This is my evaluation video outlining the good and bad points of filming our videos.
Thursday 26 April 2012
Evaluation video
This is my evaluation video outlining the good and bad points of filming our videos.
Wednesday 25 April 2012
Question 6 Prezi
Technology on Prezi
This is my Prezi about how technology has facilitated me in making my short film.
This is my Prezi about how technology has facilitated me in making my short film.
Question 5
How did you attract your audience?
The Others (12)
The Others is rated a 12, this shows that the film obviously doesn't contain any very scary threats and that there are no scenes of strong violence, sex or nudity. As this film is classed as a thriller it has no actual frightening images. The film is more a sense of the unknown and a building of tension caused by lighting, music and build up. IMDb shows that this film is watched by a very large audience ranging from 12-45+ I believe the film was created on purpose for a large audience so they could make a lot of profit and let people of many ages enjoy the film.
Paranormal Activity (15)
Paranormal Activity is rated a 15 as it shows a lot more disturbing images and violence. This film is mainly hantings therefore it will show many threats and quite evil characters and scenes of possession. Although is has no scenes of sex, violence or mutilation therefore it is not an 18. The target audience I believe for this film because it is a psychological horror will be around 15-30 year olds male and female.
The Human Centipede (18)
The Human Centipede is rated an 18 because it shows disturbing scenes of violence, mutilation and high levels of gore and torture. The plot of the film is three people who are surgically attached to eachother against their own will and then tortured and ordered around like slaves. It is a very disturbing film which is quite rightly rated an 18. IMDb shows people aged around 18-29 watched this film the most and surprisingly a lot more males than females watched and rated this film, therefore from this information I believe the film was aged at people aged around 18-29 and mainly males because stereotypically they watch gorey films a lot more than females.
SAW (18)
SAW contains high levels of gore, violence, torture and suffering. Much like Human Centipede therefore it also rated an 18. The main plot of the this film is victims have to play the 'game' which usually contains self harming to win and if they win they are freed but at the cost of usually losing a limb. If they lose they are brutally killed by the mechanical contraptions the main evil character has created. SAW is very similar to The Human Centipede in IMDb user ratings as many more males watched the film than females and again the film was most likely aimed at 18-29 year olds as they seemed to rate it a lot more than other ages.
Insidious (15)
Insidous contains quite evil scenes of demons and poltergeists. The film is mainl about hauntings much like Paranormal Activity yet it is said to be quite scarier. Yet it doesn't contain any scenes of sex, violence, nudity, torture or gore. Therefore it is classed as a 15. The target audience I believe for this film because it is a psychological horror will be around 15-30 year olds male and female.
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MGwo7kjymp0/T5ZiNRSwUnI/AAAAAAAAAS8/FN0Id-EKfss/s200/Picture+15.png)
The Others is rated a 12, this shows that the film obviously doesn't contain any very scary threats and that there are no scenes of strong violence, sex or nudity. As this film is classed as a thriller it has no actual frightening images. The film is more a sense of the unknown and a building of tension caused by lighting, music and build up. IMDb shows that this film is watched by a very large audience ranging from 12-45+ I believe the film was created on purpose for a large audience so they could make a lot of profit and let people of many ages enjoy the film.
![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HxAlQgWjTYY/T5ZiPIk2vgI/AAAAAAAAATE/edqYHHuUbUY/s200/Picture+16.png)
Paranormal Activity is rated a 15 as it shows a lot more disturbing images and violence. This film is mainly hantings therefore it will show many threats and quite evil characters and scenes of possession. Although is has no scenes of sex, violence or mutilation therefore it is not an 18. The target audience I believe for this film because it is a psychological horror will be around 15-30 year olds male and female.
The Human Centipede is rated an 18 because it shows disturbing scenes of violence, mutilation and high levels of gore and torture. The plot of the film is three people who are surgically attached to eachother against their own will and then tortured and ordered around like slaves. It is a very disturbing film which is quite rightly rated an 18. IMDb shows people aged around 18-29 watched this film the most and surprisingly a lot more males than females watched and rated this film, therefore from this information I believe the film was aged at people aged around 18-29 and mainly males because stereotypically they watch gorey films a lot more than females.
![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xCa4IeuFEec/T5ZiQ_DdJKI/AAAAAAAAATM/FObdEqKlZlA/s200/Picture+18.png)
SAW contains high levels of gore, violence, torture and suffering. Much like Human Centipede therefore it also rated an 18. The main plot of the this film is victims have to play the 'game' which usually contains self harming to win and if they win they are freed but at the cost of usually losing a limb. If they lose they are brutally killed by the mechanical contraptions the main evil character has created. SAW is very similar to The Human Centipede in IMDb user ratings as many more males watched the film than females and again the film was most likely aimed at 18-29 year olds as they seemed to rate it a lot more than other ages.
Insidous contains quite evil scenes of demons and poltergeists. The film is mainl about hauntings much like Paranormal Activity yet it is said to be quite scarier. Yet it doesn't contain any scenes of sex, violence, nudity, torture or gore. Therefore it is classed as a 15. The target audience I believe for this film because it is a psychological horror will be around 15-30 year olds male and female.
