Planning: Target Audience Feedback Interviews

Interviews are helpful as we asked people of our target audience what they thought of our openings. We got their views and which one they liked best or if they wanted to use part of each opening. They told us which idea they liked and why. This helps us as we then know which opening to use and parts of the other openings We can now tailor our opening to suit the audiences preferences.  We haves decided to use opening 1 as that was the most popular opening to use, people have said what they'd like to improve on opening 1 so we can now tailor it to suit the target audiences feedback. 

Planning: Possible Openings

Part of our planning for the Teen Horror film opening is to come up with idea's for the opening. Each of us decided to come up with our own idea's for the openings and then discussed what we'd come up with. The next part was to present the openings to our target audience to see which one they liked best or what parts of each they liked. The openings have given us a basis for the whole opening its self. Each opening is different in the way its played out and shown to the audience. 

In each opening we answered who was in the opening where it was and general overview on what was actually happening in each one.  We included what the audience needed to know, in enough detail. With doing this me and my group could then go on to create a very detailed opening plan using the chosen idea. 

Planning: Survey Monkey of Horror Film

Due to the fact there was a lot of tasks to do we decided to divide out the tasks between us. On the survey task I took charge and came up with the survey.

Click here to take survey

Research Into Target Audience: Pen Portrait

My Character 

Name: Paige Cruz  
Age: 17 
Job: Part time job at the Odeon
Paige is a very casual girl who loves clothes, fashion and keeping up to date with the latest technology and celebrity gossip, having a part time job she has money to spend on what she wants, she usually spends it on DVD especially Horror films. She's loves going to the cinema with a group of friends she'd never go alone. Working at the Odeon cinema she gets free tickets and can see the first showing of each film so she's always watching films. She loves watching Horror her favourite time to watch Horror is at sleepovers with friends at night when its most scariest. She has a large collection of Horror films and is always buying the newest Horror films. She gets a thrill out of being scared and the laughing about it afterwards. She likes Horror films with top actors and actresses. She likes playing dares and going camping with friends so I think she'll like the film as she can relate to it as she enjoys doing what the characters in the film so, which land them in disaster so it might make her think before doing it again.

Planning: 60-second pitch

In the planning stages there is a stage where we have to do a 60 second pitch for our Teen Horror film. Firstly we researched what a 60 second pitch was and  what we needed to include in the pitch we were going to do. We then watched a few pitches by directors so we knew what we needed to include on the pitches and how they are laid out. Its important that a pitch is done and shown to film executives so then they can see if they want the film to go ahead and whether the funding for it will be provided. I worked with my team to come up with a plot for the film and a overview of what happens. The right information needs to be said and it needs to appeal to the right audience. If the pitch given the yes then we can then begin to focus on the 2 minute opening. The pitch needs to include just the right amount of information so the audience knows what's happening but not so much that it gives away too much of the plot. 

Planning: Getting in to groups

For my 2 minute Teen Horror opening I am working with Brian Oblitey and Oliver Iarrobino. The production name we came up with was Sub Zero. The working title is 'Dormez Mes Enfants'. 

Formal Assessment : Essay

The 3 Horror film openings I've looked at are 'Dead Wood', 'Dead Mary' and 'Wrong Turn'. I've studied and looked at the Technical Codes, Symbolic Codes and the Conventions used in the openings.

Technical codes are the use of the camera, how its moves and the shots used. Its how the sound is used to create the right atmosphere and scare the audience. Symbolic codes are how the costume is used so create an opinion on who the character is. Its also the use of make up and how the fake blood is used. Its also the use of props and how they can give hints to how they are used later in the film and hints on what the film is actually about. The location is a symbolic code as it give the audience an ideas on what the film will be about and where its set. 
Conventions are what is expected in a Horror film and what you expect to see like a car break down this a convention used to make the film scarier to make the audience wonder if the people stranded will live or die. Some of the conventions used are stereotypical like a male and female, where the make is strong and brave and the female is weak and vulnerable. 

