Evaluation for my main task

Evaluation for my main task 

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

My media product uses codes and conventions of real media products by having those elements within the product. For my media product, the codes and conventions are of the horror slasher genre which my media product contains eerie music, sustained horror, isolation, protagonists being inferior and vulnerable to the antagonist, the antagonist being relentless and almost invincible, the antagonist wearing a scary mask, the antagonist having a signature weapon and the location having elements of isolation.

 The codes and conventions of camera shots – high and low angle shots, point of view shots, camera movements- hand held, static, and tracking.

The codes and conventions for editing is slow editing, pacing and lighting (dark). 

These codes and conventions match horror slasher conventions as you will find these codes and conventions on horror slasher films such as Halloween (1978) as in the film of Halloween there is a point of view shot of Michael holding a knife at the beginning. The lighting was dark, as at the beginning of Halloween, the inside of the dining room had a dark purple lighting. The props/ iconography were a knife and white mask which was the signature weapon and similar mask in my film. The code and convention of isolation matches the same convention found in the horror slasher The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), as the protagonists were stranded on a massive countryside farm which was way out of any civilization. The code and convention of eerie music is a code and convention used in my film which matches the same code and convention of eerie sinister music on Halloween when Michael takes a knife from the cutlery draw.  The code and convention of the antagonist being unstoppable and almost invincible was used in my film which matches the same code and convention used in the scene Halloween when Michael confronts Laurie (the babysitter) which she fought him on several occasions and Michael kept getting up, being persistent after being stabbed, hit, shot and even falling out of a three story house landing on is back.

2)      How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The characters within the product represent college students of modern society. This is evident due to their costume which is of casual clothing which typical college students wear and by their age of the actors being between the ages of 16 – 17, it makes it more believable for the audience that these characters are college students.

The antagonist of the film, which represents a killer, possessed characteristics of relentlessness, intelligence and superiority upon the protagonists, which is evident within the film as the antagonist hunts and chases the protagonists expressing the characteristic of relentlessness, hides and waits for the protagonists to come near him and is expecting them to come nearby which he jumps out and stabs one of the protagonists, expressing the characteristic of intelligence and superiority as the antagonist outsmarts the protagonists and appears to be more stronger.

My inspiration for my characters came from the horror slasher film Halloween especially the antagonist, as the antagonist within Halloween appears to be relentless, unstoppable, invincible and tries to outsmart the protagonists, which these characteristics make a powerful antagonist which creates a strong vulnerability upon the protagonists making them look weak in comparison, thus making a gripping and engaging encounter when the antagonist confronts the protagonists making the audience feel tensed and keep them engaged with the film.

3)      What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

The type of media institution might distribute my media product is Dimensional films due to the type of genre that they distribute which is the same genre as my product as the films have the same ideologies and codes and conventions as the films they have distributed which include eerie music, usually a masked killer, almost unstoppable killer, gore, sudden appearances of the killer to startle the audiences, Final girl, masculine males are killed, the props used are usually knifes or any other type of blade to inflict a slow painful death and to reinforce the fear of gore, lighting is normally dim which is supported with eerie music to create an eerie atmosphere, point of view shots, low angle shots, slow editing, the colours of red, black, and white is used within the film especially in the title sequence.

4)      Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my media product is based upon my research which was researched through my questionnaire and by looking at what types of people watch the existing films that share the same genre as my film.

My questionnaire asked people what their age is and what gender they are, if they enjoy watching my genre and how often they watch the genre.  The majority of people are female (57%) who answered my questionnaire and the majority of my target audience enjoy watching my genre. 

As mentioned before, I have researched similar products that the audience watches and it matches the same target audience I have for my product as the genre is mainly based on characters that are young adults or teenagers that attend college or school and it creates more of a connection between the audience and the characters within the film and also creates more of a connection between the audience and the film as they have recent or past experiences of those educational establishments which can make the audience more engaged with the film. 

