Feedback

• Document the process of my editing
• Screenshot different stages of my editing and annotate those screenshots
• Commentary on new footage, how it was shot, etc

Inspiration for soundtrack

The music that I wish to create for my media product will be dark, ambient and will be noticeable enough to unnerve the audience, but subtle enough so that it does not detract from my film. On Youtube I have found some examples of the general feel of what my soundtrack will be trying to emulate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1vjTJTRn48

^ The above sountrack is entitled 'Haunted Sky' by Robert Christopher, and it is a good example of the kind of non-diegetic sound I wish to use within my film. It does not utilise any obvious instruments that can be picked out (such as guitar and piano, etc) so it has an eerie, almost natural feel to it, which is good as I do not want the audience to be overly aware of the soundtrack, but rather be immersed in the entire package. The music itself is also not very overpowering in that it will not avert attention from anything happening in a scene if used as a soundtrack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxuvy-_F8iw

^ The above soundtrack is entitled 'Atrium Carceri', and is different to 'Haunted Sky' in that it utilises more recognisable instruments (such as chimes throughout and vocals part-way in) instead of just being an ambient soundtrack.  It would be an effective soundtrack to base my own soundtrack off since you can feel the tension building while you listen to it, which could be used to my advantage in my media product, as it reflects the horror/thriller genre. However, this soundtrack appears to be more technically complicated, both to create and listen to, and I think that this may detract from the overall experience of the media film I wish to create as the audience may be more focused on the music than what is happening aesthetically.

From these sountracks I have gathered that, in order to create a soundtrack that will be unnerving, engaging, but subtle enough so that it is not obvious that the audience is hearing a soundtrack, as this will make my media product even more unsettling. To create this I will use minimal instruments and instead utilise more ambient sounds to create a soundtrack that will enhance the aesthetics of my film rather than distract from it.

Complete storyboard

 

 

Short Film Analysis - Vanished

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx0dCqPdysc&feature=related < Link to short film.

The above short horror film, entitled 'Vanished', was very helpful in terms of what I wish to do with my media product. Narratively, it includes a prologue scene which chronologically occurs after the main plot of the story, something I am incorporating into my media product to add tension and mystery, as well as introducing at least one of my characters, without revealing any of the following plot.

The above screencaps show the beginning scene in which the two characters interact. It is later revealed that the main character is visiting a therapist, which is very similar in plot to the opening scene I wish to create for my final media product. The rythmic cuts show that the dialogue between the two is uncomfortable and quick, which suggests that they are not entirely familiar with eachother yet. The camera is a medium shot for the supporting character, and a close-up shot for the main character, showing that the main character is dominant in the scene, although because the therapist character is shown from a low-angle shot and the main character is portrayed from a slightly high-angle shot, it is suggested that the therapist holds the most power between the two, or that the main character is more vulnerable.  The close-up shots of the main character also gives the film-maker the opportunity to better show emotion on the main character's face (which is important as in the film they do not initially reveal her reason for being at the therapists, just that she appears to be having some sort of existential guilt), and the audience will connect with this character more as they are focused solely on her as there is less of a background.

It is revealed in the first shot of the film in which the therapist holds a clipboard with 'Psychological Associates' written on it, and aesthetically, the furniture and decorations are suggestive of a therapist's office: there are numerous chairs, a desk, a lamp, and it is very neat. The costume of the therapist is consistant with this style, being quite formal in appearance. This contrasts well with the main character's clothing, which is a casual outfit with a few accessories. This draws more attention to the external surroundings being rather professional and well-kept. All of this together does suggest that the room is a therapist's office.

There is no non-diegetic soundtrack in this scene at all, which adds to the tense atmosphere that the scene is trying to portray. As the narrative of the story is relatively unclear at this point (as this scene chronologically happens after the main events of the film) a soundtrack could potentially divert attention from the emotions and subtle hints about the next scenes, which would ruin the mysterious effect that the film-maker was trying to express.

