Shot List

Shot list

View more documents from jphibbert.

Film Script

Overall plot.scary,
set in a house
4 teen characters
dark
ouija board
fast paced editing
characters get really scared
lights go out
bottle smashes
starts out as a joke with friends and then turns serious and doors slam and they are trapped in the house

Script out line
Black screen with writing of opening scene, ' four friends set out to make a joke'
The four friends sitting around the ouija board (Sam, Joe, Chloe, Ella)

Boys start joking around, winding the girls up, spelling out girls names on the board, freaking them out.
Sam: (moving the counter over letters) E... L.. L (laughs)
Joe: (Laughs) Oooo somethings going to get you ellaElla: (laughs) shut up now
Transition slide 'And then it all went wrong'

(Ella asks when is Sam going to die, Ouija board starts working properly, spelling out NOW. Girls scream, boys still taking it as a joke, Joe asks the board how? The Planchette starts moving really fast across the board, the boys take their hands off and it doesnt stop.)

Ella: your such an idiot, when is sam going to hurry up and die? (directed at the ouija board)
(counter moves to the letter NOW)
Chloe: stop it now its not funny your freaking me out
Joe: yeaah funny one ella (laughs) how? (directed at the ouija board)
(couter begins to move again)
Sam falls down and grabs his throat
Transition (and then it was too late)
Chloe:(screams)
joe: ok, calm down, sam stop it and you ella

Ella: its not me! (takes hands of counter)
(counter keeps moving)
Ella: (screams)
fast paced editing, Sam gasping for air, noises throughout the house, lights flicking,
Chloe runs to the glass of water
Chloe:(screams) Sam! please Chloe gets a glass of water for Sam and it smashes in her hands. (screams)
Sam: Help me

 Joe: (running to the door, trying to open it) get us out of here! (screams)
Ella(running to the window) (screams) (tries opening it wont open) help! someone help us!(hand touches her shoulder) scream
Blackout/fade to white.

Storyboard

Production Plan

Our cast will consist of four main characters. 2 girls and 2 boys. Chloe, Anna, Joe, and Sam. Our characters are going to be older teenagers, approximately 17/18.
Our film is going to be set in a house, where we will use all of our props. Our props will consist of; a ouija board, 2 sugar glass cups, alcohol, and furniture.
We plan to use the sugar glass cups, and break one over one of our characters heads. This will be our only stunt, and we will have to take extra care when doing this. By following any safety guidelines, and ruling out any possible hazards.
The address of the house will be 2 Kingswood Road, March.
To make our film we will use 2 Video Cameras, 1 Digital camera, and a Tripod.
We will use editing software after filming our film, to make it more crisp and create the desired effect for our target audience.
We will begin filming on January 14th 2012, we will film for 2 weeks, then begin editing at the end of January. We will use a Mac to edit our film, and the iMovie software.

Research Focus Group

To research further into my target group, I interviewed a group of 4 people in the age range of my target group. I constucted a series of questions about the 3 trailers that I analysed to see what my target group liked and disliked about them. The questions I asked them were;

What did you like about the trailer?
What didnt you like about the trailer?
Would the trailer make you want to watch the rest of the film?

The first trailer I showed my focus group, was the trailer for Demons Never Die. My four respondents reacted very positively for this trailer. I asked them the first question as a group, and got them to discuss it.
As a group they decided that the trailer advertised the film very well, they all agreed that the way in which the trailer showed all of the main characters without giving to much infomation away to the audience was also very helpful. By knowing who the main characters are, it allowed them to know which actors would play the biggest parts in the film. This was one key area they said interested them in watching the rest of the film, knowing who the main characters are and the actors that play them.
They also agreed on the way the trailer hides the identity of the villain, and doesnt really give the audience much of an idea to who it could be or what they even look like. With the use of mystery they said it would make them want to watch the film to find out who it was. From what my focus group said they enjoyed about this trailer I am going to try and incorporate it into my trailer for my horror film. By doing this it will meet what my focus group and target audience said they liked to see and what made them want to watch a trailer and/or film.

