We made a rough story board to get a picture of what we wanted to film, what shots we wanted to include, how we would lay out the mies-en-scene etc... By drawing the storyboard we are able to use this as a guideline for when we film. However the storyboard may not be entirely accurate as when we are filming we may change things.
We've scheduled to shoot our short on the 30th of november and the 2nd of november. Our film is set during evening/night time so we need it to be dark, luckily sunset is at around 4pm so we can film some time after this so that we get the low key lighting and darkness which is a common convention in horror films.
Preparations
This is a rough outline of the storyline and some of the key shots and framing of said shots that we'll aim to adhere to. Some of the scenes can be mixed about, when editing, depending on how it looks when we film. And some of the shots will be changed when filming as well since we may find that something else looks better or the lighting isn't sufficient. Having discussed our thoughts for our film and coming up with a final idea, we need to get an understanding of what sort of locations we want to include in our short film, so we can choose our locations appropriately. By researching it also helps us identify the limitations we may have when finding locations as we may not be able to find exactly what we want. The narrative is set in an old fashioned victorian house, preferably in an isolated location, to make the house seem more mysterious and creepy. We want the old fashioned house to fit with the narrative, as the parents are of an older age, and are quite dated considering the short film is set in present time, which provides a reasoning behind their strange manner. A limitation we may have with finding a location fitting to this image is being able to find a house which is appears as old fashioned, likewise it would be hard to find one in an isolated location which would be available to use. An alterative to an isolated location, would be down a dark street, again to add to the mystery and contribute to the fear of the unknown, with dark alleys. We want the house to be filmed in the dark as it fits with narrative as the girl is babysitting in the evening. Likewise dark settings contribute to the typical codes and conventions found within the horror genre. One of the main locations within the house is going to be the baby's room. Ideally we would want the room to be old fashioned like the house with an old baby's crib for the doll to be sleeping in. However we need to consider the limitations of finding a location to fit our ideas as it would be hard to find the appropriate miss-en-scene. Our short horror film, yet to be entitled, centres a teenage girl attending a house to babysit a young child, however this no ordinary baby... Below, I have written a detailed synopsis of the short film in it's entirety. We thought this important as our choices and ideas regarding the narrative have changed several times, and now this is our definitive story.
A regular, naive teenage girl named Rose, around the age of 17, checks her voice mail to hear an eery woman's voice. The voice belongs to a mother, requesting Rose to babysit for her that night. The mother states that she is a friend of Rose's parents and has been told of her baby sitting duties. The mother asks Rose to arrive at 9pm and that her and her husband shall leave a key under the doormat for her. 'Mercy-Violet', the baby, will already be asleep so the mother informs Rose not to disturb her under any circumstances. Rose arrives at the strange house, confused as to why the parents would leave their baby unattended before their babysitter, whom they have never met, arrives. As she enters the house she is immediately startled as she trips on a rattle. She walks around the house, slightly bewildered at the weird interior, however goes to sit on the sofa and watch television. The television will only show a disturbing children's program, so she turns it off again and chooses a dusty book from the bookshelf. She begins reading the book and falls asleep, however is woken to the sound of crawling. Worried that the child has awoken, she gets up and rushes upstairs to check on it. Peering into it's room, she finds the child is not in it's bed; instead there is just a doll lying in it's place. Confused, Rose picks up the doll and calls out 'Mercy? Mercy?', believing the child to have escaped from her bed leaving her doll behind. Starting to panic more as the child cannot be found, Rose heads towards the phone to try and ring the parents in worry, however as she is walking down the stairs she notices something disturbing that she missed before when she rushed upstairs. There are several frames of 'family photos' - in which there is the mother, the father... and the doll that Rose is holding. No sign of an actual baby. In shock, Rose drops/throws the doll and jumps backwards in fear. Blood starts to appear around the baby and it turns its head to look at Rose. She screams and runs to grab her belongings to try and escape, however it is at that exact moment that the clock strikes midnight and the parents arrive home. When deciding on the target audience that we are creating our short film for and the type of people it is being aimed at, an important factor that comes into consideration is the age specification rating. In the UK, this is know as BBFC, standing for the British Board of Film Classification. It is a non-governmental organization purely founded by the film industry. It is responsible for the censorship of films in cinemas and sold in shops in the UK. When deciding which category our film fit most in to we had to consider three things: 1. What kind of people will enjoy the narrative ideas we have had so far 2. What type of protagonist are we looking at - it would be suitable to aim our film at an audience of similar age to the protagonist so they can identify with them 3. What themes will we have, eg violence, that could determine which age rating it can and cannot fit in to The ideas we have had so far towards the kind of narrative and plot line we want seem most suitable for teenage to young adult, perhaps ranging 13 year olds to 25 year olds. The protagonist we were considering creating would be around 17 years old, therefore this will be the age group most likely to identify with her. Looking at the themes we want to incorporate, the three ratings our film should categorise in to could be 12A, 12 and 15. 