Test shots

These are some of the test shots we started working on last week. They show a few angles and camera shots that we may be filming from. I have narrated over the film using my voice to explain this in further detail.

The first shot we may consider doing is the angle that one of our characters 'The Inspector' will be filmed from. We tried many different shots and angles and learnt that it was going to be hard to film from this angle because the light was either too bright, or didn't show up at all. In the end we got the shot how we wanted so only a little light came through giving a good effect and making it seem that the rest of the room was dark just how we want it to be.

When coming to film the other characater 'Quinn' we found it difficult to find a good enough angle to film her from. Since we wanted her to look small and weak compared to The Inspector, we wanted the kind of shot which looks down on her. However, we tried this many times and couldn't get the angle to look good enough, only after about 10 minutes of perfect positioning we got the right angle for us and used it in the video above.

I have learnt that to get what we want for our 2 minute opening to our film we must take our time getting perfect camera angles and shots. This is because we need to create the best effect possible to leave the viewer in suspense and perhaps a little confusion (This is a Phsycological horror after all). I have also learnt that to create a good filming atmosphere we must take lots into consideration, things such as the lighting, If any shadows get in the way of shots and Suitable settings/Background objects and props. If done and set up correctly, I believe our 2 minutes opening will have a great effect on anyone who watches it.

Finally I have learnt I'm going to need to put in much effort and take my time during filming, I need to take every detail into consideration and if a single bit of light was to interupt a certain scene, it could possibly lose effect, which is the last thing we want as we want our 2 minute opening to have a catastrophic effect among the viewers.

Props

Part of the planning stage requires us to take pictures of the props we're using in the opening to our film and explain why we're using them. I shall post each image and explain what the image is, why we've used it and what effect we're trying to achieve by using that prop.

Firstly, we didn't use much props in the opening to our film as you'll see, this is because we didn't want to give out too much information about either of the two characters shown in the opening, so the audience can get involved and interact with their brains by deciding and coming to conclusions about what's happening and why the characters are in the location they are at. This is one of our stronger views while making this movie, to get the audience thinking along with the movie, to get the involved within the story and to throw them off track at some points, therefore getting them thinking even more.

With this now complete, I can keep track of all details used in my film and what effect they have on the audience. This means I'm learning that I can continue to use effects and props to my advantage when the time is needed.

I am also learning that every detail counts, especially when it comes to creating a movie, you need a flawless idea without problems if you're going to succeed!

This has helped me organise and keep track of all data, pictures and ideas I have used for my film, showing that I've put much work into all of this project which I can now look back upon and feel happy about the amound I've done.

Settings Board

These two images show the buildings we would want if we were to continue making the entire film. We'd use the first picture as the mental institute. I'd want to use this as the mental institute because it looks old and run down, as though neglected and forgotten, which gives the place a miserable look. Windows are left broken and boardered up as though they were smashed by patients and the grounds are unkept. It is barred off by a metal gate to show isolation.

Francis Denver's cottage is covered in graffitti and grime. The graffitti on the door says 'DANGER KEEP OUT' which misleads the audience into believing that the inhabitants of this cottage are also dangerous. Just like the institute, this building is unkept and neglected. At first glances, the cottage looks deserted, as though Francis is a ghost. This building is also barred off by a big, metal fence to show isolation.

As shown in the  test shots, we have chosen to film the mental institute scene inside the unfinished workshop. It is clean and white, just like an institute should be. But it also has elements of danger  as wires are showing where there should be sockets. The floor is dusty and a picture frame lies in the corner, on the floor. I would have liked to use the top image to film the institute scene, but unfortunatly permission was not granted.

Actor Profiles

Storyboard

For this task we had to draw up our storyboard after coming up with our final ideas on shot types and angles for the film. Initially we had to simply get the pictures of the storyboard on, but we took this a step further and used some good looking effects and added our voices ontop of the pictures. Here is what the final work looks like.


This task has helped me get my thoughts on the opening in general to be 100% clear. I have worked on this section for a reasonable amount of time, which has given me the chance to memorise and take in all possible shot types that we'll be using and has been a real help in working my head over what we're doing when it comes to fimling and editing our final project.


I am learning that things like the storyboard, script and synopsis are really the main structure to the whole movie, if these aren't covered in great detail and aren't worked on for a long time then the movie will end up possibly missing vital points, scenes, character lines, props and important things such as them. If you don't have a good storyboard for example then when you get to filming, you'll realise that you've missed something that you wanted to be in the movie, but have forgotten to put it in the storyboard.

