Coursework

 Wednesday 1st May 2024

NEA Introduction

LO: To explore coursework briefs and requirements.

What Is The NEA?

- The NEA (Non-examined assessment) is a mandatory piece of creative work that forms 30% of your GCSE in Media Studies. You will produce a single creative production in response to a brief set by EDUQAS.

How Is The NEA Marked?

- The total number of marks available is 60:

- 10 marks for the statement of aims.

- 20 marks for creating a media product that meets the requirements of the set brief.

- 30 marks for creating a media product which uses media language to communicate meanings and construct representations.

Candidates who do not use original footage, images or text for the production must not be awarded marks above band 2 for the production.

I am thinking about doing Film Marketing for Horror.

Friday 3rd May 2024

NEA Research

LO: To research the codes & conventions of similar products.

Do Now

- I would like to think of about five different horror movie titles which sound appealing to me and I will eliminate them one by one based on how fun they seem.

- Final Night (First crossed out and Final written underneath it).

• Poster - Werewolf.
• Shot of someone behind a tree while creature shown in the background.
• Cut on persons face, not take care of, still bleeding.
• Lauren help do make-up and effects.
• Person: Male or Female - No idea of who I want yet.
• Beacon woods or Camel trail woods.
• Probably more into night or evening time to get a better effect for the title and atmosphere.

• Two set locations: Woods & House (anybody's who has got a house the looks sort of like a cabin).
• All images would be of two or three people and they would be trying to survive a werewolf.

- The School Teacher (underlined by ruler with blood falling off the end of it).

• Teacher goes crazy, kills students in class.
• In Bodmin College.
• Shot of teacher holding serrated knife in school kitchen.
• Shots of panicked students.
• 4 main protagonists (2 boys and 2 girls).

- The Stare (red eyes behind the title with no other features)

• Watches you.
• Slowly gets closer.
• In a neighbourhood at night and some shots at school.
• Antagonist take different human forms (adult, child, friend, family, teacher, student, etc).
• Always holds a weapon which would be an axe.
• Only one person can see it.
• Targets one person at a time.

Research: Task 1!                                                     

Poltergeist: Main Theatrical Poster:

- The main image is a little girl staring at a television screen. There is a long shot being used to show how her hands are placed upon the television showing she may have some sort of connection with it in some paranormal way. This is represented as an unnatural thing to be doing and I am given the impression that something has happened to the girl, paranormally.

- The main image is placed above the title 'Poltergeist' and everything else like tagline along with the actors and producers and the company's that helped showcase it. The credit block is placed at the bottom of the poster and gives credit to people who helped with the movie like actors, editors, etc but also the company's which helped present the movie like Universal Pictures.

- The Universal logo is shown on the poster just under all of the actors and producers names, in the bottom left corner.

- The title is placed just below the main cover image and it stands out in large letters. The bubble writing brings more attention towards the title as it is easily readable and visible.

- The tagline is shown just under the main title and states 'it knows what scares you' which gives me the impression that another kind of entity is present within the film.

- The television screen is grey/white as static is shown upon it as the girl is touching the screen. There is a bluish tint on the carpet and girl which creates more mystery towards what is actually happening within the movie and poster.

- The title has got bubble writing which brings more attention towards the title as it is easily visible. The tagline is quite small and looks as if they are using an italic font to cause the tagline to stand out.

DVD Front Cover:

- The main image is a little girl staring at a television screen. There is a long shot being used to show how her hands are placed upon the television showing she may have some sort of connection with it in some paranormal way. This is represented as an unnatural thing to be doing and I am given the impression that something has happened to the girl, paranormally.

- The title is placed towards the top of the DVD front cover and has a sans serif bubble writing font to make it stand out compared to other movies. The writing has got a white light beaming off of it into the darkness which makes it further stand out and foreshadows something to do with the television.

- There is a tagline and it states 'They're here.'. The tagline does not give us too much information but from what we can gather from a poltergeist being a ghost, the tagline is telling us that the film will have ghosts involved and may have something to do with the little girl and the television.

-  The television screen is grey/white as static is shown upon it as the girl is touching the screen. There is a bluish tint on the carpet and girl which creates more mystery towards what is actually happening within the movie and poster. The tagline being the colour white can give us the impression of it meaning to represent a ghost and something paranormal.

- The only other information being shown is the production company which is Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which was the same production company that did James Bond showing that this movie may have a lot of money to work with for the production and editing adding to the horrors of the movie.

- The title has a sans serif bubble writing font to make it stand out compared to other movies which would be competing against this one for recognition. The tagline 'They're here.' is a lot smaller than the title and is using italics giving more horror elements towards the tagline and how it can add suspense.

- The genre is shown through how the girl is sitting in the darkness whilst touching a television that is playing static. This adds to the horror as it is an unnatural thing for somebody to do and the fact they are in the darkness makes it scarier as we do not have any idea of where they are. For all we know she may be trapped within another dimension or world.

DVD Back Cover:

 

- Whilst there is no set main image, we are presented with ten different smaller images showing particular scene of the movie that the producers feel were important.

- The ten different thumbnails shows us different scenes of the movie. These include the same little girl touching the static filled television which links to the front of the DVD cover showing this is an important scene of the movie but also that this idea of a static TV will be within the movie a lot and is the main premise of the film. The photo illustrating a brightly lit blue house through the windows yet again gives me the impression that the television will be produced within the film a significant amount and it has given me an unnatural feeling to it being linked to paranormality.

- The images tells us that the movie is going to be revolved around a family with a supernatural being close within but possibly in a different dimension through the static on the TV. I am also given the impression that the movie will be about a ghost as in one of the photos there seems to be a girl falling whilst a shelf in the background falls too. This makes me believe that a ghost is present within the film and will be terrorising this family until the end.

- This DVD cover can make the viewer question why the girl has this unnatural connection with the static presented on the television. This sort of question could make the viewer want to watch the movie to finally answer their question. This kind of question is used to entice the viewer to watch and find out what is going on and why this girl has a connection with the TV.

- The blurb gives us information on what kind of activities the ghosts would do like 'stack-the-chair games' which gives me the impression of child ghosts trapped within the house. It then talks about a storm which hits and what kind of the things happens within that storm like a tree falling over. The blurb talks about the struggles the family goes through to save their little girl from a 'spectral void'.

- The cover is presented to be covered in black apart from the snapshots as they would not be able to stand out and people would not know which shots are different. The special features box is in a darker shade of purple to stand out which then also gives people more opportunity of what they should watch which is also to do about the movie. This causes the company's to make more money if people choose to buy a movie with more special features.

- The barcode and blurb have been placed towards the top of the DVD back cover whilst the ten main images are placed centrally as to draw attention towards the viewer and hopefully entice them to know what happens that cause those kinds of scenes occurrences. The special features section is placed under the images in a box. The credit block stating the producers, actors, etc are placed underneath the special feature box and informs the viewer of everyone who took part in the making of this movie. The age rating and company of the film are placed at the very bottom of the DVD back cover.

- The whole cover uses a sans serif font to out line their basis of the movie and what they believe is important enough to be pointed out. The title has a sans serif bubble writing font to make it stand out compared to other movies which would be competing against this one for recognition. The credit block involves a different type of font and is particularly small and mention actors, producers, etc.

