Planning: Location

The location we considered was a wooded area close by. This location needed to be a heavy wooded area, so it would be suitable because horror films are meant to be set in a secluded location. This creates a sense of isolation for the character, so there is more of a fear factor as they feel that they are not near civilisation and cannot scream for help.

The first location we considered was the Brambleside woods. The location was a possible option that would fit the requirements needed for our and opening, because it was a well wooded area which was able to fit into our originally decided location and premise. This was also the most appealing to our group, mostly because it was the closest place to film, and easiest to access. The location was also quite large so we were more flexible in terms of which area to choose to film. This could come in useful in case we needed to re-film at all, perhaps due to lighting issues in particular. With the benefit of the size comes a possible flaw to the location, with the potential for audio problems. This is due to the road that is in vicinity of the area we want to film, and could be very busy while filming. 

The second possible location that was considered was an enclosed area that was also dense with trees. The location was able to fit the category in terms of isolation that is felt in the background location. This area in comparison to the Brambleside, is more difficult to access as the entrance is not as well maintained as the Brambleside entrance. This location is also not as close by as the previous one, meaning some further complication could be caused in the scenario that we need to re-film.

We decided on this location because it was abundant in trees that were needed for the wooded area we wanted to recreate for our original plan. It also provides the shady settings suitable for the dark ambience needed for our scene. The location is relatively nearby, and also well secluded so there would be no problems with interruptions.

Research : The Importance of Titles in Film Openings

Titles are important in films because just by the titles, the audience are able to tell what type of film it is going to be just by looking at the titles, an example of really good opening titles are the titles in Se7en.  which was directed by David Fincher who did a really good job when it came to the titles. This is because the writing is very scratchy and the titles are in black and white as well. The font changes as well to try and create confusion amongst the audience. The image on the right is an example. As you can see, 2 of the words are normal whereas the other 2 are in a different font and this can be used to try and create confusion for the audience and make them feel a bit scared.
Also there is another example and this can be seen within the flashes and this looks quite random and the audience may not be able to understand what it means.

The image to the right looks really confusing and unusual as well because the audience may only understand the 7 dashes but the rest of the image looks very confusing and people will be wondering what the words and symbols are about. Also the writing is very sketchy as well.









In Se7en as well, Kevin Spacey wasn't mentioned in the opening credits of the film because of the "John Doe" effect and after the film was finished, people would realize that at the start, the cutting of the fingers was to eliminate the fingerprints so they cannot be traced to him.  So instead they included his name twice in the final credits.

But Se7en was one of the first films to start using these titles but time has gone on,  a lot of films are starting to use the techniques that were used in Se7en meaning that the effect on the audience can no longer be there because it is getting over used now so the audience are not intimidated by the titles anymore. Also since the improvement of technology, the titles are much easier to replicate meaning that the hard work the producers of Se7en did doesn't really mean a lot now because titles are much easier now.

The good thing about the titles is that there were no computer effects being used which made the titles even better. The titles were made by the production designer John Sable and filled in dozens of notebooks and pages with a lot of writing and images to make the titles been more intimidating.

Research: The importance of sound in films

When looking into sound for horror films, we first looked at Bernard Herman. Herman was responsible for the orchestral score of the "shower" scene in Psycho. The reason it was so memorable wasn't just to do with clever use of the intense screech of violins, but it was cleverly built up to through the use of increasing volume and quickening pace of the violins. These aided and complemented the use of editing within the film that added to the atmosphere. We first watched this scene without sound to begin with, and found that it created a shrouded ambience. This was most likely due to the lack of non-diegetic sound in the scene. However when the scene had non-diegetic sound playing over it, a added factor of mystery was added early, and the enhanced the emotions felt.

     













Mitchell and Webb radio clip was played so that we could listen to the difference non-diegetic sound made to everyday life. It was a rough experiment piece that helped show how background music can enhance emotions felt in common routines carried out in an normal day. An example of this is when the woman in the clip is asked to accompany the man somewhere. Without conveying to the audience the emotion felt in the scene, the non-diegetic sound heightens the felt emotions of love in the scene.
                                                                
We then looked at Pulp Fiction's at a scene called 'Mia's House'. The clip begins with a sound bridge of a car door closing from the previous scene. This transitions the sound of the car door closing to end the previous scene, straight to Mia's house which helps to stress the connection between both scenes. The sound of sequoias is incorporated to add to the perception of night time. Though small, it further sells the idea of the scene being set late in the evening as it can be identified with. The final instance in which sound is significant, is when the song 'Son of a preacher man' starts playing in Mia's apartment. The song starts playing subtly in the background as the male character enters, and adds to the mood of flirtation that begins. The scene is then made more memorable when the song turned out to be diegetic sound towards the end of the clip and tricks the audience.   



 We looked at the term of a Foley in the terms of film making to begin with, We found out that foley is the reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to film, video, and other media in post-production to enhance audio quality. These reproduced sounds can be anything from audio made by animals, to the sound of footsteps on different terrain. The foley artists usually go unnoticed by the audience. Foley helps to create a sense of reality with a scene by emphasising smaller sounds not heard without foley otherwise.

Timetable for the year

Planning: target audience feedback

 This is the first question on the survey to gauge how many people would be interested from different age ranges.▼▼

A lot of the people dislike horror movies, this is probably because of there fears which are stated in the next question.▼▼

This is carrying on from question 3, it states people fears, this was useful because we could use this information in our production.▼▼

 

This question was to judge which opening the audience would prefer, and also to tailor our production towards this one. ▼▼ 

This question was asked because we wanted to know why they preferred it and to help with the filming process. ▼▼

This was our final question and we asked this because we wanted to get a good idea of what we can use from the different films, e.g Alien has alot of jump scares in it and 3 people said that was there favorite horror. ▼▼

Planning: Survey

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3MRSYWB

Planning: Who is our target audience

Our film opening is targeted at people within the age range of 15-21. This meant to be aimed at people who like films that are unexpected with jumps because a lot of people like getting the feeling of being jumped because some people find it a lot more exciting than a lot of other films.

For example a person like Keelan would like this because he enjoys horror movies and likes the uncertainty of what may happen such as jumps. He also has a job so he can afford to go to the cinema to watch these types of films. He is also 16 so he would have no worries into getting in the film which has a certificate rating of 15.

Planning: Potential Openings

Me and my team decided on 2 potential openings for the movie.


Opening 1 is set in a quarry late at night, 2 victim named Bruno and Monica, 18 and 17 years old are having a night away from there parents. Monica decides to go get some firewood, but a shady villain  is watching the tent. As she is searching for firewood on the thick foliage the mans hand grabs her hand and cuts it open, she then proceeds to run away, tripping over a log in the process, the villain the grabs her leg, pulling her back. She is screaming and kicks the villain in the face. In the midst of all this the villain lets go in pain and she runs into the darkness. Bruno is left wondering what happened to Monica and goes to search or her.

Opening 2 is also set in the quarry, but they both leave the tent. They go for a walk at 1am for some reason. As they are walking Monica pulls ahead of Bruno. Bruno then gets his throat slit and gutted like a pig. Monica goes back to find him and follows a trail of Internal organs finally finding his mutilated and dismembered body hung over a tree. As she is in shock the villain throws Monica the head of he later boyfriend. She then screams and runs of with the villain in quick succession. She then sees a motorway and runs towards it but gets her foot trapped in one of the villains bear trap. She then proceeds to try and crawl to the motorway but the villain grabs her by the leg and slowly pulls her back to his tree to give her the same fate the happened to bruno.