The Script

Another important part of the planning stage is writing our all important script, without it the storyboard will be quite tough to plan as we wouldn't know what or when to cut the shots as the characters Quinn and the Inspector are in dialogue. We know this is an important factor for the planning stage so got it done in as much detail as we thought was needed. We decided it was best to keep it misleading, and perhaps a little confusing at first which is exactly what we intend to make the two minute opening like, to confuse the audience a little and to make them ask questions.

INT. EPPING FOREST MENTAL INSTITUTE – DAY

Quinn Wakely is sat in an empty room on her own. Her face is expressionless and she is sat up straight; her clothes are very plain and simple. We can hear lots of faint voices over the top of each other. We then hear footsteps getting closer as a smartly dressed Inspector Hodges and a worried nurse walks into the scene. Quinn does not react as the Inspector attempts to communicate; his voice slightly muffled by the voices of Quinn’s thoughts.

NURSE

She has not spoken since we found her in the forest.

     (Pause)

I’ll leave you to it.

INSPECTOR HODGES

                       Thank you, nurse.

Inspector clears his throat and stands slightly uneasily as we hear the nurse’s footsteps vanish out the door. The door slams shut.

INSPECTOR HODGES

Good afternoon, Miss Wakely. I’m wondering if you could answer a few questions for me on the Epping Forest murders. Any information you may give will be used as evidence and a thorough investigation into your statements will occur. Do you accept these terms?

Long pause. Voices are getting gradually faster and louder. Quinn does not move, but her eyes dart around the room. Inspector Hodges eyes follows hers. After a while, the Inspector kneels down in front of Quinn and sighs. He speaks in a pleading, sympathetic voice.

INSPECTOR HODGES

I know its hard – reliving terrible memories. But people are dead and we need to stop the monster behind these attacks. That’s what you want too, isn’t it? You want it to end?

Pause. Quinn’s thoughts get louder and more confusing. Inspector Hodges pulls out a photograph from inside his blazer pocket.

INSPECTOR HODGES

          Do you know this man, Quinn?

At the sound of her name, Quinn’s eyes flicker to look at the photograph. The voices come to a loud but abrupt stop. There is a slight hum of a light bulb in the background. Quinn starts laughing hysterically as the scene around her flickers and blood appears on her face. Next minute she’s sobbing, and then she starts laughing again. The scene halts at the janitor’s closet and the light bulb is on the brink of blowing a fuse. We see the shadow of a figure hanging from the ceiling and then the light bulb explodes.

This has helped us greatly developing the characters and developing the entire story altogether, now that we know the dialogue, we begin to reveal characters true emotions and feelings. This is important as once the audience begin to discover the characters and how they work, the more emotions the audience will show when certain parts of the movie take place.

I have learnt that scripts are much more than just guidelines to what the characters say during filming. It's also used to build up character emotions and truly reveal the characters inner feelings, it is very important we portray that to the audience to build up tension and emotions during the scenes we have planned. I have also learnt that scripts go very well with the storyboards and the synopsis, together they build the entire structure of the film and all of our combined ideas.

Institutional Research

The kind of media institution that might distribute my film

Producing my film is one of the most crucial steps within the film industry. Choosing the right institution for my film is very important so I must choose one who has produced films of a similar genre in the past that have been successful. A couple of intstitutions that I have considered are; Dreamworks (The Ring), Columbia Pictures (The Grudge), Toho (One Missed Call), and Dimension Films (The Others).

After a short discussion with my partner we both felt that Dimension films would be the best company to produce our film as they have created many movie franchises within the horror genre, such as; Scream, Halloween and Children Of The Corn. These movies are highly renown and are classic examples of different horror sub-genres. My film ends on a cliff-hanger, and I feel that if my movie was successful, there would definitely be a sequel. Dimension being experts in those areas, would be very useful to get our film attention and make this sequel a reality.

Dimension Films are part of The Weinstein Company. This label was taken with the Weinstein brothers when they split apart from Miramax (owned by Disney) in 2005. Dimension Films produce and distribute many films, mostly franchises and horrors.