- The little girl is made to be represented as mysterious and in a possessed sort of state as her hands are laying upon the television filled with static and she stares in a sort of hypnotic state. What seem to be the parents are presented as caring and loving towards their youngest daughter as we see them running around trying to save their little girl from the spectral world.

It: Main Theatrical Poster:

- The main image for the poster is of a young boy by the name of Georgie. The kind of shot type being used is a long shot but that is mainly used to illustrate the mysterious clown within the shadows. This shot makes the young boy seem eager for adventure and trusting of strangers as he willingly walks towards a clown with a red balloon. The main image also includes a mysterious hand with a red balloon attached to it and therefore we can only assume it is a clown. The red balloon has a clown face reflected in it which further makes me believe it is a clown like figure. I am given the impression that the clown is supposed to not be trusted as it is mysteriously placed within the shadows so we cannot get a good look.

- The title is centrally placed a bit to the right which makes it stand out. The tagline 'You'll float too' is placed just above the title and is used as a very iconic phrase used throughout the movie. This kind of phrase is used to remind people of this movie when they hear it. The balloon is used to resemble this kind of villain as it is not a normal icon for a villain. The fact that the balloon is red makes me think it is used to resemble blood.

- The poster has not included any kind of logos.

- The title is centrally placed a bit to the right which makes it stand out compared to the other competing horror movies. The font being used is quite shaky and I believe it is a sans serif which makes the title even more eerier.

- The only other information present on the poster is the release date which tells us when the movie will be out in cinemas and gives us a clear idea of it being out in the more Halloween time.

- The main three colours that I can see are black, red and yellow which can give us an insight into what this movie may be about and what it is going to revolve around. The black connotes mystery and gives us the impression that the clown is going to be a character that likes to hide in the shadows when it comes to taking unsuspecting victims. The red can connote danger and death which gives me the impression that this kind of villain will be very dangerous and most likely a difficult challenge to over come. The yellow is used as an iconic gesture towards the character of Georgie as his yellow coat is meant to make his character stand out and cause audiences to remember this particular movie by him.

- The same kind of sans serif font is used throughout the entirety of the poster. The title 'It' is in big letters to highlight the name of the movie and can be referencing the clown as something from a totally different dimension. The tagline is in a smaller font and is used as something for people to remember throughout the film and even after making this movie truly memorable.

DVD Front Cover:

- The main image for the poster is of a young boy by the name of Georgie. The kind of shot type being used is a long shot but that is mainly used to illustrate the mysterious clown within the shadows. This shot makes the young boy seem eager for adventure and trusting of strangers as he willingly walks towards a clown with a red balloon. The main image also includes a mysterious hand with a red balloon attached to it and therefore we can only assume it is a clown. The red balloon has a clown face reflected in it which further makes me believe it is a clown like figure. I am given the impression that the clown is supposed to not be trusted as it is mysteriously placed within the shadows so we cannot get a good look. However, unlike the poster, the front DVD cover has got a lingering face int he right corner staring deeply at its audiences. The face looks malicious and evil which suggests that the clown is the main villain of the movie and is most definitely going to be the main focus of the movie.

- The title is placed towards the bottom left of the DVD cover and is using a shaky sans serif font depicting danger with its redness. The same font here is used within the poster which shows how this is a key part for us as the viewer to see.

- Their is a tagline which is shown on the front of the DVD case and it states 'Your fears are unleashed' which makes me believe that the clown has got some sort of power to make people's worst nightmares and fears become a reality to strike fear into its enemies to become stronger.  The direct address of 'Your' further makes me believe that this movie may contain natural horrors that scare most audiences.

- The main three colours that I can see are black, red and yellow which can give us an insight into what this movie may be about and what it is going to revolve around. The black connotes mystery and gives us the impression that the clown is going to be a character that likes to hide in the shadows when it comes to taking unsuspecting victims. The red can connote danger and death which gives me the impression that this kind of villain will be very dangerous and most likely a difficult challenge to over come. The yellow is used as an iconic gesture towards the character of Georgie as his yellow coat is meant to make his character stand out and cause audiences to remember this particular movie by him. The white and red clown face makes me believe that the white is used to connote innocence which is used to lure unsuspecting children in and the red is used to mark the deaths of the children.

- The only other kind of information mentioned on the DVD cover is a shoutout to the best horror novelist ever, Stephen King who has written other things like 'The Shining'. This shoutout is here to give credit towards the real creator of the fantastic movie that we know now-a-days. This was added, I am assuming, to avoid a further lawsuit of copy-write.

- Once again, only sans serif fonts are being used throughout the DVD front cover which links back to the poster. The title 'It' is in big letters to highlight the name of the movie and can be referencing the clown as something from a totally different dimension. The tagline is written to stand out at the bottom and helps the audience to imagine this kind of scenario.

- The genre is shown through the clown as this is a very common fear amongst people and it makes it even scarier after the killer clown sightings of 2016. These kinds of events in 2016 struck fear within millions of children worldwide and hundreds of thousands adults across the world.

DVD Back Cover:

- We can see at least two main images on the DVD back cover. These images are both of the main villain, the clown and one of them is a shadowy figure holding a red balloon. This shadowy figure is supposed to send chills down our spines and leave us question what kind of character this is. A medium shot type is being used to further make the audience question who this mysterious character is. Similarly, the other image is standing with a very scary stance which is supposed to cause the audiences to feel scared and worried of what is to come next. A long shot is used for the effect of horror and it is being used to make the audience feel like they have a great film filled with different horrors.

- We can clearly see that only two different thumbnails are being used on the DVD back cover and they both show scenes of the clown which are used to entice the viewer into finding out the storyline to those scenes. One of these images show the clown standing creepily staring towards the camera which can make the audience feel like they are an actual character in the movie and as if they are in danger just like the other characters within the movie. The other image is a lot harder to make out but from what I can see, it looks like the clowns face peering around a sewage pipe. This shows me that this may be a significant part of the plot and movie and it could be where the clown hides as we see him in the shadows within the theatrical poster for the movie.

- One of these images show the clown standing creepily staring towards the camera which can make the audience feel like they are an actual character in the movie and as if they are in danger just like the other characters within the movie. The other image is a lot harder to make out but from what I can see, it looks like the clowns face peering around a sewage pipe. This shows me that this may be a significant part of the plot and movie and it could be where the clown hides as we see him in the shadows within the theatrical poster for the movie.

- Some enigmas that are caused throughout the back of the DVD cover are things like what has this clown got to do with this storyline and why is he a main part of the movie. This could even post question like what is with the red balloon which is typically seen as an iconic prop for that specific character.

- The blurb gives us information about what the movie is predominantly about and the main themes and key points of the movie. These kinds of themes include talking about kids mysteriously disappearing which I can only link back to the clown which adds horrors as we know the culprit of these incidents but the other characters are not fully aware of it at first. It then mentions a group of children going to square off against Pennywise the clown which can make it more scary as stereotypically you would not think of a group of young children could take down a giant clown.

