Initial Ideas: Our horror film begins with a teenage girl walking through the village with her friend. However, she does not know that she is being followed by a mysterious figure. The village is busy so our victim has no idea she is being followed. As the victim and her friend approach the woods, our victim decides to take a short cut through the woods as it is a cold night and she wants to get home quicker. Despite her friend advising her not to take the short cut she goes ahead and takes it anyway. As she walks further down the path she begins to get the impression someone is following her. She keeps glancing round to see if anyone is there but she cannot see anyone.
We have two main ideas as to how our opening two minutes should end. Our first idea is that the girl is murdered in the woods and our second idea is that she is followed all the way home and her and her house is being watched by the villain. We are still not entirely sure which ending to go for but we are going to film both scenarios and see which we prefer.
A Boyfriend and Girlfriend are walking home through the woods. The Girlfriend breaks up with boyfriend and he gets really angry. He forces her against the tree. The force is so hard she starts choking and blood starts spewing from her mouth. She is lying on the floor when two girls walk past. They notice her covered in blood but run off and leave her as they are too shocked to do anything. They don not even call for help, they just leave her. The boyfriend then realises she is dead and tries to wipe away the blood with a rag and drag her body under a bush so no one finds her. The two girls walk back to their houses but what they don't notice is that the 'dead' girl is not actually dead, she is watching them both. She appears in different places as they walk home.
Friday, 14 February 2014
Institution Research- 20th Century Fox
20th Century fox was founded on May 31st, 1935 due to the merge of 'Fox Films', founded in 1915, and '20th Century Pictures, Inc, founded in 1933. 20th Century Fox has mainly created family family and comedy genres. Examples of these are Dr. Dolittle, Dr Dolittle 2, Big Momma's House, Big Momma's House 2, Ice Age, Ice Age: The Meltdown, Cheaper by the Dozen, Cheaper by the Dozen 2, Garfield: The Movie, Night at the Museum, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Marley and Me and Aliens in the attic. Some of the films they have created are drama/thrillers but the majority of them are non- scary. Despite the fact that some of the most successful films were created by 20th century fox, such as Avatar and Star wars, we have decided that it is not the most suitable institution to use for our film. We have decided that 20th Century Fox is not the most suitable institution because the genre of our film is a horror. As our film is a horror we have decided to use an institution that has focused more on the horror genre. Despite this, 20th Century Fox has created some horror films, such as Wrong Turn 2, Shutter, taken 2 and Devil's due, which has only recently come out in cinemas. However, we still believe that we should use another institution which focuses more on the horror genre.
Instituions- Warner Brothers
Institution Research- Warner Brothers
Warner Brothers have created a variety of different films in different genres such as comedy, action, horror, romance, adventure and fantasy. Examples of the films they have produced are, Valentines Day, Clash of the Titans, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Sex and the City 2, Inception, Crazy, Stupid, Love, Final Destination 5, Happy Feet 2, New year's eve, The Hobbit: An unexpected journey, The Great Gatsby, and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. They are very dedicated in producing a variety of films in different genres. The fact that they create a variety of different genre films show us that Warner Brothers is a potential institution we will use for our film. Some of the successful horror films Warner Brothers have created are Orphan, Sweeney Todd and Friday the 13th. This shows us that they are successful in creating horror films so, therefore, it would be a good institution to use for our horror film.
Warner Brothers have created a variety of different films in different genres such as comedy, action, horror, romance, adventure and fantasy. Examples of the films they have produced are, Valentines Day, Clash of the Titans, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Sex and the City 2, Inception, Crazy, Stupid, Love, Final Destination 5, Happy Feet 2, New year's eve, The Hobbit: An unexpected journey, The Great Gatsby, and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. They are very dedicated in producing a variety of films in different genres. The fact that they create a variety of different genre films show us that Warner Brothers is a potential institution we will use for our film. Some of the successful horror films Warner Brothers have created are Orphan, Sweeney Todd and Friday the 13th. This shows us that they are successful in creating horror films so, therefore, it would be a good institution to use for our horror film.
Institution Research- Universal
Universal Pictures was founded in 1912 but Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley and Jules Brulatour. It is the oldest movie studio in the United States of America and it is also the fourth oldest in the world that is still in a continuous production. Some of the films created by Universal Pictures are Despicable Me, Kick-Ass, Charlie St. Cloud, Bridesmaids, Johnny English Reborn, Despicable Me 2, Kick-Ass 2, Mr Bean's Holiday, Sydney White and The Holiday. Universal Pictures prefer to focus on the Drama, Adventure and Romance genres. Universal have however created some well-known horror films such as The Strangers, Drag me up to hell, Mama and The Purge. Despite this, it is clear that horror isn't their strong point as they prefer to focus on the Romance, Drama and Adventure genres. This means that we do not think Universal is the best institution to use because they have not had that much experience with horror films and as our genre is a horror we think it would be best to use an institution which has had a lot of experience with the horror genre.
