Monday, 31 March 2014
Question 3. Who would distribute our film opening & why?
Who would distribute our film opening & why?
Saturday, 29 March 2014
Audience Feedback
After seeing their reactions we decided to interview four members of the audience.
Audience Reaction
We showed a class of girls at our school within our target audience being teenagers our media product.
Wednesday, 19 March 2014
Alan Smithee
Research on Alan Smithee and information on why we chose to include him in our film opening 'Hunted'.
Monday, 17 March 2014
Horror Masks
Horror Masks
Leather face, Texas Chainsaw Massacre:
Ghost Mask, Scream Franchise:
Horrifying Grinning Faces, The Purge:
Smiley, In Smiley:
Saw mask, Saw Franchise:
The horror mask in our final opening is similar to those above with the mouth being prominent and the white colour. The majority of the characters in these films are wearing dark black clothing as in our film opening, we sourced the mask from Emily Francis who made it from cardboard and then painted it. This gives it a slightly cracked look adding authenticity and originality.
Our Mask:
Leather face, Texas Chainsaw Massacre:
Ghost Mask, Scream Franchise:
Horrifying Grinning Faces, The Purge:
Smiley, In Smiley:
Saw mask, Saw Franchise:
The horror mask in our final opening is similar to those above with the mouth being prominent and the white colour. The majority of the characters in these films are wearing dark black clothing as in our film opening, we sourced the mask from Emily Francis who made it from cardboard and then painted it. This gives it a slightly cracked look adding authenticity and originality.
Our Mask:
Friday, 14 March 2014
Editing Techniques
One editing technique which I suggested we use in our film opening was the use of chopping up a clip and changing the order of them so that the figure in the shot appears to be twitching.
My first suggestion was that we would use it on the figure walking in the beginning of the film sequence making it appear like it jumps quickly forward and back.
I then suggested that we associate the cuts with the villain, and every time the villain appears, or something occurs in association with the villain we would use this technique.
As the villain was intended to be a figure of our main character's imagination, we wanted to use the technique on some of the shots of the girl.
We started to use it on the rotation of her head as she woke up and we really liked the overall affect. It looks like a twitch and represents a glitch in her mind telling the audience there is something wrong with her mentality.
I have since noticed this technique used in various other horror films such as The Grudge to replicate twitching in the same way we intended.
My first suggestion was that we would use it on the figure walking in the beginning of the film sequence making it appear like it jumps quickly forward and back.
I then suggested that we associate the cuts with the villain, and every time the villain appears, or something occurs in association with the villain we would use this technique.
As the villain was intended to be a figure of our main character's imagination, we wanted to use the technique on some of the shots of the girl.
We started to use it on the rotation of her head as she woke up and we really liked the overall affect. It looks like a twitch and represents a glitch in her mind telling the audience there is something wrong with her mentality.
I have since noticed this technique used in various other horror films such as The Grudge to replicate twitching in the same way we intended.
Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Sound Inspiration
Our Sound
We found our sound on FreeSound.org as Benedict as spoken about. It needed to fit the eery look to our film opening a create tension for the audience, our inspiration for using this particular score are many horror films with similar, in the sense of eeriness, music. It has slow creaky music which sends chills up the spine and leaves the audience waiting for something gruesome to happen, this is the case in many other horror films as well. Such as Nightmare On Elms Street:
NightMare On Elm Street
Nightmare On Elm Street uses similarly slow creepy music which puts the idea in the audience head that something is going to happen. In films such as horror music is key to create this panic in the audience:
The Hills Have Eyes II
The Hills Have Eyes II has a soundtrack very similar to that of our film. It is a slow creepy track with consistent beats building up the tension allowing for something to happen, this is very similar to our openings soundtrack which has a similar format:
We found our sound on FreeSound.org as Benedict as spoken about. It needed to fit the eery look to our film opening a create tension for the audience, our inspiration for using this particular score are many horror films with similar, in the sense of eeriness, music. It has slow creaky music which sends chills up the spine and leaves the audience waiting for something gruesome to happen, this is the case in many other horror films as well. Such as Nightmare On Elms Street:
NightMare On Elm Street
Nightmare On Elm Street uses similarly slow creepy music which puts the idea in the audience head that something is going to happen. In films such as horror music is key to create this panic in the audience:
The Hills Have Eyes II
The Hills Have Eyes II has a soundtrack very similar to that of our film. It is a slow creepy track with consistent beats building up the tension allowing for something to happen, this is very similar to our openings soundtrack which has a similar format:
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Monday, 10 March 2014
Hallucinations
After filming, editing, experimenting, and eventually changing our idea, we decided to include features related to hallucinations. This would allow us far more freedom and creativity in our filming.
