Website Analysis 3 - Lights Out

Websites are extremely important for the marketing of a film. This is rather relevant for films of certain genres, such as horror as the online interactive features can be more immersive for the user to heighten the fear felt about the film. I am going to be analysing the Lights Out website to see how effective the features are to promote the film and to make it interesting for the audience to want to see the film when it is released.

The main focus of the homepage is the light switch. The switch is duct taped on with the wall being broken around it. This could hint towards some sort of desperation to tamper with this light switch in order to keep it off. There is also a darker corridor to the right of the light switch, once the light switch is clicked the mise-en-scene of the picture is changed. The duct tape is removed from the light and there is a shadowy figure of a dishevelled woman standing in the corridor. This creates an extremely ominous and discomforting feeling for the viewer and it enhances the horror of the film.

The title is placed below the light switch, and it is black when the light switch is on, contrasting to the cream wall, however when the light switch is turned off the text then changes to white. This maintains the contrast to the wall and the bold, eye-catching nature of the title for the viewer to easily see. The text itself is set out in a font that looks rather thin and scraggly, as if it was handwritten on the wall by a child. The inclusion of children is extremely common for a horror movie so it would seem ideal for this to look like an innocent child writing on the wall. The release date is below the title, in a serif font and alongside the title, it also changes from black to white to remain as prominent as the title so viewers can easily see this information. The rest of the text is kept in a white font. The tagline, which is at the top of the site says “from the studio that brought you The Conjuring”. This does not mention any names of directors, cast members or producers, but it does mention the film The Conjuring, which was a largely successful horror film. From this tagline it already sets high hopes for visitors and audiences as they know how good or scary The Conjuring was so they would expect Lights Out to be just as successful or even better.

There is a navigational side bar on the left of the homepage and when scrolling along a tab on the menu, it flickers like a light bulb, keeping the continuity of the lights throughout the site. There is also the sound of the light fusing when it is scrolled over. The first tab on the menu- is the story; this has a brief synopsis of the film and it also mentions the producer’s name (James Wan) who has been notorious for creating and producing several successful horror films, such as The Conjuring. This is useful for audiences as it gives them the premise of the film and shows that the film will most likely be successful due to the producer. The next feature on the menu is the trailer. This video feature also helps to give a basic outline of what the film is going to be like. However, showing trailers for horror films, may not always be the best thing as it tends to reveal the scariest parts of the film in the two minute trailer. Which could be disappointing for movie fans as they wouldn’t have experienced anything new once they had seen the film. On the other hand, these thrills and jump-scares could be enough to generate interest in watching the film in the cinema. The following tab on the menu is the gallery, which shows photos from the film, involving the main characters, however it does not show the scary element of the movie. This is good for visitors as it shows the characters and could show more of the plot without revealing any spoilers of what is scariest about the film, still creating suspense for the viewer when they see it in the cinema.

The most interactive aspect of the site is the “keep the lights out” tab, which, when clicked, opens up a new tab with another site and it allows the viewer to upload a photo. When the site is loading, the page has the phrase “you were right to be afraid of the dark”- this is key for the horror of the film as most people are afraid of the dark and what can’t be seen within it and the phrase triggers a realistic fear that many people have and would be frightened by. This makes the visitor know that this film will definitely be something that will scare them as it revolves around a fear they have, rather than something more irrational to them. The photo is then edited to show what is hiding in the shadows, maintaining the theme of the film. There is then the option to share the photos, which makes the visitor feel more involved in the promotion of the film. This feature is also advertised on the side of the homepage with a gif of the demon, which is similar to the woman that is lurking in the dark corridor on the homepage. This draws more attention to this feature on the site.

The final tab on the menu is the soundtrack. Once clicked this opens a new tab to the site where you can stream and download the soundtrack. This will generate more interest for the film, the music and possibly boost sales for the music producers and composers. The sound is a large part of what makes horror films scarier and more suspenseful and this is incorporated within this website. There is eerie music from the soundtrack which is playing in the background of the site, however there is an option to turn this off if this is not appealing. The fuse sound effects are used when hovering on text and there is also a sound effect of heavy strings when the woman appears once the light switch has been clicked. This helps to fully immerse the viewer into this horror.

The social media links on the site are featured in the top right corner. These links ar Facebook, Twitter and Instagram which appeals to a variety of audiences of different age groups. The social media icons are easy to view and it opens up the official social media page for each site which allows you to share posts, pictures and videos about the film. This is great as it is free advertisement on social media and other people can promote the film for them by sharing posts. There is also an option to share the site on Twitter Facebook and Google+ which also branches out the advertisement over platforms and it is more cost effective than billboards, posters and television advertisements and cinema promotion. This use of social media also helps to generate traffic to the site.

There is a testimonial quote review placed below the social media links, from a sit called the Nerd Report. This shows praise from people who have already seen the film and it is usually from publications or popular websites to make the review look more official- it is effective if many people know where the review is coming from. I do not think that Nerd Report is not a very well-known site so the praise may not be taken seriously or be seen as highly than if it was from somewhere like The Telegraph, which is an easily recognisable publication.

In the top left corner, there is a Rotten Tomatoes rating on the site. This “fresh” rating from this site that is created to solely review films makes the movie seem really good and would influence people to go and see it. However sites like Rotten Tomatoes can be controversial as some people do not always agree with or trust the ratings from this site as they would often give popular films lower ratings than some audiences think it deserves.

To summarise, I would say that this website is effective in creating a scary experience for visitors with the combination of the mise-en-scene of the site, the interactive features and especially the sound. In the means of sites for a horror film, this was the most interactive site I had found for the more recent horrors for the year. To improve the site I would make sure that it was continually updated, as the release date for the film has surpassed and it is no longer in cinema, which could cause confusion for the viewer. To replace this the site developers could include the release date for the DVD release and include promotional links for that to keep the site current.