Hide and Seek trailer - How does your media product represent particular social groups? 2

In this film, the female character is the threat. As she is only of a young age of about 8/9 it is quite unusual that she is the threat especially as the victim is her father, who is in his late 40's. This, therefore goes against gender and age stereotypes because males of an older age should be more of a threat then a young girl.

These are represented because the girls dialogue is quite threatening especially when she says 'I'm drawing you... dying.' and the males dialogue is a lot more scared like when he calls the girls name.

It is a majority white cast which we will consider for our film.

2. PLANNING

 This is a test shot of out choice of Actor. Matt. He plays our victim/ He challenges conventions because it is stereotypically a female who is the victim. We thought this would be a interesting twist to our film and would suit our male target audience because they can engage with the victim as they are of a similar age. (15+)

 This is one sheet from our story board. This shows that we use the conventions of a ghost film by habing the ghost 'hinted at, rather then shown straight away' (Shot 1 in the picture above) which builds up the tension in the audience as they can only see as much as the victim can which means that they are right there in the action.

From the certificates of other 'ghost' sub genre horror films like The Grudge, The Ring etc they all have the certificate of 15 and the audiences which have watched them films are males around the age of 18. So as a group we tried to appeal to those of a similar age range as they would be most likely to watch out film.

3. CONSTRUCTION AND FEEDBACK

This is a part of our film which establishes the social group of our film as you can tell from the age of the actors it is for teenages and young adults. 

We used both genders so that it appeals to both genders like 'Gothika'

The race we used was white dominated in the opening which is similar to 'Hide and Seek' trailor above.

Gothika | trailer -How does your media product represent particular social groups? 1

Representation is used so that the audience can see what is stereotypically used in most films. This is useful because we can copy the representations in horror films and use it in our film.

By watching this trailer we can see that the representation of women in our film our victims so this is why we chose to include a female victim in ours,

Gothika is unusual in a respect because in this horror film, the main female character is the victim but also a threat. She is a victim when the girl ghost is haunting her and changes her mental state. The obvious threat is the girl ghost. This is represented by the way the victim behaves. For example, she is always running away from something and is trying to escape. On the other hand, the threat is always behaving in a vicious manner like when she is attacking the victim.

A female character is usually stereotypically in horror films as being the victim but also having a female as the threat is quiet unusual as the threat is usually male.

The age of these characters goes against the stereotype of horror films because the victim is moderately older then the threat which is quite unusual as it is usually the opposite way around.

Halle Berry (main female character) is mixed race and is the victim which fits the stereotype because it is usually the minority which is the victim.

Shot by Shot analysis Question1

1)  Here are some images that influenced our own media film and helped us understand the generic conventions of a horror film.




h   This image is of a logo of the production company called 'Ghost house.’ This image uses the conventions as it is a black background which connotes the unknown and darkness. The skull image also fits because it connotes death which are in most, if not all horror films.

th

                                                                                    

THIS IS AN IMAGE FROM OUR OPENING LOGO 
This image uses conventions from our sub genre because it uses clouds which give off a misty effect to the opening logo which is a convention of a ghost film.

This is an image of the titles from an existing film. (‘The Grudge’) In some ways this fits the traditional conventions of titles for ghost films because the writing is quite mysterious and therefore fits with the sub genre as it is faded and not clear which adds to the effect and ambiguous nature of the film.

THIS IS AN IMAGE OF OUR TITLES
The colours in our opening titles develop the titles from 'The Grudge' by using similar colours because it was very effective in highlighting the sub genre of our film as red connotes blood which is stereotypical to most horror films. The dark background is very dramatic because it links with the 'unknown' which is a theme in most horror films.

This is an image from an existing sub genre from ‘The Others’ which is part ghost and part thriller. It fits the typical conventions because it uses a white light for effect which is a stereotypical convention used in this genre of horror.

This is an image from our film which establishes our sub-genre
It establishes our sub-genre because mist is a convention in horror films and it is mostly included in Ghost horror films.

This is an image from an existing film called ‘Insidious.’ This fits the conventions as it’s of a shocking image which is obviously not human and therefore connotes with the ghost genre. It is showing traces of a ghost as it is also quite similar to the effect used in other ghost horror films like automatic writing because it is appearing on its own.

  

THIS IMAGE ESTABLISHES CHARACTER
It establishes character because it conveys that the girl is the threat and the boy is the victim due to the body language of the two characters. This challenges conventiosn because it is usually the male which is the threat and the female the victim.

This image is showing the make up of mise-en-scene of a ghost horror film. This fits the conventions because the makeup is used to highlight the eyes and face of the ghost to draw emphasis on those parts of her body. This is what is usually seen in most ghost horror films.

This is an image from our film which establishes mise en scene in our film of 'setting'
This develops the idea of ghost films because as a group we established that our character was a young girl and stereotypically children like parks so it makes it more scary for the audience to watch a film where the setting is usually innocent and friendly to something which is haunted.  

