Film Marketing Campaign for ‘Seven Devils’ – Evaluation

 

Film Marketing Campaign for ‘Seven Devils’ – Evaluation

In terms of the representation of social groups, I have focused mostly on the representation of gender and age as this seemed most appropriate because of my chosen film genre, horror. Conventionally, films from this genre feature vulnerable female characters who are presented as victims, and dominant, dangerous and predatory male characters, who are presented as killers or the ‘monster’ character type so typical of the genre. In many ways I have chosen to challenge, and subvert, these conventions after noticing that more modern horror movies often feature stronger female characters, such as ‘the final girl’ character type. I do incorporate a female victim into my narrative, seen in the trailers and social media pages advertising my film ‘Seven Devils’, and I have chosen to represent her stereotypically; she is nervous about visiting the house, and whilst she is not alone her naivety certainly presents her as vulnerable. I wanted to move away slightly from the trope similar of the ‘first victim’ character type, seen in the horror film ‘Scream’ (which was hugely influential on my film), yet still wanted to create the expectation that the female protagonists in my film are at risk. Conventionally, in horror films such as ‘The Shining’, ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ and ‘Friday the 13 th ’ the villain/antagonist or ‘monster’ character type who presents a threat to the female and male victims, is a male character. However, in my trailers I decided to feature a female antagonist who kills the vulnerable girls. In both of my trailers, I have presented my female ‘monster’ character type as mysterious, threatening and sinister, and as a contrast to the more vulnerable male characters witnessed nervously running away and screaming at the end of the TV spot. These creepy and sinister character traits manifest themselves through a number of incidents that feature in both of my trailers, including the ‘monster’ walking, or shuffling around the house towards the camera and staring blankly out the window as if she is waiting for the victims, sensing that they will soon be approaching. For the male characters, I emphasised their vulnerability through cautious and nervous figure behaviour, the high angle shots which show they are in danger, tracking shots of one male victim running which makes it appear as if he is being followed and, finally, with one of the male characters screaming when he is cornered by the ‘monster’. These, and numerous other, incidents (such as a male victim peering out of the window) are intended to establish the characters’ vulnerability, and therefore create expectations for the audience about what may happen to them. Through the figure behaviour of the ‘monster’, the use of sinister music and through the way I have edited shots of her (alongside the costume and make-up she wears, which is intended to add to her eeriness), I have presented the female antagonist in an unconventional, atypical way that audiences would be unfamiliar with from gender representations less common within the horror genre.

My research into film marketing campaigns highlighted that distributors work very hard at creating consistency across the various elements of the advertising for the film, so that audiences are aware of exactly which film is being promoted, and therefore make links between the trailers, posters and social media pages that they see. In a crowded marketplace,consistency across branding can be crucial to attract an audience, in an era when consumers are attending the cinema far less frequently than they once used to (because of the rise in streaming platforms and the development of home cinema technologies). It is therefore important that the different elements of a film marketing campaign build upon, and reinforce, each other so that audiences are encouraged to go and see the film in the cinema. Of all genres,horror films, I believe, are best viewed in this environment, where viewers can be swept along by a collective response to the scary moments on screen, making for a more immersive viewing experience. The elements of each of my productions, the trailers/TV spots, the poster and the social media pages, work together to create a sense of branding through, for example, using the same font on each of the media products. I chose a font called 28 Days Later, a font that instantly creates expectations that the film belongs to the horror genre, because it is distorted, and scratched out. The fact I have used it in uppercase throughout, in all of my copy, from the titles and billing in my trailer and TV spot, to the copy on my poster, and for each word on my Instagram page, ties all of my media products nicely together. This sense of branding isreinforced by a unified colour scheme across my products; black and white for the copy on my poster and the title cards in my audio-visual elements. There are numerous other elements which tie my products together, from the use of similar images of the ‘monster’ (in all of my products) to the use of the same tagline – ‘Deal With The Devil. Pay The Price.’ – in my trailers and on my poster. The names of the cast and crew are consistent across the billing block on my poster and the credits in my trailers, as is the release date for the film; October 31st.

It is crucial when marketing films that each element of the campaign resonates with the target demographic. Of course I wanted the audience to care enough about my ‘victims’ from seeing them in the trailers through getting a sense of her vulnerability, but chiefly my aim was tocreate enigma and mystery about what may happen to them if they do go to the legendary house that they have heard rumours about. I have left both trailers on a cliffhanger, to encourage spectators to want to go and see the film and to root for the girls to escape the clutches of the female ‘monster’. Here, the representations I mentioned previously were crucial in creating enigma, but so too were the elements of lighting (which is low-key), mise-en-scene (isolated and abandoned settings, the ‘monster’s’ make-up) and sound (the sinister non- diegetic music and the loud impact sounds). In terms of making each of my products engaging, I worked hard at ensuring they would appeal to my chosen demographic, partly by making the characters young, to encourage the audience to see the film. My trailers use lots of techniques to engage audiences, from the production company logos (idents) at the beginning which indicate that this is a horror movie from companies with a proven track record in making successful films from the genre, to the sinister and unsettling non-diegetic music that will make the audience feel uncomfortable and believe that it will be a terrifying movie to watch. The taglines also create enigma and reference the supernatural elements (a typical component within the horror genre) and I leave both trailers on a cliffhanger, with the voiceover conversation in one creating further mystery for the audience and signifying the danger of the house. The trailers are fast-paced in terms of editing, essentially a montage of many of the sinister moments in the film, and a series of TV spots would be released in the week before the film’s premiere, to drive audiences to the cinema. Each trailer or TV spot contains some of the same footage (which was a convention I found during my analysis of existing trailers and TVspots) but also include some new/different footage, not previously scene in other trailers, to tease the audience with more information about the plot and characters in the film just before they go and see it. My poster also makes reference to popular and successful horror films,which have a similar aesthetic and are made by the same director and production company.This will encourage audiences familiar with these movies to see the film, almost giving ‘Seven Devils’ a seal of approval. The social media page for the film engages with audiences by including images from the film and TV spots, alongside some of the positive reviews the film has received, drip-feeding information about the film’s release. Social media platforms, like X and Instagram, encourage audience interaction, and I would hope that followers would share this information, using the hashtags, with like-minded people.

Throughout the planning stage of my project, I logged all of my research onto a blog so that I could quickly and easily refer to my findings when creating my trailers/TV spots, film poster and social media page. Much of the research I did was related to conventions (of the different media formats but also of my chosen genre) and I was able to look back at my findings when creating my products so that I could incorporate these conventions into all of my marketing materials. This was incredibly helpful in enabling me to create authentic media products from my genre. For the trailer research, I found that a common convention (which I have incorporated into my trailers) was the inclusion of production company logos at the beginning of trailers (often accompanied with sinister and unsettling music appropriate for the genre). I have included logos for Warner Brothers, A24 Pictures and Blumhouse Productions; all production companies with a proven track record of making horror films. I also included these production company logos in the billing block of my film poster. The font which I used for my trailers, film poster and social media page, was typical of the fonts used in marketing materials for films from the horror genre. In terms of my storyline and the use of film language, such as fades in the trailers, sinister non-diegetic music, high and low angles, tracking shots and mise-en-scene typical of the genre, I do not challenge conventions of horror films at all in my marketing materials. I followed the classic narrative structure and patterns of horror films, with recognisable archetypal characters such as the ‘first victim’ and the ‘monster’. However, many of these characters challenge gender conventions, thus subverting typical conventions.