Video Log

Log:

Wednesday 15th December 2015-

We filmed shot 8, which was of the executioners layer where he keeps all his weapons and spends most of his time planning how to kill his next person. We shot this in the drama studio and used some props such as knifes and a rocking chair to create a mysterious atmosphere. During filming this shot, Mitchell and I used our phone torches to act as a dim spotlight as we couldn't get the real spotlights to work. This worked just as well and turned out looking good on camera. We purposely chose to have a dim light as we wanted it to look dark and have the light just focus on particular things, for example the weapons. We used the tripod with the wheels as we wanted to move the camera around for some of shots and as it was easier.

Thursday 16th December 2015-

We filmed shot 6, which was of the executioners layer with him kneeling on the floor surrounded by photos of his victims. We also decided to add something new to the opening sequence, this included filming close ups of one of the victims face and then the executioners face. When we edit these they will be flicking at a fast pace between the both of them to symbolise that the executioners mind is set on his victims. In order to film all of these shots we used a different drama studio as we were able to get those spotlights to work. Mitchell was in charge of controlling the spotlights, Jaden was in charge of filming and I was in charge of laying out the props. When we did close ups of the executioners face we cut out the white light and just had the red lights on as this symbolised danger and death. We also decided that he should rip up one of his victims photos as it would show his aggression and obsession.

music research

Victim Photos

Evaluation:

These are some victim photos of people who the executioner has killed. The photos are going to be used as props in shot 6, they were all taken on a iphone camera. They are going to be scattered on the floor after being printed out, around the executioner. To make them look more creepy and warn out we are going to cut them up and cover them in fake blood so they look like he has had them for a long time, it makes them look more mysterious.We decided to take photos of the executioners victims that he stalks before he kills them. We wanted to take the photos at different angles and at different locations so it looks more realistic and natural and like the executioner has taken them without them knowing. Altogether there are 10 photos which I chose out of a bigger range as these were the best ones. The photos are going to be printed in black and white so it looks more medieval and aged. 

These are what the photos look like aged and covered in blood. I chose to print them more than once as it looks like he has more victims. Some pictures are bigger than others which makes it more dramatic as we can film close ups of the bigger ones to capture the detail in them. I personally really like what they look like, and they show the executioners anger and how he is a very disturbed person.

Since the executioner has killed the people above, we decided to write dates on all of them so it looks like the executioner keeps track of everyone he kills. Some of the dates are straight after each other, so it looks like he has killed people day after day in different years. This will make the audience feel disturbed by what he is doing and make them think why he is like this.

Comparitive shots

Why we chose the Executioner option

From our idea video we found out that people preferred the idea of The Executioner the most. We think that this idea was chosen as there is already films out there that relate to our other ideas.

• The zombie idea- Tv show "The Walking Dead" and the romcom horror  "Warm Bodies" Zombies are shown as mild horror and could have been easy to recreate but might not grip the audience as much as The Executioner would. 
• The victorian doll idea- out there is a huge hit "Annabelle" and olden storyline "Chucky" This idea can be very repetitive and the same kind of storyline of children and their relationship between the dolls. 
• The church idea- we think this idea needed to be developed more to make a good horror storyline but we took some of the church idea and added it into The Executioner to make a better overall product. 

The Executioner idea appealed to out audience as there isn't really any films out there at the moment which shows this idea and its something new to captivate a different audience. We also thought that we could play around with this idea and explore into this psychological genre but also the gory slasher genre. The idea itself was very disturbing but we wanted to make it out of place to scare the audience.

Make Up Tests

In our opening scene all we need is blood on the executioner's hands in the ideal of make up as all of our actors faces are covered in either a mask or a hood. For the first test we used face paint which was thick and easy to apply to Amy it also created a blood type effect and looked like a really blood wound. With watercolour you needed a lot of water to get the colour to work properly and when I was applying it was able to blend in the colours really well. Overall the face paint worked better than the watercolour as you could see it better and looked realistic so for our filming we will use face paint. 

Audition - Jason Miller

We asked them to scream as this comes into a scene in our film as they are executed by the murderer. This was to see who would most appropriately convey the ultimate fear that the character must show when a close up of his face is shown.

We casted Adam as he did drama A level and so had experience with acting and also he portrayed the fear in the way that we were looking for. Seb was a bit too dramatic and therefore took away from our quiet, subdued atmosphere.

Shot Selection Trial

These 2 shot selections both work effectively as they highlight different elements of the pain and suffering, the medium shot represents the isolation as there will be nothing surrounding him, just the spotlight from the drama studio.
The close up is also effective as you can see the excruciating pain and suffering in the facial expression, this also further represents his heavy breathing and pain, his tactic is used in the murder scene in 'Psycho'
When it comes to filming, we may decide to use both shots and decide which looks most effective in editing.
Personally, I think that the medium shot works better as it highlights the isolation.

