Planning/Research: Lighting

Lighting is a key factor within teaser trailers and specifically in supernatural horrors as it is largely responsible for creating the ominous atmosphere which is conventional of the genre. As we are going to have some of our scenes filmed outdoors, specifically at the beginning of our trailer where it sets the scene and the narrative when the family are just moving into their new home, natural lighting will play a huge role for part of our trailer. As we want the weather to be sunny at the beginning to reflect the happy mood at start of the narrative, this could prove difficult as the time of year that I will be filming in is quite unpredictable. We may have to use artificial lighting to solve this problem or try and plan to film on a day where good weather is predicted.

Having the start of a supernatural horror narrative set during the daytime and for the mood to be quite happy is conventional as it contrasts against the bad things that happen during most of the film and also lulls the audience into a false sense of security in teaser trailers. Some examples of the genre which begin like this include:

Sunny weather show in an ES at the beginning of Annabelle (2014) trailer.

Establishing shot at the start of Insidious: Chapter 2 (2014) trailer.

Throughout most of our teaser trailer however, we will be filming indoors. We will have to use the lighting supplied by the house and other lighting equipment to create the effective atmosphere that we are looking for. Conventionally, supernatural horrors are set at night and so we will have to film at a time which reflects this or else it may be unconvincing. Also, typically, a lot of supernatural horror narratives use low key lighting to create a foreboding and scary atmosphere for the audience and reflects the icon nighttime setting.

Low-key lighting shown in an ES in the Sinister (2012) trailer.

We may also use lighting to create shadows in our indoor shots, which are an icon of the genre and add to the eerie atmosphere and sense of the unknown.

The iconic shadow in the classic horror film Nosferatu (1922).

Planning: Target Audience

After researching into the supernatural horror genre, I believe that young adults, aged around 16-25, are best suited to our film. As my questionnaire outlined and from previous supernatural horror film releases, I feel like this is the conventional age range for the genre. I think my general audience will mainly be male as this is a demographic which has been generally proven to watch horrors more.

Here is a more detailed outline of what my specific target audience will be:

• Mainly male
• Aged between 16-25
• Have an interest in the supernatural
• Watch films regularly, specifically horror
• Some of their hobbies would stereotypically include; socialising, partying, going to the cinema, watching films. For fans of the supernatural, more niche hobbies may include ghost hunting and general interest in supernatural occurrences. To make sure my target audience are interested in my film, I may have to include some of these hobbies in my film's trailer.
• Some of the music that they might stereotypically listen to may include; Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Taylor Swift, Calvin Harris, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Jessie J etc. (music stereotypical of the younger generation). Conventionally, music by artists is not used in supernatural horrors however, and so I won't be including any of these artists in my trailer as typically, horrors use incidental music which is specifically composed for the film to create an ominous atmosphere.
• They will most likely attend secondary school, college/sixth form or university. We may feature a teenage character who is the brother/sister of the little boy (protagonist) in the film, and they may attend secondary school. This will allow my target audience to relate to the character within the film and put themselves in their shoes which adds to the sense of fear.
• Some may still be living at home with their parents and family. As my film is based around a family moving in to their new home, this will allow the audience to relate to the narrative.

Even though I have outlined above a specific ideology for my audience, I do not want to limit our target to just that stereotype and I would want to encourage many types of audience to watch our film. I will try and incorporate some of the interests above in our trailer but we won't just exclusively include these things as it may detract people who are not into partying/socialising or don't go to secondary school, and film institutions are always interested in trying to bring in the most money they can at the box office and therefore they need to appeal to a wide audience in some way or another.

Planning: Risk Assessment

Risk	Why?	Prevention
Tripping hazards	We will be using a lot of equipment in order to make our trailer effective and convincing, meaning the risks of trips and falls are quite high. Also, as a lot of our trailer will be filmed in low-key lighting, it may make it even more of a risk.	We will tape all wires onto the floor and make sure all equipment is secure and sturdy. If needs be, we will use torches when filming in low-key lighting conditions to make sure we can see what we are doing.
Equipment and set/props breakages	Like the tripping hazard, as we are using low-key lighting for the majority of our trailer, the likelihood of props and equipment falling or being knocked over is high. If a glass prop breaks this could cause a safety hazard and when filming outside, rain may damage the camera.	We will make sure that we are fully aware of the location that we are using and familiar with where props are to make sure we don’t bump into and knock anything over. We will cover any electrical equipment with covers if rain is an issue and try and make sure we film in dry conditions.
Slippages	Unpredictable weather, especially at this time of year could mean that rain might make filming outside a risk as the outside of our location can become slippy due to mud.	We will wear shoes that have good grip, thus reducing the risk of slippages, but overall, try and plan a day to film when rain hasn’t been forecast.
Cold conditions	As some of our shots, specifically at the beginning of our trailer, will be shot outdoors, cold weather is very likely at this time of year.	We will have to make sure that we do our best to make our actors and us who are filming the trailer are warm and wearing suitable clothing for the weather to prevent us from getting ill.

