Teaser Posters Analysis (Research & Planning)

A teaser poster is usually released in advance or many months before the release of the film or maybe even the trailer. They are usually used to create awareness and hype for the film before its theatrical release. The poster has a basic image and sometimes a tagline without revealing too much information, as this is usually done by a theatrical poster later. The two differ because a theatrical trailer is released nearer the date of the move hitting cinemas and has more details, such as actors, directors and producers etc. These posters also show the rating of the film, however, because teaser posters are released before the film is finished, it usually reads 'this film is yet to be rated' or something similar, as is evident with the Zombieland (2009) teaser poster.

 

Horror film teaser posters are very simple and often lack much detail. If it is a franchise or a remake, of which people may have seen the original, then a symbolic image is used. An example of this is Friday the 13th, where the background is black and there is a white mask, which needs little explaining as it is a popular film, therefore a remake would be intriguing. There is simple writing which reads 'February Friday 13th' and considering Friday 13th is considered unlucky, it signals that it is a horror film. Another example is Buried (2010) where there is a man lying in a box at the bottom of the black poster, representing being buried, the films title. There is little release date information except 'coming soon' which encourages the audience to be aware of the upcoming film. A website is also shown, with allows the curious cinema-goers a chance to find out more. It is similar with the Devil teaser poster, it has a black background with one image, the up and down lift buttons,  and the word Devil, the films title. The image and words are a bit of an odd match, creating interest in the film and wondering what the link between devil and the lift buttons is. This poster also includes a tag line and the director, which generates a hype for the film because he is well known. Like with Buried, it says coming soon.

Cloverfield (2008) is basic yet very intriguing. The only thing written on the poster is it's release date 18/01/08; on reflection, these numbers are written in the style of a handheld camera digit displays. An iconic image, the Statue of Liberty, is shown overshadowing New York, which looks to be underattack. However, there is no indication at what is attacking nor is there a film title. This could generate hype but at the same time there is no film title, which could work if there is continuous promotion. The idea of one iconic image which looks out of place is a way to suggest what the film is going to be about.   

Provisional Filming Dates (Research & Planning)

School Scene - Thursday 19th
This date is convenient because we all have a free period.

Graveyard Scenes - Friday 27th
Polsden Lacey Scenes - Saturday 28th
All the main characters can film on these dates.

Actor 5 - Charlotte Sayers (Research & Planning)

Name: Charlotte Sayers
Age: 18
She will be playing the unnamed 'Gostgirl' who haunts and attempts to kill the three friends who are staying at Alcott Manor. A female antagonist will add a twist to the stereotypical haunters, as seen in Nightmare on Elm Street and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Actor 4 - Krystal Sayers (Research & Planning)

Name: Krystal Sayers
Age: 18
She will be playing Bonnie Sayers, one of the four school friends who venture to Alcott Manor. This character could be considered the average female, one who is not necessarily strong but who reacts the way many girls would, such as being scared. Having this character will make the film more popular because the female audience will be able to relate to the film themselves.

Actor 3 - Ana De Jesus (Research & Planning)

Name: Ana De Jesus
Age: 18
She will be playing Ana Butler, the school student who dares her friends to stay at the supposedly haunted Alcott Manor. In the trailer, she will be telling both the characters and the audience about Alcott Manor, but in the film would have a much smaller role, featuring only at the beginning and the end. At the beginning she would think that she was innocently daring her friends but at the end could have a guilty conscience.

Actor 2 - Hannah Ford (Research & Planning)

Name: Hannah Ford
Age: 17
She will be playing Caroline Ford, one of the four school friends who venture to Alcott Manor. which they believe is haunted, and stay the night. The character will be the stereotypical 'dumb blonde' female, which follows the generic conventions, such as Scream, where Casey Becker is killed first. This will appeal to an audience because they can identify this film as a horror because of the characters represented.

Actor 1 - Hannah Evans (Research & Planning)

Name: Hannah Evans
Age: 17
She will be playing the character of the cocky Elena Evans. To the friends, the fact she is out-spoken is humorous but to the audience it could be considered rude.

Character Costume

Hannah E, Hannah F, Ana, Krystal - We chose these costumes as they are most suitable to our film. We have chosen simple clothes, each costume represents their character and what we believe an average group of teenage friends will wear. We have also aimed that our costumes are pratical.

