WEEK 7

I designed an online survey to help me with my research with my target audience. Using http://www.surveymokeny.com/ I was able to create the survey online free of charge.

This week, my partner and I were meant to begin filming. However this was postponed for various reasons. Me and my partner were both ill on different occasions, denting our work rate. We have been recieving an earfull from our tutors which has appeared to be motivational.

I did some more research on horror genre, and things to do with the supernatural. During my research I came across something known as 'The Devils hour'.
You’ve probably heard before that midnight is known as the ‘witching’ hour, a time according to European folklore when supernatural creatures such as witches and ghosts walk freely and are at the height of their powers. But you may not have heard of the ‘Demon’ hour, also known as ‘The Devils hour’ or the ‘Demonic hour.’

Far worse than witches and ghosts are Demons, said to be supernatural creatures and malevolent spirits, Demons are the most feared of all of Satan’s minions. Known also as ‘Fallen Angels’ Demons are the bringers of pestilence and disease, the corrupters of innocence, and the champions of all sin. Demons are not to be taken lightly.

The reporting of strange occurrences happening at or around 3am is common, and it has also been noted as a time when sufferers of sleep paralysis (old hag syndrome) frequently experience their nocturnal assaults or hallucinations. And in extreme cases 3AM has been linked to cases of ‘phantomania’, attacks from supernatural forces whilst still fully awake. - http://hubpages.com/hub/3AM-the-Demon-Hour-The-Demonic-Hour-The-Devils-Hour

I particularly found this interesting as it is now Winter, darkness falls upon us quickly; around 6pm. This is handy as we can record in the evening or late afternoon, through the use of editing we can make it seem as if some scenes are set in the early hours of the morning, i.e. around 3am. Linking to 'The Devil's hour'.

WEEK 6

This week I realised I do not hardly have any multi media aspects in my blog.
For future references I will start recording conversations between me and my partner about the production of our work and, will possibly design mood boards, and powerpoint presentations during post production.

WEEK 5

This week my partner and I were discussing the location where most of our teaser trailer will be shot. We had the idea to shoot in a youth club located in waterloo. We came to the conclusion that this is where we want to shoot our trailer. I have permission to shoot there and will begin doing so soon.



WEEK 4

Discussing the soundtrack with my partner we had some disputes. I came up with the idea that we play part of the song ‘Don’t go there’ By Giggs featuring B.o.B for a certain part of the trailer. I came up with this as the idea for the trailer is that they go to a somewhat forbidden area in the college; and the chorus of the song being ‘Don’t go there’ links to the theme. I also thought this song was suitable for our trailer as the song is contemporary and well known amongst youths, so it will appeal to our target audience. This will also give our trailer a more urban film as the cast is going to consist of teens that live in south London. My partner didn’t agree with this idea as he believes that ‘the song isn’t serious’. As everyone is aware of Giggs and B.o.B and the type of music associated with those artists, the songs they release do not suit this kind of genre. We haven’t come up with a final decision whether or not we are going to use the song in our teaser trailer; however we’ve decided to experiment with the song in the trailer.

I had a fondness for the song was due to the actual lyrics of the chorus. Ironically reflects what will eventually happen on screen. I didn’t just want to use a plain clip of song. I wanted to manipulate it in a certain way to make the song appear scarier. I had the idea of making the song run normally for a few seconds, then I would have it be interrupted by the sound of a door slamming. This will punctuate the song, as the second part will feature that part of the song being replayed however with no beat and hopefully, I’ll be able to use technology to distort the voice making it deeper and with no beat behind the lyrics.

WEEK 3

This week I had to present my storyboard, blog and a powerpoint presentation to the class. From the audience feedback I learnt that I was giving away too much information on the film, in my teaser trailer. As it is a teaser trailer my scenes have to be brief and precise so I don’t give too much away in my trailer. With this criticism I decided to cut out unnecessary scenes from my storyboard.

Another criticsm said by the audience was that my storyboard didn’t have any original photographs. To overcome this setback I went out and took some photographs for my storyboard. However as time prevails my original photographs will eventally get replaced by stills from my recording, giving the storyboard more authenticity.

WEEK 2

This week I made changes to my storyboard and changed the actual story of my teaser trailer. To my partner I introduced an idea to contribute to our story. Before it was more about getting locked in the college after certain hours but now we included the idea of having a forbidden area in college. Even though the whole trailer won’t be based in this area, I noted that it would be a good idea to make the trailer seem as if this forbidden area was the main subject of the film.


I looked at the trailer for a film ‘DEVIL’ (2010) which, in which most of the film is based in a lift and through use of camera angles and effects, the directors were able to give a normal elevator a powerful part in the film.

As our decision to make a teaser trailer for a horror film wasa final, I decided to research the horror genre for films.

 Wikipedia defines the genre horror in films as: “unsettling movies that strive to elicit the emotions of fear, disgust andhorror from viewers. They usually feature frequent jump scenes that make the viewers jump and startled through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres. Horrors also frequently overlap with the thriller genre.

Horror films deal with the viewer's nightmares, hidden worst fears, revulsions and terror of the unknown. Although a good deal of it is about the supernatural, if some films contain a plot about morbidity, serial killers, a disease/virus oubtreak and surrealism, they may be termed "horror".”

Similarily http://www.filmsite.org/horrorfilms defines the horror genre in films as:

“unsettling films designed to frighten and panic, cause dread and alarm, and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a cathartic experience. Horror films effectively center on the dark side of life, the forbidden, and strange and alarming events. They deal with our most primal nature and its fears: our nightmares, our vulnerability, our alienation, our revulsions, our terror of the unknown, our fear of death and dismemberment, loss of identity, or fear of sexuality.”

WEEK 1

As me and my partner have decided that we want to produce a teaser trailer for our production, I began to research different kinds of trailers on http://www.youtube.com/. horror, drama etc.

We came to the conclusion that our teaser trailer was going to be for a film of the horror genre. It was to consist of people aged teens as it was to be set in a college environment.

Linking back to first year when my media class took part in the film festival week, we went to the cinema and watched a british film called Tormented. This was about a group of friends who bullied someone until they were forced to commit suicide, however the victim returns and is out for revenge.

I believe this links to our idea the most because it’s a british film, its based around teens in school and it’s a horror.

Looking at the poster for the film ‘Tormented’, I noticed that it’s dark, suiting its genre of horror. With the background being black there’s no light. Connotations of black being darkness, secrecy, evil etc. Black is also the colour that usually represents the antagonist in a story. With the title bold in dark red this connotes blood, guilt and danger these can be seen as generic conventions for a horror film. The subjects of this poster are the groups of teens in school uniform all lifeless, piling on up each other; this may be foreshadowing events that may take place in the film.

For my product I hope to impose the generic conventions of colour themes being black, which are always present in horror movies. Rather than challenging any stereotypes for horror films or teens I want to exaggerate them. In my teaser trailer for my film I want to portray the teenage students as curious and rebellious, which is how they are represented by the media. This representation will initially be used as dramatic irony in my teaser trailer, as the curiosity of my protagonists will be the reason they get in trouble.

I also took interest in the film Paranormal Activity. This was because this film is about a force which you cannot see i.e. a poltergeist. The actual force was invisible to the human eye however you could see the effect of its presence. It physically interacted with objects and people to prompt screams from the audience. There’s a scene in Paranormal Activity which I wan one similar to feature in my teaser trailer. It involves a ghost/ invisible force slamming a door.

Having this in my trailer will give it a more spooky feel as you cannot see everything and why that happened.

A scene in Paranormal Activity where the door opens by it self. Something I hope to do in my trailer.

WEEK 1