opening edit research

In the film Scream, we see a black background and due to the edits used we can tell straight away that it is a horror film, due to the fact that it turns red and we hear a non diagetic screaming sound. As well as that, before it turns red, we see it start flashing red and white, which shows a sense of urgency or could signify the police presence within the film, further representing it as a horror film. The colour of the font is white and seems quite simplistic, the colour associations of white are purity, so this creates an enigma due to the fact that it is a horror film, leaving little space for purity in this slasher. During this title sequence, we also hear a non diagetic screaming of a female followed shortly by a gunshot. This could foreshadow future events that could occur within the film where a female character could be killed by a gunshot. In our horror film we could try and incorporate this style of font with the black background, and use it effectively straight after the first character is hit in the face with the POV shot by the murderer. This would make the screen black, leading perfectly to the title sequence.We could also try and use the non diagetic screams or gunshots to show off further that it is a horror film.



Donnie Darko has a different approach to horror titles, due to the fact that it is placed in the foreground of a natural establishing shot. It is seen as soon as the main character walks out of the shot. It as got a fancy style to it, with the main colour also being white which could be seen as quite natural as well as the fact that it contrasts with the background colour of purple to make it stand out and make it clearer as well as making it bolder. Above the letter 'i' we see a bright light beginning to form and this is used as the edit to lead into the next shot. There is a 3 second white screen which is used to show the end of the first sequence and to show that something else is occuring. The actual font is grainy and jagged at the edges, this gives it a look that it is rough and used before, which could show the correlations with the main character of Donnie who is metaphorically jagged at the edges and is a bit rough throughout the film. As well as that, when the title appears on the screen, we hear a non diagetic ghostly female voice singing. This adds an eerie effect to the title scene and could set a theme for the entire film of it being ghostly. I think that it would work well with our film if we had the non diagetic sound of the females voice as well as the light colours schemes which lead perfectly into the next scene.




In Se7en we see a different approach to the opening sequence as it has shorter shot lengths with a dirtier style to the sequence. The fact that the style of writing seen within the opening sequence is more of a handwritten style, we can see from this that it has been personalised by whoever the main protagonist or antagonist is and it gives it a more untidy look and like the sequence has been made by a character within the film. As well as this, the soundtrack is that of a non diagetic eerie style which makes the audience feel uncomfortable. This sets the tone for the rest of the film as the semiotics of the lighting, props (pen and also scissors) and also the sound builds up this image of the film being dark and full of horror. The fact that the text seems to shake, adds a sense of urgency or unsteadiness that will be developed further later on in the film.The text seems to be on a black background and the actual text is rather bold in it's style and it constantly goes in and out of focus, which can be used to make the audience feel nauseous and or uncomfortable

Overall i think that from Scream we could try and take the fact that there is a black background with the title in the foreground and use that well with the action. As well as this, we could have the font flashing another colour to try and recreate the sense of emergency. From Donnie Darko we will try and take the complexity and cryptic style of the font as it seems that it would fit well with our horror film. As well as that, when the white colour takes over the screen from the ball of light, we could use that well with our black background to lead into the rest of the film and show that it was the end of the opening sequence. From the film Se7en i think that we could take the style of writing to give it a darker look to the film as well as this, we could try and have short shot lengths which could show off the same type of things that se7en did to create an enigma for the audience.

Correlations within horror films

Below are the films referenced within my essay:

Donnie Darko opening sequence

The first shot that we see, shows off the location of the sequence, with an establishing shot showing off the mountains on the winding road. It is also a continuous long take, this could be used to make the audience feel uncomfortable or have a false sense of security due to the fact that is a psychological thriller set in a suburban neighborhood.  We hear a low pitch non diagetic empathetic soundtrack which creates a disorientated feel to the scene. There is an original sense of enigma when we see a character lying in the middle of the road as we want to know who it is. As soon as the character sits up, we hear a piano soundtrack the music reflects that early morning beauty that we see in the background. It is soft and quite ghostly giving the effect of a character waking up. From the mise en scene, we can see the protagonist wearing pyjamas which also creates an enigma. His facial features are confused and there is a natural top light to show off his facial features. It make his character look more natural and appeals more to a female target audience, fulfilling the female gaze theory due to the main character being Jake Gyllenhaal whom is known throughout Hollywood film industries so is the key image in the scene being the most well known character in the film. The camera then pans across the landscape and the colour scheme is light blue and dark purple. The blue associations are of peace and harmony, while the purple evokes a mysterious and spiritual emotion on screen, This could have strong parallels with the protagonists emotions and ways as he could be mysterious and peaceful. We then see the natural light cast a shadow on half of his face due to the side lighting. This could show a split personality and could foreshadow future events to do with a split personality or problem.

