Camera shots

We practiced taking shots that we plan on using in the actual trailer. From filming we have discovered that we may have to make some slight changed to  some shots in order to make them more practical and easier to shoot.

Skills developement: Filming

We have been practicing different shots using the camera with out no tripod, as a group we have filmed a range of  shots of which is currently being edited for practice in preparation for our actual teaser trailer. During the practice session we discovered new ideas and have since discussed how we plan on filming some of are shots.

So far we have learned how important the rule of thirds is to filming and what effects it can create if you use it properly.

Experimenting with makeup effects (Nhung Pham)

As part of our project we learned how to use some special effects makeup to enhance the characters cuts and wounds. For this experiment we used some Ben Nye - Fresh Scab, a bruising wheel and face paint. I found that the fresh scab substance is very useful and reliable as it create a realistic wound and it is not messy or runny. The appliance for the fresh scab is remarkably simple, we first apply a black paint with a brush in the shape of the wound you want it to be then we use the fresh scab substance on top of it, molding it into the shape you desire. To make it more as though it is an old scab we can use the bruising wheel before or after the appliance of the fresh scab around the wound.

This is the how the wound looks like after applying the special effects makeup, as you can see it looks natural and realistic. Therefore we will be using these products in order to create a horrifying look for our antagonist as it is easy to apply and it would not take up a lot of our time when it comes to making our trailer.

Props (Nhung Pham)

At some stage in our trailer there will be victims who are kidnapped and tied up and kept as hostage by the antagonist. As a group we tried out different ways to how the victims will be tied and how they are going to be placed. We used a rope as a prop for our idea and thought of how we could tie them to make them look like they’re in danger and in pain. We took a few people from our class and from our group to be victims to work out how we was going to make this happen and practiced using them. 

We decided to place the victims as hostage on the floor as it makes them look vulnerable and powerless therefore empowering the antagonist in this scene. They will be put in a dark room in a spot light using a KAILITE digital LED video light overhead.  

As our trailer is set in a college because the students are doing a horror project we have an idea to use cable ties to replace the ropes as they are stronger and more likely to be obtained in a college. Cable ties are usually used by police and security guards to restrain criminals and are difficult to escape from.

  

Here is a video clip demonstrated by a policeman on how to use a cable tie and how useful it is:  

 

Treatment

Wrong Project

Tempa Productions

  Genres: Horror

 Sub Genre: Slasher

 Length: 40 seconds

 Format: Teaser Trailer

 Synopsis: we have concept for a original horror trailer. It follows a group of teenagers who are given a project to work on  by their media teacher. The project involves them filming a horror trailer of their own, but through out the filming process members of the project begin to disappear  until only one person remains. Each crew member is kidnapped in a unique way which is revealed through the trailer. 

Intended Audience: The teaser trailer is aimed at a teenage audience. It will appeal to them as they would be able to relate to the young actors playing the roles. Slasher horrors usually appeal to teenagers more then others , for example the scream series of films has a large teenage audience because it contains an element of realism.

What do we intend to do? We intend on creating a teaser trailer that will appeal to a teenage audience, the teaser trailer will be short and to the point and create atmosphere of suspense and fear.


How will we do it ? In order to create suspense and fear, we have agreed on making all shots very short and precise, this alongside snappy transitions and cuts accompanied by fast tempo background music will leave the audience excited to see what happens next. To keep suspense levels high we have decided not to reveal the features of the villain until the end of the teaser trailer and all acts of killing with the trailer are implied , so the audience never actually gets to see the violence occur.


Why is it worth doing? It will be worth doing because it is a unique concept which the target audience can relate to, also the shots used are very unique and wont be seen elsewhere.We have also done research into special effects and make up to ensure when the villain is actually revealed he looks as scary as possible to scare the audience.

The BBFC (Nhung Pham)

On the 9th of November 2011 Mrs Heidi Renton who is a BBFC inspector came in to have a 1hr 30min lecture about the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification). The BBFC is not a QUANGO, they are independent and have classified cinema films, since 1912 and video/DVDs, video games since 1984.

I found the talk very useful as she explained in details about what shouldn't and should be in a trailer or movie. She also spoke about the history of the BBFC, age classification and what the difference in between them which people may find confusing such as 'U' and 'PG'. During this lecture she showed different examples of clips from films and questioned what age would it be classified as and why. 

