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