Focus Group

A focus group is a small group of about six to ten people who take part in an open discussion This video shows my focus group I have chosen to use a range of people from the ages of 12-30, this then gives me an idea of what ages like what, I have found out from it and I can use this information to develop my ideas if needed.

Horror film Questions

1)        What is your favourite horror sub-genre?

2)        What makes you watch a horror?

3)        In films what and characteristics do you look for in a protagonist character?

5)        How do you feel about tension building within a film?

6)        Is there anything that you particularly dislike in horror films?

7)       What do you tend to see in a horror film opening?

  

Here is my focus group:

Consent form

When We were given the focus group task, We were also asked to produce a consent form. This consent for is used because it makes it legal to allow you to present your name publicly without breaking the law of revealing someone's identity, at the end of the consent form i the person will have to sign it to show they agree with the questions asked and i will also sigh it to show that I understand that I cannot use their information without their verification.
 
Our consent form

I  am developing my knowlage on horror films which i intened to discuss by a focus group. This interview will be used for my coursework and education purposes only, there will be a range of questions asked throughout the time of the focus group.  

By signing, you agree that you are comfortable with the footage to be posted publicly online purely for educational purposes, if you are uncomfortable in doing so, please do not sign however any attendance will be much appreciated within doing so.

Signed:

Dated:

Nightcrawler

Nightcrawler- a crime based, action-packed thriller where a man takes up a new career in filming crimes and accidents take place in Los Angeles.



Firstly, the camera angles used are important because they help the audience to understand the scene and not get confused, through out this there are simple camera shots used which is effective because it keeps the characters on the same sides of the screen which stops the audience from getting confused, theres shots which make the filming look much more exciting, While the two characters are speaking, there is no soundtrack playing which shows that the film producers wanted the audience to pay attention at this point.

Sinister poster analysis

The conventions of the title is that although it is only a short one, its most effective as the short text makes the film seem more scary and creates fear for the audience as to what it is, the use of the word sinister is scary as we connote sinister with death, threatening or portending evil, harm, or trouble.

A young girl is used as to show she’s vulnerable and to create a sympathetic field for the audience. Also stereotypically the main conventions of a horror film is young girls are they are scarier. The young girl is smearing the clown face with blood this suggests that is what is going to be in the film, blood, gore and clowns or demons.

Here the producers of this film poster have included other films to gain an audience and promote there film.

Paranormal Activity 4 - Unrated Opening Scene

Paranormal Activity 4 is another example of a psychological horror film which displays common scenarios with other films in that genre of film that I have researched. It is set in a house this is creative as it mirrors the idea of normality therefore it is intensified scariness because the audience will think that its more realistically going to happen to them. There is a discovery of new neighbors within the opening sequence which implies a sense of mystery and from that it could connote that maybe something strange is going to happen as the new neighbors seem odd. 
The shot of the camera is personal as if someone in the family is recording a home video, it makes us feel like we are involved in the family because you see the action as they do. It is closer to reality and therefore, enhances fear within the audience.

Preliminary task- research into shot types

The Preliminary exercise: the task should demonstrate match on action, shot reverse shot and 180 degree rule.

Shot reverse shot: 
This shot is ideal for perspective of the characters, its a swap over shot that is usually used with dialogue, Within the shot, its switched from character to character. I will use this in my preliminary task when I have the two characters talking to one another as they will be switching back and forth so the audience gets a view of there faces as they are speaking.

Match on action:
This shot is to convey a journey. Moving the camera, ideal for walking through a door, used to continue one shot into the next, this will be a good chance to show when a character is walking/running etc, and there path that they are going through.

180 degree rule: 
The camera must stay one side of the (imaginary line) one side of the action/characters.

Keeping the camera on one side of the line but it is able to move up, down, left, right but not able to cross the line this changes the audiences perspective of the shot, this will be used in my preliminary task so it doesn't get the audience confused with who is who and creates a better flow of film.

Preliminary Task- Evaluation

Firstly, after I completed my filming I then started to decide on how I would edit the pieces together, I had to keep in mind how I would want the clips to go in order; the length of them, what transitions and soundtracks that I would include in my preliminary task, Before I had completed my filming I got some help from my storyboard helping me to have a small idea as to what it will look like and keep myself organised and much more prepared when filming. In the storyboard I also included what shot types and transitions I would use, this helped me massively when editing.

My Filming went very well and didn't take me too long. The filming I produced was high quality shots and the required ones as well. I included Shot reverse shot; 180 degree rule and match on action to make the filming the best it could be, I looked over each clip to ensure nothing was missing.

