Planning: Mise-en-scene

Costumes 

Costumes are a very valuable role within a movie, they help the viewer create a better idea on the type of character, for example if a character was wearing dirty, scruffy clothes then the viewer will understand that the character might be poor or someone who's just been in a accident.

Jordan (school wear) -

• Smart leather shoes
• Plain black trousers
• Plain white shirt
• Black skinny tie
• Jacket / Hoody 
• School bag
• belt

Jordans Friend

•  Jeans
• T-Shirt
• Jacket
• Trainers
• Headphones

Victim

• Dirty and sweaty vest top
• Jeans roughed up e.g. rips, dirty
• No shoes no socks
• Blooded up close

Killer

• Black boots
• Dirty Black trousers
• Big black waist coat
• Black apron bloody and dirty 
• Black gloves  

Props

Props are also very important in a movie as the help create the scene and help the reader understand where the scene is set, for example in our opening 2 minutes we will use a range of different tools, this is because we want to show the viewer that something menacing is happening in the garage and some sort of torture is taking place.

Garage scene

• Rough, half broken chair
• Warn out rope
• Old wooden table
• A range of different tools on table e.g. Pliers, Saw, Hammer etc 
• A noose 
• Knife
• Fake blood

Walking home scene

• Jordans Phone

Planning: Casting for our opening

For our opening 2 minutes of our Horror film, we currently have 4 actors which are needed but we have considered a range of different people who can play these roles. The roles which are needed to be acted are the victim, the mysterious killer, Jordan and Jordan's friend.

The most important role in the opening 2 minutes will be Jordan as he is the main character and the camera is mostly on him, we are hoping we get an actor which can show fear and can stay serious throughout filming. The least important role is the part of Jordan's friend, his/her part will be around 5 seconds long and consists of making Jordan scared. This role can be practically played by anyone but we will make sure we pick a person who can act professionally through filming.

The following people are those which we are considering to play these roles...

Jordan Bignell
Sex: Male

Age: 17

Acting history: Small part in christmas play 2005.

He is most likely to get of Jordan as not a lot of skills to do with acting will be needed as he will just be walking home he will just need to give of facial expressions and hardly any speech is needed, and he will most likely have a lot of free time which would be useful and he is easily accessible 



Josh Luthayi
Sex: Male

Age; 16

Acting history:  Studied Drama in GCSE

Josh is most likely to get the victim role as he has had drama experiences and they will defiantly be needed especially facial features as he will be bound and something around his face to stop him speaking also he is also easily accessible 



Tom Bates
Sex: Male

Age: 16

Acting history: Studied Drama in GCSE and currently studies it for A-Level.
Tom would be available for the role of the killer or the victim because of his acting experience also he is quite accessible  





  
George Hopkins
Sex: Male

Age: 17

Acting history: Studied Drama in GCSE and currently studies it for A-Level.
George is possibly available for the friend role as it is a very short part also he is not that accessible also he has acting experience. 





Jamie Oliver
Sex: Male

Age: 16

Acting history: None

Planning: Location Planning

As a group, we decided on the two locations which we will use in our opening 2 minutes. We have chose these locations as they are easily accessable to ours and our casts demands.  The 2 locations we have chose are a garage which is owned by my partner Deet Bains and the school in which we currently attend.

We have chose the Garage as we initially based our film around it so the victims can be killed in it, thankfully we have the access of a large garage in which we can use and it has the right equipment we can use which will make the opening 2 minutes much more realistic.

We chose the school as again our plot was based around Jordan walking home from school and the school which we currently attend is flexible enough for us to film their as it doesn't close til around 5pm, it is also flexible as all our casts also currently attend the school which makes it easier for us to film.

Planning: Screenplay

1: Exterior - School - Day

The final bell for school goes off, Jordan appears walking home by himself.

2: Interior - Garage - Night

 There are a range of different equipment spread out across an old, wooden table. Title appears in bottom right hand corner saying 'Produced by Hungry Films' 

3: Exterior - School - Day 

jordan receives a phone call off an unknown number, he answers it however nobody says anythin apart from deep breathing, Jordan hangs up.

