Research and Planning: Treatment

After getting feedback from the class and my teacher, I've decided to definately go with my first idea. Here is the jist of what I want to occur during my trailer:

• The camera will start off with a short wide shot of the hospital bed with the patient in and the doctor at the side of her.  
• The shots will change in time with the heart monitor which will play in the background. The shots will be of the patient and the process. Extreme close ups will be used for her face and eyes. 
• When I've shown these shots, I'll make the heart monitor sound out with a long continuous beeeeeep and when this is sounding, i'll take the shots I've just shown but will make them snaps, fast enough so that you can't even make out exactly which one it was. 
• It will then fade to either white or black and the setting will change into after the operation. 
• The camera will start out of focus and then move in focus. This will represent the teenager opening her eyes for the first time. The sound will be quite faint and calm here.
• There will be a short clip of her being in her room waking. 
• Then I'll have flashes of shots. This is where the sound will get louder and more action packed.The shots will symbolise her seeing the villain and her reactions, building up the tension.
• Low key lighting will be throughout all of this mainly and a lot of jump cuts will be used to create more tension. 

This will change dramatically when I begin to think in more detail. For example when I do my storyboards and when I start to film. 

Research and Planning: Proposals/Meeting 2

First Idea:
Teenage girl goes in for a operation on eyes to stop her from being blind. When it goes successfully she starts seeing the dead and the unreal.

Mise-En-Scene:

• Use the human biology room for the hospital. 
• Modern day. 
• Spot light at beginning on the patient. 
• The home later on needs to be modern day. Maybe in bedroom. 
• This is where the lighting turns low key.

Editing:

• Jump cuts when the action starts to occur.
• Fade to white at the end of shooting the operating theatre. 
• Dissolves
• Straight cuts

Sound:

• Noise of the heart monitor
• Heavy breathing
• Eerie score
• Screams maybe

Cinematography:

• High angles of the girl to show the vunerability
• Pan of the rooms shown. 
• Extreme close up of eyes. 
• Close ups of victim and of the villain. 
• Maybe some over the shoulder shots. 

Second Idea:
An old church has been knocked down and a theatre has been built over the top of it but strange things start to occur and people start to go missing.

Mise En Scene:

• Old church
• Theatre
• Low key lighting throughout most.
• Modern day
• Props would consist of things from the play that is taking place.

Editing:

• Jump cuts when people start to disappear in the theatre. 
• Straight cuts
• Dissolves to make it run smoothly.

Sound:

• Creaking doors
• Wind blowing
• Screaming
• Heavy Breathing
• Eerie noises

Cinematography:

• Pan of church - wide shot. Could use this as poster picture. 
• Handheld filming
• Close ups of victims, never see villain. 
• Face level, makes the audience feel more involved. 
• High angles.

Third Idea
Group of teenagers are together at their house because parents are away and there's a new girl which they don't like because she seems different. They invite her anyway. They make her go through many different ordeals during the night and one back fires and she ends up becoming possessed and the tables turn.

Mise-En-Scene:

• Family home. Modern day. Typical teenage girls, general clothing.
• Props, anything around the house. Maybe some spirit books, book of death etc.
• Low key lighting. Torches.

Editing:

• Fast editing. 
• Jump cuts after she becomes possessed. 
• Dissolves.
• Straight cuts.

Sound: 

• Laughing and giggling. 
• Screams
• Banging, doors slamming
• Distorted noises.

Cinematography:

•  Pans the room maybe a crab as well.
• Extreme close ups on faces. 
• Tight framing. 
• High angles and low angles later on to show superior character. 
• Wide shot of the group.

Research and Planning: Sound test

Today we had a play around on Garage band to get us familar with the tools and how to work it. Our task was to create a short score or piece of music that could be classed as horror/fantasy etc. I found this really difficult and I didn't get very far in lesson so I came back and completed it during dinner. I think that its clear what genre of music it would be classed as but I still think it could have been a lot better. The music for my teaser trailer will include a lot more thought.

