Planning for Production: Celtx

In class we have been using the industry standard software Celtx to write up our screenplays. The programme also allows the user to organise the entire production by creating a database of actors, characters, locations, sound effects, text, props and makeup. Finally, it can create a Production Schedule tailored to the times of day specified in the scene headings (e.g. 'EXT. SCHOOL GATE, ACLAND BURGHLEY SCHOOL. DAY').

Poster flat plan and tagline ideas

In my idea I have chosen to follow conventions of horror movie posters by using an image of one of the characters and bold text at the bottom of the page. Immediately as someone looks at it they can tell it is a horror as the text at the top makes reference to Halloween, also hinting about the release date. The colours used would ideally be black, red, some white for contrast. Originally I thought dark blue would give it an eerie look but dark blue and green have connotations of the supernatural which does not relate to our film's plot.

Taglines could possibly be: along the lines of: "Avoid the VOID", "Nothing can save you in the VOID"

Typography

This selection of typefaces shows the type of font we want to use for the title or the tagline displayed on the poster and at the end of the trailer. These all follow horror conventions which I think is important as it immediately signifies the genre to the audience whereas use of variation in the typography could mislead the consumer. Layer styles such as shadows and glows have been used in Photoshop to emphasise the chilling look of the fonts. 

Personally I would like to use the second or fourth as I think the first is quite blocky and reminiscent of monster movies which doesn't represent the threat exposed in our trailer of misuse of power. The kerning of the third is quite close making it a bit hard to read.

Target audience and demographics & psychographics

Who is our primary target market?

How will our trailer satisfy uses and gratifications?

Music

In my post analysing the 'Grave Encounters' trailer, I made a note of the sound effects and music used which highlight the themes of alienation while giving it a creepy atmosphere. We hadn't considered the music in our trailer much until the Film's Cool session with Awate which helped us think about the atmosphere we were trying to create and how his music would allow us to do that. We decided on the track 'Firm' because it has some typical horror movie stings in it, but the hip-hop genre adds to the contemporary feel of the trailer.

Planning for Production

These rec drawings have helped us think about how ,on a practical level, we are going to shoot the trailer. They show where in the classroom location the camera will be placed, the movements the camera operator will make as well as the actors' movements. Additionally we have updated the storyboard to reflect the new plot and change of the film's name.

Plot, characters and USP

We have been discussing and finalising our plot and characters while the usp and themes have largely stayed the same. The name of the movie has been changed from 'Detention' to 'Void' after we talked about avoiding similarity to existing films and a desire to have a short, punchy name that would have a lot of impact. 'Void' refers to the underground void in which we will shoot part of the trailer in.

Synopsis: 5 students at a school in London are forced to have extra detention  by a cruel, unpopular maths teacher. While he leaves the classroom, the kids plot their revenge on him and play a prank that seemingly goes wrong as they then see teacher laying outside on the floor. Thinking he is dead or severely injured they try to escape the building and find that the gates are all locked. The only way out is through the school's underground void. But will they all manage to escape as the teacher seeks his own revenge on them?

Characters:

• The evil teacher
• The protagonist, the surving girl (although not implied in the trailer)
• The wanderer, a boy who is depicted as stupid (could be a slightly comic character) who leaves the group and gets killed first
• Another teen who is the first to get in the void but gets killed there, shown/implied in the trailer
• Another teen in the group whose death is shown in the trailer
• Another teen whose death is not shown in the trailer

These characters will fit in with the established stereotypes (e.g. the Wanderer, the Final Girl) and we will employ variation by ascribing them characteristics of  stereotypical youth subcultures in London.

USP and themes:

Planning for Production

With the help of industry experts at the Film's Cool session I developed the ideas the group had already formed for the trailer. The storyboard shown above is what we have agreed to shoot and create titles for. The trailer, like others does not fall in line with Todorov's narrative theory as it does not show the last stage of resolution. The trailer follows conventions of the genre but we may choose to use variation in the style of the trailer (the beginning which introduces different teacher 'types' before showing the audience the antagonist, the evil  science/maths teacher) and the characterisations displayed (e.g. depicting uniquely English stereotypes).

