Time passing techniques Sunday, March 28, 2010

Techniques found to show time passing on film

- Dissolve between frames, instead of sharp cuts
- Doing a shot away from the action
- Cross-fade from the middle of an action or speech
- Characters shifting position – or new interruptions
- Pan off subject
- Blurring in and out
- Classic clock speeding up
- Day to night time lapse shot
- Reaction shots and speech

Ideas from http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=19580

Mask Research Tuesday, March 02, 2010

In our new narrative, we have decided to mask the murderer. We decided that the scariest masks are the ones that look like scarecrow heads, the ones made from potato sacks.

This mask is a simple design but isn't the scariest of masks and the features aren't like what we had in mind.





This mask is good but doesn't look like we want it to- we want a more sack like look.







This sack mask is good but is hard to be taken seriously as it is smiling. However, it could also been seen as sinister as the smile could be ambiguous- happy smile or the product of satisfaction from killing someone?




This mask is good because it looks angry and is tattered and worn, suggesting that it is well used. It also has stitching over the mouth. We may use this design as it is similar to what we want.





This mask looks really good but it seems too complicated to make in the time we have and again doesn't look sacky.






This mask is really good and fits in well with what we want our mask to look like as it has the stitching over the openings which is really scary. We will probably try to make our mask as similar to this as possible.

Costume make-up: Scarring Tuesday, February 02, 2010

I chose this video because of the colour mixing ideas, as it actually showed the colour that you should be aiming for. This make-up technique is quite subtle however, which might not be the look we want.

The bright red in the scar is not exactly what we want, so we'd use the colour mixing from the previous video. The raised, deep scars however would be the perfect grotesque effect, and the video will provide a good 'this is what it should look like' guide.

In a bowl or cup, mix the 1/4 cup of boiling water with the unflavored gelatin using a craft stick. It should get very thick. Let the mixture cool slightly, but just until it is warm enough to put on your skin. The cooler it gets, the more clumpy and difficult it will be to work with. If your skin became moist from any steam from the water, dry it again. (source)
This is a cheap and (hopefully) effective way I have found to create the bulk of the scar. Next stop: trying the make-up out!

Horror C&C Tuesday, February 02, 2010

I have watched two classic horror movies, 'Scream' and 'Halloween', with the aim to find recurring or iconic codes and conventions within them, and explain the way (if applicable) our own film opening will conform or subvert them.

• An initial introduction into 'normal'/socially accepted daily life. Our opening is mainly following the heroine, as we have decided from the results of our first questionnaire, so this criteria is filled. This also gives our opening some relatability, as the actor we cast as our heroine is within our target age qroup. Relatability is something our target audience identified as adding more of a 'scare factor' within our questionnaire.
• A grotesque or unexplained death, with the murderer either known or unknown. Our 'hook' is the murderer twisting meat, which can be described as an unexpained death and keeps the audience guessing. Our murderer is never revealed, and is introduced in anonymous 'stalker' handheld camera shots.
• Teenagers/youths in an iscolated setting, either physically or just 'home alone'. Our heroine, who is a teenager, lives in an iscolated setting (close to woods) and no other characters are introduced whilst she is in her home, giving the impression that she is alone in the house.
• Enigmatic phone calls or other form of communication. Whereas we have not gone for the stereotypical 'I'M WATCHING YOU!' phone calls within our narrative, the heroine does recieve texts during the opening. We included this to show she has places to go, has connections to the outside world and is a stereotypical, relatable teenager, not to add to the horror. The texts recieved aren't shown on-screen though, so it can be up to the audience's imagination!
• An iscolated, vulnerable victim. Again, the heroine is iscolated in the wood scenes. We have decided to make her comfortable in this setting, only displaying distress when it becomes obvious she is being stalked.
• A killer that does not die successfully. Our coursework is of course only an opening and the narrative does not play out as far as to show the murderer's death scene, however the visible scarring on his hands could show he has endured countless painful situations, and the disfigurement holds connotations of a villain, impurity, and leads the audience to distrust the character.

Film Production Companies Sunday, January 31, 2010

Because we have been asked to provide some film prodiction companies in our film opening, it seemed wise to look into some as we want to find and use the right ones (for example films that normally produce comedies would not work with our film as it is a horror).

Here are some random horror films and the companies produced them:
The Others (2001 version)- Dimension Films
Let the right one in- 6-Shooters Film Series, Magnet
The 39 Steps (1935 version)- Gaumont British Picture Corporation Ltd.
The Hills Have Eyes (2006 version)- Fox Searchlight Pictures
The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007)- Fox Atomic
Disturbia- Dreamworks, The Montecito Picture Company
The Shining- Warner Bros.
A Nightmare on Elm Street- New Line Cinema, Media Home Entertainment inc., Smart Egg Pictures
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974 version)- MPI
House of Wax- Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, Dark Castle
The Silence of the Lambs- Orion Pictures
The Omen- Twentieth Century Fox
Beetlejiuce- (produced by) The Geffen Film Company, (distributed by) Warner Bros.
Friday the 13th (1980 version)- Paramount
Rosemary's Baby- Paramount, William Castle
The Exorcist- Warner Bros.
Ghost Ship-Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures
Paranormal Activity- DreamWorks, Paramount
The Amityville Horror (2005)- MGM, Dimension Films, Platinum Dunes, Radar Pictures

This reasearch shows us the suitable production companies to use in our film. We will probably use Paramount/ Universal as they are most well known. We probably won't use Warner Bros. as, although it is most common in the above list, it is now more associated with family films such as Harry Potter.

