Evaluation

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Peek-A-Boo, an opening sequence to a horror film, my media product, uses numerous traditional horror conventions.

One example of the use of traditional horror conventions is the title font design, this because it consist of the colours red and black. Red and black are typical horror colours, as the connotations of these are darkness, blood, danger and gore. Many other horror films have used the same colours to create an eerie feeling. One example is Dracula, which is a Hammer Film Production. In Dracula there is the use of clear red titles, similarly to our title sequence in Peek-A-Boo, to indicate that it is a horror film that is about to start.

Another horror convention which has been used in my media product is the horror convention of blood and gore. This has been used in the scene where Dolly Pocket kills Tanya, where she stabs Tanya with a knife (we used a plastic knife to ensure nobody would get injured) from the behind. Blood and gore are familiar conventions to find in a horror film, one example is from Halloween (1978), which is an American independent horror film directed, produced and scored by John Carpenter. In the opening of the film we get to see a scene where Michael Myers stabs his own sister. 

In the opening sequence, my film has also used the horror convention of a 'home made' video shot, where the camera is being hand held by one of the characters within the film. This makes it possible for them to look directly in to the camera, and it creates a sense of home, and safety. It therefore makes it more disturbing when something horrible is happening, as a home is suppose to be a happy place, where everyone can be safe. This home made shot has also been used in the famous films Paranormal Activity 1, 2 and 3. 

As my horror film use numerous of horror conventions, it also develops and challenges this genre. 

Usually horror films utilise at least one main male antagonist, as males are looked at as the strongest and stereotypically most aggressive gender, for example Freddy Kruger. In our film however, we challenged this convention by only using one female antagonist. 

As soon as we knew we wanted a female antagonist, we developed the idea, and made her a mother. This also challenges horror conventions, as a mother is looked at a person who is kind, loving and a type of character who belongs in a romantic film, rather than a horror film. 

Before we started filming, we planned that Dolly Pocket's baby was to be murdered, however, we decided against it shortly before filming commenced. We decided that the baby should have an innocent death, caused by natural causes. This way we developed conventions as it made the sequence appear more shocking when the audience could see what an innocent death of a baby could do to a mother, namely make her a brutal murderer. By doing this we also challenged the horror conventions such as violent epic deaths, because one of the deaths in our film is natural. Usually the deaths in horror films are very extreme and horrifying, such as the ones we can find in the films Saw and The final Destination, which are both Hammer Film Productions.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In the film Peek-A-Boo, there are two visible characters; Tanya and Dolly Pocket. The characters are from middle class, in their early twenties and they are both mothers. Tanya who is the victim in the film represents a stereotypical young middle class mother, which is very proper and reserved. Since she put her baby in day care (Shown in the film as she says “dropped the baby of at Susan’s”), it reinforces that she is from middle class, as she can afford day care.

Tanya’s clothes however, which is very simple and run down, indicates she is from working class bordering on middle class. Young mothers often dress down, as they are about to go through their daily routines of day care and work. This is exactly what Tanya’s clothes suggest she have done. This gives the character a simplistic and young look.

In the opening scene of the film, Dolly Pocket represents a stereotypical middle class mother, as she is walking around in a middle class house with her new born baby. When her husband is talking to her, we get to know that he is from middle class as well. This is because of his posh, sophisticated accent.

When Dolly Pocket’s child dies, and she becomes an insane killer, she represents a very unconventional middle class woman. She now dresses up in doll clothes. This is very childlike and babyish to the audience, however, she still lives in the same middle class house, and she can afford the doll clothes, something that indicates she is from middle class.

We chose that Tanya and Dolly were going to be near the same age, namely in their early twenties, to show the complete antithesis of Dolly. By showing one ‘normal’ mother, and one ‘disturbed’ one, my group felt that we  showed clearly how different and far from the norm Dolly really is. 






3. What kind of media product might distribute your media product and why?

My media product is a horror film, it would therefore be a media institution such as a film studio opposed to a TV company that would distribute it. This is because of the fact that horror films are generally not the type of films TV companies, such as BBC and ITV, usually invest in. They generally invest in thrillers and mystery films, such as Poirot.
Therefore Peek-A-Boo would fit better in a cinema environment under a studio name.

Since my media product is a psychological horror, as it involves Dolly Pocket’s mental breakdown after her baby dies, Paramount Pictures might be the best film studio to distribute my film. Paramount Pictures have previously distributed films such as all the Paranormal activity films, ‘My Bloody Valentine’ and ‘Case No. 39’. Therefore this would fit very well to my media project ‘Peek-A-Boo’.

Hammer Film Production however, could also be the film studio to distribute Peek-A-Boo, as Hammer Film Productions have put their name on many horror films such as ‘The curse of Frankenstein’ and ‘Beyond The Rave’. Both of the films contains violence and gore, something which fits our horror film, as Dolly Pocket brutally kills random mothers to get revenge for her own child’s death.

Overall, if ‘Peek-A-Boo’ was to be released by either Hammer Film Productions or Paramount Pictures, it would be a high budget film. This is because it would then be necessary to be able to buy all the props needed for the film as well as to make it in good quality, , for example, the murder scenes look more realistic. This would make the film more horrifying for our target audience, which is the main aim for horror films.  





