Evaluation Question 4 - Draft

Our main target audience for our film is the teenage to young adult market. This is mainly due to the age of the cast involved and the type of film. this market often like thrills and violence so slashers fit quite well into that. The 15-24 market is possible the best market to aim for, however the film may appeal to older or younger audiences due to the more gorey scenes and violence.

Evaluation Question 3 - Draft

So for a low budget film of the slasher genre I though a good place too start would be indie film companys rarther than bigger companies that are less likley to invest in our film. Bigger distributors like Lions gate have distributed all of the Saw films however they only tend to go for bigger budget titles. We found a few Indie distribution companys like the Uk based Vertigo films however many of there films didnt do well at the cinemas. We chose distribution company optimum releasing for our film in the UK. They have distributed such films as Attack the block and Donkey punch and I think our film would be succesful in the cinema with the companys distribution.

Evaluation Question 2 - Draft

Our media product follows many of the common socail group stereotypes found in slasher films. First of all you have the main theme of the moral code which runs through most slasher films. Our film features the main character at the start drinking and possibly smoking which foreshadows to him getting killed later on. We also have the teens clothing which is a hoodie and jenes. This is typical of potraying teens as antisocial and further adds to the moral code.

Evaluation Question 1 - Draft

So the main point to which our media product challenges conventions of a film of this genre is using 'scream king' Rather than a 'scream queen'. We chose this as we thought it would be good to switch up the roles in this slasher as our origional idea was to have a female killer. Our film opening also builds on alot of current slasher concepts such as the isolated setting and the killing style and weapon. We have also used things like blue colour correction the emulate John Carpenters blue tinted lighting in the famous Halloween. We use plenty of tracking shots and point of view shots to keep tension up and we have also tryed to keep a narrative enigma when it comes to the killer and motive. That is overall how our film uses slasher conventions.

Underground - Storyboard

Slasher Film Budgets, Box Office and Distribution.

Slasher films often have very low budgets from what films i've analysed so far. For example the famous Halloween had a budget of $350,000 and Firday the 13th Had an estimated budget of $550,000 which is very little compared too most hollywood blockbusters. These films in comparison too there bidgets made massive ammouts of money at the box office, Friday the 13th made almost $40,000,000 at the box office and Halloween made $47,000,000 in the USA alone with a further $13,000,000in Europe. These film went to show the money making potential of the slasher film and so sparked a trend of new low budget horror film which went on to make big money such as: Nightmare on Elm street, My bloody Valentine and more recently films such and Scream and Final Destination. The sort of distributors that go for slasher films are smaller and independent Film distributors. However big company such as Lions gate and New line cinema have supported films like Saw and Texas chainsaw massacre. larger film companies such as Universal Pictures and Columbia Pictures tend to shy away and dont invest in slasher films possibly due to there un glamorous look and contraversy that can come with a slasher film.

Latest Rough Cut

New Rough Cut

Here is our latest rough cut. We have taken advice previously given to us to improve what we previously had however I still think that this cut needs improving. For example, the framing in some of the shots isn't quite right in my opinion and also the mise-en-scene needs changing in a few places.
There were a couple of scenes that we were unable to get due to weather conditions and not having anything to make blood, however we have indicated what these scenes will be and where they will go in our rough cut.

 

Test Footage 2.

So yesterday we went out at lunch and filmed the outside shots for our second rough cut. We managed to get plenty more shot types and angles so we have plenty footage to work with whilst editing. We experimented with making fake blood effects and also found a possible mask we could use which would be effective. We filmed more in depth in the kidnapping scene and filmed the victim being dragged through the snow with the blood which in my opinion was very effective with the contrast of the white snow and the red blood. We still need to work a bit on getting the camera to stay still and working on getting effective panning shots. Also we need to work on getting realistic looking fake blood and the action. Overall I think the filming went well, we just have to film the inside parts with the improved mis-en-scene.

Podcast 3 - Rough Cut/Production Schedule

Feedback on practice footage.