Technical Codes

Use of camera

 In both Dead Wood and Wrong Turn there is a establishing, crane shot which turns into the camera focusing on where the action is to take place. In all of the openings there is a close up or a extreme close up of the characters facial expression, usually as a victim being chased (Dead Wood) or seeing there companion being killed (Wrong Turn) or just generally being bored (Dead Mary). In Dead Wood and Dead Mary there is a point of view shot, Dead Wood its where  the character is being chased and in Dead Mary its from the threat rustling the trees near by.  In Dead Wood there is a crane shot in the beginning, going in to the action, then at the end the crane shot going out of the action. Theres a shaky movement of the following of the action when the character is chased in Dead Wood it creates more of a scary atmosphere, also the audience feel like they are experiencing the action like the character. In both Dead Wood and in Wrong Turn there is a crane shot over the girls to show the vulnerability of them and show there not powerful.

Editing

In Dead Wood when the character has to jump across a small brook the jump is slowed down until the point of him grabbing the side of the bank for support, then it returns to its normal speed. In Dead Mary the conversation there is shot reverse shot of the 2 characters talking. In Wrong Turn there is quick editing shots of the girl being pulled up the cliff edge shot using a range of extreme close ups, long shot, and mid shots.

Sound- Diegetic

Diegetic sound is used in all of the film openings, all of them are set in the woods so in all bird noises can be heard and the sound of rustling trees also is heard, this can create  eery  atmosphere as the bird noises will be made so the audience feel scared and know there is something wrong by the way the character reacts to the trees rustling for instance. In Dead Wood the breathing is amplified to show the panic the character has. In Dead Mary the sighing of the girl is clear so it shows the audience how bored she is, also when she is tapping her fingers on the top of the car it shows she is bored and the sound of the tapping fingers emphasises this. In Wrong Turn the sound of the climbing equipment can be heard when the girl is pulled up the sound of the rope moving is an example of that, when she is pulled up the sound of the rope moving is sharp and quick powerful in the way it makes the audience jump every time the rope is pulled as the wonder when or if she'll be pulled up to the top and who or what is pulling her up.

Sound- Non Diegetic

There is non diegetic sound used in all of the openings. In Dead Wood and Wrong Turn there is non diegetic right at the beginning of the film both of them have quick eerie music so already the audience can know that the film is a Horror and is going to be scary, where as Dead Mary uses diegetic sound of a swing moving backwards and forwards, this can be quite creepy and sinister as the slow squeaky sound of the swing moves. Non diegetic isn't greatly used in Dead Mary theres more of diegetic sound like its is in Dead Wood and Wrong Turn.

Titles

In Dead Mary the titles are in lower case and the font its self looks damaged and distorted, the white colour looks safe and then it changes to red which symbolises blood and danger. It shows the contrast of the safeness to the danger which is used in the film. There is no use of titles in Dead Wood nor in Wrong Turn.



Symbolic Codes

Costume and Make Up

In all 3 openings the clothing the characters where is quite casual no short skirts and heels or bright make up its all quite natural. In Dead Wood the man wears quite a typical outfit of a shirt and trousers, however the girl wears a skirt with a slit up it which is slightly tarty but she doesn't wear much make up and really her outfit is boring just mainly brown clothing she wears. In Dead Mary the girl wears a strappy vest top and very short shorts this is appropriate as the weather is quite warm so the character would wear what they have, due to the weather, if she was wearing a lot of make up then she may be tarty, but because she isn't she's wearing what she is because of the weather. In Wrong Turn the characters wear climbing gear which is appropriate, the man wears quite a tight top showing off his muscles and the girl wearing quite short shorts but again you wear that type of clothing in climbing and also the weather looks warm. In all of the openings the characters look early 20's, dressed in casual clothes appropriate for their setting.

Location

All of the openings have the location in common, Dead Wood and Wrong Turn are set in the woods in the day time, where as Dead Mary is set in the day time as well but set on a road next to a Forrest. Dead Mary and Wrong Turn are set in the summer due to the clothes they are wearing. Dead Wood is set in the Autumn is the trees are brown and most of the trees are mostly dead with the branches bare, which creates quite a dead and creepy atmosphere  the tent is on the bank of a small brook, so the tent is isolated.

