Our film shot list

This is the shot list that Me Jack and Dan created over the October half term.

http://danrodriguezy13coursewrok.blogspot.com/2010/11/story-board-scan.html

Risk assessment

ACTIVITY	HAZARD INVOLVED	ACTION TO BE TAKEN TO REDUCE HAZARD
Location Filming	Working in an unfamiliar environment	The Licensees to fully acquaint the Film Office with the subject matter, nature and action of the filming and accordingly take appropriate advice.
		Appointment of a Health and Safety Representative
	Working in a building that has not been used for some years	Commission a structural survey of the building
Multi-level location	danger to crew of falling	ensure that all dangerous areas are barriered off
		display warning signs
		use safety rails on all stairs/steps
		use of safety harnesses in exposed areas
Location is poorly lit	danger to crew coming from brightly lit shooting area to dimly lit other areas	use additional working lights
		consider use of fluorescent paint on edges of steps etc.
	danger of lights dazzling cast or crew	H&S to warn crew of danger verbally and to monitor risk throughout shoot
		If someone is dazzled they are to stand still and make 1st Assistant aware.
	Hazard from members of the public/ vehicles not under the control of the Production.	Create a secure area to work in using hazard tape, barriers.
		Use stewards in Hi-Vis Jackets at perimeter to advise members of the public of what is happening.
Parking	Access for emergency vehicles compromised by film unit vehicles.	Vehicles to be parked in accordance with the Location Manager's instructions only to ensure emergency access is preserved at all times.
		All vehicles to face outwards in case they need to be moved and their drivers to remain in the vicinity
		Personal vehicles to be parked in
		XXXXXXXX to avoid congestion of the area.
Vehicles moving through park grounds	Members of the public (including young children) not expecting vehicles in the park.	Access limited to only those vehicles with permits:
		No vehicle is to exceed 5mph while in the park.
		Hazard lights must be used on all moving vehicles.
		Vehicles must keep to the designated roads and pathways and must not be driven onto the grass at any time.
Running of electrical cables over the ground at location	Hazard to members of the public particularly elderly infirm and partially sighted or people running.	all cables to be adequately safe-guarded as they are laid and trailed as little as possible.
		where cables are trailed they must run parallel to any foot-ways and run in the corner of the gutter;
		if cables cross such walkways they are to be covered with a taped rubber mat or suspended overhead at a height of no less than eight and a half feet.
Use of heavy or electrical equipment on the location	Potential hazard to crew or members of the public.	Only adequately trained and qualified staff are to rig, de-rig and operate equipment.
	Potential hazard to curious members of the public.	Potentially hazardous equipment is to be segregated from the public using tiger tape or barriers
		The location to be staffed permanently (as opposed to normally) throughout the entire period of occupation so that no equipment is left unattended at any time. (The cost of this is to be borne by the Production.)
Use of smoke	False alarms	Film Office to be informed of the use of smoke so the local fire station can be informed
		isolation of smoke sensor where smoke is being used
	smoke drifting across nearby roadway	H&S representative to be aware of the drift of smoke and stop its use if this becomes a problem
Isolation of the Fire Alarm System	Genuine Fire starting during a meal break	Where the system has been isolated the set must be manned constantly.
		NB the Complete system must not be turned off if the building is tenanted
Filming on Water	cast or crew falling into water	all personal to wear life jackets
	dangerous currents and deep water	adequate life-preservers on hand for those unable to wear life jackets (cast on camera only)
		safety boat on standby at all times
		diver dressed ready to go into water present at all times personnel are working on water
	shock from falling into cold water	paramedic on standby with unit
	inhalation or ingestion of water	water test carried out to ascertain quality of water before filming
		anyone falling in water to be taken to A&E department at nearest hospital
EVACUATION IN CASE OF FIRE or other Emergency
Evacuation of the location in event of fire or another emergency	Emergency services not knowing if personnel are not accounted for	The Licensees will furnish the Film Office with a crew-list and call sheet prior to the shoot day.
		A list of cast and crew on-site is to be kept by the Health and Safety Representative.
		In the event of alarm all personnel are to assemble at (obvious rendezvous point) where H&S representative will account for them.

