2012 Teaser Trailer

The trailer begins with the production titles Columbia. Accompanying the production titles is eerie sounding background music. We then see the first shot of the Himalayan Mountains where we hear a loud drumming noise at a constant tempo in the background along with the eerie music. The next shot shows a monk running up a mountain towards the temple > The next shows the monk running towards the temple from a different more close up angel the drumming noise is joined by the sound of a bell chiming the two sounds are out of sync so one drum goes and then the bell goes. The next shot shows the monk bursting through ht doors of the temple there is a sense of urgency in the trailer. It then cuts to a shot of another monk sounding the bell that we hear earlier in the trailer however this bell is out of sync with the others making three separate background drumming noises one after the other constantly repeating. You can also see flags in the background that are blowing violently showing there is a lot of wind this is a symbol of things to come.

The screen then fades to black and the text ‘how would the governments of our planet’ it then cuts to another shot of the monk banging the bell and in the background the shot of a mountain, which could be Mount Everest. The screen then cuts to black again and the text ‘prepare six billion people’ appears this is linked to the text seen earlier. This is like the other trailers we have analysed where text is put into the trailer intermittent with shots from the film. The text is normally put in to explain a little more about the trailer. There are more background sounds of about five different drums all out of sync joined by the sound of a symbol at fast pace slowly getting louder and faster building up to a crescendo. There is another shot of the priest from a different angle banging the bell. We have not been shown any other parts of the film and are not sure about what is happening. It then cuts to another piece of text saying ‘the end of the world?’ this piece of text has a question mark on the end symbolising the end of the sentence that has been shown. The music at this point is hectic with lost so different sounds playing it is hard to identify what sounds there are.

There is then a shot of the mountain being covered in water this is showing the end of the world as we can only guess that the entire planet is covered in water. The water is filling over the mountains showing that nothing to tall will stand in its way we then see another shot of the monk looking onto the distance it is obvious he has seen his impending death. The next shot show the temple bathed in water and completely destroyed the music then crescendos and stops as the screen cuts to black again. The text ‘they wouldn’t’ then appears on screen implying that the government’s would not warn the public and it would be a disaster of biblical proportions. There is then a large drum sound and the title 2012 appears on the screen it then fades out and the text ‘find out the truth appears’ the trailer is playing on the concept that the governments of the world would perform a cover-up if they knew that the end of the world was coming.

This analysis was written by Tom Bowman

Audience Research

In the commercial world of Film making it is important to know your target audience. The reason why it is so important to know the target audience is because it will help when deciding what content is to be included. For example, an older audience may prefer a different editing style to a younger audience. This means that there must be a certain understanding of your target audience i.e. what film genres they like, type of filming style, editing style etc. This understanding will ultimately mean a better revenue than if you came up with a story and tried to advertise without any knowledge of your target audience.

Tom researched into Horror audiences and concluded that the target audience for most contemporary horror films is roughly aged between 18 - 24. He used the following graph below, sourced from the 'national metro', to come to this conclusion:
As seen on the graph, 48% of horror film consumers are aged between 18 - 24. If this age group was ignored when producing and advertising a horror film a massive amount of revenue could be lost unless it was gained from the other age groups. This is highly unlikely, though, since there is a significant age gap between all of them.

We were then left with the decision of whether to go for a specific target audience or a more broad target audience. One of the advantages of having a more specific target audience is that it can be more tailor made. This means that filmmakers and marketing directors do not have to worry about appealing to a wider group of tastes. However, one of the disadvantages of having a smaller target audience is that you may not make as much money as you would if you had a bigger audience to appeal to. An example of a film that primarily appealed to a small audience was 'Tormented'. This film, released in Britain May 2009, was aimed at teens and only grossed, according to 'the numbers', $ 452,479. This is a small amount compared to some horrors which went for a wider audience such as 'The Amityville Horror' which grossed $ 108,047,131. This is considerably more than than 'Tormented' which could be attributed to the fact that 'The Amityville Horror' appealed to a much larger audience. However, it has to be noted that this was not the only factor causing 'The Amityville Horror' to gross more. 'The Amityville Horror' had a bigger budget and, as such, a higher production value. It also had more money spent on its advertising ($35,000,000). Furthermore, American films are generally more successful than British films clearly demonstrated by 'Tormented' not getting an American release. Nevertheless, even British horror films like '28 Days Later', which grossed $82,719,885, with a larger target audience tend to be more successful.

