Extra Elements Needed for my Film

There are some extra elements that will be needed to make my film seem more realistic that I may not consider during the busy production stages. For example, I will have to design a logo for my fictional Production and distribution companies. If my film was to be made really these films logo would appear at the start before the film starts, to both advertise the company and act as a signature to their involvement in the film. I will have to create something that looks original, yet also looks professional or like something that would appear before a film. Another element I must consider for my ancillary task is where would the film review appear? It would most likely appear in a Empire or Total Film style magazine, and so I must create a name for my magazine as well.

Questionnairre on Horror

To help my research into what my target audience would want to see in my Horror film, I have created a short survey on the website Survey Monkey. I have shared this Questionairre on the social networking site Facebook (so the responses would be from people of my own age group, who would be the target audience to my film) and then also shared it amongst the people at my 6th form, all of whom are aged 16-18. From these responses I will discover what I will need to include in my film to create elements of Horror

The Survey in its entirety can be found here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MD2LG2L

The questions I have included in my Questionnaire are;

1.) What is your favourite Horror Film from this list?
Halloween
Paranormal Activity
Insidious
The Exorcist
Frankenstein
Friday the 13th
Nightmare on Elm Street
Scream
Sinister
Resident Evil
Silence of the Lambs
The Ring
The Grudge
The Omen
Psycho
Jaws
Alien
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Dawn of the Dead
Saw
Other

2.) What is your main reason for watching a Horror Film?
To be scared
For social reasons (going with friends)
You like the storylines
Escapism
Because of the films infamy (e.g. The Exorcist)
Watching others Misfortune (Schaudenfreude)
I don't like horror films
Other

3.) What is your favourite stock character in a Horror Film?
The Anti-Hero (e.g. Freddy Krueger)
The Villain/ Antagonist
The Virgin
The Clown
The Jock
The Scholar
The Whore
Other

4.) Who is your favourite villain?
Freddy Krueger ( Nightmare on Elm Street)
Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs)
Jason Vorhees (Friday the 13th)
Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
Ghostface (Scream)
Jigsaw (Saw)
Generic Zombie Hordes
Count Dracula
The Shark (Jaws)
Norman Bates (Psycho)
Frankensteins Moster
Chuckie (Childs Play)
Pinhead (Hellraiser)
Michael Myers (Halloween)
Damien (The Omen)
Other

5.) Out of these choices of Horror Villain Masks, what do you think would be the scariest?
Sack Mask
Trestle Mask
Masquerade Mask
Mirror Mask
Clown Mask
Zombie Mask

6.) Final Question, what would you like to see more of in Horror Films?
Violence
Blood
Gore
One Liners
Sex
Better Acting
Better Villains
Bigger Budget
More Unconventional Settings
Other 

Equipment List

This is a list of all the equipment I will be using for my film, and some of the potential problems that may happen during production. I have also included what I will use to prevent these problems;

Video Cameras: I will have to book out from the media department from school, and will be the main piece of equpiment I use in my coursework, as I will use it to film the bare footage of my film in the production stage. Potential problems I may have using the video cameras include if the equipment is booked out for the day I would like to film on, meaning I will have to book out early and secure my use of the camera. Also I need to know the various shots and angles that will get me the higher grades that I will include in my film. As I haven't used the video cameras proffesionally, I will have to have a refresher course on what I will have to include and how to operate the camera efficiently and professionally. Natural disturbances may occur when wanting to film outisde, but I will have to get past this problem and reschedule filming.

Photoshop/ Quark: I will have to use one of the editing software to create my film poster and magazine article for my ancillary tasks. Problems I will have will mostly revolve around trying to making my work look professional, like a real film poster. I will have to take inspiration from similar film posters and as I have had experience with Photoshop programs in previous work and should be able to edit them effectively.

SLR Camera: I will have to use an SLR camera to take photos of my set, characters, and the images needed for my interview and poster. Like all the equipment for this, I will need to book it out from Media. Problems that may occur may be natural disturbances, such as rain when wanting to do an outdoor shoot, but in this circumstance I will have to rechedule the photos for another day, or attempt to take the photos inside.

Boom Mic: I may need to book out the Boom Mic for any shots that rely heavily on diegetic sound used for dramatic effectiveness. Problems I may have in using the boom mic include having to hire someone to operate it whilst I film and requiring them to know how to operate the equipment (I will have to teach them before filming). Also we must require the wind protector on the mic to stop wind noise appearing in my film and to give it a more natural sound

Final Cut: I will have to use Final Cut in order to edit my raw footage and sequence it to make it look like a real film. As I have never used this program before so I will have to have an insight and a play around with the editing so I will have a go before it comes to the main film. Problems I could have are the same with any program; if it will save, will it look professional when finished etc.