Question 5 How the do the credits and music engage the audience?
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aJTQ-1U_v8c/T5foIi5m68I/AAAAAAAAAXk/l6sWizcMH7E/s400/credits+1.jpg)
However, the second theme of our credits is ruin and neglect. The doll is to symbolise the innocence of children and how its come to be neglected and discarded. There's mud and plants encasing it, showing how its gone to ruin, the audience may possibly feel as though something strange is happening.
The book makes is filmed at a high angle, suggesting that this hold some power and significance. This book is also featured in the opeing of the film, the strange occurences begin when this book is found in the box. The wind flickers through the pages and the audience may interpret this as ghostly.
The final image shows a tap dripping, this gives off an airy sound. The sink is half full, which shows this has been happening for a while, this could raise the question of why hasn't it been turned off. The audience my find this image strange, and that this place has been abandoned to fall into ruin .
Music
The music used in the film creates tension and build up, the use of strings makes the clip seem airy. This music is frequent all the way through the film, louder in the credits and dropping in volume into the opening of the film. The audience should feel the constant tension in the air from this, that the threat is always there, represented in the music.Tuesday 24 April 2012
Question 3 advertising campaign
This is a sample poster, made from a still from the film. This will not be used in promoting the film, it was just something that helped us get an idea of what we would like for our final poster. The things we liked was having the threat as the main subject, it being at a low angle and having trees or woodland in the background, also the fonts.
Our final poster that we have chosen to promote our film with shall appeare in cinemas, on buses, phone boxes and in magazines. This is where a lot of the film promotion posters i have seen to feauture the most frequently. The poster has had a lot more work go into it, for example special effects and extra details.
Our advertisements including trailors would be feautured on prime time telly vision, and before films of the same age rating in cinemas so to grab the wider audience range. Durring this time and places, the more people will be seeing the advertisements, therefore getting more viewers.
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UaMS6EU30XE/T5cV-9nLeGI/AAAAAAAAAXU/yksz0numcHU/s320/poster.png)
Our advertisements including trailors would be feautured on prime time telly vision, and before films of the same age rating in cinemas so to grab the wider audience range. Durring this time and places, the more people will be seeing the advertisements, therefore getting more viewers.
Question 3
Release Diary:
USA Cinemas: 28th March 2012
UK Cinemas: 28th March 2012
Europe Cinemas: 30th March 2012
Asian Cinemas: 5th April 2012
Australian Cinemas: 29th March2012
African Cinemas: 5th April 2012
USA DVD: June 1st 2012
UK DVD: June 1st 2012
Europe DVD: June 5th 2012
Asian DVD: June 12th 2012
Austrialian DVD:June 1st 2012
African DVD: June 12th 2012
USA Cinemas: 28th March 2012
UK Cinemas: 28th March 2012
Europe Cinemas: 30th March 2012
Asian Cinemas: 5th April 2012
Australian Cinemas: 29th March2012
African Cinemas: 5th April 2012
USA DVD: June 1st 2012
UK DVD: June 1st 2012
Europe DVD: June 5th 2012
Asian DVD: June 12th 2012
Austrialian DVD:June 1st 2012
African DVD: June 12th 2012
Who would be the audience for your media product (Question 4)
Our main audience for our film would be men and women aged from 15-30 as they are the most common ages of people that watch psychological horrors.
Our film is rated 15 by BBFC standards as it has no gore yet it is slightly too dark and scary for 0-14 year olds.
Horror films rated as 12 are allowed when the theme of the film is quite mild scares and the scares aren't that frequent throughout. Minor use of violence of sexual themes are allowed, also drug use shouldn't be used to give instructional detail. Explicit language mustn't be commonly used throughout the film.
The horror content in a 15 rated film is allowed a quite appealing and evil threat, without use of sexual acts or sadistic scenes. Drug use is also permitted but should not be encouraged in any way. Gore is not permitted but strong language is allowed to be frequently used.
Any horror themes are allowed to be violent, sexual scenes, nudity, torture and sadistic scenes if the film is rated an 18. Yet scenes that breach criminal law for example detailed scenes of sexualised assault are most commonly unacceptable. Gore is acceptable also in this genre. Most extreme scenes are allowed to be 18 as people over 18 are allowed to choose what they watch.
Our film is rated 15 by BBFC standards as it has no gore yet it is slightly too dark and scary for 0-14 year olds.
Guidelines and Classifications from BBFC
www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/guidelinesHorror films rated as 12 are allowed when the theme of the film is quite mild scares and the scares aren't that frequent throughout. Minor use of violence of sexual themes are allowed, also drug use shouldn't be used to give instructional detail. Explicit language mustn't be commonly used throughout the film.
The horror content in a 15 rated film is allowed a quite appealing and evil threat, without use of sexual acts or sadistic scenes. Drug use is also permitted but should not be encouraged in any way. Gore is not permitted but strong language is allowed to be frequently used.
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DDlLkA0gHXw/T5f7Vef1usI/AAAAAAAAAYI/62j0tCME97Q/s200/18.png)
Question 3; Our poster
This is the poster we have created for our film, it foregrounds the threat in the same way other posters like the one for Shrooms, has. The fonts and colour scheme coincide with what was used in the opening credits. The darkness is symbolic of the dark themes and unknowing within the film. The photo of the house is taken from a low angle, suggesting that it holds power and makes the audience feel lower in status.