Jordan - 'hello..?'

4: Interior - Garage - Night

The door of the garage slowly opens, there is a close-up of a pair boots slowly walking in, you hear loud footsteps, Title appears  saying 'Directed by Josh Thorley and Deet Bains' 

5. Exterior - School - Day

Jordan is still conscious about the fact nobody answered the phone, there is a close-up of Jordan's face as he looks around, there is a panning shot of his face and the background.

6. Interior - Garage - Night

Over-shoulder shot of a the man strapped in a chair, you see the back of the mysterious mans feet and then shows the back of the mans body whilst he's unstrapping the victim from the chair. Title in the bottom left hand corner saying 'Filmed by ...'

Victim - Making struggling noises 

7. Exterior - School - Day

Another close-up shot of Jordan's face, he looks around and his phone starts ringing, he pulls his phone from his pocket and the camera is now behind Jordan's back, the phone screen says unknown number so he hangs up.

8. Interior - Garage - Night

The victim is now stood on the chair with his legs strapped to the back of the chair so he can't escape, the victim has his hands tied up and his mouth strapped with tape, the mysterious man is adjusting a rope which has been put around the victims neck. Titles will be scattered around the screening naming the cast which appears in the film.

Victim - Content grunting noises

9. Exterior - School - Day

A side view of Jordan walking then a quick close-up of his face with no looking space. 

10. Interior - Garage - Night

The mysterious man pulls out a knife to unbind his legs from the chair, he kicks the chair away from the victim and you don't see the death as it flashes to Jordan.

11- Exterior - School -Day
Jordan would be walking when his friend runs up behind him making a fake scare, then they both walk off

Jordans friemd - Boooo!
Jordan - Oh my god! you scared the life out of me

12) Interior - Garage - Night
shows a pair of legs dangling from the air shaking then "Hung-Over" would appear

Research: Why is music important in a horror film?

When watching a horror film, you are more likely to be more intrigued about what's happening in the film rather than what you're listening to, the music is always an overlooked aspect in a horror film however it possibly is the most important aspect of it.

It is important to remember that without the music and sound effects in a horror movie, the fear factor would decrease dramatically because the music is always used to create tension for the viewer. Tension is a major part of a horror film as it makes the viewer fear that something is about to happen, which might not always be the case but because of the music, it can change their view on what might happen. Sounds such as heart beat and deep base instruments create tension as they are most related to a person thoughts on what they feel in a tense situation. The most popular tense type of music is that of the film 'JAWS' with the deep base sound which gradually starts to quicken and becoming lighter resembling a racing heart. 

The Auditory symbol

In most horror films, a certain melody or sounds serves as a symbol for the main threat in the film. This is achieved by a extracting a small portion of the films characteristic sounds and assigning it to the main threat by playing the sound whenever the threat is back into focus. The use of the auditory symbol helps the producers of the film by adding the threat without actually using any visual representation.

When sound is shown well in horror films

A great example of when sound is shown well in a horror film is in the movie Phycho. The scene in where the lady is in the shower and gets stabbed is a great example as it shows how powerful music can be. The reason in why it is so powerful as there is a loud screeching sound when the lady gets stabs, this represents a scream and the loud screeching noises scares the viewer due to its high pitch velocity. 

Planning: A Treatment for the Opening 2 Minutes (including titles) of Hung-over

The opening scene will be the school bell ringing whilst Jordan walks out of school.

The first flashback would happen after around 8-10 seconds, the flashback would be in a dark garage, camera would have a close-up shot of different torture equipment. This would last for around 5 seconds. Titles In the bottom right corner saying ‘Produced by Hungry Films’

It will go back to Jordan walking home from school, Jordan receives a phone call and answers, there was no answer and the viewer would hear just breathing, Jordan puts down the phone.

