Marketing Strategies for Scream 4

Research into marketing strategies – Scream 4
• As I'm doing my teaser trailer for a horror film I decided Scream 4 (which
deliberately uses typical horror film conventions/pastiches) was an
appropriate film to research. I have looked into the different marketing
strategies used to advertise the film.

This is the teaser trailer for the film (Clip is taken from Youtube)
Analysis on next slide

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epJ1TgbNqz4

• This teaser trailer uses a lot of fast cut shots, mainly between the main characters. It uses a lot of
action and not much dialogue; this means that as soon as the idea of the film has been decided,
they can get it out to the audience. In this case, as Scream is a franchise, most people know what it
is generally about and it is therefore un-necessary to show much more than a very general outline
of the plot and the main characters. The teaser has only really got one set of dialogue, in voiceover
form, which is the distinctive voice of 'Scream'. This has been really useful to give me ideas of shot
lenghts and what sorts of shots to

Website: http://www.scream-4.com/#/connect

• The website opens to a widescreen view of the theatrical trailer, which is far more in depth than
the teaser trailer giving a much clearer idea of the storyline. There is a lot more dialogue and it is a
lot longer. There is a clear difference between the two trailers and this has helped to differentiate
between teaser and theatrical trailers. The website also gave a link to the Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/Scream4
Films increasingly have websites
and Facebook pages (which
they never used to) This might
be used to attract younger
audiences who are internet-
users.

Posters/billboards

• The billboard is simplistic but eye-catching. As the Scream films are so franchised, loads of details
aren't necessary; all that's needed to advertise the long awaited Scream 4 film is the signature
'Scream' motif and the name of the film.

TV Interviews

• This is an interview with Scream 4's star Neve Campbell. Lots of films often use TV interviews with
the stars as a way of publicising their film. It can be a really good advertising technique, especially
as audiences might particularly like the star and will watch the interview and probably the film for
that reason alone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq7Rq7A60lM

Teaser Trailer

For our A2 coursework we have to create a teaser trailer so I've done some research into exactly what
'Teaser trailers' are and what they include in order to make mine as good as possible!

• A teaser trailer is a trailer that is made, mainly for Blockbusters just to get the idea of the film
publicised in it's early days and not necessarily illustrate the actual plot. They often use a lot
of action instead of dialogue, especially as sometimes they're made before the film is even
filmed.
• They're different from 'normal' trailers in many ways which include: trailer length (teasers are
often shorter), content (teasers are often more action and less dialogue) and many more.
• Teaser trailers are often made and released very early on in the production of the film,
sometimes before any filming has even began.

As-well as having done some research into teaser trailers I've decided to find a few examples to
analyse so I know exactly what sort of thing I'm going to be working on.

Teaser Trailer analysis

Scream 4 Teaser Trailer
(Found on Youtube)

This uses many of the aforementioned conventions a teaser trailer. The trailer is made up largely of a series of
of
quick-cut, fast paced action shots, to engage the audience. As the film is part of a very well known franchise it means
that when creating the trailer they could use distinctive elements from the previous films to instantly familiarise and
engage the audience. It starts with the very distinctive sound of the phone ringing (exactly how the very first film had
started), and is then followed by a shot of the main character and a voiceover of the also extremely distinctive
murderer on the phone. The trailer then has a series of very fast-cut shots of most of the main characters, giving the
same effect of familiarising the audience. There is very little dialogue in the trailer, instead credits are used to give a
general outline of the plot. This is a very typical teaser trailer, providing everything needed to engage the audience,
without having to go into depth about the plot, with a very short running time.

Teaser Trailer analysis cont.

Inception
teaser trailer
(found on
youtube)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8GeaJgbm10
This is again showing many of the typical teaser trailer conventions I found out about in my earlier research. It starts
with credits displaying the well-known directors name (Christopher Nolan), shortly followed by another credit stating
that Nolan was also 'The Director of The Dark Knight', a fairly recent commercially successful block-buster. This instantly
engages the audiences interest. This is followed by a rather epic and spectacular birds-eye shot of the city, engaging
the audience further through the use of brilliant cinematography. The trailer then cuts to a shot of well-known actor
Leonardo Di-Caprio, pulling in the audience even further, having still not included any dialogue nor any hint at the plot
line. Following this are a series of fast-cut shots including: credits provoding a very basic plot idea, incredible
cinematography shots and shots of Leonardo. All of this, as-well as a dramatic score meant that they could get
audiences excited about the film very early on, without even having to explain the plot.

