Research and Planning: Cineworld

As it is Halloween period, I decided to go onto the Cineworld website and look at what types of films they are showing. I am shocked to discover that they aren't any horror films on with an 18 Certificate, this could be as the audience who go to view movies are usually under 18 and cannot get into these films. I thought that there would be a huge range of horror films showing however found that the main ones are 'Sinister', 'Paranormal Activity 4' and 'Silent Hill:Revelation'. The majority of halloween based films seem to be children films that are either rated U or PG, these films are 'Frankenweenie', 'Hotel Transylvania' and 'Paranorman'. 

Research and Planning: Horror Film Posters

Later in the year, I will be producing a film poster for my film trailer, I wanted to start research early so I understand the type of text, images and colours they use on posters. Posters are a big part of promotion and distribution of film, it helps to market the film and bring in an audience therefore it is important to make the poster appeal to your target audience. All three of these posters use quite a disturbing image this is to portray the genre, the scarier the better for horror fans. Dark colours are used throughout, mostly black however what is interesting is the recurring colour red which seems to appear on each of these posters in a certain element. Red is a colour that is humans seem to respond to most and are very visually aware of, this could be because of the connotations of this colour which are danger, blood, love. The text seems to be in a different colour from the rest of the text and image as the film name/title is supposed to stand out and stick in an audiences mind. 

Research and Planning: Film Poster Analysis One

Genre
-The poster shown is clearly advertising a horror/thriller film.
-The colours in this poster are a surprising contrast, the yellow text stands out clearly from darkness of a the rest of the image. The dark low key lighting however is still dominant in the audiences mind, as the image is sinister and the house in the background and the girl in the foreground seem to be clouded in shadows and mystery. Therefore the colours are clear in genre, the poster is advertising a horror film. 

Representation
-The woman in this poster is a young female who seems to be cautious, as she is put at the foreground of the poster she seems to be vulnerable to whatever lies in waiting in the house that is behind her.
-She seems to be looking behind you which gives us (the reader) the feeling that someone is behind us which creates a spooky and haunting feeling.
-As the females body isn't present we cannot tell her body language, however we can see that she is wearing a white vest top which shows she may be objectified in this film.


Media Language
-The close up of the victim is used to convey the characters emotion in order for the audience to get a feel of what the film is about, as she is not laughing or smiling we can tell it isn't a comedy. She looks frightened which shows the horror genre and element in the film. 
-The low key lighting presents the idea that this film has sinister elements and is going to be dark/twisted.
-The bold yellow font is standing out from the background, the stratchy underlining effect is quite scary and looks like it has been written by a ghost. 
-The long shot of the house helps to establish the scene and the way the trees envelop the house shows is it is quite hidden away from the rest of the houses, this is quite eerie and the person living in the house could be a social outcast and isolated.
Audience
-I think this poster is aimed at 16-25 year olds, both male and female as the female character seems to be objectified for the male audience but it may appeal to the female audience as it looks the type of horror film that groups of females would go to see together as they can relate to the character. 

Narrative
-The narrative is clearly shown through the images presented on the poster, the audience instantly recognise that danger is within that house and we see a dark figure in the window which shows us that whoever is in the house is the villain of the film, he seems to be looking out of the window at the female at the front thus presenting the idea that she is the innocent/victim in the film. 
-The image positioning suggests that she is being targeted in this film.

Research and Planning: Location

One of the locations we are considering for our film trailer is an undercover car park because they can be very scary in the right conditions as they are usually quite isolated and dark. Our friend Lauren has said that we can use her car as a prop for our trailer, so we drove to a local supermarkets underground car park to take pictures and to see whether it is suitable and what we are looking for. The above photos were taken in the day time so aren't as effective with high key lighting however I think we plan to film at night so it will be dark with low key lighting this will help to create an eerie atmosphere and build tension. Therefore it benefited me to go and look at this location before we filmed as it has shown me what preparations I will need to make and what I need to consider e.g. the time of day.

