A Nightmare on Elm Street

A Nightmare on Elm Street
Website: http://www.nightmareonelmstreet.com/dvd/

Elements of design
-The background is plain black and the credits shown at the bottom of the website (this background remains the same as only a section of the website chances).
-The colour scheme mainly uses red, black, grey and white.
-Each section of the website has a different picture on the background.
-The background pictures have been darkened and distorted slightly to give off a frightful feeling.
-There are also some parts of the image glowing slightly (glowing then dimming and repeating this).
-The space of the website has been clearly thought out. It does not feel/look cramped. The image and the information on that section balances the spacing out.
-The links to other areas of the site are at the very top.
-The font used is similar to leelawadee but it is slightly thinner then that font and the letters are closely packed together.
-The main titles are in a bright red while the rest of the writing is in white and a completely different font.
-There are links to fansites on facebook, twitter and myspace (promos the film because when people add/favourite the website, their friends and family can see it).
-The movie can easily be identified as a horror/thriller movie.

Principles of design
-The music that plays repeatedly really suits the website as it makes the viewer feel anxious and draws them more into the website.
-The images that have been chosen for each area of the website, are images that portray an uneasy feeling which you know something bad is going to happen next.
-The images were had people either on the left or right side and the text was on whatever side the people were not – see image 1 for example
-The main emphasis of the website was promoting the film. The title, credits and tagline were always shown.
-The text and font was always kept the same.

Overall feel developed for each film’s promotional materials
-The film’s promotional material gives off a very shadowy and sinister feel to it
-The film’s promotional materials have portrayed the film’s darkness and used the necessary colours and designs.
-It makes the viewer feel slightly edgy and uncertain because of the images (which are from the movie) used for the background.
-There were times when I started to feel really anxious because of the music playing again and again.
-Clearly shows that the movie is a horror/thriller and makes the view feel the right emotions (it doesn’t make you sit there laughing, it makes you sit there dreading and unsure – good emotions for a horror/thriller film).

Promotional posters for the film
-The promotional posters were very much like the website.
-Each poster had used shadowy, menacing colours –black, dark red and hints of dark orange.
-I really liked how the viewer could easily tell the gene just by looking at the poster.
-I also thought that each of the poster portrayed that the movie was quite a dark film which lots of horror and thriller elements – like when the main character is running from Freddy.
-I liked how in the posters, the viewer could only see the shows of the characters. There was however one poster which had a close up of Freddy and his claws.

The website is layout
First page (to enter the site): A background picture of Freddy and the trailer for the movie. The website gives to you options. BUY NOW or ENTER SITE.
Link: http://www.nightmareonelmstreet.com/dvd/

Special Features (when you’ve entered the site):
-Main titles (movie title, tagline and special features) are in upper case as well as red and bold. The rest of the writing is in white and only the titles are in bold and upper case.
-The background picture has been darkened and has had the colour drained from it.
-The dvds that the viewer can purchase is to the right of the font (in the middle of the website, directly underneath the title) and a picture of Freddy is to the left of the font.
Link: http://www.nightmareonelmstreet.com/dvd/#/epk/specialfeatures/

About the film:
-Main titles (movie title, tagline and special features) are in upper case as well as red and bold. The rest of the writing is in white and only the titles are in bold and upper case.
-The background picture has been darkened and has had the colour drained from it.
-A picture of Freddy is left of the font and takes up half the screen.
-The font is in line with BUY IT NOW and the font is in front of a large black patch.
-The overall atmosphere of this page feels sinister, mysterious and gloomy – suits the rest of the website.
Link: http://www.nightmareonelmstreet.com/dvd/#/epk/film/

Video:
-Main titles (movie title, tagline and special features) are in upper case as well as red and bold. The rest of the writing is in white and only the titles are in bold and upper case.
-The background picture has been darkened and has had the colour drained from it.
-The trailer and teaser trailer are being played in a small box in the middle of the website.
-At the left corner of the small box is one of the main characters curled up about to cry because his that terrified.
-To the right of the small box, the viewer can see Freddy’s hand and the claws curl over so the claws are just above the small box.
Link: http://www.nightmareonelmstreet.com/dvd/#/epk/video/

Photos:
-Main titles (movie title, tagline and special features) are in upper case as well as red and bold. The rest of the writing is in white and only the titles are in bold and upper case.
-The background picture has been darkened but a blue tint has been added to it.
-The screenshots from the movie appear and automatically change unless the viewer stops it.
-The images are about a medium size and off to the left are a list of upcoming images.
-The viewer can also choose the images by clicking the left or right buttons. The viewer can also, by double clicking on the image, make the image appear full screen.
Link: http://www.nightmareonelmstreet.com/dvd/#/epk/photos/

Downloads:
-Main titles (movie title, tagline and special features) are in upper case as well as red and bold. The rest of the writing is in white and only the titles are in bold and upper case.
-The background picture has been darkened and has had the colour drained from it.
-There are four different links – WALLPAPERS – POSTERS – BUDDY ICONS – SCREENSAVER
-The website is automatically on wallpapers and four images, which are even spaced and are exactly the same size, are shown underneath the line of options.
-To the left of this, and takes up half the screen, is a picture of one of the characters looking very scared.
Link: http://www.nightmareonelmstreet.com/dvd/#/epk/downloads/

Soundtrack:
-Main titles (movie title, tagline and special features) are in upper case as well as red and bold. The rest of the writing is in white and only the titles are in bold and upper case.
-The background picture has been darkened and has had the colour drained from it.
-In line with the title of the movie is the album cover.
-Off to the right of the album is a list of song available on the album and a 30 second pre-view of each song.
-To the left of the album is two characters, who have the look of fear and uncertainly, one which is holding a lamp. The light from the lamp is dimming every now and then but the light is shining on the list of songs.
Link: http://www.nightmareonelmstreet.com/dvd/#/epk/soundtrack/

Website’s effectiveness in appealing to an intended target audience
-I believe that the target audience is for people who like horror films and those who had watched the original movie.
-If this is the target audience, then the website has really appealed to the target audience!
-I enjoy watching horror films and when studying this website, I could easily tell that this movie was a horror film and by looking at the posters and trailer, it was going to be a really good screamer movie.

What I like/dislike about the promotional material
Liked
-I really liked that you could easily tell what gene the film was.
-The colours suited the gene of the film and were kept throughout the website and used in the poster – dark red, black and hints of dark orange.
-The movie title, credits and tagline were kept always shown on each page of the website.
-The background images had been darkened to suit the layout of the website and the writing on the website always managed to balance the layout.
-How the music kept repeatedly playing.

Disliked
-Um...I actually didn’t dislike anything because I thought that the website layout had been done perfectly...

Promotional Material on the Website:
-Trailer (first page and video)
-Film music (special features)
-Clips of the film (about the film/video/photos/downloads/soundtrack)
-Biographies about the cast and crew (about the film)
-Still images (photos)
-Wallpapers, posters, buddy icons and screensavers (downloads)
-Music from the film (soundtrack)
-Links to the official shop (official shop)