So overall, my target audience is aged between 15 – 25 years old as mentioned earlier due to that the characters within the films are young adults that attend college or university which the audience can connect with the characters with their previous experiences with college and university on the film which will make the audience more engaged within the film. The majority of the gender is that of females than males according to my questionnaire results.  The background of my target audience will moderately be middle class which is the most common consumers/audience due to the accessibility of cinemas and purchasing the product and the price of how much the product costs. 

5)      How did you attract/address your audience?

My group and I attracted the audience by including the codes and conventions of a horror slasher which we included: suspense, sustained horror, masked killer, isolation and minimal gore (due to questionnaires’ response of disliking gore), but keeping some elements of gore in line with traditional aspects of a horror slasher. All these codes and conventions would be found within a horror slasher, which our target audience would expect to see in horror slasher. Due to the responses from the questionnaires, we targeted our audience with particular conventions which we tried to improve upon and make those conventions better. The responses for what makes a horror slasher scary were the unpredictability, size and scariness of the antagonist (the masked killer). The antagonist was wearing a white mask which can represent the colour of death as the colour white can be associated with ghosts and also the colour white stands out better than red or black which those colours also represents death. The costume the killer was wearing was black clothing, wearing a black hood to emphasize the mask that the killer was wearing to make it look more scary as if the darkness is enveloping the soul (which the mask could represent the soul of the killer as the colour white can represent a soul or a ghost) of the killer which makes the killer more sinister and fearful. The prop used for the killer is a knife which a knife is a type of blade which connotes the convention of a horror slasher of inflicting a slow painful death as the audience can assume that the killer is going to use their knife on their victims which makes the audience tense as they do not want the victims within the film being hurt as they have an understanding of what the victims may feel when they are stabbed by a blade.  The killer is bigger in size than the protagonists/victims to further emphasize the power, strength and dominance of the killer making the killer more superior and making the victims/protagonists more inferior making them more vulnerable which makes the audience tense as it subliminally tells the audience that the killer has a higher chance in succeeding in killing the victims than the victims overpowering the killer. The costumes for the students are casual wear, which represents what a student would wear, modern fashion. We chose students as our target audience for horror slashers are teenagers and young adults which are students themselves which makes them more immersed within the film, have more of a connection with the characters, thus making the audience more scared and tensed when the characters face danger when confronted with the killer. The setting is at late afternoon drawing into the evening as it can connote that darkness is drawing as it is lurking in the horizon and is soon approaching which builds up the anticipation of danger approaching which sets the tone for the film at the start. The location is at an empty college with just two students (the protagonists within the film) and is set within the woods as well. This was chosen as it creates isolation for the victims and makes them more vulnerable as no one can help them, as a result of this, the audience will be more tensed as they do not want the victims hurt or killed when they are confronted with the killer which no one will be able to help the victims.The sound used was ominous sinister music which creates and sets a dark eerie tone to the film which enables the audience to get an understanding of what genre the film as well.

6)      What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I have learnt how to use different technologies for different techniques for constructing my product.  I have learnt how to use iMovie which is the software on the apple mac. I learnt how to use the camera for our recording of our product and what type of shots you can use by using the camera which makes the product look more professional. I used the website YouTube to research different title sequences to use and also how they portray the codes and conventions of my genre for my product which improves my product as I have a better understanding of how to present and represent the codes and conventions of my which overall improves my product.

What I found difficult was editing the film by using the software program iMovie as it can be hard deciding what parts to edit, what needs improving and to make it look impressive and be able to understand what each function on the software does and what it is.

I also found difficult to film the shots during different days as the weather varied on different days as some of the days it was overcast, sunny and some spells of rain. So there were some days we had to reschedule as there were interruptions with the weather and some people in the background of our shots. I and my group edited the background by using IMovie and used editing of the background changing the background of our shots from day to night which created an sinister eerie feel as my film follows the codes and conventions of a horror slasher which are set at night as that is where sins and crimes are committed.

Also, I and my group found it difficult to implement eerie non-diegetic music in the background of our film at first but we found it quite simple to use after a while and we were able to implement the non-diegetic music with our film.

7)      Looking back out your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

From when I and my group made our film in our preliminary task, we learnt that planning particular shots, camera angles and camera movements is vital as the film will look more professional and look more aesthetically pleasing. It will also have a better flow which will make the audience more engaged with the film and enjoy the film more. 

