Institution research

For our main task, we have chosen the horror genre as the genre of our video. This is a popular genre in aspects of books, films, video games and others. With regards to films, there are many production companies associated with producing films of this genre and making them successful.

One example of this is Blumhouse Productions. Their model of movie making is high quality micro budget films, which has been a proven successful formula. The company has produced highly profitable films such as The Paranormal Activity, The Purge, Insidious and Sinister franchises. The beginning model of this idea was Paranormal Activity 1, which was made for $15,000 and grossed close to $200 million worldwide, which made it the most profitable film in Hollywood history.

Another example is Platinum Dunes. A company set up by the 3 film makers Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form. Platinum Dunes was set up in 2001, and started with a speciality of producing horror films, particularly remakes of older films. Some examples are The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, A Nightmare On Elm Street and Friday the 13th, although none of these films became a critical success. Since the inception of the company, the 3 have branched out into other films, such as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot. Also, Michael Bay directed Pain and Gain. Despite these recent productions, the vast majority of this companies money has come from the horror movie remake business.

Another example is Vertigo Entertainment, set up by Korean American Roy Lee. The starting formula Lee has was that he would re make Asian films for an English and American audience. This was so that the film can have more success outside of Asia. Examples of his work include The Ring and Grudge franchises, Shutter remake, Rec remake (renamed Quarantine) and the A Tale of Two Sisters Remake ( renamed The Uninvited).

All of these production companies are focused heavily in the horror genre, focusing on the slasher and psychological genres, which fits in with the type of genre our video will be. Our video brief will be more indie based as due to a low budget, there will be more of a focus on the story and the characters performance on screen to build tension and scare factor, as there is an absence of expensive editing and production costs to glamorise and make the film more professional. Also because the film is indie, it can have any a story as the primary focus is not drawing in lots of money from an audience, and it also doesn't have to fit with films of the genre that have been mad.This way there is more freedom to subvert the genre and play around with the story, as there wouldn't be any big production companies getting involved and wanting to change it to appease a mass audience.

If I was to choose a institution to produce my films from the ones I have researched, I would choose Blumhouse productions. This is because I agree with their mission statement with small budgets and high quality films and also they have produced one of my favourite horror movies in sinister and also very popular films amongst myself and my friends like insidious and Paranormal activity.

Preliminary task: Video Brief

This is my groups' preliminary video task.

Preliminary task: evaluation.

Jacques, Nathan and Calvin evaluated our video and I agree with some of the comments that they made

My video ticked all the boxes in the must have for the video pre lim. The film contained a match on action, it included a shot reverse shot on more than one occasion and we kept to the 180 degree rule.


In addition to those points there is a controlled use of camera with a variety of shot types that featured and there is a close attention to mise en scene. The best parts of the film were there was good setting and lighting and an impressive match on action shot as it builds up the tension. The variety of camera shots also added to the best parts on the film.

However, the sound wasn't very clear which made then made the dialogue not ver clear which then made the narrative hard to understand for our peer assessors. During the SRS, the sound was inconsistent due to location and filming on different days. The editing also could've been smoother, making the cuts to different shots lets jolted. This is constructive criticism which I can take on board and use to help improve our task. When filming the main task I will be aware of this and will make sure there are no sound problems in the task.

Preliminary task planning outlines.

Setting
School theatre, lights all off except for spotlight to make it less obvious that it's in theatre.

Costume
Generic 'normal' clothing, (clothing not important to story)

Props
Table

Actors
Ben.L.
Brandon.C.

Short description
A conversation between a man and a hitman
SRS- Conversation
Match on action- Walking through the door,
180 degree rule- when conversation takes place.

Image Analysis

Image Analysis

- One character in foreground centre, suggests he is central to the story and is the main character in the story and is the most important, tells the audience who to look out for and who to emotionally invest in as he is the main character in shot which implies he is the main in the film

- Character holding a knife, suggests he has to use it and is important to his survival as it's the only noticeable thing he has, giving it a meaning of protection towards him. Gives audience feeling that he will use this weapon a lot as it is featured with the character

- The lighting is dark, which suggests the time of day that the film will take place and also could suggest the overall tone of the film. The audience can figure out what type of genre the film is as the dark lighting is very negative and ominous, implying the film is a horror or thriller genre.

- The setting is in a cabin, which is a typical setting for a horror film, especially of the slasher genre.

- The costume is typical clothing and the colour of the clothing is dark, this could be an indicator of the tone of the film as it's quite dark, suggesting the that the film is dark.

Slasher/ psychological Horror codes & conventions.

A slasher film is a sub genre of the horror film genre. Featured elements of a slasher film are...

- A psychotic killer killing a group of people, usually teenagers or young adults.
- Away from parent or mature adult supervision, usually up to no good.
- Carnage ensues until final person, usually the 'virgin' girl prevails and destroys the killer.

However the killer often comes back in the sequels afterwards.

The Killer is usually an ordinary person who suffers great trauma, abuse, or injustice in their life and goes about killing to get revenge and satisfaction for these events, such as Friday the 13th. The victims are almost always linked to the killers past. The killer is always masked, until the final scene when unmasked, if they're not, it leaves more room for sequels. The killer appears to be indestructible/immortal and super strength, this is so the character is more dangerous and done so they can come back in numerous sequels and reign terror again. An example of this type of  character is Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th.

