Production Process Of Film Poster

This post just outlines some of the production processes that went into creating my film poster. For example, in the first picture I have not added any effects in, other than the effect the main image already has. In the second picture is where I added all the effects and changed a few of the colours.

Film Poster - Final Draft

After my Year 9 feedback, I have changed the picture on my poster. This should give the viewer a much bigger clue as to what the film is about compared to the signs that the previous picture gave off. In this image, the antagonist is leaping towards the camera, so it looks like he is coming to kill the viewer, with a knife.

Vengeance - A Horror Short Film

My horror short film is near completion now. During the holidays I will be adding a couple more shots in between the shots that are there currently there, as the time of the film is only 2:49s. Therefore I will at least get it into the 3 minute mark, if not a bit more than that if possible. I did my best to create a variety of shots; ranging from eye level to high angle to door-opening shots. With a horror film the sound is the key, so I spent much of my time editing the sound to be as best as it can be. With every antagonist shot I either added a loud sound effect in or I made the background ambience louder, to emphasise on the fact that he is trying to kill the protagonist and so should be avioded. The first half of the film is kept in the light so we can easily see what is going on in each shot, but in the second part where she ventures down to the basement I made sure all the lights were out, using only a torch, therefore it keeps the viewer on edge as the antagonist could jump out at any time. I ensured that the knife she picks up in the kitchen was a fairly large, sharp one, so it makes the film more lethal and real, and I also used a similar knife for the antagonist to hold as well.  

Film Review - Second Draft

Here, I have added a picture into the white space that was there previously. I chose this image as it has both the protagonist and antagonist in shot, and they are both reflected in the mirror, which I believe adds to the scariness. I made sure to fill out the whole of the space so there are no blank patches, while still maintaning easy navigation around the film review when reading it.

Feedback For My Poster

In order to get proper feedback for my poster, I printed it out and showed it to a group of Year 9 students. I do not know them, therefore their feedback is very critical and reliable. After showing it to them, I fond out that:

• The effect on the image was very good, and should be kept as it creates an eeriness, however the image itself should be changed, as the Year 9 students did not know enough about the character in the image. Therefore I will take a different picture where the antagonist is holding a weapon, so the viewer definitely knows that this is the killer, and so the slogan at the top of the poster 'Will He Come For You?' will help to show that this person might come to kill you too.

• The font of 'Vengeance' helps to show that this is a horror film, along with the red colour, and the black background also tells the viewer immediately that this is a horror genre. The quotes at the bottom also help to make this film scarier. They are the last thing that the viewer will see, so they will stick in their minds as it did with the Year 9s that I showed.

Vengeance - Editing so far

This is what I have edited so far. On 17th December I shall be finishing my short film off completely, plus uploading it to blogger. I have filmed other clips to add to the film ready to edit in iMovie, however I lack sound effects, therefore if I add them at the moment, the viewer will not understand what is happening. A sound effect I will be adding is a door slam which currently is not in there, in the clip where the protagonist looks round to the door. I may also consider re-doing this shot completely, if I am not happy with the sound effect which I add in.

Film Review - First Draft

This is the first draft for my film review. I will place a suitable picture in the empty white space after I have chosen one, therefore it is not completely finished yet. I added the star rating at the bottom of the page so the viewer of this review will get a rough idea of how good Vengeance is, therefore they will know whether they want to see/buy it or not. On the left had side I added a box with some basic information in, so the viewer will immediately see what it's about and other information such as actors. At the top of the page, I made Vengeance the same font and colour as it is in the film poster and the actual film, so it is easily recognisable. I also added a quote from the main text, and put it to the side in a much bigger font and seperated it with red lines so eyes get drawn to it. This will also help to tell the viewer whether it interests them or not, and if it does they can carry on reading. It helps to make it look like a real film review too.

Film Magazine Deconstruction

In order to get ideas on how to lay out my film review, I have looked at others so mine can look as professional as possible. This film, Exam, has been reviewed, therefore I have chosen to deconstruct it. 

