A2 Media Horror: October 2016

Friday, 21 October 2016

Planning: Test Shots

In order to practice for the filming for our teaser trailer, we decided to do some test shot to get an idea of what we want our shots to look like. All the different types of shots represent different things which are specified in the power point.

Planning: Production Schedule

	ACTIONS	WEEK BEGINNING	TIME	DEADLINE	LOCATION
PRE-PRODUCTION RESEARCH	Research and analysis of trailers	19^th September 2016	Morning	26^th September 2016	School
PRE-PRODUCTION PLANNING	Proposal and mind mapping	3^rd October 2016	1 Hour	7^th October 2016	School/home
	Shooting script	10^th October 2016	2 Hours	20^th October 2016	School/home
	Storyboard	24^th October 2016	1 Day	30^th October 2016	Home
	Animatic production	1^st November	5 Hours	4^th November 2016	School/home
	Planning titles	7^th November 2016	1 Day	9^th November 2016	School/Home
PRODUCTION: SHOOT	Shooting footage (Everyone)	14^th November 2016	8 Days	21^st November 2016	School/Shooting location
	Shooting or making titles	22^nd November 2016	9 Days	1^st December 2016	Shooting location/Home/Library
	Shooting cutaways	2^nd December 2016	5 Days	6^th December 2016	Shooting location
	Recording sound	7^th December 2016	4 Days	11^th December 2016	School library/Home
POST PRODUCTION	Editing trailer (film and sound)	12^th December 2016	7 days	19^th December 2016	School library/Home

Thursday, 20 October 2016

Planning- Production Role

Wednesday, 19 October 2016

Planning: Questionnaire Analysis

Research- Questionnaire: Horror

As part of my planning I decided to create a questionnaire for horror genre to help us get opinions from different people. I distributed the questionnaire to different aged people to help me get broader understanding of what their expectations are from a horror film. This questionnaire will allow me to know what our target audience expects to see in our horror trailer.

Tuesday, 18 October 2016

Planning- Brainstorm

The first plan was to get all the ideas down on a sheet of paper and then being able to carry that on further. Above is the initial brainstorm that we created as group. We thought of all the things that we wanted to see in the teaser trailer and the plot and narrative. We put down some of the brief ideas we that came to our minds in order for us to progress further with it. This would then help us to go a step further and produce something along the lines of the brainstorm.

Research- Comparative Case Study

Research- Trailer Analysis- Friday the 13th

The trailer opens with a point of view shot which creates a sense of anonymity amongst the audience. The long shot of the moon meets the codes and conventions of the horror slasher. It familiarises the audience with the setting of the film. The second shot is of the guy with yellow coat who is in the middle of no where and gets trapped by someone. The close up shot of his face emphasises his expressions and helps the audience understand what happened better. Throughout the trailer there are shots of axes and knives which meets the codes and conventions of horror slasher as it connotes danger and foreshadow the murders that happen in the film. The medium long shot of the old man suggests he is knowledgeable and we can say that by the way he is dressed traditional. The old man is about to leave the safe location and head to the place where all the murders are happening. He is presented as wise and intelligent.
The axes and knives conform to the codes and conventions and signify murders. The weapons represent the main themes of slasher that is murder. Claudi's theory of binary opposite is evident in the trailer as the binary opposites of good vs evil is presented in the trailer. Also, the representation of young vs elderly is presented as well in the trailer showing that young people are careless and get murdered quickly for example the girls that are hiding behind the tree in the forest whereas old people are more intelligent and smart and survive the longest because of their awareness about the issue.
The main victims in the film are women who are screaming and shown as vulnerable. A fraction of men are murdered as well however that is not as significant as a women dying because the of effects that is created with their murders. This conforms to the stereotype of women being damsel's in distress and always need to be saved. However, also meets the codes and conventions of horror slasher films where women are always the victims. The males die however we never hear them scream for help whereas women scream and create a jump scare amongst the audience.

