Diary Entries #4...

Wednesday 27th: In our media studies lesson we went through our footage more thoroughly and unfortunately found out we had about 4-5 clips of decent footage. This wasn't due to any misplaced camera shots, or any camera difficulties but down to, mostly, acting skills and professionalism of our actors. Because of the lack of usable footage that we had, we couldn't do any editing as of yet, so instead decided to make a short video of 'Bloopers' or 'Outcuts' showing what went wrong when filming etc. We take this as a learning curve for us, and to pay close attention to what the actors are doing and how to improve next time we film. Below is our video of out-takes, some of which are funny...

Animatic Storyboard...

Before filming we put together an Animatic Storyboard. This is basically photos of our story board put together as an animation to see if the story line fitted properly together. Below is our Animatic and annotations and the end of the clip to describe what is going on in each scene... 

Prop List #2...

This is a follow-up from our previous prop list, as we changed our minds on what the film is going to be like, we have changed ideas of what's going to be needed, below is a list along with a few images either ours or from google as a guide of what it should be:
We no longer need an axe.
We do still need a tent:              


Character Costumes,








Mobile Phones,
Plastic Bag,
Bags.

Shooting Schedule...

This is a schedule for when we are going to film our opening sequence:

Saturday 23rd - filming 13:00 - 17:30
Editing during the week in lessons on Final Cut Pro
Any changes and/or re-film Saturday 2nd march

Diary Entries #3...

Monday 25th: In our media studies lesson, we looked at the footage we filmed on Saturday (as said in previous post) below is the list of clips that we need to re-film due to any difficulties I stated in my previous entry...

Diary Entries #2...

Saturday 23rd - Monday 25th: On Saturday we went to the woods to film our sequence. We had one less person than needed so we re-scripted to take out our missing character. We also couldn't get an axe so we changed that bit as well. We managed to film all the shots we needed, with a few tweaks and a few extra clips. Unfortunately the camera we used had run out of battery before we finished filming but luckily I brought mine with me as backup. We came into lesson on Monday to look at the footage to start to edit and piece together, but we've found a few more things that need filming, because they either aren't the way we want, or some fault in the clip. We will be hopefully going back to the woods this weekend to film any that need to be redone. Also, a lot of our clips didn't follow our original storyboard because of difficulty filming and piecing it together. So within the time between now and when we next film the shots we need, we are going to remake our storyboard with why we can/can't do, and write a list of shots we need before we begin to film again.

Diary Entries #1...

Friday 22nd February: In Wednesdays media studies lesson, we got given out filming time slots, me and Nadine have decided to film ours this weekend which gave us Thursday and today to finish planning and get all the props we need. It has proven to be a struggle getting actors to play our characters as the people we had in mind had made other plans beforehand and others have said they didn't want to do it. With starting to film tomorrow, we are 1 boy short and Nadine and I have to play a part in it each as well as being the camera operator and directors. We have hopefully got most props sorted, but finding an axe isn't easy, along with being able to have it on us. Luckily our planning has all been finished and we know what we have got to do.

Shot List...

Looking closely at the storyboard and the script we had to make a shot list. This helps us direct what the shots should look like and how to film each scene. Below is what I came up with:

1) Long-shot; showing all characters,
2) Mid-shot; showing Allisa and Lauren,
3) Mid-shot; showing Greg and Simon,
4) Mid-shot; showing Patrick
5) Long-shot; showing all, Evie, Patrick and Greg setting up camp,
6) Mid-shot; showing Allisa,
7) Close-up; showing bag with phones in,
8) Long-shot; showing everyone at campfire,
9) Mid/Long-shot; showing Allisa standing and walking through woods,
10) Mid/Long-shot; showing Evie and Patrick,
11) Over-the-shoulder shot; showing a dark figure
12) Tilt downward shot; Showing axe.

Prop List...

For our opening sequence, we need several props to make our film look the way we want it to look, To make sure we've organised this correctly, we had to write down a list of props.
Our prop list goes as follows:
- Tent
- Axe
- Character costumes 
- Phones
- Carrier bag
- Backpacks
These are what will be needed in the film, as well as the obvious which is the characters and the location.
We have to find 3 boys and 3 girls to be in our film

Location Scout...

