Title Research

In general horror film DVDs and posters have either a very structured, solid font used for their title of have a scrawled, scratched looking font. These types of fonts are often reminiscent of the films themselves, for example the badly written titles are often for films in which the main character/ villain is a child or something relating to childhood, as you can see above on the posters for 'Orphan' (2009) and 'Humpty Dumpty' (2011). In more mature psychological thriller horrors it is more common to find a fairly basic block font with only slight added effects as can be seen with 'Mirrors' (2008) in which there is only a slight edit of a letter being mirrored and in both 'The Skeleton Key' (2005) and 'The Amnityville Horror' (2005) in which the fonts have small effects added to them.

Before doing font development I had already decided I wanted the poster to be black and white, meaning I did not need to do any research into colours or spend time deciding on which colours I would like on my poster. I did however have to decide on the correct font for the poster. In the horror genre there is two distinct types of fonts used. Some films use jaunty or scratchy looking fonts to give a messy and desperate and sometimes childlike feeling which reflects what the film is about. Other films use old or traditional fonts to give a creepy, aged feel to the poster which again is reflective of the sort of story the film tells. I have decided I would use a mix between the two, having a jaunty yet structured font, as it would represent my movie better.

Using this type of font also gives a more serious look to the poster and the movie and would possibly attract a more mature audience, which would be useful due to the movie being over 18 and so attracting a younger audience would be futile. I have decided I will be using the fonts "Beatnik SF" and "Felix Titling" with possibly a more handwritten looking text for a smaller sub-title style text underneath the main title. I will try to use solid fonts for the most part on the text on the page including actor and film information.

I decided to search the website "dafont.com" for fonts under the category 'distorted' as this seemed to match the look I wanted. Under this section I found the font 'Akoom' and decided this had the correct mixture of structure and jauntiness to suit my film.

Horror Music

 

The music used in horror films is important to add to the atmosphere of the film. Using happy, cheerful, upbeat music would essentialy ruin the tension of the film and would also not really m ake sense. Although this sort of music is sometimes used at the start of horror films or to lull the audience into a false sense of security, though in trailers this type of music is not often used as there is only a small amount of time to convey the right atmosphere.

The most notable music used in horror films are the classical scores used in films such as Jaws (1975), Halloween (1978), The Omen (1976) and even more recent film The Sixth Sense (1999). Some films even now use these classic scores yet most are alot more theatrical now and are used to get small scares by changing the volume quickly. This music used is also often catchy so the music stays in people's minds, resulting in them being scared long after seeing the film. Jaws is the most obvious use of this as you may often hear people humming the tune at the beach or even when sneaking up on people. I would like to use one of these scores however possibly not one which would be so easily recognised. For example Final Destination (2000) by Shirley Walker is a good example of a simple yet creepy tune.

Filming of the Setting and Lighting

 

This film shows the setting of the film/ trailer and includes many of the props I plan to use. This also shows the type of lighting I plan to use; a red light which should create an eerie, horror type atmosphere. This lighting also hints towards the supernatural aspect of the film as this type of light is so unnatural without being overbaring that it just hints that something other worldly is involved. This is useful as in in the trailer it is not until close to the end that the viewer will realise the film is based on supernatural events. This red lighting was created by an industrial heater which was readily available to me as my father owns it. If this had not been an option it would have been slightly harder to find a strong red light on my budget. The only slight issue with using only one light source is the casting of shaddows which can be seen in the above film, on the grandfather clock, however if I added another light at a different angle this may be helped slightly. Therefore I will now need to locate another one of these heaters which I could use freely as purchasing one would be far too costly.

Timeline

0:00 - Symbol (5 Seconds)
0:05 - Film Production Titles (10 Seconds)
0:15 - Letter Scene (7 Seconds)
0:22 - Travel Home Scene (6 Seconds)
0:28 - Entering Shed Scene (5 Seconds)
0:43 - Looking Inside Shed Scene (15 Seconds)
1:03 - Reading Book Scene (20 Seconds)
1:15 - Looking at Pictures Scene (12 Seconds)
1:25 - Symbol Search on Internet (10 Seconds)
1:55 - 'Stalker' Scenes (30 Seconds)
2:00 - Text on Screen (5 Seconds)
2:05 - Flash of Face (5 Seconds)
2:10 - Fade Out (2 Seconds)
2:12 - End

The Killer

I hope to follow the same traditions followed by similar films. For example the characters in 'The Ring' (Sadako Yamamura) and 'The Grudge' (Kayako Saeki) follow old Japanese folklore. They are both 'Yūrei' a type of Japanese ghost, recognised by long black hair and white clothing, both relating to death. Both also look very young and inocent (relating to their names both including the japanese word for child 'Ko'). I would like to include some of these aspects in the killer in my film as both of these films are regarded as very scary, even rumoured to have made people commit suicide. With such a strong shock factor this type of person is perfect to use in a horror film.

