Webpage Development

This is the first page of our webpage. We used the font 'OptimusPrincePS', because it looks similar to the font used on our poster and teaser trailer. The font is simple but looks somewhat gothic with slight serifs that makes the text appear more old fashioned. The font is white with red shadowing across it, connoting smudges of blood. Both pieces of text have effects to make them slightly glow red, again suggesting the supernatural nature of the film. The Enter Site link also has an effect so that it slightly expands when hovered over with a mouse, making the site more interactive and inviting. When clicked, the Enter Site button takes the viewer to the next main webpage.

This is the developed main webpage. We used the same font for all text. The title is the largest text, and it is white with an effect that makes it glow red with a slight reflection underneath it. The rest of the text on the page is white, so that the title stands out. The symbol in the bottom left of the page has been edited to make it slightly blurred and grey, and we are pleased with the way this looks against the background and coupled with the white text. The slight blurring of the symbol also links with the blurred effect on the face and ties into the mysterious element of the film.


-Post and first draft webpage by Emily




Also see... Webpage Feedback and Final Webpage

Initial Webpage Design Development

This is the initial plan for our webpage, as posted earlier.

We decided to develop the plan further, creating new webpage images.

This is the entry page we decided to include, as we found in our webpage deconstructions that it was common for some form of loading screen or entry page to introduce the webpage. We do not want it to be too complex, so will have a black background with red and white text in the centre. This follows the colour scheme of many of the films we have examined, as red is often a key on the page. The Enter Site link will be slightly animated with a flash to draw attention to it and show the supernatural element to the film we are advertising. By introducing this Enter Site hyperlink on the first page we will no longer need it on the main page as we had originally intended. There will also be options in the corner to share the webpage on various social networking sites, linking to the strong online presence of our target audience and gaining free advertising as the webpage is shown on other websites. This would broaden our audience.

This is the main page plan. It has the same black background and includes the same ability to share the webpage in the same position at the bottom of the page. Other webpages include a main image, often using the same or similar image on the film poster. The image is also often the main character or being of the film, so we are going to use the edited image of a girl being possessed by the antagonistic being with ouija board lettering covering her face. This is the same image we have used for the poster. We have decided to place the image in the centre of the page so that it is the main focus, and the girl appears more threatening. The layout is quite similar to the initial plan, with the hyperlinks and trailer surrounding the main image. We have decided that the three hyperlinks in the bottom left hand corner will be laid out on each point of the symbol that is in the centre of the ouija board prop we used. This is to tie into the gothic supernatural genre and make the layout more themed.


-Post and webpage design by Emily

Webpage design plan

This is a plan for our webpage, which has been based on other webpages explored for other horror films, such as Orphan. We are using the site wix.com to create or own main homepage for our media.  

The Fourth Kind Webpage Deconstruction

-Emily




Also see... The Fourth Kind Poster Deconstruction

The Ring Webpage Deconstruction

The loading screen for the website of 'The Ring' shows pulsing circles around the title of the film. This immediately shows the importance of the rings within the film and draws in the audience as it may conjure curiousities about its significance. The production information is at the bottom of the page, showing the audience which companies were involved in the making of the film so that the audience might be broadened by viewers that liked other productions by the companies.This institutional information and the title are both coloured white, as are the loading rings, making the bright red text encouraging the audience to buy the DVD even more pronounced. This text is also bold and capitalised to catch the viewers' eye so that as many copies of the movie are sold as possible. It also suggests an importance in the purchase of the DVD, with a link to the information site about the video and DVD on sale. The background is black, so that there is little to look at except the loading animation.

The simplistic loading screen is followed by a photo of a girl in a mirror, which gets larger and seems to comes closer to the screen in a predatory way. This foreshadows a key concept within the movie, of the idea of something coming out of a screen. The photo uses low level lighting and black and white hues to create an ominous and threatening tone. The girl has long black hair which obscures most of her face, creating a sense of mystery about her identity and perhaps more fear. She is in a white dress, but the other colouring of the image and the girl's unnatural position undoes any usual connotations of innocence or purity that might usually accompany the colour white. The background remains black, as it does throughout the website. This could reflect the eerie nature of the movie, while also alluding to the genre as horror.

Contrasting with the previously slow animations, the intro to the webpage shows lots of quick shots from the movie, coupled with flickering that is often linked with old or corrupt videotapes. The contrast with the previous rhythm of the webpage creates more shock and fear from the audience. The shots are mainly black and white with a high contrast to add to their eerie scenes, such as something coming out of a mouth and some writing that repeats "mirror". As well as the contrast, editing such as flashes of negative and juddering have been added to make the shots all appear uncomfortable and unnatural. A shot is also briefly seen of a blonde woman screaming, suggesting that she may be the main character as she is one of the only shots that contains colour. The tagline of the film also flashes up, stating that "before you die, you see", before another animation of a ring with the title "The Ring" inside it comes up. The font of the tagline is capitalised and blunt, reflecting the harsh deaths that occur in the film. An echoing effect is also used on the writing that makes the same words repeat slightly larger behind the originals, creating more unease.