So today our practice footage was shown to the class and a few A2 students. Overall we got some good feed back on our coursework. The first thing is we needed more footage and more shot varity to keep the audience engaged. The pov shots in the opening scene worked well with the blurring and overlays. However I feel the intro scene needs to be a little longer with more exposision on how the guy gets there. Also we need to show the scene of him getting kidnapped and taken to the basement. Another thing we need to improve when doing our final piece is improving the mis-en-scene which we will certainly work on when it comes to the next shoot. Another comment which was brought up was the lack of a struggle to get away. It was brought up there needed to be some sort trap or moral desision in which he should have to fid away to escape instead of having the keys right above him. We also need better acting and more of a panic. With improved lighting, soundtrack and acting I think we could make a very effective film opening.

Test footage edit.

This is going to be a quick blogpost on some of the edting techniques I used when editing the test footage. So first I had to cut the clips up and order them keeping in mind shot vs shot whilst doing it so the scene flows. The first problem I encounterd was the lack of shot angles I had to work with. This meant takes where quite long so there wasent much shot varity. I used a few effects on the first scene to try and signify intoxican. I used the guassian blur effect and the shot overlays to show blurred vision. Also I used the fade in fade out transision to signify time passing and blacking out. Overall when it comes to the final edit, I will make shots shorter and use more interesting shot variation.

Podcast 2 - Film idea and test footage.

Here we talk about the finalised idea and things we did during test footage.

Vodcast - Creep

Link to my vodcast on the film creep. It goes over some of the features of the slasher genre and how the movie follows these and develops them.

My Company Ident

This is my company ident, I made it using mainly livetype for the text and the background and added the sound in sony vegas and some overlays.

Podcast No. 1

Final Cut

So Final Cut is obviously a big step up from iMovie and im certainly glad to be using it for the coursework. Its alot easier for cutting and editng sounds as there is a seperate layed for audio. Im still trying to get used to it and it can still be a bit fiddly for cutting and putting clips together. The use of mulitiple layering, bluring effects and more advanced transitions will be useful and will be featuring in our coursework. Overall its a big step up from iMovie and I should get used to it and looking foward to using it in my coursework. 

Hostel 2 - Intro Analysis (2007) Eli Roth $10m

The are no idents at the start, however it starts with a white seriff font on a block background with 'Quentin Tarintino Presents' and then fades into a man in some sort of boiler suit searching through someones back and emptying the contents. The room is lit only buy the fire possibly from a fernice in the background which creates an earie an sinister feel. The only sound is Diagetic and the sound of the fire and the emptying of the back. Also there is polysemy as the scene does not show the mans face so you wonder what his job is and why he is there. He goes through the mans walet but puts the money on the side. There is also some exposision as the persons identity on the walet shows he is American and possibly a victim of the killer, but again you do not see the mans face on the I.D as the persons thumb is covering it.

The camera then cuts to these belongings bieng burnt on what appears to be some sort of grill. This is possibly to destroy evidence and we get the sense this man is an Antagonist. There is long takes of the belonging bieng burnt and the titles carry on over it. There is still only the sound of burning which keeps up the mysterious atmoshpere. The camera then cuts back to an extreme longshot as the man appears to take his suit off, however when this happens the camera blurs slightly and then fades slowly to black meaning you still dont get a view of the man which keeps up the narrative enigma.

Clown House - Intro Analysis (1989) Victor Salva $200,000

So the film starts of with only one company ident which plays for a short time and then goes straight into the opening. Exposision is provided at showing a poster of a circus that is coming to town. The films main theme plays on the fear many people have of clowns. The titles start over an establishing shot of an old mansion and theres a man hung from a tree dead which is a shocking opening image. The music is a mix of creepy and a circus theme which ties in with the title. Also the sound of howling wind creates a tense atmosphere. The camera cuts to the inside of the house as the titles are still playing and pans past some clown related toys with the creepy sound of laughter in the background.