The next scene fades in from black and the location is shown in a clear white text at the bottom of the screen, which (along with the narrative from the previous scene) suggests that this scene takes place before the aforementioned opening scene.  The fact that the film-maker does not specify when or where exactly the scene takes place (beyond the name of the town and state) carries on with the mysterious connotations used in the previous scene.Indeed, it would appear that the two scenarios are only linked by the fact that the main character is in both scenes and the vague hint given by the therapist in the opening. This is further reinforced by the mise en scene: the main character is in what appears to be a dense woodland, where there is little human contact. This is also when the idea of (psychological) horror begins to instil in the audience: dense, unpopulated woodland is an unsettling location for a scene as they are completely surrounded by nature and help is unlikely to be found in the event of an emergency. Again, there is no non-diegetic sound as of yet. The diegetic (or possibly foley) sound, however (besides the characters talking), is the chirping of insects, which further reinforces the idea that the characters are alone.

The second character, a male, is introduced in the same camera shot as the main character, which may be to show familiarity between the two characters (which is confirmed by the main character claiming that it's their 6-month anniversary). The dialogue between the two characters is warm and shows emotion, and is on occasion teasing, which further suggests that they are comfortable around eachother. In the first twenty or so seconds that the secondary character is introduced, he already interacts with the main character more than the therapist did in the entire opening scene.

This shot is important to the film as not only does it establish the main setting, it is also the point where the non-diegetic music occurs, which is slightly unsettling piano music. This suggests that something is going to happen within the house, and that it will probably be something reflective of the thriller/horror genre as that is the type of reaction the soundtrack evokes. The house itself is aesthetically unnerving; it is a drab, dark grey in colour and you cannot see inside the windows, the fact that it looks so uninviting is a further indication that something bad will happen in the house. Another reason why the audience may find the location unsettling is the external scenery: it is surrounded by woodland, and, as the previous few shots show us, there is no other house around the area. This makes the scene appear even more scary as the audience realises that the two characters will be alone in the house.

The flashback scene is done well as it links to the previous scene through means of a voiceover, so the reader realises that this is the re-telling of a previous event rather than just another time skip. The short memory that the main character explains gives the audience a somewhat plausible idea as to what the unknown danger lurking within the confines of the house could be - the ghost or vengeful spirit of a young girl who went insane, killed her family, and then hung herself - in the very house that the characters reside in.

The news clipping that the main character finds in the flashback scene is aesthetically very old-looking, and the layout and font of it does make it look genuine, as well as the yellowed old-newsprint colour of the paper.

The music in this scene is, as I mentioned before, comprised of a voiceover, but there is also a subtle non-diegetic soundtrack which sounds eerie and disquieting to the audience, which may remind them of the music heard upon seeing the house so they may link these two events together.

The above shots effectively use the darkness of the house to the film-makers advantage: as an audience, we are inclined to think that bad things are more likely to happen in the dark than the light. There appears to be no natural light in the scene, and the only unnatural light used is in the form of candles, which not only provide a soft, eerie glow, but light the room well enough to establish the surroundings, but not enough to ruin the thriller effect of the darkness. The candlelight also highlights the fact that outside the windows is total darkness, and darkened windows can be unnerving for the audience as you cannot see if anything is looking in.

The next shot is a stark contrast to the previous scene: it jumps to the next morning, and the non-diegetic music soundtrack becomes a soft piano tune, which could symbolise the tenderness of the relationship within the film. The fact that the background is almost entirely taken up by a white daylight scene connotes purity and happiness, which is uncharacteristic for this genre. All is not as it appears, however, and the next scene demonstrates on how this scene was merely a method of lulling the audience into a false sense of security.

The girl from the news clipping in the flashback scene appears behind the male character and pushes him out of the window. Up until this point, the soundtrack had been soft and gentle but is quickly replaced by a horrifying swell of music as the girl appears, which unsettles the audience and creates fear, as the scene had previously been so calm.

