Makeup Ideas

Makeup Ideas

When deciding on the makeup we wanted to use, we couldn't really come up with ideas by ourselves therefore we decided to use the internet to aid us in deciding what looks we wanted to go with for both of our characters.

As I play the villain, I started to look for makeup looks that were related to horror as 
1) That was the genre of film we were creating.
2) Those types of looks are very prominent and the audience can easily identify.

Below is the picture I used as inspiration for my look:

Laura plays the main character so initially, we decided she does not require any special makeup as she plays her everyday self. However during one of the later scenes, we decided that she would have bruises and fake blood over her therefore we needed to plan out how she would look. Laura's makeup was quite easy to create therefore we did not use the internet for inspiration for her.

Final Filming - Progress

Here is on set of the final filming day and then what we are going to do from this point onwards.

Stereotypical Characters in Horror Films

Example of a Completed Questionnaire

An Example of a Completed Questionnaire

This is a completed version of our questionnaire.

Opening Title Analysis - The Woman in Black

Opening Title Analysis - The Woman in Black

At first all you see is an extreme close up on some toy dolls that are being played with what appears to be little girls. This is also paired with some really eerie music that gives it that creepy edge.Then the camera switches to a long shot that lasts for 5 seconds, giving us a glimpse of three young girls sitting together on the floor in a bedroom. The shot is then quickly changed back to an extreme close up of the dolls again.

The camera then switches to a close up of two of the girls who seem to be smiling towards the third girl which then cues the camera to switch to a close up of the third girl. Suddenly the camera goes back to a long shot however this time the angle is coming from towards the door and as this happens, all three girls turn towards that angle. They hold the stare for about 5 seconds and it looks like they're listening to someone but then they all turn their heads towards their left.

The camera then switches to a zooming in shot of the window, making it the point of interest for this shot and also giving the audience an idea of what is about to happen.

All three girls rise off the floor together and then the camera shows an extreme close up of one of the girl's hands dropping one of the toy cups. Then as they walk the editing cut pace speeds a little bit and shows extreme closeups of the girls treading on the teapot, breaking it and on one of the dolls heads, breaking it and there is some faint diegetic sound that links with that.

The camera then shows a mid shot of all three girls walking towards the camera (also the window). This shot enables the audience to see the blank facial expressions on the girls therefore making the audience nervous.

The girls simultaneously open the three windows and step onto the ledge. As they step onto the ledge the non diegetic sound is faded out and as they jump a louder, harsher sound is played, making the audience feel scared. The non diegetic sound is then faded out for half a second before you hear the non diegetic screaming of what audience members can assume is their mum. As you hear the scream, the camera quickly cuts to an extreme close up shot of the doll that was broken however it is now back together......

We then see a long shot of the bedroom and as the camera is zooming out, you can see a glimpse of a women whose head is covered by a black veil in the right side of the shot.

This opening sequence obviously holds an important event which instantly gains the viewers attention and makes them want to watch on.

Main Task - Name Vote

We have thought about several different names for our main task. We narrowed the choices down to 4 that were completely unrelated to each other however were still fitting for our film and genre. We gave out our names for our film to people that fit our target audience and asked them which title they preferred. The names given were "What Fresh Hell?", "Blood Hungry", "Cold Comfort" and "No Way Out". We found that "No Way Out" was the most popular title and although "What Fresh Hell?" was a close second, we decided to choose "No Way Out" as we thought it was more fitting for our film. In total we asked 34 people and these people varied in age as we had 17 females aged 15-24 and 17 males aged 24-30. 

Initial Title Design Ideas

After we acquired people's various opinions on what title name we should go for, we instantly went about how the title should look. We knew that for one of the designs we wanted to include a padlock and chains to emphasize our title name 'NO WAY OUT'. Also we wanted to keep the colours very dark/ monochromatic however we did add in some colour here and there just to see if seeing it on paper would change our minds. We tried out various fonts to see what kind of effects we could create and overall we are very happy with the outcome.

Now we will conduct another vote to see which title the potential viewers like the best and we will take their opinion into consideration when choosing our final design.

The Data We Hope To Get From The Questionnaire

What We Hope To Get From The Questionnaire

From the questionnaire we hope to get a better understanding of what films people prefer the most, how they consume them, what they expect, what age certificate is most popular, among other things. We hope this will help us narrow down our options and come closer to a decision on what genre we will create. We also hope to get a rough age range of who we should target a movie towards. All of this information will help us create our main task.

Cinematography - Camera Shots

Cinematography - Camera Shots

Aerial Shot - This shot is filmed from the air and is often used to establish a location.

Establishing Shot - This shot is at the head of the scene and establishes the location the action is set on, whilst also setting the tone of the scenes to come. It usually follows directly after an aerial shot in the opening of films and is beloved by TV directors.