4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

As my media product is a horror film, the audience for it would be people in their late teens to around 25 years old. The reason for targeting this age group is because younger people tend to like the scare factors in horror films more than other, older age groups.

In 'Peek-A-Boo' however, there are some themes which the older audience, around 25-50, might be better suited for. This is because the themes includes child death and how some might deal with it. These themes are more suited for an older audience as many of them can relate to how it is to have a child, and just the thought of loosing their children would scare all parents. The film might therefore be more scary to those who are already parents.

In terms of gender for the targeted audience, both men and women would be able to enjoy 'Peek-A-Boo'. 
Women however, might relate to the film more, as the cast in the film are female dominated, they are all mothers, and it therefore looks at things from a female's perspective.

When it comes to the ethnicity of the targeted audience it could be anyone. The cast in the opening scenes are dominated by Caucasian females, however this does not mean that 'Dolly Pocket' the murderer, would not be targeting mothers from all ethnicity's, as she seeks revenge on any type of mothers.

Ideally everyone from every social class could be attracted to 'Peek-A-Boo'. This is because, no matter what social class they belong to, everyone, ideally, gets the chance to experience how it is to be a mother. With that said, 'Dolly Pocket' is from middle class, and most of her victims as well. This means that we get a middle class perspective, which leads to the fact that the middle class audience might be the widest market for my film.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

I attracted my audience in the opening title sequence by adding eerie music. The music I used was the famous 'Pop Goes The Weasel'. In the opening sequence however, it has been remixed into a scary, upbeat and tense version. By adding this version to the film, it catches the attention and addresses a large area of the targeted audience, which is the younger audience. This is because the music is still recognisable as the sweet tune they would have listened to when they where younger, however now it has been changed into a twisted disturbing version.

How the titles are in 'Peek-A-Boo' they are also created to attract and address the audience. They are based on a numerous other horror film titles, such as 'Halloween' (1978) and 'Red Dragon'. This makes the audience attracted to those films and pay attention to 'Peek-A-Boo' as well. The titles of 'Peek-A-Boo' have the same fade-in, fade-out effects as those in 'Halloween', and they are in the colour red and black, which is the same as those from 'Red Dragon' . The fact that the 'Peek-A-Boo' titles are a lot like those from other famous horror films, makes people think it might be a good movie, and they will therefore go an see it.

Another way I have attracted and addressed my audience on, is by creating a serious and phsycological storyline that contains many dimensions people can relate to. Not only does 'Peek-A-Boo' contain gore and horror, but also a very serious meaning as 'Dolly Pocket' looses her baby, and seeks revenge by killing other mothers. This shows the psychological damage a person can get after loosing something very dear. 

In the film  'Dolly Pocket's' costume in the final clips are very rare. My group choose to dress her up in a doll costume as this would attract people to our movie. This would make the audience raise questions about why she is dressed like she is. This makes 'Dolly Pocket' more mysterious and also scary as the audience would not understand her. By the confusion of a grown up woman in a doll costume, with baby fetishes, it would attract the audience as they would like to know what which is wrong with her, and how she became so disturbed.

If 'Peek-A-Boo' was to be released I would use a lot of viral marketing as the targeted audience is those in their late teens to around middle age. This is because these tend to be the age group spending most time on their computer and on the Internet. I would for example create pop-up windows with commercial on about my film. 

I would also use a lot of traditional marketing, as this would reach a bigger group of audience, as not everyone have got computer and Internet. Through traditional marketing I would create posters and get it up in buses, school, cities, etc.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? 

When I first started the task of making my own media product, I had never before used a tripod or a Sony HD touchscreen camera for filming. Using the tripod I learned how many different camera angles it was possible to get from using it, some examples are a high angle, low angle, wide shot and two shot. These shots were very easy to establish as I could decide how high or low I wanted the tripod to be, as well as I could easily move the tripod a bit back when needed to create a two shot and a wide shot. Since the tripod was relatively small, it was also possible to position it on top of things, which would create a even more noticeable high angle, when it was needed for the film. I also learnt that by using a tripod it would create a steady camera shot, without any shaking, as it would be if the camera was being hand held. This was highly effective as it made the film look more professional. 

By placing the camera on top of the tripod I learnt that it was also possible to move only the top part of the tripod, so we could move this part with the camera on it, allowing us to follow the action within the scene, whilst the tripod's 'legs' where standing still. This made it possible to turn the camera steadily around and film exactly what was needed. 

As I got to know the Sony HD touchscreen camera, I learnt that it was quite easy to handle. I quickly learnt how to film with it, and I managed to get useful shots for my media product. I also learned how to zoom in and out, however, we did not need any zoom in/out shots for the film.  As we were filming I also figured out how to watch the raw footage directly on the camera, this was a handy thing, as it allowed my group to see if we needed to take any shots over again before we headed back to school with the footage, ready to edit it. 