A flashback in the garage again, you see the door close and a close shot of a pair of feet walking in slowly, Titles come up in bottom left corner saying ‘Directed by Josh Thorley and Deet Bains’ 

The camera goes back to Jordan, who seems very conscious at the fact he was rang but there was no answer, he keeps looking around to see if anybody is following him. Close up of Jordan’s face as he looks around.

Flashback again and the camera is behind a man strapped into the chair, a dark character walks up to the man and starts to unstrap him from the chair. Title in the bottom left corner saying ‘Filmed by…’ 

Tension is rising and close up of Jordan's face walking so there is no looking space, he keeps looking behind him and his phone rings again, he leaves it. 

The camera starts to switch from flashback to jordan quicker which would build up the tension, another flashback happens again and the character which was strapped in the chair is standing up on the chair with a bag on his head , the mysterious man is adjusting a rope which is attached from the roof. Titles in this clip would be the cast which would be scattered across the screen. 

Another quick clip of Jordan becoming scared and no looking space, this clip would be around 5 seconds long.

Goes back to the garage in which the man standing on the chair has the rope around his neck and the mysterious man is about to push him off the chair. Just about as the man is going to be hung, it flashes back to Jordan.

When it flashes back to Jordan, a fake scare would occur as Jordan is made to jump by a friend which has ran up from behind. The title of the movie ‘The Hung-Over’ would then appear.

Research: Art of the title

In todays lesson we studied the art of the title of a movie of our choice, the movie I chose was Se7en. Se7en is about two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his modus operandi. The picture below is an A3 piece of paper which I have split into 4 section, the small section is the timeline in which I labelled from 0:00 to 2:08 which is when the movie started and ended, The section on the right was the titles, I labelled all the titles which came up in the film and labelled them in time order. The section in the middle is the visuals, I labelled what I could see in the film and put them time order next to the timeline. The final section on the far right are sounds in which I heard in the movie, these were again put in timeline. Once I had finished this I realised the amount of work which is in such a little amount of time and I will make sure that I put as much detail in for my film.

Planning: 2 possible openings to Hung-Over

After getting feedback from our target audience, we have decided to create 2 possible opening for our teen horror movies the 'Hung Over' ...

Our first possible opening is a flashback of the previous victims of the unknown killer, after it has had the flashback it goes forward to when Jordan and his friends are leaving school and seem all happy, but the viewers know the horror which is about to happen.

The film would start with Jordan and his friends walking home from school, but tension would start to rise as the camera notices somebody following them, as the unknown person getting closer we would use a fake scare, for example one of there other friends jumps out at them as a joke.

Research: Target Audience Feedback

Once we collected several different idea's for our opening 2 minutes of our teen horror movie, we recorded all of the idea's people had via voice recording, here are the following responses we've had back by various people.

Research: Sharing Our Pitch With Our Target Audience

The following paragraph is the synopsis of our film 'Hung-over'...

Jordan and a couple of his friends have recently finished school and plan to celebrate by drinking around a friends house. As the night passes people start to randomly disappear. The next morning Jordan sees a car, belonging to a friend who has gone missing, parked outside a garage. As he searches for his friend in the garage he is unexpectedly hit causing him to become unconscious. As he wakes up he finds himself in a race to escape from the killers grasp.   

To find out people's views on our synopsis, we voice recorded several different peoples view on what we could film for the first 2 minutes of our film. Their views, as the target audience, will help us create an opening 2 minutes which would be suitable and interesting for the target audience.

Research : Dead Mary, Dead Wood and Wrong Turn

On Friday, we watched the opening 2 minutes of 3 teen horror movies called Dead Mary, Dead Wood and Wrong Turn and then analyzed all the different horror conventions which are likely to happen in a horror films in the openings.  

