Casting For The Stalkers

We cast Louise Chick as our female protagonist because she looked the part of a victim in a horror film. She is young and blonde and so conveys innocence, meaning that the audience will fear for her safety, and keep them interested in the film. This is her audition tape, where we asked her to read out our first draft script, which would be used for the voice over on the credits.


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We have now cast our two minor parts of the stalkers. Although these characters are integral to the film, they have no dialogue in the opening two minutes and are only seen fleetingly. For this reason, we didn't need to hold a proper audition, more ask for volunteers and then check they were okay for the times when we are filming in January and were old enough. These are our stalkers;

Stalker #1 - Matthew Bonner
Stalker #2 - Keegan Featherstone

We recorded them briefly just saying who they are, and what part they were going to be playing.

Prop List

These are the props that we used in our Horror Film;

-dark clothing

-set of keys

-red hair dye

-white coat

-hooded jumpers.

As per most horror films, we will make use of fake blood, probably on several of the shots of the victims laying dead. We'll also use makeup to try and make bruises on some of the female victims in the various flashes. Here we experimented with different makeup tecniques to create brusing to the characters face. As you can see, the coloured makeup created a good bruise on Emmalines face, therefore we will definatly be using makeup when creating the flashes.

We'll also need a set of house keys for our main female character to drop, as this motion alone leads into one of the flashes of film showing part of what has happened after this point.

Our male characters will be wearing hoods, so that their faces are almost entirely shadowed, so the hoods are essential, this also adds to the ambiguity of the characters and the film as a whole.
As for the female character costumes, they will be wearing formal or casual attire, to show that there is a range of victims and that no particular class is targeted, but there will be nothing particularly defining about their costume, for example we will avoid using red in their clothing, as this is a colour usually associated with the antagonist.
A white coat was used on the main character, to show her innocence. It was also good because as we were filming in the darker part of the afternoon, you could see our main female character very well.

Gant Chart

Gant Chart

Location Scouting

Through out our opening piece we needed 4 different locations, 1 being a household and the others being walking areas outdoors. We thought we should vary the different locations alot and thought woodland would be an effective idea. This is a typical convention for horrors but is scary to a viewer as the actress seems surrounded by the unknown.

We had to look for a household area to film in for a quick flashes, we figured it would be best to film in one of our own to avoid an invasion of someone else's privacy. After decided that my (Emmaline) house would be best to film at as it is near all 3 of the other locations we had to decided on which room would work best. We chose the bedroom to film in because a bedroom is a place especially personal to each individual person and that thought of a complete stranger in our bedroom without consent will hopefully provoke fear.
The first bedroom we felt was slightly too dark and although this may bode well with the horror film, does not portray the idealistic view of an innocent victim. We also realised it would be difficult to find a good place a perpetrator could stand un noticed in this room.

This was a final choice of bedroom to shoot our victim in because it's a light colour reflecting the innocence of our actress. It will also be easier to have someone hide in this room as there is also another room attatched. The double bed may also make the charactar seem more realistic and imply she is the only resident in this household, whereas single beds seem more child like.

These are the garages that we filmed at. They are garages that are for the housing estate at the back of Church Road. By the look of them though, we think they might be deralict and un-used. We chose these because of the way they look, and someone walking through here would look vunerable. They are dark and the moss and grass outside of them is overgrown. It just looks like a deralict place, thats ideal for filming some shots for out Horror Film. We don't need consent from the owners because it is a public walk through, and as I said before, I think they are deralict.

These are the woods that are located right by Chelmer Valley and Broomfield Hospital. We thought they would be ideal, because there is actually a footpath so when filming, it wouldn't look as though we were just randomly treking through some woods. The woods are quiet as well so there wont be much background noise. Also, the lighting is good because the trees don't cover up too much of the sky. The only problem with filming here, is that it is quite muddy, so we would have to be extreamly careful when taking our actors and equipment down there, incase of any accidents.

This is Court Road. We chose this location because of the lighting, and the sense of being alone. Although there is houses, the grass strip goes on for a while so when it is dark, it makes you feel alone. Also, the street lamps are quite spaced out, therefore when it is dark, you can only see the part of the road that the street lamps light up. Because however, it does get dark quickly, we would have to film this shot around about 4.30 because thats when the light is starting to get darker.

The photographs for the storyboard were taken during the day, but the film will be shot at night, adding to the atmosphere and highlighting relevant moods, details etc. We will write a consent letter confirming that we have permission to shoot in Emmaline's house, as it is important to use a natural domestic environment, as it will add to the theme of the movie, a place of safety- the home environment- becoming inhabited by the stalker figures.
The pictures are to be added soon.

Horror Film Questionnaire

We created a short questionaire to give to people who apply to our target audience to research how effective our ideas may be and to adapt what we felt neccissary. The questions were the following.


What do you feel is most effective in scaring the audience in a horror film?

Jolty Movements & Jumpy Music.

Blood & Gore

Supernatural Creatures/Animals

Hauntings/ParanormalEvents

Other

____________________________________________________

What do you feel is a successful location for the setting of a horror film?