The way I ordered the clips I thought was most effective as it created a moral to the film, Firstly I imported my filming onto the apple mac so I could continue editing, once they were on the mac I then had to import them onto final cut pro, once I started to edit them together, to fit together different transitions, so they would all run smoothly together to look more like one film rather than many little clips. I had to put them in a specific order which I wanted them to run, my storyboard helped me with this. I then started to research into the different lengths of the clips, some would be shortened therefore it creates a more effective scenario. 

I then started to look into existing soundtracks and effects music from different opening sequences and trailers of existing films, so I could then get an insight of what an effective horror film would be like and how I can produce an effective one, stereotypicaly you would expect demanding and heart pumping soundtracks in a horror film, therefore i had chosen a subtle heart beat as the two characters went up the stairs and the bedroom, this suited the theme of the film well as it created a bit of suspense and connoted the feelings of the characters. The types of soundtracks I picked were mainly fast speed sounds due to the running clips that I had produced; this would create an effective scenario for a horror film. I also included different tempos and songs into my work, as I was editing the clips I found different sounds and soundtracks on final cut pro that I could put behind the clips. However, as I picked songs to go into my preliminary task, I had to write a letter to the company of the song telling them that I am using there song for school purposes, therefore I wouldn't be done for copyright.

I had to specifically include certain shots such as shot reverse shot, match on action and 180 degree rule.

I think I had met these in the duration in filming and during the editing so I could ensure they were all there, the shot reverse shot was the one that I felt best suited the dialogue scene, as well as the 180 degree rule whereas the match on action was more suited to the action/ running shots that I had produced.

The theme that I had chosen for this preliminary task was horror based I had to ensure that all my filming and editing were suitable for the genre.

I think that I had used the three required shot types well as they all fit well in the preliminary task and i experimented with different angles, lengths etc. I demonstrated match on action when the characters were running up the stairs, through the doors, this was good because it suggests the characters were on a journey/ mission.  The use of shot reverse shot was I thought used well as I used this shot type when filming the dialogue scene, this created the characters to be looking at each other while they were having a convocation and we could view each character by using the shot reverse shot as it switched from one to another. The use of 180 degree rule was to help the audience not get confused about what is going on, where the action/characters on one side of the imaginary 180 degree line weren't switching around, getting the audience muddled up as to whom is who.

After I had completed the whole of the preliminary task I then re watched it a couple of times check that it was all how it should be. I feel as I am a lot more comfortable with the shot types, camera movements and transitions that I have used in the preliminary task, therefore I feel as I am a lot more confident and ready to produce my opening sequence for my horror film.

MUMMY | Preliminary

Preliminary task planning

When planning for my preliminary I first started to test ideas of horror images and what my overall goal on the opening sequence will be like, I created a storyboard on what my opening sequence will look like, I included a variety of shot types; camera angles and soundtracks that I will be including, all linking the the genre of horror and keeping in mind my target audiences preferences to what they like.

Questionnaire

I have created a questionnaire for my target audience which is ages 15 and above, I used this questionnaire to get an understanding of what there favourite type of horror film is; what they thought an attractive film poster looked like and what there scariest fear is. 
Here is an example of one of my questionnaires 

As of the 18th November the rest of this blog and my coursework will be produced individually by me. 

Audience Profile

Name – Dylan Evans

Age - 19

Class- Working class 

Gender – Male

Ethnicity – British

Psychographics – Enjoys Free running, Dancing, Going out with his friends, watching films mainly horror, his favorite film is The Cabin in the Woods, Dylan likes being with his family and generally being happy.

Dislikes: being unorganized, bullies, Romantic and chic flicks. 

BBFC for my opening sequence

I have decided that my opening sequence would be rated 15 this is because you may see the following:

strong violence
strong language
sexual activity
drug taking
verbal violence

This means that this is only suitable for people aged 15 and above. It is illegal to supply a VHS, DVD, Blue-ray, UMD, video game, or film tickets with a 15 certificate to anyone under the BBFC certification allocated to that film.

After looking at existing horror films i decided that we would rate the opening sequence a 15 due to thats the type of horror sequence im completing therefore it is more representable and links better with other films i looked at.

Certification

 

UNIVERSAL – All ages admitted. Nothing unsuitable for children aged 4 years or over

PARENTAL GUIDANCE – All ages admitted, but some certain scenes can be unsuitable for young children. They should not disturb children aged 8 or older.