After the title of 'Donnie Darko' comes past we hear a non diagetic soundtrack of "The killing moon" by Echo and the Bunnymen. This music is more upbeat and has more connotations of movement and activity. We get a tracking shot of the character on his bike, the fact that we get multiple shorter takes (shorter than the previous takes) could show a sense of urgency with the character or that he has to be somewhere. As he enters the town, the lyrics say "So soon you will take me." This foreshadows future events within the film where Donnie is killed. This has a direct correlation with the "Middlesex Halloween Carnival." As most of the set piece and violence occurs on halloween and multiple characters are killed then. The streets are seemingly bare and few cars are out, this could show that it is early morning and he is cycling into a suburban area showing that the character is middle class, which is what most stereotypical psychological horror characters are. Another lyric is "It must be killing time." and this lyric is synchronous to a shot with Donnie, this also foreshadows future events. We meet Donnie's family as it pans away from Donnie to his dad and sister, they seem more upbeat than Donnie and seem to have fun due to the antics with the leaf blower. The fact that the lighting on them is completely dark natural light could show that they have something to hide. Donnie's mother is sat reading Stephen King, whom writes various horror novels. The lyrics go on to say "The killing moon will come too soon." when there is a shot of his mother and his sister as they are in a plane crash towards the end of the film, foreshadowing future events yet again. Finally we see a note on the fridge saying "Where is Donnie?" which could show that he went missing, yet his family from their body movements don't seem to be too bothered that he is gone, this could show that there is a lack of care from his family.
We could try and use a synchronous soundtrack within our opening sequence to try and build suspense as it could foreshadow future events, as seen in this opening sequence. We could also add a sense of mystery through the use of different colouring and prominent colours throughout the opening. The use of tracking shots also shows a sense of uncomforting from the character so we could try and use that in our final piece to create an uneasy feeling towards a certain situation or character

Casting of actors/ actresses

Due to the fact that our film has characters which are teenage, we had to get people of that age range to make it more accurate. So far, we have got multiple willing actors to play the roles of these characters and their portrayal of a teenager will be based off their own charateristics. Our actors/ actresses include:



                                                                 Alfie Bryce-Clegg:
Standing at around 5'10 he is the stereotypical teenage boy. His character, still unnamed, will be part of the group who are filming their project and will be the one whom is left alone by the other group members. He has had multiple acting roles in plays and other videos so will be used to portray a certain emotion on screen. His clothing is also that of your typical middle class white male and that is what we are aiming for with our costumes. The brief that he was given was to tell him that he had to wear: Jeans, T-shirt, hoodie and also trainers to try and show off even more so the typical British teenager. Being 16 years old, he is the perfect age to go into our filming. As well as this due to his skin tone and hair colour, fits with stereotypical male characters within horror films like: Dean in A nightmare on Elm street and Donnie from Donnie Darko. He is reliable and flexible with his timing for filming, making him a good actor for the role.

Dan Campin:

He is around 6'2, which is the perfect height to be the main villain within the film. His face won't be revealed due to him wearing a mask to conceal his identity when out in the open. Due to him being so tall, we will use a low angle when he is in the shot so that we can make him seem larger and more fierce as most horror film villains are. His costume must be practical for everyday life and must blend in with a crowd. As well as this, he will be wearing a mask (still undecided on which one) and the entire outfit should in some respects try and blend in with the colours of the trees. He is also available at most times within the week, making him reliable and a good choice for our villain. Even though he is also 16 years old, we don't see his face, so the audience will not know.

Alice Buckton-Perkins:

She fits in perfectly with the final girl theory due to the fact that she is responsible and will act the same, being: sensible, socially awkward and not a party animal. She is 16 years old so fits with the age range of the characters. She is 5'9 so we will try and use low angle shots so that she can appear larger and more powerful. She was asked to wear the same as Alfie was, but to add a more feminine approach to the outfit, making it more trendy, as well as making it more personal to her. We will try and make it so that her character is more dominant in the conversations as to show that she will be one of the key characters, driving the plot. She is focused and to the point, so will work well with our group to try and create a sense of realism and depth with the character. She is also very reliable and will be able to do filming whenever and wherever we choose.