Research and Planning: Stalker Behaviour and the Effects on the Victim

I have been looking for clips that show behaviour of stalkers and found this highlighted in a TV Series called 'One Tree Hill' the video below is one that a fan has made on youtube, I found it interesting as they took parts from episodes of the stalking and then the consequences it had on the victim. This will help me when making the film trailer as it will enable me to direct the actors playing characters exactly how to act in the circumstances of the plot line. I think it will help me to make my trailer look realistic and to give a better portrayal of what it is like being stalked. 

Research and Planning: Stalker

I have decided to research stalkers by looking up the definition and also looking at stalkers that are shown in movies. 

A stalker is - 

stalk·er/ˈstôkər/

Noun:

A person who stealthily hunts or pursues an animal or another person. A person who harasses or persecutes someone with unwanted and obsessive attention.

The types of stalkers are (copied from wikipedia)- 

• Rejected stalkers pursue their victims in order to reverse, correct, or avenge a rejection (e.g. divorce, separation, termination).
• Resentful stalkers pursue a vendetta because of a sense of grievance against the victims – motivated mainly by the desire to frighten and distress the victim.
• Intimacy seekers seek to establish an intimate, loving relationship with their victim. To many of them the victim is a long-sought-after soul mate, and they were 'meant' to be together.
• Incompetent suitors, despite poor social or courting skills, have a fixation, or in some cases, a sense of entitlement to an intimate relationship with those who have attracted their amorous interest. Their victims are most often already in a dating relationship with someone else.
• Predatory stalkers spy on the victim in order to prepare and plan an attack – often sexual – on the victim.

This female stalker is from the film 'Fatal Attraction' she looks rejected and angry, after being brushed off by the man she had an affair with she decides to pursue him and his family.

This photo is from the film 'Prom Night' he seems to be very sinister character which shows him to be very sneaky and shady this portrays the stalker role well as stalkers usually act out alone and don't want anybody else to know about what they are doing. 

These two photos are from the film 'Fear' I think a big factor of the stalker in these films are that they are over emotional and this is shown through the characters, this character comes across as unstable, angry and possessive.

Research and Planning: Prop and Costume Arrangements

As I am Mise en Scene manager I think its my responsbility to arrange the costumes and props that are going to be used in my group's film trailer, as we have decided the stalker is going to be masked, I have been searching the web in order to find out the sorts of prices that I'll have to pay to have this as the stalkers costume. And on Ebay I have found a range of prices as shown above, I want to be able to get a good quality mask so that it does cover the face and look professional.

Reasearch and Planning: Half Term Plans

 College is now breaking up for half term so I have sat down with my group and had a discussion about what we are going to do in the week off as we may not see each other.

We have decided that we all need to continue Genre research for our film trailer as the more research we get on horror the better we can portray the genre in our trailer. I will think of suitable ways to do this for example I will continue to watch different horror films as they can give me inspiration on certain ideas. During the holidays I may take the opportunity to look at the locations for our film and see whether they are appropriate and whether certain things about the setting will need to be changed.

As I am Mise en Scene manager I will carry out independent research on the setting, costumes, prices, props and lighting. As Alice is Cinematography manager she is going to get some research on shot types e.g. high and low angle shots. I think Bethan will focus on researching more about the type of Editing that is done within trailers. As all three of us are involved in the Sound aspect of the trailer we will also o research on this area.

Research and Planning: Day Out

Today (19/10/12) I attended Screen Stockport Film Festival where I got to view short films made by university, college and school students. I found the films to be very diverse and very thought provoking.  The morning began with a presentation and discussion with IMDb Founder & CEO Col Needham, I found his story of how IMDb came about very interesting as the database grew as technology did and I was shocked at the high figures of people that access the site everyday, month and year. Then in the afternoon there was a 'Creative Opportunities in the North West' discussion with guest speakers; Helen Bullough, Danny Lacey and Dennis Keighron-Foster. These three people all participate in film and gave good advice in terms of how to get into the industry etc. 

