Summary of Blog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJT9vOcjZpA&list=HL1331488342&feature=mh_lolz

Campaign Effectiveness

The film I will be analysing is 'The Last Exorcism'

I will be looking at the way that the 'campaign' are trying to create a consistent or coherent image of the film 'The Last Exorcism' to grab the audience.

This is the original trailer for 'The last Exorcism'  

• This trailer last for approximately 2 minutes and 3 seconds minus the advertisment at the beginning. 
• The trailer begins which a soundtrack which sounds like a church choir singing. We are then shown a house using an establishing shot which familarises the audience of where the excorism is going to take place which looks like a peaceful family home.
•  A voice over then starts where we see a character that we instantly believe that he will be the main character. The voice over is an explanation of what an exorcism is. The character is dressed up very smartly showing that he has a high status within the social class hieracrchy.
• As the trailer continues the soundtrack starts to loose its soothing harmony and sounds more like a ritual telling us an audience that something is about to go down hill making the audience feel tense.
• As the trailer continues we see fast pace editing when the man is talking about the bible and driving. We then see the pace gradually building up which gives us a fright before inter-titles saying 'Ivanwood, Louisanna, 2009' which might be the last exorcism that may have taken place. The reason for this may be that they are giving the audience more knowledge they may feel they need to know or understand.
• We are then introduced to another character who seems to be aggrevated and angry.  We then see a cut with a flash showing the boy acting violently by throwing something at the mans car. We then start to think why he did that making him a character we worry about.
• After that scene the soundtrack seems to having a mind grabbing noise where we hear a scary sound before it quickly comes to an end making us worried about what is happening at that point in time.
• We are then introduced with the billing block containing a bit about the company, which is unusal as this is common for being at the end rather than the intro or middle.
• There is then a quick cut of the area again before another inter title is shown which says 'Revened Cotton Marcus' who is the guy that we have seen a lot of on the trailer. The inter title carries on and goes on to say that 'h has performed over 47 exorcism' which is gives us a form of comfort as we think since he has done so many nothing will possibly go wrong. We then see a fade out shots making us wondering and worried about why we have been left on the cliff hanger.
• There is then an introduction between Cotton Marcus. The colouring of the scene suddenly changes to a red colour connoting something bad is going to happen before when we are introduced to another character. It then changes to another inter title saying 'This will be his last' which is a continuation of the other inter title shown previously. This inter title makes it clear to us that something bad is definately going to happen.
• A sound bridge then happens where the recent character starts explaining his story before we see a young girl who seems very upset we then feel very sympathic for her
• We then see a close up of the young girl on the floor, at this point we feel sympathic for her because she looks very scared and worried as we see her grip Cotton Marcus.
• Another inter title is then shown saying 'and producers of Dawn of the dead' we are instantly able to tell that the film will have some intense scenes in the Last Exorcism.
• We then see cuts with a combination of fast pace editing. We also saw the screen flash with a red colour which frightens us. The scene then ends with the girls neck twisting in an unusual way which makes the audience jump.
• As the audience we feel very sympathetic for the young girl especially after we see her dad crying and screaming 'no'. The trailer does not give so much information hence why it is being cut very fast.
• After the Exorcism has taken place we see a low key lighting of Cotton Marcus asking a 'Where is he now' we then get very suspicious to why it has gone so dark before we see the young girl and hear her reply 'In the fire'. We then see the scene speeding up as this happens it goes red which is linked to the 'fire' that the young girl spoke about. 
• The scene goes to show how the young girl has been affected by the exorcism by showing her in the dark almost like a shadow before we see her curled up in a position that is expected of a toddler when they are really upset and hurt. 
• The scene then jumps back to the part where she is walking in the corridor giving us a feeling that we are walking in her own shoes. This automatically scares us all and makes us wonder what is going to happen next due to hearing the creeks of the floor boards.
• Inter-titles then in a different colour which is red saying 'He preys.. On the flesh ..  Of the innocent' informing that she is in danger.
• The final scenes then speed up an awful lot making us jumpy. The use of colours were thought out very well as it fitted in perfectly with the inter titles. 
• We see the young girls father taking matters into his own hands and we are forced to assume that the exorcism did not go quite to plan. 
• At the ending we have a little reminder of religion telling us that he is not giving up, we notice this by seeing the cross and hearing Cotton Marcus praying very loudly.  
• Then we see and hear nothing for a little moment making us feel confident that it has been sorted. Suddenly we see the young girl in a strange position again leaving us to decide what we think actually happened. After that scene cuts we are finally introduced to the film. 