- The main three colours that I can see are black, white and yellow which can give us an insight into what this movie may be about and what it is going to revolve around. The black connotes mystery and gives us the impression that the clown is going to be a character that likes to hide in the shadows when it comes to taking unsuspecting victims. The red can connote danger and death which gives me the impression that this kind of villain will be very dangerous and most likely a difficult challenge to over come. The white gives me the impression of innocence which I can only assume is to be used to cause children to feel safe enough to approach him but then he leads them to their disappearance or death.

- The other information that is presented on the back of the DVD cover is a credit block and a snarky comment saying 'Gives the original a run for this money' which is referring towards the older production of the Stephen King novel and this shows how far the film industry has come to creating more realistic films with CGI and other elements have improved like budget, technology, etc.

- Like usual, a sans serif font is used throughout the back of the DVD cover and it is used to make the reading. The tagline is quite big and in red writing showing the sinisterness of the tagline and the eerie feeling it will give you 'You'll float too'. The blurb is in smaller white writing which can connote purity in it making it seem like a harmless movie, until you watch it and realise what is to come.

-  The main villain, Pennywise, is standing in a scary stance which represents them as a powerful character as they are staring directly at the camera striking fear into those viewing. The other image of Pennywise is showing him holding a red balloon which makes me believe that he is somebody that is going to mess with his victims before capturing or devouring them.

Overall:

- The kind of genre conventions for a horror movie is having a bunch of different type of jump-scares. These kind of jump-scares may include the killer jumping out at one of the characters or possibly something smaller such as bats showing up or a sudden lightning strike, etc. Other conventions may include an isolated house or set location like a farm, psych ward, etc. These kind of locations can cause an audience to feel scared or terrified because of their alone and isolated sets. Another very common convention is for a horror movie to revolve around a group of teenagers - 20 year olds or a family trying to deal with some sort of predicament. We also know that the idea of who the killer can add a certain horror to movies based on their characteristics. E.g. Pennywise is a clown which is a common fear amongst children and adults, Jason Voorhees is a strong built and silent character which scares the audience as he appears suddenly with creative deaths and finally Freddy Kreuger is a big fear for adults and children as he attacks through your dreams which you have got no control over having causing a sense of helplessness towards the situation.

-  The idea of an isolated building can give the audience something to look forward to as something that makes a horror movie more frightening is the characters being under the impression that they cannot leave nor get far away from the set building that they are restrained to. The ideology that a little girl is possessed by some sort of strange being adds to the suspense and horrors of the unnatural things the little girl was doing which included touching the static filled television. The idea of a run down or destroyed set location can add to the effect of horror and theme of horror movies as the set is carefully created to match scenes and characters, like Pennywise being in the sewer adds to the kind of circus and fun and games as it feels like a maze walking through sewer tunnels.

- An isolated larger house is featured to put fear into the audience. This is made possible as we the building looks to be quite old and not too stable. The fact that the house is isolated shows how the parents may not have too much luck with getting help from others as it will take a while for them to reach another nearby building. The movie also features a strange television which is filled with static. This kind of thing causes an effect of scarcity as the television is very old and is not a day to day use of teenagers now-a-days. Pennywise being in the sewer adds to the kind of circus and fun and games as it feels like a maze walking through sewer tunnels. Pennywise is a clown which is a common fear amongst children and adults which causes people to be more scared when watching this sort of movie.

- The target audience for the movie ' Poltergeist' is teenagers which is made apparent as the movie is for under 15 year olds which means that the producers believe that the movie is appropriate enough for under 15's which leaves them with a bigger target audience to watch the film the cinemas and gain a higher profit off of it. The element of a killer clown can attract the attention of a younger teenager audience as a year previous to this movie there was the Killer Clown Sightings of 2017 which involved adults dressing up as children and trying to lure children into the woods, or they would just be wondering around with weapons intending to hurt somebody.

Wednesday 8th May 2024

NEA Research - Continued

LO: To continue the NEA research from last lesson and try to get it finished today.

Do Now: 4/4

Three codes and conventions of Horror:

- You would expect to see night time as that can create a much scarier environment. Therefore, expect to see black and white / yellow for the lights to create a creepy atmosphere.

- You would for the majority of the time see a silent killer as they would not really want to give away their identity or they do not naturally speak.

- You would normally see the movie evolve around a group of survivors around their teenage years or 20's as it is present in most horror. E.g. It, Scream, Friday The 13th, etc.

- One stereotype of many horror movies is it including a final girl who will overcome everything and survive no matter what the killer may do. They will be damaged in many different ways but will always come out of the movie surviving.

Friday 10th May 2024

NEA Research

LO: To research genre codes & conventions.

Do Now:

- I am going to be doing a horror movie poster and DVD cover.

- I will show this by having the min poster image something scary with colours that will portray a creep aesthetic and environment. I will also use thumbnails to portray a horror type sequence and add something parts of the main villain to show what my characters will be up against.

- One stereotype for horror movie's that I would like to challenge in my horror movie poster and DVD cover is most likely having characters that are smart and make good decisions.

The horror genre conventions you would expect to see in the following areas: Research: Task 2!

Imagery - Horror movies have got a tendency to use images that evoke fear and unease into its audience to add a longer duration of suspense within the audience to keep them on the edge of their seats and watching. These kind of images can include mirrors which are commonly used throughout horror movies to add a scene when the killer can be seen within the reflection of the mirror to cause the audience to feel more suspense as they are aware of the killer lurking where as the characters are blind to it. Similarly, some movies put the mirrors within the film just for them to break which is seen as bad luck if you break a mirror and therefore gives the audience an insight that something drastic is about to unfold and warns them of the incoming danger. Another way that horror movies use images is through shadows and darkness which are commonly used within movies to show something is lurking around the place that our group of protagonists are but it would not show us what person or creature is lurking to leave a bit of mystery of who this character's real identity is. Shadows are commonly used to imply that there is another sort of being in the area but we are not shown who, or they are used to add an effect of horror by the characters causing the shadows 'Killer Clowns From Outer Space'. Darkness is used to imply that the killer is mysterious as they prefer to hide in the shadows or the darkness is used to add an effect of horror by the protagonists being lost within it. Also, darkness can be used as a way of the audience never getting  good look at the main villain as it may not be the main focus of the movie (this is very uncommon in horror movies) or we are meant to realise that this villain is not needed to be seen to be scary showing how the CGI and effects can cause that kind of paranoia without the villain being properly shown within the movie. Lastly, monstrous type figures are used within every sort of horror movie which definitely adds an effect of horror as this creature can look gruesome and disgusting through special effects and make-up which makes it a lot scarier. These effects are mainly used on the main villain as their portrayal are what makes the movie memorable and keeps the movie on the 'hype-train' meaning it will be popular for a long time and people would be enticed to watch the movie more than once as they find it thrilling with each time that they watch.

