Film Name Research

As research for the name of our film opening, we decided to do a survey to see which word(s) could be used as the title of our opening titles.  We asked 30 people and below are the results.

The genre for our film opening is horror and involves a stalker.  From below, which name would you select to be our film name?

• Tormented = 11 people
• Possessed = 2 people
• The Hunted = 5 people
• Hunted = 4 people
• Stalker = 1 person
• Shadow = 2 people
• Infatuation = 1 person
• Obsessed = 1 person
• The Obsessed = 3 people

Based on these results, we have decided to take the top 4 word(s) and create an online blog survey to decide what the name of our opening film sequence should be.  The survey will be created and placed at the top left of the blog.  The 4 favourite names are 'Tormented', 'The Hunted', 'Hunted' and 'The Obssessed'.

Setting Photo's

Below are photo's taken from an alleyway to suggest a setting for our film opening.  I think the setting is ideal as it is a dark place, yet with some light from lampposts which gives a tense atmosphere.  Also, when walking through the alleyway, it is quite intimidating and makes you feel like someone is behind you, which goes well with the stalker theme that we have in mind.

Target Audience

For our target audience, we made up a survey that we could ask them to see what they thought on horror movies and the components that they would want to see in a horror film.  The feedback that we got was helpful and it enabled us to focus on what we could put in our opening sequence to attract our particular audience.

Who are our target audience?
We decided as a group that our target audience would be teenagers and young adults as this is normally the range of ages that watch horror films.  Also, we thought that they would have the best reaction to the features that happen in the films.  As research, we looked on the internet to see what target audiences other films had, and also what people like about horror films.  Below is a video that I found that shows what teenagers feel about horror movies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FILVRZJ8JA

From this we can see what they liked about a horror movie and also what they disliked.  Also, they mentioned what their favourite and worst horror movies were, which we then looked at and decided certain features that we would include and others that we wouldn't, so that it would be more appealing to the target audience.

What features could we use for our film opening?

We hope for our opening sequence to based on a stalker, but also a serial killer.  We would then include photo's of victims to make it more realistic and for it to be obvious that he is a serial killer and that he has victims.  Also, we want to incorporate blood into the film opening, to make it look more believable and when asking teenagers for our research, we found that using blood would be effective and worthwhile.

In addition, we want to have music that  will create tension throughout the sequence and make the opening seem mysterious and creative.  We will be looking on 'Royalty Free' and other free music download websites to choose this music and what we feel would benefit our opening.

What did our survey consist of?

1. Do you like horror movies?
2. What is your favourite horror film? What is your least favourite?
3. What do you expect to see in horror films?

Drawn "Scary Fonts" Samples -Gareth A

These are some pictures of other (drawn) sample film title fonts that I did earlier... They aren't finished and are nowhere near as good as we'd like them to be, but they are a start. We'd like them to be scary or have an eeriness to them.

Gareth A

Colouring within Horror Films

Research Into Film Colouring...

• All films have a key colour that runs throughout the whole film and is always present in every shot
• Looking at horror films it is clear that the key colours that are best for this genre are blue and red, also orange can be a key colour theme in some fims

Red

Red is the colour of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination which relates to horror.

Light red: represents joy, sexuality, passion, sensitivity, and love. 
Pink: signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness.
Dark red: is associated with vigor, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath.
Brown: suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities.Blue

Light blue: associated with health, healing, tranquility, understanding, and softness.
Dark blue: represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness.

Orange Dark orange: can mean deceit and distrust.
Red-orange: desire, pleasure, domination, aggression, and thirst for action.

Nightmare On Elm Street- the colour blue is used


 
Sweeney Todd- the colours blue and red are used 

 
Insidious- the colours blue and red are used 

 
Trick or Treat- the colours blue, red and orange are used 

Brief Setting Ideas - Gareth A

Right, I'm blogging this (which will be taken down) as I can not create a Wordle map at the moment as something is wrong with the Java on my laptop.