Institutions- lionsgate
Lionsgate is the largest and most successful mini-major film studio in North America. It has distributed various commercially successful films including The Twilight Saga (partially), The Hunger Games, Saw and The Expendables. Lionsgate have created films that are mostly the Drama, Action, horror and Thriller genre. Lionsgate have created quite a few horror films, some being very successful and some being not as successful. Some of the horror films they have created are, Saw 3D, Saw 1-6, The Punisher, Alone in the Dark, House of 1000 Corpses, Undead, The Devil's Rejects, Hostel, The Haunting in Connecticut, The Cabin in the Woods, The Possession, Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, Texas Chainsaw 3D, You're Next, The last Exorcism, My Bloody Valentine and The Eye. As Lionsgate have created quite a few horror films we believe that it will be a good institution to use because the genre of our film horror.
Mood Board
We used all these different pictures in our mood board as they relate to our film in a number of different ways. We used the picture of the two girls laughing because in our film we will have two girls as the main characters. They will walk into the woods looking very happy which is effective because it shows the audience that they have no idea what is about to happen to them. So this picture will represent the two girls walking into the woods acting very happen and nothing is wrong.
We used various pictures of knives to represent the weapon that will be used in our film. During the film scenes of a knife in the murderers hand will be shown. As we haven't completed filming yet we do not yet know whether the knife should have blood on it or not. So we included both pictures, one with a knife and one without a knife, to show what the two possible weapons will be like.
We included pictures of a screaming girls. This will represent the two main characters just before they are attacked. We chose different types of screams. One picture shows a girl screaming very loudly as her mouth is wide open whereas another picture looks like the girl is screaming but not as much and she looks more scared. We decided to use the two different pictures because our film will include the victims screaming but their screams may be different. For example when the victims first come across the murderer they will scream very loudly because it was so unexpected. However, once the victim knows she is going to die her screams will just turn into just purely being scared rather than shocked and scared at the same time.
We used different pictures of dark woods to represent the setting of our film. The film will be set in woods however they will not be dark woods. This is down to the fact that it gets dark very early and due to other commitments it made it hard to film just before it gets dark. So because of this we have decided to film in the light, however we will edit the film to make it look darker. So the pictures we have included will hopefully be what our wooded setting will look like once all the editing is completed.
We included a high angled picture shot and a low angled pictured shot. This is because in our film we will be using various high angle and low angle shots. We will be using the high angle shots on the victim to show her as vulnerable and weak and we will be using low angle shots of the murderer to portray him as powerful and in control.
We also included a picture of a birds eye view shot. We will also be using this particular shot type throughout our film. We will be using this shot to show the girls walking through the trees which will hopefully create a tense and scary atmosphere for the audience.
We used pictures of dark figures. We used these pictures because in our film we will have a murderer who is hiding in the trees waiting to murder the young girls. So these pictures will represent what the murderer will be like in our film- mysterious and sneaky.
Online Tutorials- Speeding up, slowing down and reversing clips
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV0gxcV5Stk
This was a tutorial about how to speed up, slow down and reverse your video clips on Premiere Elements 10. This online tutorial was helpful in a number of ways. Firstly, we now know how to speed up the pace of our film. This is helpful because in our film we have a girl running. If we could change the speed of her running it will be quite effective. This means when we come to edit our film we will easily be able to change the speed of her running because this tutorial showed us how to. This will therefore reduce our editing time which means we won't have to spend as much time editing certain parts of our film. Also it means we will be able to edit relatively easily because we know what we are doing so we don't need to spend as long editing with it. This online tutorial also showed us how to slow down the speed of our film. This was also helpful because it means we can have different speeds in our film which could make it more interesting for the audience. However, when the tutorial showed us how to reverse the clip it wasn't very useful. This is because we won't be reversing anything in our film. But despite this it was still extremely useful because it has widened our knowledge of editing and will enable us to edit relatively easily.
This was a tutorial about how to speed up, slow down and reverse your video clips on Premiere Elements 10. This online tutorial was helpful in a number of ways. Firstly, we now know how to speed up the pace of our film. This is helpful because in our film we have a girl running. If we could change the speed of her running it will be quite effective. This means when we come to edit our film we will easily be able to change the speed of her running because this tutorial showed us how to. This will therefore reduce our editing time which means we won't have to spend as much time editing certain parts of our film. Also it means we will be able to edit relatively easily because we know what we are doing so we don't need to spend as long editing with it. This online tutorial also showed us how to slow down the speed of our film. This was also helpful because it means we can have different speeds in our film which could make it more interesting for the audience. However, when the tutorial showed us how to reverse the clip it wasn't very useful. This is because we won't be reversing anything in our film. But despite this it was still extremely useful because it has widened our knowledge of editing and will enable us to edit relatively easily.
Documenting on infulences of production.