Callum Wardle:

As well as directing and filming parts of the opening sequence, he will also be a minor role within the clip. He looks a lot older than the other members in the group due to his appearance but he is smaller than the rest of the cast standing at around 5'7, so he will be seen in the clips laughing at jokes made by other characters as well as setting up equipment. He will have his own visions for the film as he is partly directing so will be able to add his own movements to try and input his own ideas so that it can live up to what he wants it to be.  He is also reliable due to the fact that he is also directing  so will have to be there on every day that the is shooting occurring. He is seen on the left in this photo.

Matt Lloyd:

I will be filling the role as a background actor with Sam and Callum. We will not have much character development in the opening sequence so that we can see the start of Alfie's before his death as well as Alice's character who is the key protagonist within the film. I will also be able to structure the scene due to the fact that I am also directing and filming the clip, so I can give the other actors my views and ideas from infront of the camera as well as behind. I am reliable as I am partly responsible for the creation of this film so will be required to work upon it. I will not have any speaking lines and will just act as a member of the group, setting up equipment and being in very few shots.

Original Idea before the questionnaire results

Our initial idea as a group was for a group of young film students to wander into an open stretch of forest and begin filming a scene for their studies. It will open with an establishing shot from the branch of a tree as the group walk under it. The story then progresses with them continuing to film. There will be more or less 5 students filming in these woods. After setting up their equipment in a short montage of them constructing tripods and checking cameras and other such equipment, we will see 4 of these group members head back to the car to go and pick up other equipment. From this point, the audience will understand that something will occur due to a low pitched quiet non diagetic soundtrack will be playing. The single character that is left will continue to set up his equipment alone and then as we start to pan around we start to see shadows in the forest. The character brushes them off as their eyes playing tricks on them and they will continue. After this, we will have the music become louder and higher in pitch, leading to the final shot which is short in length of the murderer behind our main character swinging some sort of blunt object at the characters head. As soon as it makes impact, it will cut to black. I think this will be effective, due to the fact that if the opening sequence starts on a cliffhanger, it will make the audience want to see the full film more and also it plays on Barthes theory as people will have to figure the fate out of the character from seeing that opening sequence. Our inspiration for this opening sequence was The Blair with project as it also sees young film makers going into the forest to film, but our outcome will be different.

Types of masculinity

Males:

Arnie's version of masculinity:

This focuses on males being large and 'pumped'. This ' pumped up masculinity' surrounds the fact that the stronger a male is, the more masculine they are. As well as that, a muscular body also is associated with strength and power so is also seen as more masculine. This type of masculinity is also referred to as 'Hyper masculinity' due to the fact that it is beyond anything that is realistic and is mostly achieved by steroid users or very dedicated bodybuilders. It shows a very extreme version of the male physique.  This ignores the social changes surrounding male image and the need for strength and power. I think this character type couldn't be achieved within our film due to their being very few people with this sense of hyper masculinity. This large amount of muscle could be achieved through a muscle suit to replicate power within the villain and show his strength. We see this type of masculinity in the film "Predator" (1987) as we see the main character who is played by Arnold Schwarzenegger being extremely muscular to show his strength as the hero.

Denzel's version of masculinity:

This type of masculinity shows of the traditional masculine traits. It is also seen as more attainable and something that can be aspired to. This version represents masculinity through the working class male and looks back at times when men's roles were clear as the dominant and bread winners for their families. This can be seen in the film "The Equalizer" as we see Denzel Washington working in a department store and this represents shows him off to be traditionally masculine due to him earning money for himself and being self reliant on income. This could be easily incorporated into our film, due to the fact that our main villain works for the police showing that he has traditional masculine traits and also at the same time including this version of masculinity into our final piece of work.

Childlike masculinity:

This representation shows us that the modern males are immature and also irresponsible. This has been brought about due to comedy films portraying males as stupid and not mature. This is seen in "The scouts guide to the zombie apocalypse" due to the main character, played by Tye Sheridan, is only a young adult and is still childlike in the way that he acts, so comes off as immature. We can use this effectively in our film, due to the fact that our main hero is a young adult/ teenager so we can show his naivety and immaturity within our film due to his reckless behaviour throughout our opening sequence.

