Independent Research- Typical Characters in The Horror Genre

In horror/thriller films there is usually a stereotypical group of characters that appear throughout the genre.

                               

                                                                                                                   The Killer

Jason Voorhees from "Friday The 13th"

The first character who normally appears within the horror genre is a killer of some kind  In the picture to the left is Jason Voorhees from the "Friday the 13th" franchise. He is a very stereotypical antagonist as he is dressed in dark clothing and wearing a mask to hide his identity. If they are wearing a mask it often hides there emotion further portraying them as a killer and it makes it difficult for the audience to establish a connection between them. One fear that a mask can play on  is the fact that no one knows what lies underneath which creates tension among the viewers.  Typical killers are also commonly seen to be wearing gloves to hide evidence of themselves and to be carrying a weapon of some sort, usually a knife or dagger. A stereotypical killer is often depicted as having some sort of extra human power usually in the form of strength as they faster and more powerful than there victims. If they do manage to get injured they never show it as they get back up from it and recover straight away as if to show that they are immortal or inhuman.

Usual Qualities of a Killer

Dark clothes, Mask, Gloves, Weapon (Knife/Dagger)

The Hero

Rick Grimes from "The Walking Dead"

The next type of character to appear is the hero. The hero is the one who usually saves the day and anyone in distress. They are stereo-typically males as they are the more stronger and powerful sex, however its not uncommon for there to be a female hero. This is known as a counter type. A stereotypical hero is shown to be muscular and in good physical shape. They are portrayed as brave people who sometimes show little emotion to further reinforce themselves as a strong and brave person. This is usually the viewers favorite character as many people often wish to be a hero themselves and the hero contains characteristics that many people wish they had themselves. In a horror film its often stereotypical for the hero to die as it shows that the killer has triumphed and challenges the convention of good beating evil.

Usual Qualities of a Hero

Strong, Male, Athletic, Brave

                                                                                                              Female Victim

Sidney Prescott from "Scream"

A typical horror film always contains a female victim as they represented as weak and vulnerable characters. A stereotypical female victim is depicted as being clumsy and dumb. This creates tension within the audience as it makes her an unpredictable character and the audience never really knows what she will do next. She is often the first to die within a horror film due to her behavior and the way she acts. The purpose to having a female victim is to allow the audience to establish some connection between them and her as the audience would be feeling sympathy towards her.

Usual Qualities of a Female Victim

Vulnerable, Weak, Clumsy, Scared

The Non-Believer

Carter Horton from "Final Destination"

The Non Believer is usually the character who denies the killers existent or refuses to believe in them. They are usually portrayed as a cocky arrogant character. This role is most commonly played by males as it suits their personality more than females. The audience often finds it hard to like this character due to their personalities as they are usually mean towards other characters and can act as a bully in most films. Due to them not believing in the killers, its stereotypical that they are normally the first to die within a horror film. Once this character dies this leaves all the other characters within the film on edge as they are now aware of the killers presence. 

Usual Qualities of The Non-Believer

Cocky, Arrogant, Attractive, Cruel

Planning for our Film- The Script

Script for “Intruder”

Scene One: 999 call

*Dial tone*

Operator 1: 

999 Emergency which Service?

Mother: 

Police please!

 

Operator 1: 

Okay I’ll just direct your call to your local police call center now.

 

Mother:

Thank You!

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*Dial tone*

Operator 2:

Cambridgeshire police call Center, what’s your emergency?

Mother:

I’ve had another break in, whilst my child and I were asleep upstairs.

Operator 2:

Okay, what’s the address where the break in occurred?

Mother:

18 walkway drive, saint neots.

Operator 2:

Thank you, we will send a unit now to the address. From my notes I can see this isn’t the first time you’ve been broken into this month. Is that correct?

Mother:

Yes this isn’t the first time, and I know it won’t be the last; whoever it is doesn’t steal anything, only leaves me with the house upturned and ruined. There tormenting me

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Script for “Intruder”

Scene Two: Police Interview

Officer:

How long has this been happening for? 

Mother:

A couple of weeks now, this is the 3^rd time.

*Cut to CCTV Footage*

Officer:

Did you hear anything whilst it happened? 

Mother:

No nothing, I was sleeping at the time, just the usual creeks and bumps from the house?

*Cut to CCTV Footage*

Officer:

And finally…was there anyone else that you know of, in house at the time?

Mother:

No, not that I know of, it was just me and my son. 

*Cut to CCTV Footage*

 

Static Productions

When we deciding on a production company name we wanted something that would link in with our film and make us unique from other production companies. Since the main theme behind our film is static, we named our company "Static Productions".  The font for our company production is pale white in colour which can link in with the horror genre as this stereotypical the colour of ghosts and other supernatural beings. The dark background helps to make everything inside it stand out to the audience and make it the center of their attention as everything contrasts with it. The second reason for choosing a dark background is the fact that it relates to the horror genre as all horror elements in films stereo-typically take place in dark or dim lit environments. This may seem simple but we settled on this as it sums up our film and its main focus.

