Blog 8 - Analysis of 2 DVD covers

On the DVD cover of Jennifer's Body, the main colours used are black, red and green. These dark colours could indicate the horror genre.
The word 'JENNIFERS' is written in white writing, which contrasts the black background. The word 'BODY' is written in red writing, this could symbolise blood. The bottom the words has an eroded effect. This could symbolise rotting flesh or blood.
The blood hand print on the blackboard behind is used as anchorage, to pull the audience in.
The colours used on the DVD cover are contrasting to each other. They were used to make the DVD cover stand out, and to help categorise the film to the horror genre. For example, by using red, it makes you think of blood.
The main image on the DVD cover is of Jennifer sitting on a classroom desk. There is a blood covered hand coming out of the desk. Jennifer has an evil but innocent look in her eye, and also has blood running from her mouth. This suggests that she is the antagonist. This conveys that the film is a teen horror, by just looking at it.
The back of the DVD cover has information such as the synopsis, special features, technical information and the age certificate.

On the DVD cover of Sorority Row the main colours used are red and black. These also convey the horror genre.
The writing 'SORORITY ROW' is in a classic font. This is because the idea of sorority has been run over centuries. The writing is in the colour white. This contrasts with the black background and makes it stand out. Behind the text there is weapon that are covered in blood. The way the dvd cover is dominated by black, give it a dark effect.
The main image is 6 girls standing in threes, these are the sorority sisters. There is a light in the background. This could symbolise hope or 'light at the end of the tunnel.' The girls all have serious or worried facial expressions. At the top of the DVD cover, there is a house roof on fire. This could symbolise danger or destruction.
The writing on the bottom, that says 'SISTERS THROUGH LIFE... AND DEATH' suggests death in the film. This and the weapons on the cover reinforce the hints of a teen horror movie.
The back cover has a synopsis of the film and information about the film, including the age certificate and the running time.
The DVD cover would appeal to the target audience of teen horror as it includes some of the teen horror convensions, including girls, and horror.

Blog 7 - Introduction - Production

The production task is to create a DVD cover and a poster for my teen horror film.

Blog 6 - The Script

Blog 5 – Evidence of Wider Reading

The teen horror genre is targeted at teenagers and young adults, therefore the plot is based on the interests of teenagers e.g. such as rebellion, conflict with parents, alienation and growing up. Sex and drugs are also common throughout these films. Teen horrors are often set in high schools or include people at a high school age.
Other teen films, that share these common themes include;
- I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
- Venom (2005)
- Scream (1996)
- School's Out (1999)

Jennifer's Body reviews:
"Scripted by Juno writer Diablo Cody this teenage romp of demons mixed with high school hits all the right buttons!" - This shows that the common themes through out teen horrors are popular within the viewers.

Sorority Row reviews:
"Sorority Row doesn't have likable characters at all and that's why I liked it I think, because it didn't take itself so seriously, we know these girls deserve everything they get after throwing their friend into a ditch without giving her family the proper grief and closure of knowing that their daughter died." - I think it's important for me to make sure I don't make my film really serious, as it would lose it's teen horror aspect.

Blog 4 – Analysis of Opening Sequences

In Jennifer's Body, you meet a main character who is in a mental asylum. You see she has scars over her body, and looks tired and ill. She narrates the film, and begins to tell us about her self and how she got there.
At the start of Sorority Row, it shows a big, old house, that would appear to look scary. As the camera moves closer towards the house, it goes inside, to show a large teenage party. The teenagers are drinking lots of alcohol and dancing to loud music.
The costumes in both films are very different. In Jennifer's body, you see 'Needy' in the mental asylum, where she is wearing the uniform of the asylum. Where as in Sorority Row, The teenagers are in minimum clothing or are dressed up.
The makeup used in both films, is also different. Makeup in Jennifer's Body is used to make Needy look purposely ill and worn out. Where as, in Sorority Row, The make up is used to make the teenagers look nice, as they are at a party.
The lighting in Sorority Row is used to make the party look bright and exciting, where as the lighting in Jennifer's Body is used to make the asylum look dark and horrible.

By researching teen horrors and their target audience, I have seen that males between 18-29 enjoy teen horrors more than anyone. I think this is because they are based on sex, drugs, alcohol and partying. I also think they would be interested in this type of film because they have lots of young female actors in them.

Blog 3 – Institutional Contexts

Jennifer's Body was produced by the companies Fox Atomic, Dune Entertainment and Hard C. The estimated budget for Jennifer's Body was around $16,000,000.
Soroity Row was produced by the companies Karz Entertainment and Summit Entertainment. The estimated budget for it was also around $16,000,000.

By looking at these figures, I will aim to produce my film on the same budget as the two films, $16,000,000.

Blog 2 – Target Audience

We've been studying two films, Jennifer's Body and Sorority Row.
We studied the viewer ratings for both and found out that for Jennifer's Body considerably more males watched the film than females, yet females rated the film higher at 5.7, than males at 5.3.
The majority of people who watched the film, 15,970, were aged 18-29, where as only 5,567 people aged 30-44 watched the film and only 708 people under 18 watched the film.
Therefore, the common audience for this film would be 18-29 year olds.

In Sorority Row, the same pattern appears, in that more males watched the film, than women, yet women rated the film higher at 5.3, where as men only voted 5.1.
The majority of people who watched the film, 4,445, were aged 18-29, where as only 1,758 people aged 30-44 watched the film and only 245 people under 18 watched the film.
This also shows that the age group, 18-29, is the common audience for this film.

This means that the main age group for these two films is ages 18-29, and that they are aimed as more men than females. This is what I shall also aim my film script at.