Scream horror poster analysis

This is the film poster of the 1996 film, Scream, which is the first of the Scream series.
The colour scheme of the poster is mainly black and white, this is very common with horror posters as it makes it seem very dark and scary. The colours could represent the darkness of death, or the darkness of a murder. This mirrors shots which are used in many horror films and is a very common convention which is used in horror film posters. There is not a lot of light in the poster, the only light seems to be coming from the eyes on the photo of the girl. For her eyes, there is a bit of blue used which is contrasting from the rest of the poster which is in black and white. This is used to give the poster some edge to it, and show the audience that the character we are seeing is human.

This girl takes us the whole of the poster and is the background of all the writing. The photograph is an extreme close-up of a girl, the girl’s eyes are very wide and she looks petrified. This is very commonly used for horror film posters. The girl in the photo also has a hand covering her mouth, this could suggest various things to the audience. Is she covering her mouth because she shocked? Is her hand or someone else's? This also links to the film, as in many horror films there are many extreme close-ups of peoples expressions, to emphasis fear.

The main title, Scream, is in white, which contrasts against the black background of the bottom of the picture. This colour is used to give a ghostly presence which is another commonly used convention of horror film posters. As it is big, bold and stretched across the page, the audience notices it. It could also be big and bold to represent that a scream is big and loud. The letter 'M' has also been editied and the middle has been stretched down so that the middle has a sharp point, this could be symbolism for a knife.
Near the bottom of the film poster there are quite a few actors names, this is because they are quite well known and they have put them there to try and entice the audience to watch the film. They have placed Drew Barrymore's name under the 'M' which is edited to be made to look like a knife/dagger. They have done this purposely as in the film, the characted which is played by Drew Barrymore, is the first person to get killed.
At the bottom of the page there is some more smaller text which reads, 'The highly anticipted thriller from Wes Craven.' Wes Craven's name has been placed on the poster as he also created the film 'Nightmare on Elm Street' which is another popular horror film. This is another technique to try and attract the audience as they might of enjoyed his previous film therefor might go and watch Scream.
There is also writing at the top of the poster on the womans head. This narrative reads 'Someone has taken their love of scary movies too far. Solving this mystery is going to be murder.' This texts gives the audience more information on what the film is about and gives a clearer understanding of it. By using the word 'murder' in this peice of narrative, to describe how hard it is going to be to solve the mystery, implies that there is going to be murders in the film. This text is also a little introduction to the film as there is nothing else other than the title and names on the poster, so it allows the audience to construct an opinion on what might take place in the film.

Horror movie ideas

Here are a few horror movie titles and ideas that we are considering for our final media product:

1. A group of teenagers spend a night at an abandoned field. They realise it was in fact an old circus. There are strange paranormal events that occur throughout the stay. A killer clown goes on a killing spree, brutally murdering every single one of the teenagers. There are 3 left. The twist is that the clown is one of the last 3.

After looking at a similar horror movie trailers, we started to think about the music and the different types of editing that we could use. The music is something that we wanted to make really effective in the trailer. We came up with the idea to subvert the normal convention regarding music in horror trailers. Normally, the music they choose builds and matches the increasing speed of the editing. At this point, we have decided to use the a slower song, to hope to create an even scarier feel to the trailer. We will look at this again later on in the process when we are editing to see if it has the desired effect.

The Hills Have Eyes 2 Analysis

The Hills Have Eyes 2 trailer is quite slow paced at the start, with short clips appearing on and off the screen. It is not until nearer the end of the trailer where it starts to speed up, using longer clips, and louder music. There is a lot of scary sounds, loud noises, black screens, and screaming etc that a typical horror trailer has.

Throughout the trailer there are many short and longer shots, these shots are cut with a black screen which writing appears on. By having the dramatic black screen cuts it leaves the audience in suspense and wanting to know what happens next, that is a good convention which is used as that is what keeps the audience watching the trailer and the attention from the audience is maintained. There is also in this clip, a montage of sequence is used, and from the trailer you can tell that when one of these is shown, a longer shot will shortly follow after it. There is a longer shot nearer the end of the trailer when it starts to pick up pace, and this is used to tell the audience more of the storyline. As the trailer uses short and longer shots throughout the trailer, as there is a mixture it keeps the audience interested as there is a lot of action and never gets dull.

