Group Dynamics
Our Group consists of four people, Myself, Ryan, Luke And Frankie. Our Group is a good choice of people due to our range of skills and attributes that we can bring to the group. We believe that our group will be successful as all four of us have done media studies at GCSE Level. I, Luke and Ryan, Have known each other for over 3 years, and we fully trust each other to get work done. Frankie, However is a different story, we read frankies article in the news 'male student snaps dogs neck' we knew from that he'd be the right guy.
I have previous experience in directing and suggesting ideas that moves the group in the right direction. We are sure to achieve our final vision for the film. Ryan is expertise behind the camera, he's is the cameraman and the editor.
Our Group consists of four people, Myself, Ryan, Luke And Frankie. Our Group is a good choice of people due to our range of skills and attributes that we can bring to the group. We believe that our group will be successful as all four of us have done media studies at GCSE Level. I, Luke and Ryan, Have known each other for over 3 years, and we fully trust each other to get work done. Frankie, However is a different story, we read frankies article in the news 'male student snaps dogs neck' we knew from that he'd be the right guy.
I have previous experience in directing and suggesting ideas that moves the group in the right direction. We are sure to achieve our final vision for the film. Ryan is expertise behind the camera, he's is the cameraman and the editor.
Certificate Ratings
U stands for Universal. A U film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. PG stands for Parental Guidance. This means a film is suitable for general viewing but some scenes could be unsuitable for the viewer. Films classified as 12 contain material that is not generally suitable for children aged under 12. No one younger than 12 than can purchase the film but in cinemas to watch a 12A film you have to be accompanied by a guardian. No-one under 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy/rent a 15 rated video.It can contain anything which will be only suitable for people 15+ like sexual references,gore and strong language. Films rated 18 are for adults. No-one under 18 can purchase or legally be aloud to watch a 18 video unless they are 18 or above.These films may contain strong horror strong blood and gore and very strong violence. Expectations of the genre Audience expectations for horror movie's and it's many sub genre's tends to be a thrilling and scary experience. Depending on the film people will expect to find these thrill's in different way's, whether it be through physiological horror that play's on there mind even after the film is over or maybe they prefer a more creepy style of horror that create's its scare's through its twisted, strange and creepy style. Some people prefer there scare's through gore fest's and slasher's that use violence and mutilation to strike fear into the heart's of their audience's. Overall however audience's expected to be scared from watching horror film or at least feel unnerved by the film in what ever way the film was chosen to go about creating that fear. Some audience's may also expect a compelling story within there horror movies and others may expect stunning visuals these generally tend to be lover's of the slasher sub genre.Finally some may expect to see creative and original creature's and monsters within there horror movie's that may have required some serious special effects to achieve. The audience want to be scared when they watch a horror film and they want to be literally so scared their heart is racing. They want a feel of thriller because they want to also be on the edge of their seat. Another thing audience's may expect to find in the horror genre would be a memorable experience that gripped them throughout however this could be considered something that audiences expect from most film genre's. However I feel it could be considered more so from horror as to achieve scare's you must first have the audience's attention. Specifically, the horror genre can be described as "unsettling films designed to frighten and panic, it creates a sense of helplessness and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while entertaining us at the same time in an experience that is locked into our minds. Non diegetic sound can help the audience feel a scary and horror vibe. Audiences know when they hear these particular sounds that something is going to happen.The audience when they here these sounds it makes them think something is going to happen so it is important that our group thinks about what non digetic sound we will use. The idea of murder is always an expectation as there is nearly always death in a horror film. If there are a group of people, the audience expects the weaker roles to definitely be killed off out of vulnerability. Lighting plays a big part in suspense as if the lighting is low key , it is dark which is a connotation of horror. Additonal |
These collages and word clouds help me identify what words are involved with the horror genre and what institutions and characters are in horror films. I can now use these collages to influence me in our openings and for the name of my groups production companies.
Font Analysis
The first institution is shown almost immediately at 4 seconds into the opening credits. The font is whited is quiete hazy and blurry and it flickers bright and then dim.This shot does not give a sense of the story of the film so it leaves the viewers unsettles and cautious because they are questioning the plot. The shot is of an opening of an old book which could represent an opining of something old which could not be safe to open up and the drumming ties in with the flickering of the text.