In order to understand it more, we did some research on hallucinations.
"Hallucinations are vivid. They are distinguished from dreaming, which does not involve, illusion, imagery, and pseudohallucination. Hallucinations can occur in any sensory modality — visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, proprioceptive, equilibrioceptive, nociceptive, thermoceptive and chronoceptive." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucination
"Hallucinations are vivid. They are distinguished from dreaming, which does not involve, illusion, imagery, and pseudohallucination. Hallucinations can occur in any sensory modality — visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, proprioceptive, equilibrioceptive, nociceptive, thermoceptive and chronoceptive." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucination
Types of Hallucination
Visual - Seeing things that are not there/Seeing things that are there, but incorrectly or distorted
Auditory - Sounds (hissing, whistling etc) and voices/music
Olfactory - Smelling odours that are not physically present (e.g. Watching a romance movie and smelling the scent of roses)
Gustatory - Experiencing an imagined taste in the mouth (e.g. Watching a horror movie and tasting blood etc)
Tactile - Feeling pressure on skin or organs (e.g. Bugs crawling under skin etc)
Proprioceptive - Individual's perception of the body, joints, movement etc
Equilibrioceptive - Sense of balance
Nociceptive - Pain receptors/nerve system (e.g. Feeling imaginary physical pain with no cause)
Thermoceptive - Perception of temperature (e.g. Feeling cold when imagining ghosts/spirits)
Chronoceptive - Perception of time and the passing of time
We have decided to focus predominantly on visual hallucinations, as it will allow the audience to believe that the images our character sees are real. This will cause confusion and unease, which in turn will create the tension needed for our opening.
Some hallucinations we have decided to present in our opening are:
1. A cloaked, masked attacker
2. Bloody hands
3. A hanging body
We are going to look at adding a different filter to the clips which show these hallucinations, in order for the audience to differentiate them from the other clips, without making it obvious as to why.
We have decided to focus predominantly on visual hallucinations, as it will allow the audience to believe that the images our character sees are real. This will cause confusion and unease, which in turn will create the tension needed for our opening.
Some hallucinations we have decided to present in our opening are:
1. A cloaked, masked attacker
2. Bloody hands
3. A hanging body
We are going to look at adding a different filter to the clips which show these hallucinations, in order for the audience to differentiate them from the other clips, without making it obvious as to why.
Saturday, 8 March 2014
Friday, 7 March 2014
Film Certificate and Target Audience Research
15
| |
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.
|
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.
|
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.
|
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.
|
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).
|
The main qualities we feel our film touches on are violence, horror and drugs. All of which we feel our film would fit the guidelines for a 15 certificate.
To be sure our film would be of a 15 certificate we looked at some other popular horrors that are rated 15:
(Carrie, Warm bodies, Scream 4, Insidious, Dark Skies, The Cabin in the Woods, The Purge, Mama)
Thursday, 6 March 2014
Wednesday, 5 March 2014
What Makes Things Scary?
The main feature of a horror film is fear. The "scare" factor.
With this in mind, I decided to do some research on what actually makes things seem "scary", "creepy" and "unnatural". Therefore, we will be better able to make the decisions about our film opening that will make it suitably "creepy" for our audience.
Research by Nobuo Masataka also showed that children as young as three years old found it easier to identify snakes on a computer screen than flowers, showing how much fear and the inescapable instinct of survival are linked.