12A/12 Category Criteria: -Mature themes treated suitably for young teenagers -Rare and justified swearing -Nudity but brief and discreet sexual content, sex may be implied -Brief violence without much detail, no blood, injury or weapon emphasis -Occasional gore -Brief 'soft' drug references 15 Category Criteria: -Frequent use of strong language is allowed, however continued use and sexual abuse is not -No constraints on nudity in a non sexual or educational context -Sexual activity is allowed but without heavy detail, responsible depiction of casual sex and occasional strong verbal references to sex -Strong violence allowed however not heavy detail on infliction of pain or injuries, sexual violence must be brief -No emphasis on easily accessible weapons eg knives -Drug taking is allowed however clear instructive detail is not When initially comparing the two age ratings we thought our film could be considered in either, however looking in more detail we have realised our film does not quite fulfil enough of the age 15 criteria. The 12/12a rating however is much more fitting. The themes we may incorporate that cause the rating to be 12/12a are brief swearing, one element of blood/gore, slight violence and the overall storyline being too mature to be rated the age category below (PG).
Our film would be rated as a 12 by the BBFC, and we think the most likely audience age range we are targeting it towards is 16-25 year olds. When creating a short film, the narrative has to be shortened in order for the film to be of a short length. To help us with our narrative when it comes to the production of our short film, I have decided to compare a narrative of a short film as well as from a television episode. I am looking at a television episode as they are almost like snippets of one big film, containing narratives which as a result create one big narrative; in which case the narrative structure of a television episode also has to be relatively short. By comparing the two it enables me to see what elements are featured within each narrative to ultimately give us an understanding hot how we should structure our narrative for our short film. Basic Narrative StructureShort Film NarrativeAs short films are of a limited length, the narrative needs to be restricted and more simpler in order to execute the story line successfully to audiences. I have decided to look at a narrative of a short film from the horror genre to help us construct our narrative, knowing what to include and how much to include. 'Bedtime'Exposition = Beguins with mother reading a bed time story to her younger daughter, establishing the setting of the film being in a family home, and the main protagonists being the family made up of the mum and daughter. Rising Action= The daughter is reluctant to go to bed, appearing to be scared of something and asks to keep the light on as she goes to bed. This now creates a new centre of tension where the rest of the narrative stems off. Climax = The mother returns to the room after the daughter cries for her help, in doing so, the build up of tension suspense builds due to the fear of the unknown, adding to the thrill of the narrative. When checking under the bed she finds a duplicate of her daughter, appearing frightened at the girl on top of the bed. Falling Action= As a result of the 'monster' under the bed the mother is then attacked, addressing the arising suspense and adhering to the thriller element of the film. Dénouement = The new normal is now created. Instead of a peaceful family evening, the harmonious relationship between mother and daughter has been disrupted due a monster under the bed, changing the events of the night. As the short film is of a limited time, being only over 2 minutes long, it can be recognised as a challenging task to form a basic narrative structure and fit it all in. However by looking at the short film 'Bed Time' it exemplifies the need to adhere to a basic narrative structure in order to execute the storyline securely and effectively. Television Episode NarrativeTelevision episodes have narrative structures known as a 'story arc' being an extended or continuing story line prolonged through episodes creating the narrative arc. In this case narratives within a tv episode are unlikely to follow the basic narrative structure as the whole narrative itself is spread across several episodes. In which case the stages of narrative may be slower and less obvious than in a short film, for example the rising action may occur in the second episode of a series. I've decided to look at a narrative from a tv episode also from the horror genre to compare to the short film and see the differences between the structure of the two narratives. American Horror Story: Episode 21) The episode starts in 1968, introducing two nurses who are studying for their test. This is the exposition, however only to this particular scene as the two nurses are not recurring characters in the series. The nurses greeted by a mystery man; the rising action. This man then threatens the two creating the climax of this particular scene. The two girls are brutally murdered and are left in the house to haunt other residents in later years. In this scene alone, the basic narrative structure is created. However as it is only one scene, it can be seen a television episodes narrative consists of lots of other narratives creating one whole story line.
