Our opening sequence features a teenage girl, reading in the living room of her home on her own. All of a sudden, the phone rings and when she answers, all she can hear is white noise. Thinking nothing of it, she goes back to resume her reading. But as she sits down, the phone rings again. All she can hear again is white noise. Feeling more confused, she walks away. The phone rings again, much quicker this time causing her to get agitated and unplug the phone.
Thinking that she will no longer be bothered, she walks away when suddenly the lights turn off. She eventually finds the light switch and turns them back on. She finally returns to the living and she discovers the book that she was reading minutes ago has been ripped to pieces with the pages scattered over the floor. With the knowledge that someone or something has been in the room she backs away in fear. As she backs away, she bumps into a mysterious figure who's identity is not revealed. She screams in fear and the scene cuts to black.
The enigma of this film is that the audience do not know who the figure in the house is. Is the figure an invader/stalker or is it a paranormal entity? What is the reason behind the mysterious phonecalls? What happens to the girl? Is she killed? These questions would hopefully keep the audience curious to find out what happens.
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Script for 'The Noise'
After sharing ideas with eachother we have produced the final script that we will be following for our production. All dialogue in the script appears in red text to differentiate from the stage directions.
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“THE NOISE”
BY JOE SMITH
EXT. HOUSE
Isolated, quiet at night time
INT. LIVING ROOM
LUCY, a teenage girl, is lounging on the sofa reading a book. She is very focused on reading and the room is silent. All of a sudden a phone rings loudly. LUCY puts the book to one side and gets up and leaves the room
INT. KITCHEN
LUCY walks up to the phone and picks it up
LUCY
Hello?
The sound of white noise is the only thing audible from the phone
Hello? Hello?
LUCY looks at the phone slightly puzzled and then puts it back down
INT. LIVING ROOM
CUT to LUCY sitting back down, getting comfortable and starting to read again. Almost immediately the phone can be heard again. LUCY sighs and gets back up and leaves the room
INT. KITCHEN
CUT to LUCY picking up the phone
LUCY
Hello?
White noise can be heard again from the phone. Lucy looks slightly annoyed and confused
Hello? I can’t hear you
LUCY puts the phone down again. As she is just leaving the room the phone rings again. LUCY looks around looking more irritated. She walks up to the phone
LUCY
Hello?
LUCY sighs at the sound of white noise and then puts the phone down and unplugs it. As LUCY walks away, all of the lights briefly turn off. After some shuffling around, the lights come back on. LUCY looks around confused, and then leaves the room.
INT. LIVING ROOM
LUCY enters the room and then freezes on the spot as she notices that the pages of her book have been torn out and scattered over the floor. LUCY gasps and backs away and as she does this she bumps into a figure. She turns and screams
CUT TO TITLES
Monday, 27 February 2012
Preliminary Task
In preparation for filming, we filmed a short preliminary task where we got to try out different types of shots and filming techniques. This allowed us to become familiar with the equipment before we go to film our opening sequence
We filmed each part of the scene multiple times from different angles which gave us a lot of material to work with in the editing suite. This is good because we had the opportunity to choose the shots which looked the best
In order to improve on our work, we should make sure that we keep continuity in our shots so that they flow together smoothly
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Risk Assessment
To make sure that our production is risk free we will make sure that the house that we shoot in is tidy on the day so that there is no danger of anyone tripping over.
The street in which the house is located is fairly quiet so if we need to be in the road to shoot some establishing shots, there is very little danger of cars that we cannot move out of the way
The street in which the house is located is fairly quiet so if we need to be in the road to shoot some establishing shots, there is very little danger of cars that we cannot move out of the way
Production schedule
We plan to shoot the sequence on a day where everybody is free so we can all give creative input.