I feel that I have a better understanding of how to use the hardware and software now than when I was producing my preliminary task as I know how to use different software programs and how to use different hardware such as the camera.  I feel that I am more confident on how to use an Apple mac and iMovie which is the software which I used on the Apple mac. I also learnt different shooting techniques (in terms of camera work) and different editing techniques. By developing new editing skills, it will make our film look more professional and because our film is horror slasher, it will create more tension through the use of slow editing being implemented within our film which will keep the audience engaged and gripped to the film. The pacing of the film is well balanced as tension starts at the beginning of the film drawing the audience in, creating anticipation, and then the use of use fast editing of the antagonist chasing the protagonists, making the audience gripped. Then after the chase scene has finished it reverts back to slow editing making the audience feel relaxed but at the same time feel tensed and the longer slow editing persists, the more tension builds keeping the audience gripped. The use of stings and the jump scare startles the audience through the use of slow editing which overall gives the film a good balance of pacing.

http://www.slideshare.net/jacquepearce97/main-task-evaluation-47662923

Main task (video)

Main task (video)

Here is the video from my main task.

Technical planning - Location

Technical planning - Location 

Location 

Woods

Field and woods

Field and woods

School Buildings 

These locations where chosen as it reinforces the element of isolation which makes the victims within the film more vulnerable and inferior to the antagonist. The location is also chosen as it is set at a school and college which will create more of a connection to the audience as they have experiences of school and college, There will be a stronger connection to the audience if they are aged 15 - 19 as they will currently attend school or college. These locations are also chosen as it fits with the narrative as well.

Technical planning - Shot list

Technical planning - Shot list

Point of view shot-  point of view shot of the antagonist looking at the protagonists from a far. Another point of view shot of the antagonist attacking the protagonists. We chose to use point of view shots to represent the antagonist's mind and perspective which creates an uneasy and disturbing feel for the audience as they are watching the actions of the antagonist through his eyes. Also the point of view shot creates more mystery surrounding the antagonist as the audience can identify that the character is an antagonist but at the same time does not see the appearance of the antagonist, creating the psychological theme of the fear of the unknown which makes the audience feel more tense and fear due to the build up of the anticipation of the antagonist revealing its self. The audience will create the image in their head of what the antagonist looks like, which to them will look scary. me and my group chose this shot as it is inspired by the film Halloween (1978) which the first few shots of the film was a point of view shot of the main antagonist. The point of view shot was used to set the tone of the film for the audience as the audience was shocked during the opening of the film of the antagonist's actions and were also shocked when the appearance of the antagonist was revealed as it was child who murdered his elder sister.

Close up shot - close up shot of the protagonist's face. We chose to use a close-up of the protagonist to show and emphasise his expression. The expression of the protagonist's face was shocked and scared as he just witnessed his friend getting stabbed by the antagonist right in front of him. we wanted the audience see the expression as we want them to feel part of the moment and to connect with the character. We want the audience to connect with the character as it creates more tension when the protagonist is confronted by the antagonist.

Long shot- Long shot of the protagonists. We chose to use a long shot of the protagonists as it creates the illusion that they are smaller and more inferior than the antagonist. By the protagonists appearing to be more inferior than the antagonist will make the audience feel more tense and scared as there is a strong contrast between the antagonist and the protagonists. This shot creates binary opposites (Strauss) between the antagonist and the protagonists as. Makes the protagonists look inferior and smaller whereas the antagonist looks more superior and bigger which makes the contrast between the antagonists and the protagonists even greater. This shot is used in many horror slasher films to achieve the same effect which can be seen within the films Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and in Halloween (1978).