The background is white, which is probably the best colour to use as it makes everything easy to see and read, especially since there is small text to read. A picture of the film has been placed in the top left hand corner so the viewer's eyes will automatically get drawn to it first, therefore they will get a rough idea of what the film looks like, even if they have not seen it before. Underneath the picture is the title of the film, which is obviously very important to come before everything else. The star rating appears underneath that, so the viewer get a rough idea about how good the film is; this one is 4 stars, so whoever is reading it may want to continue to read it. Therefore I shall be adding a suitable star rating to mine too. At the bottom of the right side, some basic information about the film has been added, e.g. the certificate and directors. I shall be including something like this is mine too as it is a very quick way to learn facts about the film without having to read into much great detail, therefore it is very useful for the viewer.

Introduction To My Short Film

I have edited the introduction for my short film, and this is what it will be. At the start I have included the title of the film 'Vengeance' so the viewer knows what it's called. I have made it the same colour and font as it is in the poster I created, so it is easily recognisable for the audience too. With the two shots that come after (the name of the house and the house itself) I slowed them down to make them more eerie. The reason I opened with these shots is to show the audience where the film is set, therefore everything that happens in the house afterwards will not happen in an unknown area to everyone. If I didn't show where the film is set, the audience may be confused. 

Film Poster - Second Draft

After much feedback and editing, I have created a second draft for my film poster, and one that I am more pleased with. Firstly I changed the slogan of the film at the top of the page to 'Will He Come For You?' instead, as it sounds more sinister. It has the same meaning as the original (Is It Your Turn?) however gives a bit more of the storyline away in a better, more scary way.
I also added a star rating to it to make the poster seem more like a real poster, with some quotes about the film. The quotes help to tell the audience more about the film, and since they tell us that it is scary, it will attract them.
I added a date at the bottom of the page as well to also add to the realism. 

Film Poster - First Draft

Untitled Prezi on Prezi

FIlm Poster Deconstruction - Sinister

This poster has been carefully designed in order to give off the correct connotations for the audience. One thing that we notice immediately is that the image is quite light; black is not a colour which is present here, therefore this is fairly different to typical horror conventions. However, this allows us to see more of the image.
There is not a main focus point in the image, as nothing is placed directly in the centre, other than the title. The girl connotes that children will most likely be found in the film, and these children could possibly be antagonist characters as the girl shown is wiping blood on the wall, as if she doesn't care.
if we follow the blood trail that she has made to where most of the blood is found, we see that a face has emerged from the stain. As the face is an evil looking one, this shows that this character will also be  a murderer/someone with an evil purpose. Due to the fact that we cannot actually see him; it is just an outline, means that this person could have a mysterious personality in the film. Another point that shows us this character is evil is simply because the face has been produced from blood, which connotes he could be a killer.
A tape reel is found on the floor, so lots of video footage could be found during the film. This could present a sense of mystery with a detective atmosphere whilst the audience watches, as the tapes may show the audience clues that need to be properly solved. The fact that it is also found beneath the face that we presume to be the killer tells us that the videos, if there are any, will most likely to be liked to the antagonist of the film.
As 'Sinister' is found in bold writing in the centre of the shot tells the viewer that this word is particularly important, and may tell us more about the genre and what happens in the film. Each letter also smudges slightly down the image, which connotes a sense of death, and also blood (which ties in with the death).

Film Poster Deconstruction - Scream 4

Scream 4's film poster is very well made, as it does a good job of sticking in the audience's heads.
Firstly, the face in the middle of the page has been thoughtfully created. The mask looks very sinister and creepy, so we immediately know that it's a horror, and this is the antagonist. As you look down the mask, it becomes apparent that the bottom half is shaped like a knife. This may give off a clue as to the weapon he uses to kill his victims. The shot of the mask is from a side on view, which makes it thinner, therefore again adding to the knife similarities.
The lighting is shown in the middle to make the face stand out, and it also casts a glint on the bottom of the knife-shaped chin, showing how sharp and deadly it is. As soon as one reads the title of the film, 'Scream', they will know immediately that its a horror, or has something to do with this particular genre. 