Here are 4 key images from an existing film:

This fits the traditional horror conventions because in this shot from ‘Dark Water’ it shows that there is something hiding behind the young girl. This fits because it is showing something moving unseen by the victim in the film but seen by the audience which is used to build up and create tension in most ghost film.

This is an image from our film
This is a close up of our victims mouth as he shouts out. The close up is used to shows the reaction and you can clearly hear the fear in his voice. It brings the audience up close with the action so they feel involved in the film.
 

In this image, from the film ‘Gothika’ you can see that there is clearly something distressing going on and that the young girl in the image is in pain because you can see all the cuts on her body. This challenges the conventions because typically the ghost can be implied rather than shown but in this image you can see that the ghost is clearly shown.

This is an image from our film

This is a shot explain to the audience quickly and briefly what has happened before this film has taken place. This challenges the conventions of settings because as apose to a park being a comforting place which children go this is seen as negative due to the word 'dragged'.

This shot from ‘Paranormal Activity’ this shows a woman behaving unusually in this scene as she is standing by the bed at 1.36 in the morning. At this current point in time, the woman has been possessed by the ghost which haunts her. This therefore fits the convention of ghost genre because the ghost in this particular film is implied rather than shown.

This is an image from our film 

It is on a video screen which portrays that it is set in the past and not in modern times because of the quality of the footage. This uses conventions of horror films because they are usually set in the past.

This is an image from the film ‘The Orphanage’ it portrays a young child in the middle of what appears to be an old storeroom. As this place appears empty it gives of the impression of being quite haunted. This does fit the traditional stereotype as haunted areas are in almost every ghost film.

This is an image from our film  
It challenges conventions because it is usally the girl which is the victim whereas in this case she is the 'ghost.' It is also challenging cnventions because stereotypically children are not seen to be scary.

Filming date

We are going to be doing our first shoot on Wednesday 1st February at Windmill open space park in Kimberley. We will need:
- shot list
- camera
- tripod
- make-up
- pyjama's
- ghost dress

What we will need to take/organise for our our titles/opening

We will need: An old clock
Old family pictures
Hanging rope

These are all for our titles as when we are filming our opening we do not have any props.

The Grudge - The Curse's anger

The sound effects used here are excellent that the leitmotif sound in the clip inspires us of making the sound of the 'door opening' scene in our title sequence to be creaking. The overall atmosphere of our music will also be static and interference.

The Grudge Soundtrack

This is a sound track for The Grudge. As a group we like this because we liked the idea that the music starts at a lower volume and increases in sound which would help build up the tension at the scariest part. It is also quite simple but very effective as it only uses a few instruments.

The Lullaby Locket (original song)

This is an inspiration of sound for our title sequence, it's simple to create that

all we need for creating it might be just one or two instruments,

the one we can identify in this clip is piano.

Previous Student work

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkTWC3GgORM&feature=plcp&context=C3962b4fUDOEgsToPDskK-EQCY6-YZp1HNHUyIlYA2

The strengths are: The sound with images of the deep church bells creates tension as it tells the audience that it is leading up to something of importance.
They used a varied amounts of different shot types -  the point of view shot of the demon/spirit that possesses the girl worked very well because it was jumpy and portrayed the differences between human and the supernatural. This kept the film interesting to watch because the shots were from all different angles like when we were looking through the hole in the ceiling, looking down at the girls.
The mise-en-scene of costume and make up when the girl is in the white room is good as this reflects her clear feelings of distress.
The editing was sharp and wasn't jumpy as they edited the shots in time so that the shots flow from one to another.
The location was excellent and added to the atmosphere of the sub genre.
The content is appropriate to the sub-genre they were making

The weaknesses are: It is clear that some of the filming was done in poor light due to the quality of one or two shots as we cannot see what is going on.
The titles could have been slightly more exciting and could have varied in different places on the screen but overall we think this was a very good attempt at a horror film.


Mark 57/60

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38xV9Bhf-Cc&feature=plcp&context=C3ba1cf5UDOEgsToPDskLOXb5-WfGuBO4-8y5VO8Ec

The strengths are:
The use of sound when the boy was in the house created a spooky atmosphere as you could hear little children but they were nowhere to be seen. They also used a childrens music box, this worked well as this is a typical generic convention of a psychological film. The use of tracking was good and helped make the film flow.
The editing is excellent when they boy transfers from his house to the woods because his head was in the same position and is not jumpy.
The content is appropriate to the sub-genre they were making
The camera shots could have used more high and low angles but overall the shots were varied and kept the film interesting.

The weaknesses are: When filming in the woods, it became clear that some of the filming had been done later on in the day as there was a big change in the lighting which was a slight continuity error.
The titles could have been slightly larger as it was quite difficult to read when the action behind was happening.