Tilted shot - Titled shot of the floor/environment. We choose to include a titled shot as it creates an uneasy feel for the audience to immerse them within the themes of the film of dread, horror and anticipation. The titled shot distorts the environment therefore making the audience not trusting the environment that surrounds the protagonists, making the audience anticipate that danger is going to strike the protagonists at any given time which helps engage the audience within the film further. Tilted shots can be seen within horror slasher films such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and Scream (1999)




High and low angle shot - high and low angle shot of protagonists and antagonist. We choose to use a high and low angle shot to create binary opposites between the protagonists (Strauss) and the antagonists. High and low angle shots represents the protagonists as inferior and weak and represents the antagonists as strong and superior.  This is used as the audience will feel more scared for the protagonists as they look more vulnerable and the antagonist looks more powerful, this subliminally tells the audience that the protagonists will not win the confrontation between the antagonist which makes them feel more dread and fear when both opposites confront each other. High and low angle shots can be seen in horror slasher films such as Scream (1999) and Nightmare from Elm street (2010).






Handheld - handheld on protagonists running. We choose to use a handheld shot of the protagonists running as it immerses the audience within the film to make them feel more terrified and exhilarated as they feel part of the action. Handheld shots can be seen in horror slasher films such as Scream (1999) and in Halloween (1978).

  

Technical planning - Shooting schedule

Technical planning - Shooting schedule 

Here is the shooting schedule for which days me and my group are shooting scenes for the opening of the film which scheduled for three days within three weeks. all the details in regards for the shots for the film can be seen in the shooting schedule.

Technical planning - Props and costumes

Technical planning - Props and costumes

Props and costume 

The props used was a white mask, a fake knife and fake blood. We chose a white mask as it disguises the killer and follows the codes and conventions of a horror slasher as the antagonist is usually a masked killer. Also the mask also represents and reinforces death which is also a feature and convention of a horror slasher due to the mask looking like a ghost. We chose a knife to be used for the killer's weapon as it is a blade which connotes a slow painful death and also it is the most famous type of blade as knifes are the main weapon used within a horror slasher. We chose fake blood to reinforce the code and convention of gore that is found within horror slashers. Also blood is a common phobia found within our target audience which can make them scared but due to the responses of the questionnaires most of our target audience feel squeamish and do not like the sight of blood which may detract them from the film, so we chose to use some but not much so the audience does not detract from the film but the film being able to follow the codes and conventions of a horror slasher.

Technical planning - Actors

Technical planning - Actors 

Actors 

The actors within our film is Tawanda Tsanga who played one of the college students (protagonist) which he had the correct look as his costume was casual wear which college students wear which reinforces the codes and conventions of a college student. He also suited the role as he is smaller than the antagonist which can create the sense of vulnerability when he is confronted with the antagonist.

Calvin Palin also played one of the college students (victim) which he had the correct look as he was also smaller than the antagonist and he had the correct costume as it was casual college wear which are the codes and conventions of a college student.

I played the antagonist which I had the correct look as i was bigger than the victims, which creates the sense of superiority for the antagonist and vulnerability for the victims. 

Technical planning - Script

Technical planning - Script 

Technical planning - Title of film

Technical planning - Title of film  

Title of film

The title of my film is Perdition as the word Perdition connotes the antagonist of the film because it means utter destruction, the state of final spiritual ruin, loss of the soul, and having an harmful influence which gives the audience an idea what the film is about or may consist of. It also indicates that the film comes under the horror genre and will appeal to the audience, as the name gives the audience a subliminal synopsis of what the film may be about and the word also may give the audience a disturbing and uncomfortable feel which they can connect with their past experiences from other horror films which tells the audience that it is a horror film.

Technical planning - narrative

Technical planning - narrative 

Narrative 

Technical planning - storyboard

Technical planning - storyboard 

Storyboard

For the storyboard, I chose to plan shots/scenes of the perspective of the antagonist in which the scene is set in the woods as the woods symbolise isolation and vulnerability. By the antagonist walking in the woods creates more mystery as the antagonist wants to be hidden and not be seen by anyone which will create suspense for the audience as the antagonist's appearance has not been revealed but will keep the audience engaged within the film as it creates curiosity for the audience as they will be wondering what the identity of the antagonist is. This convention is found within the horror slasher genre as this convention can be found within the opening of the film Halloween (1978).

