Production titles

This is just video to show where we are in the process of creating our production titles.

Production Targets

Your group has been on such a fantastic journey this year and your efforts are bearing fruit.  Make sure you are video blogging production choices and stages to evidence your progress - plus this will help you in the run up to the exam in order to be able to reflect on your technical choices.

Updated film treatment

Our opening shot begins with the father playing the piano, where we pan around the room to see the family. We then have them having a conversation around the table, which creates the atmosphere of a neutral and happy middle class family. However, as we see the mother and father angry at each other, it indicates that their life isn't as perfect as they are portrayed to be.  As the little girl interrupts her mother and gets pushed away we see her run away from all her problems.

This is then represented as we juxtapose to her as a young adult, who is shown to have nobody in her life. The audience are then going to be able to get a feel of this when she is shown to go and use a phone box but has nobody to ring. We know this as she picks up the phone and puts it down again suggesting that she has not even dialed a number yet but gives up anyway.  This allows her to be represented as the stereotypical vulnerable and lonely young adult that she is.

When she finds a scratch card on the floor slightly hidden, she moves into a warming home, cheap off the market. However, she does not realize that the house she gotten so cheap is haunted, in the way of an unknown killer targeting a certain group of people of the same gender.

The tension starts to increase as the audience a shown are shown missing posters of young adult girls who lived in that house and the audience are aware that  'Elle' our character has moved into a haunted house targeted by a killer.

Sitting by the front door having a cigarette, her lighter flickers out, running into the kitchen to get a new one which is when a black figure walks through the door and up the stairs. Unaware of his presence, Elle begins to go upstairs. As she is about to get into the shower she hears little girls laughing. She looks out the window to find no one is there. Tension is still building up as audience are unaware of what is going to happen next.

After the shower she goes into her wardrobe wearing a robe and picks out clothing, the killer stands behind her and as she feels someones presence she turns around in shock, dropping her clothing. However, nobody is there and her and the audience feel a sigh of relief. She turns back in her wardrobe feeling stupid and paranoid. However, when she feels something brush against her leg she slowly looks down in worry and sees an arm sticking out of the wardrobe. As she screams the killer tries to grab her from behind however she pushes him off her and runs down the road. This is then incorporated with the flashback of her as a little girl running down the road fearfully. Cutting into black to the title 'Elle'. This would leave a cliff hanger to the audience wondering whether she got away and reported the killer who has been around for centuries or whether she got killed.

this leaves an enigma for the audience and makes them question whats going to happen. also there is a cliffhanger which is a key aspect for trailers as it advertises the rest of the film. I was my idea to make the film a cliffhanger because from previous trailers such as taken three i was left wanting to watch the rest of the film. 

Actor description

Charlotte Weston 

The reason we have chosen Charlotte Weston to play our main role as the vulnerable young adult in our trailer is due to her experience in the drama industry as she has attended theatre school since she was seven years old; has achieved grade 6 in her music and drama exams. Playing lead role in Annie, Hairspray and Cats this infers that she has the confidence to be put up in front of a camera and perform a fantastic performance. This then implies that her acting will be much more advanced, overall making our trailer look more professional.

Jack Jennings:

We have chosen Jack to play our antagonist in our trailer. He attended Brit School and came out to achieve a job in lighting. He works in the drama industry, but does lighting, setting and sound for performances. Due to him being reasonably tall as he is 22 we decided that this will make our trailer look more professional as we do have an adult for our antagonist compared to a  boy our age.

Genre conventions in chosen film trailer

The genre that we chose to base our film trailer on is thriller/horror. This is because we were intrigued of the way we could play around with different ideas that fit into these two genres. One of the main characteristics that are featured in a thriller based film is the antagonist having a hidden identity. This catches the audiences attention in which typically would make them want to go and watch the film when it is released. Typically, the antagonist goes out for revenge from a past event that has taken place that maybe the audience do not know of. However, we are not going to give away too much of what the antagonist is up to or why he is presented in the way that he is within the film trailer. The conventions of an antagonist in a horror film would be male and would have a dark shadow being filmed which is done to inform the audience of awareness and danger. We are going to be using this when creating our film trailer as we are going to have a male character dressed in black clothing and we are going to use some shots of his outline or his shadow to create suspicion for the target audience. 