It conforms with the conventions of a horror film poster, it has star ratings and quotes from well known newspapers. The production company and age rating is also displayed clearly in the bottom corners.
Our Film Poster (Question 3)
This is our sample film poster, it follows similar conventions of other horror film posters as it shows the main threat in the image which in our the film is the house. We chose to make it black and white as many horror film posters don't have much colour in their posters to make them more intense and give a stronger feel.
I inserted the films BBFC age certificate and inserted our production logo at the bottom (LastMinuteFilms) I also included the release date at the top to show the audience when the film will be out in the cinemas. I also included two reviews from top newspapers about the film to lure the audience in and I have seen this a lot on film posters therefore we decided to add it in to our poster.
Release Diary:
Cinema Release: 28th March 2012
DVD Release: 20th July 2012
This is our production logo which follows certain conventions for horror production logos as the text is quite splattered and almost represents blood apart from it not being red. We decided to make it more of a dirty brown colour because red is very commonly used in production logos. We also used a black background to allow it to stand out as it would be crowded with a detailed background.
This is 'Twisted Pictures' logo who play with the name of their company within the logo by making what is almost barbed wire twisted around the text and use the big spike in the middle to separate the two words. This keeps it very simple and down to earth, the black background helps the logo stand out much more as it wouldn't stand out very well with a coloured background.
Here 'Lionsgate' use a very dark, striking, horror looking red. The typeface is very big, bold and square, it stands out to the audience it is almost very serious as a font. The layout is simple as the title is big and bold in the middle surrounded by dark red clouds, this makes the title very iconic as almost straightaway the logo is recognisable without even properly reading the text. The logo establishes the scary horror theme and the stone coloured text suggests the realism and seriousness of the company and sets quite a mysterious tone
Question 5; Attracting the audience
The Others (12)
The Others is rated a 12, this is probably because the themes of the film only contain mild horror. There are no scenes of strong violence or nudity, which would normally increase the rating. This film is a thriller, it does not contain any frightening images. The horror is stemmed from the build up, background music and lighting which creates a sense of unknowing.
Paranormal Activity (15)
Paranormal Activity contains stronger themes of haunting. This shows scenes of actual horror, for example possession, poltergeist activity and intense levels of distress of the victims. However, it does not have any sexual content or scene of violence or mutilation, therefore it doesn't have and 18 age rating.The Grudge (15)
The Grudge is a film based on the idea of a ghost seeking revenge. The film shows the threat to be of a sinister appearance, stalking its victims which could be seen as frightening. Through out the film we do not see the victims dyeing in a way that displays high levels of gore. There are also no sexual themes and nudity within this film.
SAW (18)
The SAW films however contain, themes of stalking, high levels of gore, violence, torture, suffering and nudity. Therefore this film is deemed to be an 18. The main plot is for victims to free themselves from death by torturing themselves, here we see scenes of people cutting off there own body parts, burning and stabbing themselves.
Hostel is a film that consolidates all the themes of an 18 rated film. Within the film, scenes of torture and torment, sex and nudity and the threat is displayed in a frightening way. The main idea is to mutilate people to harbor their body parts.
Guidelines and Classifications from BBFC
www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/guidelinesAny horror that is in this certificate is allowed as long as the themes are moderate and its infrequent throughout the film. Other guidelines that the film has to follow include minor details in violence and sexual themes, not glamourising the use of drugs or giving instructional detail and explicit langauge must be rare and infrequent.
The horror content in a film thats been rated a 15 is allowed to have a stronge menacing threat,as long as this is not sexualised or sadistic in anyway. Drug use is allowed to be shown but shouldn't be promoted, stronge gorey images are not allowed but the use of frequent strong language is acceptable.
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DDlLkA0gHXw/T5f7Vef1usI/AAAAAAAAAYI/62j0tCME97Q/s1600/18.png)
Tuesday 27 March 2012
Tuesday 6 March 2012
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
In marketing, distribution is the process of moving a product from its manufacturing source to its customers. In film, distribution is the phase after packaging. The package will be on some distribution medium such as a DVD or may be simply located on a server where customers can download it electronically. Distribution is also the process of getting your film seen, promoting your film using advertising such as posters and trailers.
We might distribute our film in ways such as posters and trailers using examples for inspiration:
We might distribute our film in ways such as posters and trailers using examples for inspiration:
This film is distributed by Dimension Films who have a parent company who are Walt Disney; a major distributor. This poster is quite striking as it shows the typical 'Scream' mask which is commonly known for many film fans to show the film is 'Scream'. The mask blends into a blade which shows the film is quite evil and obviously a slasher. Colours are mainly black, white and red which are commonly known as quite common colours for horror films. The text is very basic and bold and makes it clear, they also changed the A in 'Scream' for a 4 to show it's the 4th film.
