The evidence of your journey is limited - which is a concern at this stage, especially when you have put so much evidence into your production. Below is the task list and standard post list for completion of this stage of your portfolio - think carefully about what you have yet to evidence.
Research
•Genre Research 10
•Soundtrack research (non copyright music) 1/2
•Costume and location research – google earth and pictures you’ve taken. 1/2
•Actors and props photos and interviews 3/5
•Audience Research and Profiling (typical audience member and similar films) 1
•Uploaded YouTube videos of openings – analysed 15/20
•Opening titles analysed in detail – font researched 1
•Analysed Film Openings from from your genre in particular 5/10
•Institution research (Paramount etc) 1
•Certificate research 1
Planning
•Own film idea brainstorm 1
•Own film treatment 1
•Relevant Online Tutorials and Comment 4/5
•Documenting of influences on production 1
•Shot lists 1
•Considerationof representation in your film and stereotyping – use theory from G322. 1
•Questionnaire (and feedback) Get some feedback on your initial ideas!
•Diary of filming/editing etc with photos and screen grabs
The horror movie which we found interesting was the Texas chainsaw massacre, this movie is basically about a man who becomes deformed and turns into a crazed-serial killer who goes around dragging people, mutilating them and killing them in a horrible way. it was fairly badly done so at times the audience would probably find the deaths fairly humorous and comedic.
Within the trailer we see several interesting camera shots and the angle which the camera is at one camera angle we see is a close up shot of a woman screaming we see her facial expression to that of terror, and the camera then zooms up on her face, and her screaming continues until it cuts to another scene in which we see the main character leather-man killing someone, the cuts and shots are done very well , as we see the different angles and expressions of the characters while using very little footage, this is something which we wanted to include in our trailer itself, fast-paced scenes and shots as in a horror opening we wouldn't want it to be long as we are paying for it. and therefore we wouldn't want to pay so much just for a opening trailer. in the trailer we see different characters as well and scenery, as the movie is a horror movie we typically see dark scenery, and scenery that is associated with evil and connotes scariness and horror effectively. the story itself also takes place and involves abandoned houses, and in a Forrest, we wanted to include this in our movie as we feel that it would play well for the horror theme, and if done right we could make it really realistic and perfect in the sense for a horror movie. we wanted to mainly use the location, and the camera angles and shots, to use in our trailer, we find this effective because it gives different points of view and allows us to experience the characters emotions better. The movie is a thriller genre so many people get killed, we also liked this idea relating to our movie trailer like a sort of thriller/survival film as many people die. and we could include a similar sort of theme in our trailer.
the movie's production itself involved Hooper who is the director of the movie, he made the character cast get injured as a result of vigorous filming, although we would obviously not want this in our film trailer, we also want the blood and injuries to look realistic.
Keep pushing yourself in the direction you're heading. Evidence your planning and production and include your well considered storyboarding to improve your response.
8.) What sort of Music is your favourite within a movie?
Rap/hip-hop Heavy metal Classical Horror/spooky Other......
From the questionnaire listed above most people we found out that they preferred action/adventure movies than any other genre, it was a very popular choice among people questioned, this suggests that the action/adventure genre was popular it was also popular between the genders of 18 yr olds to 20yr Olds most, this makes sense as mostly teens or young adults are interested in watching this sub genre of movie. the least popular overall was the romance and comedy films, this is probably because it only appeals to a certain target audience and not a wide variety of target audiences like action/adventure does.