An example of clip she showed was from 'The Simpsons Movie' where there was nudity (of a ten year old boy), children smoking, sex references and violence but because it was in a form of cartoon, known quantity and a comic it was ultimately passed at 'PG'. Therefore this movie may not have some scenes that is suitable for children but as it is classified as 'PG' they should be accompanied by an adult.

Compared to cinema films in the 1912 the BBFC censored many scenes which cannot be shown. T.P O'connor's 'Forty-Three Grounds for Deletion' contained 'Men and woman in bed together', 'Drunken scenes', 'Premeditated seduction of girls' and 'References to controversial politics' as you can tell by the wording of the rules it was set a very long time ago. However time have changed since then, the overriding principles now are that works should reach the widest audience and that adults should be free to chose their own entertainment. Therefore if an adult decide they want to watch or don't want to watch a film they should not be limited in their choices. Decisions are based on published and regularly updated guidelines.

The most recent report on trailers are seen on the BBFC website http://www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/guidelines/legal-considerations/

 

music sample 2

                                               another very eerie song to take examples from

sample music 1

to create an atmosphere at the start of the movie, we should create something similar to the xylophone at the start of this track 

Special Effects Equiptments (Nhung Pham)

Wounds, bruises, scars and prosthetic are required for realistic effects. I was browsing through a site called www.screenface.co.uk which sells special effect makeup and equipments which is essential for our antagonist and victims.

This is a bruising wheel color palette which also comes in different forms of color for different effects such as death and monster however we are aiming for a bruising effect for both the victim and antagonist.

This product is to create fresh scab. It is an authentic brownish blood tint for older drier blood clotting effects which is useful for our antagonist as we want him to look tortured and frightening. 

Soft putty is an easily modeled soft wax for alteration of characteristic facial forms which will be used to create scars and wounds on the antagonist. It is easily applied on by placing it on the skin and shaping it there using our fingers to smooth out the surface of the wax which we then put translucent powder over it. We are then able to apply makeup as required.

Because this is a teaser trailer we don't want all the characters to be over the top with too much graphic details because the trailer will be shown on TV to everyone therefore we don't want to put off the audience with too much blood or gory effects. 

Killer ideas 2 (Nhung Pham)

This image was found through Google of a young woman with one eye missing. This gives a scary effect as a part of the face is missing therefore may show that the character has a background or past story.
By achieving this look we found a site that produces fake latex that may be useful for our horror trailer. We browsed through a site called www.Mostlydead.com and found a prosthetic eye that can create something similar to this image.

This is the prosthetic we found through the site to create the missing eye -
This is a safe way to apply latex scars and wounds over the eye however it does restrict the sight to the actor.

Music videos.

As well as horror trailers as a group we looked at music videos that have tried to incorporate features of horror into the narrative of their video. One of the videos we looked at was from a artist called Krept. His named his tracked after popular horror film  "Paranormal activity". This video in particular was very interesting  due to the use of  props and make up.

By Tyler Mason

The process of learning to edit.

As we are all  new to editing using final cut pro ,we looked on youtube to learn the basics, one of the first things I looked at was colour grading, as it is essential to our teaser trailer. The tutorial was very useful and easy to understand, from it I learned how to  add colour to a particular part of a clip as well as removing colour.

By Tyler Mason

Group discussion 1.

As a group we have come up with the main concept for are horror trailer, we have decided to base it on youths who have to film a horror project for there college coursework ( just like we are doing )  and on there way they encounter a killer who by the end of the trailer has managed to kidnap them all. 

We decided that we would not reveal the killers face until the end of the trailer and all killing done before hand would be implied rather then shown to generate suspense and leave the audience on and edge.

We also had a discussion on how we plan to portray the teenager playing the parts.We discusses on whether they should for fill the stereotype put on the younger generation (Unruly violent and disrespectful)  or would they be innocent and subvert this image. We still have not come to an overall decision.

Another matter we discussed was music, as shaquille is an artist and has the ability to produce beats he decided to make a track or instrumental to with the trailer, how ever this is still t be decided near the editing stage, as we also considered having a narrative voice over, but as it is a teaser trailer a voice over may not be as so affective as it is traditionally used to trailers.