The camera then pans onto a boy who is in bed and gets up and out of bed and looks out the window to see the body swinging in the wind. His face is expressionless and he doesnt seem to phased by the whole thing. He goes down stairs in his pyjamas and short quick sting notes play which ups the tension. He looks down the corridor as if someone is there and begins walking down. The camera comes up behind him from a low angle giving the imprssion he is bieng followed. Then suddenly the poster we saw earlier blow onto the door of the house with a large quick string note giving the auidience a false scare.

The boy has a horrified look on his face as he sees the clown on the poster and then wets himslef whilst standing up. He then quickley wakes up from the dream he was having looking relieved. The camera pans back to the outside of the house where the body was hanging in his dream and it is still there. The scene outside fades into day and the introduction finishes which lasts around 4 minutes.

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer - Opening Analysis (1998) Danny Cannon $24m

Unlike the last film this one starts out with 5 lenghty company idents which take up around to minutes. The titlles shows and screaming and voices are heard in the background which is quite affective. The shot fade in quickly on a close up of a statue which looks as if its crying. Theres a close up of a woman in a misty church which cuts to an extreme longshot establishing shot of the woman in an empty misty church but we still dont see her face. She goes into a confesion box which is framed well through the grating in the wall.

She talks and there are subtitles played over due to the wispering. She provides exposision on what happend and how she killed a man and nobody else knows about it. She talks about having dreams about the killer and her friends. She tells the priest the killers name 'Ben Willis'. The priest turns to her and tells her he know what she did last summer and smashes through the wall and she screams and wakes up in the middle of her classroom. She talks to her friend Will about whats been happening. Suddenly a passer bye on a bike sets of some fireworks as a false scare and she screams again. Its the anniversary of when what happend last summer occurd. Throughout this you get the sense she is a final girl through church and books and the brown hair. You get the impression theres some love interest between these two characters as they leave each other.

She has another discussion with another friend who was involved in what happend but they argue and he leaves. The teen apppears to be living on her own in isolation and looks distressed throughout the opening. She has a photo of her friend who im guessing dies in the previous film to show a bit of exposision. Again this opening dosent have a clear ending and no titles are played. Overall the start has a sombre and meloncholic atmosphere with a couple of false scares to raise the tension at the start.

Hell Night - Intro Analysis (1981) - Tom DeSimone

The First scene is a close up of a woman screaming which then quickly cuts to medium panning shot possibly stedi cam of a massive party full of teens. Interestingly there are no company idents and the title for the film play straight away in a red seriff font which connotes blood which would be in keeping with the title and theme of the film. Diagetic music is playing in the back ground and teens are dancing, drinking and smoking which is often seen in this sort of slasher film. Another thing to note is that the takes are alot longer as it is an older film from the genre.

The camera then cuts to the inside of the mansion where they are partying where exposision is provided telling us that it is a fraternaty party and there is going to be some sort of initiation which is hinted at. Lots of the girls are in fancy dress and in very revieling clothing. Here we also get an idea of a possible final girl, She is much more appropriatly dressed than the rest of the possible scream queens and looks to be the sensible one and socially awkward  she is not seen drinking or participating in any of the moral taboos which are found in films of this genre. There are a few close ups of certain character who have dialog which possibly means they will play a part in whats to come.

The scene then quickly cuts to a bunch of cars driving down the road with select members of the party in them who are going to take part in this initiation. The possible final girl mention earlier is now wearing an outfit which resembles red riding hood. The red over coat possibly signifies blood shed again, however she looks very innocent in it. The smaller group then proceed to go through the gates into the gardens of the infamous 'Garth Manor'. Exposision is then provided and the groups task is to stay in the manor for one night. The leader of the fraternity then proceeds to explain what took place at the manor twelve years ago which was the killing of 4 family members and a suicide which provides exposion and the reason for why its 'haunted'. The group dont seem to concerned as most of them are intoxicated and they laugh and oke about the deaths. It is also said they did not find one of the bodys which gives us an idea of who the killer might be even though there has been no sign of one yet.

