One of our initial idea's that we had was to include sound tracks/effects of young children singing. The reason for this idea was firstly because of the age of the young girl in our film... through using these sound affects, it would be somewhat relatable to her. However, the idea also came about as it is quite an eerie sound and if it were to be non-diegetic - a sound where we can't see whats producing it - then it would create more tension as you stereo-typically wouldn't expect to see a young child or hear a young child in the situations that occur in horror films. This would potentially engage the audience more as said, it is quite an unexpected sound. The first idea was to use a child singing a childish song as shown in the video link on the left. This song is known to be sung by children at a young age, and gives the representation of quite an innocent child, thus using this would be quite frightening and to use it in a horror scene, situation it would be much more daunting for the audience.
In our trailer, there will be a stage where the young girl screams and to get the most effective and frightening scream... we have decided to use a non-diegetic sound as it is more difficult for the young girl acting in our trailer to do it. The two links above are relatively similar and are just short clips of a girls scream. We will ensure that the clip we end up using is not copyrighted, and will then convert it into an mp3 document, and then upload onto our trailer; this can be easily done on the Adobe Software that we are using, which will allow us to adjust and move around the sound into the specific place where we want it.
These next two links are sound effects of a creaking door; this is a sound that is quite difficult to capture on the camera as it doesn't tend to be as loud as we particularly want it. Despite the sound being high quality on the camera, it is only really for clear, reasonably pitched sounds. Alike the scream sound affect, we will make our final decision as to what we will use and will use the tools on our software to cut and adjust the sound to make it fit perfectly with the action being made.
These are our practice titles which are currently quite basic; this was because it was only a practice to test the potential transitions that we may use and also the different fonts. As shown in the video, there are 4 different titles, three of which are potential institution names and another one which we are considering as our title; alongside other title ideas. To complete this practice, we used the Adobe Premiere Elements 10 software. This is the software we are currently using to edit our trailer and we also used it last year to complete our opening 2 minutes to a film. There are multiple transitions that we have the option to use for our trailer, all of which are effective and are somewhat conventional/fit in well with the horror genre that we are pursuing.
This is our questionnaire which we will use to gain feedback on our initial ideas. We will begin by giving this questionnaire to people of the particular age group - being 15+ as this is the age certificate for our trailer. Once the questionnaires have been completed we will make an overall decision as to what will most appeal to our target audience.
Question 1
Our first question is based around the main character. The two options are a 'Young grudge like girl' and an 'Old women'. We were initially influence by these two characters from seeing them in other films such as The Grudge which features a young girl and also The Visit who features an old women. Firstly, the idea of having a young child as the main character is likely to be more appealing to the audience and would have more success in scaring them.The typical expectations of a young child are them being quite innocent and vulnerable however in the case of a horror film, these stereotypes are totally subverted and therefore are unexpected by the audience. The second idea of using an old women as the antagonist is effective as again, typical expectations are that they are quite vulnerable and kind and generous people; in the case of a horror film, however, there personalities are flipped around and they actually become quite an eerie character to the audience. By asking this question, we will make the decision on which character to use as our antagonist and which one will have more success in scaring the audience.
Question 2
The second question is a kind of when and where question, and this is important to think about in film. The 4 ideas we had were; in the daytime, at night, in a house or in an abandoned/derelict area. All primal locations and times that we have seen and been influenced by in other horror films. As a result of actually asking this question, we may actually use all 4 location/times however we feel it is important to ask the question so we know where to base most of the trailer.
Question 3
The third question involves the conventions that we aim to include in our trailer. In many trailers, there is usually a combined genre; for example, the film 'Saw' which is a horror, thriller. This is an important thing to consider when thinking about conventions that we are going to use. For example, we may use a car as a prop (action convention) and somehow turn that into a prop used for murder (horror convention), which involves the horror aspect.
Question 4
This question, again, involves the genre of our trailer. There are many different genres of horror being: Action, Gothic, Psychological and Mainstream. For this question, we have given examples of films of the specific genre to ensure that the people answering have an idea of which each genre actually is. Once we have got an overall percentage for this question, we will be able to focus on the specific conventions of the horror genre.
Question 5
This next question is regarding the diegetic/non diegetic sounds which are a part of mis-en-scene; a key area to focus on in film. The three different options are, again, sounds that we have been influenced by through other films. The first sound we were considering is of young children children singing. The reason for this choice of sound is because, firstly we are considering having a child as our antagonist/main character and therefore felt like it would make sense and relate for this sound to be used. Another reason is that the sound is quite eerie and therefore may be likely to scare the audience; and for this reason we are asking the question. The second option is fast paced, heavy breathing/pulse which could be significant in creating a kind of panicking/tense atmosphere for the audience. The third is a high pitch scream, which is the typical sound you hear from someone who may have been hurt or are scared. All of these sounds that we are considering are most likely to be non-diegetic for the reason that you wont know who/where it is coming from and would therefore be more intense for the audience.