Trailer Summary: 
The trailer for this film it gives us enough information making it unquestionable due to us understanding what the film is about in such a short set of time. The most important thing for a trailer to do is to make sure it grabs the audiences attention. Trailers use a number of forms and conventions in the film they are promoting. In this horror trailer we see the suspense build and we are left as an audience to keep trying to guess what will happen in the end, however we wont be able to find out until we have watched the film. The Last Exorcism shows typical traits for a horror film which has a vulnerable young girl who has been possessed. While the trailer is playing we see inter-titles saying 'Reverend Marcus Cotton has performed over 47 exorcisms' which gives a rest of mind as the audience feel safe as they know that he has performed an exorcism before we are then introduced to the character 'Marcus', again another inter-title saying 'This will be his last' suddenly removing our calm conscious as we know something is definitely going to go wrong. We are then introduced to the characters who have been affected which included extreme close ups with a hand held camera which was very touching as we could sympathise with her as the young girl was crying. A black background, Flashes and fast pace editing starts when it starts going wrong, which adds to the storyline. When Marcus asked 'Wheres Mary' he gets a reply saying 'in the fire' from this point on we start seeing flashes of fiery colours portraying danger which was very frightening. This all creates suspense for the audience. However the trailer did not have enough information about the release date.

 Teaser Trailer: 

This is the teaser trailer for The Last Exorcism which last for 30 seconds. This trailer looks a lot more natural due to the specific elements and scenes chosen which makes us feel as if we are part of the film. Within this short amount of time we still managed to get some information however it wasn't enough to satisfy the needs of the audiences which makes it a good teaser trailer. This idea is used to tempt the audience so that they will want to see the film.

• The intro of the trailer shows the house lit up with red lights which conottes danger and instantly worries the audience. 
• We then see a character who is requesting for an exorcism for his daughter which automatically tells us that he has been worried for a long time and matters seem to be getting worse. 
• We then see a quick glimpse of the young girl before the scene changes with an affect of the young girl being axed. 
• The scene then shows the exorcism taking place with close ups of the young girl looking very worried and frightened. 
• After another inter-title shows we see her after the excorcism has taken place which shows her in a state which was completely different to how she was before the exorcism. 
• Before a new scene was shown an iter-title would appear to try and distract us by taking our minds off what we had just seen preparing us for something else. 
• When the teaser trailer finally ends we hear 'Oh My God' which leaves the audience worried and frightened as we are eager to know what he was shocked about, we then see the young girl which tells us that the exorcism did not go to plan.

The Last Exorcism Poster 

The poster shown for this film is a very good poster. The colours used for this poster has been thought out very well, although it is very dull and blunt it has a strong brand identity. The text colour are very mind grabbing and comes at you drawing your attention to what they want you to focus on. The text saying 'If you believe in God you must believe in the devil' seems almost as if it is a fact, even though the font size is smaller it still has an affect on the audience. The background of the poster looks cloudy and worrying, then looking at the ceiling we can tell something is going to go terribly wrong. 

The teaser poster for The Last Exorcism

Looking at the teaser poster compared to the original poster looks a lot more daring, due to the way the young girl has been positioned which is very bizarre, she also looks very grubby, dirty and more or less dead. The shadow behind her looks very mysterious and we start to question ourselves why it seems so sinister and frightening. Looking at the text saying 'believe in him' links to the cross and the little girl as it makes us think that that's the consequence for not believing him and also the way the cross has been positioned directly above her looks like it is going to stab her right in her heart implying the power of God is very strong saying that he can take your life away as he has given you the breath of life, however people might see it as the devil pushing you to an extent that you cannot be saved or just a battle against the good and the evil, God and the devil.

