In the next few days, I plan to go out and film some shots for our final trailer. I will be taking any shots that include our villain (Slenderman) plus any other scenery shots I feel may be beneficial to our trailer. Here are some lists I have made to ensure the filming goes smoothly and efficiently.
Equipment List:
Video camera
Tripod
Slenderman costume
Storyboard
DSLR Camera (for taking photos of setting for poster and magazine cover)
Camera cases
Umbrella (To protect equipment in wet weather)
Shot List:
Longshot of woods to present location to audience.
Handheld running from Slenderman - focus on feet.
Quick zoom from longshot to extreme close up of Slenderman
Long shot/ Extreme long shot - Slenderman standing between trees.
In order to get a good idea of exactly what shots we are aiming for, we have created a storyboard. We will take this with us whenever we are filming so we don't forget any vital shots and maintain a clear vision of what our trailer should look like at all times.
I have created this test video out of very little footage - about 10 seconds worth - of a subject blinking. I used a close up shot to film as I think we will be using them a lot in our trailer so I wanted to get used to filming things at close range. In this sequence I have tried to create the impression of a dream like state, as though the subject is remembering something or daydreaming. I used effects such as 'dream' effect and raised the contrast of the video on iMovie, which created a light dreamlike effect. Making this has made me realise that editing can be used to make even the shortest and simplest of footage into something effective.
Going through our storyboard, a scene that stood out to me as being very important was the quick zoom up to our villain, Slenderman, as it is the first time he is seen in the trailer and if we pull it off effectively, it could be very shocking. In order to create this test video, I simply ran up to my subject holding the camera and then sped up the video on iMovie. After making this I have realised that when it comes to shooting this scene for real, we will need to steady the camera somehow, perhaps by purchasing a tripod with wheels, as the footage is too shaky when sped up without the aid of a tripod.
In our trailer, we are planning to include a lot of fast action scenes, so I decided to practice filming a scene that includes fast action (running). After watching several existing horror trailers, I have noticed that in order to keep the speed of the action going, the camera shots and angles change rapidly. Even if the same person remains in focus, the camera will focus on a different parts of their body every few seconds, for example, for a simple scene with someone running down a street, there may first be a long shot of them running to establish what it happening and then a close up of their face and then of their feet and so on. I have tried to do this in this test video by taking lots of raw footage from different angles and then editing it on iMovie so that the shot changes every few seconds.
In our trailer, we are hoping to include a small conversation, one a lot shorter than the example in this video. I knew previously that a shot reverse shot is often used to effectively film scenes including conversations, so I decided that it would be wise to practice this method so we can use it in our trailer to make it seem more professional. I asked two volunteers to talk about something while I filmed them from various angles, starting with a two shot including both subjects, then zooming up on each subject's face, then filming over the shoulder of one subject and finally switching to film over the shoulder of the other. Once I had my raw footage, I used iMovie to edit it all together and add music and sound effects. I decided to include a fake conversation sound effect, as the conditions in which I was filming were not quiet enough to pick up any real conversation without interference. I may at a later date ask my volunteers to come back and record over the film with the iMovie narration tool.
I have decided that it will be a good idea for me to take some test shots using a video camera and tripod, in order to trial and practice some of the shots that we will hopefully be using for our final trailer. After looking at our storyboard for the shots that we plan to include in our trailer, I decided to try out a conversation scene including a shot-reverse-shot, a scene of someone running shot from different angles including from a high angle and a scene in which post production editing would be needed in order to create a quick zoom effect. I chose to practice these shots in particular as they stood out to me as ones that could be very effective if done properly and I think it is extremely important that we get them right. By practicing these filming methods, I now feel more confident about capturing the same shots for our real trailer and will know exactly what to do when it comes to it, which will save our group valuable time.
On the completion of our prelim trailer, we showed our teacher and asked her to give us some feedback, in order for us to know what we need to do to create an even better real trailer. This is what she came back with:
The trailer looks professional and polished - good first attempt.