Font Analysis
The first institution is shown almost immediately at 4 seconds into the opening credits. The font is whited is quiete hazy and blurry and it flickers bright and then dim.This shot does not give a sense of the story of the film so it leaves the viewers unsettles and cautious because they are questioning the plot. The shot is of an opening of an old book which could represent an opining of something old which could not be safe to open up and the drumming ties in with the flickering of the text.
This is 30 seconds in when the film title is shown,it is shown after the production company. At first the film title is shown on a black background and then switches to the distorted tapes. The writing again follows on from the start of the opening and flickers in time with the music.
Cast members are now shown on the background of a two faced image which is distorted. This is their to unsettle the viewers because they don't know what is going on.
Cast members are now shown on the background of a two faced image which is distorted. This is their to unsettle the viewers because they don't know what is going on.
This is when the production crew who were involved with the making of the film get shown, as individual names are shown then pictures are shown in the background. This shows the horror genre and mysterious feel because the pictures are very unsettling.
As the crew involved with the film are introduced then the background becomes red which shows the horror genre and even gives hints that the film may have a alot of blood in it. Therefore suggesting that the film may be a slasher film.
YouTube Documentaries
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In this video it taught me alot about what opening scenes in tolled and had in them, it showed me what i should think about when making my horror opening.It showed me how to create an effective horror opening using suspense and tension and ins some of the films like halloween and scream they use a child to throw the audience in the first few minutes because they are so innocent.It also shows that in the first two minutes if the plot or the background is described then it gives a very horror sadistic vibe to the viewers because it scares them because they question what is going to happen.
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This video shows executive producer of 'MAMA', Guillermo del Toro discussing how he thinks the must uses for a horror movie is to have emotionally relatable characters that you care for and have a connection with. He believes that horrors where you want someone to get killed are not successful horrors. He uses children in his horror movies because the audience have childhood fears so the children are relatable and therfore the audinece can symoathise with them.
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Font and Tag Lines In Horror Films
'The night HE came home' - The director has chosen to capitalize the word 'HE' because it puts more emphasis on the mystery of who or what this thing is that is coming home. This makes the viewer question what species is starring in this film. The font is quite bold so it stands out and its the first thing that you see. Some letters are bigger than others to create the sense of a power struggle or some sort of disorder which might be a theme in the film. The font is white because it contrasts against the black background this is effective because white is also symbolic of innocence which is a clear contradiction of the film.
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'In space, no one can hear you scream' - the director has chosen this tag line so that it gives an eery feel to the film and a sense of loneliness, it makes the viewer want to watch the film because the title entices them to watch the film because it doesn't give to much away accept for that someone is alone in space and its based on an alien which comes from the title 'alien'. This tagline is very effective even though it uses a basic font which isn't stylized in any way.It is the same as the halloween tagline because again it is in white and it contrasts with the black background, the black background could represent space and how dark and eery space is.
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Bold fonts draw attention to the name of the film ' The Grudge'.Above the title it reads sarah Michelle Gellar which appeals to her fans when they see this cover for the film.The title is in red which represents danger,blood and death and it also stands out because it contrasts to theblack background. The slogan 'it never forgives. It never forgets' stands out because of the white font and is a very short sentence. This creates suspense because the people looking at this cover think what is 'it' and is it not human.
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Storyboard In Reverse
Focus Group
This is our first focus group, after or feedback we decided to change our storyline for our media horror opening.
This is our second and final focus group, after the feedback we got we decided to stick with this story line.
Examples Of Horror Genre
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7m5NLoKTsQ
The Haunting in Connecticut is a similar kind of horror, this is based on spirits that haunt a house. it uses props such as mirrors which are stereotypical in the horror genre, the mirror presents to us shadows in the background and moving objects. in the movie, the also use high pitch sounds to add to the effect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k10ETZ41q5o
The Conjuring is a 2013 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan.The Conjuring was released in the United States and Canada on July 19, 2013, and in the United Kingdom and India on August 6, 2013. The film made over $318 million worldwide from its $20 million budget, making it one of the highest grossing horror films of all time. The films uses a lot of special effects and this makes it o scary because it looks so real.
In my video i should:
- Think of something unique, something that viewers have never seen, as seeing the same idea of another horror is boring.
- has to strike a cord with fear.
- Need a really scary story
- Startle people, freak them out, shock.