Review of Work 1

So far I have found out various information over the traditional conventions and stereotypes of Horror Texts. If I am to create a popular Horror Film for the public I must follow these conventions whilst also being original with the content. For Example, elements I will have to consider over the coming weeks include;

 > The Look for my Horror Villain- all successful slashers have an iconic looking villain (Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees etc.) so I need to consider what mine will look like. As I have a small budget to work with for costumes I need to get I will not be able to create such complex makeup that would be used creating Freddy's burnt face for example so I will have to use a cheaper outfit, like Ghostface from Scream.
 > The Setting- To create a Horror atmosphere, the majority of Horror Films have similar settings. These settings are imprinted into the mind of the audience and are intertwined conventions of the genre. Typical settings include Gothic Castles (Dracula), Mental Hospitals (Shutter Island), Forests (Friday the 13th) and Mansions (Woman in Black). But in more recent Horror films the setting has shifted to just being in a regular house, this makes it more horrifying in the fact it could be any house, even the person who is watching the film. This will make it seem more real and create more feelings of real Horror within the film. Also filming in a normal house will be more affordable and easy for my film.
> The Storyline- My story for my film must be original but must also fit the conventional storyline for a horror film. For example, it must have a macabre atmosphere and must not be treated as comnical, but can have some hidden humour. Deaths are also common in most Horror Films.

All of these I will have to consider as I move on into the planning stage.

Key Directors- Wes Craven

Wes Craven is perhaps the most iconic horror director the world has ever known. Born Wesley Earl Craven in Cleveland, Ohio on August 2 1939 to a strictly Baptist upbringing, Craven got an undergraduate degree in English and Psychology from Wheaton College, Illinois, and a masters degree in Philosophy and Writing from Johns Hopkins University. Despite promise for an academic teaching career, he left it all to pursue film making. His first taste of directing came with jobs as an X-Rated Porn director, which surprisingly helped him develop his unique directing abilities. In 1972 Craven directed his first feature film, The Last House on the Left. This film was famed for its exploitive nature and sadistic portrayal of violence and sex, so much so that in 1974 the BBFC refused a certificate for cinema release, in much the same way the infamous Human Centipede film was banned recently. Surprisingly the film garnered positive critical acclaim from reviewers, even so English film critic Mark Kermode has been quoted as saying, despite the film is “horrible, grim and nasty” that it does stand as a "very, very important work in the evolution of American horror cinema". It garnered a cult following shortly after its release and cemented Wes Cravens name in the new wave of daring and exploitive horror films made at that time.

After a few more Horrors, all of which didn’t get the same recognition as Last House on the Left did, Craven created one of the most enduring pieces of horror cinema and one of the most iconic characters of all time; A Nightmare on Elm Street and the dream altering villain Freddy Krueger. This revolutionized the original slashers from the 1970’s, but stooped them in dark humour and science fiction. The film was well received by critics and the public, and is still one of the most enduring Horror films of all time, with Krueger becoming one of the most recognizable villains. This film spawned a string of sequels, only one of which had Cravens involvement; Wes Cravens New Nightmare, which had the actors from the original film being haunted by Freddy. More recently Freddy has been pitched against similar villain from the Friday the 13th series Jason Voorhees in Freddy vs. Jason, and the original was remade without Cravens involvement in 2010. Freddy’s image is now highly marketable, with outfits and memorabilia sold, particularly around Halloween.

Definitely one of Cravens biggest films will be his 1997 hit Scream. The self-deprecating humour within the film, which parodies the genre that Craven himself helped to create, was revolutionary. There is a knowing usage of conventional settings and characters and that the murderer kills using horror clichés and bases his murders on whether or not they can answer horror trivia questions. This revolutionized the slasher genre, which had become more and more of a joke from the late 80’s. This also marks one of the last iconic slasher villains with Ghostface.

Some of the stylistic features of Cravens film include a strong female lead (Such as Sidney from The Scream films) and protagonists are often ordinary people who have been dragged into horrific and extraordinary circumstances, occasionally an unglamorous depictions of graphic violence, a deformed villain and usually deal with strong social issues. Cravens lasting legacy on the Horror genre is apparent in most modern Horrors and his films will go down as pinnacle moments in Horror History.

Existing Horror Film Posters: Ancillary

Along with my film I must create a film poster. If I am to create a conventional yet unique poster I mus follow the stylistic trends of similar posters, and follow what is similar in each one. I have annotated a few of the more iconic horror posters to understand this better.

Existing Horror Film Posters from sev06lt1

Complete Audience Research

For my film to be effective, I need to know who I will be aiming it at. For this I need to think of effective ways to categorize my audience, and which will be the most effective. In this powerpoint, I have explored various ways I could categorize my audience.

Audience Research from sev06lt1

The Evolution and Conventions of Horror

In this power-point I will explore the history of the Horror Genre in film, from the 1920s to now. In understanding the genre, I will also be able to understand the conventions and iconography needed in my film.
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Slashers from sev06lt1