The role of the production company

The role of the production company is to advertise and promote a film, in order to try and get it released into cinemas. Larger production companies such as ‘20^th Century Fox’ (X-Men, the Simpsons) will have a bigger budget and can get films into cinemas nationwide. These are usually for mainstream films, so my horror film would want to be advertised nationwide. Smaller production companies such as ‘Vivendi Entertainment’ (Hurricane Season, Fanboys) will have smaller budgets, and will not release the film into as many cinemas, because they cannot afford to. This tends to be for more niche films such as ‘Waste Land’ and ‘M’. My film is a typical bloody horror with a religious side to it, so would probably be classed as a mainstream film. If I was to try and get my film published, I  would go to the big names such as ‘20^th Century Fox’ first, in order to try and get my film released nationwide throughout all cinemas.

A major production company releases a substantial number of films annually and gets a share of box-office revenues. In the Western and global markets, the major film studios various movie production and distribution subsidiaries command approximately 90% of the U.S. box office. The "Big Six" majors, whose operations are based in or around Hollywood, are all based in film studios active during Hollywood's Golden Age of the 1930s and 1940s. In three cases—20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., and Paramount—the studios were one of the "Big Five" majors during that era as well. In two cases—Columbia and Universal—the studios were also considered majors, but in the next tier down, part of the "Little Three". In the sixth case, Walt Disney Studios was an independent production company during the Golden Age; it was an important Hollywood entity, but not a major.

A production company is responsible for the development and filming of a specific production. Firstly is the pre-production phase. Most productions never reach this phase for financing or talent reasons. In pre-production, the actors are signed on and prepared for their roles, crew is signed on, shooting locations are found, sets are built or acquired, and the proper shooting permits are acquired for on location shooting.

Next, a production begins filming. Most productions are never cancelled once they reach this phase. In many cases, the director, producers, and the leading actors are often the only people with access to a full or majority of a single script. Supporting actors, background actors, and crew often never receive a full copy of a specific script to prevent leaks. Productions are often shot in secured studios, with limited to no public access, but they are also shot on location on secured sets or locations.

After filming, is post production, which is overseen by the production company. The editing, musical score, visual effects, re-recording of the dialog, and sound effects are "mixed" to create the final film, which is then screened. Marketing is also launched during this phase, such as the release of trailers and posters. Once a final film has been approved, the film is taken over by the distributors, who then release the film.

Audience Research (Independent)

Audience research

Independent

From the results of my questionnaire, I can conclude many different results. I sent out a questionnaire around college, 50% girls and 50% boys. Of the boys, 60% said that horror was their favourite genre, compared with only 10% of the girls. This could suggest that horror movies are more appealing to boys than girls, which is why my horror film is aimed more at boys, with shots that support the male gaze theory (leaving the girl on camera for longer), and more bloody and gory deaths throughout. This will hopefully maximise profits. Of the boys, 75% go to the cinema on a monthly basis, and 15% see horror films at the cinema once a month, whereas only 30% of girls go to the cinema once a month, and only 5% see a horror film at the cinema once a month. This shows that the cinema still has strong viewings, particularly among teenaged boys, and that horror movies are still most popular among teenaged boys. Finally, I established from my questionnaire that 80% of males want to see an attractive female play the ‘final girl’, and 90% of females wanted males on camera in an attractive way (e.g. body shots etc.)

Concluding my results, it is easy to show that the main target audience for horror films are boys aging from 15-25. For this reason, my horror film would contain the ‘male gaze ’theory idea, as suggested by Laura Mulvey. This is the suggestion that the camera is male, and looks upon women in usually a sexual way (e.g. a chase scene for a woman capturing only her body, whereas a chase scene for a male would have lots of face in the shots). This would probably attract more of my target audience (male viewers) and so maximise my profits.

Audience research (general)

Audience research

General

The main target audience for any kind of horror movie is mainly people ageing from 15-25, particularly teenagers. This may because they look for more of a thrill when watching a film, a kind of thrill that only a horror movie could give. It is mostly aimed at men as they are more likely to be able to interact with the characters on screen, and men seem to enjoy the blood and gore more than women. Women can interact with those on screen to but they would tend to react differently, since most women prefer no blood, or gore, due to it being a social norm for women not to like blood. However recent figures show that females watching horror has exceeded male viewers for the first time. The secondary target audience is dating couples, more likely to be either very close to marriage couples or first date couples.

In the table below, it shows that horror films have less than 5% of the market share. This tends to be because the audience is less mainstream than genres such as comedy and adventure, who have over 40% of the market share between them.

