Horror Marketing Techniques - Rings (2017)

Marketing Campaign

The film I chose was Rings (2017) which was released in February and the main reason why I chose it is because I saw the public stunt they pulled and thought it was hilarious.
The trailer is released prior to the movie and serves as a hype starter leading up to the main release.

The trailer is used to reveal the main plot and the starring roles. The trailer for rings was released on 24th of August 2016 whereas the official release was 1st Feb 2017 which means roughly seven months of waiting, over half a year. Most trailers nowadays are released at least a year in advance to start the hype and do any final touch ups.

The poster serves as a form of merch as well as an ad. The poster would also reveal the actors, producers and directors involved in making of the film.

The celebrity interview is a form of synergy; the chat show, or magazine working with the actor will promote both parties.

Nowadays people hardly talk, they tweet and movie marketers can use this to their advantage. by using social media it allows the movie to reach a wider audience.

A public stunt can be used in order to make a creative ad. The reaction of the public could be used illustrate how effective the movie is in comparison. In other words a public stunt is a commercial prank funded by film producers.

Horror Marketing Principles

Top 10 tips for successful marketing: 

1. The best marketing should be able to resonate globally and isn't tied to any country in specific.
2. Comedy and humour can be used in unexpected places.
3. Marketing should be authentic.
4. The film in question might not be recognised immediately.
5. Refer to the audience as 'us' not 'them'.
6. Real life truth connections could work.
7. Props and effects don't need to be ludicrously expensive.
8. Word of mouth works incredibly well.
9. Real life connections are effective; the main plot device could be a cell phone.
10. Update and bring old characters to life.

Scream and Blair Witch

The reason why Scream and Blair Witch are so popular among die hard fans is because they are considered firsts.

By that I mean they are the first movies in the horror genre to use a certain technique or satire.
In Scream the main nerd character is constantly referring to the rules of a horror movie therefore satirizing the entire movie. Which is why most people who watch the original Scream released in 1996 say it's more comedy than horror.

In the Blair Witch Project they were the first, and probably the only, horror movie to shoot the entire thing like a vlog using a handheld camera. Because of the praise it gets for being the first too use this style modern horror fans are slightly let down because the story is lacking; I personally found Crackanory scarier than this. However Blair Witch was the first to use missing posters as advertisements which led to genuine concern and lots of confused phone callers being told that there's nothing to worry about.

Research Rationale

There are two types of data; qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative data is in depth analysis and written like case studies. Quantitative data consists of numbers and statistics.
My research will focus more on quantitative data however will alas be speckled with opinions and feedback from peers.
I'll most likely be using the likert scale in order to convert opinions into numerical data which I find easier to manage.
My target audience is undoubtedly teens ranging from 15 to 18 as I'm surrounded by,and have access to, them in the school.
I intend to use the following surveys on both survey-monkey and around the school to gather opinions, from the modern generation, on the horror genre.

Moral panics

The definition of moral panic is when "a condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values".
An example of moral panic would be the KlooKlucksKlan as they feared that black people were a threat to their society. Another example is the English Defense League which feared the widespread of Islam would disrupt the society that's been pre-established. A most modern example is Donald Trump being president and the end of the world as we know it as well as world war three.

Voyeurism and the Male Gaze

The definition of Voyeurism is:
- The compulsion to seek gratification by secretively looking at objects or acts.
The short explanation is that you like being a peeping tom.
Sigmund Freud, the man who was the first to use catharsis theory, believed that men were meant to be voyeurs and that it's completely fine.
Which is in line with the catharsis theory which states that expressing or getting out one's aggression and anger should reduce the felling of aggression.
Voyeurism would apply the same principle except with satisfaction (be it sexual or otherwise.)
Mulvey wrote an essay entitled ''Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema'' in 1975 and it became quite influential.
The essay suggests that the way women are presented in cinema is in-equal to men.
The camera presents women as oversexualised play things purely for the satisfaction of men, a sex spectacle if you will.
There are several movies that try to subvert the stereotype however always end up using another stereotype which is the tomboy.

Final Girl Theory

This theory was put forward by Carol J.Clover in 1992; to be more specific the evidence was already out there she merely connected the dots and coined the term.

