Bella,

New title to my film.

Looking into the narrative of our film, we are looking to include more of a meaning to our film. We are renaming our film to 'Bella' because it is enigmatic. We are using the name because it relates to the Genette Tate story which happened in a nearby location and other similar stories where girls go missing. We choose to use the name 'Bella' as it is not in direct relation to any other story so it would not be seen as offensive to anyone that might have been any link to the event.

I had the idea to end my film with the song Suzanne by Leonard Cohen as it was written about a similar event to the plot of my story and has quite eery feel to it.
So as not to break any copyright laws I emailed Columbia Records to ask for their permission for use of the song, above is the email that I sent to the contact adress. 

I have listened to Suzanne by Leonard Cohen and thought it would be the perfect ending to my film as it is quite eery and slow with lyrics that can relate to the story itself.
The lyrics themselves are about a similar girl to in my film, a young innocent female therefore making it a perfect ending.
Before using it I will have to email the record label to ask for permission to allow me to use it.

I had previously planned to film this Thursday although, due to the severe weather during the week my location had been flooded and therefore I couldn't which has delayed the progress of the film.
I have decided, after looking at the weather forecast that next thursday the weather will be good enough and should have dried up enough to film then.

Audience Feedback of Rough film

I showed other students in my media studies class this rough cut version of my film. One student was asked his opinion of the film to find out what he liked and disliked about the movie.


This will help me to find out what members of my target audience like to see in short horror movies so I can know what needs adding to engage with them and what they think needs changing.

Here is my very first edit of some of the footage that I have collected, along with a directors commentary about the improvements we could make.

IMPROVEMENTS; 

This is the very first take of the film after the first day of filming, looking back at it after editing I have analysed the footage, as well as getting feedback from others, to find out what is good about it and what needs improving.

In the pan shot at the start it loses the smoothness towards the end, making it quite jumpy so I will need to re-film that shot. Also, the protagonists feet move which does not look very profesional so the whole shot will need to be filmed again.
Some people that fit into my target audience said that they liked the fact that the pan shot starts out of focus and gradually focuses on the protagonist, giving it a dream like effect as some people said.




This second video is some audience feedback that we have collected from another media student to see what he thinks is good, what is bad, and what can be improved on our video.

Changing of cast

Earlier on in my blog, I wrote about one of the actors that I will be using for my film and how he worked well to play the role of the antagonist but when it came to filming, he was not available and therefore I had to find a replacement.

The actor used to replace him is also very masculine and has had experience in acting before. He engaged with the camera very well, so he was perfect for the part.

180 degree rule

The 180 degree rule is important when filming on screen interactions between two or more characters. It involves using an imaginary line of which you must ALWAYS film from the same side up to 180 degrees. It is mostly used during conversations so is not as important to worry about it in my film, but if it is followed then it means the characters don't suddenly switch places which it would appear as if you filmed past 180 degrees of the line. 

This video that I have found gives a brief explanation and helped me to understand the rule. 

It has helped me with my own filming as I now know that when filming interactions between two or more characters there is a set line that you cannot cross over. This has improved the continuity in my filming even though the is not much of an encounter between the two characters, if there had been speech invloved then the rule would have been much more important, however, as there was not it wasn't such a big deal to try and follow. 

After looking back over our preliminary filming we have noticed some parts we need to improve on, for example our continuity editing wasn't the best as at some parts in the video you might notice the actor jumping back from the shot before, this can be fixed with marking where each shot starts and ends so as to get the actor to be in the correct position to make the film run smoothly, and also by editing and cutting each scene at the right time. We noticed at the beginning of the film that the lighting was not great as the main source of light was from behind the actor which gave him a silhouette effect which didn't look good and didn't fit the type of shot we were going for and other than that light the film was dark which made the actor look out of focus. Another problem we encountered whilst filming was the top plate of our tripod wasn't fitted properly so the first few shots were wonky and we didn't notice this until we got into editing.
          
The main thing we have learnt from doing the preliminary filming and editing is that we learnt that the filming isn't just point and shoot you need to carefully think out the location you are shooting at and plan lots beforehand, as well as checking the noise and light. Another important step in getting good shots is that all you equipment is set up correctly and get used to using your equipment.

