Drafting

Hannah and I have created a storyboard which is going to provide the main ideas and list of camera angles we are going to use. Along with this we will use the mindmap we created which shows the lighting, costume, props etc. 

Organisation

Response to feedback

This is the tracker from 23.10.14. From this I can see that I need to complete more posts focusing on target audience and drafting. I will be completing plenty more posts on drafting this upcoming week as I have created storyboards along with Hannah and have starting to work on a title for our trailer. These will all come under the drafting category. 

Organisation

Hannah and I have gathered our main ideas for the plot of the film and have developed a detailed version from which I am going to design a story board. 

The establishing shot is of the house and this is going to be during the night time so that it sets an atmosphere. We are going to try and make the house appear as secluded as possible so that it gives the sense that the characters are a lot more alone when events start to unfold. We are going to show the girl in the bath using a long shot which will be on her level so that the audience can see the bath and her head. The camera will pan up to show her face submerged underneath the water when there is a loud bang coming from the hallway/stairs. The sound will be muffled as the character is under water. There will be an extreme close up of the girls face as it comes out of the water quickly in a panic. She sits in silence to try and hear any noises. The camera shows an extreme close up of the tap dripping to build tension. 

We have decided to use fast paced editing which will portray the panic of the character of her scrambling out of the bath and gathering her belongings. As she is standing there will be water dripping off of her and there will be a close up of the droplets hitting the ground. 

The screen will blackout which may cause the audience confusion. 

The girl opens the bathroom door and a point of view shot will be used to show her blurred view of the hallway. There is a flashback of her standing infront of the bathroom mirror trying to get her medication to go down the sink. She has her head in her hands and then looks up into the mirror. As she opens her eyes there appears to be a man standing over her shoulder. She jumps and it flicks back to the hallway. There is a dolly camera following her running down the stairs. A high angle shot will show her standing at the bottom of the stairs. The camera will pan downward and show that the back door is open and the character runs towards it to shut it. The girl shuts the door and turns around and takes in a deep breath in. Jump cuts will be used to show a figure emerging from the dark garden up to the back door behind the character. An over the shoulder shot will be used from the front of the character. The girl walks away from the door and the door opens again so she runs and locks is. The door locking will be shown with a close up. 

The character scrambles to the front door in an attempt to escape the house. However there are latches which sets the character into a panic. This will be shown with a long shot. A close up of the front doors locks and the characters hands will be shown to show the audience the struggle of her escape. The camera will pan around as the girl turns to check behind her and then pans back around to the door as she continues trying to escape. Low key lighting will be used as the 'stalker' character is shown in the living room door way. 

We have decided to use Strobe lighting as it represents disjointed thoughts and a sense of chaos. This will put the audience into the characters shoes. Strobe lighting will show shots of the stalkers feet his hands holding an object and finally his face. This is when the panic will set in. 

Planning

Ive created a mood board which will hopefully give me some inspiration and guidance as to where i'm going with my trailer. The location is going go be a large family home which is similar to a lot of horror films for example paranormal activity. I think the effect of this is that the audience isn't expecting anything bad to happen due to the fact it is in an everyday location.

Organisation

I have begun to develop character profiles for the roles I am casting: 

The main character

An ordinary looking teenage girl similar actresses such as Emma Roberts or Debby Ryan

The 'stalker' 

A man who could come across as quite creepy! Actors such as Cillian Murphy who has starred in Inception and 28 days later fit this role! I will try and achieve a similar look for the character in my trailer... 

                                               

Organisation

This is the location we are using. The house looks secluded which is typical of a horror film. The effect of the house being secluded is that the audience anticipate worst things to happen due to the connotation of a house which is in the middle of nowhere. As you can see the comparison photo's of houses which have featured in horror films before look similar to the one which we are using. 

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Birmingham,+West+Midlands+B31+1QT/@52.4126946,-1.9760705,3a,75y,261.38h,94.26t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s5h0JPdckVf_XG5oL2d3FKQ!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x4870be1e3d5afad9:0x780a626e411648c2!6m1!1e1

Organisation

Response to feedback  

This is the tracker from all of my blog posts last week. Since then I have updated my blog and completed three extra posts one which is similar products and two which would come under the Organisation category. From the tracker I can see that I need to complete more posts on target audience. In response to this I am going to post the results of my survey monkey and then analyse them to see which aspects I want to contain in my products. I am going to allow the target audience results to help me to create posts on the organization of my trailer. 