We then had a look on youtube at make up tutorials so we could see what visual effect we could achieve. I will be uploading the videos we looked at in new posts on this blog. From the videos we got a general idea of how we can use make up to make are antagonist appear scary.

Another factor we have to take into consideration is who we act for are group, but as we dont no how exactly we want are characters to be portrayed we have not decided yet but hopefully this will be fine when we get around to filming.

In the discussion we also looked at how we were going to edit the teaser trailer, by looking at other trailers and music videos, we mainly talked about how we plan on using colour grading and use of transitions and sounds instead of using a lot of  irrelevant effects. 


We have finally come up with a production name , we all agreed on temper productions but decided to spell it "tempa productions" which would appeal to the teenage audience of which are teaser trailer  is aimed at.












    


By Tyler Mason

Killer ideas research 1 (Nhung Pham)

As part of our research, we looked into different halloween make up tutourials to see what interest us and what captures that vision of a killer to use for our antagonist. As our trailer is based on the genre slasher we wanted the killer to have a gory effect with however not slashes or over the top makeup as the trailer will be shown on national television to a wide range of audience.

This is one of the ideas for our killer to look like. I browsed through horror makeup tutorials and found a man with a zipped face from the middle which intrigued us to put this forward as an idea for our antagonist. For our antagonist we may use less blood as the trailer is opened to all audience of all ages therefore we don't want to scare of children with over the top gory effects.

Equipment for this tutorial are:
- Latex Appliance
- Zip
- Fake blood
- Make up (foundation, eyeshadows)
- Contacts (optional)

We found a tutorial that shows us an easier application to make a zipped wound from a youtube makeup guru taking us through step by step which simplifies the way we can create this look.
To stick on the zip to the face i will be using eyelash glue or either latex which is safe and tacky so it would not ruin the actors skin or be in danger.

horror conventions by Tyler Mason

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uFiX7W5ZvBw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

story board

story board draft

The Conventions Of Horror Film Teaser Trailers - Shaquile

A teaser trailer is used in terms of synergy, using one thing to promote another. Teaser trailers are small advertising campaigns which help to promote a bigger campaign on a wider scale. Here are a list of some of the conventions I have concluded a teaser trailer should consist of… 

•Low key lighting (optional) helps to set the mood, leaves an ominous/mysterious effect.

•Point of view shots/ the antagonist eye

•suspense: stimulates audience anxiety and raises adrenalin. In some cases its used to make the audience forget the fear of threat which leaves them in a relaxed state, this helps the build up of a climax and makes it more effective.

•Element of surprise: used to petrify and strike terror in the audience. If the climax is successful then the audience will demand to see me thus we can describe the climax as a persuasion technique.

•Cliffhanger: Raises audience anxiety and curiosity. Makes the audience eager to find out what happens next.

•Film Footage: This will help the audience decide if the film is worth seeing, so action packed footage is key.

•Music and SFX: Background music helps to fluctuate the mood of the audience, the tempo of the music is equally important. In action packed scenes the tempo will preferably be fast and in scenes used to create suspense the tempo will preferably be slow. SFX such as Foley sounds i.e. ‘footsteps’ or ‘a creaking door’ are useful for rhythmic purposes, these sounds do not require background music and helps to build climax. A commonly used sound in teaser trailers is the sound of a pulse.

•Duration: Usually between 30 – 60 seconds, a short version of a trailer.

A Horror Film Director - Shaquile

Marcus Nispel: Born 26th may 1963 in Germany

•Film director and producer/television commercial director/music video director

Excels in remaking Horror movies, he has remade a variety of horror films such as:

•The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

•Friday The Thirteenth

•Frankenstein

Film Career: His career commenced in advertising, he was an art director for ‘Young And Rubicam’, a marketing and communications company specializing in advertising, digital and social media, sales promotion. Direct marketing and brand identity consulting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_%26_Rubicam

•He came to America aged 20 on Fulbright scholarship and started his directing career in 1989

•He has directed over 1000 commercials for a various range of businesses such as Coca-cola, Panasonic, Mercedez-Benz and artists with over 15 number 1’s such as Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, Elton John.

•He has a diverse selection of achievements, in terms of awards:

•Clio Awards

•The Moebius Award

•The Grand Prix at the BDA award

•12 MTV Music Video Award nominations resulting in 4 awards

•MVPA Lifetime achievement in 2001

•Black Achievement Award for affirmative representation of African Americans in mass media.