Traumatised masculinity:

This suggests that a male finds it hard to find a clear identity for themselves within society. This can lead to a split personality within a character. This is used effectively in psychological horror films to evoke a certain tone throughout the film. It is seen in "Donnie Darko" due to the fact that Donnie has a split personality and has Frank to keep him anchored. He feels like a social outcast and this leads him to do the things that he does. This could be used in our films to represent the murderer as a social outcast with a split personality. This could be used to further character development



Immoral masculinity:

This representation shows the ideal man as being a womanizer who: wears designer clothes, works in show business. Within the film, the character will be punished for his actions. This could be used effectively due to the fact that it would lead nicely into further character development but unfortunately it wouldn't fit with our storyline due to the fact that our characters are only teenagers so wouldn't work in show business.

practise shooting and editing

This is our first attempt at filming and editing. As seen in the video, we haven't fully mastered it, but we have shown a range of shots and editing techniques which we can adapt and change so that we can work towards a common goal of being able to edit our final film opening.

As seen in the first shot, we incorporated a side angle shot, which we then attempted to put in time with the next shot. As seen, it wasn't very successful, so that will be an area of improvement. I will attempt to try and make it flow next time that we attempt an edit of that type, The third shot, is also a side shot, but at a different angle as we attempted to show off different angles to try and make it flow better.
After that, we then have a jump cut, to Callum sat down. It is a shallow focus as we see me blurred in the background and Callum is the clear key image. This was our group trying to add different types of focus within our short clip.
A few shots later, we see me put my hand on Callum's shoulder from one angle and then it cuts to the next, it was a smooth transition and i think that as a group, our editing skills could improve, but we did get this edit perfect and it does cut from one angle to the next very well.
I think that next time that we do a short clip, we will work on the flow of it due to the fact that it was where we were lacking in the one above and i think if we can do that and also add different angles in short takes, we could make it a better clip that would show off our filming ability more so.

A nightmare on elm street (2010) Essay analysis of opening sequence

A Nightmare on Elm street opening sequence analysis:

The use of the establishing shot shows us the setting straight away, which is a diner that seems to be at a roadside stop, which could make it have a sense of false security due to the fact that most people associate diners with good food and happier thoughts but it is placed within the opening sequence for a horror film creating an aspect of enigma. This setting isn’t very predictable as most horror films won’t have it begin in a diner or other such public places. The audience straight away wonder the purpose of the diner within the film and its significance. It then has a cut straight afterwards leading us to the explanation of the diner and also leading to the introduction of the main character, this use of a cut throws us straight into the storyline after the setting has been established. The use of dark backlight creates a sense of mystery for the audience and enigma as it leaves very little to be seen with a lot of shadows cast meaning that the audience doesn’t see much of the setting and the dark backlight also could show the immediate presence of evil which shows the genre of film, but also the semiotics of the lighting and rain could show that something bad is going to happen as the darker lighting is a connotation of horror films and represents a villain or foreshadows a bad event while the rain is generally something that represents darkness and sadness. The main colour seen through artificial neon light is red and the colour associations with red are danger and also pain which straight away show that something bad is going to occur.. The fact that it’s raining could also evoke pathetic fallacy as that is generally a connotation of a darkness and a miserable mood. From the very start we hear ambient sound as the rain is quite heavy outside while the camera is focused on what is occurring inside the diner.

This medium shot of the clock could signify that time is passing due to the mise en scene being a clock in the middle of the wall. The denotation of the simple clock has the connotations of a sleepy style as the music makes it seem like a dream/ trance state. There is a non diagetic contrapuntal eerie style of music playing which overall creates a sense of fear and confusion due to the fact that the high pitched type of the music is matched with the waitress walking through the diner, this  is seen in stereotypical horror openings to connotate something bad occurring as such a music style added with seemingly innocent actions leaves the enigma of why the music is put in the scene and what is it’s meaning. The fact that there is a subtle flashing could show a sense of urgency when the clock is looked at creating a rushed feeling about the shot. There is also a small sidelight which casts a shadow, this could show the darkness contrasting with the light, showing that there could be a presence of evil with the shadow’s connotations. The colour on the wall are green which has the association with nature and quite safe/neutral leading the audience into a false sense of security. The fact that no characters are shown in the first few shots could show that it is proairetic as it could be building suspense. The cutaway shot and short shot length shows us that it is building suspense as these are stereotypically used when something is going to happen and signify a build-up. The audience is left to decode the meaning of the clock left in the second shot that the producer has surrounded with an enigma. 

