In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our trailer starts with type-written text (and audio) on a black screen which is a similar graphic to that used in the Blair Witch Project trailer. The serif font, plain background and staccato sound  ensure that, hopefully, the audience will understand what is coming up and therefore get their attention. Also, we thought that the intertextual reference to Blair Witch might help to a attract their attention. As well s grabbing their attention, we wanted to create a sense of mystery, to whet their appetite about the mystery to follow. This is the goal of all teaser trailers for horror and thriller films. 

 

For our last shot, we used a similar low angled shot to that used at the end of the trailer for Quarantine. The low angle close up subjective shot allows the viewer to connect with the character and fully see her facial expressions and fear. The night vision works well as it again adds to the real amateur feel to our trailer. These are both conventions that are used in many horror films so the audience will be familiar with the techniques used and this will help them determine whether it is something they would like to see.



We decided to film our trailer in Fritton Woods. This was our plan from the beginning as it is well known for being mysterious and dangerous. In autumn and winter, the colours are rich and looked good in test shots. We have found horror movies such as our favourite, the Blair Witch Project to be successful when they have been set in forests similar to the one in Fritton.

 

We used FCP's bad TV effect to connote amateur footage and suggest problems with filming. This technique is used in amateur style horror films such as Quarantine. We added a white noise sound to this effect and used it as a transitional device throughout the trailer. The more it's used the more the audience fear that something is interfering with the students and their camera. We wanted to heighten their involvement and fear and enhance a sense of realism by using this technique. 



We used a similar low angle close up shot to the one found in The Blair Witch Project. We found the clip in the Blair Witch Project trailer to be really effective and it helped us connect to the character's fear and emotion so much better. Our shot is slightly different in that there is no talking, our character is simply running through the woods but you can sense his fear through the facial expressions and asynchronous ambient sounds.



We showed our characters happy and excited to be in their surroundings, this was to make the audience feel comfortable with the situation but also tense knowing things could turn ugly any minute! This is the same as the Blair Witch trailer as for the first minute or so you see the characters happy and excited about the trip they are about to undertake.



Almost every horror film has a running away scene! We had to include one but we changed ours slightly in the way that our character is still unaware of the events that are about to occur so we have included a convention of horror films but with a twist. I think both of these shots work well. The image from Eden Lake which is set in a forest like our trailer, and looks dark and mysterious. This is the effect we wanted to create for our trailer.