It is not clear where the intro ends as the titles play at the very beginning, however what ive got is that its around ten minutes. The intro has given me further ideas on how we could develop our own coursework piece and how i can encorperate some of the techniques used into my own work.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK89XlOUWms

Buried Alive (2007) - Robert Kurtzman

So the film starts out with two company idents and cuts to a woman shaving in a bath. Most slasher fans would definetly see this as a sign of danger due to many famous scenes in bathrooms in past films. However everthing seems fine as who appears to be her boyfriend comes in and they joke around however things suddenly change as she is forced under the water by the man and struggles with him.


 But it turns out to be a false scare as she wakes up from her dream and everything is fine. Another man comes in who is her boyfriend and he gets in the bath with her signifying she is sexually active so possibly a scream queen although she has brown hair. Titles play over this sequence and it then cuts to a sunny garden where the introduction ends. Overall the Intro is just under five minutes long.

Black Xmas - Intro Analysis (2006) $9m - Glen Morgan

The Film starts out with two idents for the big horror company at the time Dimension and 2929 Entertainment. The film starts with what would seem to be a house decorated for christmas time, however the atmosphere still feels a little creepy. It then cuts to a woman opening a bottle of wine with a red corkscrew and everything in the room is red. This could connote blood and possibly foreshadows what is to come.


 You hear voices in the background so the scene does not feel to isolated but then there appears to be a creepy rustling sound coming from the cupboard. But its a false scare as its only an updraft coming from the ventilation in the house. So she sits backdown and relises her pen is missing. Suddenly a bag is put over her head and there is a momentary struggle until she is stabbed in the face by her own pen and it suddenly cuts to the title which is in a red seriff font on a black background.

My Bloody Valentine - Intro Analysis (1981) $2.3m - George Mihalka

So the Intro starts with one paramount ident and goes striaght in with titles over two miners walking through a mine shaft. The constumes look quite ominous and scary. There is polysemy as to who these people actually and why they are in the mine shaft in the first place. There are lots of low dutch angles used to increase the tension and you feel the suspense is builing up to something. The mineshaft also gives a clotrophopic and isolated feel. 


Then one of the miners starts to take there boiler suit off to actually reveil she is a woman and that they may be in the mineshaft for a sexual liaison. There is a type of false scare where the miner who we still dont know appers to swing and the woman with the pick axe however is only sticking it in the wall. This gives the impression of the pick axe has some weight behind it and is not just a foam object or similar. Titles continue however the first miner still hasnt taken there mask of so we become quite suspicious. The woman involved is also blonde and obviously sexually active which is an instant indicator of what is going to happen. The first miners hand starts to shake and suddenly pushes the woman onto the pick axe in the wall which stabs through her and the camera pans into her screaming mouth and the title scene commences.

Last House On The Left - Analysis (1972) - $90,000 - Wes Craven

As with a few slasher films the opening starts of by saying these where real events. This may not be true but certainly makes everything seem a lot more scary. So it starts in a peaceful scenic setting with a mail man deliviering mail to a girls door. He goes through the mail which provides exposion on her name and age so we know shes a teenage girl. After this the titles play and you see Mari in the shower. So then her mum and her have an argument about her wearing reveiling clothing but she brushes it off and proceeds to go out with her friend. They go of into the woods and drink and talk. This is showing the moral code involved. However the atmosphere is still very peaceful and there is no signs of danger and you would even know its a slasher film if you had not known before. Also there is no clear final girl or scream queen so far, Mari and her friend both have brown hair and both appear to be breaking the 'moral code' in some way which isnt commom in slashers. The reason for this where it was made before Halloween which is where the main features of a slasher are set out. Also there isnt really a clear part where the opening finishes, However the titles play after only one minute and thirty seconds. Overall this film dosent seem to apply most modern slasher features.