The conventions we looked at were Secluded location, characters forget an obvious threat, power is cut, problem with phone, character investigates a strange noise, character runs upstairs (not outside), character hides by a window/behind a door, character inexplicably falls over, vehicle won't start, fake scare, warning goes unheeded, someone dies in 5 minutes, x years before/later, stormy weather and character takes a short cut. We ticked the conventions which shown up in the movie and analysed the final results to see which conventions are the most commen.
The most commen conventions which were shown in all 3 of those films were secluded location, fake scare and death before the first 5 minutes. I think that directors use these conventions the most in the first 2 minutes of the film as it builds up the tension in the viewer.The use of the fake scare might be foreshadowing what happens in the latter stages of the film. They use the secluded location to make the film seem more creepier, if the movie was set in a school then it wouldn't be scary and they would also use the death before 5 minutes to make the viewer aware of the dangers in the movie and what might happen in the latter of the film.

Planning: Hungry Films: Our 60 second pitch

The following script is the one me and my partner Deet Bains came up with to pitch our idea's for our horror film called 'Hung-over' ..

Deet: Hi I'm Deet
Josh: And I'm Josh and together we are called Hungry Films
Josh: Through a discussion we cam to a conclusion that we are targeting a 15+ age the reason why is because from our research we found out that this is the most popular age within the film industry. Also from looking at the BBFC ( British board of film classification) website we found out that our film fits within the guidelines for a 15 because of the horror content.
Deet: The name of our film, 'Hung-over' relates to the concept of the plot, you could say it was a pun. The concept of our film is about a group of students who've recently finished school, their plan is to celebrate at a friends house by getting drunk, however one of the group members inexplicably disappears but nobody notices until the next morning. Jordan, who was at the house the night before, stumbles upon his friends car which is parked outside a garage, Jordan decided to enter the garage where he finds his friend hung from the ceiling, Jordan falls unconscious. Once Jordan wakes up he finds himself in a race to escape this unknown killer who's been killing all of his drunk friends. 
Deet: That was our 60 second pitch.

To watch our 60 second pitch click HERE
Our 60 second pitch starts at 7:20!

Planning: Plot of our horror film

During todays lesson, we started brainstorming our first initial ideas for our horror film, due to the plot of the film, we've decided to name our film 'Hang-over', you will notice once you've read the plot that the title is a kind of pun. Hang-over is going to be a slasher type horror film which means we will be targeting ages 18 and above. The concept of 'Hang-over' is about a group of anonymous people who are keen to have a good night by getting completely drunk, however there nights start to become odd as people start to vanish inexplicably. Whilst trying to find his friend after a long night of drinking, Jordan stumbles across his friends car which is parked outside a garage, Jordan finds his friend hung from the ceiling then falls unconscious, once he wakes up he finds himself in a race to escape from this unknown killer whoms target is to kill Jordan. In the end Jordan escapes from the killers grasps and makes it to his friends car which is parked outside, however the car won't start leaving Jordan in certain danger, the killer, who's face has still not been uncovered, finds Jordan trapped in the Car and instinctively kills him. The killers face is finally shown after killing Jordan as he is walking away from the scene, leaving the film on a cliffhanger.

Research: British Board Of Film Classification

Who are The British Board of Film Classification?

The British Board of Film Classification is a specially run company which was set up in 1912 who are responsible for the age ratings on movies which are released in Britain.

What are the guidelines?

There are 5 different guidelines created by BBFC to certificate films shown in the UK, these guidelines are called U, PG, 12/12A, 15, 18, R18.

U - Universal (Suitable for all ages)


Violence: Mild violence only. 
Discrimination: No discriminatory language or behavior, unless clearly disapproved of. 
Horror: Scary sequences should be mild, brief and unlikely to cause anxiety in young children.
Imitable behaviour:  No dangerous behaviour which young children are likely to copy.
Language: Infrequent use of mild language.                                               
Nudity: Natural nudity, no sexual content.                                                  
Sex: Mild sexual behaviour, for example, kissing.                                       
Theme: Must be appropriate and sensitive for young children.  
Drugs: No reference to illegal drugs or drug misuse.                                                     
 
PG - Parental guidance 

Discrimination: Discriminatory language and behaviour is unlikely to be unacceptable unless clearly disapproved of or in educational or historical context.Drugs: References to illegal drug use must carry a suitable anti- drug message.
Horror: Frightening sequences should not be prolonged or intense. 
Imitable behavior: No detail or potentially dangerous behavior which young children are likely to copy. 
Language: Mild bad language only. 
Nudity: Natural nudity, with no sexual context.
Sex: Sexual activity may be implied, but should be discreet and infrequent. 
Theme: Where more serious issues are featured nothing in their treatment should condone unacceptable behaviour. 
Violence: Moderate violence without detail, may be allowed, if its justified by its content. 

