BedFellows

BedFellow's is a two and a half minute short horror film.

The film begins with a woman in bed laid next to her boyfriend, the camera then pans around the bedroom showing the audience, pictures of the woman and her boyfriend together through various close ups, emphasising the idea that it is him she is in bed with. The phone then rings and it turns out it is her boyfriend who is calling, this tells the audience that it isn't him she's in bed with; asking the haunting question of: Who's laying next to her? The camera then jumps to a mid shot of the bed, revealing that the person in bed with her is a creature of some kind. The woman reaches her arm over to pull the covers back, this creates a build up of tension for the audience. Once her arm comes into contact with the covers, there is a jump scare through a close up of the creatures face.


I really enjoyed BedFellows, so much so that it has inspired me to end my film in a similar way. This is because I like the cliffhanger the film ends on and how the film plays on peoples ultimate fears of waking up and finding someone in bed next to them when they are suppose to be alone. It also takes away the sense of security that we have whilst in bed and will therefore hopefully have a lasting impression on the audience after watching the film.


I could quite easily recreate and improve upon BedFellows as I have the appropriate: Props, equipment, location, mise-en-scene, and software etc available to me.

Stay Out Of The Woods

Stay Out Of The Woods is a short horror film directed by Albert Gonzalez. The film appealed to me because it is roughly the same length as the film I have to produce and is also produced by students.

The film opens with opening credits, saying who produced, directed, wrote it etc. They use a simple black background, and the writing is white. As the credits change they use a fade effect transition. The name of the film then flashes on screen in bold and flickers like writing on an old broken TV, telling the audience that the film is a horror. I would like to use a similar effect to open my short horror film with as I think it really sets the genre.

They also use several difficult camera angles to build suspense and make the audience feel like they are the characters, the is the same experience Im trying to create in my horror. The producers used camera angles such as; POV shots to show what the subject is seeing therefore expanding on that 'in the movie feel'. Another interesting use of camera shots is the use of the high angle shots that are constantly used through out. The producers make the camera look up from a low position at the villain to emphasise that he is powerful, 'the hunter' and the girls are the weak and 'the hunted'.

A shot what is popular with in the film industry is the mid shot. I don't like this angle and Im going to try to avoid using it as I don't feel it creates any form of mood, it only shows whats happening in the film. The producers in stay out of the woods used this a lot to my annoyance where they could have used other more interesting and effective camera angles.

The film uses excellent use of sound throughout to great effect. The producers opened with a mellow saxophone playing as the credits role, setting the audience at ease and knocking them off guard for whats to come. Once the scene begins, two girls are walking peacefully through some woodlands with birds tweeting blissfully in the background. Once the girls make the decision to go into the woods; the tune changes; birds stop tweeting and an unsettling tune begins to play, indicating the girls have made a bad decision and something is about to occur.
A monotone hum plays as the girls get changed and several shots of the woods are shown, however the tune suddenly drops as the girls spot one of the villains. The girl runs over to confront the villain and he disappears, as she looks around a violin increases its frequency and volume to nearly a point that it hurts the audiences ears, this makes the audience feel physically injured by the film themselves and even more scarier. Once the killer reveals himself, a loud drum and symbol crash make the audience jump which is added to by the violin build up. The sound drops as the girl believes its her boyfriend however the sound begins to build up again, which tells the audience he isn't her boyfriend. The villain then takes a swipe at the girls with an axe and a slashing sound is heard which creates the effect that the blade is sharp and informs the audience that he's aiming to kill.

The girls are then surrounded by several killers who beat them, the beating isn't shown as as shot of the woods is used and screams are played in the background, indicating they are being injured. I want to use a scene exactly like this as my opener.

Director Analysis: Wes Craven

I decided to do a textual analysis of perhaps the most well known and best horror film directors: Wes Craven.

Craven was best known for creating the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise featuring the Freddy Krueger character, directing the first installment and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, and co-writing A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.

Craven also directed all four films in the Scream series, and co-created the Ghostface character. Some of his other films include The Hills Have Eyes, The Last House on the Left, The People Under the Stairs, Red Eye, The Serpent and the Rainbow, and Vampire in Brooklyn.

Craven's works tend to share a common exploration of the nature of reality. For instance, A Nightmare On Elm Street focused on the consequences of dreams in real life. I had a similar idea for one of my proposed films as I'm wanting to create the same effect of 'real life horror'. 

In Scream, the characters frequently reference horror films similar to their situations, and at one point Billy Loomis tells his girlfriend that life is just a big movie. This is an exceptional use of 'reverse psychology' on the audience and creates the exact effect of 'this isn't a movie, this is real life' that I'm going to try and recreate in my film. 

Cravens work tended to share a common exploration of the nature of reality. Night mare on elm street focused on the consequences of dreams in real life. In Scream the characters constantly reference other horror films that are similar to the situation they're in.
I want to do this as well as I believe true horror films leave a lasting effect on the audience and make them go home believing what they have just watched could happen to them. 