Question 6
The last question we are asking is based on the camera and the pace at which we film. In many trailers, the camera movement is fast-paced for the reason that it is a trailer, and trailers do consist of short clips which tend to be quite fast in switching between each one. However it can also be effective using slow-paced shots, as it is more intense and entices the audience much more as they aren't sure what to expect.
To edit our trailer, the main software we are going to be using will be Adobe Premier Elements. This software allows us to put all our clips together, to arrange them and edit them. Firstly we are able to cut any unwanted clips or anything that doesn't run through the way we want or expect. The software will allow us to use multiple effects such as fade, swipe, etc. We will be able to use them effects between each clip or alternatively to open or close the scene. We will be able to add sound effects in specific places for extra effect or possibly if any sounds were misheard or were too quiet, we would be able to add them as a new soundtrack. I think that this software will allow us to make our trailer stand out and be more effective.
I believe that we will be able to produce a more realistic and successful trailer by using Adobe Premier Elements rather than a software like Movie Maker. This software has a wider range of tools to use and as it says in its name, it has premier elements which are a lot more successful to use than other software elements. To edit any images that we have we will possibly use photo-shop as it has multiple tools to use which are able to make the image look more realistic and also to cover up any thing that shouldn't be in it.
We have previously used Adobe Premier Elements to create our opening two minutes to a film which allowed us to learn how to do specific things which we intend to use in our trailer. Also, we first began using it when filming our preliminary tasks. We filmed about 5 different clips around different areas of the school, and using the software we put them all together and firstly added some extra sound effects such as footsteps when walking down the corridor. We then used the software again to edit our continuity task which we found ourselves more able to make better edits. We produced a short clip which involved the 3 types of continuity shots. Overall I think that we will be able to achieve and produce a successful trailer.
Sophie - there is limited planning of your production here at this stage - I know it's been taking place. Evidence your time-management and the route to final production thoroughly!
This was our first day filming, where we aimed to get a collection of short clips to be able to begin creating the trailer. Unlike last year, we are able to film over a longer period of time; the main issue last year was we were creating an opening two minutes so everything had to follow on in the same location, same time of day and also our main character Robyn had to look the same. This was the reason for all filming in a short space of time as Robyn had her makeup done specifically for it and it would be difficult to replicate the look and the costume.
The majority of this day's filming was in the same two places, the first being a bedroom where we captured clips of our young female character, and also the bathroom where we had planned to film specific clips. The first image here is off Jasmine, who assisted us with the filming. In the picture, she was just practicing and adjusting the tripod to have it in the position which we wanted for the first shot. As evident in the next picture also, we had adjusted the tripod to ensure that it was the correct height. The majority of the lighting here was from a small lamp in the bedroom as we were filming in the evening which meant there was no potential use of natural lighting. During this process of filming, we done multiple takings of each clip to ensure that we had more than just one to choose from, if there was to be any mistakes or slight errors during the clip.
To film, we used a Nikon camera; this was the same camera that we ended up using last year of filming. We were able to securely fit the camera onto the tripod allowing us to take steady shots, also it is simple to use. The quality of the camera has 16 megapixels which meant it was very good quality and picked up the colour and adapted to the lighting very well,
With filming at this time of year, it gets dark extremely early which would initially be a struggle for us to be able to get enough filmed in natural lighting. However this is not going to be such an issue as we are filming a horror, which is not typically filmed in daylight. During our filming, we used a lot of low-key lighting, so for example small lamps which gave us enough light to film at a good quality; but enough to create the more shadowy effect. This lighting is primarily effective and conventional in horror films. With some of our shots in the bedroom, there is use of back lighting, which gain did involve using the small side-lamp, however it was behind the character creating a partial glowing effect on the character in front.
The image here is of our antagonist who is an elderly women. The shot here was used during our filming in the bathroom, as shown in the image, the idea was to have her behind our protagonist. The lighting in this shot was very dim and in this image, it was only the flash on the camera that lit up the area. The colours of her clothing are significant, firstly coordinating with the colours around; and secondly, the colour white itself has many connotations such as innocence and purity... and in contrast the colour black has many negative connotations such as evil, death and fear. These connotations giving a clear representation of her character.