16.00 - set preparation
16.30 - rehearsal
17.30 - filming exterior shots
17.45 - filming interior shots
18.30 - break
19.00 - filming interior shots
20.30 - finish shooting for the day
After I have viewed the footage that we capture, we will then make a judgement on whether certain things need to be filmed again
16.00 - set preparation
16.30 - rehearsal
17.30 - filming exterior shots
17.45 - filming interior shots
18.30 - break
19.00 - filming interior shots
20.30 - finish shooting for the day
After I have viewed the footage that we capture, we will then make a judgement on whether certain things need to be filmed again
Shot list
Establishing shot of exterior of house
Long shot of Lucy sitting as she reads her book
Over the shoulder shot of her reading
Medium close up of Lucy reading
Long shot as she gets up and walks to phone
Medium shot or close up as she picks phone up
When Lucy answers the phone again there may be another close up showing her agitated expression
As she walks away, she will walk towards the camera so her face takes up one side of the frame and then phone will ring again
Close up of plug socket as she unplugs phone
As she returns to the room there will be close ups of the pages which have been ripped out of the book bearing threatening messages (maybe)
More shots will be added as we develop our idea further
Long shot of Lucy sitting as she reads her book
Over the shoulder shot of her reading
Medium close up of Lucy reading
Long shot as she gets up and walks to phone
Medium shot or close up as she picks phone up
When Lucy answers the phone again there may be another close up showing her agitated expression
As she walks away, she will walk towards the camera so her face takes up one side of the frame and then phone will ring again
Close up of plug socket as she unplugs phone
As she returns to the room there will be close ups of the pages which have been ripped out of the book bearing threatening messages (maybe)
More shots will be added as we develop our idea further
Draft of script
I have decided to call our film "The Phonecall" for the time being. This may or may not change depending on whether we think of a better name. As this is a rough draft, we are unsure on certain aspects (these aspects are the ones which appear in red text) and we shall discuss as a group how we want the final result to be
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“THE PHONECALL”
EXT. HOUSE
Isolated, quiet at night time
INT. LIVING ROOM (or BEDROOM)
LUCY is sitting (or laying) on sofa (or bed if in bedroom) reading a book. All of a sudden a phone rings. LUCY puts book to one side and gets up
INT. (WHEREVER PHONE IS)
LUCY walks up to the phone and picks it up
LUCY
Hello?
(White noise can be heard from the phone)
Hello? (Waits 2 or 3 seconds) Hello? (Puts phone down)
INT. LIVING ROOM (or BEDROOM)
LUCY sits (or lays) back down and starts to read again. The phone can be heard again. LUCY sighs and gets back up
INT. (WHEREVER PHONE IS)
LUCY picks up the phone
LUCY
Hello?
(White noise can be heard again)
(Slightly annoyed) Hello? I can’t hear you
LUCY puts the phone down again. As she is just leaving the room the phone rings yet again. LUCY looks around looking more irritated. She walks up to the phone
LUCY
Hello? (agitated)
Hello? (agitated)
LUCY sighs at the sound of white noise and then puts the phone down and unplugs it. As LUCY walks away, all of the lights briefly turn off. After some shuffling around, the lights come back on.
INT. LIVING ROOM (OR BEDROOM)
LUCY enters the room and then freezes on the spot as she notices that the pages of her book have been torn out and scattered over the floor.
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This is as much as we have developed our script so far. We are going to make regular alterations as we decide how to end the sequence.
Idea for film opening sequence
We have decided to take inspiration from the opening sequence of Scream
The basic idea is that a girl is home alone and keeps on being bothered by a ringing phone which, when she picks it up, she can only hear white noise. This also draws inspiration from The Ring, in which a phone call is a main part of the story. The phone carries on ringing and she keeps hearing white noise. When she returns to to continue her reading, her book has been torn up with pages ripped out. We may have something threatening written on the pages as well
We also are going to have the door knock, but nobody be outside. At this point we are unsure of what follows. A possibility is that something will appear behind her and grab her so that we have a jump scene.
This is the basic idea for our opening sequence and we will continue to build on it
The basic idea is that a girl is home alone and keeps on being bothered by a ringing phone which, when she picks it up, she can only hear white noise. This also draws inspiration from The Ring, in which a phone call is a main part of the story. The phone carries on ringing and she keeps hearing white noise. When she returns to to continue her reading, her book has been torn up with pages ripped out. We may have something threatening written on the pages as well
We also are going to have the door knock, but nobody be outside. At this point we are unsure of what follows. A possibility is that something will appear behind her and grab her so that we have a jump scene.