12 – Only suitable for people aged 12 or older. It is illegal to supply a
(12A are assigned to ages 12, yet if you are younger you are able to go with adult supervision.)

12A – Films under this category is considered to be unsuitable for young children. Cinemas in the United Kingdom are only permitted to supply tickets to see a 12A film to children under the age of 21 if they are accompanied by an adult, aged at least 18 or older.

15- Only suitable for people aged 15 or older. It is illegal to supply a film tickets with a 15 certificate to anyone under that age.
Films under this category can contain adult themes, regular use of foul language and limited use of very strong language, strong violence and strong sex references, and nudity without graphical detail. Sexual activity may be portrayed, Sexual violence may be shown.

18 – only suitable for people aged 18 or older, which means adults only. It is illegal to supply a film tickets with an 18 certificate to anyone under that age.
Films under this category do not have limitation on the content of the language that is used.

Narrative theories

Roland Barthes

When analysing texts, Barthes makes a distinction between a traditional work and what he calls “the Text.” He says that traditional texts works as the author has control of the narrative, the Text enables the reader to actively engage in its production because it is not restricted by genre. Whereas written text is the primary communication system, his theories can be applied to various cultural forms such as photography, music, painting, and cultural events.

Barthes also distinguishes between readerly and writerly texts. Readerly texts, he says, have pre-determined meaning, whereas , writerly texts have a large number of meaning.

Elements of both readerly and writerly texts can be interpreted through what Barthes calls the Five Codes.

The five codes represent five different ways of seeing meaning in a text. They highlight different aspects of the narrative.

According to Barthes a text can be open or closed, The five codes are:

·        Enigma code-This code refers to mystery within a text. Enigmas within the narrative make the audience want to know more, this would be a good theory to link in with the genre of horror because it would create a sense of mystery and suspense. 

·        Action code -This code contains sequential elements of action in the text, linking in with horror films this could be a good way to show off the action that is happening. 

·        Semantic code -This code refers to additional meanings. Elements of the semantic code.

·        symbolic code-This code is about symbolism in text.

·        Referential code - This code refers to anything in the text which refers to an external body of knowledge, within a horror film it allows the audience to already have a feel of what is going to happen at the end.

Vladimir Propp

Vladimir Propp developed a character theory for studying media texts and productions, which indicates that there were 7 broad character types in the 100 tales he analysed, which could be applied to other media:

·        The villain (struggles against the hero)

·        The donor (prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object)

·        The (magical) helper (helps the hero in the quest)

·        The princess (person the hero marries, often sought for during the narrative)

·        The false hero (perceived as good character in beginning but emerges as evil)

·        The dispatcher (character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off)

·        The hero [AKA victim/seeker/paladin/winner, reacts to the donor, weds the princess)

Levi Strauss

Binary oppositions – basically levi strauss theory is that the conflict is based around the binary opposites and that the binary opposites are the central climax of  narrative structure.

Examples of binary opposites:

·        Good v evil

·        Boy v girl

·        Peace v war

                                                        Todrov

Paranormal Activity Film Poster Analysis

Paranormal Activity is based on a true story.

The title stands out well as the text is in red upon a black background, The colours red and black are very popular when making horror film posters because of the connotations of the two colours, red suggests blood and gore, or danger and black connotes darkness and spook. This is what identifies this film poster as being a horror.

The main image of the poster establishes that the film takes place in a house and is filmed by a home camera, this will engage the audience because it creates a more realist narrative as it is filmed with an ordinary camera where there can be no major editing involved yet that is what the audience suspects. In the image, you can see the woman pointing to something that the audience can not see, this creates a sense of wonder for the audience that is highlighted in Barthes theory because the audience will want to know what she is pointing at.

This poster has a web address on it to support the film. This helps to get more of the target audience interested in watching the film. The film hasn't go any credits or who it has been produced by this suggests to me that the producers have done this to create a more real film. Also, there isn't a famous main character its just two normal human beings therefore creating that feel of realism more.

Collaboration work

Firstly, Ben and I decided on what we would like our opening sequence to be like, we discussed that the narrative for our opening sequence would start with kids playing with there toys, not knowing one is possessed by a demon (we got these idea from different analysis of films, paranormal activity and the woman in black). then one of the kids(preferable a girl) would go and murder a family member, unsuspectingly. After this has occurred they will walk up to the camera no facial expressions and look directly at the camera giving the audience a creepy feel, she would then talk to the camera as if it was someone/thing else (the demon that told her to do those things to her family) then in a quck pan shot you will slightly see the outline of the  demon.