Research and Planning: Films at the Cinema

Last weekend on 13/10/12 I went to see the film 'House at the End of the Street' that came out in UK cinemas on 21st September 2012, I thought that viewing this film would enable me to gain insight to how a horror thriller film is filmed in terms of Editing, Mise en Scene, Cinematography and Sound and hopefully get some inspiration for the film trailer my group will be creating. I enjoyed the twist that the film had, the audience expected the villain in the piece to be the dead girl and her brother to be innocent however her brother is the true villain of the film. He is presented as a quiet outcast however he has psychological issues as he 'dates' girls then tries to make them into his dead sister by changing things about the girls. I think the character development throughout this piece is very effective as the audience is revealed the true qualities of the villain at the same time as the newest victim therefore the audience feel very much involved in the film. 

As our group has decided to create a horror thriller trailer, I want to make sure there will be twists in our plot as this keeps the audience intrigued and builds tension. As I take Psychology as one of my A Level subjects, I feel I will be able to help portray the underlying psychological mindset of the stalker/villain in the film trailer our group is creating. 

I enjoyed the music that was played for the end credits - 

Research and Planning: Production Company Logo

I have looked into DreamWorks and they seem to produce films that are as a majority are aimed at a younger audience. They produce films such as Shrek, Shark Tale, Chicken Run and Madagascar; these films are usually certificate U or PG. I think the logo reflects that the films are going to be quite innocent and fantasy like due to the clouds, there film plots are things that kids dream about and enjoy e.g. talking animals. 

Paramount Pictures picked up the film Paranormal Activity and distributed and was a main part in making the film such a hit all around the world, they shown clips of audiences screaming at what they saw on the screen at the cinema. I think they are well known for the horror genre although they do produce a range of genres.

Fox Searchlight films are a lot more diverse in the type of films they produce, since they are a conglomerate company they can afford to produce and distribute a range of film genres. However I have found they do tackle difficult plots, and are very good at making horror films such as The Hills Have Eyes and 28 Days Later. I think the darkness of the logo shows the difficult subjects the films contain like in the films Black Swan and 127 Hours.

20th Century Fox like the above logo are very diverse in films types and currently have very successful films in the cinemas at the moment such as The Watch, Taken 2 and Ruby Sparks. 

Pixar has a simple logo however the majority of pixar films are aimed at children such as the films Brave, Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo. Therefore a logo like this wouldn't be suitable for the film I am producing as they don't produce horror films and they logo wouldn't encourage people to come and see the film that my film trailer is promoting.

Twisted Pictures is an American independent film production company that mainly create films of the horror genre. Therefore I aspire to have a company name and logo like Twisted Pictures, the word twisted has connotations of distorted emotions and mindsets of the characters and twist is the unexpected. I like that the background is fully black and the white company name begins to fade into it, it gives a sinister look to the logo and therefore a sinister look for the films they produce. They have produced the successful horror sequence of Saw.

Warner Bros logo is like a shield in the sky, I think this isn't a suitable logo for my film as it presents an idilyic image and I'd prefer my film logo to reflect the film genre specifically. However Warner Bros does produce a range of genres so this logo is a good portrayl of the films they make. I do like the horror films they produce as I feel they are very effective in scaring an audience, I particularly like the film they made this year called Chernobyl Diaries.

Columbia Pictures is an American production and distribution company that explores many film genres.

Universal has been a successful company for a long time which means they can produce films of all genre and all subjects. By looking at this logo I would guess that the film genre could be Sci-fi however the connotations could be that there films are 'out of this world' and the company name Universal may be highlighting the fact that they produce films that will suit everyone, they make films that will be popular amongst all ages.