This over the shoulder shot introduces the Proppian antihero, due to his demanding tone when talking to the waitress. The side lighting shows half his face in darkness by casting a shadow which could connote the idea of a split personality or a moral dilemma. The camera zooms in to the over the shoulder shot could show the social status of the character, as he is alone, which could also cause us to form an opinion on him, which is that he is lonely but also quite rude and selfish from what we see of him early on. The non diagetic music seemingly gets lower in pitch as he starts to speak, this semiotics creates a representation of a flawed hero. The contrapuntal sound makes the audience wonder the significance of the character in the rest of the film due to the fact that the tone changes when the camera goes on him which shows his seeming importance .As well as this the fact that the dialogue seems quite firm in tone and pitch is deep could connotate that he is rude and quite insistent. The shot shows the rule of thirds as the key protagonist is seen in the very centre of the screen keeping a balance within the shot. This film could be seen as predictable due to the fact that the main character being male which is what is stereotypically in horror films. The fact that the main character is predictable means that they can develop the character fully and create an engaging storyline as the target audience may appeal more to these stereotypical horror conventions. This opening sequence outlines the main character type and sets the scene for the rest of the film.

Extreme close-ups are used mainly in horror films with short shot length to show action or something gory, the connotations of fire is danger which could foreshadow future events to do with our un-named protagonist which are not positive. The semiotics build up an overall depiction of a stereotypical horror film with danger lurking and the previous shot being the protagonist investigating a problem. The function of the opening sequence is to introduce the key protagonist and show his personality, which is shown here due to the fact that he is inquisitive yet quite rude which is also a stereotypical character type in horror films of the anti-hero.   This shot shows the audience tunnel vision/ distorted camera effect could connotate a dreamlike state which could infer that the character is a daydreamer, this would appeal to the aspirers due to the fact that the hero searches for materialistic answers through his searching in the kitchen. Through Barthes theory, we can see that the fire could be a warning sign for the main character to try and ward him away. There is the the ambient sound of the fire, due to the fact that it is the background sound could represent that the main anti-hero doesn’t seem bothered by impending danger which could also foreshadow future events

.The fact that there is a shallow focus, makes us concentrate on the hand which in the rule of thirds is central in the shot. This could establish a villain due to the fact that there are knives on his hands which has connotations of harming and danger. This backs up the previous few shots which evokes the signifying of danger. There is a low key  backlight which casts a shadow upon the hand which in turn creates an enigma surrouding the villain but also the connotations of shadows being evil and darkness causing the association of darkness to be with this character.The distorted sound of the villain rubbing the knives together creates an eerie diagetic sound which creates the overall assumption that they are the main antagonist. This shows the Levi Strauss of the good vs evil of the man vs the man with the glove on. As well as that, the sound of the knives rubbing together is pleonastic as the sound is exaggerated to make the audience feel uncomfortable, leaving the connotation of being uncomfortable with that character/villain. The shot is a low angle to show that there is more power in the villain and the fact that the mise en scene has fire in the background coud have the audience associating the fire/ danger with this villain. The lighting is also dark which combined with the mise en scene due to semiotics builds up this opinion of the villain being dangerous. This will appeal to the horror target audience as it shows the stereotypical villain (but not showing their face) and the semiotics leading to him being a villain and this is nearly always seen in a horror film making it seem to an audience, quite a predictable storyline.

Lighting techniques

Back light:
The light source is behind the person, it causes the edge of his or her hair to glow. It is often associated with purity and Good, but also can be used to evoke mystery surrounding an event or characters. We could try and use back light to show off the protagonist through the use of this lighting at the very beginning so that the audience realise they are the hero right right from the start.