Audience Theories

There are three main audience theories that are most related to the genre of horror, these are;

Reception Theory:
Reception theory is a version of reader response that emphasizes each particular reader's interpretation in making meaning from a literary text. Reception theory is generally referred to as audience reception in the analysis of communications models. The theory implies that: When a film maker produces a text it is included with a meaning or message that they then want the convey to the audience of the film/genre. The Audiences will detonate the message and understand what the producer was trying to inform, others will either reject or fail to correctly understand the message.

The Effects Model:
Media effects are used in media studies, to refer to the theories about the ways in which mass media and media culture affect how their audiences think and behave. For example, The Bobo Doll experiment, Albert Bandura which is a piece of research that apparently proved that children copy violent behaviour.

The Uses and Gratifications Model:
Uses and gratifications theory is an approach to understanding why and how people actively seek out specific media to satisfy specific needs,This theory is revealing and figuring out the reasons why people watch TV.

Camera Work, shots and movement

180 degree rule- drawing an imaginary line down the center of the frame(two characters at either end of the frame) keeping the camera on one side of the line but it is able to move up, down, left, right but not able to cross the line this changes the audiences perspective of the shot.

Match on action-  this is used to continue one shot into the next.

Shot/reverse shot- within the shot of characters it switches from character to character. 

Many different Camera shots are used in different ways to help the audience into the narrative of the film that they are watching, some camera shots create a mystery for the audience by using different camera angles and shots.

In a film camera movements are there so they can create a sense of  drama, excitement and add a scare factor(in horror films) .

Zoom- moving in and out without the camera moving.

Tracking-camera moves to follow or track a person or object.

Panning- When the camera moves from right to left or left to right on a pivot

Whip pan- used to create more of an impact , just panning at a faster speed.

Static camera: Camera in a fixed position usually before a dramatic event to scare the audience, usually used in horror  films. 

A few basic camera shots

 

Over the shoulder
looking from behind one person, is taken from behind one characters shoulder to show anthers, its ussed to draw attention.  
 

Birds Eye View
This is shot from a birds point of view,  high up looking directly down on the person/object.

 
 
 
Extreme close up-showing great detail, a shot which focuses on one single part, this would be used to enhance the dramatic expressions of the persons face, for example eyes.

 

High Angle Shot
A high angle shot is taken from a high angle to make the charater seem smaller and look weeker.





close up-
Showing the full face, this could be used to show more emotion in a characters face.
 

The Six Sense Analysis

Mise en scene

Form the introduction of the film we get a vast amount of detail about the characters through the mise-en-scene that is used.  The way that the doctor and his wife are dressed and the location that they are in shows that they are both really wealthy, also the way that the her and her husband sit together to read something just shows the audience how close and how much they look after each other.

Also, in the opening sequence when the light blub turns on, this could be symbolic because it is a quick, sudden turning on of the blub, I think this is used to hint to the audience that they have to look more detailed at things, for example in the film when the ghosts don’t want to hurt him but want his help and when one character reveals that he can see dead people, then realises they are dead, it makes the audience look in a different light to what is happening and what has been there.

Throughout the film there are different colours used; for example red is used quite frequently through  it shows that there could be danger,  or a warning, this links in with the light bulb at the start of the film just before it turns on it has a flash of red before going normal. This could indicate that something bad is going to happen there are more examples such as; the female character is always wearing red lipstick, there is a red napkin on the table and the door knob that leads to the basement is also red, the wine is red and I think this is most important because all we see is the male character drinking the wine, which could imply something bad is going to happen to him. 

Sound

• In the opening sequence there is an eerie mysterious sound, throughout the film when characters scream shows drama and makes the audience want to know what is going to happen next
• Also, there is a romantic piece of music that is played which shows that the couple are close and caring towards each other.

Editing and camera work

• At the beginning an extreme close up is used, this is used to focus in on the light blub that is turning on.
• There is a whip pan that is used when the doctor loses the boy.
• A close up shot is used to show damages that have been made.
• There is a tilt in the camera when the man who is naked is talking to the doctor.
• High angle shots are used when a character gets shot; this creates tension and makes the audience want to know what is going to happen next.
• Shot reverse shot is used when two characters are having convocation.