The low-angle shot of this scene is not only reflective of the main character's view, but also very suggestive of the intimidation and power that the girl represents, not only to the characters but to the audience.

As the main character rushes to the body, he is seen to be lying on the ground below a sunflower plant. This is a pun on the location - Sunflower, Maine - and also links back to the news clipping of which the headline read "murder in Sunflower". The audience links the "murder in Sunflower" title and the literal murder and sunflower and makes the connection that the girl in the window must be the one the main character mentioned in the voiceover.

The scene then cuts back to the therapists' room, just as the main character is leaving. The camera angles at this point become more in favor of the main character than the woman, suggesting that the woman has gained some sort of status, though it is unknown why at this point. Upon leaving the room she drops a piece of paper that the therapist picks up. The camera then becomes a high-angle shot of the woman, suggesting that she has less power than she thought she did upon finding this new discovery. Also, when the therapist picks up the paper, the eerie piano music that played when the main character found the house is used as the soundtrack, suggesting that there is something sinister about the main character that was previously unknown to the audience.

The audience then discovers that the therapist has found the same news clipping from in the flashback but with one crucial difference - the main character is in the picture instead of the little girl, which links the story back to the main events again. This also leaves the audience confused as they just witnessed the little girl push the secondary character out of the window whilst the main character witnessed it, which makes them want to keep watching as, at this point, the narrative doesn't make much sense which again adds to the general mysterious feel of the film.

The final plot twist is then revealed - there never was a little girl, it was an elaborate coverup to hide the real murderer. The main character is the one who pushed the secondary character, and the reason that the audience was able to view the little girl kill the secondary character was because it was a depiction of what the main character was telling the therapist at the beginning of the scene. In the end scene the 'true' end is revealed, and suddenly the news clipping from a few shots previous makes sense. The music is still the same non-diegetic soundtrack used throughout the scene in which the therapist finds the news clipping, and this connects the two scenes to make it easier for the audience to understand the situation, as the plot twist can get rather confusing.

Overall, the movie was alluring to the audience, it was intriguing, and it invoked fear and mystery when the film-maker intended for it to. The camera angles were a good representative of the characters and their standing in the movie, and the fact that the film had a good pace to it, and basically the entire film was an elaborate plot twist, is a very good method of keeping the audience entertained and transfixed on the overall experience.



Feedback

18th October

Strength: Thought carefully about a new scene as well as visually how it will look. Organised new shoot effectively.

Improvement: Document the process of the adapted scene.

Target: Document storyboard and film analysis. Explain what I have learnt from them.

Opening scene script for next draft of my media product

As I mentioned in a previous post, I wish to add a scene to the beginning of my film which chronologically happens after the main events in the film. I believe that this will make the audience more interested, as it leaves the audience questioning what will happen later in my media product right from the beginning. It also gives me a chance to introduce my main character in more depth, which I believe will benefit my media product as the audience will empathise with this character more, leading to a more frightening experience overall (and creating a scary product is my main aim with this film).

Props/costume/setting I will require for this scene include:

A room to act as a therapy room.
Some examples of Rorschach ink blots, most likely ones that I will have to make myself so that they accurately represent what I want them to resemble.
Plain clothing for Poppy's character (most likely white or black), and a semi-formal outfit for Benjy's character (smart shirt, black trousers).
A notepad and a pen.
________________________________________

SCRIPT OPENING SCENE:

[Black screen with the words 'October 27th, 2012' which fades into a shot of a Rorschach ink blot]

Poppy (Off-screen): A bat.

[Therapist holds up another one]

Poppy (pauses for a second): A tree.

[Therapist holds up another one, and as Poppy gazes at it a short clip of the creature appears in her mind]

Poppy (turns away, visibly shaken): ...

Therapist's voice (off-screen): (Sighs)...Poppy...Now I know it's hard, but...I need you to try and recall what happened on October 12th. That night. It might...it might give the police a lead to where we can find your friend Callum. Please, you're the only hope they have of finding him.