The trailer also fits in with the theme of the poster, the titles are blacks, greys and reds and also in the same text style of what is used in the poster. There is dramatic horror tension building music throughout the trailer and jump scenes. It draws in the viewer using things such as tension building music and smooth dark titles. Also the trailer goes from quite slow clips to very fast paced clips. This keeps the viewer entertained so they do not get bored watching the trailer, the trailer finishes with everything going fast paced and the main threat is shown many times. It is topped off with the title 'SCRE4M' in the same style as it is on the posters fading into the distance.
This poster for 'Shrooms' was distributed by Vertigo Films who are an independent UK film company. The poster is quite similar to the scream poster as it uses black and white with hints of green/blue, but mainly it has almost a skull face in the moon similar to the mask face on scream's poster. The text is a lot more basic in this poster and is almost blurred white lines coming from the text. This poster actually includes more of a background unlike 'Scream' which just had a black background with the threat. The titles and text work around this picture and the layout works really well. Although given that it is distributed by an independent film company the poster doesn't look somewhat as professional as the 'Scream' poster which was distributed by a major media institution.
This trailer is very well done and keeps the viewer watching, it is a slow start with long length shots and as the trailer goes on and the music gets more intense the clips begin to shorten and more events happen in them. The fonts used are the same that are used for the title 'Shrooms' yet at the end of the trailer isn't the same font as used in the poster. Colours used in the title are greys and whites such as in the poster again, at the end of the trailer the clips get very jumpy with scenes of the threat.
Question 3 What is Distribution?
1) Distribution of a film is the process of promoting the product and getting it seem by the right audiences. This will involve the production and distribution of posters and trailers which would be shown on the sides of buses and on TV for example.
The Strangers is a horror film produced by a independent production company 'Rogue'. The poster is for-grounding the victim at the front of the shot, with the threat behind them. This is symbolising the hidden horror of the film, the characters are surrounded by black and the darkness showing that maybe there's no escape. The victims red and white clothing fits in with the colour scheme of poster, red symbolically representing blood. Her facial expression is worried and uncertain, as if she's being tormented.
This is similar to trailer, we see a shot of the masked figure in the background, showing how unaware the victim is of his presences. Furthermore, the time of day in which this happens is the night time. This creates a scarier atmosphere for the audience, there are more dark corners for threats to hide in, the whole lighting of the trailer is dull with an orange tinge. Towards he end, the shot lengths become shorter and it seems to flick back and forth, showing the panic in the characters.
The Grudge Trilogy was distributed by 'Columbia Pictures' who's parent company is 'Sony Entertainment' which is a major film production and distribution company.
The poster is different to the style of the 'The Strangers', its plainly just showing the threat of the film. The colour scheme is still the same red and black, the blackness is masking the threat, making her more mysterious.
The Strangers is a horror film produced by a independent production company 'Rogue'. The poster is for-grounding the victim at the front of the shot, with the threat behind them. This is symbolising the hidden horror of the film, the characters are surrounded by black and the darkness showing that maybe there's no escape. The victims red and white clothing fits in with the colour scheme of poster, red symbolically representing blood. Her facial expression is worried and uncertain, as if she's being tormented.
This is similar to trailer, we see a shot of the masked figure in the background, showing how unaware the victim is of his presences. Furthermore, the time of day in which this happens is the night time. This creates a scarier atmosphere for the audience, there are more dark corners for threats to hide in, the whole lighting of the trailer is dull with an orange tinge. Towards he end, the shot lengths become shorter and it seems to flick back and forth, showing the panic in the characters.
The Grudge Trilogy was distributed by 'Columbia Pictures' who's parent company is 'Sony Entertainment' which is a major film production and distribution company.
The poster is different to the style of the 'The Strangers', its plainly just showing the threat of the film. The colour scheme is still the same red and black, the blackness is masking the threat, making her more mysterious.
Tuesday 21 February 2012
Question 3 Production company logos
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QbZK68Y-uVs/T0NwWFTxbvI/AAAAAAAAAO4/S0a2Ic7-jhA/s320/Picture+16.png)
The main text has been displayed in the middle of the page, which is over lapping the image in the background. This draws the audiences attention to the writing first and then the image behind. It is instantly establishing the theme of horror and definitely setting the tone for an old style horror film to follow such as 'Dracula' or 'Frankenstein'. This logo isn't very good for modern horrors.
This logo is very simplistic and almost sophisticated. The font being in a formal golden font imply to the audience that the film has been made by a high-end production company. The black background with the simple writing and logo be easily memorable. The complex golden shape above the text is very iconic and would be recognisable to many audiences as 'Legendary Pictures' because of the logo above.
This is image, like the other is displayed in the centre so it grabs the attention of the viewers. This logo doesn't really strike out as establishing any theme in particular, this logo is almost given as a general logo as this company obviously wouldn't just specify in one theme such as comedy or horror. But the sophistication and bold theme of this logo sets the right tone as I believe as a viewer the film to follow will be very well made and very professional.
