Planning: Costumes

Antagonist- Martha

We want to create a maddened rough look for Martha, making her look unstable and detached from society. We are going to dress her in a hospital night gown to reinforce the idea that she has lost her mind and escaped from a mental asylum, this gives her character depth and suggests there is a reason for the murders she commits. We are going to get a white night gown which connotes innocence and so completely contradicts her character and role in the film.

We have decided to make Martha’s eyes white to imply that she is possessed or supernatural, this tells the audience the sub-genre of the film and encourages them to watch the film to find out more about her character. We have chosen white ones to link to and contradict the idea of innocence. The first contact lens we have chosen makes it look like her eye has rolled into the back of the head which implies she has been possessed. The second simply makes her irises white which implies more that she is supernatural.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Victims- Emma, Jordan, Shanie and Sam

We want to make then as relatable as possible to the target audience, at least in the way they look. As they are a part of the target audience they can wear their normal casual attire. This will give the film a sense of reality.

 

 

Planning: Character Representation

Antagonist- Martha (played by Bryony)

Our antagonist is a teenage girl around the same age of the victims creating symmetry and making target audiences wary of people within their age group, which often as audiences view horror films in groups will work to our advantage when spooking the audience. In our trailer we are going to give off the impression that our antagonist is possessed, but we are not going to explain how or why to create mystery and encourage audiences to view the whole film.

The victims- Emma, Shanie, Jordon and Sam (played by themselves)

Our victims are going to be stereotypical annoying teens common in horror films, where the victims are obnoxious and self-absorbed. This therefore has the effect of making the audience want the deaths of the characters and so, they receive more satisfaction from watching the film. They will engage with the trailer more and so be more likely to go and see the film.

Planning: Our own Institution animation

We decided to create our own film institution to link into the style of our trailer. Our production company has similarities to existing companies such as Hammer films and Twisted pictures, both institutions focus on the production of horror films and thrillers. This suggests why both logos have predominantly horror based images. We chose a dated look for our institution animation to link with conventions of horror and entice the target audience; by giving the institution a horror theme it tells the audience that other films produced by our company will be of a similar genre tempting the target audience to view more of their films. As our company is small and horror based, the films produced would be low budget, which fits in with the criteria for our film. The name 'Distorted Pictures' creates mystery around the production company, linking in with typical horror conventions. This further links to the mystery effect created by the static TV effect and flash of blue lightning.

Planning: Institution logo

We have chosen the name ‘Distorted pictures’ for our institution, as after asking peers this name came out as the clear favourite. We used fireworks to create an image that would reflect the connotation of the name. We chose a simplistic colour theme of black and white and edited the text to make it look distorted. The image is simple and memorable, so effective!

Planning Targets

Well done - a fanstastic effort so far. Evidence video blogging, source (preferrably make) music for your production and create and evaluate titles. Include storyboarding of your trailer!

Planning: Titles

Film title designs

We again have chosen to go with a black and white theme for our film titles, for simplicity the contrast of the white against the black makes the film title eye catching and bold. To make a film successful it is important to make the film titles memorable especially when it comes to the name of the film.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These film title font gives off the same sort of eerie simplistic effect that we want to try and create for our title. This creates mystery around the film content, the audience won’t know what to expect from the film putting them out of their comfort zone. The scream logo uses red which is strongly connoted with horror as it implies blood and danger. We however prefer the use of white as it doesn’t run the risk of looking too glamorised and conventional as this would reduce continuity.
 
 
 

We want our title to look as if it has been hand written, or scratched into something as this links our theme of childlike innocence contradicted by the anger of the antagonist. It also links to the idea of her character being mentally unstable. This is the theme that we want to run throughout our trailer, it creates more mystery around her character as it teases more information about her.

  

 

Planning: Story board

Planning: Breif story board

Story board preview:

1. Long shot- the teens come out of the house towards the car, with suitcases looking excited 
2. Medium shot- putting the cases in the boot, shutting the boot (dialogue)
3. Long shot- the car from the outside driving through the country side
4. Medium shot - in the car the teens messing around being excited, (dialogue)
5. Close up- of driver trying to navigate, telling them to hush.
6.  Long shot - outside of car again
7. Medium shot- one of the passengers (dialogue) 
8. Close up- driver (I need to concentrate now) (news report of Martha, passengers drown it out) 
9. Close up- driver turns the radio off 
10.  Long shot- car comes to a stop 
11. Medium shot- driver gets out of the car and walks round to the bonnet to see what's happened
12. Medium shot- opening the bonnet (match on action) (dialogue states that there is nothing wrong with the car it just won't work) 
13. Long shot- establishes the location as all the teens get out of the car, they appear confused ('do we even know where we are?') ('I have no signal') 
14. Close up- of characters face showing she is worried and vulnerable, ('I thought you knew where we were going') 
15. Long shot- establishes the house showing it is surrounded by fields (deep notes makes the house seem slightly sinister) 
16.  Close up- shows the front door is slightly open; character pushes the door fully open 
17. Medium shot- door opening from the inside (match on action) teens enter the house.
18. Medium shot- teens establish that the house is deserted, one of them picks up an old newspaper.
19. Medium shot- one of the teens flops onto the sofa ('looks like this places deserted')
20. Medium shot- teen pulls a bottle of alcohol out of the cabinet ('seems like we are going to get our holiday after all') 
21.  Medium shot- (loud music) teens having a good time
22. Medium shot- (loud music) teens having a good time
23. Medium shot- (loud music) teens having a good time (climax)
24. Medium shot- one of the teens finds a weird picture ('look at this') (music stops)
25. Close up- of picture; a girl with her parents whose faces have been scratched out
26. Close up- of more weird stuff in the draw
27. Medium shot- shows puzzled expressions (scared) (door slams upstairs) characters jump and exchange scared expressions
28. Close up- of characters face, worried expression ('what was that?') 
29. Title- fades in and out
30. Medium shot- teens looking out of place and on edge (doorbell rings) shot catches their reaction
31. Medium shot- establishing the door
32. Medium shot- character from behind looking out of the window
33. Medium shot- view from where the character is looking, nothing out there
34. Medium shot- same shot but a distorted image of our antagonist really quickly camera appears to jump 
35.  Close up- the characters face as she jumps back, showing her fear.
36. Medium shot- the other characters one of them laughs nervously, shot slows 

 Most shots fade out to black signifying a gap in time.

37. Close up- big knife on the counters, Martha's hand come into the shot picking the knife up (sharp eerie sound) 38.  Close up- as the character spins round the camera follows her showing fear on their face, giving the effect that the character is about to faint
39. Medium shot- character running through the door tripping over the landing and slamming the door
40. Medium shot- match on action of the door
41. Close up- something falling of a counter and smashing (slow motion)
42. Long shot- character running down the stairs, falling 
43. Medium shot- two characters together crying, looking at each other
44. Medium shot- character standing up looking down at them scared ('there is no escape') 
45. Medium shot- character running through the room, in desperation
46. Long shot- outside of the house antagonist slowly walking towards the house creepily
47. Long shot- antagonist walks down the hall slowly with knife in her hand by her side
48. Close up- knife stabbed into the counter by antagonist 
49. Close up- flashes of newspaper headlines about the antagonist (really fast) x6
50. Medium shot- male and female character under the bed crying trying to be silent, girl has hand over her mouth, Martha walks past all you see are her feet.
51. Medium shot- character from behind banging on the front door frantically trying to get out
52. Medium shot- axe on chopping block 
53. Medium shot- same as before minus the axe
54. Medium shot- character on the floor scrambling backwards away from antagonist who is just outside of the picture frame
55. Close up- character space crying and scared (shouts 'what do you want') 
56. Medium shot- character peers around the corner, falls to the floor as if their feet have been taken from under them 
57. Long shot- same character being dragged backwards with a rope
58. Medium shot- character face down a the bath tub 
59. Long shot- camera wobbling as it approaches the house (pace slows) 
60.  Medium shot- looking at character inside the car trying and failing to start the engine 
61.  Close up - of the character (still from the outside the car) showing them panting gripping the steering wheel
62. Close up- from inside of the car of the wing mirror showing the antagonist by the car (fast intake of air) flash and she is gone 
63. Long shot- Character backing away down a dark hall slowly 
64. Long shot- the same character spins round (as a creak sounds behind her) 
65. Medium shot- shows the character turn back around to come face to face with our antagonist
66. Close up- an axe being dragged along the floor behind our antagonist, (camera at floor level only shows her bottom half)
67. Long shot- character sprinting through field (really dark)
68. Medium shot- female character curled up in the corner of a dark room crying, shadow goes over her (as if someone is standing over her, she looks up and goes to scream 
69 - 74 really fast flashes of images yet to be discussed 
75. Long shot- of the house at night 
76. Close up - of antagonist (really short flash)
77.  Long shot- of the house at night 
78. Close up - of antagonist (really short flash)
79. Long shot- of the house at night 
80. Coming soon 
81.  31/10/14 

Planning: Location

Our location
We are basing our trailer at one of our group member’s father’s house, in Oxfordshire. The house is in the countryside surrounded by fields so it gives off the impression that the house is deserted, this is a very typical convention of the horror genre. We will be taking full advantage of our location, using the fields and quite roads to make our trailer effective. The location was chosen to make the characters look vulnerable making the trailer more exciting, so it is more likely to be successful in the industry.