 

I also chose to plan an extreme long-shot of the protagonists as it reinforces the convention of vulnerability and inferiority as it will create the illusion of them being smaller in size and and for the composition of them being in the middle of the screen it makes them look more vulnerable as it makes the protagonists look even more smaller and the audience will feel more in suspense as they will feel anticipation of what danger surrounds them as danger could strike the protagonists from anywhere. This convention can be identified within the horror slasher genre as this can be seen within the horror slasher film Halloween (1978) which this convention was chosen for the same effect.



I also chose to plan shot where the antagonist jumps out to the protagonists unexpectedly which will make the audience feel scared and will flinch as they will not expect the antagonist to jump out of nowhere and attack one of the protagonists and will frighten the audience. This convention can be identified within the horror slasher genre as this convention is used within the horror slasher The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) which was used to create the same effect for the audience.

Target audience research

Target audience research

The target audience for horror slasher films is for teenagers and young adults which range from 15 - 25 years old. One of the reasons why is that the characters within the films are young adults that attend college or university which the audience can connect with the characters with their previous experiences with college and university on the film which will make the audience more engaged within the film. 

The audience will choose this genre of film because they want to see suspenseful horror which will frighten them, to see action/ violence, gore and for the male audience, to see conventions for the male gaze. 

The target audience is more male orientated as horror slasher films usually contains conventions for the male gaze, contains violence and action, which engages males as these are the conventions that attracts the male audience to watch the film. 

What puts the target audience off from watching horror slashers is that some may be offended by frequent strong language, discriminatory behaviour/language, gore, portrayals of sexual activity, and strong violence. 

The target audience would expect to see in a horror slasher film, a masked killer that is almost unstoppable and unpredictable, killer's signature weapon, final girl, isolated areas which the characters are trapped in, the setting is at night, promiscuity, gore, death, eerie/sinister music, killer making startling appearances which may be supported by stings.


Questionnaires and results

I produced a questionnaire to see and find out what my target audience wants to see in a horror slasher, so my film can appeal to a more larger audience.

The first question is a closed question simply asking what gender is the person. This is useful as me and my group can see what the males like to see within a horror slasher and what the females want to see within a horror slasher.

The second question is another closed question which simply asks what the person's age is. This is useful to me and my group as it tells us what the average age is for our target audience.

The third question is another closed question in which asks how often the person watches horror films. This gives me and my group an idea on how popular horror films are.

The fourth question is a an open and closed question in which asks the person if they enjoy horror slasher films and if they answer no, they have to explain why. This tells me and my group if people enjoy horror slashers and how popular horror slashers are and if the reasons why they do not like horror slashers (if they answered no) we can exclude those features from are film if similar responses occur regularly, which will make our film appeal to a more larger audience.

The fifth question is an open question which asks the person what they like most within a horror slasher film. This tells me and my group what to include in our film and what the most popular feature within a horror slasher, which can enable our film to be as successful as it can be by including those features.

The sixth question is another open question which asks the person what could be improved within horror slashers. This is beneficial to me and my group as it tells us what lacks in most horror slasher films and we can try to improve those features or add those features that may be missing in most horror slasher films into our film.

The seventh question is an open question which asks the person what they think is vital within horror slasher films. This tells me and my group what the main important feature that needs to be included in a horror slasher film, which we can include in our film, so t can be as successful as it can be as it appeals to our target audience as it is what they want to see within a horror slasher film.

The eighth question is another open question which asks the person what they dislike within horror slasher films. This tells me and my group what the majority of our target audience dislikes within horror slasher films. This is useful to us as we can exclude disliked features from our film as we want it to appeal to our target audience and to increase our size of our target audience.

The ninth question is an open question which asks the person what makes a scary antagonist within a horror slasher. This tells me and my group what makes a scary antagonist. This is useful to us as we want to make our antagonist to be scary as that is one of the main code and convention of horror is to scare the audience as they want to be scared. By including those features which make the antagonist scary, it will make our film more appealing to our target audience making successful as it can be.

The last question which is a closed question asks the audience what pace they like to see a horror slasher film focus on which asks three options which are tension/slow, intense/fast, and both. This gives me and my group an idea on what our target audience would like to see the pacing of the film to be and what the most effective pace a horror slasher film should be. By including the most occurred response from this question in our film, it will appeal more to our target audience, which should make it as successful as it can be as that is our objective.