Monday, 17 October 2016

Research- Analysis of trailers

The Texas chainsaw massacre:

Characters and their representation - In the trailer, the females are presented as provocative and objectified by men. The final girl theory of Clover is evident in the trailer as the girl who is reading the American Astrology is the one the audience sees as the final girl who survives till the end. Low angle shot is used to show her understanding and knowledge about her surroundings. On the other hand, the first girl to die is seen as the most sinful one among her friend. This is evident through her clothes that depict her as vulnerable. The cannibals are all male which suggests male dominant society (patriarchy). During the time when the film is set the second wave of feminism was going on which is symbolic as both the women in the trailer are objectified by men.
Setting - The film is set in Texas where the teenagers get stuck and end up in the isolated house which is creepy. They enter the house to seek help without realising what they got themselves in to. The setting meets the conventions of horror/slasher film as the house is in the middle of nowhere and is isolated. Dark lighting inside the house foreshadows the danger to the teenagers lives. The lighting and the setting together create the feeling of a slasher film.
Narrative - The story revolves around four teenagers who are on a road trip which ends up as a worst nightmare. They get stuck in an abandoned house where their run to escape starts. The house they get stuck in is full of cannibals who chase them and kill them all leaving "The Final girl" to survive on her own. The audience can already recognise the final girl in first few shots of the trailer as she is the one reading the astrology book and tells the others more about the place.
Theories linked - Carol J Clover's theory of the final girl is evident in the trailer. This suggests the last girl to survive everything and come out alive is known as the final girl. The audience is supposed to feel empathy towards this character and support them in the film. In this trailer, the final girl is recognised straight away as she is the one reading the astrology book and informing others about the place. The other girl then the final girl herself is wearing much more revealing clothes and is shows as a damsel in distress. She is the first one to die because of her wrong deeds and her wearing sense in the film.
Types of shots used - Different types of shots were used in the trailer of the film. Many close-up shots were used in the trailer which help the audience recognise with the characters and their emotions in the film. Extreme close up shots are used which creates jump scare as the audience is able to see the detail in the characters expressions. Long shots have been used which help the audience to get familiar to the setting and allow them to get a little bit of background to the story.

I Spit on your Grave:

Characters and Representations - This film conforms to the stereotype about women for example, the female character in the trailer is raped by five males and is taken advantage of. However, the use of phallic symbol by a female character makes her look more strong and subverts the stereotype as she fights and takes revenge from all five men on her own. Her character challenges the stereotype of horror films as we would expect to see a girl being oppressed by a man and longing for help. The five men dominate the girl however, she stands up for herself and seeks revenge one by one from each one of them.
Setting - The film is set in a hotel which is in a rural area more likely a forest. This reinforces the stereotype of horror films as the the setting is more realistic and the audience would expect to see it. The film is mostly showing the forest foreshadowing something bad is about to happen.
Narrative - The female character is new to the city and comes and lives in a new house which is surrounded by a jungle which directly foreshadows the climax of the film. Five men have their eyes on her and are successful in raping her. The girl however, is the final girl in the film as well. She takes revenge from the five men one by one. She uses phallic symbols which shows that a female even if she is independent needs a weapon to protect herself from a man. By her using the phallic symbol makes her more masculine and the audience is able to empathise with her.
Theories linked - Levi Strauss's theory of binary opposite is evident in the film: good vs evil, masculine vs feminine. Also, Carol's theory of the final girl is evident as the only female character is the one who survives at the end by taking her revenge successfully and killing all the men who did wrong to her. The audience would expect her to mourn after being raped but she subverts and stands up for herself fighting all the evil in the film making the good win.
Types of shots - Close-up shots are used when the female character is taking revenge one by one from each of the men to emphasise her victory over them and to show them helpless. long shots are used which help the audience familiarise with the setting of the film and get some insight in to the background of the story. hand held camera is used when the girl tries to escape to show her helplessness. The over the shoulder shots used help the audience to see the conversation happening and understand the narrative better.