This is the basic idea for our opening sequence and we will continue to build on it
Audience Research
We asked a number of people various questions regarding horror films. We filmed the responses
I also decided to open out my research to a wider audience by creating polls
The research shows that paranormal horror films involving the supernatural are the most popular type of horror film in the age group in which I did the research with (16-25).
The results of this poll show that each of the aspects listed are important in creating an opening to a horror. But making the audience jump is seen to be less important.
I also decided to open out my research to a wider audience by creating polls
The research shows that paranormal horror films involving the supernatural are the most popular type of horror film in the age group in which I did the research with (16-25).
The results of this poll show that each of the aspects listed are important in creating an opening to a horror. But making the audience jump is seen to be less important.
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Generic Codes and Conventions of Horror
We are planning on making a horror film which follows the typical codes and conventions of the genre. Horror films tend to have a very specific formula
The typical storyline of a horror film will involve a person or group who is being terrorised by a malevolent character (who may be a serial killer, monster or ghost)
Location
The location of horror films will usually be an isolated place where the character is vulnerable. This shows the character to be helpless when the antagonist attacks. Examples of settings in horror films may be an empty house (such as in The Ring and Scream) or a vast setting (such as the corn field in Jeepers Creepers 2)
Characters (Victim)
Horror film victims tend to be female but can sometimes be a young male (such as in Jeepers Creepers 2). The reason for this is because these types of characters are seen by the audience as vulnerable. The victim should be easy to sympathise with so that when the antagonist makes their move it is more harrowing. The victim may be wearing neutral colours such as white to connote purity and innocence
Characters (Antagonist)
It is during the opening that the antagonist will usually make its first appearance. It may sneak around to build tension. The antagonist will probably be dressed in a way that obscures them to make them mysterious. This involves the use of masks or anything that hides their face. This makes them more frightening to the audience because of the fear of the unknown
Cinematography
The cinematography of horror films involves a lot of close up shots of the victim to capture their tense, fearful facial expressions. But also, they may make use of long shots to emphasise the victim's isolation and make them look smaller and therefore more vulnerable.
Sound
Horror films regularly use "jumps" which are loud noises that are used to startle the audience. This may be done through the use of violins which can create a very high pitched noise. Other sound effects that are used in horror films are scraping and screeching noise and sometimes even the sound of a heart beat. Diegetic sounds such as footsteps or breathing are sometimes used too
The typical storyline of a horror film will involve a person or group who is being terrorised by a malevolent character (who may be a serial killer, monster or ghost)
Location
The location of horror films will usually be an isolated place where the character is vulnerable. This shows the character to be helpless when the antagonist attacks. Examples of settings in horror films may be an empty house (such as in The Ring and Scream) or a vast setting (such as the corn field in Jeepers Creepers 2)
Characters (Victim)
Horror film victims tend to be female but can sometimes be a young male (such as in Jeepers Creepers 2). The reason for this is because these types of characters are seen by the audience as vulnerable. The victim should be easy to sympathise with so that when the antagonist makes their move it is more harrowing. The victim may be wearing neutral colours such as white to connote purity and innocence
Characters (Antagonist)
It is during the opening that the antagonist will usually make its first appearance. It may sneak around to build tension. The antagonist will probably be dressed in a way that obscures them to make them mysterious. This involves the use of masks or anything that hides their face. This makes them more frightening to the audience because of the fear of the unknown
Cinematography
The cinematography of horror films involves a lot of close up shots of the victim to capture their tense, fearful facial expressions. But also, they may make use of long shots to emphasise the victim's isolation and make them look smaller and therefore more vulnerable.
Sound
Horror films regularly use "jumps" which are loud noises that are used to startle the audience. This may be done through the use of violins which can create a very high pitched noise. Other sound effects that are used in horror films are scraping and screeching noise and sometimes even the sound of a heart beat. Diegetic sounds such as footsteps or breathing are sometimes used too
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