Terror Train - Intro Analysis (1980) $3.5m - Roger Spottiswoode

The film opens with a group of teens having a party for new years eve. A boy gets tricked into going upstairs to have sex with a girl who is actually a dead body. The rest of the teens come in and start laughing as he freaks out and the scene fades to black. Again common slasher devices are used: teenagers drinking and partying. Overall the intro is about 6 minutes long. This traumutising experiance leads the teen to become a killer. Another key note is the film features Jamie Lee Curtis who appeard in haloween and prom night. The clothing of the characters is important as well as it shows they are college students. There isnt alot of exposision in the opening scene just a brief introduction to a few of the characters. However should you be a fan of slasher films its quite easy to figure out what the plot might hold in store. One of the interesting points of the film and what makes it unique is the killings take place on a train. Overall it has many of the common slasher devices which build tension and suspence.

Wolf Creek - Intro Overview (2005) $1m - Greg McLean

So the intro of wolf creek starts with a group of 3 youngish people about to set of on a road trip and there buying a car. Theres a long flash back of the party the night before which involves lots of drinking, smoking and sex thus following common slasher conventions. The people wake up the next morning and set of on the journey, this gives an overveiw of rural australia and the wide outback which really enforces the sense of isolation. When it acctually gets to the part where they wake up theres plenty of close ups to show the characters emotions. What also help build up tension is the long opening and it takes a while to get going. Overall the film does a good job of creating a tense atmophere and one I would like to emulate when it comes to my own coursework peice.

Friday The 13th Intro Analysis - Sb

The film starts by showing the 3 idents of New Line Cinema and Paramount and Platinum Dunes, these are all red themed unlike how they usually are, more or less blue. Music is being played over the top of these. White text is then displayed over a black background, giving the production company.

The film starts off by showing a puddle while rain is pouring into it on a muddy track, while in the bottom corner it say's "June 30th 1980". It then pans under a sign with a low angled shot saying "Camp Crystal Lake". Lightening then appears to strike and the screen flashes, with a woman running out of a woodland area. It is a medium longshot revealing most of her body but you can't make out any major details as it then changes shot back to a black background with white text on, saying the actor's names. Over the top of this the woman is screaming and seems to be in pain, she is holding something in her hand. The music is getting faster and the girl ends up next to the lake.

The girl being chased is a counsellor at the camp, the woman is Jason's mother and she is blaming her and the other counsellor's for her sons death; she say's she has already killed all the others. It then cuts to a shot between some bushes and shows someone in the actual bushes watching, seeing what's going to happen. You only see parts of the face, but you can make out it's a male. Jason's mother then tries to kill the counsellor using a knife, but the girl slashes her neck. You see the head drop to the floor and it quickly fades out. The girl then runs out of the way, you see this as an extreme longshot which is the point of view shot of the male in the bushes.

The male runs out and grabs a pendant from around the neck of the mother and she starts talking when he opens it. He takes the blade and over the top of this the mother say's "Jacob you must kill for your mother". This denotes that the male was in the bushes is Jacob. It then fades out into another black screen.

The mis-en-scene was a dark woodland area and was very dark due to a lightening storm which was happening at the time. The lighting was also bad as they mostly used the natural lighting of the storm to see different parts of the body such as the face.

Representations in slasher films

The film i will be analysing representations of is John Carpenters Halloween. This film uses many of the classic slasher film representations as it is the film most modern slasher's are based on today. It was one of the first films to bring about the idea of the final girl who is often a morally correct brunette girl who succeeds in defeting the main villain in the film. Also there are scream queens in this film who get murderd early on due to the moral code of them paying for having sex/drug taking/drinking. This has succeeded in feminist critics like and dislike for the genre with the final girl being the heroine. However the murder of other women can be seen as misogenistic. Also the primary use of teens appeals to the target audience as is common with most slasher films. Still others have read deeper into the social significance of this and other slasher films as critiquing the supposed safety recently found by middle class individuals in the 1950s suburbs. Also critics say the portrayal of Myers as a demonic, superhuman monster inhibited his influence on the audience. However Carpenter himself dismisses the notion that Halloween is a morality play, regarding it as merely a horror movie.