Props

The props used in Dead Wood is a tent which shows the characters have been camping. A car is used in Dead Mary its quite a sleek quick car which could suggest that the quick car does come in handy in some point of the film. Also the fare gun is shown which again the flare gun may be needed later in the film which is why it is shown in the opening to give a slight hint to the rest of the film in which the characters could be in danger and could need it to get help. Climbing gear is the prop used in Wrong Turn which uses rope, the woman is pulled up by the rope and is later tripped over by the rope so it plays a big part in the opening scene.


Conventions

There are some conventions that are used in all 3 openings such as a secluded location, which is a typical location for Teen Horror film.  A male and female character is another typical convention used in all of the openings. The venerability of the girl characters also is used in all, in Dead Wood the girl is left in the tent alone and the crane shot also shows the weakness of the girl, In Dead Mary the girl is left in the car alone while the man goes to find petrol and she cant find signal which shows she venerable is something happened to her she couldn't call anyone, In Wrong Turn the girl is weak at climbing and finds it harder getting up the cliff than the man, she is then left alone when he is killed. An establishment of the threat is shown in all openings, in Dead Wood the man is killed by something which shows the girl wont be alone in the woods, in Dead Mary there is a point of view shot from the threats point of view as it hides in the woods, In Wrong Turn the girl sees the trees rustling and echoing of a creature as it moves. In Dead Wood and Wrong Turn there is 2 deaths that happen quite quickly, also in both films the characters trip over as they try to escape the threat. In all 3 openings there is no help near by which is a common convetion even the character says in Wrong Turn 'Your 50 miles from anyone who you screaming for?' emphersises  the factthey are completly away from any sort of help. In Dead Mary it is typical for a car to brake down.

This is an Establishing shot in Wrong Turn

Research- Conventions In Horror Films

Examples of conventions and how they are used in Horror films:

• A small groups of friends go to a isolated forest- This is an easy place for a killer to kill its victims without easily getting caught. When you see friends camping in a forest of a log cabin you automatically know that msot if not all of the friends will be killed by somthing in the forest.

Examples of types of those films are: Friday the 13th (2009), Cabin in the Woods (2012),
The Blair Witch Project (1999)

• Power being cut is another another typical horror film convention there is no power cut at any time only when the character is in the house alone at night whent the killer is around. The killer usually turns the power off as they magically know how to do this.

• No phone signal or dead battery is a over used convention where just as the character needs to call for help the phone is  dead and character never thinks to keep the phone charged or charge the phone if they can which in most occasions they can but dont ever think to or they have signal in their house when they were making calls ealier in the film in the same loaction but when they really need to call someone they cant. Or are in silly places like a forest when its very unlikely they will ever get singal there.

• When the character is running away from the killer 90% they will trip anything from a very small branch, rock or literally nothing. The character always manages to fall over as they are being chased.

• Killed in first few mins is quite common the film will begin the after a minute or so a character will have been killed. This leaves the mystery of who killed the characters.

Examples of this is: Dead Wood (2007), Darkeness Falls 2003, Halloween

• Unknown killer a common convention where the audience know there is murders taking place and see the character die but dont see who does it. It creates a sense of mystery where the audience start guessing who it can be like the caretaker the head teacher the dead daughter back fro revenge the audience guess all thse people before the killer is finally revealed.

Examples of this convention are: The Blair Witch Project (1999)

• Its typical that the car would brake down not in a busy town where help is all around but in a quite deserted road or town where the killer is around.

• Another convention nearly always used is when there is a female and male character quite young and usually a couple the man is always shown as strong and the female week.

Research : Codes

By looking at the film poster I can tell the that the genre of the film is a Horror. The skull on the front of the ship is associated with death and violence which a main idea to use in Horror. The colours used are dark quite dull, the eerie clouds are all associated with Horror. The picture of the ship is relevant as the title is 'Ghost Ship' the ship it's self is scary which is linked to Horror. The ship is damaged which may means the ship was damged in some way leading for me to believe that the ship was damaged with many being killed which is what a Horror story usually includes.

