Horror Film Trailer VISUAL ASSIGNMENT

Overview I intend to make a psychological horror film based around the urban legend that, whoever enters Shelton Mental Hospital, whether patient, worker or visitor, turns insane. The story follows Isaac, a veteran detective who was sent to investigate a massacre at the hospital. Whilst investigating, he and his colleagues are knocked out cold and awake in a cell. They must escape the cell and apprehend the murderer. But Isaac feels himself falling deeper and deeper into insanity. Visions of monsters, recollections of the past, Isaac isn’t going to get through this without a fight.

Audience Results From my survey, I can see that males between the ages of 16 and 30 prefer a horror movie to be comedy based. It is also a genre of film that the consumer has to be in the mood to watch. I can also see that using qualitative questions doesn’t usually work because people try to be funny by not providing you with a proper answer.

The Value Of Audience Results My survey hasn’t been overly helpful as I have already decided on the kind of film I wanted to make. I will take into account that the audience like comedy horror so I will try to throw in the occasional gag, although it may not suit the kind of film. I understand that most of the consumers are male, so I will need to make sure my trailer caters mostly to males, whilst also trying to appeal to females. I also plan to rule out qualitative questions on surveys in future as they are never taken seriously and just prove to be a waste of time.

Contextual Influences As research I have watched three trailers, two of horror films, one of a game. The Shining, Pan’s Labyrinth and The Evil Within were my choices for their breakthrough styles and unique methods of making the audience uneasy. I have also listened to the soundtracks of the medium to get a feel of what tracks would perfectly accompany my film trailer.

The Value Of Contextual Influences Contextual influences are always helpful when making anything, it gives you a base to compare your work to and you can easily pinpoint good and bad factors which you may or may not want to include in your work. With contextual influences you can also decide on personal tastes, something can be of a high quality but not to your liking because of certain reasons, such as the personalities involved, not being a fan of certain music, games or films, and not understanding certain references or subjects.

Contextual Research #1 The Shining is a 1980 British-American psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, co-written with novelist Diane Johnson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers. The film is based on Stephen King's 1977 novel of the same name, although the film and novel differ in significant ways. In the film, Jack Torrance, a writer and recovering alcoholic, takes a job as an off-season caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel. His young son possesses psychic abilities and is able to see things from the past and future, such as the ghosts who inhabit the hotel. Some time after settling in, the family is trapped in the hotel by a snowstorm, and Jack gradually becomes influenced by a supernatural presence, descends into madness, and ultimately attempts to murder his wife and son.

Contextual Research #2 Pan's Labyrinth, is a 2006 Spanish-Mexican dark fantasy film written and directed by Mexican Guillermo del Toro. It was produced and distributed by Esperanto Films. The story takes place in Spain in May–June 1944, five years after the Spanish Civil War, during the early Francoist period. The narrative of the film intertwines this real world with a mythical world centered on an overgrown abandoned labyrinth and a mysterious faun creature, with which the main character, Ofelia, interacts. Ofelia's stepfather, the Falangist Captain Vidal, hunts the Spanish Maquis who fight against the Francoist regime in the region, while Ofelia's pregnant mother grows increasingly ill. Ofelia meets several strange and magical creatures who become central to her story, leading her through the trials of the old labyrinth garden. The film employs make-up, animatronics, and CGI effects to bring life to its creatures.

Contextual Research #3 The Evil Within, known as Psycho Break in Japan, is a third-person survival horror video game developed by Tango Gameworks and published by Bethesda Softworks and is directed by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami. The game centers around protagonist Sebastian Castellanos as he is pulled through a distorted world full of nightmarish locations and horrid creatures.

Was My Contextual Research Helpful? My contextual research was of the utmost importance. From watching/playing my examples I have learnt what shots, angles, tropes and tricks must be used to help authenticate my trailer and make it comparable to high budget Hollywood productions.