Digital DVD Cover

Film Marketing Timeline

Research Task - Audience

Overall, the feedback I received was positive as all three participants thought that the draft posters reflected the synopsis of the film. In general, the audience preferred a crisp image on the poster but it was noted that the image of the girl in draft 3 looked too happy and was not the stereotypical image you would see within the horror film genre. It was felt that the image in draft 1 best reflected suspense rather than gore, which is a better reflection of my film. It was noted that the DVD cover was more about the possession of the girl while the posters focused more on the cat image. To achieve the best possible poster I will combine both of the images of the girl and the cat in my poster but will also aim for a crisp and dark image. 

Draft DVD Cover

Conventions of a DVD Cover

Contact Sheet

The images that have been circled are ones that are clear and I feel would represent the film well on a poster or a DVD cover. Even though the cat is physically not in most of the circled images, there is still a feeling that the cat is present. For example, at first glance when you look at the last three images, all you see is the figure crouched down leaning forward as if they are reaching out to something but when you look harder you notice that the shadow, that is cast by the figure, is in the shape of a cat. One of these three images would be perfect for my film poster because it makes the viewer think that the figure has been possessed by the cat because now their shadow is no longer theirs. 

Possible Typefaces for Film Title

The font I have chosen to use for my poster and my DVD cover is 'Scorched Earth.' I have chosen this font because it is dramatic, strong and each letter is scratched. The scratches have connotations of cat scratches which relates to the cat in my story and the strength of the letters also represents the dominance that the cat has over the girl. Scratches are at the base of the font emphasise the clarity of the top of each letter. Overall, the impact on the viewer would be clarity, which would make the title memorable, and suggestive of damage which also has connotations of the instability of the situation in the film. 

Digital Draft 4

Digital Draft 3

Digital Draft 2

Digital Draft

Mood Board

Analysis of a Film Website

Analysis of a Film Poster

Film Synopsis - Familiar (Thriller/Horror)

A family (mum, dad and 8 year old animal loving daughter) move into a lonely old country house formally inhabited by a sinister reclusive old lady who had been found dead at the bottom of the stairs some years previously. While playing in the large overgrown garden, the girl glimpses a black cat. Over a few weeks she befriends it and wants to adopt it. The parents believe the cat's  a stray but never actually see it. A local farmer tells the parents that the old lady had been generally mistrusted by the neighbourhood. He tells them that her cat caused her death by tripping her on the stairs and was found sitting on the dead woman's chest happily licking its paws before tearing off into the cross-roads, close to the house, and being run over by a truck. The parents begin to suspect that the cat is a malign influence as the little girl becomes more distant from them. The cat becomes an obsession with her and playfully lures her into various dangerous situations. From the kitchen window the parents see her walking towards the cross-roads as if she is following something but they can't see what it is.

Narrative Textual Investigation - Assessed Version

Narrative Textual Investigation - Original Version

Genre Textual Investigation 1

The Conventions of a Magazine Cover