This video is my response to the first evaluation question “In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?”

First I’m going to discuss my teaser trailer followed by my poster and lastly my magazine cover.

As I opted for a teaser trailer which is relatively short I’m going to show it once without interruption and them pull it apart afterward.

**TEASER TRAILER**

Now that you’ve seen it you have a rough idea of it’s composition – the rising tension, the brief fall intersected with inter-titles, the second rising and then finally the jump-scare following the title. This is a traditional structure for both horror and thriller teaser & theatrical trailers, although some, activity avoid the conventions in the hope of being more interesting.

My trailer opens with my two idents – PPP being the distributor the ident is shown first followed by that of the production company – NP. The following shots serve two purposes, the first is to establish location, the second is to lull the audience into either a false sense of security or a bout of mild panic as these shots are often used in TV Dramas like CSI to showcase the site where the body is found. The following sequence coupled with the music that has been slowly introduced is designed to alarm the viewer as whilst many trailers, namely thriller, feature a chase you are usually able to see the presumed antagonist however Bea appears to be running from nothing or rather something invisible. If we go back a little there are a few of shots that also feature James & Gregg - or the Director & Cameraman, dependant on how much you can gather about the film from this teaser alone - all three of them are from the point of view of the antagonist and are thus at unsettling proximities. This is a common if not staple device used in both found footage and horror films as you appear to know more than the implied victims.

Moving on to the next sequence, the first thing I want to pull up is the transition. It is a rapid fade to the first inter-title featured to stress the urgency of the situation followed by the music stopping as Bea simply utters “Wait…” the intent behind this was to signal that Bea is the one the spirit is after, whatever it’s intentions – as I mention in my blog when I outlined the plot she is the one who effectively summons the spirit so it is willing to listen to her to a degree. After that the transitions become fast again as each clip is exactly half the length of the one prior, this is again to stress the urgency of her situation even, again, if she is unaware of the present danger – that is until she discovers Gregg’s lifeless body in the car. The sound of her running is used as a sound bridge alongside the single note drone that runs throughout the second section of the teaser. This helps to confuse the timeline of the film as many trailers benefit from as the enigma entices people into the story as they long for the resolution of it. The final piece of footage you see is a single drop of blood falling onto Gregg’s Leg with a dripping sound that has an over-exaggerated reverb as whilst the image is not as

visceral as it could be the sound effect lingers in your mind.

**SHOW POSTER**

Onto the poster – As you can see the layout is that of a conventional poster with very little that deviates. The USP of the poster is that you are in the place of the antagonist rather than that of the protagonist and that even so the protagonist’s face is slightly obscured implying they fear you.

**SHOW OWN COVER**

Finally, the magazine cover follows the majority of the conventions of the generic house style of Total Film Magazine but mostly those found in their 2010 special edition cover.

**SHOW COVER REFERENCED**

**SHOW SIDE BY SIDE**

The only thing I could have done was add either a puff or simply mention another article on the left hand side covering James’ arm however I decided as I’ve already gone for an unconventional two shot for the cover I was safe to leave it off.

**BLACK SCREEN**

Overall, I would say I followed more conventions than I broke however I feel I used them in such a way as to challenge their existing usage.