He is now married to Dyan Humes Nispel a songwriter/editor, they have twin sons

Three Different Horror Films - Shaquile

TITLE: The Omen

MINI OVERVIEW: An American official apprehends that his callow adopted offspring who initially was an ordinary boy may indeed be the devils advocate. This film is a reproduction of the classic (1976) version.

DIRECTOR: John Moore

YEAR: 2006

SUBGENRE: Thriller

DURATION: 110 Minutes

NUMBER OF CHARACTERS/CAST: 15

COSTUME DETAILS: Casually coifed

ANTAGONIST: Damien / Adopted Son (Male)

PROTAGONIST: Robert Thorn American Diplomat/ Damien's adopted parent (Male)

SETTING: Large estate outside London

ICON: Crucifix

STYLE OF EDITING: Continuity

TITLE: The Grudge 3

MINI OVERVIEW: An apartment in Chicago is haunted by the spirit of Kayako (Yuri) however a young Japanese woman is capable to refrain the evil. 

DIRECTOR: Toby Wilkins

YEAR: 2009

SUBGENRE: Thriller

DURATION: 90 Mins

NUMBER OF CHARACTERS/CAST: 15

COSTUME DETAILS: Black Messy Hair/ White Dress

ANTAGONIST: Yuri (Female) Asian

PROTAGONIST: Naoko (Female) Asian

SETTING: Normal everyday house/ Contemporary USA/ Haunted Apartment in Chicago

ICON: Yuri

STYLE OF EDITING: Continuity

TITLE: Saw VI

MINI OVERVIEW: 6th part of a 8 film series/ The presence of the Jigsaw Killer who dies in Saw 3 is still commendable, in this film, individuals from quite ordinary lifestyles who are all associated through one way or another whether it be through occupation or relationship all fall victim to the wrath of the Jigsaw Killer, they must undergo a series of instructions and games for emancipation, who will survive?  

DIRECTOR: Kevin Greutert

YEAR: 2009

SUBGENRE: Slasher/Mystery/Thriller

DURATION: 90 Mins

NUMBER OF MAIN CHARACTERS: 6

COSTUME DETAILS: Masked Killer

ANTAGONIST: Jigsaw Killer/ Mark Hoffman (Male) Caucasian

PROTAGONIST: no individual (FBI)

SETTING: Contemporary USA / Torture industrial building

ICON: Jigsaw Mask

STYLE OF EDITING: Montage

Conventions of a Horror Film - Shaquile

Key conventions of a horror film… It must be scary. In terms of exchange the audience pay a fee to watch the film  with intentions to be petrified. If this purpose is not fulfilled then no efficient exchange has taken place. Also there usually has to be a death in the first five minutes of the film however this does not occur in many circumstances as the author will intend to create suspense.

Characters 

Protagonist: Main Character. This Character tends to be the untainted individual who the audience are able to connect with on a

compassionate level. The Narrative usually revolves around this character, in addition it is this character who usually survives death and witnesses the outstanding characters perish. At some point in the narrative it is expected that the Protagonist will  have had some sort of encounter with the antagonist ( in this case: villain) and restore the equilibrium.

Stock Characters: These are arguably insignificant characters however these individuals contribute laboriously to the plot. Most Stock characters tend to fulfill different purposes, Here are some examples of possible stock characters…

•Comedian: this particular specimen is quite witty,  for them life is not entirely serious and so they make humor out of the most  alarming situations, a their ignorance often overcomes reality which leads to their disbelief of the unexplained.  They often mock the curiosity of the protagonist In most cases this character dies however because of the trivial buffoonery the audience tends to find the death of this character expected and comical.

•Cassandra Figure AKA Wise Guy: Intelligent/patient and can often be seen as mysterious. This character always advises or reveals some sort of clue to aid the voyage of the protagonist however the motive or reason behind this individual offering aid is often unclear and as a result people ignore the advice.

•Attractive  Dumb Female: Preferably Caucasian/Blonde hair, interested in the opposite sex, concerned with looks more than intellect and often dies early in the plot.

•Traitor: Deceiving. Appears to be trust worthy, initially has a close relationship with the protagonist which often get unveiled at the end of the plot, in some cases the traitor is actually the antagonist.