Mini Evaluation

Mini Evaluation...


Personally my biggest challenge so far in the planning stage has been the casting and also the wardrobe choices for those casted actors.
Firstly, the casting choices were tricky as we knew who we wanted to play our villain as Joe Perry fitted our stereotypical killer role, this choice was influenced by movies such as Friday the 13th. However the casting of the victim proved to be a lot more difficult, in all of the films we have looked at feature a woman as the victim and this has been also backed up by the gender representation research that I conducted earlier in the course, however we thought that it may be effective if we have a male as the victim, this would put a different spin on the stereotype however not be completely unheard of as the victim being chased in the Purge is a man.

Horror Openings

HORROR OPENINGS

Action:

The horror films that I looked at, varied in their opening scenes, referring action, this is helpful as it allows me to see how different sub genres use their opening credits/scenes to introduce their films, there were many differences in styles and content of the openings however, they did all share similarities and overlap in techniques, this will be helpful to use when it comes to creating my opening to a film, as the common concepts of horror film openings can be incorporated into my piece.

The oldest opening, 'Psycho', consists of many lines through the screen, creating
imagery of short, sharp, stabbing motions, this could link to the main scene in the film of he stabbing in the Motel, this opening therefore gives a hint at content that will feature later on in the film, this was one of the main overlapping features I discovered during my research into different openings, this slight revealing of scenes/ action that could happen in the film was hinted at the beginning of films including 'Alien', this opening scene was featured in space, setting the scene by opening the credits going round an image of the galaxy as if filmed in space, it looks at focusing on a planet, this reveals to the audience the genre of the film. Similarly, 'Sinister' adopts this as people are being hung from a tree, this gives a slight background to the film and what it is about, it also gives an insight into the genre and context of the film, however many of the questions surrounding the opening scene are left unanswered, making the audience want to continue watching the film, this is also a common concept of horror film openings having an unclear guide of the background of the film and this will be revealed therefore later in the film, but still hints at storylines in the opening credits give the audience a slight image of what may happen, allowing them to be clear of the genre of film, yet still having the mysterious plot lines associated with horror films.

This is again supported in 'Dawn of the Dead's' opening scene, glimpses of the news reports and affected people flashing on screen quickly and disappearing quickly, this could represent the disease being rapidly introduced and the human race being rapidly deceased. All these films share similar concepts in the action of their openings.

However in contrast, 'The cabin in the woods' adopts a different tactic, it opens with women talking about men, this is maybe misleading tot he genre as it seems a happy scene, however a convention of film openings also can be misleading to catch the audience off guard, this film is an action/thriller, which could fit perfectly into the category of making people jump, this is why they use the tactic of having a contrasting opening to the genre, however there is a mysterious undertone relating to a man, giving a very small insight into the films context.

Conclusion:
many different tactics can be used, i will deploy a more slow approach into the action with constant small suggestions of danger. This is based off of all the films looked at. Although the films differ in strategies of filming and editing styles, they all use mis en scene to suggest the genre and show the audience that it is a horror they are watching, this adds to the tension as people are expecting to be scared and are anxiously waiting for the 'scare'.

Shot List

Shooting Schedule

Location Shot

Executioner Storyboard

Storyboard

Casting & wardrobe shots

The Executioner Script

The Executioner Script

After reviewing the script after we wrote it, I think it will be a good idea to have a short snippet of a scream from the character being tortured sat in the executioner's chair as this will fit in with many codes and conventions researched, films such as 'Psycho' have screaming character in distress which frightens the audience and highlights the realism of the situation, a close up shot will be best to portray the characters emotion, showing the fear in there eyes. However i will do a draft of filming for this short scene to see which camera shot is most ideal

Title Research

Plot Summary - the Executioner

The executioner plot

A boy brutally witnessed his mother being tortured and killed, forcing him to grow up alone with no family. As a result of this he grew obsessed with the concept of death. Deprived with any love he grew up with a religious cult which practiced medieval torture methods. And currently now kills in order to feed his twisted obsession of expressing his inner turmoil.

Film Order of Events

Film Order of Events

Pitches and Polls

Choose one pitch that you think would make the best horror film:

Sinister target market

Sinister

Sinister is a film in the horror genre, featuring Ellison Oswalt as a crime writer that moves to a new house with his family, however when they get to the house, Oswalt's character finds a box of 8 movies in the attic by themselves. The movies that he finds are related to a murder that he is studying and they suggest that the killings are by a 1960's serial killer.

