26/03/2010 Evaluation

Evaluation:


Final Film: Damnatio



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIN8NJY-2z4

22/03/2010

Editing:
Today we did the last editing for the film. We decided to make the shot flash when we saw the ghost girl (Amy) several times throughout the film. This made her appear more freaky and more unreal. We also added a distorted screetch when we did this. The effect of this was to make her apperance more shocking to the audience. We did this effectively.

15/03/2010

Editing:
Today we edited the footage of Steph lying dead on the flood. We changed the saturation of it to make it look more drainy and distorted. We also slowed it down which had a good effect. At the end of the sequence we faded the shot to show she was going to hell. This looked effective.

12/03/10

Filming:

Setting: Radnor avenue (Road)

Costume: Stephs dark clothes

Today we filmed our final sequence. This was a high angle shot of Steph lying down dead in the road. We achieved this by using a crane as it allowed us to get the shot from higher up and it meant that there wouldn't be shadows over Steph as we didn't need to lean over her. In order to get a believable shot of her dead we adjusted her body in order to make her look awkward. Unfortunately the floor was wet so we did this as quickly as possible. Luckily our shots didn't look rushed.

It soon started to rain so we covered up and protected our equipment and headed back to school.

We then uploaded our footage. As the crane was handheld some of the shots looked shaky. We immediately dismissed these shots and used the better shots.

11/03/10

Editing:

Today we continued with editing the film. The footage we filmed of amy (ghost) was turned black and white and added as a flash as Steph walked along the bridge. We also sped up these clips in order to make them more distorted and shocking to the viewer. We also edited the shots where Steph walked out the house, saw the ghost and ran down the street. with these shots it was not a matter of making them freaky, just a mater of not making it look jumpy. The aim of these shots was to make it clear that Steph saw the ghost (Amy). We did this by doing an over the shoulder shot from Amy (ghost) watching Steph as she noticed her and then ran off. We chose an over the shoulder shot instead of a point of view shot as it would look odd and unprofessional if Steph was to look directly at the camera.

We managed to edit these shots very successfully and they worked very well in the film.

10/03/10

Filming:

Location: Michaels house and road

Today we shot the scenes of Steph leaving the house and running down the road, in order to better the continuity of our project as the scenes did not connect very well and made the narrative difficult to understand. We used Michael's house because we were able to get there during school time. During the filming we also took a few shots of Amy to add into the flashbacks to make the narrative clearer.

We then uploaded the shots ready to edit on 11/03/10.

09/03/10

Editing:

Today we continued with our editing, however we found that our film was 40 seconds over the designated time, with one more shot still needed. We therefore had to painfully started to cut out shots we thought were less important.

Once we had done this, leaving enough room for the last shot, we finished of the title sequence by choosing a font for the opening titles. However, we had trouble here as well. We found that the font we wanted would only be in black, which would camouflage with the black background. So we experimented with different coloured backgrounds but they did not look very effective. In the end we ended up changing the lighting of the font to make it white against a black background.

We then began to add transitions between the flashbacks and the bridge scene to make it clear that they were memories. To complete the flashbacks we then cut out all diegetic sound and replaced it with non-diegetic music.

Whilst editing later in the day we realised that the last shot where the camera pans down from the bridge to the ghost and the dead body was not a particuarly shocking or memorable way to finish the beggining of our horror film. We then decided that we would re-shoot a new shot on the 10/03/10 to end the film with.

08/03/10

Editing:
Today we had to upload and start editing the shots we filmed in Thamesmead and Kelseys house on Sunday (7/03/10). As we was looking through the shots we found that in a lot of shots there was far too much light. Too much light to the point where we was unable to edit it out. Therefore we cut these shots out of our film straight away. We then cut other shots thar didnt make sense to the film. For example a shot through the trees made it look like the character was in the woods rather then running down an urban pathway. Although we had to cut out a lot of poor shots we found that when it did get darker that the injury inflicted upon the ghost actress (Amy Ling) did not effect the quality of our other shots. We then shortend our good shots and added them appropiately to the film. After this we added more flashbacks as the main character (Steph lau) walkes down the bridge then even more flashbacks at the end of the sequence when she closes her eyes. This made the film as a whole far too long, which was a problem we would have to overcome

7/03/2010

Filming:

Setting: Bridge, roads and pathways, House

Location: Thamesmead, Kelseys house (selsey crescent)

Props: Costume, picture frames

Today was our final big chunk of filming. We had to do this in a relatively deserted run-down area to show isolation. However as the area was run down we had to take special precautions and make sure the cameras were not damaged or stolen. We had to take a variety of shots from different angles so we used the many sets of staircases and walkways in order to achieve this. We also filmed through bushes and trees in order to get interesting shots.