The writing on the black screens which is used at several times throughout the trailer, fades to the background. This gives the audience more time to read the text as it is fading.

The sound in the trailer is used very well with the editing and is linked throughout. At the start there is what sounds like a ticking clock, or maybe a bomb. This creates suspense and makes the audience feel uneasy. Each ticking noise is followed by a blank screen and a loud bang is heard. This works well as the loud bang emphasises the blank black screen which leaves the audience wanting to know and wondering whether something is going to happen. Where the trailer is also broken up with the different sounds and blank screens, the audience is maintained because it leaves the audience waning to know what is going to happen.

Nearer the end of the trailer, when the longer shots are used, diagetic sound is used, this is to tell the audience more about the film and to give them more information about the story line. Diagetic sound is also used in the longer shots as the attention of the audience is on the acting so therefor there is no need for non-diagetic sounds because they are more effective in the shorter shots.

The Last House On The Left Poster Analysis

The poster has been de-saturated to create the harsh contrast between the black and white. The main color palette is very dark and represents night time, which is a strong convention of horror movies. The text 'HOUSE' is in blood red and symbolises dripping blood. It gives a strong representation of danger as it suggests brutal murder. The black connotates dark themes and ideas and the white is quite chilling and cold, this also re-inforces the contrast between the two and the juxtaposition of the two colors makes the poster appear abnormal.

The image of house is framed in the middle of the poster, which makes it the main focal point. The position of the house is right on the audiences eye-line, and it also has a cloud around the image which is almost highlighting it, again making it the main attraction. There is also reference to the house in the title, so the audience are now aware that the house is the keynote for the film. The image of the haunted house also signifies the genre of horror/thriller as it is set in the forest/woods which is a stereotypical horror setting.

They also use font continuity throughout the poster in a large, bold, gothic style. There is also a rhetorical question underneath the title of the film reading "If bad people hurt someone you love, how far would you go to hurt them back?" This is another way of attracting the audiences attention as it is directly addressing the reader, willing for an answer.

Having the word 'Amityville' in the title, suggests the film could be real as Amityville is a real place in America. This becomes more scary for the audience as they believe it could happen to them. Films such as 'Paranormal Activity' and 'The Blair Witch Project" also play on the idea of creating a false or exaggerated background of the film, to make the film appear factual.

The title is in a red which is a connotation for blood and danger and there is also a red, thin and long 'Y' which resembles dripping blood. This suggests the movie has a lot of association with death and specifically blood. The mis-en-scene is of a large old-fashioned house, which looks like a face. The poster has very low-key lighting, apart from the house which has high-key. This is the main focal point of the poster and suggests the main action of the film takes place in the house. There is a male with his back to the observer in a very aggressive position, which suggests he is a protagnonist. He is also carrying a gun in his hand so you can immediately tell he is evil.

There are also no names of actors mentioned, this could symbolise there is no one as the family is dead. It gives the effect of isolation and distances the audience from the poster. Also at the top of the poster it says it's from Michael Bay, who produced Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He is a well-known horror producer and so instantly it will be given more recognition by an audience that enjoy horror. Another thing to comment on is the tag line 'Watch 'em and kill 'em' it sounds like it is direct address, it singles out the viewer as if it is talking to them.

Pre-Production: Trailers Continued

The difference between a teaser and a full trailer is that a teaser only offers a small glimpse of the movie being advertised but a trailer will generally be longer. A teaser trailer is a shorter version of a theatrical trailer, which is intended to create the hype about the film and entice the audience about the upcoming movie. Wheras movie trailers are film advertisements, that will be shown in the future at a cinema.