Top-Grossing Genres 1995 to 2012

		Movies	Total Gross	Average Gross	Market Share
1	Comedy	1,751	$44,792,158,044	$25,580,901	23.48%
2	Adventure	521	$38,199,674,469	$73,319,913	20.03%
3	Drama	3,132	$33,621,012,632	$10,734,678	17.63%
4	Action	570	$32,066,637,809	$56,257,259	16.81%
5	Thriller/Suspense	561	$15,495,734,985	$27,621,631	8.12%
6	Romantic Comedy	403	$11,286,883,357	$28,007,155	5.92%
7	Horror	329	$9,093,205,812	$27,638,923	4.77%
8	Documentary	1,076	$2,063,950,710	$1,918,170	1.08%
9	Musical	113	$1,865,013,970	$16,504,548	0.98%
10	Black Comedy	85	$781,440,299	$9,193,415	0.41%

History of a horror character- Dracula

History of a horror character

Count Dracula

Count Dracula is the title character and main enemy of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic Horror novel 'Dracula'. He is shown as an typical vampire. Some aspects of the character are inspired by the Wallachian Prince Vlad the Impaler who was also known as "Dracula." The character appears frequently in popular culture, from films to animated media to breakfast cereals.

Although early in the novel Dracula is shown as friendly, he becomes angry when his plans are interfered with. When the three vampire women who live in his castle attempt to seduce Jonathan Harker, Dracula physically assaults on. He then relents and talks to them more kindly, telling them that he does indeed love each of them. Dracula is very passionate about his warrior heritage. He has a somewhat primitive and predatory worldview.

He has usually had a strong Eastern European accent, although the original novel only states that his spoken English is excellent, though strangely toned, and doesn’t necessarily suggest that he is Eastern European.

His appearance varies. He is described early in the novel as thin, with a long white moustache, pointed ears and sharp teeth. It is also noted later in the novel that sees him that he has a hooked nose and a pointed beard with a streak of white in it. He is dressed all in black.

There have been many different takes on Count Dracula over the last century, ranging from Nosferatu to Twilight, which features modern day vampires, however, keeps the same themes from original vampires, such as feeding from blood and being killed with garlic and a crucifix.

Analysing Horror Trailers- The Poltergeist

Analysing Horror Trailers

The Poltergeist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ytjaMfoF2M

 This trailer will be different in many ways from the other two that I have analysed, due to the fact that it was made 30 years ago. For example, it doesn’t have the green screen at the beginning stating legal terms etc., but instead states the director, Steven Spielberg, then goes straight into the trailer. The trailer starts with a normal establishing shot of a family moving into a new home.  However, many of the conventions for a horror trailer are still present. For example, all is calm to begin with, as is typical of a horror trailer, even one of 30 years ago. This shows that the conventions haven’t dramatically changed over the past 30 years of horror.

There is a narrative voice over for the first 40 seconds or so, which describes the family moving into a new home. This establishes the idea of normality, or calm before the storm. In a typical horror trailer, the first 30 seconds or so is often calm, with long, establishing shots. This shows the audience that there is equilibrium to begin with. Once the shots become closer up and there become more edits, it shows the audience that the equilibrium has been disrupted.

The locations which are established are typical of a horror trailer of this type, a psychological. The first location is the new house. Another location is the neighbour’s house across the street. The final location used is what looks like an expert’s office, where the main characters seek help, which is typical of a horror trailer.

The main character is established fairly on in the trailer as the husband/wife of the new family. However, at this point in the trailer (around 15 seconds) the audience are yet to know whether the parents will be the heroes or the victims. The victim is established after 35 seconds, as the little girl. The trailer shows the uncertainty, as the music turns darker, the room is dark and it is nigh time. This connotes mysteriousness and tension, which is a typical convention of a horror trailer. The part of the trailer where the little girl is against the Tv is the clear indication of the event, a typical convention of a horror trailer. The audience know this because it is the first uncertain and mysterious scene, whereas the first 30 seconds of the trailer was completely fine and normal, with long, establishing shot, straight on angles etc.

The next minute of the trailer is complete mayhem, with high winds, cars crashing, screaming etc. This is typical of the final part of a horror trailer and fits in with the narrative structure, the ‘big finish’ before the end, and the pace of the clips increasing. This creates tension and uncertainty for the audience, in an attempt to make them feel clueless and terrified. The trailer ends with a final scream of ‘what’s happening?!’ which again confuses the audience and makes them want to know what is happening. The final 15 seconds of the trailer shows the title of the film, and calmness restored, with the voice over playing again. The voice over informs the audience that the poltergeist ‘knows what scares you’. This is a final scare for the audience before the end of the trailer.

 Showing the title before the end of a trailer is a typical convention, as it reminds the audience of the title of the film, so that they are less likely to forget it, and more likely to go and see the film, therefore making the company more profit. It ends with a small set of credits, informing the audience of the most influential and important members of the film. This brings the trailer to an overall close and settles the audience. Unlike a more recent horror trailer, this trailer doesn’t have quotes from magazines, explaining how ‘terrifying’ the film is. There are no quotes, probably due to the fact that the ‘new media’ is nowhere near as influential as it is today, and there wouldn’t have been as many magazines being made to give the quotes and reviews about the trailer.

There are roughly 57 edits, and 24 close-ups. This is typical of a horror trailer. The reason why they put in so many edits is to increase the pace of the trailer, which give a tense, mysterious atmosphere for the audience to have to deal with. For example, something may flash up only for a split second, and then go away again, which leaves viewers clueless and this feeling of unknown could scare them or make them nervous.