There were many reasons which influenced us to make the decision to choose horror as the genre for our film. Firstly, Abbie and I both enjoy watching horror films and so do many of our friends. Due to the fact we both have a keen interest in horror films it influenced us to choose horror as the genre for our film. Also because we often watch horror films we thought it would be fun to try and create some scary scenes just like the horror films we watch. At first we weren't entirely sure that we would be able to do a horror film because it seemed quite hard to create a scary atmosphere. However, after distributing a questionnaire around we had written, the results showed that the majority of the people wanted us to do a horror film. This influenced us to stick by our idea of the genre being horror. After watching more scenes from horror films we came across some extremely scary scenes. We then decided to use the ideas from the horror films we watched and use them in our film. We were influenced to use ideas from the horror films because they were really effective, especially with the scary music that went alongside the scene. So hopefully if we get some ideas from horror films we have watched then it will ensure that our horror film opening will also be scary but also effective for the audience.
Anamatic Story Board.
This is page 1 of our animatic story board. It is very hard to see, however we have carefully planned out what we are going to be filming, shot types and how long the shot will last for. The first box shows the Warner brothers logo. We will be using this as our institution. The shot of this will last for 8 seconds. The next box is showing a screen of writing which says '13 years ago today a young girl went missing in these woods and hasn't been found since'. This shot will last for 7 seconds. While this is being shown there will be slow, sinister music playing in the background. After this, the next box illustrates two girls walking through the woods. We decided to use a long shot for this shot to show them in their surrounding which makes sure that the audience know exactly where they are. This shot will last 7 seconds. The box after this shows the back of the two girls. This is a mid, over the shoulder shot of the girls walking away from the camera. This lasts for 5 seconds.
So, on the first page of our animatic storyboard all that is being illustrated is the girls making their way through the woods.
Page 2 of our storyboard illustrates the girls beginning to hear things in the woods. The first box shows the girls walking and in the background a black figure is standing in the distance. This is shown through the use of a long shot. We decided to show this shot for around 10 seconds so the audience will fully be able to see the dark figure. The second box shows a close up of the girls. The have stopped walking as they think they have heard something. This shot will last around 7 seconds because we want to be able to get in enough dialogue to allow the audience to know whats happening. The third box shows a long shot of the pathway. The camera will act as if it is the girls eyes looking to see if anything is there. This shot will last for around 6 seconds. The fourth box shows another close up of the girls faces. They are still looking to see if anything is there but instead of looking from their point of view we are shown a close up of their faces to see their facial expressions. This shot will last for around 6 seconds. The fifth box illustrates a long shot with the girls walking away from the camera as they think they were just imagining they heard something. This shot will last for around 7 seconds.
Page 3 of our storyboard illustrates one of the girls disappearing. It also first introduces us to the villain. The first box shows a mid shot of the girls through the trees. The camera is the murderer at this point. This means we are seeing the scene from the murderers point of view. This shot will last for around 5 seconds. The second box shows a close up of one of the girls. She is looking directly into the camera because she thinks she can hear something. At this point the camera is not the murderer because the girls are not yet supposed to come across the murderer just yet. This shot will last for around 7 seconds. The third box shows a long shot of the girl looking into the trees, as she was in the box before, but instead of seeing her facial expression, we just see her whole body from behind. In the same box/scene she also turns around but then realises her friend is not there. This shot will last for around 7 seconds. The fourth box shows a high angle shot/birds eye view of the girl frantically looking for her friend as now she is very scared because she thinks she is completely alone. This shot will last for around 6 seconds. The fifth box illustrates a close up side view of the girl. In the background of this we see a dark figure walk past- the murderer. This shot will last for around 7 seconds.
Page four of our storyboard illustrates when the victim comes across the villain for the first time. Box one shows a close up of the girl. She is still looking for her friend but doesn't seem to be having any luck. In this shot we will be adding in a sound effect of a twig breaking. The twig breaking will signify the murderer moving toward the victim. The next box shows the girl slowly turn around. The shot will start off as an over-the-shoulder shot but then will turn into a close up of her face. This shot will last for around 5 seconds. The next box shows a long shot of what the audience expected to be the villain whereas in fact it is the girls friend. She is covered in blood and has been possessed. This clip will last for around 5 seconds. The next shot is a close up of the girls face. She lets out a terrifying scream. This shot will last for 4 seconds. The last shot we are shown is the image of the title flash up on the screen. There will be a blast of loud, sinister music to accompany the title 'The unexpected'.
We did not include any dialogue in our storyboard because at that point we were not completely certain on what dialogue we were going to have in our film. We knew what sound effects we wanted but we did not know what we should have our characters say. Due to the fact we did not include dialogue it meant that we had to make it up when we were filming because we did not have a definite script. At the time we thought this wouldn't be a problem but when it came to editing we realised it was a big problem. It was a problem because we made everything up so it didn't make sense. So, when it came to writing a script we were not able to do so. This meant we had to re-record our characters speaking and put them in over the top of the other speaking.