Analyising My Questionaire Results

Through producing a questionaire, and giving it to a range of different people it has allowed me to find out important factors that we will need to consider when making our horror film trailer.
We are going to aim our film at 16-25 year olds, this is because through the questionaire we found that this was the age of people that watched horror films the most. We will aim it at both males and females as we found that they equally like to watch horror films. By doing this it will make our target audience bigger, allowing our film to appeal to more people.
Our target audience said that the trailer was one of the main things that made them want to watch a horror film, this is why our trailer has to be able to draw in our target audience. For our trailer the storyline and the fear factor are going to be the main focus, these were the popular answers that we found in the questionaire.
We also found out that our target audience prefered to watch horror films that were based around a psychological factor, and a lot of action. We will try and incorporate both of these factors into our trailer, by doing this it will meet our target audiences desires in a horror film and make them want to watch it.
For our promotional package of the film, we are going to focus on the image for both the poster and the magazine cover. This is because this is what our target audience said drew their attention the most. We will also focus on other conventions of a poster and a magazine cover, the font and the colours will also be important, as both the poster and magazine have to be able to stick out to our target audience.

Questionaire Results

Research Into Target Audience

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Research into Target Market - Questionaire

Click here to take survey

Research into Target Audience - Questionaire

To reseatch into the audience that we will aim our horror film at, I wil conduct a questionaire to find out what kind of things people would expect to find in a horror film that they would watch.
We will givve the questionaire to a focus group that will contain young adults, and adults. Aged between 16-50. This is the age range we plan to aim the horror film at. I will then analyse the results of the questionaire, by doing this it will allow me to see what type of things we should include in our horror film to make it appeal to them.

Research into Similar Tasks - Hannibal Magazine Cover

This magazine cover from Empire, is featuring an article based on the film Hannibal. Hannibal is a horror/gory film. We can clearly see that this magazine cover follows the usual magazine conventions. We can see it uses the route of the eye, with the mast head at the top, the main image and feature article through the middle of the cover, and then finally some of the sub articles at the bottom of the page.
We can also see on this cover that they have kept the same colour scheme throughout, apart from the main image a lot of the background is black, as humans we tend to relate the colour black to bad things usually death. They have also used red to highlight and information they want to stick out to the audience. Again the colour red can be related to blood, another convention of horror.
Only one main image has been used, that is related to the feature article, it is an extreme close-up of a man with a red eye. Convention of horror is that red eyes insinuate someone is possessed. 

Reaserch into Similar Tasks - Freddy vs Jason Magazine Cover

This magazine cover isn't from a well known film magazine, but is a spin off from the film itself. As part of the release of the film, they decided they would release this one off magazine. Conventional to any magazine, this one still follows the route of the eye. It has the masthead at the top of the page, then the big image and feature article though the middle, and then the sub articles at the bottom of the page.
For this magazine the masthead and feature article are the same thing, the size of the font reflects this, the colour scheme has been chosen carefully, with the blood red masthead, and the yellow sub articles to make sure everything stands out to the audience.

The image makes it clear to the audience that the film is about a fight between two people. The picture reminds me of the weigh between two boxers days before a big fight. In the picture we can see both men going toe to toe with each other, and the expressions on there faces add to the tension they are already building.

Research into Similar Tasks - H2 Magazine Cover

This magazine cover is from the well established horror magazine "Fangoria" instantly we can tell this as the title is linked with fangs, that are commonly found in vampires and bats. Of course both of these can quit easily be related to horror.

This magazine cover follows the usual conventions of any magazine, we can clearly see it follows the route of the eye, with the masthead at the top of the page, the image through the middle of the page, then the feature article title at the bottom of the page.

The big main image has been linked with the feature article, so it can draw in the audiences attention. The picture is of one of the main character in Halloween 2, so can easily be linked together. The colour scheme has been chosen very carefully, focusing mainly on the blood red on words that can be related to horror and gore, and then the yellow on parts that they want to stand out to the audience.