The background colour is black, therefore allowing the other parts to the poster stand out, catching the viewer's eye. Black is also a stereotypical horror related colour, so many film posters about horror will include black as their primary colour. The title colour is white, so our eyes get drawn to it first therefore e know what the film is called straight away. However, some of the text is red. This could be because red is the colour of blood, and gore is commonly found in horrors so this helps to bring across that idea.  

Horror Related Words - Wordle

180 Degree Rule

This is the 180 degree rule, and is important in cinematography.  It states that the camera must remain on the same side of an imaginary horizontal line, perpendicular to the camera's viewpoint, from which the shot is taken.

During conversations, this rule is used a lot. If the camera is filming one person addressing the other from left to right, the following shots must also keep this perspective by staying the same side as the imaginary line. The reason this needs to be followed is because it will not appear as if the characters are addressing each other.

Overall, the 180 degree rule is very good at applying a sense of continuity for the audience.

Filming - Friday 2nd November

I went to my location at this date for the first time to do some proper filming. I only filmed a few shots; all were outside. My cast and I got a real feel for the location I am using, therefore when I come to film next time we'll all be used to it, making filming easier.

I have recorded what we did and what is was like:

Preliminary Filming 2 - Editing

In my second piece of preliminary filming, I have edited the shots I have filmed.


I have used iMovie to do this, as this is the program I will be using to edit my actual short film. Therefore I have gained the necessary skills needed to edit pieces of film, which will make the editing of my horror film much easier and also better.
I have included this screenshot to show the layout of the program and how it works, along with the multiple shots of my preliminary filming (2). In this particular screenshot I was practising cropping, to make my prelim flow as the person is walking through the corridors.
iMovie is a very easy program to get used to, if one has never used it before. It's buttons and functions are easy to find, and once you've had a quick practise with it you can easily start to properly edit your own videos. This is the reason why i'm using iMovie to edit.

   

This is the final piece of my preliminary filming. I started off with my character walking from the outside of the school, straight through two doors and turning right into a corridor. I then changed the shot into a lower angled shot, as he just turned the corner. I then included an over-the-shoulder following shot of my character, as I made sure that the camera was behind his shoulder the whole time as he walked. The disadvantage to this is that the camera will shake slightly as you cannot use a tripod. This shot is followed by a close up of his foot, as he carries on walking.
I have used a tripod the whole time other that the over-the-shoulder shot to keep the film as still as possible. One factor that also needs to be kept in mind is the lighting, as it gets particularly dark at one point.

Experimenting With Stair/High Angled Shots (Preliminary Filming 1)

Due to the fact I will be including stair shots with my protagonist walking up and down them (from the hallway to the balcony) and also from the back door to the basement, I have tried filming some stair shots in school. This was very useful because I have gained confidence while filming these so I shall be able to film these shots better in my actual location. As you can see, each shot is very still. This is because the tripod I used did this, which I will be using when I film.
Also, I tried out a high angled shot which appears at the end of the video. I will be using these shots to make my protagonist look weaker, therefore it was crucial for me to try out this shot. Again, I have used a tripod to make the shot still and I shall be using it every time if I can.

Storyboard Animatic

Here I have made my storyboard into a short animation. I have chosen to do this because it makes it a lot more interesting, and each shot appears in order, like it will in my short film. Every shot gets brought to life, which again makes it more interesting to view, which will make filming slightly easier too. Also, I have added background spooky music into it, in order to get a feel for what my short film will be like, as there will be quiet spooky ambience playing most of the way through over my horror film.

'Pete's Media Blog' - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

This powerpoint is fantastic at summing up how to make a practical project. It lists 9 different factors that should be considered in order to do well, therefore I can use this to my advantage. What is great about it is that it goes from the very start to the finish (from doing basic research right up to looking back on your work and getting feedback).

So I will be following each point that is listed in order to improve my work.

