Mind Map Ideas

As part of my research I did a mindmap on basic ideas so that I have a collection of my orginal ideas. This is helpful as I can pick certain ideas to test out when filming.

Futher Ideas

As mentioned on a member of my groups blog (Linzi Moxham), our group have been researching locations for our horror film trailer and have focused on a church in our local area (The Royal Garrison Church). We plan to go to the location and take photos for futher research to make sure the area is suitable for a horror film and it will also give us a better idea of the trailer will pan out. My group have also seperatley taken photographs of certain areas that we think fit the horror genre and as possible location. I went out and look photographs of 'ery' areas such as a lake, ally way and forest. Other members of my group took photographs of things such as a caravan at night and bridges. As a group we have discussed our locations and all favour the church so far. We will decide on a final location soon and once the final location/locations has been decided we will start filming in the area. Before filming the actual trailer, we will film test shots to get a clear idea of which areas we will film in, which is the best camera angle ect.

Also, my group went to a forest area by our college just to test out different camera techinques such as hand held shots and filming whilst the camera is on a tripod. We tried both techinques out to see which one was most effective. We decieded they both worked will in different ways and may use both techinques when filming our trailer.

Here is our practice clip;

'Horror' Title Research

As a group, we have not decided on a final name for our Horror film yet, so when researching potential fonts for our title I used the word 'Horror'. I researched many fonts using the website picnik.com to see which ones I thought suited the genre. I stuck with a simple black colour for the time being so that you can focus on the font type rather than the colour at this stage. For a horror film, I think bold fonts would probably be better because it suits the genre as horror films stand out like bold text does. They are 'brutal'. I think 'thin' fonts give the wrong impression to the type of film trailer I aim to produce. I want my groups title to be obvious to the audience on what genre film it is.

Developing Ideas for the horror film trailer.

As a group we decided on the paranormal genre for a horror film. We researched film trailers on youtube that fitted the paranormal genre. On our joint group , we analyzed the trailer for 'Paranormal Activity'. We carefully looked at the techniques used and the footage that was used. It helped identify what worked in the trailer and what didn't. It also collectivley helped us see what features and types of clips we should use in our trailer. The 'Paranormal Activity' trailer also had critical acclaim in the trailer - this was one point that we had not thought about yet. This is now something we have to consider. Individually, we all looked at a trailer ourselves. I picked 'The Exorcist'. Underneath the trailer is a detailed analysis of this trailer.

At the beginning of the trailer the audience are shown nothing - just a black screen whilst tense music plays. This has been done to give a sense of mystery and 'lure' the audience in and make them question in their minds whats going to happen. It also keeps the audience 'in the dark' about what is going on which is how the characters in the film will feel as they won't know what is going on either. The tense music also gives the audience a clear indication automatically on the genre of the film which I think is really important. If you don't know the type of trailer you are watching at the beginning then I don't think the trailer has worked very well.

We, as the audience are not introduced to a character until 12 seconds into the clip. When we are, dark lighting is used to create the 'ery' and 'spooky' effect to make us on the edge of our seats. Also when the character is finally shown, we are shown a low angle view. This has been done so that we are wary of the character but are also on the 'journey' with him to but as if we are watching him rather than with him.

A stern voiceover is also used in the clip to distance itself from the characters but still let the audience know what is happening. A stern, authoritive tone is used so the audience don't feel comfortable or so it is predictible.

Dark lighting is a common theme for horror movies and has been used in this trailer. Darkness makes you feel umfortable, scared and 'on edge' and by using this effect it makes the characters and the audience feel this way.

The sound effects used in this trailer include tense music, screaming, yelping, slamming doors, footsteps running up the stairs ect. I think the most effect would be the tense music as it is an automatic effect which scares the audience as they know something is about to happen. I also think footsteps of a 'relatable character' are effective to because it portrays to the audience her fear and worry.

When a scary 'creature' is shown at 0:42, the face is not shown. The audience are just shown quite a distant view surronded in shadows and dark lighting to show mystery and show that the audience are not automatically going to be introduced to the 'scary creature', it will remain a mystery and we will have to go on a journey with the characters to find out who/what it is.

An over the shoulder shot has been used to make us feel 'included' in the story and and as if we were part of finding out the mysteries. This makes the audience feel 'closer' to the characters and 'involved'.

Other techinques that I think work well include the quick editing which gives the audience a sense of intensity and so they are abe to 'step into the shoes' of the characters and get a sense of how they are feeling and how scary it is.