Colour Palette - The kind of colours that you would predominantly see within a horror movie is black mainly as most horror movies would have at least one element of darkness either by it being night time or the power going off within a building adding suspense to the movie. The colour black can connote mystery and death as it is such a dark colour filled with secrets and is something that makes me resemble it with nothingness and emptiness which is absolutely terrifying. Another colour used often in horror movies is red which would be used within the colour of blood from a characters death or just for an effect like blood in an elevator from 'The Shining'. The colour red can connote violence which would be within every horror movie and would put fear into the audience as they see how powerful and dangerous the main villain can be. It can also connote danger which is also impossible to not see within a horror movie as that is their basis storyline and the colour red can inform us that danger is near and that we as the audience need to prepare ourselves for a jump-scare of death of a character to occur. Finally, the colour white is used within horror movies for things like moonlight or a flashlight before a big jump-scare happens. The colour white is used to resemble to things like ghosts but more to the fact of a death as we believe that when people pass away, they see a light at the end of a tunnel which shows that white can link to death. Similarly, the colour white is also used to show people's blindness to the things going on around them as the killer gets closer and closer whilst they are not fully aware as they do something else which makes them forget about the killer entirely.

Typography - The kind of typography that is used within a massive variety of horror movies is a sans serif font which can be seen in the movies It, Poltergeist and Friday The 13th. The movie 'It' uses a sans serif font to convey a horror kind of environment and atmosphere as the much bolder writing informs us clearly of this creature not being human and much more of a strange being that may not be from our world and could possibly be from another sort of dimension which explains why they are out of place from normal society throughout the movie and decide to feast on kids to keep themselves powerful and well fed so that they can go and get more children to make them 'float' until the killer 'Pennywise' is ready to feast again. The horror movie 'Poltergeist' uses a sans serif to get the message across that this movie is all about a type of ghost which is going to haunt a certain type of group of people which from what we understand will be a small family living within a wooden, isolated house which is shown through the thumbnails presented on the back of the DVD cover. the sans serif font also drives the idea that this movie is going to predominantly revolve around ghosts and the idea of the supernatural world which may even include another kind of dimension which may be like ours but with a few differences or just completely different from our world. The movie 'Friday The 13th' uses a sans serif font to imprint the fact that the date Friday the 13th is a rare occurrence and therefore makes this date more special to those who are a fan of the 'Friday The 13th' movie series and the idea of a big built killer avenging his mother walking around killing teens that try to gain a job as a camp counsellor at the famous 'Camp Crystal Lake' which is shown as the home of the infamous killer 'Jason Voorhees'.

Characters (Typical character types and styles) - There are a lot of different types of the different sort of characters which would be shown throughout every horror movie. These kind of roles may include the killer, the more sexually active female of the group and most importantly throughout the majority of every horror movie, the protagonist. The style of the killer is the most important thing that a horror movie villain can possess as one characteristic of their outfit is how an audience can remember that killer and makes that killer who they are as a character. An example of this from an original horror movies contains Jason Voorhees possessing a pillowcase over his head to cover his gnarly facial features in Friday The 13th Part 2 but then acquires his infamous hockey mask in Friday the 13th in 1982 from a comedic character who uses the mask as a joke and scare the others. This hockey mask is how we remember Jason Voorhees as it is his signature look which helps to portray a horror like atmosphere and environment. The sexual female of the group does not impact the movie to much as all they do is add to the kill count as another death because of their sexual activeness which eventually gets them killed. This is shown in the movie 'Cabin In The Woods' which shows the character of Jules making out with the character Curt ready to indulge in sexual intercourse with him until she is eventually attacked and killed by a fate that her and her friends chose for themselves. This kind of character is usually wearing very revealing clothes and often their breasts are shown off to entice a more male audience. The final type of character is the main protagonist which often survives the movie until the end and is shown to be as a sort of badass and fights back against the killer or killers as a way of defence. This can be seen throughout the movie 'Ready Or Not' where Samara Weaving plays the character of  Grace and her outfit is usual for the protagonist to be wearing as it is appropriately acceptable for the premise of the start of the movie. The character Grace wears a wedding dress as it is her wedding day and is shown to have to overcome the Satan-worshipping family of her newly wed husband as she plays a game of hide-and-seek where she is shown to kick ass and fight for her life. As the movie goes on, her outfit changes slightly with blood splatters and tears showing the movies progression and how much her character has suffered for her own safety and more importantly survival.

Narrative (Typical sort of storylines) - All horror movies have got the same sort of storyline in a way but the way that each one is portrayed is different, this can be by the characters, setting or even the way that the killing traditionally kills their victims. Two of these that are different towards each other are through the movies 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' and 'Halloween' which both portray different sort of killers and settings. This is well presented as 'Halloween' portrays a silent killer that we know does not have much of a background within the first couple of movies where we are shown a little boy killing his older sister but we are not shown what led the killer 'Michael Myers' to that murder. However, the horror movie 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' portrays a very vocal killer who cusses a lot and does not like to stalk his victims but in fact prefers to kill them when he gets the chance but first messes with them. The way that this killer 'Freddy Krueger' kills his victims is very traditionally different to 'Michael Myers' as 'Michael' prefers to use a kitchen knife where as 'Freddy' prefers to use his finger knives but he mainly attacks his victims through their dreams and  kill them creatively which may include sucking the oxygen out of an asthmatic person causing their real life death of an asthma attack. We are also shown how 'Freddy Krueger' was a rapist of children and was killed by angry parents who burned him alive inside of a building causing his death. The setting that 'Halloween' uses a fictional place in Illinois called 'Haddonfield' but it mainly takes place at the 'Myers' house which is where the killings started for 'Michael' and is a place he goes back to but kills people on the way to it in order for him to be able to kill his sister 'Laurie Strode' who still lives there. However, 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' takes place at the 'Thompson' house where 'Nancy Thompson' is tormented by 'Freddy' until she eventually defeats him but during the dream sequences, we can see that the same boiler room is present within them which is where we find out that the boiler room is a place within a school where 'Freddy' raped and molested several children no more than about seven - eight years old.

Representations Of People (Describe how they are shown stereotypically) - There are two sides of any horror movie which involves the killer or killers and the survivors but their is always a character towards the end of the movie which is called the final girl who manages to outlive the killer and manage to harm and damage the killer to their best abilities. The killer kind of stereotypes can be seen throughout the movie 'Halloween' which portrays the killer 'Michael Myers' hunting down his sister 'Laurie Strode' after having escaped prison. The killer 'Michael Myers' is stereotypical as a killer which is seen through his outfit and characteristics which causes the audience to feel fear as they do with other killers like him. The way that 'Michael Myers' is very stereotypical is the way that he wears a mask which covers his entire face, leaving the audience questioning of what horrors may lie underneath it. This kind of stereotype can be seen in other horror movies such as 'The Strangers' which involves a family being terrorised as people in masks try to kill them. It can also be seen in the movie 'You're Next' which also involves a family invasion of two killers, lamb mask and wolf mask, who try to kill the family that they are hired to. The survivors of any horror movie are always quite idiotic and choose to make the worst possible decisions that they can think of. This stereotypes is shown through the character of 'Karen Barclay' in 'Child's Play' where a murderous doll by the name of 'Chucky' runs around until he can successfully transfer his soul into the body a a child. Karen, who plays the mother of 'Andy Barclay' makes the stupid mistake of not disposing of the doll after finding out that it is possessed by a man who tried escaping police but dies just after passing his soul into the doll 'Chucky'. This results in 'Chucky' escaping and carrying on his murderous intentions until the end of the movie. This kind of stereotype is again present within the movie 'IT Chapter 2' when the 'Loser's Club' decide to go back to the small town of 'Derry' to refight the character of 'Pennywise' which ultimately leads to the death of 'Eddy' after the fight with the clown and 'Eddy' unfortunately being stabbed by it, leading to his demise. The final stereotype for the survivors which is traditionally in horror movies is the introduction to the 'final girl' which is mainly the protagonist and manages to survive until the end of the movie, unlike other friends and characters. This is shown in the movie 'Scream' which revolves around a series of killers trying to get revenge on a specific girl, killing her friends to get what they want. This movie is a who-done-it sort of film filled with mystery as we as the audience are not aware of the killer until the big reveal towards the end of the movie. The final girl presented in this movie is the strong-willed character of 'Sidney Prescott' who manages to avoid the killers by using objects around her and strategies to get them hurt as we know they are human people dressed as 'Ghostface' meaning they can be harmed. We know that 'Sidney Prescott' is able to outlast the killers until they reveal themselves as 'Stu Macher' who she kills via dropping a television on his head, causing him to be electrified and 'Billy Loomis' who dies after being shot in the head by 'Sidney' ending his rein of terror. This stereotype can also be viewed in the movie 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' through the character 'Nancy Thompson' who we see finds a way to kill 'Freddy Kreuger' once and for all after pulling him out of the dream by holding onto him and then killing him within the real world. We see 'Nancy Thompson' within several of the films as the main protagonist and she manages to survive each time because she is what we would say is the 'final girl'.