Halloween 2 Analysis

The style of this trailer is very dark and fast-paced. It uses typical conventions for horror movies, dark titles and shots, disturbing themes and blood. There is one main focus throughout the trailer, which is of the main character's murdourous revenge. From this short trailer you are able to understand the genre of this film is horror.
The actors in this trailer are not well known, but the characters have continued from the first movie. There is a typical horror convention of the evil male killer and the victim of a young girl who tries to escape being killed. The victim however becomes strong, and typically always survives in the end. They have also used the code and convention of the male stereotypically being the fearful character and the female being the 'damsal in distress' and the weaker character.
The music throughout the trailer helps the audience establish the genre that is horror. The non-diegetic music used is typically creepy which creates an un-easy atmosphere. The non-diegetic music then becomes more fast-paced and quick which builds up the action and enables the audience to become excited about what they are viewing. Suddenly the music and sound stops and a montage of moving clips appear. This breaks the codes and conventions of using music to build a scary atmosphere. It also suprises the audience and puts them in a state of uncertainty about what is going to happen. Another sound used resembles a heartbeat, which makes it more energetic. There is diegetic sound as well from the victim, her screams and cries help make the trailer more dramatic.
After the shots, they use a lot of the fade to black editing transition which symbolises a more significant beggining/end. There are a lot of fast editing sequences and quick reverse cuts which have a more abrupt transition. This is to symbolise the urgency of the plot and build up tension. They also used a clever editing technique of jump cut, they show the murderer and then a sudden switch to the little boy, which is used deliberately to create a dramatic point.

Charlotte Green

Paranormal Activity Analysis

The reason why Paranormal Activity is considered so scary, is because it used the same device as The Blair Witch Project. The production company provided a false story behind the film which made the audience believe that what they were watching is real footage. The style of the trailer is 'mock-umentary' and you can tell it has a very low budget. The opening of the trailer shows people queuing up to watch the film, to show the footage is not part of the film, the camera is hand-held.
The trailer doesn't show many frames of the film, instead the trailer focuses on night-vision documentary footage of reactions from a preview audience watching it in the cinema. This makes the viewers of the trailer feel very uncomfortable, as it has broken the expected conventions as you are watching the audience watch the film. The actual film footage is also using home video footage, you can tell this as the shot has the time and date on the bottom of the screen, this is a convention of a home video. This makes the film appear even more scary as it enables a possibility of it being real and the audience can believe it could happen to them.
Throughout the trailer, there is diegetic sound from the audience. The screams and gasps make the film appear much more terrifying, as the reactions from the preview audience are very dramatic. There is also enhanced diegetic sound like strange noises and the locking of doors, for a dramatic effect. Non-diegetic music is used which helps build the tension, it is also a typical convention for horror movies. The audience associate non-diegetic scary music with the horror genre.
The actors used in Paranormal Activity are a plain and ordinary couple who have no star status. This is done to enhance the realism of the film. The main focus of Paranormal Activity is for the audience to believe that what they are watching is real footage. Having a typical couple, dressed in normal everyday casual clothes, in a regular suburban house achieves this.
The editing of the trailer provides a mixture of fast and slow paced cuts. Some of the shots fade to black, which anticipates what next is going to appear on the screen. The fade up is very slow, which builds tension and makes the audience apprehensive to see what the next shot is. There are lots of shot-reverse-shot techniques used from the audience back to the footage, this is so the people watching the trailer see how the preview audience are reacting. There is then a fast editing sequence and montage, the camera quickly cuts from supernatural events, to the couple and then to the audience. It becomes exciting and implies chaos.

Charlotte Green

Pre-Production: Trailers

As part of my pre-production, prior to planning my own trailer, I have carried out some background research to help me.

A trailer is an advertisement for a feature film. It is a series of selected shots from the film being advertised, these are normally the most funny and exciting clips as a trailers main purpose is to attract an audience. It allows the viewers to quickly get an understanding of the film genre and the main purpose of the film.
A trailer is normally exhibited in the cinema, before a film begins. This could limit the audience however, as the viewers all have similar taste in movie genre, as they have all chosen to watch the same film. The actual exhibition of the trailer will be incredible visually as the screens are large, but also the surround sound will make it more appealing. I think to show a trailer at its best, it has to be shown in a cinema. A trailer is also shown as part of a normal television advertisement, it is normally shorter than the cinema version as it has less running time. The distributor will pay for the trailer to be on at a certain time and on certain channels. There is a larger demographic for trailers shown on the television as it is viewed by a larger audience.
Recently, the fixation of viral marketing has been very popular with showing trailers. You can see them on the production company websites or video websites such as Youtube. However the format of these make the picture and sound not as good. Another way trailers are exhibited is through radio, although this is limited as the audience is not able to see the full effect of the advertisement.
A genre convention is a typical or standard plot, character, setting, theme etc you expect to be shown in that genre. It is something we presume to have certain things within that particular genre. For example, a convention of a horror might be the scary music in the background. You instantly recognise the music played and associate it with a horror movie and the horror genre.
Charlotte Green