Insitutional Research: Films

The Conjuring

Marketing Campaign: Scheduled to be released July, 19th 2013, the first promotional image was released in November 2012. Followed by a teaser trailer in February 2013r, previously shown at New York Comic Con 2012.  Most of the marketing was heavily based on the fact that it was 'based on a true story'. During the weeks leading up to the release, TV spots, print based adverts and an official full length trailer was released, along with a 30 minute episode of The Devil's Hour; a short featurette including a psychologist whom attempted to explain the supernatural occurrences in the house. This prompted below-the-line social media, as a platform of promotion which gained a diverse audience.

It was first premiered at Madrid International Fantastic Film Festival on the 6th of June 2013, shortly followed by 2 screenings at the Los Angeles Film Festival that summer, where director James Wan did a Q+A session. The official 'red carpet' premiere was July, 15th 2013 in LA, four days prior to the cinema release date.

Budget: $20 million

Gross Revenue: $318,000,141



Insidious 1

Marketing Campaign: The first promotional clip was released September 14, 2010, 7 months in advance of the April 2011 British release date. Following the clip, production company 'IM Global' released an image and poster for the film during December 2011. Shortly after, film distributors 'FilmDistrict' released the first teaser trailer on January 22, 2011 with a full length theatrical trailer available online via YouTube and daily entertainment news site 'Blastr'. Insidious 2 was marketed quite differently than the first film, as it focussed on the films pre-existing audience. Various social media strategies were used to generate awareness, for example hashtags were used on twitter and interviews with the cast generated over 33 million likes on Facebook, attracting 'fan-domes' of the characters. The film was also marketed to be released on Friday the 13th, conforming to the horror genre stereotype that this will increase the level of fear. Various posters were also released for the sequel, however they focussed more on the image, as the brand was already known. Marketers created a hype for Insidious 3 by using 'Hashtag Insidious3' to advertise walk in roles for the film. This was done well in advance of the released date to increase following. 

Budget: $1.5 million

Gross Revenue: $97,009,150




Annabelle

Marketing Campaign: Ahead of the films release, as part of the horror prequels promotional campaign, the films marketing team took the
creepy doll from the film, to New Orleans where she would be placed in front of iconic landmarks such as the White House and Jackson Square to pose for photos with brave passers by. This was a genius marketing campaign because by placing her in front of such iconic landmarks would generate a lot of attention towards the film due to the amount of tourists that would have come across this sinister doll. Passers by were keen to know more about the doll as well as wanting to have photos with her which generated a lot of talk and hysteria about the film and the eagerly awaited release date.
Warner Bros. released the film, worldwide, on the 3rd of October 2014. It was released in over 52 foreign markets on its opening weekend meaning that it was targeted towards an extremely mass audience. There is no doubt whatsoever that the fact that this was the spinoff prequel to the extremely successful film The Conjuring, set it up really well from the onset and throughout to be just as successful. Annabelle was released in 3185 theatres in North America and the film earned $2.1 million just from the Thursday night showings. It wasn't just in America where the film gained international success, as it was also a big hit in Russia. The film was released in Russia a week prior to the films wide release and in the opening weekend it earned $2.1 million also; debuting at number three at the Russian box office.

Budget: $46.5 million

Gross Revenue: $166.6 million 9 (1 week after release date)


The Possession

Marketing Campaign: The film was released in the US on August the 31st, 2012 and it was premiered at the Film4 Fright Fest. In it's opening weekend the film was ranked number 1, taking in approximately $17.7 million as well as a return of even more of a profit across the labour day weekend. The fact that the film was premiered at the Film4 Fright Fest, a below the line marketing technique, will have generated a lot of attention for the film immediately especially as this festival was focused on horror films which would presumably lead to further success in upcoming weeks for the film. Another way in which this film was marketed was through the creation of a website solely for this film. The link below takes you directly to the website and it gives you an insight into what the film is about, the true story synopsis that the film is based upon as well as information about the cast and crew and galleries including images, videos and more importantly; the film trailer. Nowadays most people are technically savvy and rely upon the internet as their main source for information. Therefore, the creation of a website for the film was a really smart idea because you immediately know that it will attract a mass audience because of the amount of people that use the internet and would therefore come across the website through web searches or through word of mouth about the film. This medium would get people excited about the film as well as providing them with a lot of knowledge about it which often people like before going to watch a film which ultimately will result in them wanting to go and watch the film. 