When it came to creating a logo for our production company we thought of using a human eye as it connotes the idea that you are always being watched wherever you are. The iris of the eye has a red tint to it to show that it is possibly non human and gives it a more supernatural appearance which would make any person uncomfortable. In the center of the pupil a lightning bolt is clearly visible, this links in with the name "Static Productions" as static can be linked with electricity and electricity is linked to lightning. The idea behind the lightning bolt is that it connotes danger and the fact that it is rather unpredictable, just like our film as the audience never knows what is about to happen. This is stereotypical of the horror genre as they are often shrouded in mystery and create a sense of uncertainty. 

Independant Film Research- Paranormal Activity 3

Mise-en-scene

• Dark Lighting- Most of the filming happens at night which helps to create a tense atmosphere.
•  Candles

Sound

• Music (Creepy, Scary or Eerie)
• Sound effects added in e.g bangs or crashes around the house.

Characters

• A young couple named Katie and Micah moving into a new house together.

Editing

• Filming using a night vision filter
• Jump cuts 
• Cross cutting between police interview and possessed child. This shows both parts of the story.

Narratives

• A young couple who have moved into a new house set up CCTV cameras so they can discover what has been causing strange and unnatural noises around the house.

Cinematography

• CCTV style filming.
• Night vision filter.

Independent Research- Film Comparisons

The idea for our film "Intruder" was inspired from two horror films which are "Paranormal Activity" and "Insidious" and as a result our film features a few elements from both of these films.


Insidious
Our film has drawn inspiration from the horror film Insidious. The film focuses on a family who is trying to save there comatose son from being possessed from a supernatural demon. Our film is similar to this in the way that we will feature a possessed child in our film.














Paranormal Activity 3
The other film in which we drew inspiration from was Paranormal Activity 3. The main use of camerawork in this series of films is done through footage which has been recorded using CCTV cameras. Our film will feature the same recording style which has been used in these films. We decided to primarily focus on the 3rd film in the series as this film is more focused on a family and there younger children. We felt this was more similar to the plot we wanted for our film and so this film was easier to get tips from.

Planning For Our Film- Props

In order to make our film successful we will need props just like any other film as they are an important aspect and play a key role within any film. Below is a list of props which we will be using during the filming of "Intruder".

Police Tape

The purpose of the police tape is to create the impression of a crime scene. The police tape helps to give the film a sense of realism. This is stereotypical of the horror genre as it connotes the idea of someone who has been murdered or possibly injured, helping to create a sense of uncertainty for the viewer. It leaves the true nature of the film ambiguous.

Police Report

A police report will be used during our films opening. The purpose of the police report is to show that there is an ongoing investigation into an particular incident. This also helps give the viewer an idea about film as they know that police will be looking into an indent.

Witness Statement

Witness statements are used as part of our title sequence but also used as one of our key props. We used official witness statement reports as it made the film appear authentic for the viewers. This also gave us a way to include our actors names into the opening.

Independant Horror Film Research- Best Horror Films from IMDB

1. The Loved Ones (2009)

2. The Descent (2005)    

3. The Host (2006)

4. Hostel (2005)

5.Wolf Creek (2005)

6. The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

 

7. The Skeleton Key (2005)

8. Saw II (2005)

9. Ils- Them (2006)

10. The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

Film Narrative- The Hunger Games

The Main Plot
-Each year 24 tributes are chosen to participate in the hunger games which is a televised battle to the death until one tribute remains.
-16 year old Katniss steps in to take the place of her sister.
-Katniss meats her teammate Peeta.
-The 24 tributes enter the arena and begin the hunger games.
-Each tribute is killed off until only 3 remain.
-The last antagonist is killed leaving only the two protagonists, Katniss and Peeta.
-The two must choose who will die and who will live.
-They both decide to commit suicide so no one will win the hunger games.
-The Capitol stops both of them and crowns them both winners.

Secondary Plots 
-Katniss teams up with a girl from District 8 called Rue and they become friends.
-The two protagonists fall in love with each other.

How these plots interweave with the main story

-Rue eventually dies after Katniss tries to save her, an uprising happens in District 8 to try and overthrow the capitol as a result whci becomes a major plot point of the next two films.

-When the two protagonists fall in love with each other, one of them realises that its making them popular among the viewers and is keeping them alive.

