Website Research.

THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE-WEBSITE

http://www.humancentipede.co.uk/



The human centipede is a film about a man who want to create a creature, involving 3 humans, this film was a world wide conversation piece when it was first on market, it was released in Britain after a few months because of the demands we put on it. The film is very graphic and very horrible as you follow 3 peoples journey into surgically being joined together to become 'the human centipede'.

At the top right corner of each page, you can see the Logo for social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, the reason for this is to maximize advertising.

The first thing you see when you open the website is the films poster as the background, you see the words 'thier flesh is his fantasy'. It looks easy to lay out and you can understand the layout and where you can find what you are looking for, the text is also very clear, easy to read and fits in with the theme of the website, there isn't really a colour theme as the poster runs throughout. It gives you the opportunity to watch the second movie too.

The About section tells you a brief synopsis of the film, and who the actors.actresses are, as well as the cast, it's only a small section because there are hardly any people in the film. Giving this infomation gives the website more credability.

The gallery has a few select pictures from the film itself, and they are all very close up and graphic, which makes you feel uncomfortable when looking at them. By adding images to your website, if a person has not yet seen the film, these images would make you want to watch it. (you have to click on the images to enlarge them)

The trailer i used and played on Flash player, it looks a little small, however you can click the full screen button.

On the download page, it doesn't give you much to download apart from 3 posters, i think that they should offer alot more downloads because it would give the film more popularity, and people would have more fun with it, so you can advertise different aspects of the film such as 'a toy/ Apps/Soundtracks' which will promote the film more so.

The store sells the DVD itself and a T-Shirt, i think the T-Shirt idea is brilliant, you are a walking advert without people knowing they are advertising you, which is a major asset. The film only released 4000 copies, which in reality, is very very little.

The send you newsletters every now and again, however you have to sub-scibe. Doing this increases
 popularity, because the newsletter can be shared.

Screenings lists, this is where they tell you when and where the films will be showed. This is handy because its easy to find and makes the website have more variety.

Overall  i think the Website is very well laid out and easy to understand, i think if it had a little more variation and more Horror stereotypes, it would have it made it more interesting, i know that you want to move away from stereotypes, but its not very exciting.

Website research.

PIRANHA 3D- WEBSITE

http://piranha-3d.com/site.html#/home

Piranha is a Horror about a Teen gathering every year at the same lake, and this time something happens that cracks the ground and piranhas break through, its a very Gorey film with lots of blood, boobs and booze. It may not necessarily be a Paranormal website, however its still a horror website and they all share similar Forms & Conventions. I also wanted to choose something a little different compared to what i have looked at.

When you first click on the website it comes up with a simple loader that is a strait line, which is plain red, which makes you think 'blood'.

You then enter the websites home page, and its best to go to the bottom right hand corner where you can change the sound and choose full screen, if you click full screen its easier to see everything. The website begins with beats and a scene from the actual movie where they are partying, and then the camera drops into water and you can see people's feel and piranha's swimming around. This gives you a good insight to what to movie is about and creates tension.

You can also see the facebook and twitter site, where you can see updates from the film, and the sound or

full screen button. There is also a game you play in the bottom right hand corner, which is where you shoot the piranha's before they eat you. The website looks fun and gets it message across at the same time. You can also see small < ^ signs on the faded square in the centre, when you click on this the background changes to either above water or another angle of the underwater, by giving you opportunities to explore and do things for yourself it makes you feel allot more involved in the whole process.

The menu in in the top right corner, and you just hover over home to see your drop down list. The dark red background emphasises horror because you assume blood, which is what the person who created this wants.

You can go through the website and look at everything it has to offer, so if you haven't seen it, you can get the motivation from the website to watch the film, when you click from page to page the loading parts are really good as you will find out fr yourself. The story is only brief on the website and doesn't go into major detail or minor, its like a taster for the reader, a little like a trailer, however its a script. It also tells you some of the actors/actresses and the director.