Dimension Films has distributed and produced The Others - a very similar film to mine in the way of characters and settings, and one that I watched for the comparing two movie openings section. It includes old and secluded houses which generates a good effect upon the audience. The film also features a psychotic and  confused female lead. There is a lot of emotional confusion and tension in both my film and The Others, too. The audience sees the events through the confused, main character's eyes, much like my film. I think this is a strong part to our film and won't go unnoticed by the audience, I think we can create a great effect just like The Others did if we spend enough time on our movie.

I would expect a production budget of 15 million if this was to ever become a real movie. The movie that is similar to our - The Others, used a budget of around 17 million to create the film, keeping in mind that special effects were neve used and the only high profile actor was Nicole Kidman. If I was creating a real media text, I would make an addition to more famous and well known actors. I could also use some of the budget for special effects and gore.

I would expect my film to be quite high profile like The Sixth Sense, meaning they'd be in most mainstream cinemas across the UK and hopefully the US. I would also look forward to having an official website for the film so people can watch trailers and be updated on news and curretn events. This will increase the popularity and hype when the film is released in cinemas and possibly DVD. Another way of becoming more known is to advertise online via Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.

This research has allowed me to think about what kind of options I'd have to think about if I was to make a real film and choose a institution that is profesional and suitable for the movie. I have learnt that there are many complicated things to do even after the movie has been filmed which really show how famous it's going to be.

Regulation Research

The Next piece of work I need to complete is research on the British Board of Film Clasification.
This is because I need to understand the regulations of films so I can add appropriate material , themes and elements into my own film opening without breaking any of these rules, and possibily offending people who may watch it. I am going to visit the BBFC website in order to find out information about regulations, and what I can and can't add into my movie introduction.

The BBCF stands for the British Board of Film Classification, and are the biggest film regulators in the British media. They are used and set up to protect the public, generally the younger possible audience from watching unsuitable content. The BBCF also keep in mind what control and freedom adults have over their children and what they should be watching. The BBFC also rates adverts, movie trailers, pictures, games and programmes released.

The main factors the BBFC take into consideration when deciding what to rate the item would be as follows:

Violence, Drugs, Sex, Horror, Criminal Violence, Discrimination and Themes.

Depending on how many, and which of those factors appear in the item, the BBFC will appropriately rate it with one of the following:

U - Universal (Suitable for all)

U films are for everyone, and should not upset any type of audience.

PG - Parental Guidence

PGs are for general viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children, any children may watch this, but the film should not disturb children who are younger than 8

12/12A - Suitable for 12 years or older

The 12 category exists only for video works. No one younger than 12 may rent or buy a '12' rated film or video work. The 12A category only exists for cinema films, no one younger than 12 may watch a '12A' rated film unless with an adult

15 - Suitable for 15 years or older

No one younger than 15 may watch a '15' at the cinema. No one younger that 15 may rent or buy a '15' rated video work.

 18 - Suitable only for adults

No one younger than 18 may watch an '18' at the cinema. No one younger than 18 may rent or buy a '18' rated video work.

R18 - Restricted 18

These are very restricted and can only be shown or bought in specially licensed cinemas and are only supplied in sex shops. The 'R18' category is special and legally restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults.

Guidelines to a '15' film

I have chosen to list the guidelines to a '15' film as that's what we're following when making our film. 15 is also the age of our target audience so it is vital that we follow these guidelines carefully when filming. We shall take these all into consideration when filming. I have put each section into my own words so I can understand it a little easier.

Discrimination

The film in general must not contain diciminatory language or behaivour.

Drugs

Drugs are allowed to be shown in the film in general, but cannot be promoted or encourage for misuse. The misuse of easily accesible and dangerous substances such as glue or aerosols is very unlikely to be acceptable.

Horror

Can show very strong threat and shock and is fully permitted as long as it's not in a sadistic or sexual way.

Imitable Behaivour

Dangerous behaivour or self harming should not be dwelled upon, things such as suicide, hanging or self harming should not keep appearing in the film, especially material which could be copied. Easily accesible weapons should not be glamorised either. 

Language

There may be a vast amount of strong language ranging from the least offensive words to everything up to the strongest language. The strongest terms (for example, 'Cunt' may be acceptable if justified by the context). Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable and won't be shown.

Nudity

Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context or scene but without strong detail.There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

Sex

Sexual activity may be portrayed and shown without strong detail. There may be strong verbal to sexual behaivour such as simple sex talk, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Films which are based upon and main purpose is sexual stimulation are very unlikely to be accepted.


