HORROR MOVIE PROMOTIONAL ASSIGNMENT

- Choose a partner from your existing group of 4 (from Nosferatu group work began last week). You will come up with a common idea together for this project, but will split the work below evenly, each completing two parts of the assignment. You will receive individual grades.

- The focus here is on the HORROR AUDIENCE. October is a big month for horror movies, obviously because of the Halloween “holiday”, and also because of the darkening and increasingly cold/creepy weather! With your partner, come up a pitch for a horror movie which will be released on Halloween. The aim is to produce a storyline and promotional materials which will help to draw in a big audience for your horror movie on its opening night – October 31st!

OVERVIEW:

A) With your partner:

-  Come up with a catchy name for your new film production company

-  Brainstorm ideas and come up with a basic concept and storyline for a new horror movie to be produced by your company.

-  Settle on a TITLE for the horror movie!

-  Decide which AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHIC your movie will be catering to. Be specific in choosing age range, gender, and audience ‘taste’. (e.g. “What Lies Beneath” was a thriller starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford – it appealed to men and women 30+ because it was a about a married couple dealing with a haunting. In contrast, “Hostel” is heavy on gore and is about young adults being tortured and murdered – appeals more to serious horror fans and young men 18+ interested in the sexual content and gruesome scenes).

-  Divide up the tasks below – 2 each to be completed.

B) Individual work tasks: (each will be worth 5 marks)

TASK ONE: Create a LOGO and SLOGAN for your film production company. The logo can be produced by hand or on the computer, and should link in to the horror theme of your film. Produce a final copy to hand in on 8 ½ by 11” paper – i.e. the logo should contain fine detail and be polished, in colour and inked. Don’t forget to add a slogan for your company (example of a slogan: “Choose Your Poison” from the Poison Pictures logo on the attached exemplar). The logo should be eye-catching, visually interesting, and creative – as well as creepy!!

TASK TWO: Produce a STORYBOARD of 16 frames, detailing a promotional TRAILER for your horror movie. It should cover the basic storyline/concept of the movie without giving too much away (think of how you would draw in your target audience). Be sure to cover all of the points listed below (same criteria as your formative storyboard assignment):

-  Shots – correctly identified, variety of shots, angles and editing techniques used (e.g. montage, XCU LS WS etc, low/high angle, zooming, panning, tracking

-  Music/Sound – what style of music is playing throughout the trailer? Any specific song(s) or artist(s) used? Is the mood sombre, upbeat, creepy? What instruments are used? Any voiceover narration? Sound effects?

-  Costuming/Makeup – What style of costumes are used (e.g. Natural/casual, or exaggerated such as Dracula cape or ripped zombie clothing?) The costumes should reflect the time/place in which the film is set. What makeup is used – describe in detail. Any special makeup FX needed? Prosthetics, blood, gore, etc?

-  Lighting/Colour – be specific about what type of lighting is being used – natural sunlight? Fluorescent lighting? Moonlight? Is it dark, dim, medium, bright? What colour theme(s) are present, and why? Do costumes or props use a common colour theme, and to what effect?

-  The final storyboard must be 16 frames – see exemplar for what I’m looking for (exemplar is the first 8 frames of a horror trailer by Poison Pictures about killer teens who can melt their enemies using their minds!) Your storyboard should be polished, inked and in colour. It can be produced on the computer if you wish, or by hand.

TASK THREE: Produce a PROMOTIONAL POSTER advertising your horror movie. The concept of your horror movie should be evident from the poster. Make sure the title is prominent, and that the style and imagery of the poster appeal strongly to your TARGET AUDIENCE. How will this poster help convince potential viewers to come see the film? Produce a final copy to hand in on 8 ½ by 11” paper. The poster can be bigger if you wish – this is the minimum size. Again, make sure the final product is polished, inked and coloured, whether you’re producing it by hand or on the computer.

TASK FOUR: Produce a MERCHANDISE TIE-IN that your company will be sending out to promote the movie. The item must link into the theme and the storyline of the movie. Examples might be an action figure, a toy, a fake body part, promotional makeup such as stick-on prosthetics or fake blood, signature item/weapon of the villain (e.g. Jason’s hockey mask, Freddy’s knife glove), tie-in comic book, keychain, etc etc.

- For this task, you should actually produce a physical prototype of the item itself (recommended), but if not, create a visual profile of the item including a detailed, labelled drawing of what the item is and how it is produced.