I have decided to research production company logos as they normally appear in film trailers therefore for my film trailer I am going to make a film company logo and a company name. I will look a what sort of films these logos make and how they show this through their logo in terms of name, image and colour. As I am making a horror film, I want my film company logo to look sort of dark and sinister as it'll reflect to the audience that the company produces horror films and that is what the company specialise in.

Research and Planning: Name Ideas

Name Ideas for our Film Trailer:

Stalk-her: I like this idea as it plays on a pun, the film is about a stalker who stalks a girl so combining both characters/ elements created Stalk-her, this helps to portray to the audience exactly what the film is about. 

Just Around the Corner: I came up with this title name and told my group, I think this is a suitable and good title for the trailer as it is mysterious and relates to the plot line as the character (victim) doesn't know what is round the corner and it explores the unexpected and mysterious. 

Creeper: I think this is an appropriate name title, I was thinking of words that are like stalker in order to show the audience what the film is about. I like 'Creeper' as it would look good as a title but it may be not as effective as 'Stalk-her'.

Alone: I think that this title could portray the horror genre however I don't think it shows what the film is about and does the plot line no justice, it is too simple and isn't as creepy as I'd like my film trailer title to be.


After coming up with these four possible film titles I have decided to get some audience feedback to see which name they like best for the particular plot line of the film trailer and if they possibly had any more ideas. I think it is important to do this as it helps to see which title appeals most to an audience as they are more likely to go and see a film with a title they like than one that they don't. After this research the majority vote is 'Stalk-her' therefore I think my group will go ahead with this title for our film trailer.

Research and Planning: Solvr Film Names

http://solvr.freshbrain.com/d/ufle6sg7hd

Research and Planning: Prop and Costume List

I am creating a brief prop and costume list, what I include below will just be the basic stuff that will be used, as there will be flashes of different scenes with different characters and on different days.

The stalker will wear:

A plain white mask this will help to hide the identity of the stalker throughout the trailer, this will be a constant prop and feature for the stalker throughout the trailer as it is important for the audience to keep guessing who the stalker actually is.

A dark black baggy hoody, this will help to conceal the identity of the stalker as their body shape will not be fully revealed. The stalker will appear in dark clothes throughout to show the dark and sinister side to the character. 

Our female character (innocent victim) will be wearing:

I think its important to show the female in an appealing feminine way to show the different ways in which the stalker could be jealous of her, lust after her or want to be her.  I think light clothes will be used throughout to show her purity and innocence, this white dress is a good example of the sorts of clothes that the character will be wearing.

The props for our trailer will be:

A laptop as we have decided for a scene in which the girl will be on a webcam, this could be how the stalker learns information about her.

A car as the stalker/villain will drag the the girl/victim into the boot in the final scene of the trailer to create some action and tension.

Research and Planning: Equipment and Software List

 Blogger - I will use blogger to document my progress, research and planning that I have done in order to create my film trailer, poster and magazine cover. 

 GarageBand- I haven't had much practice on GarageBand however I will learn this new technology in order to create music and sound for my film trailer, up to now I have only had one try at using GarageBand. 

 

Photoshop- I have previous experience with using photoshop as this was the technology I used to create my music magazine in AS Media Studies, however this year I will be using it to edit pictures etc for the film poster and film magazine cover that I will be producing later on in the year. 

 Final Cut Pro- I will use this technology which is new to me in order to help edit my groups film trailer as the scenes will have to be put in a certain order for it to make sense and to be effective.

IMovie- I have previously used IMovie to help edit videos, I could potentially use this to help edit my groups film trailer.

Mac- In our media studies class we have access to Mac computers which will be where I will do my work. 

SLR Camera- I will need this to get test shots for potential actors and also I will need an SLR camera when I am taking pictures for my film poster and film magazine cover.

Video Camera- This is an important piece of equipment that will play a vital role in my project, I will use a video camera to film my trailer.

IPhoto- I will need to use IPhoto to upload my pictures onto the mac/computer.