Research into Similar Tasks - Demons Never Die Poster

The promotional poster for the film "Demons Never Die" is a picture of the murderer and the main characters. We see the back of the murderer, who is facing the rest of the characters. We see that the poster follows the route of the eye. At the top of the poster is the name of the actors who play the main characters in the film. We then see a quote in the middle of the poster, that sits on top of the murderers back. Not only does this draw our attention to the quote, but the murderer itself. Then finally we see the title of the film across the bottom of the poster. The poster has followed this conventional theme, as the route of the eye is the natural way our eye views things like posters and magazines. These are so called hot spots of the poster, this is where the main material sits. The stuff that they want the audience to see.
The main colour theme throughout the poster is black, red, and white. The font and colour used, is basic but stands out to the audience. The red and white colour, stands out against the black backgrounds. Black has been used on the murderers clothes. This is because we resemble the colour black with the idea of death. We then see the quote on top of the murderers back. "Fear has new face, but who's face is it?" This quote is written in a red font, making it resemble the colour of blood. The red font also stands out against the black of the murderers jacket. With the quote of the film sitting in the hot spot of the poster, it is the focol point of the poster. Not only is it a quote, but it asks the audience a question. By asking them a question, it'll make them want to answer it, by doing this it means they will have to watch the film. The use of the quote is to draw the audience in to watch the film. We also see the use of the knife as a prop. It is behind the murderers back, and out of view of the other characters the murderer is facing. This gives the idea that the murderer doesn't want the others to see the blade. We also can't see the murderers face, yet again adding to the quote in the middle of the poster. Making the audience question and wonder who the masked murderer is.

We also can see that the murderer is standing in a bush away from the other characters, possibly meaning that he doesnt want to be seen by the others. That he is trying to hide. 

Research into Similar Tasks - I Know What You Did Last Summer Poster

The promotional poster for "I still know what you did last summer" has a mid shot, of the four main characters in the film. The poster follows the route of the eye, with a quote at the top of the poster, the main picture through the middle and the title pf the film across the bottom. One thing that sticks of to the audience of the poster, is the use of the hook just above the title of the film. It has been used to give the effect of slashing through the poster. With a portion of the poster ripped out by the hook, we see a dark figure dressed in all black standing in the gap. Even though the picture is small it makes the audience question who he is or what he is. The clothing of the villain to be dressed in all black is made to resemble death. 

The colour scheme used on the poster, is black, white, and red. This colour scheme is quite conventional with other horror films. The white represents happiness and life, the red represents blood, and the black represents death. 

The quote at the top of the poster reads "Some secrets will haunt you forever" the film is a sequel, so this quote tells the audience that it is going to be the same story line as the first film, with the same villain trying to hunt them down and kill them. 

Research Into Similar Tasks - Hannibal Rising Trailer

Hannibal Rising was released in February 2007, and tells the story of a young gentleman plotting revenge against the people that killed his family in the second world war.
Throughout the trailer There is a voice over, questioning Hannibal in a kind of lie detector situation. This instantly shows us that he might of done something wrong. The trailer is based purely around the lie detector, with this we learn who he is and what he has done and going to do.
We can separate the trailer into four different section; Editing, Camerawork, Mise-En-Scene, and Sound.
Throughout the trailer we see clearly how editing has been used to create a desired effect for the audience.
The first thing we see is a title slide simply saying "born into war" at this point in the trailer we don't know much about Hannibal, but instantly it tells the audience how old he is, and when the film is set.
We then see another title slide, and quite a few more throughout the trailer, giving us snippets of information about Hannibals life, past and present. We then see a flash back into Hannibals child hood, and shows us that his family were killed. This also shows us how young Hannibal was, and that he still carries the grudge up to this point. When the trailer start to get gory, before they show what finally happens to Hannibals victims, they use a fade to white screen to stop us seeing what really happens. By doing this it draws in the audience, it also leaves them guessing to what is going to happen to them. There are a number of these fade to white slides across the trailer. All occurring when Hannibal is torturing or killing his victims. This shows the audience that he is constant killer, with many victims.
Also when Hannibal is attacking his victims the trailers is sped up to show how badly they suffer. They have also sped these scenes up so that the audience don't see everything that is going on. Making them want to know more.