Wednesday 15th May 2024

NEA Research

LO: To research the representations created in similar products.

Do Now:

The meaning of the word representation in terms of Media is how people are shown through different things such as ethnicity, age, sexuality, gender, etc.

Representation Recap:

- Representation is how media texts deal with and present gender, age, ethnicity, national and regional identity, social issues and events to an audience. This is done through shot type or angle, mise-en-scene or editing.

Research: Task 3!

- A few words or phrases that I would use to describe representations as a whole in the DVD cover of 'Poltergeist' are unnerving, unnatural and alarming. I would describe this cover these ways as it presents a small girl touching a TV filled with static which is an unnatural thing for them to be doing and can be alarming to the viewer as she is kneeling in the darkness and unknown. This can make the audience feel unnerved as they witness an isolated girl do something which can be described creepy.

- We can clearly see a feminine child in the picture with her hands placed upon the television screen which is completely filled with static. We can see that this is a child because of the long hair and what we can assume are fluffy slippers which is a very stereotypical feminine thing. This has been constructed to make the atmosphere more creepy as having a little girl, or little girls doing something unnatural can cause more fear. This can be in 'The Shining' when two ghost twin girls appear adding horror and suspense to the film.

- This character seems to be young and helpless to the sort of situation they are stuck in as we know that the title is 'Poltergeist' leading us to believe that possession is to blame for this weird behaviour. This character seems to be innocent as she is probably only 8 years old showing how she would not have done any bad things within her lifetime. The fact that she is young can convey suspense and horror especially for mothers as we do not know what may happen to the little girl, causing a feeling of fear.

- We can only believe that this is a white girl which is made apparent in the thumbnails by the other white family members. This is quite natural for horror movies -to have white characters as the main protagonists- as we see in 'A Nightmare On Elm Street', 'Friday The 13th', 'Halloween', etc.

- Horror is well constructed within this picture as a small girl touching a TV filled with static is presented which is a very unnatural thing for a person, especially a young and innocent girl, to be doing and can be alarming to the viewer as she is kneeling in the darkness and unknown which shows that we do not where this little girl is supposed to be placed. For all we know, she is supposed to be within another realm or dimension that is not of our own.

- The teddy bear is a much more feminine stereotypes as in many movies, teddy bears and toys are used to make the child protagonist feel protected and secure even though they are not safe at all. The fluffy slippers are also very stereotypically for women and girls as people associate something fluffy with girls and females of any age as it connotes a child-like personality.

- Three words that I would use to describe these thumbnail shots of the movie 'Poltergeist' is inclusive, otherworldly and fearful. I would describe these thumbnail images this way because we can see a few different diverse characters towards the bottom of the images. We see people being thrown around and a bright light throughout a majority of the images which tells me that this may have some otherworldly creatures like ghosts and this can be fearful to some people as they are scared of the supernatural.

- We can see a mixture of male and female characters within the thumbnail images. The majority of the females look scared or tense as something happens like a bright light shining on them or them staring at something intently as if something may happen if they did not. However, the majority if the men look serious and on task as if nothing can distract them from what they are trying to achieve or they look like they are trying to figure something out about the mystery of the ghosts possibly.

- The majority of these characters are a lot older and we can only assume that these are probably the parents of the little girl from the DVD front cover and they mainly look like they are fighting for something or someone, possibly their daughter. However, the majority of the young people look scared as if they are being kidnapped or like something is about to get them and take them away from where they mostly feel safe which would be in their own homes with their families.

- The family is a white family from what we can see which is quite stereotypical for a big and famous horror movie series as they do not tend to predominantly evolve around a ethnic families. However we can see a few ethnic characters but as they only show up in one thumbnail image, we can only assume that they are supposed to be side characters and are not the main focus of the movie. Although they may not just be side characters, from what we can see we know they are not the characters that we are supposed to put our full attention on.

-  Horror is well portrayed in these group of images as we see a bright light which may connote death as it can resemble the bright light at the end of the tunnel that people believe happens when somebody dies. Also, the pit with the girl looking down into it can cause suspense and a horror feeling as we do not know as the audience of where it leads, we are in the dark of what it contains and what it will and is used for within the movie. Similarly, the clown causes horror as it is a common fear amongst children and adults which is why it can cause suspense as it just stares longingly at the viewer.

-  The family is a white family from what we can see which is quite stereotypical for a big and famous horror movie series as they do not tend to predominantly evolve around a ethnic families. The stereotypes of the parents is presented in these images as we see who we believe to be the mother of the child on the front of the DVD cover panicked and concerned about something and frantically heading towards a bright light of some sort. However, the father just seems serious and more concerned for the decision the mother is making over why the mother is making that decision; he does not have the same kind of priorities as her.

- A few words that I would use to describe this image are alarming, suspenseful and irrelevant. I would describe this image this way because we are shown a small child in a seemingly dark void which is quite alarming, especially for an adult with their own children, and also suspenseful as we do not know what may happen to this child. However, the fact that we cannot see this characters face leads me to believe that this character is not in the movie for a long time for them to be relevant and is supposed to be an irrelevant character that possibly dies in an opening scene.

- We are unsure of the gender of this character as they are facing away from the camera and the only part of this characters body that we can see is a finger at the bottom of the sleeve of the yellow coat. However, from seeing the movie, I am fully aware that this character is a boy which can probably be seen by the connotations of a rain coat as boys are more stereotypically seen as the ones to go out into the rain willingly to play. The sort of build of the character also resembles a boy in a way which further makes me believe that this character is in fact a boy.

- From first glance, we can assume that this character is quite young which is seen by the way that they are predominantly quite short looking in height and the way that they are looking up at something makes me believe that they are not at that stage where they can look directly at whatever they are gazing upon or they are not old enough to have to look slightly up at whatever they are trying to face. The body build does look like a child's posture and type as they look quite underdeveloped to be a full grown adult and wearing bright raincoats is not something you would particularly see on an adult.

