Horror Conventions

Here is a mindmap I created which details all the conventions and typical plot features of your average horror film.

Film Brief

We settled on a action genre for our 2 minute opening scene. The beginning of the scene will introduce our unnamed protagonist and feature him getting off of a train. He'll be wearing a suit, tie and smart shoes so the audience knows he is a professional character. He'll be holding a briefcase that has quite a few close-up shots so the audience knows it is important in the scene. The protagonist will walk through the barriers of the train station which is when we have the first front-on shot of the character.

We'll then have a few establishing shots of a forest or wooded area and track the characters movements through the location. The character will be on the phone talking about "delivering the package soon," so the audience know he is comitting underhand activities or a crime. A mysterious figure will be shown watching the character through the trees, shown in soft focus at first so the audience cannot make out what he looks like, increasing tension. A close-up of the character will be shown as he hears the sound of a twig snapping behind him and turns to see what caused it. An extreme close-up of the man tightening his grip on the briefcase will be shown to reinforce to the audience that this briefcase is important.

After a few seconds of silence, the focus pull of the shot will switch from the background (where the character is) to the foreground to show a crossbow bolt fired into a nearby tree. The focus pull will revert back to the background and show the characters fearful expression before he begins to run away. As he runs, several shots of the mans attacker will be shown, but never in full focus to always obscured by trees to increase the idea of the attacker operating in the shadows, not wanting to be seen. An over the shoulder shot will show the attacker aiming and firing at the man and will quickly cut to a mid-shot of the man falling as he runs with an arrow sticking out of his leg.

The man will shout out in pain and will lie against a tree trunk. A point of view shot from the mans perspective will show the attacker approaching him and stealing the briefcase. Shots will interchange between the attacker forcing the briefcase open and the man looking at his leg with the arrow through it whilst it bleeds. When the attacker cannot open the briefcase, he points the crossbow at point blank range to the mans head and asks him what the code is. The man initially refuses and the attacker twists the arrow deeper into the mans wound as he screams he pain. When the attacker asks again, the man tells him the code, then we have an extreme close-up of the trigger being pulled and hear the sound of the man slumping to the floor. The attacker opens the briefcase and looks inside, a close-up of the man smiling at the briefcases contents is shown. The attacker steals the mans phone and redials the previous number. He says "the package has been delivered." As he walks away from the camera, the titles are shown.

Actor Interview #2

 

We chose this actor as he fits in with our target audience of teenagers and young people in general and also has an interest in media and films so should be a good helping hand production-wise. He also fits our antagonist character description well which will add realism to the characters and the scene overall.

Actor Interview #1

 

We chose to use this actor as he has previous acting experience through his drama work at school and also appeals to our teenage target audience as he is a teenager himself. He also fits the character we have written for him quite well so should hopefully make the film more realistic.

Initial Film Ideas

This is a mind map of our 2 initial film ideas. Neither are fully constructed and we haven't yet chosen a genre or idea to focus on as of yet. After further discussions we'll make our final choice.

Preliminary Task

 

This is our preliminary task. We had to film and edit a short scene that showed match on action and featured a short piece of dialogue whilst keeping to the 180 rule. While we're pleased with our editing of the door opening shots it is clear we have room for improvement. Specifically, what is most dissapointing with the clip is the lack of continuity, as the 2 characters eyelines do not not line up correctly. This takes away from the realism of the scene and makes it look amatuerish. We will keep this mistake in mind in future filming and editing and make sure that continuity is kept throughout the scene. We are still happy with our use of match on action with the door being opened and our understanding of the 180 rule, which hopefully will mean our audience is not confused and know where our characters are in relation eachother.

Research and Planning Targets

Well done Ronnie - a very nice start to your research and planning - but remember to post regularly and push yourself to be independant. For your analysis of opening two minutes make sure you comment on the following things to show a broad understanding and appreciation: Target Audience Narrative Characters Use of titles Pace of editing Mise en Scene Camera Composition Use of sound Genre conventions A really good start - you now need to begin to evidence detailed planning for your production, which needs to be detailed and thorough.