As a group we researched several opening sequences to different horror movies that involved lakes including the movies Eden Lake and Lake Placid.
Both Eden Lake and Lake placid are good examples of how a lake is incorporated into a horror movie, as they both have lakes heavily incorporated into the film and are almost even a character within the film.
Lake placid for example is about a giant crocodile which eats tourists that swim and canoo on the lake. There is a scene in particular where the crocodile comes out of the water and eats a grizzly bear alive. This gives the impression of the lake itself coming alive, helping add to the idea that the lake is a character / prop as it conceals the horrors within it.
The team also looked at different types of music that would help give the film a creepy atmosphere. One of the members looked at a video in which children can be heard singing in the background, however i suggested that this was to cliched and showed her a different range of music types that i believed would compliment the movie. These included the silent hill soundtrack (game) and the resident evil movie theme song.
Coming back to Eden Lake we looked at the poster for ideas for what a horror poster would look like if it were to be centered around a lake, and believed that the poster for eden lake would make a great poster for the film we were doing (dillusions).
Friday, 27 November 2009
Account of first production group meeting
We were put back into the groups that we filmed the preliminary task with so that way we would already have a bit of history together, and work better as a result. We spent the lesson discussing our ideas for our opening sequences.
We decided that everybody's idea was equally good and that no idea was much better than the other, which was great as it meant the equilibrium of the group was higher. We then judged which opening sequence we were going to ahead with by the complexity of the sequence. That means camera shots, props, actors, locations etc. and the accessibility of each.
We decided that sophies idea was the easiest to go ahead with, as it largely takes place near a lake. Considering the fact that there are many lakes in the surrey area this was a fairly easy choice to make.
We decided that everybody's idea was equally good and that no idea was much better than the other, which was great as it meant the equilibrium of the group was higher. We then judged which opening sequence we were going to ahead with by the complexity of the sequence. That means camera shots, props, actors, locations etc. and the accessibility of each.
We decided that sophies idea was the easiest to go ahead with, as it largely takes place near a lake. Considering the fact that there are many lakes in the surrey area this was a fairly easy choice to make.
Account of giving presentations for possible Thriller ideas
The following slideshow gives a description of the three horror movie ideas that i originally came up with, including the final idea. The final idea is then developed and described in detail as three separate acts.
The slideshow then goes on to describe the USP (Unique Selling Point) of the film.
The slideshow then goes on to describe the USP (Unique Selling Point) of the film.
Thriller Idea
View more presentations from hurtwoodhousemedia5.
Thursday, 19 November 2009
What is a horror film?
What Is A Thriller
A Horror Film Serves many purposes
1) Personal - The audiences own identification with the fears or Threats of The narrative tapping into primal fears of
- The creature / other in the darkness. Body being mutilated
- Emergence of terror but from a safe (vicarious) distance
2)Ideological - The implicit (Hidden) or explicit (obvious) Messages embedded in the narrative. Themes of punishment / Redemptions and / or revulsion at any subject which deviates from 'correct' thinking Begginning with 'Basie' Textual messages (The virgin 'Good Girl Surviving at the enxpense of the 'slutty' Rebellious friend) and developing into more nuanced subtle 'fears' of strangers / Hitchhikers / different Religious beliefs / power of science to 'Conquer' the darkness - new faith at the expense of 'old' religion
3) Financial / Industrial - without a doubt one of the most lucrative genres to continually Reinvent and exploit. Horror franchises Regularly stretch beyond other genres in terms of sequels, spin offs + Re - makes because of the profit
A Horror Film Serves many purposes
1) Personal - The audiences own identification with the fears or Threats of The narrative tapping into primal fears of
- The creature / other in the darkness. Body being mutilated
- Emergence of terror but from a safe (vicarious) distance
2)Ideological - The implicit (Hidden) or explicit (obvious) Messages embedded in the narrative. Themes of punishment / Redemptions and / or revulsion at any subject which deviates from 'correct' thinking Begginning with 'Basie' Textual messages (The virgin 'Good Girl Surviving at the enxpense of the 'slutty' Rebellious friend) and developing into more nuanced subtle 'fears' of strangers / Hitchhikers / different Religious beliefs / power of science to 'Conquer' the darkness - new faith at the expense of 'old' religion
3) Financial / Industrial - without a doubt one of the most lucrative genres to continually Reinvent and exploit. Horror franchises Regularly stretch beyond other genres in terms of sequels, spin offs + Re - makes because of the profit
Monday, 19 October 2009
Prelim Post Production Blog
On friday the editing of our preliminary began. Matt gave us a brief introduction on how to use the editing software and told us about logging, organising, order and editing of our shots. After that we began our work on the actual project, which was much easier than we as a team had originally thought it would be.
