Casting my actor

I have been organising which actors and actresses to use in my trailer. The main character role was the most important, so here's my procedure, expectations and who I have chosen, and why.
I began exploring profiles on Facebook, to see who looked the part. I narrowed it down to a few males and then contacted them in person and asked them if they would be available, and what acting experiences they had. Fortunately, I found Matthew Jones. He seemed intriqued into the film when I explained it to him, and he was available on the dates of the shooting. Although he hasn't had professional/paid acting experience, I can not afford to pay these type of actors anyway. Luckily, he had studied Drama at GCSE and gained a B grade.

Matthew is quite tall, with short brown hair and a medium build. This was perfect as I didn't want anyone who was too skinny because I wanted to challenge conventions; therefore wanted to cast a stereotypical male figure ('manly') so that I could turn conventions on the head and use him as a victim, rather than the villain. The last thing to do was getting him to sign a form, and begin filming.

Storyboard 1st draft

Certifications (bbfc.co.uk)

Certification is the act of certifying or bestowing a franchise on. From looking at the certification rages, and previous exploration of other horror film certifications, I have decided in rating the horror film a 15, but of course I am only making a trailer. Less exposure is presented in a trailer, so I will have different classification (12A) for this. To back-up this idea, here are the various classifications for a film that contains strong bloody violence, named 'Immortals'.

Suitable for all

It is impossible to predict what might upset any particular child. But a ‘U’ film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. ‘U’ films should be set within a positive moral framework and should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror.

If a work is particularly suitable for a pre-school child to view alone, this will be indicated in the Consumer Advice.

To be shown only in specially licensed cinemas, or supplied only in licensed sex shops, and to adults of not less than 18 years.

The ‘R18’ category is a special and legally restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults. Films may only be shown to adults in specially licensed cinemas, and video works may be supplied to adults only in licensed sex shops. ‘R18’ videos may not be supplied by mail order

Parental Guidance

General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children.

Unaccompanied children of any age may watch. A ‘PG’ film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. However, parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger or more sensitive children.

Suitable for 12 years and over

Exactly the same criteria are used to classify works at ‘12A’ and ‘12’. These categories are awarded where the material is suitable, in general, only for those aged 12 and over. Works classified at these categories may upset children under 12 or contain material which many parents will find unsuitable for them.

The ‘12A’ category exists only for cinema films. No one younger than 12 may see a ‘12A’ film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult, and films classified ‘12A’ are not recommended for a child below 12. An adult may take a younger child if, in their judgement, the film is suitable for that particular child. In such circumstances, responsibility for allowing a child under 12 to view lies with the accompanying adult.

The ‘12’ category exists only for video works. No one younger than 12 may rent or buy a ‘12’ rated video work.

Suitable only for 15 years or over

No-one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No-one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.

Suitable only for adults

No-one younger than 18 may see an ‘18’ film in a cinema. No-one younger than 18 may rent or buy an ‘18’ rated video work.

Andrew Pulver- To cut or not to cut: a century of film censorship
"Cooke says rows over films such as Human Centipede 2 may be entertaining and headline grabbing, but the agency's real work of classification - dealing with about 650 feature films and more than 9,000 DVDs this year - is connected to modifying the age range of people allowed into blockbusters.
One recent example that Cooke cites is the negotiations over the James Bond film Casino Royale. "It was one of those typical blockbusters that come in on the 12A/15 border. We intervened in a scene when Bond gets whipped on a seat from below. We insisted on a reduction of that."
There were concerns, too, over the film's violent opening scene, when Bond smashes a man's head into the sink. "It's strong stuff for a 12A," he says. "But we felt the context was quickly established - that this was a Bond film and all that goes with it. In a different context, it might not have been possible to allow it."
Just as tricky are accusations of preferential treatment. A recent incarnation was the dispute over the treatment of the 17 uses of "fuck" in The King's Speech and Made in Dagenham; the former received a 12A (after initially being classified a 15), while the latter a 15, despite producer Stephen Woolley's outraged protests. Cooke says: "The distinction we drew was that The King's Speech had them all stuttered out in two bursts and was in the speech therapy context - we felt it was a wholly exceptional context which there was no equivalent in Made in Dagenham."