During the day of filming we came across a big problem when the "ghost actress" Amy Ling fell over onto concrete, cut her knee and damaged her clothing. This put us in an awkward situation as we had to take into account the well-being of our actress. However she insisted that we finished off our last few shots (Bridge shot, motorway shot). Although we was still able to film our last few shots we could not film from the front of her body due to the damaged costume. Fortunately we was alble to overcome this problem by filming from behind or not filming her legs. Some shots were a bit rushed but as we took several of each shot, this did not effect us too much.

Also today we had to re-shoot the picture frame shot. This is when the main character (Steph lau) walks past pictures of her friends and then they change to the face of the ghost. We had to re-shoot this as the original shots looked very jumpy and were not good enough to be used in the film. This time we made sure the camera did not move at all and took two shots of Steph walking past the picture frames. One were her friends were in the picture and one were the ghost was in the picture. As she walked past the camera and blacked out the screen, we cut the shot and switched to the shot were the ghost was in the pictures. This gave the effect that the pictures changed as she walked past.

This was a good day of filming and we overcome all of our problems successfully.

4/03/2010

Filming + Editing:

Setting: Woods

Locaton: Danson park

Today we filmed our final woods scene. This involved the main character running away from the death through the woodland areas of Danson park. Firstly we took an aerial shot from a tree showing the character. This was awkward to film as it involved taking the equipment into an unsecure tree. We also took an over shoulder shot of the main character running and a close up on her face when she was running so we had a variety of shots.

The set was relatively muddy which made the running shots harder to film. However we dealt with this problem efficiently. We then uploaded the footage and edited it accordingly.

2/03/2010

Editing:

Whilst editing the film today we realised that the "phone text shot" was not successful. It looked amateurish and had no relevance to the film. However the shots and the idea of being woken by at item was good so we decided to change it to an alarm. However this did mean that we had to re-shoot a couple of shots. As we now had a lot of new shots to film we decided to write up a new shooting schedule.

3/3/2010- House scene Re-shoots and establishing shot of house.

4/2010- Walking shots of girl.

7/3/2010- Outside shots, (running scene, suicide scene)

We also added credits to the beginning of the film. This involved sped up flashbacks followed every few seconds by a blacked out screen showing the production details. This was done very well and with slight development will be very effective in the final piece.

1/03/2010

Editing:

Today we continued with editing the film. We added the uncanny track "Some things" as our music during the house scene until we saw the ghost. When this occurred we layed more freaky music "mystery accent" over the top to emphasise how shocking the moment was. This was when the ghost was seen in the mirror, through the stair case and in he cupboard. We also changed the appearance of all the flashbacks (woods sequence) in order to make distorted. We added the dream effect and changed the saturation in order to make it black and white. We also started cutting down the length of some of the first few house shots and we noted down were we needed to re-shoot and where we needed to add a shot. This was the shot after the girl wakes up and the bathroom shot.

25/02/2010

Editing:

Today we edited non-diegetic sound. We searched through the computer to find suitable sound for each scene of our project.

Our final decision overall for the sound in the film were as follows:

Heavy Rain and Thunder- This gave an eerie effect to the woods scene. As we had to cut out the diegetic sound as it was not useable we used this sound effect to make the scene more realistic.

Amanda- this is from the Saw soundtrack. We also used this in the woods scene to add suspense to the scene. We found this sound worked well as it added suspense and eeriness to the scene.

Mystery accents- we used mystery accents every time the ghost comes into view in the house scenes. This draws emphasis to the fact the character is in the scene and adds a frightening feel as whenever the viewer hears it they know danger is near.

Some Things- This is also from the Saw soundtrack and we used this over the house scenes. It worked well because it is slow and eerie. It makes the girl seem vulnerable as it is slow and it creates a sense of danger because of it's low tone.

Shithole- From the Saw soundtrack. This is more fast paced music that we used for when the character is running after she sees the ghost. It shocks the viewer because it is the first fast paced sound we have used and it adds a sense of panic and distress.

Confrontation/ Dark Walk- We used confrontation and Dark walk together for when the character is walking up the stairs to the bridge. We used these sounds because they emphasise the fact that she has decided what she is going to do- that she is going to kill herself. It creates a more calming effect that puts the viewer on edge because it is such a change from previous music and they wonder what is going to happen next.

Heartbeat- The heartbeat is used for the flashbacks on the bridge. It makes us feel uneasy because we feel as though we are hearing and seeing inside the girl. It also emphasises the panic she has inside because the beat is so loud.

Prologue- The Saw soundtrack. This we used for when the girl has killed herself. It gives a sense of finality and sadness.

23/02/2010

Filming:

Today, as the weather had improved we took a couple of flashback shots in the woods in Danson park. Although a different location to Oxleas woods, the tree and plant species are the same and so there is no noticeable differences. We had to film the Ghost girl in the flashback from an aerial point of view whilst she was walking, which we shot from a tree. This gave us another odd distorted angle. We also filmed the girl through a bush to give the feeling she was being watched. We did each of these a couple of times from slightly different angles in order to get the best result.