Equipment/Prop List

As my cast and location are all finalised now, all I need is an equipment list before I get started. By creating this, I will not have the chance of forgetting to bring certain props, which would stop me from being able to film some scenes.
As there is no dialogue in my short film, props will play a large role in telling the story (the audience shouldn't have to lose track as to what is happening; they should be able to easily follow the story).

My equipment and props I shall be using include:

Video Camera - To film my short film

• Tripod - To keep the video camera still - keeping a still shot is incredibly important when filming as the playback will be much better, therefore a tripod will be used where possible

• Storyboard - I shall bring my storyboard as I will know the order to film my shots, so it makes it easier to film as I can just follow it.

• Mobile phone - My protagonist will have her mobile placed in the lounge, and when it starts to ring she will answer it and realise nobody is there, which will add to the spookiness of the film.

• Kitchen knife - When my protagonist starts to investigate the house, she will pick up a knife from the kitchen. Therefore this will show that she is very scared, to the point where she is willing to murder whoever is haunting her. The antagonist will have a knife that he carries to, so he can kill her at the end of the film.

First Filming - Testing The Video Cameras and Tripods

In order to get used to cameras we'll use for filming, we took them out around the school and took some shots and short clips testing different angles. This was extremely helpful because when it comes to filming we will find it a lot easier due to the testing we did.
This is a shot of me trying out a high angled shot. I experimented with this particular shot because it is one I will be using a fair amount in my short film, therefore doing this will benefit me as I will understand where and how to use high angled shots.

This is another picture of us experimenting with cameras. We tried filming with and without the tripods, and all of us came to the conclusion that using a tripod was much better. This is simply because tripods make each shot perfectly still. I found out that no matter how still your hands are, when you play the piece of film back it will always be slightly shaky. Therefore in my short film I will always be using a tripod, where and whenever I can.

Narrative For My Film

If I had to summarise my short film for someone who didn't know what it was about, I was describe it like this:

I have planned a stereotypical horror short film. The reason for it being stereotypical is because it follows many conventions from other horror films, for example, it is being filmed in a large house, without any speech. The cast is very small (only 2 people - the protagonist and antagonist), as this will add to the scariness of the film (my protagonist will not get any help).
Sound is another convention that I will be very careful with, as most of the time, if not all the time, it will be quiet in the background. Only the sound effects will be loud and attempt to make the audience jump.

Different camera angles will be used, for example many high camera angles will be used for my protagonist to show the weakness of her, and many point-of-view shots of the antagonist to make it more realistic.

Audience Feedback

In order to get proper feedback from my audience, I realised the best way to do this was to film a member of my audience and ask them a series of questions. In this filming, I asked Ryan Soanes three questions about horror, and most importantly it's his own view. Therefore I can use his opinions in my short film in order to create a horror film that will appeal to people who enjoy this particular genre.
I feel more motivated after hearing what Ryan has to say as his views are very similar to the ones I had already, therefore I am well on track for correct ideas for my horror short film.

I have found out that:

• Death, gore and screams are just some of the words that come into people's minds when they think about horror. These factors will therefore be considered in the shooting and editing of my short film.
• In order to make a horror movie successful, the more realistic it is the better it will be. This is because we start to think that it may have a chance of happening in real life, if it appears very feel and eerie in the film. Paranormal Activity is a great example where this happens; we see the whole film through a video camera or a webcam's point of view.
• When it comes down to sound, there should not be any lyrics in any songs. In fact, there should not be many/any songs altogether - but there should be spooky ambience most of the time.

Example Of Audience (Female Profile)

This is Laura - and she is 16 years old. She is a huge horror fan; owning DVDs of this particular genre and watching them by herself or with friends. As well as watching films, she also enjoys being with her friends, and will go to see rock bands that she likes when they visit her local area. Laura enjoys experimenting, and will quite often try out a new band or go to the cinema to see a film that she thinks she may enjoy.

This film, Paranormal Activity, is one of her favourites. This is because she likes the way that the whole film is filmed using a video camera, therefore it seems much more real for the audience watching it. This sense of realism affects her as it would with most of us, as it is hard to forget about something that seems as if it could happen to you. She has Paranormal Activity 1, 2 and 3 all on DVD, and she has pre-ordered the 4th for when it comes out.

