7. Looking Back At Your Preliminary Task (The Continuity Editing Task), What Do You Feel You Have Learnt In The Progression From It To Full Product?

7. Looking Back At Your Preliminary Task (The Continuity Editing Task), What Do You Feel You Have Learnt In The Progression From It To Full Product? from JamieTilsley17

6. What Have You Learnt About Technologies From The Process Of Constructing This Product?

5. How Did You Attract/Address Your Audience?

Media 5 how do you address the audience redone from JamieTilsley17

4. Who Would Be The Audience For Your Media Product?

4. Who Would Be The Audience For Your Media Product? 

This is Dave. Dave is a typical 18 year old teenager who lives in a house with his parents in Bedfordshire. He is up to date with fashion and typically wears t-shirts and jeans, but occasionally likes to wear smart shirts to look more formal. He likes to buy his clothing at shops such as Topman and Asos. As he is 18, he is currently studying at college on a computer science course.

      His hobbies include; playing football as he is interested in watching football games on TV and supporting his local club. He also enjoys bike riding through some of the scenic routes in Bedford to get a breath of fresh air whilst admiring the views. For relaxation, Dave enjoys watching films at home and at the cinema with his mates. His favorite genre for films is the thriller genre, but he enjoys other types of film too, such as the horror genre as it offers some of the same thrills as watching a thriller film. His most liked films are; Se7en, Kill Bill and Xmen. He is also interested in music as a form of media and likes; alternative rock, rap and chart music, following some of the popular artists such as Drake and Calvin Harris. 

Dave would be our target market for our film as there are many people similar to him who enjoy going to the cinema with their friends to enjoy a film, this is where we hope to draw people in like Dave to see our film. As Dave is also interested in films which thrill him, our film being in the horror genre will be appealing to him and would be realtable for him as there are characters which are of a similar age to him, making it more targeted for someone like Dave. 

3. What Kind Of Media Institution Might Distribute Your Media Product And Why?

Media 3 what kind of institute would distribute your film? from JamieTilsley17

2. How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups ?

How does your media product represent particular social groups? from JamieTilsley17

1. In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop Or Challenge Forms And Conventions Of Real Media Products? (i.e. Of Film Openings)

1. In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop Or Challenge Forms And Conventions Of Real Media Products? (i.e. Of Film Openings) 

Title of the film
Our film being called 'Obsession' makes use of the widely used convention in real media products which is power of suggestion. It does this as the film name is displayed at the very end of the film opening so the audience have seen the film opening first and are then introduced to the idea that the killer has an 'obsession' with murdering people and the rest of the film would show a bigger picture. This does follow the convention of slasher horror films as it puts emphasis on the fact the murderer has an 'obsession' with multiple homicides which is what happens in the majority of horrors in the slasher sub-genre.

Setting
The two locations in the film opening are a house and a walkway/subway. The first location (a house) goes against conventions in slasher horrors as in regular films as you would regularly see the murderers house in a horror film be untidy or they would be situated in a gloomy, dirty location such as a barn. However, the house shown is well kept and tidy to challenge the convention and shows that a mass murderer could be living anywhere, making our film more relatable and scary.

Costumes and props

We have developed the regular conventions of a killer in horror films in our film opening using costumes. We have our killer dressed in smart attire to illustrate that our killer cares about his appearance and being neat, as shown in the opening where the killer adjusts his tie and carefully places his shoes down when he takes them off. This is to portray the fact the killer in our opening isn't the typical large, dirty looking brute that would normally be committing murders in horror films, this character is a smaller, intelligent and calculates what he is doing when he murders his victims. The props shown in the film opening mainly follow the conventions of a horror film. For example the knife subtly shown under some papers hints at the murder weapon being used, which is always a sharp object in a 'slasher' genre film. The book of victims used as a prop does follow conventions in a slasher as it portrays the killers many victims.We did go with a convention with the victims clothing however. This is because when the audience see the victims in regular clothing. The first victim is wearing jeans and a jacket, which is a worldwide fashion and follows the effective convention of having the victims be more relatible to the target audience. It makes the victims more realistic and the audience think it could happen to anyone as their clothes are regular.


