In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of teaser trailers/posters/magazines)
The Title of the Film:
The title we selected for our film was VIRUS, as it fits the story line of our film well. We also thought it fit neatly into the conventions of the zombie genre. We decided to have it in a similar style to older horror films like psycho, with it being on a black background and having one bold colour. One thing we could do to make it a bit better is maybe having the text in a paler colour, so it really contrasts with the black background. Although it fits well with some of the older conventions of a horror film logo, I feel like we could have pushed ourselves to create a logo that defy the conventions. We decided to use the word Virus as our title because it fits in with the story, and the fact that being a Zombie spreads like a disease. This creates an enigma for the audience, as they want to know what this mysterious virus is.
Setting/Location:
The setting we used for our film really gives off the feel of a horror film, we made sure that it was quite empty and quite gloomy. We used a location that didn't have a lot of people around, and din't have many signs of everyday life (Cars/Bikes/Trains). We ended up facing a few challenges with the locations, as members of the public would walk around or accidentally wander into shot, so we agreed that it would have been better if we had used a place that's quite enclosed, or generally unused by the public.
One of the locations of our film is a school, as our target audience all go to school, so therefore they can relate with the characters, and understand how the characters feel being trapped in the place where they used to spend their time.
Costumes and Props:
Camerawork and Editing:
The Camera Work and Editing that we used were really conventional to the Zombie Genre. The Birds flying in the sky shows a disturbances, and connotes that something bad is about to happen, or that the birds may be something to do with the virus. We decided to have the whole trailer in black and white, apart from the close up shots of Abbie at the end. The Black and white really pushes the creepy and scary atmosphere of the trailer. We also did it so that we could mimic some older horror films, for example Psycho, which was in released in Black and White in 1960.
Title Font and Style:
The font that we used for the other titles was very clean and smooth looking, as we wanted it to contrast with the main title. We used a red colour because it fits in with the horror genre, and the blood that is frequently seen in films with a similar premise to our. The use of the title font was really because of the hands that make it up, as we thought it reiterated the fact that this was a zombie film.
Story and How the trailer is set up:
The main story is how the UN manufactured a virus to keep population under control, that only affected people over a certain age. This trailer sets up the story by showing the characters in a school environment, and her having to fight her way out. We show various shots of Zombies which stixks to the conventions of the Zombie trailers, and it also sets up the beginning film. We didn't want to give away too much of the story in the trailer, much like the trailer for the horror film 'Cabin in the Woods'.
Genre and how the trailer suggests it:
The genre for the trailer is Zombie/Horror, the trailer suggests this by showing zombies after the main heroine of the film. We kept conventions by keeping the trailer in black and white, apart from the last scene, where we had vibrant red colours, much like the slasher films that were popular in the 1980's/1990's. The locations we had in our trailer were aimed at teenagers, by using settings like schools and woods.
How Characters are introduced:
The first main character is portrayed by our friend Emma, who is a strong survivor. She then meets Shanie's character with very little dialogue between the two. We decided against having a lot of dialogue, because we wanted the audience to find out as little as possible, so the plot wouldn't be ruined. The zombies are introduced in a selection of different ways, such as being killed or chasing the survivors.
Special effects:
The special effects that we used was mostly make-up, because we wanted the trailer to be realistic, rather than over the top. The blood was made very vivid and bright, because the color of red connotes danger, murder and anger, which are the things we wanted to channel in this trailer. We looked at a variety of youtube tutorials, wanting to get a good grip on what the zombies should look like.
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