Our first filming day will be at a house in Ashtead. This is where the majority of our filming will take place as it is an idea that we thing will be effective and is conventional of a horror. The house setting creates quite a comforting yet eerie atmosphere following the kind of situation we are creating. We will be filming in a bedroom; a typical place for a young girl to be in the evening, and also the bathroom.
TIMINGS?
We aim to start setting up the tripod and camera at around 6:30pm; along with getting the characters ready with what they're wearing, etc. Once we've got everything prepared and the characters are ready, we plan to begin the initial filming at 7:00pm. The intention is to get at least 2 recordings of each clip to ensure that we have a choice between the 2 (or more) if there was to be an error. Roughly after an hour of doing our first filming, we intend to spend around 30 minutes to go through the clips, checking the lighting, sound and the acting, specifically to ensure that everything is reasonable. Once having completed this, if there are any specific clips that need re-filming, we will spend another hour making sure that the clips are ready to edit.
The actual reason for beginning at this time is due to the fact that we do not require any natural lighting; and the situation we are filming in is of a young girl in bed asleep, clearly meaning it would need to be dark outside and we would be using low-key lighting.
Here we have done research on our ideas and inspirations for our title and the font. The ideas on the left shows the ideas of titles which we got from other horror movies which include: The Exorcist, Silence of the Lambs, Annabelle, The Adams Family and Carrie; and two of these films have the name of there young girls character as the title. This is where we gained the inspiration of titling the film the name of our protagonist/antagonist - Robyn. The significance of this is that it has personal context and relation as it is the name of our actor. Also, if the young girl is going to be given the most prevalence, it is effective having her name as the title of our film. The research on the left also involves the font ideas. The key idea we have is to make it bold and to be prominent on a black screen and also when overlaying the beginning/end of our trailer. Alongside the film title inspirations that were just listed, there were many more font and presentation ideas that we thought would be effective in relating to our protagonist/antagonist.
The Ring: One key idea for the font that we came across was from the trailer/film, The Ring. The significance of this title font is that as I personally think it looks quite childish, having no capital letters and also how the letters are very spaced out; potentially suggesting how the person may not be able to write. This would, however, have a clear link with our film as our protagonist/antagonist character is a young girl which we could clearly relate to the childlike font. As well as this, the obscure colours connote evil, death and darkness which are good connotations within a horror film as the aim is to scare the audience which those certainly will be prominent in doing so.
The Women in Black:
The ideas and inspiration from this film was primarily based around the fact that we are considering having an old women as our other protagonist/antagonist. The relation between this idea and The Women in Black is the ghost of a scorned women; which is slightly similar to the idea we had for our trailer. With that being the main reason for focusing on this film, we also gained inspiration on the title font which we hope to incorporate into our trailer. The kind of gothic, eerie, sketched look of The Women in Black title is effective with being prominent on the black background.
The Grudge:
Another inspiration was 'The Grudge'. This film is a horror and the story line is focused on an eerie looking girl who is presented as a curse throughout. Although this is not necessarily the case in our film, we thought that there was some relevance as our main character will primarily be a young girl. The design of this title is significant as the writing is bold on a dark background. The colour of the text has many negative connotations such as blood, pain, death, etc. By gaining all of these ideas from other films, we will be able to combine the key features of each title font to make ours prominent and effective up against the background.
Here we have documented our influences on production; where trying to find ideas and themes to use in our trailer, we have been influenced by multiple films. The first film that stood out to us was The Grudge. The ideas and themes that we gained from this were the idea of using a young girl as the antagonist. In the film, the young girl is represented as a curse and this is something we were considering and we thought was effective. This kind of idea is most effective in subverting the typical expectations of a young child; expecting them to be quite innocent and vulnerable, however in a horror, then being portrayed as evil. A creepy, young girl is quite conventional of a horror which is important as, despite wanting to make the trailer original, we want to use some conventional ideas/techniques. Children are simply innocent and the more they stray from that, the more frightening it becomes for us.
The second influence on our production was from the film, The Visit. The idea we gained from this was from having an elderly women as the main protagonist/antagonist in the film. This idea would be significantly effective through the fact that old people generally tend to be represented as sweet, innocent and vulnerable. Because of this typical representation of old people, if they were to be represented in the opposite light of that, in specifically our horror film, it is likely that the audience will be scared/shocked.