- find a good group of people to work with.
- Have to have a truly frightening antagonist.
Sub Genres Of Horror genre
Action horror is a sub-genre that combines with evil and supernatural in horror films. Zombies, Demons, Gore etc. are all themes which are included in this sub-genre. An example of a film which fits this sub-genre would be Dawn of the Dead and Blade etc.
Body horror is another sub-genre which shows the dismemberment of the human body. Examples of films which fit this sub-genre are Teeth, The Invasion, and Cabin Fever etc.
Comedy horror is also a sub-genre of horror combines the elements of both horror and comedy. Examples of these type of films are Scary Movie, Shaun of the Dead etc.
Gothic horror is included elements of both gothic and horror. They normally included features such as castles and dungeons and very mystic things etc. films include the phantom of the Opera.
Splatterpunk: The horror extreme, with graphic and gory violence intended to gross you out. Includes cinema’s t0rture p0rn category, in movies like Hostel.
Satanic/Religious/Occult: Horror derived from certain belief systems and the evil aspects that they fight against. Usually involves demonic possessions, exorcisms, or explorations of the darker side of pagan religions and the use of illuminati and “left hand” magic.
Erotic Horror/Paranormal Romance: Sex and horror seem to go hand in hand. There’s plenty of er0tica involving horrifying situations/the supernatural, and paranormal romance.
Suspense/Thriller: Does not involve any supernatural or otherworldly aspects, instead relying on real-life situations to generate horror through serial killers, deadly situations and natural disasters.
Weird Fiction: a primarily historical term for fiction of the 1930s, it predates genre fiction and blended the supernatural, mythical, and even scientific into stories that were ultimately strange, uncanny, or unreal in nature.
Speculative Fiction: For a story that doesn’t necessarily fit into one genre, or blends several (like a post-apocalyptic horror/sci-fi ), you can always just call it speculative fiction, since these genres often overlap.
Iconic Directors
George A. Romero
Another genre inventor, Romero essentially invented the zombie movie for what it is today. Night of the Living Dead (1968) wasn't only terrifying to audiences when it came out - it was also one of the first films in a post Heat of the Night world to make an African American actor the hero of the story. He is iconic because he was the first person to reinvent the zombie genre.
John Carpenter
He invented Halloween, one of the most profitable movies/franchises of all time (not highest grossing, profitable), which could stand alone - nothing else needs to be said.He is iconic
Wes Craven
Craven made 2 of the most copied horror films of all time without breaking a sweat… and spawned reboots of them in the past few years - The Last House on the Left and The Hills Have Eyes (he also directed a sequel to Hills himself in the 80s.) and directed two of the nightmare on elm streets.
Steven Spielberg
Made an all new fear of the ocean with his horror movie "JAWS" in 1975, this film is renown for having one of the best and original horror movie opening in cinema history.This new horror made began to make horror more real and terrifying due to the situations and animals with the film all being plausible and real. this lead to an increase of people being afraid of the ocean and shark's showing how effective the film was in striking terror into the hearts of its audience.
Stanley Kubrick
This director is known for creating nearly every film genre however in each of his films, there is a dark and scary element to it. His highlights are A Clockwork Orange, The Shining and A Space Odyssey, all containing a dark atmosphere. He has a trademark of strong visual style and had emphasis on symbolism throughout his films. This is seen in A Clockwork Orange as Alex expresses his life choices through music, film and art, showing how the characters are individual. Kubrick's unique style of mixing horror, drama and even comedy yet all with a dark appearance makes him an iconic director that many directors admire.
James Wan
He’s made three amazing examples of movie macabre--Saw, The Conjuring, and Insidious—and ended up jumpstarting three new fright franchises. What makes Wan iconic is his idea of immediately using interior shots from the start, which causes the audience to feel enclosed and claustrophobic throughout the entire film.
Alfred Hitchcock
He made films such as Psycho, The Birds, and Frenzy, he is called a true film making maestro and often nicknamed Often nicknamed "the master of suspense" and he pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres.
Props, Costume and location
Props
Props can help further identify the horror genre like specific props could be associated to specific characters for example Texas chainsaw massacre the main character has a chainsaw.props range from bibles, crucifixes, paintings, candles and weapons. A crucifix for example are used a sign of religion and symbolizing the devil, the crucifix is used a defense by god against paranormal beings.