Close Up - This shot is usually framed from above the shoulders and keeps only the actor’s face in full frame, capturing even the smallest facial variations. As it eliminates any surrounding elements that may be relevant to the scene’s narrative, it’s really up to the actor’s skill and focus to shape the story.

Extreme Close Up - This shot is traditionally used in films and focuses on a small part of the actor’s face or body, like a twitching eye or the licking of lips in order to convey intense and intimate emotions. This unnaturally close view is used sparingly as the multiplication of the subtlest movements or details need to be justified in the dramatization and boldness of that particular scene.

Medium Shot - Also referred to as a ‘semi-close shot’ or ‘mid-shot’, this generally shoots the actor(s) from the waist up and is typically used in dialogue scenes. It aims to capture subtle facial expressions combined with their body language or surrounding environment that may be necessary to provide context.

Dolly Zoom - This shot sees the camera track forward from the actor whilst simultaneously zooming out, or vice-versa. So the foreground generally stays the same while the background increases or decreases across the frame.

Over The Shoulder - This is where the camera is positioned behind a subject’s shoulder and is usually used for filming conversations between two actors. This popular method helps the audience to really be drawn into the conversation and helps to focus in on one speaker at a time. Seeing as the non-speaking actor is seen only from behind, it’s common for major production sets to substitute actors with stand-ins or doubles for these shots.

Low Angle Shot - This shot films from a lower point and shoots up at a character or subject, making them appear larger so as to convey them as heroic, dominant or intimidating. It’s also another way of making cities look empty.

High Angle Shot - In contrast with the low angle shot, this one films from a higher point and looks down on the character or subject, often isolating them in the frame. Basically the direct opposite of the low angle, it aims to portray the subject as submissive, inferior or weak in some way.

Two Shot - This is a medium shot that shows two characters within the frame. Pretty straight-forward but can be pivotal in establishing relationships between the characters.

Wide (Long) Shot - This shot normally frames the subject from the top of their head to their feet whilst capturing their environment. It’s typically used to establish the setting of the particular scene – so similar to the establishing shot, but focused more on characters and actors and the contextual relationship with their surroundings.

Master Shot - Often confused with the establishing shot, this too, identifies key signifiers like who is in the shot and where it’s taking place. However, unlike the establishing shot that has a tendency to focus more on location, the master captures all actors in the scene and runs the entire length of the action taking place. This allows for other smaller shots like close-ups or mid-shots to then be interwoven into the master, showcasing different angles of the same scene. It’s usually the first scene to be filmed so by choosing a physical action that can be easily repeated throughout multiple takes can ensure the actor gets major brownie points from the director.

Cinematography - Camera Movement

Film Title Ideas

Main Task - Film Title Ideas

Below is an example of some of the preliminary sketches we have created for our film title's design. We conducted a vote on which name we should use and 'NO WAY OUT' was the clear winner so all we had to decide was the style and look we wanted to go for.

As we are not certain of the colour schemes we want, we are going to photocopy these initial sketches so that we can play around with colours and designs until we find the style we are after.

Location Vlog

Main Task - Location Vlog

Location Photos

Main Task - Location Photos

As a group, we decided that we wanted to go to several different locations and see what one would be most appropriate and accessible to film. We decided to go to different locations where a forest or wood is present. We done this because as we are doing a Horror genre film, we want to make it look as eerie as possible and a lot of previous successful Horror films have been set in the woods.

We found a place that we thought would be amazing to film in as it looked a bit run down and had a very rusty gate near by that we thought looked really out of place and                                                                                      appropriate for a horror film. However we                                                                                  found that it was attached to somebodies                                                                                  back garden and decided to look for different                                                                            places as filming there without permission                                                                                would be trespassing.

Main Task Inspiration

Main Task Inspiration

Types of Sound

Types of Sound

Diegetic Sound

• The sound that comes from the scene
• E.g. talking, noise of cars, the wind, music from a radio etc
• An example would be the 'Psycho' shower scene, where the only sound heard originally is the diegetic sound of the shower. Later on the sound of the knife used to kill the woman can be heard along with the non-diegetic music.

Non-Diegetic Sound

• The sound put on a film during post-production
• Music Soundtrack
• Sound effects like a crescendo
• Examples include the Jaws theme during a shark attack and the screeching violins during the Psycho shower scene.

Crescendo

• Build up of sound or music to imply something is about to happen
• An example would be in the Godfather when the sound of a train built up until Michael Corleone shoots Soliozzo and McCluskey in the restaurant.

Diminuendo

• Where the music or sound dies down, as if a threat has gone away
• An example would be in the beginning of the episode of CSI 'Strip Strangler' when the music builds up as the camera approaches the woman and but dies down after the woman goes back to sleep and the threat is gone.

