Plot
My film shows a young woman, Scarlett, returning from work to find broken glass on her kitchen floor. She looks puzzled but tidies up the glass and puts it in the bin. Above the bin, we see a picture of her and her boyfriend, with “Josh and Scarlett ♥” written underneath. We then see Scarlett shakily pour herself a glass of wine but as she goes to drink it, a light bulb goes out. Scarlett attempts to fix the light bulb, but before she can even touch it, the radio turns on by itself. Scarlett turns off the radio but immediately after hears a noise; walking into the lounge the television is turned on, Scarlett turns it off but as she is walking away it turns itself back on again. Scarlett then runs up the stairs and into a dark room, where she says “Josh, please sweetie, stop this”, we then see Josh on the floor, dead. A flashback then shows Scarlett hitting him with a glass, Josh being dragged on the kitchen floor and Scarlett looking distressed. We then go back to the present, where Scarlett leans in and kisses Josh and a final image of Josh’s bloody arm is shown.
Horror
I wanted to create a horror film as horror films are one of only a few genres that many people choose to pay money to see at the cinema rather than online or on television (on average, 15% of films on at a cinema in the UK are horrors). I wanted to make one that, like many recently released horror films, was able to relate to the target audience, so to emphasise the horror as it was realistic that they could be the victim.
I studied various horror films, including Scream, The Shining, The Exorcist, The Silence of the Lambs, Alien and Rosemary’s Baby - all films which have had huge critical success. I then researched the conventions of horror films and saw which conventions were present in the films I studied. Please see my horror deconstructions for this list of conventions.
Ways my media product uses, develops and challenge forms and conventions of real
I used, developed and challenged forms and conventions within my film. I used a dark mise-en-scéne for my film, by setting the film at night. I have used dark lighting when showing the antagonist’s face to an extent, however as the audience believe she is the victim, at points I show her face in light in order for the audience to see her fear. I developed the use of lighting by using it to foreshadow the plot, as Scarlett is about the drink the wine, the light bulb goes out, causing half of her face to be shadowed and half in bright light; showing her split personality. At the beginning of the film, the editing is rather slow paced and the shots are fairly long, I didn’t conform to the stereotypical horror convention of fast paced editing at the beginning, in order to lull the audience into a false sense of security, so as the aspects of horror began to show (blood on the glass on the floor), the audience would be shocked. However, I wanted the audience to be clear of the genre of my film, so the editing began to fasten in pace as the scene went on. I used the theme of isolation in my film; by showing Scarlett to be alone when walking into the house and is seen to be alone when in the house shows the audience that she is an easy target as a victim as she is seen as alone, so vulnerable. I also developed the use of silence within the film, as I had barely any diegetic sound and little non-diegetic sound. The non-diegetic sound was of a heart beat; signalling that the scene was so quiet that that is the only thing the character can hear.
I studied various horror films, including Scream, The Shining, The Exorcist, The Silence of the Lambs, Alien and Rosemary’s Baby - all films which have had huge critical success. I then researched the conventions of horror films and saw which conventions were present in the films I studied. Please see my horror deconstructions for this list of conventions.
Ways my media product uses, develops and challenge forms and conventions of real
media products
I used, developed and challenged forms and conventions within my film. I used a dark mise-en-scéne for my film, by setting the film at night. I have used dark lighting when showing the antagonist’s face to an extent, however as the audience believe she is the victim, at points I show her face in light in order for the audience to see her fear. I developed the use of lighting by using it to foreshadow the plot, as Scarlett is about the drink the wine, the light bulb goes out, causing half of her face to be shadowed and half in bright light; showing her split personality. At the beginning of the film, the editing is rather slow paced and the shots are fairly long, I didn’t conform to the stereotypical horror convention of fast paced editing at the beginning, in order to lull the audience into a false sense of security, so as the aspects of horror began to show (blood on the glass on the floor), the audience would be shocked. However, I wanted the audience to be clear of the genre of my film, so the editing began to fasten in pace as the scene went on. I used the theme of isolation in my film; by showing Scarlett to be alone when walking into the house and is seen to be alone when in the house shows the audience that she is an easy target as a victim as she is seen as alone, so vulnerable. I also developed the use of silence within the film, as I had barely any diegetic sound and little non-diegetic sound. The non-diegetic sound was of a heart beat; signalling that the scene was so quiet that that is the only thing the character can hear.
The target audience for my media product
My target audience are 15-24 years of age, as hopefully this will attract the majority of cinema-goers. This is going to reflect my certificate rating of a 15, as it will contain violence and moderately strong language, but no drug use, sexual scenes or nudity. I don't want my film to be an 18 as I want it available to as many teenagers as possible and a majority of teenagers who go to the cinema to watch horror films are under 18. I also hope the film is appealing to middle-aged and older people who want to see a horror film, but unlike a lot of modern 18 certificate horror films, not to contain a lot of blood and gore. In the survey I created, no people over the age of 30 wanted to see a horror, and stated that they didn’t like the gore that most horrors have today, so perhaps the lack of gore in my film will be unique selling point and attract a wider audience. I made the characters in the film of similar age to my demographic of 15-24, so the audience can easily relate to them and perhaps see themselves in the victim or the murderer, which would add to the fear and horror. I would attract my audience by advertising my film with a poster in cinemas, as that is where I would hope my film to be shown.