22/10/2010

Editing:

This was our first day back in school in which we began gathering and editing our shots. As we had filmed a large variety of shots for the
same scene we had a lot of footage to chose from, although this took a lot of
time the variety meant we could choose the shots we thought were best. We were pleased with a majority of our footage, however there were shots that were in need of reshooting and those which we thought did not work at all.

We were most happy with the footage we filmed in the woods, as we were concerned the bad weather conditions would effect the quality of film, however instead it added to the effect, particularly with the diegetic sound. Also, again we had filmed numerous different angles and shots which gave us a large option to choose from.
We then arranged another day in which we were to re-film and complete the scenes at Kelsey's House.

18/02/2010

Filming:

Props: Alcoholic beverages, Cigarettes, Cross necklace

Costume: White dress, Casual clothing

Setting: Oxleas Woods

This was our second day of filming and it was conducted with a lot of actors/actresses in Oxleas Woods, Shooters hill. We only had a short window in which to film as we needed to start filming in the afternoon with the right amount of lighting. Also the dull, wet weather conditions shortened out filming windows although the conditions did act as pathetic fallacy and so were beneficial to our film.

The aim of the day was to film our flashbacks from wierd and distorted angles. Although there wasn't that many shots to make, we experimented to try and discover brilliant shots that could be used. We overcame the rain by covering most of the camera in a plastic bag and by filming a lot under the canopy of the trees.

This day of filming was also relatively successful although the weather conditions may have made some of the shots slightly shaky.

15/02/2010

Filming:

Props: Rose, Mirror picture frame, Cross Necklace.
Costume: White dress, casual clothes
Setting: House

This was our first day of filming and it was conducted at Kelsey's house in Welling. We met at 1 in the afternoon and were filming to 7 o'clock.
Our aim was to film all of our daytime shots before it got dark to keep the lighting consistent and to them out of the way to start editing to allow us to start on the outdoor scenes.

Unfortunately, the tripod we were using was faulty and would not secure the camera completely, we went back to school in order to exchange tripods but there were none left. However, we managed to carry on filming by balancing the camera on top of the tripod which we believed was still as effective.
We took several takes for each shot in order to get a wide variety of options whilst editing and we often realised there was something that flawed the shot, such as a tripod in view, so we took another shot at the time.

Although we got the majority of shots completed, we were unable to finish as we were missing certain props (photographs) and it was getting dark which meant we were unable to film outside shots.
The days filming was relatively successful, however after watching back our film we found certain shots that we want to reshoot, and some we want to get rid of altogether.

Filming Schedule

Monday 15th Feb:

Location-

• Kelsey's house

Props-

• Amy's costume
• Steph's costume
• Pictures of Amy and group of friends
• Picture Frames
• Camera and tripod

Tuesday 16th Feb:

Location-

• Selsey Crescent
• Bexleyheath Car Park

Props-

• Amy's costume
• Steph's costume
• Camera and tripod

Thursday 18th Feb:

Location-

• Oxleas woods
• Kelsey's house

Props-

• Alcohol
• Cigarettes
• Amy's costume
• Steph and friends costumes
• Camera and tripod

Saturday 20th

Re-shoots

Shooting Plan

Characters
Haunted Main Girl:

• Stephanie Lau

Ghost:

• Amy Ling

Teenagers:

• Kelsey James
• Sophie Sparksman
• Kloe Curtis
• Nancy Campopiano
• Caroline Gittins
• Robyn Lidsey
• Sam Turner
• Gary Anderson
• Donald Mustafa
• George Giles
• Reece Smith
  
  Props
• Alcoholic beverages
• Cigarettes
• Mirror
• Picture frames and photographs
• Cross necklace
  
  Settings
• Oxleas Woods
• Kelsey James' house
• Broadway car park Bexleyheath
  
  Costumes
• Young girl in woods - white dress
• Ghost - black dress
• Teenagers in woods - regular clothing
• Main girl - dark/red clothes

Final Story Board

Story Board Draft 2

Story Board Draft 1

Damnatio Pitch

11/01/2010

We spent this lesson brainstorming different ideas for films we thought would allow us to make an effective opening. Before thinking of an opening

Target Audience Questionnaire

As part of our research into horror films, we created a questionaire aimed at teenagers. It consisited of six questions we believed would help us establish what we needed to include in our horror opening and what we should avoid.

Q1.

Q2.

Q3.

Q4.

Q5.

Q6.

