Back to normal

I started by new filming on the 7/1/2010 in the park scene were I first started by filming last time. I used similar shots to speed up the filming as I was unable to film for a long period of time due to one cast member having to leave at a set time.

Images taken for the front cover

Further problems

As expected i have come across a slight problem with my filming. I previously filmed 2 scenes in the snow due the weather but not coming back from the Christmas break to do some more filming the weather has cleared up which means i may have to film again, as i cant have one scene in the snow and the next scene in normal weather.

I intend on starting from the start again, this may benefit me though as I already have the experience of using the camera so when I go to film next time I`m able to get the right shots for the trailer.

On the other hand this may annoy cast members, as they have already put alot of time and effort into filming in the cold snowy weather which I am grateful for. I have spoke to a few cast members already, explaining the issues with the weather which they fully understood and said they are more than happy to film again which is a positive for me as I don't intend on causing any stress to my cast.

Using font software online

To create my magazine front cover, I'm using an online font software called Da Font (http://www.dafont.com) which has thousands of different fonts to choose from which is perfect in choosing the best style for my horror magazine. I am currently looking through a few different styles in the Horror category and feel the website will benefit the overall look of the front cover.

Da Font is a download service which I am unable to use, so for me to have the particular font I want from the website I have to print screen by using a key on the keyboard then paste it into the Paint software to select the font I want, then paste it into Adobe Photoshop CS3 to use in my magazine.

I am still going to use the font software on Adobe Photoshop CS3 as I want a vairety of fonts and stlyes on the front cover to create a magazine which will stand out from the other magazines.

Using photoshop on my magazine

To create my magazine front cover, I need to manipulate images and texts which the Adobe Photo shop CS3 allows me to do. I am still only a novice at using the software but manage to do the tasks i need to do such as dissolve the photo into one and another which is a useful skill to have especially when using Photo shop.

When I use Photo shop I`m able to change different fonts to suit my particular needs such as a horror magazine front cover, which meant I was able to manipulate the text into looking suitable for a modern film magazine front cover which I believe was effective.

The title of my trailer "The Missing" which I have used on the front cover of my magazine, meant I had to create a eye-catching title image, so when people look at the magazine they are attracted to the name. This meant that I had to use this software to be able to create the style I wanted. I believe the overall result of the title is alot better than I first thought with shows my improvement using this software and means I have a better magazine product all round.

Research on horror film posters

This is a film poster from the 2010 "The Crazies" which I have analysed. The image straight away draws the attention to the Horror aspect of the poster, something I aim to do with my poster as-well. The picture creates an enigma to what is actually going on with the young girl been central to the image which appears to be like she has been taken hostage, adding to the excitement of going to watch the film to see what actually happens. The colours are one which don't follow conventions of typical horror posters with alot of light colours used such as blue which suggests this film offers a new edge on traditional Horror formats.

At the bottom the text "Catch it in cinemas feb 26" in black text on a yellow background iconic of danger and hazard represented through the skull and cross logos on the right and left of the text also representing the hazard/danger of the film.

The mise en scene of the poster is eye-catching and one of the main strengths of the poster. It shows a young girl dressed in a peach coloured dressed resembling the innocence of youth but this is changed when we see the duck tape around her mouth which is iconic of hostage situation creating an idea that this girl has been kidnapped. The scene around the girl is what looks to me a stereotypical American high street with iconic American branded cars such as Chevrolet parked in the parking zones of the mise en scene establishing the location of the film to the audience.

The scenery is another interesting point with the day looking light but when our attention turns to the colour of the sky located at the top of the poster its very dark and misty resembling a lighting strike with the colour of the clouds dark black which is linked to the chance of lighting, this is another convention of Horror as lighting is seen as dangerous.




This is a film poster from the 1976 "The Omen" one of the most popular horror films and one of the most talked about aswell due to its horrfic scenes. The poster contains all the steortypical aspects I expected to see in a late 1970s film poster such as dark colours like black and scary graphical images of the wolf in the shadow of the young child.

The text at the top of the poster reads "YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED" in bold capital letters representing that the words have impact on the audience and catch the audience when reading and looking at the poster. The colour of the font is ghost white which creates a contrast the dark horror background. The words make the audience will be attracted to go watch the film in the cinema as the words "YOU" which directs it at the person reading it and "WARNED" which attracts the audience member to test their limits of horror and see if they can handle The Omen in the cinema.