Poppy: You're not going to find him. He's dead. He's not coming back.

Therapist: The police only said that he was missing. What makes you think he's dead?

Poppy: I don't think it. He's dead, I know it.

Therapist: And if you don't mind me asking...how do you know it?

Poppy: ...

[Fade out to title screen]

[Fades into black screen that says 'October 12th, 2012']

Filming dates for next draft of media product

I will film my final media product from 10am on both Monday 22nd October and Wednesday 24th October and I will edit and add sound to it subsequently. I have checked that the location I wish to use is available and have arranged that Callum, who acts in my media product, and Benjy, who films shots that I am unable to, are both free and willing to shoot at these times.

Feedback

I need to analyse at least two other films and expand upon my analysis - how did I learn from them?
Also:

• I need to create a complete storyboard

Location Shots

The above images are of the location used within my media product. Because it is my friend's basement, and aesthetically already dilapidated-looking and eerie, it adds to the desired effect of my film without the need of much dressing. Another positive point about the set requiring little dressing is that the old, haunted appearance of the basement is authentic rather than artificial, which means that, aesthetically, my set is more believable as an derelict building than it would have been had I used a modern building and dressed it myself.
        Because of the lack of light within the location, I can bring in external light sources to illuminate the scene as I wish. Because my media product also focuses on the horror/paranormal genre, the lack of light can be used to my advantage as far as creating a dark, scary atmosphere within my film.
        Because of the layout of the room (there are a few shadowy alcoves in the corners), I may also be able to create the illusion that the room is actually much larger than it is if I focus on the camera angles used and which parts of the room to film each scene. This could pique the interest of the audience because they are identifying with a sense of adventure within the film as the characters in my media product explore the darkened, unexplored areas.

Revised Film Titles

After some suggestions from my teacher, I have decided that the film title screen I originally planned to use (shown below) did not represent my film's content to the standard which I wanted it to.

Whilst the red colour is certainly reflective of the horror genre, it connotes blood and gore, which my film does not contain. Instead, I have chosen the colour white for my title, which is more suggestive of the supernatural sub-genre of horror, which is more representative of my media product.

< This title is mysterious-looking but still legible and it appears to have been created with a typewriter which connotes more of an old-fashioned, eerie feel. I asked someone who fits within my potential audience and he said that this is the font that he preferred because it was subtly scary, which is what I intend my media project to be.

^ While this font is certainly reflective of the horror genre, the 'splattered' look of the font makes it appear as if there will be excessive violence or gore within my media project, neither of which I plan to put into my final product. When I asked someone who fell into the expected audience of my media product he said that this font looked like more of a 'stereotypically cheesy, gory horror rather than one that uses supernatural elements and jumpscares'.

                                                                 ^ I have decided that this font best reflects what I wish to portray within my media product and I believe it is the best choice for a title font.

Script For Next Draft Of My Media Product

[Two teenagers stand in front of a dilapidated-looking house with a ‘Keep Out’ sign taped haphazardly to it. One teenager is holding a video camera and the other has a turned-off torch]

Poppy: (Raises camera) Let’s go.

Callum: (Nods)

[Cut to inside of house; A decrepit-looking basement room. The two teenagers slowly move down the stairs and to the centre of the room]

Poppy: (Turns on camera and begins filming self) Hello, this is Poppy May and Callum Hurley (camera pans to Callum who nods in acknowledgement). We’re here at the abandoned house at the edge of town investigating the disappearance of ten teenagers over the past month and a half. The police have no leads so far, but there’s a rumour that there’s some sort of creature that takes them, a creature which has come to be known only as…The Entity. Does this creature exist? We plan on finding out.

[Cuts to various short shots of Poppy and Callum filming the area, then to a shot from Poppy’s POV walking over to Callum]

Poppy: Hey Callum, can I borrow the torch? I’m gonna check out that shadowy area over there.

Callum: Yeah, be careful.