 

The Possession Official Website: http://thepossessionmovie.com/index.html#/home

 

 

Budget: $14 Million

Gross Revenue: $49,122,319 Million














 

Institutional Research: Institutions

Warner Bros

Warner Bros, stated to be ' The Media Film Giants' have produced some of the world's most famous horror films. Within our psychological horror genre, they have produced The Exorcist, Friday the 13th, Haunted House on the Hill and The Shining. They own roughly 15% of the market, owning smaller companies such as 'Time Warner' through vertical integration. Warner Bros spend very large budgets to produce their films. The Exorcist cost approximately £12 million to make. Most marketing campaigns they use are online, using websites such as You Tube as Warner Bros realise the audience they can reach by using an online platform. Warner Bros own  smaller companies such as Time Warner, whom decide the overall marketing campaign for their films.

New Line Cinema

 

New Line Cinema are famous for horrors such as Nightmare on Elm Street, The Conjuring, Texas Chainsaw massacre and Annabelle. Owned by Time Warner, (Warner Bros daughter company) they don't have an independent market share, however all of their marketing is paid for and distributed by Time Warner. Being owned by Warner bros allows New Line Cinema to produce high budget horrors; for example The Conjuring was produced with a $20 million budget, allowing them to spend more money on marketing than if they were independent. With the expertise of Time Warner, they could reach a mass audience using the most recent technology and platforms.

Lionsgate

 

Lionsgate horror films include Jessabelle, American Psycho, Saw and Hostel. Lionsgate owns 7% of the film production market share, meaning they can spend bigger budgets on producing films to saturate the cinemas with Lionsgate films. The making of Saw cost $1.2 million, and their synergy with 'Summit' Marketing Company gave the film extra money and expertise to expand their marketing campaign. Official trailers were put onto You Tube well in advance of the release dates and print based media was also used to generate awareness.  

Blumhouse Productions

 

Horror films produced include Paranormal Activity, Oculus, insidious and The Purge. Although the brand isn't as popular as Warner Bros, all of these films have earned high revenue at the box office. With a $15000 budget, the film has currently made $193 000 000 at the box office and that isn't including Paranormal Activity 2 or 3; proving budget doesn't determine success. As for marketing, the film was originally set to be produced by Blumhouse productions alone, however viral marketing introduced the footage to Dreamworks (owned by Paramount), who decided to co-market the film, and pay for above the line marketing campaigns. The amateur nature of the film made social media spiral, giving Paranormal Activity another marketing platform, accessible to anyone.

Dark Castle Entertainment

Dark Castle Entertainment is renowned for producing popular horror films such as Orphan, House Of Wax and The Reaping. As well as this institution being a division of Silver Pictures, it is also affiliated with Warner Bros. Popular blockbusters such as Orphan and House Of Wax have earned a high revenue at the box office as well as a high total gross. Orphan for example, grossed a total of $78,337,373 from foreign and domestic box office sales whilst making a presume profit (budget not available) as the total earnings for this film was $90,587,816. Similarly, House Of Wax had a budget of $40 million and made a total of $62,771,059 just from domestic and foreign box office sales. So it readily exceeded it's budget and therefore made a profit without even including the total grossed on DVD sales. Dark Castle Entertainment certainly put forward it's competitive nature when it came to the purchase of the more recent 2009 film Splice. This film was premiered at the Sitges Film Festival in October 2009 where it received an award for best special effects. It also demonstrates below the line marketing to make this film more successful when it was part of the Sundance Film Festival to help market this film to a wider audience. There was a bidding war when it came to this film as big institutions such as The Weinstein Company, Apparition and Newmarket Films all wanted to purchase this film. However, Dark Castle Entertainment was the only successful institute and successfully marketed this film by allowing it to have a wide release in the US with Warner Bros as a distributer as well as attaching it to the well known film A Nightmare On Elm Street.