The next section is cast and crew, you get to find out more about a couple of cast members and the roles they play in the film, it also tells you what other things the actors do such as recent offers, acts they are asked to play, famous family members, again bringing you closer to the movie.

The next part is the gallery, its layout is really cool, it has four images that are really dramatic parts of the film, and they all look HQ which makes you think its really cool, you can only see four because there is no point in showing 20, if you did that you would give to much of the movie away.

Then there is the trailer for the movie, which is not really relevant to paranormal, but the website shares similar forms and conventions to other 'HORROR' websites.

You can also get exclusive downloads from the website, things like posters for iphone and music, which is all to advertise the film, which is a key part of the website, in order to attract you have to offer, the page looks really cool to!

And finally there is a game, this would be very difficult for us to achieve cos we are not experience in making games, however the concept is brilliant 'kill the piranas' i have screen shotted the part where i died :(.

I think the website itself is very consistent and easy to use which are great assets to have, if its more accessible more people will go on it, i really like the font used and the colour, its not in your face and doesn't distract from the scenery and doesn't get lost in the background, i think this website is excellent quality and offers its viewers fun and entertainment, ultimately promoting the film.

Forms and conventions of Horror Trailers.

I have looked at these trailers and distinguished differences and similarities between them, and also searched for ideas that i would like to use, and what i think doesn't look so good. I now look at forms and conventions in more detail to help me grasp the concepts i need to put in my trailer.

Horror film usually inflict fear to the audience through unsettling on-screen action which startle the viewers.
Props in horror films include of, especially gore based films like Hostel or Saw, knives, hammer, chainsaw and other weapons which are harmful and inflict pain. The more harmful the weapon is, the more shock or anxiety it will build within the audience. Blood is heavily featured in horror films which are very effective in building suspense and worry.

The locations used tend to be very dark and isolated (Jeepers Creepers), which again helps create suspense. Locations can include woods, the graveyard etc. However, films like the scream series have included places which are not isolated which doesn’t fit the stereotype of a horror film.

Horror films feature an antagonist (CAUSE)  which their aim is to cause harm and fear to the protagonists (EFFECT). The antagonist sometimes has an abnormality which makes the audience unable to identify with the character and they are usually dark and mysterious which adds to unidentifiable character. There is often a main character, which tends to be a female known as the ‘final girl’. The ‘final girl’ is usually masculinised and often has a unisex name like Billie or Laurie and show signs of intelligence and vigilance. The other character types included in this film are usually people who are shown as less powerful and significant as the ‘final girl’ and are often killed in the movie.

The editing pace is generally fast, jumping from various shots to another very quickly which builds tension greatly making the audience jump making the film more thrilling to watch.
The music plays a vital role in horror films; the music tends to be mainly quiet throughout but becomes louder to encourage suspense as the antagonist makes his move.
The sound effect helps bring the action alive and makes the film more life-like.

EvaluationAs i have said before, I believe that creating a horror trailer would work particularly well as the locations are easily accessible and work very well. Horror films themselves tend to not need big budget productions (Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch Project), but limited budgets as it is not necessary to use a big budget. Both Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project were hugely successful as they were seen as more reality than supernatural as they are more home-like. A horror only necessary needs actors, dark locations, sinister music, sound effects, props and fake blood. These props are easily accessible and therefore the finished product could be very effective.

Research-Trailers

The Unleashed

This trailer is called the unleashed, it is a Canadian film which i assume is about a group of friends that have done a Ouija Board in a house that they believe to be haunted, and they are suffering the consequences, the main character as you can see is a woman, and she is suffering from paranormal issues, like seeing things etc.

A similar sound effect is used almost the whole way through, you an never not hear a sound effect in a gap of at least 10 seconds, i think this is good because the sound effect is scary and keeps that tone throughout the trailer, however it an get a little repetitive.

The main scene of the film seems to be around this haunted house, at the begging the actress try's to address the fact its haunted by saying 'do you think it still haunted' After the woman coming through the door and looking for 'Maddison' you hear nothing but the one sound effect for about 18 seconds, this is a good way to keep up a scary atmosphere. As the sound effect is there you can see scary images also. For example 'The man sees a ghost in the back f his car, and the woman who is getting dragged upstairs, we have no idea what is doing/ causing this and if creates questioning in your mind.