Representation of women in horror trailers

Feminist film theory: Laura Mulvey's audience theory argues that the film industry creates products for a male audience. Filmmakers use this 'male gaze' in a variety of ways: women are objectified through 'lingering' camera shots and females are characterised as passive in narratives.
Textual analysis of a horror trailer:

'Demons Never Die' (out 28th October) is a new teen slasher/horror film set in London

Narrative Theory: Todorov

The narrative theory developed by Tzvetan Todorov can be recognised -to an extent- in the trailer I previously analysed, 'Grave Encounters'. The structure of the trailer follows the structure of Todorov's theory although the fifth part is left out to not give away the plot. The audience now know some of the story and will want to see the film to find out how it is resolved.
A sense of equilibrium is established in the trailer's opening: everything is calm and normal. There is a slight sense of unease but this is not expanded upon.

Suddenly we are presented with some shocking imagery, 'disturbing' the equilibrium. The threat is introduced and this part of the trailer mirrors the narrative of the entire film.

Next, the characters identify the threat and seek to confront it (combining stages 3 and 4 of recognising the problem and trying to reinstate equilibrium).

However the final stage of a resolution within the narrative is omitted. Enigma codes are used in the trailer to excite the consumer and make them anticipate the film's ending. The trailer ends with a disorienting, hand held shot sequence further confusing the viewer.

BBFC Restrictions - How will they affect my trailer?

The British Board of Film Classifications provides films and trailers released in the UK with a ratings certificate. Some films are not given classification, for example those the BBFC consider to be 'in breach of criminal law'. Filmmakers submit their films to the organisation which is run independently as most cinemas (which are under licensing laws to prohibit the screening of restricted -'18'- films to minors) or video outlets do not show or sell unclassified films.  The trailer we are going to make is aimed at a teenage audience and will therefore carry an appropriate '15' rating. The BBFC guidelines state that a '15' film must:

• not promote or encourage drug use
• not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour
• only include horror elements that are 'non sexualised or sadistic'
• not glamourise risky behaviour and easily accessible weapons
• not include repeated aggressive uses of strong language - only one use of non threatening strong language is allowed in a '15' trailer
• feature themes appropriate for 15 year olds

The guidelines will not affect our trailer greatly as the horror shown in it will be age appropriate for the target audience. Drug use and sex will not be depicted although we may face issues in representing the killer's weapon of choice. In the killer's characterisation we have to emphasise a lack of humanity so the audience are not made to feel very sympathetic towards this character. Discriminatory language will not be featured in the trailer as it is irrelevant to the story we are trying to convey. The action shown in movie trailers is depicted as more out of context than in the film as a whole, therefore the rules are stricter on what is allowed in the trailer (e.g. in a film you could show a violent act and the subsequent consequences the character faces later on but it would be more difficult to represent it in a 2 minute trailer).

Planning for Production

"Detention"
Synopsis
The film's premise is that a teacher, driven to the edge by unruly students is the killer in a London school. He strikes during after school (or Saturday) detention, allowing him to not be caught and exact his revenge on the tormenting teens. The main targets are six students, one of whom will be the protagonist/hero who survives.
Protagonist and Stock Characters
We have chosen to follow the convention other films use of having an adult male as the antagonist. However we will employ variation by having him be in a role of authority (a teacher) and not on the fringe of society which will express the fear of abuse of power within society. The stock characters will be teenagers (six in total, adhering to the convention of having a higher ratio of male to female characters)who exemplify youth subcultures in London and will fit in with the established roles such as the Wanderer, the Popular Girl, the Final Girl etc. Our stock situation of a school detention allowed us to make use of different stereotypes among school students which will help foster a sense of Personal Identity (as identified in Blumler and Brown's uses and gratifications theory) within our target audience. The characters we have developed exhibit some of the same aspects with those identified Goffman's character theory as opposed to Propp's theory which characters of the horror genre rarely fit in with. The following is a list of the characters that will feature in the trailer:

• The teacher/serial killer. We could hint at some sort of instability within his life by ascribing him certain characteristics (he might be quite eccentric, for instance). The catalyst for his drastic change in behaviour (i.e. what makes him suddenly start killing) is his students' constant tormenting which borders on abuse. 
• The 'leader' of the students, a character that might fit in with the Jock stereotype seen in American horror movies.

