Poll

Your title Which of the following do you find most scary? Masked Villian Ghosts Children Murderer Dolls view results

I created a poll on www.snappoll.com to generate an idea on what the audience would enjoy most in a horror movie. Feedback is the one of the key elements that are needed in order to create a successful horror movie, as it is the audience you are creating it for. The options I have given are limited, so if I had to do this again, I would make an option where the user can enter there opinion.

Here below are the results given from my class friends and from these results I will conclude the most popular in my horror idea. Also, the ideas are quite simple to do, so this will enable me to be able to work efficiently without buying or creating complex ideas.

Target Audiences

The BBFC permits the following within the bounds of the 15 certificate:

Theme: No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate to 15 year olds 

.Language: There may be frequent use of strong language; the strongest terms are only rarely acceptable. Continued aggressive use of strong language and sexual abuse is unacceptable. 

Nudity: There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context. 

Sex: Sexual activity and nudity may be portrayed but without strong detail. The depiction of casual sex should be handled responsibly. There may be occasional strong verbal references to sexual behaviour. 

Violence: Violence may be strong but may not dwell on the infliction of pain, and of injuries. Scenes of sexual violence must be discreet and brief. 

Imitable techniques: Dangerous combat techniques such as ear claps, head-butts and blows to the neck are unlikely to be acceptable. There may be no emphasis on the use of easily accessible lethal weapons (in particular, knives). 

Horror: Sustained or detailed infliction of pain or injury is unacceptable. 

Drugs: Drug taking may be shown but clear instructive detail is unacceptable. The film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug use.

Because my horror teaser trailer involves violence and strong swearing, according to the BBFC permits, my trailer should be a 15 certificate.

Practising Titles and Feedback

I got my class peers to rate which font they liked the best to the worst and provide feedback for each one, this is what information I discovered:

The general feedback from this font was that it was definitely a very dramatic font visually, but however it wasn't as good as the second font. This font links into my title as it looks like electrical current, I also like how the characters are not all the same size which could suggest a disequilibrium in the plot also.

This was the font that got the best feedback, it is simple yet effective. I noticed this font straight away because it's very bold and the characters are spaced out. It represents blood and I like the way not all of the letters are coloured in properly.

Feedback from this font suggested that it did not fit my theme at all. Although it is horror, my film isn't very gory as this font would suggest. It's very animalistic and would be more suitable for films like 'The Descent' or 'Werewolf' wheras mine is more paranormal.

According to feedback, this was the least favourite font. It doesn't look particulary scary, therefore not fitting in with the typical conventions of the horror genre. It's not very eye-catching and could be associated with lots of other things. My class peers said that they would not pick this DVD up if the title used this font.

Influences

My Teaser Trailer

                                                                   Blair Witch

 

The Blair Witch has been my biggest influence when coming up with an idea for my teaser trailer. A lot of the locations are similar even to the point of how it is filmed. I have used a large amount of POV (point of view) shots in my trailer, which The Blair Witch uses. Also I have taken elements of the storyline, about a friend going missing in the woods.

Editing Skills I Have Learnt

One of the main skills I have learnt to do is the use of iMovie, I haven't had a lot of experience using a video editing software application apart from Microsoft Movie Maker which is far less complex than iMovie. I have learnt to trim footage from certain clips in the timeline and also how to apply music behind the clip. Transitions have been a big part of the editing process as it enables me to create a more structured and flowing piece of footage. I have also learnt from iMovie how easy it is to upload videos I have edited and created easily to YouTube. From this, it has allowed my peers to access my work with no problems and give me vital feedback and comments about my work so I can improve it.

Reflection of Work so far...

Feedback so far from my class pals:

Briony - "Your trailer so far has a lot of potential, I like the storyline idea and am intrigued to see it finished. I think the title 'The Unnerved' is good as it suggests there could be a double meaning to the plot. I think you need to cut down your bath sequence so it leaves more to the imagination"

Colleen - "I think you have good analysis of what you're doing from different sources of media. I like the concept of your film, I think it's clever. I think you need to be better organised as you're focusing primarily on your blog and not other things"

Jemma - "Your work is really good, it is well researched and you have valuable ideas. Something that may make your work better could be for you to add more photos of your progress i.e production photos"

Babs - "I think that your excitement and passion for creating horror through your own visual eye illustrates to the audience how you capture emotion and meaning. I think you need to manage your time better though as you have been focusing too much on your blog"

Production Photos

Picture one
I like this location because it looks very desolate and isolated, which creates an eerie atmosphere. The surrounding trees automatically make the shot darker and appear much more colder. Therefore this is a good shot to use as it has connotations of the horror genre.


Picture two
This location reminded me of a UFO landing zone, it gives the feeling of loneliness as it is a wide open space and yet there is no movement or life apart from the murderer and the victim.


Picture three
Again, this fits with the horror theme as it suggests they are not alone, because of the point of view shot. Because it is so isolated, anything can happen and no one would know.