Health and safety report

Producers should ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons working with and for them are not exposed to risks to their health and safety. An example of what may be considered reasonably practicable would be if location filming was taking place in a warehouse with poor lighting. It would be appropriate to ensure that extra lighting is used and that all sharp or otherwise hazardous equipment is made safe.

You should have at least one experienced member of the crew who is aware of health and safety issues.

Some genres may pose more risks than others i.e. horror or action films or scenes involving animals. The production team should discuss safety issues before filming begins and take steps to avoid or reduce the risks identified.

Producers should ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons working with and for them are not exposed to risks to their health and safety. An example of what may be considered reasonably practicable would be if location filming was taking place in a warehouse with poor lighting. It would be appropriate to ensure that extra lighting is used and that all sharp or otherwise hazardous equipment is made safe.

You should have at least one experienced member of the crew who is aware of health and safety issues.

Some genres may pose more risks than others i.e. horror or action films or scenes involving animals. The production team should discuss safety issues before filming begins and take steps to avoid or reduce the risks identified.

Websites of slasher horror

Official websites:
http://www.scream-movie.net/Scream.html

http://www.officialsaw.com/

http://www2.foxsearchlight.com/thehillshaveeyes/home.html
Fans websites:
http://www.leatherface.com/

http://www.horror.com/directory/Horror_Movies/Fan_Sites/index.html

http://www.horrormoviefans.com/

http://www.rockyhorror.com/

Slasher horror costume research

Antagonists in slasher horror films usually have some sort of masked on to prevent the audience knowing what they look like, to create an air of mysteriousness which exaggerates the horror element. For example in Leatherface where the killer is masked.
Usually in slasher horrors the characters that aren't the antagonist are regular people which is probably done to make the audience feel that it could happen to them. The costumes of the characters are usually normal everyday clothes from the area of the world that the film is set in.











Protagonists within the horror genre usually tend to wear clothes that is suitable for their character, everyday clothes.

Our film classification

From these film classifications, we have decided to classify our film as an 18 as we believe the amount of violence can be seen as a risk to an individuals health or morals and is in breach of the criminal law.

Film classification

’18′

Suitable only for adults

No-one younger than 18 may see an ‘18’ film in a cinema.

No-one younger than 18 may rent or buy an ‘18’ rated video.

In line with the consistent findings of the BBFC’s public consultations and The Human Rights Act 1998, at ‘18’ the BBFC’s guideline concerns will not normally override the principle that adults should be free to choose their own entertainment. Exceptions are most likely in the following areas:

• where the material is in breach of the criminal law, or has been created through the commission of a criminal offence
• where material or treatment appears to the BBFC to risk harm to individuals or, through their behaviour, to society – for example, any detailed portrayal of violent or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use, which may cause harm to public health or morals. This may include portrayals of sexual or sexualised violence which might, for example, eroticise or endorse sexual assault
• where there are more explicit images of sexual activity which cannot be justified by context. Such images may be appropriate in ‘R18’ works, and in ‘sex works’ (see below) would normally be confined to that category.

In the case of video works (including video games), which may be more accessible to younger viewers, intervention may be more frequent than for cinema films.

Sex education at ‘18’

Where sex material genuinely seeks to inform and educate in matters such as human sexuality, safer sex and health, explicit images of sexual activity may be permitted.

Sex works at ‘18’

Sex works are works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation. Sex works containing only material which may be simulated are generally passed ‘18’. Sex works containing clear images of real sex, strong fetish material, sexually explicit animated images, or other very strong sexual images will be confined to the ‘R18’ category. Material which is unacceptable in a sex work at ‘R18’ is also unacceptable in a sex work at ‘18’.

Film classification

’15′

Suitable only for 15 years and over

No one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.

