Weekly Blog Update #2.

This week, we began to storyboard our trailer. Before doing so, we looked at examples of storyboards from well known movies such as The Dark Knight. This was helpful because we knew what needed to be included and what elements needed to be discussed and thought about.

During this week, we also continued to work on our target audience research and came up with a questionnaire which i have posted onto my blog. We then used sampling to select 10 people in our sixth form year group to complete the questionnaire. We plan to spend the remainder of this week completing our questionnaires and gathering the results, which we will then put into charts using Edexcel. As well as using a questionnaire for quantitative data, we also plan to hold an interview with the people we selected from the sample so that we can also gather some qualitative date as well!

Questionnaire Questions.

What is your gender?

• Male
• Female

What kind of setting do you prefer in a horror movie?

• Woods / Forest
• Family Home or Neighborhood
• Derelict Building
• Public Place

What do you prefer in a horror movie? Male or female lead?

• Male
• Female

What would you say is the most important element of a trailer?

• Music
• Editing
• Location
• Special Effects
• Suspense
• Mystery

What sub-genre of a horror would you prefer?

• Psychological
• Thriller
• Comedy
• Paranormal
• Sci-Fi

How much violence/gore would you expect in a horror trailer?

• Lots
• Quite a bit
• Not important

Which of these well known horror movies have you previously watched?

• The Chainsaw Massacre
• Scream
• The Grudge
• SAW
• Halloween
• Nightmare On Elm Street
• Silence of the Lambs

What would you say is the most important element of a Christmas movie?

• Snow
• Christmas Trees and Decoration
• Santa Claus
• Presents
• Religion
• Carol Singing
• Family

Which of these well know Christmas movies have you previously watched?

• Home Alone
• Santa Claus
• The Grinch
• ELF
• A Christmas Carol
• Jack Frost
• The Polar Express

Three Trailer Act.

Act One: begins with a zoom in shot of a section of a Christmas tree, the scene then zooms out into an image of the the whole Christmas tree. The screen then fades to black..

Shot then skips to a shot of a young boy getting into bed, his mother walks into the room. He asks her for a story before he goes to bed and she grabs a book and begins to read to him.

Act Two: the young boy's older brother, Sebastian then walks into his room to tell Ethan a similar but scary. The story is going to be told together by blending the stories of both the mother and Sebastian. This would be a narrative because as the story is being told, we'll see it being shown. Whilst the story is being told, the music in the background will be 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' which works well because the story is very jolly and upbeat and it's going to be on top of scenes of fear.

Act Three: the story has now finished being told and the mother and Sebastian leave the room. Ethan then looks outside to see a dark figure with a Santa suit on dragging a sack across the floor, leaving a trail of blood. He notices Ethan looking at him, and the figure stares at the window for a while and then carries out walking, now humming a Christmas tune in a creepy way. Door handle then turns on Ethan. We'll see the word 'Santa' then turn into 'Satan'. Will flash to his brother opening the door and tells the scared Ethan to go to sleep otherwise Santa wont come for him..

Audience Research Task.

The difference between the objective of quantitative and qualitative research is that quantitative data is all about quantifying data so that it can be generalised whereas qualitative research focuses on gaining a deeper understanding and understanding the underlying reasons.

Both techniques sample in different ways. Quantitative data uses larger groups to generate more responses and qualitative research uses smaller groups and want to gain more information and detail.

Quantitative data is gathered using a questionnaire, this a structured technique. Graphs and charts would be used to analyse the data, it is a fairly mathematical process. Qualitative data is collected using indepth methods, like an interview. The data is then analysed through comparison and the indentification of key themes that are recognised in the data that has been collected.

The outcome of the results for quantitative data is generally considered conclusive because the information can easily be generalised to a population. Qualitative data however, can be open for debate because it is based on the opinions and views of people and goes into much more detail.

There are three different sampling methods:

• Systematic Random Sampling: numbers are generated and one person per random number is selected.



• Simple Random Sampling: everyone is assigned a different number, for example ranging from 1 to 100 and every Nth number is selected.



• Stratified Random Sampling: a certain group of people are selected to question, based on the actual demographic you are aiming for.

Target Audience Reaction to My Trailer.

Hypodermic Needle Effect:
The Hypodermic Needle Model theory suggests that mass media can easily influence a large group of people without any challenge and opposition from those people. This theory suggests that, as an audience, we are manipulated by the creators of media texts and our behaviour and thinking might be easily changed by media-makers. Therefore, it assumes that the audience are PASSIVE.

