Wednesday, 17 November 2010
Production
For my production task, I have to create a poster and DVD cover for my film. I will start by analysing existing posters and covers for teen horror films, and from my analysis I will be able to create a professional looking poster and cover on Photoshop.
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
Poster Analysis
I will be looking at the two posters for the films I have analysed earlier, which are Jennifer's Body and Sorority Row.
The psoter for Jennifer's body looks similar to the DVD cover, although there are a few differences, such as the font used and where the images are placed.
The font used for the title of the film is bold and eye catching, and also uses a font that is generally associated with schools. This fits in with the setting of the poster, which is a classroom, and the fact that Jennifer is a student. As the colour of the writing is red, it could symbolise blood, or terror.
The main colours of the image are dark colours like black and dark green, which are main colours of the horror genre. The background colours could signify mystery. The colour of the text contrasts against the background, and makes it stand out.
The main image of the poster is the picture of Jennfier, which is the same picture as the one on the DVD cover. The reason they use the same image may be to make the film easier to recognise from a first glance, but also shows the genre and target audience of the film easily.
The main difference between the DVD cover and the poster are that the chalkboard in the background has reviews of the film on it, which the DVD cover did not. The font the reviews are written it further shows the classroom theme of the poster.
The poster for Sorority Row is also similar to the DVD cover, as it uses the same main image and font, although there are a few differences.
The main image is the same, and is also positioned in the same way. The main difference between the main images is that there are no pictures weapons used on the poster, whereas the DVD cover has a picture of a bloodstained weapon. This may be because they did not want to give out too much information about the film on a poster which was most likely made before the film was released.
The main colour of the poster is black, to make the whole image look mysterious. The picture is signifigantly darker than the one used on the DVD cover. The red and orange colours on the poster are much brighter, however.
The font used for the poster is the same as the one on the cover, so it is easier to recognise and shows that there is a main font for the film.It also has the same effects added to it, to make the font look weathered.
The font used for the title of the film is bold and eye catching, and also uses a font that is generally associated with schools. This fits in with the setting of the poster, which is a classroom, and the fact that Jennifer is a student. As the colour of the writing is red, it could symbolise blood, or terror.
The main colours of the image are dark colours like black and dark green, which are main colours of the horror genre. The background colours could signify mystery. The colour of the text contrasts against the background, and makes it stand out.
The main image of the poster is the picture of Jennfier, which is the same picture as the one on the DVD cover. The reason they use the same image may be to make the film easier to recognise from a first glance, but also shows the genre and target audience of the film easily.
The main difference between the DVD cover and the poster are that the chalkboard in the background has reviews of the film on it, which the DVD cover did not. The font the reviews are written it further shows the classroom theme of the poster.
The main image is the same, and is also positioned in the same way. The main difference between the main images is that there are no pictures weapons used on the poster, whereas the DVD cover has a picture of a bloodstained weapon. This may be because they did not want to give out too much information about the film on a poster which was most likely made before the film was released.
The main colour of the poster is black, to make the whole image look mysterious. The picture is signifigantly darker than the one used on the DVD cover. The red and orange colours on the poster are much brighter, however.
The font used for the poster is the same as the one on the cover, so it is easier to recognise and shows that there is a main font for the film.It also has the same effects added to it, to make the font look weathered.
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
Analysis of 2 DVD Covers
I will be analysing two DVD covers from teen horror films, and comment on certain aspects of it such as fonts, imagery, typography, etc.
Jennifer's Body
The first cover I looked at was for Jennifer's Body. The font used for the title is bold, and sans-serif, to make it look more modern. The contrasting colours of the text, white and red, can relate vaguely to the story, as well as the slight whethered effect on the end of the text. The white could represent innocence, since at the start of the movie we think of Jennifer as a normal person, but that is not who she really is. The colour red can signify blood, as it is a film of the teen horror genre. Other colours used on the cover, such as dark green and black, can also represent the horror genre.