The usual narrative of a slasher film is a group of teenagers or young adults go to a place isolated to have fun or party, or general things that are appealing to this age group. At the location, there is usually one monster, however they can be in a group, that's sole purpose is to kill of these teenagers/young adults, By the end of the film, the final girl usually kills of the main monster, but is usually brought back for a sequel, or all the characters are killed off, and the monster lives on to kill again in more sequels.

The music in slasher films is generally the soundtrack, a typical code is that the music cuts out just before a scare happens, then a sting is played to make the jump scare more frightening
 for the audience. Here's an example from Friday the 13th.

The Iconography is mainly in the weapon's that are used in the film weapon of choice is usually a handheld sharp object, for example a hatchet, chainsaw, machete, knife, this is where the 'slash' comes from and it to make the killer more gruesome as he doesn't mind all the blood when slicing, cutting and stabbing the victims.

Setting can be anywhere, but is usually at a cabin, summer camp, creepy house, woods or even college.

General staple characters of this genre are

- The Virgin girl
- The Jock
- The Nerd
- The Cheerleader/bimbo
- The Popular girl
- The Nice Guy
- The Nerd
- The Unhelpful law enforcement character

A Psychological horror aims to create discomfort by applying real life situations and adding a paranormal or horror twist to it, thus scaring the viewer. Psychological horror tends to focus on everyday life, meaning there is a chance that these events could happen in reality, making the audience more cautious. 'Based on a true story' or 'inspired by true events' is normally used as they are based on real life occurrences, hinting that it could happen to the audience, the horror is therefore created in the viewers mind, such examples include the Amityville horror and the strangers.

Here's an example of this technique from the trailer of The Strangers.

The aim for these films is to expose the evil that hides behind a characters normality, such as the orphan, but contains elements of the paranormal genre, which an audience cannot relate to.


Usually in a psychological horror, the killer look normal and there are usually no physical signs that they are a killer, however there are exceptions (The Ring, The Grudge). The weapons used are not physical weapons, but usually the murderer will manipulate the victim and feed off their fear. Visions and jump scares are used instead of knives and guns as they are built off of tension. Here's an example of a jump scare from the film Insidious.

Common settings for a psychological film can be big houses, woodland locations, schools and hospitals. These are used to again create a sense of realism and so the audience could relate and create the horror in their mind. Another typical convention is the use of flashbacks, which are used to show how the killer has reached the state of evil and insanity that they are at in the film.

Media Coursework: Video task summary

The brief task that I have chosen to do is the video brief. On the task, I will be working with 3 other people, Brandon, Ben and James.

Our preliminary idea is a meet up between a gang leader and a hit man.

Our Main idea is an opening for a horror. The opening will start with a girl walking through some woods, she looks at her phone and gets knocked out, but the murderer. The girl is found tied up with tape over her mouth, the killer walks from the forest getting close to her and eventually killing her. Shot cuts to two policemen inspecting the body, the have a brief conversation and go their separate ways, scene ends with policeman on the phone. Opening credits will be with the girl walking.The murder will be in a dark colour/shade to show something bad will happen. Also, to make the murder more gruesome and unsettling, this could also be achieved with tilted camera angle or a P.O.V shot. The murder section of the opening will be shot in reverse, so our murderer will have to go through his motions backwards,  so ultimately when the footage is reversed, his actions will seem uneven and wrong, to give a the murderer a 'inhuman' quality.

Characters: Policemen, murderer, victim.

Location: wooded area of Bitterne Park Secondary School.

Camera Movements.

Tracking shot: used to follow a subject within a frame.

Pan shot: Follows subject but in a horizontal rotation.(skip to 2:28 for pan)

Tilt shot: Stationary, rotates on a vertical plane.

Crane shot: to view action or subject from above.

Zoom shot: a camera effect that undermimes normal viewing.

Camera Shots.

Extreme close up: to show specific detail of a persons face, too close to show emotion or general reactions.

Close up: To show detail in a persons face or to amplify the emotion in a character's face.

Medium close up: To show characters face, but have more of the background and body on show.

Medium shot: Used to see facial expressions and body language.

Medium Long Shot: Same as other medium type shots but almost shows full frame of character.

Long shot: A shot showing just about all the character, used to show the full figure and some background as well/

Extreme long shot: Used to show setting, usually at the start of a film, also known as an establishing shot.

2 shot: Where the shot encompasses the view of two people.

High angle: Makes the person in shot seem vulnerable or powerless, as if we're looking down on them.

Low angle: Makes characters look menacing, dominant, in charge, looking down on the viewer.

Over the shoulder shot: Puts the audience in person who is being talked too's perspective, usually used in a discussion. 

Canted/Tilted angle shot: used to express uneasiness, disorientation, or tension with an off centre shot at an angle.

POV Shot: Used to show characters perspective, made to feel we are the character. 

Camera Editing techniques.

         

Montage: used to show lots of action in short number of minutes, mainly used action films or under sports training sequences.

Flashback: Used in all genres, used to recounts past events and to develop character, create suspense or add structure to a narrative.

Dissolve: Used to indicate a period of time passing. (start video at 17 seconds)

Fade in/out: like a dissolve, but to a blank screen, used for the same reasons as a dissolve ( skip to 2:52 seconds)

Straight cut: Basic cut, shot A ends, Shot B Begins, used to keep story flowing.