Genre Conventions For Your Chosen Genre (Horror)

SETTING - Usually in vary discrete areas where there is pure isolation as there is no where for the characters to run to and also no hope of finding help. There is also pathetic fallacy which includes thunder and rain to emphasise solitude. Often there may be antiques or large paintings in the scene as it creates a dark and ominous scene. The colors generally associated with horror are black and red ti connote blood and death. Lighting is used in a way to give the affect of something bad happening for instance flickering of the lights or shadows results in the audience feeling scared and nervous.

SOUND - The sound is very important in horror movies, using foley sounds will help create suspense. Fast and non diagetic sound can make the audience feel frighted and scared just like the shower scene in Psycho, the music used in this specific scene makes it very intense and is perhaps the main reason for the audiences fear.  

NARRATIVE STRUCTURE - There's usually a similar narrative structure for horror movies often they are left for closure or end with room for a sequel like Halloween, Friday the 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and more. There's always a protagonist who commences a mission to defeat the killer or whom ever the antagonist is, the protagonist is usually a girl.

THEMES - The main themes of any horror movie is Insanity (the antagonist), religion, zombie apocalypse, nightmares, good vs evil, supernatural etc.

Genre Shortlist

Horror - The genre conventions of horror would include be a scary villian or a paranormal figure of some kind, distasteful imagery, constant shocks and frights throughout the movie.

Thriller - The genre conventions of thriller will most likely include a protagonist as well as an antagonist; the antagonists identity usually gets divulged at the end, a chain of bad events which creates suspense for the climax, tense music, dark lighting, quick cuts of different shots, often a story line which can happen in real life which identifies with viewers a lot more. 

Crime - The genre conventions of crime usually has a battle between the protagonist and antagonist after there is a distribution in the equilibrium, loads of close ups and extreme close ups of the protagonist to show their emotion, often many action scenes as well as weaponry and blood. 

Favourite Previous Student Work

Group 22 - 2015/2016: Kenny, David, Tristen & Thabiti

The reason this was one of my favourite student title sequences is because from the off set i was immediately intrigued by the visuals and the opening sound, the subtle piano playing as institutions were displayed on screen was very good as the sound was very mysterious and skeptical. It instantly exhibited what type of genre the movie is as well as the mood. I was very fascinated by the title credits as the way it was demonstrated like nothing i’ve seen by any of the other groups, it seemed very professional and it worked very well with the opening.

The use of different shots were also very good, they weren’t just simple mid shots and longshots, they had a variety of different shots like a POV shot which was exceptional as it creates an element of panic and excitement for the audience as well as keeping us on the edge of our seats due to the opening action. They also had a shot of the male running and the camera man/woman running also which was very good too as it was different to what you would see in a normal movie and yet they still successfully managed to attain the viewers attention due to the fast paced action.  Also by clearly showing that the male is running from another male also assists the fact that we are engaged and interested in the film.

The background sound of the police siren was compelling as it continued to emphasise the element of panic as it hinted the police are searching for these men, also one of the males are trying to get away from two different people. The police siren also references crime which was most likely the genre of sub genre of the title sequence.

Filming

The photos below show examples of what we did on filming days

On this day we filmed the scene where all the photos of the victims were laid out on the table. And also the start of filming for the first set of scenes 

On this day we began to design our props; going for an old, raggedy look. We used (black) spray paint and burnt match sticks to create the dirty/burnt stains  on the bandages & plasters 

Volunteer Victims

Mildred 

Ruth

Esme 

Ida

Carrie

Mabel

Thelma 

August 

Winifred 

Josephine 

Nadine 

Se7en Remake Project Draft

In our group remake, we had to go around the college to try find a suitable location to shoot our film. This is because we needed a dark place which had a spotlight.

Sound Design - The Pitch (Yasemin Yilmaz)

Diegetic sound is natural noises that occur in the scene, such as dialogue or wind whistling in the background, and so on. Non-diegetic is any sound played and edited over the scene, such as anticipating music when something bad is about to happen.