Horror Poster Deconstructions

Posters from HenryP16


This presentation shows a few different posters from Horror films that I can relate to in my own work, showing what codes and conventions I can use. 

Here is an anamatic that I have created showing my storyboard ideas.

It is really useful as I can see what shots I need to take and means that I am more prepared for when I go out and film.

This presentation has shown me lots of helpful tips to use in my work that I may have forgotten. It will be useful to refer back to whilst going through the course such as checking my equipment before filming and other such things.

Presentation nov 4 from petefrasers

Audience Feedback

I asked some of my target audience questions about the genre of Horror so I could find out what other people expect and look for in horror films. It also showed me things that people enjoyed in horror movies. It proved that they agreed with the codes and conventions of Horror that I have previously written about such as dark lighting and blood.

Filming techniques/ Preliminary filming

During our lesson on monday we were given cameras to go out and practice some techniques and to get used to filming.  Using a tripod, I practiced filming all the different camera angles/shots that I have planned to use in my short film, such as panoramic shots and point of view. It helped me to get more of an idea of how to take the shots so I am prepared for when I go out to start filming which will save time when on location. 

The hour I spent practicing also helped me to get used to the equipment that I will be using such as how to move the camera in a smooth motion and how to set it up. 
I learnt how much easier it will be to film with a tripod to help keep the shots still rather than holding it myself which could be unreliable to keep a still shot.


Here is evidence of my filming, showing me using the tripod whilst taking a pan shot:

Short Horror Movie deconstruction

I have been looking at different short horror films similar to what I am aiming to do to get some more influences for my own work.
"FALLOUT" uses lots of typical conventions of a horror movie, at the start we see a masked man, preparing himself for something getting weapons ready. He looks rough and we dont see his face. The lighting is dark, and the music suggests something bad will happen as it is slow and eery, this makes the audience think that he is the antagonist as they are all features that are commonly are used to show the villan in all kinds of genres. In the following scene he walks around an empty, lifeless town looking at a childrens play park, aiming a gun at a rabbit, making the film seem as though it isn't horror at all and you don't know what is actually happen as everything seems so surreal. It subverts the genre by showing a location you would not associate with horror but something you might expect to have a happy, cheerful environment and brings it into a different light of horror, where everything is deserted and an evil looking man is there instead, where you might normally accosciate children playing. 
This shows me that you don't have to always follow the conventions you'd normally see in the genre and that subverting it could make it more scary due to the fact that it seems like something people would see in every day life.  

Whilst the character we are shown at the start is looking around, the feel changes using a point of view shot from behind some trees, adding a slight twist as it makes it seem like he is being watched by someone/ something which makes us think he may not be the antagonist but rather a protagonist that does not follow the conventions that you may expect of that role. This is also shown when the actor is narrating the scene and talks about survivors, making him sound as though he is trying to help people. 

The music used in the park is used to create suspense. It is very slow and eery, 

Storyboarding

Characters

In my short film I have chosen to use only two characters, making my film simple and also follow some horror movie conventions. 

The Protagonist will be very stereotypical of a horror film, being a young, helpless and innocent attractive female whereas the Antagonist will be male, much bigger and stronger, his face will be covered in shadow and will not be revealed and will have dark hair making much more enigmatic, possibly wearing a mask.



This image shows my actor who will be playing the antagonist in my short film. He is an A-level drama student, therefore he should be very good at playing his role due to experience in acting. When he was younger he even played a part in a feature length film called, The Queen of Sheba's Pearls so he will already be good at following instructions in filming.





Protagonist definition:

1. The main character in a drama or other literary work.

2. In ancient Greek drama, the first actor to engage in dialogue with the chorus, in later dramas playing the main character and some minor characters as well.