Overview: Toy story 3 is a animated movie that was released to be watched in cinemas and to the public in the iconic year 2012, this is because a lot of events took place that year, such as the prediction of the Mayan calender, and the earth's doom, however none of this came to pass, films such as toy story nevertheless made a huge box office and much success, it is the final third part of the trilogy of the toy story, and centres around the fact that Andy their owner whom they love so much, is growing up and going off to college their fore it pretty much also means the end of their time with Andy as he wont need toys any more, and will probably just put them in a attic. Events of the movie take place such as them ending up in daycare thinking it is all perfect and sunny, however this is soon proven to be a lie, as really everything is corrupt their and they are given to kids who are very young and therefore don't know how to play with them properly, this is soon over and the toys end up in the hands of a new owner-bonnie and a new adventure starts. Mise En Scene: Within the movie toy story we see many toys in the movie, as the whole movie is evidently about toys, this reflects Andy's character a lot, we see that he loves to play with toys and so a beautiful relationship is established throughout the entire trilogy between Andy and his toys, who are almost like his children in a strange sort of way. The costumes and lightning in the movie are fairly typical of toys who would be like that in real life, for example we see buzz light year with a jet pack on and and a typical space suit and we as the target audience would expect this from a space toy, the movie setting is also in a suburban atmosphere, and the houses are typically big and rich full of modernised architecture, and with much nature to see. Sound: The sound in the movie is typically diegetic, and and we see many sounds and effects and noises such as the conversion of the toys, this shows us that the toys are not fake and are in fact real, and can talk just like any normal person in the movie. We also hear sounds such as music in the background which can change the theme of the movie depending on its pitch, for example when Lotso the main antagonist of the movie captured our heroes, the music changed to a sinister tone, which was very evident, however when they first arrive at sunny daycare the music is bright, and beautiful suggesting the innocence of the daycare. Editing: The editing in the movie was very evident as we could see different camera shots which were slow at first but were then fast, and it showed some match on action, however in different scenes this was not so evident. Camera shots and composition: Within the movie we see several camera shots and angles in which the shots have to be taken at, for example we see many close-up shots of buzz's facial expressions as well as woody, and his annoyance at everyone going to sunny daycare, as he feels they should be with Andy, We see many other shots, such as POV shots of Andy while he is looking at his toys, before considering whether he should take them to college or the attic, and we see over the shoulder shots between Andy and his mother.
Overview: Cars is a Disney-animated movie, which centres around toy cars, who are animated but who have real voices, and are supposedly real. Within the movie 'people' are cars, and it centres in a world of cars, with much reference to popular culture and figures in real life. it was released to public audiences, to watch in cinemas first in the year 2006, The movie is produced by the famous animation company, pixar and was released by WaltDisney pictures. it was also bought by Disney later. The film had quite a lot of success, at least enough that a sequel was made named cars 2, which was released in 2012. The cast in the movie features actors such as OwenWilson, Larry The Cable Guy, Bonnie hunt and many other great actors, all of whom helped make the movie into a premier and a overall excellent movie. Mise En Scene The movie cars contains scenery, props and and a background which is unique to its movie as well as the genre. For example cars is animated and yet contains reference to real nascar drivers, in its character cast, doc Hudson is based off real nascar driver Paul Newman who unfortunately passed away before the events of the second movie. The movie also has scenery such as when mcqueen was taken captive in the radiator springs town, it showed a hill-billy sort of atmosphere in the background, this suggests to the target audience that the movie itself is themed around american nascar racing, and so the setting theme is american as well evidently. as well as that we see all the usual props in a Disney animated film, such as toys, buildings, and the cars in the movie all animated of course. Sound: The sound in the movie is mainly shown as diegetic, the sound mainly includes the different sounds of the engines revving, as well as the noises of the cars, talking to each other and conversing in their own respectable ways, most of this is shown on the screen therefore it is diegetic. As well as that we have other sounds such as the cheering of the crowds, the commentators discussing the events of the races. all of this sound is done effectively and well. the sound tells the target audience what happens in the film and what things we appear and how it all relates to the film so it is important that the sound is effective and appropriate. What we find out about the plot; Lightning is a rookie car racer, who is in the middle of a race of the finale between chick hicks, and Dinoco the 'King', This race mainly is between the three rivals, however the race unfortunately ends in a tie and so another race has to be arranged so they can decide the final winner, the race takes place in a short amount of time, however mcqueen is lost on his way in his truck, and finds himself in so-called hill-billy hell in the town of radiator springs, he ends up destroying most of the road and has to stay to fix it, while initially the characters there are disgruntled towards him this is short lived as everyone becomes very close friends with mcqueen, and are heartbroken when he is found and has to leave. The ending race involves Dinoco being thrown onto the side and being very damaged, Lightning helps him and he is hailed as a champion, he also makes radiator springs appear back on the map and begins a romance with sally and sets the events of the next movie.
