Ideas For Make-Up

Katie/Demon

When deciding how I should approach the look of Katie as a 'ghost/demon', I brainstormed all of the different types of special effects and masks that I could use when it came to filming and editing. I also found inspiration from existing movies such as Paranormal activity, Grave Encounters and The Crazies (although it is considered part of the Zombie sub-genre, the make-up and effects really impressed me). There was also the decision pre-production of whether or not I should include more elements of the slasher genre within my trailer as I like the idea of practising my body painting skills on the character of Katie. My cousin who is also a professional make-up artist took a course on body painting and special effects and suggested that we test out different looks on Lauren (who plays Katie) before filming.

My 'Slasher' look for 'Katie'

 

Completed in just over three and a half hours, 'Katie's slasher make up and costume composed of a plain grey cardigan, black leggings and a smile black sleeveless t-shirt and ALOT of patience. Just observing the attention to detail and the specific make-up used was extraordinary, and also the amount of 'stiches' applied was enough to make me squirm!

After much consideration I decided to go with the much less complicated and time consuming option of applying simple pale and gothic make up on Lauren as setting up and attempting to re-create the slasher look would heavily delay filming, there is also the problem that 'night vision' effects may not do this fantastic piece of art any justice. Therefore I have decided to edit much of 'Katie's make-up post filming as I would like hopefully achieve the 'demon' look as seen in this scene of Jennifer's Body.

 

Holly and Claire

With regards for my other two female actors, I decided that they should reflect the everyday look of normal students. Being the same age as the characters they were playing, I had asked them to just apply their everyday natural make-up as I didnt want their heavy make-up to distract from anything else on screen or that would interferre with the look of the crew members they were portraying. I had also visited a couple of youtube tutorials on how to apply light natural make-up based on the character of Bella Swan from the Twilight series as I feel she truly reflects the look of an everyday teenager.

 

Some of the clips from a Youtube Make-Up Tutorial 

Costume Ideas

Katie 'Opening Scene'

When it came to creating Katies costume, I tried to picture her vharacter in my head and what she would look like if she was to walk past me in the street. I imagined a very shy, awkward girl who used clothes as a way of hiding herself from all around her and hated anything that would draw attention to her. This is why I chose the following look to represent her entrance into the University.

 

I sought inspiration from films such as Sorority Row, Tormented and Scream 4 for characters who also are shy and modest and who aren't as provocatively as most of  of the teenage girl charcters you tend to see in horror films.

Katie 'Party Wear'

After the audience is introduced to Katie as a shy and nervous student, I wanted them to see that there was hope for her and that she would soon relish in the University lifestyle and culture. This is also evident in her clothing as the audience sees the new, confident Katie stumbling home from a Freshers week party! This is where I have decided to follow the convention of horror films as traditionally women are represented in horror films as the damsel in distress and are usually being attacked by the killer because they have committed a sinful act. This can be repesented through the use of clothing, for instance...

The pink lace top while sexy and revealing still has a innocent aspect to it with connotations of virginity (white lace). The ideo of a item of white clothing was inspired by Drew Barrymores' character in Scream, in which she is murdered within the first ten minutes of the film. She is dressed in a mens white shirt indicating a sexual relationship and promiscuity while also signally purity and delicate.

Katy 'Demon'

As I was aiming my practical peices at a largely male audience, I felt that the main protagonist while incredibly scary should also reflect the representation of most female charcters in horror films. For instance The book “Men, Women and Chainsaws” by Carol J Clover supports this “The functions of monster and hero are far more frequently represented by males and the function of the victim far more garishly by females. The fact that female monsters and female heroes, when they do appear are masculine in dress and behaviour and often in name and that male victims are shown in feminine postures at the moment of their extremity…”

For instance I have chosen to use a sexy and revealing dress for Katie's character when she has become a demon. This is due to the fact that the demon (in a strange way could also be incredibly attractive meaning that she is irresistable to her main victums, for example Megan Fox in Jennifer's Body. Black is also a symbol for Katies soul less body and has connotations with death.

Crew Members

The Girls

 

Inspiration from the Bella Swan and the Cullen family in Twilight:

• Use of dark tones
• Smart/Casual Clothing
• No name brands or logos

 

Also influenced by the film crew in Grave Encounters:

• Black logo free clothing
• Compliments the horror genre
• Black also signals death and fear

Killer Roommate

 

 The main inspiration for my antagonist is the character of Rebecca from the film The Roommate.Throughout the film, Rebecca's character wears alot of dark and expressionless clothing which is used to portray her personality and mental state of mind. Her hair is always poker straight in contrast to the student she obsesses over, who is fresh, attractive and glowing in confidence.