Ghost House Pictures

Established in 2002, Ghost House Pictures was founded by Sam Raimi who was also the founder of Renaissance Pictures and Robert Tapert, who both had the aim of producing high-concept horror films. From a distributing point of view, Ghost house pictures are closely linked to Mandate Pictures who help them to produce and distribute their films. Ghost House Pictures are renowned for producing the popular horror films The Possession and The Grudge; both high grossing films. The Possession was distributed by Lionsgate and had an estimated budget of $14,000,000. In the opening weekend of the films release in August 2012 it earned a total of $17,732,4480 in the USA whilst making a total gross of $49,122,319; making itself a considerable profit from its budget. There is no doubt that Ghost House Pictures synergy with Lionsgate was to thank for the huge success of the film. As previously mentioned, Lionsgate owns 7% of the production market share which not only means that they have the availability of a large budget in order to market films to a mass audience on a variety of platforms.

Platinum Dunes



The American production company Platinum Dunes was created by Michael Bay and Brad Fuller in 2001 with the company specializing in horror films, and more specifically the remake of horror films. Platinum Dunes has produced classic horror films such as A Nightmare On Elm Street, Friday The 13th and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Both Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th had relatively low budgets of $9,500,00 and $19,000,000, yet they were still both high total grossing films as they both made approximately $100,000,00 each. This is therefore an indicator that the marketing campaigns of these films must have been extremely effective in order for the films to reach a mass audience and generate such a large amount of money.
Friday the 13th was expected to make $120 million from the box office, however despite having a great marketing campaign, the film had extremely bad word of mouth which lead to a depletion in the number of people wanting to view the film. This was perhaps due to the fact that this film was a remake which is what Platinum Dunes are renowned for, however their remakes also have a reputation of not always being the most successful films.

Audience Research - Social Media

We decided to research our audience by looking at social media websites. We looked at the profiles of people who actively talk about the horror genre and concluded who we would be aiming out trailer at.

We looked at these hashtags on twitter...

#horror

#ilovehorror

#horrortrailer

#psychologicalhorror

From the #horror hashtag we can deduce that it's a generic hashtag for when someone watches a horror film, meaning the audience is quite broad. Nevertheless the majority of these tweets are from males suggesting that horror appeals to a mainly male audience around the world. 

The #ilovehorror hashtag proves to be more of a talking point for horror lovers to share their images and trailers with other horror audiences. It shows a wider range of audience as females like to share links with each other using this hashtag whilst the males like to share what they have been to watch at cinemas.

#horrortrailer is used to upload independent horror movie trailers and to share trailers that people want to see at the cinemas. A variety of people post this hashtag however it is apparent that the audience are of a younger age; wanting to go to cinemas with their friends to watch horror films. 

The #psychologicalhorror film provides us with great research into our sub-genre audience. This hashtag also allows small independent horror movie makers to advertise for certain parts for their film; as shown by the tweet above. Most #psychologicalhorror hashtags are used alongside links for the website of psychological horror films and used by people whom have a keen interest within the genre - rather than using it as an immediate, generic expression such as just #horror. This allows us to identify that our audience are mixed gender and age, however have a natural, active interest into psychological horror. 

Audience Research - Quantitative Analysis

QUESTIONNAIRE



 After all of our textual analysis and iconography research, we decided to conduct primary research in the form of questionnaires. By handing out questionnaires we hope to establish who our target audience are as well as what their preferences are when it come to all aspects of horror trailers to give us inspiration and help when it comes to planning our own trailer. We chose a random sample of 19 people and the participants in our questionnaire consisted of 10 females and 9 males who ranged in age from 16-18. The range in ages was a decision we made before handing out the questionnaires to get a range of views from people of all ages and to see whether their opinions would be different.

OUR QUESTIONNAIRE:

From the first four questions, we were quickly able to establish who our target audience was; males and females aged between 16-18. This can be concluded because 15/19 participants answering that they like watching horror films with only the small minority of 4/19 stating that they don't like them. However, the next question established that even though these four people didn't necessarily like horror films, they still watched them because in the next question all participants answered that they either watch films weekly, monthly or yearly; no one stated never.