- There is no possible way that we can see the ethnicity of this character as they are not seen on any sort of part of the poster and DVD cover. The only way that we can find out the ethnicity of this child is by watching the movie which I have which is why I know that they are a white male but I cannot really talk about how they are represented as we are not shown the ethnicity in the first place.

- Horror is portrayed in this image as we see a little boy in the dark looking at something mysterious. The fact that he is placed within the dark abyss shows how we are not supposed to know the location of this boy and can bring suspense and paranoia of parents who can relate to the horrors the parents of this boy may feel as he is somewhere where we cannot see his surroundings.

- Not many stereotypes are shown in this image but the ones I can point out are the fact that they are wearing a raincoat which is a stereotypically young thing to do as you see many children wearing bright raincoats but not very many adults wearing them. Other than that, not many stereotypes are shown except for possibly that we cannot see their face which leads me to think they are supposed to be a much more hidden character or either a much more irrelevant character who maybe shows in one scene and then they leave for the rest of the movie and is never seen again but might be referenced to. 

- A few words that I would describe this image as are intimidating. nerve-racking and uncomfortable to look at. I would describe this image this way as the way that the character is staring at you can make you feel small and uncomfortable as its eyes just stare directly into your soul. This can make this character seem nerve-racking and like the main antagonist and can make you feel intimidated as it does not look away but directly towards you almost threatening.

- It is not that obvious the gender of this character as there are no immediate features that can make me think that this character is a male or female. However, from watching the movie I am made aware that this is a male from the voice of this character. However, the clown face paint is a more stereotypically a male thing as they seem scary and terrifying to most and during the year of real clown sightings, we see could see predominantly male clowns and very few female ones.

- From looking at this image, we can predict that this is an adult character as the face is much larger than one of a child which further proves that this is an adult and not a child. This character is an adult as we can see the malicious stare of this character intimidating and striking fear into the audience. Other than that though, we cannot really see any other defining features that can resemble how old this character is.

- There is no possible way that I can know the ethnicity of this character as they are wearing make-up which is used to resemble a clown. Also, throughout this movie, we cannot see this character without the make-up and so we are left unknown of the ethnicity which shows how it does not matter what ethnicity this character is; it is scarier anyway.

- Horror is sown through the clown make-up as clowns are a very common fear amongst people, adults included, and it is used here to make those audiences feel fear and scared. The staring into your soul can cause fear as it seems to be just staring directly at you and can make the viewer seem more uncomfortable as it stares longingly at you. Similarly, the slight smile on its face causes fear as it connotes that this is an unkind character and intends harem making the smile seem malicious and evil.

- There are not too many stereotypes being shown here as all we are represented with is the face of the main antagonist, a clown. However, the clown face make-up can seem as more of a stereotypically male thing as they seem scary and terrifying to most and people would link masculinity to scary things. 

- Three words that I would use to describe this image are child-like, different and scary. I would describe this particular image this way as the way that the antagonist is holding a singular red balloon is stereotypically different to other killers who normally wield some sort of weapon. This is a lot more scary and extremely intimidating to other horror movies and causes fear through the child-like features of this antagonist.

- Gender is not really shown within this image just like the other one but once again we can see the face of the clown and as previously discussed, the whole idea about clowns are a much more masculine thing to do, stereotypically.

- Age is shown through the very well developed body of this character. The arm of this character is quite long and the hand is shown to have much larger fingers than a child would have. This leads me to believe that this is supposed to be an older character. Similarly, the height of the character in this image is quite tall which is not usual for a child but is for a fully grown adult.

- There is no possible way that I can know the ethnicity of this character as they are wearing make-up which is used to resemble a clown. Also, throughout this movie, we cannot see this character without the make-up and so we are left unknown of the ethnicity which shows how it does not matter what ethnicity this character is; it is scarier anyway.

- Horror is portrayed through the singular red balloon being held by a mysterious hand. The colour of the balloon can connote blood, violence, and evil intentions which would be suitable for this character and is symbolic for this character and it is used throughout the movie to resemble his appearance. Similarly, the tagline of this movie is 'You'll Float Too' which is obviously used to resemble the balloon showing how it is an iconic reference to this character.

- The stereotype that killers wield a weapon of some sort is challenged here as this character villain holds a red balloon which seems harmless and innocent but the colour red connotes danger. However, the clown also resembles a stereotypical male thing as clowns and horror are stereotypically linked with men.

- A few words I would use to describe this image of the clown is creepy, once again intimidating and eerie. I would describe this image this way as the clown is creepily standing there staring towards the viewer, striking fear into them and can give the atmosphere an eerie feeling and can cause the viewer to feel intimidated as the clown just stands there, staring down at you.

- Gender can be shown a little bit more as once again the whole clown idea is very stereotypical for men as it includes horror which is also stereotypical for men. The way that we can also see that this is a male is through the hair which is short and up but there is a bald spot upon the front of the forehead which is a male thing to happen, boldness, and which once again tells me that this is a male character.

- Although there are not many stereotypes of age represented here, the height of the character in this image is quite tall which is not usual for a child but is for a fully grown adult which can tell me that this is an adult and not in fact a child. This is also shown through the way they have to look down which tells me they are quite tall and not a child as a child would have to look up to see things, and not down at them which can seem eerie and uncomfortable.

- There is no possible way that I can know the ethnicity of this character as they are wearing make-up which is used to resemble a clown. Also, throughout this movie, we cannot see this character without the make-up and so we are left unknown of the ethnicity which shows how it does not matter what ethnicity this character is; it is scarier anyway.

- Horror is sown through the clown make-up as clowns are a very common fear amongst people, adults included, and it is used here to make those audiences feel fear and scared. The staring down at you can cause the audience to feel intimidated and fearful as it is an unnatural thing for anyone to be doing and is something that most people do not have to go through often. Similarly, the slight smile on its face causes fear as it connotes that this is an unkind character and intends harem making the smile seem malicious and evil.

- The whole clown idea is very stereotypical for men as you would link men to clowns as it is a much more common fear amongst others and you would predominantly see more male clown figures than female clown figures within the real world if you go to a circus. However it is also stereotypical as it includes the genre horror which is also extremely stereotypical for men as women are seen to not like scary things stereotypical making horror a more masculine thing. 

- A few words that I would use to describe this character in this image are mysterious, targeting and terrifying. I would describe this character this way as the character is within the shadows leaving this character to seem mysterious and terrifying as we do not know what things may lurk in the shadows. The reason in which I said targeting is because the clown outfit makes me think of a circus and bringing joy to children which may be the targets of this character.

- Gender can be shown a little bit more as once again the whole clown idea is very stereotypical for men as it includes horror which is also stereotypical for men. The way that we can also see that this is a male is through the hair which is short and up but there is a bald spot upon the front of the forehead (which we can barely make out by the way a part of it is shown in the light) which is a much more male thing to happen, boldness, and which once again tells me that this is a male character.