Discrimination

The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.

Drugs

Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.

Horror

Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.

Imitable behaviour

Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.

Language

There may be frequent use of strong language (for example, ‘fuck’). The strongest terms (for example, ‘cunt’) may be acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity

Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

Sex

Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.

Theme

No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.

Violence

Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.

Locations List

Olly's attic: We chose to use an attic as, from the research that Dan conducted, we thought that it was a suitable place as it looks quite dark, dingy and it is very good that there are stairs coming from below as this gives it a spooky feel. On top of this, it is an easy place to renovate to make it look like the lair of a murderer.

The Heath: We chose to use the Heath as a setting for the countryside as first of all it is a big expansive wooded area which our research showed was quite a popular location for a horror film for example The Blair Witch Project. We also chose to film on the Heath as it is an easily accessible place, where you don't need permission to go on it.
Dan's garden: We chose to use Dan's garden as it is a place where we will be able to pitch up a tent in the night without any problems so we will be able to film using fake weapons and if needed real ones without any danger.
Jack's driveway: We chose to film here as we needed a place with a car as this is the first shot we chose for our film trailer.
Train station: We wanted to use a train station as it ties in with our idea because they catch a train to the countryside.

Character/actor list

From our research of stock characters, we decided to use these characters in our film trailer.
Sarah Jennings Played by Daisy Holland - Young innocent girl, Protagonist, last girl,

Darren Jennings Played by Jack Dalziel - Brother, Distant from family and sister, Archetypal stoner, party goer character, little compassion for the sister

Thomas Micheals - Similar character to Darren Jennings.

Julia Jones - Played by Lowri Woods, Popular girl

Lilly Anderson - Played by Louisa Swithenbank Typical Tom Boy Character, slightly more compassionate than the boys. Wanderer

Bernard Jennings played by David Dalziel- Father of Darren and Sarah, Very nice to daughter, Feels antipathy for son due to his lifestyle.

Mary Jennings Karen Dalziel - Mother of Darren and Sarah, Typical mother, Worried about camping trip, Maternal.

William Fyles Played by Erhan Korkman - Antagonist of the film, wears a mask, Has turbelant past, Mentally Ill, is a killer.

Progress Review

Today in lesson I have been looking at the criteria that I need to fulfill in order to reach the grade that I would like, which is an A. I have done this by looking a my blog and giving my work a level out of 4 in different criteria. These criteria are:

There is research into similar products and a potential target audience,

There is organisation of actors, props, locations and costumes,

There is  work on shotlists, layouts, drafting, scripting and storyboards, 

Effectiveness of time management, 

There is care in the presentation of the research and planning, 

There is skill in the use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation,

There are communication skills.

Then I gave evidence of how these different criteria have been fulfilled in my blog.

After completing this I showed evidence of how my completed work gave me the marks that I had given myself in the criteria. 

Themes/Motifs/Ideology Research

In most slasher horror movies the main theme is of mass killing. For example in 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' there is a main killer who goes around murdering many characters. In 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' along with many other slasher horrors, the killer is masked. This links to our idea for a horror movie as we have a main antagonist that is a murderer as we find that it is important to have this character in a horror movie because it is an effective convention and also our murderer is masked as we think that this is an effective convention that we wanted to stick to as it creates a mysterious feeling.

Another theme of horror films is torture. This is apparent in the 'Saw' series as well as 'Hostel', as it is a very shocking feature which highlights how the main antagonist is a horrible person. In our movie we chose not to use torture in it as we feel that we have a sufficient amount of other themes, also it may not specifically apply to our idea.

From my research I have also found that fear is a typical theme of the horror genre as this is the main point that horror movies are made, to instill fear into the audience. An example of fear felt by the characters in a horror film is when Rachel feels fear in 'The Ring' as she doesn't know how the video works to kill people.