As the killing will take plaxe in the morning after a party I felt it would be useful for mise-en-scene purposes to dress the antagonist in appropriate costume, therefore I had decided to use a fluffy pink bath robe for the murder scene. This will be when the roommate offers a drink to Katie and I have chosen to use such an innocent, fun and innocent pink bathrobe as it is a total contrast to the roommates twisted personality and will fool the audience into believing that she is genuine and kind after all. So then, when they witness her poisoning Katie they will be shocked and wondering how they did not see it coming.

A Collage of Film Posters

 

 

 

Draft Ideas for Film Magazine

Draft Ideas for Film Poster

 

When it came to editing my film poster I knew from thstart that I wanted the face of the protagonist to be a mystery to avoid audiences losing the scare factor before they even see the trailer. I cam up with the idea of the demon peering through a stain glass door as if she is being watched, making the audience feel uncomfortable and that they have disturbed her presence. I also knew that in order to hide her face I had to rely on the editing software offered by Pic Monkey which allowes you to pixelate and soften any feature making it difficult to identify the character.

 

Replacing the tagline font with 'Arial'

Changing the  background to create a bloodstained derilict enviroment which signals to the audience that this is the home of the demon and it is not to be distubed.

The one common element that has remained throughout the creation of my film poster is the main image of the demon staring directly into the camera, I felt that this added to the chilling feel of the poster almost as if the deomon is looking at a member of the audience as its next victum. I also want to keep the 'pixel' face look as I feel it compliments the narrative and the style in which the trailer was filmed in.

Codes and Conventions of Film Posters

Film posters are used to promote films by drawing in target audiences, they contain uses of key iconography and this establishes what genre the film belongs to. By using images and symbolic representations that are traditionally associated with horror, the poster can appeal to the correct target market. Film posters communicate through a combination of visual and verbal messages, which provide clues as to what the film is about. They also embody artistic value to some people, which explains why so many people collect film posters and display them on their walls. Film posters take advantage of the fact that audiences are often attracted to a film simply because of who’s staring in it. These posters are exhibited in public before the film is released in the cinema and so people are automatically intrigued by this powerful piece of still media, wanting to see the film, before they even know what it is about!

Film posters vary, however the most conventionally used is called a ‘teaser’ poster. Similar to teaser trailers, this piece of media is used early on in the promotion process.  Teaser trailers take the ‘less is more’ approach as they simply contain a basic image and perhaps a short, quirky caption as they avoid exposing too much information. It is common for a few different posters to be released for one film, some can be classified as teasers, whereas others contain the names of actors and the film’s title, or even just showing a range characters. This is done to build up excitement and anticipation for the film. With the more popular films, such as Scream or the Twilight Saga, the film poster only needs to contain a few vital elements of its own iconography and the audience can immediately recognize the film. Different film posters promoting the same film or series of films will always feature similar images. 

 

 

 

The image will always reflect the narrative of the film and genre-specific iconography will be used. The image and its background will cover entire poster and text is conventionally placed over the visual. The main focal point of poster is always completely visible to the audience. The image used on the poster must charm the target audience, tempt and fascinate them, appeal to their tastes and promise to deliver whatever it is they expect to see from the film. Whether that’s excitement, drama, romance, fight scenes or gore, so be it!

When looking at a poster, our eyes move from the centre to top to bottom and horizontally from left to right. In this exact order, we look at the centre, top centre, top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right. Conventionally, the title of the film or the tagline (or both) will be placed in the top centre of the poster and this piece of text will be the first the audience shall see. They avoid using too much textual information as the audience usually have little time to acknowledge, stop and read it; also posters like these are too tiring and difficult to read. The most effective of film posters contain a quick, punchy, simple and easy to read tagline.

Linguistic devices are conventionally used for film poster taglines, such as a pun or play on certain words, direct address, rhetorical questions, short but direct sentences, alliteration, emotive language, repetition, rhyme and humour. These are all example of devices used in order to create successful taglines.

Codes and Conventions of Film Trailers

Film trailers exist are a very important feature of a films promotional package; they visually demonstrate the story of a film in a concise and easy way for the target audience to comprehend, without giving too much away. Features of the narrative are displayed in short segments allowing the audience to gather the narrative. They are chosen to feature in the trailer, usually because they are the key features or the scariest parts of the movie, however to break the chain of the film, they are never placed in chronological order distorting the narrative making the sequence erratic. 

The trailers are aimed at a specific target audience, and they are now seen as part of the film making process, in which they are relied on by film makers for promotion. In the digital age in which we live in, distribution companies are looking to social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook as a way of advertising their new film months prior to its release. You tube has most certainly become a revelation in terms of film advertising, with other a billion hits for movie trailers, it is certainly the easiest and most accessible way of releasing a new film.

