Scream Poster Analysis

Location Scouting - Potential External Scenes

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.

Feature Film Poster Codes and Conventions

Final Cut X

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.

Celtx tutorial

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.

Short Films Codes and Conventions

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 Strangers Codes and Conventions

 

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.

Short Horror Films and Our Production Ideas

Here is a short Prezi on some of the ideas portrayed in short horror films on YouTube and how we can incorporate them into our production.

Focus Group Research (15-25)

Prezi Basics

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

Focus Group

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.

Target Audience

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.





 

Blackbox TV Shortfilm - THE GIRL IN THE BASEMENT

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.

Scream - Intro Research

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.

Blackbox TV shortfilm - ZOMBIE

 

At 3:18 the camera cuts rapidly between around 4 or 5 different shots, once the boy is hit it cuts to a black screen, this builds up a huge amount of tension for the audience and also leaves them wondering what has happened to the victim

At 4:20 I liked the use of the quick cuts between the camera shots as it helped build suspense, this use of parallel editing will be ideal within our film to help quickly create tension for the audience in a short space of time.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Documentary Scenes Research

Here I have done some research into the documentary scenes of the film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, our original idea was to create a horror film that incorporated scenes that would appear to be from a real documentary but we decided to change this upon further thought into what we wanted our film to be about, in case we decide to change our minds we decided it would be a good idea to research into a film that has used this style in order for us to gain a basic understanding of how it could be done if we changed our idea.

Brief

10. A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animated or a combination of both, together with two of the following three options:

• a poster for the film;
• a radio trailer for the film;
• a film magazine review page featuring the film.