Past Production Review: Distortion

This past production uses many conventions typical to the horror genre. For example, the setting is in a dark alley at night, alleys are viewed as dangerous scummy settings and this is emphasized by the rubbish and bottles on the floor. Darkness is a very common convention and having the film set at night emphasizes this as it represents isolation and gives and eerie and uncanny feeling to the audience. The lighting was used very effectively in this piece and we could learn a lot from it as the faces were kept in darkness and characters walked in and out of pockets of light; this representing the girl leaving the more comforting feel of being in the light, to the mysterious and dark alley. The character being pursued is also a teenage girl; which is a common convention in horror films as they are seen as being vulnerable. It was fast paced which kept the audience on their toes. There was not any noticeable diegetic sound, however the diegetic of her walking seemed to emphasise her loneliness as is show just how isolate she is. There was also a lot of high pitched sounds and added noises played during he girls chase that were jumpy. However, the opening did not have a clear narrative, which is important in making the scene make sense, and instead left me feeling confused. This is something we should take note of when making our film.

Past Production Review: Don't Look Back

The film uses many typical conventions, for example the location as a house is uncanny and is frightening to the viewer as it gives a sense of realism. Also the fact that it is set at night makes the scene more eerie and emphasizes the isolation, which is also done in many horror films. Another typical convention is the music used, both diegetic and non-diegetic sound; the classic string, repetitive music and the girls scream at the end is what you expect to hear in any horror film. The fact that the victim is a teenage girl is also conventionally used as they are seen as the weaker sex and being more vulnerable. The mask of the antagonist also acts a traditional convention. The beginning, establishing shot of the house was effective in setting the mood as, to the viewer, it was as though the shot was a point of view of the antagonist, watching the house. Another thing i found effective was the props used; for example the created news story on the laptop made the whole plot line more realistic and believable. I also liked the use of the flashing lights, as it was unnerving for the audience and created a sense of confusion and disorientation. The loss of light also symbolised the sudden danger the girl is in, as light normally symbolises safety and hope, so the loss of it puts the viewer on edge. The use if mirrors was also very effective and added to the sense of disorientated aswell as allowing us to get a glance of the antagonist. The music was also cleverly used as the stringy music is unnerving and the continuous, repetitiveness of it gives the sense that is it leading up to something. Aswell as this the music speeds up and gets louder the nearer the the girl gets to danger creating fear within the viewer. However, the only problem i have with the film is that it is a very stereotypical, predictive storyline, in particularly the ending when the girl is grabbed from behind with a knife to her throat. This is something i will take into account when creating my own horror film; to try to come up with a more original idea that will shock the viewer, aswell as taking now of all the conventions pulled off very effectively in the film.

Past Production Review: Abandonment

This past production uses many conventions typical to the horror genre. For example the location is in the woods, an already unsettling setting that is conventionally used in scary films. Also the main character is a girl on her own, making her vulnerable which is a commonly used in horror films. Although there was both diegetic and non diegetic sound, the only diegetic was from her walking and calling her dog, emphasizing the fact she is alone. Her scream at the end also is a common diegetic sound of horror films. The non diegetic sound was low pitched, repetitive music, which created an even more eerie feel to the film. The use of a variety of camera shots and angles is very effective, especially the point of view shots from the killer's perspective, which built tension because the audience was able to see where the killer was, even though the character could not, creating dramatic irony. Also, the flashback shots of the rope hanging from a tree was effective because it foreshadowed the death of the girl and also added more background to the narrative, aswell as making the audience feel more uneasy and worry about the girls fate. One of the things that i believe worked against the film was the unrealistic aspect, as the girl seemed to give up after calling her dog back twice, and instead throws the lead to the ground and walks off into the woods, which is quite obviously not what would happen in real life. This in particular is what i will make sure doesn't happen in my film as personally, it took a lot of the fear out of the film and instead made it rather comical. The final shot was my favourite as it concluded the story well and evoked fear in the audience, as the loud, irritating sound of the phone was uncanny and made the viewer question why it is the girl can't answer the phone, fearing the worst. The shot of the hanging feet also proved to be terrifying as it was quite obvious what had happened to the girl, and acted as an effective finish to the film. We will take all of these aspects into account when creating our own film, as it showed us what was successful in scaring the audience, for example the point of view shot from the antagonist, and what was not as effective such as the fact a wider variation of camera shots and angles could of been used.

A Nightmare On Elm Street

A Nightmare on Elm Street is a 1984 American horror film directed and written by Wes Craven, and the first film of the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Set in the fictional Midwestern town of Springwood, Ohio, the plot revolves around several teenagers being terrorized in their nightmares by the ghost of a serial child murderer named Fred Krueger. A Nightmare on Elm Street has become one of the most popular entries in the horror genre and the film's villain, Fred Krueger, has become one of the most well recognized villains in cinema history. Both critics and Craven have mentioned that the film owes some of its success to John Carpenter's Halloween.