Me and my filming partner, Nadine, went exploring in our local woods to find a good location to film our opening sequence. We searched for a while going in different paths until we found the best place that is well suited for our filming, below are pictures I took on my phone of the place we eventually chose and the path leading to it...

   

Font Planning...

Fonts:

After creating a story board i needed to decide on a font for my title and subtitles. I looked on a website called 'Dafont' which has a list of different genres and styles of fonts.

Most of the fonts i looked at were handwriting ones, I thought this would be an effective and creepy looking title.

A few caught my eye and i thought they would suit the type of film i am making...

The first i found is called: 'Austie Bost In a Rush' this is a rushed handwriting font, and can have a creepy edge to it if necessary. This one will be used as my main title font:

The second one I looked at, and what I would probably use as subtitles. This one is called 'Skinny' and is also a handwriting one. I like this one but its not a very scary font:

Again I looked handwriting fonts. This one is called 'Joe Hand 2' This also isn't scary but it can be quite effective when put into a film like this:

Looking through the handwriting ones again, because they are the most effective and better looking ones, I found this one called 'In The Know' which looks similar to 'Skinny' but this also isn't very scary looking, unless applied right:

And the last one I looked at was in the fancy horror section of the website, this one is a scary/horror based font, but it looks like it could be a bit over the top for the style of film I will be creating. This font is called 'SF Gushing Meadow':

Looking through these fonts I know that I will defiantly use the first one for my main title of the film. And although 'Gushing Meadow' is a horror font, i don't want to use it as it looks over-the-top. My decision is that I am going to use 'Joe Hand 2' as my subtitle font. I will make it appear on screen as if someone is writing the titles.

Script...

Below is the final script we came up with:

Script:

Scene One:

(1, EXT, Entrance to woods, middle of the day)

6 Teens just arrive to the woods, aged 18-19, 3 boys and 3 girls;

Patrick, Evie, Simon, Greg, Allisa, Laura.

They head up to the woods, theres a long entrance of stairs surrounded by trees.

ALLISA to LAURA: 

"Don't you think you're a bit dresses up for a camping trip?"

  "No, i've always got to look my best!"

(Camera moves forward to conversation between Greg and Simon)

SIMON to GREG:

"We've been walking for ages, this is ridiculous!"

"Calm down, we're nearly there, i'm just worried we don't have enough stuff"

SIMON to PATRICK:

"Are we nearly there yet?"

"Yeah, we're here now"

***

(Patrick, Evie and Greg start to set up tents together whilst the others sit back)

***

(Allisa, holding a clear bag, gets everyones phones to put them in it)

ALLISA: 'Right, okay guys, phones in the bag"

(Close up of bag, a phone going in)

*Sitting around fire*

ALLISA: "Ah, I think it's about time I hide these phones so we're not tempted to use them"

(Allisa walks into wooded area to hide them)

***

EVIE: "Don't you think she's been gone for a while?"

PATRICK: "No, she's probably just playing some sort of joke"

*As talk carries on, the camera zooms out, a dark figure appears behind the trees*

*Camera looks down until theres a view of an axe*

END SCENE.

Script Planning...

Before I have to write out my final script, I did a rough draft on paper, below are pictures i took of it:

I changed the script because it was messy and unorganised. I didn't plan alot of it so it wasn't very professional, I adapted this script to make a new and improved version...

Own Film Structure...

After finding out the 3 Act Structure of the two horror films in the previous post, I made a 3 Act Structure for my own horror film using the same techniques.

Act One: We meet a group of 6 teenagers, Patrick, Allisa, Greg, Evie, Laura and Simon. They are walking to the woods for a camping trip, as they reach the point where they're going to set up camp, they take a break and lay down rules. One of which is no phones. Everyone puts their phones in a bag and Allisa goes to hide them so no one is tempted. 

Act Two: The first character, greg, goes off to het some firewood and dies whilst going in the middle of the night. No one knows he is missing until daylight, panic spreads between them and no one can figure out where he's gone. They realise that Allisa is also missing when they find her coat with some blood on it. Patrick decides he'll set their minds at easy by trying to find the two. As he walks off he catches the eye of a mysterious character and is the next to get killed. With 3 people missing, Laura thinks it's a practical joke and goes after Patrick.