I have also found that throughout some horror films many of them relate to a specific time in the calendar for example Halloween, Friday the 13th, Black Christmas or Valentine's Massacre and these events cause the killer to start the mass murdering. We found that we didn't want to stick to this convention as we think it has been overdone and we don't feel that it adds a particularly scary element.

Throughout horror films a visual motif is darkness as it is very effective in instilling fear into the audience.

Stars of horror movie research

http://danrodriguezy13coursewrok.blogspot.com/2010/10/stars-of-horror-movies-research.html

This is Dan's research of stars in the horror genre.

Key elements of the horror genre analysis

After analysing 'Rec' and 'The Ring', I have found that both films have a main protagonist that the film revolves around however 'Rec' has two main characters as it made to look as though it is filmed by one of the characters. However 'Rec' does not seem to have a antagonist as it is based on a disease but 'The Ring' does have a main antagonist in the form of Samara who is the person behind the killings. In 'The Ring' the antagonist seems to have a mysterious quality to it as it takes a while for the characters to find out who the antagonist is. Both films also have stock situations that make up a horror with a sudden realisation of who the antagonist is. Both films also have similar themes that are raised for example killing, and eerie situations that arise. The point of this exercise is to find out formulae's of horror films so that I can apply them to my movie trailer.

Brainstorm of horror genre Prezi

brainstorm on Prezi

Key elements of the horror genre

To further raise my understanding of the key elements of the horror genre I chose to find two film synopses and highlight the key elements that are involved, these are; Protagonist, Themes, Stock characters and plots and stock situations. Then I will do the same with another film synopsis and compare the two synopses.

Key:

Protagonist

Stock Characters

Themes

Plots and Stock situations

REC revolves around a television reporter, Ángela Vidal (Manuela Velasco), and her cameraman, Pablo (only his trainers are shown, Pablo Rosso), who cover the night shift in one of Barcelona's local fire stations for the fictional documentary television series Mientras ustedes duermen (While You Sleep). The firehouse receives a call from an apartment building about a woman who is trapped. When Manu (Ferrán Terraza) and Álex (David Vert) arrive, the police break down the door, with Ángela and Pablo recording their actions. The woman becomes extraordinarily aggressive and bites one of the policemen. Meanwhile, the terrified residents gather in the entrance hall, and look on as the police and military seal off the building. The firefighter who remained at the old lady's apartment is bitten and tossed down the stairs. The camera crew, the remaining cop (Jorge Yaman) and the second firefighter go up again and are attacked. The cop apparently kills the old lady with a shot, which is confirmed by Ángela who asks Pablo to rewind and replay that part of the tape. The camera crew remain trapped inside the building with the residents, and continue recording in spite of police pressure. Ángela interviews a little girl named Jennifer (Claudia Silva) who lives with her parents and dog in the building. Jennifer is ill with what her mother (María Lanau) claims is tonsilitis. She says her dog, Max, is at the veterinarian because he appeared to be sick as well.

A health inspector wearing a hazmat suit arrives and attempts to treat the injured, who become fiercely violent despite their critical injuries. The health inspector explains that the time the disease takes to cause sickness depends on blood type. The health inspector also reveals that, sometime during the previous day, a dog with the illness was taken to the veterinarian; the dog became violent and attacked and killed other pets at the clinic. The dog was euthanized, and was traced back to the apartment building. Jennifer, the girl who owned the dog, then suddenly attacks her mother. The inspector tells the distraught residents that this unknown but virulent disease is infecting people, causing them to turn into bloodthirsty savages. More and more people in the building become infected, and Ángela and Pablo are forced to fight them off. They find out that some of the corpses have disappeared and soon discover that the people presumed dead are now infected and chasing them. Eventually they learn that there is a key to a door in the apartment building workshop, which leads to an exit via the sewer system. However, the key is located on the third floor in a resident's apartment.