Common Conventions:

• Girl victim
• lack of light
• religious props
• white dress

Mise en Scene:

• isolated location emphasises how alone she is and her vulnerability. This makes the scene more surreal, which makes it more believable that it is a dream.
• There is an unrealistic prop of a goat running through the hallway which also adds to the surreality of the scene. The goat emphasises that it is a dream because it is not a normal thing to see in a workshop.
• The floor in the warehouse is flooded which connotes danger and also puts the girl in a vulnerable position where she can easily be hurt.
• When the girl wakes up from her dream there is a crucifix on the wall in her room which has religious connotations. When she takes it off the wall and holds it to her heart it shows that she is reliant on religion and it makes her feel safe.
• The girls costume is a white night dress and this represents the innocence and vulnerability of the girl. When she wakes up the dress is ripped to show the destruction of innocence and the attack of vulnerable girls.
• The killer in the warehouse is fashioning a glove out of knives. He is using instruments such as hammers, saws, files and screwdrivers to fix these knives to the glove. These tools are all dangerous which adds to the feel of uncertainty and fright during the scene, not only is he using them with skill to show his capability but he is using them to make another more menacing weapon. The glove is also a symbolic prop of the film overall as the weapon the antagonist uses to kill his victims.

Sound:

• In the beginning sequence the non-diegetic sound is chiming and string music. This is a common convention used in horror films because the sound is eerie and builds tension a lot as viewers know that the music often leads up to a dramatic scene.
• The diegetic sound includes the girl's footsteps running through the water, adding to the effect the water has of making her seem vulnerable. Also the goat bleats which not only makes the character jump but disturbs the audience, adding to the surreal feel of the shot.
• Diegetic sound is also heard when the audience can hear the antagonist laughing as he is chasing the girl and the girl panicking and screaming. This builds tension as we cannot see the killer but we can hear him so we know he is around, and we know that the girl is distressed.
• The children singing in the scene emphasises innocence and vulnerability

Camera Movements/Shots/Angles:

• The camera tracks the girl as she moves around the warehouse, and it is an over shoulder shot so that the audience feels uneasy as they cannot see what is behind her. Also it allows the viewer to feel part of the scene and feel like they are in the same position as the character.
• There is also lots of close ups of the weapons and tools the killer uses. The close ups shock us and make us aware that the man in the warehouse is dangerous.
• When the killer catches the girl we have an over shoulder shot from him so we never actually see his face. This makes the viewer feel uneasy because they do not know who the killer is and therefore we are unaware as to when the characters are in danger, until we see the weapons. It also leaves the audience in suspense to find out who the killer is.
• When the girl wakes up from her dream there is an establishing shot of her in be. This allows the viewer to see her room and everything around it. Everything is white, again emphasising innocence, and the bedroom is the same as any average bedroom, which makes it uncanny and relatable.

Editing:

• The shots are very face paced during the dream sequence when she is being chased, creating confusing and building tension, making the chase more dramatic.
• When she wakes up however the shots go back to a slower pace which emphasises how she is back to reality and normality and to put the audience at ease as she is.

Halloween

Halloween, directed by John Carpenter, is a 1978 American independent slasher film set in the fictional suburban mid-western town of Haddonfield, Illinois, USA on Halloween. The central theme of the film is Myers' escape from a psychiatric hospital and his subsequent murder of a number of teenagers, whilst Dr. Loomis' attempts to track and stop him. Halloween is widely regarded as a classic among horror films, and as one of the most influential horror films of its era.

Common Conventions:

• Halloween uses many traditional horror conventions in order to scare viewers. These conventions include the sound, lighting editing and mise en scene. However, aswell as these conventions, there is one particular aspect used in the film which broke out from the stereotypical horror conventions and started of a new craze in the horror film genre; the way in which the opening of the film was shot.

Mise en Scene:

Sound:

Camera Movements/Shots/Angles:

Editing:

Jacob's Ladder

Written by Jean-Marc Rocher, Jacob's Ladder tells the srory of a New York postal worker Jacob Singer who is trying to keep his frayed life from unraveling. His days are increasingly being invaded by flashbacks to his first marriage, his now-dead son, and his tour of duty in Vietnam. Athough his new wife tries to help Jacob keep his grip on sanity, the line between reality and delusion is steadily growing more and more uncertain.

Opening scene focuses of Jacob's ladder. The opening scene of the film focuses on Jacob as he is stuck in a uncanny underground system at night as he starts to experience weird happenings.

Common conventions:

• the uncanny day today situation
• sound of footsteps
• small pockets of light
• lack of sound
• Diagetic unsettling noises
• claustrophobic enclosed spaces.

