Here is a basic template idea of how we intend to layout one of our review pages, we feel this will be a good way of laying out our review page as it will enable us to write a short review for our film, this will be much easier than writing a full page review for a short film. The three reviews at the bottom will be filled with our own reviews of other short films that we have watched from our short film research.
Recently we have been working on our production, of which
entails editing and filming the first part of our film. Some of the challenges
that we faced were putting our initial ideas into practice and doing what the
screenplay suggested to a level that we were happy with. Throughout the filming
process we decided that some minor changes would need to be taken into effect
such as multiple different shots all edited in to one scene such as when the
protagonist gets a call on Skype as opposed to one shot with little movement.
We decided that it would be more effective to have around three different
angles ranging from a mid-shot, to a high angle shot in the corner of the room
to a low angle shot of the protagonist. As a way to document these potential
changes after the fact we will create a third screenplay which will follow the
final product to the letter, the changes we have made will be evident in the comparison
between the second and the third screenplay, a document will accompany the
third which clearly lists the changes made.
After having consulted out focus group to see which REC symbol would look best for the handheld camera scenes, the images abvove were chosen to be the best, as opposed to these two images below;
During the editing process of our film it became clear that it would be necessary
to include static to represent the fact that the video camera is turning on
initially. We decided to do this by including a royalty free stock footage of
static to place in front of the first section that is filmed off of the
supposed antagonist’s video camera.
It may be possible to incorporate this in other sections of
the film such as having the camera stutter to give off more of an impression
that the killer has taped over the original film, this both shows the
antagonist as more of a villain and establishes the fact that this kill is not isolated.
This reinstates what it is we would like the scrapbook to present to the
audience.
We presented our focus group with two different pieces of
video static and from this they decided that this static is the most effective
and fits the film the best:
This static was also considered but rejected by the focus
group as they felt it was less effective than the aforementioned video static.
Here is a Prezi that looks in detail at two pages from Total Film and Empire magazine. the Prezi attempts to explain the codes and conventions in which we have looked at as well as informing to what is possible and would work well with our own film and its subsequent review.
After having consulted our focus group they decided that they preferred this title as opposed to the other as they felt it was darker and easier to read than the other, they also felt it carried an eerie feel.
Here are the other film title ideas we had, we will consult our ficus group to see which one of these titles they prefer, in order to go alongside the other film title our focus group have chosen.
After consulting our focus group, this was the title that was chosen. This title had the most positive reaction and recieved the majorioty vote from our focus group. However we have also created another selection of titles that we will present to our focus group to find another favourite to be used for our film. This will then narrow our title choices down to two titles favoured by our focus group, allowing them to then decide upon a favourite to be used primarily for our film.
Here are a few ideas for the title of our film, we decided to call our film "DOCUMENTED" and these are the ideas that we had for the title on our film poster.
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Here is a template for one of the posters we will make for our short film, we are going to create 3 different posters between us and then consult our focus group to see which poster that they prefer to find out which poster to submit.
Our screen play has gone through a few changes in the 2 drafts we have presented. The first being the method of communication between Veronica and her friend, in the first draft you will notice that we use a phone as a form of communication. However, we found that this could become difficult whilst filming due to limitations with space and time, we also wanted to reduce dialogue throughout the film. This is because a code and convention that we have noticed in horror films is little dialogue, this creates more of an eerie tension for the audience which is something we want to portray in our production.
Another change we made was the murder weapon, originally we had thought of using a knife. However, we began brainstorming and realized that a knife may seem to much of a cliche weapon, so we opted for a shovel. Not only did this prop link in well with the film it also enables us to add a new element to the production. A majority of the murders 'screentime' is outside therefore it makes sense for him to have a shovel due to his surroundings. Not only is a shovel a unique option for a weapon it is also easier to use for filming and aids us in having a good ending to our film.
Here are 9 Total Film review pages that we have looked at, individually within our group we have looked at 3 of these pages each, alongside the Empire review pages we have looked at a total of 24 film review pages.
