Filming plan

We are preparing our title sequence this afternoon and planning to film the title sequence next wednesday afternoon during enrichment.

AS Foundation Portfolio: Reflective Evaluation - Peter Richardson

Question 1:

I have chosen the images below as I think they clearly tie in with the psychological genre we have chosen to do for our own film, and have inspired some of the things we have done.

This is the logo from the Psychological horror 'Silent Hill'. It has a black background, which is an existing convention in horror films. It could show death as black is usually a colour resembled with the dead. The writing has a red tint around the edges which could be seen as blood which is always a theme in horror films as well.

These are the titles from 'Se7en'. The background is old, rusted and decaying. It's covered with weird words such as 'envy', 'lust' and 'sloth' which relate to the psychological genre.

This is an image from an existing sub-genre. The person in the background is a ghost that only the boy can see. This relates to the psychological theme as it's not a physical threat thats shown.

This is an image from '1408'. The cracks in the wall are seen as scary as they aren't usually there, and therefore make the audience wonder why they are there. It's mysterious and psychological horror.

Mise-en-scene from 'Silent Hill'. The costume and props are very important to the film and this character in particular. The gun and torch being held are the only thing she has to protect her

Four key images from '1408'.

 

Question 2:

Representations are how the audience see certain types of people in the media. By looking at other films from the psychological genre we can see and understand the different representations an stereotypes and see how we can relate them to our film. as well as get ideas and use them in our own film.

In this clip in the female character was vulnerable. She is getting chased by a male demon character which is stereotypical of horror films as female characters are often the victim. Later in the clip the lights all go out and she only has a torch which relates to our film as our character is also alone in the dark.

In this trailer for Paranormal activity 2, the main victims are the dog and child. The audience will see the child as innocent and more vulnerable, and so they will hit the audience harder.


Question 3:

Distribution is getting your film out there and seen. You can promote your film in many different ways such as: posters and trailers.

We could distribute our film by making posters and trailers.
There are Independent production companies such as: Hammer and Fantastic Films, and Major Production companies like: Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures.

Hammer Film Productions (Independent):

Hammer have produced some big horror films such as; Let Me In, The Women In Black and The Curse of Frankenstein. They have also made some psychological horrors, which the genre of film we are creating. Hammer Films is a films company based in the UK, and was founded in 1934.

This is an image from the film Let Me In. It relates to our film as there is a light outside the window and the character looks unsure of what's going on.

This is the trailer for Let Me In. The film revolves around two children and this is seen in the trailer. This attracts the audience as children are seen as innocent, however are featured in horror films as the complete opposite. This draws the audience in and makes them want to see the film.

This is the poster for Let Me In. It focuses on the little girl in the center, because children are seen as innocent and so relates to psychological genre. It has the slogan: "Innocence Dies. Abby Doesn't". This draws the audience in as it makes them wonder what this means and how the girl is involved. The redness in the background surrounding her could symbolize death, as it is the colour of blood.


Lionsgate (Major Media Distributor):


Lionsgate is an entertainment industry based in North America now, however originally formed in Vancouver in 1997. It is the most commercially successful independent film and television company in America. It has produced some massive horror films such as; Saw and Open Water.

This is the logo for Lionsgate. It's red background relates and is a common horror theme as the redness often symbolises blood and death.

This is an image from Saw. It relates to our horror film as, what looks to be an ordinary guy, is trapped and unsure what's going on and how he got there. It draws the audience in as it makes them wonder how he got into this situation.

This is the trailer to Saw. It attracts the audience as it shows some of the victims in the traps. It makes the audience wonder what's happening to them, and so they want to watch the film to find out.

This is a video of a film festival that is local to us. This is one way in which we could get our film out there and seen by others.

This is a print screen of a previous media groups work on youtube. You can see that it has over 400 views. We could use this method and also put our work on youtube to get it seen by others. This method is seen to be quite effective.


Question 4 & 5: 


The audience for our media product is teenagers and young adults from 15+. This is because it's a psychological horror film. It's aimed more at males because stereotypically men like horror films more than women.
Below are the user ratings off imdb.com for 5 Psychological horror films which we researched to find out who the target audience was.


Silent Hill:

From the user ratings off imdb.com for Silent Hill I can see that the target audience is males aged between 18-29, as they have voted the most out of any age group.