In the trailer we also see how Mise-en-Scene is used to create that horror film effect for the audience. One great part of the trailer where Mise-en-Scene is used is when Hannibal has one of his victims blood on his cheek. We then see Hannibal wipe the blood off with his gloved hand, then proceed to taste the blood of his victim. This shows the audience that not only is Hannibal a psychotic murderer but also practices cannibalism on his victims. We also see Hannibal in a number of costumes, one of the most recognizable costumes he wears is the white lab jacket. We know Hannibal isn't a scientist, but he is still wearing one. This makes the audience question not only why he is wearing it, but also where Hannibal actually is. Further on into the trailer, we see the lab jacket again, but this time a scene of his victim being tortured follows it. This allows the audience to link the lab jacket to the torturing of one of his victims. But still doesn't let the audience know where he is, or why he is wearing it. Finally we see Hannibal wearing the lab jacket with the feet of one of his victims hanging down from the ceiling. So just from the trailer the audience can already associate certain outfits and common themes with how Hannibal tortures and kills his victims.

Thirdly Camerawork in the trailer helps portray certain horror themes to the audience. Throughout the trailer one of the main shot types used is a close-up. A close-up of either Hannibal or his victims face, this allows the audience to see and feel of the character feels. The close-up shot of the blood on Hannibals face allows the audience to see exactly what he is doing. By having a lot of close-ups in the trailer it shows either the enjoyment on Hannibals face when torturing and killing his victims, or the pain on Hannibals victims. I see this as a great way to portray to the audience what certain characters are like. Through this the audience see that Hannibal is enjoying killing these people. It makes the audience question why he is enjoying it, the close-ups clearly separate the the predator from the prey.
Camerawork is also used in a way that instantly portrays Hannibal as the murderer. At the beginning we see an over the shoulder shot of Hannibal and the inspector using a lie detector. This shows the audience that Hannibal is the antagonist. Close up shots are also popular throughout the trailer when we see Hannibals victims fear when he is torturing them and killing them. Seeing the fear on their faces allows the audience to share this fear with Hannibals victims.

The last technical area we split the trailer into is sound. The use of sound in the trailer helps create certain effects for the audience. At the beginning of the trailer we see how scripting is used when Hannibal is attached to the lie machine. Hannibal is asked if he has " Any guilty knowledge of the death of Paul Momund" With this the audience instantly know that Hannibal is a murderer. Throughout the trailer we also see very conventional sounds for a horror film, One great conventional sound used is the thunder we hear quite early in the trailer. We see the scene cut to a window where we see its raining quite hard and the sound of thunder rumbles. This scene doesn't really link in with the rest of the trailer it is simply to create a required atmosphere for the audience. The main use of sound we see that creates the horror effect for the audience, is the use of script. We hear the inspector say to Hannibal "His face had been eaten" This would make the audience question what Hannibal actually is. Is he just a murderer? or is he a cannibal aswell? The trailer is made to make the audience want to know more, to make the audience come and see the film when it is released.

Research Into Simular Tasks - I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer was released in May 1999. It is the sequel to the film I know what you did last summer. the film is based on a group of teenagers, who ran over a man called Ben Willis. They thought they had killed him so decided to dumb his body in the lake. He then came back to haunt them, and in the first film killed most of the group of teenagers. they thought they had finally got rid of him until now.
We can separate the trailer into four different section; Editing, Camerawork, Mise-En-Scene, and Sound.
During this trailer we see different types of editing techniques used throughout. The first technique we see in the trailer is the dissolve between each scene. This transition allows a link between each scene, keeping the audience focused on whats happening.
We also see a great eye-line match when Julie is singing on the karaoke machine, the song itself is very ironic, she is singing "I will survive" the song is based on someone leaving them coming back to follow them. This can be linked in to Ben Willis who comes back from the dead to taunt and kill his murderers. The eye line match them shows Julie looking at the screen and in red letters it says "I still know what you did last summer" this is the first part in the trailer when we see that Ben Willis is still alive and coming for them. The eye line match shows the audience exactly what Julie and the others are seeing, allowing the audience to feel like they are witnessing it like they are in the film.
In the trailer we also see parts sped up, especially when Ben's victims have been killed or going to killed. When Julie opens the wardrobe door and someones hanging there by a piece of rope, we see a shot reverse shot of Julie, then the hanging body and back to Julie to see the fear on her face. By allowing the audience to see what Julie is seeing and from her point of view, it allows the audience to share Julies fear, it puts the audience in her position.