Antagonist definition:

1. One who opposes and contends against another; an adversary.

2. The principal character in opposition to the protagonist or hero of a narrative or drama.

 

Costume

The main character will be wearing quite stereotypical teenager clothing, probably just jeans and a plain t-shirt with no branding on so as not to advertise company's. 
The Antagonist however will be wearing very dark clothing, making him harder to see and more conceiled. He will be made to look rough, to add to the fear, with the clothes being worn down with holes in. The antagonist will probably wear jeans and a checkered shirt and hoodie, as that is very stereotypical of his role, as it is very simple.
Another idea I had was to completly subvert the horror genre, making him wear a suit as that would look much more formal so as not to expect anything bad of him, leading to more of a twist towards the end.
One final idea was for him to wear a mask as that leaves more to the imagination so you do not know what he's really like and could be trying to hide something.

Props

I will be using very few props as the plot to my short film is fairly simple and in a very remote location. There will be phone used that the protagonist looks at near the beginning, a plastic knife or similar weapon carried by the antagonist and also a noose that will appear in the background of a shot as it connotes the genre of HORROR and could give lots of meanings behind it raising questions about the film.

I found this image of a knife and decided to upload it to show an example of the weapon I'm considering using. This was a good picture showing it as it also helped show the genre of horror with the arm under shadow and the light as well as the focus on the knife. 
I plan to use one and possibly get it to glisten in the sun drawing attention to it.

Target Audience

Risk Assessment 

This is my risk assessment that I have made for my location. The location I have chosen to film at is a forest in the middle of nowhere as it is a common convention of a horror film, with dark lighting and eery sounds. 

At the end of the film it goes to a shot in a bedroom for a split second which will not have many risks other than just being careful and making sure that the room is clear so I have not made a table for it as it seemed unnecessary. 

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Risk	Solution
Filming from a car	Wear a seatbelt at all times, try not to go too quickly as it could lead to dropping the camera out of the window
Not being able to see due to dark environment	Bring a torch and possibly use headlamps from the car to light up the location
Equipment being knocked over	Check that all equipment is stable and set up correctly using tripods for the cameras
Falling over because of a slippery surface	Wear sensible footwear and watch where we’re going
Getting lost	Make sure that we check out the location before hand to get to know the area, possibly take a map
Tripping over sticks or roots	Be careful and look where we’re going
Falling out of a tree whilst taking a high angle, or birds eye view shot	Use safety equipment and be careful
Falling over the cliff	Stay away from cliff

Moodboard

Here I have an image of my moodboard that I have created. It shows typical conventions of horror through images of popular horror film covers, screen shots from movies and common locations that could be used.
The images are surrounded by words that can be associated with Horror.

Below, is a picture of me presenting the moodboard to other students to get feedback on what they liked, as they will be part of my target audience. I will use their advice as ideas too.

People said that my mood board needed to show more of what I was planning to do rather than what I have done which was to show the genre of Horror itself. I will show them my planning and storyboards to tell the story as I think my moodboard still helps show what im planning as I will be using some conventions from it.

As I have now decided to create a short horror film rather than a music video I have been researching what Horror actually means and what common keys and conventions appear in the genre.

To begin with I looked up the definition of the word;

hor·ror 

/ˈhôrər/

Noun An intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust. A thing causing such a feeling.

Synonyms terror - dread - fright - abhorrence - fear

Fear seemed to keep coming up, showing that a lot of different sources of information agreed that it is very important, therefore I will try and portray fear in my own work.

Photographs that I like which, i may be able to use to influence my own images;

To get some ideas I researched photographers that specialize in horror photographs, I found a collection of images that I really liked by April A Taylor. She covers a large range of horror which can help to influence my ideas as it can show me many different ideas in different aspects of the horror genre;

I like this image as it shows a key convention of horror very well. It shows a female protagonist who looks as though she has been in trouble due to blood on her arm and dress which could all be common features of this genre. The lighting is also quite dark around the edges with the only light onto her.






The picture on the right is a great image, showing the look of fear on the, again female, protagonists face. The dark colours show fear as you cannot see what else is behind the lights.








This image is really good as it shows both the female protagonist as well as a male antagonist. It shows typical horror in this image which I like.









The image below is dark making it look scary, it also uses props that commonly appear in horror movies which is why I like it.

Although this final image is not by April A Taylor is saw it and thought it would be a great image to include as it shows a feature I will possibly include. It shows a silhouette of a person and you cannot see anything about him which can bring up loads of questions about the subject, as you know nothing about him.

