Day 2 Evaluation

• The second day of filming consisted of more shots for the dungeon location as well as re-filming of shots from the first shooting day.
• We focused firstly on the master shot and other shots that focus on all actors gathered around the table. We thought that this was important to get done as it involved all the actors being available. 
• We started with a static shot of Amy sitting with the characters but we thought it would look more threatening if she were standing above them, demonstrating her power. 
• We then tried a moving shot that sweeps through the food towards Amy on the table level and then tilts up to her face, which further demonstrates her power. 
• Originally we attempted to look at the victim’s faces as the camera swept past, however this movement didn’t look natural.
•  Another shot of Amy we tried was a hand-held zoom from the master shot position towards Amy’s smiling face. We thought this shot would look good at increased speed to create a crazed, psychotic effect.

• We looked to film close-ups of the victims at the table. 
• We started with a two-shot of two victims each side of the table, firstly Frankie and Lewis and then Harry and Tara for which we wanted them to look drained and scared. 
• We then tried a single close-up of Lewis waking up. This went well as the acting was adequate and the shots will be quick so the acting won’t be focused on.

• Next, we moved on to re-filming the scene where Harry gets hammered in his eye. Tara replaced me (Daisy) as the girl, as I was not happy with my acting. 
• The re-filming involved including Tara replacing me in the shots as well as adding more to create more dramatic effect and add more to the story. 
• We made Tara look like she’d been pushed into the shot by Amy, but the majority of the rest of the shots were the same.
•  We changed the way the hammer was moved as when we reversed it in editing, it didn’t look natural as it was too quick. 
• We also had an after shot of Harry’s eyes covered in fake blood dripping.

• We also filmed more shots of Frankie’s torture including:

·         Amy pulled Frankie’s head up by her hair with both of them in the shot

·         Close-ups of Amy having the motion of cutting into Frankie’s face with a sharper knife

• I thought that it would be interesting to have Frankie look as if she’s spitting at Amy in anger, for which she took a mouthful of water.
•  We re-filmed shots using the ‘Smile’ make-up, too. 
• When we filmed extreme close-ups of the make-up, the lighting didn’t look scary or manic enough so we decided to have no lighting except a white fast-paced strobe light, which had a flashing effect. 

• Overall, this filming day went very well and it was a lot more efficient than the first day. This is because we planned more thoroughly for exactly what shot we wanted and allowed for more experimentation which meant less time was wasted.

Daisy Edwards

Survey analysis

We created a survey to distribute amongst our target audience, teenagers between the age of 16-19, in order to gain a better understanding of what this demographic would want and expect from a slasher horror teaser trailer. We collected 100 responses which allows us to have a clear view and we can use this information gathered and apply it to our trailer so that it would appeal more to our target audience. These are the results which I have also analysed saying what we will do will the information gained.

Amy Freeman

Evaluation- First day of filming

       Apple Bobbing torture scene.

•      This scene included our main protagonist and one victim (Lewis) being forced into a bucket of water and he is writhing about.
•       We started out with an underwater shot of Lewis’s head in the water, the problem at the first was that it was too close up so we couldn’t really see Lewis. The next shot was the same but this time Lewis didn’t put his head so far into the water.
•       We also made sure that although Amy wasn’t in the shot, she forced his head down into the water so that it looked more natural.
•       Another problem was the apples were in the way of the camera, so we only put four apples into the box and made sure they were in the corners. Later we had a high angle shot where you can see the apples.
•       After we made sure the apples were out of the way and Lewis put his head slightly in the water we had a good shot.
•       The next shot we did for this scene was a mid shot of our main protagonist (Amy) and the victim (Lewis) as she ‘forces his head into the water’
•       The main issue in this shot was the lighting, we needed to make sure both characters could be seen clearly but it was still dark enough to give off the right connotations.
•       After a few takes we used a bright lamp so that the corner was bright enough, but half of Amy’s face was in shadow so that it could still give off the right connotations.
•       The last shot of this scene included another mid shot focusing on Lewis again being pushed into the water; you can just see Amy’s hands on his shoulders.
•       This shot just adds continuity to the whole scene, so that we can see the continuous flow of Lewis being forced into the water.

Cutting of the smile.

•  Earlier in the day we painted another victims face (Frankie) to make it look like she has had a face cut into a smile.
• This shot needed Amy in front of Frankie, and just ‘cutting into her face.’ This proved a problem in terms of lighting again, we moved the lamp and it looked a lot better.
• The next shot was Amy behind Frankie pulling her head up, this worked rather well as the lighting was bright enough and Frankie looked straight at the camera.

Hammering into the eye.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·       <!--[endif]-->This next shot was when two victims (Daisy & Harry) are forced to hammer into the other person’s eye.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·       <!--[endif]-->We had to take quite a few shots as the lighting was a problem due to the fact we were filming in the corner of the room, behind a ladder.