History Of Horror Films

The Woman in black opening sequence analysis

The opening sequence of The Woman In Black, creates a sense of gloom and darkness, by the use of camera angles, it starts with a shot of china pots, the three girls that are introduced in the scene, are playing with the china tea pots, the camera angles change from a two shot of the pots to when the tea pot is being used, the camera action is titled, through this we know that the three girls are playing innocently. The diagetic sound that s played over the music are the chiming of the China wear, this creates a sense of tension and produces the theme of horror - the sounds are quite echoed and muffled yet its still old enough to create a sense of horror for the audience, drawing the audiences attention the the action that being shown.The semiotic sound is non-diagetic sounds(music) being played quietly in the background which symbolizes the theme of the era, with the little girls actions occurring at the same time.

The shots are also existing the same as the non-diagetic sound as they are both slow and delayed yet it still fits with the sense of mysterious depiction of the shots that are close up of the dolls. The dolls that are shown are stereotypical conventions of horror films as we normally associate them as creepy. Whereas woman in black we know is a horror film by the way in which the dolls and children are introduced, it has the three little girls wearing old fashioned clothing, long hair brushed neatly back, this suggests a sense of realism of perfection. They also all have expressions of happiness, yet it seems quite fixed and demanding, adding the horror to the film. The music then starts to get softer and more mystical creating a lot of tension, which you think that something terrifying or scary is about to happen. Also not only has the music turned to slow pace, so has the three girls actions, creating that demanding robot type human making the film more spooky and cresting more of a build up of tension through out the opening of the film.

There are bells from church that start to ring, the denotation of the bells is the literal meaning of church yet they connote something is ending or coming, this is when the actions of the girls start to change, creating tension, they all slowly turn there heads to face the camera looking down, this implies more of a personal connection with the audience as it seems as though the girls are looking directly at them. However, the camera shows a middle shot of the girls to the audience so they are able to see the surroundings and look more at the old fashioned theme, fitting with the setting of the film. Longer, wider shots start being produced to develop the tension and pressure of the action from the three girls. As the girls are stood at the window the lighting is dimmed down, using more natural lighting that is coming from the scenery outside, the shot is quite lined up and middle, When they jump out the window it creates fear for the audience. As they disappear the opening scene is over, However as they step up to the window they are synchronized with each other which also adds to the robot like features.

The audience theory that is relevant to the film is, desensitization theory which is a long-term exposure, its something that we as an audience want to see, it has a recurring message towards the media, whilst making the audience immune to it because its less likely to have an impact on the audience due to the unrealistic moments in the opening sequence.

Genre

The genre that I have selected for my film is Horror. 

personally, I would like to complete my media coursework using the theme of horror as it is one that I an interested in and I have wide knowledge of what they are suppose to look and sound like. 

I think horror is an excellent way to include different media platforms for example different shot types, camera movement and lighting. 

I also chose horror as there are so many different story lines that you can create from that genre, also it will interest the audience, therefore I feel quite confident to be completing the film in that genre. 

For example a lot of horror films have a twist in the film, this is effective in the industry and will appeal to target audience that like the adrenaline rush of not knowing what is going to happen next.

Sub-genres for Horror.

I have looked into horror film genres and there sub-genres to decide on which ones would be suitable for me to consider researching and producing:

I have decided to look at the genres and sub-genres of a Psychological horror and Paranormal horror.

Evaluation

Firstly, I have had some experience in year 10 and 11 when I studies Media so I have a mild knowledge of the main idea of the subject and what it entitles. furthermore I have a small amount of experience using final cut pro as I have access to it at home as well in school. although I learnt new techniques which I learnt and developed on when creating the kitkat chunky video via a group of three. 

When creating the kitkat video we had to start with the basics, a storyboard, this allows us to share our ideas and give us guidance as to how and what we were going to create with the short film whilst speeding up the process, it helps to keep it organised and well planned which is highly needed when creating a video/film. Within the storyboard we included different shot types, lighting and camera angles that we used also beside the main story line of the 'kitkat chunky'. 

Once we had completed the storyboard for our short video we then got the ipads and went around the school filming in different place, different scenes for it, for our video we decided on a football related one therefore we did different shots according to the storyboard and linking in to the football theme. 

After we had finished filming we started to use the Mac computers in school on mac book pro to create our final piece. This was a great way for us to get used to the app and whilst editing the clips that we got it gave us chance to upload sounds, different effects, lighting, text and much more that you can see in the video. We kept re looking over the video to see if there was anything missing or if any improvements could be made, this was a good chance to just analyse the whole task.

    

Overall, I know that we used our time effectively, we all worked as a team sharing our own ideas and improved on, it was a great experience using the macs and mac book pro as it has given me more experience and interested me even if it was for a short clip, its given me knowledge and understanding for when I use it for filming longer videos.

Kit Kat Chunky