Finally we decided to have an audience falling within the 15-24 age category because this age bracket are the most frequent horror film viewers. This means that we will be aiming to get a 15 certificate so we can have mature themes included.

Amityville Horror Trailer Analysis

The trailer begins by using the diegetic sound of gunshots to establish its threatening atmosphere. The screen remains black and the audience is focused upon these menacing sounds creating a sense of curiosity on the viewer’s behalf. The trailer is then kicked to life by the sound of a television switching on accompanied by a quick distortion on screen; this makes the events appear factual because its being presented as a television broadcast. The grainy black and white picture also establishes the time period of the events in addition to accentuating the sinister feel of the trailer because of the harsh contrast between the blacks and whites.

The editing is quick with the sound of razors on violins prompting a numerous amount of cuts. A lot of information is transmitted in this opening sequence. There are close-ups of newspaper headlines, one reading ‘possessed’.

There are also interviews with police officers who narrate the action which is happening on screen giving the details of the horrific events “I have never seen anything like that…” The non-diegetic sound of a low pitch instrument (most possibly a drum or a bass guitar) accompanies the diegetic sound casting and continuing the overall ominous tone. Throughout this sequence, and the trailer, the text fades onto the screen almost like it is slowly condensing giving the trailer another depth of tone; a cold and eerie one.

The purpose of this opening sequence is to establish the threat before introducing the helpless to it.

Once a familiar style title, which helps the continuity of the piece, informs the audience that the ‘Luta Family’ has moved into the house we are presented with a home video of the Luta family moving in. The smaller square aspect ratio of the film and the sound of active film reels once again emphasize the time period that the piece is set in.

This would be a happy and perhaps comfortable sequence for the audience if it were not for the distortion made to the sound of laughing children. It makes it a more disturbing experience because the symbol for innocence, children, have been made into an unsettling reflection upon the house. This sequence serves to set up the family whilst foreshadowing their sinister fate.

After seeing the home video we enter the final part of the trailer. This is characterized by the mix of diegetic and non-diegetic sound. For example, the sound of lighting and screaming is mixed with the amplifying sound of violins. It is interesting to note that nature (explicably weather) is used to reflect the atmosphere and emotions of the characters (pathetic fallacy). In the home video the weather was calm and sunny (almost representing the calm before the storm). The use of quick cuts, usually in time with flashes of lighting, quickens the pace of the trailer intensifying the threat through the action taking place on screen. We see a variety of frightening images, for example: arms appearing out of a bath, strange pale eyes, a face of what would seem a dead man etc.

What is a Teaser Trailer?

This analysis was made by Joshua Reeves

AKM Music for Copyright Free Music

AKM Music

For my animatic the music I used consisted of the music by the Ink Spots and some music that I made on Garageband, a program that comes with every Apple Macintosh system to create music by mixing copyright free tracks with the ability to make your own music electronically. This worked efficiently enough for just the animatic, however, I wasn’t completely pleased with the outcome, as Garageband didn’t supply all the things I needed to create a convincing horror track full of sinister tones and sharp audio. For instance, it wasn’t really possible to create the eerie backwards drums effective I wanted, nor was it possible to create the manic arrangement of shrill violins rising to a crescendo. As a result I went scouting for copyright free music tracks, and they would be able to supply the sound I wanted which I could use in my project without the risk of crossing copyright laws.

I came across a site named AKM music. This is the first thing you’ll read on its homepage:

‘Welcome to AKM MUSIC: the UK’s number one producer of high quality Copyright Free Music / Royalty Free Music.

Our music is sold and used worldwide as producers in the media industry see the benefits of using pre-cleared Copyright Free Music / Royalty Free Music in their productions.

Our simple no restriction licence allows you to use the music on all commercial projects and the music can be purchased as CDs, CD Roms or MP3 instant downloads.’

Furthermore it continues to say:
‘We believe that our Royalty Free Music library has grown into one of the finest in the UK on the strength of the music we produce. Over the last 15 years we have maintained such a high standard because of the quality of composers we invite to be part of our library. We only accept composers with a proven track record in producing music for media and who can deliver top quality productions.’