Characters Interviews
We interviewed Georgia Leslie, and myself and we were asked some general questions. We didnt plan the interviews so that it made it more realistic and not seem scripted so that we get the true answers. As i was interviewed i found it quite hard to find things to say mainly because im quite shy so it didnt look very effective. We tried to make the interviews as helpful as we could to why we would play good victims and tried to ask different questions for each person so it didnt seem like you would be watching the same interview. I wanted to ask some more people people before we were going to plan our film to show that we had thought about different people to play the parts, however we ended up focusing on other blogs and completley forgot.
poblems we encounted
We have encountered various different problems in the process of editing our film. The first problem we came across was the fact we didn't have a set script. This was a problem for us because it meant that we could not write up a script for our film as it wouldn't of made sense as we told myself and Georgia to to have general 'chit chat' which didnt really have any relevance in our film whatsoever. Originally when we were filming we didn't think we would need a set script as we thought we could just make it up and just write the script afterwards. However, when it came to editing our film we realised that none of what the actors were saying linked together so the script would not make sense. To overcome this problem we decided to cut out all of the talking in our film so that we have no dialogue and then rerecord our actors speaking from a script that we would have produced. This therefore means that we will be able to have a script that makes sense and it will also mean that the dialogue in our film will make sense because it will all link together.
Another problem we have encountered is that our film was 42 seconds over 2 minutes. This was clearly a big problem because our film has to be 2 minutes. This means that we needed to cut out 42 seconds worth of filming time. Luckily we were able to cut out that 42 extra seconds by cutting out unnecessary scenes from our film. This therefore means that we will now be able to have our film lasting for 2 minutes.
We also found that when we went to film, we didnt end up following our story board and therefore didnt use a varitey of shots that we said we would use, so we ended up with a lot of medium shots and a lot of scences with just us walking. This wasnt very succesful as they dont really look as good as the could in our 'horror' film, as we needed alot more close ups. Another reason for our film not being as good as we would of liked it to be is due to the fact of other commitments meaning we were unable to spend as much time filming as we would of like to, we felt it was a bit rushed and not properly thought through. We should of checked our film through out the time we were in woods but the battery kept going low so we had to turn it on and off straight away which was annoying.
Another problem we have encountered is that our film was 42 seconds over 2 minutes. This was clearly a big problem because our film has to be 2 minutes. This means that we needed to cut out 42 seconds worth of filming time. Luckily we were able to cut out that 42 extra seconds by cutting out unnecessary scenes from our film. This therefore means that we will now be able to have our film lasting for 2 minutes.
We also found that when we went to film, we didnt end up following our story board and therefore didnt use a varitey of shots that we said we would use, so we ended up with a lot of medium shots and a lot of scences with just us walking. This wasnt very succesful as they dont really look as good as the could in our 'horror' film, as we needed alot more close ups. Another reason for our film not being as good as we would of liked it to be is due to the fact of other commitments meaning we were unable to spend as much time filming as we would of like to, we felt it was a bit rushed and not properly thought through. We should of checked our film through out the time we were in woods but the battery kept going low so we had to turn it on and off straight away which was annoying.
Tuesday, 11 February 2014
List Of Shot Types Used In Our Film
We decided to use a low angle shot of the two girl victims through a tree, as it shows the audience that at this moment the girls are in control of the situation and are not portrayed as being vulnerable or weak, however it could also be used to create a sense of them being watched as the murderer could be tucked behind that tree under the bridge. As the Girls have walked past the bridge they enter the woods which we show the audience by using an establishing/ long shot of the path the girls are about to walk down, the reason for this use of shot type is so that it reassures the audience of the setting so they don't get confused as we have just shown the setting to be placed outside of the woods and it wouldn't make sense for the girls to just suddenly be in the woods. The long shot also shows a tiny black figure standing at the end of the path so it builds up tension as the audience don't know what it is, or why it is there. A two shot is then used of the two girls from behind so they are shown walking from somewhere and not just randomly in the middle of the path. The fact we film them from behind indicates they are beginning to become more vulnerable as their backs are turned. As they carry on walking we film them using a full body shot going into mid shot so that we can see their body language when they claim to "hear a noise" so that it makes it more effective so the audience can see they look worried and confused so they believe something isn't right. To show that they are worried we use a side shot of both characters to show they have looked around and that they are starting to panic, it also then shows a long shot of them walking even more into the woods, building up tension again as the audience know something is in there with them.
The girls carry on walking into the woods using a full body shot of them again to show that one of their laces have come undone and they both stop, the reason for us doing that is to emphasise the fact they have stopped so something is likely to happen or they are to see something. We then change the shot to a close up of her shoe lace being undone, once again showing the audience they are being delayed meaning more time for the murderer to approach. The next shot is a two shot again showing the girl doing up her shoe lace and her friend bending down to have a look, the reason for this is to state the fact that the girls are now both focusing on the shoe lace and not on what might be going on around them.