As I would like my film to be distributed by Hammer films (please see below), I would like my film to be shown in a Hammer film festival; as it would be shown to an audience who are interested in horror films and could then hopefully be shown at the cinema, like the Hammer produced film, Wake Wood As I believe my film could be successful, I would rather my film be distributed like the Hammer film Let Me In, in which it was released in theatres in October 2010 and was released on DVD in February 2011
Survey Results
 |
Click to enlarge |
Test screenings
After showing my film, Happy Anniversary, to a selected few of my target audience, the feedback I received showed that the film was confusing as many of them didn't understand why the man was at the door, when all along it had been Josh's spirit, as he was dead upstairs. Also, it was said that tension wasn't built up enough and the shot with the TV turning on and off could be made more realistic. I took these comments on board and made a second cut of my film, with faster paced editing, to build tension and I changed the narrative structure so the plot easily understandable. I also re-shot the TV scene all in one shot, so the TV looked more realistic being turned on and off.
After showing my second cut of my film, my target audience mentioned some things they felt could be made better. These included the credits and the murder of Josh. It was said that maybe seeing more graphic images could make it more uneasy for the audience. Taking these comments on board, I added a clip of a piece of glass left behind that had blood on it. This change of mise-en-scéne immediately indicates earlier on in the clip that it is a horror. I also added a shot of Josh's legs being dragged away, with a trail of blood; adding to the horror. The credits were said to be quite unprofessional, as they disconnected the audience from the action, being just writing on a blank screen. So I added the credits onto the clip, so the audience are still able to watch what is happening in the narrative.
The main issue that came out of the test screenings was that most of the people disagreed with the genre of the film. Most of my test screening audience believed that the film didn’t show enough fear from the actor, so it was difficult to evoke the sense of horror. Also, I asked my target audience whether they sympathised with the woman, which none of them did. I wanted the audience to be able to connect with the woman as it would become a shock to them at the end when they discovered she wasn’t in fact the victim in the film, so I added a close up of the woman looking confused. Using this camera shot, means the audience could see the expression on her face and could perhaps identify with her more and understand what she is feeling. Also, the style of horror was unclear with the first draft, as at first the audience believed a spirit was controlling the technical problems in the house, and referred it to be similar to Paranormal Activity, however when the man appeared they then thought it was a human psycho-killer so were confused.
The main issue that came out of the test screenings was that most of the people disagreed with the genre of the film. Most of my test screening audience believed that the film didn’t show enough fear from the actor, so it was difficult to evoke the sense of horror. Also, I asked my target audience whether they sympathised with the woman, which none of them did. I wanted the audience to be able to connect with the woman as it would become a shock to them at the end when they discovered she wasn’t in fact the victim in the film, so I added a close up of the woman looking confused. Using this camera shot, means the audience could see the expression on her face and could perhaps identify with her more and understand what she is feeling. Also, the style of horror was unclear with the first draft, as at first the audience believed a spirit was controlling the technical problems in the house, and referred it to be similar to Paranormal Activity, however when the man appeared they then thought it was a human psycho-killer so were confused.
This is my first cut of Happy Anniversary
This is my third cut of Happy Anniversary
How my media product represents particular social groups
From general knowledge of horror films and in some of the films I studied, Scream, The Silence Of The Lambs and The Shining, the antagonist/ killer in the film was a man, this was a convention that I didn’t want to go along and I wanted represent that female characters could also be killers and not just the victim they are often portrayed as. However, I want the audience to believe she is going along with stereotypes of women in horror films and is the vulnerable victim, so it is a shock when they discover she is in fact the murderer.
  |
| Randy from Scream |
Class representation is also present in my film. The women seems to be smartly dressed, indicating she has returned from work. The house seems to be in good condition and has some modern aspects; wide-screen television, large fridge built into wall and the rooms look quite large. There is no indication that there are others living in the house, implying that they can afford this house on just their wages. This indicates the couple must be reasonably well off and have well paid jobs, so are of middle-class.
The media institution that might distribute my media product
Hammer Films production is a London based production subsidiary of Exclusive Media Group, that specialise in horror films, which is why I think it would be perfect for my film. Hammer Films have many film festivals that show new short and long horror films, which would be a great chance for Happy Anniversary. Hammer Films often have screenings for new films about to be released with a question and answer session with the director. This was the case in February, where Wake Wood was shown a month before its release, as a form of advertising and had a question and answer session with director David Keating. Hammer Films often focus on classic horrors from decades ago and rarely produce mainstream horror films that are shown in the cinema. However, over the past 3 years Hammer Films have began to produce very successful horror film; for example Let Me In (2010) in has grossed $12.1 million in the United States and Canada, as of November. Two films produced by Hammer Films that have not been released yet are The Resident, starring Hilary Swank and Christopher Lee and The Woman In Black, starring Daniel Radcliffe both star extremely well known actors and are set to be huge hits.