Theme

No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds and over.

Violence

Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury for too long. The stronger gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification, otherwise it won't be allowed.

As our film is a psycological horror, I have taken into account any possible issues relating to violence, gore and dangerous acts. Reading through the BBFC's 15 section on their website I have found and listed a number of things I need to strong think about when filming our movie. Our film will not dwell on inflicting pain or injury, neither will it use the strongest of language that may be upsetting to some of our possible audience. In my opinion our film may include strong sterotypes, but we will make sure to keep as far away from discriminative material as possible. While keeping to the guidelines of the BBFC's classification we can generate a wider target audience whilst also giving us more freedom of the material that will be shown. Finally, I have learnt information about ratings and what type of things we'll be allowed to put intoour movie without breaking the limits.This helps us greatly in narrowing down our decisions to what material shall be in our movie.

Our film will have no sexual scenes or anything discriminitive, nor will it have any form of drug taking. This means distrubuting our film without having to cut out scenes will be much easier and the film itself will be seen in a good light among critics.

I am learning that the BBFC has an extremely important role in the filming industry in classing films ratings and protecting the public from harmful material. I never really understood what the BBFC did, and I didn't realise how important they were until the recent research. In conclusion, I have learnt that I can include certain elements of violence and horror into our film, but making sure that we don't dwell on these scenes. I also learnt that strong drug references and unsuitable themes are prohibited.

Audience Research

For the Audience Research task me and my partner wrote up a series of questions which would be asked to people around the same age as us, as these are the kind of people we are expecting to be interested and watch our psycological horror. From the group people we interviewed we picked out and selected the most useful answers and animated them using stop motion. The results are shown above this paragraph.

This has helped me get an extremely clear idea on what my target audience would like to see from a psycological horror, and what types of themes should be brought up into these movies. I have found out from the people we interviewed that many have come to say that they like the idea of very realistic scenes, saying that this makes them believe that such things could actually happen in real life, throwing them into shock and giving them the ultimate horror feeling. As you'll hear many of our audience prefer to watch these type of horrors with a friend or two, which means we can push the limits to how effective we make our film. If we made our film extremely frightning, as the audience preffered to watch these films by themselves, then this could cause them to stop watching it due to how scared they might be. However, now that we know people prefer watching these types of films with a few friends then we can make it as creepy as we want to make it, without having to worry about people turning it off as they will have the comfort of their friends.

Overall the entire audience research project has helped us come to many final conclusions on what the audience actually want, and how we are going to add what they would like to see to our final peice.

I have learnt that audience research has played a very big role in helping us discover what the audience of our age category really want from a psychological horror. I've learnt that tasks such as researching help us mould our ideas and movie plans ot suit what's best for our audience, after all they're going to be the ones who watch the movie and judge it at the end of the day.

Textual Analysis - Comparison Between Two Psychological Horror Film Openings

Both The Ring and The Others start with a dark setting and background noise, such as the noise of rain from outside, the noise of the TV and the screaming. By doing this the film puts across the message that the background noises and sudden noises will have a significant effect during this film. This prepares the audience for sudden noises and sounds which will scare them and this shows it's going to happen one way or another.

The characters aren't introduced in similar ways however the movie reveals the tiniest fragments of information that don't really lead you to any sudden decisions. Both movies keep the characters mysterious and hidden. Another point is that the characters all seem to be scared at some point in the opening which means there is an uncovered horror waiting to be found somewhere throughout the movie for the audience ot find which throws them into a state of suspense and shock.

In both films they also play on the audience's emotions by adding such things as childrens stories. In the Others you can hear a female voice asking her children if they're 'Sitting comfortably' ready for the story, which you wouldn't accociate with a psychological horror. The same happens in the ring where the two girls are talking to each other and telling each other horror stories that surely can't be real and are only joking because they're friends. You also wouldn't accociate this as much with a psychological horror yet both are shown.

From this comparison of two successful psychological horrors I have learned more techniques to define my genre. I now have more ideas for music choice and the pace of editing. My main character will remain quite mysterious throughout the opening and the use of what camera shots is more clear to me. I will use this and apply all these ideas to my psychological horror to perhaps make mine much more successful.

Textual Analysis - The Others

The Others

This film opens on a black screen with a woman softly speaking. She say "Are we sitting comfortably?", which would help the audience to see that someone is telling a childrens story. This also helps us identify the target audience as adults and older generations.

