Eden Lake Presentation

By Precious King and Leyla Hassan

Examples of Film Promotion: Carrie - Cafe Prank

During the last few lessons, myself and my class have been looking closely at different methods of film promotion. A few examples include posters, trailers, exclusive viewings, adverts, radio etc. Out of all these methods stated, the video linked below is probably the most creative one i've seen so far. 

The video has been inspired by the famous 1976 'Carrie' prom scene where the young teenager expresses her humiliation and anger by exercising her telekinetic powers. This clever supernatural prank worked wonders in creating a buzz and raising awareness for the new 2013 remake as this method of promotion allowed the public to get involved causing the video to go viral on the internet after only a few days reaching a staggering 40million plus views.

                                      Carrie Coffee Shop Prank

Why are trailers so important?

The trailer is a very powerful and meaningful source of promotion and marketing as it allows viewers to get a quick insight on what the film will be about. From a trailer alone, a viewer can usually tell if they are interested in the film and whether or not they will be going to see it once it is released making it crucial for film makers to create their trailers to be as appealing as possible. 

This is just one of the many reasons why the people in the film industry put so much effort, thought and detail especially in horror trailers in the hopes of keeping the target audience captivated and anxious to see what will happen next.  The trailer is a good tool when aiming to stir up emotions as it gives the audience a short taste of the film as still images alone would be rather ineffective.

Below are a few trailers that I thought to be very captivating and were successful in persuading me to go and see them. This is because they don't give away too much (apart from Carrie as we already know what will happen) allowing room for the audience to guess what may happen next and try to piece the story together.

    'The Evil Dead' (2013)

       'I Spit On Your Grave' (2013)

'Carrie' (2013)

BBFC Classification

The BBFC – what do they do?

In order to protect children from unsuitable and even harmful content in films and videos and to give consumers information they might need about a particular film or video before deciding whether or not to view it, the BBFC examines and age rates films and videos before they are released.

The BBFC look at issues such as discrimination, drugs, horror, dangerous and easily imitable behaviour, language, nudity, sex and violence when making decisions. They also consider context, the tone and likely impact of a work on the potential audiecne.
                                                             (bbf.co.uk)

U – The U symbol stands for universal which means that the context shown is suitable for any child from the age of four years old.  Only very mild bad language such as ‘damn’ and ‘hell’ are considered acceptable for this classification. No significant issues can be raised e.g. sex, discrimination, nudity etc, although brief kissing is deemed appropriate. A U film may include brief scenes of violence or moments where a character is in danger but the threat must be quickly resolved and the outcome must be reassuring.

PG – The symbol stands for parental guidance meaning that the film is suitable for general viewing but some scenes may be considered unsuitable for younger children. Mind bad language such as ‘shit’ or ‘bitch’ are considered appropriate but not repeatedly. References to sex are acceptable as long as it is mild and not dwelled upon in detail. Some blood is acceptable as long as the viewers are unable to get an in depth insight on how the wound or injury was inflicted. Realistic or easily accessible weapons such as knives will not be glamorised in a PG classification film.

12/12A – This classification means that anyone aged 12 or over can go and see the film unaccompanied. The A stands for 'accompanied' and 'advisory'. Children younger than 12 may see the film if they are accompanied by an adult (e.g. someone over the age of 18), who must watch the film with them. Some strong language such as f**** is considered acceptable but it cannot be used frequently.  Sex may be portrayed briefly and verbal sex references should not exceed what is appropriate for a young teenager. There may be nudity but again, this must be discreet and brief as well as violence which must also not be dwelled upon.  Discriminatory behaviour should not be endorsed in the film as a whole.

15 – This classification means that the content in the film will only be suitable for a person aged 15 and over. strong violence, frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***'), portrayals of sexual activity, strong verbal, references to sex, sexual nudity, verbal references to sexual violence, discriminatory language or behaviour and drug taking are suitable as long as it is brief and not shown in too much detail.

18 – This classification means that content is only suitable for adults. No theme is prohibited at 18 as adults are allowed to pick their own entertainment within the law, which means that some themes may be deemed effective.

Research Rationale

When analysing Paul Wells’ research into target audience, I found that people between the ages of 15-25 are more likely to be interested in watching horror as they enjoyed the bloodletting and gore the most out of all the other categories. For that reason, I have decided to target the same age group however with further independent research, this may change. 

When conducting my research, I have decided to use various methods which will enable me to collect a variety of useful datum to aid me in creating a successful horror trailer. The methods I have chosen are as followed:

Surveys

I have decide to use a survey to collect my qualitive data as it is a useful way of learning what the target audience is thinking, how they feel and what techniques they found to be effective (e.g. fast cutting  for violent action, handheld shots for chase scenes etc).  The information from these surveys will enable me to make objective decisions concerning the different elements that I should or should not include, pushing me in the right direction to create a piece that will be appealing to my target audience.  I will try to get a large number of participants involved so that I can have access to a wider range of opinions and ideas.

