A Star's image; The Hollywood studio system.

Existing film comany research

Below find my video on the research I found when looking into existing film production companies. I chose companies especially that produce horror films as horror is the fixation within my coursework.

 
 








The above is by Archie McCarthy

Woman in Black 9 frame analysis

The above work is by Carl Aylett

Sinister 9 frame analysis

The above work is by Carl Aylett

The Conjuring trailer analysis

VHS 2 Trailer analysis

BBFC Research - Certificate Ratings

Below find a hyperlink to my BBFC Certificate Research magazine. Simply click on the picture and it will take you to the .SWF file. Adobe Flash Player needs to be installed: 

The above work is by Archie McCarthy

Grave Encounters analysis

Iconic Soundtracks from Horror Films

The above work is by Carl Aylett

Research into typical synopsis

After looking into the typical synopsis of horror films, I have noticed that the plot is very dependent on the type of horror film. Below is a quiz devised using the different synopsis's to see which horror film you would be most likely to have created.



Quiz can be located here.

Analysis of font

When looking a titles for films, font is often key to portray the nature of the film as a horror trailer. Some use simple, or plain fonts to lure the viewer into the false sense of security, such as the original Halloween film (1987) and other use far more dark and foreboding text to make clear that the film is designed to scare the audience or give them a sense of unrest, such as the title of Se7en (1995).

Horror film titles were mainly written in a plain, relatively normal font up until the 1950s when the titles start to become far more varied and and sinister. The type of horror film also influences the font used for the title greatly.

A slasher film, which generally focuses on a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a number of victims in a particularly violent and graphic nature. The term slasher is characterized due to the frequent use of weapons used to cut/slash the victim including, but not limited to; Knives, Axes, Chainsaws, Scythes and Saws. Famous examples include the Halloween films (1987-2009), The Texas Chain saw Massacre (1974-2013), Scream(1996), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), The Final destination franchise (2000-2011) and even Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). These films generally have twisted titles which make the audience feel uneasy. Modern day interpretations rely heavily upon distorted titles, which in some way reference the content of the film- Blood, an X-Ray or a Chainsaw.

Splatter films are films which rely heavily upon gore and violence to shock the audience into being scared. These films are often criticized for their use of violence above all else, using the plot as a framing device for the violence rather than try to engage the audience on any level. Notable examples include Hostel (2005-2011), Saw (2004-2010), My Bloody Valentine (2009), The Crazies (2009), The Hills have eyes (2006) and Dawn of the Dead (2004). The fonts used for these titles are very plain, choosing to utilize more distorted text, than a form of text which reflects a particular aspect of the film, such as blood. The texts are generally dark in nature and are normally a strong, stark contrast to the background.

The last kind of horror film which could be realistically used is a supernatural horror film. Supernatural horror films have a strong link to the occult and spirits of those who have passed away. Examples of these include; The Amityvale horror (2005), The Exorcist (1973), Grave Encounters
(2011-2012), The Blair Witch Project (1999), Paranormal Activity (2007-2014) and Drag me to Hell (2009). These titles are often simple, or plain text overlayed upon a single colour background, normally dark in nature. These texts are the simplest, as they rely the least on effects and seem to just create tension by being something ordinary, that isn't quite right.

Clearly, there is a great contrast between modern day Horror film titles and horror film trailers of the past. Modern day titles use darker fonts in an attempt to make the audience feel a sense of unrest, which can be seen across all genres of horror film. These often use dark backgrounds to reflect the nature of the films. From this, our title will have to utilize a fairly plain text, with a dark foreboding background. 

Still Frame analysis

The above work is by Carl Aylett

Histroy of horror trailers

The horror genre has gone through many changes over the years, in similar ways as action and adventure films have due to to advancement in technology. On the other hand horror has mainly changed in the actual content and what is considered as 'scary'.

Horror has been around for many years and first comes to the screens/movies as early as the 1920's. Movies within this time period all the way up till the 1960's are all fairly similar with the fixation on supernatural beings. This includes the usual horror monsters like zombies, ghosts, frankenstein, vampires, mummies and skeletons etc. 

Films like this include:

• Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1920)
• Nosferatu (1922)
• The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
• Dracula (1931)
• Night of Terror (1933)
• Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
• The Walking Dead (1936)

The only differentiation in the typical supernatural horror films within this time period occurred in the 1950's where their was more signs of wars (the cold war) and various communist themes being portrayed. Films like this include:

• The Thing from Another World (1951)
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

In 1960 the Hammer Film Productions became notoriously more known and created the term and string of 'Hammer Horror Films' due to them dominating the genre at the time. The production utilised the actor Christopher Lee a lot and he was present in many of the films, stealing the lead role too. He played the Creature/Frankenstein in the Curse of Frankenstein (1957) The Mummy and even Count Dracular. This shows how  well known actors were re-used to possibly sell the film which follows the same ideas that modern films do with action and adventure films, not necessarily a horror film though. 

Furthermore there was a popular sub-genre which differed to the typical supernatural views on horror which was a psychological take on the horror aspect. Well known films like this include:

• Psycho (1960)
• Hour of the Wolf (1968)
• Night Gallery (1969)

This was taken all the way through 1960 and gained popularity in the 70s too with A Clockwork orange and the Halloween franchise. 

The next horror outlet to gain popularity was the adaptions of Stephen Kings horror books, films like this include:

• The Shining (1980)
• Misery (1990)
• It (1990)
• Pet Sematary (1989)
• Carrie (1976)
• Cujo (1983)

Dawn of the Dead came out in 1978 as George A Romeros second film in his living dead series. It introduced a lot more violence and gore to the horror industry which made films such as My Bloody Valentine (1981) and many more. Furthermore it is now much more popular and frequent in modern films such as the whole Saw and Final Destination franchise which gets it sales due to the mass amount of gore. Moreover classic films have been remade such as Evil Dead (2013) which ridiculously increases the amount of gore shown compare to the original. 

Modern day horror films now steer away from the traditional supernatural beings such as Frankenstein and Vampires and fixate more on the paranormal beings such as ghosts, demons, poltergeists and possession which somehow prove to scary many individuals even in cases where an actual bring isn't present (Paranormal Activity, invisible demons etc) This can be interpreted to follow the old psychological format in which the invisible being plays tricks on the viewers mind and scares them not knowing where the actual demon is. 

The above is by Archie McCarthy

Green Screen test

The above work is by Carl Aylett