For my coursework assignment I intend to produce a film trailer belonging to the horror genre. I have chosen this genre as it is a popular genre and has a wide mainstream audience; my trailer will be based on the sub genre of a wet horror film (Steven King)which is more widely known as the “stalk and slash” horror. The reason I have chosen this sub genre is because this genre is typically used and the existing audience are aware of the codes and conventions, therefore they will easily be able to identify the genre of the film trailer.
My target audience will be mainstream, aged 14-21 and of both sexes as this is the typical age range for horror films. I expect most of the audience to relate to the victims in the film as it disturbs the equilibrium of a daily situation most people do every day. The purpose of this media text is to inform the target audience about the film and to persuade them to go and watch the film I will do this by using fast edits, non digetic sound and digetic sound to enhance the feel of the trailer.
The institution is vital to the popularity of the film and to the choice of audience. Therefore I have chosen Miramax as my distributor as it is well known for horror films such as “Scream” by Wes Craven which is also aimed at a similar audience. Miramax is a high concept film company which will also have an effect on the audience and peoples expectations of the film. The main plot of the film is set in an open suburban area in the middle of nowhere in which there is a short cut that is often used by teenagers.
This short cut is then disturbed and turned into a teenage blood bath for a serial killer with a vengeance. The serial killer is slowly revealed by different shots of his face which is edited to show flash backs will reveal his motive for the murder. As I am working on my own my role will be both director and editor. As director I will need to create a storyboard for the trailer, decide on each different shot, decide on props and setting and choose the actors.
As director I will also be filming the trailer, I will be using a digital camera to film and a tripod to create steady shots. In my role as editor I will be using the apple Mac computers; I will use the computers to create enigma codes “as all horror films contain enigma codes” (Barthes). As editor I will need to decide on graphics for the title of the film, how each shot roles into the next e. g. fade out, cut and decide on the non-digetic music. My film will be called “cut” which refers to the plot when the victims take a short cut and get murdered.
In my trailer I will use shots of the Chloe Davies 12. 2 institution and realise dates, this will help the audience identify that it is a film trailer. The purpose of this media text is to persuade the target audience to go and watch the film. The trailer gives the audience a little taste of what is going to happen but leaves the audience wondering what is going to happen e. g. Is the killer going to get caught? How? Most horror films promote the ideology of religion and that “if you have sex before marriage you will die.
” Movies such as “scream” up hold this dominant Ideology, where as my trailer goes against the dominant ideology as the killer’s motive is revenge. By having unknown actors in my trailer it will allow the audience to relate more to the characters rather than watching it and associating them with previous roles they have played. Although by casting famous actors it pushes the audience to believe that it is worth going to watch, it also expands the target audience as fans of the actors will also go and watch the film.