A candle light-like effect then flickers on to show a dark picture of the interior of an old, gothic house with childish characters dressed in old fashioned clothes. Revealing the setting of the film to be quite historic and gothic. The music is slow and classical, but has a sinister twist which could signal a horrific storyline. The credits fade in and out peacefully with the pace of the music.

The last drawn picture is of a big house in what seems to be the middle of no where and is completely secluded. The picture fades out onto an establishing long shot of the actual house. The mist has engulfed the building. Mist would be a signal for an incoming classical horror movie, it adds to the effect and certainally makes it creepy. The music seems to come to an end slowly, indicating to the next shot to arrise.

The music is suddenly cut short by a very high-pitched scream being projected from the woman on screen, destroying the calm environment around her and disrupting the atmoshphere given off by the childrens toys.  A close up of the woman's face shows her scream and terror. Slowly, the camera turns 90 degrees and zooms out into a mid-shot to establish that this character was lying in bed.This would indicate that was she just having a bad dream. This quick mash up of emotion prepares the audience for an unstable ride throughout the film, and are shaken up by this introduction.

The scene then moves to a long shot of the exterior of the house. Mist is still surrounding the house, blocking out any backgroud making is seem the house is the only thing in the area which is safe and sheltered. It also seems like the house is the only pretection from any evil that may threaten it. Three silhouttes walk across the grounds. The audience can hear distant conversation between the three. They sound cheerful as they laugh. This is a big contrast to the mood of the scene.

There is match on action into next shot as the camera closes into one of the characters proceeding towards the house. The conversation is now much more audible, but it cuts in half way through a sentence, so the clip the audience does hear is very confusing and sparks many questions about the three characters. 

At the end of the two minutes, we are re-introduced to the horrified and scared woman in an earlier shot. This ties up the connection between her and the house, as she answers the door in an over the shoulder shot to the three, mysterious characters. Only her face appears in the crack of the door; showing she may be wary about who she might be dealing with here. This also shows that the director doesn't want to reveal to much about this character right away, and therefore gets the actor to cover herself up behind the door.

Textual Analysis - The Ring

The Ring
The shot opens on an establishing shot, showing an old house and a tree. The tree hasn't got any leafs which is a traditional horror movie method, this is the same for the old house, which looks like it's straight out of a horror film. It's raining quite heavily, and just before the shot cuts you start to hear some dialogue.

The shot cuts and makes a loud hissing noise, before cutting to a conversation between two girls in a room, one is lying against the bed and the other is lying on the bed. The room is very average looks nothing like the exterior of the house, there are lamps, pillows and stuffed toys signaling that just like the characters in the room, this is a girls room. The shot slowly zooms onto them as their conversation develops, eventually the character against the bed hands the remote over to the one lying on the bed and she changes channel. The shot quickly jumps to showing the tv which gets turned off, then it cuts back to the characters talking.

The character against the bed then responds to the character on the bed, the camera cuts to her face talking, and then shows her moving and then sitting on the bed. The starts talking and explains about how she's heard this rumor about a tape, the character lying on the bed gets up and sits next to the other character, showing she's interested. Both characters resume in conversation, there is one switch between the over the shoulder shot, then the camera very slowly zooms upon one of the characters talking. When the camera goes back to the other charater her face is shown in horror, she is petrified and scared and she gets very serious questioning the other character.

The character who looks horrified explains how what the other character just told her actually happened to her, and her face drops even more as she continues, there is a silent pause and the two minute mark is reached.

Synopsis - Institutionalised

For my next task, I must write up a synopsis with my partner. We currently both have good ideas than need moulding into shape to fit the entire stroyline of our movie. Even though we are only filming the first two minutes of the film, it makes planning and storyboarding much easier for us, and will be a great help referencing back to this synopsis while filming.

Quinn and Max are a young couple, struggling to make their way in the city after a long, relaxed few years at university. They live in a fairly posh town house that Max's rich parents mostly paid for. They seem to have it better than most.

One night, whilst working the night shift in the hospital, Quinn runs into Francis, the odd janitor at work everyone is gossiping about. Quinn drops the bags of blood she is carrying and they burst on the floor. Francis stares at the blood for a second, says a few words and then glares at Quinn before leaving. Quinn is bewildered. At home, she frets about what she had witnessed that night, Max is very concerned.