After finding the key, Ángela and Pablo appear to be the only human survivors, everyone else being dead or infected. Rather than making their way to the workshop, they are forced upstairs to the penthouse by the remaining infected. They then search the penthouse, and discover that its former owner was an agent of the Vatican who was charged with researching and isolating a suspected virus believed to be the biological cause of demonic possession, which was later confirmed to exist in a young girl who was supposedly possessed. The agent kidnapped and brought the girl to the penthouse to conduct his research and to possibly cure her; unfortunately, during the work the virus managed to mutate and become contagious. A door to the attic opens, and Pablo uses his camera to look inside. Something jumps at the camera and breaks its light. Pablo turns on the night vision to see in the dark and discovers the sealed door referenced earlier by the priest on an audio tape. The agent abandoned his efforts to cure the girl after failing to engineer a vaccine and sealed her in the room before leaving the city for good. The girl, now a ghoulishly emaciated figure, begins searching the kitchen area, unaware of Ángela and Pablo's presence. Pablo tries to escape, but trips and is viciously attacked by the girl, making Pablo drop the camera. Ángela picks it up and runs, only to trip and drop the camera as well. She searches for it but is unable to find it. The camera continues to record as the screams of the infected girl are heard and Ángela is dragged into the darkness, screaming.

Key:

Protagonist

Stock Characters

Themes

Plots and Stock situations

The story begins with two teenage girls discussing the events of the previous weekend, during which one of them, Katie Embry (played by Amber Tamblyn), went to a cabin in the mountains to spend time with some friends. While talking, the subject of a supposedly cursed videotape is brought up. The other girl, Rebecca 'Becca' Kotler (played by Rachael Bella), states that anyone who watches this video receives a phone call, in which a voice says, "you will die in seven days." Then, exactly seven days (to the minute) after viewing the tape, the viewer dies. Katie reveals in horror that she had watched that video at the cabin last weekend with three friends, exactly seven days earlier. After a series of unexplainable occurrences, involving a television in the house turning itself on and eerie sounds, Katie is mysteriously killed while Becca has the misfortune of watching, causing her to be institutionalized in a mental hospital.

The film then introduces Katie's aunt, Rachel (played by Naomi Watts), a journalist living in Seattle. Her son, Aidan, was not only Katie's cousin but also a good friend, and seems to be sensitive to psychic occurrences. Aidan's teacher brings to Rachel's attention that he had been drawing pictures of his cousin dead in the ground for days before Katie actually died. At Katie's funeral, Rachel's sister asks her to investigate her daughter's death, and, as she begins, she learns of the videotape. Her investigation leads her to the same cabin in the mountains where Katie and her friends had watched the tape. There, she finds the tape and eventually watches it. After that the phone rings and a girl says - seven days. The next day she calls Noah, Aiden's father, to see the video. He asks her to make a copy for further investigation. Unfortunately, Aidan watches the tape a couple days later.

After viewing the tape, strange things begin to happen to Rachel, and presumably anyone else who had viewed the cursed images. She experiences terrible nightmares, nose bleeds, and curious surreal situations (such as when she pauses a section of the cursed tape in which a fly is running across the screen, she finds she is able to pluck it from the monitor). Rachel's investigation turns to the tape itself, which contains a seemingly random series of disturbing, grainy, black and white images. Investigating those images leads Rachel to Anna Morgan (the woman seen in the tape) who lived on Moesko Island with her husband and daughter, and raised horses. Rachel discovers that a mysterious tragedy befell the Morgan ranch, in which all the horses seemed to go mad, killing themselves attempting to flee the ranch. For reasons that were never completely explained, this presumably caused Anna Morgan to become severely depressed, and shortly after taking residence at a mental institution, to commit suicide. Rachel goes to the Morgan's house and finds Richard Morgan who refuses to talk about the video or his daughter. Rachel goes to see the local doctor to ask about the Morgan family. The old doctor tells her that Anna wanted a child more than anything, but was never able to successfully carry a fetus to term. One winter they left and returned with Samara whom they adopted. But after some time Anna started complaining about visions that only happened when Samara was around, so she sent them both to a mental institute on the continent. Noah goes to the institute and finds Anna Morgan's file and discovers that a video is missing. Rachel goes back to the Morgan's house and after watching the video of Samara's conversation with the doctor is confronted by Richard Morgan. He states the girl was evil, and then promptly kills himself with an elaborate toaster-in-the-bathtub type scheme.