When it came to logging our shots, we started off with a rush, which is the raw footage that we had made on the day of the shoot. We then proceded to set up a Log Bin in which the footage is dropped into. From there we took apart the footage and rejected the footage that we didnt want in the film, and kept the footage that we did want in the film. My team started off with about five minutes of footage, and by the time we had finished editing it we were down to roughly a minute. This helps give you an idea of how much footage we had collected, and how much of it was not actually needed.
All we had to do when editing the footage was first create a log bin, and from there drag individual bits of footage onto the timeline. After we had done that we watched the clip and then pressed the I and O keys to let final cut pro know that we were filtering the footage we did we want from the footage we didnt want. After that you click on modify, then make sub clip and drop the new piece of footage in the bin. Once that is done all you have to do is rename it to wide shot, mid shot etc. Here is a picture of the editing program we used
In tems of organising our shots, it was fairly simple as we had our storyboard sitting in front of us whilst we edited it. So all we had to do is make sure that the footage we had playing on the screen played in the same sequence that the storyboard is presented. The person that the camera mainly focused on was me as we only really ended up with a few close ups and high angle shots of victor. I was the one that was talking and had the majority of screen time, and thus ended up having my sequences edited most as they were the trickiest.
When it came to logging our shots, we started off with a rush, which is the raw footage that we had made on the day of the shoot. We then proceded to set up a Log Bin in which the footage is dropped into. From there we took apart the footage and rejected the footage that we didnt want in the film, and kept the footage that we did want in the film. My team started off with about five minutes of footage, and by the time we had finished editing it we were down to roughly a minute. This helps give you an idea of how much footage we had collected, and how much of it was not actually needed.
All we had to do when editing the footage was first create a log bin, and from there drag individual bits of footage onto the timeline. After we had done that we watched the clip and then pressed the I and O keys to let final cut pro know that we were filtering the footage we did we want from the footage we didnt want. After that you click on modify, then make sub clip and drop the new piece of footage in the bin. Once that is done all you have to do is rename it to wide shot, mid shot etc. Here is a picture of the editing program we used
In tems of organising our shots, it was fairly simple as we had our storyboard sitting in front of us whilst we edited it. So all we had to do is make sure that the footage we had playing on the screen played in the same sequence that the storyboard is presented. The person that the camera mainly focused on was me as we only really ended up with a few close ups and high angle shots of victor. I was the one that was talking and had the majority of screen time, and thus ended up having my sequences edited most as they were the trickiest.
This is the preliminary task
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Preliminary Task Evaluation
We filmed our preliminary in the studio, which allowed us to fully realise the potential that we were offered with such a fantastic location. The studio background was a brick wall with a door in the right hand side, it also had a light suspended from the ceiling. This gave the setting a moody and intimidating atmosphere. This was very useful for our film, as it was meant to have a dominant and submissive person. The intimidating atmosphere helped make me look more imposing and helped make victor look submissive and cowardly.
We decided To use a harsh light to help make victor look more vulnerable. This was added to by having Victor sit underneath the light which hung directly above his head. This was combined with a variety of different angles which were used to make me look superior and Victor look inferior.
We decided To use a harsh light to help make victor look more vulnerable. This was added to by having Victor sit underneath the light which hung directly above his head. This was combined with a variety of different angles which were used to make me look superior and Victor look inferior.
Monday, 28 September 2009
Evaluation Of Lesson With Matt
On Friday our class was instructed by Matt, on how to use a camera. He told us about the different settings on the camera, such as contrast, db's etc. We were then told what is the ideal setting to have the camera on, so it didnt look like a nuclear bomb had gone off whilst filming.
On top of that we were told how to set up a tripod and how to attach the video camera to the tripod. The main things we were taught by matt were the camera settings. The main camera settings we were taught how to use were Exposure, db's, Amount of time elapsed, focus, aspect ratio and frames per second.
