Film Shot Research

Before we decided to film our trailer we did research into various types of shot we could use within our production. We looked at various shots both common and uncommon within the filming of horror films. A classic of the horror genre was invented and made famous by renowned horror direct Alfred Hitchcock, it involves using the setting of a zoom lens to adjust the the angle of view or field of view (FOV) whilst the camera moves (dollies) either towards or away from the subject which keeps the object the same size throughout the frame. This effect creates a perspective distortion for the viewer. This is quite a hard effect to get right within the film as it requires the camera to move slowly and smoothly towards or away from the subject without interruption whilst the zoom automatically set to the opposite direction of the cameras movement. The effect gleaned from this is very effective if done correctly but it requires a lot of effort to make it right and so I think we will stick to more tried and tested shots of film.

A staple shot of most films produced is the establishing shot. This particular shot is used for showing a setting or location to an audience to give an idea of the area that the film is taking place in. These shots are commonplace in every genre of film, from horror to comedy. The basic principle of filming an establishing shot is to set the scene by outlining the link between the important characters/figures and objects. The shots are mostly long shots or in some cases extreme-long shots, which are usually placed at the start of any programme/film. This shot can also be used for indicating the time in which a scene is taking place at. An example of this is taking an exterior shot of a building at night followed by an interior shot, which implies that the scene is taking place at night in that particular building.

Close ups' are another shot frequently used in most types of film, this shot is used for showing a particular person or object of interest to give an audience a clear view/perspective of the character or item.

Location ideas

For our filming we decided to scout several different locations;  An old Abbey, in Lanivet, which we thought would be a good location to film, however, the Abbey is next to a main road which will not have the atmosphere required for a Horror film. But the features were Gothic and follow common Horror conventions.

Another idea for a location was Bodmin jail, we thought about using this location as it was quite close to all of the members of the group, and it has lots of jail cells, low light areas good for 'night' footage in which we can use torches and lights to create a tense atmosphere. However, the location is a running business so various props like imitation firearms, axes, knives etc. would not be permitted. It would also have to be prearranged with the owners so it's availability would be severely limited.




Bodmin moor, was another idea for our trailer, this was because it is quite an empty place with not many extraneous factors that could possibly enter the film, however the moor is quite empty so there is no real background or man-made scenery for a setting, also the cameras lenses will fog up making the footage unusable for the film as the weather is usually bad on the moor, it rains a lot and there is a lot of mist and fog.




The other location we were thinking of using was the Camel trail as it has abandoned railway tracks and tunnels which are perfect for low/no light filming, however the trail is frequently used by cyclist, dog walkers etc. who may get in the footage and also restrict the props used as it is a public footpath, so we may also have to get permission for filming from the council.



The location we decided to use was a friends house, which was isolated, it had fields surrounding the area so there was no real interference from people coming and going, there was very few passing vehicles getting in the way of filming, the house had quite a good variety of areas to film as it had a coal shed, greenhouse, tents, storage rooms etc. making the films scenes varying.

Budget

We had access to a lot of equipment that the school owned, by using this equipment, it allowed us to use cameras, memory cards, computers and final cut whenever we needed to, this has saved us a lot of money as we did not have to hire any specific equipment. However, if we did have to hire these items, it would be very expensive as the cameras cost around £400.

The list below features our expenditure for the filming

• Transport costs - £45
• Special effects (Fake blood, Liver) - £15
• Costumes - £50 (Some equipment borrowed from school Drama department)
• Airsoft guns - £500 (supplied by myself as I take part in this regularly)

Crew List

Shoot 1

• Camera - Josh, Kieran and myself
• Sound recording - Chris, Kieran and myself
• Director - Decisions made by group
• Actors - all group

Shoot 2 

• Camera - Josh and myself
• Sound recording - myself
• Director - Josh
• Actors - Kieran and chris

Shoot 3 

• Camera - Josh and myself
• Sound recording - Kieran
• Director - Josh
• Actor - Chris

Character Casting

In our film we did not use any character casting as the amount of characters we had in mind was quite low and we had enough people already doing the filming to star in our production. We also thought that  casting people to appear in our films would use up some of the time we had for filming limiting the amount of footage we could get, so we decided against using our time to find potential actors. By not using casting we are following the examples of such actors/producers like Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Jon favreau. Another reason we decided top not use casting was that we could organise a small group of people much easier than a large group of people as there is less chance that one person would be doing something during the day we have planned to film. Finally, by filming in a small group we have more control over how the characters would be played as they were created by us, giving the characters the style we want in our trailer.