Antagonist make up research

The Orphan

• The scene in The Orphan where Esther makes advances on her adoptive father she has very bold and full make up on
• As she is a child this does provide a disturbing image for the audience
• I looked at this make up for our protagonist as we want quite a heavily made up look almost like her make up has been over done
• Esther's make up in The Orphan does make her look overtly sexual however this is not what we want to represent 
• The idea of childish make up is really what we are interested in to show that our character lacks fashion sense as she is more of a social outcast and isn't typically socially acceptable 
• This make up is an option for our protagonist if we want to create quite a dark, striking look to show her evil nature

13 going on 30

• Although it is a romantic comedy rather than a horror film I still thought the make up was appropriate for the look we may use for our protagonist
• Unlike The Orphan this make up look is very bright and colourful which gives a very childish impression
• We want our protagonist to look like she hasn't got much experience at make up suggesting she is making an effort 
• In 13 going on 30 this is what the character does, she makes an effort for her party and her make up looks almost too much which is what we wish to put across in our trailer
• She wears pink lipgloss, blue eyeshadow, pink blusher and slight mascara 
• To create an inexperienced, child-like look for our protagonist I think this example helps us to understand what it would look like and what image of our character it would portray
• This look contrasts The Orphan's as it is not as heavy and dark but I think it would greatly contrast the sadistic, psychotic attitude of our protagonist as she would look almost child-like implying innocence which contradicts her actions in the teaser trailer 

Amy Freeman

Antagonist costume research

• For our main protagonist we wanted to have a traditional style party dress
• The idea for the main protagonist is to have a dress which is almost unsuitable for her age as it we would like it to look almost childish to reflect her lack of development and show her mental state as not being typical of a teenage girl

• 'The Loved ones' costume is a very good example of what we hope to achieve as Lola's costume is almost barbie-like and girly however does provoke a unsettling reaction with the audience as it doesn't seem age appropriate 
• The bright pink dress does make her appear very girlish however her action contradicts this as she is seen covered in blood which creates a contrast between her costume and actual character
• Lola's make up and jewellery all matches the bright pink she is wearing which again is a very child like appearance   
• I really like Lola's make up as it is simplistic however the bright eye shadow does create a dramatic and striking look which will contrast with the victim's very simple natural looking make up - this will set the protagonist apart from the victims as she will be the only one dressed for the party
• Lola's hair however looks dishevelled and unkempt which reminds us of her psychotic nature and doesn't look perfect
    
• Another example I looked at was 'Carrie' as she also had a very girlish and feminine costume in the prom scene however this again contradicts with her murderous rage
• Also I found the image of her covered in pigs blood after the prank quite interesting and something we could try in our teaser trailer to create a psychotic spin on a girlish dressy costume

Amy Freeman

Victim costumes research

• The actors for the roles of the victims in our teaser trailer will be teenagers around 17 and 18 years of age
• We have decided this as after looking at and watching horror films we found teenage victims to have been a common and popular convention 
• Teenagers convey a sense of naivety and so in a fatal situation can often be lacking in experience and understanding which the killers exploit
• We were unsure of what costume would be appropriate for our victims as we wanted them to be wearing 'casual' and 'normal' clothing
• However we wanted to still characterise our victims and so costume has become a important part in our trailer
• I looked at existing horror films, especially slashers, in order to contrast and compare victims costumes
• Much like what we want for our trailer the victims in horror films are usually dressed in quite plain, casual clothing which makes them look like regular teenagers



Friday the 13th

• I looked at films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Final destination and Jeepers Creepers which all have teenage victims 

Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th

• The costume of the teenage victims in Friday the 13th shows a very casual look - denim jeans, plain top and hoodie
• The girl here is still effeminate with a pink top, jewellery (bracelets and necklace) and her hair is still very feminine 
• Her make up is also very subtle, would mainly only ever be mascara and eyeliner perhaps a light shade of lipstick/lip gloss
• In the below picture we can see three characters and we can see the different representation of their characters through their costumes
• The middle girl's costume is practical which contrasts to the other female character who is just wearing a shirt making her look vulnerable and sexualises her 
• The male character is wearing just a crew neck t-shirt with a small amount of writing on it and slightly ripped denim jeans which again is a casual look, he also wears a watch and has shaggy, longish hair which is more typical of a teenager

Jeepers Creepers

Jeepers Creepers

• Much like Friday the 13th the character's costumes are fairly plain and relaxed, casual clothing 
• The male character's costumes are very similar as they both have a crew neck t-shirt with writing on and denim jeans which is a very simple costume to achieve for male victims in our teaser trailer 
• Also the female character in Jeepers Creepers does share some similarities to the girl in Friday the 13th as she also wears a plain top and jeans with very simple make up and hair