This logo is very striking and appealing to the viewer. The typeface used is quite regular and casual but not perfectly proportioned or all equal height unlike the above photo, colour used is quite regular grey and almost brown for the barbed wire wrapping the text. This keeps it very simple and down to earth, the black background helps the logo stand out much more as it wouldn't stand out very well with a coloured background. The spike in the middle is very iconic as it very big and eye catching for the audience, the way the barbed wire is wrapped and twisted around the title fits with the actual name of the title 'Twisted Pictures'. Composition is used very well as the barbed wire and spike are both placed very well and instantly stand out and becoming instantly recognisable as 'Twisted Pictures'. The theme of this logo instantly lets the viewer know that the coming feature is most definitely going to be a horror film and brings quite a dark, eerie mood to the viewer.
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-plhgkYahcZY/T0NwbvM8SLI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/LsfnFwF5Nxw/s320/Picture+13.png)
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DGO9MMkMe_Y/T5ZwB98ZpQI/AAAAAAAAAUM/K55-3XOXn4w/s1600/Picture+24.png)
The background for our logo is completely black, showing conveying a fear of unknowing and uncertainty. The name of our company is in capital letters in the same way the other posters have. The font is a smudged and distorted, which could represent desperation and disregard.
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The victim here is a white american female aged probably late 20s, by the looks of her appearance and home she is most probably working class possibly middle class. She is represented being very anxious and quite scared, due to this she can't sleep and wakes. The threat however is quite a tall long haired white male who looks around 30/40 years old, he is wearing quite dark clothing and is probably working class. He is represented as very short tempered when he sees the woman he suddenly becomes quite angry which scares the woman. This follows a lot of stereotypes and the dominant ideology that males are the dominant gender and are more controlling over women therefore they scare women very easily.
The victim in this scene is a white young boy aged roughly around 10, he is represented as quite scared and worried again probably because he is younger. Strange things are happening around what looks like his home and he is very anxiously exploring to try and find the source of the strange sounds. He is almost quite brave as he explores the house and confronts the threat. This challenges many stereotypes as most people will believe young boys to be easily scared and not to confront threats head on or try and find the problem. The threat is a white girl roughly aged the same as the boy who is represented looking very sad and ill, she doesn't look that threatening as most stereotypical psychological threats. This challenges stereotypes and also the fact that the girl is now the threat and the boy is the victim is challenging the stereotype from the previous video.
How has your planning evidenced your understanding of social groups representation?
We chose the male actor because he seemed to fit the part. As he looks quite old and mature, because of his facial hair, he's an English white slim character which fits the stereotypes of most psychological horror couples.
The female actress also fits the part as she looks the right age to suit the male actor and looks very mature. She is also slim and white English which suits the stereotypes of psychological horrors again.
The story of a new couple moving into a new house trying to start a life fits our actors appropriately. There seems to be strange behaviour in the neighbor hood, and weird happening from inside the house too. This fits with the conventions of modern psychological horror films as most of them seem to be young couples being haunted because of their house of their family.
Our target audience is mainly 15-25 year olds as they match the age of the victims so it will reference to them and their lifestyle much more than for example a 70 year old man watching the film. People who will watch this will probably be working class couples that are interest in horror films.
Previous Student Work Inspiration
What I have learned from watching this students piece:
We spotted that the storyline is slightly similar to ours as the house is the threat so we took inspiration from this. This film uses many different angles and works with the house a lot better than our first shoot, they also allow more time and slower shots so it's not as jumpy and fast paced which creates more tension. We should take this into account on our next shoot by taking more time in shots and also frame better, the continuity is good in this clip and flows well. Also we should use a lot more space that we have in our location as in this film they use the location's space to work the shots.
Title Sequence Shooting Locations
Shot 1 - Dirty Bedroom - (Try individual bedrooms and compare)
Shot 2 - Misty foggy tree's strange shadow figure - (Long Eaton)
Shot 3 - Church graveyard - (Long Eaton)
Shot 4 - Hooded figure stood near house (Paige's house)
Shot 5 - White noise on tv in room (Try individual rooms)
Shot 6 - Broken Doll/Toy - (Paige's house)
Shot 7 - Tap dripping (Paige's house)
Shot 8 - Cracked family photo (Kyle's house)
Shot 9 - Man stood on edge of building (Notts)
Shot 2 - Misty foggy tree's strange shadow figure - (Long Eaton)
Shot 3 - Church graveyard - (Long Eaton)
Shot 4 - Hooded figure stood near house (Paige's house)
Shot 5 - White noise on tv in room (Try individual rooms)
Shot 6 - Broken Doll/Toy - (Paige's house)
Shot 7 - Tap dripping (Paige's house)
Shot 8 - Cracked family photo (Kyle's house)
Shot 9 - Man stood on edge of building (Notts)
Tuesday 7 February 2012
Skills Recap
Fear is created in this video clip in many ways such as
Shot reverse shots are used to put yourself in the characters shoes and to show what they're looking at and then there facial expression. This works well to create fear because the easiest way to scare the viewers is to put them in the characters point of view.
The position of the tripod is changed throughout the clip such as when she reaches the top of the stairs the tripod is lowered to the floor to indicate the water leaking out of the room and so you can see the character getting closer to the camera.
Shot length is varied throughout the clip such as some parts are long lengths and then some shots don't last very long at all. The shots are dragged out to create tension and for the audience to be scared as to what is going to happen next.