Location Shots

Here are a selection of some of the images that I took whilst on the location I am planning to film at.
I chose to use a forest for my short film as it is a common feature that appears in Horror movies. It is very remote and dark at night with nothing for miles making it the ideal location, creating fear and making the protagonist seem helpless in such a far out place.

The photos I took were not taken at the time my filming will take place because this way I feel it shows the location more in this lighting.

Taking this photo in black and white really hides what is in the trees, adding to fear as you never know what could be behind them. Trees will be used a lot in my film to hide the antagonist as that will help to add suspense and fear, both common conventions of horror films. 

The pinhole effect on the camera that I used in this shot darkens the edges of the image, leading the focus towards the centre of the picture, leading down the path. 

This photograph shows a straight line of trees. It shows that there is little change in the environment which would make it much easier to get lost which is an idea that I have had for the film.

I really like this image, I took it with a slightly slow shutter speed which has made it blur, leaving a distorted view which can be used to show confusion or some form of abnormality. 

HORROR - Codes and Conventions

Typically, the genre of Horror aims to strike fear into the viewer, as well as shock and disgust and other similar emotions. A common feeling is fright where people are often to scared to keep watching other than the fact that the storyline is good which keeps them into the film, often showing very startling scenes .
Horror falls into many different sub-genres such as Action Horror, Comedy Horror, Zombie films and Science fiction horror. There are many different sub-genres like these which are used to overlap the genre so the film has much more to offer viewers and covers a much vaster target audience. I may try and overlap some genres for my own film so I can also aim my film to a larger group of people.

Although most horror films cover a few different sub-genres, the majority of them include the same conventions such as;



- Darkness/ Low key lighting

- Isolation and loneliness

- Remote, eery locations often with strange history that links into the film. Some examples of common locations are....

Forests or Woods, Haunted derelict houses, Churches or Graveyards, Ghost towns, Caves, Deserts, Farms, Subways or Space.


- There is normally an attractive female protagonist who is used to engage with the audience

- Often there is a sense of surrealism and always there is a disruption of the normality

- A evil presence is always included, some examples of this are....

Ghosts, Zombies, Demons, Mutant, Psychopath, Deranged killer, Aliens, Young children that have been possessed by some supernatural being and Strange mutated animals.

- The films generally end with the antagonist being killed or defeated







Horror films create lots of feelings for the audience if they engage well such as fear, it is especially effective when the audience can relate to the plot and the characters as that way the story feels much more real.

My Idea's....

After looking at different ideas for a music video, I have changed my mind and decided to make a short movie as well as creating a poster for it too .
The genre that I am going to portray is, HORROR using many conventions that are usually seen in this.

 Some Horror conventions that I will incorporate into my own work;

 - Dark location, possibly a derelict house or a forest
- There is normally a protagonist that is generally female
- The evil character will tend to be male, often he will be masked or his face will be covered
- The sound tends be quite quiet, eery sounds with rise in tempo for building suspense
- The lighting tends to be dark with not much light
- There tends to be much more of an un-happy feel to it

This Video is a song by Foo Fighters named "Walk." I have posted it to my blogger page to show an example of the genre that I am considering to base my project and to show some features that can be used. In this video you see Dave Grohl dressed in fairly average, working mans clothes and just looking very normal. The car he is sitting in at the beginning looks fairly cheap and nothing that stands out from others, from this it makes you think of him as someone who works in some kind of boring office job, this is done to completely subvert the stereotype of a member of a world famous rock band. Throughout the video it fits more and more into the stereotype with his behaviour changing and finally ending up with the band playing together. This has shown me that music videos do not have to fit stereotypes and can change during the video, I can take this and use it as inspiration and ideas for my video of a similar genre.

As we have just started the course we have been given two briefs for the initial project, the first being;


"A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:- a website homepage for the band- a cover for its release on DVD- a magazine advertisement for the DVD"


The second brief available is; 

"A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animated or a combination of both, together with two of the following options:- a poster for the film- a radio trailer for the film- a film magazine review page featuring the film"

These two briefs must relate back to one of the following throughout the project;- Media language- Narrative- Genre - Representation- Audience