Storyboards

Results of our questionnaire

Results of our questionaire

What gender would you prefer the protagonist to be?

What key conventions do you look for in a trailer?

What type of villain would you prefer to see in a horror movie?

What style of horror do you prefer?

What setting would you prefer to be used in a horror movie?

What features in a trailer attract you to a film?

From the questionnarie i have found that in the main, the people we asked, felt that a trailer should show the storyline clearly and introduce us to the characters. They also said that music is very important in a trailer as it helps to build up tension. They said that being made to ' jump out of their seats' is also a good feature as it makes them more likely to go and see the movie.


If you could name one thing that makes you want to watch a horror film, what would it be?

The people we asked almost all said that suspense is one of the key items in making them want to watch a horror and also that the film should be scary. I also found that they wanted the movie to have a good storyline and that the themes of the movies should be good. They also said that the movies should have a good trailer to intice them to see the movies in the first place.

Key conventions of the horror genre

The horror genre is a well known and widely watched genre; these genre's conventions can be catagorised into six main areas. The first area is setting, for a typical horror film like Halloween for example, the setting is a dark night, in 2 main houses, and the lights are mainly turned off in these houses. In this street it offers a sense of isolation, nowhere to turn, it’s like a secret inside this small community. Within the small town there is a empty house where there is a history, many horror films have a house or a town or a place where there is a history or a past. Within the dark house or dark places in horror films, this is good as people and zombies can hide in these places for example within wardrobes or attics. The time of day is a major factor in horror films as most of them are set at night time or the evening. The weather in horror films is mainly stormy or very windy, the thunder and lightning adds to the setting of the film and makes the scene more eerie and “scary”.

The next convention is technical code, which are all the cinematography, editing, sound, setting, characters and iconography of the film. Within horror films the camerawork is often “Expressive” rather that naturalistic so the camera is canted a lot and there are weird high and low angles, this is so that maybe we can see what the monster is hunter or what they are going to do next, this is shown at the start of Halloween when Michael Myers is creeping round the house, we are in the eyes of the killer, we can see what he’s looking at and what he’s going to do next. Extreme close up’s are used within the horror genre for identification values; this is done so we can indentify with the terror as we cannot see what is going on around them. The camera work often makes use of Point of view shots this can be with a steadicam, which is used to create terror as it makes it seem as if we are in the monsters eyes. The editing within a horror film creates unsettling jumps, this can create suspense and can be faster cuts when we can’t see a threat it creates a feeling of jumpiness and we think that something might be about to happen. Sound is very important within horror films as there are ambient sounds within the films for atmospheme, and footsteps and a heartbeat can be added in the sound mix, this helps us relate to the people within the film.

Iconography is the next convention within horror films, this can be through visual signifiers, within colours for example black is a colour which people can feel scared as it is the unknown, people get trapped in the darkness so black relates to this, red is another colour which can connote horror, it represents blood and death. Lighting within horror films can create shadows, which are normally seen round corners and under doors, they create the feeling of mystery, the natural light like sunlight and moonlight are also used a lot to create an unnatural feeling. The objects within the mise-en-scene are normally commoner objects like weapons or just household object like a lamp could be used for a weapon or icons of the supernatural; ghosts, crucifixes. The iconography of childhood innocence plays a part as in Halloween when we see that Michael Myers is just a young little innocent boy we don’t expect him to have killed his sister but when we see him with the knife in his hand dripping of blood, it makes us on edge.

The narrative structure is another convention of a horror film, this can be with the sub genre of the film, such as the slasher, because they are formulaic, such as childhood events can create a killer within the film then later when the child has grown up it has become a killer or a group of stupid teenagers such as in Eden Lake who are completely immoral with one female girl who survives to the end of the film this is known as the “Final Girl”.

The character types in the film is the next main horror film convention, as mentioned within narrative structure there is normally a “Final Girl” who survives throughout the film or nearly to the end of the film. There are also monsters with a hidden secret or a hidden plan within the horror genre, these monsters are normally made evil or psychotic by an earlier event within the film. There are also teenagers who are immoral and don’t really care about anything and have been brought up uncared for who go round killing people or get themselves killed in a stupid way. The police in horror films are normally seen to be stupid and unhelpful or are easily killed early on within the film.

The themes within the horror genre are a big convention within these films, there are normally binary oppositions i.e. natural VS. unnatural, good VS. evil. There is also the return of the repressed within horror films this is a Freudian term; where something bad that happens to someone earlier on in there life is repressed, but then is remembered or returns when something reminds them or what happened, then they act on this.

Pitch for a new horror movie

Horror movie ideas


First Idea.

A group of friends go on holiday to a resort in devon, its a get away holiday, to ride the waves and relax on the beach. It's to get away from their normally busy lives, a couple of them are taking time out from work the others are just finishing university, so it's before they get settled and start careers. When 2 or the group go missing after a trip to the beach one day, it's when the panic begins. Could it be the sea? or something within the sand or rocks? as the mystery unravels into this horror, another friend dissappears, who will get home in one piece?


