Filming and Editing

I have finally finished my filming, so now i must upload my clips to final cut pro and edit them to ,make my psychological horror trailer. Whilst doing this i will also be editing pictures for the poster and magazine ancillary tasks.

Practice with IMovie

Here are some practice clips i took wand edited with I movie, i was taking shots of how best to shot certain scenes i will use in my trailer for example the running up the stairs shot i took several shots of this one where the camera stayed still at the bottom of the stairs and one at the top of the stairs and one following the actor and making the footage look amateur, out of all of them the amateur footage had the best affect and gave the idea that they were actually running away from something and conveyed the most fear.

I also practiced with effects, and seeing as there is a spirit involved i thought it would be best to use some light and dreamy effects on some parts.

However with I movie there are limited resources such as effects and transitions, so i will be using final cut pro which hopefully has much more to offer and benefit my trailer.

Title and Tagline Results

After asking my many people on what they think my title and tagline should be for my psychological horror trailer i now have found the two that were the most popular.

And so the title of my trailer will be ...

 'Sins of the father'

and my tagline will be...

'Do You Know Your Family Secrets?'

Ideas for my poster

Having looked at some of the psychological horror posters for some of the most popular films in general and with my target audience. I have taken in certain aspects i like from them. For my poster i will be using a glowing effect on someone's face in order to portray horror and follow the trope which is found in these types of posters. One poster in particular i liked was the Woman in Black and is looks very professional and looks like a horror poster. I also like the ghost in the background as it links to my idea of the spirit in the window and watching them.

I also like the writing on this poster it looks like a spiritual and ghostly font. It can reminds me of an illusion picture a its blurry and if you look at it for a while it tends to mess with your eyes.

When it comes to my poster i will be using a tagline to intrigue people into watching the film. In a previous post i have mentioned various tagline ideas and i shall be making a decision on which one i will use after asking various people and picking the one that was liked the most. This also applies to my film title.

I also quite like the fact that there is a colour scheme of blue white and black. The blue from his eyes which are lit up is a similar blue to the writing. So it all links and essentially look professional and so when i am doing my poster i will be using a colour scheme. with simple and minimal colours.

In my poster as i have two main characters and then a spirit i will have to have to fit them all in, and because this is my main inspiration i am thinking that i could have half there faces on either side and then the spirit behind them.
Another idea Is the two characters in front of the front door with the spirits face molded and faded into it.

Shooting Schedule

When i start filming i need a shooting schedule

Tuesday 13th November
Establishing shot of the location Outside and Inside in the dark.

Saturday 17th November
Today i will film the Window and spirit scene where Pebz sees the spirit for the first time. I will also be able to get pictures taken for my poster so this way i will be able to get two tasks done at once.

Tuesday 20th November
Today i will be filming the school shot.

Thursday 22nd November
Today i will be filming most of the clips for the trailer as this is the day where both of my actors are free for a long amount of time in the evening.

Poster Research

Another part of my task is to create a poster for my trailer. And so to give me an idea of what mine should look like and the tropes that are associated with my particular genre i have researched some of the most famous psychological horrors and found the posters that promoted it. Doing this can give me ideas on how to make mine, in order for it to belong to the genre, convey the right message about the trailer and appeal to my target audience by using the correct promotion techniques.

1 2 3

4 5 6 

These are all posters form psychological horror films. By just looking at these posters i can already see that there is a convention and that is focus what i mean by this is that in all of these posters something is illuminated. In the first for Woman in black Daniel, Radciffe's face is light up along with the writing next to him, In the second for The Exorcist the light is shining on the silhouette of a man, in the third for The Grudge the triangle of face and eye that is shown is lighter, in the forth for The Ring The ring is lit up, in the poster for The Others The lamp illuminates the woman's face and for The Orphan there is a line of light around the girl. The light in each of these posters brings focus to the thing that is a major player in the film itself. The fact that the rest of the posters are usually dark really conveys fear and gives the impression of horror. In my opinion when i think of how illumination on faces and are used is reminds me on the action where people place a torch under there face when telling a scary story.