Shot type
Shot angle
Colour
Lighting
Shot reverse shots are used to put yourself in the characters shoes and to show what they're looking at and then there facial expression. This works well to create fear because the easiest way to scare the viewers is to put them in the characters point of view.
The position of the tripod is changed throughout the clip such as when she reaches the top of the stairs the tripod is lowered to the floor to indicate the water leaking out of the room and so you can see the character getting closer to the camera.
Shot length is varied throughout the clip such as some parts are long lengths and then some shots don't last very long at all. The shots are dragged out to create tension and for the audience to be scared as to what is going to happen next.
Shot type
Shot angle
Colour
Lighting
Question 3
These posters of previous psychological horror films all convey the same themes. The dark colours (black red and grey) seem to be surrounding and encasing the subject of the poster. The character on the poster are all vulnerable women, there facial expressions are scared and worried. This shows the audience how the film will unfold and who will be being haunted.
The composition of the image just takes up one area of the space, for example The Others poster takes up the left hand side and An American Haunting at the bottom. It could suggest that there is something perhaps sinister and unseen in the empty spaces. This has inspired our poster to use the same themes.
However, in other posters its the threat thats having attention drawn to it. The Shrooms poster for example is foregrounding the threat, whilst The Orphanage has it in the background.
Tuesday 31 January 2012
Assessment of first shoots
Weaknesses:
The camerawork wasn't very stable as the tripod was slightly broken. Therefore the shots were slightly wobbly.
The clip was quite jumpy and there wasn't good continuity when the couple were walking down the stairs to the cupboard, it doesn't flow how we wanted it to. It needed an extra shot inbetween coming from the stairs to cupboard.
The clip wasn't very scary probably because it wasn't fully edited and the lighting didn't make the film look very scary or easily show that it was a psychological horror. We also had no action/reaction shots, reverse shots to show the characters emotion. The colours were too bright and didn't create stereotypical psychological horror look.
Strengths:
The characters and settings were believable, the house had been made to look like it had just been moved into. The props for example, the book, looked realistic.
The acting was appropriate and made sense, the dialogue was clear and the actors understood what they were they were meant to be doing.
The composition of the shots worked well throughout the film. There was a variety of shot types and angles that quickened the pace of the film. The house is empty and is supposed to create an atmosphere of emptiness and vulnerability.
Evaluation Question 4
The audience that we have targeted our film at would be young people, more likely female because this is the highest social group that watch psychological horrors in the cinema. Furthermore, the character with the most screen time is a white young women, she witnesses the most of the threats and therefore the audience are more likely to relate to her or put themselves in her position. The rating for this film should be a 15 because it doesn't contain themes strong enough to earn an 18 certificate.
Monday 30 January 2012
Evaluation Question 2
I chose this actor to play the part of the older male, as he seemed right for the part. He has a facial hair which gives the connotations that hes more mature, hes also slim, white and westernised as are the other young couples from the films from my subgenre.
This actress is in her twenties so she fits the part as being in a young couple, she's blonde which could suggest innocence. Shes also slim white and westernised like her onscreen boyfriend, so they represent everything that other films like Paranomal Activity do because the main characters fit into the same catagories.
The narrative of our film is a young couple just moving into a new house, they later realise that somethings wrong. There seems to be strange behaviour in the neightbour hood, and weird happening from inside the house too. This fits with the conventions of modern psychological horror films as most of them seem to be young couples being haunted because of their house of their family.
However, due to our inabiltiy to film with the original cast, the main characters needed changing. Instead of having a young couple, we used a young girl on her own which shows how much more vunerable she is. She wears a white shirt in the film to symbolise her innocence. Because shes on her own, the audience may feel more frightened for her, as she is unpretected from the threat that's haunting her.
The narrative of our film is a young couple just moving into a new house, they later realise that somethings wrong. There seems to be strange behaviour in the neightbour hood, and weird happening from inside the house too. This fits with the conventions of modern psychological horror films as most of them seem to be young couples being haunted because of their house of their family.
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MA4qPBG2HtU/T5cDA50dMZI/AAAAAAAAAXM/eAliJErE028/s320/olive.png)
Evaluation Question 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x7YNJdB1uk
This trailer of The Others represents middle class families in world war II. The mother has been left to run the house and take care of the children whilst the father is at war, and theres not promise of his returning. She also represents religous groups, as she has strong beliefs from the Bible. Shes also fits in with the stereotype of being a woman, shes unprotected from the threat in a big house.
Evaluation Question 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7UUtLZ1Sgw&feature=player_embedded
The mother in this clip of Insidious is conforming with the social stereotypes of being a woman. She appeares to be staying at home in the day time and doing domestic chores. By being home alone she is vunerable to the threat as she is seen as a weaker than a group of men for example. She's representing young western families of today aged in her twenties, this doesnt really challenge any stereotypes in the media.
Tuesday 24 January 2012
Reflective Evaulation
These images below show how our film has used, developed and challenged forms and conventions of existing media products.
This logo follows the stereotypical features of a psychological horror such as the main colour used is red which tends to represent blood in horrors and evil. Black is also used because horrors are dark and mysterious, the font used looks quite traditional almost but the ends of the letters are slightly split and twisted to probably represent evil and horror. The title is very large on the screen to almost jump out at you, the text is also written in capitals to maybe suggest realism and seriousness.