As I got introduced to Adobe Premiere Pro, which was the editing program I used when making 'Peek-A-Boo' and making sure it was ideally edited, I found out that, similarly to the tripod and the camera, I had never used it before. During the editing progress I learnt several different effects. First of all I learnt how to export the footage from the camera and into the Mac computer, by putting the memory card in the Mac. After putting the footage into a Mac, we safely moved them into an external hardware, to be sure that it was safely saved. 

When we started the actual editing I managed to learn how to cut and paste the different clips, allowing me to get the clips in the right order, and also cut down the clips, so the overall film would not last for much over than two minutes. I also managed to manipulate the colours in the different shots, making them darker and scarier. Furthermore I figured out how to put different types of soundtracks onto the film, as well as making the transition between soundtracks soft and almost unnoticeable. I also learned how to make the transition between the different clips to dissolve, and also make it look like a seamless editing.

Another big part of my project that I have learned it how to use blogspot.com. I had never before been blogging in any kind of way. Fortunately I found the blogspot.com setup easy to understand. I was immediately able to write posts about different tasks we had done during the project time. Adding pictures to my posts however, has sometimes been a struggle, as it seems like the pictures move around a bit on their own. 

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? 

Looking back at my preliminary task, one of the main things I have learned must be how to work as good as possible in a group. I have learned how important it is to listen to other people opinions and ideas when it comes to how to create and edit the film. I have learned that being able to cooperate within a group is crucial to make a good film. My group were very good at cooparating with each other as we brainstormed all of our ideas together, and made sure that everyone got to say what they wanted. Furthermore I have learnt that being a good team member is very important to make the filming process as smooth and fast as possible. To be a good team member I met up at the planned filming days, at the correct time, with the correct props and costumes needed for the filming process.

From the preliminary task I have also learnt how to use a HD camera, and how to get the best camera shots from it, needed for the film. I learned this by filming many different camera shots and frames. By filming different camera shots and put them in the film I also got to show the true range of skills learned from the task. Some examples of camera shots are: Medium close up, hand held and long shot.



Another important thing I have learned from the filming process is that not everything goes as planned. The original idea for the film was that Tanya was suppose to walk with her baby in a pram, to show that she was a mother. However, since we had no access to a pram we had to change the idea, and we therefore came up with a new idea of her talking to her husband, saying she "just dropped the baby of". This was a simple solution and it also showed that she was a mother, and it therefore covered the point we were trying to show.

Peek-A-Boo

This is the result of the final film

Company Logo

Our logo design is inspired by the company name: Free Raven. We came up with the concept of a picture of a frightening raven, trying to escape from a dark eerie cave. The raven was going to have his wings spread out, where the name ‘Free’ was standing over one of his wings, and ‘Raven’ over the other.

When we started making the logo however, my group decided that to put the raven up in the sky, similarly to 20th Century fox's logo, where  we clearly can see the sky in the background, and to Columbia, where they have put Lady Liberty in the front of the sky, would be a great idea. The only problem with 20th Fox Century's logo and Columbia's logo, is that they were to bright for a horror film. It was therefore necessary for us to add elements of darkness and horror within it, more like those logos used by Hammer Films and New Line Cinema's. 

Our company logo

After trying out different colours we ended up with a logo looking like the picture to the right.

We chose a dark blue colour for the sky background, with white clouds placed in four different places around a black raven. Over the picture it stand 'Free Raven' with red an black colours, similarly to 'Films' under the picture. We chose to use the dark blue colour with the white clouds as it would portray a feeling of both good and bad, something which is presented in a numberous of horror films. The dark blue colour gives a sense of threat and danger, and  the white clouds are a sign of innocent and pureness. 
After discussing where to place the black raven, we found out it had to be in the middle of the picture, as it is natural for the audience to focus there first. The ravens connotations being darkness, eerieness, horrifying and death, it has the most frightening connotations, which was another reason for why it got placed in the middle.

Bad Robot Logo.

When making our logo we opted for a childlike appearance, similarly to what other film companies have done with there films, such as 'Bad robot'. By creating a childlike appearance we thought it would add a creepy effect even before the film has began. This is because connecting children/babies to horror is very sinister. It crosses the audience expectations, as children/babies are a clear sign of innocentness and happiness. So by connecting children/babies to horror gives an extra sense of the fact that something eerie and terrifying is about to happen. The logo is therefore foreshaddowing the plot line of the opening scenes of our horror film 'Peek-A-Boo', as the basis of our plot line are children/babies.

Music to titles

After creating the titles, we had to decide what we wanted as our theme tune. after listening to different soundtracks, we decided to fo for a track called "Pop goes the weasel". This is a dramatic production of the famous children's nursery rhyme. We thought this would fit our film perfectly as it has a horror sense to the track that is very strong and creepy along with the song relating to the film, because it is about a mother losing her child. She therefore becomes insanely jealous at other mothers and kills them out of pure spite. 

Therefore the theme of children along with horror was a perfect combination that suited the context of our film, whilst sticking to regular stereotypes of horror music. These stereotypes being loud and dark music, which is very chilling.