  Mise En Scene:
• Work clothes; shows how it is normally casual and he is totally unprepared.
• Underground train carriage; makes a dark and claustrophobic environment. We are placed in the train as well and claustrophobia is a common fear.
• We are always placed in the dark, this means we can’t see what’s behind us or what he is looking at.
• The rats show how he is not alone. It also shows how dirty and vermin filled the setting is. Rats and rodents are also another common fear. The wet and dirt everywhere also shows vermin and makes you feel like your in hell.
• Every time something new is introduced the carriage goes dark: This is to build suspense and makes us feel unsettled. It also shows that each thing is a possible threat.
• Poster says “HELL” in red.- Red is the same colour of blood. Red is also associated with danger as is the bold letters. It is also a form of dramatic irony.
• The metal bars, gates and locks. - Implies that Jacob is imprisoned or trapped. Again makes us feel claustrophobic.
• You can’t see through the windows- This creates tension as you don’t know what is there or where you are.
• Shadows- These create more dark areas and give the feeling that something is lurking or following Jacob. This makes the audience feel uneasy that something will jump out.

  
  

  Sound:
• Every time it goes dark the train squeals louder, almost like a scream. This is an uncanny as this normal sound is made out to be much more terrifying and irritating that makes the audience feel unsettled. It also created tension as we can’t see what’s happening or were anything is.
• General squeaky sounds of the train- makes the audience feel uneasy.
• Jacob's footsteps emphasises how lonely he is. The echoing footsteps in the background however create tension as they show how he may not be alone.
• Repetitive background sound- raises tension

  
  

  Camera Movements/Shots/Angles:
• Low angled wide shots of Jacob (establishing shot) - shows his isolation from the world and his loneliness.
• Shot through class of Jacob- shows how unaware he is of his surroundings. As the audience is placed on the train with him it makes us feel uneasy as it also looks like somebody is watching through the window.
• Extreme high angle from the stairs- shows how powerless and small Jacob is. Also makes Jacob look like he’s caged in.
• Multiple tilted angles- These are abnormal and make the audience feel unsettled as they make the shot uncanny.
• Pans across the train- shows the audience all the props and gives us an establishing shot of the train.
• Upwards tilt on the tramp/demons body- unveils him, creates mystery and tension as we wait for it to be shown to us.
• The camera slowly follows Jacob- makes the audience feel unsettled as it’s as if something’s following Jacob and we can’t see what it is.
• Shaky point of view shot- shows fear in Jacob and creates realism.

  
  Editing:
• Slow cuts until the train almost hits him.
• Zoom on Jacob- establishes that it’s dawned on him that he’s trapped. The chains, which represent hell and imprisonment, also do this.

The Ring (Japanese Version)

The Ring is a film about a cursed, disturbing videotape that, when watched, will cause the viewer to die a week after. The Ring (Japanese: リング Ringu) is a 1998 Japanese horror mystery film by Hideo Nakata, adapted from the novel of the same name by Koji Suzuki, which draws from the Japanese folk tale Banchō Sarayashiki. The film was later remade in the United States as The Ring (2002). The film is the highest grossing horror film in Japan at 12 billion yen ($137.7 million) and is also considered the most frightening horror film in Japan.

Common Conventions:

• Using music to create tension
• Darkness and shadows
• vulnerability of women
• comfy clothes
• using an uncanny house

Mise en scene:

Set in domestic house; this is meant to make the audience feel uneasy and make the house seem uncanny as it is decorated in the right way.

There are only small pockets of light and all light is few and far between and causes shadows on people and objects. The TV is one of the main sources of light. It lets out a blue glared light to show distortion and that there’s something wrong with it. The poor lighting in general shows how they are surrounded by darkness which is symbolic to danger. This is a precursor to the audience of what will happen next.

When in the kitchen half the room is contrasted in darkness and half the room is poorly lit. This is to show the thin line between danger and safety. This again is uncanny to the audience. The darkness of the living room shows its deep like a cave.

The young girl wears a hoody and skirt; the hoody emphasises that she how casual and unprepared she is. The skirt is iconic of young women which reminds the audience just how vulnerable and weak she really is.

Sound:

As usual, the non dietetic sounds involved stringy music which sounded like broken and deformed chords that made the characters seem lost. It is also unpleasant for the audience to hear so it makes them feel uneasy.

Silence: Often during the dialogue the music and background noise is silence. This creates tension as it makes the audience feel paranoid that something will make them jump.

The girl’s whisper: The two girls whisper when they don’t need to. This again makes the audience feel paranoid that they are trying to avoid something that’s watching them.

The dialogue in general is used for normality to set the audience in false sense of security which makes the film seem more realistic.

An example of this is the ringing of the phone. This breaks the silence and the high pitched sound is irritating and makes the audience feel uneasy. The sound of the ringing also breaks the laughing of the girls making them feel uneasy and afraid. As the ringing of the phone doesn’t stop it implies that the danger won’t go away. This situation has been made very uncanny.

The TV in the living room: When it comes on it makes very distorted, un-nerving and obscure sounds. It is Incongruous and builds a lot of tension and suspense to what it is.

Editing:

The TV in the bedroom has been given a blue film to create distorted and weird shadowing on the room and characters.