The masthead "The Omen" is located in a non-conventional way for Horror posters as normally we expect to see the title of the film at the top of the poster. They have postioned the title in the bottom to allow room on the top for the image which I believe creates a more effective edge to the Horror of the poster and adds something different to typical Horror posters.

The colour scheme is typical of Horror posters and "The Omen" poster follows the simple but effective traditional concept of dark and minimal colours of black, red and white throughout the poster, this is common within posters of this genre as because the colours do not detract from the main image or story of the Horror unlike comedy or romance genre which need colour to describe the concept.

At the bottom like most Horror posters we see the directors, cast and production name something which most people take for granted when observing a film poster, but this element enables the poster to look more authentic and be able to fit it in with similar leading film posters advertised. I have decided by analysing film posters to include this detail into my draft and hopefully finished poster.




This is a film poster from the new release of "The Rite" a horror genre film. Straight away I get the impression that the film is religiously based from the mise-en-scene of the cross in the middle of the picture containing a man dressed like a vicar standing in a the middle of the cross representing religion of Christianity.

Religion is a main convention of the Horror genre and looks to be the main element of "The Rite". The main title also contains the Christian cross which replaces the t in the title of "rite" which also suggests the powerful impact of religion on this film poster.

The poster also contains conventional colours of Horror of dark black. The whole poster shows very little light colours and most of the page is covered in dark black representing the mystery of the film and trying to intice the audience who are looking at the poster to watch the film to learn more about the film.

The text like the previous analysed posters contains little writing, which shows how the poster concentrates on the imagery of the people looking directly at the audience like an eye line match of each individual person. The text is basic and only informs the audience of the time of the release "January 28th" showing how they designers are only putting on vital information such as the title of the film and the time it comes out the rest is left a mystery, the main focus on this poster is mystery I believe, trying to keep the audience members in suspense.

"Inspired by true events" is the sub heading of the title. Often Horror films are based on true events and this film poster gives the impression that "The Rite" is a true story giving even more appeal to come see the film, I will be taking this on board when finalising my poster as a strap line such as that really advertises the film and attracts people to come and watch it for themselves, what every posters try s to do.

Ideas on horror trailer poster

On designing my Horror trailer I have decided to analyse some similar genre posters to give me tips on what I can do to create my poster. This is the list of ideas I would like to incorporate into my piece;

. Dark colours: In every Horror poster I analysed the colour choice by the designer was dark colours such as black and red with no colours resembling light or happiness showing a connotation of Horror poster.

. Little writing: Most of the posters had next to no writing on apart from the masthead and a few sub headings and advertisements this shows that not all posters need mass amounts of writing on them to get the message of the film across something I will consider in creating my poster.

. Focus on image: The main focus on the posters was the image creating a link to the amount of writing used, By the looks of things the image is central in attracting people to watch to film as what they see will influence them to the standard of the film.

. Font: The font is quite similar throughout with medieval font been the most popular used this could be because medieval font is closely linked to horror and danger something which horror trailers want to attract to their movie.

How i am planning to improve my front cover draft

They are a few things which I plan on doing to improve my front cover such as;
- Take some photos of the group which will be used for the front cover image
- Try out some different colours on the text to see if it improves the front cover
- Use different styles of fonts e.g comic sans to see how it looks
- Put some extra text in the magazine to make sure they are no un necessary spaces
- As the title of the magazine is Silver screen I may change the colour of the text to silver to reflect the name

Draft of front cover

This is my draft front cover of the Silverscreen minus the main image which i have not taken yet.

I've tried to use alot of the techniques that Empire magazine have used to create a realistic magazine front cover which my target audience will be interested in. For example the mast head is positioned at the top centre of the page to attract people to look at the brand which is selling the magazine in my case Silverscreen.

In one of the Empire magazines I analysed, they offered "FREE exclusive interviews" which I thought was a good and effective idea as this is a common tool used to persuade people to buy the magazine which makes my magazine more realistic.

I only used 2 colours in this draft front cover, which were red and black to make a simple but effective draft. The colour red was used to represent the danger of the trailer contrasted with the bold black colour makes an effective colour scheme. I realise I may need to add some different colours to aviod the front cover looking to basic or boring.

The title "The Missing" is the one i hope to use in my finished magazine product, as i have sampled a few different fonts and styles. I expermited with the colour choice but i believe balck and red is the right colour scheme at this moment time in refelcting the horror and mystery of "The Missing".