[Poppy turns on the torch and walks into the shadowy area, revealing that it is, in fact, a dead end]

Poppy: (Sighs). Callum, it’s a no-go. It leads straight to a dead-(POV camera pans around to reveal The Entity behind Poppy; Poppy screams)

[Callum runs in to show Poppy alone in the dark area with nothing else, looking visibly shaken]

Callum: What? What is it?!

Poppy: (Indistinct) We’ve gotta-it’s here-help-out of here (runs towards the stairs hysterically)

Callum: (Following) Poppy? Poppy! There’s nothing there, what happened? Poppy!

Poppy: (Hands Callum the camera and torch) I saw it, it was-(banging on door, trying to open) It’s stuck help! Help!

[The door opens and Poppy rushes out, slamming the door behind her and leaving Callum trapped]

Callum: Poppy?!

[Cuts to Poppy running through the woods screaming hysterically, trying to get away, then back to Callum]

Callum: Poppy come on! This isn’t funny open the door! Poppy! (A noise from downstairs makes him jump)

Callum: (Turning towards the noise) W-who’s there? Poppy I swear to god if this is a joke-(screams)

[Callum, holding the handheld camera, captures footage of The Entity crawling disjointedly up the stairs and towards him, until all that is in shot is the face of it. The camera cuts out]

Rough First (Experimental) Cut Of Film

Link To Media Rough Cut Video

Above is the link to the first experimental draft of my media project. It focuses mainly on lighting and camera angles and so has no dialogue as of yet, but I may add this later so I can get a better idea of what I want to achieve with my finished product.
I managed to incorporate a mixture of handheld and still camera shots as I originally intended, but the actual video ended up with a lot more still shots than I had originally anticipated. All in all I think that this rough cut of my final idea has given me a lot of insight into aspects that I might wish to change when filming the final draft of my media product, such as incorporating more handheld camera shots and perhaps providing an introduction so that the audience can form more of an emotional attachment to the actors, which I feel would make my movie more memorable.

Clips From Other Films (Inspiration For My Short Film)

Below are the trailers of two of the films I am looking at for inspiration within my film, both visually and technically. I will be adapting some of the camera angles and shots from these films, and introducing some of my own to create a more original film, whilst still trying to maintain the same style and 'vibe' created by the clips below. Both of them also represent the same sub-category of horror/thriller I wish to recreate, in that the film is more psychological, subtle, and paranormal as opposed to violent and in-your-face gory, which I find that, whilst it is shocking and disturbing, does not unnerve the audience as effectively as 'haunting thriller' films seem to do.

Below is the trailer for 'Paranormal Activity'.

Below is the trailer for 'The Blair Witch Project'.

I will focus on both of these films heavily for inspiration as they use techniques which I wish to recreate within my short film, the most notable and obvious being that they both use handheld cameras to portray character's points of view. Whilst my film will use this technique to establish what the main characters are seeing through their handheld camera, I am hoping to make my film somewhat more unique and original by introducing still cameras into the scene as well, to create a mixture of handheld and still shots. This is done to establish the scene as well as see things that the character's POV cameras may not have noticed, creating tension as the audience may know something that the main characters do not.

Predicted Target Audience

The target audience for my media product will be approximately 15-25. Because of the content being moderately unnerving because of the horror/thriller aspect, my film product would be rated 15 for safety.
Because of the main characters being portrayed as teenagers, it is likely that the majority of the target audience will be teenagers and young adults. This is also a quite likely audience age as the horror/thriller genre typically appeals to younger ages as opposed to more mature audiences, who may prefer films of a much higher culture or maturity.

Film Titles

Below are the titles from the films that my media project was influenced by, 'Paranormal Activity' and 'The Blair Witch Project'. Both have black backgrounds and use text in relatively bright colours to contrast with this. Both of the titles are in capital letters, probably because capitals seem more urgent and eye-catching to the audience. Both of the titles have an eerie sort of 'glow' effect to them, adding to and hinting at the thriller/supernatural themes within the movies.

