After finishing our film opening, we wanted to see the reactions from our audience so we asked them to watch the opening and give us their opinions on it. We posted the video onto various social media platforms and received the following feedback:
Our conclusion
The fact that many people said it was tense and scary at some points reinforces the age certificate that we awarded the video. We rated the video a 15 due to the use of weapons and implied violence. In addition, one person had said that it would have been better if there were scenes of the girl dying, however we managed to explain that the video is merely an opening and therefore the idea is that it is 'to be continued'.
Below is a clip on how we edited our film opening, we used the program Final Cut Pro which was relatively easy to use and we got used to using all the tools that were avaliable.
Our film opening is about a young blogger experiencing the problems of technology going wrong. As a very successful youtuber she has gained the attention of many admirers. A supposed visit from her boyfriend turns out to be one of the last times she could blog happily. As she goes to open the door the power in her house is turned off by an Unknown character. What happens next
The plot for our story is as follows:
A young teen is 'blogging' her day and it is implied that the girl is a successful youtuber
since she is an internet sensation - it is clear that she relies heavily on technology
she talks about her boyfriend coming over and the planned day
door bell rings, she makes it to the middle of the stairs
power cuts off
audience see blackness & hear panting
young teen is forced to 'blog' her own death
scenes of struggling by the young teen
killer is seen, and has also killed her boyfriend
montage of bf death and fast cuts of killer with glitches will be shown
killer walks out of killing location (garage)
turns head and you can see the killer
(film title inserted after this)
What's the craziest video you would upload to youtube? What if others don't enjoy what you do? How do you think they should tell you they dont like what they do? There are probably so many answers the proper response will remain... UNKNOWN
Majority of our sounds that were diegetic did not need to be recorded post production as we wanted to keep the sounds a realistic as possible, this was all of Rachels blogging amongst other things.
However sounds like the doorbell, the house power switch and the killers voice were all recorded or downloaded to add post production.
The voice of the killer had to be synchronous with the movement as it was not clear in the first recordings, but the accent and tone was not recorded to fully fit into the conventions of a slasher killer as we believed it would be nice to see how unconventional we could make the voice of the killer.
Although we didn't copy it we asked the voice actor to see if they could put a spin on the sarcastic tone of the killer from Scream 1996.
We started off planning for our project to be a technological horror, using Ratter and Unfriended as our inspiration we decided to learn different ways to try the glitches in our project. As modern technological horror is a new sub genre of horror we have used the freedom we have to suggest its importance but not base the whole story line on it.
To recreate the glitches and effects used we would have to use a lot of post production techniques as the instances are not based on reality.
This video tutorial is what inspired the montage of the boyfriend after he was murdered.
Although our plot had to be altered slightly to increase clarity of it, as the Rachael Bridgit remained a blogger we decided the glitches could be reduced but not removed completely as technology (camera and youtube) were core parts of the plot and the glitches suggest how technology can go wrong. This was inspired by the plot of Ratter.
As evident in the trailer there are various styles of effects we had inspiration to apply to our film opening. However if we used all that we planned too the focus of the genre would shift from a slasher with technological influences to a technological horror. Unfriended is similar in the sense that the cameras they use in skyping themselves have a lot of technological issues which connote the danger of technology.
This video demonstrates the process we used to create some of our special effects for our media project. It takes one of the shots of the dead boyfriend and uses quick cuts to cause a glitch effect.
After changing our plot slightly we began looking for the music that would suit the start of film opening, we decided that a more relaxing soundtrack at the start would be an excellent choice because the film begins with a series of vlogs and therefore the soft and calming music would accompany the sequence well.
The relaxing electronic music was composed by 15 year old producer 'Oscar Lang' a This particular song offers huge contrast to the upcoming scenes but when we came across it, we found it was perfect for the first few seconds. The calming beats compliment the soothing atmosphere and help with the smooth transitions from calm - suspense in a matter of seconds.
We decided to fade out the soft and relaxing music with something that offers a 'chilling' atmosphere but not too rough.
We found a song titled 'Bent and Broken' which was copyright free and so we added chopped up the song and created something would compliment the film opening
Bent and Broken was our first choice compared to the others (shown below) because it fitted in well with the scenes and was well synchronized
The soundtrack is composed by Kevin MacLeod who is an American producer. MacLeod is best known for his distribution of royalty-free library music through his website, Incompetech.com.
MacLeod has made over 2,000 self-composed pieces of music available for download
His music has been used in Hugo, several commercial video games, and videos by online content creators such as CollegeHumor, Good Mythical Morning, and many other popular YouTube channels.
As the original soundtrack was did not build up enough suspense we laid the hip hop beat underneath it but we slowed it down to 10% to give a creepy sound due to the processes done on the track itself.