The site delivers what it promises as it has a wide range of track collections, from theatrical scores, to romance and comedies, to thrillers and horrors, to sound effects to urban fusion, orchestral symphonies and rock and roll ballads. Also compared to any other site I found, the site offers the most reasonable prices for the tracks, as with any other site if I wanted to get music that was completely copyright free and not just copyright owned for a year or so, it would occasionally cost in the region of £500.

I found the horror soundtrack on the website, sampled it and felt that it wouldn’t be appropriate for our trailer, and so I suggested it to both Tom and Josh for use in our trailer. http://www.akmmusic.co.uk/musicdetails.php?transactioncurrency=GBP&s=0&id=501

The Horror soundtrack cost us £40 in total to purchase, as it was £34 for the CD and around £8 for the delivery. Below is a copy of the e-mail received by AKM music after placing my order:

Thank you for your order just placed via our web site www.akmmusic.co.uk

Name : Jacob Merrick-Wolf

Transaction Reference Number : ********

Transaction Date : 2010-02-24

Transaction Time : 18:45:59

Transaction Amount : 40.96

Please keep this email for your reference

CD ORDERS

If you have purchased a CD or CDs an email will be sent to your email address detailing delivery times.

TRACK DOWNLOADS : After submitting your order you would have been taken to a page informing you that your transaction was successful. On this page your track selection would be available for you to instantly download by right clicking and saving the file onto your computer. The track selection is always in a blue font. If you have failed to do this, don't worry , simply send us an email with your transaction number and we can send your track by email .If you experience any other problems please email akm@akmmusic.co.uk or call 01926 864068 You are registered to use the music on your productions from the time of purchase. A receipt will be sent to your email address or despatched with your goods.

Thank you for your order

Best Regards

AKM Music

After the track arrived we place dthe music tracks on our music library as mp3s for use in our trailer. Eventually Josh used the muic from track 2 ‘The End’ where there are many sharp crescendo’s as well as dark sinister tones that aren’t too stereotypical and have the feel of a haunted house film that has a psychological element to the paranormal activity. Rather than something like Ghostbusters.

Choosing the Song : Ink Spots - Maybe

We wanted to include a song in our trailer that would add to the overall quality of the soundtrack and give the trailer more authenticity as a professional looking and sounding production. In our mise-en-scene we knew that we could include a gramophone that belonged to an old house, and so we had to think of a song that would sound old and creepy which could be used for the teaser trailer production that plays as both diegetic and non diegetic sound. It's tempo and rhythm also needed to match the pace of the scene as it builds tension.

I suggested that we used a song by the old 40s group The Ink Spots called 'Maybe', which would play as a song from the microphone and echo throughout the house and be used as iconography for the production. There's a couple of advantages towards using old music like this, being that firstly it works well with the conventions of a horror movie where a sense of history and ageing in a house gives it a scarier dynamic. In a more practical sense, we were allowed to use the song because its over 50 years old meaning that its copyright now belongs to the public and so it was viable for use in our non-profitable project. The song itself also has the potential to be very creepy, containing minor tones and when applied to a sinister situation it brings out the foreboding element in it to a unsettling degree. The song's pace is also very slow, meaning that it was perfect for a teaser trailer where we wanted to use a single abridged scene, rather than a bunch of fast paced cuts.

Josh even went on to examine the lyrics more closely, and found that the song applies to our story synopsis very well, making it perfect for use in our teaser trailer.

Name Ideas for the Magazine

An important part of producing the magazine is the brand name, as some words can be alot more eye-catching than others, and some words carry a lot more connotation with them, so its important to make sure that we come up with an idea that has ll the right connotations, being cinematography, theatre, films, horrors and exclusivity.

We wanted to think of an name that had the same impact as other popular film magazine brands like Empire magazine and Total Film.

The name ideas that we came up with for the magazine are:
Icon

Ambient

Shutter

Aperture

Motion

Focus

Rushes

Action

Out of those listed above the favourite given from informal audience feedback were Icon, Motion and Focus. Amongst the team we decided that Motion was the best out of the three, as Motion defined the point of cinema and film, where as Icon could be quite ambiguous and for the font we wanted to use (Telegraphico) Focus as a title looks too similar to the production titles of Focus Media. Motion was also around the right number of characters to make a fair spread and size in dimensions across the top of the page of the front cover.