Cross cuts- Goes from the characters looking to what they are looking at. This is so we have a delayed reaction of what’s going on. The cross cuts give us a panoramic view gives us a point of view of what the characters can see which makes the situation seem more real to the audience as it seems like we are in their shoes. As the cross cuts speed up this creates and increases tension.

Camera Movements/Shots/Angles:

Shots close to girls- This is to make the audience feel like were right behind them in the situation. Also the fact that we then couldn’t see behind us was to induce fear in us because we couldn’t see what was going on.

Camera moves out of TV- This shows us that this object is of upmost importance in the film and that we as the audience should be focusing on it.

Over shoulder shot- This makes it look like somebody is watching them. It could also again make the audience feel like they are in the house in the situation.

Close ups- makes us feel claustrophobic and builds up suspension. The close ups also show the emotions of fear and this is meant to be transported onto us.

The mid shots- These mean we can see the darkness and shadows behind the characters. It is suppose to make us feel paranoid that there is something in there.

Tilt shot of clock- The tilt shows distortion and makes the clock seem uncanny and having a low angle of it shows its dominance over us and the characters. That time is controlling them and has some kind of power.

High angle when TV turns on- This shows isolation and emptiness of the house. It gives an uncanny atmosphere.

How Horror Films Have Changed and Adapted Over Time

Over the years the horror genre has been forced to change and adapt to suit audiences as not to become boring and predictable and instead continue to entertain and scare viewers. These changes include the plots becoming more complex and psychologically baffling, a change in the way films are shot and arranged and the blood and gore has increased to shock the viewers more and more. Here is an overview of the way the genre has changed from the 30s to the present day:

• 1930’s – horrors were based on literature and films such as Dracula and Frankenstein were made.
• 1950’s-1960’s – alien and monster movies were created to take away some of the nations fear during the cold war, by allowing human kind to seem in control and as wanting and achieving peace allowing them to escape from the realities of fear of nuclear attack. During this era movies such as Godzilla and Them! were produced.
• 1970’s – realism was introduced to the genre. More relatable films generated more fright during this time. Films such as the legendary Psycho and Halloween were created.
• 1980’s – in the 80’s slashers were the most popular of horror films such as Nightmare on Elm Street. Also special effects were used more and more during this decade creating monsters as the villains resulting in films such as An American Werewolf in London and The Thing.
• 1990’s – psychological thrillers are introduced and fear of the unknown is used widely. Films such as The Blair Witch Project, which was the first of its kind and changed the horror genre completely, introducing a completely unique style. Also films such as se7en had a lot of religious connotations, the victims having to pay for their sins.
• 2000’s – religious connotations followed into the noughties, with films such as Saw being made. Also predictions for world chaos and destruction such as The Day after Tomorrow and 1012, as well as inescapable and unprovoked deaths such as in the film Final Destination. More recently films such as Paranormal Activity and The Orphan have reintroduced psychological horrors.
  

Five Influential Horror Films

Frankenstein (1910)
This is the original film version of the Mary Shelly book and although not known for being particularly scary (and thought to be lost for 50 years) it still influenced the making of 59 remakes between the years of 1915 and 2005. Having a 12 minute running time and being a silent film barely effects how influential the film was for the future of horrors, perhaps because of the strength of the original story.
However it is known as the founder of gothic horror influencing modern blockbusters such as alien and the Childs play series with the theme of monster over paranormal.

The Exorcist (1973)
This film was probably most known for how it properly introduced the “innocent child-evil possessed child” scenario to horror movies. This story line in its self influenced other greats such as The Omen and more modern films such as The Orphan. With such a twisted storyline and characters it was quickly renown as a terrifying and massive influence to films books and Tv around the world.

Don’t Look Now (1973)
In Don’t Look Now, the only true horror film that Roeg has directed, the reading and misreading of signs not only causes anxiety for the spectator but also becomes life-threatening for the characters. Second sight, premonitions, and communications from beyond the grave—all of these flood the screen (and the mind of the protagonist, John Baxter) with fragmented images, pieces of a narrative that resist coherence. Each fleeting glimpse represents only a tiny part of the larger picture, like a mosaic tile, the fragment of a broken mirror, the light reflecting off the canals of Venice, or an individual frame of motion picture film.
Complete with drowned children, a blind seer, an intimidating clergyman, and an impressive gushing of blood Don’t Look Now manipulates the conventions of the horror genre while it adds its own peculiar sense of foreboding. But even in the film’s closing moments, as the fragmented images fall slowly into place, the resolution keeps the film’s final meaning disturbingly elusive. The viewer is left with the question of which of John Baxter’s aphorisms to believe: “Seeing is believing” or “Nothing is what it seems.”

