Evaluation

To display my evaluation, I created a website using Wix in the style of a bonus features DVD.

bryony-johnson.wix.com/asevaluation

The Final Product

I used Youtube to upload the final version of our opening sequence. My partner filmed all of the shots, except for the focus pull, which I did. I acted and played the role of a the victim.

Editing

This post shows some of the editing techniques I used in our horror film. I worked on stitching the film together, making sure to eliminate any continuity errors. Initially, I decided to have the same piece of soundtrack run throughout the majority of the opening. However my partner decided it would sound better if the soundtrack started when the establishing shot was shown.
My partner and I both discussed which filters looked better at certain parts of the film. I selected the 'Luma Keyer' filter and she selected the 'Prism' filter.

 

Risk assessment

My partner created a new risk assessment for when we film again.

Pre-filming activities

Focus Pull:

Here I experimented with using a focus pull in order to test how it would work before filming. I wanted to use this effect as a point of view shot to connote a character waking up with her eyes initially blurred, then going into focus. Moreover, opening and closing the lens on the camera helped to create the appearance of opening eyelids.

Storyboard and Shotlist

My partner drew the pictures for our storyboard. This was useful so that we'd know exactly what to film.  I then created a shot list

Costumes

These are the costumes that our characters will wear.The victim will wear regular clothing, such as jeans and a jacket. This is conventional of horror films as it makes the audience relate the character, thus adding an increased sense of fear.

Damon Salvatore - 'The Vampire Diaries'

The villain will wear dark clothing as this connotes mystery. This is also conventional of vampires in other media texts, such as Damon in 'The Vampire Diaries' (see picture on the right). To make it clear to the audience that the villain is a vampire, he will wear coloured contacts and fangs. This can be seen in 'Twilight' and 'Interview with the Vampire'.

Edward Cullen - 'Twilight'

Lestat de Lioncourt - 'Interview with The Vampire'

Final Treatment

My partner amended the treatment according to our new ideas.

First Draft

Originally when coming up with concepts for our film pitch, we decided that at the beginning of the film the victims would be going on a camping trip in the woods. The opening would show the characters in a car travelling to the woods. My partner and I filmed this scene, and I then edited it using Final Cut Pro:-

We decided not to use this in our final product as it is not interesting enough and doesn't include the conventions of a horror movie.

Risk Assessment

For this activity I identified all the possible dangers that could occur during filming and how to prevent them. This task was essential as it would hopefully reduce the chance of any incidents happening.

Horror risk assessment from Bryony Johnson

Location Shots

For this activity I used pictures of the filming location, Bentley Priory, and described how certain places could fit into our story line. This task was useful so that I would know exactly where to go on the day of filming. This will also help to give a clearer idea of what our film would look like.

Idents for our Horror Film

The document above shows my initial idea for our ident. I experimented with different effects on Final Cut such as blurs and fading. In the end I did not think it was effective enough nor conventional for an ident, therefore I searched the internet for animations that I could use instead.

The screenshot above shows my final ident. I found an animation of moving clouds on the website Motion Elements. I then used an effect on Final Cut which made the clouds look more like fire. This connotes danger which relates to the horror genre. I decided to use Sans Serif font as this is conventionally used in idents. Moreover, I used orange coloured font to emphasise the fire effect.

Idents

The dictionary definition of an ident (from dictionary.com):-

In film, idents are usually used to identify to the company that produced the film. For larger production companies, their idents are extremely distinctive. For example, the classic Disney Castle ident:

source: tumblr

This denotes a blue background, with a silhouette of the Disney castle. The words 'Walt Disney pictures' are revealed, and a streak of light appears around the castle. Although this ident is very simple, it very iconic. This ident was used on most Disney films from 1985-2006 [Source: Wikia]. The intention of this ident connotes magic which will appeal to the target audience of children. Also, the castle signifies the castle that's in the Disney amusement parks, such as Disneyland.

source: tumblr

Disney have changed their ident over years, modifying it give a more modern touch. Sometimes Disney have changed their ident to relate to the theme of a certain film. For example the ident for Lilo & Stitch. This ident denotes the classic Disney castle against an alternative black background. A green laser appears around the castle. A beam of green light then appears over the logo, and it rises up. This is meant to connote UFOs and alien life, which relates to the storyline of the film since the lead character, Stitch, is an alien

source: DailyMotion

Lionsgate are the producers of many well known films such as 'The Hunger Games', 'Precious' and 'Now You See Me' [Source: Lionsgate]. The ident is 22 seconds long and begins with cogs turning. The audience are then directed through a keyhole which opens up to denote a bright light. A cloudy sky with the title 'Lionsgate' then appears. Together with the sound of fanfare, this connotes heavenly hope, and suggests that Lionsgate are powerful and almighty.

 


However, Lionsgate use a different ident for their horror movies. This is more relevent to my own work since the genre of my opening sequence is also horror. The design of this ident begins in a similar way to the regular ident, as it denotes turning cogs, however these are darker, and rusted. This connotes abandonement and creates a haunting mood. The doors (also rusted) open up to reveal dark red smoke/clouds. This completely contrasts the regular ident as it signifies hell. The intention of this is to create a scary atmosphere for the audience before the film has even started.