Results


The percentage of females from our target audience is 57% and the percentage of males is 43% that answered the horror slasher questionnaire.

The majority of people who answered the questionnaire enjoy most about horror slashers is the suspense and tension that is created within the film. They also prefer to see the pacing of the film to be both fast/intense pace and slow/tense pace as the majority of the audience like the exhilaration they experience but also the element of dread.




















The majority of people said what they dislike about horror slashers is that there is too much gore and a weak plot/narrative.

The majority of people who answered the questionnaire said what makes the antagonist scary is the antagonist being big, strong, wearing a scary mask and the antagonist being unpredictable.

Overall, these results tells me and my group what the target audience would like to see within a horror slasher. Me and my group will use these responses to help us create a successful horror slasher film. We will make the antagonist big and scary by the antagonist being bigger than the victims and by him wearing a scary mask, black costume, having a knife for a weapon and also making the antagonist unpredictable (out-smarting the victims by him jumping out at them and hiding in areas where the victims will run to when he is chasing them).

We will make the narrative interesting and include some gore but not much as we do not want to detract the audience away from the film but at the same time we want to include gore as it is expected within a horror slasher as it is a code and convention of a horror slasher.

We will make the film have pacing elements of intensity and tension which we will include chase scenes and also include point of view shots of the antagonist getting towards the victims which the victims are unaware of the antagonist coming towards them.

Questionnaire results

Questionnaire results

The percentage of females from our target audience is 57% and the percentage of males is 43% that answered the horror slasher questionnaire.

The majority of people who answered the questionnaire enjoy most about horror slashers is the suspense and tension that is created within the film. They also prefer to see the pacing of the film to be both fast/intense pace and slow/tense pace as the majority of the audience like the exhilaration they experience but also the element of dread.

The majority of people said what they dislike about horror slashers is that there is too much gore and a weak plot/narrative.

The majority of people who answered the questionnaire said what makes the antagonist scary is the antagonist being big, strong, wearing a scary mask and the antagonist being unpredictable.

Overall, these results tells me and my group what the target audience would like to see within a horror slasher. Me and my group will use these responses to help us create a successful horror slasher film. We will make the antagonist big and scary by the antagonist being bigger than the victims and by him wearing a scary mask, black costume, having a knife for a weapon and also making the antagonist unpredictable (out-smarting the victims by him jumping out at them and hiding in areas where the victims will run to when he is chasing them).

We will make the narrative interesting and include some gore but not much as we do not want to detract the audience away from the film but at the same time we want to include gore as it is expected within a horror slasher as it is a code and convention of a horror slasher.

We will make the film have pacing elements of intensity and tension which we will include chase scenes and also include point of view shots of the antagonist getting towards the victims which the victims are unaware of the antagonist coming towards them.

Target audience research

Target audience research

The target audience for horror slasher films is for teenagers and young adults which range from 15 - 25 years old. One of the reasons why is that the characters within the films are young adults that attend college or university which the audience can connect with the characters with their previous experiences with college and university on the film which will make the audience more engaged within the film. 

The audience will choose this genre of film because they want to see suspenseful horror which will frighten them, to see action/ violence, gore and for the male audience, to see conventions for the male gaze. 

The target audience is more male orientated as horror slasher films usually contains conventions for the male gaze, contains violence and action, which engages males as these are the conventions that attracts the male audience to watch the film. 

What puts the target audience off from watching horror slashers is that some may be offended by frequent strong language, discriminatory behaviour/language, gore, portrayals of sexual activity, and strong violence. 

The target audience would expect to see in a horror slasher film, a masked killer that is almost unstoppable and unpredictable, killer's signature weapon, final girl, isolated areas which the characters are trapped in, the setting is at night, promiscuity, gore, death, eerie/sinister music, killer making startling appearances which may be supported by stings.

Questionnaire 

I produced a questionnaire to see and find out what my target audience wants to see in a horror slasher, so my film can appeal to a more larger audience.








