Synergy and brand research

Universal:
Well known Horror films- Shaun of the Dead, Jaws in London and Pitch Black
Total made from these films- $30 million from Shaun of the Dead, $470.7 million from Jaws and $53.20 million from Pitch Black.
Universals top three grossing films come from the action/adventure genre or the sci-fi genre and the only horror film in the top 10 is 'Jaws'. This leads me to believe that Universal would not be a good company to work with as they do not have great success with the horror genre.

Warner Bros:

Well known Horror films- The Conjuring, Annabelle and Blade

Money made from these films- $292 million from The Conjuring, $256.9 million from Annabelle and $131.2 million from Blade.
No Horror film can be found within the top 25 of the highest grossing films made by Warner Bros. This once again leads me to believe they would not be a good company to make a synergy with for a horror film.

20th Century Fox:
Well known Horror films- The Devils Advocate, Alien vs Predator and Mirrors.
Money made from these films- $152,944,660 from The Devils Advocate, $172.5 million from Alien vs Predator and $77.5 million from Mirrors.
Once again none of these films come under the top 25 films for revenue in 20th Century Fox's history.

Miramax:
Well known horror films- Scream, Scary Movie and Scary Movie 2
Money made from these films- $173 million from Scream, $278,019,771 from Scary Movie and  $141,220,678 from Scary movie 2.
Both of these films were part of an ongoing series which means that Miramax know how to create a good horror series which keeps the audience intrigued. Furthermore Miramax also produced a lot more horror films which means that they have a lot more experience in the horror industry. Therefore, I would decide to work in synergy with Miramax.

Decision:
The decision that we came to as a group was the work with the distribution company 'Miramax' as we believed that this company had the best knowledge of the horror genre and had created many of the big name horror films and had also created them in an ongoing series- this meant that if we ever wanted to create a sequel it would be more than likely that this company would be happy to do so.
Also due to these films from 'Miramax' all coming under the certificate 18 age bracket we believed it would be a great opportunity to create their most famous 15 rated horror film.


Blade opening sequence analysis.

The first shot in the opening sequence of 'Blade' is a handheld camera shot and is media-res as we are thrown straight into the action. The shot is shallow focus as it only focuses on the person in the foreground of the frame. This done as shown in the picture as the character is in focus, however the background is blurred. This means that the audience is led to believe that the car is moving extremely quickly as they cannot see what is going on outside. The director has done this as Blade is an action horror.

This shot is a tracking shot as it follows the two main protagonists as they walk through the 'factory'. The camera pans through a bunch of meat hanging from the ceiling and is done to show the start of the disruption of equilibrium. This means that audience is left wondering what is happening. This creates a mysterious tone within the film which leaves the audience wondering what is going to happen.The whole of this scene is shot in a cold colour palette which means that the film has a blue tinge which is done during post editing and reveals to the audience that the narrative of the film is very dark. As well as this the mise-en-scene of the film includes lots of dead animal and human bodies which means that the audience are confused by the action as they wonder why these objects are hanging from the ceiling.

The medium shot used here is used in order to show the two different reactions of the characters simultaneously. From the shot we can see that the girl is in control as she is plain faced and not effected by what is going on around her at all.
However, the male fits the typical American male stereotype of idiocy and naivety as he is constantly wondering what is happening but doesn't seem fazed by the events. The girls hair clearly stands out as it is bright red which portrays to the audience that she could be dangerous to interact with. This also links to the constant use of the bold red lettering of the credits as when we see these we instantly think of blood and death which is a key part of iconography for a film of the horror genre.

As the music in the scene (which is diegetic) begins to play we identify that we are getting closer to where the action is taking place however, we are unable to identify where the music is coming from. As the camera pans round the corner a large steel door is in the frame which, when opened, reveals a black room which leads the viewer to wonder what is happening as black has connotations of death and mystery. As the characters walk into the room the music becomes louder as we now know where the sound is coming from and a flashing strobe light begins. This strobe lighting means that certain parts of the film are hard to see as they are not always visible. The director also edits the film so that it is in slow motion so that some parts become more visible and the audience is able to identify that certain parts are important. Furthermore, in editing jump cuts are used however they are not always visible as they link to the story and the stereotype that vampires can move quickly.

During the party scene the editing is very fast paced which means that the action becomes more frantic and the audience is left agitated and wondering what is going to happen. As well as this, there are many jump cuts which are used to show the girls are able to move quicker than the speed of light as this is a stereotypical association with vampires.

A close up shot is used as the sprinklers start to spray blood down onto the people in the backroom. This suggests that something weird is happening as this has been highlighted in the frame rather than just having a long shot as they start. This means that the audience is able to understand that this is a weird situation and become freaked out due to the blood coming out which symbolises death. Finally as the people are covered in the blood non-diegetic sound can be heard which sounds like a cat hissing in order to finally reveal that these people are not human.

Horror sub-genre

Sub genres are important in horror films as they have their own unique and different ways of scaring the audience.

The main sub genres which will be focused upon are: Action horror, comedy horror, gothic horror, psychological horror, sci-fi horror, splatter films, supernatural horror, slasher and Japanese horror.

Within these certain sub genres they can be divided again. For example in a paranormal horror, the film could based around: spirits and ghosts, haunted houses or the supernatural. This means that within the sub-genre a certain way of scaring audience is focused on in order to fit the certain demographic and psychographic which the director is hoping to attract.

The definition of a paranormal horror is that it is beyond "normal scientific understanding". An example of a paranormal horror is the film series paranormal activity.

Action horrors are films such as The Blade series or The Alien Series. Usually in these films the horror of the film is accompanied by a lot of action. This means that the film is more frantic and the audience become a lot more apprehensive due to this.

Comedy horror is exactly what it suggests. The horror genre is combined with a comedic tone in order to give the audience a nostalgic feeling about horror films.

Gothic horror is usually thought of as the first type of horror due to the association with English Literature. These type of films usually include things such as castles, magic and the supernatural.

Psychological horror mostly use the characters emotions and feelings in order to scare the audience. These films usually include many 'jump scares' as well as intense music in order to build tension throughout the film.

Sci-fi horror is the horror genre used in a hybrid with science fiction and is most commonly know for its association with extra terrestrial life forms.

Splatter films are usually the most gory of all of the sub-genres as they focus on the weaknesses of humanity and also uses CGI in post production in order to incorporate special effects.

Slasher films focus in on the mentally deranged who are serial killers and murderers. This sub genre mainly contains gory scenes and a lot of blood.

Supernatural horrors usually include exorcisms, ghosts, the devil and people being possessed.

Japanese horrors are very similar to psychological horrors and are based around keeping the audience in suspense. This is usually done through the use of ghosts and poltergeists.