The original poster was banned due to the complaints that were given, it was said to have been as distressing and highly unsuitable for the public display. However the poster looks a lot better with the blood on the dress as it linked to what goes on inside the film when the girl kills all the animals without knowing. 

Connotation and Denotation on Movie posters & Magazine covers

The Orphan 

Denotation of 'Orphan' 

The Orphan 

Connotation of 'Orphan'

Analysing the 'Orphan' movie poster we can instantly identify that something is going to go wrong. The reason for this is due to the main colour that is being used on this poster which is red. We as an audience are aware that red is usually connected to bad, dangerous things as it connotes blood, danger and evil acts. 

The writing for the main film looks as if has been violently scratched, however the font style tricks the audience as the text looks like a young girls hand writing. The white colour has also been carefully chosen due to it being very vibrant and bright it automatically stands out against the red which connotes that the young girls behaviour switches at times she may act sweet and angelic and then acts like a devil. 

Looking at the tag line we start to wonder and think what is it that could possibly be her 'secret' as it says 'You'll' which engages the audience and keeps them intrigued about the film. 

The little dark house in the background looks scary a eerie which looks almost as if it is fading into the background with a blazing and illuminated spark of red informing us that that is where something dreadful will take place. 

The image of the young girl takes up majority of the poster so that we are familiar with the main character, the way she seems to glow in the mist of darkness connotes that she is the main problem. In conjunction with her image we then start to focus more on the expression on her face as she hasn't got any but a straight forward look which is almost uncomfortable as it feels like we are being forced to make eye contact with her. Going back to the title of the film and the image of the girl we then start to make sense of the film title as we see the girl is standing alone meaning that she hasn't got anybody. 

Looking at the additional information at the top that states 'There's something wrong with Esther.' We are positive that the film will be based on trying to find out what is wrong with her and this will not be easy.

The Crazies

Denotation of 'Crazies'

The Crazies

Connotation of 'Crazies'

The main image above has been photographed using a good effective composition giving us a weird perspective so that the houses behind the young girl creates a frame the surrounds her which is bright and looks like something you will see in a film when someone is about to cross over after death. 

The image is extended to the sky where the main title is written in white which is fading and looks like a font you will see associated with prisons which is stencilled on orange uniforms. Looking at the sky carefully you can see a triangle shape which looks like an arrow which could show that that is where all the other crazy people hide which is very mysterious. 

This is then followed by the tag line which is written in black which acts like a rib to the title of the film as we as an audience feel that it is continuous. The image uses ambiguity because the sky is not beaming and clear which is not normal however we can see the clouds indicates a whirlwind which changes our mood. 

Below we can see credits which are written with a small size font along with the other logos. The yellow tape which is associated with chemicals as a sign of danger has the release date in a bold font which resembles danger almost warning the audience to be ready for what they are going to be seeing when they watch the film. The pun used on the word 'catch' links to the tag line and the word is mainly associated with illnesses as you can tell by the symbol on the tape which is a gas mask symbol being you should protect yourself. 

Magazines:

 

Trailers: Forms and Conventions

Horror Forms and Conventions : Trailers

Trailers tend to have a number of typical elements that are used to attract its audiences, these elements consist of:

• Trailers usually tend to last for up about 2-3mins, however teaser trailers tend to last up to 30-90 seconds. The reason for this is so that they are not giving too much information to the audience. When looking at both trailers of a particular film we tend to notice that scenes may be repeated which makes the audience intrigued meaning that they will have to watch the film to know what happens.
•  

Examples; Woman in black teaser trailer lasting for 47 seconds.

Example 2: The official trailer lasting for 1 minute and 42 seconds.