Costume Ideas

We had put a lot of thought into what costumes the characters would wear within the footage, we thought about the style of clothing the antagonist would be wearing and the main characters. We thought about using casual clothing for as the basis of the protagonists clothing. The idea/setting of the film had the  main characters at a remembrance day ceremony, so they would have to be wearing something sensible and reasonably smart. However, the antagonist (killer) in our trailer is going to have to wear something a lot more menacing so we thought about using some sort of mask to hide his identity during the production and also to make him anonymous in the eyes of the viewer, some of our ideas were things like balaclavas, half face/breathing masks, scarfs, hoods and gas masks. The killer would also have to wear something that is signifying of his role of the 'bad guy' within the production, so we decided on using some sort of camoflauge or military equipment to make him look like he may have had training or experience in combat that would make him appear intimidating and capable of vicious actions. The main characters would be featured wearing some type of jacket, either a zip up hoody or rain jacket with either jeans or black trousers and trainers to make the characters appear teenage in appearance, giving them some aspect of innocence that makes them appear as if they were easy targets for a predatory character such as our antagonist.

Film synopsis

Synopsis - All seems normal for young Sam Davis as he moves to a sleepy village in the middle of nowhere, until he discovers the dark secret that lurks under the foundations. The undead nightmare is just beginning as the docile dwelling turns into hell on earth. When the dead rise, the living will perish. The film is going to be based in a village/small town setting which gives a feeling of no outside contact and being cut off from the rest of the world, it is going to be set in modern times.

Characters - main characters/male lead and female lead (appeals to both genders widening the potential appeal of the film)

Target audience – My target audience will be between the ages of 15 – 35 as it is a horror film and the age rating will be 15 making younger audiences unable to view. Although this may have an impact in the money that the film would generate the effects will be light, due to the fact that young audiences under the age of 15 will not have as much interest as those of an older age. And with a higher age rating, the film can be a lot more adventurous in the portrayal of character and in their challenges.

Revenue

Advertising campaign – short/intense trailers, which would entice an audience to watch the feature on TV, banners on webpages i.e., banner on the homepage of Netflix or a short teaser before a video on you tube (like Lockout) Fake social networking (Cloverfield) 

Film logo Analysis

This logo is easily recognisable as it is one of the biggest film conglomerates of today as it is part of news corp. The logo itself does not seem to give any indication as to what type of film they specifically produce; however, the logo is not dark and ominous like a company that solely produces horror movies and is not overly animated and ‘cute’ like the Disney logo which gives the impression that it does not produce children’s movies, however, this company produces films of all different genres which is why the company logo seems to be very neutral as far as genre is concerned. The logo is featured atop a tall building/structure which connotes wealth and power with spotlights surrounding it which implies that it is important and requires attention. The text on the logo is big and bold and dominates the screen when viewed, which connotes that the company dominates the industry.

 This logo is also highly recognisable because of the amount of films it has produced and the length of time it has been around. The logo itself is a fairy tale castle wish a shooting star which connotes a dream like setting, this gives a viewer a good idea of what the company produces in terms of film genre. This company mainly produce children’s movies and animated features such as; Monster’s Inc., Finding Nemo and Tangled, although they have produced some films for slightly older audience like Pirates of the Caribbean. When compared to 20^th century fox this logo gives a much clearer picture of what style of film that they produce, but the logo is centric on a specific audience which connotes that it does not produce pictures for an older audience. The logo’s imagery also connotes dreams and fairytales as the castle in the background resembles something out of a children’s story which again reinforces the genre.

This logo is very professional looking with the black and gold colouring and the Film reels banners with the company motto imbedded in a banner above the Lions head. The lion in this logo is real which connotes wealth, power and royalty. The black and gold colour scheme also reinforces that the company is wealthy and focuses on an adult audience rather than a children’s audience. This logo is very classy and more adult than Disney’s for example because it seems to be the polar opposite of children’s movies and seems more focussed towards a more adult audience. They have produced lots of different films for the long time it has been around the most notable being the ‘James Bond’ series of movies arguably the most iconic spy movies of all time, which helps audiences worldwide to instantly recognise the logo and understand the types of film they produce.