Initial ideas

Early on in the development of our trailer, me and my group agreed that the best choice for film genre would be horror. This is because we believed that it would be the easiest to turn into a trailer on the very minimal budget, techniques, and special effects that would be available to us. We realised that within trailers for horror movies there is usually only very little in the way of special effects shown; but this is actually an effect that is used to raise suspense and a feeling of the unknown that makes potential viewers want to watch the movie. Therefore, within this genre the lack of funding and equipment can actually work in our favour. A good example of this is John Carpenters classic horror movie "Halloween", which has a very simple, yet very effective trailer :

Halloween

The director of this film has used very simplistic techniques to great effect. For example when we see through the eyes of the Michael Myers as a child, there has simply been a piece of card (or something similar) placed over the camera lense with eyes slits cut out, to make it look like we're seeing through a mask. This probably cost little to nothing to make, but to the audience it's very appealing, as it restricts our view of what's going on, therefore raising suspense. As well as this it really gets you into the mindset of the killer, as from this point onwards he always wears a mask. Within our film, a technique like this could ba avery strong possibility as it is completely within our ability to create, could make our trailer seem very professional and would coincide absolutely with the horror genre.

Colin

A film which could be a very good style model for our trailer is the British Made "Colin". This is a little known film that was never realeased at the cinema, and was made on a VERY low budget (estimated at only £45) however, it has done well at the film festival circuit, and could well become a dvd cult film. The film seems like a perfect example of what we hope to achieve; the special effects are very limited, but the way the camera is used makes up for this, as we see very little of the zombies themselves: they flash past or are moving with such vigour that its hard to make out any detail. A Guardian interview we found with the director shows this "DIY" ethic that the film encompasses, perfectly. The trailer for Colin is a very close representation of what we hope to achieve:-

It is very simplistic, as with the entire film, but it fulfills the horror genre. You don't get a full sense of what is going on, but enough is given away to gain interest. There are scenes which are quite frightening, when all the zombies flash past for example, but so much that it would scare a prospective audience off. I also like the use of bleak British weather within this trailer to help "set the mood", it could have been used to represent the post- apocalyptic feeling that the film encompasses. We could possibly use this, as well as other weather such as rain, to create a similar effect. As I've already brought to attention, this is a technique that is well within our "price range", as we simply need to film it outside at the right time of year.

Although these two films were made some thirty years appart, and with very different budgets, there are several similarities between them. For example both are grim and dark which sets up perfectly for the oncoming horror. As well as this both trailers show very little of the actual events that take place, and i'm sure that within both films this idea is continued to raise suspense and grab the audiences attention. It is often agreed that the likes of Carpenter set up the conventions for all horror after this, and in many ways this is true. There are many horror films that stick strictly to these conventions (eg scream, friday the 13th) and they are very popular cult classics. However, as of late, writers and directors have been trying to warp these conventions, or change them slightly to make a brand new era in the history of horror films. A good example of this is the recent film Paranormal activity, which puts a new twist on horror which first started with the 1990's cult film The Blair witch project. These film come from a completely new perspective; through handheld or security camera which capture the events "as they really happened", rather than from one person's perspective. This type of cinematography is very effecve in creating horror, as it adds a strong sense of realism. This added with the "realistic" acting, really plays with the audiences mind, as they can imagine it being themselves. Colin also breaks away from the usual conventions, as the film is entirely from the perspective of someone becoming a zombie. This brings a fresh idea to the horror board, and helps to draw in audiences board with the stereotypical idea. We hope to remain mostly the the usual conventions set up by John Carpenter, but we may add a new twist. As of yet we are not sure.