Final Destination 2

• Once again the costume of the teenage victims in Final Destination 2 is similar to the other films I have looked at
• Both male and female characters here are wearing casual, relaxed clothing including hoodies, denim jeans and casual tops

Final Destination 2

Conventions of costume

• From this research I have found what is a typical look and costume for teenage victims in a horror slasher film 
• Common conventions for costumes are plain, casual clothes, hoodies and denim jeans 
• Female characters usually have very little make up on (just eyeliner and mascara) and they're hair is usually down and has not been styled much at all

Amy Freeman

Shooting Scripts 1

This shooting script is dated due to the change of actors. Tara will be acting in place of Daisy.

Casting Friends

To cast "friends" that are victims at the part we are looking for a mixture of 4 or 5 boys and girls between 17 and 19 that are reliable and comfortable with heavy make up and pretend torture- therefore need some acting experience or ability.

Name: Caroline
Age: 17
Availability: Benefits of being in sixth form, after school/lunch time filming, direct communication.
Appropriateness: Reliable, used in AS film opening, Has acting interesting and experience in short films and stage productions, studied Drama

Name: Lewis
Age: 18
Availability: Benefits of being in sixth form, after school/lunch time filming, direct communication. Has part time Job.
Appropriateness: Has an interest in acting and some experience, studied drama.

Name: Lily

Age: 17

Availability:Benefits of being in sixth form, after school/lunch time filming, direct communication. Has other commitments with school events.
Appropriateness: Has a lot of acting experience in stage shows, school productions, musicals, dance shows.

Name: Harry

Age: 17

Availability: Also a student so has commitments such as school and extra curricular activities.
Appropriateness: Has close connections in the group so is easy and direct to contact and is also very willing to give up spare time to help. Has a very good understanding about the filming process and experience in short films.

Name: Daisy
Age: 18

Availability: Member of the group so will be fully commited to filming days.
Appropriateness: Has a full understanding of characters and their roles and how each scene should be acted. Also has a lot of previous experience in the production of short films and trailers.

Name: Frankie

Age: 17

Availability: Available in the same free lessons as most members of the group.
Appropriateness: Has previous experience of acting in short films.

Name: Tara
Age: 17
Availability: Has some of the same free lessons as members of the group. Easy communication in sixth form and friendship groups.
Appropriateness: Has previous experience of acting in short films.

• The people finally casted to act the role of 'friends' in our teaser trailer are... Lewis, Tara, Harry and Frankie.

• All actors casted have an appropriate look for the roles and we will use costumes, hair and makeup to over exaggerate stereo types where necessary.  
• They all have acting experience or experience in the production of short films and trailers. This will speed up the process and reduce the risk of poor quality due to acting.
• All actors are close connections which will speed up the communication process and hopefully avoid confusions.

Typing Scene

• Because of the newer concept, we feel that social networking would be highly influential and should be included in the teaser trailer. 
• When deconstruction scenes from Orphan in earlier research I found a scene where the mother is researching personality disorder in children. It was not relevant at the time because it did not add to horror aspects. 
• However, I now feel that it would be inspirational as the fast pace shows the desperation and obsession. 
• Because of copy right reasons, I could not take screen shots from the film so I used a camera to try to recreate shots with ideas relevant to our concept.

 

 

 

 

 

• All shots would be extreme close ups of typing, scrolling and screen movement.
• Jump cuts used between each shot at a fast pace to reflect the urgency and obsession. 
• Well recognised social networking sites such as Facebook and twitter would be effective for getting the audience to understand the concept about social media influence because these websites are popular within our target audience.

Change in Concept and Plot

Because of the difficulty that we experienced when casting a family we have changed our concept slightly and now focus on:

•  The media influence of popularity and social acceptance. 
• The plot will be similar but rather than a family dinner, the protagonist will be hosting a birthday party.
• We will now incorporate torture methods through party games.

Casting The Main Protagonist

Name: Amy Freeman
Age: 17
Availability: Good. part of the group so is committed and willing to give up spare time.
Appropriateness:

• Little acting experience but will be beneficial as she understands the concept well because she is a member of the group and knows exactly the looks and shots we will be trying to achieve. 
• Dark hair and pale skin follows conventions of a horror film villain. 

Name: Lily
Age: 17
Availability: In school so easy to contact and film during lunch, free lessons, after school, but has other commitments in school events.
Appropriateness:

• Enjoys acting but would not pursue it as a career. 
• Has experience performing in dace shows, school productions, stage shows, pantos and toured the uk in musicals Annie and South Pacific.
• Dark hair and eyes follow conventions of horror protagonist.