Quinn goes back to the hospital for her next shift, unknowingly rushing until she turns up half an hour early. She confides what happened the night before with hey friend, another nurse, Mary. Mary tells Quinn about how she'd had a similar encounter on her night shift the other week at which Francis had said to her 'mind where you treat'. Mary seems very troubled and a little scared. Quinn asks her how things are at home with her terminally ill husband, Karl. Mary brushes off the question with a nervous nod of the head and then leaves. Quinn has a long, tiring shift in which a patient of hers died in his sleep. Very stressed, Quinn blames herself and drives home in a daze, leading her to nearly run over a little boy in the street. When she returns home she breaks down in Max's arms and falls asleep that way for a few hours. At 3 in the morning, Quinn awakes suddenly as if she has had some very disturbing dreams. Tired and confused, her body seems to lead her to the laptop, where she searches the name 'Francis Denver', even though she has never known Francis' last name before. No matches were found. Quinn refreshes the page repeatedly until she falls alseep at the desk.

The next morning Max awakes Quinn and irritably tells her that she has an unhealthy obsession with the janitor. Quinn over reacts, and knocks the laptop to the floor, causing it to break. Max, alarmed, books her in at a psychiatrist, to which Quinn says she'll go, but ends up stalking Francis back to his house. TO get to Francis' house they have to walk through a dark forest. Quinn loses track of him and turns to head home when she is hit hard on the head and blacks out. When she wakes up she is unfamilier to her surroundings and develops a couple of bruises and has a nasty gash on her head. As she treats herself, she realises she's in a room full of bloodstained sacks, supposedly full of bodies. Quinn is confused as to whether they're real or not. She blacks out and hears a loud screeching noise.

Quinn awakes in a hospital after an unfathomable amount of time. She finds out she is lying in the same bed her patient died in before. She is approached by two police officers and an inspector, who accuse her of murdering Max and Mary. Quinn is taken to the police station where she is interrogated. She is shown a number of pictures of Mary before and after her death. Quinn has short but gruesome flashbacks of Mary's body hanging in the janitors closet. Quinn does not remember anything but the name, Fancis Denver. After a while the police don't have enough evidence to throw her in jail, and she is left under survaillance. Not being able to leave the house, Quinn becomes crazed and depressed. She empties her bedroom and locks herself in with nothing but a picture of Max.

After a few weeks, the inspector breaks into Quinn's bedroom to find her weak and curled up on the floor. He tells her that they have found more bodies and more evidence that all points to her. In desperation and insanity, she pounces upon the inspector bites a chunk out of his shoulder and makes a run for it. She runs through the forest towards Francis' house. As she gets closer to the house,  flashbacks of what actually happen hit her (Quinn did kill all those people through paranoia). She seemingly shakes it off and runs faster. When she gets to the house, she creeps around the back. Looking weak, insane and barely human, Quinn picks up a brick and enters the house. She creeps up to an armchair where Francis is sat, in a deep sleep. As she is about to hit Francis, he wakes up and there is a big brawl and chase through the house and out into the forest. Whilst the chase is happening, there is confusion to who is chasing who. Quinn gets more flashbacks of herself running through the same woods, chasing her fiance with a bloody knife in hand. We are then shown Francis, running for his life. He stops and hides behind a tree to catch his breath. He hears a twig snap and looks up to see Quinn crouched on a branch, readying to drop the brick on his head.

The film flashed to white and then fades to black, where the credits start

By writing this synopsis with help from my partner, I have found planning the entire film, storyboards and research to be much easier and stronger. Now that I have a full picture on what the film is going to turn out like, we can discuss further camera shots, possible props and outfits and some advanced storyboarding details. This will also help us when we come to start filming as we can refer back to our storyboard and synopsis in search of guidence. We have also opened up more gateways such as possible music and ideas for editing the movie together which will make everything much more effective for this movie. Overall we are pleased with what this synopsis has come to, and will be great for getting our heads around what we want the final outcome to look like.
 
This piece of work gives us a very clear idea on what will happen in the film, and while we have only briefly listen the main events we can storyboard these events to further detail. Since we have now completed the synopsis, we can now work towards our storyboards for the two minute opening, whilst making sure everything makes sense further down the line comparing to our two minute opening. This will also be a great help when we're filming and need to reference back.I am learning that tasks such as this one are very important to show off all your ideas, they effectivly help with the entire project and are the roots of the production. I am also learning that synopsis' and storyboards are vital when coming to make movies, and should be worked on thoroughly before moving on and begining to adapt and mould your movie.

