Trailer - Rough cut of trailer

This is a copy of the very first trailer. It just includes some of the scenes that we filmed at the time and that we placed into the timeline, most of them in order, some of them not. There is a lot of black spaces that we had not had footage for yet and there isn't any music or titles. The purpose of this post is just so we can see where we are now and where we need to go to complete our work to a better standard.

Trailer - Evidence of filming

Planning - Model Consent Forms and Test Shots

Planning - Shooting Schedule

Planning - Script

Scene 1

Phoenix: Cries “Get away from me!”

Scene 2

Skye: Hey guys this is Raven, she’s new

Raven: Hey,

Eli: Come sit

Skye: Hey we are hanging out later, do you want to join us

Raven: Sure

Scene 3: *All laughing*

Skye: So Raven where do you come from

Raven: I don't know, its none of your business

Scene 4: N/A

Scene 5:

Phoenix: I thinks there is something wrong with Raven. She seems so weird. I mean think about it, what do we even know about her

Skye :Oh it’s nothing, she probably just doesn’t want to talk about her personal life, that’s all… (being naive)

Phoenix: Hmm...I don't know...I have a strong feeling about this

Scene 6: N/A

Scene 7:

Raven: I know what you are up to, leave me alone or there will be consequences.

Scene 8:

Phoenix: What the hell!

Scene 9:

Phoenix: She said she will hurt us if we don’t leave her alone

Skye: Oh my god I can’t believe it. You were right, there is something wrong with her

Scene 10: N/A

Scene 11: *Voice over*

Phoenix: She hurt Skye

Scene 12:

Eli: What are you doing in here.... leave me alone!

Scene 13: *Voice over*

Raven: I warned you, it is your fault for what happens next.

Planning - Shot and Prop List

Planning - Characters Profile and Name Choices

When choosing names I wanted them to be symbolic to the characters and their characteristics. This links to Bathes' Enigma symbolic code where writing give a meaning to something so it adds a deeper level to their work. 

Raven

The raven bird has a meaning in terms of their spirituality and mythology. In many cultures the bird symbolizes death and bad luck. This comes from Greek mythology where Apollo send a white raven to spy on his lover. When the raven came back and told him that she had been unfaithful, he scorned the raven in anger and turned it black.

The antagonist in my trailer is called Raven as she bring bad luck to the group of friends. She starts hurting them and attempts to kill them once they discover her secret.

Phoenix

Different cultures have slightly different meaning on the mythology about the phoenix but they all surround the idea of strength and rebirth. According to a Greek historian the Phoenix is a Ethiopian mythical bird that sacrifice itself only to resurrect in its own ashes and now is able to live forever. Another Greek poet stated that it was a bird that could outlive nine generations of a raven. In Rome, they used the Phoenix on their coins to represent the indomitable strength of the empire.

The character in my trailer embodies the characteristics of a phoenix as she is the only one out of her friends to not get hurt by Raven. She find the strength to go after her and like how the phoenix outlives the raven, the character does too.

Planning - Storyboard

Planning - Narrative

Narrative by Ishrah Jama

Final Production Logo

Production Logo Process

Production Company Name

 

Sub Genre Decision

Audience Theories - Hypodermic Model

Barthes - Enigma Code

Barthes' Enigma Code - Explains 5 codes which can seen in any narrative.

The Hermeneutic Code

Refers to any part of a story that's been missed out to create a mystery for the readers. The purpose is to keep the audience guessing until the final few scene when the secret is revealed and loose ends are tied.

The Proairetic Code 

It builds tension by indicating to the audience that something is going to happen. The Hermeneutic and Proairetic codes often work together to keep the plot interesting.

Semantic Code

Connotation within the story to give a basic word extra meaning. It is with these connotations that authors can create vivid images in audiences minds.

Symbolic Code 

This is similar to Semantic code but it is about adding a deeper meaning to anything on a wider level. This is usually done in the use of antithesis.

Cultural Code

This code links to anything that is accepted as being accurate and authoritative and cannot be challenged.

Research Interview - Focus Group

Trailer Reactions

Horror Research - Survey and Finding

Create your survey with SurveyMonkey

Horror Research - Survey and Finding from ishrahjama

Research Rationale

Scream/Blair Witch

lassof 2025 by Ishrah Jama

Wells' Research and Cohen's Moral Panic

Devil's Due - Marketing Strategy

Devil's Due is a psychological horror film that was released in 2014. It follows the story of a young newly-wed couple who get kidnapped on their honeymoon where the women gets impregnated with the devil. It focus on her weird and terrorizing pregnancy. The film has a budget of $7 million and made a box office of $36.9 million.

On 14th of January, before the release of the film, Fox released a promotion video of an remote control baby stroller that had a face robot doll inside onto the streets of New York City to scared any pedestrians walking past.  This video went viral and created a lot of hype over the film.