The next scene is where you see the group of people ( they don't seem to be friends because of the age difference) doing a Ouija Board, and then invite something in with them, when this happens the thing they are holding there fingers on jumps, and they all take there hands off. You then hear a woman say 'communication with the other side should not be attempted if you have no experience, which immediately tells you that they have caused trouble.

After they have done the Ouija Board this is when things start to go wrong, you see grey hands on the board which are supposed to be ghosts, and then the sound effects come back on whilst the scary scenes are appearing, for example the girl crawling up the stairs, and she seems to be going crazy because she sees all her friends as ghosts or something.

I thought this trailer was the worst out of the trailers that i have looked at because i found it a little annoying more than exciting, due the repetitiveness of the sound effects and i thought that it didn't look very realistic, i also think that the ghosts look unreal because they were almost a silver colour, the eyes of the friends we like light bulbs and i really didn't feel scared r shocked.

Research - Trailers

Paranormal Activity 3

Paranormal Activity 3 is a major hitting horror film based on a 'Demon' who has been following the same family for a very long time; This trailer is the 3rd film released, i decided not to look at the other two trailers because it would be pointless as they are practically about the same thing and the same family, so if i was to analyse the other i would be simply wasting my time as they are all very very similar. i chose the 3rd film because i haven't yet seen it and i would like to get a feel as to why i would watch it, i think if you analyse films you have seen, you don't understand what the trailer is putting across because you know the whole content.

The introduction of the film uses similar characteristics to any others, it stars like a happy family; children on the trampoline saying hi to the camera, the occasional camera twitch is incorporated to make you feel a little tense at these points, and it makes the younger girl a little creepy when she is avoiding saying hi, making the situation more tense. It then uses flashes from the other films 1&2 with loud sound effects, preparing you feel anxious about the rest of the trailer.

The film then goes into how we will find out about how it all began, and you see more clips or the previous films, and significant objects from previous films also, for example the picture thetas burnt around the edges or one daughter. We occasionally we flashes of what this film is about but not many, until we get to the two sisters in the bathroom, they say bloody Mary 3times and the bigger sister scares the other, because the film makers have made you go so silent ad stare at the screen, when she does scream, you really get a shock, when the girls leave, you just see a figure in the bathroom ad a really loud sound effect similar to a scream, this makes the audience think 'OH MY GOD' what is that?! Its always good to try and reach for a reaction.

The camera often goes to night vision throughout the trailer, but it looks really good because it gets you prepared to be shocked because the audience know that its night time.

I think this trailer works really well, it doesn't give too much away, other than what we already know from the first two films, this is a brilliant way for a film maker to set up the 3rd film, without letting the audience know too much about it. I think that the mystery behind it makes it a must watch, and watching this trailer now, i think I'm actually going to watch, which is the reaction that all trailers should receive from an audience.

Research - Trailers.

       Exorcismus



This trailer is a family paranormal/supernatural and includes aspects of emotion not just horror, it is about a family member ( a sister/daughter), who appears t have something wrong with her, the family must this it is something psychiatric because they send her to a hospital and perform tests on her, however this appears not not to be working, she seems to think its some evil force, and gets in contact with a priest, this thing inside her seems to be destroying family life.

The trailer starts very dramatic because we immediately see her cutting her hand, and making signs with the blood, making a trailer this intense at the beginning is a brilliant was to keep your audience interested, we cannot really make out what the sign is or says, but its not exactly normal to see this sign in everyday life, so we know that she has though of it and drawn it from her imagination with her own blood.