Here is a look into codes and conventions for a VHS film poster, I have looked at what the poster does and what it attempts to convey through these devices. For our film poster it may be a good idea to use a larger amount of black to represent a horror film and perhaps the main image of our poster could be similar to VHS' in the sense that it could be a blood stained video camera as the main image of the poster.
The codes and conventions for VHS are taken from one particular section of the film, I was unable to find a suitable YouTube video showing this section of the film. The section is towards the end of the film and follows the men at the begging of the film who break into a house looking for a video tape, the house is dark and a majority of the men have vanished by this part of the film and it focus' on a few of the men as they watch one of the video tapes and walk around the previously mentioned house. The reason we have chosen to look at VHS in detail is due to the fact that it uses handheld camera footage for the majority of the film, this is something that we ourselves would like to implement into our own film with the use of the killer using a handheld camera to see his perspective of the events that unfold. It was imperative to look a a film such as VHS to see how handheld cameras are implemented in feature horror films, and to see how we could emulate these conventions.
Here is a Prezi that summaries the ideas of Narrative theory, it also discusses narrative theorists and their ideas on narrative and how we would be able to apply these ideas to our own narrative in the form of our film.
Whilst this isnt a short horror film, I felt this would be a good film to mention within our research into short horror films. INSIDE does not follow all of the general codes and conventions of short films, for a start, there is a lot of dialogue used which helps to create an intense atmosphere as we here many voices trying to talk over one another, this almost creates a bond between the main character and the audience as we experience what he is experiencing.
Here is a Prezi which sums up all of our codes and conventions for short films from Blackboxtv each section in the Prezi has an example of how it can be used in an existing short film and how we could potentially learn from this and use it in our production.
Here is some codes and conventions research into the Strangers film poster. I have discussed why the codes and conventions have been used and to what effect they give the viewer and to how they relay to the theme and tone of the actual film. From this poster I believe we would be able to take certain things from this existing poster, in the sense that I think the minimalistic style will help to convey the tone and atmosphere of our own film, as well as this the use of one image I find that it helps to add mystic around the film as well as keeping the poster looking professional and effective in its use.
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitute ones goals, actions, and expectations. There is no set dominant ideology for short films; however there are dominant ideologies that are withheld for feature films that follow the horror genre. When creating our film we will be attempting to appeal to our audience’s dominant ideology of horror films whilst also attempting to create our own ideology for short films, this will allow us to easily establish that our film is categorized as a horror as it will follow the general consensus of feature horror films.
As our target audience is primarily teens and young adults, the film we are creating will need to fit the expectations that our focus group want, one of the features that our focus group mentioned that they liked about horror films was being able to relate to the characters of the film, we feel we will be able to fit this ideology by using actors that are around the same age group as our focus group, helping to fulfil this expectation for our focus group.
-Some reviews are longer than others, making it
more text dense as opposed to picture heavy. Stills of the film are used as
backgrounds, and limited in other aspects.
Whilst watching 'Virus' the expanse of space surrounding the protagonist made his vulnerability and isolation apparent. It seems that this is a common convention of short horror films, using a big expanse of space to dwarf a victim not only makes an eerie tension in the film but also creates an atomosphere with the viewer. I also noticed a lack of dialogue throughout the film which helped with building a tension, this is because the audience cannot make a connection with the protagonist due to there being no speach or call for help. However, as the audience we know that something will happen due to the focus being directly on one person and the knowledge that we're watching a horror film. The concept of lonliness and silence is further emphasized by the phone line being disconnected which completely isolates him from the outside world or any means of help. This is a common code of short films which increases the tension and atmosphere throughout the clip.
The opening shot of the film 'Not Tonight' is an exterior shot with distorted imagery due to the lack of clear focus. The image is also an unusually low angle shot making our focus lay even more on the house. This is an establishing shot as we are able to associate that the storyline of the short film will take place here. This shot also evokes the feeling that we are not alone in watching the house, that we are seeing through someone else’s eyes, these shot ideas could link to our production.
With the found footage aspect to the film we could use these types of shots, our killer will be watching his old house and therefore we need to portray this idea in our film. Distorted imagery will help our audience to grasp the idea that the house being watched is where the action will take place as well as making our audience feel uncomfortable due to the strange nature of the shot.