High/ Low Key lighting:
Is created by the use of back light and it makes a sharp contrast of light and dark. It causes deep shadow to form (Chiaroscuro). Low angle low key lighting will distort a characters features due to shadows, creating mystery. High key lighting is when filler light is used. The lighting appears to be more natural and realistic to our eyes. It can recreate a sunny day in a park or a subtly lit night scene. A high key light from a low angle will make cheek bones seem more prominent (which could be linked to voyeurism and attraction) and make characters seem more pure. We could try and use these to show a contrast between the killer and the hero as the distorted low key lighting will contort their face, leaving a sense of mystery surrounding them, while the high key lighting will show divinity and the main characters prominent features.

Camera lighting:
When light is scattered in a lens system due to reflections, it is generally used to invoke a sense of drama and is also useful when added to artificial or modified image compositions as it adds a sense of realism. This could be used to make our opening sequence seem more genuine and also to somewhat add a needed effect on to our handheld (POV) camera idea.

Star lighting:
This is a bright light which focuses around the most well known person to the audience, it draws the audience to a film due to the photogenic looks. We could attempt to use this style of lighting when we see our main character as they will (up to this point) be the only character with screen time longer than a minute, meaning they are the most well known. It could be used when there is darkness and a beam of natural lighting to show them off.

Natural lighting:
When there is a natural source of light, which is used to illuminate a shot or show a certain time of day. This is quite easily achieved due to the fact that sunlight is natural lighting. we can quite simply use this in our opening sequence, by filming part of the sequence outside to include this lighting type.

Filler lighting:
This may be used to reduce the contrast of  a scene and adds light to an area, which the director may not want shadows to be in. It makes the lighting seem "normal" to a viewer by making the contrast a balance of light and dark. This will need to be used in our work when we do certain shots in the dark, so that the audience can see what is actually going on. Otherwise it would just be darkness and the scene would be useless as nothing would be able to be seen by the viewers. This will make darker scenes easier to watch due to the light and dark contrasts balancing out the darkness until they can see what is occurring.

Side lighting:
It is quite self explanatory as it is a shot which has lighting coming in from the side. It illuminates half a face which leaves the audience to decide the meaning of the lighting. Some films, like A nightmare on elm street (2010) use it to suggest that a character has a dilemma or has a darker side. We will use this to show our main character has a darker side and it will lead nicely to deeper character development throughout the rest of the film.

Under/ Top lighting:
Under lighting is when the main source of light comes from below the subject and it has a distorting effect on the way we see a character. It is mainly used in horror films to distort faces. On the other hand, top lighting is when the main source of lighting comes from above and it highlights features. It can be used to create a glamorous look to characters. This top and under lighting can be used effectively by us to show the mood of the scene as the under lighting will distort the face to create confusion, which will create an overall theme for the scene as well as top lighting showing divinity when the villain is not in the shot.

Three point lighting:
It is when there is lighting from three sources, it generally shows that the focus is on the certain object that the lighting is on. We can use this effectively when showing the murder weapons for the killer as it outlines them from three points and leaves the audience to assume the use of said weapons as they are highlighted without explanation and the use of them as a key image will have the audience think of the connotations of them.

I have found that a convention of horror films is dark natural top lighting, this casts a large shadow upon the villains faces, showing a split personality. This is seen in nearly all horror films containing binary opposition as it leads to further plot development of the villain. In our work, i will try to replicate the lighting seen in the top lighting section  (Javier Bardem) as it will show off the split personality of our killer, which i think will leave the enigma after the opening sequence of what happened to him.

              

Colour Associations

We can generally attribute certain colours with emotions, these can be used to form an opinion of  character within or a film or a setting. The main colour associations are:

Black- Depression, darkness, anger, death, fear, unknown
White- Purity, light, clarity, divinity, holiness, Emptiness
Red- Danger, blood, passion, anger, power, aggression
Orange- Energy, warmth, fire, joy, excitement, happiness
Yellow- sunshine, caution, light, energy, optimism, cowardice
Green- nature, greed, natural, healing, balance, soothing
Blue- Sadness, trust, loyalty, tranquility, balance, peace
Purple- Royalty, wisdom, awareness, imagination, magic, supernatural

In my work i could try and use darker colours when the villain is used and these combined with other factors can create an opinion on the character. The semiotics will build up an overall depiction of a dark and scary character, which is seen in a stereotypical psychological horror film.