The typical age certificate for a horror film would be 15-18 as it typically contains strong language and acts of violence that is not suitable for younger children. We have decided to make our film trailer a 15 as slight violent acts may be suggested in the film trailer and strong language may be used. This will make the audience recognise the genre of the film and what type of audience it is particularly aimed at.

The setting for a typical horror would be somewhere dark such as a abandoned house where there suggests isolation from people around. This could be somewhere in the middle of nowhere or somewhere that has a dark past or background behind it. The location for a thriller film is somewhere that the audience are aware of what the theme is. This could be somewhere that starts of calm such as a normal family home, making it as close to reality as possible, helping the audience to connect with what is happening in the trailer. Thinking of this, we have decided to have the main setting in a home where there is suggested to have dark secrets that is up for sale for a cheap price. This may also allow the audience to relate to the film trailer as they may think about how they may feel in a similar situation that could happen to them at some point in their lives.

Shots that are typically used in thriller based films are quick cut shots that are fast paced in some areas which are also quite catching in a horror based film. This will allow us to create our trailer in this way and so out target audience are able to understand what theme the film trailer fits into. The conventions of both of these two types of genres is that they use a range of different shots such as long shots and extreme close ups to create atmosphere and tension for the audience, making it more exciting for them to watch.

Make up tutorials

The victim, played by Charlotte Weston will need to have a natural but feminine look as she is at home,expecting a quiet and normal night in. Therefore, I have looked at natural make up tutorials that will allow me to achieve a look most suitable for our character. The products we are mostly like to use is foundation, powder and blusher to give her that glow. We aren't too focused on the lips or eyes as again, we just want it to look natural. For her hair we would like to incorporate the plait,this could be successful as it may remind the audience of a young girl adding to her vulnerability.

For our antagonist, I found this tutorial was the most useful however we wouldn't want to copy everything as our antagonist is a male. From this tutorial I found that the effects of shadowing would be effective in our trailer as that is what the antagonist will be displayed as.Throughout our trailer the antagonist is only shown in dark and is contained as a mystery throughout to add enigmas for the audience. This has given us the idea to use dark eye shadows such a grey and black to contour the face to add shadow and depth into it. 

Representation and stereotypes in the film

In our two minute trailer we followed the representation and stereotyping in our film by following the conventions of a horror. For example, we have incorporated the character of a vulnerable girl who moves into a house that is on sale that no one has lived in for years. This is stereotypical as the audience can put themselves in the characters shoes and know that they would not move into a house that hasn't been sold for years in an abandoned street. This adds tension to the fact that we know something bad is about to happen. However, the girl is portrayed as 'stupid', a representation of young girls in horrors as she is oblivious to the danger and her surroundings. There is also an antagonist, who is displayed as a dark figure and sneaks into her house. When she hears a noise and goes upstairs this is where it shows the girl to be stupid which is a representation for girls in horror movies to be. This then frustrates the audience and puts them on the edge of their seat.The antagonist is a man, which again is a representation as men are displayed as dangerous and threatening towards younger girls, therefore this can make the audience feel even more tense. This is because men are known to be strong and dominant compared to a weak girl that us, as the audience, feel we need to protect. 

The setting we then chose was a house; when we show the house in the trailer it is going to be shown when it is pitch black outside to create more of a creepy and frightening atmosphere, which is stereotypical for a horror. We aren't incorporating the representations such as a haunted house, demons, etc as we want this horror movie to be quite realistic so the audience can put themselves in that situation to add to the thrill and scare of the trailer. I believe this is successful as it will make it much more mysterious and frightening compared to the supernatural. The house is also intriguing as everybody is meant to feel safe and secure in their own loving home, however the way we portray the character and the home we can see that she is far from safe.