Camerawork and editing
With the shots we used we tried to use as many as the top 10 horror shots as possible, following the main conventions in terms of shots and camerawork to get the best effects possible form different shots. So we tried to use; the off kilter shot when the killer is walking towards the camera. This is to make the audience feel uneasy and to indicate something is wrong with the fact the camera isn't positioned properly. The over the shoulder shot was used when the killer was approaching the downed victim as to place the audience in the midst of the action. A close up of weapon as included whilst the killer was walking as to place emphasis on the murder weapon. When the victim comes to the realization that the killer is coming to murder him, a close up of fear is used to clearly show the whole face of the victim to tell the audience he is feeling extreme fear. A shot of the victims was shot with a high angle to make them appear small and vulnerable they appear as to make the audience worry for them. To oppose this, a  low angle shot of the killer is used when the victim is on the floor to give the killer more power as he is shown in a situation of power and appears more dominant as he is above the audience. Point of view of victim shot was used when the second victim is looking around for the missing first victim. This gives the audience a view of that the character is looking around at and immerses the audience in the scene. It may be following the generic conventions of real media productions, but they come up with the best results and effects, which is why they are used so often in the horror genre.

Title, font and style
The opening logo fits in well with our film as it transitions from normal font, to bloody with blades going through the words. This may be regarded as following conventions as it quite stereotypical for a horror genre film to have a bloody font or connotations of blood in many aspects, but it does have a good effect that lets the audience know the tone of the film from the beginning. Our opening credits also have a flickering effect when they come up on the screen, making the audience feel uneasy.

Story and how the opening sets it up 
We make good use of the power of suggestion in the beginning of our opening, including the book of victims and the flashbacks to their dead bodies, implying the killer has committed these murders without having to show the actual act of him committing the murder, leading the audience to make those assumptions themselves. These lead the audience to believe the story will be explaining the killers various activities and will focus on victims he has/will encounter.

Genre and how the opening suggests it 
The first thing shown on our film opening is our production company logo which immediately illustrates that our opening will be a slasher with the inclusion of blades stabbing through our writing. The uneasy music played throughout the opening also portrays the fact the opening is a horror film as it makes the audience feel uneasy with droning sound and out of tune notes. The dark setting in the house the audience is introduced to is quite mysterious and

How characters are introduced
We decided to go against the norm in our introduction of characters as you would usually be introduced to the main victim characters first as the audience will get to know them better but we have chosen to introduce the killer first. This opposes conventions in horror films and is more original, as the audience are made familiar with the killer, whilst he is still kept mysterious as the audience aren't shown his face, but see what he is capable of.

Special effects 
A filter was put onto the scenes of the victims where it will alter the colour of the film and makes the scene a different, uneasy colour to make the audience more uncomfortable as it is unusual. This is used in real media products for the same effect and we have used it to make our film more effective at making the audience uncomfortable.

Film Opening Draft 1

Our original Draft film opening came out different to how we expected. The First half of the opening filmed inside the house was how we imagined it and we are happy with it. However, The second half filmed outside could do with improvements. For example, we shot some parts before others so there was a clear difference in lighting as the day went on, which made the opening appear inconsistent. The location may also need to be changed as there are more suitable locations which fit in with the horror genre more than our current location as they are more secluded and realistic for murders to be taking place. An actual murder weapon will need to be used instead of a stick as a sharp weapon such as a knife is a convention of the slasher sub genre of horror.

Production Log Diegesis

The music is a key aspect of any film and adds to the fear created by the film. We got our music from a site called 'freesound.org'.  We used this site as we aren't allowed to use copyrighted music as it is stealing someone else's work and songs with a copyright require permission. As we do not have the permission to use any copyrighted music, we used the 'freesound.org, pdsound.org and freesfx.co.uk' website to get copyrighted music that we can use for our film.

Production Log Editing

Are you on schedule?
Currently we have shot all of our footage so all that is left is to edit. This means our time can be dedicated to editing. At this point in time we have all of the footage in order but we need to add transitions, credits and music to make the finished product.

How is it going?
The editing is going well so far and all the clips are filmed, in order and ready to have transitions and music added. The clips are all good quality and with some work, they will turn out to be a good, convincing horror film opening.

What are the difficulties? 
Some of the difficulties of editing are deciding which music is appropriate for each scene and making the timing exact with the video, making it synchronized. Also the time of cutting clips.

