Creating: The Newspaper Article 1890, The Chant, The Torture Pictures

The Newspaper Article 1890

We created this newspaper using Pages on the apple macs. In our film it was used during the beginning of the trailer to capture the narrative of the film and give an ambiguous idea of what the film includes. It shows that the college we filmed in, and the teenagers we followed are all victims of the past and history of the present college they attend. Spirits are around, Devil's attack them and mysterious events are encountered.

We decided to put a story on the bottom of the front cover with the date of 1890. This is a crucial point because it is immediate evidence of the past and history of which the story is based on.

The Chant

We did research on witchcraft and found that during the time of the civil world war, Matthew Hopkins is perhaps the most notorious name in the history of English witchcraft. He's believed to be responsible for the killing of around 300 women. After gathering more research, we found a poem by Samuel Butler, an early defender and critic against witchcraft (1612-1680). He was an English satirist. His most famous poem was 'Hudibras', published in three parts 1663, 1664 and 1678, and which immediately became popular for its biting satire against the Puritans. He wrote:

Hath not this present Parl’ament

A Lieger to the Devil sent,

Fully impower’d to treat about

Finding revolted Witches out?

And has he not within a year

Hang’d threescore of them in one Shire?

Some only for not being drown’d,

And some for sitting above ground.

Whole days and nights upon their Breeches,

And feeling pain, were hang’d for Witches

And some for putting knavish Tricks

Upon green Geese or Turkey Chicks

Or Pigs that suddenly deceast

Of griefs unnatural, as he guess'd

Who after proved himself a Witch

And made a rod for his own Breech.

From Samuel Butler's - Hudibras (first published in 1663).

We then improvised and changed the poem to suit our film. To make it realistic we wanted to give it an olden look which we did by dabbing a wet tea bag on it and then burning the edges.

Step 1: (Teabag Mixture)

Step 2: (Dabbing Teabag on paper)

Step 3: (Burning)

Final Product:

The Torture Pictures
We created the pictures by using uncopyrighted images through google search engine. We felt we needed to use them to show more historical background and storyline of the happenings in the past. Also, they met the horror conventions of suffering, terror, horror, mystery, evil and sinister.

We used the same techniques as above to make it look olden. The only difference is that because we were filming the college students finding the evidence in the library, we emphasised how long it had been there by scrunching it up and piling it altogether.

Poster Analysis- Paranormal Activity 2

The main colours in the poster are all dark. The deep blue looks like a night camera, this gives it a real life effect and makes it more frightening. The red text stands out against the black background. Red suggests danger and blood giving it the horror theme. It is also good that they have used such a bright colour against a dark colour as the title now stands out and people will be drawn to it. The main figure in the poster is of a dog barking at a slightly opened door and a baby standing up in his/hers cot. Although we cannot see anything at the door we know that this must be a ‘paranormal’ event taking place as we know dogs can sense spirits and abnormal events. There is also a shadow on the floor of someone standing at the door although there is nobody there. We can also see a mirror in the poster, in the mirror you can see the reflection of the dog and you can see the cot, however the baby is not in it, this could represent that something (a spirit) wants the baby. A persuasive technique on the poster is a critics review on the film, “your sleepless nights are about to return”, this statement made by a critic will persuade people to go and see the film who like horrors as they go to see horrors to get a rush of fear. “The most anticipated horror event of the year”, this quote on the poster suggests that the film is not like any other horror film out.

The information is important that is on the horror poster as it shows from a critic you are going to get scared and this is why people go to see a horror. It also says that the movie is coming soon, this shows the readers that it is not out yet but to keep looking as it will be out soon.

The poster is effective as it shows abnormal events taking place, e.g. the baby missing in the mirror, this is a type of event that people tend not to see but hear about and they want to see it. The poster communicates effectively with the audience as it states that it is coming soon and also has a critics view on the film written on the poster. The poster is not offensive in any way but it does not state a BBFC age restriction, this could give people underage a false hope to see the film.