The genre for our title sequence is horror/thriller, and our title sequence doesn't include any dialogue nor any other diegetic sounds therefore there will only be music edited over the scene. Here are a few examples of how the music can possible be like which will be thrilling to get the audience a bit excited;

Foley sounds such as door creaks and footsteps won't be used as much as they'll be on the computer already, or will be inserted from youtube then put onto a program where we plan to create our music, this could be a mix up of several tracks from youtube or made completely from scratch to add originality.

Shots from around the college will include heartbeat noises as its one of the first few scenes so it'll be introducing the film. This adds anticipation and tension, making the audience feel uneasy about viewing it. It can also include low noises of chatter as thats what you'd expect from near buildings.

Forest and trees include ominous music, however it'll be subtle and include perhaps natural noises such as wind, however the camera won't be able to pick this up so it can be edited in.

Also silence is a huge key to horrors sometimes as it builds lots of tension and can lead to a big cliff hanger or jump.

Risk Assessment - The Pitch (Ahmed Rahman)

There are a number of different risks we could come across during the duration of our filming, for instance the weather, other obligations and commitments, discrete locations, camera failure, camera protection and props.

Weather and camera protection -

As our film is a horror movie it would be ideal for there to be dark gloomy weather as it would make the atmosphere of title sequence very abrogating. Therefore if the weather happens to be sunny and bright on the days we choose to film this will effect us as the weather will perhaps hint another genre, also we have no control of the scenery hence why we cant construct the scene to make it look like a scene from a horror movie. Also if the weather happens to be rainy it would mean our camera equipment would be at risk of being damaged therefore we will be unable to film.

Other obligations - 

We all have different obligations to attend to whether that is completing work for other subjects or going to work so then we would have to work our way around every ones busy schedule however our schedules are quite similar as we all do not have afternoon lessons on a Wednesday and most of us do no have school on a Friday. So these two days we will definitely be filming and we would have to figure out other days we can delegate to filming.

Locations - 

As we are trying to make a title sequence for a horror film some of the locations we will be using will be in very discrete areas therefore it can be quite dangerous however by being in groups and by filming during the day time we should be fine.

Camera Failure - 

Another risk we could potentially face is camera failure, if we have problems with our camera that would affect our filming and set us back, we would also have to wait the following day or the following Monday to pick up a new camera.

Fire Hazard -

As a scene in our title sequence will consist of a burning image of one of the victims we will need to be extremely careful when filming this scene, how we decided would be a good way to refrain any hazards is by burning the photo above a table with wet tissues on it so that we could place the photo on the tissues to immediately put out the fire.

Title Credits - The Pitch (Ahmed Rahman)

The font will be choose to use is the font which is seen in the picture (the lower one). The reason we have chosen to go for this font is because it seems be cryptic and dark. The font has an affect which has paint drooping off the letters which connotes blood therefore this would fit perfectly with our title sequence. One of our inspirations for our title sequence is the movie 'Se7en' and we are using bits from that title sequence in our own, and just like that title sequence we will have our credits displayed on the screen as the camera shows different things to get the audience thinking and engaged. However the difference would be is that our camera would pan around this table showcasing photos of various murder victims.

One of the ideas we had in terms of our title credits is that we would present names in the way the different victims die, for instance one of the names would appear on the screen and then the name will be on fire and disintegrate to signify the method of death for one of the girls.

We are deciding between the colours white or red for the credits, red to connote and emphasize blood and turpitude. And white because the title sequence would be in a very dark room with very little lighting so therefore by making the credits white it would stand out and the audience can see the affects we use on the credits.

Mise-en-scene; Props, Costume, Make up - The Pitch (Jasmine Abdi)

Some ideas we have come up with for our props include fake blood and some rope. Fake blood to suggest bloodshed which links to our murder theme and our genre - horror and thriller. And the ropes to suggest someone either being tied up or someone 'hanging themselves' this will highlight our theme of murder and death and will also stir anticipation alongside the title name 'Stalker'

The only charaters in our film will be the female victims (photographs of them) and the main villan (the psycho stalker) ideas for our main character; the character will be wearing dark clothing and will be hard to identify i.e. his face will never be seen in the film.
Below I have inserted a sketch of how the main character will look

The pictures of the victims will be photographed using a polaroid camera and will be scattered across a table in one scene. In other scenes each polariod picture will be pinned somewhere suggesting the event of their death or where they was buried i.e. in one scene one polariod picture will be floating on water suggesting the victim died whilst be drowned (dileberately)

Mise-en-scene LOCATION & SETTING - The Pitch (Jasmine Abdi)

Some of the ideas for our filming locations are: The Barbican, Regents Canal and Islington Churchyard.  