FAVOURITE HORROR FILM:

From the pie chart it is clear to see that because of the large number of participants we used, there was a wider variety of horror films that people considered to be their favourite. The most popular films that occurred in our results were Saw, Final Destination and The Conjuring. The question had a qualitative element as it progressed to ask why it was their favourite horror film. Answers included, 'because they made me jump, 'they were interesting and gripping', 'they had a good storyline and were interesting', 'the paranormal side to the conjuring makes it interesting', and 'because it really makes you think.' As these three films came out as the most popular among our participants, we will take on board their comments as to why they like the films because they obviously consider these to be good qualities of horror films and find the techniques effective, so it would be beneficial for us to include some in out horror trailer.


FAVOURITE SUB-GENRE:

During our textual analysis and creation of our proposal and brief we had almost definitely decided that the chosen sub-genre for our Horror Trailer would be psychological. This is because we both shared common interests in films such as Insidious and The Conjuring which both fall into this sub-genre, therefore, seemingly, it seemed like the obvious and most interesting choice for us. However, in our questionnaires we still wanted to find out what our target audiences favourite sub-genre was because if the results came back completely opposite to our preferences then we would perhaps have to alter our sub-genre or make it into a hybrid because after all, out trailer needs to appeal to these people; our target audience.
Luckily though, after analysing our questionnaires we discovered that the majority of people chose psychological as their favourite sub-genre. 11/19 people said this was their favourite a score which was closely followed by the 6/19 people who stated that supernatural was there favourite sub-genre whilst the least popular was hybrid and surprisingly, slasher.


WHAT IS THE SCARIEST HORROR FILM YOU'VE WATCHED, WHAT MADE IT SCARY?:

We found this question really useful especially as we used a large sample, we  could collate a lot of information about well-known, effective horror films to give us inspiration for our trailer. This question carried more of a qualitative nature, but this was useful in order to find out what people found scary about these horror films. One aim of our trailer is obviously to engage people from the outset and to keep them on the edge of their seat through the horror. Therefore by finding out what our target audience find scary in horror films, we can use the techniques to make our trailer, hopefully, equally effective.  



WHAT DO YOU FIND SCARY ABOUT HORROR FILMS?:

Although this question is similar to the previous one, this one doesnt focus on specific films and why they are scary, we just wanted to know in general what our audience found scary in horror films. This would then give us more of an overview of a variety of techniques we could use in our trailer to make it a more effective horror.
Below are the audiences view on what they find scary about horror films:

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN OUR HORROR TRAILER?:

Not only did we want to find out what our audience thought were effective elements of a horror trailer for ideas and inspiration, we also wanted to ask this direct question to get a wider opinion and what they think would work in the creation of a horror trailer. Some answers were very similar suggesting that these were stereotypical features of horror films, whilst some were more specific showing that individuals personal preference. Therefore, once we begin storyboarding and creating our trailer we will take into account these opinions and include some ideas in our trailer that are inkeeping with our plot line. Here are their responses:

• unsuspected sudden action
• loud, appropriate music
• terrifying parts and jumpy scenes
• suspense
• dolls
• creepy children
• scary locations
• woods
• blood
• good sound effects
• close-up shots
• based on a true story
• cliff hanger at the end
• never know whats coming next
• fast pace cuts

LOCATION:

In this question we purposefully chose stereotypical horror connoting locations as the options so that we wouldn't receive any obscure answers that wouldn't be of any use. Our favoured locations prior to doing the questionnaires were abandoned house, woods and a graveyard. This is because they are often used in horror films as abandoned houses and woods have connotations of isolation and abandonment, whilst graveyards have obvious connotations of death; a common theme in horror films. Fortunately, our questionnaire results showed that our audience have the same opinions as we do when it come to the location of our trailer so we will definitely film in at least two out of the three most popular ones.


USE OF CHILDREN:

100% of the people we asked said that they thought the use of children in horror films to represent vulnerability makes a horror film more effective. This result is extremely conclusive and from our previous knowledge through the analysis of The Conjuring and both of the Insidious films, we know that children are often used as either the vulnerable or possessed characters which we also think makes the trailers really effective. Therefore, as long as we could get consent, we would consider using a younger children as one of the main protagonists in our trailer to appeal to our audience and further the element of horror and vulnerability we aim to emit.