Titles sequence

Almost every film produced follow a specific order when making the title sequence. This is to achieve a desirable order, that will make the audience pay attention to what the producers thinks is the most important.

Our title sequence order follow this 'recipe', and therefore start with our company's name. Down below you can see the order our titles will appear on, on screen.

1. Company name: Free Raven films presents

2. Studio name: A Eide Raven production (Optional if you want on your movie or not).

3. Main actor: Chloe Ravenscroft

4. Major actor: Sophie Ravenscroft

5. The writer: Chloe Ravenscroft and Frida Eide.

6. Camera person: Frida Eide

7. In charge of the music/soundtracks: Julianne Alver.

8. Director: Amy Louise

After we had decided what order the titles would be in, we had to decide what type of writing we wanted it to be, as well as what colour we felt would suit it.

We immediately knew that the colours we wanted had to be dark and frightening. We were not sure on what type of writing we wanted, however we had an idea that it could look like the opening title sequence from the original "halloween" film from 1978.

After looking for a while, we found the type of writing and colours we thought would fit perfectly in to our horror movie.

As you can see on the picture below, the titles have the colours red and black, indicating blood, danger and horror. We were very happy about this, as both the colours have dark and horrifying connotations. As we got inspired by "Halloween" (1978) we chose a pure black background, which, as mentioned above, have dark spooky connotations. By choosing these colours to our titles, we hoped it would create a eerie feeling, indicating that it is a horror film that is about to start.


Pictures off all the titles:

Task 9. Filming

Second filming day, Sunday 19th February

When we came together this day, we had the plan ready. We were going to film scene three, our very last scene, where our second character, Tanya, played by Sophie Ravenscroft, was going to get brutally killed.

Picture from the scene

The location is Tamworth, and the setting is outside Chloe Ravenscroft's house. 

We chose this setting because we wanted a place with large towering trees that were leafless. This is beacause it gives a sense of isolation, by this we hoped to create a very eerie feeling, as nobody is around to call for, if you need help. This is something that is highly associated with the horror genre. 

Picture from the scene

Another reason for why we wanted an isolated place, was for us to shoot our film undisturbed. It was crucial for us that nobody was in the background at any time, as Tanya was suppose to be all alone while she gets killed. When Tanya gets killed, she is laying on her own doorsteep. We decided that we wanted her to die there to add a sense of sadness to the scene as she was so close to be safe. Being killed at your own doorsteep is also very wrong and twisted, as it is your home area, and the connotations for home is usually safety and warmth. By letting Tanya die there, we challenged a convention in order to corrospond with the horror genre.

In this scene we used a various different camera angles, amongst them: a normal medium shot, to show Tanya walking past the camera whilst talking in the phone, filmed from a tripod.

A close up at Tanyas face, to show her feelings after she gets the sense that someone is following her, it shows that she is scared, and a bit confused. This shot is also filmed from a tripod.

We also used a high angle whilst filming Tanya, this was to make her look weaker, and more powerless. This shot was also filmed from a tripod.

In one shot we used the technique by holding the camera ourself, giving a sense of uneasiness. This was also because it was from a subjective point of view. To be more accurate it was from Dolly's point of view, where she is watching Tanya from behind some branches.

We used another hand held, point of view shot from Dolly when she is running up to Tanya, this shot stops by Tanya screaming in a close up. 

When Tanya has been murdered by Dolly, we get a medium close up of Tanya laying on the ground, with the murder weapon next to her: the knife. As this shot goes on, a hand streches for the knife and grabs it. This is foreshaddowing that nothing is over yet.Which gives a horrifying feeling as it indicates that more people is about to die. 

The props used for this scene is a mobile phone, which Tanya uses in the beginning of the scene. 

One plastic knife, and one real knife. We used the plastic knife when Dolly Pocket is pretending to stab Tanya, as you can see on the picture to the right. This was to ensure that nobody would get injured if Dolly Pocket should have dropped the knife by accident. In the medium close up of Tanya laying dead on the ground with a knife next to her, we had switched the plastic knife out with a real knife. This was to make it look more real, and scary. If the audience saw that it was only a plastic knife that had been used, we would not get that horrifying effect we wanted.  

We also had to make fake blood, as Dolly would stab Tanya, and it would only be natural that it would come some blood out of it. 

The costumes used for this scene is a pair of blue trousers, a purple t-shirt and a white jacket for Tanya. This indicates that she is just a normal person, as the connotations to the white jacket is peacefulness and safety. 

The costume used to Dolly Pocket is the same as in scene one. She still have the green doll dress on, with white circles on it. This dress still gives a eerie feeling, as we think it is wrong for a grown up person to use such a dress, especially on this way.

Task 9. Filming

First filming day, thursday 9th February. 

On our first filming day we were all set to go to Chloe Ravenscroft's house, to get started. We had to make some changes from the production scheduale, but overall, the filming day turned out to be a great success, where we were able to finish both the opening scene, and the ending scene of our film.

The location for both the scenes was Tamworth, and the setting was inside of Chloe Ravenscroft's house, which in the film was suppose to be Dolly Pocket's house. The reason for why we chose this setting was because it was a standard middle class house, which would give a sense of realism to the film. The fact that both the opening scene and the ending scene were going to take place inside of the house, made it convenient for us to film it both on the same day.

