This is my original screenplay what I wrote before my actors dropped out. It would be too hard for me to carry on with this narrative as I need younger actors.
https://drive.google.com/drive/my-drive
Thursday, 14 January 2016
Wednesday, 13 January 2016
Thursday, 7 January 2016
Practice Promotion Poster
I decided to use a 'Trattatello' font which looks quite ghoulish as my film is a slasher. Ive also used red for the colour to represent blood.
The name of the film is 'Who's there?'. I decided on this as I thought I could make a play on words and it would work hand in hand with the tag line 'knock, knock'. From the popular 'Knock knock, who's there jokes'. This would create a sense of irony as the film is a horror not a comedy.
Ive also used them in reverse as normally the 'knock, knock' comes first in the jokes however, Im using it second to create a reverse psychology effect which Im also going to try and do throughout the rest of the film.
'Who's there?' and 'knock knock' also work well for my film as its about a girl being stalked and the rhetorical question 'who's there' implies we dont know.
Tuesday, 5 January 2016
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.
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.
Sunday, 3 January 2016
Film Tagline
The tagline for my short horror film is still a work in progress however so far I think I'm going with 'Knock, Knock' as my film name is 'Who's there?'. I decided on this as both phrases fit together from the joke 'Knock, knock; who's there?' but I'm going to be using them in reverse, so its almost a play on words. The tagline is also fitting to the narrative of the film as its a story about a woman who's terrorised in her own home by an unknown entity.
I decided to research into some of the most iconic and well known horror films to see what their tag lines are see if I can get any inspiration:
Nightmare On Elm Street- Sleep Kills: like my own, the headlines go hand in hand with the name of the film being 'Nightmare' and the tag line 'sleep kills'.
Halloween- The night HE came home!- The emphasis on 'he' creates a feeling of mysterious and highlights to the audience that 'he' is a force to be reckoned with and fear, contrastingly the tag line also has 'home' in it which should create the feeling of comfortability however the producers have used it to create the effect of insecurity and fear.
Paranormal Activity- What happens when you sleep?- The producers of paranormal activity used a rhetorical question to implant doubt and fear into the audiences mind, by asking 'What happens when you sleep?'. This goes hand in hand with the name of the film 'paranormal activity'. The name of the film is made out to be the answer to the question. This realisation will create a lasting psychological effect for the audience as when they go to sleep they will be thinking paranormal activity is taking place within their own home.
Insidious- It will take what you love most- The tag line begins with the word 'it' which implies that 'it' is some form of creature/ villain. The rest of the tag line is quite stereotypical of a horror film and is kinda boring as it has no effect on the audience. This is the type of tag line I'm trying to avoid.
I decided to research into some of the most iconic and well known horror films to see what their tag lines are see if I can get any inspiration:
Nightmare On Elm Street- Sleep Kills: like my own, the headlines go hand in hand with the name of the film being 'Nightmare' and the tag line 'sleep kills'.
Halloween- The night HE came home!- The emphasis on 'he' creates a feeling of mysterious and highlights to the audience that 'he' is a force to be reckoned with and fear, contrastingly the tag line also has 'home' in it which should create the feeling of comfortability however the producers have used it to create the effect of insecurity and fear.
Paranormal Activity- What happens when you sleep?- The producers of paranormal activity used a rhetorical question to implant doubt and fear into the audiences mind, by asking 'What happens when you sleep?'. This goes hand in hand with the name of the film 'paranormal activity'. The name of the film is made out to be the answer to the question. This realisation will create a lasting psychological effect for the audience as when they go to sleep they will be thinking paranormal activity is taking place within their own home.
Insidious- It will take what you love most- The tag line begins with the word 'it' which implies that 'it' is some form of creature/ villain. The rest of the tag line is quite stereotypical of a horror film and is kinda boring as it has no effect on the audience. This is the type of tag line I'm trying to avoid.
Saturday, 2 January 2016
Characters In My Original Narrative
My film only consists of two people: The Victim and The Villain. Ive decided to keep a relatively small cast as this will make filming a lot easier. By not having as many people, I won't have to organise and plan filming timetables as much. It will also make storyboarding and screenplay easier as I won't have to take into account for too many parts to be played. This will allow me to develop and focus on the two characters better and tell their story in greater detail. If I had too many characters, I wouldn't be able to tell as good a story because its a short film and I don't have that much time for character development.
The Victim: The Victim shall be played by and will be a typical teenage sixth form girl. I decided that by casting an actual student to play the part will make performance better because as it will be just acting out her everyday life. It will also save money on props such as school bags, books etc as she will already have them, therefore resulting in a realistic miss-en-scene. This will make finding a film location easier as I wish to begin the film in our school/ on the school grounds, The Victim will begin the film by walking out of school on her way home. I will use POV and over the shoulder shots to create the feeling that the audience is in the film effect. As she gets further home, I will also shoot in areas where there isn't that much light to imply to the audience that the narrative 'is getting darker'. As she gets closer home, she will become increasingly aware that she is being followed. I will convey this to the audience via close up shots which will also highlight the fear on her face. The film will end in her house and ultimately her death.
The Villain: The Villain will appear very little in the beginning and build up of the film, and the audience won't see the Villain as Im going to blur him out to create the effect of confusion and mystery.
The Victim: The Victim shall be played by and will be a typical teenage sixth form girl. I decided that by casting an actual student to play the part will make performance better because as it will be just acting out her everyday life. It will also save money on props such as school bags, books etc as she will already have them, therefore resulting in a realistic miss-en-scene. This will make finding a film location easier as I wish to begin the film in our school/ on the school grounds, The Victim will begin the film by walking out of school on her way home. I will use POV and over the shoulder shots to create the feeling that the audience is in the film effect. As she gets further home, I will also shoot in areas where there isn't that much light to imply to the audience that the narrative 'is getting darker'. As she gets closer home, she will become increasingly aware that she is being followed. I will convey this to the audience via close up shots which will also highlight the fear on her face. The film will end in her house and ultimately her death.
The Villain: The Villain will appear very little in the beginning and build up of the film, and the audience won't see the Villain as Im going to blur him out to create the effect of confusion and mystery.
Film Regulations And Certifications
My film will likely be rated 12 on the BBCFC rating scale as there is no/ little violence or gore used that may upset the viewer, there will only be the use of suspense and psychological effects that will create the emotion of fear within the viewer. Im also using no drugs, sexual, or graphical scenes. There will be the presence of a knife being used as a prop however it won't be used to inflict harm upon anyone.
There may be slight gore used towards the end when the victim is killed, however as mentioned previously this will not be shown to the viewer.
Also, with my film being a short film it means it will be produced on a very little budget so there wont be any exotic props used that would create to much fear for the audience. Short films tend to have nice audiences and will only be shown at specific short film festivals where this audience gathers. An alternative way of them being viewed is through online viewing platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo. Subsequently, this makes them very hard to regulate who watches them, to counteract this I may be able to place age restrictions on the video prior to being viewed and when this isn't possible; display the age rating certificate before the film begins,.
There may be slight gore used towards the end when the victim is killed, however as mentioned previously this will not be shown to the viewer.
Also, with my film being a short film it means it will be produced on a very little budget so there wont be any exotic props used that would create to much fear for the audience. Short films tend to have nice audiences and will only be shown at specific short film festivals where this audience gathers. An alternative way of them being viewed is through online viewing platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo. Subsequently, this makes them very hard to regulate who watches them, to counteract this I may be able to place age restrictions on the video prior to being viewed and when this isn't possible; display the age rating certificate before the film begins,.
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