Typography Sunday, January 31, 2010

As we haven't yet look much into typography for our opening credits, it made sense to research some. The typography of the credits is important because it plays a big part in how the audience tells what kind of film it is- for example romance films often have red, swirly or bubbley writing whereas horrors often have black backgrounds with white or maybe red or yellow simple writing.

"Let the right one in" (2004) uses the rule of thirds in it's title screen. This makes it aesthetically pleasing to the audience and allows room on the right side of the screen for snow, which informs the audience a bit about the location. We can tell it is a horror film because it has simple, red writing, in capitals for emphasis, on a black background. Research shows that most horror films have the title on a black background and many have the title written in capital letters. This makes the title clear and the black background makes it stand out and, unlike other genres, does not give away any of the story making it scarier and more surprising for the viewer. It is middley in size and because it is in red and the snow is white, it draws viewer attention more away from the snow and focuses on the title.

Similarly, "Psycho"(1960) uses the black background with the title writing being white. This has a good contrasting effect and makes the title really stand out. The title, again, is in capital letters but unlike "let the right one in" reflects the narrative of the film- not only does the title show it is a psycological thriller but it is also broken up which has connotations of someone in the film having an unstable mind. The typography is, again, simple and directly informs the viewer of the general narrative of the film (before watching it they can tell it is a psycological thriller and features unstable characters). This title again acts in accordance with the codes and conventions of typical horror typography- simple with contrasting colour scheme of black and white. It is big and clearly the main focus of the viewer as it is the biggest word on the screen and there are no distracting pictures in the background, only some credits above and below it but as these are in a smaller, simpler font they are not very distracting to the reader.

"The Birds" (1963) has interesting typography because it still complies with the codes and conventions of horror typography but instead of having a black background with white writing, it has a white background and white writing that is faintly outlined in blue to make it readable. By doing this it allows opportunity to have black birds (probably crows as they are often associated with horror films and murder, although it was hard to tell on YouTube) flying accross the background. These swift moments of contrast in colour emphasise the title and makes it even clearer that birds are important to the main story line. The title, again, is in capital letters and simple typography which allows the viewer to scan over the title then focus more on the birds in the background before the film begins. The title is fairly big which ensures the viewer will notice it despite it being white on white.

Interestingly, "The Others" (2001) has a set in the background. This set is dark and dreary and has connotations of being in a grand yet deserted house- it looks like a large house because of the way the stairs are designed and the way that it appears to be an open area, maybe an entrance hall. By showing the initial setting to be a house it makes the film more appealing and personal to the viewer therefore increasing the terror evoked in the viewer. This film also has simple typography in white and capital letters for emphasis. Because the scene in the background is dark and shadowy with little colour (only redish brown, white and black shading) the title shows up clearly in the middle of the screen. It is fairly small in size which allows the viewer to focus also on the background, not just the title.

This last example of horror film typography is from "The Shining" (1980). It features a beautiful, natural setting in the background which is a stark contrast to the narrative of the film. The typography is reasonably small and focused in the middle of the screen at the bottom, but scrolls up preceeded and then followed by some credits so focuses the viewers attention on it, away from the tracking shot in the background. It also attracts attention by being a bright, turquoise colour- this unnatural colour contrasts greatly with the nauralness of the trees, river, sky and mountains featured in the backgroud.

Overall, these typography examples all have a colour that contasts to the background so the title stands out. The background in each varies so we could use the background of our narrative and just put the typography on top or we could fade in/out to a dark screen and then put the writing on. The writing in each of these examples is fairly large in comparison to the rest of the writing/ screen so we will probably use fairly large typography. Also, the titles seem to be mainly in the middle of the screen or a little to the left so we will probably put our in the middle as well in order to comform to the codes and conventions of horror film typography that have been shown in these examples.

It also seemed a good idea to do a bit of research into the typography of other genres, so we know what it shouldn't look like and maybe we will use it for future reference.

"Casablanca" (1942) is a romance and we as viewers can tell this by the soft, swirly writing. As there is a man in the background behind the title it is suggested that he plays a a big part in the film. Because it is a black and white film it looks to be more for older audiences and appears to be quite a traditional romance film.

"10 things I hate about you" (1999) is a romantic comedy and is aimed at teenagers. The typography reflects this because it looks to be scribbled as though an angry teenager (presumably a girl as girls are represented to be more emotional) wrote it after a break up or something. The green colour has connotations of jealously, suggesting jealously and rage, and maybe heartbreak, are some of the themes dealt with in this film.

"The Life of Brian" (1979) is a comedy film. The form of animation used for the sun and the clouds suggests that it is a fairly old film- although not too old as it is in colour. The slant and size of the writing shows it is a comedy because the size is comically large and the slant has connotations of falling over which is often featured in comedies. The bright blue of the sky and the white/ brightness of the sun and clouds combined with the strong yellow of the title shows it is a cheerful film as bright colours such as yellow and blue (especially yellow) are usually associated with happiness and therefore the comedy genre.