- Although there are not many stereotypes of age represented here, the height of the character in this image is quite tall which is not usual for a child but is for a fully grown adult which can tell me that this is an adult and not in fact a child. This is also shown through the way they are choosing to look down which tells me they are quite tall and not a child as a child would have to look up to see things, and not down at them which can seem eerie and uncomfortable.

- There is no possible way that I can know the ethnicity of this character as they are wearing make-up which is used to resemble a clown. Also, throughout this movie, we cannot see this character without the make-up and so we are left unknown of the ethnicity which shows how it does not matter what ethnicity this character is; it is scarier anyway.

- This shot can produce horror and suspense as the character is in the shadows which may foreshadow that this character does not go out in the light much and may stay within a home of somewhere dark, like a forest, sewer or abandoned building. Horror is portrayed through the singular red balloon being held by a mysterious hand. The colour of the balloon can connote blood, violence, and evil intentions. The dark background of where this character is also solidifies that we might possibly not need to know where this character hides for it to be horrifying and unnatural.

- The whole clown idea is very stereotypical for men as you would link men to clowns as it is a much more common fear amongst others and you would predominantly see more male clown figures than female clown figures within the real world if you go to a circus. However it is also stereotypical as it includes the genre horror which is also extremely stereotypical for men as women are seen to not like scary things stereotypical making horror a more masculine thing. 

- I would describe these images as insightful, creepy, and eerie. I would describe these images as a whole this way because they both involve the main antagonist standing in a creepy way staring towards the camera or they are poking their head around what seems to be a pipe which is quite eerie looking. Also, the way they are in what seems to be a sewer pipe gives the viewer an insight that this may be the home of this kind of horror character villain.

- From watching the movie, I know that this is supposed to be a male character. The kind of things that can give me the impression here is the fact that it is a clown which is a stereotypical male interest. Similarly, the fact that the clown is in a sewage pipe makes me believe this is a male as stereotypically women would not want to be in a sewer, willingly, because of being afraid of getting dirty which is why I believe this is a male villain character.

- We can see that this is clearly meant to be an adult character by their height. This is made apparent because if this is supposed to be a child, they are very very tall which is why I believe this is supposed to be an older male character which makes it even scarier as we see it lurking and watching the main protagonists creepily and sort of stalking them.

- There is no possible way that I can know the ethnicity of this character as they are wearing make-up which is used to resemble a clown. Also, throughout this movie, we cannot see this character without the make-up and so we are left unknown of the ethnicity which shows how it does not matter what ethnicity this character is; it is scarier anyway.

- Horror is conveyed by the way that we see it lurking and watching the main protagonists creepily and sort of stalking them. This can make the audience and viewer feel scared and suspenseful, just like the sewage pipe can as well because we know that it is an isolated location that would not make people visit it very often which means the antagonist has more freedom and can roam around with no consequences.

- The fact that the clown is in a sewage pipe makes me believe this is a male as stereotypically women would not want to be in a sewer as it is dirty and females are more stereotypically seen to have a need to be clean, tidy and beautiful all of the time. The whole clown idea is very stereotypical for men as you would link men to clowns as it is a much more common fear amongst others and you would predominantly see more male clown figures than female clown figures within the real world if you go to a circus. However it is also stereotypical as it includes the genre horror which is also extremely stereotypical for men as women are seen to not like scary things stereotypical making horror a more masculine thing. 

Friday 17th May 2024

NEA Research

LO: To research the representations created in similar products.

Do Now: 2/2

Primary Research - This kind of research is raw and is something you can find easily. This information is obtained first hand.

Secondary Research - This kind of research is interpreted and analysed from the primary research. This information is obtained by someone else.

Wednesday 22nd May 2024

Do Now:

- What kind of things would you prefer to see within a horror movie?

- What is your favourite feature about a horror movie? E.g. jump-scares, killer or storyline.

- What kind of features would make a horror movie stand out to you?

Friday 24th May 2024

NEA Research

LO: To start planning your own product based on research findings.

Wednesday 5th June 2024

NEA Research

LO: To start planning your own product based on research findings.

What To Revise:

- Magazines

- Advertising

- Film Industry

My Questionnaire:

The Responses: 

Film Marketing Questions about my DVD Cover / Poster. 

Planning: Task 1!

- I have chosen the genre horror because it is such a big part of my life as it is something that I absolutely love and want to go on to do later in life, if that is acting in one, or just being part of the production. Horror is something that makes me who I am and it is something that makes me feel real and alive and it is honestly the best genre of film in my opinion. I think that this genre would appeal to 16 - 24 year olds as most horror movies are set for people around aged 18 and it is very stereotypical that things to do with horror would connect with younger male and female audiences as it involves violence, gore and scares which is stereotypically for younger audiences and people.

- My target audience is 16 - 24 year olds and I would be trying to locate those in that age range who also enjoy horror movies. The kind of things I would hope they enjoy the most are the jump-scares, gore and violence which would make them enticed by my horror movie DVD cover and poster. I would like my target audience to involve people who enjoy watching horror movies or reading horror based books which would lead them to be enticed by a DVD cover and poster like mine and would cause them to want to watch my horror movie.

- The three possible names that I have decided would be a good option for my horror DVD cover and poster are The Final Night, The School Teacher and The Stare. The Final Night shows a werewolf in the woods killing off teenagers which would show a horror element and would make the viewer want to watch it as it presents teenage characters facing an animalistic monster which is not very common now-a-days. The School Teacher would convey horror as a often seen as a safe environment suddenly becomes very unsafe and would make want people to watch it as it can link back to their daily lives at school. The Stare shows horror as the thumbnails will portray a strange being wielding an axe which can make the reader want to watch as the thumbnails would show a child, adult, student, teacher, etc going on a murderous spree.

- The Stare would be about school friends working to overcome many forms of people staring at one of them whilst they slowly gets closer and closer resulting in the friends tragic death towards the end and it being passed on to the person closest to it. This shows horror as the thumbnails will portray a strange being wielding an axe which can make the reader want to watch as the thumbnails would show a child, adult, student, teacher, etc going on a murderous spree.

- For The Stare, I would have the tagline 'Looks Can Kill...'. The fact that it will say 'Sleep' would be referring to death and sleeping forever. I would use rhyme to show the child form of the antagonist and how this movie would portray a younger cast.

- On my poster I would probably have the poster in broad daylight to show how even in the daytime, people can and will still be in danger. This would challenge the stereotype of it being night time all of the time within horror movies. I would have the main 2 protagonists surrounded by different forms of people showing the danger that can lurk with everyone. I would have a school setting as that can be quite a safe environment normally it shows how people are not always safe even when they are in crowded and larger locations.

- For the colour palette, I would probably go for a mixture of brighter and darker colours. This will include brighter colours for one of the protagonist's outfit to show their safety and good well-being, compared to the other protagonist who would have darker clothing showing her fall into insanity from the things lurking and staring. I would use brighter colours for the background of the school to show that danger can lurk anywhere and give my audience a sense of unease as a well populated place in unsafe for few people.

- For my poster, I am planning on having the main protagonist in the centre surrounded by different forms of people (adult, student, doctor, child, teacher, etc) staring at her. I am planning on having this shot took at school. Within the staring people, I am going to include the other protagonist, showing that these forms are not real. For my DVD cover, I was planning on having eyes above the title surrounded by darkness to cause fear and a tone for what this movie would involve.