Films influenced by Don't Look Now;

• Flatliners (1990) Boy in red with hood who is haunting Kiefer Sutherland is similar to haunting child (also in red with hood) who Donald Sutherland (Kiefer's dad) keeps seeing in Don't Look Now.
• Dark Water (2005)Ghost of drowned girl in red jacket; sanity of mother questioned; marital discard.
• Hostel (2005)The pursuit of a figure wearing a red coat through the narrow backstreets of a strange city.
• Silent Hill (2006)Recurring motif of parent chasing the ghost of a child
• The Omen (2006)A girl in a shiny red coat whose face is not shown runs through rainy streets in a creepy sequence.
• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)Blood forms a spiral pattern in the opening credits sequence of Sweeney Todd. This red spiral is a recurring motif throughout Don't Look Now (Both films deal with self-destructive obsession).

Dracula (1931)
This movie was also the first of many movies based on the novel, Dracula, written by Bram Stoker. Dracula came out only four years after the first talking picture. Many of these first movies weren't very good because the film studios didn't yet have a grasp on how to pair sound with the visual element. Dracula did a great job with this. Bela Lugosi starred as the title character and his instantly recognisable accent still gives chills to movie goers today. While Frankenstein came out in the same year, Dracula can still be attributed with starting the new monster movie craze. The Mummy (1932) and The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) were soon to follow.

Halloween (1978)
Up until this time, movies have mostly been about monsters, zombies, or ghosts. Halloween presented public with a new subgenre of horror: slasher. Instead of an obvious villain with a large on-screen presence, Halloween showed Michael Meyers, a man of no words. Instead, we watch his destruction unfold as he slaughters numerous horny teenagers. This movie started the large slasher trend that continued into the 1980s. We wouldn't have Friday the 13th (1980) without it. The opening scene of the film is also one of the most memorable, as it is shot from the point of view of the killer, this was the first time something like this was done, and it allowed the audience to take on the persona of the killer aswell as creating dramatic irony.

Why is Horror so Popular?

There are many different genres of film; romance, science fiction, action ect however, arguably one of the most popular being horror. As over hte year and still up to this day it attracts milions of viewers for various reasons;

• Horror films enable viewers to detached themself reality and lose themselves in the polt. They act as an escape from everyday life.
• Provides emotions we don’t normally feel from other genres; fear, thrill and gives on an adrenaline rush!
• Scary films can also be used as bonding experience or social event with friends. This is partiulaly relelevant amonst teengers, as adults normally tend to have a more realistic approach and can be harder to scare.
• Another factor effecting the popularity of horror films it that there is always an audience and rally of supporters for them. Even if a film is given a bad review there are some people who will still go to see it, as a novelty.
• The fact that there are so many horror films means a higher chance of attracting a larger number of viewers. The reason why there are so many films is that film producers like making them, as it lets them experiment and breakout from the normal reality. Aswell as this, horror films are very cheap to make, Particularly because well known actors are hardly ever star in them so cheaper actors can be used.
  • Horror films are watched more than ever during the Halloween holiday as it adds to the atmosphere of the night.
  

The Main Conventions of Horror Films

There are many traditional conventions used in horror films, these conventions give the horror genre their own identity and help in scaring the viewer!

• One of the oldest conventions is the hiding of the antagonist in the darkness. This is a kind of a form of dramatic irony as we can see the antagonist and but the victim cannot.
• The concept of using a shaky camera to show realism is a relatively new convention first used in the 1980’s. However it wasn’t successfully established until the “Blair witch project” in 1999. Since then it has been used in a lot of horrors and psychological thrillers.
• The victim is often only partly dressed. This convention is supposed to show vulnerability. It is also often used to show how they would nakedly exit the world the way they entered it.
• A similar convention is the victim’s costume. They often wear white to show their vulnerability or improper clothing such as night gowns to show how unprepared they are.
• Also due to the stereotype of being weak, women are often the victim, as they are seen to be the more vulnerable sex.
• The high pitched stringy music is one of the very oldest conventions in horrors. Its uses trace back hundreds of years to plays and one of its first film uses were in silent films such as the original Frankenstein in 1910. It is suppose to make the watchers feel uneasy and distort the film.
• Also making the setting of the film isolated is another common convention used in horror films. Used to make the us and the characters feel isolated and lonely it is very effective technique.
• Using a normal place such as a house; but decorating it to look freaky is also a common convention. It makes us feel uncanny and gives us the sense of realism.
• Another convention that has been surfacing over the past 30 years is using children as the antagonists. Children are normally seen as vulnerable innocent and cute. Using them in horror films is seen as freaky and uncanny. This has been used in films such as “The exorcist” and “Halloween”.
• Another convention is how the character often dies after sex. This is because the director is using religion to show that they have sinned. It’s trying to show that death is being used as a punishment. The same concept is used with drugs.
• The antagonist having a mask is also a common convention in horror films. It is partly used to hide the characters face to show dramatic irony and partly used to make us feel uncanny. If the mask is something innocent like a clown it can be made freaky in this situation. This has been used in films such as “Halloween” and the “Saw series”.