What programmes are you using?
We are currently using adobe premier pro and adobe aftereffects. These programmes allow us to edit and create the best film possible.

Production Log Filming

How did it go? 
The majority of the filming went well as it didn't take too long and we got good shots and scenes quickly. We also kept filming to places close to each other so we could do quite a lot of filming in different scenes in the same day.

Did you change anything from your planning? 
We stuck to our planning pretty well and kept to the initial ideas mainly, we did make a few changes, adding things that would make the film seem like that there was more going on than just the opening. Our initial idea was to film at the subway outside the cinema, which we stuck to, however we did add a scene at the beginning with our killer (Ashley) flicking through a book of victims to make it seem like there was a bigger picture other than what we were just doing.

What were the difficulties? 
Some of the difficulties with filming were our choice of location as outside of a cinema at four o'clock is quite a busy time so we kept having to stop as people walked past. Another difficulty was choosing a good time to go outside and film as there was only a short window for good lighting. The camera also ran out of battery very quickly and one time we had to go home without getting all the footage because it ran out of battery.

Are you on schedule? 
Currently we are on schedule as we have finished all of our recording and are now able to move on to editing and the film will be finished by the end of the week.

Storyboard

Storyboard planning from JamieTilsley17

Scripting

Stage Directions 

Killer: Ashley
Victim 1: Jamie
Victim 2: Diego

Scene 1 

Killer opens door and steps inside. Once inside, he adjusts his tie and closes the door behind him.

Killer bends over and takes off his shoes and places them to the side of the hallway.

Killer walks across the room to a chair and table with a book of victims and lamp on top, which he sits down at and looks at the book.

Killer turns over the pages of his victims.

Killer puts book down and picks up a red marker to cross through the picture of the victim.

Killer turns page once more.

Killer places book down again and places a knife over the picture of victims 1 and 2.

Scene 2

Victims 1 and 2 walk down towards the camera.

Victims walk past the camera and take a right.

Victims are walking straight again as the killer emerges from some bushes.

Killer walks slightly behind the victims.

Victim 1 gets a phone call and pulls out his phone to talk, dropping behind victim 2.

Killer grabs victim 1, pulling him backwards, out of shot.

Victim 2 looks shocked as he turns around and begins to walk back to where victim 1 was to look for him.

Victim 2: "Jamie?, Jamie?"

Killer walks out from the side and comes towards victim 2

Victim 2 looks scared and shocked and turns around to run from the killer.

Victim 2 takes a left turn and runs straight before falling over.

Killer walks slowly towards Victim 2 as he is crawling on the floor and when he gets to him, he swings the knife at him.

Timeline planning

Timeline planning from JamieTilsley17

Costumes

Costumes from JamieTilsley17

Locations

Locations from JamieTilsley17

Prop list

Prop list from JamieTilsley17

Mood board

Brainstorming synopsis

Production company logo

Group: Jamie, Ashley and Diego.




The Crew Productions logo represents our group as there are three of us doing the film and we are represented by the three swords going into the writing. What this production company logo does is, it creates a visual aid for me, Ashley and Diego, as we are able to be represented by pictures and words so whenever people see this logo, we are represented.  It also directly links to the slasher sub genre in horror, as a main convention of the genre is a sharp murder weapon to kill multiple victims, which is represented by the blades stabbing into the writing to signify this.

Within the production of films, there are two kinds of production company, which are Major production companies and independent production companies. The main difference between the two is the amount of money or budget of the companies. A major production company will have acquired a much larger budget than the independent company as usually the major company will have a much larger film which is made, or blockbusters. The major company will also posses control over the marketing, funding, production and distribution and mainly dominate the cinemas. Independent films may not even be released on sites or cinema and often go straight to DVD.

Similar production companies which specialize in the Slasher sub genre are Ghost House Pictures, Dark Castle Entertainment. Looking at the Dark Castle Entertainment logo, uses only tonal colours and is mainly dark as to fit with the tones of the films it produces and to link to the 'Dark' in the title. The words are also only partially written with gaps in the writing to give the font a worn out appearance, fitting with the battered, untidy themes in the horror genre such as houses and killers clothing.