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• Fast pace editing 
• Fast cutting
  
• Shots being thought out very well, meaning that the shots have been placed there for a reason, as every shot are purposely linked to the scene being showed. This may be done to point out something to the audience
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• Range of visual styles; for example if a hand-held camera was used in a scene this connotes that it was more of a natural scene rather than a stylised scene or sometimes it may have other styles such as classic horror styles, horrors that promote realism etc.

Example; Blair witch project has elements of hand held camera being used.

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• A focus on dramatic high points for example where conflict, confrontation or tragedy are portrayed, the audience familiarise themselves with the roles being played by the characters. This tends to happen with scenes where there is conflict, death etc.
• A break with continuity filming principles this consist of jump cuts, the most grabbing scenes of a film making the audience more engaged which is very familiar with scenes were something bad is about to happen.
• In a trailer the scenes shown are never put in order from its original film. They tend to form an unfinished story whereby the audience will want to know more about what will happen.  

Example: In the trailer of insidious the trailer doesn't tell us what happens in the film and the reason why. They only showed some of the processes that occurred in the film but not in its correct order so that the story line is not given away completely.

• We also see character traits, especially of the main characters so that the audience are familiar with the characters before seeing the film this usually tends to be the bad person, the character being haunted, the character who saves the victim etc. 
• In a trailer there tends to be a main 'three act structure' that is used, this includes
  "Act 1" - This lays out the premise of the story. "Act 2" - this drives the story further to another level and usually ends with a dramatic climax which is very powerful. "Act 3" - This often consists of visual montage of strong, powerful and emotional moments from the film that will grab the audiences attention quickly this may also contain cast details.
• Heavy emphasis on close-ups, this is essential information due to the main fact that close-ups can be understood a lot easier by the audience in comparison to a long shot, this is also a necessity in fast-paced trailers.
• Special effects are also used, this consists of slow motion, freeze frames, fades, wipes, fast pans etc.
• Voice overs are used to provide the main narrative link, for example the voice can explains what the audience sees.
• Character dialogue acts like a voice over, this is often used as a 'sound bridge' where we as an audience see the character speaking and then his or her voice continues as we see the shots related to what they are saying. This has the same function as a voice over but focuses more on narrative link between shots.
• Soundtracks tend to add to the scene this is essential this can be classed as mood music however themed songs may be used. 
• Voice overs and dialogue are also classed as soundtracks - They are mainly used as a narrative to explain to audience in case they are confused etc.
• Trailers are never shown in order compared to its original film.
• Captions (words over images) and Inter-titles (words between images) usually tends to provide details of stars, directors, previous films, similar films etc
• The typical length for a teaser trailer last for up to 30 -90 seconds and a full length trailer lasts for up to 2-3minutes.
• Trailers are direct messages addressed to cameras
• Trailers included important messages such as the day month and year of release

Example of a teaser trailer :

The teaser trailer for the Human Centipede 2

Length: The teaser trailer for the human centipede 2 uses the known forms and conventions for a trailer which is not revealing too much to the audience which is shown through 50 seconds.

What teasers do: A teaser is just to make the audience thirsty and hunger for more information about the film and what will happen. Teaser trailers usually tend to prepare the audience before the official trailer comes out nearer to the time of its release date.

Fast pace cutting and Sound: In this trailer we are introduced to the first human centipede film so that the audience are automatically aware that this is a continuation of the film. We start hearing loud music which goes with the theme along with this we hear groaning and tears before we see a cut which is . We also hear noises similar to a dog barking which implies that the character is sick and has no mercy. Just before the scene switches to the film that they are promoting we hear a loud cry screaming saying something that sounded like 'NO' this instantly makes us worried and we think what will happen next. While the trailer for the Human Centipede 2 carries on we hear strange bizarre noises and laughter which could be linked to the security man having power over the victims he has captured. 

Close ups: In the trailer we see some close ups of weapons. I also noticed that the colours used was in black and white which could connote that they didn't want to give away the true colours of this film creating a dark atmosphere.

