Marketing through Websites
I thought it would be a good idea to research horror movie website to see how it markets the film with its own unique promotional style. In the last few years especially websites have increasingly become part of the marketing mix for filming companies. One reason for this is that the cost for this is extremely low compared to other forms of advertisements. Another reason is the growing number of internet users and so it’s an easy medium through which to target your audience. It is also useful as when mass media advertisements have stopped, websites continue to promote the film and create general awareness.

Take Jaws for example, a website that was very effective at catching my eye due its use of recognisable and iconic images.

This is the first page that appears which I thought was extremely clever as it is already advertising the film, immediately taking the opportunity to sell the DVD. By placing you advertisements first, means that a viewer who wishes to enter the site is bound to see the advert.

It is simple to and to the point with minimum text! Most the page is taken up by the famous iconic image of the vicious shark looking up at the female victim who is swimming. The word Jaws is in big and red to catch the audiences attention also connoting the dangerous elements of the movie. It is also interesting how the ‘Enter Site’ button is blood stained as if a warning of death and distress. Evidently, it is a good idea to incorporate your generic theme in the different aspects of the website like as done with this button. The genre of horror is clear from the colour scheme of black connoting suspense and mystery and the red connoting danger. The image of the shark also represent the horror genre as it is looks extremely terrifying and threatening. The blue tint also gives the image a very mysterious look but at the same time connotes the seawater.
There is then a shot montage of still shots from the movie before the viewer enters the site itself. This is very effective in giving the viewer an insight into the movie. The montage gets faster and faster and although we are not watching a moving image the tension still builds up as they have used dialogue from the movie as well as the famous Jaws music itself in the background. Being a blockbuster movie it already has an audience however, this is effective in jogging their memory highlighting the best bits of the movie. I thought this was another very good idea, so instead of just having an interactive and informative website, the music playing in the background also creates the right atmosphere getting the viewer in the mood to watch the film itself. (Well that’s the effect it had on me!)
Even the loading sign is rising level of blood in the ocean, which is quite disturbing. This shows how marketing teams can do all sort of interesting things when applying their theme to the website. The repetition of iconic images emphasises them making them memorable for the audience and more recognisable in the future.

The screen is then ripped through by a shark’ tail , another graphically effective idea. Websites therefore give you a chance to be very imaginative so you can use unique ways of impressing the audience.

The website itself is extremely informative. It consists of:

-Background film information:
-Cast and Crew
-Photo Gallery
-Video Clips
-‘Jaws 30 years ago’
-DVD bonus features

This gives an idea of some of the main elements to include in a film website. They also advertise:

-Their game, Jaws unleashed
-An exclusive limited edition 60-page commemorative journal
-Jaws 30th anniversary DVD
- ‘The Shark is Still Working’ documentary


Another good website to take a look at is the Men In Black one which also advertises its DVD, video game, fan magazine as well as its spin-off animated series and continues to gain the movie some publicity.

To summarise…the main functions of a film website are to:

1) Provide information about the film itself
2) Create themes, effects and content that all enhances the experience of the film
3) Allow consumers to purchase products online

Recent Horror Market

Mirrors is the most recent horror film released (15th August 2008) about an evil force that exists within the mirrors of a burned out department store, which had been built on the site of an old psychiatric hospital.

I decided to look at the still shot on the Mirrors poster, which to me clearly seems to portray the genre of horror. This is obvious from the minimal use of colour and low-key lighting and the actor’s facial expression.

The director has used a CU shot of his actor looking completely pale and terrified with her eyes wide and mouth gaping open as if she is screaming. The top of her head is intentionally not in frame so that the audience can focus on the distressing eyes that directly address them. It is also interesting the way the director links the image to another of is horror productions The Hills Have Eyes, making the poster work as a whole.

The image also appears central on the poster so to immediately attract the audience’s attention. It seems to be a Low Angle shot making the character gaze down at the audience threateningly. The image is not very sharp and therefore seems to be a reflection tying in with the theme of mirrors. We can also see a crack in the left eye where the image is slightly blurred. This could connote illusions or hallucinations as well as bad luck for the believers of superstition. The crack could also connote some sort of violence.

Over lighting has been used from an artificial source of light creating a torch effect. The over lighting also makes the character’s face seem slightly distorted to make her look like a psycho. The low-key lighting adds to the mystery and suspense of the movie as the audience is unable to see the setting or even the actor’s full expression and body language. Darkness usually connotes the unknown dangers and this effect is emphasised by the colour scheme of black white and red. The colour black creates enigma often connoting the evil dark side or even death and mourning. The white gives the poster a ghostly feels and stands out clearly. The red colour is used to make the title Mirrors distinct from all the other text present. It also connotes danger and we often associate it with blood and therefore violence and death.

Therefore, I think this poster is quite effective in portraying the genre of horror. We can also see its genre conventions by comparing it with other horror film posters like Friday the 13th.

I found that these two posters were quite similar in their use of colour and image. Both posters are dominated by the colour black and involved one central image of a face/mask. Both also use low-key artificial lighting. This underlines the idea that genre films work on the basis of a repetition of elements to help target a film at a particular audience, however they also have some difference. This is evident in my example, as one image is a reflection in a mirror whilst the other is a mask.

Although this film is directed by Alexandre Aja, it is interesting to see how ‘Mirrors’ is a concept used in many films in the horror genre by well known directors like Alfred Hitchcock.
An interesting example can be seen in the film Psycho where we see mirror reflections of Marion Crane whilst she checks into the Motel under the different name and Norman Bates who has a split personality. Here the mirrors reflect both characters double roles.

This is just a brief insight into how genre films work using repetition and difference.
So how will the use of mirrors differ in this new release?