Camera shots/composition: There are many camera shots and angles within cars, just one of them is the mid-shots of sally when they were going for a 'drive' around a beautiful cliff in radiator springs, it shows the radiance and beauty of sally then the camera quickly shoots back to Lightning with mud in his teeth, this is done effectively and we find this funny as the contrast between sally and lightning is shown. Another shot is when we see lightning appear conversing with tow mater, and we see close-up shots of lightning and tow mater, and their respective facial expressions, we see the model and design of lightning as well, as he is a nascar, he is modelled partially on a ford GT as well. we also see over the shoulder shots when the road is fixed and everyone is seen dancing on it in a timely fashion.
Overview: The movie monsters inc is a popular animated-Disney movie which is for kids, and families, it pays particular attention to the fear of monsters in children, and plays on this but in a humorous way which is suitable for kids and families to watch. it was released to the public audience to watch in cinemas, in the year 2001, it was produced by the world famous company Pixar, and was directed by Peter Doctor, The film revolves around a blue and purple monster called James p. Sullivan, and his monster friend who is one-eyed Mike Lazowski. The movie also has a huge plot line involving the relationship between sully and a little baby girl whom he names boo, this relationship is similar to father and daughter.
Mise En Scene: Within the movie monsters inc, we see a lot of scenery and props, and the characters, the characters are placed in certain ways to make the movie appear more surreal, and make it more of a animated movie. For example we see first the scenes, in which mike and sulley are present at the scare factory, and are having a talk with henry j water noose - the CEO of monsters inc. The scene shows mike and sulley talking with water noose, while in the background we see animated scenery such as a industrialised network of doors, which lead to humans, and their bedrooms, this is so that they can scare the children, then extract the scream which gives the factory enough power to function. we also see that the props, such as the purple monster costume that boo wears, is made out of similar material to the actual skin that the monsters have, this is what perhaps allows boo to get away with looking like a monster,
Sound: The sound in the movie is mainly diegetic, and that means that the sound can be seen happening on the screen. for example when sulley is screaming at boo on the screen, we see this actually happen and we hear it at the same time, this sound is effective because we cannot notice the difference that the characters are being voiced by actors, this is done therefore very effectively. we also hear other sounds such as mike and Randal arguing and fighting over boo, this is shown when boo runs away.
generally the sound in the movie is diegetic and is done exceptionally well in the movie, they also however could have used different sound such as non-diegetic and other sounds to create a enigma for the target audience.
Camera shots/composition: within the movie we see many camera shots and composition all of which, are used for the purpose of making the movie appear more crisp and making it look more professional, as a Disney movie they cannot afford to downplay the movie as it must be top notch to make the most success and money possible. Some examples in the movie are when mike and sulley first enter the factory, we see a far-shot of the pair of them standing outside the gates, this is done appropriately to give the target audience the view that it is a completely different and huge world compared to the human world, and things are different. we see many close up shots between boo and sulley, detailing the relationship between them, and finally we see over-the-shoulder shots between mike and sulley, when the pair are seen talking in various scenes.
Editing: Within the movie we see some editing, for example we see some shots of mike and sulley, that are both fast-paced and slow-paced. In the scene where boo is rummaging around in the restaurant, we see fast-paced shots of boo ruining everything funnily, then it quickly reverts back to mikes shocked facial expression, this is a example of match-on-action and is done very effectively. however there is not that much editing done in the movie as first thought or even predicted.
What we find out about the plot: The movie centres around mike and sulley's relationship and their life working at the monsters inc factory, Their life is changed when a 2yr old baby girl is attempted to be kidnapped by randall and makes her way into the monster world. At first sulley and mike are initially hesitant about boo and want to get her back as soon as possible to her home, however sulley develops a huge bond with boo, and wants to keep her away from randal at any costs, in the end of the movie the two say a tearful goodbye, this scene especially makes the target audience sad, as the memories the two have are evident, however afterwards mike the new CEO as henry was fired and arrested, opens a door revealed to be the one which leads to boo's home, and it emerges with boo saying kitty?, with sulley having a huge smile on his face to see his young friend once again.