Noah arrives at the house just after Richard's death, and together with Rachel, he goes to the barn to discover a little room where Samara was kept by her father. Behind the wallpaper they discover a burned image of a tree recognizable from the video tape, and Rachel remembers seeing it near the cabin at Shelter Mountain Inn. They arrive there and discover a well underneath the floor. Rachel is led to where Samara was killed; at the bottom of a well. Rachel gets stuck in the well and finds Samara's body. Samara, or at any rate, the not-completely-dead body of Samara, shows Rachel how her mother took her to the well and dropped her there. Rachel notifies the authorities, and the now apparently dead Samara is given a proper burial, presumably putting her spirit to rest. Noah asks her how long could you survive there and Rachel guesses that you could survive seven days.

At this point it seems that everything is well again, and Rachel informs Aidan that they will no longer be troubled by Samara. However, Aidan quickly corrects her and says that Samara's spirit has been released, evident by the bruises on his arm, given by Samara in a nightmare that Rachel also experienced. In the film's most unsettling and memorable scene, Noah is going over some film prints in his apartment when his TV turns on to static, in the same fashion that Rachel's niece Katie experienced before her death. Noah turns it off casually before the TV turns itself on again, which alerts Noah. He is then treated to a recurring image of a well, in which a long-haired female figure (Samara) crawls out of the well and slowly walks toward the screen. It intensifies as Noah quickly backs away and Samara literally crawls out of the television set. Noah knocks over a shelf in fear and crawls away before turning around, only to have Samara stare directly at him, causing his inevitable death which Rachel discovers after racing to his apartment. Rachel is scared and worried that Aidan would die too when she realizes that the only way to escape Samara after watching the video is to make a copy of the tape and show it to someone else, thus continuing the cycle. The movie ends with Rachel helping Aiden to make a copy of the tape.

Conventions of movie posters within the horror genre

• • Dark lighting is generally used in horror film posters along with dark colours such as black and the colour red, which is usually associated with death and blood.
• • Bright lighting or the colour white are generally used to contrast the dark colours, which creates a mysterious almost supernatural atmosphere to the poster.
• • Shadows are used in horror film posters, which creates a sense of mystery when the audience views the poster.
• • In all film posters an image is used to try and instil fear into the audience while at the same time giving a slight hint as to what the films plot is.
• • Horror posters tend to have some sort of tagline or synopsis on them. This is used to first of all give the audience a tiny peak as to what the films plotline is but also it used to create fear in the audience.
• • A symbol of what is scary in the film is used in a lot of film posters for example a Wicker man used on the Blair Witch Project film poster.
• Antagonist vs protagonist
• Stock characters
• Stock Situations

These are all part of a formula that horror film produces use to help the audience recgonise that the film they are going to watch is from a particular genre.

The Blair Witch Project
Dark lighting used, black, and red to create a ghostly mysterious atmosphere. Bright lighting used to contrast and emphasize mysterious atmosphere
Image used to create fear and introduction as to where the film will be set
Shadows used to create mystery
Has a little synopsis to instil fear into the audience and to give a little insight into the plot of the film
Simple font used in black not to be the main element of the film poster
Dark background used
Symbol of the film used
Title doesn’t necessarily suggest that it is a horror film

Saw
Dark colours used, red and black along with white to highlight a contrast and to give a mysterious mood.
Tagline used
Gore used in film poster to give a slight insight as to what type of film it is
Blunt title, which makes it clear as to what type of film it is.
Font used is bold and it stands out from the poster. This is because with slasher horror films the title of the film plays a keep part in the advertising of it. It is also in capitals to make an impact of the audience
Image used to give a theme of what the film is about i.e. a significant amount of teeth are missing, representing the violent nature of the film
An instrument that is used in the film is in the film poster, this also highlights what is included in the film