You have kept it basic and simple, focusing on the key aspects that make the trailer scary for the audience.
Try and remember that the fewer people you include in your trailer, the better, as this means less people to have to introduce and explain, which can be very confusing for the audience.
Film more while you are out filming so you have more footage to work with when it comes to editing - always shoot more footage than you need.
Include more shots in your footage, such as extreme close ups for dramatic effect and also take the same shot several times from different angles so you can cut between them for a more professional look.
Include more natural sound, rather than just effects. You could have used real breathing during the running scenes in your trailer, which would have been much more effective.
Receiving this feedback means we now know exactly what we need to do in order to improve our skills and make our horror trailer as professional as possible.
Our group has produced a prelim trailer in order to practice using the equipment needed to shoot our real trailer and also production and editing techniques. We decided to make a parody of our own narrative so we could get an idea of what shots we might use in our real trailer, without having to make it too serious. We tried to include as many different shots as we could in our trailer, including:
Long shot
Extreme long shot
Close up
Mid shot
Handheld
We also tried to experiment with camera angles, for example, at one point, the camera is angled upwards at the villain, giving the impression that the victim has fallen to the ground. This gives the villain a very dominating presence and makes it scary for the audience to watch as it emphasises the victims vulnerability.
By experimenting with shots and angles, we have learned what works well and what does not, which will make choosing what shots to include in our storyboard much easier. It will be vital for us to use a variety of shots in order for us to maintain the interest of our audience for the duration of our real trailer, so this task has given us a great opportunity to try and test several of them.
After shooting all of the footage we needed, we then edited it using the program iMovie. On here we could cut our footage and add effects, such as fast and slow motion, which is featured quite a lot in our trailer, zooms and titles. We were also able to add non-diegetic sound, such as music and sound effects. We chose to feature a heartbeat sound effect, as it creates the impression of fear and works well with the shots of the victim running. We also added psycho strings at the end as the camera quickly zooms in on the villains face. The contrast between the quiet, ominous heartbeat and the sudden screeching of the psycho strings creates a real shock factor for the audience.
Although making this trailer was good practice and a decent start, there is a lot we can learn from it and that we can improve to make our real trailer as professional as possible. Some examples of this are:
The font used for titles - The fonts we have used are not the kind of fonts that would be associated with Horror and make the trailer seem quite amateur. In our real trailer, we must ensure that we use professional looking fonts in order to create the desired impact.
Take much more footage - When we went to edit our prelim trailer, we realised we did not actually have much footage to work with. When we are working on our real trailer, we must make sure we have lost of footage to work with, as it is better to have too much that we can cut out than not enough.
We must remember to add details - Small details such as copyright notices and company logos will make the difference between our trailer looking professional or amateur. We have forgotten to put any of these details into our prelim trailer, so must include them in the real thing.
This is the narrative of our film that we will take ideas from to condense into a trailer.
The film will be called 'Slenderman' and is based around an urban myth of a creature of the same name. The film is set in the present day; however, it will be based on a home film that was recorded 60 years ago which was owned by the recorder, Margaret. She had passed away recently and her house had been abandoned. A group of 4 teenagers decided to break into the house at night for fun and discovered the home video in the attic. After watching the video, 2 of them were scared of the video. The others were calling them names and said there was nothing to worry about. Then they proceeded to wreck the house.
They all go home. The next time they meet up at the house, one of the teens looks out of the window and sees slender man. None of the others believe him and make fun of him. The teen becomes hysterical so the others lock him out of the house as a joke. He bangs on the door hysterically as the others laugh before suddenly falling silent. The others think he is messing around but when they go to let him in he is nowhere to be found. They come to the conclusion that he must have found another way into the house and is hiding potentially trying to scare them. They split up and look for him in the other rooms, one of the boys, Jeffery, looks out the window and see’s a tall shady black figure underneath the street’s lamp, he is unusually tall and lanky, with extra long hands. Jeffery immediately realises that he just saw slender man and ducks under the window in shock; he then calms himself and looks again. The figure is gone. Jeffery tells the others but once again they do not believe him, thinking he is in on the joke. They soon realise that their friend is genuinely missing and the whole group begins to panic.