Example Of Audience (Male Profile)

This is Jordan Davey - he is 17 years old. As well as enjoying the company of friends, he very much enjoys watching TV, and is a huge fan of horror. The music he listens to also often has very dark meanings in the lyrics, which helps to show this idea that he is a horror fan. Therefore he knows quite a lot about this particular genre, and so can relate to the characters in these types of films.






This film, Insidious, is one of his favourite films. This is because he likes the creepy way that children are used in it, so every time he watches it he always gets chills. He also likes the way how Insidious keeps a certain darkness in the film, so it keeps you on the edge of your seat because anything could jump out at you at any point; which it does.
Therefore in my horror short film I will remember to keep a dark effect, and attempt to make the audience jump by doing this.

                                                                                                     


                                                 
                                                           

Audience Theory

Hypodermic Needle Theory

It dates from the 1920’s, and was the first method to attempt to explain how mass audiences react to mass media. It is a theory that audiences passively receive media text without challenging it, as if everyone thinks the same and has no opinion. This makes the hypodermic needle theory a very crude model, as you can think of it as text being injected into the brain.

Two-Step Flow

The hypodermic needle theory was starting to get old and prove to be wrong, and so a new theory was set up, called the two-step flow. It is thought that information does not feed into the audience directly; it is first filtered through ‘opinion leaders’. Opinion leaders can therefore have influence over everyone else, and therefore it is known as a two-step flow.

Uses and Gratifications

During the 1960’s, it became apparent that audiences make their own choices about what they do when consuming texts. Therefore audiences are made up of individuals who actively consume texts for different reasons in different ways. In 1948, Lasswell suggested that media texts had the following functions:

• Surveillance
• Correlation
• Entertainment
• Cultural Transmission 

Blulmer and Katz expanded this theory in 1974, with:

• Diversion
• Personal Relationships
• Personal Identity
• Surveillance

Reception Theory

In the 1980s and 1990s, more work was done to explain how individuals receive and interpret text, and how individual circumstances affect their reading, such as age and gender. The work is based on Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model of the relationship between text and audience. So the text is encoded by the producer and then decoded by the reader, and there may be different readings of the same code. Preferred reading is where the producer can position the audience and create a certain amount of agreement on what the code means. This is done by using recognised codes and conventions that the reader prefers. 

Representation Of Characters

Protagonist

This is an example of the kind of person my protagonist will look and dress like -






I have chosen to use a female to act as my protagonist. She will be an innocent blonde, as this will make her look not as powerful, therefore when she dies we will feel sorry for her. Females stereotypically will get more scared than boys will, therefore my short film will be more effective with a female. She will be wearing ordinary/casual clothing, to show that it is just a regular day, so we don't suspect anything going wrong for her. My protagonist will be in her mid-teens because the target audience will easily be able to relate to her as many of the viewers will be female. Also, the younger she is, the more scary it will be for her to walk around a large house alone, with a killer, therefore we feel much more sorry for her as an audience. Many point-of-view shots and high angled shots will be used with her as this will make her look much more vulnerable, and we will see what is happening from her height; making it more realistic.

Antagonist

This is an example of the kind of person my antagonist will look and dress like -





I will be using a male to act as my antagonist, as males are stereotypically stronger, and there are more male killers than female ones. Similar to the picture, I shall be using a white face mask, as it creates an unknown feel. However, instead of just leaving it plain white I will be adding black pen to it. As the antagonist will be dressed up we will not know his age, however we shall presume he is in his very late teens/early twenties. I will be dressing him up in a ripped suit, to add to his spooky, unknown feel. I shall be using many low angle and point-of-view shots with my antagonist, to add realism to my film and to make him look stronger.