The imagery on the front cover mainly focuses on Jennifer, as she is thew main character. Another erason for having a focus on Jennifer is that she is considered attractive by the target audience, which is teenage males. The is backed up my the fact that her pose could be portrayed as seductive. The classroom setting of the picture also makes it relevant to the target audience as they can relate ot the setting. There are also aspects of horror in the image, such as blood coming from Jennifer's mouth, the severed hand next to her, and the blood on the board in the background. This gives off a horror vibe, so you can easily tell the genre of the film without knowing anything about it. The blood from Jennifer's mouth makes you suspicious of her role as a character, but the amount is subtle enough to not make her look unattractive. The imagery on the back of the cover shows other characters and settings in the film, and shows a variety of the settings to make the film look like it has a high budget.
The text on the front of the cover, which says "She's got a taste for bad boys", can be taken in a sexual way, again appealing to the target audience. The words used on the back of the cover also used to draw in the target audience, as phrases such as "sexy as hell" are used.
Sorority Row
The second cover I looked at was for Sorority Row. The font used for the title is a simple, serif font. The colour white contrasts against the black background, which makes it stand out. The font also has a slight weathered effect, like Jennifer's Body. This effect was possibly used because of the setting of the film. The main colours of the cover are black and red, which are common colours for the horror genre.
The image on the front cover shows all of the main characters, and also has weapons on the front, which can show that it is part of the horror genre. The weapons also have blood on them to also show that is a horror film, and may also hint at the plot of the film. There are also rocks in the background of the picture, which can help set the mood and scene of the cover. It gives the picture a dark look. All of the cahracters in the picture are posing to appeal to the target audience, but they also have a serious look to fit with the theme. The images on the back show different scenes of the film, and there is also a large picture at the bottom showing a dead body. This is an important image as it is a main point in the movie, and also shows the horror genre.
The language used on the cover of Sorority Row contrasts with that of Jennifer's Body.At the top of the cover there are star ratings and quotes from reviews the film has got, which are put there to give the impression that the film is goos and worth watching. There isn't any use of informal words on tha back like Jennifer's Body, which suggests that it could be trying to appeal to a different target audience.
Jennifer's Body
The imagery on the front cover mainly focuses on Jennifer, as she is thew main character. Another erason for having a focus on Jennifer is that she is considered attractive by the target audience, which is teenage males. The is backed up my the fact that her pose could be portrayed as seductive. The classroom setting of the picture also makes it relevant to the target audience as they can relate ot the setting. There are also aspects of horror in the image, such as blood coming from Jennifer's mouth, the severed hand next to her, and the blood on the board in the background. This gives off a horror vibe, so you can easily tell the genre of the film without knowing anything about it. The blood from Jennifer's mouth makes you suspicious of her role as a character, but the amount is subtle enough to not make her look unattractive. The imagery on the back of the cover shows other characters and settings in the film, and shows a variety of the settings to make the film look like it has a high budget.
The text on the front of the cover, which says "She's got a taste for bad boys", can be taken in a sexual way, again appealing to the target audience. The words used on the back of the cover also used to draw in the target audience, as phrases such as "sexy as hell" are used.
Sorority Row
The image on the front cover shows all of the main characters, and also has weapons on the front, which can show that it is part of the horror genre. The weapons also have blood on them to also show that is a horror film, and may also hint at the plot of the film. There are also rocks in the background of the picture, which can help set the mood and scene of the cover. It gives the picture a dark look. All of the cahracters in the picture are posing to appeal to the target audience, but they also have a serious look to fit with the theme. The images on the back show different scenes of the film, and there is also a large picture at the bottom showing a dead body. This is an important image as it is a main point in the movie, and also shows the horror genre.
The language used on the cover of Sorority Row contrasts with that of Jennifer's Body.At the top of the cover there are star ratings and quotes from reviews the film has got, which are put there to give the impression that the film is goos and worth watching. There isn't any use of informal words on tha back like Jennifer's Body, which suggests that it could be trying to appeal to a different target audience.
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Evidence of Wider Reading
To look into the teen horror genre further, I will look at reviews for other films of this genre, and quote the similarities between these films.
