Target audience interviews

Findings

Age - There were 3 18 year olds and 1 17 year old and there taste in films was not dramatically different showing that the maturity level is very similar meaning our trailer would appeal to all ages around that area. This would most likely go as far from 15-25.

Preferred Genre - There taste in genre was slightly different and differed away from the horror genre mainly due to the others in choice. Although they may like horror their favourite films in terms of the spectrum caused them to pick something else. This is probably even the case for myself, I am a huge fan of a great horror but it is not my go to genre in terms of other films out there. Furthermore if they went out to see a film within there own sex they are more likely to watch a different genre. If they went out a group they would more likely watch a horror which is not entirely taken into account when we initially ask them the questions.

Why do they watch films? - It seems to be more of a social event in which they can get out of the house and go to the cinema, this is obviously perfect for any film but horrors especially which can be a unique cinema experience.

Judgement - Most judged towards the middle or end of the film which means the same principles may apply to trailers meaning they can stay till the jump scare and actually get gripped and even scared enticing them to watch the film when it comes out.

Elaborated sounds - Most didn't like the use of sounds and said it depended on the movie, in this case for a horror trailer it is key to get them scared and gripped with the non diegetic and even exaggerated diegetic sound being placed.

Target audience data

To get a better understanding of our audience, I complied a questionnaire which I handed around members of our target audience to obtain various data which will be helpful in the construction of our Trailer. The Questionnaire was comprised of the following questions;

1) Gender (Male/Female)
2) Age (15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60 and over)
3) Favorite Genre of film
4) Do you judge films within the first few minutes
5) Favorite films
6) Do you like the use of special effects
7) How often do you go to the cinema
8) Where do you watch film trailers (T.V, or Internet)

The results, as shown via charts and similar boring maths related diagrams are as follows;

Film company logo (First draft)

Here is the first draft of our company logo for Hyperion Entertainment. We have utilised the macabre image of a guillotine to insinuate the content our company makes, making it more likely to have created a horror movie.

 

The above image was designed and created by Carl Aylett

Target audience brands

For our target audience work, we have to work out exactly who it is we are trying to entice in with our film trailer. From looking at the website UKtribes, which provides detailed notes on all the main youth tribes that can be located in the UK. The website details a number of tribes, including;

• Nerds
• Townies
• Hipsters
• Chavers
• Rahs
• Trendies
• Trackies
• Fan Girls

The list of youth tribes that exist in this country goes on and on. Due to the vast amounts of information given to the user upon visiting the web page, it is fairly easy to narrow down the tribe you wish to focus on. In the end, due to the fact we wish to have our trailer appeal to the most people possible; we will be focusing on the Townies group.



Townies, as described by UKtribes, are "as mainstream as you can get – it’s the default ‘normal’ Tribe and the core of the British youth population…" Due to the fact that this is "the core" of the British youth population, and the fact we want our trailer to appeal to the most people possible, aiming our trailer at this particular group seems obvious. Fortunately, Townies are known for watching a great deal of television, and sticking to things which are popular. It would therefore be easy to attempt to catch this particular group's attention, and due to their media usage (particularly the television), it would be fairly easy to advertise to them.




Below is a small slideshow listing the tribe's top 13 or so brands.

Influences for the trailer (and what we are TOTALLY NOT ripping off)

So, what aspects of the Grave Encounters 2 trailer would we like to plagiari.... be inspired by? Well, the main thing that jumps out at me is, well, the jump scare! The demonic figure that turns up at the end of the trailer, somewhere at the start, and in the thumbnail of the video. More than this, the trailer carries with it a sense of perpetual unease, and lighting is also used to very good effect.




Insidious; one of the "greatest horror films of modern times" actually has a pretty effective trailer. The camera angles and shots used, along with the setting and lighting are very well done, which we shall do our best to copy.... I mean emulate in our trailer.


Here is the trailer for one of the oldest horror movies that is still widely regarded as being popular; The Blair Witch project. I do not like much about this trailer, as the lighting is poor, making it difficult to make out what is going on (even if this was intended, it doesn't work.) Next thing I find lacking about this trailer is the actual content, or should I say lack of scares. Nothing in the trailer effectively makes the audience jump, therefore suggesting it isn't an effective trailer. The only thing I like about the trailer is the way it manages to maintain a constant atmosphere of threat.



Here is the trailer for VHS 2, which is an incredibly unnerving trailer due to the strange and frantic nature of the trailer. Nothing is explained, and the trailer does suffer for it for quite a bit. Normally, a trailer should bait the audience by revealing enough information to make a small section of the plot known, but not revealing too much. This trailer focuses solely on keeping the audience in the dark, and thus is very difficult to emulate it.


The Conjuring was a recent horror film, which was pretty well received by critics. The ending of the trailer is particularly interesting, as it ends with someone clapping as opposed to the generic scary face seen in most other trailers. The trailer also has a fairly good build up, which is something I wish to implement in our trailer.  

Film Company Name

Aside from the trailer itself, we also had to design our film company, the name of the company and the logo of said company. Below are photos of the planning we went through to achieve our companies name; Hyperion entertainment.

The list was divided into three categories; titles we liked, titles we thought could potentially work with some reworking, or titles that we thought in no way would be usable. This were colour coded Green, Blue and brown respectively.

The final selection process was whittled down to three;
Hyperion Entertainment
Last Breath
Titan productions

This was further whittled down until we were left with Hyperion Entertainment. We living in a democracy, opted to go for Hyperion Entertainment for fear of riots and violence.

Initial location shots (Test footage)

Here is a video showing our initial shots of our planned location. We plan to set the trailer in this house, as it possesses both modern rooms, such as sleek contemporary bedrooms and a modern kitchen. This contrasts well to the dining room, living room and back room, which all appear aged and could easily appear as though they are from the past.

Prop List

Here is a simple video showing off the props we plan to use in our film trailer.