I can tell by the poster that the film is a Romance as both characters  are about to kiss, kissing is widly associated with Romance, yes most films have a kiss in it but beacause the poster has two characters on about to kiss it suggests the film is based on that and the theme of love. Its a passionate look taking place with the girl closing her eyes and the boy looking in to her eyes which is hinting at theres a connection between them which is to do with Romance.




Techincal Codes

Camera shots- This is the establishing shot, long shot, mid shot, close up, extreme close up, over the shoulder shot

• Establishing shot- This is where the shot is of the place where the next scene will place for instance if there is a picture of a house then the scene is to take place in the house.

• Long shot- This is where the shot is taken from a distance so more can be seen.

• Mid shot- Is Usually of half the body from the face down to the waist.

• Close up- Is of the face and shoulders.

• Extreme close up- Is to show the detail of the facial expressions of the actor.

• Over the shoulder shot- This is used when a convosation takes place.

Camera angles- This is high or low angles.


Camera Movements- These are The Tracking Shot, Tilt Shot, Zoom, Arc Shot, Crane View, Panning Shot, Point of View Shot

• Tracking shot- This is so the audience can follow the action this is used when the character is walking or running.
• Tilt Shot- This can be used when revealing a character where the shot works its way from the feet upwards to the face and vise versa.
• Zoom- Used when theres a close up then zooming out to maybe see the surroundings of the person and can be used when zooming in from surroundings to the characters face.
• Arc shot- So the audicene can see the whole view.
• Crane View- The audience can see above the action can be used to show the vulnerability of a character.
• Panning Shot- So the audience can see one side of the action to the other.
• Point of View Shot- So the audience can see the action from the characters view.

Editing

 This is how the footage is edited to fit together for instance the shot reverse shot, the convosation would be filmed from over the shoulder one character and film over the shoulder of the other character, the its edited together so the scene flows from one over the should shot other the other characters over the shot shot.



Sound

• Diegetic Sound- This is sound made in the actual scene for instance the scene could be set in the woods so the sound like birds tweeting, the sound of the leaves on the tree rustling and the sound of the wind these are all diegectic sounds that are made by the surroundings.
• Non- Diegetic Sound- This would  be the music put in for instance if theres a running scene then there maybe a piano playing faster and faster ovbiously the piano is not actually there is the sound put in on the scene.

Lighting

• Dark- If the lighting is small and the scene is quite dark its makes the scene quite scary and unknown of whats about to happen, in horror films the lighting is usually dark which makes the scene scary which is needed in horror. Also means night time.
• Light- Used in most films in the day time quite casual, not scary and not used in horror films much. Used in Comedy, Romance and can be sued in Action films as a light non scary atmospere.

Titles

Mainly used at the begining of the film so the audience knows what the film is and that it is about to begin. Also used when the film is set in different time periods like '20 years ago' then a scene to 20 years ago or 'Last night' the scene will then be of last night.


Symbolic Codes

Costumes

This shows the type of character they are. If a character is wearing a wearing a smart work suit with a tie,polished shoes, neat gelled hair with a brief case this shows the character is ready for buisness and quite a smart important person. If the character is wearing jeans and and t-shirt it shows they are laid back and chilling. If the character is wearing a short skirt and tight top then it shows the audicence the character is abit tarty. The costume shows what kind of person they are and what they are going do if they are dressed casual its unlikely they are going to an important meeting likwise if they wear a suit they wont be chilling on the sofa watching TV.

Make- Up

If the character is wearing fake eye lashes, fake tanned and bright red lip stick then they are probably  going out for a night out. If the character is covered in blood then it shows they have been hurt in some way.


Location

If the scene is set in a dark lonely forest then its likely to be a horror or anywhere abandoned as its typical for a horror to take place in those types of places. The loction could be a shopping centre or a house or a park which is quite casual. If its raining and dark then its likely to be a horror as this is typical but it can be 2 characters in a romance movie and kiss this is a typical scene that takes place in horrors.




Props

Used lots in films for instance a character could be carring Chanel, Gucci and Louis Vuitton bags it shows the charater has been shopping and is rich to afford those types of clothes. A man could be suing a walking stick which shows he is old.

History of Horror films 1980's