Film Poster and Magazine Analysis.

Below is a PowerPoint presentation for the research I carried out over the Christmas break for the ancillary task we’re preparing to undertake.

Film Posters and Magazine Analysis

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First Day of Filming.

On Friday, my group went to our first location; Leanne’s house to film the chase scene and any additional shots we needed. Due to our final girl being injured over the weekend, she was unable to make the filming date so, I stepped in and asked my friend Naomi who did GCSE Drama to become our final girl. This replacement worked to our advantage.

Here are some photos from the first day: 

With this location, at first, we felt quite restricted however, as we carried on filming, we realised that the restricted space could work to our advantage. We felt like we were in a horror movie. 

However, as time went on, we learned that one of the rooms we were planning on filming in is currently out of use so we have to find a substitute. I was thinking of using a wardrobe; reflecting the Michael Myers closet scene in Halloween. 

Mise-en-Scene.

Settings & Locations:
Settings and locations play an important part in film-making.
Sets are either built from scratch or a great deal of time is spent to find a setting which already exists that relates to the film.
Settings can manipulate an audience by building certain expectations and then taking a different turn.

Costume, Hair & Make Up
Tells us immediately whether the film is set in the present and what society/or culture it's centres around.
Act as an instant indicator to the audience of a character’s personality, status & job.
Certain costumes can signify certain individuals (e.g. black cloak of a vampire) or groups (e.g. policemen).

Facial Expressions & Body Language
Facial Expressions provide a clear indicator of how someone is feeling.
If someone is smiling broadly, we assume they are happy but we may get a different feeling if this is accompanied by dramatic/scary music.
Body Language may also indicate how a character feels towards another character or may reflect the state of their relationship.

Positioning of Characters & Objects within a Frame
Positioning within a frame can draw our attention to an important character/object.
A film-maker can use positioning to indicate relationships between people.

Colour
Colour carries certain connotations which may add meaning to a scene.
It can give a scene a particular look, feel or mood.
It may also be used for dramatic effect.

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/mediamonkeyslides/mise-en-scene-5427491

In relation to Horror - Props we'll be using:
- Chef's Knife
- Clown doll
- Box of matches
- Backpack
- Evidence bags
- Cocktail and shot glasses
- Flashlight
- Photos
- Sheets
- Sack
- Rope
- Broken cables

Costume:
Chris (final girl): Skinny jeans, converse, band t-shirt, headphones + backpack.
Charlie (villain 1): Sack, rope, white t-shirt (with blood), jeans, boots.
Fred (villain 2): Sack, rope, shirt, suspenders, jeans, converse.
Janet (victim 1): body-con skirt, green jumper, black vest, burgundy vans.
Marilyn (victim 2): body-con skirt, neutral vest top.
News reporter: black blazer, black skirt, white shirt, black shoes, tights.
Extras: smart/casual.

The Use of Silence.

Silence is the relative or total lack of audible sound. By analogy, the word silence may also refer to any absence of communication, even in media other than speech. Silence is also used as total communication, in reference to non verbal communication and spiritual connection. Silence is also referred to no sounds uttered by anybody in a room and or area. Silence is a very important factor in many cultural spectacles, as in rituals.

Gestures:

Placing the index finger in front of closed lips is the most widely recognized gesture of silence. The gesture can be used to demand silence without raising one's own voice. The rose, sometimes depicted clasped by or on top of closed lips, is another well-recognized symbol of silence stemming from various mythologies. – This gesture is a possibility to use on the movie poster as it comes across as quite innocent as well as secretive.

Music inherently depends on silence in some form or another to distinguish other periods of sound and allow dynamics, melodies and rhythms to have greater impact. For example, most music scores feature rests denoting periods of silence.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silence

Silence in movies creates a lot of suspense and puts the audience on edge. It contributes to the effect of having no idea where you are and who you are with. The use of silence also ties into the theme of secrecy as you’re not engaging with others.

Shooting Schedule.

Possible Locations.

We’re thinking about using the block of flats near our college in Norbury Park to film our news report scenes as the audience are able to establish where the murders were carried out. It’s also a location that is obviously close to home for most of our audience. 


We've also decided to use Leanne's house as the pre-dominant location as we wanted a location that is supposed to keep you safe and make you feel safe. This will clearly put the audience on edge.

Horror Trailer Admiration.

Scream (1996)

Directed by: Wes Craven

I admire this trailer as it contains all the key codes and coventions of horror; including the key weapon and moments that shock the audience. I think Scream stands out for me as it defies the stereotypical horror film; Wes Craven's decision to add comedic elements and to have the characters know that they're in a scary movie enables the audience to feel at ease however, still in suspense as they don't know what could happen.

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
Directed by: Jim Gillespie

I admire this trailer as it's aimed at teenagers who have played pranks and have experienced the consequences of their actions. This trailer relates to what we're working on as our moral to the story is progress responsibly and you're responsible for your own actions. The fact that the killer is also unknown relates to our trailer as our killer isn't discovered until the very end of the film.

When A Stranger Calls (2006)

Directed by: Simon West

What I like most about this trailer is that the audience experience a fear of the unknown. Not knowing who/where the killer is, immediately puts the audience on a sudden edge and makes them feel uneasy. The use of lighting in this trailer also adds to their fear as the killer's face is unclear as the house is almost in complete darkness.

Images from the Media DDLD.

The pictures below are of my group and I filming the parody of our horror teaser trailer:

The video below is of our parody for our teaser trailer. Some shots are blurry however, we were able to get our hands on the camera and Premiere Pro CS3. After this day, I feel a lot more experienced with the cameras and am confident with the editing process.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osn8lwfH4Kw&feature=youtu.be

Horror Teaser Trailer Name.

Recently I carried out a survey on http://www.surveymonkey.com to ask our target audience which name caught their eye for our teaser trailer. After I had told them what the theme of our trailer was, they had the ability to pick one answer.

The results were tied however, after researching, I discovered that there is already a film called 'Unknown' starring Liam Neeson so, we had to go with 'Hush-Hush'. Although this was a last resort, I also liked the name as did the other members and our Media teacher.