Initially, trailers were created to be played at the end of a showing in the cinema. However, due to audiences walking out straight after the film had ended, they began to start showing them before the film begun. The original trailers were very simply constructed, including slow editing, with little narration and uses of big words plastered on the screen. A man named Andrew J Kuehn began to create the type of trailers that audiences are familiar with today, revolutionising this form of media.  Film trailers have many key functions and objectives; ultimately, they exist to generate an interest in the film and the genre is always clearly indicated so that the accurate Target Audience are addressed. Trailers inform viewers what the film is about, without giving too much of the plot away, they build up excitement and anticipation by showcasing the film’s best bits and presenting the film to its best advantage. Audiences feel obliged to watch the film having been teased by the narrative enigmas. Also, trailers are commonly used to show off stars in a film as well as provide details about the production teams.

There are two main types of film trailers, the first is known as a teaser trailer which is commonly used to advertise upcoming movies. These trailers are extremely short in length, ranging from 30-40 seconds and use very little of the actual footage in the film. These trailers come out long before the film itself has been released, therefore they ‘tease’ the target audience.

 The purposes of a trailer are to promote and introduce a film. They normally introduce the storyline, genre, setting and characters which should lead to the audience having certain expectations about the film. Genre and storyline are the two things that give the audience the most expectations. A genre carries certain conventions; for example, with a slasher movie you would expect a killer, murderer’s weapon, screaming victims, police investigating etc. This means the audience would want to see some of these things within the trailer so they can identify the genre. The clips used are non-chronological but they have a structure that outlines the film’s plot. The majority of trailers have a voice over in them so we would need to strongly consider incorporating one into our piece of film. They can tell the audience about characters, plot and setting for the film. This can be over the film or it can read out text that is displayed in the trailer.

 The production logo symbolises to the audience the budget of the film they are about to watch, and who has created it. If the production company is well-known and liked, or have produced other successful films, people may want to watch films produced by these, so including the logo on the trailer may encourage more people to watch the film. Film logos may give an indication to the genre of the film, as they are sometimes changed to look like the chosen genre. 

Also in film trailers the names of actors and actresses involved are usually included, to entice potential audience members. For example, Brad Pitt is a well-known and loved actor, therefore people who like his work may be encouraged to watch the film purely because he is in it. Sometimes in film trailers, it will also say ‘from the director of…’ which is another way of enticing audience, as if people like a certain director, they are likely to enjoy watching more films by them as they will assume the content is similar to those they have enjoyed before.

The second type of trailer is called the theatrical trailer; it is typically shown in cinemas a few months before it is set to be released. A TV-spot is the theatrical trailer that has been edited to be shorter in length; they are then advertised on television.

Let us explore in-depth the conventions of horror film trailers. The trailers contain a three base structure, the first being the ‘gentle calm’ where we experience a taste of the narrative and are informed of the element of the story. The audiences learn the equilibrium of the plot, which is shown through scenes of an eerie tranquillity. This would be followed by the ‘silence’ of the trailer, where the image and sound decrease, constructing the sense of nervousness and anticipation in viewers. Suddenly viewers experience the disruption, which involves the fast paced crux of scenes which generate excitement and grip the audiences. Here we acknowledge quick cuts and edits known as ‘blackouts’ until finally we reach the climax. Then viewers experience ‘The Sting’ which is the clip used at the end that makes the audience jump with fright. 

As well as showing scenes from the film, there are three other functions that trailers use to help notify the target audience of the narrative. The first being straps, these are text captions used in between footage that help the audience to keep up with the basic plot. Alongside the straps, it is conventional for trailers to use voice-overs too. This involves a narrator informing the audiences what the film is about. The voice-over tends to be the voice of a male and it is deep, dramatic and slow. Some horror trailers also include dialogue from the scenes in the film; it is carefully selected and then put together in a montage of shots, helping the viewers to understand where the plot is going. Not all of these informative functions are always used at the same time; other structures include uses of strap-lines and voice-overs or strap-lines and dialogue.

The shots used in a film trailer are never in sequential order or shown in a linear pattern, otherwise the entire plot would be revealed. Certain footage is selected to be used in the trailer and those bits are usually the best parts of the film.

Music, lighting and Mise-en-scene elements are used to compliment the genre and make it clear to audiences what genre the film belongs to. Music is used to set the tone, create excitement as well as inform the audience of the mood of the narrative through uses of sound. Lighting also reflects the mood of the scene and can inform us of the persona of characters, for instance, if profile-lighting is used on a character, it indicates to audiences that there is something sinister about them. Mise-en-scene elements include costume, hair and make-up, character positioning, body language and facial expression, lighting and colour, settings and props. All of which have their own function. 

Trailers usuallycontain iconography (images and symbolic representations that are traditionally associated with a specific subject) and it is used to help the audience recognize what genre and sub-genre the film belongs to. Another convention of trailers, especially horror film trailers, includes dead black-outs (DBO’s) they are constructed during the process of editing and used to achieve great effect. Film trailers are usually two to three minutes long in length, they are kept ‘short and to the point’ to tease audiences, a trailer that is too long would become boring and possibly reveal too much of the plot. Additional conventions include the movie title, release date, director’s name and taglines.