Underground

In the Country Side

Deserted, Isolated Areas

Households/Living Areas

Other

How many characters involvement do you feel is appropriate for a realistic film?

1-3

4-6

7-10

11+

For which do you find yourself more fearful of as the antagonist (villain)?

Male

Female

First draft Script

Script First Draft

*heavy breathing*
(muffled voices, loud door slam and the sound of a key turning in the lock)

*whispered*
female voice: f***. F***…f***…*slightly louder* f***

*voice cracks* oh my *raises voice* God

*starts screaming/crying – panicking and hyperventilating, begging, spontaneous*

*sobbing* Let me out!

(key turns in lock again, dead silence, heart thudding noise? Door creaks open)

*whisper* no... please…please no…oh god *gets louder and louder*
(boots thudding across the room, echoes)

*screams, dies down to a humming noise*

Form For Parental Consent

If the actors that are going to appear in our films are under the age of 18, we need parental consent. This is so that their parents understand fully what we are doing, where their child will be and also, what the footage will be used for and shown to. We need parental consent aswell as consent from the respondant so that they know exactly what we are doing.


Chelmer Valley High School Media A Level Class.


Dear Parent/Carer,


We are writing to you, to request the permission for ___________________________ to be filmed for our Media Coursework in January 2010.

For our Media Coursework, we need to produce the opening of a Horror Film and require your consent for____________________ to be filmed. For identity purposes, we will not credit ______________________ unless given permission to do so, which can be decided after filming.

When filming, we will be following strict Health & Safety guidelines and will provide_________________ with a full film schedule.

The footage will be uploaded onto ‘You Tube’ to be used on our group and personal Blogs and it will be necessary for the examiners and teachers to view the footage.

Thank you for your time and co-operation,

Jo Roberts, Rosiee Fenner, Lucy Clark & Emmaline Gordon.
A Level Media Students
Chelmer Valley High School

Consent;

I _________________________________________ (your name) give

The permission for __________________________ (name of child) to be filmed for AS Media Coursework purposes.

Signed: __________________________________ Date: ___/___/____

Print Name: ________________________________________

Signed: ____________________________________________

If you have any queries, do not hesitate to contact;
Miss G Peacock - Head Of Media
Chelmer Valley High School
Court Road
Broomfield
Chelmsford

Consent Form For Cast Respondant

We created a consent form for the actors appearing in our film so that they know exactly what we are doing, and what their footage would be used for and shown to. For us to film them, we have to have written consent from them.


Chelmer Valley High School Media A Level Class.


Dear Respondent,


We are writing to request your permission to use footage containing yourself as part of our A Level Media Course at Chelmer Valley High School.

The footage will be used as part of our Media coursework, and will therefore be placed on ‘You Tube’, our Blogs and viewed by the examiners, teachers and ourselves.

We guarantee that no personal information will be shown, so your identity will remain personal, and it is your choice whether to be/not to be credited.

Thank you for your time and co-operation.


Jo Roberts, Rosiee Fenner, Emmaline Gordon and Lucy Clark
A Level Media Students.
Chelmer Valley high School




Name: _______________________________ D.O.B: ___/___/_____

Address: ________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

I give permission for the footage of myself to be used in the context as mentioned above.

Signature: _____________________________ Date: ________________



If you are under the age of 18, or will be for the duration of the filming (January 2010), please turn over.

Similar Media Works

This is our powerpoint presentation showing various conventions typical of that in the horror genre. This presentation was useful for us to do because it meant we had to research horror films in depth and so therefore gained a better idea of what is expected of our final piece. It also meant that we could see what worked well in films and what didn't, which in turn could influence how we film our horror film.

Original Story Board

We created a simple story board for the opening of our horror film. The shots do not require a script as the only speech will be during the opening credits where the screen is blank. We took our photographs in the actual locations we wish to shoot our scenes which gave us a good feel to exactly where we can place and angle the cameras. We have decided through this story boarding however that we will film at a later time of night to give a more fearful effect to the audience. Each picture is of the different film angles and shots we will include and in the order they will appear. Through this task we have become more aware of how we order our shots and any other frames we may require.

Both Jo and Emmaline were in the shots that we took, so Lucy and myself took them using one of the school cameras. Jo then, wrote all of the captions for underneath the pictures so that we can see what we were aiming to do, when filming our horror opening.

Gantt Chart

This is our most recently updated gant chart showing our prgress to date.

