Below is our storyboard with shot ideas. We still may extend this when it comes to the editing process, as when watching back we may want to change it to become better. This is just a simple sketch, as at this time we just wanted to quickly show what sort of thing we want to do (not exact angles) so we could get on with filming and have this to help.
When going to our location and deciding where and what we want to film, we took this image of a door.
As this door is quite old looking, it subtly relates to the typical horror film conventions of having an old looking house.
We may use this area for some shots in our quick sequence towards the end of the teaser. We will include the door slamming, and may use the interesting lighting and patterns from the door to create strange shots.
For the party shot, we will be setting it in a living room. We took pictures from different angles so we can decide where about we want to film from.
For this scene, we decided we would be more likely to use this bottom shot angle, other than anything else. This is because we are including three characters, so each of them would be sitting on the chairs in this shot. The chair which is on its own would have character three (the one who gets killed) as it shows their seperation from the group, which foreshadows the later event of their death.
The above image displays the hallway in which we will be having the quick shot of the person hanging. This hallway is very homely looking, it obviously isn't somewhere else (for example, an office etc) so this shows the setting and emphasises it. As everything is very clean and white looking, this means in the shot the hanging person will be very clear.
We will be including minimal dialogue in our teaser as if we had a lot, it would then become a trailer. Minimal dialogue doesn't give away much of the storyline, which is the aim of a teaser as sometimes they can be released a year or more before. As teasers are made to create excitement around a film, we will be doing this by including a lot of quick shots, therefore not using a lot of dialogue.
In the party scene, we will be using the dialogue:
(1st or 2nd character) What did you get?
(3rd character) A ouija board [sounding confused]
The next morning when character 1 is looking at the pictures, and character 2 comes in:
Today we came up with our final shot list for our teaser trailer. We decided we wanted to include some of the storyline, but not all of it because then that would change this into a trailer, rather than a teaser. As a teaser is very vague over details, but makes the storyline slightly clear, this is what we brainstormed to achieve.
We also decided to change the amount of characters - we will have a ghost character who can occasionally be seen, they will be a mysterious hooded figure. We will have 3 other characters too, one who will be hung and two others who will witness the chaos that happens in the house.
Below is a shot list of what we want to include in our trailer.
We want the teaser to begin at night, to show this film goes across a couple of days, so it begins at night:
Transistion: Fade from black
An establishing shot of the house (maybe the road also)
Transition: Fade to black
Then we want to include a bang noise, like a drum.
Transition: Fade from black
A scene of a party to set the story, and one of the characters recieves a Ouija Board (shown by the dialogue) - this is covered by flashing of cameras and the character smiling at the camera
Then there are quick shots of the characters getting photos taken of themselves together
INTERTITLE (we are still deciding on what exactly this text will be)
Then the time of day will change to daytime. We decided to change the time of day to day, because this adds to the feeling of that you feel safe at home and in the daytime, so this is a very intrusive feeling.
In the morning one person is looking through the party pictures in the kitchen
One of the pictures has the 3rd character with a noose around their neck and a mysterious person behind them (quick shot)
2nd person comes in saying "Where's ___ (3rd character)?"
A bang noise - the characters look out to the hall way and there is a hung character (3rd) swinging
Transition: Fade to black
Noise: Drum
Transition: Fade from black
Close up of eyes looking shocked
Transition: Fade to black
Noise: Drum
Transition: Fade from black
After this point we wanted to do a series of very quick shots giving a feeling of distortion and unease in the house as it's haunted.
INTERTITLE
Door slamming
Close up of eyes
People trying to escape the house but door is locked
There is proficient research into similar products and a potential target audience. There is proficient organisation of costume and location, with minimal organisation of actors and props. There is minimal work on storyboarding, shotlists and scripting. There is a proficient use of ICT and a good level of care in the presentation of the research and planning.
10/20 = D
Targets: Storyboarding, scripting and shotlists - URGENT Photos of actors and props along with an explanation as to why they are appropriate for your chosen genre. Develop trailer analysis to explain which elements you would like to use and why you think they are effective.