Costumes
Clothes are often torn or dirty. killers in horror usually disguise themselves in wearing things to disguise themselves such as masks. An example of this would be Michael Myers in halloween when he wears a boiler suit and a white mask.
Location
Small communities or isolate places are usually associated with the horror genre. Anything that portrays isolation or being alone.
Often sometimes locations with a dark past like abandoned houses, hotels and insane asylums.
Locations can range from lakes, roads, highways, underground tunnels, woodlands, houses, space ships, alien planets, shopping mall, asylum, deep water , cabins. Locations with a hidden past creates a build up of tension for the viewer. the characters are usually placed in a setting alone, these are usually set at night or dusk.
Institutions Involved in the Horror genre
Lionsgate entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a Canadian-American entertainment company.
It makes and distributes leading horror films for instance Twilight Saga and the hunger games which were all hits at box office.
Anchor Bay Entertainment
Anchor Bay Entertainment is an American home entertainment and production company. It is a division of Starz Media and has made films like George Romeros living dead series and the walking dead.
Dark Films
After dark films are an independent film production company based in California and they specialise in low budget horror productions across many sub genres including zombie and physiological an they have been established since the early 90's by Courtney Solomon and although the company as established in the 90's it only started to make and distribute films in the mid 2000's and since then has gone on to make 14 after dark original films.
because of the growing success of their films after dark productions in 2010 started an independent films festival 'horror fest' which because of success now has backing from Lionsgate and syfy
Questionnaire Results
Questionnaire:
Do you enjoy horror films?
Yes IIIIIIIIII No IIIII
From this statistic is is clear to us that horror is a very popular genre and the majority of people enjoy watching horror films, this will give us great insight into our project .
What is your preferred sub-genre of horror?
slasher IIII Paranormal IIIIIII Psychological II Zombie I Gothic/Vampire II
This result shows that the general public, enjoy mysterious happenings, this helps us decide on a genre to go with, as we can tailor our ideas to fit in with what the public wants.
What makes a good horror film?
Gore IIIII Suspense IIII The actors II Settings II Characters II
These results show us that a gory image makes a good horror film and people like seeing disturbing images in order for the film to be a good horror film.
In your Opinion, what is the most effective horror setting?
Spooky house IIIII Isolated area of town I Forest II Domestic Set I School III Hospital III
This answer shows that people like the idea of a horror film being set in a normal setting but this must be haunted in some way, this helps us as we know what locations that will work the best for our horror opening.
What type of antagonist works best in a horror?
adult II child IIIIII demon III zombie III gremlins I
You can see from this stat that having an antagonist that is a child is what people like to see, this could be due to the fact that children are not that like to commit a crime, it shows that people generally would be surprised if a child was an antagonist and that they are a lot more effective in scaring people in film.
How often do you watch horror films?
Once a week: IIIIIII Twice a week IIIIII Three plus times a week II
This shows us that people don't watch horror films that regularly,this question could have been improved if it had more answers to pick from.
What would be the scariest horror prop?
Knifes IIII Saw I Masks I Rope I Cats III Dolls IIII Broken Mirror I
From this we see that people get scared equally by knifes and dolls, this is perfect for us due to the fact, in the opening of our production, we are going to have a flash back of a severed dolls arm holding a knife, this gives us confidence with our production.
Opening Credits
Se7en (Opening Credits)
The typography in the opening credits of se7en link so that they are in time with the music when there is a beat in the soundtrack the text will pulsate. this is a good technique in order for the film to create atmosphere. the text also appears on the screen in different areas. the font that is used also helps to create atmosphere because it looks like it has been scratched onto the screen this helps to create tension.
The typography also flashes on and off the screen which helps to create a sense of uncertainty and this really helps to reinforce the pyscological sub-genre of the film.
The Sixth Sense (Opening Credits)
The opening credits to 6th sense link with the music, they fade on and off on the screen in rhythm with the music aswell as the letters,It is quite weird in how the credits come onto the screen, they come in different places on the screen for example they can go from bottom right corner to the middle of the screen. The credits come not the screen as if they are being typed which gives the sense that it is out of the viewers control and also helps to create and eery sense. The credits represent the sub genre because the font and the way that the credits come onto the screen shows that the film is a supernatural thriller film.