CCR task 2

CCR task 2 - How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed in real media text?

For my title sequence our target audience is based around the ages 15-21, this is because of our horror genre, this would appeal to these audiences as teenagers tend to enjoy horror and gore. 

https://ollyliechtia1.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-bbfc.html

Key moments 

This is the first key moment, this moment would engage the audience because the focus pull used in this moment, this technique implies that our character is being watched, this would create tension for the audience as they start to notice that something is not right. This feeling that is created alongside our character walking from the right to left creates a feeling of uncertainty, this makes the audience want to watch on.

key moment 2

This scene captures more of the surrounding environment, presenting the area and secluded and presents are character being by himself, this location that is established in the woods would create tension as it is the fear of the unknown, and this is created, furthermore, the audience would be engaged because of the change of our characters facial expression. In this scene the dog runs off the screen and the dog walker calls for him, the audience in this moment would be intrigued with different questions like if they're going to see the dog again.

key moment 3

This is the key moment where the audience starts to realise that our character is truly alone, it is shown that our character cant find the dog which engages the audience as they would want to watch on and find out what happens to the dog. Furthermore, in this key moment it is shown that there is something wrong, with the usage of a long angle shot showing how small our character is compared to the vast woods, along side the focus pull into a creepy symbol the audience would be engaged as they start to see things that our character doesn't, this would make them nervous for our character, and be more entitled to watch on as they want to see if he will eventually be reunited with his dog.

key moment 4 

In this scene it is established that something isn't right, this is because of the blood splattered onto the tree which creates the horror convention of fear, and the audience would be engaged as they would be intrigued to watch on in order to find out who's blood that is. Furthermore, this creates suspension as our character is completely oblivious to the environment around him and this is where the creepy events start to pick up. This is where the horror theme starts to be presented, with our character being presented as small and weak compared to the environment around him. This also engages the audience as they start to feel tension being created around this character and they start creating more of an emotional bond, and start to worry for him.

key moment 5

Our character finally starts to find out that it's not only his dog that is lost, it is established that he is in uncomfortable situation, with the addition of the missing dog, the audience becomes more engaged. Now that the main character realises that something is wrong, with him coming across a satanic symbol this changes the pace of the sequence. Moreover, with there being blood splattered all over the satanic symbol the audience starts to wonder if the dog is alive. This creates a new sway of narrative with our character now trying not only to find his dog, but to find out what these symbols mean and get to the bottom of this mystery, which the audience can relate along side to, with this question they become engaged and create more of an attachment with finding out what is going to happen next.

key moment 6 

This is where all the built up suspension leads to, this scene is the big reveal which engages the audience as they finally as not only them, but our main character also finds out that there is a deeper meaning to these woods, in addition, the soundtrack starts to get louder and more intense creating a more intense environment. The audience is engaged as the scene before the character runs over as he hears his dog squeal in pain, this creates tension as the audience also is engaged to find out if the dog is alive. This scene creates pure fear as shown by the blank facial expression of the character, our audience would be engaged because of all the gore, with there being another problem introduced with a hacked carcos of what looks like to be a little girl.

 Furthermore, in addition to this mutilated carcos the audience is shown a dead pig heads which would make them wonder who could have done this, this presents the theme to be cult based as it looks like this is an aftermath of a satanic ritual. Additionally, the character in the final scene appears to be attacked by someone or something, this creates a cliffhanger, with the sequence then ending with the title. This relates to Blummers and Katz theory of uses and gratification, with the audience being able to relate to the character and start to feel more worried for him because of his oblivious nature, and the fear of unknown. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion my groups titles sequence was very effective in engaging audience, this is because of the constant build up and the hints given throughout, these hints being consumed by the audience and not our character as he isn't aware of them, this engages the audience and creates more suspension. Additionally, with the soundtrack becoming more intense, the audience starts to understand that there is something very wrong, with little hints ranging from our character walking from right to left to blood splattered on the tree. On the other hand, this could have been filmed in the night time, this would have multiplied the horro conventions that my group had used and could have creates more creepy environment, as the woods in the day time didn't have the exact horror effect I was hoping for. 

My poster design includes key moments that would engage audience in the sequence, the image is blended with a satanic symbol which relates to our character coming across satanic symbols connoting to the work of cultists or the presence of a ritual taking place. Furthermore, the dead body in the poster is the same one that our main character comes across which is the final moment of the sequence and it is what the build up leads to, this would engage the audience as they don't know this yet and they would be entitled to find out if that body is included in the sequence, furthermore, they would want to know the meaning behind this blend of pig heads and mutilated body. From this poster they would know that the sequence includes gore which would engage our target audience.

The studio that would distribute this film is shudder, this is because they are a strictly horror streaming platform, this platform is accessed online through a subscription of just £4.99 a month. For our target audience which is horror, with there being more than 1million active users on shudder our film would fit check all the boxes that a strictly horror enjoyer loves. Furthermore, an example of another film that was released on there is Host, which like my title sequence, was a horror movie created by friends, with no prior experience in filming movies they created this hugely successful movie. Therefor, this is why I pick this shudder as the studio to distribute my film.

My movies marketing campaign would be in synergy with Shudder, this is because of the horror genre, my film would be marketed as a horror and this would appeal to the target audience which is 15 - 21, this is perfect for the shudder as majority of their users are around this age or even a bit older, which would give us a greater audience to appeal towards. Our film would focus more on new media rather than traditional, this is because of our exhibition, our film this wouldn't be marketed as a cinema experience, this is because of the distribution going to be solely on shudder, this is because we won't have a large audience waiting for the film, unlike Host by Shudder, we will still have a small audience waiting for the movie as we will have two trailers, a short trailer and a long one. But with this small audience waiting for the film it means we wouldn't waste money on a cinematic release. Our film would be marketed as a original idea from a school project, a movie created by college kids, and this would bring a greater appeal to shudder subscribers as it would be something new, and this would lead people to be more curious and want to consume the product more. Furthermore, our production would be funded by shudder but this would lead to a contract of some sort, with immediate release to shudder exclusively, and maybe a yearly contract to be exclusive on their streaming service. This would still mean shudder have to rent our movie in order to have it on their website, or at least a share of profit, in order to fund other projects in the future leading a more of a tent pole strategy just like Tank 432, created by Belstone Studios.

After this initial release on shudder, after a condition is agreed, our film would be released on other streaming services like google play, iTunes and if it's successful enough a streaming platform like prime. Eventually after some time of distributing the movie, just like Shudders host we can create exclusive copies for consumers. Much like Host a similar campaign would be followed, even though Host was solely marketed after the release of the film, and only recieved funding from Zoom as they worked in synergy my film would be marketed the same, with the only differences of marketing being explored before the release of the movie, again, rather than traditional like posters and being on the radio, our film would be marketed through social media accounts, as well as being promoted on Tik Tok which would appeal to our target audience.