Blood experimenting

Fake flesh:
2 TBS corn starch
4 tps water
2 drops of red food colouring
1/4 tps cocoa mix


Instructions: Add all of the corn starch to the bowl, add 2 tps of water and stir. After, add 2 drops of food colouring.




This method of making blood wasn't carried out the way it was supposed to by my group. The final outcome was suppose to be a thick, fake flesh, however we made a runny blood. It still looked okay as blood, but it wasn't the fake flesh we were aiming for. This would be suitable for a slasher of body horror sub genre as fake flesh would often be seen in them and lots of gore is a convention.


l
Thick Dripping blood:
1TBS corn starch
2 tps water
2 drops of red food colouring
1/4 tps cocoa powder

This video shows how to make thick dripping blood. The batch made in this video came out quite well as it looks realistic in the footage. This would be ideal for film-making, especially in the horror genre in slasher films as dripping blood for murdered victims, or blood to be placed on weapons for a gruesome addition to the killers murder weapon.









Washing up liquid blood:
1/4 cup of washing up liquid
4 drops of red food colouring.

The blood made in this video was made with the addition of washing up liqiud to give the blood that thicker, more realistic look. This blood recipe looked effective when poured out and when it splattered on the paper. This would look quite effective in a slasher horror sub-genre for a wounded victim, and could add a sense of realism to the film if the audience saw this type of fake blood spilled on the floor for a pool of blood effect.

Preliminary task video

Preliminary task storyboard

Story board preliminary from JamieTilsley17

Preliminary task script

(Ashley opens the door and goes outside, heading towards the shelters and suits down on the bench, opposite Diego and lets his bag sit beside him. Ashley then opens his bag to get out a water bottle and drinks from it)

Diego: What's that you're drinking? (pointing towards the bottle)

Ashley: Buxton water mate

Diego: Let's see the label

Ashley: Here you go mate

(Ashley chucks the bottle to Diego)

Diego: Bloody hell, 2,000 calories! (holding the bottle,after reading the label)

Ashley: At least I'm not fat

Diego: oh...

(Diego hands the bottle back to Ashley and walks away, looking sad)

Audience expectations

Audience Expectations

LO: To investigate who the audience for your film will be and what their expectations are.

1.       What is the sub genre of horror you are creating?

The sub-genre we will be using for our horror will be slasher horror. One of the conventions of this genre is excessive use of violence, usually with one killer and multiple victims that the killer peruses through the course of the film. Its name was obtained due to its killers in the films using a blade as a weapon to kill their victims.

2.       Who do you think the target audience for this sub genre is and why? Back up your points with specific examples and conventions from the genre. Why do you think these people will enjoy your sub genre?

The main target audience for the sub-genre would mainly be adults (over the age of 18) as the rating would be 18 for most of the films in this genre, which would limit the people who would see the film to 18 and above only. The conventions would be enjoyed by people who like to be thrilled and like excitement. The suspense and shocks brought by the film will make the target audience enjoy watching the film and our sub-genre.  

3.       What demographic do you feel would watch your film?

The demographic for my film would be aged 18+ male or women as there aren’t any gender specific conventions in slasher horrors. Any rating on the jicnar scale as a job wouldn’t really affect ability to watch or enjoy the film.

4.       What BBFC classification will your film fit into? Use the BBFC website to decide this. The sub-genre that you choose to create will determine whether your film will be a 15 or 18. What effect will this have on your target audience?

Our film will fall into the BBFC classification will be an 18 as the slasher genre includes multiple murders a lot and relies on gore for the fear and a disgust factor. This will not really affect our audience as the 18 rating is already aimed at the 18+ audience, which our film will account for with the use of mature themes and use of gore which will appeal to the slasher horror audience.   

5.       Lastly it is important that you know what your audience expect from your genre of film:

They will expect to see lots of murders and gore as it is a regular occurrence in slashers, with a main, mysterious killer who doesn't necessarily have any motives, making the film more scary as anyone can be a victim.  

Nine frame analysis

Nine frame analysis redone from JamieTilsley17

Certificate ratings

History of the horror genre

History of the horror genre from JamieTilsley17

Genre conventions

Genre Conventions

This research helped me plan my film by helping me see the key stereotypes and conventions that would be commonplace in a horror film. Seeing the words used in describing a horror film I can realise the necessary accolades that my film needs to have in order to be a successful film in the horror genre.