A close up is then used too see the girls face when she is told her scarf that was around he neck has been placed on a tree in front of her, and then the camera takes its focus off of her and zooms into another close up of the scarf to emphasise on the fact someone has put it there to draw their attention to it. The shot type used next is an over the shoulder shot to show that the other girl is still there but the focus is on the other victim and the scarf, the reason for this shot type is to show all three things in one shot so we know what both girls are looking at. The long shot used next is used to be the murderer and what they can see from their point of view, this is effective as it shows the audience that someone is watching the girls and indicates they are planning on doing something, it also shows the audience that the murderers plan has worked to get them to stop so that he can maybe have closer look on how they are going to plan their attack.
The use of a mid shot is shown of one of the girls on her phone to show that she isn't playing much attention as to what is going on in the background as the black figure walks past, showing that she is unaware as she believes her friend had only gone to get her scarf. A close up of the side of the girl on the phones face is used to express the look on her face when she looks up as if she had heard the figure, but as she looks up nothing is there which we show using a long shot of the path, this is effective as it makes the audience want to tell the girls that something was just there so it makes them want to see if the girl ever see the figure. Straight after a mid shot of the same girl is used showing her facial expressions that she has seen something go in to the bush and this shot helps to show her body language and the fact she had frozen after seeing it.
A long shot going into a close up is used of the girl who went to get her scarf walking towards the camera to show she now has her scarf and that when we see the close up we can tell she hasn't noticed anything suspicious as she is smiling. The two shot of both characters is used again to show they are back with each other. We then film them from behind so that we can see the girl who saw h figure look back to check that nothing is there and to show the audience there isn't we track the bushes as they are walking. The long shot that is taken next shows one of the girls looking into the bush when they see something moving, the reason as to why we did this shot was to make it look like the murderer was in the bush and to get the audiences attention on that fact and not the fact the other girl continues waking with her head down.
After writing this out, believe that me and Rachel could of used more of a variety of shot types as we seemed to of done a lot of long and mid shots, when typically in horror films close ups are normally used instead. We did have different ideas in our heads but when we got there and filmed we forgot and didn't stick to the story board as we changed our idea last minute again. We also found it to be quite rushed as I had other commitments with training to do that evening.
The girls carry on walking into the woods using a full body shot of them again to show that one of their laces have come undone and they both stop, the reason for us doing that is to emphasise the fact they have stopped so something is likely to happen or they are to see something. We then change the shot to a close up of her shoe lace being undone, once again showing the audience they are being delayed meaning more time for the murderer to approach. The next shot is a two shot again showing the girl doing up her shoe lace and her friend bending down to have a look, the reason for this is to state the fact that the girls are now both focusing on the shoe lace and not on what might be going on around them.
A close up is then used too see the girls face when she is told her scarf that was around he neck has been placed on a tree in front of her, and then the camera takes its focus off of her and zooms into another close up of the scarf to emphasise on the fact someone has put it there to draw their attention to it. The shot type used next is an over the shoulder shot to show that the other girl is still there but the focus is on the other victim and the scarf, the reason for this shot type is to show all three things in one shot so we know what both girls are looking at. The long shot used next is used to be the murderer and what they can see from their point of view, this is effective as it shows the audience that someone is watching the girls and indicates they are planning on doing something, it also shows the audience that the murderers plan has worked to get them to stop so that he can maybe have closer look on how they are going to plan their attack.
The use of a mid shot is shown of one of the girls on her phone to show that she isn't playing much attention as to what is going on in the background as the black figure walks past, showing that she is unaware as she believes her friend had only gone to get her scarf. A close up of the side of the girl on the phones face is used to express the look on her face when she looks up as if she had heard the figure, but as she looks up nothing is there which we show using a long shot of the path, this is effective as it makes the audience want to tell the girls that something was just there so it makes them want to see if the girl ever see the figure. Straight after a mid shot of the same girl is used showing her facial expressions that she has seen something go in to the bush and this shot helps to show her body language and the fact she had frozen after seeing it.
A long shot going into a close up is used of the girl who went to get her scarf walking towards the camera to show she now has her scarf and that when we see the close up we can tell she hasn't noticed anything suspicious as she is smiling. The two shot of both characters is used again to show they are back with each other. We then film them from behind so that we can see the girl who saw h figure look back to check that nothing is there and to show the audience there isn't we track the bushes as they are walking. The long shot that is taken next shows one of the girls looking into the bush when they see something moving, the reason as to why we did this shot was to make it look like the murderer was in the bush and to get the audiences attention on that fact and not the fact the other girl continues waking with her head down.
After writing this out, believe that me and Rachel could of used more of a variety of shot types as we seemed to of done a lot of long and mid shots, when typically in horror films close ups are normally used instead. We did have different ideas in our heads but when we got there and filmed we forgot and didn't stick to the story board as we changed our idea last minute again. We also found it to be quite rushed as I had other commitments with training to do that evening.