The next film that we gained ideas from was Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. The first influence from this film was the ideas for clothing for our young female character. In this specific film, all of the young children are dressed in white gowns/nighties. Significantly this gives a kind of old fashioned, historical context with the kind of clothing all of them are actually wearing. Usually, it is likely that white gowns/nighties are associated with night clothing, however in the image above, it is clear that it is not night time; therefore giving the old fashioned context with that being the clothing in previous years. Another inspiration we gained from this film was the idea of creating a historical context through the use of gas masks. This is significant in associating with war, and therefore creating a historical context which is an eerie them to have in a horror.
Our final inspiration film was Orphan. The young girl who is the main character in the film, alike with that being the case in our trailer, is presented in old fashioned, Victorian style clothing; yet again creating a historical context. This was effective in influencing the key area of mis-en-scene which is significant to consider in all film. We also picked out the idea of the young girl being based around a park location and being on a swing; significant through the fact that a park tends to be a natural setting for a young child. In association with the swing, the eerie diegetic sounds of the creaking swing would be effective in our trailer with the sound being quite eerie.
This is the most basic lighting set-up which consists of the...
Key Light - this is the main light used on the subject and it is also the brightest light source for the shot.
Fill Light - this is a softer light and the purpose of this light is to fill in the shadows created by the key light, preventing them from getting to dark, and lastly the
Back Light - this is used to separate the subject from the background. It enhances the sense of depth in the shot. Back-lighting often creates a halo effect around the characters head, particularly the edges.
Low-key lighting:
The low-key lighting gives more of a shadowy effect. This shadow created by the low-key lighting would be most effective and conventional in horror films.]
Four-point lighting:
Four-point lighting is the same as three-point however with the addition of background lighting. The background lighting is used to illuminate the background area of a set.
Top lighting:
Top lighting is another common lighting technique; this is when the upper areas of the subject or character are lit (outlined) by the source generating above it.
Under lighting:
Under lighting is the approach of lighting a subject/character from a point below them. This partially creates a kind-of spooky effect.
You have to evidence every stage of your journey and provide more analysis in your planning of things like sountrack and titles. Evidence your time management and the journey to production as thoroughly as you can.
A very strong start Sophie - evidence more analysis of trailers from your chosen genre and analyse some trailers and magazine front covers - and mention how they link to their respective trailers to create a brand identity. Mention representation, genre, narrative, mise-en-scene, camea, editing and sound in your approach to analysis of trailers to add to posts and evaluate those in your chosen genre.
There are many conventions that indicate the genre of this film; being a Horror/Thriller. Firstly the dark lighting tends to be quite conventional of a horror; sensing the fact that we are unable to see whats going on and where sounds are coming from, realistically making it more intense. The reason for creating this atmosphere is that as a result, we tend to focus more and look closely if we cant see something; creating the perfect opportunity for something to jump out the screen and scare us. Other conventions are the diegetic and non-diegetic sounds; diegetic sounds such as screams create the sense of fear. On the other hand, non-diegetic sounds such as a door creaking entices the audiences into questioning themselves.. where is it coming from?
There are many elements of Mis-en-Scene that are presented throughout the film; indicating the genre but also representing the kind of characters and the kind of film we are to expect. Firstly, the lighting of the film is particularly dark, not allowing us to see clearly what is going on; and as result, enticing us more and making us more focused. There is alot of low-key lighting used which is actually conventional of a horror film, and is also effective in creating a shadowy effect being quite eerie in a horror. In this trailer, the low-key lighting is used in the first establishing shot of the house setting where there is very dim light reflecting down, however not enough for us to see clearly all around. It is also used whilst the three characters are sitting round the dining table and candles are used to light up the room. The specific use of these candles are effective as they create a shadowy effect which is creepy and with them not lighting up the whole room; as the audience, we tend to focus more on trying to see what is going on around them. This actually creating the perfect opportunity for something to jump out on us, again this is very conventional of a horror. The location is significant in the film as it is set in a house, supposedly haunted. This kind of location is conventional of a horror and is also effective in scaring the audience as typically, your home is a welcoming place and you are supposed to feel safe. However, when watching this trailer and seeing that it is located in a house; it would potentially scare the audience and with this being the aim of a horror... the trailer would've been successful.
There are multiple camera techniques that are used for effect throughout this trailer. The different camera shots and techniques that are used are significant in revealing the representation of characters. The initial shot that is made is actually a quick point-of-view shot which was filmed through looking into the mirror. In this POV shot, we are revealed the young girl looking through some sort of microscope, looking into the mirror. This shot lasts for only a few seconds until a shot reverse shot is used, switching to a mid shot of her face-on, then back to the reflection from the mirror.