For our film we wanted to have more of a storyline, rather than just a girl whos house is haunted. We will include another, real story about someones house being haunted and include the girl looking this up. To add on to this idea, we could include the girl character knowing her house is haunted, and then looking it up on the internet. For example, our teaser trailer could be in this order:
Aproval screen
Production company titles
Establishing shot of the house
An intertitle
Shot of something happening in the house (to show it's haunted)
Some dialogue (e.g the girl on the phone to a friend/ talking to someone about strange happenings - other person saying the house could be haunted)
An intertitle
A shot showing the haunting again
The girl looking up the story (could use a real life story)
An intertitle
A shot of the girls eyes close up to show the fear
We decided to look at further music for the soundtrack for our trailer. Below is the list of websites we have obtained this music from: incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free/index.html?genre=horror free non copyright horror music findsounds.com As a lot of this 'horror' music sounds very similar, we have decided to look at a range of styles.
Constancy Part 2 With this music track we simply did not think it was 'scary' enough because of the use of some sort of horn throughout the whole of the track.
Medusa With this track we thought that all the sounds were too random. As we wanted something tense and simple for our teaser trailer, we have decided not to use this. This track with the random noises would be affective for a long trailer, for example by having a shot of a woman alone in a corridor, maybe in slow motion and then when the music gets more tense someone appearing would work well, as it would raise the tension, but because our teaser is short this means it would not work as well.
The House Of Leaves This music (above) does seem tense because of the rising high pitch tone, but we saw how if we were going to include a tone like this it would have to be a lot faster and shorter. Also it would have to end in a better way, as this just suddenly gets quiet and we do not believe it would be affective for our trailer.
Kevin MacLeod - The Hive This piece of music includes a lot of violin, which is something we saw as being quite cheesy, as it's something which would be used on a old styled horror film. We want our film trailer to be modern as well as tense, so we will not be using this. Also, this piece of music isn't very tense as there is no main beat giving a tense feeling throughout.
When looking for non copyright music, we have factors to consider which are gained from other film teasers/ trailers. For example, we need something which adds tension to our teaser, be it fast paced or slow it does not matter as long at it creates something tense.
Flotate - freeplaymusic.com We have decided not to use this music, as we didn't feel it could create any idea of tension. We may use a slow paced song, but one with a beat of some sort included, because then this will create tension, whereas the track Flotate does not at all.
Eerie Angel - freeplaymusic.com This music is slightly more tense than the track 'Flotate' (also from freeplaymusic.com), as it has a flute sound over the top. Although the flute sound does create a more tense piece of music, it isn't exactly what we are looking for, we do not think it's tense enough.
In conclusion we have decided to look at a further range of music, so that we can find something tense which isn't copyrighted. We want a piece of music which will give a tense feeling to the whole trailer, therefore exciting the audience so that they will want to view our film.
From researching the film institution Dream Works Pictures, we have decided not to use this institution for our film. This is becaue we could only find very few films which are of our chosen genre (horror), meaning this institution would not suit our film as it would not be clear who our film is intended for or the genre.
Examples of a few Dreamworks Pictures films are:
>Cowboys & Aliens
>The Lovely Bones
>Dinner For Schmucks
>Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
Dimension Films
From researching Dimension Films we have decided not to use this film institution as it has not produced many horror or supernatural films.
Examples of a few Dimension Films' movies are:
>Scream, Scream 2, Scream 3
>Scary Movie
>Spy Kids & Spy Kids 2
>Bad Santa
>Starsky and Hutch
>Phantoms
>Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myres
These examples clearly show that Dimension Films have produced some horror films, but not many and not specifically supernatural horror ones which will be our type of film.
Paramount Pictures - Our Chosen Institution
From researching different production companies, Paramount is the institution which we have decided to use.
Examples of films which are produced by Paramount Pictures:
>Friday the 13th franchise (1980 - 1989) >Paranormal Activity trilogy >Shutter Island >Cloverfield >War of the Worlds >Sleepy Hollow Above displays the fact that Paramount Pictures has produced many horror films. Paranormal Activity is the main inspiration for my group and I to produce a supernatural film whilst others show conventions I would like to experiment for our film teaser. For example all of the victim characters have the typical plain clothing look as their costume, meaning the focus will be on the horror character, rather than being distracted by any outgoing clothing. Cloverfield is a film produced in a point of view camera angle throughout the whole film, with one of the characters filming all events throughout (which is similar to how Paranormal Activity is structured). We won't be producing our teaser trailer in this way, but it's something we will consider using in some of our footage as the look increases the fear in the shots as it gives an inclusive feeling for the audience, as if they are there.