They decide that the safest thing to do is get away from the house and return to their own homes. They make their way down their usual route down an alley but are cornered by Slenderman. They run away in the opposite direction, towards the woods, Slenderman’s preferred domain. The leader urges the group on, saying if they can make it through the woods they can escape through the other side. They run from Slenderman but every time they reach the end of a path he is standing waiting for them. All they have to light their way is the light from their phones and these soon stop working leaving them in complete darkness (Slenderman interferes with technology)
The group have no choice but to use matches to keep Slenderman away (he doesn’t like light) but these don’t last very long. The film ends with the group desperately grabbing matches and trying to keep them alight for as long as possible, but they eventually run out and are taken by Slenderman. The audience think that all the teens have been killed but it is revealed at the end that one of them managed to escape as they had a torch in their bag. The screen goes black. Dot of light gets bigger in the distance. It is revealed to be light from the torch of the final girl. Final shot is of her running past the camera.
My group and I have started to think in detail about the narrative of our horror trailer. We have decided as a collective that we want to make a horror film based around a myth, similar to the Blair Witch Project. This is because the film was a huge success despite its small budget and lack of famous actors and we can easily use similar camera techniques as the ones seen in the film to great effect. We have decided to base our movie on a German myth called 'Slenderman', a tall, faceless man who hunts and abducts those who know of his existence.
The Slenderman myth has become increasingly popular within the media over the last year, with the release of a game and several websites dedicated to it. It is especially popular with teens, which is one of the main reasons we chose to use it, as this is the audience we will be aiming our trailer at.
The Slenderman game is probably the biggest reason for the recent surge in popularity for the myth. The aim of the game is to walk around the woods and collect 8 hidden notes whilst avoiding Slenderman. If he catches you, the game is over. All your character has to help them see in the dark is a lantern, which eventually will go out, increasing the chances of Slenderman catching you. The limited vision coupled with the deep, droning music creates huge tension and the game has become extremely popular due to its fear factor.
Screenshot from the game
Notes from the game
Video of gameplay.
After researching and watching footage of the game, we have been able to take away a few interesting concepts that we think will make our trailer very effective.
First of all, light is a big part of the slenderman myth, as it is the one thing that will keep him away. We can play on this in our trailer, using the dark as a tool to create fear. We could possibly use black screens and focus on using music and sounds to create tension. In the game, the character is given a lantern in order to light their way, which will eventually go out. In our trailer we want to include a similar idea, but instead of a lantern, have our characters use matches, which could be even more effective, as matches go out very quickly.
This is a documentary that conveys the Slenderman myth as true and presents evidence to prove that he exists. It is yet another internet sensation that has recently hightened interest in the Slenderman myth. The documentary explains Slenderman in great detail which will be very useful for us, as we can derive information from it that will be useful to use in our trailer.
I have researched numerous theories and conventions both in and out of class, and I hope that I can use them to help me create a high quality horror trailer. My favourite theory that we have learned about is the Final Girl theory, as I can relate it to almost every horror film I watch and it has made me realise how important the convention of the final girl is.
Slasher films such as Psycho and Halloween have influenced me a lot as I realise you do not need to have a lot of onscreen gore in order to make a movie scary, you can achieve it through suggestion, which will help a lot with my trailer as I will not have a huge budget to spend on special effects, so creating fear through suggestion and things that people do not see on screen will be a very effective technique.
I will definitely not be using any kind of villain that will be difficult to use effectively, such as a ghost, so I think it would be better to use a slasher villain, or like in 'The Blair Witch Project', not show the villain at all.