Horror Directors - James Wan

James Wan is a reasonably new face to horror. He is an Australian producer, screenwriter and film director. He specialises in horror films - most widely know for coming up with the idea and directing Saw. 
At the age of 11 he knew that he wanted to be a film maker, and he went on to receive his Bachelor of Arts degree from the royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Melbourne. He then began to make short films and music videos. In a recent interview, Wan said that 'I think even as a kid, I appreciated and loved the medium of cinema because it allowed me to utilize every aspect of art to tell a story'. 
He has always been attracted to horror, especially from a young age. This is mainly because his parents were huge horror fans, especially his mum, and so she didn't mind him seeing horror films at a very young age. This therefore led him to direct many horror films. 
Saw became so successful that it has many sequels including Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV, Saw V, Saw VI and Saw 3D.
Other films that he has directed include Dead Silence, Death Sentence and Insidious.

Genre - Horror

Definition of 'Genre' - A category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality.

Horror is my chosen genre for two main reasons: It is simple and very effective. If the filming is pulled off correctly and the editing likewise, it will draw the viewer in because they will be constantly on-edge and will therefore want to know what will happen. As a lot of teenagers are interested in horror due to it's eerie surroundings, I am included in the target audience. This is help produce ideas for my film as I understand what people like and what scares them. 

I believe that sounds are the main ingredient to what makes a good horror film. This is because there is barely any, if not at all, speech, therefore it is down to the sound we hear to enhance what we see, making the film much more mysterious and frightening. The quieter the ambience in the background of the film is, the easier we are to jump when we see the antagonist, as a loud sound effect can be added at that point.

Risk Assessment

Risk asessments are important to produce, as it keeps you safe when on location. The actors and director need to be aware of all the possible risks that could be present, therefore they will take more care than they normally would. Because my film is taking place at a house in aylesbeare, I wrote down all the dangers that could be found at this particular place.

Costume Ideas - Antagonist/Protagonist

Antagonist

This is what the antagonist will be wearing in my short film. I have used a smart, white shirt, however I have ripped parts of it and created a dirty/bloodstained effect on it, to show that this is the evil character in my film. With the mask, I have used a plain white face mask, and again I have edited it slightly by colouring on it using thick black pen, to make it look more sinister. Also, I will make the protagonist wear a tie. This is because it makes him look like he's wearing smart clothing, however its all ripped and scary-looking. Therefore it slightly challenges the stereotype as we would not expect the killer to look smart, however it is still ripped so the audience definitely knows this is the villain.

Protagonist

Here are some costume ideas for my protagonist, modelled by the cast member who will actually be 

playing my protagonist. Due to the fact in the film it will just be a normal day for her, she will be wearing normal everyday clothing that you would expect someone her age to wear around the house.This will make the film seem more real as she is just an ordinary girl, therefore it could happen to anyone.

Storyboard For My Film

Here is a series of shots for my short film, with a short description of each one. I have given the types of camera shots, along with the general story of what is happening as well. When I come to shoot my film,  I will be using this storyboard as a guide to help me, as the storyboard has created the story. What I will have to bear in mind however is what will happen between each shot, as on my storyboard they skip from one shot/location to the next, therefore I will have to make it flow well when I film it.

Mood Board + Feedback

After presenting my mood board, I received a number of opinions from my peers about what they think work, and what stands out to them as an audience.

• The picture of the blood-stained hands stick well into the audience's minds, therefore when it comes to filming my short film, I should include some sort of gore, perhaps a hand stain on a window, to make the film more effective
• Reflections work well, and I want to include some in my short film, however they can be quite tricky to pull off. Therefore I shall still include them, but only one or two, as they can be really effective at making the audience jump.
• Darkness will need to be kept through most/all of the short film. However it can't be dark to the point where you can barely see, everything will still be visible, however just at a lower light. This will make the audience keep on-edge, and so they will be more easily scared we see the killer.

The Location For My Short Film

The establishing shot for my short film: The outside of the house will tell the audience where the film will be set, as apart from this quick shot of the outside of the house, the film will take place inside.

Staircase and hallway - Where the protagonist will hears noises, so she will walk up and down them to investigate. The protagonist's mobile will also ring in the lounge (through the doors at the back of the picture), and so she will walk through them to investigate that.