What I have learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product
I have learnt a lot about technologies from constructing this project. Firstly, I learnt the importance of the camera being dynamic and not static, as this gives the film a more professional look, especially with the use of a tripod (something that I’ve discovered also has high importance from this project). I have also discovered how to use the photo editing programme Picasa to make a certain object colour in a monochrome image, something which is key in my film, as the image must be in monochrome to show what is happening is in the past, but it must be clear to the audience that it is blood on the floor.
I now also understand the importance of copyright and how you must contact the owner of the song for permission to use it, which is why I opted to use copyright free music, something I have now learnt is very obtainable. Post production was my most enjoyable part, as you could experiment with placing different scenes in different places and also the length of some clips. However, there were often problems with downloading the footage onto the computers as it was tricky at first to understand how to download with sound, although I learnt how to do it by the third or fourth time.
I now also understand the importance of copyright and how you must contact the owner of the song for permission to use it, which is why I opted to use copyright free music, something I have now learnt is very obtainable. Post production was my most enjoyable part, as you could experiment with placing different scenes in different places and also the length of some clips. However, there were often problems with downloading the footage onto the computers as it was tricky at first to understand how to download with sound, although I learnt how to do it by the third or fourth time.
I have also learnt how to use Blogger.com (formerly Blogspot.com), to make the presentation of my project look more professional and for it to be easier to navigate through my blog. I used a video tutorial on Blogspot’s Youtube channel to understand the basics of how to create a blog and also how to add “widgets” to my blog.
This is the video I used to understand the basics of Blogger
This is the video I used to understand the basics of Blogger
What I have learnt since my preliminary task
Unlike my preliminary film, I worked by myself for this project, as I believe I would benefit more of not having to run the risk of others not doing their part in the project and I also had a reasonably clear idea of what I wanted to do. I think the main thing I learnt from my preliminary task is that I have understood the importance of researching similar products and then determining what conventions and factors cause products to fail or succeed. This can give a basis outline of whether the project is going to work with just a rough idea during pre-production. I have also learnt that it is better to have many ideas of locations, props and actors as you can shoot things several ways during production and then choose which one is more appropriate during post-production. I also realised how important sound was to a film and how it can create tension and also set the mood of a piece. I created several versions of my film with only non-diegetic sound, only diegetic sound and with both and realised that non-diegetic sound helped build the tension and diegetic sound helped the audience connect with the character; two things I believe are crucial for my film.
Another thing I learnt from my preliminary task is that the narrative structure of the film must be clear; something I don't think I achieved from it. I believe it was unclear what was happening in the present and what had happened in the past. In order to be able to make this clear with my film, I made things that had happened in monochrome, in order for the audience to be able to fully distinguish the past and present.
The preliminary task also made me realise the importance of planning my time. By having a schedule of pre-production and production helped the process flow and was a lot less stressful. Also by spacing out post-production allowed time for any problems involving the downloading of footage and also allowed time to try different versions of clips, without running into allotted time for something else, and having to rush things. I have also furthered my knowledge on conventions of genre and how they affect the audience and using it to my film-makers advantage. I have also developed a technique of portraying messages and facts without the use of dialogue, for example I wanted to show the audience that my two main characters were romantically linked, so instead of a character straight up saying that, I showed a picture of the two together with hearts written around it. I believe I have definitely improved my film making skills from this project, in the areas of pre-production, production and post-production.
Another thing I learnt from my preliminary task is that the narrative structure of the film must be clear; something I don't think I achieved from it. I believe it was unclear what was happening in the present and what had happened in the past. In order to be able to make this clear with my film, I made things that had happened in monochrome, in order for the audience to be able to fully distinguish the past and present.
The preliminary task also made me realise the importance of planning my time. By having a schedule of pre-production and production helped the process flow and was a lot less stressful. Also by spacing out post-production allowed time for any problems involving the downloading of footage and also allowed time to try different versions of clips, without running into allotted time for something else, and having to rush things. I have also furthered my knowledge on conventions of genre and how they affect the audience and using it to my film-makers advantage. I have also developed a technique of portraying messages and facts without the use of dialogue, for example I wanted to show the audience that my two main characters were romantically linked, so instead of a character straight up saying that, I showed a picture of the two together with hearts written around it. I believe I have definitely improved my film making skills from this project, in the areas of pre-production, production and post-production.
Production Schedule
Week | Scene order of shooting | Location | Props |
1 | Fighting scene | Kitchen – in house | Glass |
1 | Opening scene | Path by the field by my house | Coat, scarf, handbag |
1 | Woman entering house and hanging coat up and noticing glass | Hallway – in house | Coat, scarf, handbag, coat hook, broken glass |
2 | Glass scenes | Kitchen – in house | Glass, dust pan and brush, bin, picture |
3 | Wine and radio scenes | Kitchen – in house | Fridge, glass, wine, radio |
3 | TV scenes | Lounge – in house | TV |
3 | Shadow at door scenes | Bottom of stairs – in house | - |
4 | Dark room and final scenes | Spare room – in house | Fake blood and duvet |