MALE OR FEMALE PROTAGONIST:

In our iconography analysis, we in one part focused on who the main protagonist is in horror films and they were predominently female. Upon analysis we realised that this is becuase, stereotypically, women are seen as the weaker sex and therefore seeing them in a position where they are being antagonised by the horror that is occuring in the film makes them seem, to the audience, even more vulnerable. So the results from our questionnaire clearly show that higher proportion of people would prefer to see a female protagonist in our trailer, suggesting that they also think they come across as more effective, vulnerable characters in this genre.

Iconography

Along the way, we have tried to pick out key elements used in most horror trailers that we would like to use in our trailer. Here are a few screen shots that have particularly inspired us:


Editing:

This long take is framed for 5 seconds to emphasise the prevalence of the doll. Long takes are often used in horror films to give the audience time to absorb the horror and familiarise themselves with the emotions felt by the protagonist. We plan to use various long takes in our horror trailer to enhance certain elements of horror that our characters or setting may portray.









These 2 shots show the audience that an unwanted presence is in the house. They are both establishing shots with a contrasting depth of field, the first shot makes the audience aware of the person, as the second one is used to scare the audience as she enters the room and becomes more prevalent. When watching the 'Annabelle' trailer, these screen shots stood out to us because it highlights the psychological element to the trailer, as the woman is unaware of what is going on in her surroundings. Therefore as our sub genre is psychological horror we will consider using a similar shot sequence in our trailer.

After closely analysing the three trailers, we also noticed that common editing features that were apparent in the horror trailers were fast pace editing and lots of fades were used. In our trailer we will definitely use lots of fast paced editing because this will present our audience with lots of shots in a short space of time which creates tension and anxiety on the audience members behalf as they are unsure on what is going to happen next; leaving them wanting to watch more. The fast pace editing will also contrast nicely with the long takes that we also plan to use in out trailer.


Lighting:









Low key lighting is used to create dark shots such as this framing shot. This represents the intense mood in the room, as the woman rummages through the wardrobe. The darkness also emphasises the thought of something waiting in the wardrobe, adding to the horror. Stereotypically, this scene plays on the fact that there are eerie things hide in the wardrobe, or the 'skeletons in the closet' ideology. We plan to use low key lighting in our trailer to maximise the horror effect.

Drawing upon the low key lighting effect, the two images of the house perfectly demonstrate how we would us different lighting in our trailer to show the down hill turning point in the trailer- where the horror starts to arise. Stereotypically, trailers start with happy non-diegetic music and the first image of the house demonstrates this happy feeling due to the high key lighting that is used. Contrastingly though, the second image uses low key lighting. Both of these clips appear in the same trailer which demonstrates to the audience through the lighting that the theme in the trailer are going to become more dark and sinister and the horror themes start to prevail. We are inspired by these contrasting sequences as we feel that this really highlights how the darkness represents the unknown and knowledge that something is wrong.



Shot types:

This sequence of shots are separated by quick cuts to contrast between the lighting of each shot. The lighting behind the woman sewing is perceived as natural light, presenting her as the innocent protagonist whom the audience are made to empathise with. Conversely, the darkness of the doll sat on the shelf implies the doll is the evil antagonist. This clearly suggests the roles each character plays, allowing the lighting to suggest a poignant component of the story. The high key lighting behind the woman also presents her vulnerability, as she has nothing to protect her from the terror, in comparison to the artificiality of the low key lighting above the doll. The contrast between these two shots is effective by creating an artificial heart rate for the audience.  

Framing shots are used throughout the trailers we've analysed, usually long takes, clearly showing the protagonist's surroundings. 

Framing shots accentuate the protagonists surroundings. Children are often used for these shots as although we can't see their faces and their expressions, their size in comparison to their surroundings highlights their vulnerability. The use of just one person or item in the framing shot implies the isolation that horror trailers intend to effect audiences with. It also conforms to the psychological horror genre, as it allows audiences imaginations run wild as each viewer will interpret differently and will have a different effect on everyone.