Teaser Trailer analysis cont.

Breaking
Dawn teaser
trailer (found
on Youtube)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIpeBi6SG4A
This teaser trailer veers slightly away from the typical teaser trailer conventions that the other two used; there is a lot less
action in it as well as being a bit longer than the others. However, other than that it uses a lot of the same conventions:
• Credits giving idea of plot-line
• Not masses of dialogue
• Voiceover
• Dramatic music
It, like Scream is also franchised and has used that to it's advantage, showing shots of the main characters one after
another. Most similarly to the others, it manages to engage the audience with very little plot give-away, especially by
ending with a shock/cliff-hanger

Teaser Trailer conventions
Having analysed 3 teaser trailers I have got a clearer idea of the
conventions they use, and therefore the conventions I will be
using for mine.
These are the main conventions I’ve noticed to be used in teaser trailers:

• Credits (often part-explaining plot line)
• Not masses of dialogue
• Voice-over
• Fast paced
• Short shots
• Main actors shown
• Dramatic music
• Short running time
• Ambiguous plot

Print Media terminology research
MASTHEAD: The title of a newspaper or magazine which is usually
found at the top on the front page.

STRAPLINE: Advertising slogans are short, often memorable phrases
used in advertising campaigns. They are claimed to be the most MASTHEAD
effective means of drawing attention to one or more aspects of a
product. A strapline is a British term used as a secondary sentence Tagline
attached to a brand name. Its purpose is to emphasize a phrase that Screamer
the company wishes to be remembered by, particularly for marketing
a specific corporate image or connection to a product or consumer
base.
Cover
COVER LINES: Catchy phrases on magazines, made to get the reader lines
wanting to read more.
SCREAMER: a sensational newspaper headline
TAGLINE: a catchy, enticing, short phrase used by marketers and film
studios to advertise and sell a film; they are often seen on film
posters.
BILLING BLOCK: The list of actors and/or director etc on a film Barcode
poster/DVD cover etc. (Usually small and at the bottom)

Film poster & magazine cover analysis
For the 'film poster/magazine cover' part of my coursework I've analysed a few film posters and magazine covers to get
an idea of the major 'ingredients' needed to produce a successful film poster/magazine cover.

Here are my analysed film posters:

Salt

cont.

Scream 4

Red has
connotations of
death, danger and
blood.

cont.

Titanic

cont.
These are my analysed magazine covers:

Film

It adheres to the
typical conventions of
a magazine. Eg. It has
a barcode, price, etc.

cont.

Empire

It adheres to the
typical conventions of
a magazine. Eg. It has
a barcode, price, etc.

Research on film classification (BBFC)
• The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-
governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national
classification of films within the United Kingdom.
Classifications:
U (Universal) - Everyone can watch
PG (Parental Guidance) - All ages can watch, but some scenes might not be suitable for children
under 8
12A - These films can be viewed by children under 12 but only when accompanied by an adult.
12 - Only people over 12 can buy/see
R18 (Restricted 18) - Can be seen by anybody over 18 but has higher sexual or violence activity.
There are a number of things that the BBFC will have to think about to be able to give the film a
classification. Examples of these: use of drugs, sexual content, violence, etc.
The BBFC can intervene with films if they feel the content is too extreme. They can change the
rating to a higher rating or even cut the film from being shown, in exceptional circumstances.

My target audience
I had a rough idea of what sort of age range my Film/Teaser Trailer would be aimed for
but decided to make a questionnaire to give to a variety of people to clarify I was
targeting the right audience with my marketing campaign. I decided only to research
the age group to target my film for as I don’t feel demographics like gender, sexuality
etc. are particularly relevant to my film.

