Genre.

Now that I have researched the different ways in which films are marketed depended on their genre I have decided to make my film as part of the horror/thriller genre. 

Just like any other genre, the horror genre has it own set of conventions that it sticks to in order to ensure the films will be successful. Conventions of the horror genre include: 

• Vulnerable victims. 
• Deserted and isolated settings. 
• The unknown. 
• Are often combined with science fiction. 
• Fantasy.

Horror films try and make the audience feel unsettled by tapping into aspects of life that most people are afraid of. For example: fear of death, the dark side of life, the forbidden, loss of identity and so on. Although horror films are usually more independent films that don't feature big Hollywood stars in them, it is still a very popular genre and now that horror films are being given lower certificates more so that more people can go and see them they are becoming more popular. 

Film publications.

As well as posters, magazines are another way that films are marketed so I took a look at a few existing film magazines since not all are aimed that he same audience. 


Total Film: Total Film was launched in 1997 and a new issue is bought out every month giving up to date information on all the latest big blockbuster films. 

Empire: Empire is the biggest film publication in the UK and like Total Film it also is a month magazine that focuses on big budget films although it does review more independent films as well. 

Sight and Sound: Published by the BFI (British Film Institute) Sight and Sound is one of very few film publications that reviews all film releases equally as apposed to others that primarily write about a certain genre of film. 

Premiere: Premiere was first published in 1987 and was discontinued in 2010. It was a mainstream American film magazine and included features such as 'If You Ask Me' and 'Letter Box' 

Neon: Neon was discontinued in 1999 just a few years after it's first issue in 1996. It featured film reviews and interviews with actors. 

American Cinematographer: This months magazine from the American Society Of Cinematographers doesn't focus on mainstream films as much as it does the art of making more independent films, tv shows and commercials. 

SFX: SFX is a British Sci-fi film magazine that is published every four weeks. As well as films, SFX also covers tv shows, video games and comics. 

Screen International: unlike most film publications Screen international is published weekly. The magazine began in 1975 and started a website in 2001. Screen International is marketed towards people involved in the film industry rather than fans of films as it features reviews based of Box-office takings rather than the plot of the movie. 

Little White Lies: Little White Lies is published every two months and is available online and in the shops. The types of films that are likely to be featured in this magazine are independent art house films and often changes the style of the magazine to match the genre of the film featured on the cover. 

Fangoria: Fangoria is a specialist horror magazine dealing exclusively with that genre. 

Filmmaker: Filmmaker is a film magazine, published four times a year, that writes about independent films. 

Starburst: Starburst is a science fiction magazine that is released every month but they also have a website that is updated daily. 

Film publication annotation.

Audience questionare.

I conducted a questionnaire in which I asked people what they were looking for in a film they would watch and what makes them want to go and see a film. I asked a wide range of people from all different ages, genders and places.

1) Do you expect to see  big Hollywood stars on the poster for a mainstream film?
yes/no

2) Do you expect films from certain genres to have a specific colour scheme seen on the poster?
yes/no

3) Do you expect to see a dominant central image on the poster that relates to the narrative of the film?
yes/no

4) Will your interest in seeing a film be affected by the time of year it is released?
yes/no

Conventions of teaser trailers.

1. Name of production company
2. Images from the film
3. Title of film
4. Release dates 
5. Indication of genre 
6. Web address 
7. Voiceover
8. Fast pace editing 
9. Possibly cast, crew, director credits
10. Possibly references to other films that have been directed/produced by the same people
11. Images and names of stars
12. References to awards that the cast/crew/film may have won or been nominated for 
13. Music 
14. Tagline 
15. Quotes that reference other films 
16. Sound effects 
17. Eye candy 
18. Reference to sauce materiel the film is based on 
19. A variety of camera shots

Billing

Having looked at billing on other film posters, focusing on those from the horror genre, I used the conversions I found to make my own billing. 

billing analysis.

This is the billing and credits on the poster for the film 'Carrie'. I like the positioning of the 'coming soon' as it brings the whole poster to together and it keeps with the colour scheme. The tagline and the other text that isn't the name of the film or the billing all have the same colour font helping the poster to flow, whereas, on some posters the billing can look like it's in the way. On my poster I hope to do a similar thing