Horror Film Synopsis

We had to look at five different synopsis' of 5 different films and then colour code it in relation to protagonist,  stock characters, themes, background and decor and icons. This would help as it shows how different films sum up their film. It also shows how a lot of horror films have very similar plots but with different kills and different names.

Paranormal Horror

After we finished looking at the conventions in general we then moved on to picking three paranormal horror posters and writing about what conventions they used and how they used them, I chose to use the Devil Inside, the Omen and Nightmare on Elm Street.

Poster Conventions

Yesterday we were looking at poster for films. We had to find theatrical posters and then go through and find the different conventions: film title, still from film, billing block, stars/ talent, endorsement, tag line. I choose to look at four films. House of Wax, Wake Wood, Wicker man and Paranormal activity 3. here's what I did:

Bloodshed High

In class we were given the title 'Bloodshed High' and had to come up with a story board for the plot we came up with. Our idea was based slightly on 'Nightmare on Elm Street.' We decided that our plot would be a man who had been bullied by class mates, he ran away and years later came back to seek revenge on them by killing their children, however he accidentally kills the girl he used to love and we ended it with him holding her dead body as he walked away.

Pod cast

Pod cast

After we finished our trailers for 'Blood Shed High' we had to write about each scene and show how it relates to conventions and how it would make people want to watch it. After we had written it up we finally each recorded our own sections and uploaded them. I did the ending to our version of 'Blood Shed High' starting with the scene of silhouettes of someone being stabbed and ending with the title and when the film will be out.

Movie Posters

Today we were working on how to make a horror movie poster. We were shown a real movie poster before we then took pictures and make our own. We used Photoshop and different techniques to come up with the movie poster and to try and make it look as realistic as we could. I decided to call my film 'Carnival of Rust' and use a sort of Carnival font but with a twist to make it seem more like Carnival font dripping blood. Personally I like how my poster came out and I think it's a good start to build on for the real poster.

(During Editing)

(After Editing)

Voice over's part 2

We also looked at a trailer for 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid- Dog Days' and then filled in the boxes of a table to analyse the trailer. Here's the filled out chart we had:

Voice overs part 1

We also did work on Voice overs by listening to a voice over from 'House at the End of the Street' and writing down the Diegetic and non-diegetic sounds we hear, though we did not know what film the sound was from. Here's a list of what I cam up with having just listened to the sounds of the trailer:

House at the end of the street- trailer sounds

Non-Diegetic

• ·        Horror music
• ·        Exaggerated
• ·        Scary
• ·        Music in time with action
• ·        Music sounds like heartbeat
• ·        Deep booms
• ·        Deep thumps
• ·        Distorted heartbeat
• ·        Out of tune music- dissonant- pads- constant droning noise- drone
• ·        Slashing- slashing blade music
• ·        Moments of calm before the loud music
• ·        Stereotypical horror music

Diegetic

• ·        Scared female voice
• ·        Creaking door
• ·        Exaggerated heart beat
• ·        Whispered voice
• ·        Slamming doors
• ·        More whispering
• ·        Screaming
• ·        Shouts
• ·        Normal speaking voices
• ·        Doorbell
• ·        Shouts
• ·        Burning
• ·        Shattering glass
• ·        Hissing tape recorder
• ·        Metallic sounds of blades
• ·        Slams
• ·        Blades being sharpened
• ·        Dragging – someone being dragged
• ·        Spirit sounds- shrieking

Inter titles replacing voice over, mainly in horror trailers.

Definition of Horror

Definition of horror

“Horror films are designed to frighten and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a cathartic experience. Horror films feature a wide range of styles, from the earliest silent Nosferatu classic, to today's CGI monsters and deranged humans. They are often combined with science fiction when the menace or monster is related to a corruption of technology, or when Earth is threatened by aliens. The fantasy and supernatural film genres are not usually synonymous with the horror genre. There are many sub-genres of horror: slasher, teen terror, serial killers, satanic, Dracula, Frankenstein, etc. See this site's Scariest Film Moments and Scenes collection - illustrated.”

http://www.filmsite.org/genres.html

Horror films are designed to:

·         Frighten and panic

·         Cause dread and alarm

·         Be an intense experience

·         Draw upon an audiences worst hidden fears/ draw fears to life

·         Shock

·            Create Tension

·            Create a sense of thrill

Difference between horror and thriller

Thrillers are any sort of exciting film.  They can be car chases, explosions, or suspenseful situations.  The film "Phone Booth" is classified as a "thriller", even though it's mostly about people talking on a telephone, though several people also get shot.  It need not even involve any violence at all, such as Hitchcock's "Rear Window".

Horror makes its excitement in very particular ways, through use of graphic violence and pain.  It's more about being scared than being excited, especially if there's a strong dose of physical revulsion involved.

At its broadest, "thriller" can include "horror", but most thrillers avoid using graphic violence.  But there can be considerable overlap.  "Silence of the Lambs", for example, is primarily a psychological thriller, with the focus on the relationship between the cop and a deranged informant.  But it also has elements of horror, whenever it shows the killer that they're tracking at work.

The Omen is called (by the IMDB, at any rate) both "horror" and "thriller", for the same reason: there are many deaths in it, which are horror, but there are also scenes of suspense without immediate threat of physical harm.

Horror films tend to involve a lot of meaningless deaths, and the thrill is about the fear, and the focal character is often the villain, especially when that villain is a motiveless killer.  Thrillers are more about pursuit, and the focal character is either a hero or an anti-hero whose motivations are explored.

Found off: http://askville.amazon.com/difference-Horror-Thriller-terms-movies/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=8264607

Examples of Horror films:

·      Scream

·      Saw

·      Hostel

·      Silent Hill

·      The Exorcist

·      Final Destination

Target audience

We looked at trailers and had to work out there target audience and how they would appeal to that target audience before we were given statements and had to write which we thought were true and which we thought were false.

Good Trailers

We then had to read a sheet and then decide on what we thought a good trailer would need to include to make people want to watch it.

Analysis

After that we looked at the structure of a film trailer and how they draw in audiences to want to watch the full film. This helped as it showed us what real trailers do so we know what we should do in our own and how they entice the audience.

Looking at Trailers

We started out by looking at a movie trailer and then analysing it. In class we looked at Tucker and Dale vs. EVIL and then when we got home we had to do one of our own choosing that was a different genre so I decided to do The Pact.

Evaluation

Here is the evaluation of my final music video.

Music Video

This is the video I made for 'We Will Rock You.' Personally I like how it ended up looking because I think I did my best. During the process of making this music video I learnt a lot about how to edit and use the camera's ad also how to uses Premier Elements. I think this is a strong foundation for the rest of the work we will do this year even though it isn't the same as what we will be doing I think I will be able to use the things I learnt and use them in this years course.http://youtu.be/c6o5NcDFgEw

Introduction

I am Ellie, I am currently studying in Acland Burghley School, last year I studied Media Studies at La Saint Union. As I went to La Saint Union last year we were focusing on music magazine and then made our own front cover, contents page and double page spread to a new music magazine. For the month back we were working on a music video to the song 'We will Rock you' by Queen.