My questionnaire simply asked ‘Which age-group do you think Horror films generally
appeal to?’ The options were 12-14, 15-21, 22-30, 30-40 & 40+

100% of the people who answered my questionnaire said that horror films generally
appeal to the 15-21 year old age group. This is as I expected.

Seeing as I am making the teaser trailer for a horror film I had to therefore decide
between classifications 15 & 18. I have decided to make my film a 15 as although it is
a scary film, the film wouldn’t have any violence too severe and doesn’t include any
of the other factors that decide the classification of a film (nudity, sexual content etc)

Audience Research
I created a survey on ‘Kwik Surveys’ and put it on my Facebook to get results
from a variety of different people, and not just my media class (as they may
have been biased)

These are my questions and results:

Audience research analysis
My results proved to be very helpful and informative. I got results from
a wide age-range giving me balanced feedback. The majority of
people who answered my survey thought that my teaser trailer/film
should be given a 15 classification; this is what I thought was
appropriate, so this is the classification I’ve chosen. My research also
drew me to the conclusions that people are most drawn to a magazine
cover or film poster based on it’s:
• Background image (especially if it’s a famous actor)
• Headlines
• Magazine name/type
This research has been really helpful and will help me when creating
my products.

Finalised magazine cover

Link to magazine
cover (bigger):
http://imageshac
k.us/f/35/magazi
necoveru.png/

Finalised film poster

Link to see film
poster (bigger):
http://imageshack.us
/f/684/filmposter.pn
g/

Teaser trailer finalised ideas

I’ve decided not to use the
green band as it’s used on
American films and mine is a
British film.

Storyboards for teaser trailer
These are my storyboards for my teaser trailer:

Planning for teaser trailer
Location: I have looked around a few local woods to try and find one appropriate for my teaser
trailer. I needed to find a wood with a car park preferably (instead of doing some of the filming in
a normal car park and some in a wood) as it would help with continuity. I’ve found one which I
feel is perfect for it. The place is called Coombe Hill.

Casting: I had already decided that my friend Anna Molesworth was to play the only character
seen in the Teaser Trailer.

Risk Assessment: I don’t feel that there are any particular risks in the filming of my teaser trailer.

Prop list: Costume design:

GAG My character is just meant to be wearing
MOBILE casual clothes so that’s what I told An
to wear

Teaser Trailer First Cut

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1qRoDm7rp4

This is the first cut of my teaser trailer. I uploaded this to Youtube and
created an online questionnaire/survey to get feedback and constructive
critique. I put the link to the trailer and to the survey on Facebook, so I
could get a wide range of people.

Teaser Trailer – Final cut

Youtube link to finalised Teaser Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raw-cfk2hJw

Evaluation
Youtube links to evaluation:

Conventions used/challenged:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMTehIBe2o8

Combination of products:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDdrbNcIlf4

Audience feedback:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIeXCHckU1I

Media technologies used:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoIYHKhYq90&feature=related

Bibliography
Scream 4 link to Facebook screenshot -
http://www.scream-4.com/#/connect
Scream 4 billboard picture –
http://www.dreadcentral.com/img/news/apr11/scared.jpg
Salt film poster –
http://www.impawards.com/2010/posters/salt.jpg
Scream 4 film poster –
http://www.desktop4ipad.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/scream4_wallpaper-01-
500x500.jpg
Titanic film poster –
http://cache2.allpostersimages.com/p/LRG/21/2110/398ED00Z/posters/titanic.jpg

Bibliography cont.
‘Film’ magazine cover –
http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Inception-Leonardo-DiCaprio-Total-
Film-Magazine-cover.jpg
‘Empire’ magazine cover –
http://www.bigmagazinecover.com/slike/magazinecover/Johnny-Depp-Empire-
magazine-cover-1304354803.jpg
Green band picture –
http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/images/2010/07/Green-Band.jpg
Scream 4 teaser trailer –
Inception teaser trailer –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8GeaJgbm10
Breaking dawn teaser trailer -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIpeBi6SG4A

Marketing Strategies for Scream 4

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