•The Protagonist’s best friends: These characters often accompany the protagonist on their voyage to defeat the antagonist however ignorance, braveness  or vulnerability often causes these character to perish and so the audience are sympathetic.

•The Protagonists  Boyfriend/Girlfriend: This character often plays a similar role to the Protagonist’s best friend  however in some cases this  character can be revealed as the traitor, the element of surprise is a key convention of Horror films that this character can be utilized to achieve.

Narrative: In Horror films there are two different types of narrative, Linear and Non-Linear. Linear Narratives work in systematic order proceeding  traditionally with a beginning, middle and end, whereas Non-Linear Narrative are more complex, in this case the film is in no particular order, thus the ending might occur before the middle  of the narrative. Theoretically this helps the plot because in many cases the antagonist is not revealed at the end but in the middle which helps so create suspense and broaden the audiences anxiety and curiosity, it makes the plot more of a mystery. Linear and Non-Linear narratives are not entirely used for Horror films, they can be used in all genres of film and create the same effects. In some Horror films, preferably sequels, we may not find out who the antagonist is until the final  film, this technique can be used to ensure the audience watch  all  parts of the sequel. Narrative pt 2: This is an example of a simple composition of a horror narrative:  Beginning: There is equilibrium, everything seems balanced i.e. everything is normal in the environment or civilization. Middle: A Disequilibrium i.e. the Antagonist  manifests and intervenes with the balance . Ending: A protagonist  undertakes a voyage to restore the balance and eventually has an encounter with the antagonist where good overcomes evil and the protagonist becomes triumphant.

Stock situations: These are habitual situations which occur in most horror films, they usually involve the antagonist in his wrath or killing spree. Here are some examples of stock situations…

•The victim in attempt to evade from the antagonist stumbles and makes an effort to crawl away however in result is assassinated.

•The victim in attempt to evade from the antagonist scampers away whilst the antagonist who takes slow strides is able to verge upon the victim which results in the victims death.

•The victim is at home, preferably sleeping or undertaking some kind of everyday activity then the victim hears some sort of paranormal activity in the house and attempts to investigate, then has an encounter with the antagonist and dies.

Subgenres Of Horror:

•Splatter i.e. Brain Dead: A type of Genre  pinpointed around the employment of guts, gore and blood. These graphic scenes are constructed using special effects and excessive use of artificial blood to show the vulnerability of the human anatomy.

•J-Horror i.e. The Ring: Japanese Horror otherwise known as J-Horror has a focal point based around psychological horror , poltergeists and ghosts. It consists of a thematic and predominant application of horror in the light of western admission.

•Zombie i.e. Dawn of the Dead: The Zombie Subgenre is constructed around Zombies, festering corpses who feed on the flesh of humans. This Subgenre is also a cross over genre which discharges into the genre of fantasy fiction.

•Monster i.e. Jeepers Creepers: This particular subgenre is similar to the Zombie subgenre, its based on fictional character which cause some sort of disequilibrium. It also crosses over into the genre of fantasy or science fiction.

•Vampires/Werewolves i.e. Dracula:  This particular subgenre is similar to the Zombie subgenre, its based on mythological beings that endure by consuming human blood. It also crosses over into the genre of fantasy or science fiction.

•Psychological/Supernatural i.e. Exorcist: A subgenre which revolves around the psyche of human anatomy triggered by negative energies, negative chi and spiritual dark forces whilst retaining a sense of realism.

•Thriller i.e. Hills Have Eyes: This is also a cross over genre as most thrillers are not entirely recognized as horror. Unlike the Zombie, Monster and J-Horror subgenres the Thriller subgenre focuses on mystery, threat and investigation caused by a disequilibrium preferably a human.

•Slasher i.e. Saw:

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Themes:

•Good vs. Evil 

•Love and Betrayal

•Revenge 

•Folk Religion

•Myths and Legends

•Exorcisms

Setting – Background And Décor: There are a variety of commonly used setting for Horror films. Most of these settings will have horrendous denotations however some of these setting will be abstract and paradoxical in order to create bewilderment. Here are some examples of Horror film settings…

•Haunted House i.e. paranormal activity

•Forest or Wood

•Countryside i.e. Halloween 4

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Camera Angles: POV shots/ Antagonist eye shows victim vulnerability and how the antagonist always has the upper hand.  Canted shots emphasises the disequilibrium/ uneasiness  in the mood