>The above certificate symbols (U, PG, 12 and 12A) would be irrelevant for the type of film we are aiming to produce. This is because horror films always have a higher aged certificate as their target audiences are of a higher age because of the fear these films produce for people.
>The certificates 15 and 18 are more relevant for the supernatural horror film we are aiming to produce because it will be 'scary', meaning it is less suitable for younger audiences.
>In conclusion we have decided to use a '15' certificate, as then there will be a wider audience, therefore if our film were to be realistically produced, many more people could see it meaning making more of a profit.
Overall from looking at different films of the genre we have chosen (supernatural horror) I have come to the conclusion as to which type of audience would be the target for our film.
Age
It's clear that the age range we will be targeting is 15-24, as out of all of the films I researched this was always the highest
Gender
The target audience when keeping in mind gender does not have one in particular. As for each film, the percentages for gender were close to one another. This means that anyone will watch this type of film.
From this research, we will begin looking at which certificate to use so therefore who our target audience is.
An average looking girl to give the feeling that nothing will happen to her. From my research, it is clear a lot of horror movies use this technique.
Also, we will be sometimes showing the ghost (like in The Haunting In Connecticut trailer), but we want the identity to not be clear. For example, like The Grudge character, using hair to cover the face giving more of a mysterious feel. Below is an example of what we could use:
In our film we will be centering it around one character at home, so the costume of that character is the most important.
We have not decided if we want the character to be male or female, but they will be young (a teenager) and so therefore vulnerable.
The clothing will be casual, to show that the character is just at home and no where else. Also the clothing will be casual so that it does not distract from happenings in the film.
Examples of this type of costume are shown below: The Haunting In Connecticut
We have conducted a questionnaire to determine the types of people who will be watching our horror film and what will appeal to them. This will help us decide what sorts of things to include in our teaser trailer so it specifically targets them.
How often do you go to the cinema?
1] Once a week - 20%
2] Once a month - 50%
3] Once a year -25%
4] Never - 5%
A] Once a month (50%) is the highest percentage. This shows the audience are interested in film, and will go to the cinema occasionally. This means if a trailer stands out they will probably go and see it, so ours will have to.
Are you male or female?
1] Male - 60%
2] Female - 40%
A] As these results are quite near to one another, this reflects all of my other audience profiling research on specific horror films. This shows there is not a specific gender which prefers horror films, as the results are so close to one another.
In which age group are you?
1] 4-11 - 0%
2] 12-14 - 0%
3] 15-24 - 41%
4] 25-34 - 35%
5] 35-44 - 19%
6] 44+ - 5%
A] 15-24 (41%) is the highest percentage.
What type of 'scary' character would you like to see included in a horror film?
1] Zombies - 25%
2] Supernatural (Not including ghosts) - 35%
3] Ghosts - 35%
4] Other - 5%
A] Supernatural (Not including ghosts) and Ghosts are both 35%, showing this is the preferred type of 'scary character' which relates to our type of film, as it is ghosts.
In a horror trailer, do you expect dialogue to be included?
1] Yes, a lot - 19%
2] Some - 56%
3] No - 25%
A] Some (56%) is the highest percentage, which gives as an idea as to how much dialogue to include.
What age certificate do you think a horror film should be?
1] U - 0%
2] PG - 0%
3] 12 - 5%
4] 15 - 60%
5] 18 - 35%
A] 15 (60%) is the highest percentage, which shows to us which certificate to give our horror film. If we had the certificate as 18, we would not have as big of an audience but if the certificate was any lower, this would not be suitable as they are a younger audience.
What type of lighting would you want to see in a horror film trailer?
1] Dark
2] Light
3] Doesn't matter
A] Doesn't matter is the highest percentage.
Conclusion
In conclusion this questionnaire has helped decide some factors to contribute to our film trailer. We will be using a 15 age certificate, as this will suit our type of film the best and also widens the audience that can view this, therefore making more money and gaining more popularity. Also, from this questionnaire it's clear we don't have to use much dialogue, as it is not that nessecary in a teaser trailer. Another factor which has become clear from this questionnaire is that we can use any type of lighting for a horror film trailer, which is useful as we wanted to combine night shots with daytime shots, to show the film goes over a number of days.