The first question is a closed question simply asking what gender is the person. This is useful as me and my group can see what the males like to see within a horror slasher and what the females want to see within a horror slasher.

The second question is another closed question which simply asks what the person's age is. This is useful to me and my group as it tells us what the average age is for our target audience.

The third question is another closed question in which asks how often the person watches horror films. This gives me and my group an idea on how popular horror films are.

The fourth question is a an open and closed question in which asks the person if they enjoy horror slasher films and if they answer no, they have to explain why. This tells me and my group if people enjoy horror slashers and how popular horror slashers are and if the reasons why they do not like horror slashers (if they answered no) we can exclude those features from are film if similar responses occur regularly, which will make our film appeal to a more larger audience.

The fifth question is an open question which asks the person what they like most within a horror slasher film. This tells me and my group what to include in our film and what the most popular feature within a horror slasher, which can enable our film to be as successful as it can be by including those features.

The sixth question is another open question which asks the person what could be improved within horror slashers. This is beneficial to me and my group as it tells us what lacks in most horror slasher films and we can try to improve those features or add those features that may be missing in most horror slasher films into our film.

The seventh question is an open question which asks the person what they think is vital within horror slasher films. This tells me and my group what the main important feature that needs to be included in a horror slasher film, which we can include in our film, so t can be as successful as it can be as it appeals to our target audience as it is what they want to see within a horror slasher film.

The eighth question is another open question which asks the person what they dislike within horror slasher films. This tells me and my group what the majority of our target audience dislikes within horror slasher films. This is useful to us as we can exclude disliked features from our film as we want it to appeal to our target audience and to increase our size of our target audience.

The ninth question is an open question which asks the person what makes a scary antagonist within a horror slasher. This tells me and my group what makes a scary antagonist. This is useful to us as we want to make our antagonist to be scary as that is one of the main code and convention of horror is to scare the audience as they want to be scared. By including those features which make the antagonist scary, it will make our film more appealing to our target audience making successful as it can be.

The last question which is a closed question asks the audience what pace they like to see a horror slasher film focus on which asks three options which are tension/slow, intense/fast, and both. This gives me and my group an idea on what our target audience would like to see the pacing of the film to be and what the most effective pace a horror slasher film should be. By including the most occurred response from this question in our film, it will appeal more to our target audience, which should make it as successful as it can be as that is our objective.

Title font research

Title font research

Within the title sequence of Halloween 2, the font of the titles is bold and is in capitals which has sharp corners of the letters which can connote blades which symbolises a slow and painful death. The colour of the titles is orange which connotes Halloween as Halloween is associated with dark and orange due to pumpkins being orange symbolising the season. This enables the audience to identify straight away that this is a horror film through these codes and conventions being expressed. 

Within the title sequence of Insidious, the font of the titles is thin and in capitals which may have been done so it does not draw all the audience's attention away from the background of rooms within the house as they want to set a eerie and paranormal tone of the film which is if the titles were big and bold it may draw the audience's attention away from the background but at the same time by the titles being thin and small, it can be seen as being subtle but is visible, like a metaphor for ghosts or any paranormal presence lurking in the background as you know/feel that they are there but cannot see them. The colour of the titles is red which connotes blood, evil and danger which enable the audience to identify that it is a horror film. 

Within the title sequence of A nightmare on Elm street, the font of the titles is thin and in capitals which by it being in capitals, the letters has sharp corners, it connotes blades which symbolises in a horror slasher a slow painful death which reinforces the codes and conventions of horror slashers. The colour of the titles is white which can symbolise in horror, ghosts or even death which death is code and convention is horror.The title name is big, bold and is the colour red which connotes blood, evil, and danger which is the codes and conventions of a horror slasher. 

Overall, for my font and colour for my titles within my film will be the ideas taken from Halloween 2 and Insidious which the title font will be similar to the Halloween 2 titles but not as bold, as the font looks sharp, which connotes blades which symbolises a slow painful death as it will be perfect for my film as my film is a horror slasher. For my title colour it will be red,as red can symbolise evil, blood and danger which the codes and conventions of my film. By having these amalgamations of these features for my titles, it should reinforce the codes and conventions of a horror slasher to the audience as they will be able to identify immediately what genre of film they are watching and also it sets an effective tone for the film which should engage the audience from the start of the film.  