Research into similar products - The Ward Trailer Analysis

Camerawork
The establishing shot is a close up of a timer which ticks twice.  This opens the trailer with something which will create a tense atmosphere. A dolly is used to show the first character - a distressed young woman running through a forest area. The screen blacks out and a medium shot shows the woman lighting a match and a police car pulling up behind her. The effect of this is that the character is presented as being troubled. A variety of different shots is used to show the burning building which will make the audience question what is going on. A low canted angle is used to show a car driving up to a manor house. This scene compared to the previous scene would cause confusion among the audience. 

Target Audience

After creating a short survey on Survey Monkey I have looked at the results and tried to use these to help me when I am creating my trailer and ancillary products. I decided to create a shorter questionnaire with slightly more in depth questions so that I have a better idea where I am aiming to go with my products.

Research into similar products

Analysing two film trailers on split personalities will allow me to see what kind of things I need to include to make it effective. 

Firstly is a film called Dorothy Mills. 

This is is a story based on a disturbed teenager who begins to do very strange things. For example she is caught strangling a baby. She is sent to a psychiatric unit where the majority of the film is based only to find out that she has multiple personality disorder. I, however want my film to be based at home and not in any type of institute/ hospital as it is more realistic to shoot at home and I feel that it will give me a lot more freedom with lighting, props etc.

Another film which is very similar to something which I am aiming to create is John Carpenter's The Ward. 

This is based on a young woman who become institutionalized after she starts doing strange things which make her appear to be crazy however she is being harassed by a spirit. This film contains a lot of little twists which keeps the audience on the edge of their seats at all times and this is an effect I want to achieve with my trailer. A good trailer needs to be mysterious however it also needs to convey enough about the film to entice the audience's interests. 

Organisation

Bath scenes are used in a lot of horror films to try and portray a very tense and on edge atmosphere. Because the character is in the shower or bath it somehow makes them a lot more vulnerable. The character also seems to be care free and their mind is elsewhere when they are laying in the bath until something odd happens which makes them panic. When beginning to plan the order of my scenes I would like to use an aerial shot of the female character lying in the bath in a dimly lighted room, maybe I could use artificial lighting through the use of candles. This would represent calm. The effect of doing this would be to even further shock the audience. The comparison between this serene atmosphere and the very quick, disjointed scenes which are to follow would create a panic amongst the audience. These are some bath scenes which I may take inspiration from:

Organisation

Basic Ideas for the plot of my trailer

Genre - Psychological thriller

Main Character - a girl around the ages of 17/18 
A female character of this age will seem vulnerable which is necessary for a horror/thriller. Somebody has to be scared.

Story line - Initially is appears that there is somebody who is stalking/harassing the girl. However as you delve deeper into the story is becomes apparent that it is all in her mind and she is developing split personalities. 

Setting- A normal home/ 

Everyday locations 
This means that the audience would be able to relate a lot easier to the character. For example if it was in an abandoned warehouse the audience wouldn't be able to imagine themselves in that kind of situation.

Lighting - Mainly shot in darkness 
(Low key lighting)
Dark lighting comes across as mysterious but it also portrays a fear of the unknown. 

Planning

This shot is of a woman's lower body holding a knife. I feel like I could use this idea in the creation of my trailer as it fits with the sort of ideas I have been having. This creates a great sense of tension and suspense as the character's face is not revealed. All the audience can see is a knife and a person walking swiftly which leave them which questions such as who the character is and what they are doing which is good for a trailer. 

This is of a girl walking along a dark corridor. I could interpret this shot and use it in my trailer. The girl appears to be smiling however a shadow covers her, when she is walking out of the shadow she has a sinister look on her face which is a misconception. I like this idea as is tricks the audience and doesn't reveals a split personality of the character. The idea of split personality fits with the idea for my trailer. 

This is from paranormal activity and it shows a girl being dragged by a spirit. It is a wide shot and reveals the whole room. This is useful to me as I could use this type of shot to set the scene and show action happening at the same time. 