From our research we have decided to use a house which isn't a typical 'haunted house' in films. This means the viewer will feel comforted by the setting, but then it would be intruded by a supernatural being meaning this film is instantly more scary.
After looking at many different film trailers, it seems a supernatural film can be put in any location as long as the storyline makes sense. For example, Below is filmed on a ship at sea, which isn't like a typical supernatural film.
We need somewhere which is easily accessible (in case we need to re-shoot some parts), so we have chosen inside a house. This is because if someone is being taunted by something in their house, it seems more worrying than if it was out somewhere, as then they would be able to get away.
Although we want our location to be a house, we do not want it to be a 'haunted house'. Examples of this can be seen below:
The reason why we do not want to use something like the above images for our location is because its very typical, so typical that it can be seen as not scary in the modern film insdustry, but now it is more of a comic location to choose.
By using a normal looking house, this will create a film which is to be feared more because it's inviting the supernatural into the characters home, somewhere you would think it's safe.
This video above displays testing the new cameras out, as they are different to the old cameras we used shapewise we wanted to ensure we could prevent accidental camera shake.
For this we kept in mind the phrase "What are you doing?" but changed the mood for every scene.
The first is anger, which is displayed through facial expression. In this shot we used the camera hand held, and had it zoomed in. This was an effective testing as we wanted to know if the shot would become pixelated when zommed, but it did not.
The second shot is to display confusion or surprise. This is displayed by facial expression, but also that the camera is further away than the previous shot, showing the camera in a point of view shot could have been following this person. For this shot we used a tripod to ensure the camera was steady for this shot, as it would have been noticeable if the background was moving due to camera shake.
For the third shot we wanted to display happiness. This is displayed by facial expression and body language, but also the tone of voice used for the dialogue. We used a point of view shot for this, and attempted to display walking and then turning, this was affective as it shows how these cameras can be used for this and have a clear image created, they are not completely blurred therefore ruining the video footage.
>Including an aprooval screen at the beginning >Consider including a production company's logo >Quick shots to create tension >Consider using a visible ghost, which is only viewed breifly (like in The Haunting In Connecticut) >OR a quick shot of the supernatural being included (like in Paranormal Activity 3) >Consider 'static' screens in between shots (like in Paranormal Activity 3) >Bright lights creating disorientation >Flashing lights giving a feeling of fast paced tension >Close up shots of eyes showing characters fear >Fade into white or black to next scene (like in Below) >Having the films title included at the end with a black and white/ light blue colour scheme >Consider using a credit screen >Have a 'Coming Soon' screen with again a black and white/ light blue colour scheme >Consider using intertitles throughout the trailer (Although probably not as we are creating a teaser trailer rather than an actual trailer)
All trailers include some sort of release date, wether it be an actual date or just 'Coming Soon'. Below are some examples of this. When editing our film we will have to keep this convention in mind, as including it creates a more authentic film trailer. As we are producing a teaser, rather than a trailer, this means we will have 'Coming Soon' rather than a date. This is because teaser trailers are usually released a long time before the actual film is released, therefore the release date is a mystery at that time.
From looking at the screen shots above and previous research on film trailers of the supernatural horror genre, I have gained the idea of using a black background with a white/ light blue font, as this reflects the feeling of a ghost. I'm not sure if I will have this faded or not, but will test it, as it may not look as noticeable. This will work well instead of having the typical red and black colour scheme of horror films, as it hints at the supernatural qualities included.
The above screen shot shows a feature which is included in many trailers, the aprooval screen. To make our film trailer look authentic, this will be included.
Credits:
The above screen shot displays a feature which is included in film trailers, showing the producers, main actors etc. Again, similarly to including the above screen, by having this feature in our trailer it will ensure a more realistic film teaser trailer.
Production Company: Occasionally the production company of the film is included at the beginning of the films trailer. We may include this, as it adresses which audience it will appeal to straight away.
Straight away the audience can see the religious connotations which will be apparent in this film - reverand and exorism give a lot away to the audience about what this film is about.The very plain and non rounded text doesn't give away what exactly the type of mood is suppose to be created. This type of text can be compared to a font created by a typewriter - very plain, but also giving a feeling maybe this could be an official report of some sort, as this is typically what kind of font is used for this in films.