Another technical area that we can separate the trailer into is the use of camera-work. Through the use of camerawork the trailer can portray certain images to the audience with a desired effect. When Julie is singing on the karaoke machine and the words begin to change we see an extreme close up on the TV. This allows the audience to see exactly what is happening. As the film is a sequel the extreme close up on the TV shows the audience that Ben Willis is still alive, and he knows they are on the island.
 We also see an over the shoulder shot, where Julie is opening an envelope addressed to her. We then see her slowly open the letter, as if she almost already knows what its going to contain. The over the shoulder shot allows the audience to see the letter and part of Julie. The over the shoulder shot also allows the audience to see the letter quite close up, so its almost in your face. The letter itself is purely to spread fear not only for the characters in the film, but for the audience aswell as they don't know what is going to happen.
About half way through the trailer we also see an extreme close up on Ben willis' hook. In the back ground of the shot we also see one of the girls in a sun bed. Not only does the close up on the hook give the audience a sense of fear about what is going to happen. It also gives the audience clues, allowing us to see the sun bed in the background hints towards what Ben is going to do.

Throughout the trailer we also see how Mise-en-Scene is used to create the desired horror effect for the audience. One thing that stands out is how Ben Willis, the murderer is dressed. He wears a long black trench coat, black boots, and a black fishing hat. Dressing him like this means the audience can't actually see what he looks like, we can also associate his black clothing with the image of death. Through Mise-en-Scene we also see the use of props. Ben Willis, carries a hook on his right hand. The hook is his weapon, whenever we see Ben we always see his hook. The hook is also used to push fear into his victims, as they can see the hook they can foresee what is going to happen.
A great part of Mise-en-Scene we see exploited is the use of location not only in the trailer but in the entire film. The trailer starts off in America in one of the girls flat. They then conveniently win a holiday to a remote island in the Bahamas. A remote island with only one way on and off the island via a boat is a great place to hold a horror film. When they realise Ben Willis is on the island we also see it is conveniently in the midst of hurricane season, and there is no way off the island. When a mass murderer is lurking around a remote island with no way of escape it is one of the best locations for a horror film to be set. This is a very conventional location for a horror film to be set in.

The last technical area we split the trailer into is the use of sound. Sound in the trailer can be used to create a type of atmosphere for the audience. Throughout the trailer we see how a post production voice over is used to give a kind of commentary on the trailer. One thing we hear the voice over say is, "And here miles from civilization" this one sentence allows the audience to know the type of location and exactly how far away they are from any kind of help. We also hear the conventional sound of the weather throughout the trailer, in horror films the conventional weather is dark and wet. Thunder is used in practically every horror film along with stormy weather, this is because these kinds of weathers can be unpredictable, and scary in the own way. The use of the script also allows the audience to get a grips with what is going on, when Julie says to the rest of the group that "He is here" her friends don't know what she is going on about, but as this is a sequel and most of the audience will have seen the first film they will all know that she is on about Ben Willis. Through sound we also see a scene where Julie is standing in front of all of her friends and explains exactly what is going on. "Two summers ago we hit Ben Willis with our car, and then threw his body in the water" This sentence makes the audience question who is the murderer. Julie and her friends threw his body into a lake, and know Ben Willis is coming back for revenge. The audience will question who the "bad guy" actually is.  

Research Into Simular Tasks - Demons Never Die

Demons Never Die is released on the 28th October 2011. It is a film based on a group of teenagers who make a pact to follow in the footsteps of a girl who took her own life. As each member of the group begins to die, they soon realise that their not actually taking their own lives. they are being the victims of a masked slasher.

The first area of the trailer I am going to analyse, is the use of editing throughout the trailer. At the start of the trailer we see very quick cuts to different scenes in the trailer. These cuts show each member of the "suicide group" We also see that when introducing each member of this group a sequence of fast paced editing. We see each member of the group but not in enough detail to know a lot about them. We then see an older man open a hotel door, the trailer the instantly fades to black and we hear a man scream, which would be edited in post production. Throughout the trailer we also see cuts in scenes to title pages. the title pages allow the audience to keep up with the trailer and gives them pieces of information about the film that they might not get from the acting or the scripting throughout the trailer. Another great scene we see that uses editing is near the end of the trailer when we see a kind of night camera used to shoot a scene. Kenny, one of the main characters, is with one of the girls and he says "I'm not going to let you die" The use of the night camera, allows the audience to know that what is happening is actually in pitch black. The use of the night camera allows us to see what is going on even though we shouldn't be able to see it. 