Scene 1.

We were very eager to start filming, using the tripod and the camera that our school had provided us with. Before we could do that however, we had to decorate what which was suppose to be Dolly Pocket's living room, before she lost her child. We made the made the room very light, turning on every lamp in the room. We also had white curtains in the background. On this way we wanted to create a sense of safety, and make a typical home-feeling.

Dolly Pocket, in her home, holding her baby.

As we were filming we chose to film it in a 'home-made-video', were the character Dolly Pocket is looking into the camera, telling her 'husband' how beautiful their new born baby is. To make it more believeable that it was her husband she was talking to, we decided that she was going to ask her him this "Oh, isn't she beautiful Nigel?". On this way we could get a voiceover later on, of a grown up man saying "oh yes darling, she is", so it would seem like he had been there the whole time. 

The whole scene was filmed in a hand held camera, as this would give a sense of realism.

The costume used in this scene, are as you may can see on the picture above, a comfortable white sweater and some normal blue trousers. We chose the white sweater, as the connotations to white is pureness and innocence, this indicates that she is just a normal mother, where nothing dramatically has happened to her. The scene ends with the 'husband' throwing the camera down in a chair, so the audience can not really see what happens, as he is running over to his child, were Dolly Pocket is crying, because the baby is no longer breathing.

Scene 4.

As we were finished with filming scene one, we immediately started to get ready to film the ending scene. Before we could start filming, we had to do the make up, needed for Dolly Pocket's face after she lost her baby. In this scene, she is no longer a loving mother, but an insane and brutal murderer, which is obsessed by her dead child. 

Before the filming day, we had already looked up on the internet, using google, on how to put on make up so it would look like a creepy doll. After finding the make up needed, we started to do the makeover in Dolly Pocket's face, played by Chloe Ravenscroft. 

Pictures from the transition:

The first thing we did, was painting her face all white, on this way we took away all the natural and good colour a human usually have in its face, and made it more ghostly. We did this as stereotypically ghosts are horror creatures. After this, she got some black eyeshaddow, both over and under her eyes. By adding these two effects, we made her look more scary and dead, and she was now closer to reveal her true nature.

After this we added big pink cheeks to her face. This was to create the image of a porcelain doll, to show how far Dolly Pockets obsession has gone. This indicates a very bad mental state

When the pale white skin, the black eyes and the red cheeks were all finished, we had to make her even more scary to get the horrifying effect we longed for. We therefore, as planned, gave her creepy black lips. The black lips gave the missing effect we wanted, and after them she looked like a mix of a half dead demon and a terrifying doll in her fac. We felt this truly revealed her true nature.

This is a picture of the ending result of Dolly Pocket after she has become an insane murderer.
As you can see we also chose to put her hair into pigtail. This was to reinforce the idea of Dolly's doll image as it is a very childish hairstyle, which adult generally do not wear.

As we started to film the ending scene of our film, we had to do something with the living room she was in. In the first scene it was very white and pure, now however, we wanted it to be more dark and eerie, but at the same time show that it was the same living room she was in. We wanted this change because the character had gone through a huge change in personality and in the way she looked. 

We therefore turned the light down, so the whole room was darker, this gave an immediate effect, however, we both knew that we needed to edit these shots in an editing program when we came back to school. This was because we both wanted the room to be even darker, wich would create a bigger sense of scariness and danger.  It will therefore not be natural lighting in any of the shots from the ending scene.

The props used in this scene is one knife with blood one. This is suppose to be the knife Dolly Pocket killed Tanya with. We can see her comming in with it, in a long shot, filmed in a low angle. The low angle gives Dolly more dominance. 

We also used a numerous toys, which Dolly sits on, with her dead baby. This is filmed in a long shot, as we can see her whole body.

We also had to use a blanket, where the 'baby' is laying in. In a over the shoulder shot filmed in a high angle, however we can see that there is no baby. This is the shot which reveals that Dolly Pocket really is insane, as she is singing to a blank blanket, believing her baby really lies there.

The costume for this scene, is, as you can see on the picture, very different from Dolly Pocket's costume from scene one. In this scene she uses a green doll dress, with white circles all over it. We thought this costume would give a creepy feeling, because it is suppose to be used in a cute way, possible young children using it, while they are happy and out with friends.In our film however, it is used while she is killing other people and is obsessed by her own dead child. This challenges people view over a doll costume.

Scene 2.

As we had finished up both scene one, and the ending scene we figured we had good time on us, so we started filming scene two. This is a very short scene we only needed to film Dolly Pocket in her doll costume taking up her knife and walking out the door, foreshaddowing she was going to kill someone. This was all done from the tripod, were we used medium shots. Because the room was still to light, we figured we also had to edit this in an editing program when we came back to school. Therefore it will not be natural lighting, but the location, setting and costume are still the same. The only prop we used for this scene, was the knife.

Task 9. Filming

Before we start to film, my group made a production schedule, where we planned out when, where, what, etc we were going to film, to make it easier for us on the actual filming day.