Mark 56/60

Ghost Make-up

We used white face paint to give a washed out look and to make the face stand out.

By using black and brown face paint around the eyes, it gives a dark and dreary look to the character this is good as we the ghost girl has been dead for many years.

We used a messy black wig to make the ghost seem crazy and animalistic.

Health and Safety Certificate

We rang Broxtowe Borough Council to ask permission to be able to film in the park, there were no problems with us filming there but we needed to make sure we had permission as it was a child environment. We did not need to inform the police that we were filming in the park as it is a public space.

We aren't using any props in our film so there will be less hazards in our filming environment.

Parent/Guardian consent form (MATTHEW SMITH)

BBFC research

Certificate 15 means films only suitable for 15 years old or above, subsequently anyone aged below 15 is not allowed to watched a '15' film in a cinema or rent or buy a '15' rated video work.
The use of discrimination-related language or words is prohibited. For sexual, drug taking and violent scenes, they must not be demonstrated in details and never make them imitable. Especially for drug related scenes, the use of easily accessed drugs and highly dangerous substences as props is not allowed. Some common strong language like 'fuck' is allowed to use but there is a limited standard on using strong words, for instance 'cunt' is the strongest term that could be accepted in this case. Too many repetition of strong language is not allowed as well.

Certificate 18 means no one younger than 18 is allowed to watch an '18' labelled film or renting or buying it.  There is not much limitations on '18' rated films since adults should have their own choice

of entertainment. But any events in the film that would encourage illegal activities is not allowed.

There shouldn't be any encouragement of drug use or violence in the films.

Too explicit sexual works which might stimulate or arouse sex is classified as 'R18' while educational sexual scenes are not problem to show in an '18' film.

We have decided that we may use an age 15 certificate for our film as it will not have enough adult or extreme horror content to qualify for an 18 certificate. We aren't using any strong language and the horror scenes are mild, the death of the boy near the end is only implied therefore a 15 would be appropriate. 

Marking previous students' work (Isabel Wong)

AS MEDIA HORROR 2010 - 2011 ALONE 38(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57hnNbqO5nw&list=PL72143FB46C11715F&index=11&feature=plpp_video)
The strengths of the video are the costumes and make up they used are quite appropriate,
as the blue cardigan and white top the girl is wearing and the blood spots on her body create a
explicit contrast between innocence and sinister, such contrast makes the audience thrilled.
The background music they used also matches the flow of the video.
But they can work a bit more carefully on framing, because sometime the rooms they left for the
video aren't necessary, those rooms they left might make me to expect something is about to happen/
show up from that corner but it turns out nothing which makes me a bit disappointed.
At the last scene, there is an extreme close up of the girl, it would be better if they
put in a scary or chilling music to make the audience jump and make the film incredible.

AS MEDIA HORROR 2010 - 2011 VIDEO EVIDENCE 37
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N0lc7K33ac&feature=autoplay&list=PL72143FB46C11715F&lf=plpp_video&playnext=1)
They are excellent on making use of the special effect, and the background music naturally
leads the audience into the mood and makes them follow the flow of the story.
However, the problem of their video is they left too much head room in the scene where the three
characters are watching TV on sofa. The tallest male actor even suddenly goes insane in that scene,
it would be better if they add a close up to focus on his facial expression.
Nearly at the end of the film, they left too much space for the scene again which gives no clue
to the audience of what their focus is, I even have no idea of what is going on at the end of the film.

Strengths and weaknesses of previous student horror films

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaV53YaBDyA&list=UU_PXbcBvuE8zKeAQOOmoU8Q&index=4&feature=plpp_video

This is VAMPIRE 2 - this could be improved by having clearer lighting as it is sometimes quite difficult to see what is going on
The strengths is the make up like the blood when the vampire is biting the girl and when it is coming out the vampires mouth.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p10YvRg6oHA&feature=BFa&list=UU_PXbcBvuE8zKeAQOOmoU8Q&lf=plpp_video
This is MONSTER - The strengths of this is the location as it is a real butchers so makes it seem more realistic.
The weakness of this is that when the pig person is behind the man it doesn't make you jump so the tension isn't there

Target audience research

From our target audience research we found out the target age group is between 18-29. There was not a main race in the casts, there were a variety of different races so we are free to choose any race as we are not aiming to target a particular one.

 We know from doing the research that we need to include a dead young girl as our ghost as that was the most common kind.

Lighting design part 2

This an example of a fill light

This is an example of no lights.

This is an example of a back light

This is an example of a fill and key light

We intend on not using any artificial lighting in our film like back, key or film light. We are using the natural sunlight in our film as this will give a good exposure to our film and then we will darken the scenes on iMovie to give off the night time effect.

shot list

This is our shot list for our film. we have used a variety of different types of shots and angles to include in our film.