Fact's about the video:

• It was created by a three-man digital agency called Thinkmodo
• It took 4 weeks to build the stroller.
• The baby's realistic skin was made out of silicon.
• The hair once belonged to a goat and each strand was stapled to its skull.
• Vomit was made out of water, thickening agent and food colouring.
• The baby cries came from a iPod that was hidden in the stroller.
• It cost between $500 thousand and $1 million

Male Gaze and Voyeurism

Preliminary Task - Director's Commentary

Preliminary Task - Final Clip

Preliminary Task - Editing/Filming Process

Preliminary Task - Storyboard and Schedule

Preliminary Task - Horror Clip Analysis

Clover's Final Girl and Creed's Monstrous Feminine

Clover's Final Girl Theory

Carol Clover's Final Girl theory states that there is usually a girl left alive at the end of the film to comfort the villain/monster. They are defined as the heroine who is 'acting' as the male protagonist. This theory is most often applied to horror films ( in particular, slasher films). The final girl is also supposed to be the person to live so they can tell everyone else the story. This theory comes from Clover's book named 'Men, Women and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film' (1992).

'She alone looks death in the face, but she alone finds the strength either to stay the killer long enough to be rescued (Ending A) or to kill him herself (Ending B)' - Clover 1992, p.35

The final girl is listed to have certain trait:

She is sexually unavailable or virginal 

She has a unisex name

Book Smart / Intelligent

Independent

Socially awkward

'The Final Girl is boyish, in a word. Just as the killer is not fully masculine, she is not fully feminine - not, in any case, feminine in the ways of the friends. Her smartness, gravity, competence in mechanical and other practical matters, and her sexual reluctance set her apart from other girls and ally her, ironically, with the very boys she fears or rejects, not to speak of the killer himself.' - Clover 1992, p.40

Example: Laurie from the 1978 film 'Halloween' throughout the film is portrayed as a smart virgin who listens to the rules unlike everyone around her who are constantly having sex, drinking or smoking. Laurie is seen to have different interests than her friends, whilst they go out partying, she babysits.

Barbara Creed's Monstrous Feminine

• Barbara Creed is a Marxist feminist film critic.
• She based her work predominately on horror and slasher films.
• Her theory suggested that within media, women are shown as monstrous as well as the natural female functions.
• She used Freud's psychological theory to help build her theory.

Example: Carrie (1976/2013)

Most of the female characters in this film are presented as monstrous. Carrie is bullied by teenager girls and has a mother that is a religious fanatic. She ends up killing everyone further proving the point that all women are evil.

In the blood prom scene, we see how periods, a natural women function, has been used to connote an message of disgust and humiliation. At first, when she received her first period,there is a look of horror in her face whilst her classmates further shame her. When she gets blood on her shorts she is looked down upon mt the male head teacher. Women's blood and pig's blood are both shown in the film hand in hand to link to Creed's idea that like pigs, women are dirty animals.

Levi-Strauss' Binary Opposition Theory

Todorov's Basic Narrative Theory

Propp's Narrative Theory

Horror Genre Conventions

Deconstruction of a Horror Trailer

Horror Villains

Would I use a monster in my trailer?
I've realised for me, that having a villain is important for me. I love the idea of there being a source of evil that is trying to be destroyed. What I do love more is having one that seems very much human and as real as possible. Supernatural elements of a monster are scary and creative but aren't as entertaining as a complex, mysterious, humanlike person.  When I think about my ideal villain it would be Ester from 'The Orphan'. She mirrors everything I would like to recreate, a normal human being on the outside, but a monstrous, cunning demon inside. So, yes I would have a monster in my trailer, I don't think it would work as well , for me, without one.

Get Out - Context of a Horror Film

Get Out is a American Horror, written, directed and co-produced by Jordan Peele, following the story of a young interracial couple visiting the home of the woman's parents. Released this year, it highlights how destructive racism is in this world. It scored an A-grade on CinemaScore (which is unheard of within the horror genre), got 99% rating from Rotten Tomato as well as having a box office of $252.5 million despite it being low budgeted. 'Get Out ' uses the horror genre to show how scary it is to be a black man.

The main story unfolds, an aspiring photographer , Chris, who plays the protagonist in the film and his girlfriend of 5 months Kate, as they set of to her parents home for the weekend. By having it from his perspective, it allows to audience to see the world through a black person. After Kate hits a deer, an officer asks for Chris' ID even though he was not the one driving linking back to the issue with racism in America today in terms of how black women and men (in particular) are treated by police.