THIS IS ALL WRITING, BUT SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Also, we have identified some possible places to film our movie, which is based on a stalker. We are to get visual media of the following and the person who is to get photos/other visual media of that area is denoted by a "-" their initials "-".

These places are:

- The Alley off Dernier Road which leads to Higham Lane(I think that's the road name, it comes out opposite Royal West Kent Avenue in North Tonbridge.) -GA-

- Longmeade Football Ground and playing Fields -GA-

-  The footpath next to and opposite Scotches Field -SB-

- The fields, barns and apple orchards in Horsemonden -LE-

- Ponds and Woodlands -NM-LE-

- Woodlands Walk -SB-

- Hayesden Lake -undecided, probably as a group-

Post By
Gareth A

Sub-Genres of Horror

The different sub-genres in Horror:

By Nicole Moulder

Mood Board on Horror

Research into Horror Films - Mood Board on Horror

I have created a mood board on the Genre of Horror, this is so we can get some ideas on what  we can include into our film opening, for example the location of our film opening, what the characters look like (make-up and costumes) and also their personality. 

By Nicole Moulder

Film Names

In todays lesson we were thinking of film name ides for our opening sequence.  We will be creating a survey to see what our target audience think would be best.  Our target audience is teenagers/young adults so by asking for their opinion, our opening film will be suited to them.  Below is a list of film names that we thought of:

• The Hunted
• Hunted
• Shadow
• Stalker
• Infatuation
• Obssessed
• Posesssed
• Tormented
• Nightmare

Below are designs of some of the film name ideas created in 'DaFont':

 

Apocalypse Now Opening Titles Annotations

Below are the annotations of the opening titles to Apocalypse Now.  The annotations include emotions, objects and there meanings, the lighting throughout the clip, the sound and the different types of editing.

Research into Horror Films

Research into Horror Films - Typical Camera Shots in Horror Films

By Nicole Moulder

Codes and Convections of Horror Films

Research into Horror Films - Codes and Conventions 

By Nicole Moulder

Examples of Film Genres

Examples of Film Genres

The first genre there is in films, is Action. An action film is a film genre where there is one or more heroes being thrust into a series of challenges that requires physical feats, fight scenes, car chasing, explosions and gun play. A few examples of action films are Pirates of the Caribbean, the Avengers, Avatar, Fast and Furious, X-Men, Mission Impossible, James Bond and Transformers. 

The second most noticeable genre there is in film, is Comedy/RomCom. Comedies are a light-hearted drama which are made to make the audience laugh and entertain them.  The comedy genre often exaggerates situations, ways of speaking, the action of the character or the Mise-en-scene on screen. A romantic comedy is a sub-genre of comedy. A romantic comedy is also a light hearted film, but is normally centered on romantic situations and settings, for example weddings.

The third example of a film genre, is drama. A drama film mostly depends on in depth development of the main characters or supporting characters dealing with emotional scenes, that can include addictions (drug/alcohol), death, poverty, war, class divisions and corruption. A few examples of drama films are Water for Elephants, Jane Eyre, Goodnight mister Tom and The Adjustment Bureau. 

Another genre of film is called Sci-Fi. A Sci-Fi normally includes extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, time travel, space ships, robots and cyborgs. Many Sci-Fi films focus on social or political issues and the contrasts between humans and aliens. For example, Thunderbirds, Star Trek, Star Wars, Jumper and Paul.

The next film genre there is, is called musicals. It is a film genre in which songs are sung by the characters which are interwoven into the narrative, the songs can sometimes be accompanied with dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the films characters. A few most well known examples are Grease, Mary Poppings, The sound of Music, Hairspray and High School Musical. 

Another film genre is called Fantasy. Fantasy films usually involves magic, supernatural events, make believe creatures or fantasy worlds. Fantasy films often have elements of magic, myth, wonder, escapism and extraordinary. A few well known examples are Harry Potter, Twilight, Avatar and Percy Jackson. 