Furthur analysis; Hot Fuzz

http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/features/video/id/161/teaser-trailer-2
The trailer sets the police scene immediately. The intro contains a guy pretty obviously shop lifting. The policeman comes and there is a close up of both characters eyes, as they know what's going to happen. The next clip shows the comical aspect of the film, and here the audience can positively define the genre; Action/Comedy. Once this is established, the universal logo comes up, then a clip, then another editing slide saying 'from the team that brought you Shaun of the Dead'. Shaun of the dead is in bold so the audience suddenly recognises it, and it is also the same colour and logo of the film. I have noticed that most trailers present the name of the film and then a short clip until it finishes. The scene is light, showing the light-hearted comedy the film contains.
I doubt the film gets much criticism, but it does however use stereotypical teenagers, such as the one in the trailer. Also, The Daily Mirror only gave Hot Fuzz 2/5, stating that "many of the jokes miss their target" as the film becomes more action-based. Daily Mail also shared The Mirror's view, saying that "It's the lack of any serious intent that means too much of it is desperately unamusing, and unamusingly desperate".
At the beginning of the trailer there is synchronous sound of an over-voice in a supermarket to set the scene. The trailer then gets exciting when Simon Pegg says "excuse me" and the light, non-diegetic music is played. This sound represents light-hearted comedy and tension. There is also synchronous sound of their clothes rustling as they run away, to give the impression that they are running fast in determination. When the policemen get to the gardens, there is a change in music. This non-diegetic music makes the first policeman seem cool, edgy and rebellious. The music then gets louder, as editing is inserted including the title and the voice-over. There is also a metal sound when the title is underlined, and I think this is very masculine because it adds to the bold title and the manly voice. A key point is when the other policeman copies him and crashes into the fence- the music immediately stops when this happens indicating dumbness. Diegetic sounds of him struggling and out of breathe also shows that he is not used to this, and perhaps not fit enough to be a policeman which is very comical.


Lighting is used in the picture to attract certain details, such as the image reflecting from their sunglasses. In this case, the dark shadows isn't used to emphasis the villain, it is perhaps used to show that the characters are 'cool' and to represent the minor dark element to the film. Like my poster, I will also use a close-up of my main character. The colours used are black, white and a hint of blue (like police uniforms). The black and the white colours are juxtaposed to the blue. Black is associated with mysteriousness and darkness, where as, the white's connotation is purity and innocence. Both blue and white represent a calm and earthy feel. Both characters look serious, perhaps hiding the comical side. However, I think they look a bit too serious! The fact that they are both doing exactly the same thing, with cocktail sticks in their mouth is quite humorous.

How much do audiences remember of adverts?

How much do audiences remember if adverts?


This is a study taken out in 1989, to see how students study and use examples in learning to solve problems. As you can see, more students take in more information when doing, collaborating and seeing&hearing than just reading, seeing or hearing. I have taken this into account because 'students' are in my target audience age range (teenagers). Therefore, I will not be putting much texts in my trailer so the audience don't have to read a lot, and I will obviously combine visual images with audio.

Comparingly, Dale's Cone of experience doesn't use quantitive data. Somewhere along the way, someone unnaturally fused Dale's Cone and Treichler's dubious percentages.


Attitudes towards violence on TV
On British television, an estimated average of one violent scene occurs every 16 minutes. At schools, many educators have reported a marked increase in children's aggression both on the playground and in the classroom during the past decade (Barlow & Hill, 1985). This is why my target audience begins at age 15. Many critics believe violence on television can influence teenage behaviour.

Is emotional violence just as bad as physical violence?

Anyone can be hurt both physically and mentally. Yelling, name-calling and threats are what kids are most likely to experience in the school. Emotionally, violent acts can begin a cycle that leads to physical violence. For example, pushing or shoving, hitting or punching.