However, Thomas Straube, from the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, showed through brain scans that horror films don't actually activate fear in the amygdala at all, but rather fired up other parts of the brain instead. This would mean that, in actual fact, horror films don't actually scare us in the expected way that brain chemistry suggests.
A psychologist by the name of Dr. Glenn D. Walters identified the three main factors which make horror films so alluring to us.
1. Tension - This is created through mystery, shock, terror or gore.
2. Relevance - This is how far the film and its themes relate to the audience. The more it relates to the group or individual viewer, the more likely that group/individual will be drawn to watch the film.
3. Unrealism - However graphic a horror film may be, there is always something inside our minds that reminds us that what we are watching is not actually real. This is shown through a study by Haidt, McCauley and Rozin, who looked at disgust. Students in 1994 were shown a series of gruesome documentaries, and very few could make it to the end. However, these same participants would pay money to see worse on a movie screen. This is perhaps due to the fact that when we walk into a movie theatre, we know that what we see is fabricated. It is also why children should not watch scary films when young, as they have more difficulty separating fiction and reality, especially when seen on a movie screen.
With all this in mind, films that cause high levels of tension, are relevant to multiple groups of people, but still retain an air of unrealism, will hold more horror appeal for the viewer.
1. Gore Watching - Characterised by people with low empathy, high sensation seeking and males in this category usually have a stronger identification to the killer.
2. Thrill Watching - Characterised by high empathy, high sensation seeking and is motivated by the suspense of the film. Viewers in this category will show more identification with the victims.
3. Independent Watching - Characterised by high empathy for the victim. Viewers in this category use the fear within the film to positively overcome their own fears.
4. Problem Watching - Characterised by high empathy for the victim. Viewers in this category are shown to be negatively affected by the film, showing feelings such as a sense of helplessness.
Horror films require us to face the unknown in order to understand it and make it less scary. They allow us to see our fears played out on a screen, and be able to evaluate and reduce them without being in immediate danger.
After completing this research, and much more, we can narrow scary films down to three predominant categories:
1. Gore
2. Unrealistic
3. Psychological
Although gore can be shocking, it loses tension very quickly, and it becomes repetitive after a while. For this reason, we decided to focus on the other two possibilities.
Unrealism can work very well, and we felt that, coupled with the psychological aspect of hallucinations, this would be the most effective, and budget-friendly idea for our film opening.
We also looked at this video, by a YouTube channel called Vsauce. This is a channel which uploads many different videos looking at the science behind the mind. In this one, it attempts to explain scientifically why we may find things creepy, uncanny, or scary.
With this in mind, I decided to do some research on what actually makes things seem "scary", "creepy" and "unnatural". Therefore, we will be better able to make the decisions about our film opening that will make it suitably "creepy" for our audience.
First, what is fear?
The right amygydala is the portion of the brain associated with the learning of fear. Research by Christof Koch shows that it responds more to images of animals than people, landmarks or objects, even though those things could be deemed as more dangerous in the present day.Research by Nobuo Masataka also showed that children as young as three years old found it easier to identify snakes on a computer screen than flowers, showing how much fear and the inescapable instinct of survival are linked.
However, Thomas Straube, from the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, showed through brain scans that horror films don't actually activate fear in the amygdala at all, but rather fired up other parts of the brain instead. This would mean that, in actual fact, horror films don't actually scare us in the expected way that brain chemistry suggests.
A psychologist by the name of Dr. Glenn D. Walters identified the three main factors which make horror films so alluring to us.
1. Tension - This is created through mystery, shock, terror or gore.
2. Relevance - This is how far the film and its themes relate to the audience. The more it relates to the group or individual viewer, the more likely that group/individual will be drawn to watch the film.
3. Unrealism - However graphic a horror film may be, there is always something inside our minds that reminds us that what we are watching is not actually real. This is shown through a study by Haidt, McCauley and Rozin, who looked at disgust. Students in 1994 were shown a series of gruesome documentaries, and very few could make it to the end. However, these same participants would pay money to see worse on a movie screen. This is perhaps due to the fact that when we walk into a movie theatre, we know that what we see is fabricated. It is also why children should not watch scary films when young, as they have more difficulty separating fiction and reality, especially when seen on a movie screen.