Our production schedule:

Task 7 and 8: Role allocation and casting

Task 7: Role allocation


In my group we have split the different tasks between each other like this:


Cameraperson: Frida

Writer: Frida and Chloe

Editor: Frida and Chloe

Director: Frida and Chloe

make up and costume artist: Liz Ravenscroft

Actors: Chloe Ravenscroft as Dolly Pocket

              Sophie Ravenscroft as Tanya

Task 8. Casting

In our film we need two actors. One actor to play Dolly Pocket, the antagonist in the film, and one actor to play Tanya, which is the victim in the opening sequence of Peek-A-Boo.
The props Tanya need for the film is a baby pram and formal clothes, this character is going to be played by Sophie Ravenscroft.
The props Dolly Pocket will need is toys, doll costume, bones and a plastic knife. This character has been decided to be played by Chloe Ravenscroft.

We choosed the name Tanya to the victim as it is just a casual working/middle class name, with no linking to anything special. On this way it shows that Tanya is just a regular woman, with no special qualifications. In the film as a whole, she does not have much to say, except from showing, by her death, that Dolly Pocket is a brutal murderer.

We also choosed the name Dolly Pocket because this is more unusual. This indicates that there is something special and different about her. We specifically choosed the name 'Dolly' because in the film she is obsessed by her dead baby, and we often find her sitting amongst many dolls and other toys. The connotations to a doll, and therefore maybe 'Dolly' as well, are happy, children playing, light and safe enviroment. Since this is not the case in our film, it makes it even more twisted and disturbed. On this way we are also crossing people's expectations related to the name.

Storyboard

The purpose of a storyboard in general is to photograph (draw/digitalised) each and every shot that is going to appear in the film which involves a list of key information written underneath each shot. Storyboards allow the director of a film to visualise the whole film even before they have started filming and the storyboard allows the cameraman shooting the film to understand how the film should be shot. The befits of this is it allows you to change elements of the film and its shots if they don't seem to work visually before the expensive filming  process has begun. the frame of a storyboard shout contain -
The shot number- each shot must be numbered so the intended sequence of shots can be followed.


Framing- Whether the shot will be a close up for example or a medium long shot.


Drawing- So there is a visual image of what is happening in the shot.


Action- This is a brief description of whats happening in the shot.


Dialogue - Single lines may be written in order to understand in what shots dialogue is needed.


Sound effect- This is if their is any specific sounds diegetic and non diegetic.


Abbreviations can be used.
Therefore before making the opening of our horror film we have storyboarded the opening sequence in order to make the filming process as easy as possible and so we are organised and know what is needed when it comes to collecting/filming our footage


Our storyboard for Peek-A-Boo

Character profile

Every film made has one main character, and one or more major characters. The main character is generally always the protagonist which is the hero of the film, however, in our film the main character is the antagonist which is the villain. Our main character is Dolly pocket. She is a serial killer, as you may recognize from the picture below. The major characters in the opening scene is Tanya and her baby, sadly they are the victims of Dolly pocket in our two minute film; Peek -a -boo. 

Main character, Dolly Pocket:

Name: Dolly Pocket

Age: 25

Gender: Female

Occupation: Unemployed, serial killer.

Appearance/costume: Dolly's clothes are in the colours pink, red and black. Black hair in ponytails. White skin, red cheeks, black around her eyes. 

Characteristics: Jealous, psychopath, angry, disillusioned and revenge seeking.  

Major character, Tanya:

Name: Tanya

Age: 26

Gender: Female

Occupation: Nurse and mother

Appearance/costume: Tanya wears tidy appropriate clothes that are comfortable. Her hair is in a short cropped hairstyle for efficiency. She wears smart glasses and natural make up and in general has a gentle look about her

Characteristics:

Tanya is a kind, maternal, loving character that is hugely good natured. The opposite to Dolly Pocket.

Task 4. Film certificates

When a film has been made, it has also been made a rating for it. This rating decides who can watch the film and not.

The once in power to decide what the rating it is going to be is British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). BBFC are responsible for the national classification and censorship of films within the United Kingdom. This organisation is non-governmental, and is funded by the film industry.

The different rating certificates films can get are:

Universal – This means that everyone can watch it, there is no age limit, and nothing unsuitable for children over 4.

Parental guidance – All ages admitted, however, there might be some unsuitable scenes for children under 8. E.g. sex/drugs references, violence if justified by context.

12A - This category was introduced in 2002, and only counts when the film is shown at the cinema. It means that the films under this category are considered unsuiteable for very young people. Those under the age of 12 years, are only aloud to watch the film if accompanied by an adult, who has to be at least 18 years old. The adult have to be with the one age 12 or under, at all times during the film. However, children under 12 are still not recommended to watch it, as it can contain discrimination, moderat swear words, mature themes, soft drugs, infrequent strong language and moderat violence/sex references.