• The film comes under the sub genres of crime and slasher horror.
• This film can be aimed at both genres, due to it's horror nature, women are possibly more likely to see it as they are more popular with females, however, males maybe attracted by the killing and crime element of the movie, this is clever as the film will appeal to both genders. 
• It's main age boundary will be between 15-45, young people are excited more by the fear factor of films and also due to it's crime background and also the complexity of storyline it may appeal to slightly older people, however the mask and scary psychology killer will appeal more to younger people, this is why it's main target audience is 15-45. The job role of it's audience can be possibly unspecified as the audience may fall into many of the categories, the A category is the least likely however to view the film due to their highly educated background, however it is a bit more sophisticated them many of the classic slasher gory killer films, this is why it may appeal to the B market, unlike usual horror films, it may also apply to C1&2 as it's mainstream elements of famous actors could appeal to a larger audience, horror films are also most popular with the D and E categories traditionally, which will not change with this film as they fall into the target audience of the film creators as the escapism side will appeal to people in lesser paid and skilled jobs.

The film also appeals to different psychographics. The fact that this film has large names will appeal to the main streamers as it of ten means value for money, something this psychographic seek. It may also appeal to aspirers as this category often involves younger people and the horror genre appeals to a youthful audience. Horror films also appeal to an individualistic 'explorer' psychographic as they often don't follow the convention if normal Hollywood  rom-coms typical with the mainstream market, yet this group of people are looking for an instant effect, which this fear factor of the movie will give to them, making them a key target audience. Another target audience is the 'strugglers' psychographic as they seek escapism, something which a scary film will offer appeal towards as you're focus is solely on the film and watching what is going to jump out/scare you next, these are the D and E categories and will form the majority of viewers for watching the film.

Targe Audience Research

Target Audience-Research

• AGE
• GENDER
• JOB
• RACE
• LOCATION
• FAMILY / HOME LIFE

Demographics are a way of categorising consumers, audiences can be broken down n professions and how much money they make, it is widely thought that your job type/ how much money you make has a large bearing on interests.

A

Surgeons

Lawyers                                                              

B

teachers

managers

creators of media e.g graphic designs

C1

office workers

retail

librarian

C2

Plumbers

Gas Fitters

Carpenters

(often male)

D

unskilled labourers                     

cleaners 

E

retired

unemployed

students

casual workers

Psychographics

1- MAINSTREAMERS- seek security,domestic,conformist,conventional,sentimental,favour value for money,nearly always the largest group.

2-ASPIRERS- Seek status,materialistic, typically younger people, with C1 jobs.

3-SUCCEEDERS- Seek control, strong goals, have confidence, typically in A.B demographic

4-RESIGNED- Seeks survival, rigid, and authoritarian values, interested past traditions,typically older people

5-EXPLORERS- seek discovery,energy,individualism,brand choices highlight satisfaction and instant effect, younger demographic (students)

6-STRUGGLERS- seek escape,few resources, demographics D,E , often buy alcohol drunk food and lottery tickets.

7-REFORMERS- anti-materialistic yet seek good taste, attend higher education and select product for quality only. B demographic 

opening analysis

Horror Film Openings

Horror Openings research 2

Preliminary Task Evaluation

Evaluation:

What worked well and why?

• We got a broad amount of shots with multiple amount of takes allowed us to be creative in the editing process as we were not restricted by a limited amount of footage. For example when the male character (me) was slamming the door closed on the way out near the end of the footage, in this short section we used 3 different shots to show match on action effectively when the door was being closed, which made our piece look professional as we could edit it, adding slick cutting between different shots.
• We managed to stick precisely to the storyboard that we originally planned, this allowed our organisational skills to result in efficient filming as we weren't restricted on a time limit, working quickly yet carefully, for example our shot reverse shot worked well as we switched the camera on to the person speaking with an over the shoulder shot, showing the audience what it was like to be in the conversation from the point of view from both characters.

What Didn't go so well?

• In the scene where I enter the interview room, my character is followed by the camera using  a tracking shot, however this didn't work so well as we used a hand held camera, which led to some poor filming as there was bumpy footage leading to our piece looking unprofessional, and as the rest of the footage looked stable, this made it look even more out of place, giving the piece an unprofessional and inconsistent feel to viewers watching it.

How to Improve?

• To solve the bumpy issue with the filming, we can use a dolly which will allow smoother movement when the camera is filming, leading to a more professional looking piece.  Or in contrast we could use a hand held camera throughout the whole piece and the movement could be used as part of the effectiveness of the film as it could create a realistic looking piece suggesting someone is actually filming hat is going on, this is used in such films as 'Paranormal Activity'.

Preliminary task