This is our logo for our film, it follows stereotypical features of quite a scary dripping horror look. It is not that similar to the Insidious title though. However it still gives off the same obvious message that the film is a horror, it still uses dark colours and quite striking text. The text here is also in capitals to suggest realism and seriousness of the film.
I chose this image because like above I believe this is a very important part of our film and very stereotypical in psychological horrrors. The victim has just opened the cupboard and has almost a shocked expression because the victims face is almost blank in shock. The lighting causes a very dark feel to the shot and gives off the impression something very evil is inside the cupboard. This makes the audience think and try to guess what horrible thing could of been inside.
This logo follows the stereotypical features of a psychological horror such as the main colour used is red which tends to represent blood in horrors and evil. Black is also used because horrors are dark and mysterious, the font used looks quite traditional almost but the ends of the letters are slightly split and twisted to probably represent evil and horror. The title is very large on the screen to almost jump out at you, the text is also written in capitals to maybe suggest realism and seriousness.
This is our logo for our film, it follows stereotypical features of quite a scary dripping horror look. It is not that similar to the Insidious title though. However it still gives off the same obvious message that the film is a horror, it still uses dark colours and quite striking text. The text here is also in capitals to suggest realism and seriousness of the film.
These titles are from 'Sixth Sense' and follow a very stereotypical psychological horror sequence, the text is again in capitals and there is also an old monochrome background of a city. There is also a black vignette around the video to create the mystery and a slight sense of the unknown. The font used is quite crooked and slightly odd looking, the text is also in white to match the black and white theme of the sequence.
These are the titles for our film which follow stereotypical horror conventions as the text is capitalised and quite different looking. The visuals are also an old book that is being blown about in the wind which follows stereotypical psychological horrors which usually show strange objects in strange locations.
These are the titles for our film which follow stereotypical horror conventions as the text is capitalised and quite different looking. The visuals are also an old book that is being blown about in the wind which follows stereotypical psychological horrors which usually show strange objects in strange locations.
This picture is of a character out of Insidious and this image instantly shows that the film is a psychological horror, this is because firstly you can notice the lighting is used from below and creates deep shadows on the face to show possible stress or worry on the character possibly because of surroundings. Secondly the woman looks quite serious and almost as if she is looking at something evil. The woman is also dressed as far as we can see in normal clothes which is the stereotypical costume of a psychological horror for the victims.
Here in our film you can see straightaway this film is a horror due to the lighting causing dark shadows on the characters face showing clear scared and worried emotion. This character also looks like she has possibly seen or is about to find something quite evil and scary. She is dressed quite normally as most victims are in psychological horrors.
![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Yyk2pJyxdVs/T40skQl1-nI/AAAAAAAAARc/qf1hOKcaOEg/s200/Picture+5.png)
This image clearly shows that the character shown is an evil character, this is shown by the use of pale white make-up and dark around the eyes. The use of costume also shows that this character is an evil woman as it is wearing a dress with a weird veil covering the characters face. The candle the character is holding also creates dark shadows on the characters face creating an evil look. This is not always the stereotypical look for a psychological horror enemy. But it does relate to some psychological demons and ghosts.
In our film we didn't actually show a clear shot of our threat or evil character as it was more psychological within the house and not necessarily visible. Our main threat was inside the cupboard where strange noises and sounds were coming from. You could tell this was evil due to the sound editing we added and the tension built up to opening the cupboard.
This image is a perfect example of stereotypical mise en scene for a psychological horror film containing demons. As you can see there is very dark and moody lighting in the room creating dark corners and mysterious shapes. The room is a stereotypical boy's bedroom which would be considered very normal as stereotypically in psychological horrors the victim's lives are normal until the plot unfolds. There is almost a strange demon shaped figure in the corner reaching out for the boy which gives a great sense of danger to the scene. There is also hospital equipment being used as props to show possibly pain and unease, this makes the audience believe there is something already not so right about the boy in the bed.
![](//1.bp.blogspot.com/-vpPjgwD8q-0/T40sjjYs30I/AAAAAAAAARU/sfu1csMSFis/s200/Picture+4.png)
I chose this key image because I believe it shows the stereotypical couple from many psychological horror films, as you can see the woman looks very worried from her facial expression and the man is seen to be trying to keep the woman calm with a slightly worried look himself. The costumes used are very casual normal clothes as are the couple. This is seen to be very common in modern psychological horrors as the victims are seen to be normal people to show things can happen to anyone.
This key image shows the main victim from our film, we were originally going to use a couple in our film but we had to make changes due to not being able to get the right actors. But a young female is very stereotypical of psychological horrors as they are commonly chosen to play as the victims in many of todays horrors. Here she looks very vulnerable and alone with a slightly confused and worried look.
I chose this key image as I believe it is very shocking image from the psychological horror 'Insidious' and shows the evil happening to the normal everyday family. As you can see the bed sheets have been torn and stained with blood in the shapes of hand prints. The boy on the floor looks like the main victim here and is unconscious on the floor while his parents are trying to make sure he is okay. This is a very stereotypical situation in a psychological horror containing a family as the most vulnerable (the youngest) is usually targeted as the audience normally care more for children.