The next shots reveal the unknown person who was watching the house, the woman in shot is walking towards the house from the woods. This shot would be effective in our production due to the idea of the woods being shelter for our killer; the idea that the house is being watched from an eerie place such as the woods makes the scene more uncomfortable. The trees from the woods flashing through random shots also evoke the idea of an unclear image, which is what we want to create for our killer. The idea that no one really knows him.
When we see the interior shots of the house we see that the room is lit in a dark red colour, this effect sets the idea that the house is dangerous. In our production there is a 'Shrine' like room which is lit in a deep red colour to set this feeling also, the idea of the intricate shots of the different elements of the room from 'Not Tonight' could be worked into our film also, adding a unusual sense of interest into menial unimportant things. The impression of handheld camera shots is also given by the distorted imagery which is not in focus, the shot of the girl also turning on her phone light shows that we may be seeing the house through her phones camera. This could be an important element in our film as a way of establishing our killer is infact recording his every move.
Final Exit is a short film by blackboxtv it features a lone protagonist attempting to flee from a group of aggressors. The film uses a lack of dialogue in order to establish a sinister tone as well as create tension; this tension that is created is further enhanced with the use of the music that sounds rather unsettling to the viewer’s ears. The music is effective in its use as it creates an atmosphere about the film as well as establishes’ the fact that the film is a horror film, for our film we should use music in order to establish the tone of the film and keep dialogue to a minimum to create tension and convey the theme of horror throughout our film.
Throughout the film there is a few useful and effective camera shots in regards to the chase scenes for instance at around 0:20 the tracking shot behind the protagonist creates the idea of a chase and fear in the characters face. The swaying from side to side of the camera creates the illusion that we are witnessing the chase from the point of view of an aggressor to the protagonist, this instantly establishes’ the fact that the protagonist is being chased and the fear on the face of the protagonist suggests by some kind of antagonist. This similar chase format is used constantly throughout the films entirety.
The film is predominantly dark throughout as, this low key lighting represents the theme of the film and also shows the mystery and danger surrounding the protagonist, the darkness represents the unknown in the eyes of the viewer and we are instantly met with a fear of the unknown. This darkness could be used in our film to represent the unknown and to re-establish our tones and create a sense of tension throughout.
In the short film ‘This Is For You Baby’ Music has been used throughout the film such as at the very beginning at 0:19, this use of music helps to establish both the tone of the film as well as creating a tense and suspense filled atmosphere. The music fits in with the attempted message and theme that the film is attempting to convey throughout the film. Another use of music in the piece is in the constant flashbacks throughout the film such as 1:59 that use music in order to establish a different camera change, this is something that would be effective in our own film in the sense that we are having two different cameras and we should show this through non visual cues such as the music changing. The effect that the music gives to the entire film is adding atmosphere and the particular music adds an air of tension and suspense from the unknown.
The amount of dialogue in this short film goes against the normal codes and conventions in the sense that the film has a vast amount of dialogue; this is not very effective in the sense that this breaks codes and conventions but the budget of the film means that the effect of dialogue is gone. The reason that the dialogue doesn’t seem to work is mainly down to the films budget; short films are often very low budget and the acting can leave a lot to the imagination of the viewer. The fact that the dialogue comes across as tension and tone shattering means that for our film we should perhaps consider considerably limiting dialogue in order to keep the tension and atmosphere of our film.
Starting from around the 1.50 mark of the film some of the camera shots show the woman as alone and almost as though she is being watching by something or someone this is the tone that we will be attempting to convey with our film and also attempting to bring unease and tension to our audience.One specific midshot at 1.55 captures this tension and feeling about the film perfectly as the foreground to the shot is obscured and it gives off the impression that the girl is being watched and is not actually alone.
From 0:40 in this short film the camera is positioned in front of a computer screen that has an instant messenger conversation happening, the original idea for our film is that our protagonist has a phone conversation which will get across the idea that she has recently moved into a new house and has brought it for a little amount of money under semi suspicious circumstances. Using a computer as the main form of conversation in our film will help make the film seem more professional as the acting level of our actors may not be completely up to scratch in order to have a convincing dialogue on a phone. It will also take less time to have messages pop up for the audience to read than it will in dialogue. Using computer‘slang’ or abbreviations in this conversation may help our target audience to be more engaged with the character and may find the character more relatable, this will help to meet our requirements that our focus group have suggested for us.