The stairs down to the basement - The protagonist will see the antagonist quickly disappear when she reaches the top of the stairs, and she will walk down them slowly to add tension, keeping her knife that she just equipped herself with infront of her the whole time.  

The basement - This is where a significant amount of the video will take place, as it is gives a more eerie feeling, because it's the lowest part of the house.

This is the bathroom found in the basement - The mirror is the key feature in the bathroom, as this is where the protagonist will see the the antagonist's reflection. Filming this will have to be carefully approached, as the camera cannot be seen in the mirror.

The protagonist will be killed in this room. The room will be dark when we hear the protagonist get killed so we can't see anything, but when the lights get turned on, we will see her bloody handprints on the window.

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Amanda Norman - Horror-themed Photographer

Amanda Norman is a British photographer, who has a passion for classic horror, as this inspires her work. She often wonders through graveyards and cemeteries, as she adores the architecture and designs that are found in these sorts of places. They prokoke a wide range of emotions, which allows her imagination to kick in, and take the perfect shot. 1970's and 80's horror films used to scare her as a child, however now she uses these ideas and elements to inspire her own work.

This is an example of some of her work. The black and white effect gives the picture an unknown, spooky feel, and the sun behind the gravestone makes it the darkest object in the picture, almost like it's turning it into a shadow.

Some more examples of her work

Deconstruction Of A Short Film

This is an example of a home-made horror short film. It is very effective at chilling the audience, because of the way it has been filmed and the different effects used. For example, at the beginning where the door slams but nobody is there, and the loud sound it makes to break the silence. As soon as the lights go out, a certain eeriness is created, which makes the audience feel on-edge, therefore the slightest noise is able to give a scare quite easily.
What is very effective in this film is when the woman answers the phone but nobody is there, but then when the camera pans the room we see the murderer. He lifts a phone down from his ear so we know it was him, but the woman does not realise this. When we, the audience, know something that the main character doesn't, especially in this case as it's a horror, a sense of frustration is created as we cannot tell the character what we know, and so we get more attracted to the film as the audience wants to know what the outcome is going to be.
Also, I like the way they have used mirrors in the film, as mirrors can be incredibly effective if used correctly in horror, and therefore scare the audience. In this case, the woman is at her bathroom mirror and we can see her reflection, however shortly afterwards we see the murderer's reflection as well, which immediately gives us chills. It also makes the main character a lot more alert, which makes the audience keep an eye out more too. So I will consider the use of mirrors in my filming.
The sound effects play one of the biggest parts in this film. This is because if the film is watched without sound, we can still see what is going on but we do not get scared as easily. The sounds in horror always break the silence very loudly, which makes the audience jump. For instance, before we see the murderer's reflection in the mirror there is silence, but then a loud sound is produced when we see him, followed by a scream from the main character. This gives us chills and makes us much more alert. Therefore sound effects and appropriate use of dialogue will have to be used.

Horror Short Film - Brainstorm

Horror Short Film Brainstorm on Prezi

Horror Short Film - Background Sounds Example

 This is an example of the kind of sounds/music that will be featured in my short film, as my selected genre is horror. The effect these sounds give off will chill the audience, and will add to the tension that will be created in my short film. Therefore, by using quiet, spooky ambience such as this it should make my short film scarier to watch and listen to.

My Chosen Task

The task I have chosen to carry out is to create a short film. Furthermore, the selected genre is going to be horror, as if a horror short film is created really well it can be very effective on the audience. Many ideas spring to mind when the word 'horror' is mentioned, so the best ideas can be selected to produce a decent story line. Music and sound, especially ambience, will have to be carefully considered because it can have the biggest effect on the audience if correctly added to the video. Also, types of camera angles and shots will have to be researched before filming, in order to create an effective horror video.

Narrative Theory

Narrative Theory

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Briefs

1) A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

• A website homepage for the band
• A cover for it's release on a DVD
• A magazine advertisement for the DVD

10) A short film in it's entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animated or a combination of both, together with two of the following three options:

• A poster for the film
• A radio trailer for the film
• A film magazine review page featuring the film