The series of glitch effects have been accompanied with sound effects from http://99sounds.org/the-weird-side-samples/
The Weird Side Samples is a free collection of glitch samples, weird sound effects and abstract sonic textures produced by Johan Ekelove
Another sound effect added to our film opening was a simple 'switch' effect when the power cuts off. This is significant as it creates suspense, making the audience wonder what has happened to the main protagonist
Lost - Oscar Lang
Switch sound effect
Bent and Broken - Kevin Macleod
Below, are a few of the glitch sound effects that we used:
In this shot we were experimenting with the camera and how effective a fast pan would be to add tension whilst someone runs down the stairs as opposed to a low angle of the whole body. However we decided the mid shot from the side of the stairs allows a juxtaposition between the imminent danger and a seemingly neutral angle as opposed to an oblique angle which will instantly impose fear on the audience.
An initial idea for the plot was to have a stalker in her house so we decided to see what it looks like to record her bed from the mirror. Not exactly sure how well it would work due to the small size of the room and no way of seeing the mirror through the door we scrapped the idea as it would be obvious they were in the same room and she should be able to see the killer.
Fun flickering light...was supposed to add suspense for the final scenes but it did not come out as planned. Could be edited post production though.
The editing used when the girl walks into the room is really effective in building a sense of horror. It was used in conjunction with high frequency music and an animal scream whilst the screen became white for a short amount of time. By cutting between frames of the girl and glitches at high speed the importance of technology in the plot is suggested. The extreme close up of her face when saying "oh my God" reveals the black marks around her eyes running, which suggests she has been crying, it then cuts to the typography after a very high pitch scream is heard. by doing so a sense of fear is created in the audience as the reason for her tears and the scream are not clear.
Maddy has a very plain face, which is typical for a final girl, though she may not be, her very loose fitted clothing does not give one the suggestion of promiscuity.
Her white T-shirt has red writing on it, this may connote that even the purist people will see blood shed, or have to shed blood.
Although her hair is not tied back it is a very simple hair style, nothing to fancy, this again fits in with the final girl theory.
This sequence is not an opening but a trailer, the use of glitch editing is something we would like to use in our opening as it conveys the idea of horror through technology.
The high angle used at the opening of the sequence may connote how regardless of their effort the imminent horror cannot be beaten. The colours employed at this scene are not very bright which is emphasised by the lighting which is low key denoting the lack of light in the situation, in the sense that nobody is aware of what is happening.
Costume Girl - jumper, girly colours preferably pink, with hair down, black jeans, slippers (as the character is at home, they need to relax)
Boy- jumper, jeans, trainers
Villan - black jeans, plain and simple t-shirt, dark coloured hoodie
Villain
As a technological horror film we would like to keep common conventions of dark coloured clothing but we think by clothing the killer in more recognisable clothing for the modern theme of technology.
The mask the villain is wearing says ignotus which is Latin for unknown, we chose this as the whole essence of a mask is to cover someones faces and conceal identity.
The more recognisable clothes of the killer helps add to the mise en scene of technological the Killer is using it very well
As we are creating a horror sequence we have to pick the correct non diegetic and diegetic sounds to help build a typical horror atmosphere and add to the mise en scene. As a lot of the best horror music is already used on movies we may have to ask for copyright or compose our own music for our sequence. To ensure we have the ability to make the right choice I have done a little research into horror music sound designs.
these are a few ingredients
very high pitched strings
there is often no repeating melody
if there is a melody there are a lot of tension keys/notes in them
often very slow moving in pace (not exactly slow tempo)
the begin of the composition is often very low pitched.
The tutorials are not exactly what we are looking to use, but the idea behind many sound designs employed can be used for what we want to do. Technological horror is fairly new genre of horror making more room experiment with various conventions of sound.
Diegetic sounds such as doors closing, glitches etc may have to be recorded post production, this may be a hard task to do as majority of the diegetic sounds are parallel and synchronous.
The main character of our opening sequence is not the final girl, the music she is listening to may have to portray her in a way that the audience are able to identify her as that. Also as there will be glitches added post production during editing the non diegetic music will have to accompany that with drum rolls and melodic white noise.
Our final decision was too find a non copyright music and sound effects. We needed relaxing music to create contrast between the high tension of the soundtrack used when the killer enters the scene.
We have decided to do a technological horror, the conventions of this sub genre of horror are very similar to the typical horror story, which we have already research into. The main difference is the use of technology in the propagation of horror. Most of our inspiration comes from sources such as
Pulse
Unfriended
Ratter
This is mainly because the sub genre is only emerging and there are not many examples of it.
The typography employed here takes simple bold white writing on a completely contrasting background. To allude to the idea of technology being used the title typography is blurred on the letters and has been edited to suggest it was moving, this glitch effect connotes an electronic (technical) error.
Proposed plot lines
Synopsis
A couple are in a hotel, no reason is given, the girl is video blogging about their journey and the guy walks in. She stops the recording and puts the laptop off but leaves it open, with the camera facing them she puts the laptop on a desktop. The next scene is in the morning with her sleeping and the guy dressed and leaving the room. After a while she gets up and checks her laptop and sees a picture on the screen of her boyfriend half alive with blood all over the place. She then hears a voice (or answers a Skype call)that states if she doesn't do what they say she will be next. The final shot would be a eye level from behind the screen with her face towards it and a voice saying good good whilst someone walks in.