Secret Filming
I have also decided to conduct an observational study by secretly filming a number of participants whilst watching a variety of different horror trailers that I give them. In doing this I will be able to see the sections of the trailer that caused the most obvious reaction and will be food for thought for the content that I will be putting in my own.

 

An example of secret filming; from a 2010 paranormal activity midnight screening

Focus Groups

This leads on to my next method of research which will be to conduct a focus group using the same participants from the secret filming and discuss with them in more detail how they felt after they had watched the trailers. I will also be asking them a series of questions in order to deduce from them useful information that will again guide me  when making my horror trailer and conform the definite target audience that I will be aiming my trailer at.

Film Reviews
For additional research, I will also be looking in depth into horror film reviews and will be analysing the criticisms and compliments given. I will be sure to do this with a number of different reviews again, allowing me to see a variety of different opinions and ideas that could help make my horror trailer a great success.

 

Types Of Codes and Roland Barthes

Hermeneutic Code: the story is not fully explained, the full truth is avoided keeping the audience guessing until the final scene where all is revealed.

Podiatric Code: action or event that indicates something else is going to happen and by witnessing this, the audience can say what characters will do/ what will happen next.

Roland Barthes’ Enigma Code: A theory that suggests that a text (whether television, film, poster etc) portrays a mystery to draw an audience in, pose questions and, as such, become intrigued in the piece. For example, a murder mystery will often not reveal the identity of the murderer until the very end.

According Roland Barthes, this sequence is as followed:

Thematisation – what in the narrative is the enigma?

Positioning – additional confirmation of the enigma

Formulation of the enigma

Promise of an answer

Fraud – circumvention of the true answer

Equivocation – mixture of fraud and the truth

Blocking – not allowing the enigma to be solved

Suspended answer – stopping the answer after having begun

Partial answer  - some facts of the truth are revealed

Disclosure of the truth

                                          

Cabin In the Woods Essay

The start of the 2012 horror film conforms to the codes and conventions of horror as icons such as blood and gore can be spotted straight away. The majority of the film is also set in darkness and in isolated settings created by expressionistic and shadowy lighting, which again conforms. Atmospheric suspense music can be heard on numerous occasions along with many loud screams and cries, examples of this being in the first chase scene where the first murder in the woods takes place.  Typical characters such as the Hedonistic teenagers, Monsters and The Final Girl (almost) can all be spotted – supporting Propp’s character theory and allowing the audience to easily guess the fate of each character.

Similarly to Scream, Cabin in The Woods also subverts the codes and conventions of horror by stating ‘Rules’ during the movie.  These rules of ‘not having sex’ were broken in both films and the characters that participated in this type of activity were killed early on. The male gaze can also be spotted on more than two occasions supporting Carol J Clover’s theory.  However, the main subversion in the movie is that in most horror films, the audience is lead to believe that the situation the characters face just happen to be an unfortunate series of events whereas in this film, the audience is led to believe that horror movies actually happen in real life to please the ‘gods’ and keep the world in ‘order’ which is why sacrificial themes can be spotted throughout hence the opening credits.

As well as Scream, the movie makes reference to various other films one being Psycho. References of this film can be spotted  in one of the early scenes where voyeurism takes place as a male characters spies on the ‘Virgin’ behind the large picture frame whilst in her room. This was similar to when Norman Bates was spying on Marion though a hole in the wall. Also, the animalistic imagery of the stuffed animal heads on the walls and the slaughtered ram in the painting can be considered Psycho reference's and represent the fate of some of the characters.

The typical camera work and editing such as crosscutting for suspense sequences and faster cutting for violent action can all be identified although an unusual high angle was used in the beginning of the film however this could be argued as a point of view shot for those being watched.  

More horror icons and typical narratives such as the supernatural haunting a group of people and unexplained events can all be identified within the narrative of the horror movie. Todorov’s narrative structure of equilibrium, disruption and restoration of equilibrium have all been used in one way or another as well as the binary oppositions between good and evil, life and death, supernatural and natural all leading up to some sort of resolution but this time with a twist, suggesting to the audience that all is not well and not everything has been restored back to a ‘normal’ state.

Typically, the ‘Virgin’ or ‘Final Girl’ in the movie was the main character and the audience was lead to believe that she would survive like most of the ‘Pure’ and ‘Innocent’ characters do, although this actually turned out to be false hope as even though she was reunited with the other male character, in the end, good did not triumph over evil and there were no survivors.