The first film I looked at was 'Fear of the Dark', which has an overall rating of 5.4 on IMDB. This rating is similar to both 'Sorority Row' and 'Jennifer's Body', which got ratings of 5.1 and 5.3 respectively. The reviews of this film indicate that this film is made for an audience around the ages of 12-15, which is also backed up by it's rating of PG-13. A reviwer on IMDB wrote, ""Fear of the Dark" is directed for a younger audience that likes horror and that is obvious because there isn't a single gory moment in the movie but gore is replaced by some jump-out of your seat scenes." Despite not having any gore in the film, there are still creepy part of the film that keep it in the horror genre. This could be used in my film if I don't want to make the film too violent.
Another movie I looked at was 'Scream', which has a rating of 7.2. This rating is much higher than the ratings of other films I have looked at so far. The film is an 18, and the main characters are all teenagers, which shows that the target audience is older teenagers and young adults. A reviewer wrote, ""Scream" is the mother of all teen slasher films. From the opening sequence to the somewhat silly closing cliffhanger, it is one of the scariest productions of the past several years." If I were to make my film more gory, I should look at elements from more popular films such as 'Scream' and use them in my film to make it better.
The third film I looked at was 'Cry_Wolf', which recieved a rating of 5.8. As with 'Fear of the Dark', this film also has a low age rating, which is 12A. Despite being aimed at a younger audience, this film has a few unexpected twists, which as been mentioned by some reviewers. For example, this reviewer worte, "There was another small twist at the end that kind of caught me off guard. The movie is constructed slickly enough to convince you that you've got the mystery solved, but the twists are just subtle enough to throw you off the trail and reveal that you're not as smart as you think you are." Adding twists to a film makes it more entertaining, as the film will be less boring and predicable. I could try and include elements of this in my film to make it more interesting.
Overall, the teen horro genre has films with a lot of mixed reviews, although the majority of films seem to get mediocre reviews. Also, a lot of films for the older teens include a lot of swearing and gore, and films for a younger audience are focused on more creepy aspects which are still considered part of the horror genre. For my film, I could try to add a bit of both aspects to make my film less predictable, but also appeal to a teenage audience.
The first film I looked at was 'Fear of the Dark', which has an overall rating of 5.4 on IMDB. This rating is similar to both 'Sorority Row' and 'Jennifer's Body', which got ratings of 5.1 and 5.3 respectively. The reviews of this film indicate that this film is made for an audience around the ages of 12-15, which is also backed up by it's rating of PG-13. A reviwer on IMDB wrote, ""Fear of the Dark" is directed for a younger audience that likes horror and that is obvious because there isn't a single gory moment in the movie but gore is replaced by some jump-out of your seat scenes." Despite not having any gore in the film, there are still creepy part of the film that keep it in the horror genre. This could be used in my film if I don't want to make the film too violent.
Another movie I looked at was 'Scream', which has a rating of 7.2. This rating is much higher than the ratings of other films I have looked at so far. The film is an 18, and the main characters are all teenagers, which shows that the target audience is older teenagers and young adults. A reviewer wrote, ""Scream" is the mother of all teen slasher films. From the opening sequence to the somewhat silly closing cliffhanger, it is one of the scariest productions of the past several years." If I were to make my film more gory, I should look at elements from more popular films such as 'Scream' and use them in my film to make it better.
The third film I looked at was 'Cry_Wolf', which recieved a rating of 5.8. As with 'Fear of the Dark', this film also has a low age rating, which is 12A. Despite being aimed at a younger audience, this film has a few unexpected twists, which as been mentioned by some reviewers. For example, this reviewer worte, "There was another small twist at the end that kind of caught me off guard. The movie is constructed slickly enough to convince you that you've got the mystery solved, but the twists are just subtle enough to throw you off the trail and reveal that you're not as smart as you think you are." Adding twists to a film makes it more entertaining, as the film will be less boring and predicable. I could try and include elements of this in my film to make it more interesting.
Overall, the teen horro genre has films with a lot of mixed reviews, although the majority of films seem to get mediocre reviews. Also, a lot of films for the older teens include a lot of swearing and gore, and films for a younger audience are focused on more creepy aspects which are still considered part of the horror genre. For my film, I could try to add a bit of both aspects to make my film less predictable, but also appeal to a teenage audience.