As they arrive, the parents greet them, appearing as middle-class liberals, open to the concept of their relationship before telling Chris how much they wished they could vote for Barack Obama for a third time. What makes this film so interesting and complex for me is that the villains in the film aren't what is stereotypical considered. They don't appear like "monsters" or express publicly some kind of extreme belief. The aim was to target the underlying bigotry in society today in a way that exposes the really issue.

Peele's film conveys a message mirroring the reality of what black people must do to survive. After Chris realises the situation he has been placed in, his only option is to escape by any means necessary. As it is a horror film, that means with the addition of violence. Mainstream American culture see violence in most circumstances  heroic, a loner standing up for what's right. But when minorities use it as a form of survival, its disapproved of. Chris remains calm for two thirds of the film before choosing to react. Black resistance movements have been scrutinized for even a hint of potential violence, especially with the on going activism of the Black Lives Matters movement sparked in 2014.

Kate on the surface appears warm, kind and loving, appearing like the perfect person to help Chris. What the film expresses her as is the embodiment of "White Feminism", prioritizing the issue of white women and dismissing the issues of others. She is portrayed to be quite dominate, speaking over Chris when he's asked questions by the officer and and for him. Kate consistently dismisses Chris' concerns about his family and seem oblivious by their racial aggression. With white feminist, there has been criticism on the fact that they only support minorities if their interests line up. We can see how Kate had only been superficially in love with Chris for her advantage until the situation escalated and the truth bomb was revealed.

'Get Out's aim wasn't to stop racism. It didn't set out to erase year of history that had lead us to the place we are today or to prevent prejudice. The purpose was to expand on the conversation of the injustice felt by members of our society and do so in a incredibly rare and insightful perspective, in an unapologetic way.

History of Horror

Horror Poster Deconstruction

In this blog post, I have deconstructed three different horror posters from the last two years. As I have to create my own horror poster, I felt it was important to gain an understanding to what was already out there in aim to help me with my own. In doing this I have learnt what makes a good poster as well as how to use elements on it that carry a deeper meaning.

Introduction - Response to Brief

This is an introduction to the horror genre that I will be studying in year 13. Our brief is to create a horror trailer along with a magazine front cover and poster and all feed together. When first hearing about this, I was interested. Horror has very really been a genre of film that I haven't been all that excited by but I believe this opportunity to explore this category might allow me to find a love for it.

The first horror film I  watched as child was 'The orphan'. It followed the story of a couple who adopts a young girl who is not all she seems to be. I remember how frightened I was, double checking no one was under my bed or in the closet.  I don't think I can ever forget the scene were the mum discovers the truth and that her family were in danger. For a ten year old, it was quite a traumatic experience, so much so that I stuck to Disney movies with happier ending.

Since then, I have always loved the concept of horror, despite not watching them often. Even though they are terrifying and disturbing at times, I love a good jump scare and the feeling of now knowing what is going to come next. What I find is that I struggle to find one that I enjoy and am scared by as well. Films that are heavily focused on the supernatural element, I've realized aren't as interesting as a film that seems very realistic to the point where I could actually imaging it happening in real life. I love the psychological aspect of this certain genre as it leave me questioning and confused. The one thing that frightens me is dangerous children that look angelic. One film like this that I remember watching was 'Case 39'. It is similar to the 'Orphan' and has the same mysterious vibe.

What I find that makes me want to watch a horror movie is the advertisement. As the brief we have been set mentions having to create a poster and trailer, I believe that it is useful to look at examples in a way to help fuel some idea of my own.

All these posters have a sinister ambience to them that I am drawn to. My favourite has to be 'The Purge' as I remember when I first saw it, the artificial factor the his face freaked me out but also made me want to see what it was all about. I recently went to go and watch 'IT' as the poster and correlating trailer looked fascinating. Clowns have always spooked me out and the child with the balloon appeared captivating. Having now watched it, I can say it was as good as it was made out to be. Lastly, 'The Possession'. The concept of the hand in the most is probably the most gruesome but I believe that it sums up the film perfectly. The level of detail on the poster is something I aim to achieve in mine too.

My favourite horror trailer is for the film "Don't Breathe". The intro quickly captivated me and I felt like the storyline was explain well, not too vague or too telling it reveals the whole story, something I hope to recreate in my own work. I like the colour of the videography and that it has the black outs as the darkness automatic creates a sense of suspense. It quickly gains pace the further we get into to match the audience level of tension whilst still having slow moments to focus of certain sense, mimicking that feeling of shock. Overall, it came together so well, that I went to go and watch it.

With this project, I am excited to develop on my creativity. I love being able to spend time on make a piece of work and making it the best version that it can possibly be. I think the group work aspect of the project will challenge me as I tend to find comfort in doing things alone and having all my ideas reflect in my work. In a group atmosphere, its all about team work and being open to each others thought, which is what makes it so different AS. Nevertheless, I believe that I will overcome this and do good in this task.