What are you scared of?

I went around asking the people with my target audience (approximately 15 people), "What are you scared of?". The reason why I asked my actual target audience is because it would make it easy to narrow down my results in the end and still be able to appeal to the correct audience. My audience had different answers to this question and I think this will help me as the common things that were said (e.g dolls & demons), could possibly be a main theme for my horror trailer as I would like to please my audience. One answer was extremely detailed as she said "...when you just see a swing moving by itself, or a roundabout." I found her answer quite useful and interesting as I have seen this myself in a horror film and it works really well. I will be noting down all the answers from this clip as it will add to my research and help me when it comes to knowing what the audience would like to see.

Reaction Video to Ouija Official Trailer 2014

I videod a friend and I watching the Ouija Official Trailer 2014. I found that sound was a major factor in horror trailers. When a noise suddenly increased in sound, it made the clip more frightening. I also worked out how to add the actually trailer clip into my final video after watching a YouTube tutorial. I did this by converting the YouTube clip first of all, adding the clip ontop of my initial reaction clip and then clicking the 'picture in picture' option. I was able to move it around and place it in a suitable place. I found this quite useful as people watching the reaction video would be able to see the trailer at the same time and possibly have the same/similar reaction. I was also able to help other classmates with this.

Research Rationale

For my research, I will be appealing to young people aged 15-19. The reason why I have chosen this target audience is because this is the age range I have access to the most and will be seeing on a daily basis. Most of these people attend my college which will make it much easier to carry out my research. I will conduct my audience research by doing focus groups, surveys and interviews. One thing I thing is important is to find out first of all if my target audience enjoy horror. If not, I will not be using the ones who don’t enjoy it for my focus group.

A survey will allow me to find out what different people like when it comes to horror.I will also be analysing and deconstructing different horror trailers as I will be able to find a pattern in all of them which will allow me to create my own successful horror trailer. Looking at best selling films will also give me a rough idea of what my target audience would like in a horror trailer.

When creating my questionnaire, I will be very careful about the questions that I include. E.g. What do you like about horror? What scares you the most?

For my focus group, I will be choosing a number of people from my target audience and asking them to watch a few horror trailers. I’d note down their reactions (e.g. which bits make them jump or scream), and I’ll ask them a few questions about the trailers. This will help me when making my own trailer as I will be aware of what I should and should not include.

I will need a camcorder to film my audience when asking them questions. I will use a camera aswell in case I need any pictures of something I have come across.

Carrie (1976 & 2013) Review

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

1.  
   
   
2. A group of teenagers on the road in Texas stop off at the wrong farm and encounter a family gone awry. Once abattoir workers, the decay of the Southern rural economy has left them unemployed, and the directionless father and sons take to using their butchering skills on passing people. One by one, the kids encounter members of the grisly family.
3. The opening scene describes the events of the film and explains that what is about to happen may be disturbing. 

The opening scene features the friends driving in a place which is unknown to them when a stranger is stranded and asks for a lift. This character is unusual and immediately begins to show conventional codes of horror. He cuts himself and proceeds to cut one of the friends. Blood is already a main prop in the opening scene which tells us that it is a horror.

Psycho (1960) Vs Psycho (1998)

I found this clip quite interesting. It compares the two films right next to each other. By watching this I was able to see what both directors did the same and also the differences.

Psycho (1960) Analysis

Above is the famous shower scene from 'Psycho' (1960). The film is a very unusual film. Just like other horror films, it is very jumpy and leaves viewers anticipating. There are many things about this film that make it very special and difficult to recreate.

I like the idea of the black and white colour being used for the film as it creates suspense and makes it just a bit more scary. What I found extremely amazing about the shower scene itself is that it featured 77 different camera angles!

I also watched a remake of the shower scene which was a part of 'Psycho' (1998). For some reason, I didn't get the same feeling that I did with the original film. It didn't look as realistic. When the curtains were drawn by the killer, there was no music to accompany his actions straight away so I was less frightened by this. Alfred Hitchcock uses chocolate sauce for the blood in the original movie but in the remake, the blood looks extremely fake which makes it even harder to believe.
However, there were some things in the remake that were added that worked quite well. For example, as she was dying, we were shown her pupil's dilating which was something that Hitchcock mentioned he forgot to add in. Everything was done nearly the same but I still think the original was much better than the remake.
When I watched both of the clips, I paused it on the shots that were made to look exactly the same and this is what I discovered. The shots were almost identical.