Codes and Conventions - Psychological Horror

Before choosing our final film genre we were were asked to research two or three possible genres we liked the idea of, after an hour of research I decided that the film genre I liked the most was a psychological horror and stuck with that ever since. Before I could start to storyboard and come up with ideas for my film opening I had to bare in mind the general codes and conventions of a psychological horror, taking in as much detail as possible from my research. This will help me when I want to indicate to the audience what to expect from my film.


Characters> Young adult of child (usually female)
> Mentally unstable
> Emotionally Unstable
> Dark, Gothic, Creepy in looks

Other Characters> A detective or other form of authority
> An unsuspecting partner, friend or stranger
Settings> Institutionalised areas such as school, hospitals, academys
> Deep, dark, gloomy areas that are abandoned which are far away from help
> Big, terrifying areas that are out of place and on isolated grounds
Props> A weapon of any kind, can be knives and guns
> More commmonly weapons that weren't made for killing like pipes and hammers
> A kind of research tool such as a laptop, book or research files
> A Sentimental object which is normally very innocent on its own, like a teddybear or a doll
Storylines

A story full of suspense, twists and deaths/mental torment.

One person either mentally ill or the victim of brutal abuse from a stalker/family member/friend

Not always, but a lot of times it ends in the main character either dying or ending up in hospital/mental asylum.

There is usually a strong sense of confusion and mystery inflicted upon the main character and
thus, the audience.

There is almost never a happy ending.

The horror usually is ceased through the main character working out what is happening and stopping it. However, sometimes the horror is not stopped, either implying that you cannot stop the horror/fear or that there will be a sequel.

Ones closest to the main character are usually killed off

Sound

Very little dialogue throughout most of the film.

More dialogue when the main character is trying to reason/workout what's happening to them, showing panic and desperation.

Tense, low music to build suspense, which usually builds up louder when a scary scene is coming up.

Sometimes there will be a very quiet drum beat in the background, mimicking the heart rate of the character and possibly the audience's.

A lot of silent scenes giving the film an eerie effect.

Cinematography and editing

Fast pace editing for the most part to emphasise confusion and action. However, slow paced

editing is used at tense moments to build suspense.

Characters will have flashbacks from time to time, each time they get closer to working out why these acts of horror are happening.

Sometimes, not very linear, showing the result of horrible events at the beginning to spark curiosity and fear. It would usually show the character after being through an ordeal (e.g. in a mental hospital, alone and lost in a forest, in a hospital bed, etc).

Mostly filmed in dark places such as night-time, dark houses, etc.

The camera nearly always focuses and follows the main character

From researching about codes and conventions for psychological horrors, I now know what I must include to give the opening of my movie the effect that I want the audience to have, which is a mixture of varied feelings such as suspense and fear. A non-linear introduction to the movie will create a perfect play on emotions towards our possible ideas for characters and her current situation. I have learnt from my research that the idea of our movie follow these codes and conventions that I've researched, for example the idea of the vulnerable female who is insane. By using a young, pretty, innocent looking female who is clinically insane character in the introduction to our movie, this will generate so much suspense and effect towards to audience which is our main goal when making this opening. With everything now in mind, I can now work towards making a clear and effective psychological horror with less to worry about and much less hasttle.

Target Audience

One of the first tasks we were set was to think about our target audience, after a little bit of planning and research, I created this powerpoint below to show and explain everything I have in mind about our target audience and also minor research that I did which will soon help me when I come to audience research.

This research has helped me in my next task which will be audience research, I can refer back to my target audience and come up with questions to ask during my target audience section. I can also begin to get more clear ideas on what I need to put in my film, and also obtain more generalised views on the audience and what they would like to see in the film. When I do my audience research I will get much clearer views on this.

I have learnt that finding my target audience is very important, because without it I have no idea who I'm aiming the film at and what to include. I am learning that this is also a very important task as it links well with audience and regulation research, like many other tasks i've been set, this is an importing starting point which will lead me to new tasks and will all come together. I have also learnt a little about what type of people (age, gender, religion) like what movies, and how much of those people like certain movies. This has helped me come to final decisions I was unsure on before, like what to rating we aim to make our film.