Applying Recognisable Conventions of Trailers

In order to further our understanding of the conventions of film trailers, we were put into groups and told to create ideas for a film trailer for a movie entitled "Bloodshed High". I was in a group with Dan and Joey. One convention that we recognized as being important to show is a USP (unique selling point). This is important to show in a film trailer as it shows how your film is unique which will attract an audience to go and see it. The USP of our film is that it is one of the only films where horror and teen themes are used. We thought that this was a good idea as it will attract people that are interested in teen films as well as people who are interested in horror movies. Another convention of a film trailer we realised was advertisement of the star characters. We did this by highlighting that William Defoe was starring in our film because he is associated with horror films and also because he is a star he will attract an audience simply by him being in it. One of the most important features of our film trailer, which will be highlighted in the film trailer, is the fact that the setting is an abandoned mental hospital turned into a boarding school on an isolated island which adds a claustrophobic element to the trailer/ film. From looking at my own groups idea and by analysing other groups' work i learnt a few key points. These are:

Key Features of Movie Trailers
1. Film trailers and the movie itself are two different things, while a film have a narrative a film trailer is only made to highlight the important parts of the film to make it an effective advertising tool.
2. When creating a movie trailer it is important to take into account an audiences expectations of a film trailer while creating a few new elements for example a unique selling point. An example of an important feature that an audience will expect is the production company at the beginning, from seeing this the audience will usually automatically know wht kind of film the trailer is for, e.g 'Twisted Pictures' will associate the film with a horror genre.
3. It is important to stick to horror movie conventions when creating a trailer as this will help the audience recognise the film that is being advertised which is important so that they will go and watch the film. For example non-diagetic music used in film trailers creates mood and atmospherem also using a star name in a trailer is important as it will help sell the film because some audiences will go and see a film simply because of a star that is in it.
4. Lastly it is important to apply the knowledge you have of conducting a film trailer, it is one thing knowing the key elements and another thing being able to put it together effectively.

Initial ideas spider diagram

To lay out our knowledge of horror movies concepts we we created a brainstorm in class on wednesday 15th of september. Since I do not have a scanner and it is quite hard to see a full A3 page on this blog I will type up the brainstorm we did in class.


Settings:

* Mountains
* Basements
* Abandoned Buildings
* Cemetery
* Fields
* Old Houses
* Farm
* Carnival
* Spaceships
* Outback
* Hills
* Dreams/Nightmares
* Crypts
* Underground


Lighting:

Creates Atmosphere

* Lack of
* Bright light
* Dimmed lights


Characters/Archetypes:

* Pedophiles
* Mental Patient
* Cannibals
* Monsters
* Prisoners
* Criminals
* Mutants
* Aliens
* Serial Killer
* Zombie
* Ghost


Camera:

Hand held

* Blair Witch Project, Paranormal, Horror, Thriller


Fixed/Spectator

* Hollywood, Action, Drama


Editing

Creates atmosphere

* Quick, fast paced
* Slow, can make something tense


Realism vs. Hollywood

* Realism is often in horror movies, with verisimilitude.
* Unrealistic can take you out of the action

Horror movie Initial Concepts

Group Allocation

For the time being this is how our group responsibilities are allocated

Jack
Casting, Props and storyboard for trailers, Storyline for whole film

Dan
Uploading the bulk of research to blog, Research horror conventions

Alex
Research Lollita and Lovely bones to find particular horror film conventions. Research pedophile films. Research horror movie trailer conventions

Coursework groups

We have now chosen our final groups that we are going to use to complete the coursework. I am in a group with Jack Dalziel and Dan Rodriguez, these are their blog urls :
Dan-http://danrodriguezy13coursewrok.blogspot.com/
Jack-http://jackdalzielabs.blogspot.com/