Paranormal Activity:

The user ratings for Paranormal Activity suggest that males aged 18-29 are the target audience for this film, as they have voted the most and have a total of 70,389 compared to women who have a total of only 13,320.

Sixth Sense:

From the user ratings on the Sixth Sense I can see that the target audience for this film is males aged 18-29,  again. This is shown by the number of user ratings, which is 115,800.

Jacobs Ladder:

The user ratings for Jacob's Ladder show that males aged 18-29 are the target audience for this film, as they clearly have the most votes with 12,677, whereas females aged 18-29 have only 1,578. This proves that males are often the target audience for horror films as they watch them the most.

1408:

The target audience for 1408, once again, is males aged 18-29. This is shown by the amount of votes. Which is significantly higher than females aged 18-29 with only 8,936 compared to the males 48,329.

From the user ratings we can see that the target audience for Psychological horror films is usually males. I did not find any horror films where the female voters came out on top. The target audience for these films are always males aged 18-29, however it's not always them who give the highest rating. As we can see, it is often the male and female group under the age of 18 that actually rate the films the highest. These are the reasons our film is targeted at male teenagers, as they often vote and rate the highest.

Question 5:

1: We planned on using things that related to the target audience, so that they could relate to it more.

2: We targeted a particular age and gender by doing research into other psychological horrors, and looking at there user ratings on imdb.com. We found that the males aged 18-29 voted the most, and males under the age of 18 gave the highest rating which is why we targeted males 15+ and gave our film a 15 certificate.

3: Our film was set in the house of the teenage character who is watching a film on the TV. This engages the target audience as watching films is a thing all teenagers do at home, and so they can relate to it easily and imagine it happening to them.

4: The threat of our film was a teenage male. We picked him as our target audience can relate to him which will engage the audience.

5: The title sequence engages he audience as it is set in the photography dark room. This creates a mysterious atmosphere and makes the audience wonder what is happening and who the photos are of. At the end of the titles, the pictures of the main character becoming possessed flash up one after the other. This also makes the audience wonder how he becomes possessed and what is going to happen to him, and so engages the audience and makes them want to find out what is going to happen next.

6: The music creates atmosphere, and goes along with what is happening on screen to engage the audience and make it more dramatic. It follows what the character is doing, for example after the character notices the light he walks outside and when he steps out the door he stops for a second and so does the music. This creates suspense, and makes the audience think something is going to happen, engaging the audience.

Sound inspiration for our horror

Non- Diegetic Sounds- 

• Creaking
• Wind
• Noise from 'the light'
• Background/theme music

Diegetic Sounds

• Creaking
• Wind
• Noise from 'the light'
• Footsteps
• TV
• Door open/close
• Blinds opening
• Stones

The instuments being used in the 28 days later soundtrack are;

- electric guitar

- acustic guitar

- keyboard

- synthesiser

- drums

Sound Idead For

When we are going to film our title.

We are planning on filming the first parts of of our title sequence next wednesday during enrichment which is the only time we have been allocated by the photography department. We are going to film the man developing the photographs etc. All we need to take is a camera.

Considerations for Lighting

Considerations for Lighting

In this picture, we positioned the lights at 45 degree angles and used the backlight to add a little more colour to the character form the front. 

In this picture, we are not using the backlight, just the key light and the 

The pictures above show light coming from a hidden area, which is what we want to do in our film. In this picture the hidden area is under the table

The pictures above show light coming through a gap which is also what we want to create in our film. 

Marking Previous Students Work- Laurence Williamson

Previous Students Work- PSYCHOLOICAL 1

Does it look like a horror film?
Sort of, the music gives the idea that it is a horror but at first it doesn't really seem like one until he is running through the forest. 

Does it have a range of shots?
There are a range of shots used;
- Many close ups to begin with of key things
- Over the shoulder shot of actor looking in the mirror
- long shot to show the location change
- Close up of emotion and reactions shown by actor


Is it well framed?
It is very well framed as they have followed the 180 degree rule and the rule of thirds etc. 




Does it flow? Does it break continuity?
It flows nicely as I didn't notice any very jumpy bits which is good. 


Does it have well used mise-en-scene?
There aren't really any props used in the film, apart from the mirror and that is about it. 
Has the sounds been used to create fear?
- There is some very eerie and scary music at the beginning of the film, sounds of children laughing and twinkly music, these two put together definitely create fear!