2) The narrative then moves on to present time, focusing on the main characters of the series. The Dr is talking to his new patient about her illness, creating the exposition for the rest of the episode. 3) The next scene, shows the Dr meeting a girl who he previously had an affair with discussing the future for her pregnancy, creating the exposition again which will later unravel towards the rising action and climax which will take place later on in the series. 4) The Doctor's patient has broken into his home in an attempt to recreate the break in previously seen at the start of the episode, creating the climax 5) The episode finishes, with the three people who broke into the house murdered, creating the denouement, as the setting and tone of the episode has changed. However many parts of the narrative are still unfinished and unanswered, for example the pregnancy, therefore the narrative must continue in later episodes.
Learning about Barthe's theory on enigma and action codes gives us an idea of how to incorporate these codes into our short film. As we are considering doing a short film of the horror or phycological genre, incorporating the enigma code into it provides a sense of mystery which is a stereotypical convention of both the horror and phycological genre.
OverviewWhen planning and producing our short film, it is important that we establish the key differences in the codes and conventions between short films and film trailers. This is due to how their similarity in length could cause one to seem similar to the other if the wrong codes and conventions are used. I have decided to watch and analyse both a short film and the trailer promoting it, making a distinction between the elements and techniques in both by comparing and contrasting them. This will help me to distinguish the differences of conventions between the two. Due to the length of our short film being similar to the length of a regular film trailer we need to understand clear conventions that are strictly trailer-based so we do not use them in our film and make it seem too much like a trailer. The 56 Year Old Boy - Film TrailerThe 56 Year Old Boy - Full Short Film
The Frozen Ground Soundtrack - non-diegetic music used in the film. It adheres to the typical conventions of horror themed music. It's eerie and builds anticipation. Some clips have a quicker beat than the others to keep scenes going and to keep the audience engaged. This film has a linear narrative meaning that everything happens in chronological order.
I decided to compare a short film to a feature film with similar narratives, to gain an understanding as to how easy it is to include the same elements in short films found in regular films, and if so, gain an understanding as to whether including these elements have the same effect in a short film as they do in a regular film. This comparison ultimately will give us an understanding of what we will need to include in our short film, to make it as effective as a normal length film. I also decided to focus on films in the horror thriller genre as this is the genre we are considering to choose for our short film. This will help us identify codes and conventions to include in our short film, taking inspiration from codes and conventions found in films, which will hopefully have the same effect when in a short film. Short Film- 'Skypemare''Skypemare' is a horror thriller short film based around a Skype call between two friends on halloween. The narrative involves one friend being pranked by the other, being convinced by the other friend through a series of annoymonous videos portraying her being attacked by an unknown figure. This prank as a result causes the stabbing of the protagonist. The short film begins with a news report, stating there is a murderer about on the night of halloween. This is a stereotypical convention of horrors; the film usually starts with an element of drama to trigger the rest of the narrative and the events that follow because of the drama. Likewise characters such as murderers are common in horror films. The element of drama and suspense is emphasised by the narrative being set on halloween night, where all conventions of horror are featured. The narrative involves two friends talking over Skype, supposedly both home alone. The fact they are both home alone on halloween night contributes to the notion of suspense throughout the short film as it makes them more vulnerable. A mid shot from the laptop camera's point of view reveals a shadow of an unknown figure to be behind the woman, who is supposed to be home alone. The dark mise-en-scene is typical in horror thrillers, and the shadow contributes to the thrill and suspense, creating the element of the unknown. By viewing this scene from the computer screen it appears as if the viewer is directly watching the scene, contributing to the viewers feeling of thrill, as if they are their witnessing what is happening, like the other friend on the other end of the Skype call. The friend receives an anonymous file, again contributing to the fear of the unknown, a stereotypical convention of horror thrillers. Sending the file also adds to the key role that technology is playing in the short film. As the narrative is primarily