In a horror, the eerie diegetic sounds tend to be very conventional as they trigger more of a fright to audiences. For example, in the trailer of Ouija, we hear the creaking sounds of the doors which is shown as a non-diegetic sound throughout. The reason for it being non-diegetic is the whole idea of the suspense for us, as the audience, not knowing where the sound is coming from. This idea of using the non-diegetic sound is most effective in a horror through scaring the audience and it is quite jumpy; these factors are both conventional of a horror/thriller. The trailer initiates with the diegetic sounds of bones breaking as the so-called spirit breaks the young girls neck. This sound is quite breath-taking and is not a sound people typically warm to hear. It is also quite unrealistic in the sense that breaking a bone doesn't make an exaggerated sound like they presented as such. Another effective diegetic sound used near the start of the trailer was lighting a match. This sound was significant after breaking the streak of silence before; also it creates quite an intense atmosphere in making us think about what the character is lighting as it is shown to be lit in front of a women's face. However soon after, we see that candles have been lit and over this mid shot of the characters sitting round the table, we hear the diegetic voice of the women speaking. Again this creates an intense atmosphere as there eyes are closed and she is speaking to something that is supposedly haunting the house. During this slow panning shot, the non diegetic sound of the door creaks again, which is quite daunting as we dont know who or what has opened/closed it. The women then says "if that's you, blow out the candles". Of which follows, the sound of the candles being blown out happens. The sound increases as a window is broken through and we hear the diegetic sound of a women screaming, immediately making us feel worried of whats happening/going to happen next. Unexpectedly the soundtrack changes to something much more cheery as it is daylight. This certainly subverts the expectations of what we expect to hear in a horror however, again, this is seemingly used for effect as it soon changes back to the quite, eerie atmosphere. As we hear another diegetic question being asked saying "Spirit, can you hear me?". From hearing this question, we automatically expect there to be a response, whether this is from the 'spirit' or not; this essentially keeps the audience on the edge of there seats and that exactly is the aim for horror films to do so.
Nearer to the end, there are alot of overlapping sounds; as you typically expect from a trailer where they aim to combine multiple scenes all at once. Throughout there are alot of diegetic and non diegetic voices, which are effective as some are voice-overs as we see other shots being taken but someone continues speaking over it. This gives the kind of effect that is telling a story, which is significant in this trailer, where it seems to be a general repeat of events every time they play the game. The primal sounds in this trailer are tending to be the natural sounds such as voices, doors creaking, screams, etc. These are all extremely conventional of a horror/thriller as they are either quite eerie and intense or they're daunting and jumpy.
The first title appears after the drastic occurrence of the girls neck being broken. There is an immediate close up before of the girl, with her mouth wide open, whilst slowly screaming and trying to breath. This is an effective moment to introduce the title of in this case, the film itself as the audience would essentially be enticed by the first event they had just seen. Through introducing the title here, it is likely that the audience will remember what they see after being engaged with what happened before. The title itself is very bold and stands out; the spacing of the letters where it says 'Ouija' is effective and quite original.... also the fact that it is a relatively short and simple title, yet important for audiences to remember will be effective and will be a selling point for the film. An institution title is displayed in the first half of the trailer and this again is a significant point to display it as the audience will still be engaged with focusing on the trailer and a result will recognise the title. The next title that is displayed is about half way through the trailer saying 'This Halloween'; by having this title in the middle of the trailer, it is likely that it will be remembered and it is also quite an important title to have (the release date). Linking to that title, at the end of the trailer, another title saying 'Coming Soon' was the last screen that the audience would've seen and this would therefore make them remember the title during the film actually displaying more of a specific time of the release.
More effective titles are displayed during the trailer which are partially guiding us through and actually relating to the film's story-line rather than its creators. The titles specifically said 'It was never' 'just a game'. This is quite an effective title to use as it would essentially make the audience actually think about the meaning behind that as it may not make much sense from what we have only seen. The trailer ends with the title of the film again in bold letters, making the audience actually remember it as it is one of the last screens of the trailer they see. This is then followed by saying 'coming soon' which is also another important title to inform the audience about.
The first unique selling point of this film/trailer would essentially be the first, original film. For a film to have previously been successful and been viewed alot, it is likely that this sequence would continue for the second and third, etc, viewings of a film. Also many films often continue or follow on from the ending; for example there is sometimes cliff hangers at the end of films or just a general statement saying 'too be continued'. Just from knowing or seeing this, it is likely that those viewers will be aware of the new film coming out and as a result they would watch it. Another unique selling point is that both films were released around Halloween time (the first Ouija film was actually released on Halloween '31st') which tends to be a time that people will be looking to watch horror films and these kind of films.