Amended Recee for Horror Film

Here is Our amended Recee for our horror film. In our pitch we said we were originally going to use just a room and then the 'light' would appear through the curtains of the windows in that room. Now we have chosen the 'light' to be in a hidden but partially visible area which the actor then goes to discover to add a more scary aspect to the film. 

               The Window from the outside                        The Window from the inside

                                                   The gap behind garage                                                                                                              

                                             from which the light will appear

Recee Number: 1

Location Address: 7 Holden Gardens, Stapleford, Nottingham

What is the location: A house in Stapleford

What would you film here: The actual film

Public Usage: None

How well lit is the site?

Fairly well lit

Where does the light come from?

 security lights on the house and lights inside the house

Will you require extra lighting?

 Yes

How will you white balance the camera?

By using a white sheet of paper in every area we film in

Are there any background sounds?

Possibly sound of traffic 

Are these natural or man-made?

 Man-Made

Will these affect the shoot?

Shouldn't do

Electrical (power lines etc):

There are no electrical hazards

Trip hazards: Stones?

Fire hazards: Extra lighting

Machinery: None

Potential for street crime: None

Site Evaluation: go through the following points and give each of the criteria a mark out of

10 (10 being the best)

Suitability: How suitable is the location to your shoot?

       7/10

Public Usage: Will the area be used by the public? Could this be a nuisance?

       0/10

Power supply: Is there a power supply? What will you do if batteries fail?

      10 /10

Space to Move: Is there enough room to fit in the actors, crew and camera?

       9/10

Lighting: Is the site dark? Will you require extra lighting?

       9/10

Sound and Noise: Will any background noises affect the shoot?

      5 /10

Health and Safety: IMPORTANT ! How safe is the site?  

       9/10

PSYCHOLOGICAL 2- Rachael Biggs

Does it look like a horror film?
This has the makings of a horror film, the idea is good but the camera work lets the horror film down.

Does it have a range of shots?
The shots used are;
- Long shot when walking in
- Over the shoulder shot of pendent
- long shot to show the location and other character.
- Close up of emotion and pendent.
- A focus on character behind then a transitions which makes the background blury and the key objext in focus.
- Paning when he runs.

Is it well framed?
The people have used the rule of thirds. In some shots but not all of them.

Does it flow? Does it break continuity?
In this video the camera work lets them down, some scenes run but they break the 180 degree rule..
(0.46) they jump from one side of his to the toal oposite they jump past the 180 mark. The camera needed to be places on a tripod in some shots as the shots are jumpy. Also on shot (2.19) when he falls they break the 180 degree rule and it messes with the audience.

Does it have well used mise-en-scene?
The props used are;
- The prob is the main componant of the story and is used well through out the shots, and they are no contiunity editing such as changing hands.

Has the sounds been used to create fear?
- There is a wind sounds to show that someone is there and there is russling of branches. They use a action sound when the character is being chased.

Script and recee (dark room) for the exposure

The exposure

TILE SEQUENCE

     NO MUSIC BEING PLAYED begins as we fade into a series of shots.

-   A man STANDING, in his room looking through processed IMAGES, a LONG SHOT is used and then the camera goes up on a CLOSE UP to see the different IMAGES up close, so the audience can see them. To show that he is looking at the images an over the shoulder shot is used and a point of view shot. The IMAGES have related to the opening title sequence.

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INT. MANS HOUSE- NIGHT.


- MALE ACTOR sat in room watching TV and notices a strange NOISE and some sort of LIGHT

-   the MALE ACTOR hears the NOISE and looks around. To show emotion use CLOSE UPS. LOOKS out window  and notices the LIGHT coming from OUTSIDE

-   The MALE ACTOR starts to WALK towards the DOOR and towards front door to go OUTSIDE . PAN the shot.

-   The MALE ACTOR opens the doors, use a CLOSE UP on the door to show he’s going through it. The NOISE is carrying on through this shot.

-       The MALE ACTOR has walked through the door and notices the LIGHT getting stronger. A CLOSE UP is needed of his face and reaction.

Male character (MATT BIDDULPH)

-shocked face as he notices the light.

-   The MALE ACTOR walks TOWARDS the light , to do this we are using a PANNING SHOT.

-   The MALE ACTOR approaches the garage which then reveals the LIGHT which he finds painful to look at and he GRABS his face in pain. 


- Shadow/Figure is shown with camera flashes (being the man in the title sequence developing those pictures)

-   EDITING in a white light that fades.








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Storyboard Sheets

Reece of the photography location.