Act Three: After seeing hooded figure, Simon and Evie get sketchy and Evie freaks out about it. Simon tries to calm her down and helps her to find the phones and get help. But Alissa didn't tell anyone where she hid them. They spilt up for a bit in search for them, Simon hears a scream from Evie but she only fell over. His eyes are drawn to a broken phone on the floor, he tries to get her up and moving but she gets pulled behind by branches. The hooded figure appears and kills her. in anger, Simon hits the figure knocking the hood off, revealing Alissa. When she was asked why, her simple reply was "you're all sinners, you don't deserve the life you've been given" these where the last words Simon heard.

3 Act Structure...

Film Structures:

A lot of films use the 3 Act Structure rule, this make the film flow better and less confusing for the audience, just like a book, its divided by using a beginning, middle and end. I have looked at the following two films which i know quite well and their structures. Act one is introduction to the characters and sets up the film. Act two is the consequences of the catalytic moment from act one and what happens and the final Act is how the story is resolved and whats the outcome. 

Stay Alive...

Act one: A man 'Loomis' plays an underground game called Stay Alive, based on the story of Elizabeth Bathory. The aim is to stay alive. As he plays, he dies in the game, during the night he dies in the same way but in real life. His friend, Hutch, goes to his funeral where he gets the game from his sister. As a toast to his life, he plays the game with a few friends, and his boss who plays from work. After a while they get tired, and stop playing, although the boss playing at work dies in the game, they don't know what happens. The next day the Boss is found dead the same way as in the game. Hutch sees a pattern after researching the deaths and tells them all to stop playing, but they don't know the game plays by itself.

Act Two: After realising whats happening Hutch and one of his friends, October, do research on the game and the Countess Elizabeth Bathory. They find out she used to kill girls to bath in their blood, and she smashes any mirrors near her because she can't stand to see herself grow old. The way to kill her is to hammer 3 nails into her forehead, throat and chest. During their time of researching, Octobers brother, Phineas, dies. She's devastated because he is the only person she's got. They go to Loomis' house to find where he got the game from, whilst they're here, October dies. The audience finds out that Hutch is scared of fire, this is a key point in the ending. The police think they Hutch has something to do with how his friends have died and obviously doesn't believe him so one officer plays the game. He dies also.

Act Three: They find the house where the game was set and tried to figure out who made it. After exploring they find the tower where the Countess was locked up in. Hutch and the two others see the little girls from the game trying to kill them, after running Hutch is left by himself and find the room where the Countess is laying. he gets 3 nails and drives them into her forehead, throat and chest in the hope to kill her properly, but she becomes alive and tries to kill him. In a panic he remembers the thing said about the mirrors and uses the laptop as a mirror, she becomes weak looking at herself. Hutch takes the opportunity to set the room on fire, but bringing back his fear he cant' get out. luckily Abigail and Swink save him. The end of the film shows the game being sold in game shops, and the opening of the game playing on the TVs.

Amityville Horror (2005):

Act one: Shows us that the film is based on the book by Jay Anson, which is based on the true story of Ronald DeFeo who shot and killed 6 members of his family in their home in 1974. The Lutz family decide to buy the house, with the question of why was it so cheap for such a big house. The sales lady says about the murder, but thatw it was forgotten about. The Lutz decided to buy the house saying 'Houses don't kill people, People kill people'. Kathy Lutz has 3 children from a previous marriage, Billy, Michael and Chelsea and married George Lutz. As soon as they move into the house, they each have weird paranormal experiences. 

Act two: More experiences happen to the Lutz' and George starts hearing voices and seeing signs saying 'KATCH EM, KILL EM!' this is supposedly what happened to Ronald DeFeo and that it is the house saying this to him. Chelsea becomes friends with Jodie DeFeo who was a little girl that got killed in the house, but she tells Chelsea not to say anything. The Lutz children get a babysitter one night who used to babysit for the DeFeo children. She gets creeped out in the house and gets locked in a cupboard with Jodie, the babysitter goes into shock saying 'She should be dead!' Kathy seeks help from the local priest, who knew the DeFeos and urges her to leave the house immediately. Kathy mentions a teddy bear that she found that belonged to Jodie, the priest seemed spooked and told her that Jodie DeFeo was buried with that doll.

