Script - first draft

Diary Entry

So far I've completed:

• Research into title sequences (I did "A Clockwork Orange" and "Reservoir Dogs."
• Made the questionnaire 
• Analysed the first 15 minutes of "Drag Me To Hell."
• Research into Certification
• Found examples of other horror films

Currently I am making a PowerPoint of research into the horror genre, that will be finished next lesson. I'll also do my own research into possible distributors. 

Research into Title Sequences

Research into Title Sequences

'Sin City'

The opening to Sin City begins with the camera zooming out to reveal the scale of the city which then morphs into the title "Sin City".
The music also begins, starting with very atmospheric bass-heavy music.

This then cuts to images of the main characters in the film in a black and white "comic book" style, along with the names. This really gives the audience an idea of the sort of film, it makes it appear very dark, though not particularly realistic.


The title sequence then ends with information on the director and those working on the film, as well as the author of the graphic novels. The music finishes with a strong crescendo creating a sense of drama.




'The Shining'



This title sequence differs greatly to 'Sin City' as it's very minimal, it the opening serves as part of the film rather than just information on the screen. The music, Hector Berlioz’ “Dies Irae”, often used in horror films is very repetitive and creates a strong sense of foreboding.

The titles that come along with this scene are very simple, scrolling titles, that purely state the director, title and main actors in the film. It's very simple but also quite effective.





The credits finish with a wide shot of the isolated hotel, which is where most of the film is set. It gives the audience an insight into where the film is set, although it doesn't look particularly eerie it seems very desolate and the music, again, creates a sense of foreboding.

Progress report - Molly

First of all I did research on horror film posters as the film we are planning to create is of that genre. Secondly I came up with my individual idea for a film, which I then shared with the rest of the group. We then decided to go ahead and make the first two minutes of Siobhan's film idea, Siobhan and I wrote a detailed storyline for the full film together. I then did the treatment of the full film, and an analysis of the first 15 minutes of a film of my choice, which was Woman In Black. After that I moved on to researching a possible distributor of our film, and included screenshots. Me and Siobhan then wrote the storyline for the first two minutes of the film, so we will know what we're going to film. Lastly we got together as a group and wrote a questionnaire. So far I've got 8 posts on the blog.

I now need to finish off creating character profiles and need to make a start on getting some location photos and descriptions.

Report - Siobhan

First of all, i researched horror film conventions and posted some of them onto our blog so that we know what to put in our film as we are doing a horror film. I then posted my individual film idea for our film.  I then developed my film idea and wrote the whole film summary with another member of the group. I then created a treatment for the first 2 minutes of our film. I then researched into horror sub genres and created a prezzi to illustrate the different horror sub genres. Then, i researched an independent film distribution company to see if they would be an appropriate distributor for our film. I then analysed the first 15 minutes of a similar film to ours, i chose insidious because it starts off with a flash back in a similar way to ours. We then wrote a summary of the first 2 minutes of the film. I then researched into costumes for our film. In the next week i aim to create a script for our film, and research more into our costumes. I also need to create a storyboard.

Costume Research

Flashback -

The flashback is set in the 60s/70s so the costumes need to reflect this time period.

We found this images to show what we are looking for...

Modern Day -

For our modern day shot they should wear modern, casual clothes such as these...

Research into Title Sequences

Research into Title Sequences

A Clockwork Orange:

A strange electronic version of a classical song plays over a red screen for an unconventional amount of time, without any movement or text on the screen. 

The block white text gives a sense of formality to the title sequence. It is simplistic and seems to give the film a more low-budget quality. 

The blue background differentiates Kubrick's name from the previous and following screens. It gives importance to the famous filmmaker's name. 

Again, the background and font are simplistic. 

The screen quickly cuts to this close up on the protagonist of the film as he stares directly at the camera and stays in this position for the entirety of the opening. 






The camera pans out slowly, revealing the other characters sitting around him. 

The camera continues to slowly pan out. The decoration of the room is shown. The boys in white contrast with the black wall and match the text. The whole scene is monochromatic aside from the wigs on the mannequins. 

More people in the room are shown as the camera continues to pan out, and the strange disturbing furniture can be seen around the room, establishing the setting. 

The entire room is shown here, with similarly dressed extras and the same strange decoration. This all establishes the futuristic and alternate world the film is set in. Throughout all the time the camera pans out, Alex continues to look directly at the camera. 




Reservoir Dogs:



After the first scene, upbeat music plays (introduced by comedian Steven Wright as K Billy), and the title screen appears with the writer and directors name in yellow on black. At this point, the name "Quentin Tarantino" would have been less famous as this was his breakthrough film. 

The characters walk into shot in slow motion until all are on the screen. The wide shot shows the entire characters and the bright background, contrasting with their formal black suits. 

Mid-shots of each characters face with the actors name appears one by one on the screen, cutting from one to the other. At this point, Harvey Keitel would have been the most well known actor and is credited first. 

This continues for each character, they continue to walk forward. The music plays over the credits and builds to a crescendo when the wide shot of all the characters is shown from behind. 

The film title sweeps up the screen and lingers above the characters before carrying on offscreen. 

When the title is offscreen, a lingering shot of the characters is shown before cutting to the credits, yellow on black.

  

The credits role over music until dialogue for the film can be heard over the credits and the music fades out as it gets louder. 

The credits cut to the next scene of the film, Mr Orange in the back of the car covered in blood. 

Questionnaire

Questionnaire

Name:

Gender: M/F

Occupation:

What do you think of the storyline for our film?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Have you got any suggestions?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What genre do you think our story is?

_______________________________

Where would you expect to view it? (eg. Cinema, DVD, TV, Netflix)

_______________________________

What certificate do you think it would be? (eg. U, PG, 12A, 12, 15, 18)

________________________________

Do you think the film would be more appealing to a wide audience or a smaller audience? Why do you think this?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Would you go and see this film? Why?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Potential Distributor

Maxim Media

Maxim Media International is the largest world-wide distributor of independent horror and shock films. Our library of indie horror, thriller, paranormal, and reality/shock films is unparalleled in size -- and always growing! Founded in 2000 by industry veteran Darrin Ramage, we have grown to represent a library of over 300 films. Through our horror film distribution channels we're able to reach the global entertainment market and have licensed film rights to nearly all major territories.

Though we distribute films in nearly all formats and territories, our key strengths remain North American DVD release and worldwide Video on Demand (VoD).

(Taken from http://emaximmedia.com/)

This may be an appropriate distributor for our films as they specialise in all types of horror films and they distribute worldwide.

final film idea - first two minutes

film starts with flashback, shot in black and white. A girl is seen running through a forest, a man is chasing her, he grabs her, and kills her. The camera then pans to the right and something shiny can be seen in the distance, the camera zooms in to reveal a ring. The camera then zooms out, as it's zooming out it fades from black and white to colour, to show it's no longer a flashback and it's now the present day. Four friends are seen in the woodland area, they spend a lot of time just hanging around in the woods, until one of them discovers the ring. They then put it on their finger. They then walk home. Screen fades to black.