One of our main influences was a combination of these three things, the main antagonist in scream, Slender man and Donnie Yen. We also had several variations of influencing for this type of film from an anime called Mirrai Nikki, meaning future diary. For example, in the picture below we are shown that the two character are fighting, and one has a knife, which was our main reason for the antagonist having a weapon of some sort, where we were originally just going to have them fight bare handed, we thought that the knife would give the protagonist an unfair advantage. Another reason why we got the idea that the antagonist should have a knife is from the popular film series called Scream, where he wears a mysterious mask and stabs people, from that we also thought that the antagonist should be able to walk as well, stating that he is human and not some sort of ghostly figure, placing it slightly into the crime theme, however we also believed that in order to make our trailer creepier we thought that during the beginning of the trailer we would have the antagonist stand still during the first few clips, where it ensures that the audience are given the impression there is a hierarchy in power between the protagonist and antagonist, it also would suggest to them that there is no where for the protagonist to run. Also, we thought that a fight between the two character would be interesting since it is not very common in horror movies, although we will have to include two completely different ways of filming, which would be difficult for us but it would mean we could get some great shots and mix it in well, but instead of placing fast tense music for the fight we will have a slow sombre sound, suggesting that the protagonist has no way of winning but is fighting for his life.
This tutorial is another great one, since we are planning on creating a horror film but because it will be quite quirky, we are planning on having the protagonist fighting the antagonist, who although is a ghostly figure like the Slender man, the fight will be quite random but we will try and include all of the things that are in this tutorial, for example kicking, as we have people in our tutorial that do martial arts the fighting should be fairly easy, it will just be difficult to get the good camera work which is explained in this tutorial for example using a whip technique which is basically a fast panning of the camera, also another technique which is taught in this tutorial is that if someone is kicked they jump back in the air and fall of the floor, however the clip should be fairly fast since fighting is usually fast and tense. However this tutorial was also memorable since there was a lot of comedy in it, for example they had two people, one of them was visiting who was a stuntman, helping out teaching kicks, although his character was played out to be a cocky martial artist, it makes it more memorable, and overall the tutorial is great since it shows us what camera angles to use and some basic kicks to use for effectiveness in creating a good martial arts film.
For this on-line tutorial it goes into great depths about what to do to completely change an atmosphere, with a lot of comedy on the way, either because the you tuber is a funny person, or they want the viewers to be able to remember it better. The way the tutorial was made was very clever since not only did it describe to us how to make a great horror movie, it also shows a few shots, also a subtle change in filter for the film, for example taking a bright happy place with birds and a basketball court, changing the filter to a dark grey would completely change the atmosphere along with some creepy music. They also change the sound of the narration of the tutorial, making the creepy feel. Although what is described is a cliché horror film, it is very good at showing us what to do, for example we learnt from this tutorial that we would need a main actor of some sort, along with an antagonist or at least shadows to make it feel like there is a villain or spectre lurking around. In this tutorial it suggests that the best time to film would be at night, since the majority of us fear what is in the dark, exploiting their fears through the use of filming at night would make it feel creepier. We are also taught that we should have a side character, a cliché character who doesn't want to be in the place that the characters are in. Also, for dialogue, we are shown that we can include in our trailer that if there is more than one character, some dialogue should include the characters talking, for example the main character has lost or forgotten something and needs to go back somewhere, where another character doesn't want to be. After that there should then be a few quick low angle shots showing a symbol or something evil along with a lightning flash to emphasize the danger that the characters are putting themselves into. If this film is a ghostly film, then it is best to use some sound effects, which we thought would be hard to find unless there are some non copyrighted ones, either that or we would have to make our own, which may be less quality but still something to use. Then have some random objects move, whilst the camera captures the antagonist standing in a corner but still capturing the protagonists looking at the main object. Then suddenly the main protagonist is left on his own, which we thought is a good idea because then the audience are able to feel the protagonists' fear. Another brilliant thing about this tutorial is that it actually is a great horror film, for example there is a match on action shot of a character opening a door, which then suddenly bangs open. Overall this is a great tutorial and has taught me quite a few things.