Emma ( the girl from the film then has a fit and has foam coming out of her mouth, and falls to the floor, her dad appears very concerned and we (the audience) want to know what is wrong with her. 'a quote then pops up saying 'somethign is happening to Emma Evans' this statement is clearly obvious and you feel like you need/ want to find out what is wrong her (this is why plain text can be very effective in a trailer)

 

We see her going through her treatments and clearly her 'promlem' is not being figured out by doctors, so we still cannot manage to figure out her problem,  the scene suddenly turns into Ouija  Board, which means she is connecting with the spirits for some reason, making you start to think she is possessed or something along these lines, but her family are in dis belief of the devil.

 

A sudden scream is let out making you jump and you see a toilet full of cockroaches, however you can sort of distinguish the difference between real life and imagination at this point, you hear her say 'somethign entered me that night' you assume she means the Ouija Board night, and 'they want her to.....to what' and we don't find out the rest of the quote, this creates more questioning for the viewer, making them carry on watching due to confusion. The slow scene up to the door is frightening because you don't know what to expect at this point.

The end of the trailer seems to be where they call professionals, with lots of equipment, you can see a 'thing' by the boys bed and you have no idea what it could be because the trailer doesn't tell you, the clicking comes on again, and she announces that its the boy that haunted, and they want to fix him, the older lady seems to be the miracle in the situation and she provides the family with help.

About half way into the film they say her only hope is one man, which is her uncle as we find out in the trailer, he appears to be feared and people think he is 'wierd', a young man says to Emma, after what he did, your family shouldn't have let him any where near you, this makes us think that he has done something wrong, but we don't know what, it looks like something to do with another 'exorcism' or some sort.

As the trailer ends, it gets louder and you see more scenes or horror, like holding her dad with her legs and going crazy, the bigger the ending the more impact it has on the viewer, this seems to be the largest trend in all of the research i have done so far.

My view upon this trailer was good, however there was something about it that didn't work, and i cant really think what it was, maybe it was the fact her uncle was clearly disliked and had done something, so why would you let him back? Apart from this the trailer was very frightening and i loved the techniques they used to get the attention they did.

Research- Trailers.

Insidious



This trailer is a family paranormal/supernatural and involves aspects of emotion not just scare, it is about a family, in a new house or something along these lines, and they seem to be very content with life, things start to get odd in the house and they must think that it is the house that is creating all this mysterious activity, however as we find out in the film its actually the young boy who is 'haunted' and they need to try and get whatever it is inside him, out.

With a simple 'Are you ready' and the ticking of the machine, prepares you for a dramatic trailer, the click creates tension and in turn makes the viewers excited. The clicking continues for a while, when the camera takes shots of the house and the family, they seem content and happy at the beginning, and the boy falling off the ladder somewhat disturbers this atmosphere.

The boy is then in hospital, we are unsure as to why and what happened because he is in a coma, the happy vibe at the beginning is down the drain at this point, this is when the family become very sad and strange things happen, with the simple movement of the house and the confusion of the woman immediately changes the view of the trailer.

The scene where the boy shuts his door very slowly is haunting because we have no idea what he is trying to hide from, could it be the noise we hear through the baby monitor? The idea to create a voice through a baby monitor is original and brilliant, as soon as you hear the 'NOW' she runs to the baby room and its crying, which makes a tense atmosphere and packs a punch in terms of locking in your interest.

The end of the trailer seems to be where they call professionals, with lots of equipment, you can see a 'thing' by the boys bed and you have no idea what it could be because the trailer doesn't tell you, the clicking comes on again, and she announces that its the boy that haunted, and they want to fix him, the older lady seems to be the miracle in the situation and she provides the family with help.

The end of the trailer also has lots of flashed images similar to the other trailers i have analysed, you see flashes of material you cant make up but you know are scary, and the flashes of the word INSIDIOUS IS, IS INSIDIOUS get faster and faster and louder and louder, this pushes and pushes the fear higher and higher making the audience more tense and tense, the final flash is someone running at the camera as fast as they can, which leaves the trailer with a bang, and effectively leaves a mark in your head.

I think this trailer gives away a little too much information and should give you more shocking scenes, i feel that it should start with a bang and end with a bigger bang, i found the start better than the finish personally.