Costumes and Checklist For Filming

Costumes
Black mask
Casual clothing for characters (Jeans, t-shirt)
Bikini for opening character
Black cloak

Checklist
Camera
Crookhorn woods
Bathroom setting
Make-up
Bubble bath
Bedroom setting
Location of outside the school gates

Saw 6 Trailer Sound Analysis

The opening scene of the Saw 6 official trailer presents the audience with a sudden sharp sound of a drum. This immediately captures attention and gives a sense of mystery as you don't know where or what the sound is. You can also hear distorted faint screaming which creates an eerie atmosphere and the high screeches which formulate an uncomfortable viewing and introduces fear arousal. 

The sound in the trailer connotates death throughout with the sound of knives and painful screams, so the audience know that this is a horror movie full of blood and gore. The main sound contains a low beat, which replicates a heart beat, this creates an enigma for the audience. It also increases the suspension as the heart beat becomes faster as if someone is scared. 

Mise-On-Scene Research

Costumes
Horror movies always have a particular mystery to the evil figure itself, this is done by masks and costumes or having the evil as a spirit ('Paranormal Activity'). In 'The strangers', the costumes are visually very horrific. There faces are concealed with pale face masks that make the audience uneasy as the identity of the villain is hidden. I think this is a really effective horror convention as they are used to distort the villains existence and ultimately frighten or shock the audience. Looking at these films, I have now decided to use a black mask in my teaser trailer, in hope that this will create a paranormal secrecy.


Light
The lighting used for 'The Nightmare On Elm Street' is very negative and drab colors. It uses a low exposure to create a horror feel. There is not much visible life and this creates a shadow effect in the frame. There is a foggy background to the establishing shots to create a mystic look. There is almost never any harsh lighting in these particular horror trailer, and the theme is usually very dark and mysterious. It gives me the idea that something could be lurking in the darkness and that no one is safe.


Make up
The make up in horror movies is very theatrical and is hardly used by editing effects, but by a make up artist. 'Hellraiser' uses revolting special effects and Tuplast skin plastic which creates boils and scabs. As I won't have the resources or capital to create this, I am sticking to using a red food dye to make a blood effect.


Setting
The settings in horror movies are normally very isolated so it gives the idea that there is nowhere to run. Either on islands, or abandoned villages, such as 'The House Of Wax'.

Analysis of Horror Movie Titles

This font is very large which enables the audience to focus completely on the title. It stands out a lot against the harsh red background, which represents blood and death. The style is very simplistic and is also a dirty white color, which could be a connotation of innocence. However there is a yellow color which covers the white, suggesting there is more to to it than what you can see. It gives the effect of spirits or evil as the writing is smudged and they do not use a specific block color. The 'K' is in the shape of a knife, so the audience can immediately tell the film is going to involve violence. The writing also looks like it has been slashed with a blade, which links into the horror theme of the film.

The title for this film is very scrambled which shows an altered scale in the text. Some letters are larger than the others and they are not in line with each other, as an audience member this technique makes me feel very uneasy as it does not fit into the typical movie title convention. The actual text appears as if it has been written in blood and it has the paint effect, which makes the film appear more realistic, rather than if it was done with a standard computer font. The connotations of the color red are the obvious blood and death which relates to the horror movie theme. There is also a harsh contrast with the idea of the title of the text being holy with the devil sign on the letter 'I'. I think this is effective as it's a strong comparison of religion to the devil and does make the audience feel uncomfortable.

This text stands out well in this as the background of the image is dark and the text is white with a mystical glow. This connotates mystery and also the title “the strangers” is in a lower case font, but the font has a glow to it which makes it stand out. The glow however looks like a candle glow, so this shows elements of the horror genre. 

Changing my idea

Throughout this process I have realised it is important to try things out to see if they work out, before you disregard any potential ideas you may have. Not everything is going to turn out good and I have decided to change the idea for my storyline as I don't think it has very much appeal or entertainment value. I don't think it fits the horror theme as well as it could, and the plot isn't very scary.
Instead I am going to create a trailer that has more horror codes and conventions, it is going to be set in a woods and involve murders as I think I will be open to a lot more creativity and ideas in doing so.

Trailer

This is my second attempt at making a teaser trailer. I liked the element of realism, being a bath scene, which makes the viewer automatically more fearful, as it's possible it could happen to them. However I don't feel like the cuts flowed very well, so if I was to create this again I would use different transitions to make the story fit more.

Storyboard For Our Teaser Trailer

The first scene starts with the victim being in the bath, shaving her legs. It will be a mid shot so you can see clearly that she is bathing. It will then flicker to the next shot, where there will be a mystery shadow lurking behind the door. It will be silent and the music will fade and suddenly a pair of hands will come into view and strangle the victim. This shot will be a birdseye and capture the action from above the victim.

It will abruptly cut to another birdseye shot of the main character waking up from a dream.