The Codes And Conventions In Our Horror Film
In our film we adhere to some of the codes and conventions of the horror genre. However, we have not conformed to all of the possible codes and conventions.
Some of the codes and conventions we adhered to are the use of young/teenage characters. Our two main characters are teenagers which would portray them as even more weak in our film because they are young and will come across as very unaware of the situation about to unfold. Also we have conformed to the use of dark lighting. We originally filmed in the dark but we decided to re-film because it was too dark so we were unable to clearly see the characters. To deal with this problem we re-filmed in the light and decided to edit the film in a way that would make the lighting darker. This therefore means that we will be conforming to the convention of dark lighting in horror films. One of the main conventions of a horror film is a murder. We do not actually have our victim murdered in our film but we do introduce what might be a potential murderer. We decided not to have an actual murder scene because we wanted to leave our film on a cliff hanger and we believed that having a murder take place would not allow us to have the cliff hanger we wanted. Other associations with the horror genre are; an isolated location, dark lighting, murder, gore, scary music and villains and victims. We have conformed to most of these. We are using woods as the setting for our film. This is an isolated location as not many people walk through those woods so it seems as though the victims are isolated from the rest of the world. We are going to have non -diegetic music throughout our film. This music will be sinister which will put the audience on edge and also create more tension. We will also have victims and a villain in our film. There will be two female victims. This is also conforming to the usual convention of the victims being female in horror films. The villains gender will not be revealed as they will be dressed all in black with their face covered with a hood. This means we cannot conform to the convention of a male villain. We have not conformed to the use of gore and a murder. Originally there was gore included in our film but after cutting our film short we no longer have any scenes of gore. This leaves us with a dilemma. After doing our certificate research we realised that to make sure our film has an age rating of 15 we would need to include scenes of gore. However, now that we have cut out the gory scenes it means our film cannot be a 15. This doesn't necessarily mean that our film will not be scary, it just means that we have not included enough to make it a 15 which is the age rating most teenagers, who are our target audience, would consider the lowest age for a horror film rating.
Despite this, we have conformed to a variety of different codes and conventions. As we have done this it means that the genre of our film will be clearly identifiable and our target audience will hopefully enjoy watching our horror film because it has adhered to quite a few of the conventions shown in the most popular horror films.
Some of the codes and conventions we adhered to are the use of young/teenage characters. Our two main characters are teenagers which would portray them as even more weak in our film because they are young and will come across as very unaware of the situation about to unfold. Also we have conformed to the use of dark lighting. We originally filmed in the dark but we decided to re-film because it was too dark so we were unable to clearly see the characters. To deal with this problem we re-filmed in the light and decided to edit the film in a way that would make the lighting darker. This therefore means that we will be conforming to the convention of dark lighting in horror films. One of the main conventions of a horror film is a murder. We do not actually have our victim murdered in our film but we do introduce what might be a potential murderer. We decided not to have an actual murder scene because we wanted to leave our film on a cliff hanger and we believed that having a murder take place would not allow us to have the cliff hanger we wanted. Other associations with the horror genre are; an isolated location, dark lighting, murder, gore, scary music and villains and victims. We have conformed to most of these. We are using woods as the setting for our film. This is an isolated location as not many people walk through those woods so it seems as though the victims are isolated from the rest of the world. We are going to have non -diegetic music throughout our film. This music will be sinister which will put the audience on edge and also create more tension. We will also have victims and a villain in our film. There will be two female victims. This is also conforming to the usual convention of the victims being female in horror films. The villains gender will not be revealed as they will be dressed all in black with their face covered with a hood. This means we cannot conform to the convention of a male villain. We have not conformed to the use of gore and a murder. Originally there was gore included in our film but after cutting our film short we no longer have any scenes of gore. This leaves us with a dilemma. After doing our certificate research we realised that to make sure our film has an age rating of 15 we would need to include scenes of gore. However, now that we have cut out the gory scenes it means our film cannot be a 15. This doesn't necessarily mean that our film will not be scary, it just means that we have not included enough to make it a 15 which is the age rating most teenagers, who are our target audience, would consider the lowest age for a horror film rating.
Despite this, we have conformed to a variety of different codes and conventions. As we have done this it means that the genre of our film will be clearly identifiable and our target audience will hopefully enjoy watching our horror film because it has adhered to quite a few of the conventions shown in the most popular horror films.
Title Font Reseach
As you can see, the font used for this horror film is simple and there is nothing which hugely suggests that it is the usual font used for horror films. The title is in block capitals and plain white. The white font is effective because of the black background. This makes it stand out more. On some of the letters in the titles, they have grey colours in them. As the huge chainsaw is directly above the title, and the chainsaw is the same grey that is in the letters, it could possibly provide a link meaning that when the see the chainsaw and the title the audience would automatically realise that the film is based on that chainsaw.