Final Girl theory

The final girl theory states that it is the last character left to confront the killer in a slasher film. They are almost always female and she is almost definitely:
- a virgin
- not a drinker
- not a smoker
- a sensible, intelligent female
- doesn't associate herself with other people
- quite often blonde

She is generally more intelligent than other characters, leading her to making the correct choices during action sequences and is a mix of the hero and the princess.
The character type seems to be a living embodiment of stereotypical conservative attitudes Some examples of females who fall into the "final girl" category are: Ellen Ripley and Sidney Prescott

Films that include final girl theory, generally attracts a male orientated audience which puts forward the idea of voyeurism.

In our horror film, we could try and incorporate this to try and make it targeted at a male audience as well as sticking to a stereotypical style of horror film.

Questionnaire

I can only hope that the questionnaire will get results which can aid us in our further research into creating a horror film. With the help of other people, we can see their preferences and adapt our film around them.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ZG6XM7H

Our Survey will include the question:
How old are you?
Do you enjoy the horror genre?
Are you male or female?
What is your favourite horror sub-genre?
Who do you prefer as the main character?
What aspects of horror do you enjoy most?
How do horror films make you feel?
Is a more realistic horror film scarier?
What types of settings scare you most?
What is your favourite horror film?

With the answers from these questions, we will be able to change our story line and other such aspects to try and appeal to the answers from the questionnaire. 

Horror film examples

Here are a few examples of horror films that were successful:

Slashers:
Saw
Scream
Hostel
Halloween
A nightmare on Elm street
The Texas chainsaw massacre

Psychological horror films:
The silence of the lambs
The Babadook
The others
Psycho
The shining

Zombie horror films;
Zombie Land
28 days later
28 weeks later
night of the living dead
Dawn of the dead
Shaun of the dead

Action horror:
Dog soldiers
World war Z
The host
Troll hunter
Blade
They live

Body horror:
The thing
Contracted
Tusk
The fly
The beast within

Comedy horror:
The cabin in the woods
Scary movie
Zombieland
Beetlejuice
Dead alive

Gothic horror:
The others
Frankenstein
Nosferatu
Sleepy hollow

Sci-fi horror:
Alien
Predator
Then thing
The fly
Event horizon

I felt that showing some examples from each sub-genre could leave me space to try and take aspects from certain films to put into my own work. More successful horror films from these genres have included multiple features and with this information i found that most of the successful horror films have very obvious binary opposition which is presented through the use of different lighting and other things and the semiotics from this create an image of the monster and the hero. It has influenced my final idea as i think that trying to incorporate ideas from some of the popular sub-genres will make the final piece the best it can be. I will take the murderous villain from slasher films, the enigmas from psychological thrillers and also the action piece at the very start from Action horror.

Costume research

Most horror films see the villain in a simplistic costume which evokes fear, this may be due to the connotations of the costume or the other semiotics that overall add to the spooky effect. For example in the "Saw" trilogy we see the main character or "Jigsaw" is a simplistic child's doll which generally has the denotations of the doll are a children's toy or a simple wooden figure but the semiotics show that the lighting combined with the setting could give a much darker meaning due to it being dark and in an abandoned building. The villain is masked in slasher films but with the rising popularity of Psychological thrillers, the villain is generally masked as a normal person instead of a mask. The clothing stands out so that as soon as we see them, the iconography makes us realise they're the bad guy and we can assume from said costumes their intentions.

The hero or main protagonist can be seen in modern clothing for the times as they're generally normal everyday people. This could add to the effect of the film due to the fact that it makes the character more relatable which could make it more realistic and scary. The more up to date the fashion is, the more the audience can think how it could happen to anyone. For example in Donnie Darko, the main hero, Donnie, wears hoodies, t-shirts and shirts to make him seem like the average teenage boy.

The group analysis

My group consists of: Me (Matthew Lloyd), Callum Wardle, Scott Milner and Ewan Griffiths. We decided to do Horror thriller film and as a group, analysed: A nightmare on Elm street, Scream, Halloween and Se7en. These give us an overview of Horror on the whole giving us lots of ideas for our own opening scene. We chose these films due to the feedback from our focus group.