12/12A - Suitable for the ages 12 years and above

Discrimination: Discriminatory language or behavior must not be endorsed by the work as a whole. If its aggressive its unlikely to be acceptable. Drugs: Any misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should not be glamorized.  
Horror: Moderate physical and psychological threat may be permitted, provided disturbing sequences are not frequent. 
Imitable behaviour: Dangerous behaviour should not dwell on detail which can be copied, or appear harm or pain free. 
Language: Moderate language is acceptable. The use of strong language must be infrequent. 
Nudity: Nudity is allowed, but in a sexual context must be brief.
Sex: Sexual activity may be briefly and discreetly portrayed. 
Themes: Mature themes are acceptable, but must be appropriate for young children. Violence: Moderate violence is allowed, but should not be dwelled upon in detail. 

15 - Suitable for ages 15 years and above

Discrimination: The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour. 
Drugs: Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug taking.
Horror: Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.
Imitable behaviour: Dangerous behaviour should not dwell on detail which can be copied.
Language: There may be frequent use of strong language. The strongest terms may be acceptable if justified by the content.
Nudity: Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail.
Sex: Sexual activity may be portrayed but without strong detail.
Theme: No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.
Violence: Violence may be strong, but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. 


18- Suitable for ages 18 years and above (usually suitable for adults)



The consistent findings of the BBFC's public consultations and The Human Rights Act 1998, at '18' the BBFC's guidelines concerns will not normally override the principle that adults should be free to choose their own entertainment. However, these are the more likely exceptions: 

• Where the material is in breach of criminal law. 
• Where material or treatment  appears to the BBFC to risk harm to individuals, or through their behaviour, to society. 
• Where there are more explicit images of sexual activity which cannot be justified by context

R18-To be shown only in licensed cinemas, or supplied only in licensed sex shops, and to adults of not less than 18 years old

The "R18" category is a special and legally restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults. Films may only be shown to adults in specially licensed cinemas, and video works may be supplied to adults in licensed sex shops. The following content is acceptable: 

• Any material which is in breach of the criminal law.
• Material likely to encourage an interest in sexual abusive activity.
• The portrayal of any sexual activity which involves lack of consent.
• The infliction of pain or acts which may cause lasting physical harm, whether real or simulated.
• Penetration by any object associated with violence or likely to cause physical harm. 
• Any sexual threats, humiliation or abuse which does not form part of clearly-consenting role-playing game. 

Research: Analysis of Horror survey

Here is a link to my survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PH6ZJC8

Currently 10 people have answered my questions on my horror survey which can help me understand more about the viewers preferences when watching a Horror film, the results of the survey are below....

Question 1: Are you male or female?

Male: 9
Female: 1

Question 2: How old are you?

12-15:  1
16-20: 7
21-25: 2
26+: 0

Question 3: On average, how often do you watch horror movies?

Very Often: 2
Quite Often: 1
Sometimes:2
Not much: 4
Never:  1

Question 4: Do you enjoy watching horror movies?

Yes: 6
Sometimes: 2
No: 2

Question 5:  If you clicked yes on the previous question, why do you enjoy watching horror movies?

- The bulid-up/tension
- Trangressions and subversions.
- they take me to the darker side of things, they speak to many of my questions and thoughts about death   and help me deal with death in a healthy, unfearful way. i find the drama and tension to be riveting, and drama to be extreme.
- Because I enjoy the intensity
- It's funny To see people's reactions and your own

Question 6: Whats your favourite sub-genre of horror movies?