Effective marketing is extremely important for the success of any film, with horror being no exception. I have been thinking about some of the ways in which horror films are marketed and come up with the following:
Posters
Billboards
Buses and Bus stops
Phone boxes
TV adverts
Radio adverts
Adverts in cinemas
Online (Web 2.0)
Official movie website
Social Media (Facebook, Twitter etc)
'The Blair Witch Project' (1999) is a film that used extremely effective marketing at its time of release, causing it to be extremely successful despite its low budget of only $25,000. It was one of the first movies to push a huge marketing drive on the internet, as its potential had previously been unrealised. The official movie website created huge interest, set up to look like a fact file on the Blair Witch with images of supposedly 'missing' people and their details.
The 'Saw' movie franchise also has an extensive marketing campaign. Unlike 'The Blair Witch Project', there has obviously been a lot of money invested into it, but it is very effective. They even have a ride and maze at Thorpe Park. The designs of their posters are not what you would expect of a typical horror movie, as they present unpleasant imagery on pure white backgrounds which is very contrasting and different.
I have been reading an article by Carol J. Clover called 'Her Body, Himself' which explores the Final Girl theory within Horror films, particularly in the Slasher subgenre. From this article I learned that the killers in slasher films are often extremely complex characters. They are not just men who enjoy murdering people, but individuals that often have deeply disturbing and scarring pasts. Although they are male on the surface, they often have a vulnerability about them that suggests they might represent femininity rather than masculinity. Although I did find it very interesting, I find myself disagreeing with this article on quite a few occasions, as it seems to contradict itself a lot, analysing the Final Girl theory from absolutely every angle and viewpoint and never really reaching a real conclusion.
Creating a feeling of tension is an extremely important part of any good horror film. One of the main reasons audiences watch horror movies is to feel on edge and essentially, to be frightened by them. I have looked at the film 'Halloween' (1978) and analysed it to see how the director, John Carpenter, has created tension. I have focused on the opening scene as I think it contains a lot of the common conventions of horror which have been put to great use and are very effective, creating an extremely tense atmosphere for the audience.
Carpenter creates tension in 'Halloween' in numerous ways, using music, mise en scene, camera angles and various editing techniques.
Carpenter uses effective editing techniques throughout the opening sequence, such as documentary style text seen at the beginning of the scene. By making the film seem documentary like, the audience get a sense of realism, as though this could actually have happened. This is very unsettling for audiences and creates tension before the movie has even begun. At the end of the scene, there is a slow zoom out from the child holding the knife, revealing the scene around him and emphasising the scale of what he has just done in comparison to his size and age. This creates tension, as it gives the audience time to take in exactly what has just happened, which is very disturbing as children are widely thought to be very innocent and pure. Seeing a young boy murder his sister is very unsettling to watch.
Almost the entire scene is shot from the murderer's point of view. This means we hear and see the same things the character does and know no more about what is going on than him. This creates tension, as the audience feel as though they are committing or contributing to the terrible crime that the boy commits, which most people would never dream of doing. They are made to feel powerless, as though they are being made to do something against their will. This is very uncomfortable for many people, as they like to be in control of their own actions. When the child puts his mask on, the viewer then sees through the eyes of the mask, creating the illusion that they are wearing it. This adds to the impression that the viewer themselves is the killer.
Music and sound is used very effectively in the scene. In the opening credits, piano music can be heard. This music is in a minor key, which is often used in horor films as it connotes darkness, despair and doom. Clashing chords are also used which indicate disorder and sound unnatural to the audience, causing them to feel uncomfortable. It immediately sets up the movie as a horror by making it obvious to the viewer that bad things will happen. Throughout the opening credits, the sound of ticking can be heard, giving the impression that it is counting down to an event of major significance, creating tension as the audience wonders what this could be.
