Manny A2: Research: The Children

The Children is a 2008 horror directed by Tom Shankland. It is a British film distributed by Vertigo Films. It was a very short film at only 85 minutes and only grossed £98,205 at 132 cinemas. The film opened at no.10 I the

, it dropped to no.13 after the first week release and again to no.22.

Through the beginning of the trailer the atmosphere is happy and it all looks like one content family. The children look pleased to see the others and the scene of Christmas meal immediately suggests to the audience that it is a happy occasion.

Further in the film things start to take a turn with the children beginning to become demanding and screaming when they don’t get what they want. They start to become violent and turn on everyone. It doesn’t follow the stereotypical representation of a family at Christmas being together but more of a child’s film with a horrific twist.

The trailer then begins the plot of the story with each of the children’s facing being seen having a sense of revenge and evilness in there eyes. This shot especially connotes power and authority with a low angle to show the boy is overpowering the adult.

This shot confirms to the audience that it is a horror film with the trail of blood. The shot shows an adult following the blood as much and the with the use of a high angle it suggests that the child had been successful. This type of shot used is very effective and shows a sense of murder without showing it. This links into the dissemination theory of how to the audience seeing it not happen is as powerful as seeing it happen as they have a imagination to fill in the blanks; which I can be as dangerous.

The titles use within the trailer come more to the end than throughout in a bold white font all in capital letters which emphasise the message from it. The titles are very important in the trailer for the audience to know an idea of what the storyline is and attract them to go and see the film. The use of blood is also emphasised throughout the trailer with to show the pain and danger of the children.

Poster

The poster links to the trailer very well with the same titles appearing on the trailer also on the poster but in a red font colour to represent blood. The emphasise is on the eyes of the children with them being within the eye. This is a very good technique to use. The child in the poster looks very similar to the doll in the trailer at the end and the blood looks very much as if it has just dropped on the doll. It gives it more of a reality sense and links to the trailer. The audience of the film is an 18 which immediately suggests it is a sincerer and horrific film.

From this research I am now completely assured that red as a font, background and colour has a lot of effect on the genre the audience perceive. I feel some of the techniques in this trailer may be a bit more than we require for ours as we are aiming for a lower certificate than an 18.

1 comment:

Chris Earl20 October 2011 at 03:02
Some exceptionally detailed research here, Manny - you've managed to tie in print and video well, and you are exploring the films and the imagery in a relevant manner. You need to make sure that Beth has linked to your blog, and it would be helpful if you included a brief summary of your opinion of her findings. The research itself is excellent, but you need to make sure that it ties into your planning, so you are cross-referencing (so, for example, there might be particular shots or angles you want to aim for based on the work you have researched).

Crucially, you need to make sure that your planning is as detailed. You must make sure that all appropriate production documentation is complete and uploaded as soon as possible. Ideally, this will make reference to your research. You should also aim to discuss your developing ideas in relation to key media concepts (genre, audience, narrative etc) as well as technical aspects (potential problems, developments from your previous work etc).

If you maintain your blog to this standard, and assuming your planning is at the same level, this should easily achieve an L4 mark.