Charlotte -

Character 5 - Krystal Sayers (Bonnie)

Name: Bonnie Sayers
Age: 18
Personality: The third friend is one who is considered quite confident in everyday life but when faced with a situation like this, suddenly isn't so brave. This character often beings to panic, which makes her an easy target. This could mean being either one of the first to die, or possibly a hostage of the antagonist. In our film, she will be possessed by the ghost.
This character is representative of many girls who may have confidence when in an everyday situation but would lose all that and become scared in this type of situation.

Character 4 - Ana De-Jesus (Vicki)

Name: Vicki Butler
Age: 18
Personality: Although this character does not stay at Alcott Manor herself, she is important in starting the story as she sends the friends and future victims to the location. She is known as the (.......) and is very good at telling stories and is persuasive, leading the characters to agree unknowingly; Vladimir Propp would call this character the 'dispatcher'.

Character 3 - Hannah Ford (Caroline)

Name: Caroline Ford
Age: 17 4/5
Personality: Despite not knowing about the supposedly 'haunted' Alcott Manor, she agrees to stay there anyway. In the film, this character would be the 'dumb blonde' of the group and often make dumb remarks or ask stupid/obvious questions. This character is usually represented in horror films because they are considered an easy target, which appeals to a male audience (Laura Mulvey, Male Gaze).
This type of character is usually in stereotypical horror films because they can add humour, but could also be considered the dark horse and surprisingly be the sole survivor.

Character 2 - Charlotte Sayers (Ghost Girl)

Name: Unknown (referred to as ghost girl)
Age: Unknown
Personality:  Disturbed, lonely, vengeful.
- Her story is not explained within the trailer because the details are vague, if the film was to be created then there would be a scene with a more detailed explanation.
- Within the film, she would be a stereotypical ghost, one that is vengeful with no remorse; harsly slashing her victims to death, which appeals to a male audience. These unatural spirits, such as the ones featured in TV series Supernatural, will add a story to a conventional horror film.

Character 1 - Hannah Evans (Elena)

Name: Elena Evans
Age: 17 1/2
Personality: This character is the one with a very out-spoken and cocky personality. She is the character who is scepticle about any supernatural occurences, therefore doubting anything suspicious is going on. This attiude will mean that the character of Elena will be one of the first to be killed off.
The audience will associate with this because they will most likely have a friend who is unwilling to believe in what they don't/can't see. This is representative of a group of teenagers because there are a variety of personalities, and in many horror films, this attitde is often of those who are first to die and are generally disliked by viewers.

Animatic - Lost Soul

'Lost soul' animatic

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Lost Soul - Script

[First two shots of two institutions]

[Mid shot of Ana explaining the story of the haunted grounds]

Ana: Theres a rumour going round that the grounds to Alcott Manor is haunted by a girl. She was supposedly dared to stay a night there. She was with a group of friends that were supposed to stay too, but  they left her during the night leaving her to stay there alone. She never returned home. Some say that they have seen her walking the ground, but you can't believe everything you hear..

[Panning shot until shot 5] [end of dialogue] 

Hannah F: I dare us all to stay one night.

[Silence]

Hannah E: Let's do it.

-they set up the tent whilst talking amoungst themselves-

[They are asleep in the tent]

-they see a dark figure-

[They all scream] - They all run away in different directions.

[Montage of clips] - There is screaming mixed with deep breathing.

[Final Shot]
Hannah holds up torch to her face and shouts "boo!"

Hannah: BOO!

Props

A prop is defined as a portable object other than furniture or costumes (mise-en-scene) used on the set of a play or movie. In our trailer we will most likely have small props that are stereotypically found in horror films.

One main prop will be the tent that the characters stay in at the beginning of the trailer, it can act as the 'safe' point for the characters and become a meeting place whilst the girls are being hunted and haunted by the ghost.  The characters will have sleeping bags too, but these will be irrelevant to the story, simply being used to created convincing mise-en-scene.

Other props will be much smaller and more compact, making them easy to carry. These objects, such as phones, sweets, food, water etc. will be held in a bag owned by the characters. These will be referred to by the characters within although they will hold no purpose to the story. 

The phone, probably a popular BlackBerry or iPhone, could be used by the characters to call for help, only to find out there's no signal, rendering it useless. Another object will be a torch which the characters will rely on when they try to run and hide from the pursuing ghost.

Whilst running from the ghost, the characters will have to rely on the torch to give them light; they will be too scared and in a panic to collect any other items, making them more useful for mise-en-scene.