Age certificate research

Age certificate research 

Age certificate U

The age certificate U stands for universal which the universal film should be appropriate for viewers aged four and over.  Universal films should not raise any significant concerns in regards to any discrimination, drugs, language, imitable behaviour, nudity, sex, threat or violence.
There will not be any bad inappropriate language  but some universal films may contain infrequent use of mild language such as words like "damn" and "hell".Universal films usually contain positive messages about, loyalty, friendship, honesty, particularly amongst children. The film normally has a happy ending and the overall tone of the film should be one of reassurance.


Age certificate PG


The age certificate PG stands for parental guidance which means that this film is suitable for general viewing, but there may be some scenes which may not be suitable for young children. A PG film should not unsettle a child aged eight and older. A PG film will not contain any themes which are inappropriate for children. PG works can explore challenging issues such as bullying, bereavement or racism. A PG film will may contain mild language, undetailed and infrequent sex references (which is unlikely), mild violence, there might be innocuous or passing references to illegal drugs, in addition, drug references may be permissible if there is a clear anti-drugs or an educational message that is likely to be understood by children eight years and older.


Age certificate 12


Films that are classified as a 12 contains material that is not suitable for any viewers that are under 12 years old.  Films that are classified as a 12 contains mild/moderate language, moderate sex references which may be briefly and discreetly portrayed, dangerous behaviour may be present but not in large detail to prevent it from being copied from children, there may be frequent sight of drugs. some horror films are classified as a 12 as it may contain moderate physical and psychological threat as long as the horror sequences are not too frequent or sustained as the overall tone is not disturbing.


Age certificate 15


Films that are classified as a 15 contains material that is not suitable for any viewers that are under 15 years old. Films that are classified as a 15 may contain strong violence, frequent strong language, portrayals of sexual activity, strong verbal references to sex, sexual nudity, brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence, discriminatory language or behaviour and drug taking.



Age certificate 18


Films that are classified as a 18 contains material that is not suitable for any viewers that are under the age of 18 years old. Films that are classified as a 18 may contain strong issues such as: very strong violence, frequent strong language or very strong language(may be aggressive) , strong portrayals of sexual activity, scenes of sexual violence, strong horror (may be sustained) , strong blood and gore, discriminatory language and behaviour, may also contain drug taking.



The age certificates of 15 and 18 links in with my film as it contains material that is not suitable for anyone under the specific age. My film contains strong horror that may be sustained (which comes under the age certificate 15 and 18), strong blood and gore (which also comes under the age certificate 15 and 18), violence and also maintain some strong language which comes under the age certificate of 15.
So overall my film will likely come under the age certificate 15 as it does not contains all the features that come under the age certificate 18 such as: very strong violence, frequent strong language or very strong language(may be aggressive) , strong portrayals of sexual activity, scenes of sexual violence, and drug taking.
But does contain strong sustained horror, strong blood and gore. But does come under the age certificate 15 as it contains some of the features such as: violence, strong language and horror but does not contain: portrayals of sexual activity, strong verbal references to sex, sexual nudity, brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence, and drug taking. This film may come under the age certificate of 15 as it does not contain all the features of the age certificates 18 and the age certificate of 15 but does contain some.

The usual certificates for a horror slashers is an 18 ( 75% of them) and 25 % of horror slashers being an age certificate of 15. Some examples of age certificates for horror slashers are: A nightmare on Elm street (18), Halloween  (18), Scream (18), The Texas chainsaw massacre (18), Friday the 13th (18), Black Christmas (18), Psycho (15), and Happy Birthday to me (15). This influences my decision on the film to be an age certificate 15 as the horror slashers that have an age certificate 15 has the same codes and conventions and features as my film, also I want my film to appeal for a larger audience and by the film having an age certificate 15 instead of an age certificate 18, there will be less limitations on how old the audience has to be to watch the film.