Exposure is the amount of light that is allowed into the camera, which is responsible for how washed out/ clear the image on the camera actually ends up looking. Amount of time elapsed is fairly self explanatory as it shows the cameraman how much they have recorded and how much they have left to record. It appears at the top right of the screen. Focus goes hand in hand with exposure as they are both positioned fairly close to each other on the camera, and if one was to exist without the other the video would still look terrible.
If the camera has both its focus and exposure adjusted perfectly however, the result is an image which is both crystal clear and has the right amount of light displayed on the screen.
The aspect ratio is the label at the top left of the screen which says 16:9 or 4:3, this shows the cameraman or woman whether the camera is either displaying in widescreen 16:9 0r 4:3 standard. This will largely affect whether the screen looks squashed or normal, as most televisions and camera's today display in high definition wide screen formats, as opposed to the 4:3 standard definition tube televisions of old.
The frames per second (FPS) general speed is twenty five. When raised and lowered it either speeds up or slows down the image, e.g. if you have the fps set to 200 and you wave your hand in front of the camera quickly, it will make your hand appear to have more fingers than you actually do as the image will be so sped up. An example of a film which had a high fps is saving private ryan. In the first scene in this film when the soldiers are storming the beach, the fps would most probably be set to its highest speed as you can see everything going on. With high fps you can capture a huge array of detail, once again going back to saving private ryan on the beach landing scene you can see all the details including the little specks of blood and dust floating in the air.
In conclusion Matt taught us a lot about the camera in just one lesson, and it will be interesting to apply the knowledge i aquired in that lesson to filming for real i.e. in the preliminary task and thriller.
On top of that we were told how to set up a tripod and how to attach the video camera to the tripod. The main things we were taught by matt were the camera settings. The main camera settings we were taught how to use were Exposure, db's, Amount of time elapsed, focus, aspect ratio and frames per second.
Exposure is the amount of light that is allowed into the camera, which is responsible for how washed out/ clear the image on the camera actually ends up looking. Amount of time elapsed is fairly self explanatory as it shows the cameraman how much they have recorded and how much they have left to record. It appears at the top right of the screen. Focus goes hand in hand with exposure as they are both positioned fairly close to each other on the camera, and if one was to exist without the other the video would still look terrible.
If the camera has both its focus and exposure adjusted perfectly however, the result is an image which is both crystal clear and has the right amount of light displayed on the screen.
The aspect ratio is the label at the top left of the screen which says 16:9 or 4:3, this shows the cameraman or woman whether the camera is either displaying in widescreen 16:9 0r 4:3 standard. This will largely affect whether the screen looks squashed or normal, as most televisions and camera's today display in high definition wide screen formats, as opposed to the 4:3 standard definition tube televisions of old.
The frames per second (FPS) general speed is twenty five. When raised and lowered it either speeds up or slows down the image, e.g. if you have the fps set to 200 and you wave your hand in front of the camera quickly, it will make your hand appear to have more fingers than you actually do as the image will be so sped up. An example of a film which had a high fps is saving private ryan. In the first scene in this film when the soldiers are storming the beach, the fps would most probably be set to its highest speed as you can see everything going on. With high fps you can capture a huge array of detail, once again going back to saving private ryan on the beach landing scene you can see all the details including the little specks of blood and dust floating in the air.
In conclusion Matt taught us a lot about the camera in just one lesson, and it will be interesting to apply the knowledge i aquired in that lesson to filming for real i.e. in the preliminary task and thriller.
Horror Movie Poster
Silent Night Traumatic Night
For this horror movie poster, i photoshopped a picture of an evil santa clause into a picture i had already taken of luke. I then used the dodge tool to make luke's complexion paler, as if he is frightened of the evil santa. The rest was simple as i simply added titles of different types of font and colour.
The overall film is meant to be about a man dressed as santa clause that, jumps down peoples chimneys and murders them with an axe. The fact that santa is smoking a joint, symbolises the fact that the film does not take itself too seriously. This is contrasted with lukes smile, to help show that he is completely oblivious of what is about to happen to him. The fact that he is pale also helps demonstrate that something bad is about to happen him.
The main hotspots are firstly the evil santa, then luke and then the tag line and title. This is how i intended it to happen as the santa is arguably the main character in the movie, followed by the victim. The titles are merely there to tell you what the film is about, and is designed to entice you.
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