Planning: Film name and Institution name ideas

 

We have mostly chosen short simple names for our film, based on the idea that simplicity is effective in being sinister and memorable. Many horror films relay on hyperreality to create believable scenes to capture and scare audiences, lack of continuity reminds audiences that what they are viewing is fiction and so ruining the effectiveness of the film. This is why we have chosen to use simplicity to our gain.

 

 

We have chosen institution names that reflect the horror genre and so connote the types of films that our company would be producing.

 

 

Planning: Film and trailer brief

Planning: Interviews with actors

Planning: Influences on Production

There are many things that have influenced our ideas for our film:
The overall story line was influenced by films such as the ‘Scream’ franchise, ‘The Ring’ and 'Friday the 13th’. Revenge based crimes which often end in the isolation and death or a group of teens. In these films many of the scenes involve fast paced editing and music that makes the audience jumpy and raises their heart beats as the characters fight for their lives. The trailers start with equilibrium then break out into flashing shots of the characters fear and struggle to survive.

We want to include scenes that make the audience jumpy of the dark to create tension. Surrounding the characters in darkness will make the audience edgy and unsure of what the it is concealing, as films are often viewed in the dark this will make the audience wary of their surrounding as if they are in the characters shoes. The close ups of the characters faces show there expressions and emotions clearly.

We got some inspiration from Scream 4, the idea of a big empty house in the middle of nowhere, this isolates the character making them vulnerable and the scenes more exciting.



 

Often in horror films the antagonist creeps up behind the victim in a shot where only the audience can see the threat to the character, making the viewers want to shout out, encouraging audience participation. This creates more of an effect on the audience, meaning that a trailer will be more effective in capturing the audiences attention and making sure it is memorable.

 

Planning: Example of a successful film

The conjuring is a 2013 American film of the same sub-genre of our film (supernatural) which has been a huge success. The trailer conforms to the conventions of the genre this is reflected in the editing, lighting and mise-en-scene, suggesting that in order to create a successful trailer we must follow suit.  

Planning: Sound track influences

Horror sound tracks have to be very clever manipulating the audience’s emotions and making them feel involved in the film. This forces the audience to become active enhancing their viewing experience.

These trailers show this:


The trailer has an eerie tone that builds up throughout the trailer to create a dramatic climax, making the audience more engaged so they are more likely to go and see the film when it comes out. This conforms to the conventions of the genre, satisfying the audiences needs. It is important for us to mirror this in our trailer.

 



The diegetic sound effect of a ticking clock opens the trailer making the audience feel wary, as if time is counting down for something horrible to happen. During the trailer non-diegetic sounds increase the pace of the film building suspense. In our trailer we want to use diegetic and non-diegetic sounds to similar effect.

The sound of the man’s laboured breathing connotes weakness and fear as her runs away from those perusing him. Often in horror trailers sound effects such as laboured breathing are put in place to make characters look more vulnerable, creating more of an effect on the audience when bad things happen to these characters. The strong beat in the background puts the audience on edge and brings up their heart rate, leading to a climax. Drawing the audience and subsequently increasing the films chances of being a success.

Planning Targets

Well done Bryony! Interview two key actors and explain why they are suitable. Do some intitial soundtrack research. Research and then design some titles that will create brand identity. Include pie charts to support your questionairre. Evidence your initial storyboard. Deadline for Friday - that way you can film some footage over half-term. Well done.

Planning: Influneces of directors and actors

 Actors

Patrick Joseph Wilson starred in Insidious and The Conjuring two massive successes in the genre. Although having actors that feature in other successful films will draw in a target audience, with most horror films famous actors are not main selling points (unlike action films). This works to our advantage as obviously we can’t use famous faces as a selling point.





 






Directors
James Wan is a director known for his successful series of horror films, he may have received a minor fan base for his recent films, but again the rule above applies. Unlike other genres horror doesn’t tend to rely on big glamorous directors to attract attention.

Planning: Moodboard

 

Picture:

1- Represents our antagonist when she was younger, this picture represents the creepy, slightly haunting feel that we want to create around the background of the character ‘Martha’. The General appearance connotes innocence however this is contradicted by the cruel dark expression on her face.

2&3- This shows the character after she comes from the asylum both the images represent the unstable troubled air around the character, her appearance and facial expressions show that she is detached from reality.