The font used in this film titles closely resembles hand writing. This is effective because it could show that a character from the film has written it which could emphasise the scariness of the film. Also there is no capital letters in the title so, again, it could suggest that it has been written by a character. The writing is black against a fiery red and yellow background. This is effective as it makes the title stand out. Also the colours used are red and yellow, both of which are colours that are related to horror films.
The font in this horror film title is quite plain, so there would be nothing to suggest that it is a definite horror film title if it wasn't for the images behind it. The writing is plain white against a black background which therefore makes the title stand out.
There is a trend with the three fonts I have analysed. Firstly, all of the fonts seem to be relatively plain- there is nothing that suggests they are specifically horror film titles. Secondly, the titles are either white or black against either a bright background or a plain black background to make them stand out. This helps me into my font research because now I know that horror film titles are mainly relatively plain and they are usually black or white against the opposite colour background.
Online Sound Tutorials
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0IFprHpSaA
This sound online tutorial demonstrated to us how to get perfectly balanced audio throughout our film.
From watching this sound tutorial it has made us aware of the problems we will face when it comes to editing our film. The tutorial explains how to use various different sounds in one clip. For example, non-diegetic sounds, diegetic sounds and a narrator. In our film we will be including non- diegetic sounds and diegetic sounds, so this tutorial will help us a great deal when it comes to editing our film. The tutorial explains that when you use two different types of sounds in one clip, one sounds will overrule the other meaning that you will only be able to hear one of the sounds. For example in our film because we are including non -diegetic sounds and diegetic sounds it means that the audience may only be able to hear one of the sounds. This therefore means that our film will not be very good because we have not effectively edited our film to ensure the audio for our film has been perfectly balanced. However, after watching this tutorial we now know exactly what we need to do in order to balance our audio. The tutorial showed us exactly how to balance each of the different types of sounds we will be using to make sure the audience can hear each of the different sounds in proportion. It showed us how to increase or decrease the volume of each of the sounds. This is very helpful because in our film we will be using the non- diegetic sound of music which will play in the background and the diegetic music of our characters talking. We will need to balance both of these sounds to make sure one doesn't overrule the other. For example, the non- diegetic music is most likely to overrule the characters talking because it will be louder and so therefore the audience will not be able to clearly hear the characters talking so it means that perhaps our film will not be very effective to the audience because they will be trying to hear what the characters are saying but they won't be able to hear them.
So, after watching this tutorial on how to edit sounds we are now confident that we will be able to successfully edit our film on Premiere Elements 10 unlike before when we had no idea on how to edit sound. This therefore means that when it comes to editing our film we will be able to get on straight away and do it because we know exactly what we are doing so we won't have to experiment too much to try and work out how to do it because we already know how to do it.
This sound online tutorial demonstrated to us how to get perfectly balanced audio throughout our film.
From watching this sound tutorial it has made us aware of the problems we will face when it comes to editing our film. The tutorial explains how to use various different sounds in one clip. For example, non-diegetic sounds, diegetic sounds and a narrator. In our film we will be including non- diegetic sounds and diegetic sounds, so this tutorial will help us a great deal when it comes to editing our film. The tutorial explains that when you use two different types of sounds in one clip, one sounds will overrule the other meaning that you will only be able to hear one of the sounds. For example in our film because we are including non -diegetic sounds and diegetic sounds it means that the audience may only be able to hear one of the sounds. This therefore means that our film will not be very good because we have not effectively edited our film to ensure the audio for our film has been perfectly balanced. However, after watching this tutorial we now know exactly what we need to do in order to balance our audio. The tutorial showed us exactly how to balance each of the different types of sounds we will be using to make sure the audience can hear each of the different sounds in proportion. It showed us how to increase or decrease the volume of each of the sounds. This is very helpful because in our film we will be using the non- diegetic sound of music which will play in the background and the diegetic music of our characters talking. We will need to balance both of these sounds to make sure one doesn't overrule the other. For example, the non- diegetic music is most likely to overrule the characters talking because it will be louder and so therefore the audience will not be able to clearly hear the characters talking so it means that perhaps our film will not be very effective to the audience because they will be trying to hear what the characters are saying but they won't be able to hear them.
So, after watching this tutorial on how to edit sounds we are now confident that we will be able to successfully edit our film on Premiere Elements 10 unlike before when we had no idea on how to edit sound. This therefore means that when it comes to editing our film we will be able to get on straight away and do it because we know exactly what we are doing so we won't have to experiment too much to try and work out how to do it because we already know how to do it.
Practce Titles
THE UNEXPECTED (ESTRANGELO EDESSA)
THE UNEXPECTED (BRADLEY HAND ITC)
THE UNEXPECTED (DFKai- SB)
THE UNEXPECTED (MONOTYPE CORSIVA)
THE UNEXPECTED (TUNGA)
THE UNEXPECTED (JUICE ITC)
These are the different titles I created to see which font was best for our film. I created them in a word document and then transferred them to this post.
