found the poster 'Shutter' more appealing as it was very creative and the image supported the plot well, leaving the audience wanting to know more. However a couple of people found 'The Happening' poster to be the most appealing as it looked less gory and more realistic.

Question 2 I found out that people would like the title and release date on the poster so they know what the film is called and when it will be released. Some people also stated they would like to see the certificate and actors so they know if they will be old enough to watch it and who will be starring in it to see if there are any familiar actors they like that may persuade them to watch the film. A certificate of age isn't a common convention of a horror poster so it is unlikely that I will include this on my poster, as one of the aims is to follow conventions of page designs.

Question 3 asks where people most see film posters advertised, the main answer I got back was in magazines/ film magazines. I also got back answers such as the cinema, online and the bus stop. Posters are advertised where people are most likely to see them, this is a major role in marketing the film. If I was to advertise my film in poster form, I would definitely use the cinema as numerous people visit the cinema everyday so thousands of people across the country will be aware of my film. I am not so sure about magazines but rather prefer online advertising as the online age is growing, people are using the internet on an everyday basis so there's plenty of opportunity to advertise my film.

For Question 4 I asked what people preferred the central image to be, the answers I received were the setting, the villain, the victim or the weapon. I will consider this when designing my poster as I now know what people prefer. I will probably use a mixture of about 2 features to compromise, for example the setting and the villain or the villain and the victim.

The most popular answer received for Question 5 was the colour red as it represents blood, death and danger, which were the conventions people thought were important in the horror genre. Other answers I received were dark colours as it gives off a eerie and unsafe environment, blood and weapons as some people felt they were a big convention/ code on a horror poster. 

Question 6 I found out that 2 people thought 'Shutter' was associated with the horror theme the most because of its dark colours and ghostly face however 3 people said that they felt 'Saw' was associated with horror the most because the head represents gore and made them feel more uncomfortable than the other posters. It is unlikely that i will use gore in my trailer so I would need to make sure my poster reflects the plot of my film.

Question 7 I received all yes answers to posters attracting them to watch the film, people said that they felt the poster was a teaser of the film, if the poster was good it would make me want to see the film rather than if the poster was bad. Another answer was that if the poster had an actor/ actress which appealed to me, it would make me want to see the film more.

For Question 8 and 9 I asked people to place the 3 bottom posters in order of which makes them want to watch the film the most and why. I found out that the most popular poster was 'One missed call' because of its creative but simple image, the second most popular was 'Insidious' because the dark and dingy background has a creepy vibe and the boy made the poster look innocent even though they knew the film wasn't. Finally the least popular poster was '30 days of night' as it looked the most amateur poster out of them all and technologically out of date. It's unlikely my poster will be to a professional standard because I have never created a film poster before and don't have much knowledge on the software or have access to hi-tech equipment but from this feedback I can create a poster that will appeal to my target audience.

Problems with the focus group was that not everyone understood media terminology so meaning my answers may not be as detailed as I would have liked. Another problem with being in a group was that people could rely on other peoples answers to form their opinions meaning I wouldn't get a wide range of ideas to base my poster ideas on. 

Overall I think the feedback I received will help me when I design my film poster as I now know what my target audience expect and like from other horror posters out. I would say a focus group is the most effective and reliable way of getting information from my target audience as you have the possibility of getting multiple detailed answers.

My Trailer- Planning and Research

These are the aspects I need to consider for my trailer:

Actors
These are my actors:
Samantha Fahy- Mother

Samuel Smith-James- Villain/ missing boy and friends son

The reason I chose these two was because they're reliable and it is easy to get hold of them both at the same time as they live in the same household. I chose Samuel because he matches the description  of my character (missing boy) well and is around the same age of the character. The reason I chose Samantha because she is Samuels mother so is able to play the mother role well.

Mise en scene
Mise en scene is everything in a frame and its arrangement, such as decor, lighting, props and costume. The word comes from the french term meaning "Placing on stage".

• Setting

The setting in a film is very important, it sets the whole mood for the scene.
These are the settings I will be using throughout my trailer:

House

A house in a horror film is a well known convention, many horror films use houses in secluded areas as it symbolizes that the people inside the house are alone and far away from any help. This is the house I will be using, it isn't in the middle of nowhere but the house itself is very good for filming in and the environment around the house is dark and creepy especially at night.

Street

This street was used for the majority of the outside filming, I chose this street because of the lighting which was interesting but more importantly I chose the street because it was secluded which plays an important role horror films, as it creates a vulnerable vibe.

• Lighting

There are two types of key lighting, low key lighting and high key lighting. low-key lighting is often used in horror movies which is the type of lighting I will be using. Low key lighting is made up of a lighting pattern that uses both dark and light lighting in a frame which is call chiaroscuro, used to unsettle and frighten the audience. 
This is an example of low key lighting used in the horror film "Friday the 13th".

High key lighting is often used in romantic comedies and musicals consisting of even lighting throughout the frame, avoiding dark areas. High key lighting avoids shadow so everything looks bright, this has little dramatic effect and is used in scenes with no tension.
This is an example of high key lighting used in the American drama "Written on the Wind".

For my lighting, I will be using street lamps, household lamps and natural lighting. Most of my lighting will be low-key lighting as it is a horror film, because of the quality of the equipment I am using it is quite hard to make out the characters faces during the night scenes so I will have to take that into consideration.

• Costume 

Costume is simply the clothing that the characters are wearing, the costume is important to a film as it is used to signify/ make a clear distinction between characters.
My Main character, the mother, will be wearing casual clothing such as jeans and hoodies, along with the boy in the film.

The villain will also be wearing casual clothing, inspired by the film "The Strangers", to relate to realism and connect with the audience. The main piece of costume my villain will be wearing is their signature mask, this hides the identity of the villain adding mystery and a sense of the unknown.

• Props

Props are objects used by actors on stage to support the plot.
Props I have included in my trailer includes a newspaper that was found in the missing boys room. Another prop is the missing poster as it tells the audience that someone in the film is missing, supporting the storyline.

Script
A script or screen play is the dialogue or instructions for a film.
This is the script that will be included in my trailer.

Music
I have noticed that music in horror trailers starts of slow but builds up when the action starts to happen. The music matches the volume of terror to add tension and an atmosphere for the audience.
The music I have decided to go with at the start of the trailer will be calm and slow, this is a horror convention. As the tension in my trailer builds up I would like there to be minimal or no music so there can be chance for dialogue, the silence will also emphasise the difference when the loud and upbeat music comes in. When I add in the tense music, it should create atmosphere and make the trailer more thrilling.