Act three: George becomes worse and more violent towards the family and stars seeing things in the basement such as a torture chamber. Kathy tries to flee the house with the children but George stops them and tries to kill them. Billy, the eldest, hits him over the head and knocks him out. They all help with carrying him the their boat and they set off. George regains conciseness but doesn't remember anything that happened to them. The final scene shows Jodie at the bottom of the stairs crying, then she disappears being swallowed up by the floor, leaving behind her beloved teddy.

Compare 3 Horror Films...

As part of my research I looked into 3 opening sequences of horror films and compared them to one another.
The first film is called Possession, this is a fairly recent film that has been brought out on DVD. The beginning shows a sort of back story behind the film. Although it doesn't tell is much about the time and place or who the woman is, we can gather that the lady was possessed by the box in her house. She does not open it but we can clearly see was trying to destroy it, but it had hold of her. Not long after, she dies and the opening credits appear.
The second horror film I looked at was called Grave Encounters, unlike Possession, this film is more of a documentary type film. The opening shows a group of ghost hunters setting up cameras and technical paranormal activity equipment in an old psychiatric hospital, it shows them finding where its most haunted and where most paranormal activities occur. Its filmed through the perspective on the TV show camera and also through on of the team members hand held camera. This doesn't tell any kind of story or back story like Possession does.
The last film I looked at was called Stay Alive, this film is what I have previously looked at in the 3 Act Structure. Compared to the other two films, this one is more like Possession, this sets up the story. Although its not a back story or what has/had previously happened. This starts with a man playing a new game he has got. Then we see he has died in this game, we see that he was pushed off a banister and hung. After playing and dying, he calls his friend. Then later on, he dies the same way he was seen in the game. As an audience we can connect these two together, but it only sets up the basics of the film, and we only briefly meet the main character.
All 3 films are very different with how they set up the film and whether or not they add the backstory first. The two that are similar are Possession and Stay Alive  in the way that they are filmed and the way they portray the film. Grave Encounters is different because of the style it was filmed in and that there was no backstory or leading story.

Distribution Research...

Distributor:

   

   We researched horror film on IMDB and who is the distributor for the majority of the horror films.

We found out that Lionsgate was the main distributor for a vast majority of horror films.

Lionsgate made a 9 movie deal with Twisted pictures. Twisted pictures made the movies of Saw. This deal would be good to make horror films because of the reputation for making the saw films. Twisted pictures have also made a few more films, sticking specifically to the horror genre, although they are not the distributors.
I think lionsgate are a good company to be distributors for our film because they have a reputation for horror films. A more recent film of theirs is The Cabin In The Woods, this is quite a well known and popular film and Lionsgate are the distributors.

Marketability Research...

What would be the marketing strategy for your film?

Marketing:

  Our research suggested that people most likely hear about a film and want to watch the film by seeing the trailers, for example, on the TV people may see it on a show or the adverts, if they go to the cinema often they would most likely see the trailers before a film starts.
An audience could be reached by bringing out posters, they could be in magazines or on billboards. Posters are a good way to market a film because its cheap and it could be easy to make it stand out and eye catching.
Social media websites are a good way to advertise films. They would mostly be advertised to an audience of teenagers as they are the people who most likely use the websites. Facebook and Twitter are good social media sites to use as you can make pages and profiles that include information on the film, as well as people can share and talk about the film to attract more people.
Word of mouth is the most effective way of advertising, but this cannot be controlled by the production company and is totally dependent on the public.

   I think that our marketing strategy would be to use social networking sites as our target audience are 15-24 which is the age range of users on these websites. This would be the best way to advertise and get people talking about it. It is also the cheapest way and the most up-to-date way in terms of media and technology.
I also think that posters would be a good idea for a marketing strategy because they are bold, eye catching and can portray some detail of the film to get them interested. This way can also be good to target a specific audience.

Audience Research...

Audience research: 

   We looked into which age range/audience are more likely to watch a horror film like the one we have decided to do. We worked out that the target audience for horror films are more likely to be 15-24 year olds.  We also looked into the age group that are more likely to watch films at the cinema, this would be 16-34 year olds.

Below is a 'Prezi' presentation on our information of audiences that we researched...