Planning: Team Member Roles

My partner and I have decided to give each other certain roles ahead of the filming and editing process for our teaser trailer.

Tabitha
My partner Tabitha will be in charge of the production side of our teaser trailer, organising when and how we will be filming our shots, and what equipment we will need and when to book them. She will be taking the main role of producer, and co-director with myself. Tabitha will also be in charge of costume and make-up, analysing the conventional make-up and costumes conventionally used within the supernatural horror genre and applying these to our actors to create realistic characters.

Charlie (myself)
I will be co-directing the teaser trailer with my partner, directing our actors and our cameras to create the right atmosphere and effects that we want to produce within our film. I will also be in charge of the editing process of our teaser trailer, working side by side with Tabitha to create a look that we both agree on and the conventional look of a trailer.

Planning: Location 3

The third location that my partner and I thought was suitable was another fairly large family home that I live in. The house is fairly large like most conventional houses in supernatural horrors, but also just looks like an everyday house that an everyday family would live in. This is effective as we want our audience to feel that what happens to the protagonists (family) in the film, could happen to anyone which heightens their sense of fear and adds to the psychological horror aspects that we may want to include.

The house is also located in a small village, which adds to the sense of isolation that is commonly featured in supernatural horrors. Isolation is often included within the genre as it means that the protagonists feel alone and far away from any help if something bad happens.

Also, in terms of practicality, as it is my house and my partner Tab is one of my close friends, she will easily be able to come over to the location to film. It would also mean that we wouldn't need any formal consent from anybody as we own the location.

Planning: Location 2

The second location that we are thinking of using is a wood next to our previous location. The wood and field is right next to my partners house which means that both locations could be easily incorporated and both could feature in our teaser trailer. Large isolated areas like fields and woods are conventional of supernatural horrors as they add to the narrative of having the characters feel like they are far away from civilisation and any help if something bad happens.

In terms of practicality, this would be an easily accessible location as it is next to my friends house which means that I can easily go to and from the woods/field regularly.

Examples of other supernatural horror films that have been set in woods or other isolated areas include: Mama (2013), The Cabin in the Woods (2012) and The Blair Witch Project (1999).

Planning: Location 1

The first location that my partner and I thought was suitable was a large family home that my partner Tab lives in. The house is fairly large like most conventional houses in supernatural horrors, but also just looks like an everyday house that an everyday family would live in. This is effective as we want our audience to feel that what happens to the protagonists (family) in the film, could happen to anyone which heightens their sense of fear and adds to the psychological horror aspects that we may want to include.

The house is also located in a small village, which adds to the sense of isolation that is commonly featured in supernatural horrors. Isolation is often included within the genre as it means that the protagonists feel alone and far away from any help if something bad happens.

Also, in terms of practicality, Tab is one of my close friends and so using her house as a location would prove helpful as I can easily travel to her house and film.

Research: Questionnaire Results

Q1 - Everybody that I asked thought that supernatural horror was a popular genre. The main reason for this is because they felt that supernatural horror was the most popular genre within horror, which we know is commonly watched by everyone anyway. This was an important question to take note of as my partner and I didn't want to continue to make a trailer for an unpopular film genre as it may have proven difficult to try and attract an audience which is quite small and niche.

Q2 - Most of the people that I asked believed that men are more attracted to supernatural horrors and this generally supports the conventional target audience for horror films and other research that I have conducted. This is because stereotypically females prefer romance films in which they can have an emotional connection with the characters and go on a journey with them, which conventionally isn't a typical narrative in our chosen genre. My partner and I are now going to make sure that we aim our trailer at more of a male audience to fit supernatural horror conventions and the advice from our target audience.

Q3 - When asking our target audience what age group they felt best suited a supernatural horror genre, they thought that 16-25s were the best choice, which is the age that we wanted our trailer to be aimed at anyway. This supports previous research that I have collected as conventionally younger audiences are more likely to watch horror films as they are more likely to want to feel scared when they go to the cinema. We may include some themes or characters that relate to a younger audience more, for example, a teenage brother/sister who our target demographic can relate to.