Gant Chart

Film Brief

We are conducting and creating a two minute opening to a horror film we each have individually planned. The job of the opening our horror film is to immediately captivate our audience and stimulate their interest. We aim to create a clever and interesting beginning to our horror that breaks conventional boundaries at the same time as complying to them create the most effective response from the audience as possible.
The horror genre was chosen specifically because it particularly requires a valuable opening that the rest of the film can be based around. Often the opening in a horror straight away demonstrates the plot of the film, or the affects of the plot which makes it all the more important to the audience.
Our film is largely based around stalking. It involves a group of 6 females with no direct link on the surface to one another apart from being victims of the same stalkers. Each individually became stalked on their way home by what is implied as a group of hooded people; however during their stalking no more than one antagonist is evident in the frame at one time. However the only example of this is in our opening 3 minutes where the audience follows one of the victim’s attacks. All victims were attacked in their own homes and taken to an abandoned warehouse in the middle of the country side, the exact location of which is unknown throughout the film but it is isolated. Throughout the film they are individually tortured by masked characters who never reveal their face. The idea behind the plot is that each member of the "stalking group" are targeting their victims not only for a slightly erotic reason but are sycophantic; all females own something they require/desire. i.e a body part (such as limbs, eyes, hair). The antagonists are a group of psychotic scientists aiming to create their perfect being and relentlessly killing any object of their desire along the way. Although the film follows all the victims it is mainly focused on 3 of the characters, only 2 of which eventually surviving. The other 4 characters all become killed off during the plot in various scenes and ways.
Our opening 3 minutes shows an example of one of the characters attack on her way home from an unknown destination. The audience are made aware during her journey that she is being followed although she is not. We view her walk away and every so often the camera flicks forward in time for a short loud burst of the attack on her that is yet to take place. then camera will then switch back to her journey home, these flashes will continue with the frame hinting more each time and the flashes becoming closer together and faster eventually revealing to the audience exactly what happens during her attack. The attacks show her with her antagonists inside her house and eventually attacking her. The audience are then shown hints of a group of unconscious females with various crosses over different areas of their body. The forward flashes become quicker until the present time zone catches up with the beginning of the flashes as the female goes to let herself in her house and we hear a small child's voice.
We hope this will leave our audience in suspense questioning what the marks on the bodies mean. We plan to give no clear indication of the state of the females and how many there are to keep the audience questioning the scene. The sharp frames we hope will shock the audience but also indicate whats in store throughout the rest of the film. Also we hope the audience is left wondering who the antagonists are and where the victims are based. The main idea of our opening is not a clear cut version of events but clues and hints that firstly may make little sense but as they come together create more answers, yet more anticipation.

Scream Remake

We remade the opening of the film Scream, to gain experience for the making of our own horror movie. We used the origianal clip to create a shot list, and then worked with this and a script to ensure our remake was as close, technically, as possible.
Although we tried to keep to the main points of the film, and make it as accurate as we could, due to the school environment and lack of set/ scenery, some aspects were slightly different but still gave the same effect. By filming this, we got used to the genre and method of filming involved in horror, which again set us up for our original film. The genre of horror makes use of certain camera angles/ diagetic and extra diagetic sound to cause fear in the viewer, and by looking so closely at Scream, it helped us to get ideas for how we would produce our own film.
We also gained experience in editing a horror movie, the techniques used, sounds, effects ect. that can be added, and when they are appropriate.
We found this a good learning experience as through pratically re-creating this scene we were able to come across dilemma's and work our way around them or plan how we would in the future. One problem we found was the mise-en-scene. Due to our surroundings we felt that the scene may have been slightly more effective if we were able to film it in a similar enviroment, however this could be easily over come in the future and with more planning we could also make effective use of the lighting. Another problem we faced was continuity, as alot of the shots were consistant we found it difficult to find a fluent shot that worked well without mistakes. To repeat this we would make sure we kept our time well, so we had more time than neccissary and were not rushed. This way we would be able to take more shots and have a wider choice to edit from.
We did however feel that we shot the angles well and the timing of the shots were well planned. We felt the shots zoomed when appropriate and were well matched to the original Scream.
We have learned alot from our re-make and by having a first hand experience we are now prepared for our origianal horror and what we can improve on to give us the highest marks possible. We will be well aware of our time management and to make sure we have enough shots, so when it comes to editing we are left with enough material to create the best horror standard we possibly can.

Gantt Chart

We updated our Gant Chart to show the progress made in the last week.

Gant Chart

Initial Ideas For Horror Opening

Initial Ideas for Horror

We discussed basic ideas of what we as a group felt would be an effective opening for our horror film opening. We briefly discussed a plot which we plan to develop on but from there we were able to discuss how to develop this into a good captivating opening.

Gant Chart

To make sure that we use our time effectively and that we don't run out of time, we created a Gant Chart. This is how our group can ensure that each person does an equal share of the work.

Gant Chart

Initial Idea For Our Horror Film

Yesterday, we had a group discussion about the ideas we want to include in our Horror movie. We each made a spider diagram and then shared ideas, to produce a basic outline of our final idea. We discussed previous horror movie openings which influenced our ideas.

We discussed lighting, sound and camera angles to help us come up with different ideas for film openings.
Our main idea was to make the opening sequence mostly audio, to leave it ambiguous to the audience. We intend to use flashing images, and short clips of film to make it confusing, but keep the viewer drawn in.
Our aim is to create an unusual horror movie, not the everyday stereotypes we have become so accustomed to, but produce a psychological thriller unlike most others.