Friday, 25 October 2013

Horror Film Pitch Feedback

My group and I presented our horror film pitch to the rest of the class and they gave us feedback on how to improve.
Most of the class said that our idea for the horror was good because the audience are aware of what is going to happen but now it will occur.
Our peers suggested that we have a set idea of how the killings during the film will take place and also rethink the location because we wanted to create an abandoned house setting in our classmate's shed but realised this could create difficulties.
Also we said how we would find filming the correct camera angle shots difficult so we were told to use a tripod to help us keep the camera steady when shooting.
Overall the class thought our idea was a good one but we just had to get our ideas together to fit in the two minutes.

Click here to view my Prezi: http://prezi.com/ktlkilrgofql/horror-film-pitch/

As the Prezi shows we took massive inspiration for our film from the film Sinister.

This film helped us a lot as it had all the themes that we wanted to include in our own horror. Themes of mystery, horror and especially the puzzling deaths.
We incorporated these themes into our own and developed our ideas from there.








The target audience for our horror are young adults as we feel the film will appeal more to them because of the mystery involved in it it will captivate that generation more. Our target audience enjoy adventure and love horror that's why creating the survey made it possible for us to know how to appeal and captivate the audience.  













As the images on the prezi shows we want to create a cold atmosphere for our horror and taking into account the answers we received from our audience they enjoyed that type of atmosphere too. We decided to locate the film in an abandoned house setting but also in a home to create that disorientated affect for our audience because the home is considered a safe place although in this case it isn't.




Example of house setting from conjuring movie -

  • This scene shows how distressing a house setting can be. Somewhere you expect safety at all times and something horrific happens.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wljn4_pzxbg







The props and costume we were deciding on choosing were a white overall to make our main character look innocent and highlight her vulnerability. We took this example from the film the ring: 

As the image above shows the little girl character from the ring is dressed in a white garment has long black hair and her face looks sweet. This makes her character seem innocent and harmless but that is also what makes her appealing because when she begins to unveil her evil side it will be a shock for the audience, which makes the film more enticing.

  • This clip from the ring also illustrates the fear you can feel in a home and it also reiterate that no where is safe and this conforms with the themes of horror.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=scene+from+the+ring





The only props that we will be using is a rope which our character will be using for the murders and she will also be wearing a red anklet to emphasize her psychotic character. As red represents danger, violence and aggression which are all qualities are character holds.






Tuesday, 15 October 2013

Preliminary Task

For my preliminary task I worked with a few of my classmates to create a short film. Before we could start filming we had to plan by using a storyboard. After we had finished the storyboard we began to film being aware of the camera shot types to include and being aware of the editing we will have to do.

 The preliminary task taught me a lot one major thing I learnt was that filming is not easy and planning is crucial.Story boarding really helps with film planning as it enables you to really think about what camera shot types to include in your film and which ones are going to have the greatest effect on your target audience.

When filming it was really difficult because the room wasn't suitable as it was really small, and when trying to get the camera into the position I wanted it to be in it was very hard. For example when I was trying to film the high angle shot I had to get on my knees and bend backwards which was very uncomfortable. This showed me the importance of using a tripod when filming, it makes shooting a scene much simpler.

Editing was also not an easy task, because some of the clips were unnecessary to the film there was much editing to be made. The editing part of the preliminary task was the hardest as this is where the film had to come together with all the necessary shots included. When editing I made sure I didn't include any dialogue that wasn't needed in the film and also any bad shots. During the editing I also had to cut out some clips and only include the bits that were necessary to the task. While editing I also had to make sure that the story made sense and was continuous.

Overall I learnt that making a film even a short one is a lot of work and there are many things involved.




Thursday, 3 October 2013

Horror Film Convention

One of the tasks I will be doing in this unit is creating my own horror film opening. Before I could do this I have to have knowledge and look deeper into what a horror film requires for it to be a horror. So I researched horror film conventions to get a deeper understanding of the horror genre...

Horror Film Convention Research
In a typical horror film many camera angles are used for different effects and some are used because the director wants us to feel a certain way towards the character in the film. There are a few camera angles that are always used in most horrors such as point of view angle (POV), high and low angle, extreme close up angle (ECU), close up, medium long shot and tilted angle. All of these camera angles are common in a horror film. POV angle is used because it allows the audience to see the world from the specific characters point of view. High and low can connote fear and nightmare, when the camera is at a high angle it makes the characters look weak and as the audience we feel frightful for the character this is the same connotation for the low angle shot. ECU shots are used usually as the establishing shot at the start of a movie just to set the scene and to make the audience familiar with the setting. Close up shots allow us to see the characters emotions or to get a closer view of the subject being shown. When using medium long shot the setting and subject are at an equal proportion on screen which allows the audience to see the characters fully and how they are acting at the setting. The tilted camera angle creates a disorientated view which I think is vital in a horror film as it makes the audience feel discomfort.

             









The sounds used in a horror film have to be chosen wisely because a small sound can determine the whole mood of the film. In horror films it is typical to hear ambient diegetic sounds which are basically the background noise or the atmosphere. It provides sounds between shots; it prevents an unnatural silence where there is no other sound and it creates or reinforces a mood an example of this is a footsteps. Non-diegetic sound is also used in horror films this is sound that isn’t present in the action such as a heartbeat. A major part of horror is the disgusting sounds used to emphasise something gory happening in the film such as a bloody murder they are important because they create an uncomfortable atmosphere while still being scary.

Here is a link with sounds that are usually associated with horror:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXOs3xQYBlM&safe=active



In a horror the characters are very typical and depending on which character type there is in a horror the costumes will vary. For example if the character was a young teenage girl who was the victim in the movie she’d probably be wearing light colors, blonde hair, no makeup fresh face to show her characters innocence but I think it is also to show the audience that she is a victim. Whereas the character who was committing the murders would probably be wearing dark colored clothing, have dark makeup on, dark hair to show her dark and evil persona and also to just frighten the audience.


       






Horror movie settings are usually done in creepy locations the typical ones being abandoned houses, dark alleyways, isolated placed, haunted houses, forests, farms, attics and basements. Anywhere that connotes isolation or being alone. I think the location that connotes this the best is a house because every person feels that their house is the safest place ever so when you watch a horror film and you see a house being used as the main setting you automatically know that the character is not safe and is probably going to die.

           








There are always different characters used in horror movies the most innocent being children yet they are the scariest of all and then you have the evils being the killers, psychopaths, demons, serial killers, monsters etc. There is always a stupid victim in horror movies that gets killed and the stereotype for them is a young teenage blonde girl. I also think that families are also becoming victims in horror movies nowadays and in the family there is always that one cute innocent looking daughter or child who turns out to be the most frightening human being.




Here is an example of the type of horror: