Hannah- Victims Best Friend - Character Profile

Hannah is the best friend of Alana who dies in the film, we are not sure in the teaser trailer if you see Hannah die or not but you might get the idea that she does.

Alana- Victim -Character Profile

Alana is the Victim in our film, we have chosen her because she is a female and usually the victims in Horror films are female, the only difference between the two is that in our film Alana survives the attack and in most Horror films the girls die.







Here I have compared her to Drew Barrymore in Scream, as she is one of the girls who gets murdered by the Killer. However, Alana is not a helpless victim as she doesn't die whereas Drew does. Drew is a stereotypical character because she is Blonde, although she isn't dumb, she is quite smart. She screams and cries quite a lot in this film as obviously she doesn't want to die.

The Killer- Paul - Character Profile

Although I was the Killer at the beginning I have broken my foot and now I cannot possibly play the role of the Killer. So now we have enlisted the help of Millys older brother Paul. We have chosen Paul because he is strong and he will be able to do the harder scenes in the film such as dragging Alana along the ground.



I have compared him to the Killer from Scream because the costume is going to be similar, with a black body and then a masked face, and also the killer from Scream would have had to be strong because he has to dispose of the bodies in a way in which would probably cause a normal person some aches and pains. In the Opening scene the Killer in Scream has killed Drew Barrymore and then he hangs her on the tree by her neck so obviously he will need some physical strength to carry a dead body and then hang her up.

Props

We have just ordered Masks from Amazon for our filming in two weeks time. We are using half-face masks (such as the one in Phantom of the Opera) for the Clan Members, and then for the Clan Leader we have got a theatrical face masks, we ordered two, one smiling and one with a sad face because then the Clan Leader can wear one and then the Killer can wear the other one, which will confuse the audience to see who is the Clan Leader and who is the Killer.

These are the two masks which the Clan Leader and the Killer will wear, we have chosen these because although they are similar with the facial features they are different from each other because of the happy/sad face. We have not yet decided who we will give each of the masks to, but I'm sure that on the day we will decide.



These are the masks in which the Clan Memebers will wear, these are simple yet effective and we are going to paint the masks with elaborate designs (maybe skeleton?) to make them all different and unique. These masks are also very different from the full-face mask that the clan leader wears, showing that she has earned her full-face mask and the members have not yet earned there full-face mask.

Shooting Schedule

Here is our shooting schedule, we are planning to film everything over one weekend apart from the scene where we are filming at school in which we can film during one of our media lessons.
As our film is dark we have to film during the night time which then limits our time schedule to just the evenings, but during the day we can paint the masks which the clan memebers will have and the clan leader will have.

Worrying News

Last week I had an accident where I fell down some stairs and I broke my foot, I am on crutches for the foreseeable future at the moment so we, as a group are thinking about casting someone else as the killer as I am not sure if I will be able to stand on my foot for long periods of time. We are not quite sure what to do because if I am well and I can walk on my foot then obviously I would love to be the killer, but if I cannot walk on my foot very well then we're going to have to find someone else to be the Killer. In the Half Term we are planning on filming everything so we will have to find someone else to fill my shoes, which could be difficult seeing as we are planning on filming everything in a week.

Non-Copyright Music Research

Last year we used the website http://www.freeplaymusic.com/ for our music to our opening two minutes. I think finding the music is the hardest part of the whole editing process as it takes the longest amount of time to find something to fit to our scenes. Last year we wanted an upbeat tune for our opening two minutes. This year I think we are going to try and find something dark and mysterious to use for our Teaser Trailer. I am going to research different non-copyright music websites on Google to see what comes up.


http://www.nvmdigital.com/nvmusic/library/mp3frameset.html This is a music site, which is non-copyright music but you need to pay for music so we would be able to use this.

I have looked on Google but I can't seem to find anything which is free and easy to use, but I'm sure we will use Freeplay music as this is the easiest one to use.

Intertitles Practice

Today I have practiced making Intertitles. An Intertitle is a scene of text in between perhaps two scenes of action. I am using Windows Movie Maker as on this computer I do not have access to Adobe Premier Elements. I went onto a website called http://www.metacafe.com/ where I could view trailers. I then decided to print screen the titles so I could have them on my video. Once I had gathered enough information about Horror intertitles I attempted to make my own.
I used the red colour from the Nightmare on Elm street, as I thought it was the most effective and because it was red it connoted the thought of blood and the thought of being angry and perhaps revenge?
I have decided to use three different effects for my intertitles as I think these were the best effects to use as they are probably the most commonly used in teaser trailers.

Practice Shots for the Killer

Here we have compared different still shots of myself being the possible Killer. We have tried different perspectives such as an above shot and a side shot.




This is a shot from underneath, I don't particularly like this shot because I think it makes me look wierd, but it is good for making myself look powerful and of importance and threatening towards the audience.




This is a shot from me from above, this makes me look less powerful as a killer and maybe I seem like a victim instead of a Killer.





This is a shot from me from behind, I think it is quite effective because you can't see the expression on my face which is quite unsettleing, you also can't see what I might be planning and which my face may give away, I think we should use some of these shots in our Teaser Trailer.

Props Needed

Here I have put things onto a moodboard which I think we will need for filming. I have added Pyjamas because there is a scene where either Hannah or Alana gets dragged from their beds so they will be in Pyjamas but Hannah will have them at her house where I think we are filming that scene.
I have also added a Knife, Machete and a Cut-throat Razor to the prop list because we will need them to add into our scenes. I think we are going to try and find a retractable plastic knife so when I do 'stab' Alana it won't actually hurt her, and there is no chance of me actually cutting her by accident.
I have also added Tracksuits because when Alana is being dragged through the woods she will need to wear some old clothes which she doesn't mind getting muddy because it is likely that she will be getting rather wet and muddy as it is very likely that it will rain the night before/the night that we decide to film!

Costume Research

Here I have added pictures to create a Costume Moodboard, I have added pictures of capes, some in Red and some in Black. I added the capes in Red because red connotes Blood and Anger, which would be a good idea for our film as the killer is angry and goes on a killing spree, killing most of the people in the Clan. However, red is easily seen in the dark as it is quite a vibrant colour and will get dirty quite easily if we are in the woods and it has been raining. Black is a good colour as it won't show up in the dark meaning I, the Killer can be quite easily hidden and I won't be seen. I added the KKK cape as they are quite famous for hiding their faces, so noone knows who they are, I think I should hide my face so I am never revealed. Also if we did reveal the killers face in the teaser trailer it would give away quite a lot of the film and therefore people probably wouldn't go to see the full film.

Questionnaire Research - Audiences Preferences

This is interesting in which the majority of our participants don't find Religious/Cult style films Frightening, as this was the basis for our film. But if that is the case then maybe we can re-invent the genre, as we are not following the crowd in which films they are making, so we can possibly make a teaser trailer which doesn't follow the crowd.

Nearly everyone we asked said they found Films based on True Stories scary, I am guessing that this is because of the Paranormal Activity films which have just come out, as they are based on True Events, which could make people go and see them to see what happens as there has been a lot of media about the films as they are well advertised. Also people like to be scared and these films are very jumpy and will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the whole film as the music and the tension building leads to something that will most likely make you jump!

Again, most people said the Hand Held footage makes them scared too, again Paranormal activity uses some Hand Held footage in it which is mainly used during the day as at night the footage is filmed using a tripod. Also, if I had asked this question 10 years ago when Blair Witch Project came out I would think that the people who answered yes would be higher as well. I think that Hand Held footage is effective because it gives a a different perspective and it breaks the 4th wall. I think it gives a personal view of the film, as if you are watching it through the characters eyes, so I think this would be effective in our film to capture some of the terror and scared expressions on our characters faces.

Most people like stereotypical characters in films because I think they are so used to them being there if they weren't there it would seem weird. I think in our Teaser Trailer we are trying to steer away from using Stereotypes because we feel that we would like our film to be different

The older people I asked said they liked the Classic Horror films, this could be because the Contemporary ones are quite repetitive and there doesn't seem to be any original ideas anymore.

However the younger people I asked said they liked Contemporary Horror films, and that could be because they think the older films are boring and not modern enough for them whereas they like the fresh, crisp ideas from the Contemporary Horror films.

Nearly all of our participants said they enjoy Horror mixed with other genres, I think this is good because there are lots of sub-genres attached to Horror such as Horror-Thriller, Horror-Comedy and Horror-Sci-Fi. I think this is important to consider in our film as we might end up adding some different genres into this teaser trailer as we know our potential audience will enjoy having them in there, as it won't deter them from watching the film.

Questionnaire Research - Where/How Often/Types of Horror Films Watched

In this Pie chart I have noticed that most people watch Horror films Once a Month, and also 6 people watch them 'Other' which could mean they watch them more than once a month, but not quite once a week, or they could watch them as and when they come out into the cinema, as it is not very often. This tells me that we will need to capture our audience withing the first 10 seconds or so, so that they want to watch the main film.

The majority of people in this question watch their Horror films at home, this could be after they've watched the film at the cinema or they've seen the trailer for a film and then gone out to buy it. I think watching the film in a cinema gives a more emersive experience as the screen is much bigger than what you watch on a TV at home, and there is a massive surround sound system as well making you feel as if you are a part of the film.

But, however, if you watch a film at home you have the versatility of being able to pause and stop the DVD, also you can rewind it if you miss something important, which you don't have in the cinema. Also, once you have bought the DVD once you don't need to buy it again to watch the film another time, whereas if you went to the cinema to see the film again you would have to pay to go to the cinema again to get the ultimate viewing experience. You can also watch it as a family at home, as it is usually cheaper to buy the DVD and watch at home instead of going to the cinema and watching it. Also at home there are no interruptions and no-ones phones will go off as well, therefore you have a pleasant viewing experience and not a bad one.

The majority of our participants like Psychological Horror films, I think this is because most films nowadays have some sort of psychological concept to them as in some films such as Paranormal Activity mess with your mind and you seem to think that wherever you look there might be someone there. If I had asked the same question 15 years ago when Scream came out I expect the answers would be very different, that Slasher films would be more prominent in the results than any other films. Likewise if I had asked the same question in 2004 then Gore would probably be the most popular answer, as that is when Saw came out.

Questionnaire Research - Influences of Advertising

In this bar chart you can see that Teaser Trailers often influence people to watch the full film which comes out afterwards. (16/20 times) Only one person said that teaser trailers do not influence them to watch the full film. This gives us the idea that we need to make our teaser trailer action packed and full of information about the film but also make sure it doesn't give too much away as why watch the whole film and pay money to watch it when you could just see exactly what happens when you see the teaser trailer?


In this Pie chart you can see the most people hear about Teaser Trailer in the cinema, as they may already be seeing a film which they might've seen the teaser trailer for. 10 people said that they hear about teaser trailers on the internet, which might be from Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter posting adverts with links to trailers and teaser trailers for up-and-coming films. The Dark Knight is an example of this as they had a huge budget for their viral marketing campaign.

Questionnaire

My group and I decided to issue a questionnaire to people to see what their opinions of Horror films were, we decided to do this to see what kind of a Horror film we should make, that people will enjoy. We asked a range of ages and genders. We also asked a range of different questions to see what their favourite type of Horror films they like. The Pie charts/Bar charts will be in following Blog posts.

Pearl and Dean - audience research

I went onto the website http://www.pearlanddean.com/ to see what the age range of audiences for Horror films are. I had a bit of trouble maneuvering through the site as the last time I used it was in year 12 and the website has changed since then. But after looking for a while I found some audience profiles which I could use. I found profiles for Saw, 28 Days Later and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

This is the audience profile for the film Saw, as you can see from the above picture the majority of people who went to see this film were ages between 15-24. however this film is an 18 so I don't think 15 year olds went to see it as the majority of people in this age category were probably 18+. 55% of the audience were male, so this suggests that the Horror genre is more created for Men rather than women.

This is the audience profile for Texas Chainsaw Massacre. As you can see from the above statistics the main percent of people going to see this film were again in the 15-24 age category. But in this case there are more Females going to see this film rather than males, but only just.

From this I think our main target audience are Males and Females, who are aged between 15-24, this is a similar age to what we are now so I think we can relate to what they would like to see in a film.

Character Profiling

Alana: Alana is our helpless victim, she was chosen for the victim role because she has a feminine voice and she can make herself seem helpless. Also she can get herself into a tree quite easily and out of the 3 of us in the group she is the most agile. Alana looks like a typical teenage girl which deters from the stereotype, as in our film we are trying to stay away from the stereotypes.



Laura (Myself): I decided that I was going to be the killer in our teaser trailer this year because I felt that to deter again from the stereotypes we should have a female killer, this is also a good idea because the audience will not expect it to be a women who is killer. However the Killer is never revealed in the trailer.



Hannah: Hannah plays the part of the best friend to Alana and they are the people who want to join the clan in the first place. We chose Hannah for this role because last year she had a very important role in our last time so we thought she should have a lesser role in this film which enables her to then participate in the filming for our teaser trailer.



Milly: Milly is going to be the leader of the clan. We chose her because she is different and usually the leader of a clan or a religious cult is quite tough and hard and Milly is very girly.



Paul: We are going to use Paul (Millys elder brother) to do some of the shots in which the killer (myself) would have to be quite strong and tough, for example when the Killer would have to drag Alana through the woods, I felt that I might not be able to cope with dragging her through the woods, so we decided to enlist the help of someone a bit stronger than I am! I will have a go at trying to do the more physical jobs though.

Script for our Teaser Trailer

Today in our media lesson Alana, Hannah and I decided to create a script for our trailer. We decided not to use as much dialogue as we could as we wanted the effect of the shots and the music to create the atmosphere for us.

Script

Opening of Shot 2:

Alana: (scream) let go/please/help me (panic) (scramble)

Opening of Shot 3:

All girls synchronised chanting: "And forgive us our tress passes, for we forgive those who trespass against us." (monotone whisper)

Opening Shot 5:

Alana: (scream) let go/please/help me (panic) (scramble)

Shot 6:

Main Leader (Milly?): To join you must under go a series of tasks, to prove your strength only then can you show your commitment and worth.

Shot 7:

Killer (Laura): Thou shalt not kill.
Motions knife towards Alana’s ankle.

Shot 9:

All girls synchronised chanting: And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. (monotone whisper)

Shot 11:

Alana: (gurgled scream) I’m here.