for the beginning of our film we plan on having quite a fast paced tense feeling, for example we will
have the main character limping away from the antagonist, then suddenly it cuts back into the main character looking up into the camera, with a narration introduced, however we were also thinking that we should have someone yell up at him, since our protagonist is a teenager but a keen martial artist, we will have someone e.g. like a mother yelling up into the protagonists' room from downstairs or outside the room, the character then closes his eyes and the camera fades whilst some happy music is introduced, completely changing the scenery from the first clip, where the main character is walking down a road either with his friends, whilst a dolly shot from the front is capturing them, however whilst his friends are talking and being all cheery, the main protagonist has a look of sadness on his face as if he knows something is about to happen, looking down onto the ground, the narration is carrying on, and the sounds of his friends talking are echoing so it is hard to fully make out what they are saying, for example it'll sound like children playing in a park, where it is hard to make out.
About halfway into our trailer we are then planning on having a few quick cuts back into the antagonist chasing the protagonist, whilst the clip of the main character looking at the ground with his eyes, then the camera cuts to a low angle extreme close up of his face, showing a tear slipping out of his eye, then the camera scene falls apart in a transition, then fully cuts into the protagonist being chased by the antagonist, then the protagonist is hiding somewhere, collapses, the music then changes, when the antagonist is standing infront of the protagonist whilst he closes his eyes, he starts attacking the antagonist who is carrying a weapon of some sort.
after the fight finishes, ending in the protagonist lying down on the floor with a knife in his stomach, the antagonist staring down at him, captured from a low angle shot, there is then another birds eye view shot of the main character looking up, but crying since he is about to die, also gurgling out blood from his mouth. We were either planning on having the main character looking up peacefully dying whilst the antagonist either walks away slowly or just stands above him, or we were planning on having the main character crawling away from the antagonist who then slowly walks behind him and finally kills him.
Then for our ending we were planning on having a few panning shots, along with some flashback memories of the protagonist, where we do a few panning shots of some fields with wind, showing a blissful ending.
First of all, we start the trailer cutting straight into a low angle shot at close up distance capturing the main character Zenu holding his arm, injured and in pain, with heavy panting, capturing the sounds of his footsteps and sweat on his face, as well as a panicked expression on his face, constantly looking around as if being hunter, shot lasts for several seconds, cuts to an over the shoulder shot from the front, showing half of Zeno's face, wide eyed suddenly halts, if possible the camera first focuses on Zeno's ace and then towards the background, where the antagonist is seen just slightly, the camera then changes to a fade to black, eerie music is then introduced.
For the next clip, a narration is introduced, explaining Zeno's story, whilst several shots pan around the area, showing the scenery, suddenly the narration cuts when a shot captures the antagonist staring into the distance who is captured by a panning shot capturing the environment, then the antagonist looks towards the camera suddenly, as soon as this point is reached the music narration and camera halts. leaving an eerie feel, when the camera cuts, just after the antagonist looks at the camera a second after the transition to black, a millisecond long jump scare of a extreme close up shot showing the antagonists face, in this case the horse mask, suddenly changing the mood of the horror film.
The camera then cuts into a high angle birds eye shot of the main character looking up towards the camera in his bedroom, lying down as if just woken up, with an eerie light, this is mainly due to the fact that we want the audience to be able to understand the story behind the protagonist. Also, we decided that we would have some creepy music, although we thought that it would be difficult for us to initially create a song, we went all over you tube to find a non copyrighted song, and we came across a channel which was offering it's songs to the public, as long as we credited them at the end of the trailer, they gave us permission to use this, also we decided not to use any free songs since many other people would be most likely using it.
We first decided that we would have an age rating of 15, since we are including fake blood into our film, although many of the younger generation have been exposed to much more violence such as video games. we are planning on including fairly graphic scene were someone is stabbed and blood is pouring out of their neck, which in itself would make it an 18, but we still decided that a 15 is best, although bordering it, it won't be nearly as graphic as we want it to be. Also, we are not including any nudity or sexual scenes, so that is the main reason why we thought that age rating was best. Also, we believe that the irony of the horse mask on the intimidating character would make it funny, so if it was an 18 people may question the age rating a bit more.