What I've learnt from this activity is that idents do not need to be overly complex, however it is useful to have an ident that will create a certain mood for the film. In my own work I will create an ident that is slightly scary and dark, as it will relate to the horror genre.

Draft Film Pitch

My partner and I created a draft treatment of our initial ideas for our horror film.


Below shows responses from our target audience on the website Padlet. This was so we'd know if they liked our ideas and if there were any changes that needed to be made.

Created with Padlet

Some of the responses said that it may be difficult to realistically portray the 1970s. We will therefore change this so that it is only set in the present day. In addition, the background story may be a bit too confusing, therefore we will create a different storyline which makes more sense.
We will try our best to make the vampires look realistic. To achieve this we will use fake blood and fangs. For our final treatment, we will decide how many characters we're using.

Shot List - Texas Chainsaw

For this activity, I watched the first two minutes of 'Texas Chainsaw 3D' (2013) and analysed what was happening in each shot.

I chose this opening because I liked the way it had quite a lot of action right at the beginning of the movie. Since we're only making two minutes of our horror film, I want to include action to set the mood for the horror genre. I also liked the use of vignette as this made the film look unique and added a sense of mystery. We could try to encorporate vignette when editing our film. The shots in this film change extremely quickly; some lasting less then a second. This builds up tension for the audience. This is useful to know because when creating our storyboard we will need to think of many different shots. Moreover, from doing our questionnaire, the audience said that they liked quick changing shots.

Horror Questionnaire Results and Analysis

I created this video using the website Powtoon. It shows the results of the questionnaire and how these results will influence our own work.



Since the most popular sub genre was 'Supernatural', my partner and I would like to use vampires in our film. The comments that the audience gave were also quite helpful. We will try to make to make the film intense with lots of sudden action. We will avoid using an excessive amount of gore, however since we're using vampires, this usually means that the iconography of blood will be included. When creating our treatment we will think of a back story that outlines the need for gore.

Questionnaire

For this activity I created a questionnaire about horror movies. This was so that I could find out the demographics of my target audience and what their views on horror movies. This will help me to make decision on what I should and shouldn't include in my opening sequence.

The link to my questionnaire could be accessed via my blog in the link below:
Click here to take survey

I also used the social network 'Twitter' to post the link to my questionnaire, so that it would be easily accessible to my audience.

Iconography of Horror Films

I created the collage above using the app PicCollage. I used these images to show typical iconography in horror films. This includes scary characters which may be possessed, as seen in 'Insidious' and 'The Exorcist'. Some films include supernatural creatures such as vampires or werewolves. A lot of horror films include blood and gore, as seen in 'Saw' and 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'. Additionally, horror films are typically set in "haunted" or abandoned houses. The victim in the films will usually be represented as hyperbolically scared, which can be seen in 'Scream'.
This activity has given me an insight into what it stereotypically included in horror films, therefore I can use some of this iconography in my own title sequence.

Horror film conventions and theories

Many theories can be applied to horror films. My partner Rumena Ahmed researched the theories by Todorov and Levi Strauss.

There are five stages to Todorov's Narrative Theory:

1. A state of equilibrium (The fictional environment within the films text is as it should be)

2. A disruption of the equilibrium (Something has disrupted the order in the fictional environment this is usually caused by an event)

3. A recognition of the disequilibrium (Characters within the fictional environment have recognized the threat posed by the disequilibrium)

4. An attempt to repair the equilibrium (Characters within the fictional environment try and put things back to the way they were)

5. Equilibrium is restored or a new equilibrium is established (Characters within the fictional environment are successful in the attempts to repair the equilibrium returning things to the way they were or by accepting a new equilibrium).

Levi Strauss' theory is that the conflict is based around the binary opposites and that the binary opposites are the central climax of a narrative. Examples of Binary Opposites are Good vs Evil, Black vs White, Boy vs Girl, Peace vs War, Civilised vs Savage, Democracy vs Dictatorship, First world vs Third world.

To explore the use of conventions and theories within stereotypical horror films, my group and I recorded our findings on Vine to create short videos.

Conventional settings:-




Within horror films it is very common to have these deserted settings since it creates a fear of the unknown. Characters in these settings are usually alone thus leaving them vulnerable and open to danger. A Horror film, which contains this convention is 'Blair Witch Project' (1999).  Its narrative includes three students who disappear in the woods; police then find footage of their documentary in which they encounter scary situation in many abandoned places.

Conventional opening story lines:-





These type of situations leave the protagonists alone and defenseless. This again leaves them open to danger. This convention can be seen in many different horror films. For example in '30 Days of Night' (2010), the protagonist is on her way out of town, when her car breaks down. Subsequently she is forced to stay in the town which then becomes plagued with bloodthirsty vampires. Additionally, in 'Scream' (1996), the character Casey is home alone when she is attacked and murdered by masked villain.

Conventional climaxes:-






These scenes show examples of Todorov's theory, whereby the characters have recognized the threat of the disequilibrium. Horror films such as 'The Conjuring' include antagonists appearing out of nowhere, accompanied by a loud, disturbing noise. The last video also includes a loud dramatic noise which is typical in horror movies since it evokes fear for the audience.

Research continuation

I chose to research James Wan, who is a director in the horror genre. I investigated the films he has directed and similar styles which are shown in these films. I used the website Glogster to display my findings.