The use of high pitched Psycho strings as the villain enters the house and makes their way upstairs creates extremely high tension, as it tells the audience that something terrible is about to happen, Psycho strings have become a very common feature in horror films after their debut in the film 'Psycho', as they succeed in creating high levels of tension, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.
By using all these methods and techniques, Carpenter successfully creates an extremely tense atmosphere in the opening scene of 'Halloween'. I hope to use some of these techniques myself in my teaser horror trailer in order to make it as effective as possible. I have learned from analysing this sequence, that music, mise en scene, editing and camera angles are all equally important in making a good horror movie and I will need to thoroughly plan and think through all of these elements.
Popular approach to understanding mass communication.
Places more focus on consumer or audience instead of actual message itself.
Asks what people do with media rather than what media does to people.
Audience members are not passive - they take an active role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives.
Audiences are responsible for choosing media to meet their needs.
People use the media to fulfil specific gratifications.
The media compete against other information sources for viewers' gratification.
Basic Model
It is suggested that the uses and gratification theory has to fulfil one of the following when we choose a form of media:
Identify - being able to recognise the product or person in front of you, role models that reflect similar values to yours, aspirations to become someone else.
Educate - Being able to acquire information, knowledge and understanding.
Entertain - What you are consuming should give you enjoyment and also some form of 'escapism' enabling us to forget our worries temporarily.
Social Interaction - The ability for media products to produce a topic of conversation between other people, sparks debates (eg who is left on X-Factor)
Uses and gratification theory can be seen in cases such as personal music selection. We select music not only to fit a particular mood, but also in attempts to show empowerment or other socially conscious motives. There are many different types of music and we choose from them to fulfil a particular need.
The Internet
The internet has had a large effect on the way the Uses and Gratification theory has been perceived in the last 10 years.
We can identify more products and people thanks to search engines like Google.
Music has benefited from sites like YouTube enabling us to watch any music video we choose.
Wikipedia and other such sites allow us to gain knowledge of almost any subject we please. It could be argued that the internet has developed our education drastically over the last 10 years.
We can be entertained whenever we please because of sites such as YouTube and even on demand websites such as 4oD and BBC iPlayer which allow us to watch TV whenever we want online.
The internet gives us freedom and offers us an escape from every day life. People have access to websites that make them happy and they find enjoyable.
Mcguffin:Something in the movie that drives the plot forward, motivates the characters and focuses the attention of the audience, but has no actual impact on the overall plot.
This technique is used in "Psycho". The storyline surrounding Marion Crane and the money has no real impact on the overall plot of the movie, but is used to distract the audience from the main event so it is more of a shock then it happens.
A moral panic is the intensity of feeling
expressed in a population about an issue that appears to
threaten the social order. Horror films are
often at the centre of moral panics.
"Moral panics then, are those processes whereby members of a society
and culture become 'morally sensitized' to the challenges and menaces posed to
'their' accepted values and ways of life, by the activities of groups defined
as deviant. The process underscores the importance of the mass media in
providing, maintaining and 'policing' the available frameworks and definitions
of deviance, which structure both public awareness of, and
attitudes towards, social problems" - Key
Concepts in Communication (O'Sullivan, Fiske et al 1983)
The horror movie "Child's Play 3"
(1991) is notorious for its links to the 1993 murder of three year old Jamie
Bulger, in Liverpool, England. The 10 year old killers, Jon Venables and Robert
Thompson, supposedly saw the film, and imitated a scene where a victim is
splashed with blue paint. There was a lot of mention of the links between the
film and the crime in the UK press at the time, and a moral panic ensued. The
case against the film, though never really proven, led to new legislation, The
Amendment to the Video Recordings Act, contained in the Criminal Justice and
Public Order Act (1994).
1.Occurrence and signification - An event occurs and,
because of its nature, the media decide it is worthy of dramatic coverage and
the event is signified as a violent, worrying one.