Analysing a film trailer

1. This is done to create tension for example, if it is a really good movie trailer, then during the trailer it will build up people's excitement of it and therefore cause the audience to be anticipated about the title of the film.
2. We are told the names of the people starring in the film as many people will go to see the film based on the people who star in it. For example Will Ferrel is a well known actor and people find him funny, so if they find out that he is starring in a new film they will be more tempted to see it. This information is given to us towards the end of the trailer through text. I think that it is given at the end because it allows them to wrap up the trailer well as after each name comes on the screen, they show a little clip of them in the film. Also I think they leave it until the end to show the name of the actor because most people will recognise an actor before the end of the trailer and it will keep the actors name in the mind of the audience.
3. These bits are shown in the trailer so that we have a feel for what type of action is going to be present in the film, this then makes the film appeal to the audience as the action in the trailer is most likely to be the best bits. As well as the main action bits, the trailer also shows us a few funny clips from the film to add the comedic element to the trailer that the film includes.
The trailer also introduces the characters through clips mainly presented in funny clips to make the film appeal to the audience more. They also show clips that convey the relationship that the 2 main characters have with each other to let the audience know what kinda of film it is.
4. In this scene it includes music that is primarily heavy guitar based, from this I can infer that this film includes a lot of action. These 2 policemen are percieved as being, the music turns into more jolly, this may signal that the two policemen are everyday people, there is nothing particularly special about them. Later in the trailer almost techo music is played which could indicate that this is quite a jokey film as it doesn't really radiate a serious tone. At one point the music becomes serious but even then it reverts back to a jokey feel especially with the type of singing that is included.
5. The voice of the voiceover is very deep with an obviously American accent. This voice was chosen to exaggerate the action element to the film as that kind of voiceover is a convention of action films, however as it is exaggerating, this adds a comedic element to the trailer.

6. The speed of the trailer is fast which makes it all the more exhilarating which is a good thing to do especially when advertising an action film because it allows the producers to exaggerate the action. In the middle of the trailer the speed increases so that they can mix all the action scenes they can into one short clip to make the audience even more bewildered and excited about the action they are seeing on the screen. At the end it slows down slightly to allow the actors to be introduced, this is done because the actors will sell the film so they want the audience to be able to acknowledge who is starring in the film.
7. In the very last frame of the trailer we hear Will Ferrel complaining about the film industry. This is probably done so that they can be seen to 'break the norms' which will give the audience a lasting impression of the trailer.

8. I think the film trailer was more effective in making me want to see the film. This is because it gives you a better feel of what the film is about, especially as it portrays the each characters role in the film as well as the settings and the relationships of the different characters. I believe that when watching a trailer for an action film these things are important especially knowing the plot of the film. However the film poster is quite effective as it gives the names of the actors that are starring in it and, as I like Will Ferrel, I am more inclined to watch it just because I know he is in it.
9. I would expect this film to be shown before films that are stereotypically aimed at men, for example 'The Expendables' as this is the type of target audience that this film is aimed at. Also the actors in the film will be regonised by people who are watching these action films and they will most probably like the actors.

Film Titile Analysis

Film Title Analysis on Prezi

From this we were told to answer the following question:
What is more important to a film poster words or pictures?
From that research that I did I don’t think that you can say that words are more important that pictures or vice-a-versa as they are both equally important in creating a good film poster, as together they create the right image, one without the other would not seem right. For example if there was the picture that was used in the Saw poster just on it’s own without any words, then people wouldn’t really recognise the poster in the way that the creators would have liked, especially if it is the first time they see the poster, so they will not know what film it is that is being advertised which is what the people who made the advertisement don’t want. However if there was the word ‘Saw’ written on a poster without any picture then this wouldn’t be effective either as people would look at it and not know what the film was about which defies the point of advertising it. Also the words in a film poster can give away the plot, for example if it the first time you have seen the title and havn't even seen a trailer of the film, of a film through the use of colour on the typography and what font is used to write the film title.