Second Idea.

As the years go round in a century, as the seasons go round in the years, as the months roll into the weeks, as the days roll into the hours; and as the seconds go into a minute. Who developed time? Was time speeding up or slowing down? who was watching this change occur?

Stuart is an odinary teenager whos always had an interest in science, he's nearly out of his teenage years. As he's about to hit the big 2-0 he starts noticing odd things, his best friend sam disappears. It's not the first of these disappearences though. An old man in his 80's finds interest in stuart, they begin talking time and science.
As the plot develops stuart relises the likiness of his mate sam and this older man. Could this be him? Did sam find out something he shouldnt have done, causing him to skip years? the only one that can help stuart is sam. Can he stop the dissapearences? will he find the loophole?

Teaser Trailer - horror

This teaser trailer to horror film "Hatchet" is very obvious on its genre. It is such a teaser for the film that it doesn't show any production values at all. Its a short clip thats mostly little sentences on the screen. The words are very creepy and eerie, it names the director in the text but doesn't let alot for the audiences imagination to reveal.

The music is a soft slow piano throughout the trailer, it has soft quiet voices in the background, saying little phrases that sound like they come from a little girl.

Teaser Trailer - horror

This is the teaser trailer for the horror film "House of Fears". The trailer indicates that the film being advertised is a horror as before any clips there is some text on the screen, so it lets the audience guess. The trailer doesn't make it look like there was a big budget spend on the film because it looks the the whole location for the film is just at one place - a haunted house. Within the trailer there was no recognisable stars or a directors name.

The target audience for this film would have to be a horror film fanatic or someone that enjoys watching them, as it looks like a typical horror film with older teenages. The music is creepy and dramatic it has a eerie turn to it with sudden burst of loudness to it. There are screams throughout the trailer and people shouting and talking to each other but no distinct voice over.

Teaser Trailer

This is the teaser trailer for Clash of the Titans. From the trailer i can see that it is an action/war film. Within the trailier it is very fast moving, but it doesn't include the name of the director within it. The budget must have been high for this film as there is alot of special effects used within the trailer. The cast of the film features some well-known faces, such as Pete Postlethwaite.
The teaser trailer is very fast moving and includes clips of fighting and violence, but also of mythical creatures including giant scorpians and large flying creatures. This could capture an audience that isn't that into war films. There is also a clip of a woman dangling from a high edge, this could be a sign of romance within, again capturing the female audience to watch this film.

Throughout the teaser trailer there is no voice over apart from an actor within the film saying "One day somebody's going to have to make a stand, one day somebody's going to say enough" this sentence is just enough for the audience to want to know what happens in the rest of the film. It's spoken by Peter Postlethwaite, as he is a well-known actor, people may link him with a series of good films. The background music for the trailer is like a soundtrack and has an electric guitar with drums playing in it, the music builds up tension within the clip and is very dramatic.

Teaser Trailers

This trailer is for New Moon it is second in the Twilight saga, it is from a romance novel. The first film 'Twilight' was a supernatural film but had romance and action within it. The second film also has action and romance involved within it.

From this teaser trailer viewers can see that this film has the stars from the first film in it. Including Robert Pattinson who has become famous from the forth Harry Potter film (playing Cedric Diggory). This trailer looks like the film has gone all out with alot of well-known faces. The budget must be high as there has been so much advertisement of the film on TV and so much publicity of the actors doing many interviews. The trailer is seen to have special effects as a muscly young man transforms into a wolf. Which seems a part of the action sequence within the film.

The major aspect that will capture the target audience is the fact that it is a sequel to the first film "Twilight". The music within the trailer starts with quiet violins and symbols, with the actors voices over the top as clips from the film are shown, then the music turns dark and dramatic and the voices pace changes from this it connotes tension, that somethings going to happen, unexpected.

Horror Moodboard!

This is my horror moodboard, I chose these images as I think that they all fit in with the theme of horror. I like the roses in my moodboard as I think they reflect love, and within horror films it can be very dark but also romantic; as in men protecting their loved ones or someone that means alot to them. The candles I have picked are creepy and work well, they add a creepiness to the moodboard and they connotes darkness. In my moodboard I have used alot of faces, these are both mysterious and dark, these work very well with my other images.

Teaser Trailer

The genre of this film is sci-fi film, it's a sequel to the other Alien vs. Predator films so it already has a high target audience that will be interested with seeing the next film of the saga. The production values of this film include a high budget, this is because of the special effects that go into the film with the fighting, the cost of the costumes and the stars.

The music of this teaser trailer is slow to start with but then has loud electric guitar with drums music with fast clips of the "Alien" and also the "predator". There is no voice over for this trailer, it's just the sounds of the 'Monster's' voices and also when they are battling it out and other sounds that sound like that both sides are getting ready for battle.