My analysis of A nightmare on Elm street has been posted on this blog and what i found out, is that many horror scene opening sequences consist of settings that most people wouldn't associate with horror films, which creates the enigma of why is this place so significant. As well as that, i found from my research that the lighting has a huge impact on the outcome of the final film as in A nightmare on Elm street, the lighting is flashing (giving a sense of emergency) as well as overall being a low key top lighting, to create an eerie effect as well as to cast shadows all around the room. We will try and incorporate this style of lighting by using lamps and more subtle lights to try and cast shadows in the scenes that the murderer is in, to build up a sense of fear and enigma surrounding him

Target audience for Horror films

Examples:

The cabin in the woods- Young couples

Strangers- Young males

A nightmare on Elm street- couples

Texas chainsaw massacre- Young males

Age:

The usual age for someone watching horror films is between 15 and 25. This may be because they seek thrill and the most young people can get is horror films. Younger people are also less susceptible to being put off by the violence and or unnatural images seen in horror films unlike an older audience who may feel negatively towards them.

Gender:

Males are more likely to watch a horror film due to the stereotypical thrill seeking which contests with young adult hormones

Class:

Overall horror films are aimed at a working class. This is due to them gaining a thrill/ excitement for a relatively cheap price. Higher classes watching horror may choose a sub-genre within horror to satisfy their horror watching needs.



We will try to reach the target audience by having an exciting and gripping opening scene which will leave an enigma surrounding the villain, which will leave the audience wanting more from it. As well as this, there will be action scenes which will appeal to the thrill seekers, even though there is a lack of blood, there will be scenes of violence which will set the tone for the rest of the film. The semiotics will build up this image of darkness and fear through the use of: lighting, setting and sounds which will draw the audience in to the film

Preliminary exercise

Preliminary exercise:

For our task we have to make an opening sequence that includes a character opening a door, crossing the room and then sitting down and having a short conversation with another character. It has to be a maximum of 4 minutes. It gives us a lot of creative freedom as we can choose what happens in the opening sequence as long as we include the key features I mentioned before. Having done Media studies at GCSE, I feel that it is a somewhat  favourable challenge that will test my knowledge compared to the music video (which was the other task). I can use all of my knowledge of camera angles, lighting and conventions of media within my work to reflect two years prior work.

Introduction to filming and editing

To start off the course we did 'The life of a Kit-Kat' and also filming about the 'Life of tea' both of which introduced us to the software we would be using. It was tricky at first to perfectly time shots so they flowed perfectly but once we started the second project we understood, on a basic level, how to edit footage so that it fitted well with our other shots. We worked well as a team to let everyone have a turn at filming and editing, giving us all the practice we needed before starting the filming/ editing process for our coursework. I think overall i gained a wider knowledge on the software we had to use and think that i could use it in the future to create an opening sequence to the best of my ability. As well as this,it taught us how to incorporate long takes and short takes and how to make them flow with the scenes.The action match was the hardest due to the fact that it required multiple shots which had to be synchronized otherwise, the entire video would have been ruined

S.W.O.T analysis of brief

Strengths, Weaknesses, opportunities and Threats.

BRIEF: VIDEO

STRENGTHS:

- I did media at GCSE meaning i have prior knowledge of terminology.

- The task involves a lot of freedom and i feel that i can input my creativity well into the task at hand.

- I have an attention to detail meaning work will be done to a high standard.

- I have fairly advanced ICT skills making me a somewhat helpful asset in the editing process.

WEAKNESSES:

- I like to take lead roles quite a lot and try to control the group as i like things done my way.

- I can be indecisive.
- I focus on certain aspect too much and that leads to too much detail e.g In our kit-kat advert we took too many shots leaving little time to edit.
- I am egotistical meaning i will want to do it all myself.

OPPORTUNITIES:

- We have the opportunity to work as a team with people i talk to everyday.

- It gives me the chance to express my creativity to the world.

- To adapt my editing and video production on short films.

- I can advance my knowledge on shot types and other such filming necessities.

THREATS:

- One member of the group may do more work than the others leaving the others with some troubles with the coursework marking.

- People may be lazy and not work to their full potential.
- If in the incorrect group, some people may mess around with members of it.
-People could leave all the work to last minute and miss vital points of the brief.

INITIAL THOUGHTS

INITIAL THOUGHTS

I did Media at GCSE and found it to be a great way to express creativity. I also have very little prior experience with cameras and also with video editing software but i think that over time i will gain a wider knowledge of such topics and show them off within my coursework. I decided to do it again at A-level due to the level of freedom given to create content and examine media pieces of work.