Harry Potter And The Philosophers Stone - Intro Analysis

So the intro starts with an estalishing shot of a sign which gives the audience an idea of where the film is set. There is also an owl standing on the sign which connotes possible mystery and fantasy. This shot then pans over to a misty looking surburban setting which shows a man dressed in robes emerging out of the fog. Again this connotes this is going to be a fantasy film and theres also polysemy about who this man is due to his mysterious apperance. The camera also pans to a cat which again can be related to wizardry. The wizard the starts to put out the street lamp by using what looks light a magic lighter which anchors the fact that this man is a wizard. The man starts talking to the cat that was seen earlier and the cat spontaniously turns into a woman. We now know the identity of the man as proffesor Dumbledore and so far 2 characters have been introduced. Then it goes to a 2 shot of them walking discussing a 'boy' and what appears to be some sort of mission. There is definate polysemy hear used to make the audience think who this boy is. Then the camera cuts to a man flying out of the sky on a moter bike which again shows there magic powers. The man on the bike 'Hagrid' hands over a small boy in a blanket however we still dont get to see his face which continues the mystery of who he is. Another point is throughout the intro there is very mysterious music which emphasises the fantasy setting. The music then changes tone and the camera zooms in on his faces which connotes this is most likley a mian character in the film the camera then zooms into the scar on his forehead which is an influential part of the film.

Leprechaun Opening Analysis - Ak

Leprechaun begins with a Trimark Pictures ident. It then fades into a dark scene with steps leading down to a rocky underground. This uses blue lighting to add a sense of coldness and mystery to the scene. A leprechaun then slowly begins to walk down the stairs. Non-diagetic music is played with long, slow notes that help add to the
strangeness of the scene.


The leprechaun then does a pointing backwards action with his hands, a 'magic' noise is made and the scene fades out to black.

It then fades into a medium shot of the leprechaun sitting on the stairs with a pot of gold laughing and feeling the money. This then cuts to a long shot which has a light coming diagonally from the top right of the shot onto the leprechaun. This lets you see some moss on the wall which makes things seem more mysterious. The leprechaun then says a short poem as it cuts back to a close up of the gold.

It then cuts to a black screen with the words 'Trimark Pictures Presents' on it in a stereotypical Irish font.

Next it cuts to two low angle dutch tilt shots of a black car driving along the road at night. Then it cuts to a high angle long shot of the car driving along a dirt road. The words 'A Mark Jones Film' fade in and out in the same font as before. You see the car to be a short limo which would signify that the person inside it is quite wealthy. There is then a long shot of the limo driving towards the camera.

The screen then cuts to black and the title Leprechaun transitions onto the screen.

There is then another medium long shot of the car driving past and the camera pans across to follow the limo. It then cuts to a medium close up of the front of the car from the side driving across the shot and coming to a quick stop.

There is then a medium shot of a mans legs as he steps out of the car which tilts up to show a middle aged man finishing a bottle of whisky which he then throws onto the ground. There is a close up of the bottle rolling across the ground.

It then cuts back to the man and there is a long shot from behind as he walks towards a rural house. His walk signifies that he is drunk. A woman is standing on the porch looking shocked.

They then begin talking and it provides quite obvious exposition as she calls him by his name and speaks in an Irish accent. The woman asks about why he's in a limo, the man replies by talking about how they are rich and going to start living a more luxurious lifestyle, the woman thinks hes just saying it because hes drunk, the man produces a bag of gold saying that he got it from a leprechaun and she doesnt believe him. I don't think that this works well as firstly, the man isnt very good at acting drunk, and also it is too blatent and to the point. I think that they could have made it much better by having less talking and using mise-en-scene more effectively to show what was happening. Something that I thought was good in this scene was the lighting flashes which in this case was used to get them to go inside and shut up, but in our opening we might be able to incorporate to forshadow something bad happening.

The music throughout has long slow bass notes with high pitched Irish music elements.

The opening is 4 minutes 4 seconds.