In posters 1, 4 and 6 tag lines are used such as:

"Do You believe in ghosts"-this piece of text being on the ghosts face
"Before you die you see...(title)"-It acts as an introduction for the title.
"Theres something wrong with Esther"-the most significant line in the film

I can also from these posters that they are quite simplistic which i like because the psychological horrors are set in simple locations with average people, it completely supports the genre. Whereas a love film poster could be quite busy and colourful.

Aditional ideas for the trailer

Title

'Sins of the father'
Reason-Mainly because it is part of the main quote within the trailer, but also has very appropriate connotations for a psychological horror such as the words ''sins'' as it suggests something bad.

'Last Words'
Reason- Again this links in with the main quote as they are the spirits last words before she dies, it also connotes death and horror as it is the last of something.

'The Project'
Reason-The whole storyline starts with a character researching her ancestry for a school project and so i thought would be a fitting name.

When i came up with the titles i just gave i could not think of anymore that would link with my film so i instead found a where you can generate horror movie names: http://horror.phils-blog.de/

'Bloody Sins'
Reason-Using the website i typed in 'Sins' and this was the first one that came up that appealed to me and blood suggests death and horror and sins link in with the quote, and i think that it does sound like a psychological horror film title

'Living Sins'
Reason again it is from the website originally it was the return of the living sins but i felt this was too long especially for a psychological horror as i find they aren't long and stick to few words. so i only took the last to words which i thought was brilliant as it fits with the storyline and how the the person who is related to the ancestor in question kind of acts as a living and breathing sin.

I will be using a tag line on my poster and in my trailer and here are my ideas:

Tag lines

''Who says ghosts don't exist?''

''Do you know your family secrets?''

''Never repeat her last words!''

''Do you believe now?''

''You haven't seen evil yet''

Whilst filming outside of school in my spare time, i have decided to start my ancillary tasks in the lessons such as the poster for the film. This way i will hopefully have finished both my main task and my ancillary tasks together and by the end of the month

RECCE

Here are the photos of my locations which my trailer will be filmed in:

Stairs in which the characters run up to escape the spirit in one shot. I will make sure that on the day nothing is on the stairs therefore limiting accidents and making it much more easier and safer for the actor to run up.

This is the living room which we see at the beginning where everyone is happy it is then going to be one of the main settings in which the strange goings on happen e.g. a glass suddenly breaking and the spirit appearing.

This is the kitchen area in which the spirit is first seen which is going to be the main scene within the trailer as it sets the tone for the rest of the trailer and the film itself. Below that is the window in which she will appear.

The rest of these photos are other rooms around the house that various scenes will be shot in the montage, however as of yet i am unsure exactly what scenes will be shot where.

 

Focus Group

Today i held a focus group with a group of people who fit my target audience in one way or another. I then asked them questions about horror movies in general to help me with my project and allow me to make a trailer that will appeal to many people.

I asked 15 People 10 questions and here are the results

Question 1-Do you like Psychological horrors?

• Yes-||||\||||\||||\15
• No-0

Question 2-What exactly appeals you to them?

• I liked to be scared-|||3
• It is set in a real life situation and so it could happen to me-||||\||7
• The tension that builds-||||\5

Question 3-Name 3 psychological horrors you like?

• Paranormal Activity-||||\ |||8
• Woman in Black-||||\||||\10
• The Shining-||||\||7
• The Others-||||\5
• The Exorcist-||||\||7
• IT-||||\|||8

Question 4-What do you expect to see in a psychological horror trailer?(Multiple choice)

• The speed of it-||||\5
• Left on a cliff hanger-||||\||7
• Quiet yet scary music-||||4
• Heartbeat-||||\5
• The way it builds up to a climax-||||\|||| 9

Question 5-Do you like a voice over in the trailer?

• Yes-|||3
• No-||||\||||\||12

Question 6-What characters do expect to see?

