Horrror

Horror Posters Google Search

Recently i have been looking on google images at horror film titles, and what they have in common. I spent half an hour scrolling through posters and of the 29 posters in the screenshot to the left, 22 of these all have the same title placings and although they differ slightly from one to another, they are all generally the same. By looking at most of the successful horror films, i am able to see that this is an effective way to template our film. Because of the layout our target audience should be able to tell what genre it is when mixed with certain colour pallets.   Most of the horror film posters all seemed to have one generic layout. After scrolling and searching I was able to design the most generic poster template based on the thousands of film posters readily available on google images. All of  the posters i found online also have been edited through a type of Photoshop. The editing used helps to make the colours darker and can also make the horror poster a more fearful feel. Using a dark shade of blue can add a sense of loneliness to the picture which helps to connote the danger characters can be in. However, white is another colour that is used frequently in horror posters. White connotes the innocent nature and used in horror connotes the ruining of innocence. To make our film poster effective for our target audience we should follow the conventions shown on the horror film posters, for example, the dark colours and the layout and struture of horror posters.

Faith Magazine Ideas

Faith had some inspiration whilst researching some film posters and came up with these three ideas.She then messaged me this photo and asked for my opinion. Personally, i prefer the central idea, as the magazine on the right is empty, but the magazine on the left seems too full.

Equipment

Since our AS production, i feel that me and Faith (especially) have became more experienced with our editing skills and that we have a more rounded knowledge of how to work the basics to Final Cut Pro X. However, i feel that we had some missing spots with our knowledge. At the end of AS Faith had no idea how to edit anything, leaving it all to me. Therefore I decided that i should help her edit effectively, so the work  can be easily more equally distributed.

This video helped me with six different effects on advanced editing. I feel that i could apply these techniques towards my media production to make our production seem a lot more professional in terms of the usage of different editing techniques. They also shown me the editing shortcuts using the keyboard to select the tools I wanted which saves a lot of time and effort. Editing takes arguably the longest to do which means that our editing skills have to be up to scratch. I have also been showing Faith how to edit so she isn't always so dependant on me for the editing. Whilst I have been showing the basics, I have been playing around, using more advanced knowledge to play with editing. From this I have actually found that using a dim colour slightly in the background can change the feel to a picture. For example giving a slight tint of dark blue can set a darker and dimmer atmosphere.

We will obviously be using tripods to stabilize certain shots, as well as using handheld to make sure that there is a wide range of shots used. I personally like the handheld feel to the performance as it helps to give a distorted and corruption of reality sense towards it. The shake effect also gives a feel of enigma, as it is harder for the audience to know what is going on (with excessive fast repetition of shaking). The shaking can however either make a performance better, by heightening emotions with it, or it can make the film look terrible. Shaking camera's do work best when it is used in conjunction with a point of view shot, showing the fear in the characters. 

  If possible we would stay away from the shots that require zoom as it makes the finishing piece a lot more pixelated, which makes our performance look and come across as a more amateur production and we want the best quality possible. In a zoomed frame it is harder for the camera to get good colours and the picture quality becomes a lot worse than the non zoomed frame. 
We would also use a microphone to pick up on the voices of the actors and actresses,to make sure our sound isn't too muffled. If our sound was too muffled, and hard to hear, then we would have to re-shoot the film scene which would waste some of our production time. It can also give the sound a more crisp finish, making it seem lot more professional. 

Plot Blocking- Faith

For the narrative, I need to use plot blocking to be clear on the most important moments within the film. This means that Karlton and I will be able to confidently be able to point out what narrative points our target audience will associate our film with. Plot blocking is almost like a storyboard, but without the large amount of detail and description for every shot. It means that the key moments are placed into a list in the order shown in the film if it were created. Plot blocking is an excellent way to consolidate our final idea as it involves blocking out the key parts of our film - making what happens within the narrative clear.

1. Two best friends - one of them goes missing.

2. The protagonist is introduced to a game in order to find her friend.

3. She does tasks and earns clues - risking her life.

4. The protagonist starts to put the clues together to find her friend. 

5. She finds her friend.

Due to it being a film trailer and not a film itself, means that I won't necessarily need to include all of these five blocks. Trailers aim to give only a sense of the narrative, without giving away what happens. It likes to keep the idea of mystery which is exactly what keeps the audience wanting to watch it - to find out what happens.

