Promotional campaign

Haxan Films is a production company, it was founded by five graduates of the university of central Florida Film Program. It is well known for producing independent classic cult horror films most famously The Blair Witch Project. This institution would be a good one to produce my horror film as although they are a small independent company they had a very successful marketing campaign which resulted in the small film The Blair Witch Project becoming a international hit.

They are also linked to the company Artisan Entertainment which use to be a private American Movie studio. However it was bought by Lionsgate in 2003. Being attached to a large production and distribution campaign such as Lionsgate would be good for my production piece. This is because it would be produced by an independent company but still have the benefits of being with a larger company such as more funds for the promotional and distribution campaigns.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE WEBSITE:
http://www.blairwitch.com/
The website opens on a clip of the main girl in her home. The film is all about sustaining the element of truth for the audience so even in the website keep up the idea of realism.

The homepage contains four links headed Mythology, The Film makes, The Aftermath and The legacy. These topics further enhance the viewers knowledge of the events that happened in the film and continues to portray the film as a true story.This is a print screen of a one of the web pages displaying pictures of the "found footage"


There is also interviews with the parents of the lost teenagers, the promotional campaign is really successful as it focuses on every detail of the characters lives, before during and even what happen after they went missing. They build up a whole picture of the characters to make the film more believable and as realist as possible. There is also not real inforamtion about filming, the plot or the actors information on the website.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE CAST
The filmmakers used unknown actors and actresses and they had to have high improvisational skills as the diolog was going to be improvised. They even used some the the acters real names to adhere to the sense of realism. They also used many of the townspeople in the interviews who were not actors when they were shooting who claimed to know about the Blair Witch.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FILMING
IT was shot over eight days in the forest the main character hardly had any camera training with enhanced the shaky effect of the filming. They were given clues to their next location in milk bottles, given individual instructions to shape the narrative and also rationed on food. This is why the film is so realist as the actors where not really acting, it was their real reactions and they really were scared.

The Blair Witch Project from the way it was produces to it promotional campaign is all about creating a realist event for the viewer and that is why it is one of the most successful campaigns as it goes into greatdetail.

The Blair Witch Project Trailer

The text at the beginning is set out like a documentary; real dates and locations make it appear like true events.

Set at night which creates a mysterious and sinister atmosphere

Quick cuts of people scared and the dark forest increases tension

Shaky camera represents a hand held production, helps to create a sense that the people filming are completely alone as it makes it realistic and gives it that independant feel.

The music is truly terrifying as ti sounds ghostly and haunting; the high pitched screams have the 'hairs on the back of your neck standing up' effect.


The teaser trailer appeals to the viewers primal fears and makes them curious to the unusual filming technique and narritve.

Comparing Friday the 13th trailer

Questionnaire results

Questionnaire


1. What is your age?

15-19

20-24

25-29

30 and over

2. Gender

Male Female

3. How often do you go to the cinema?
_________________________________________

4. What Horror genre do you prefer?

Supernatural

Teen-slasher

Comedy

Psycho

Gothic

Sci-fi

Other____________________________

5. Where do you watch trailers for upcoming films?

Internet

Television

Cinema

Other________________________________


6. What is your favourite horror film and why?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. What is the most recent horror film you watched?
___________________________________________________________________________________

8. Following on from question 7 what did you like about that film?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. How did you find out about the film?

1. Teaser Trailer

2. Cinema poster

3. Cinema trailer

4. Film Magazine

5. Street advertisement

6. Television Trailer


10. Which of the above do you think is the most effective way of advertising? (Please select a number)

1 2 3 4 5 6

(there are boxes but i could get them to show up)

Jennifer's Body promotical campaign tactics

This promotional trailer for the film Jennifers's Body is very effective. It is leading actress Megan Fox doing a public service announcement about being different. It is a good promotional tactic as it seen to be serious and real, she then says "what really matters is being yourself and if that includes slowly killing and eating every boy ant your school, well i say do it!" The trailer is humours and and strange which makes the viewer want to find out more about the film because of the cleverness of this trailer. Here are some other promotional tactics for the film.

POSTER CAMPAIGN: TWO POSTER ANALYSIS
-Extreme close up of her mouth and lips
-she is licking her lips in a seductive manner with blood dripping down her mouth. There has always been a close connection between vampires and their sexual nature this action symbolise this.
-Her lip colour is the same shade as the blood, the blood suggest death and her lips are that colour they represents that she had just eating and is a killer. Having blood on the poster is a typical convention of a horror poster as it connotes death.
-The font is a similar shade of blood red and is place across her neck as vampires kill by biting their victims necks.
-The star Megan Fox's name is placed above the title she is the woman on the poster and the main character. she is a considered 'sexy' and a symbol of lust so would be a perfect cast for a boy killing 'hot' high school vampire.
-I really like this poster as it does not give anything away about the narrative. The viewer is drawn to the film as the poster focuses on main star Megan Fox and is likely to be aimed at a male target audience.


-This poster suggests more of the settings of the film. it is a long shot of a Megan, the mise-en-scene is a grey classroom with a blackboard and desk.
-Written on the board is "HELL YES" in chalk, the word hell represents that she is dark and sinister.
-She is in a 'sexy' pose the sartorial codes connotes a typical teenage girl however the red symbolises blood and evil.
- A hand is sticking out her desk, this suggests she has something to hide and the hand gives the audience a hint that it is to do with murder.
-The tag-line is 'She's evil...and not just high school evil.' This is a quote from the film which can be seen also in the trailer. By using the same tag-line in the trailer creates a connection and the viewer can recognise this and relate it to the film.
-As i want to have a school setting for my production piece. i might like to include a school environment on my poster such as the playground, classroom, corridor or school toilets.

THE WEBSITE:
-The website dominate image is of Megan Fox sitting at a desk
-She has the blood dripping out her mouth
-She also has the hand seen in the other poster in the school bag this time.
-The trailer is on the website page.
-The promotional campaign links through over the different media forms. there are similar motifs and symbols through out. She is wearing the same outfit, the colour red, the school setting and the hand. This is so the audience can build up an idea of the film using all the different media influences. I could use this technique in my media campaign by keeping some element constant in the teaser trailer, poster and magazine front cover such as sartorial codes, dramatic effects, tag lines and motifs.

NETWORKING SITES:
There is even a facebook page for the film for the viewer to go on an find out more information on the film, see clips from the film and look at photos. As Jennifer's Body is aimed at a young adult/teenage audience this is a very effective campaign method as it targets the audience directly as facebook is used mainly by the younger generations.

Cloverfield Trailer