Teaser Trailers - Horror films

Although this trailer may be old it is still modern and uses alto of the key conventions of typical horror films. From the start you can see that the film is dark but not expected in a typical horror film as there is classical music being played, and just random clips of people shown on a wall from a projector. Then it says "THE TRAPS ARE SET" this can be worrying to people as it's not what they want to hear. The music becomes more dramatic and so do the pictures, they show people screaming and shouting or in pain the music is loud fast and dramatic the sort of music that should be in a action film, but the music is used in suspense for what is yet to come, it leaves us in a sense of wanting more. There is already a target audience for this film as it is a sequal to the other SAW films. There is a mixture of dialogue and faint music where we can hear people screaming. We then see the face of SAW so we understand what the film is and it is shown large and in colour whereas the other parts of the trailer have been projectered onto a wall and are faint.

Horror & Representation

Do the characters in the horror films we have watched reinforce or challenge dominant assumptions about gender?

The Shining

Within the film "The Shining" the character Wendy (Played by Shelley Duval)takes a domesticated role in this film, by cooking meals for her son and her husband, also she has a marital role in the film, this reinforces dominant ideology. In "The Shining" Wendy has no male gaze, showing that she doesn't have a sexual role in the film. She is the subject, a victim who is the 'final girl' type, with whom the audience identifies.

There is another lady (played by Lia Beldam) within the film she takes on a male gaze, but this gaze is made shamful and complicated as she turns into an older, corpsier lady (played by Billie Gibson)but as this scene isn't very long, she doesn't take on any more roles within the film.

Halloween

The film "Halloween" has a main character called Laurie strode, she is a older teenager who has taken on a domestic role within the film as she is babysitting children.

Film "The Shining"

Whether or not the narrative ideas of Vladimir Propp work in relation to 'The Shining'

With the film "The Shining" compared to Propps narrative, I didn't think that the film fit into the narrative. Within the narrative Propp mentions eight speres of action; but the film that we studied doesn't really fit into this well, there is a villain which is a mixture between a few people, i think that the false hero is the chef, this is because he is communicating telepathically with Danny and he knows that something isn't right, therefore he goes to the hotel, the viewers think that he can save Wendy and Danny against Jack but then he doesn't make it and jack gets to him. There's a helper who fits in to be Tony (the voice in Dannys mouth). In a way the princess is Wendy even though she isn't glamourous, she just tries her best to save the day, so she is also the hero as she manages to get out and run away.
Within the development of the plot, Propps structure doesn't fit completely, yet it fits within the "Preparation" stage, this is because at the start of the film, bjack leaves home to visit the hotel and with Propps narrative structure it states that a member of the family leaves home. There are a few other pieces of the film that fit in with the structure, but mainly the film doesn't fit Propps narrative structure exactly.


The villian - Jack
The Donor - THe Chef
The helper - The Chef/Tony
The princess - Wendy
The dispatcher - Grady
The hero - Wendy
The false hero - The Chef

The term 'Return of the repressed'

This is the psychological process where a memory, being a not very nice memory and something that you dont like to remember, being pushing to the unconscious part of your mind or 'Repressed'. For example if you were raped as a child, then you push it to the back of your mind, not to think about it. The return of the repressed is when the bad memory that you had forgotten all about is brought back through thoughts or memories, and you associate it with the bad memory.

Horror film trailer - Scream

This is the trailer for horror film scream. I like this trailer as it has a well known, famous actress playing a typical teenage girl.

In this clip it shows a normal looking house, and a normal evening, but a mysterious phone call, with an unknown person on the other line. Also in this clip it shows shots of police cars rushing past and glass smashing. It shows main characters in the film looking shocked.

As most horror films it is a fast moving trailer, that doesn't give us an insite to the film and keeps the audience guessing whats going to happen.


The genre of the movie is clearly visable, the voice over is a clear indicator of this as it states the facts that we need to know or to find out. The name of the movie isn't very clear at all and we don't get told the name till the very end, we get told it's a scary movie and that people are getting killed. The production values of the movie indicate that they had quite a large budget as the film has some well-known stars in it, for example; Drew barrymore. There arn't many special effects shown within the trailer but this doesn't mean that there arn't any within the film. The name of the director appears on this trailer "WEZ CRAVEN" in a white colour whereas all other words are in a blood red colour effect such as "DON'T TRY TO HIDE".

I think that the target audience for this film is older teenagers, young adults, this is because within the film, the actors are young adults, and it's when they are around college and having parties and doing what their age range do.

The music within this horror film trailer is dramatic and jumpy, to start with there is no music just voices and odd sounds of abience of the outside, but then as the voiceover begins to speak faint music begins in the background, there is alot of use of violins and chellos, to create this feeling of drama and fear.