Applying it to TODROV'S theory:
Todrov's narrative theory is based around the idea that most story/plot lines have a pattern of five steps.
The Equilibrium is the idea that a film will start out happily, as we are introduced to the characters. A lot of films use this time to show the characters living their everyday lives. In my own piece, this would be the beginning of the trailer. We would need to show our protagonist living their normal life. A trailer will often use only glimpses of it, just so the audience get the idea of who the protagonist is. In this case, we could use this to introduce the two best friends.
The Disruption will be a problem that approaches within the narrative. This would be the thing that disrupts the happiness within the Equilibrium. When looking at my own narrative, the disruption would be the friend going missing. This brings in the idea of the happiness being interrupted and ruined.
The Recognition is the realisation of the problem within the narrative. In my film trailer, I would need to show the protagonist realising/finding out that the friend is missing. This would be a vital point, as the audience would be aware of both the close emotional relationship between the two friends, and the fact that she's missing - the reason for her being missing being shown with some scenes with the antagonist.
An attempt to repair the disruption is the fourth stage to Todrov's theory. This stage is based around the protagonist trying to fix the damage and get rid of the problem. In the film trailer, this will be the point where the antagonist will give the protagonist a chance to repair the issue, and get her friend back. This gives the idea that the antagonist is giving her a chance to fix everything, which would be the game he introduces to her. The protagonist would then use this stage of the theory and play the antagonist's game to find her friend. She will do the tasks set for her in order to get clues - trying to repair everything. In the trailer, I would want to show glimpses of the tasks she does, not giving too much away - however scaring the audience at the same time.
The NEW Equilibrium will, in a sense, be the new beginning or the ending of the narrative. It's the end result of the protagonist's journey. Whether this ending will be happy or not, is another matter. Not all narratives end happily, which I think I would apply to my own work. It's unconventional and leaves the audience in shock- craving more.

An example of this in 'Would You Rather.' 
A similar narrative to the one Karlton and I are creating is 'Would You Rather.' It's a 2012 American film directed by David Guy Levy following the narrative of a popular game -'would you rather.' A young woman,  struggling to pay for her ill brother's surgery and medication, accepts the invitation to join a game. The game is based around the idea of choice, for example,  would you rather hurt the person next to you, or hurt yourself.
The Equilibrium - The audience are introduced to the characters, both the protagonist and the ill brother. They're living at home, both relatively happy.
The Disruption - Iris, the protagonist, is introduced to a game of 'would you rather' in order to earn money to pay for her brother's medication. She goes off and meets others that had also been invited to the same game. 'Would you Rather' begins.
The Recognition - Iris realises that something is wrong - the game is sinister and life threatening. She carries on playing due to her desperately needing the money.
An attempt to repair - The tasks get too much and the protagonist tries to escape, however fails. She is then forced to carry on playing the game. She wins the game and earns the money.
The NEW Equilibrium - She gets home to tell her brother she's got the medication to cure him, however he is dead.

Example of plot blocking - 
1. The audience see the relatively happy life that the characters are living - seeing their home life.
2. Iris is invited to play a game of 'Would you Rather' in order to get money and medication for her sick brother. She accepts
3. The game is more sinister and cruel than she once thought. It puts her life in danger. She has to do grotesque tasks including hurting others around her.
4. She tries to escape, however fails - being forced to play the game. She wins the game and earns the medication she needs.
5. Her brother is dead and it's too late.

Plot blocking is effective when it comes to thinking scenes and key moments of the narrative through, making it easier and clearer when thinking about the film. In a film trailer, this may be slightly different due to it being designed to market a film, without revealing too much to the audience. Film trailer show moments that will draw the audience in to watch it. In our film trailer, Karlton and I may think about showing...
>  Moments of the two best friends, happily together in each other's company.
> Missing posters - showing the audience that one of them has gone missing.
> The antagonist torturing her as time runs out.
> Victims being tied up - crying and in pain.
> The end - five victims with nooses around their necks.