2.Wider social
implications - Connections are made between one event and
the wider malaise of society as a whole. After the initial event, the life of
the story is extended through the contributions of 'expert' opinionmakers, who
establish that this one event is just the tip of the iceberg, and that it is
part of an overall pattern which constitutes a major social menace, thus public
attention is focused on the issues.
3.Social Control- Moral panics
seek some sort of resolution and this often comes with a change in the law,
designed to further penalise those established as the threatening deviants at
the source of the panic. This satisfies the public who feel they are empowered
politically by the media.
A lot of horror films present women in the 'male gaze', with their femininity and sexuality in particular being focused on by the camerawork. Women are often presented in one of two extremes, either powerless and submissive or seductive and tempting.
The way in which the audience reacts to the female on screen depends on how the male character responds to her, for example, if the male finds the female attractive, the audience is invited to view her from no more than a sexual aspect.
In class we have discussed our roles as an audience and analysed audience theories.
You would talk to your friends about horror movies, but it is unlikely you would talk to your parents or grandparents - it is a genre usually shared between peers.
Word of mouth is vital for promotion of horror films - eg. social networking
My experience of watching horror, is that I tend to be more scared of the idea of watching a horror film than the film itself. It is the build up and anticipation that frightens me, more than anything else.
Paul Wells did research into 4 different age groups (16-25, 26-40, 41-55, 56-80) and asked them what the earliest and latest horror movies they had watched were. Conclusions I can draw from the results of this study are that people have become desensitised to Horror over time and directors are constantly pushing boundaries in order to shock and scare audiences. Horror has transformed into a social genre that is watched with others as an activity. It also shows that horrors change to fit with world wide issues that are happening currently.
Psychoanalytic theory - Spectatorship and male 'gaze'
Women made to look weak, powerless, vulnerable, passive, submissive, seductive/modest.
Femininity and sexuality is focused on by camerawork - audience is influenced by how the male character responds to her, eg. pity, attraction.
Laura Mulvey - Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (1975)
Women are presented as sexual spectacles and objects of pleasure for the characters and audience.
Men fetishise women imbuing them with an overvalued and unrealistic status - 'fetishistic scopophilia'.
I have studied Propp and Todorov's theories to see how useful they are in analysing Horror narrative.
Propp's character theory
Propp analysed 100 folk and fairytales to identify how characters are used to move the narrative forward.
The emphasis was on looking at characters not as representing real people, but as functions whose role was to move the narrative forward.
Characters
The villain – struggles against hero.
The hero – drives narrative.
The donor – provides hero with magic gift
The helper.
The Princess.
The Princess's father.
The dispatcher – sends the hero on his way.
The false hero.
I decided to apply this theory to one of my favourite movies, Lord Of The Rings, to see just how accurate it was.
Lord Of The Rings
The Villain - Salron
The hero - Frodo Baggins
The donor - Gandalf
The helper - Sam
The princess - Arwen
The princess's father - The elf king
The dispatcher - Gandalf
The false hero - Aragorn
This shows that Propp's theory does work the majority of the time, across all genres.
Criticisms of Propp's theory
"He ignores character, tone and mood in his analysis which differentiates one tale from another."
Levi-Strauss was a main critic as he came from the structuralist approach of seeking meaning in these tales, which Propp does not do.
Propp was a formalist who was trying to uncover the building blocks of folk tales and stories.
Todorov's Basic Narrative Theory
A state of equilibrium
Disrupted by an agent of change
Leads to a process of final resolution
Return to a new equilibrium
Todorov's Extended Narrative Theory
Exposition
Development
Complication
Climax
Resolution
I find these studies useful to an extent, as they fit the conventions of a typical horror movie, however, many films try to play on typical conventions in order to surprise the audience, as well as stick to common conventions. This means the theories do not apply to every horror film, for example, Scream. Scream is a film that tries to break the common narrative of horror movies in order to keep the audience constantly on edge and surprised.