With all this in mind, films that cause high levels of tension, are relevant to multiple groups of people, but still retain an air of unrealism, will hold more horror appeal for the viewer.
Why do people watch horror?
There are various reasons why people are motivated to watch horror. One study looked at adolescents who watched "Slasher" films. It was found that there were 4 prominent categories as to why these adolescents chose to watch this type of film. These are identified as:1. Gore Watching - Characterised by people with low empathy, high sensation seeking and males in this category usually have a stronger identification to the killer.
2. Thrill Watching - Characterised by high empathy, high sensation seeking and is motivated by the suspense of the film. Viewers in this category will show more identification with the victims.
3. Independent Watching - Characterised by high empathy for the victim. Viewers in this category use the fear within the film to positively overcome their own fears.
4. Problem Watching - Characterised by high empathy for the victim. Viewers in this category are shown to be negatively affected by the film, showing feelings such as a sense of helplessness.
Horror films require us to face the unknown in order to understand it and make it less scary. They allow us to see our fears played out on a screen, and be able to evaluate and reduce them without being in immediate danger.
After completing this research, and much more, we can narrow scary films down to three predominant categories:
1. Gore
2. Unrealistic
3. Psychological
Although gore can be shocking, it loses tension very quickly, and it becomes repetitive after a while. For this reason, we decided to focus on the other two possibilities.
Unrealism can work very well, and we felt that, coupled with the psychological aspect of hallucinations, this would be the most effective, and budget-friendly idea for our film opening.
We also looked at this video, by a YouTube channel called Vsauce. This is a channel which uploads many different videos looking at the science behind the mind. In this one, it attempts to explain scientifically why we may find things creepy, uncanny, or scary.
WHY ARE THINGS CREEPY?
Tuesday, 4 March 2014
Monday, 3 March 2014
Hanging Scenes
Our Hanging Scene
Our hanging scene is relatively simple but effective, it is pair of legs wearing black clothing contrasting the paleness of the feet. This paleness confirms the idea that it is a hung body, the shot has the legs dominating the shot and our girl in the background. This type of shot shows how she is the victim even off this hanging body, it is tormenting her even though it is dead:
Gladiator This technique was used in the film Gladiator which is where we got our inspiration from, it shows Russell Crowe as the victim after his Wife and Son are murdered and hung outside his house, as you can see at the end of this sequence a similar shot is used to show his Wife and Son hanging:
The Conjuring
The conjuring almost as a similar hanging scene however the hanging body is behind the main character as if it is creeping up on them:
Our hanging scene is relatively simple but effective, it is pair of legs wearing black clothing contrasting the paleness of the feet. This paleness confirms the idea that it is a hung body, the shot has the legs dominating the shot and our girl in the background. This type of shot shows how she is the victim even off this hanging body, it is tormenting her even though it is dead:
Gladiator This technique was used in the film Gladiator which is where we got our inspiration from, it shows Russell Crowe as the victim after his Wife and Son are murdered and hung outside his house, as you can see at the end of this sequence a similar shot is used to show his Wife and Son hanging:
The Conjuring
The conjuring almost as a similar hanging scene however the hanging body is behind the main character as if it is creeping up on them:
Saturday, 1 March 2014
Logo Research
1. TWISTED PICTURES
As you can see, this logo and animation uses a font with a gradient, making it appear to be partially hidden. They also use a spike and reddened barbed wire, which are suggestive of violence and gore.
This company's filmography includes movies such as SAW, Dead Silence and Texas Chainsaw.
2. DARK CASTLE ENTERTAINMENT
This logo uses horror iconography, with the image of a large, foreboding castle and lightning. It also begins with a screaming gargoyle.
This company's filmography includes movies such as House On Haunted Hill, Orphan and Splice.
3. LIONSGATE
This logo shows twisting, rusted gears inside a lock. There is also a strong tint of reds and blacks.
This company's filmography includes movies such as SAW and American Psycho.
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