Also, we believe that the main gender to watch our trailer would be teenagers, since it isn't a full on comedy or horror film, it does include a fair amount of action, for example some fighting and a stabbing , which many young teenagers would want to see since those things are enjoyable at that age, they would want to see more action than for example a middle aged woman or man who may just sigh at the mess that they are watching. Also, although many horror movies can be dull and copy each other, ours will try to be fairly unique and quirky, so that it would have a specific audience to watch it, and we believe this to be a younger generation, also we believe that in our case the gender doesn't matter as much, so we thought that both genders at this age would enjoy or at least find some parts funny about it, as well as it would confuse the audience since one moment there is creepy music and the next moment a ghostly paranormal horse is fighting a hippie.
For our location research we decided that we would set ourselves in the woods for the first few clips to our movie and towards the ending, this is mainly because it adds to the creepy eerie feel that we want to produce to show the audience. However although this may be fairly overly used in horror movies such as Cabin In The Woods, we also want to clarify that we have not taken any ideas from the movie, but have instead had inspiration from mythical creatures such as Slenderman. A game had been made about him which is played in the woods with a few building, which we are lucky to have, so we are
able to include a small building as well as woods
into our trailer, both having a creepy effect.
Along with the theme of the woods we are planning to use the inside of a scout hut, although it won't look nearly as good as the picture shown to the left, we will try our best to choose a good time so that the lighting is as eerie as it can be, although there will only be a few short scenes set in the scout hut, we plan on mainly using the woods as the setting, and plan to use them as an establishing shot.
Since there are a few fields nearby to where we are filming at the Oxshott scout hut, we thought that we could do a few panning shots around the field whilst the character is talking about his story, this is to show the audience the setting, and hopefully depending on the weather we are able to get a good shot, for example if it is raining we can enhance the sound of the rain, or if it is sunny we can end the panning shot/ shots with it facing towards the sun, bringing some flares. A field is a good setting for a horror movie since it is so vast and plain, where there could be anything.
Our final setting idea was that we would use someone's bedroom as a idea for the protagonist's house, where we were planning on doing a shot of the protagonists face, peaceful and tranquil, whilst a narration is introduced and creepy music starts taking over, however we were also planning on either starting off with a close angle birds eye shot of the protagonist looking up from his bed, then suddenly the camera cuts and we cut back into the chase scene, this setting would be good because the lighting could easily be manipulated.
First of all we decided that we would have a bit of a comedic feel to our trailer, mainly because we want it to be unconventional, we want it to be scary but for the audience to laugh at as well, something unique that would stay in their mind when they watch it. For this we decided that we would have our antagonist wear a horse mask and a trench coat, although it would be funny, it would be creepy as well, since people generally wouldn't be expecting it, they would be expecting the antagonist to be wearing a scary clown mask or something a long those lines.
We then thought that along with the horse mask the antagonist should wear a trench coat, to make it seem more mysterious, and it would also be a fairly darkish colour, so that the horse mask sticks out more in the audience's mind, we also thought that if we were to dress our antagonist in normal civilian clothing then it wouldn't be as memorable.
We were then thinking of mixing some boots along with the trench coat and the horse mask for the antagonist, this is mainly to make him look taller and more intimidating than the protagonist, who will be wearing trainers along with some other clothing that I will get into later. Also, boots would make the antagonist seem like he conforms the role of a detective of some sort, so it would confuse the audience, although they wouldn't be spending so much time looking at the boots but looking at the mask instead.
In the first few clips our antagonist will be wearing a torn shirt, although it is annoying since we have to destroy a shirt in the name of film, we thought this would be a worth sacrifice. This is mainly due to the fact that we want to make the audience realise that he had been in some sort of conflict with the antagonist, who is following the protagonist, but not walking...
Then we decided that the protagonist should wear a basic pair of old jeans, which we will cover in some sort of liquid which looks like blood, as well as the shirt. We thought jeans would be best fitted for our protagonist since we want him to be a normal human who is being hunted by our antagonist, kind of like a cliché teen horror movie.