After the introduction, the main page of the website comes up. This is crowded with animations and text, perhaps aiming to slightly disorientate and confuse the audience in order to incite more curiousity and thus make them more likely to see the movie. The institutional information and red text encouraging purchase are both still at the bottom. There is also an option to watch the trailer for the film, in front of an image of a ring to keep a consistent theme. Most of the page is taken up by the animations and images, including a scrawled circle, a well and a tree silhouette. Most of the images seem to be in the style of doodles or childrens' drawings, as they are untidy. The images are also animated, and they often flash or glow red before seeming to shrink away or grow. There are some scrawled words, which are also animated. These notes could suggest someone trying to figure out the events of the film, inciting interest from the audience as they want to discover the truth together with the characters, linking to the Uses and Gratifications Theory of audiences consuming media products.

The background is somewhat covered by typed text, referring to therapy. This all suggests some of the content of the film, such as the idea of madness or the involvement of children, but leaves most of the narrative a complete mystery in order to make the audience want to watch it. The image of the well is the sharpest image, suggesting its significance to the narrative.The text hyperlinks are in capital letters, underlined in red in order to show their importance while also creating connotations of fear or danger. There are options to see 'Downloads', 'Behind The Scenes', 'Notes' and 'Image Gallery', aiming to interest audiences with other pieces of information about the making of the film or the ease of access in order to get them to watch it. Strange eerie noises play in the background of the main webpage, with odd shrill noises that all act to make the audience feel discomfort and foreboding.

As well as the main hyperlinks, most of the animations on the front page can be clicked and pop-ups with appear with clips or images linked to the movie. These pop-ups follow the theme of the narrative, as they have titles such as 'don't watch this' or '...'. These seem to break somewhat from the expected internet browser so can suggest the power of whatever is involved in the narrative, while also creating more uncertainty. The pop-up images are slightly animated and when hovered over, one part of the image becomes brighter than the others, and when clicked another image will appear. This trail can be followed, allowing the audience to discover more things and feel more involved in the story, therefore becoming more likely to want to watch the film. Their involvement also suggests the journey that the protagonist may set out on throughout the movie. The use of mirrors and childrens' drawings are repeated, reflecting their importance. The same eerie soundtrack is played during these pop-ups.

When the main hyperlinks are pressed, the information appears in the main window. As the information appears, more animation hyperlinks appear, allowing more to be seen. This encourages the viewer to continue looking throughout the entire website, making them more likely to become interested in watching the actual movie. The entire website uses a sense of uneasiness coupled with mystery to interest audiences, revealing key concepts from the movie but keeping most elements hidden. The site is also heavily based on the main theme of the movie, videotapes, to create an identity for the movie.

This webpage has shown us the importance of incorporating animations, even if only small, and a welcoming page in our official film website.




-Emily

The Grudge 2 Webpage Deconstruction

       The first section of the web page uses a large image of DVD cover as background. This is a pale white face with wide red-tinged eyes, looking directly out at audience, directly involving them in the image and creating curiousity. This could also increase the fear from audiences. The face is covered in strands of black that look like hair, playing into a key theme of the movie narrative while also suggesting some kind of paranoia or imprisonment due to the placement on the face. This could suggest, along with the wide open eyes, that the black is some form evil force and the face is a victim, increasing curiousity for the narrative.
       The black hair blends into the silhouettes of tree branches at the bottom of the image, suggesting a mystery or supernatural element to the film while also implying some kind of isolation from civilisation. This isolation is also shown by the house in the bottom corner of the image, with nothing but the tree and face surrounding it. This isolation could suggest a lack of safety or again emphasise imprisonment. The inclusion of the house shows its importance to the narrative, although the face is the largest image of the page showing it to be the most crucial factor of the narrative. The side of the page has options to buy two different versions of the movie, broadening audiences depending on people's preferences.
There is information about the rating of the film at the bottom of the image, as well as production information. The title of the movie is the largest text, at the top of the page. It uses capital letters and a blunt font to perhaps show the harsh nature of the movie and make it clear what the page is for.

       There are options along the toolbar to buy the DVD, read about the movie, see special features, see clips, download content and go to the home page of the webpage. This is easily navigated and caters to the different interests of possible audiences, giving extra information in order to pull in more people. The colour scheme of the page is grey and red, with most of the image grey except the red eyes. This supports the supernatural element of the movie and also makes them more shocking. All of the important text is red, bringing connotations of blood and anger and supporting the genre of the film.

        There is a red button to Enter The Site, which leads to a background of a close up of a book, covered in Japanese symbols, relating to the original language of the movie franchise. As the page loads, an illustration of black hair slowly descends over the book, again linking to an important part of the narrative. As it loads, slow unsettling music plays which supports the supernatural subgenre of the horror.

 Once the page has loaded, a series of grainy shots from the film are shown in quick succession, building tension and creating interest in order to broaden audiences. The shots reveal some of the main characters of the movie and the heavy supernatural tone. The final shot from the film shows a house, probably the same house that was shown on the earlier page, and this becomes a sharper focused background.

       The shot of the house is dark with lots of shadows, creating an ominous tone, which is aided by the apparent decay of the building. It doesn't look welcoming, as the gate is chained shut and the building appears to be made of stone, suggesting that it could be a prison or confining space. There are more Japanese symbols along the image, which change to english sections when hovered over by the mouse. These are the same sections as on the original page. The title of the movie with an option to buy the DVD are in the same space that they were in on the previous page, keeping the constant suggestion of purchase in the audience's mind. The production and rating information is at the bottom of the page again.




-Emily