Independant Horror Genre Research

A horror film is designed to scare a person by acting on their fears to make them nervous or uncomfortable. A stereotypical horror film includes scenes that make the viewer jump or startle them. A horror film can be based on anything the directer chooses but mainly includes elements such as Gore (blood), Monsters, Zombies, Killers, Torture or Supernatural events. These are all designed to put the viewer out of his or her's comfort zone and make them feel uncomfortable.

Top 10 Grossing Horror Titles

1. Jaws (1975) Grossed $260 Million

2. What Lies Beneath (2000) Grossed $155 Million

3  Gremlins (1984) Grossed $148 Million

4. The Blair Witch Project (1999) Grossed $141 Million

5. The Ring (2002) Grossed $129 Million

6. The Grudge (2004) Grossed $110 Million

7. Paranormal Activity (2007) Grossed $108 Million

8. Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) Grossed $105 Million

9. Paranormal Activity (2011) Grossed $104 Million

10. Scream (1996) Grossed $103 Million

Planning for our Film- Shot List

Close up- This will be used on the police siren when the lights are on and when the policeman is writing down information in the statement book.
Panning Shot- This will be used to pan along the police tape outside of the house.
Mid Shot- This is going to be used when the police officer is talking with the mother, we are also going use include an Over the Shoulder Shot in here as well. 
High Angle shots are to going be used in our film to make it appear as if it was CCTV footage, A high angle shot will be used:
-In the kitchen
-In the living room
-At the top of the stairs to show the landing
-At the bottom of the stairs looking up them.

Our filming style was heavily influenced by the film series "Paranormal Activity" as we chose to use a split screen effect to make it appear as if it was CCTV footage.

Planning for our Film- Risk Assessment

When we being filming our film there will be a number of hazards involved which we will need to prevent for the safety of everyone one involved.

Potential risk?
Filming on the staircase.

What might happen?
Since we are filming in the dark to create a night-vision effect, people may fall down the stairs since its harder to see.

Who might be at risk?
The actors and directors.

How can this be prevented?
This can be prevented by making sure there is some form of light whilst the stairs are in use.

Danger of risk?
High.



Potential Risk?
Cables and wires

What might happen?
Since there may be a few cables or wires around when we film there is a chance that someone may trip over them.

Who might be at risk?
The actors and Directors

How can this be prevented?
This can be prevented by making sure that all cable and wires are hidden around corners or under objects such as furniture or rugs.

Danger of risk?
Medium/High




Potential risk?
Standing on objects so the camera can be in a high place.

What might happen?
Someone may fall off the object they are standing on

Who might be at risk?
Directors

How can this be prevented?
This risk can be prevented by making sure that someone is holding the object someone is standing on for extra support

Danger of risk?
High

Pitch Narrative Feedback

For one of our tasks we were told to give a presentation on the ideas for our title sequence and out film. We were then given feedback on what went well and in what areas we needed to improve in.

Pros

• The actors we chose to play in our film were stereotypical and well thought out.
• Our choice to film using a split screen to create the effect of a CCTV camera was unique as no one else has tried it before. However it has to be carried out correctly to be effective.

Cons

• The idea behind our film was cliché and was very similar to the Paranormal Activity series of films.
• Our production company's name is "Static Films" t link in with static you may see on a TV, however the word static also means to not be moving so this may confuse our audience.  

Planning for our Film- Filming Style

When we start filming our film, we have chosen to film it in the style of CCTV footage as if someone was watching it back.                                                          

 We want our film to have a 4 way split screen effect to show multiple things happening at once. We got this idea from CCTV cameras as they often capture different things happening at different times. This could be done very effective if it is executed correctly. 

The other place we drew inspiration for the CCTV effect was from the series of films "Paranormal Activity" as that series of films is entirely filmed through a camera. We thought this would be effective as no one else has tried to film in this style before. 

Planning for our Film- Location/Setting

The location and setting of our film will be at Charlie's house, which is a stereotypical family home.

The ideas for this came from films such as "Paranormal Activity" as many of the locations within that film are set within family homes.

Another reason why we chose to film in a family home is because a home is supposed to connote the idea of safety, since our film is based on horror we thought it would be effective to film here as it would make viewers feel uncomfortable.

The main filming locations for our film will be:

The Living Room

The Kitchen

The Bottom of the Staircase

The top of the Staircase/Landing

Planning for our Film-Sound

Thriller (1:08) from freeplaymusic.com
We chose this sound as it sounds very dark and has a slow pace to it. It also features allot of wind sounds in the background.

Nightprowler reprise (1:04) from freeplaymusic.com

This sound uses the piano and allot of sound effect to give a physcological feel to it, this is very slow and builds up to a loud noise at the end.

The Haunting (2:01) from freeplaymusic.com

We thought this song was effective as the first 20-40 seconds it sounds as if someone is getting closer to you which creates a tense atmosphere.