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Analysis of Opening Sequences
The two opening sequences I watched were from films "Sorority Row' and 'Jennifer's Body'.
Both films start with an ominous setting, which is a dark house. At the start of 'Sorority Row', the setting is revealed as a teenage party, which gets rid of the ominous feeling. However, at the start of 'Jennifer's Body', the setting is slightly more mysterious as it shows one of the main characters in their room, but there is also a creepy person staring through the window, which builds up mystery.
The main characters in both films are teenagers, which is so the target audience of the films can relate to them. The character's personalities range from average, nice girls to girls that are more rude and outgoing. At the start of both films, the antagonists aren't really shown but the meaner characters could be seen as the antagonists.
The language used in both films is very informal, as swearing and slang is used on both. For example, in 'Jennifer's Body' the word "jello" is used as slang for jealous. The main characters also swear at each other, despite being friends.
Both films use dark lighting at parts which are meant to scare the viewer, such as the part at the start of 'Sorority Row' where Megan gets killed. Parts of 'Jennifer's Body' also use dark lighting. such as scenes in the bar.
The music used in tense parts of the film usually have an ominous build up, and then suddenly become louder when something happen so it scares the viewer. As with the dark lighting, the music is also meant to scare people at the part where Mega is murdered.
Both films start with an ominous setting, which is a dark house. At the start of 'Sorority Row', the setting is revealed as a teenage party, which gets rid of the ominous feeling. However, at the start of 'Jennifer's Body', the setting is slightly more mysterious as it shows one of the main characters in their room, but there is also a creepy person staring through the window, which builds up mystery.
The main characters in both films are teenagers, which is so the target audience of the films can relate to them. The character's personalities range from average, nice girls to girls that are more rude and outgoing. At the start of both films, the antagonists aren't really shown but the meaner characters could be seen as the antagonists.
The language used in both films is very informal, as swearing and slang is used on both. For example, in 'Jennifer's Body' the word "jello" is used as slang for jealous. The main characters also swear at each other, despite being friends.
Both films use dark lighting at parts which are meant to scare the viewer, such as the part at the start of 'Sorority Row' where Megan gets killed. Parts of 'Jennifer's Body' also use dark lighting. such as scenes in the bar.
The music used in tense parts of the film usually have an ominous build up, and then suddenly become louder when something happen so it scares the viewer. As with the dark lighting, the music is also meant to scare people at the part where Mega is murdered.
Wednesday, 22 September 2010
Institutional Contexts
The companies that helped created 'Sorority Row' are Karz Entertainment, and Summit Entertainment. Other films made by Karz Entertainment, tend to be from the Comedy or Romance genre, so a Teen Horror film is slightly different to other films made by this company. The other company, Summit Entertainment, has made many more films, a lot of which are of the Thrtiller genre. This seems to fit in more with the production of 'Sorority Row'.
The film had a budget estimated to be around $16 million, with an opening weekend gross of $5 million in the US and £780,000 in the UK.
The companies that helped create 'Jennifer's Body' are Fox Atomic, Dune Entertainment and Hard C. Fox Atomic have helped produced mainly comady films, but also films such as '28 Weeks Later' and 'The HIlls Have Eyes II' which are both horror films. Dune Entertainment also helped in the production of 'The Hills Have Eyes II', as well as the prequel. Most of the other films created by Dune Entertainment are thriller films, which is similar to horror in some ways. Hard C have only worked on 'Jennifer's Body', which shows that it is a small company.
This film also had an estimated budget of $16 million, but it made more money on opening weekend than 'Sorority Row'. The gross in the US was $6.8 million, and in the UK the gross was around £730,000 in the UK, which is less than 'Sorority Row' made in the UK.
The film had a budget estimated to be around $16 million, with an opening weekend gross of $5 million in the US and £780,000 in the UK.