Synopsis
A girl opens the door for a boy to leave (the light only comes when the door opens) you hear sound effects of what not. When she goes back to her room she sits at computer preferably but maybe laptop, she then sees a picture of the boy dead. And gets a Skype call of a guy with "no mask". The face the audience see would then drop off during a low angle of the killers feet at the end of the sequence. Whilst subverting the stereotypes of the killer not showing their face by showing the killers face with no mask. It will conform to them as the face seen will not be the actual face of the killer.
Comedy Horror is a genre that is aims to scare the audience whilst maintaining a comical theme as the plot unfolds. It can place twists in the usual horror clichés to create a comical ambience, use a different perspective or completely change the story.
Pros
Our audience are young adults, however not everyone can watch horror films, but with a light hearted spin on it the film becomes easier to digest.
It is not hard to come up with a story line for it as the basis if most comical horrors are the same, and we do not need to build up any characters from scratch.
The preconceived ideas of any character we pick to use do not need to be lived up to as the spin is placed on the characters
Cons
It can very easily be confused with other horror genres if the light entertainment is not implemented well enough.
If the film is really comedy saturated the horror essence can disappear quickly and it will become a comedy, which is fine but we do not intend at this point in time to make a comedy.
It may not be easy to communicate your idea of comedy to the audience (especially in the short amount of time we have)
The usual plot of a comical horror is based around a satirical spin of a common horror storyline or character. If we take a small cast of international horror characters and build a story around them coming together to complain about not doing enough
and coming to a conclusion to employ the use of technology more often in their acts of terror. As horror does not appeal to everyone mixing it with a light hearted genre like comedy increases our market.
Also by making use of the often overlooked horror characters we can spark peoples interest, as well as making the design of costumes easier as not many people will have preconceived ideas concerning our characters.
Using plays on the
camera framing,
lighting,
mise-en-scene
would be part of the techniques we use to allude to ideas of horror whilst turning them on its side to make our opening comical.
There are a few general pointers when constructing a horror storyline of any subgenre. They are not the all in all foundation but it will be easy to build around the recipe.
Camera Angles/Movement
The Camera angles are often unnatural but helps the with expression of the nature of the film.
Handheld Makes it difficult for the audience to understand what is going on during the scene(especially when it is a fast paced shaking)
POV Gives the audience the opportunity to see how the monster or the hunted see. Does not always occur at the start of the film but can occur towards the end as we have started to understand more about the monster by that time.
Camera Framing
Different types of camera framing can be applied to give a more dramatic effect to the film at different parts of the storyline. It also ensures that the part of the films are more unnatural than others.
Extreme Close up Using this camera framing makes it harder to recognise an object and it is often used on the monster which makes it very sinister especially when mixed with high key lighting from the bottom.
Plays on the depth of the Field By manipulating the position of objects in the field(frame) it often decreases our ability as an audience to perceive the movement of the monster as it creeps up on its prey.
Sounds
The use of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds in horror films is of extreme importance as it sets the ambience for horrific occurrences. It also helps to form a contrast between the often normal life the victim was living before.
Diegetic Sounds such as footsteps, breathing screams and extremely gory, flesh ripping for example sounds.
Non Diegetic High Tension Strings, Piano, Little or no percussive instruments until an attack is about to occur.
Mise-en-scene
Certain icons/props/settings are easily identifiable with horror, dark coloured castle with bats flying around in the moonlight. This is the same for characters, Victor Frankenstein's Monster is a very common one as it is extremely iconic. The use of dark colours and various post production techniques also add to the mise en scene of horror depending on the type of horror.
Editing
As horror films are often plays on supernatural occurrences the editing can be very fast as it makes sequences and scenes extremely unreal.
Lighting
The use of low key lighting helps to portray the importance of the character we find out to be the main character this coupled with the use of hard light shows the details of his body structure highlighting that is only by his hard work that will help him over come his challenges.
When his wife is shown laying on the bed the light changes to soft key (chiaroscuro) which suggests how important his wife is to him, and how her life as a mother and a wife is contrasted to his life as police man. This is typical of action films as the main character finds themselves fighting and surviving because of the family they are trying to raise.
Sound
All of the sounds in this scene are diegetic, as it is an action film they are all over emphasised but they are only the sound of his heavy breathing and the impact of his hands on what he is doing. However the absence of sound when his mouth is moving connotes that his voice has less importance than his fists, although not many realise it but many action films lack explicit conversational dialogue, and many action film veterans cannot act very well in anything else but action films.
There is no use of non-diegetic sound, like music, whilst music is said to create an ambience by not using it there is a sort of empty ambience created
Camera Movement
When Rama is using the punching bag to train the use of handheld camera movement helps to emphasise how fast he is punching because it makes his hands hard to follow, as an action film this is a useful technique as it is used to make the protagonist look extremely powerful and skilled . It also suggests that as a police man this type of training is an everyday occurrence as handheld camera movement can also connote a sense of reality in a scene.
Although most action movies begin with an establishing shot, either an aerial shot dolly shots or a crane shot of the general area the film is taking place. For a film like this it works to have eye level shots so that we are able to identify with the life of our main character and those he is trying to protect.