Here are some potential locations for us to film our external scenes for the movie, we decided to have external shots and internal shots of the building in separate locations as we could not find the ideal location to film the internal and external shots in the same place.
We used this tutorial in order to
understand effectively the complex piece of software that we will be editing
our film with. We felt that it was imperative in order to understand this piece
of software effectively before we even attempted to edit on Final Cut. Final
Cut X will allow us the ability to edit the film effectively and to add decent
looking graphical features such as a ‘REC’ symbol that will be found in some of
our footage and credits found in our film in order to keep the film looking believable
and professional.
We used this tutorial in order to
understand the basics of Celtx due to the fact that we had very little experience
with the piece of software before starting to write the screenplay. The choice
for using Celtx was because it was a way to create the screenplay whilst
keeping the document looking professional and effective. The screenplay is
important so that we can have an idea of what our film will look like before we
start filming and to also brief our actors.
Here is a summary of codes and conventions of short films that the group has found from their research into BlackBoxtv and other independent short horror films. The prezi discusses how we would be able to use some of the techniques that are discussed within it from the lack of dialogue to create suspense to general rules that most of the short films seem to follow. The Prezi uses examples of how the points are used, some of which are done effectively while others can be somewhat lacking in execution; it is important to look at both bad and good pieces in order to get an overall idea of what to do and how to do it. all of the points are extended versions of the short film research on our individual blogs.
The codes and conventions analysis are taken from this scene in The Strangers
This particular scene follows a similar theme and tone that we are attempting to incorporate within our film such as horror and tension, as well as this this particular scene is somewhat similar to what we would like our film to be like in the sense that there is a lone female alone and her house is being 'invaded' by some form of antagonist. Another part that we would be able to take away from this scene is the use of music and sounds to create tension and to set a tone of overwhelming confusion and horror.
I did not know how to create a basic prezi so I watched this tutorial to learn the basics of creaitng a prezi.
This video helped me understand how to create a basic prezi though I would like to learn how to create more advanced prezi's from using the program more and watching other tutorial videos
After having looked into the target audience for horror films I have decided to make my focus group 17-18 year olds, the characters within our film will be played by people of this age and after having consulted my focus group of factors that they particularly like about horror films, these were the most frequently mentioned features;
The gore and violence
The fear
When a film can make you afraid of your surroundings
When the characters are relatable
Mystery/discovery (particularly with films about the paranormal)
After having found this out from the focus group for the film, we have decided that the actors for the film will be definitely be played by teens around 17-18 to satisfy our focus group and make the characters relatable.
Horror films have a wide target audience, primarily ranging from teenagers to young adults as the certificates for horror films are usually either 15, or 18.
The target audience would be males and females ranged from 15-25, the younger audience for horror films are often teens that are daring and curious, they may also watch these films due to the gore and graphic scenes. Horror films often also portray naive and unknowing teenagers as the protagonists who are targets for psychopaths and serial killers.
At 0:23 the handheld camera shot through the woods is a good establishing shot that makes it clear to the audience that someone is filming a house secretly, the fast paced movement suggests that the person filming is on edge as they are ensuring they are hidden by hiding behind leaves and trees. This shot could be used within our shortfilm to establish that someone is also recording the house secretly.
At 1:30 the medium longshot shows the audience that the man is walking into a new room, when this cuts to the mid shot at 1:35, the way the man is acting makes it clear that he has heard something and is cautious, this technique could be something we use when the protagonist hears the antagonist from outside to show to the audience that the protagonist is on edge.
At 1:48 when the man is knocked out, the quick cut between the victim and the antagonist creates suspense quickly, I like how it cuts then to a black screen to show that the man is knocked out, this is something we would like to test with our own film as we feel it creates a dramatic effect.
The Introduction to scream follows a similiar plot to what we intend our film to be about. I have looked into different camera shots, sound, and editing used within the introduction to see how we could use this to help us create our own film.