Action Horror: 3
Comedy Horror: 4
Gothic Horror: 2
Phychological Horror: 5
Zombie Horror: 4
Slasher Horror: 2
Science Fiction Horror: 3

Question 7: What is your favourite Horror film?
- Dawn Of The Dead
- Final Destination
- Saw 2
- Final Destination
- Saw
- Jaws and Texas chainsaw massacre
- a nightmare on elm street (1984), invasion of the body snatchers (1956), and phenomena (1985).
- Sinister
- Nightmare on elm street

Question 8: What interests you the most about Horror films? for example the plot, characters etc
 -Storyline
- Plot
- Making the audience jump
- The plot and building up suspense
- Plot
- Human action, reaction and interaction in the face of a threat.
- imagery, characters, themes, and conflicts.
- The plot, and how they build up tension
- Plot

Independent research: Why do we like Horror films?

Why do we like horror films? its has the same answer as why do we like riding roller coasters? or why do people parachute out of planes from 10,000ft? its because we love the thrill. Thrill comes in different varieties depending on what sort of person you are, every human being loves to be thrilled in some sort of way, it gives them an adrenaline boost which makes them feel excited and energetic, but why does Horror films give us that thrill? Horror movies create all different types of thrill, it could be if the film was based around one character, the audience could imagine them being in that character shoes and feeling the same thrill as what they do throughout the film, or, if the plot of the movie needs to be put together, the audiences feel the thrill of putting the puzzle together to make out what's happening.

Another reason is why people like to watch horror movies is that when the film is over, they feel like they've accomplished something, If you were to watch a movie you really didn't want to watch but you were forced to by friends, if you were to watch the whole film you'd feel that you've proven them wrong and that you can watch them sort of films. The fact that you feel you've accomplished this is giving you that extra boost to when you next watch that horror film, it gives you more confidence and therefore more enjoyment watching them.

In conclusion to my question, people like to watch horror films as it gives them a buzz and a thrill which gives them the confidence to be able to enjoy watching horror films, personally though, I do not get that sort of thrill from watching horror, which is what I was talking about previously that it depends what type of person you are, I feel horror to be a waste of time as its something to not look forward to see, I prefer to watch comedies which give me that thrill and laughter which is something horror sometimes doesn't provide.

Research: History of horror, 1990-2012

1996

The start of the 90's saw new serial killers enter the frame as becoming the scariest thing in a horror movie, Wes Craven's 'Scream' was released in 1996 and with thrilling special effects made viewers think that the murders were actually happening. Scream is about a killer known as "ghost face", he begins killing off teenagers, and as the body count begins rising, one girl and her friends find themselves contemplating the "Rules" of horror films as they find themselves living in a real-life one.  

 

2002
The start of the new millennium saw another huge rise in horror movies, making horror movies the most popular movies to watch in the cinema at the time. One of the most popular films released in 2002 was 'The Ring', The Ring is about a young journalist who investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone in a week of viewing it

2007
In 2007, a slightly different concept of horror was released under the name of 28 weeks later. Horror is usually known to contain gory scenes of blood and brutal murder, instead 28 weeks later director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo created his movie based on a virus called 'rage' which turned people into zombies around the outskirts of London.

2010
In 2010, the rise of 3D films become a must in movies, but hadn't really entered the horror scene, the film Saw had been one of the scariest and brutal horror movies out however director Kevin Greutert believed it could get scarier, by going into 3D. Saw 3D was released o the 28th October 2010 and follows on from the previous Saw movie. As a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw's brutal legacy, a group of Jigsaw survivors gathers to seek the support of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen, a man whose own dark secrets unleash a new wave of terror.

2012

Horror enters 2012 in a more gruesome fashion, the movie 'Sinister' has followed previous horror films in creating their film around a demon or a possessed being. The plot is about

Found footage helps a true-crime author realize how and why a family was murdered in his new home, though his discoveries put his entire family in the path of a supernatural entity.  The rise of scarier horror movies is just beginning.