The first font I used was called Estrangelo Eddessa. This is not the best font to use because there is nothing that suggests that the film is going to be scary. This is because it is too simple and it gives nothing to show that it would be related to a horror film. This therefore means that we will not be using this font for our film title.
The second font I used , called Bradley Hand ITC, will be quite good to use because it has a scary look about it because the font actually resembles hand writing. This means that people might be more scared because it looks like someone has written it e.g. a murderer. So, this is a possible font we will use.
The next font, DFKai- SB, is also not really the right sort of font for our film. It is too simple which will not show our audience that the genre of our film is a horror. So, this is not the font we will be using.
Monotype was the next font I used. This is a good font because it is not simple. It looks like someone has written it which is the sort of thing we need for our font to match the genre of our film. However, despite the fact it looks like it has been hand written, it will not be suitable because it looks too happy as there are swirls at the end of each of the letters,which makes it look like it should be the font for a different genre film e.g. a romance.
The next font I used, Tunga, is also not really the right font for our film. It is too simple and it looks like it should be used for an action film or something that relates a lot to technology. This means that it will not go with our horror theme so it would not be suitable for our film.
The last font was Juice ITC. I think this is a good font to use because it is not simple and it will fit perfectly with our genre of horror. The letter in the title are different throughout it. For example, the letter 'T' is thick at the bottom but thin at the top whereas the letter 'E' is thin at the bottom and thick to the side of the letter. This shows that it could be related to a horror film because it is not simple and there is no consistency throughout the whole title. This could resemble the uncertainty the audience feel in horror films - the feeling of the unknowing.
Final Film Idea
The film will start with a screen of writing saying '13 years ago today a young girl went into these woods but never came home'.
Two girls will be walking alone in the woods. They don't remember about what happened 13 years ago. We see shots through the trees as if the camera is the murderer. We then we see a close up side view of Georgia's face and a black figure walk past in the background. The girls do not see this though. Then as they begin walking they stop because they think they hear something. Whilst they have stopped blood drips from the trees above onto Helen but she thinks its just rain from the tree so carries on walking. However then we see a close up of back and we see its covered in blood. As they get deeper into the woods things happen such as branches breaking and whispering noises and all of a sudden Helen disappears. She comes back covered in blood holding a knife. She has been possessed. Just before the film ends we see a close up of Georgia scream. As soon as this happens the title of our film flashes on the screen 'The Unexpected'.
Two girls will be walking alone in the woods. They don't remember about what happened 13 years ago. We see shots through the trees as if the camera is the murderer. We then we see a close up side view of Georgia's face and a black figure walk past in the background. The girls do not see this though. Then as they begin walking they stop because they think they hear something. Whilst they have stopped blood drips from the trees above onto Helen but she thinks its just rain from the tree so carries on walking. However then we see a close up of back and we see its covered in blood. As they get deeper into the woods things happen such as branches breaking and whispering noises and all of a sudden Helen disappears. She comes back covered in blood holding a knife. She has been possessed. Just before the film ends we see a close up of Georgia scream. As soon as this happens the title of our film flashes on the screen 'The Unexpected'.
Sountrack Research
Non- Copyright Music:
Non-copyright music is music which has not been copyrighted. This means that the music can be used and recorded without permission from the composer. Most of the lyrics in the song are copyrighted by the writer of the song. This is why you cannot make copies of a CD you have bought for example.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXOs3xQYBlM
This is a You Tube clip of various horror sound effects. These sound effects will come in extremely helpful in our film because we needs lots of sound effects to add emphasis to the particularly scary scenes. After carefully looking at what we need to do in order to make sure we can legally use this clip we had to follow a number of steps. We had to subscribe, like and favourite the clip. We also have to link to the users channel in the description of our film. This means that there is no charge for using the clips which is a good thing because we don't want to have to pay for any sort of background music in our film.
In particular, the good things about this You Tube clip are that it includes lots of various sound effects. They are of different volume and different speed. This is a good thing because it means we can fit the music to the speed of our film, also known as match on action. This will then make our film more scary for the audience because it means when the scary scenes are shown, the music will emphasise the scariness of it which will therefore have a greater effect on the audience
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXOs3xQYBlM
This is a You Tube clip of various horror sound effects. These sound effects will come in extremely helpful in our film because we needs lots of sound effects to add emphasis to the particularly scary scenes. After carefully looking at what we need to do in order to make sure we can legally use this clip we had to follow a number of steps. We had to subscribe, like and favourite the clip. We also have to link to the users channel in the description of our film. This means that there is no charge for using the clips which is a good thing because we don't want to have to pay for any sort of background music in our film.
In particular, the good things about this You Tube clip are that it includes lots of various sound effects. They are of different volume and different speed. This is a good thing because it means we can fit the music to the speed of our film, also known as match on action. This will then make our film more scary for the audience because it means when the scary scenes are shown, the music will emphasise the scariness of it which will therefore have a greater effect on the audience
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