involved with technology, it shows modern aspects, offering modern codes and conventions which we may be able to take inspiration from in our short film. the anonymous clip reveals to be a gory video of the friend who has supposedly been brutally murdered. the use of blood is stereotypical in horror films. The bloody murder is a cliche ending of many horror films. Feature Film- 'Unfriended''Unfriended' is a horror thriller feature film based on a girl who kills herself due to a cyber attack after a video is posted anonymously of the girl embarrassing herself on a drunken night out. The narrative involves a group of friends a year on from her death, reuniting on a group Skype call, in which an anonymous caller enters the call and threatens the group in several ways online. This narrative is very similar to 'Skypemare' showing modern conventions of horrors, involving technology as a key role in the narrative. The film starts showing a news report on the suicide of Laura Barns who killed herself after a series of cyber attacks from her peers due to an unknown source posting an embarrassing video of her on a drunken night out. The introduction of this element of drama is a stereotypical convention of horror films as it allows the rest of the events to ensue from this. This was seen in 'Skypemare' when the news revealed a murderer was on the loose. During the friend's group Skype call, an unknown caller joins, which is unable to be removed from the call. This adds to the feeling of suspense and fear of the unknown, as neither the audience or the protagonists are aware who this person is and what is going to happen. Much like the unknown person in 'Skypemare'. From here on, the unknown source begins threatening the friends. Forcing them to partake in games such as '21 dares'. The use of death threats and force is common with horror films used to manipulate victims and add to the notion of fear and violence. The unknown antagonist continues their threats however starts to physically control things. For instance the friend's lights are suddenly turned off in their rooms. This contributes a sense of super natural activity, a stereotypical convention found within horror films, e.g 'Paranormal Acitvity' In one scene, one of the friends is forced to place their hand in a blender. This adds gore and violence into the mix of elements within the film, which further contributes to the genre of horror. Through the use of the fear of the unknown, gory violence, threats and supernatural/telekinetic power combined, the film creates the feeling of suspense, terror, alarm, mystery etc… for both the protagonists of the film as well as the audience who relate to the friend's by seeing everything form their point of view. Ultimately combining all stereotypical codes and conventions of horrors to ensure the film 'Unfriended' meets the expectations of its genre. Ultimately, both the short film 'Skypemare ' and 'Unfriended' the feature film, follow similar narratives involving stereotypical codes and conventions of horror films. However 'Skypemare' can be seen to follow more of a cliche narrative, using simpler codes and conventions having a more basic effect on audiences. Compared to 'Unfriended' containing a whole ranges of codes and conventions found within horrors, in a more detailed way to have a greater effect on audiences. So from this it has helped us recognise what codes and conventions we need to include in our short film as well as how to apply them in order for out short film to be successful.
Having decided upon our genre for our short film, being horror genre, I have looked at stereotypical codes and conventions within horror genre films, to give us an understanding as to what codes and conventions we need to include in order to execute a horror short film successfully. To help us decide what genre our short film is going to be, we decided to conduct a survey, showing 3 different short films from 3 different potential genres we are interested in doing, the genres being horror, comedy and romance. We showed the films to group of teenage girls, a target audience we are interested on focusing on and asked them a series of questions on their opinions of the three films. Romance Genre: Horror Genre: Comedy Genre: Our Voxpop Survey:Conclusion:From this survey, we found the horror film was profoundly the most popular of all three genres, having the most effect on the viewers. The comedy short film was seen as the least popular out of the three. These results have helped contribute to our decision as to what genre we are going to make our short film. As a result we have decided to rule out the option of using a comedy genre as these answers from this group of our potential target audience has highlighted the difficulty a comedy genre brings to actually make it funny, compared to the horror genre, which seems to have the most effect on audiences.
I decided to draw out a mind map of things we could include in our horror-thriller short film. We discovered we could use a lot of things in our thriller to make it a more interesting and thrilling piece.
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AuthorsMolly Broad Archives
February 2016
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