12 - This category was introduced in 2002. When films are rated to be 12A, they have usually been rated at a 12 certificate for the VHS/DVD version. This, however, does not happen if there has been added any extra material that demands a higher rating. Those under the age of 12 are not aloud to rent or buy a 12/rated VHS. DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game.                                                                                        The films within this category may include moderat violence, infrequent use of strong language, infrequent drugs, brief nudity, and discreet sexual activity.

15 - This rating certificate means that only those aged over 15 are permitted to watch the film. Those under 15 are not aloud to buy or rent a 15-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, they can also not watch a 15-rated film in the cinema. Under this category the films might contain hard drugs, adult themes, undetailed sec activity, moderate-strong/sec references and strong language and on use of very strong language.  

18 - This rating certificat means that only people aged 18 and over can rent or buy an 18-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or watch a film in the cinema with this rating.                                                           This category may contain strong violence/sex references along with strong sexual activity, no limits on bad language and scenes of strong real sex may be aloud if justified by the context.


The film we made, 'Peer-A-Boo', will be rated with a eighteen certificat. This is beacuse even though the gore and violence is not strong, there is an adult theme within the film. The fact that a innocent baby dies is a serious theme, and is not appropriate for younger audience than 18.
On top of this there is also a dark murder already in the opening scenes, and in the way the opening scenes stops, it indicates that the murdering is not finished. The fact that there is a dark murder, makes the film inappropriate for audience under 18 years old, as it can be disturbing for those below this age group.

Task 4. The pitch

4.1-4.2 In this task we were suppose to come up with four concepts for either horror, romcoms or thriller films. We were also suppose to outline the basic plot/storyline.

Peak A-BOO

Lady dresses up as a doll. She stalks parents with babies due to jealousy, because she has lost her own daughter.

Scene opens with close ups on doll, teddy bears, baby clothes, at first proper toys, and then toys and dolls with eyes ripped out and destroyed. When camera films a close up of a cot the scene dissolves into a dark night.

Creepy woman stalks a woman with her baby in a pram. 
We keep filming the shadows of the creepy woman, dressed as a doll, as she continuously says peak A-BOO. Last time she says it, she shouts it out and attacks the woman, ends up with killing her. And p o v of the baby in the dead mothers cot of the creepy doll face she carries on repeating peek a boo the camera dissolves again showing the same pov shot of the creepy doll women looking into a cot however you see from a long shot she is back home she picks up baby which is a skeleton sits in the teddy’s and cry’s and rocks the baby crying peek a boo titles boom on.

Trapped

Young children /teenagers knock on a creepy women’s house and ask if they can sleep over as they are lost and need a place to sleep. As they get directed into different rooms, toys begin to come alive and attack the teenager. Now the party of teenagers are unable to get out they need to find a way to escape fast as the old women begins to turn on them to!

Possessed

Man comes home from work, he gets possessed by evil spirit as he walks through his door, and the sprit has control over his mind and body. The spirit then kills the man’s wife. The sprit leaves the body when the job is done and the man is left shocked and confused at what has happened then the sprit attaches to another and keeps doing so until everyone is dead.

Run

The scene opens with freak accident with a group of drunken teenagers messing about near a lake. In the chaos a girl is brutally drowned and left for dead by friends the scene cuts to the present and you see a ghostly figure of the girl rise eerily from the daughter with a knife with red eyes ready to attack those who left her to die so terribly.

Conclusion
In conclusion we chose to make film number one; Peak A-BOO. This because it involved less people in the movie, this makes the film easier to produce, as it is hard to find actors that are willing to work and use their spare time needed for the movie to be made well. It also had the scariest and most twisted plotline, to keep the audience interested. We also felt that this idea had the most depth to the characters, so there was a wide range of possibilities to work with.

analysing the box office data for each genre on UK film council website

This table from the 2010 box office shows the amount of horror, thrillers and romance films released in that year. The results show that horror had the most releases in the year compared to the other genres inferring that the Uk audience most likely want to view horror films at the cinema more than say the romantic films as more horror films were released implying there is a larger demand for them. Making horror a good genre of film to make as it is suggested to be the most popular film for the Uk audience. However even though romance only had nineteen releases there gross profit was slightly higher than horror at 58.4 compared to horror which grossed 51.1. this may be however because in 2010 more key releases and anticipated films in the romantic genre were released in 2010, for example the most popular film for romance in 2010 was The twilight Saga this is a well-known franchise so more people are likely to go see it compared to new horrors that are fresh on the market as they are already fans of the previous films. Even though paranormal activity 2 is a sequel the fan base for the films are nowhere near as big as the Twilight Saga which is a international phenomenon.  

The next pie chart shows the average box office per site of each genre in 2010. The results show that the average box office per site was higher than the thriller and horror genres at 18,861 compared to 13,151 for thriller and 11,624 for horror. However horror still grossed more than thriller implying even though it was released at fewer venues where it was released the films did very well indeed. Taking this into consideration the results also suggest that horror is a profitable market as romance was released at more venues implying they can reach a wider range of people than horror and thriller and seems as horror only grossed slightly less than romance it implies the horror film is a good market to invest in as it still makes huge gross and is still in competition with other genres such as romance even though it does not necessarily get aired to as many people.