Research into similar products

Comparison between teaser trailers and normal trailers:
The obvious difference between a teaser trailer and normal trailer is the length. Teaser trailers vary between 30 seconds- 1 minute in length however a normal trailer can be 1 and a half minutes to 3 minutes. A teaser trailer gives away a lot less of the plot and story line whereas an ordinary trailer gives away a lot more of the story line. Both trailers are effective however in different ways. Both kinds of trailer show the audience what the film is about without giving away too much. A teaser trailer will leave the audience with a lot more questions on their mind. Both kinds of trailer will grab the audience's attention and entice their interest. As you can see below the different types of trailer and how they differentiate:

Teaser Trailer

Camerawork

The establishing shot is a canted angle which is panning downwards. The shot is of an old looking manor house/castle type building which immediately gives the audience the impression it is spooky.  The camera changes so that it appears to be old footage. As it pans it goes onto a long shot of what appears to be a little boy just stood, staring. The camera changes shot and pans up onto a little boy who is staring into the camera as something falls from the ceiling. It is a close up of the boy’s face which reveals the threatening look. There are a series of shots showing people adjusting equipment. A girl is lay down on a table draped in a cloth and the camera zooms into her to reveal the somewhat scared facial expression. Close ups are used to show locks on the door being loosened which makes the locks significant and could potentially worry the audience as to what is behind the door. A medium shot is used which shows a man opening the door looking very worried which would further enhance the audience’s suspicions. There is a close up of the little girl who was lay on the table standing up holding tightly onto a dolly which represents the innocence of childhood however the shots which follow show the girl is very troubled. The final shot is a low canted angle of a door opening slightly however the rest of the shot is in darkness which means that the mystery is retained. 

Sound

The soundtrack begins with the sound of an old camera reel. This gives the impression that it is old fashioned footage or a home movie of some sort which gives the film some authenticity. As the establishing shot comes on screen you can hear bells ringing. The first character we see poses the question 'what is the supernatural?' This will let the audience know that the film is going to be about spirits and supernatural occurrences. A gust of wind sounds as the old footage of the creepy little boy is shown. Sounds like this are typically in horror movies as it gives the audience a rush of adrenaline. The crashing of the item falling from the ceiling is unexpected so would most likely shake the audience up. The effect of this is that there is something to surprise the audience and keep them on the edge of their seats. There is the sound of people singing which is muffled. The noises are choir like which has connotations with a church which would lead people to thinking about exorcisms and spirits. At the end of the clip there is a loud buzzing noise along with a series of screams which panic the audience and would leave the questioning what has happened. By something shocking happening at the end of trailer it makes the audience want to continue watching. 

Editing

The editing used is quite fast paced however it is not chaotic until the end of the trailer.

Mise En Scene
The setting is an old house which gives the impression that there are most likely going to be spirits present. Costumes used are very simple and I feel like this is effective. The main focus is the events which are happening. The possessed girl is wearing a plain white dress and she looks exhausted. This effect would have been achieved through the use of makeup. The rest of the characters are in very normal clothes as it is trying to portray a real life event. 

Normal length trailer

Camerawork

The establishing shot is a dolly as it focuses in on a detective walking through some doors.

After seeing this there is a low angle of a man putting on rubber gloves which has connotations of an investigation being carried out. There is a mid shot of a body in a bag and a woman's body draped over. The shot is on the screen for a short amount of time which creates a sense of anxiousness among the audience as they do not know why the bodies are there and who they are. This then changes to a very distorted shot of a woman standing at a train station. The contrast between the strange shot of bodies and the normality of the train station may come as a shock to the audience and may cause confusion. The confusion is intended as the scene is blurred and very distorted. An over the shoulder shot is used to follow the man who is following the girl through an underpass. The audience know the man is behind her however she does not which would cause a sense of frustration within the audience as the character is vulnerable. This shot allows the audience to empathize with her. A medium shot is used of the girl looking very stressed out as she works. She takes a deep breath and then bends over to pick something up off the floor however the camera does not move and as her body comes out of the shot you can see a dark figure standing behind her which again puts the character at a very vulnerable position. There is an over the shoulder shot which is quite close up and shows a figure emerging behind the girl. The audience would be panic stricken as the fear for the girls safety. There is a point of view shot used which appears to be through some sort of hole in the locker, this also reveals that the girl is being watched.  A long shot is used down a corridor and shows a body being dragged and then switches to a canted angle of the main character running in a panic. There is an aerial shot of her running up some spiral stairs which does portray panic but is also portrays a sense of chaos.  The aerial shot is again used to show her falling from the top of the stairs. 