Credits, Certificates and Release date: These are usually shown at the end of a trailer. On this trailer we can see both credits and certificates, however release dates are expected on trailers which come out nearer to the time of when the film will be released.

Length: This trailer last for 2 minutes and 7 seconds.

Release date: This is the actual trailer showed sooner to the release date. 

Selection of scenes: Trailers are very important because if the trailers are not interesting and attention drawing the audience will not be interested in the film this is done by the suspense and action added in the trailers. 

Story Plot: When we are introduced to the trailer they do not show a bit of the first human centipede they just show the 2nd part as the audience are already aware that it is a continuation of the first film. However we see the security man called 'Martin' looking very disturbed when strangely admiring the first human centipede. He almost looks as if he is masturbating over it which is strange as other people would do this with a magazine, by this we can instantly tell that there is something wrong with him. We then see someone who comes to see him to ask him why he has been behaving every strangely. 

Voice over: We then hear a voice over where we hear his worried mum explain what she has been hearing him while we see Martin with his planning book. When the psychologist gives Martin's mum an explanation we then start seeing scenes of matters getting worst as we see this the sound starts building up before it stops after his mother finds his book. 

Soundtrack: While the trailer carried on we notice the music stopped which makes us feel like he has been caught out and everything will be fine. However we then see him carrying out his plans. 

Fast cutting: Throughout the trailer we see flashes of a real centipede which is a constant reminder of the main purpose of the film and what Martin is trying to achieve. 

Sound - non diagetic and diagetic: As the trailer comes to an end we hear a loud cry with a scream and then see and hear the sound of a centipede walking connoting his mission will be done.

Horror Genre.

Definition of a horror..

Horror has a few different genres which include ghost stories, zombies, haunted houses, torture, kidnapping, rape, sex, cannibals, demons, serial killers, sci-fi horrors, possessed animals or children, Psychological Horror and many more. Many films within the horror genre generally have a similar plot which usually tends to enhance extreme fear to its audience by involving hatred, causing fear, inflicting pain on someone or possibly using a frightening objects, deviance, rebellious acts etc. Most horrors usually plan on giving viewers nightmares by generating disgust and various emotions for its viewers to make sure they are jumping or 'at the edge f the seat' during the movie.  Horrors also have common characteristics with the thriller genre this includes blood which is very disturbing but intriguing to its audience.

Horrors from the 1890's

Horrors have started from as early as 1890's. Horrors first started off with supernatural trials with silent movies. The first film to be credited for being the first horror was 'Le manoir du diable' which stood for 'The house of the devil' this was created in 1896, However the two main films called 'Dracula' and 'Frankenstein' were both known to be branded with the term 'horror movie' in the 1931.

Horrors from the 1940's

Over the years horrors started to progress in its level of improvements and was enhanced very much. During the 1940's horror started to upgrade by giving it a main focus such as supernatural, demonic and Gothic horrors. Later on in the 60's it had changed into a  psychological horror where the well known movie 'Psycho' was made.

Horrors from the 2000's

 

In the 2000's there was a major difference between the horrors from the 1890's and 2000's. Horrors were more focused on being teen centered. Majority of the horrors made in the had one thing in common which was having vulnerable young girls who would either do something to put themselves in a situation which was almost impossible to get out of, when a scene like this was about to come on we are able to tell due to the fast pace editing we would see and the girls running away from the killer, to create suspense the most obvious thing would happen which was the individual dropping or reaching a peak point where they noticed that they are trapped in a forsaken place where help was almost impossible to find unless a hero magically appeared to save them during this scene we will hear heavy breathing. The scene usually ends by the victim being killed where the killer's identity is usually revealed, however in some thrillers to keep the audience craving for suspense the victim may have a chance to escape by fighting the enemy, but hardly ever ends well as they are more than likely to be haunted again or the villain being killed, the films that are very typical of this are 'the final desination' 'the grudge' and many more.

Horror movies

There are a number of movies that are classed amongst the genre of horror these include: 

• Insidious 
• The last house on the left
• Uninvited 
• Unborn
• Orphan
• Paranormal activity
• The human centipede
• Drag me to hell
• Prom night 
• Mirrors 
• The final Destination
• Saw 
• Dead silence

 Horror target audience

The horror genre was mainly targeted at teenagers and young adults from the ages 15-24, the reason for this is because horrors involve in very mysterious, sinister, dark atmospheres which are based on rape, sex, deserted areas and a use of weapons. Horrors tend to use dark sinister colours to make sure the audience has a feel of the horror genre they tend to maintain this by a use of props such as ropes, dark clothes, knifes, something to disguise their identity and many more. 

For example: Shaun of the dead  rated 15
                    True blood rated 18

Horror Forms and Conventions: Sub-Genres

 Above are all the different types of sub genres within the Horror Genre. I have matched them according to the correct sub headings. Typical traits in horror films include all types of things from numerous suspense, death, violence, revenge, hidden identities, abandoned houses, youthful characters and disguised villains.

Horror movies are very different in comparison to other types of movies due to the different elements that are included within the horror movies such as suspense and anxiety throughout the film which are usually portrayed in times of danger or when something risky is about to happen. One thing that directors and horror films do well is keep its audience 'on the edge' keeping us intrigued throughout the film until the main story line or plot has been revealed.

Horror Form and Conventions: Characters 

The characters used in horror movies tend to vary, however they often use similar types of characters who are very young. The reason for this is to attract the target audience more, due to the target audience being around the age of 18 - 24 they need to make sure that they think about the people that they use as victims and who we as an audience should feel sorry for.  The characters used make up the film. Characters are also seen differently by the audience. 

Characters we tend to see are:

• The protagonist – The person with the leading role who knows more than others in the group or who is determined to find the truth, they tend to survive everything. 

Example; Sorority row, Black Christmas etc

• The antagonist – The bad character in the film. The one who the audience either guesses or hopes to get caught for what they have been doing.

• Femme Fatale  – Promiscuous females who usually tend to blonde, they hardly last in the films due to being killed. 

• The Hero – Someone who is there to always save someone else, even though they are putting themselves in danger and risking their own life. They also tend to have a one on one fight with the villain.

• The unlikely hero – The character who is suspected as the bad character or accused for doing something due to the way they behave, however they are always the ones who save the day.

• The character who gets his comeuppance – This character tends focus mainly about themselves rather than others however they are more likely to be killed before any other characters.

Horror Forms and Conventions: Iconography 

Iconography are the basic visual elements within the any types of film. The mise-en-scene helps the audience more aware that it is a horror rather than a horror by this we tend to see traits such as:

• Blood and body parts
• Death (or symbols leading to death)
• Dangerous weapons - knife, guns, chainsaw, axes
• Haunted houses 
• Victims in danger
• Binary oppositions of both the good and evil
• Disfigured faces
• Masks for hidden identity 

Horror Form and Conventions: Themes

Horror movies usually tend to all have the same theme or settings where the film will be based. The common themes that are very often used are deserted houses with an extended lake, somewhere with a hidden past etc. However what we do not tend to see very often are horrors that have been set in urban areas in broad daylight unlike thrillers. 

Horror Forms and Conventions: Plot

Horrors usually tend to have a similar plot depending on the type of horror that it has been specified in, however some horrors may have  a twist with a cross this tends to involve 

• Murder 
• Chases 
• Paranoia 
• Mysteries - Looking for a reason or a killer
• Revenge
• Death
• Blackmail

Horror Form and Conventions: Visual elements

This is the use of camera works and editing that is used for the film such as:

• Voiceovers
• Sound (Non Diagetic and Diagetic)
• Lighting - Shows danger
• Angles - Can be used to portray power from the killer compared to the victim
• Close ups - Express fear
• Point of view shots - to make the audience feel more involved
• Slow pace editing - Flashbacks
• Fast Pace editing - used to build up suspense when something bad is about to happen