Teaser Analysis - Paranormal Activity 2

Paranormal Activity 2 Teaser Trailer

We are told the name of the film at the end of the teaser trailer. This is done so the audience have to watch the whole of the trailer to get the name, this will make the audience either wants to see it or not as they have an understanding of what the film is to do with. We are not told any names of who is staring in the film as it has no big actors in due to the footage been from a normal family, this film is showing real footage of what is happening in the house hold. There is little text throughout the trailer as it is more visual images that get the message across to the audience. All the footage is filmed at night so the background is dark, the writing is white so it stands out to the audience. This is important as the audience have to be able to see the writing easy. We do not see any great action in the trailer as the footage is more mysterious, for example, pots moving on its own, dog barking even though there is nothing there.

The music played is footsteps, this noise makes the audience believe someone is somewhere they shouldn't be e.g. someone breaking in, this shows the film is going to be a horror as the thought of having someone in your house and you do not no is scary.

The speed stays the same throughout the teaser trailer as the footage shown is enough to keep the audience focused. The film is not an action horror, it is a horror which shows things happening in a household which is abnormal. The audience will be concentrating throughout the trailer as they will be looking for these abnormal events happening.

The information given to us shows that the audience will be scared and that they will not be expecting what is going to be shown. This makes the audience want to go and see the film as they have been told they are getting what they have paid to see, a horror.

The information about the film is given through the middle to the end of the teaser trailer. This is done so the audience do not get bored, they will be getting information to tell the audience things about the film its self and what the audience can expect. This film is aimed at people in the age range of 15-24. This is the age range that most people would go and see a horror. Also males are more likely to go and see Paranormal Activity 2. This is common in horror films as males are likely to want to go and see horror and action films rather than other genre films.

Poster Analysis - Drag Me To Hell

The main colours used in the above poster for the movie “Drag Me To Hell” are the women's blonde hair, the black sky and the red of the fire. In most horror films the blonde girl is the first to die. This is because they are normally the most silliest characters on the film. She is obviously the main character in the film otherwise she would not be in the film poster. This film is non stereotypical horror film. The hand that is grabbing the women’s neck helps us to believe that the film is going to be a horror film. The white text that is placed on top of the really jumps of the page and grabs your attention. The small text below the film title is in an orange colour which fits with the fire underneath the text. The women's coat blends into the fire and the sky which links the whole poster together. The white text above the tile gives us a short explanation about what happens in the film. The main figure in the poster is a women screaming with fire around her. This symbolizes death. An object in the poster is someone’s hands dragging the women down into the flames, this shows that someone wants this girl dead. This gives the viewers an idea of what the film is to do with and what might happen. In the background there are houses, it looks like a normal setting, somewhere where you would not expect something bad to happen.

From looking at the film poster the intended audience they would be targeting will be people who are interested in horrors. According to Pearl and Dean the age group would be 15-24, also slightly more males would rather go and see the film, this could just be because of the genre as males are more likely to go and see a horror than females are.

The genre of Drag me to Hell is a horror. We know this due to the dramatic images on the poster. The star in the poster has been used as the USP (unique selling point). There are no expert witnesses quoted on the poster. pleasures that are promised by the poster will be danger, fear, fire, possibly death if not someone trying to kill. The attention is gained threw shock. As the images are graphic and different it draws the viewers in as they have not seen a poster like it before. It will make the audience think what will happen and will want to see it to find out. The tag-line on the poster, “Christine Brown has a good job, a great boyfriend, but in three days, she’s going to hell”, shows that the character (Christine Brown) has got a bad spirit after her and wants her to die as she has done something bad. This makes the audience sure that the films genre is horror.

The poster has important information on it, for example it shows who is the production company (Ghost house productions). This is important as the production company will get more noticed, also if they have a good reputation for their films they will get more people going to see the film as they will believe it has come from a good production company.

I believe the poster is effective as the images are believable and look dramatic. This poster is also very different to a lot of horror posters, this would make me want to see it. I believe it connects effectively with the audience as it gives information in the tag-line which the audience would be interested about. The tag-line gives a bit more information on what the film is to do with. I do not believe the poster is offensive in any way.

