Our trailer follows many conventions of real horror trailers. For example, the opening scene of three girls laughing walking down the street establishes the equilibrium, this is then followed by the disruption which is the nightmare experienced and the news of a death. An attempt to solve the problem is then carried out by the girl confessing her confusion to her mother and being admitted to a psychological ward. These three stages follows Toderoffs idea of the conventional narrative structure. However, as it is a trailer the restoration of the equilibrium and the new equilibrium isn't shown. The continuation of the terror and the mystery of the outcome follows the convention of the modern day horror trailer. Also, the conventional elements of genre are included in the trailer, it is very clear to see its terrifying nature. One of the most important aspects of a trailer is the code of enigma. Our trailer has this as the reasons behind the female protagonists actions aren't explained and her role as a victim or a villain isn't realised. Our trailer also has visceral, intellectual and emotional pleasures within it. This is the body of a successful and striking promotional device. The way in which our trailer challenges forms and conventions is through its protagonist and target audience. Horror films traditionally target young male audiences, however ours appeals more to thrill seeking females. The female protagonist is an unconventional "monster" as she is sympathised with and never understood. The length of our promotional device is conventional for a theatrical trailer, and we have included all the features that would be expected, (titles, end screen, warning at beginning.) We have used a non-linear sequence with fast pace editing to emphasise confusion, action and the thrilling nature of the film. During the process of analysing trailers I found there was usually a conventional narrative:
Most trailers have a three part structure. They start with a beginning that lays out the premise of the story. Then the middle, that drives the story further and usually entails a dramatic climax, and the end, which often consists of a powerful montage of emotional and powerful moments of the film, along with a strong piece of signature music.Our trailer includes this three part narrative to the letter which shows it is a well structured media product. Another way in which we have challenged the conventions of a film trailer is through the use of black and white shots to establish a dream-like state. The way in which we could show the audience the difference between the dreams and reality was heavily debated but I think the end product was successful.
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
I have made sure that my three products used to promote our film are all symbiotic. Using the female protagonist as the main feature in all three products has established the identity of the product and the genre. The trailer and poster are particularly close in appearance. The poster includes one of the titles used in the trailer, also, it is in black and white which coincides with the dream state in the trailer. The setting of the forest is used in all three promotional devices. The photo used for the magazine front cover is set in the forest and the tree is visible. The background of the poster is a forest setting and of course the trailer is primarily set in the forest.
What have you learned from your audience feedback?
These are the questions we asked 8 people after viewing our trailer.
Audience Response for Sleep Tight
Is the genre of the film easily identified?
Are you able to follow the narrative of the trailer?
What do you think the target audience would be for this film? (female/male/young/old)
What age classification do you think this film would be?
Does the title of the film appeal to you and relate to the films content?
Does the music compliment the narrative and genre of the film?
Do the titles help your understanding of the narrative?
Is the pace of the trailer conventional and effective?
Does the editing of the shots create fluidity?
Would you go and see this film after viewing the trailer and why?
Thank you for your time!
From their answers we were able to categorise our trailer more specifically. These were the general answers we were given from the audience:
-> All 8 members of the audience agreed that the genre of the film was easily identifiable.
-> The entire audience agreed they could understand the plot of the film from the scenes depicted in the trailer.
-> Most of the audience decided our film would be suited to targeting young females and males, but predominatley females.
-> The age classification of 15 was decided upon by the majority, however some thought it would suit an 18 certificate. I feel this is complimentary as they were obviously affected by the horror of the film.
-> Everyone thought that the title was appealing and related to the films content and genre.
-> Most people thought the music complimented the pace and genre of the film. However one person disagreed and thought the music didn't compliment the genre. I agree with this to an extent as our music wasn't want we originally wanted. When first filming and editing our footage we had our original music in mind. When we realised we had to change this the pacing and dramatic effect weren't as we had planned.
-> The majority of the audience decided they would go and see the film after viewing the trailer. However, some wouldn't due to the genre which is understandable as horror as a genre targeting a niche audience. One particular person said that they would go and watch the film as they were intrigued that the monster was a person which engaged them on a personal level.
Overall the audience feedback was successful and gave us a confident insight onto our production.
How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
At the beginning of the Alevel course, we learned how to compose shots and use the digital video camera, which obviously was the key piece of technology used in the process. We then transferred the shots onto Adobe Premiere Elements to edit the material. This is the most essential stage of the process, we were able to add titles, fade to blacks, dissolves, to edit the pace of a shot and to add music which effectively changed the mood of the shot. The Internet was also used for extensive research and I watched many horror trailers on YouTube to grasp an idea of pace and content of conventional horror trailers. We also used the digital camera to create an animatic, gain effective images for our poster and front covers and to capture a crime scene to use for the news broadcast within our trailer. We found 3 pieces of music on www.freeplaymusic.com and used specific parts from each piece of music to build the tension and suit the different paces, actions and expressions within the trailer.
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