Another genre of film is Thriller. Thriller films tend to be adrenaline rushing, gritty and fast-paced. It also uses suspense, tension, surprise, anxiety and terror to entertain and scare the audience. Thriller films also use plot twists, red herrings and cliff hangers. A few well known thriller films are Phonebooth, The Roommate, The Box, Orphan and the Happening. 

The last genre of film I have researched into is Horror Films. Horror is a film genre that plays with the audiences negative and emotional side by scaring them with their fears, nightmares and terror of the unknown. Horror films often include scenes that make the audience jump, scream and startle the viewer. Horror films tend to use ghosts, aliens, vampires, werewolves, curses, gore, torture, serial killers, monsters and demons to scare the audience. A few examples of horror films include, The Grudge, Saw, Psycho, The ring and The Last House on the Left. 

By Nicole Moulder

Research on Film Openings

To decide on a genre, we looked at different types of films from different genres to see what we liked and disliked about each one.  We discussed the sound, title and images of the openings and how we felt about them.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo:

Sound:

• Throughout the clip is a constant beat, which gets increasingly fast as the clip goes on and then stops once the opening is finished.
• There also appears to be screaming in some places, often when the human body is used as an object in the opening.
• The loud music shows the intensity of the film opening and possible the intensity of the film.

Titles:

• The titles are very small and spaced around the action on the screen, which shows the importance of the titles.
• They are fast and there is a lot of action which reflects the genre of the film - thriller.

Images:

• The human body is used in a number of ways to express emotion.  These emotions include sadness, violence, struggle, love and torture.
• The images fade in and out constantly throughout the whole clip, and sometimes flash as well to show the action and thrill of the genre.
• Fire in the sequence represents danger and possible death.
• Dark, black content again representing danger and fear of the unknown.
• Faces and bodies used a lot, and it is very fluent throughout.

Se7en:

Sound:

• The opening starts with a loud bang showing there is going to be action.
• Creaking, screaching and screaming are introduced which signifies mystery and suspiciousness.
• Ticking is used to build suspense.
• As the opening is ending, the music begins to increase and gets louder, causing tension, yet then stops at 'Monday' at the beginning of the film.
• When at the beginning of the film, the is quiet background city noise which sets the scene.
• Rain, cars and talking is used to show that it is normal and apart of everyday life.

Titles:

• The titles change rapidly and are always moving, showing the action and tempo of the film.
• The font is san-serif with rough edges, which represents the possible violence of the rest of the film.
• On some occasions the titles turn around and are backwards which causes confusion, and could be a reflection on the storyline or some characters.

Images:

• Different types of materials are used, which could be involved in some sort of plan.
• It appears to be a crime scene, and that research is being done with the books.
• Isolation at the beginning could be a recurring theme throughout the film.
• A dead body is included with blood, showing danger and murder (relating back to a crime scene)

Trainspotting:

Sound:

• Throughout the title sequence the sound is diagetic as it is a voice over.
• When the two men are running, there is parallel sound with them as their feet touch the ground on the beat.
• The music is upbeat, along with the action that is occuring in the title sequence.
• The voiceover is also very demanding - and swears a lot which gives us an impression of the character.
• The screaching of the car shows the urgency of the car to stop, but could also show the urgency of the men trying to get away.

Titles:

• The characters in the opening scene are very rebellious.
• Things are dropping out of them as they run yet they do not seem to care.
• Swearing shows lack of education and represents them as a character.

Images:

• Injections are being put into each other containing drugs (medium and close-ups)
• Contrasts innocence of child and the rebellious adults in the same shot

In conclusion, our group decided that we preferred the more secretive and mysterious film opening because we connected (as a member of the audience) to the film opening.  Also, we felt it would be more appropriate and the music worked really well with it.

Eight Frame Anaylsis of Preliminary

Eight Frame Anaylsis of Preliminary 

Shot 1- Medium Shot

Shot 2- Medium Shot

Shot 3- Pan Shot

Shot 4- Medium Shot

Shot 5- Over Shoulder/Medium Shot

Shot 5- Over Shoulder/Medium Shot

Shot 6- Over Shoulder/Close Up

Shot 7-Medium Shot

Shot 8- Credit Titles