The summary of this theory is that there is always a girl who survives at the end to either kill the antagonist or simply out of sheer luck. They're usually the narrator or do the voice over introduction in order to make the story come full circle. They're always a virgin or sexually unavailable; in accordance to the rules of horror set up by Scream (1996). And they'd most often have a unisex name; like Teddy or Sam.

An example would be Halloween (1978); the final girl in this case is Laurie Strode, a hard-working student who rarely ever goes out on dates. So she's a virgin, is sexually unavailable, has a unisex name and survives at the end of the film, all tropes proving she's the final girl in this movie.

Monstrous Feminine

Clip Reproduction 4

Editing

The editing software I used was a program called Filmora; the main reason why I used this is because I wanted to plan the time that I had efficiently and didn't want to miss out on any editing time. Filmora is an editing program that, in my experience, is easier and more efficient than premiere (and cheaper at around £50 for a lifetime purchase).
The music I chose to use was a soundtrack called Insidious from Purple Planet and adds to the sinister tone in the video.

In the beginning of the original clip the antagonist turns a the light via a pull string. In my video the light comes from a switch and I originally filmed it during the day and it was too bright; so I added in a lighswitch sound effect and positioned it when the antagonists hand is right next to the switch, it's not too noticeable and I think it adds emphasis to the isolation of the protagonist, that she's alone in the dark.

Clip Reproduction 2

Storyboard

My storyboard consists mainly of quick and crude sketches along with the dialogue of that particular scene.

Director's Commentary

Final product

We couldn't stop laughing throughout the whole shoot; the idea of my sister being in a cage was too hilarious. At one point I was wondering if we'd have to work through the night. At first it was hard to get going because my sister's friend, who was behind the camera, couldn't contain her smiles and that spurred everyone else on, however once the friend left the room things started flowing smoothly and we finally got through the first scene.
Nick (the guy in the clip) was pretty much the only one talking in the clip and, although he was trying his best, I doubted that many of the takes would work as I felt his speech was too quick. After a while, though his speech was still a bit too fast his facial features became just twisted and sinister enough to add a subtle tone of menace.
My sister (the girl in the clip) has always been interested in acting however she never pursued it, so I thought this might peak her interest. Personally I've never seen her cry but her fake crying is on point; first of all we sprayed her face with water to make it appear as though she's been in utter tears and even then the fact it doesn't show on camera emphasizes that fact that the antagonist has been crying so much that her tear ducts have stopped working.
By the way they did sign the appropriate consent forms:

Clip Reproduction

Schedule

As I'm working alone on this I don't need to conform to anyone else's schedule so all I have to do is pick a day to start filming and if I finish filming earlier than expected then I can get editing sooner.

My plan is to cast the roles of Friday 29-09

Film during Saturday 30-09 and Sunday 01-10

and finish editing on Monday 02-10 and Tuesday 03-10

So I may hand in the final product on Wednesday 04-10

Clip Reproduction

Clip Analysis

If the video doesn't work, here's the link.

Camera Angles
The first shot is of a basement room panning out to reveal a young lady trapped in a cage. While there is a slightly lower angle on the captor in the clip signifying his dominance, however there isn't a single moment in the clip where the protagonist is depicted in a higher angle signifying her strength. (a higher angle would show weakness and a lack of strength be it emotional or physical)

Music / Sound
Throughout the entire clip there is hardly any music and whatever sound there is consists mainly of dialogue and background noise further emphasizing on that fact that our protagonist is isolated and alone. The background noise would lead us believe that this is a basement of some kind as it is reminiscent of a washing machine which most Americans would store in their basement.

Editing
The editing in the clip is done so that the one-sided conversation flows smoothly, the constant cuts back and forth highlights the antagonist and the protagonist. The cuts allow us to focus on the maniacal features of the villain and the distress of the hero.

Mise-en-scene
It's made quite obvious that the setting in this clip is either a basement or cellar of some type. Most people use basements in America the same way that any of us would use a garage in England; to store junk that we'll never even think about again. The fact that this is a basement is evidenced by the prominent lack of any living furniture and the few towels in the background.