Sforzando

• A short, sharp, loud noise, often used to emphasise shock or fear
• An example would be when the door slams shut and a sforzando plays in Paranormal Activity.

Types of Lighting

Types of Editing

Film Genre Preference Table

Relationship Between Age, Gender and Genre

This table shows the film genre preferences for women and men of different ages . The genre that we are leaning towards is a Thriller. This means that, according to this table, we must make our target audience women and men aged 55+, because these are the types of people most likely to watch a thriller film.

This table enables me to look at the various genres and see what kind of people watch the different films. This means I have an idea as to who my target audience will be.

The Importance of Sound in Horror Films

The Importance of Sound in Horror Films

Sound is often overlooked in films but it is often the single most important element in setting the mood for the scene. Music has the ability to set the tone for how events will unfold. Music may progressively build to signify that a dramatic event is about to happen or it may be upbeat to lighten the mood. Horror films rely heavily in sound clips to create a scary scene. I don't necessarily think about it but if I was to remove the sound from a horror film, its fear factor would decrease dramatically.

Music plays a key role in a horror film because it immediately sets the tone. Before the actor says anything, the audience knows what their fate is going to be based on the type of music that is playing in the background. The music sets the tone but it does not give away how events are going to unfold. The music must never distract from the scene but intensify the visuals so that the viewer experiences fear and anxiety on a much deeper level. There are several musical cues that indicate to the viewer what is going to unfold in the upcoming scene. A long eerie musical buildup suggests that a big event is just around the corner. A rapid sequence might suggest stress or panic, making the audience feel anxious.

Music adds to the complete experience of a horror film because it's a way in which the director chooses to set the mood of the scene and film. By repeating sequences of musical scores, the audience associates that music with events in the film. The point of a horror film is to scare the viewer. Music is the biggest contributor to getting the viewer's adrenaline pumping because it sets the tone before any events actually occur. The viewer can feel scared before any events transpire based on how effectively and artistically the music is utilized.  

Narrative Theories - Todorov's Theory

Narrative Theories - Todorov

Todorov's narrative theory basically states that most stories or plot lines follow the same pattern or path. There are five steps in this pattern:

Equilibrium - The first part of the story will display a happy start, where the majority of characters are content and everything is as it should be. 

A Disruption - The second part of the story will feature a problem or something will disrupt the happiness.

Realisation - This part of the plot is when everyone realises the problem and it is chaos.

Restored Order - This part of the plot is when the characters attempt to repair the damage and restore the problem.

Equilibrium Again - This is the final part of the plot where the problem is resolved and normality can resume again.

Narrative Theories - Vladimir Propp

Narrative Theories - Vladimir Propp

Vladimir Propp says that characters take up the role of narrative 'spheres of action'. He identified 7 different characters necessary to make up a narrative.

The Hero
The Hero restores to narrative equilibrium and is the central character in the media text.
There are two different types of hero:

• The victim hero - the center of the villains attention
• The seeker hero - aids the villains victims

The Villain

The villain is the character that creates a disruption in the narrative equilibrium causing the hero to have to restore things

The Donor
The donor gives the hero something to aid them on their journey to restore disruption and disequilibrium, this can be physical (like a weapon) or not (like magic).

The Helper
The helper aids the hero on their journey to restore equilibrium, they are normally the sidekick and sometimes add comedic or romantic additions to the narrative.

The Princess
The princess, normally female, is normally the prime victim of the villain and has to be saved at the climax of the film. This creates damsel in distress situations seen in many narratives.

The Dispatcher
The dispatcher sends the hero on their task/journey to restore the equilibrium. Therefore they tend to be the wise voice of reason in the narrative.

The False Hero
The false hero is a character that appears to be good throughout the film however is revealed at the end of the film to be bad.

Top Horror Directors

Planning as a Group

Group Planning

The group that I will be working with is a group of 4. The group consists of Georgia, Sabrina, Laura and I. Laura and I are both in year 13 so we have witnessed our peers taking their Media A level therefore we are able to gain some inspiration from their work however Georgia and Sabrina are both in year 12 and are considering studying Media at university which means they bring the passion and the fresh ideas into the group. Both of these elements will come together so that we can produce the best work possible. We all take other A levels as well as Media so balancing our time effectively could potentially be difficult.

To begin with, we discussed the different genres that we were interested in. Then once a list was compiled, we began researching each genre to find out the codes and conventions. Through our research, we decided that the most interesting opening sequences were Horror/Thriller film openings because they contained a lot of suspense which made us want to watch more. Also the codes and conventions of a horror/thriller are very clear and therefore easy to replicate.

As Georgia and Laura take media, we have access to the Drama students so if we felt like we wanted them to act in the opening sequence, they're available. Another advantage our group has is that Sabrina takes Design Technology. This will aid us in creating an appropriate logo for our film companies and name of the film as Sabrina has experience in using the software.