 Here I have created some titles using the working title for my media project 'Entity'. They show major similarities to the above films used for inspiration in that I have used all capital letters, a variation between red and white text, a slight 'glowy' effect (though mine are more similar to the subtle glow effect in the 'Paranormal Activity' title as opposed to the less subtle glow used in 'The Blair Witch Project' title.


I also asked a few of my classmates which title they thought was the most effective considering the context of my short film.

         

    < One of my friends told me that both the red and the white version of this font was professional-looking, but perhaps too plain for a thriller/horror film.

< Three of my classmates said that this was the most effective, one of them saying that 'the text looks slightly blurry and that makes me wonder about the film,' which is the effect I wished to achieve with this film, whilst another said that this title reminded him of the title of another horror film, 'Insidious', and that the red colour effectively portrays a horror film.




 






< One of my classmates said that the white colour was 'nice, but looks more appropriate for an action film as opposed to a horror film, which is portrayed better with the red font'.

After taking into consideration the feedback I got on my titles, I will use the one that the most people agreed was the most effective considering my film content (shown below).

Working titles

The title of the film is very important, as it not only gives a hint as to what the film is about, but it can single-handedly establish the genre without even a movie poster, and also pique the interest of the audience before they have even watched the film.

Because my film is supernatural and thriller-esque, I wanted potential titles to reflect this, but I also want them to be short, snappy, one-word titles. I went to www.thesaurus.com and typed in the word 'paranormal' to see if I could potentially use any synonyms as a film title.

From this, I found a few words that I could use for the film title:

• Transcendental
• Spectral
• Unearthly

I also thought of a few words that relate to the genre and context of my film, such as:

• Lurid (shocking, gruesome)
• Funereal (bleak, depressing)
• Sepulchral (gloomy, horrifying)
• Captive
• Entity

I have decided from this that the most likely titles I will use for my film are either 'Captive' or 'Entity' because they both convey a sense of fear and mystery without being overly-complicated words that the audience may not understand.

Short film synopsis

In my short film, two teenagers take a video camera into a derelict and dilapidated building that is rumoured to be haunted, hoping to entertain themselves by getting scared. Once inside, someone - or something - locks the door behind them, and unexplained and terrifying things start to happen to them. Once they realise that there is no way out of the room, the film becomes a desperate struggle, not only to escape - but to survive.


Judging from the above synopsis, the film should be appealing to people because horror/thriller are such widely enjoyed genres of film. Also the main characters are teenagers, which is probably a large percentage of the audience of this film so they will relate to these characters, making the film more unsettling for them, which is what I want to achieve from this short film.
Because of the use of handheld video cameras, the film is more realistic and this, in turn, also makes it a more marketably 'scary' film for the audience.

Initial idea for film

From creating my mind-map (below) I have a vague idea of the content of my first short film I will be creating shortly. 

My short film will:

• Be a horror, particularly focusing on the thriller and supernatural aspects of the genre as opposed to gore and violence.
• Be filmed with a mixture of handheld and still camera shots (handheld camera to portray the character's POV and still camera to establish the environment and events in the film that perhaps the characters POV would not see.)
• Be influenced by and filmed similar to the style of films such as Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch Project, and reality shows such as Ghost Hunters and Most Haunted, all of which use handheld cameras to establish POV and all have a sense of realism within the thriller/horror genre.
• Use very little non-diegetic soundtrack to maintain this realism I wish to establish within my film. What little non-diegetic sound I use will probably be to create tension and unnerve the audience.
• Be primarily filmed in a friends' basement as this setting requires little dressing to achieve the desired effect, although I will have to be careful with lighting, as since there is no natural light down there I will have to create my own, but I do not want to use too much lighting as aesthetically I want the scene to still be somewhat dark to maintain the 'dark thriller' aspect of my short film.

Mind-map of initial ideas for film

Above is a mind-map detailing the initial ideas I had for my film.