Results of horror questionnaire

Ten people answered the questionnaires on various questionnaires more than one answer was required

1) What age group of characters best suit a horror film? 

Teenagers = 9/10
Children=1/10

2) Do you expect to see violence and gore?

Yes=9/10
No=1/10

3) Who is your favourite evil horror character?

Michael Myers=1
Chuckie=1
Sprits in various films=2
Freddie Kruger=1
Hannibal lector =2
Pinhead=1
Preacher in poltergeist=1

4) Who is your favourite hero in a horror movie?

Van Helsing =3/10
Special agent graham=3/10
Unknown=2/10
Care worker in case 39=1/10
The victim in hostel=1/10

5) What kind of music do you expect to see in a horror film e.g. famous song/backing track?

Backing track=5/10
Loud music=1/10
Eerie/spooky music=3/10
Silence=1/10

6)What do you think of changing gender dynamics in a horror film?

Yes=4/10
No=4/10
Do not know=2/10

7) How do you expect the title in a horror movie to appear e.gfast slow, big small and where on the screen and the effects present – fading in and out?

Fast=2
Slow=5
Fade in and out=7
Various effects=1
Big=6
Small=3
Centre position=3

8) What kinds of settings do you expect to see in a horror movie?

Bedroom=1
Dark backstreet=3
At work=0
Woods=6

9) What is your favourite horror movie?

Zombie land=1
Silence of the lambs=1
Dawn of the dead=1
Scream=1
Final destination =1
6^th sense=2
Halloween=1
Jeepers creepers=1
Do not know=1

10) How do you expect the editing to be in a horror movie?

Twist=2
Sharp=2
Slow=1
Fast=2
Do not know=3

Analysis from the questionnaire
From the survey we have drawn the conclusion that most candidates liked teenagers and children as the main type of character in the horror film. This suggests that they liked the idea of innocence present in a character which is manipulated as children and teenagers are usually viewed as more innocent then adults as they are stereotypically less knowledgeable. Therefore suggesting when children and teenagers are the antagonist it is much more disturbing and wrong as it is unnatural.

A large number, nine out of ten, expected to see violence and gore in a horror film inferring that people associate a horror film with a lot of violence and acts of murder or pain. Whereas only one person voted no to violence and gore implying the idea that a horror film doesn’t necessarily have to contain violence and gore instead mental violence ,hurt and breakdown . implying not all horror s have to contain blood .   

The next two questions consisted of asking people there favourite hero and villain characters were in a horror film and why. There was a range of answers implying that a range of creatures or evil characters are viewed as equally scary in the horror genre. The reasons to why consisted of people feeling sensitive when the villain was a spirit for example saying they felt unprotected and unsure as the hero couldn’t protect themselves physically . other answers consisted that their favourite movie villains were people who had an appearance at first of purity but turned out evil e.g. Hannibal lector and Michael Myers who was a child at the beginning of a film this suggests that the audience like characters who appear as something they or not implying a sense of mystery is liked.

The heroes on the other hand such as Van Helsing were predominately male except for a few exceptions implying that a male character as the hero is viewed as most realistic as the reasons why consisted of strength and braveness something usually associated with the male gender opposed to female . However some people liked female heroes such as the case worker in case 39 suggesting sometimes a women hero is liked as it challenges the norms of a stereotypical horror film when the women is seen usually as the damsel in distress . This idea is reinforced on the gender dynamic question where 4 candidates like the idea of a women hero or villain with two not being fussed implying that the gender dynamics of women is a topic open to the public who are ready to embrace it.

People also voted that the music in a horror film should be a backing track opposed to a famous song containing as a backing track more spooky loud and eerie suggesting people found the music in a horror film important towards creating the scary horror setting.

The most popular setting for a horror film was the woods and a dark backstreet inferring that the audience liked places which were silent, dark and mysterious as both places are very good hiding places such as the woods where the antagonist can hide.

For our two minute film opening we have decided to make the opening of a horror film in order to prepare for this we made and sent out ten questionnaires based in horror dynamics in order to retrieve information on what an audience of a horror movies desire so when it comes to making and editing our film we have a clear idea of what will most appeal to our audience .

The majority of the questionnaire answerers seemed to prefer horror film titles that faded in and out and titles that were in the centre of the screen along with fading in and out slowly this inferring that there is a set particular style of titles that the audience like film makers to conform to that include the titles appearing slowly and fading in and out at the same time. It is implied in order to build u suspense and tension stereotypically. A majority of the questionnaire answerers also stated they like the idea of the titles appearing blood like suggesting gore is liked at the very beginning of the film rather than introduced slowly.

A range of horror films on question nine implied that a set type of horror film is not always desired by the audience and they like a range of films as each type of film had a different sub genre or very different characters from human to alien. This suggesting that our horror film does not necessarily need to stick to a certain type of horror film as the idea of variety is highlighted in this question.

The desired editing in a horror film varied greatly with some answerers confused at how they like to see a horror film edited however fast cuts were highly desired implying the audience like there horror films to be fast paced as the fast cuts create a sense of excitement and tension giving the impression the film is heading. This is something to consider when filming and editing our horror film .