• Normal people-||||\||7
• One villain-|||3
• Young-||||\5

Question 7-What are your fears?(multiple choice)

• Spiders-||||\|||8
• Ghosts-||||\5
• Clowns-||3
• The Dark-||||\|6

Question 8-Gore or suspense?

• Gore-||||4
• Suspense-||||\||||\|11

Question 9-Do you like the tension and speed to build up throughout the trailer?

• Yes-||||\||||\||||\15
• No-0

Question 10-What makes you want to see the film from the trailer?

• The Actors involved-||2
• Good storyline-||||\5
• Tension-||||4
• Memorable-||||4

Looking at these results many aspects that can help to to create a successful trailer that would appeal to a wide range of people. I can see that the main thing that appeals to them in a horror movie is the fact that it is set in a real life situation and is something that they then think could happen to them, so this shows they like something they can relate to and especially in a horror movie as this makes the concept all that more scary.
On question 4 most people answered that they liked it when trailers built up to a climax which is exactly what i wanted to do, and to do this i was going to making the clips get faster along with he heartbeat in the background.
Psychological horrors tend to play on fears that people have in real life, to make it even more scary. the most popular is the fear of the unknown, such as ghosts, spirits and things like that as it has never been proved that they exist but tit has never been proved that they don't either so things like that play on peoples minds and gets them answering questions as to whether things are real.
When it came to voice overs the majority said no which i agree with, as i find it better when the characters voices are used over some clips.

Script

 As my project is a trailer not much dialogue has to be used, but  still need some dialogue to explain the storyline which most psychological horrors use but most ofit will conist of visual aids such as facial exprexxions, movements and screaming.

 

Scene

 

Adam: ''Hey whats up?''

Pebz: ''I have to do this stupid summer project on ancestry''

Adam: ''(laugh) well then you better get to work, just go to the library get some books and write some words.''

Pebz: (Laughs)

 

Scene

Pebz:''It is so weird, apparntly my ancestor was in high autority in this little village and he killed this woman who at the time was thought to be mad because he believed in spirits''

Adam:''Oooooo what a loon!''

Pebz: ''I know right look her lasts words were ''Sins of the father shall be visited upon the son a thousand times evn unto the third and forth generation of them that hate me''

 

Scene

Pebz: (humming)
(She hears something...turns around) "Hello...Tyler is that you?"(...turns back around Screams)


Adam: "Pebz PEBZ" (while banging on the door)
Pebz:"Help Me! open the door!"

Scene

Adam: "What are you doing...Stop...No...please."

Scene

Pebz: "Oh my god. Don't hurt me.please. i dont understand. what are you. What do you want"

Scene

Spirit: "Sins of the father shall be visited upon the son.haha.upon the son a thousand time. a thousand times.a thousand times."

Risk Assessment

Location:House
Risks:

• Disrupting the household
• Disturbing the residents
• Breaking objects
• Falling over household objects

Solutions:

• Inform them that i am filming so they are prepared and have given consent wait for them to leave before exceeding the noise limit as my trailer is a horror there will be screaming.
• Move dangerous objects out the way such as delicate glass ornaments and hide wires to minimize tripping and injuries.

Location:Woods
Risks:

• May be cold
• When moving around to different spots-props may be dropped
• Rain-there is a chance that it is raining or has rained recently so may effect equipment and can be quite slippery so there is chance of an injury
• Uneven ground-increased chance of tripping
• Small paths-which are next to some water to someone could fall in

Solutions:

• Keep the models warm by providing them with warm clothing. and if the warm clothing is not meant to be in the shot then make sure they wear the warm clothing in-between shots, meaning they can keep warm while they wait.
• Be careful when moving props by getting someone else to help.
• Make sure that correct footwear is worn or if it is really bad then reschedule for another day to avoid injury.
• Look where you are going at all times and also inform the actors of the ground so they are also concentrating where they are walking.
• Make sure no-one gets distracted when moving.