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.