LOCATION

These are just some of the locations our film sequence will be shot at and where key scenes will be filmed.

SETTING

 The pictures above display how we want to set the mood of the film

Target Audience Research

What is an audience?

An audience is the assembled spectators or listeners at a public event such as a film.

What is a target audience?

A target audience is a particular group at which a product such as a film or advertisement is aimed.

Who is the target audience?(Genre - Horror)

The usual age for the target audience of a horror film is between the ages of 15-25. Horror films are aimed at groups of teenagers, as it is almost a social event to watch a horror film and be scarred together. Statistics show that males watch horrors more than females do however, horror films don't tend to aim at a specific gender. 

YouGov Profile for The Human Centipede (similar film to creative ideas) 

The importance of a target audience:

It's important for a film to have a target audience because it helps determine the content of the film. Your target audience need to be able to relate and engage with your film opening. Appealing to a teenage market will be different to an opening aiming at an older demographic.

Audience Detail - The Pitch (Jasmine Abdi)

It's not only important to set a target audience, but to also know your audience beacuse these will be the people watching the film; so in order for it to be a success, the title sequence has to be appealing to the target audience.

Our target audience is aged 19-24 and we have chosen to target both male and females.

By setting a target audience this is giving our ideas more of a direct beacuse we will know who to aim the film at - what ideas will and will not appeal to them.

However in order to aim our film at a group of people, we must know who those people are.

  We further broke this down by looking at our target audience's Economic, Social and Cultural status, this is show in the image below ↓

  

We made the decison to aim our film at 19-24 year olds when we sent out a survey - with the results show below.

In order for our results to come back accurate we took the survey in a busy public space so we had feedback from a variety of different people.

In addition, we also came up with a wider target audience so we could attact a larger fan base.

The group we chose as our wider target audience was people of ages 25-34 and also 15-18 years as both these age groups showed a similar percentage of interest into our chosen genre

 (horror and thriller)

We will attract our Target Audience to our film by releasing our film through mainstream. We will also attract our audience using adverts on the TV, newspapers, billboards and social media;

such as making a Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram accounts to connect to our audience and build a strong fan base.

Through research we know most of our target audience are familar with the use of social media and use it heavily therefore, this will be useful to us when reaching out to our TA.

We also want to build an audience before our film is released so that there is a certain excitment around the film.

Social media will help spread our film and also help spread it internationally therefore, making our film more of a success in attracting a larger audience.

 

Production Schedule - The Pitch (Lewis Welch)

9:00am - 11:00am: Film scenes using college facilities and classrooms (check beforehand for permission and availability)

11:00am - 11:15am: Travel time between locations

11:15am - 12:15am: Film scenes at the Regents Canal (insure to check the weather on the day incase a shuffling between time slots is needed)

12:15pm - 1:15pm: Lunch Break

1:15pm - 1:30pm: Travel time between locations

1:30pm - 3:30pm: Film scenes using local green spaces, *Fortune Park, Bunhill Fields, Graham Park* (Insure to check the weather on the day incase a shuffling between time slots is needed)

3:30pm - 3:45pm: Travel time between locations

3:45pm - 5:30pm: Film scenes at The Barbican Centre (if filming content inside the building, ask for permission)

9:00am - 10:15am: Using the college facilities and classrooms (reshoot any scenes we are unhappy with)

10:15am - 10:30am: Travel time between locations

10:30am - 11:45am: Film scenes using local Churchyards (avoid the public during the shooting of the scenes)

11:45am - 12:30pm: Lunch Break

12:30pm - 3:00pm: Reshoot any scenes we are unhappy with at the following locations *The Barbican Centre, Regents Canal, Local green spaces*

3:00pm - 4:30pm: Allocated time slot if needed (depending on the weather forecast on the previous day of filming)

4:30pm - 4:45pm: Travel time between locations

4:45pm - 6:30pm: Film any scenes that need darkness (Night time shoot)

Institutional Detail - The Pitch (Yasemin Yilmaz)

The film will be an independent production distributed by our very own designed White Hand Productions.