Lights Out Short Horror Film

Lights out is a short horror film that is roughly 2 minutes long. It was produced by the public and wasn't part of any major production/ distribution company therefore being made on a very little budget. It was first brought to my attention via Facebook as it was shared on my news feed. I instantly made a connection with the film and decided to do an analysis of it as I am in the exact same shoes as the people who made it, in terms of budget, actors, equipment etc.

The story starts with an establishing shot of a block of average flats, setting the scene for the audience. This also enlightens me on the fact that the producers haven't gone to any extravagant locations to film, they've literally used their own living space.

Next we see a mid-shot of the actress coming out of what appears to be the bathroom and walking along the hallway to the light switch. The mine-en-scene is her dressed in ordinary female bed wear and what you would expect to see in your average flat, i.e a coat stand.

As the actress turns on the light, that is when we first see the appearance of the 'villain' in the dark at the end of the hallway. We see no details, such as the face, gender, clothing, or figure of said villain, just a silhouette in the dark. This is the exact same effect Im trying to achieve as it 'plays on peoples everyday fears'. It will also make the viewer jump at the same time, but not in the incredibly dull way jump scares do as in the paranormal activity films. This also stays with the audience and leaves a lasting impression with them when they get home. Oddly, theres also no music played throughout the film, amazingly this actually adds to the suspense even more as it kinda makes the viewer feel like they're actually there in the film!

Im considering using this similar effect in my film as I think it gives the film a unique twist and creates a more realistic feel for the audience.

We then see the actress turn the light on, to find the figure gone, she turns it off to see it return, this happens a few times. The camera angle is that of an over the shoulder shot, giving the impression that we are stood behind her, this camera angle also doesn't change throughout the 'light on, light off'. This creates the effect of being frozen in place and unable to take your eyes off the hallway. Id like to use this effect to in my short horror film as it creates the 'as if you're actually in the film' feel Im aiming to create.

On the fifth time she turns the light off, the creature appears in a different but closer spot, making the audience jump again but not as a cheesy jump scare.

We then see the horror in the actresses face via mean of a close up camera shot. Out of fear she tapes the light switch shut to leave the light on as she sleeps, this also plays on peoples fears, especially kids as they leave the light on as they are afraid of the dark.

Film Director Case Study

I decided to do a case study on the director of one of my favourite films: Insidious directed by James Wann.



He has also worked on several other of my favourite and well known horrors such as: Saw, The Conjuring and even action films such as Furious 7.

Saw was famous for its use of gore and special effects, however in Insidious, he wanted to get away from that and sought total creative control so Wann produced the movie independently. Wann stated he wanted to create a film that used restraint and silence to create horror film. He got the idea off other films such as the Sixth Sense and The Others. Im a big fan of this as well, as I believe they make horror films far more enjoyable than the expected jump scare. In my opinion these type of films also have more of a story to them than films such as paranormal activity. Wann was also the creator of Billy The Puppet our of Saw. This has also inspired me to create and use props of my own.

The idea of having a real life story for my short film also sparks an idea for creating a type of documentary. Also, Wann has been basing his work on real life stories recently; this has also inspired me to base my film on local real life stories and furthers ideas for a documentary. There are lots of local legends around the Derbyshire which I could use as a concept or base the entire short film on.


One of Wanns biggest regrets is his film Dead Silence. He was forced to create and direct this film as a back up before Saw was released in case Saw was a flop. Wann said that he was out of ideas and was so stressed that it caused him to start smoking. Whilst I think that making a back up film is a good idea, Id much rather just film extra scenes then try mixing and matching to see what works best.

Children Of The Revolution -Textual Analysis

Children Of The Revolution was wrote by T.REX in 1972 and was the No. 2 selling song of the year.

The song is wrote in the genre of Glam Rock.

The music video itself reflects the conventions of glam rock, as the artists themselves are wearing glamorous and quite eccentric attire, even by todays standards. They're also wearing make up and have long curly hair. This backs up chandlers theory that particular genres will be based on the particular notions that they constitute; Glam rock having a glamorous music video.

Buckingham stated that genre is not so much given by the culture, but it is under constant negotiation and change. At the time this music video was produced, dressing in female clothing and wearing make up would have been outrageous, however in todays society that is perfectly acceptable.

Neale stated that genres are instance of repetition and differences, and mere repetitions would not attract audiences. This backs up the idea of controversy in music videos as some people believe that artists purposely aim for social outcry to gain themselves and the video more attention: such as Robin Thicke with his recent controversial 'Blurred Lines' music video.

This takes me back to the idea of cross dressing in the music video, we see through various camera angles: close ups of the eyeliner the artists are wearing, therefore implying that they want the make up to be seen. We also see through mid shots that all of the band are wearing eccentric clothing, once again reinforcing the idea that they are wanting the audience to see what they are doing and aiming for a reaction.

Textual Analysis: Rhymes by Hannah Wants and Chris Lorenzo

For this textual analysis, I have decided to do a more modern techno song from 2014. The song is Rhymes by Hannah Wants and Chris Lorenzo.