Poster Analysis - Sorority Row

The main colour in the sorority row poster is dark colours, grey and browns. These dark colours represent fear. Dark colours represent fear as not many people like the dark. Darkness can also link with death as when you die you get berried underground which is also dark, this could link with the poster as there is a drip of something on the bottom right, this could be mud. There are two different symbols in the poster, one is the drip, this could be blood or mud as I said earlier. The other symbol is the red X inbetween the words Sorority and Row. This symbol represents danger, as it could be a sign of death and the colour red shows fear. The main figures in the poster is girls who look like they are been tourchered. All the pictures look like reaction shots of the girls when they are in danger. From looking at the main images in the poster, we can see the film is set on teenage girls and it is a horror film. The background is plain, this does not matter, as the main image is so strong, this could be put on a blank background to make sure nothing takes the audiences attention away from the tourture pictures. The message in this poster is mostly primarily visual due to the strong images shown; we know the girls are in pain due to their reactions. It is also verbal due to the tag line. I believe teenage girls who enjoy horror films in the age range of 15-25 will be persuaded to this film as they can relate to the lifes these girls use to have- before the torcher. Many stars in the film are used as the unique selling point as this is the only thing in th poster that the audience can see that it is a horror film due to the blank background. From the poster we can see that the aundience that go and see this film are promised to see a group of girls that could be friends get tourchered and maybe killed. The tagline “the sisters of theta pi are dying to keep a secret” comes across effective to the audience as shock, this tagline also gives the audience an insite into the film as we now know someone is keeping a secret, this could be why the girls are getting torchered.
This poster is effective as it shows the audience what they will want to see in a horror, fear, death and torcher. The poster does not have an age concent on; this could give people underage false hope as they could be to young to see it.

Magazine Analysis - The Hulk

The magazine front cover featuring The Hulk captures the audiences attention mainly as it is 3D. As the front cover is 3D it stands out from all the other magazines that will be around it as it is different. As this is the first ever 3D magazine front cover people will be amazed and will be likely to read it.

Empire show a large picture of the hulk breaking through a wall with his hands, this shows how much strength the hulk has. On the front cover the hulk is directly looking at the viewer, suggesting a strong, assured and secure person. As the hulk is by himself in the picture it shows he is independent and does not need anyone around him to fight his battles.

The design, colours and layout are forceful and confrontational. The green of the Hulk is relieved with green writing on the front cover. To show who the green character is the word Hulk has purposely been put in the same colour of his body. Empire have also made another section green as it says “Incredible, The worlds first fully 3D cover!” this is important information as people are likely to purchase to look at the magazine to see the first ever 3D cover. As the green is so bright is shows that he like the magazine stands out from others and he is strong on his own. The large headline “The Hulk Unleashed” has all been put in big bold writing, this shows the hulks personality as everything is big on the HULK.

The cover tells you forcefully that this magazine is for young men and teenage boys and also girls who are interested in action fantasy films.

This magazine front cover tells a story to the readers about the hulk and how strong he is and you can tell which sort of film this will be.

Magazine Analysis - Hellboy 2

The magazine about is HellBoy 2. This front cover catches the audiences attention as the colours are bright and stand out. When colours stand out the audience will see it in the shop and look at it. Red colours represents death, the red stands out from the background colour as it is dark, this is good as it will get noticed more and also it fits in with the genre of a horror due to the dramatic colours. The text of the magazine is red with flames around it. Both red and flames represent danger, this is good as on the picture the creature has horns coming out of its head, this shows it could be to do with hell, this also links in with the name of the film. As we can see the person in the picture is red and comes across like a devil however we can also see he has a rosary bead on his wrist. All devils are against God and believe him to be their enemy, due to this it means he is not a real devil e.g. not as bad. There is nothing in the background of the magazine cover, this will give the film poster more attention as nothing is trying to take the attention away from it. The bright colours and layout are forceful and confrontational. The poster attracts the target audience. Horror is emphasized by the colour of the title and as it has flames. The audience for this magazine would be people between the age 15-25 as this is the age range that are most likely to see a horror film. They would be interested in the colours and the look of this magazine and they will want to read the information about the film