How do you think TV violence affects children?

In some cases, violence presented to children on television may cause children to see the world as a scary and dangerous place; that violence is a normal part of life; that violence is a good solution to many kinds of problems; makes kids less sympathetic to victims of violence; makes kids more interested in violence, both as a form of entertainment and in their real lives; and encourages them to copy the acts that they see on TV. Another area of concern is the addiction factor - the more violent action kids consume, the more they need that level of action and excitement in their entertainment.

How important are film posters in determining what people go to see?
An example of how different types of film (e.g. horror) poster use these forms and conventions to attract a certain type of person (e.g. teenagers, horror fans) would be a really scary horror film, which will use eerie images in order to appeal to horror fans. A successful film poster will accomplish attracting the target audience and persuade them to come and watch the film. What attracts audiences- the language used, denotations and connotations, colours/semiotics that stand out and institutions and creators.

What do audiences do while adverts are on TV?
In my opinion, if you are watching a film or television programme, people either don't take notice or they flick over or leave the room. There are differences between the typical home environment and cinema. Homes are places full of distractions, and in a cinema you are less likely to leave when the adverts are on. Cinemas also have large film screens which are more dominant than a TV at home. Much research has suggested that while the television is on for large amounts of time in the average household, attention is very rarely truly focused on it. Some people see adverts as 'wallpaper TV'.

Comparative research: Shrooms

'Shrooms' is a 2007 horror film rated 18, directed by Paddy Breathnach.

Three couples go to Ireland woods to collect magic mushrooms and trip out. On their way they meet some strange inhabitants of the woods and it doesn't take long until a creepy story is being told at the campfire which might be more than just a story. So strange things happen, people start disappearing, silhouettes move through the woods and the creepy story starts to melt into reality. The horror kicks in along with the effect of the mushrooms.
Opening Weekend: £313,758 (UK) (25 November 2007) (199 Screens).

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shrooms/ This website gives an insight on how the film was reviewed. Unfortunately, the percentages for audience rating is quite low. On average, out of 15,653 people, Shrooms got a rating of 2.6 out of 5.

On IMDB, 6,677 IMDb users have given a weighted average vote of 4.7 / 10. Here, I can also work out their target audience as it shows what gender and ages are more likely to watch the film and if they liked it or not. Although females have rated the film higher than males by 0.3, there were only 909 who have voted. Whereas 5,048 males have voted. So this information may be flawed and does not contain accurate data. However, we can analyse that more males have perhaps watched the film, and have visited the website and offered to vote.

Trailer:

Poster and webpage design

Looking at many horror posters, I found that the title of the film was below the main picture, as seen here (right). Like this horror poster, I will include the main character looking scared and a glimpse of the horror aspect. For example, in this poster the horror aspect is the hands grabbing her, and in mine will be a dark figure in the background. The fire clearly symbolises hell and it is at the bottom of the poster because hell is seen as underground. The mist/fog in the background is dark, mysterious and ominous (compared with the fire which is bright and dominant- where the attention of the viewer looks). There is also a suburban area in the background, showing normality and that she isn't in hell yet. The woman is pretty and blonde, representing that she is a typical damsel in distress. The unnatural hands are abnormal, and the attention isn't immediately drawn to them.

At the bottom of the poster, there are aspects of advertising, e.g. the website. It tells us the directors, actors, producers etc.

Here is my poster design...

On the right is a print screen of a webpage for 'Saw'. The tabs/links are at the bottom, so the attention isn't immediately drawn to them. The attention is on the picture of the hands. This represents death and perhaps pain. The background is black which is conventional. I think it is clever that they have merged the hands into a glove, giving a sense of disturbance. I think it's good that they link the homepage to Facebook and YouTube because lots of people use these sites. However, it may take away from the mood of the website as it is meant to be scary, and then the blue colour over the Facebook sign stands out and makes the viewer back to reality.

Here is my webpage design...