Q4 - Half of our target audience thought that there shouldn't be another sub genre linked in to our supernatural horror narrative and I generally agree as supernatural horrors are very popular as it is, as my research and this questionnaire has proven, and I think that incorporating more than one would make the specific genre less clear and harder to show clear conventions that are identifiable for fans of supernatural horrors. However, we may include aspects of psychological horror as they could subtly go hand in hand as we do want our audience to feel that what is happening to our protagonists in the film, could happen to anybody.

Q5 - Most of our target audience felt that the antagonist in the trailer should not be seen, which would fit to supernatural horror conventions as they typically feature ghosts which aren't generally seen anyway. Also, as our budget is very low and we don't have access to high quality special effects, and so the inclusion of a supernatural being shown on screen could look a bit naff and reduce the authenticity of the trailer.

Q6 - In our last question, most of our target audience believed that a supernatural horror should be set in a large house. This fits to the codes and conventions of most other supernatural horrors as typically they are set in big and old family homes as it directly links to the audience as it makes them feel that it could happen to everyday people like themselves. We are going to set our narrative in a large house to fit to these conventions and our target audiences opinion.

Research: Target Audience Questionnaire

Do you consider supernatural horror to be a popular genre?

Yes: ||||||
No:              

What gender do you feel is more suited to this genre?

Male: |||||

Female: |

Which age group do you think best suits this genre?

16-25: ||||

25-35: ||

35-45:

45 and over:

Are there any sub-genres that you would like to see with supernatural horror, if so, which?

Slasher:

Psychological: ||

Science Fiction:

Action:

Gothic:

Thriller: |

None: |||

Do you think that the antagonist should be seen in a supernatural horror?

Yes:

No: ||||||

Where do you think a supernatural horror should be set?

Large house: ||||

School:

Woods: |

Abounded building: |

Research: BBFC Film Certificates

The British Board of Film Classification provides films with age ratings and certificates depending on their content and how suitable they are for certain audiences. The lowest certificate that a film can get is a U (Universal) which means that the film is suitable for all ages. The highest certificate that a film can get is an R18 which means that the film is only suitable for people over the age of 18 and only allowed to be distributed to sex shops.

The age certificate is conventionally included on posters and DVD covers so that the audience are aware of the age range that are allowed to watch the film. We needed to conduct some research into the different certificates as supernatural horror is quite a versatile genre which could come under many age ratings, and it will help us understand what we can and cannot include in our trailer.

A film is only suitable for people aged 12 or over and not to be watched by anyone below that age.

• Moderate violence is allowed as long as no gore or any graphical images are shown.
• Moderate physical/psychological threat portrayed allowed.
• Moderate strong language allowed depending on it's context.
• Moderate sexual references and discreet sexual activity allowed.

12 certificates are very rarely given to supernatural horrors as they can show a lot of violence and they rely on creating heightened physical and psychological threat throughout their plots to scare their audience. However, some supernatural horrors that have been labeled as 12 controversially including The Woman in Black (2012).

A film is only suitable for people aged 15 or over and not to be watched by anyone below that age.

• Must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.
• Moderate druge misuse but film as a whole must not endorse drugs as a whole.
• Dangerous behaviour allowed as long as it does not create much of an impression on the viewer.
• Use of strong language permitted although frequent strong language may not.
• Sexual activity without strong detail is allowed.
• Strong threat allowed unless sadistic or sexualised. 
• Violence may be strong but not dwell on pain/injury.

Many supernatural horrors are labeled as a 15 including Insidious (2011), Paranormal Activity (2009) and The Conjuring (2013).

A film is only suitable for people aged 18 or over and not be watched by anyone below that age. They can include any of the following themes.

• Hard drug abuse.
• Explicit sex.
• Sadistic violence.
• Sexual violence.

The latter two of which have in the past led to a certificate not being issued at all, in effect banning the film in the UK.

Some supernatural horrors include strong violence and language meaning that they have had to be labelled with an 18 certificate, including The Last Exorcism (2010), Dead Silence (2007), Orphan (2011). Normally most horror films which have an 18 certificate are within the slasher sub-genre, such as the Saw and Scream franchises.

Our supernatural horror film certificate
We have decided to give our film a 15 certificate as we will include some violent behaviour within our trailer but it won't be so strong that it dwells on pain or injury, or makes an impression on the viewer. We will not include strong or discriminatory language, and no sexual activities of any kind and so we believe that a 15 will best suit our film.

Planning: Film Pitch

Planning: Film Pitch