Over the past few months, we have been busy filming our trailer. Our filming hasn't always been a smooth process - there have been many hurdles that we have had to overcome. However, this process has definitely helped us to develop the skills to overcome hurdles and any issues.

One issue we have is being able to get locations and our cast members all at the same time - the drama studio in our school is used by all students so it is difficult to find a time when it is free. We have also found that when it is free, our cast members are not available (due to other commitments). We have also had issues with the equipment within the drama studio - there were no lights that we could use. However, we overcame this issue by using what we had access to which was a light that flashed - we created a strobe effect that could become useful and effective in our actual trailer.

Filming for this project as definitely helped to improve our skills with using cameras. Before this course, I hadn't really used a camera before. This means that we have had some issues with using a camera whilst filming. Our biggest issue has been getting the camera to focus. However, we overcome this issue with patience and using our hands as a point for the camera to focus on. We have also found out which settings work best for focusing. For the previous footage which was not in focus, we have re-shooted so that the shots are clearer and of a good quality.

Over the Christmas holidays, we re-shot the opening sequence for our trailer as the original had issues with framing, focusing, shakiness and lighting. With the re-shoot, we have decided to go for more of an artistic effect for the opening sequence which will help our trailer and film to stand out against other horror films. We received feedback in class that our trailer needs to be a little more 'horrific' so we have decided to make the gore elements more prominent. To do this, we asked our friend who has skills in special effects makeup to create a cut on April's throat for the scene. This creates an element of threat as the killer actually comes across as brutal, fearsome and scary.

To go with the new name, we also changed the font of the whole title. The word 'end' is written in 'Surfing Capital'. The colouring is similar to blood and the font itself looks like it has been painted or written by someone which fits well with the idea that it is also the message the killer leaves its victims.  

We also decided to use newspaper clippings for the numbers '2110' - this is also the same as the note that the characters receive in the film. 

In preparation for making our magazine front cover and poster, we looked at exemplars that were provided by the exam board.

Magazine
What I Like -

• I like the main image as it is simple but effective. 
• I like how you can easily tell that the film that is featured is a horror with the use of blood
• The whole cover is laid out quite well and doesn't look too crowded
• It generally sticks with the house style that a typical Empire magazine would have
• All of the text relates to the film and shows that this issue is a special for the film

So, do the posters for Crimson Peak break or use typical codes and conventions for film posters? To help decide, I researched by looking at 3 other posters - a main poster for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, a character poster for The Huntsman Winter's War and a teaser poster for Jurassic World. I labelled the key features and components on each poster to help with the comparison to the Crimson Peak posters.




Crimson Peak - Codes and Conventions 
Teaser Poster - After looking at other teaser posters, the one for Crimson Peak does fit into the typical codes and conventions that are used. The poster includes a tagline, the title of the film and a release date. However, the teaser poster does break convention by featuring a character and an age classification - teaser posters generally don't have an age rating when they are released as the film is usually still in post-production and is quite a while away from being released. Teaser posters generally include an icon and don't really give much away - however, the poster for Crimson Peak includes an image of one of the characters and a location - even though the poster doesn't make all of the details very clear due to its artistic design, this poster does give more away than your average teaser poster. This poster also breaks convention by hinting at the talent involved - even though a direct name is not given, audiences who follow the director can imply who it is as one of their famous films is mentioned.

Main Poster - After looking at other main posters, the one for Crimson Peak does use codes and conventions that are typically used. The poster includes a credit block, a main image which includes the main character(s), an icon/symbol (the butterfly), a tagline and the title of the film. Even though the poster does use a lot of typical conventions - there are also some conventions that the poster breaks. The poster does not include an age classification or a release date. This is unusual for a main poster as they are usually released closer to the release date of the film than a teaser so it is more likely for a release date to be given. Crimson Peak's main poster also includes the names of the talent involved which weren't actually included in the Mockingjay - Part 2 poster that I looked at but are still a typical feature of a main poster. I think this main poster generally breaks the conventions as even though it includes a lot of typical features, it does exclude some important features which give a lot of information to audiences - main posters are usually a lot more informative than teaser posters and this one is only slightly more informative.

Character Poster - After looking at other character posters, the one for Crimson Peak uses codes and conventions that are typically used in character posters. Crimson Peak's poster features an image of one of the characters, the name of the talent in the image, the title of the film and a release date. However, with the release date, the one for Crimson Peak is a very broad 'coming soon' whereas character posters are usually still quite broad but generally have the name of the month or season that the film is going to be released. The only feature that Crimson Peak's poster doesn't include is the name of the character that the talent named is playing. Overall, this character poster for Crimson Peak uses and fits in with typical codes and conventions.

Similarities and Differences 
The biggest difference between a teaser and main poster is that a main poster is a lot for informative to an audience - in the Crimson Peak posters, the teaser poster includes a tagline, main image and the films name whereas the main poster includes a main image of the main 3 characters, a tagline, the films name, a credit block and icons - a brand is created. It is important that main posters are much more informative than a teaser as they are generally the final proper poster that is released so is the final way for the studio to persuade audiences to go and see the film in the form of a poster.

Character posters generally follow the same branding as the main poster. This similarity can be seen in the posters for Crimson Peak. This helps create a sense of familiarity for the audience as as time goes on, whenever they see the font, logo or symbols, they can associate them with the film. The teaser poster for Crimson Peak doesn't really fit in with the branding of the film other than the consistent tagline. It is important that a film creates an effective brand as it can be really helpful and vital to the success of the film.

Main posters and character posters are generally quite similar. However, character posters spotlight a certain character and the actor or actress who plays them. This is usually most effective when a film includes big name talent. The character poster for Crimson Peak does not include a credit block whereas the main poster does - this is because character posters are all about the character and selling the 'star' to the audience rather than all of the other information. It is important that the audience are aware of who is in the film as they can associate the actor/actress with others films they have been in that they may have enjoyed. For example, Jessica Chastain has starred in numerous successful films - one of which being a horror - Mama - $146.4 million worldwide (horror), Interstellar - $675 million worldwide (sci-fi), The Martian - $478.3 million worldwide (sci-fi) and Zero Dark Thirty - $132.8 million worldwide (drama and Chastain was Oscar nominated for this film).

Our question is answered at 13:57 in the video. 

We sent a tweet to movie reporter and Youtuber Grace Randolph (Beyond the Trailer, Movie Math) about our idea and trailer.

We asked 'For our final year in school, we are making a film trailer for Media Studies coursework. The plot is a thriller and has a similar 'mystery killer' plot to Scream and Scream Queens. What do you think is most important in a trailer?'

@GraceRandolph Question! pic.twitter.com/ccyMgKg4bm

— daniel (@MrDSelenator) October 24, 2015

We received lots of advice that we will take on board. Grace regularly reviews movie trailers on her Youtube channel so we thought she was the person to go to when wondering what makes a good trailer. Grace also asked her viewers to put in the comments section any more ideas they have for us and to tweet her the trailer when it is finished which we plan to do.