A recurring technique used in horror trailers is the use of establishing shots of the house where the trailer is set. There are usually 2 establishing shots of this house; in the day and at night, using a natural contrast to emphasise that the main body of horror happens during the night. The house shot also makes the trailer more psychologically effective, as it shows the audience that a horror story could happen to a normal family, living on a normal street; suggesting it could happen to them. By taunting their imagination, trailers can enter the mind of the audience to persuade them to watch the whole film. 

 

Close ups are used in horror trailers to clearly show the protagonist's face. Close ups not only show expression, but they also feature their surroundings. Close ups show expression, detail and often set the mood, especially for eye line match. We plan to use close ups to express the fear a protagonist feels, giving the audience a clear image of facial expression.

Extreme close ups are commonly used during the climax of horror films to maximise the sense of audience being able to visually see what the protagonist is feeling. We plan to use extreme close ups at the moment the protagonist realises there is horror in the house, and at the climax of action, as we feel this would be a good technique to show the cycle of horror often portrayed. 


Props:










Props play a large role in horror films, however from our analysis we have identified that more subtle props are used to purvey fear in psychological horrors. Rather than the stereotypical kitchen knife featured in slashers, or a masked antagonist associated with zombie horror; psychological horrors use dolls, baby monitors and traditional children's toys to represent how the psychological genre creates terror by making a materialistic prop come to life by introducing a spiritual presence; unknown to the habitants of the house, but clearly obvious to the audience. Many props will feature in our trailer, as they almost speak, during silence.

 

Doors are also common in psychological horror, as they present the notion that the protagonist is always trapped and can't escape the inevitable terror they face. By using a long depth of field extreme long shot of the actor, with many doors in shallow depth of field, the audience see the isolated actor with no hope of escaping and are made to feel empathy for the protagonist; an easy technique to grab the audience's attention. In our trailer, we want to use this technique as its such a subtle technique that can make a long shot or extreme long shot look more effective, conforming to the horror genre.





Protagonist

Post trailer analysis there was a clear trend in the gender of the protagonist appearing in the horror trailers; they were all female. Females, in particular, in media mediums such as films, are often portrayed as the inferior, weaker character. This ideology has been apparent throughout the horror genre when analysing our trailers because we often see the women as the antagonist character who is being scrutinised by the terror. This stereotype associated with women however, we think makes for an effective horror trailer because they are already seen as weaker characters, therefore by making them the target in horror films makes them appear even more vulnerable. 
In the above shots there is a mixture of medium close up shots, establishing shots, two shots and aerial shots. Obviously, the medium close up shot is one that is commonly used in horror films to demonstrate to the audience the distress and terror on the characters face. The third establishing shot in particular is very effective, because she is surrounded by typical homely things however due to her insular posture and fear on her face, the audience are aware that she is actually in complete isolation. This is also apparent in the last aerial shot which makes the woman look very small and as though she is being watched over.
In our trailer, we are definitely going to use a female as the lead role so that the extra element of vulnerability is apparent in our trailer. Our thoughts on who the lead protagonist should be will hopefully coincide with the audiences view after conducting audience research in the form of questionnaires.


Setting















In the majority of horror film trailers we have watched and analysed, there has always been a framing shot of the house where the horror will prevail before it happens and then there will often be another framing shot of the house in perhaps a lower key light to show the turn in the trailer as things start to go wrong. These framing shots are effective because they give an audience a clear indication of where the main basis for the horror is. We also like the contrast between the two framing shots in the Insidious trailer; one in the day and one at night. The second framing shot at night is stereotypical of the fact that when it's night time, this is when horror often prevails.


We also found that often outdoor space such as woodlands are used when the horror is at it's peak in which you often see the antagonist running away from the horror. We like this idea as well because it means that not all of the horror is happening in one location; the house. Woodlands also have an eerie element to them especially at night because it shows complete isolation and the fear of the unknown as you often don't know where you are or where you are going; making your character more vulnerable. The contrast between the horror prevailing in a house then into an outdoor space is very effective because houses are associated with being homely and safe, whereas, you wouldn't use those lexemes to describe woodlands.