 Our distribution company is similar to that of the highly respected independent horror film distributers Brain Damage Films. The films produced by Brain Damage Films usually contain sexuality, nudity, gore and graphic violence, and other elements common to horror films. This is similar to what we look to replicate in our own production.

Brain Damage Films have distributed a film entitled Schizophreniac: The Whore Mangler which has similarities to our piece. The film follows Harry Russo, a psychotic, drug-addicted cross dresser who is obsessed with a puppet named Rubberneck. Harry believes Rubberneck speaks to him, instructing him to commit acts of violence, such as killing whores. Harry fatally chokes two prostitutes and stabs his psychiatrist to death throughout the film as well as many other gruesome acts of violence.

Due to our low-budget production, we look to be creative in the way we display our title credits. We visualise using multiple different styles to do so, such as handwritten credits, digitally created credits and multiple other unique displays that can be created using the resources available to us.

Genre Of Film - The Pitch (Lewis Welch)

Genre Choice- We have decided for our opening title sequence to go with the genre of horror. We have looked at multiple different independent and Hollywood blockbuster title sequences and decided horror was best fit for our creative ideas to be brought to life. In addition, through research we have found that horror tends to be successful in making a profit at the box office. We are looking to create a sinister, dark and gloomy piece to depict the majority of what happens in the film. This will help set the tone and showcase the theme without spoiling any plot twists we look to incorporate. 

Sub Genres- Thriller, Crime, Drama

We have taken inspiration from the opening title sequence of the classic horror film, The Omen. The actual introduction of the credits are not appealing in the slightest however, many other aspects of the production we believe could work well in our own piece. The dim lighting and the evil-looking image displayed throughout connotes and establishes straight away the theme of the piece. These similar genre conventions we look to replicate in our own style to also set the tone from the off set. The use of disturbing and eerie sound really constructs an atmosphere full of fear and the unknown. This too is a convention linked to horror time and time again.  

The basic fundamentals and ideas from the opening title sequence of the film se7en are similar to how we look to film our piece. Using the genre of thriller as a sub-genre lets us create a more in depth storyline that revolves around not only spooking the audience but telling a story complete with twists as well. In our piece we look to replicate the display of the title credits and camera angles such as close-up shots.

Type Of Title Sequence - The Pitch (Yasemin Yilmaz)

Our sequence will be very stylised to gritty, edgy, short cuts to not give too much away, making it more sinister and interesting. This is the same theme the film 'Seven' followed, this sequence has influenced us because we've already made a remake of it and also looked at it in great detail.

Images like this are very close up and don't show too much, leaving room for the viewer to guess what it could be about, and forebodes what's going to happen in the film such as something sinister. This creates enigmas such as 'Whats the person intending to do?'. Close up shots like this which have a limited mise-en-scene creates suspension which are useful for thrillers and horror.

Random pictures like this make the audience question the opening even more, which is what we want to create with our title sequence. The idea is to 'spook' the audience and make them want to get more spooked, and find out what the actual back story is. If we can achieve this, then we've achieved our aim.

Conventions which may be challenged are how gender roles are portrayed in films. Such as women always being the victim, and men either being the heroes or the villains. If our title sequence is well interpreted, it will suggest that one of the women who are among the victims will turn out to be a survivor, and eventually lead onto being the hero of the film. 

Colours will be limited like seen on the image, which is from another horror called 'The omen', and as you can see the distorted images hint at a shadow of a child, whilst its reflection is a upside down cross which symbolises anti-Christ, meaning evil. We will follow a similar pattern where images and colours will only give away the plot to an extent, the rest is left out for it to be questioned.