The song, despite being modern has a quite retro filter over it to create the idea that it is being shot in the 1970 era. Through the mise-en-scene we see many old items such as Tv's with huge circular aerials on the backs. The actors are also dressed in clothing that was worn during that time period as the female is seen to be wearing a white turtle neck jumper, an icon of the late Steve Jobs, who at that time was also launching Apple. The thumbnail for the music video is also a female holding what looks like an old glass bottle, in the era its set, bottles were mostly used instead of cans and plastic bottles. The exceptional use of mine-en-scene is highlighted through several close up of the items such as VCRs and out dated cookers, this quickly communicates the time and context of which the song is set.
We also see an over the shoulder shot used showing the setting of a room and showing the viewer the haircuts of that time.

There is only one verse of the song which is repeated throughout, the actors don't sing the song except from one line each where there is a close up of the actors mouths.

The video has also been edited well, as it is made of various different short, few second long clips which match the sound and beat of the song. The clips all have the same filter placed over them which makes the video feel more continuous and as if they have all been shot by the same camera;  even where they obviously haven't such as in the clip where a nuclear device has been detonated, the producers won't have been able to actually detonate a nuclear warhead, however, they have made use of this by placing the filer over an already shot clip.

1 Minute Music Video

For my second 1 minute music clip, I have decided to choose "London Calling".

 

London Calling by The Clash is one of my favourite songs and I have lots of different ideas for the music video.

I have lots of ideas and for the shoot, the best and perhaps most effective one is to go and video all the iconic landmarks in London and base the narrative on just a day out in the capital.

Once again, I am working on my own for this. This will make it easier for me as other people aren't willing or don't want to travel because of the costs involved. However, I am more than happy to go that extra length to create a good video. 

Happy Textual Analysis

Happy Textual Analysis:



'Happy' is a 4 minute long song, written, produced and performed by American singer Pharell Williams.

The song was released in 2013 as part of the soundtrack for the children's animation movie: Despicable Me 2.

Hundreds of different camera angles are used throughout the music video of lots of different people lip syncing and dancing to the song across America. They mainly focus of a mid shot to show the mise-en-scene.

There was also a 24 hour long Happy-thon which consisted of people all over the world dancing to Happy. This was all broadcasted live online for users to watch.  Happy Fans across the globe then began producing their own music videos and calling them 'Happy from...' then posting wherever they shot the video. This was done and uploaded to YouTube across the globe, all the way from Sydney to London.
This is a perfect example of Gauntlett's media 2.0 theory which states that users will generate their own content to upload and share online. Even though Pharell and companies perhaps won't be making any money from these and it does infringe on copyright, their product is getting broadcast to a mass audience on a global scale.

The reception theory states that audiences will interpret the text individually, all based on their own cultural and ethnic backgrounds. For instance in Iran, a group of young people who tried to recreate their own version of Happy were sentenced to jail and public flogging for breaking freedom of expression. In Iran, the country is strictly religious and governed on Islamic law. This is an extreme and saddening example of reception theory as those brought up under Islamic rule believe that 'Happiness' can only come from Allah and idolising western influences is wrong.

Textual Analysis: I Want To Break Free by Queen

Textual Analysis
For my textual analysis of a song which was made before 1998; I decided to analyse one of my favourite songs and music videos: I Want To Break Free, by Queen.




I Want To Break Free was a highly controversial music video in 1984 as it consisted of all male members of Queen dressed as women. It was banned on MTV in America which caused Freddie Mercury the lead vocalist to refuse to tour America again. However, in the UK and rest of the world, the video and song were hit successes being used as a fight against oppression.

The video was also a parody of Hit UK Soap Opera: Coronation Street as all the members were suppose to represent a character from the TV show.

The second part of the video then takes place dancing with the Royal Ballet as Freddie Mercury had an ambition to bring 'ballet to the masses'.  Back in the Coronation Street house Freddie two-steps from the kitchen to the living room, Freddie added this in as improvisation in the hope that someone would notice.

The dancing part of the video was choreographed by Wayne Eagling, however despite being a born performer, Freddie didn't like any choreographed act himself so he was mostly picked up and moved around during the ballet part of the video. Wayne organised the rehearsals with the Royal Ballet in secret from his superiors; something which got him into trouble later when discovered.

In April 1984 it was in the top 3 in the United Kingdom whereas it only reached a maximum of 45th in North America.


Various different camera angles were used throughout:


The scene starts off with a birds eye view of council houses in Manchester to set the scene that the video is taking place in the 'Coronation Street' setting. There's then a close up of Brian Mays face which shows the hair curlers and highlights the fact that he is dressed as a woman. This is then followed by a close up of his pink,feminine bunny slippers. There is also a mid shot of the hoover which is being used by an unseen body, making the audience wait in anticipation to see who is going to come on scene and want to see what they are dressed as.


There were also various methods of editing used throughout: an example of this would be when Freddie opens the door to under the stair and it leads onto the next part of the music video instead of a closet as would be expected. I found this to be a very effective transition and use of continuity as it could symbol 'breaking free' from being trapped inside the closet. This could also be a hidden meaning for Mercurys' true sexuality as he was homo/ bisexual.