This key image from our film shows our character about to be shocked by what she sees in the cupboard. This a good jump scare yet the audience don't actually see what is in the cupboard which keeps the audience thinking of what could be in there. They have to presume the worst by the emotion that is about to be shown on the victim's face.
This shot is very important i think as it shows the very normal looking father from insidious being almost mocked by as we can see the evil character in the story. The make-up used on the demon is very striking colours; red and black. Which are usaully represented as evil colours for example red can mean blood and black is dark and mysterious, the unknown. This shot is very striking and is used to shock the audience in the film with a slight jump-scare. Which is a very common way to scare the audience in psychological horrors.
I think this shot is a key image as it shows the victim being teased or mocked by the threat by it walking past the window and making the victim go to the window yet not seeing anything or anyone. This is very common in many modern day psychological horrors as the main threats tend to lead the victims onto places or do things they may not want to.
I chose this image as a key image as I believe it is a very stereotypical view on psychological horrors, the mother is standing in the dark room shocked by what must be something evil that the mother did not expect. The lighting used in this creates quite a mysterious feeling and a sense of the unknown. The camera is mainly focused on her to show the audience that she is very important in this shot and should be noticed to show the audience that something bad has happened. There is also a man holding technical equipment in the background to make the shot even more mysterious and for the audience to think 'what is going on?' this is a good use of props and backing up the ideology of modern psychological horrors.
In our film we didn't actually show a clear shot of our threat or evil character as it was more psychological within the house and not necessarily visible. Our main threat was inside the cupboard where strange noises and sounds were coming from. You could tell this was evil due to the sound editing we added and the tension built up to opening the cupboard.
This image is a perfect example of stereotypical mise en scene for a psychological horror film containing demons. As you can see there is very dark and moody lighting in the room creating dark corners and mysterious shapes. The room is a stereotypical boy's bedroom which would be considered very normal as stereotypically in psychological horrors the victim's lives are normal until the plot unfolds. There is almost a strange demon shaped figure in the corner reaching out for the boy which gives a great sense of danger to the scene. There is also hospital equipment being used as props to show possibly pain and unease, this makes the audience believe there is something already not so right about the boy in the bed.
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vpPjgwD8q-0/T40sjjYs30I/AAAAAAAAARU/sfu1csMSFis/s200/Picture+4.png)
Here is a good example of mise en scene as This shows the audience that this film is about moving into a house that's being haunted, which is a typical theme from psychological horrors of today.The rule of thirds is also used here as the threat is in the thirds line showing the audience that this character walking past is significant to the movie.
I chose this key image because I believe it shows the stereotypical couple from many psychological horror films, as you can see the woman looks very worried from her facial expression and the man is seen to be trying to keep the woman calm with a slightly worried look himself. The costumes used are very casual normal clothes as are the couple. This is seen to be very common in modern psychological horrors as the victims are seen to be normal people to show things can happen to anyone.
This key image shows the main victim from our film, we were originally going to use a couple in our film but we had to make changes due to not being able to get the right actors. But a young female is very stereotypical of psychological horrors as they are commonly chosen to play as the victims in many of todays horrors. Here she looks very vulnerable and alone with a slightly confused and worried look.
I chose this key image as I believe it is very shocking image from the psychological horror 'Insidious' and shows the evil happening to the normal everyday family. As you can see the bed sheets have been torn and stained with blood in the shapes of hand prints. The boy on the floor looks like the main victim here and is unconscious on the floor while his parents are trying to make sure he is okay. This is a very stereotypical situation in a psychological horror containing a family as the most vulnerable (the youngest) is usually targeted as the audience normally care more for children.
This key image from our film shows our character about to be shocked by what she sees in the cupboard. This a good jump scare yet the audience don't actually see what is in the cupboard which keeps the audience thinking of what could be in there. They have to presume the worst by the emotion that is about to be shown on the victim's face.
This shot is very important i think as it shows the very normal looking father from insidious being almost mocked by as we can see the evil character in the story. The make-up used on the demon is very striking colours; red and black. Which are usaully represented as evil colours for example red can mean blood and black is dark and mysterious, the unknown. This shot is very striking and is used to shock the audience in the film with a slight jump-scare. Which is a very common way to scare the audience in psychological horrors.
I think this shot is a key image as it shows the victim being teased or mocked by the threat by it walking past the window and making the victim go to the window yet not seeing anything or anyone. This is very common in many modern day psychological horrors as the main threats tend to lead the victims onto places or do things they may not want to.
I chose this image as a key image as I believe it is a very stereotypical view on psychological horrors, the mother is standing in the dark room shocked by what must be something evil that the mother did not expect. The lighting used in this creates quite a mysterious feeling and a sense of the unknown. The camera is mainly focused on her to show the audience that she is very important in this shot and should be noticed to show the audience that something bad has happened. There is also a man holding technical equipment in the background to make the shot even more mysterious and for the audience to think 'what is going on?' this is a good use of props and backing up the ideology of modern psychological horrors.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)