4&7- Is the outfit of the antagonist, which is going to be a hospital like gown thing connoting that she has lost her mind, this image links with horror films.

5- Shows our typical and unsuspecting teens that represent our main characters.

6- Represents the typical setting of a teen horror, a house in the middle of nowhere, this picture gives the feeling of foreboding that we want our setting to have. These settings are associated with the genre.

8- This is supposed to give off the same effect as the first picture, starting a feeling of foreboding as the family appear unnatural.

9&11- Represent the weapons and forms of murder and how the victims are threatened this is designed to scare the audience as the objects are every day and easily assessable making them feel unsafe. The scissors appear scarier as they are a very mundane object.

10- The completely black eyes represent appear uncaring and cruel, this gives the character a scary flair as it implies that she has no mercy or remorse.  

Planning: Narrative

Narrative planning for our trailer:

After researching patterns in narrative of other films within the horror genre we have made our trailer fit Todorov’s and Propp’s theories in the following ways.

Todorov’s:

Equilibrium: Will be shown at the beginning by light, slow paced shots showing happy expressions on the teens faces, accompanied by lighter music connoting equilibrium and peace.
Disruption of the equilibrium: The news report telling the audience that the girl has gone missing, here the happy music ends and darker music signifies that ignorance of the teens.
Recognition of the disruption: Is marked as the teens start to get wary of their surrounding and things start to go wrong.
Attempts to restore: is presents as the group of friends try to get away from the killer and fight her off.
Reinstatement of the equilibrium: is not evident.

Propp’s:

Our trailer ideas don’t really fit to Propp’s theory as although we have a clear villain we don’t have a clear hero, donor, helper or princess. It is quite common for horror films to deviate from this theory as it is important for the films to be unpredictable to a certain degree.

Planning: Questionnaire analysis

 

When we collated answers to our questionnaire from 20 people there was a clear pattern through the answers.
On almost all the questions there was a majority vote.

1. (Which horror sub-genre do you enjoy the most?)
Most people opted for Supernatural horror as their favourite sub-genre of horror. These are films such as paranormal activity and insidious. This works well for us as we have chosen supernatural horror for our film, I think our decision was partly based on the fact that films such as paranormal activity and insidious are the ones most talked about at school by our target audience. Therefore it made sense for us to do a similar film.
To justify our findings, during research we found list of what people thought
the top ten scariest horror films are.
Out of the 10, 9 of them were supernatural horrors, or of a supernatural agenda. Most of them involved a single antagonist who works alone and is seeking revenge of some sort.

2. (Do you prefer there to be a single antagonist (killer) or more than one?)
Most people preferred just one antagonist. As mentioned above most of the top ten horror films had a single antagonist. When working alone killers appear more intelligent and more of a threat. Most of the antagonists of supernatural horror films are motivated by hatred. Therefore for most storylines more than 1 killer wouldn't have the desired effect.
Supernatural antagonists appear stronger and scarier due to their unfamiliar powers. This makes the victim looks more vulnerable and hopeless, making the storyline more exciting.

3. (Do you think there should be a deaths shown in the trailer?)
Most people thought there should be a death in the trailer as it establishes the style of the film. Horror films are fast paced and it is important we reflect this in our trailer. At the start of our trailer we are going to use editing, mise-en-scene, camera angles and music to build up tension, before the climax of the trailer.

4. (What components of horror films do you find most effective?)
Most people said editing. I think this is because if a film lack continuity and realism it isn't scary. Therefore it is important to make the camera shots flow and make any special effects look as real as possible otherwise the film won’t be believable. We must make sure that our editing reflects the conventions of the genre, being fasted paced and jumpy.

5. (How many horror films do you watch a month?)
Most people watch horror films 1-2 times a month this tells us they are likely to be more of a occasional thing. Many horror films such as scream, are based around getting reactions from audience, therefore they are aimed at groups of people.

6. (Do you think audiences should be introduced to the characters in the trailer?)
Most people thought you should get to know the characters a bit in the trailer so the audience has a more personal connection to the film and are more likely to go and see it.

7. (What is your favourite features/styles of horror films?)
The option chosen the most was paranormal which is what we predicted however we thought there would be more of an even spread as all these features are essential to make a successful horror film. However we will take this into account and make sure we take care in making our trailer include paranormal effects that are effective and realistic.

8. (Do you think the identity of the antagonist (killer) should be revealed to the audience in the trailer?)
The answers we got for this question were very varied. All the people asked thought there should be a death but maybe just tease the identity of the killer. Some films like paranormal activity work off mystery in not knowing the identity. However other films such as Insidious use the identity and information about their killer to attract attention.