Drafting Film Titles and Production Company Name

I have recently been trying to think of some potential titles for my production, as well as a relevant production company name.

Original Cast Ideas

I have decided that due to limitations and for general efficiency reasons, I am only going to have about 2-3 characters within my production.

Benefits:
Some benefits of this change are that this will actually give these few characters more screen time and, therefore, develop their characters more, meaning the audience will feel more of a connection to the events of the film. If only two characters are used (the ghost and the living friend) then the relationship between them can be explained and shown in more depth, so as to give the audience and even deeper sense of understanding and connection. This use of two characters would also mean that the plot wont become convoluted with unnecessary scenes or plot points being created with more characters, once again, leading to an overall better understanding and a consistent viewing experience for the audience. This is personally making me lean towards this choice of two characters, since I feel like it may just be the most practical and efficient way, as well as still having an interesting effect on the plot of the film.

Disadvantages:
However, some disadvantages of this change though are that without extra characters to take up screen time, I am going to need to focus a lot more on actually having enough shots and plot to reach the targeted film length of 5 minutes. This limit on character amount also means that I will not be able to create as many character personalities and conventions that go with these, meaning there will be a slight lack of typical horror character conventions within my film.

Further Topic Research

Satanic Symbols:
We are considering the use of religious and mainly satanic symbols at certain points within our film, for example we were thinking of possibly having one of these signs carved onto something.

I managed to find quite a few of symbols and signs using the website - http://www.traditioninaction.org/RevolutionPhotos/Snap/A084rcInvertdCross_4.html

I am hoping to use some of these ideas in my production. More specifically, as some sort of symbol that will be drawn or carved onto something, whether it be on the surroundings or even a character.

These are some of the areas that I found to be quite interesting and could possibly be useful within my production...

Sword of Power

May be seen upright or upside down with a drop of blood. Used by some Satanist's to represent light and darkness.

Udjat

or all seeing eye. One of few symbols referring to Lucifer (King of Hell), whom it is though will pass judgment. Below the eye is a tear  because he mourns for those outside his influence.

Ritual Circle

Has different meanings to different groups. Protection from evil, symbolic of life cycles or completeness. Nine feet across with a smaller one inside and perhaps a pentagram drawn inside. 

Inverted Cross of Satanic Justice

If found carved in the chest of a victim, it means the person was a traitor. The vertical line represents a man's presence. The horizontal line indicates eternity past and future. The arch represents the world and being inverted is a mockery of God.

Upside Down Cross

  Symbolizes mockery and rejection of Jesus. Necklaces are worn by many satanist's. It can be seen on Rock singers and their album covers.

Inverted Pentagram

  Symbolizes the morning star, a name Satan has taken.  Used in witchcraft and occult rituals to conjure up evil spirits. Satanists use it 2 points up and pagans use it one point up. Any way it is used symbolizes evil. It matters not if two points are up or one. It matters not if it has a circle around it. It still is a symbol of Satan.

Current Idea Inspiration

Don't Move

The short horror film, 'Don't Move', has been quite a significant inspiration in terms of the current ideas I've come up with. This was one of the original influences that the lead into and affected the ideas that have followed, since it laid out a few key concepts that we thought would be great to include in our own production. My production firstly take inspiration from this particular film, in terms of the certain aspects of the plot. Similarly to the film, I am going to have it focused around a group of young adults misusing an Ouija board which will release a spirit/demon that will seek to kill off the members of the group, until there's one left. I am going to also follow very similar character ideas, since we are planning on having an equal mix of both male and female characters, with each having a very distinct personality. The ending of our short film will also relate to a few aspects of the film's too, because of the way that the concept of the final girl will be shown, but then reversed in some way. We're also going to include the use of some sort of subtle indicator (similar to the concept of the spinning glass in 'Don't Move') throughout the film, that will signal a key clue as to what will happen and possibly a big twist.

Ouija

'Ouija' has provided inspiration in various aspects of my film, most notably in the way that my film also heavily revolves around the use of an Ouija board and how it leads to bad events within the plot. The main characters in the film are also young adults, who follow many of the character conventions we want to go for. They're also trying to contact the spirit of a recently deceased friend, which just ends up in this spirit they contact killing many of the characters.

American Horror Story - Murder House

This particular season of American Horror Story helped inspire the idea for my ending and the twist the plot will take. During this season, one of the main characters, Violet, tries to commit suicide by overdosing and gets very close to doing so, before she is saved by her friend, Tate. It is revealed in a later episode that she did actually succeed and that she has been dead for quite a while, which becomes evident when her body is found buried below the floorboards of the house. There are also certain points in which Violet tries to leave the house, only to be teleported back there such as in one episode when she leaves through the front door and instantly re-enters through the back door, suggesting that her soul is now bound to the house like many of the other spirits of people who died there previously. In my film, I am going to use this concept of having one of the main character die at an earlier point, only to have it revealed at a later time. I am also going to use the idea of having the character trying to escape by running and leaving the house, but just being teleported back there.

Carrie

The film 'Carrie' (All versions) follows the story of a girl who is ridiculed by her fellow peers at school, which leads to her eventually snapping and trying to get revenge on all of the people who did her wrong by using her supernatural powers. I am going to loosely use this concept within my film, since this theme of revenge will be an important aspect of the overall plot too. It will be through the fact that in my film, the spirit will be trying to get revenge for it's death by killing the main characters that played a part in the events leading up to it.

FIlm Review Analysis

Ouija Board Movies Website

I recently stumbled across the website http://ouijaboardmovies.com/ while doing some research. I found out that it's a website based around providing lists of both short and full-length movies from all around the world, that include the use of Ouija boards, as well as providing a rough plot summary and some information about them.

I think this could end up being quite a useful resource, since it focuses so heavily around one of the key aspects of our film, and provides a huge variety of films that we can gather even more inspiration, information and ideas from to help us in creating our own.

Plot Blocking