Research and Planning: BFI

We went to visit the BFI where we were able to use the computers to look at documentaries of making of horror films. I specifically looked at the old and new version of Dracula to look at the difference in effect and technology. In addition to this I also looked at a documentary that had been made about Dracula informing me why it was made in the first place.


Dracula (1958)

• Was given a 12 certificate.
• Universal International and Hammer Studio's were the companies behind this film.
• Shot in black and white.
• Villain is shot in a black long cloak to suggest mystery.
• Victim has been shot in white clothing, failing that, light clothing.
• Most was shot in high key lighting which was surprising since you expect it to be very dark and intense where as in this version it's very different since the only time it changes to low lighting is when Dracula goes to bite the victim.

Dracula (2006)

• Was given a 15 certificate.
• The editing is a lot more effective, faster and it's more varied.
• Most scenes are shot in low key lighting creating more suspense.
• A green tint has been used throughout the beginning which makes it look more effective.
• The sound is creepier and sounds more realistic and better quality. In addition the sound suddenly comes to a Holt, making you think something is going to make you jump.
• Mise-en-scene is similar to before but because better editing is used, it makes it scarier.
• More pauses are used which creates an idea of suspicion and creates tension.
• There's more blood and gore included. For example, when Dracula dies at the end, it's quite disturbing and we also see him twist someones head off.

Dracula documentry. Nightmare: The Birth Of Horror.

• This was made in 1996.
• It says that the reason that it was made is because of a man called Bram Stoker. He had a nightmare one night of 3 vampires and the witches from MacBeth. This and the idea of vampires inspired him.
• It was set in Villa Diodati on the shores of Lake Geneva.
• Mise-en-scene consisted of old fashioned houses, fireplaces and wooden floorboards.

I also looked at the old version of Sweeney Todd.

• Was made in 1936.
• This was given a PG certificate.
• Was shot in Black and White but still lighting was used really well.
• Costumes were like long dresses for women, bonnets etc.
• Set in city, busy and packed.
• Special effects in the new one made it more scary, even though it was a musical.
• No fast editing, no different editing transitions.

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Research and Planning: London Research

On the first day we went to the London Film Museum. Here we were able to read up and see props/costumes from certain genres of film. I found this beneficial because there were sections about horror and rooms filled with waxworks etc.

These two boards stated the history of horror films. The one to the left summarizes saying:

"Horror films are really difficult to recreate because you have to be able to get into the audience's head."

The one on the right talks more about different examples of earlier horror films and what they entailed.

These are some more of the pictures I took from the horror rooms.

This is a picture of the corridor in the hotel. It doesn't have the intense effect as what it did when we were there but it would have been a great area to shoot some horror footage in since it was never ending.

Research And Planning: London Trip

From the 5th-7th October, media, graphics, film and art students got taken to London to help them with their course. I found this very beneficial, not only to graphics but to media. Whilst I was away, I visited the National film museum and also the oppotunity to go to the BFI where I collected a lot of research on the change in horror films over the last 50 years. I will be posting this information on my blog and also providing pictures from my trip.

Research And Planning: Production Companies.

I'm going to look at examples of Production Companies. These are usually shown with their logo at some point during a teaser trailer or a normal trailer.

Dreamworks usually produces a lot of childrens animated films with the certificate of a U or PG. Some examples of this would be Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda etc.

 Fox searchlight on the other hand produced some horror films such as 28 Days Later and The Black Swan. Over the next few weeks I will have to think about what I will want my logo to look like and what company name will go well with my genre of film since this will have to be shown at some point during my teaser trailer and it will look better if I create my own instead of using something existent.

I'm thinking of making it quite simple, but also quite eerie looking so that it corresponds well with my horror genre. Therefore I might think of looking at using a black background with a brighter font and image in the foreground and a name that relates well.