First Scene

This first part of the trailer is important as it will address and explain what is happening in the film and will show the main story line. Without this the entire thing would make no sense and would be pointless to film without context. In the establishing scene the main character will find a book which has creepy drawings and writing which will explain why the rest of the film happens. Of course not everything will be given away at this stage as a large part of horror films is the twists and revelations. I will leave much to be found out and understood throughout the film, so by the end of the trailer the viewers should have a rough idea of whats happening and the storyline, however not all will be revealed as to make people want to watch the full film.

Fillming

It would be difficult to film my trailer in the way most horrors are as I do not have the technology used available to me. As horror movies are almost always set at night I will have to use the 'blue tinted' method in which the film is shot in controlled light and then the screen is tinted blue in order to create a darker, more scary feel. Many films use this technique, including 'The Ring' and 'The Orphanage'

Props

The props I will need to use consist of mainly ominous, old looking objects such as small tarnished statues, traditional paintings and even bigger objects like a grandfather clock. All of these I have readily available to me, meaning there is no practical issue in locating what I need. I will also be including more commonly scary props such as chains and hooks, these wont be essential to the story line however they may subconsciously create a foreboding feeling of fear. I will also need a pile of old books and diaries which may be harder to locate as buying a new looking book would not create the correct feel to the film.

Makeup

Commonly in horror films the character's personalities are adressed through their makeup, for example female killers or even horrible girls in films which aren't horrors wear dark and strong makeup to reflect their intentions. The good girls or victims often wear much lighter and more natural makeup to portray their innocence. This plays onto the theme in horror movies where we trust the virginal girls and are more suspicious of the more superficial characters. I will therefore ensure the character in my film has little makeup on her eyes and lips in order to convey the correct image of her as a victim. This will then change to darker, smudged makeup to show a darker, more evil side as the trailer goes on.

Research and Planning

What's Included + Why?

In the trailer I would try to include a mixture of what I would include in the film, for example there will be both deep somewhat clever moments and jumpy aspects. We would not include too much gore in the trailer as to not distract from the main meaning of the film and so I can get across the correct feel to the film. It would also be difficult to realistically film a death without the sort of effects professional make up and CGI crews would have. So it would be wise to avoid having to do this in order to prevent the trailer looking too amateur and unrealistic. I plan to show short disconcerting clips in order to give off an idea but not show everything. So for example I won’t explain things in detail in the trailer but the audience will be aware of the general storyline and concept of what is happening.

Features I will include:

There is a prominent use of eyes in many horror films, as shown above in 'The Eye' (2006). This is something I would like to lnk in to my horror film as the basic aspect of the film is that a girl is being watched, making eyes a somewhat crucial part of the trailer. The use of this is usually reasonably inconspicuous, with people not nessescarily realising that they are a large part of the film. They are ofcourse also very creepy if used correctly which is useful in a horror. I hope to be able to use this common aspect in my filming process as to adhere with the themes of the genre.

Along with this I am planning on using one of the common 'stock screams' used by so many horror films. I would have liked to have been able to use the 'Wilhelm scream' which is perhaps the most famous of all of these screams however with a purely female cast this would have been too difficult to include.

Clothing

In most teenage horrors the characters are dressed in dull, dark colours in order to convey the feeling of the films. Even when brighter colours are used, as can be seen in the last photo, the tones are dulled down as to not make the scene seem happy or lively. It can also be seen that in some films the characters are dressed in brighter colours before any danger is addressed  for example right at the start of the film, as can be seen in 'The Ring' (2002). The clothes also often blend into the background, making us notice other details about the scene for example the whiteness of the tape in the bellow picture. If bright colours are used is often red due to it's dangerous or painful connotations. 

Success Criteria

Success Criteria	How will it be determined that the criteria is met?
Over 3 minutes long	Timer
People are scared or intrigued	Survey after screening after which we could use the feedback to alter scenes.
Doesn’t look amateur	Use good camera + effects + props and survey after
Audience understands concept	Survey after screening
Adhere to horror film rules	Compare to other horror films
It's considered to be good	Survey after screening
It's jumpy or shocking	Observation during screening
Audience follows timeline of story	Survey after screening

Horror Movie and Target Audience

For my coursework I will be making a trailer for a horror movie. The target audience would be aged 18 to 25 as this is mainly the age of those interested in the horror genre. The film would be more aimed towards being jumpy and creepy than a clever, thriller type horror which we can see in films such as “Shutter Island”. This genre has been popular recently however that type of film would be more directed at an older audience who are looking for more than just quick scares. Our film would in some ways meet this type of film due to it being a bit deeper than the classic teen slashers like the “Nightmare on Elm Street series”. I believe the film would mainly interest females due to the main character being a girl and therefore they would be able to relate to how the character feels at certain points in the film. Although males have generally been the main audience in horrors, there has recently been a rise in the popularity of the genre with girls. This could be due to the ‘Final Girl’ concept I will be using that can also be seen in films such as final destination which alternate between female and male main characters. Using women in horrors as actual important characters rather than prey for the killer to quickly slaughter means females are more attracted to the genre therefore I can easily make them our target audience.