The type of font changes towards the end of the trailer to a more sharp font and in a red colour. This type of text is very affective to use in a horror trailer as the sharpness and colouring gives a very unfriendly feeling to the film, showing exactly what a horror film is about. This is something we will consider for our film.
Techniques/ ideas for my film:
A zooming shot used to emphasise a scary looking silohuette in a dark room (the darkness of the room and the fact she isn't moving makes the audience feel uncomfortable.)
The close up shot of a cross can be compared to The Devil Inside trailer in which a lot of religious crosses can be used to show the exorcism and attempting to rid of the devil, the whole storyline of the trailer.
This blurred shot is affective in showing the distress of the woman who is possessed by the devil by her hand gestures and facial expression. As the focus is on some plants, it outlines the setting being in the country and away from others, giving a feeling of the characters in this film not being safe.
Close up on the face to display fear.
These two very quick shots above give a feeling of chaos and unease in this film.
Storyline/ narrative & dialogue: The intertitles are affective in showing the basic storyline of this film, basically that a reverand will perform an exorcism and it will be his last. Throughout the films trailer sounds of screaming are overlapped with one another, giving a real feeling of chaos which is again shown by all of the quick shots in the trailer. In our teaser trailer we aim to create the same chaotic feeling, making the film seem very exciting for the audience, though we do not want to give away much of the storyline to the audience as it is only a teaser, so we will consider not using intertitles as they may show too much informaton.
All of the titles used in The Devil Inside trailer have the same background which relates to some of the happenings in the trailer (the posessed woman showing in her mouth some cuts) which is the same type of symbol. Some of the cut marks are crosses showing the religious connotations in this film, which are also shown by the constant use of preists in the trailer.
The title used at the beginning of the film for the 911 call uses a different font and background than the other titles because if the same font and background was used as the other trailers it would give away details of the film too quickly. Also by having the plain black and white it gives the audience nothing to be distracted by, meaning they focus on the text and dialogue used. Maria Rossi states that she has 'killed three people.' This straight away gives a feeling of unease to the audience, also they are not straight away sure what type of film or what genre this is going to be.
Techniques/ Ideas for my film:
Use of 'real' television news footage to give the idea this is a real happening, making the film seem more realistic and scary for the audience. The real news affect is created by slightly pixelated footage and also the television channels symbol and headline being stated on the screen.
Use of still photographs - in this case it establishes the characters in the film and as it is a nonmoving footage gives the audience time to focus upon this. It also gives the idea that something has happened to these characters, meaning there is a cause of change in the film for them.
Establishing shots of the setting to show to the audience clearly where this is. Each setting will give a different affect for the audience e.g. a home will give a friendly feeling for the audience, and as the genre is horror it will create a worrying feeling as it is intrusive into somewhere where they feel safe.
The use of the transistion where it fades the scene to black. This is affective in putting scenes together without just cutting as it makes a smooth transition.
Using religious symbols e.g a cross which is seen here. This shows the point of the film - attempting to rid of the 'devil inside' of the characters. By having the religious symbols included in our film it does show to the audience that devils are included in the film, giving a scary and also a supernatural feeling as the characters will be posessed.
This print screen of the trailer shows a CCTV type shot in which a high angled camera angle is used and also a grainy affect, showing someone is watching over the characters actions. This will give a worrying feeling to the viewer as it shows that something is likely to happen in this room. The setting is very plain and the use of monotone colouring gives a feeling of loneliness and that this is not a friendly feeling room.
Use of a mid shot to show emotion but also the surrounding.
Again the use of a midshot shows the setting and the characters. This is affective in this shot as the woman showing herself as possessed, outlining why she is in this white room alone and why she must be watched by CCTV.
This close up displays the emotion of fear through the body position.
A mid shot again displaying setting. Also the prop of a sharp tool in the background which gives a dangerous feel to the shot.
A quick shot of a woman - unsure who she is as the shot is so quick but as the eyes are glowing this gives a supernatural feel to the woman.
Storyline/Narrative and Dialogue:
The storyline is very straight forward with not many quick shots. As this is a trailer it works well, but as we are producing a teaser trailer we will be using more quick shots and the storyline will not be as obvious.