Two Step Flow:
This theory suggests that a social class or demographic get their interpretation of the media through a representative of that class, known as an opinion leader. Therefore, the audience would be PASSIVE.

Uses & Gratifications: This theory revolves around the idea that audiences make choices about what they do when consuming texts. In 1948 Lasswell suggested that media texts had the following functions for individuals and society.

• Surveillance



• Correlation



• Entertainment
  



• Cultural transmission
  
  

Researshers Blulmer and Katz expanded this theory and published their own in 1974, stating that individuals might choose and use a text for the following purposes:

• Diversion - escape from everyday problems and routine.
  



• Personal Relationships - using the media for emotional and other interaction, eg) substituting soap operas for family life



• Personal Identity - finding yourself reflected in texts, learning behaviour and values from texts



• Surveillance - Information which could be useful for living eg) weather reports, financial news, holiday bargains.

This theory would suggest that the audience is ACTIVE.

Reception Theory:
This theory is a version of the reader response literary theory that emphasizes the reader's reception of a literary text. It is more generally called audience in the analysis of communications models. This theory would sugges that the audience is PASSIVE.

References:

• http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0767421906/student_view0/chapter12/glossary.html



• http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Levels%20of%20theories/macro/Two-Step%20Flow%20Theory.doc/

Target Audience Analysis.

Age: Our media product is going to be targeting the age group of 15 to 25 years old. We've decided to target this age group because it is the typical age group that most horror movies appeal to and will also make it easier to film our trailer because the age we have decided on means we don't have to use things like excessive scenes of gore or violence in our production.

Ethnicity: Our trailer includes a mainly Caucasian cast but we think it will appeal to many ethnic groups because the film itself would be classed as mainstream and would therefore appeal to the masses. Also, if we compare the casts to well known films in our chosen genre such as Scream or SAW, we can see that generally the cast are Caucasian and the films themselves were extremely successful.

Socio-Economic Groupings: The class profile of our characters is generally C2DE because most of the people being portrayed are students and so are not employed and will therefore be classed as E. The class profile of our audience would again be C2DE, this is because the characters in our trailer would portray our Target audience and so that would be one of the reasons they'd want to go and watch the film.

Nationality/Region: The whole cast of our film would be from the UK and to be precise, Birmingham. This is where the trailer will be shot. I think the trailer will appeal to a wide UK audience and that is what we would be aiming for. I think the reason that our production will appeal to a whole UK audience is because though the trailer will be set in Birmingham, it isnt actually a film about Birmingham.

To do list:

• Sort out cast


• Think about possible shots and angles we want to use


• Discuss costume choices


• Think about lighting


• Complete storyboard


• Think about location


• Decorations and props

Weekly Blog Update #1.

During this weeks media lesson, the main focus was on the codes and conventions of film trailers. We did work with Mrs Collister and anaylsed the trailer of the British film 'Control'. This task was useful to us because it allowed us to study the different aspects of a trailer and what makes them effective for an audience. Aswell as this, we also looked at the trailer for 'Cemetery Junction' learnt how a trailer can be subverted so it can still have the same effect but can achieve this in a completely different way.

Later on in the week, we continued to work on our film treatment with Mr Morris. As a group, we finally managed to complete it. We also answered questions for the treatment to make sure we have included and covered everything that is necessary in it. We are now ready for the storyboarding process and once that is complete we can then start our filming!

Treatment Questions.

1. What is the main theme or idea?
The main theme is centered around the traditional story of Christmas which is twisted in our film. It is going to take the well known character of Santa Claus and subvert him into an evil, sadistic killer.

2. Have you created a distinctive main character who is a rounded, believable character?

We have the created the character of a little boy who is going to be the main protagonist of the trailer. The boy's name will be Ethan. Throughout the trailer, he will be the subject of the killers attention and will be trying to escape from him.

3. What is his or her goal?

The goal of our main character Ethan is to survive.

4. Who is stopping him or her achieving this goal (the adversary or villain)?

The killer who will be dressed up and representing Santa.

5. What is at stake and why?

The lives of the boy and the people that live in his community. This is because the killer used to live in the boys neighbourhood and therefore returns to get revenge for what happened to him many years before.

6. Where does the film take place?

The film will take place in the house and around the neighbourhood of our films main protagonist.

7. Have you created other interesting characters?

We have created other family members for the protagonist of the film, his older brother and also his mother. The older brother will be called Sebastian and his mothers name will be Julie.