Wednesday 10 December 2014

Planning: Cast

Main female actress (Melissa):

This is the actress that has been chosen to play the main female protagonist in our teaser trailer. I think that the actress is a good choice as she looks sophisticated and someone who could pass as being in her early 20s, the age range we wanted for the character. In some ways, the actress may not be a convincing 20 year old female, however, as we are producing a teaser trailer, many of the shots will be quickly edited and will mainly be medium shots or close ups of the actress and so this shouldn't be too much of a problem. The way that the actress is presented in the image is the way we want to her to be presented in our teaser trailer, like an everyday woman that the audience can easily relate to and empathise with. As seen in the picture, we want her to wear generally natural make up and wear everyday clothing that present her as a casual, middle class woman. In terms of practicality, the actress is one of my friends, and so it is easy for her to be able to arrange transport with myself and arrive at the locations on time, as communication won't be an issue. The actress also studies Theatre Studies at A Level, and is experienced in acting and so we believe she will be able to portray a convincing female protagonist within our teaser trailer.

Main male actor (Josh):

This is the actor that has been chosen to play the main male protagonist in our teaser trailer. We think that the actor is a good choice as although he is only in his teens, he could easily pass for someone who is in his early 20s, and as previously said above, as the shots of the character will be very quick and focus on particular parts of the body, the fact that the actor isn't actually in his 20s shouldn't be an issue. The actor pictured is presented in a similar way as to how we want him to be presented in our trailer, like a stereotypical heterosexual male that are conventional of supernatural horrors. In terms of practicality, the actor is actually me so there will be no problems with transport, locations and communication.



Antagonist:

For our antagonist, no actor is going to be cast as it is conventional for supernatural horrors to not show the antagonist as it is usually a ghostly figure that makes themselves known by causing havoc around the house instead of ever being seen. We could cast an actor, but to maintain a convincing final product, we feel that adding a seen antagonist could make the teaser trailer seem slightly amateurish and unprofessional, especially due to the lack of special effects that we have access to. 

Tuesday 9 December 2014

Planning: Call Sheet


Date
Time
Location
Cast
Technical
Scene
December 29th
9:00am-12:00pm
Tab’s house
Tabitha Jones
Charlie Milne
Equipment:
- Camera
- Tripod
- Lighting
Costumes:
- Charlie: casual clothing
- Tabitha: casual clothing & natural make-up
External scene – the family arrive at their new home
(scene 1)
January 5th
4:00pm-8:00pm
Charlie’s house
Tabitha Jones
Charlie Milne
Harry Milne
Equipment:
- Camera
- Tripod
- Lighting
Costumes:
- Charlie: casual clothing
- Tabitha: casual clothing & natural make-up
- Harry:
casual clothing
Internal shots – inside the house where the family first enter their new home
(scene 2-3)
January 6th
4:00pm-10:00pm
Charlie’s house
Tabitha Jones
Charlie Milne
Harry Milne
Equipment:
- Camera
- Tripod
- Lighting
Costumes:
- Charlie: casual clothing & pyjamas
- Tabitha: casual clothing & pyjamas, natural make-up
- Harry: casual clothing & pyjamas
Internal shots – where the family begin to experience paranormal happenings
(scene 4-8)

Sunday 7 December 2014

Planning/Research: Props

Here is a few of the props that we are thinking of including in our supernatural horror teaser trailer, based on our narrative idea and the conventional props typically seen within the genre.

Blood is one of the most commonly seen icons within the horror genre, specifically in slasher horror but still occasionally within supernatural horrors as well. It is used to gain a shock effect for the audience, and some fans of the genre may enjoy watching gore when watching films. Blood is always from the protagonists in the film, and is caused by the harm of antagonists (ghosts/evil beings). I may use blood within my teaser trailer, however to a limited extent as using fake blood can look slightly amateurish and may affect the authenticity of the product.

A ouija board is typically seen within the genre as they are used as a way to connect with the supernatural world. They are used for the protagonists in the film to try and get answers from the antagonists who targeting them throughout the narrative. We may include this within our teaser trailer as many supernatural horrors include them and therefore it will be identifiable for fans, including Paranormal Activity (2009), The Pact (2012), and Ouija (2014).



Suitcases may not be one of the stand out conventional props within horrors, but it relates to the very typical storyline of a family moving into a new house, thus becoming an icon of the genre. Suitcases is a prop that we will definitely use in our trailer as it links to our narrative and the conventions of supernatural horrors. 


Planning: Production Schedule

Pre-production

1. Storyboard - 2 hours
2. Scripting - 2 hours
3. Location recce - 1 day
4. Photo stills - 1 day
5. Health & safety - 1 hour
6. Actor/shot list - 1 hour
7. Equipment list - 1 hour
8. Make-up planning - 1/2 hour
9. Costume planning - 1 hour
10. Logistics - 1/2 hour

Production

1. Script/production run-through - 1/2 hour
2. Weather - constant updates
3. Transport - 5-10 minute journeys
4. Lighting - 1/2 hour
5. Costume/props - 1 hour
6. Filming - 2-4 days

Post-production

1. Editing - 3 days
2. Transitions/titles - 2 days
3. Music/soundtrack - 2 days

Monday 1 December 2014

Planning/Research: Soundtrack

Conventionally, supernatural horror films rarely, if ever have popular music as it's soundtrack and they mainly rely on incidental or specially created music which has been crafted specifically for the film's narrative or promotional purposes. This is because popular music is more suited for romance, drama or coming of age films as they target at the audience which listens to popular music the most. Also, using popular music would distract away from the ominous atmosphere that is conventionally created in supernatural horrors and this is why specific music is made as this creates the atmosphere which is needed to scare the audience. A few examples of some soundtracks from some supernatural horrors are below:

Insidious (2011)
This soundtrack features no vocals, also conventional of supernatural horrors as lyrics would distract away from the atmosphere that they are trying to create and it could make it come across quite cheesy. It uses eerie instruments like violins and pianos that create a dark and sinister mood which a soundtrack with vocals and an popular upbeat tune wouldn't achieve.

The Conjuring (2013)
Again, like Insidious, this soundtrack lacks vocals and focuses more on eerie sound effects and instruments to create atmosphere for the audience and to put them on edge. The pitch and volume of the soundtrack differs as it goes along and becomes higher and hints to the audience that something bad is going to happen and adds suspense. It's clear that supernatural horror film soundtracks are often like incidental music, with it's sole purpose to create atmosphere.

From looking at Insidious and The Conjuring and other supernatural horror soundtracks and music, it's clear that the style of them all are very similar and they all follow the same conventions. I will have to follow these conventions, creepy instruments and eerie sound effects with no clear vocals, to make my trailer identifiable for fans of the genre and to create the scary atmosphere that I want our teaser trailer to create. I will look on royalty free music and see if I can find any suitable soundtracks which I can use freely within my film, if not, I will look into using Soundtrack Pro and creating our own soundtrack that uniquely fits with our narrative and theme, whilst creating the exact atmosphere we want and specific times.