- On the poster, I would include the title of the movie along with the release date to inform the viewer of when they can watch it. I would have the main image to show an insight of what is to come along with the tagline as to convey fear and paranoia but to also inform them of the premise of the movie. I would include the main two protagonists' actor's names to entice the viewer if they know them. I would also include the director so that people who enjoy seeing the person behind the creation of the movie can see the person responsible for the creation of the film.

- On my DVD cover, I am going to have my movie title 'The Stare' towards the middle of the case with eyes peering just above them to give the impression of unease and fear. Under the title would be the tagline. At the top of the DVD cover, I am going to have the main two actor's names but I would put the directors name above the actors names as to give credit to them as well as the actors. 

- On the back cover, I am planning on having about 1 main image to entice the reader and 6 thumbnails to give them a bit of a teaser and insight of some scenes. I would have the main image as the poster image of the main protagonist surrounded by different forms of people staring at her, and along with them I would have the other protagonist. I would have about 3 - 4 thumbnail shots of school scenes and then 1 - 3 thumbnail shots of another location which would be a house.

-  On the DVD front cover, I would include the title of the movie along with the main image to give the viewer a teaser of what is to come in the movie. I would include the main two protagonists' actor's names to entice the viewer if they know them. I would also include the director so that people who enjoy seeing the person behind the creation of the movie can see the person responsible for the creation of the film. I would include the tagline as to convey fear and paranoia but to also inform them of the premise of the movie early on so enigmas are created of how 'looks can kill'. On the back cover, I would have the rest of the images as thumbnails to give the viewer a taste of what is to come. I would include the credit block along with the age rating and the productions that helped to produce the movie as extra information for the viewer so that people who do like looking at what companies deserve credit, can see. I would also add the barcode for very obvious reasons. I would obviously include a blurb that gives information but not too much information to leave mystery for the viewers.

- On the spine of the DVD cover, I would have the title with a smaller image present to the right of it. I would also include the age rating again to enforce them on the age that they are required to be. I would have the small DVD thing towards the top of the spine as extra decoration and making it seem like more of an actual DVD.

- I am going to show that the poster and DVD are linked through the same title but also the image would consist of the same characters. The tagline would be the same along with the actors names being on them both with the directors name present as well. The colour scheme would be quite different as the DVD cover presents a darker colour theme where as the poster would portray a brighter one but other than that, everything else would be very similar.

- Throughout both the DVD cover and the poster, I will use sans serif for the title 'The Stare' and  a serif font for the tagline 'Looks Can Kill...' to cause it to feel more eerie and unnerving. For the actors and directors names, I am going to use a sans serif font to make them stand out more and bring peoples attention towards the people present in the film.

- The stereotypes that I would support is having the main protagonist be a girl for the stereotype of a 'damsel in distress' scenario. I would also support the dark colour scheme for the DVD cover as I would show darker colours to cause an eerie effect. I would challenge the stereotype of horror movies always needing a slasher / killer that is always in the hunt for people as this would present something that just stands there creepily. On the poster, I would be challenging the stereotype of horror movies always needing a dark setting or isolated setting as it presents a safe and populated environment that is light.

Friday 7th June 2024

CourseWork Page

LO: To research our target audience to enable successful targeting.

Demographics - Age, Gender, Profession, Location, Marital Status

Psychographics - Personality, Values, Activities, Interests, Opinions

Wednesday 12th June 2024

NEA Planning

LO: To plan an effective product aimed at a specific audience using appropriate codes and conventions.

Friday 14th June 2024

NEA Planning

LO: To plan an effective product aimed at a specific audience using appropriate codes and conventions.

Friday 21st June 2024

NEA Planning

LO: To plan an effective product aimed at a specific audience using appropriate codes and conventions.

Friday 12th July 2024

Photoshoot!!

LO: Do your photoshoot you dumb dumb.

COMPLETED

Tuesday 10th September 2024

Coursework Review & Plan of Attack!

Lo: To review works so far and create a detailed plan.

Friday 13th September 2024

Do Now: 3/3

1) My target audience is 16 - 24 year olds.

2) I have to produce a film poster along with a DVD cover of my own idea for a movie.

3) Gory shot / Intriguing title.

Tuesday 17th September 2024

Do Now: 3/5

1) Raheem Stirling - Famous footballer.

2) Malala is known for surviving an attack. (Gunshot to the head by the Taliban).

3) GQ stands for 'Gentlemen Quarterly.

4) Vogue is a fashion genre magazine.

5) A magazine masthead tells you the magazine you are reading 'Vogue', 'GQ' or 'Cosmopolitan', etc.

Friday 20th September 2024

Do Now:

1) Malala was an unusual choice for a Vogue cover as stereotypes were challenged like ethnicity,   religion, etc.

2) The target audience for GQ is people who are male, high earners of money and around 20 - 44.

3) The target audience for Vogue is people who are female, high earners of money and around 20 - 45.

4) Anchorage - The use of words to give meaning to images, such as captions, headlines and taglines.

5) A main cover line informs the viewer of what the main image and what is in the magazine and it is also the largest text on the magazine.

Tuesday 1st October 2024

Do Now:

1) A - Sans Serif font.

2) Sweating like a pig, feeling like a fox.

3) Ideology - Beliefs, attitudes & values.

4) Intertextuality - when you make reference from one text to another.

5) 12 - NTTD DVD cover age rating.

Friday 4th October 2024

Do Now: 4/5

1) Typography - The font, size, and other things to do with text.

2) 'NTTD' was released in 2021.

3) The 'TMWTGG' poster included a reference to Kung Fu.

4) Intertextuality - When you make a reference from one to to another.

5) The women on the NTTD poster were represented as strong and powerful. This was noticeable by the female characters wielding guns and dressed classy to match the Bond style.

Tuesday 8th October 2024

Do Now: 4/5

1) Bond actor in TMWTGG - Roger Moore

2) TMWTGG release date - 1974

3) TMWTGG referenced the global event - The recent nuclear power station disaster.

4) Bond actor in NTTD - Daniel Craig

5) Representation of women on TMWTGG poster - Stereotypical Bond girls, very underdressed to grab attention of male audience. (Sexually objectified)

Friday 11th October 2024

Do Now: 2/5

1) The person who regulates films is the BBFC.

2) The difference between a 12 and a 12a rating is that a 12a rating is only used for cinemas. 12a ratings allows children younger than 12 to enter but with an adult.

3) The film industry process includes: Production, Distribution, Exhibition.

4) The process in which marketing comes under is 'Distribution'.

5) The event that had had a massive impact on the NTTD marketing strategy and release was Covid-19 as it caused cinemas to shut leaving to a wait for the NTTD movie to come out. However, the company posted media and posters to keep people interested and intrigued.

PPE: Media Studies

1 - Comparison

2 - Industry

Tuesday 15th October 2024

Do Now: 3/5

1) NTTD was produced by EON Productions.

2) NTTD was distributed by Universal Pictures.

3) Film Industry process - Production, Distribution, Exhibition.

4) Marketing goes under distribution.

5) Posters, Teasers, Billboards