The companies that helped create 'Jennifer's Body' are Fox Atomic, Dune Entertainment and Hard C. Fox Atomic have helped produced mainly comady films, but also films such as '28 Weeks Later' and 'The HIlls Have Eyes II' which are both horror films. Dune Entertainment also helped in the production of 'The Hills Have Eyes II', as well as the prequel. Most of the other films created by Dune Entertainment are thriller films, which is similar to horror in some ways. Hard C have only worked on 'Jennifer's Body', which shows that it is a small company.
This film also had an estimated budget of $16 million, but it made more money on opening weekend than 'Sorority Row'. The gross in the US was $6.8 million, and in the UK the gross was around £730,000 in the UK, which is less than 'Sorority Row' made in the UK.
Target Audience
From the information on IMDB, I can find out what the target audience for the two films I have decided to research, which are 'Sorority Row' and 'Jennifer's Body'.
These are the ratings for the film 'Sorority Row'. This graph shows the ratings given by different age groups, and different genders. From this graph, I can tell that the majority of people who have watched this film are male, as there are about five times as many ratings given by males. A reason for this could be at the main characters in this film are female. The graph also shows that females gave this film a higher rating than males, despite less females watching the film.
The target age group for this film is 18-29, as there are many more ratings from this age group than the others. This is because the film is rated as R (18 in the UK), which means that under 18s cannot watch it at cinemas, or purchase the DVD. The main characters are also around the age of 18, so the target audience can relate to the characters.
People who gave this films the lowest ratings are 30-45+ males. This could be bacuse they are not part of the target audience of the film, however the age group who rated it highest (45+ females) is also not part of the age range of the target audience. A reason for this is that the plot and characters can relate to females because they gave higher scores than males. On average, the under 18s gave the highest ratings, but this may be because younger people give less critisism that older people.
These are the ratings for the film 'Jennifer's Body'. This film has higher ratings than 'Sorority Row' on average, but the rating patterns are generally the same. This is because both of these filsm are teen horrors, with female main characters. As with 'Sorority Row', more males have watched this film than females, but they also rated the film lower than females. This film has also been watched mainly by the 18-29 age range, as they are the target audience.
The group of people that rated this film the lowest was surprisingly 18-29 males, which is the group of people who have watched this film the most. Most of the male scores for this film are similar, as they are all lower than the female scores. The score for males under 18 is only slightly lower than the one given by females, however.
The group of people who gave this film the highest ratings is tied between under 18 females and 18-29 females, which could be because they relate to the female main characters in the film. On average, the age group that gave the highest scores were from under 18s, which is the same as 'Sorority Row'.
From my analysis, I can see that both films have very similar ratings, as they are both from the same genre of film. This means that they also attract the same target audience, and both films will get the most ratings from that audience. Both films also got higher ratings from females, which suggests that the films is more suited towards females, despite many more males watching both films.
The target age group for this film is 18-29, as there are many more ratings from this age group than the others. This is because the film is rated as R (18 in the UK), which means that under 18s cannot watch it at cinemas, or purchase the DVD. The main characters are also around the age of 18, so the target audience can relate to the characters.
People who gave this films the lowest ratings are 30-45+ males. This could be bacuse they are not part of the target audience of the film, however the age group who rated it highest (45+ females) is also not part of the age range of the target audience. A reason for this is that the plot and characters can relate to females because they gave higher scores than males. On average, the under 18s gave the highest ratings, but this may be because younger people give less critisism that older people.
The group of people that rated this film the lowest was surprisingly 18-29 males, which is the group of people who have watched this film the most. Most of the male scores for this film are similar, as they are all lower than the female scores. The score for males under 18 is only slightly lower than the one given by females, however.
The group of people who gave this film the highest ratings is tied between under 18 females and 18-29 females, which could be because they relate to the female main characters in the film. On average, the age group that gave the highest scores were from under 18s, which is the same as 'Sorority Row'.
From my analysis, I can see that both films have very similar ratings, as they are both from the same genre of film. This means that they also attract the same target audience, and both films will get the most ratings from that audience. Both films also got higher ratings from females, which suggests that the films is more suited towards females, despite many more males watching both films.
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