Location
We will film within the grounds of Acland Burghley school and we have identified a particular location (shown in the above photos) underneath the school building in which we would like to film as it will lend an eerie, spooky atmosphere to our film trailer. This location is ideal in terms of logistics as the equipment we will borrow from the school can be easily transported within the school building as opposed to outside it. However this requires us to consider Health & Safety as we will be using young actors and do not want to endanger them. Furthermore, this closed setting will highlight the theme of entrapment suggested by the title 'Detention'.

Iconography and settings will be repeated and varied in the trailer to convey the genre of the film. These could include:

• a 'disfiguring' mask worn by the killer
• a murder weapon such as a knife, stake or chainsaw 
• the darkened, forbidden chamber where the killer lurks
• the school building (in the establishing shot) which is incongruous with the themes of horror, further unsettling our audience

These potent symbols will also emphasise the key themes of the film which are alienation, abuse of power and distrust of authority in society (depicting them on a microcosmic scale).

Genre, Iconography and Ideology: Film poster analysis

Genre, Iconography and Ideology: Film posters on Prezi

Character analysis: Killers in horror movies

Leatherface, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Research: Stock characters in slasher horror

As Burton's theory states, genres (and even sub-genres in the case of slasher horror) are compromised of key elements. In this task I have explored one of those which is the use of stock characters who differ from the protagonist as they are usually less developed and get killed off by the villain early on in the movie. I have identified six of these which are repeated and varied in different films.

The wanderer:  A character who endangers his or herself by straying away from the rest of their peer group often to look for something but says “I’ll be right back” or similar dialogue before being killed by the villain. The wanderer is normally characterised as the stupidest of the group and their death instigates the ones that will follow. An example of the wanderer is Kirk in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), shown below.

The popular girl: One or more characters who are typically pretty and arrogant girls, sometimes cheerleaders who date the ‘Jock’ characters. They are killed by the villain as revenge for their mean behaviour towards others. The activity she engages in is the complete opposite of that of the Final Girl. Occasionally the Popular Girl is conflated with the Final Girl, for example in Carrie (1976) popular girl Sue begins to feel sorry for the killer and by changing her ways, escapes the killer's wrath. A more conventional example of Popular Girls are the cheerleaders in Jeepers Creepers II (2003)

The jock: The male equivalent of the Popular Girl in terms of popularity, he is the alpha male of the group (also the captain of the sports team). He is either characterised as a bully or 'leader of the pack' but is always targeted by the killer, usually ending up a victim. An exception to this is in My Bloody Valentine 3D (2009) in which the Jock, Tom (pictured below) is revealed to be the serial killer.

The final girl: The heroine of the film and is the only person within her peer group who escapes the killer as a result of not indulging in drinking, drug use or underage sex. Observers have noted that typically, she is more developed than other characters, intelligent and has androgynous characteristics such as a unisex name. An example would be Sidney (below) from the Scream series and a variation on the character is Amanda in the Saw franchise who becomes the killer after the first film. The Final Girl appears throughout horror movie franchises as the audience already identify and sympathise with the character.

The pervert: The boy who will go to any length to sleep with a girl in the peer group. This results in him being killed as he is unaware of the killer about to murder him. An example would be the boy in House of Wax (2005). The character is a minor stock character who is killed before the others and highlights the notion that the kids are being punished by the killer for their perceived immoral acts.

The incompetent authority figure: Characters such as the police in Scream 4 (2011) who project the fear of having no protection against the killer. Adult characters rarely sympathise with the teens in slasher horror movies, for example the police believing a prank is being played on them.