Sound

In this trailer there is no speech. There are deep sounds throughout the whole length of the trailer. This is all you hear from beginning to end. When there is more action on screen the sounds become more intense and more fast paced. The only diegetic sounds are muffled screams towards the end of the trailer. I feel like this use of sound is effective as it maintains the tension throughout. A lot is going on on screen however there is no speech to give away the twists in the story. 

After watching both types of movie trailer I can see how my teaser trailer will need to be structured a lot differently than a normal trailer so that there is an insight to the plot and main characters are revealed in such a short amount of time. 

Target Audience

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HTYRSJN

I have created a survey on survey monkey to try and figure out what would be expected from an audience who I am aiming to reach. The questions I have created try to delve a bit deeper than typical questionnaire questions.

Research

There are many horror films which are based on true events. For example:

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

This is a story based on a girl called Anneliese Michel who began to hear voices at the age of 17. She was referred to a psychiatric clinic after having an epileptic attack. Anneliese began to hear voices and have hallucinations when she was praying and her strange behaviour was noticed by one of the workers in the psychiatric unit. Her parents gave up on doctors to find out what was wrong with their daughter and believed that performing an exorcism was the only way to cure her. This film is a twist on this real life event. Some parts are exaggerated to create drama however the fact the basis of the story happened in real life means that the audience responds a lot more. Audiences will be effected a lot more if it is relate able to a real life situation.

The Haunting in Connecticut

This is a film based on the real life experiences of the Snedeker family. The family moved to Connecticut where Carmen Snedeker's son was being treated for cancer.  The house seemed pretty ordinary apart from the many crucifixes around the house. Weird things started to happen such as Phillip (the son)'s name was being called and every family member claimed in was not them. Carmen put it down to the radiation treatment messing with his head. Phillip continued to notice weird things and no one would believe him. His mother would order him to stop telling 'stupid ghost stories'. Phillip was taken to an institute where they diagnosed him schizophrenic however he did not accept this and told his mother that 'they were coming after them'. After his mother was nearly killed by a strange occurance they performed an exorcism on the house. 

The Conjuring

This is based on the real life couple Ed and Lorraine Warren, who were paranormal investigators. The Perron family began experiencing weird happenings at their home in Harrisville. They described spirits that were both harmless and angry and they also experienced the smell of rotting flesh at the exact time 5:15. The film looks at the investigation into the Perron's house and how the Warren's planned on removing the spirits. 

Research

Although the movie featured on this cover is not a horror it still fits with the theme a horror movie would aim to achieve. This magazine cover follows the typical codes and conventions. For example:
-Masthead

-Coverline
-Subheadline
-Barcode
-Dateline
-Pugs/puffs

Harry Potter is the focus of the cover as is the character featured on any magazine cover. The colours are very dark and there is direct address from the character. The picture taken for the cover has a lot of shadows portraying a sense of mystery. The background of the cover is black and the masthead is red (typical horror colours). Empire magazine have chosen to use white font which contrasts with the black making it easily readable. 

This cover fits a lot more with the horror genre simply because the film featured is classed as a horor. In comparison to the cover above however there are not many differences. This shows that there are many different genre overlaps and even if a film is not classed/viewed as a horror film the same effect can be portrayed. This cover is a lot brighter than the one above. There is more  colour used on this cover for example the blue. The image is a lot more brightly lit along with the backdrop however this does not damage the intended mood at all. Direct address is also used by this character.

Organisation

I have started to think about the different aspects of my trailer after mindmapping ideas. 

                                   Props

This is a prop from the film the Conujuring. It is a haunted doll called 'Annabelle'. The picture on the left in the real life version and the right hand side is the films version of the doll which has been modernized and exaggerated to create a greater impact on the audience. 
Thinking about what kind of props I could use has led me into deeper investigation as to which props are used more. When I complete my questionnaire I will ask what props audiences find more scary and effective in a horror film.

Props often become very memorable after successful use in a film. For example:

Organisation

 Looking at mise en scene has helped me have a clearer idea as to what we want to achieve.