The second technical area we can split the trailer into is the use of camera work in the trailer. The use of camera work in a trailer can help portray horror themes and classical conventions of a horror film. Near the start of the trailer we see a close up of a dead female body, in the corner of a room. The shot allows us to see the girl covered in blood, and the walls and floor around her too. Along with the script, it allows the audience to work out that this is the young girl that committed suicide. Through Camerawork we also see that when one of the characters is being interviewed about one of the girls that was murdered, we see extreme close ups of both the interviewer and the suspect. The camera pans back and forth every time one of them speaks. This camera shot allows the audience to see and hear exactly what is happening in the interview. The extreme close ups also allow the audience to feel that they are in the interview with the characters. At the end of the trailer we also see an over the shoulder shot when Kenny is talking to and older character. We see the camera is focused on Kenny and the gun in his hand. This scene will make the audience question what Kenny is going to do, and why he has a gun. The camera work used in the trailer cant give to much away to the audience, it needs to keep them guessing. This way it means they will want to see the film after watching the trailer.

The third technical area of the trailer we see is the use of Mise-en-Scene. In horror films Mise-en-Scene is a very conventional area of analysis. In "Demons Never Die" we don't see the villain a great deal, but what we do see of him, we can make out that he is wearing a black mask, and his choice of all black clothing follows conventional horror themes. In horror films, black is usually chosen for the villain/murderer to wear as we associate the colour black with death. We also see the use of props throughout the trailer, at the start of the trailer we see Kenny with a gun, as the trailers goes on, we see that the villain carries a black handled knife. These weapons reconstruct the theme of terror. These weapons will be what kill people in the film, the last thing some of his victims will see. The weapons that the murderer uses to kill his victims will be the ones that people remember. It will be something significant, a weapon that would stand out to the audience. So that every time the weapon is seen, the audience will know what is coming.

The last technical area we can analyse from this trailer is use of sound throughout the trailer. Through sound it allows us to understand a lot about the trailer, with the use of scripting we learn that a young girl has committed suicide and that a group of people come together to follow in her footsteps. We also see a non digetic music added in post production throughout the trailer. The music at the start of the trailer is quite slow, and reflects what is happening in the trailer. When the trailer picks up, with more action and horror going on the music changes to a more up beat song. We also hear a beat every time a different title screen is shown. This beat catches the audiences attention, to what is being said on the screen. The non digetic music is added to catch the audiences attention, and create a certain type of tension within the audience. Scripting is the main area of sound that is used through the trailer, we hear a lot of screams from different characters when they are being attacked. This is a common conventional theme in horror films. The scream allows the audience to know that something bad is happening. 

Research into Similar Tasks - Hannibal Rising Poster

The promotional poster for "Hannibal Rising" is an extreme close up of the young Hannibal himself. The audience can instantly create a link with the main character. The poster follows the route of the eye, a conventional theme amongst film posters. At the top of the poster we see the main characters death ridden red eyes, through the middle of the poster we see the quote "It started with revenge" then at the bottom of the poster we see the title of the film.  Through Mise-en-Scene we also see the use of props in the poster, we can see how the character is wearing a face restraint or a muzzle. This instantly shows the audience that this is villain. The restraint also adds a small amount of tension to the audience, why would he be wearing a muzzle? By making the audience ask questions about thing son the poster it will make them more likely to go and want to see the film, to answer these questions. The main colour theme on the poster is black, red, and gold. The black background of the poster resembles our link with the colour black and the idea of death. the red that we see in Hannibals eyes resembles the idea of blood. The poster itself doesn't give much away to the audience about what the film entails. The film is a sequel, but instead of the film progressing, it is a sequel showing the life of Hannibal as a younger boy, and how he became what he is today.