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.
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.
This is mine and Maddy's Final Pitch, which is goes over all the ideas and thoughts we have gathered so far into what we want our production to include. We talked about the current plot-line, equipment we'll be using, the genre/sub genres our film falls into, as well as the themes it covers. We also go over how our audience surveys and research have impacted the decisions we've made and how they're going to influence the production.
During the filming of this Final Pitch, we had a few technical difficulties and found that a lot of what we had recorded had gone missing and so a few parts were missed out of the discussion. I will add these few extra points below.
For our ancillary tasks, Maddy will be doing the film poster while I do the film review. We decided to take the leads in these different areas and roles because we feel like they highlight some of our individual strengths, however, we will still be contributing to each others tasks throughout to help make it the best it can possibly be. For both of these ancillary tasks, we've decided on quite a conventional colour scheme consisting, mostly, of dark colours, that will convey the horror aspect of the production.
I recently did a Focus Group with a few of my peers, so that I could gather a few of their thoughts and opinions on some aspects of the horror genre and what they thought of the idea behind my production. I asked them the following questions:
What do you think would be the best weapon to have in a horror film?
Do you watch horror films?
Do you go to the cinema to watch horror films?
When watching a horror film (or any film) what age do you prefer the main characters to be?
What do you think is a good general location for a horror film?
What is your favourite horror film?
Do you like the idea of the Final Girl?
(After giving a brief overview of our idea) What do you think to our production idea?
For our short film, there are only a few particular areas that we would need to research in order to make them more authentic and true to reality. This will need to be done to make it all seem as believable and realistic for an audience as possible, so as to not break any atmosphere that has been created.
Ouija Boards:
The most important area that i've done research into is the way that Ouija Boards are used and how they work in general. I have focused the most on this area of research, since it's such a massive part and idea for the plot of our film. I was aiming to find out about things, such as the rules that come with using it and therefore what you must and must not do, as well as what the various symbols and characters mean on the board. I've used a few different websites and sources to gather this information, such as videos, historical websites and more.
Original Ouija Board created in 1894
The typical appearance of Ouija Boards and what they look like is that they are a flat board with the letters of the alphabet arranged in two semi-circles above the numbers 0 to 9. In the top corners are the words "Yes" and "No" and the word "Goodbye" is placed at the bottom of the board. This is all accompanied by a planchette, which is a teardrop shaped device used to move around the board. Nowadays, they are usually made of cardboard, rather than the wood they are conventionally known for.
Elijah Bond was one of the first to patent the Ouija Board
The history of Ouija Boards are, as expected, quite unknown and creepy and as for origins of the Ouija Board; it is said to be just about as mysterious as how the 'game' works. Even the way they were named is quite sinister and similar to something you would find in a horror movie. The story goes that the makers of the first ever 'talking board' asked the board what they should call it and in reply it spelt out the name "Ouija". When asked what this meant, it simply replied "Good Luck."
This short video gives a small insight into some of the history behind the creation of 'talking boards'. It explains the way that Ouija boards used to be thought of as quite harmless and were used by many people as just another 'game'. They also acted as a way of making easy money, since it was fuelled by the spiritualism and love for the supernatural that had become so popular at the time.
Rules:
I have managed to find a couple of websites that outline the rules of Ouija Boards, as well as the steps to using them. A few cautionary rules are as follows:
Be serious! It's not a game!Being in a serious mood helps to naturally close yourself of to negative energy and protect yourself better.
Always say 'Goodbye' at the end!This acts as a way of ending the session by setting your mind to closing down the door that had opened to the other side and therefore stopping any negative energy from continuing on.
Never use the Ouija Board in your home! The negative energy of spirits can effect you and the last place you want to release dark, swirling energy into is your home. It's supposed to be a place were you feel comfortable and don't have to worry too much, but this can cause various unwanted problems that will stick around.
In My Production:
We are actually planning on going against these rules, since this is going to be the basis for the plot of our film and the whole reason that the film's events are going to take a turn for the worst. We're going to have the teenagers acting in an irresponsible way, meaning they will misuse the Ouija board and cause many problems, through the way of using it in a home environment, neglecting to say 'Goodbye' at the end and acting foolishly overall. By doing this, we will be sticking to the typical horror conventions of films that involve the use of Ouija Boards, since they almost always are misused and often by young people.
This is the final survey we have done to gather information into what an audience would like to see in our production. We focused this final survey more around the actual elements and ideas that we had previously come up with for the short film, so that we can get more specific responses into what people's opinions on certain aspects are. For example, we asked about our concept of having two alternate realities being shown. Overall, this will allow us to easily change and adapt the ideas we've questioned and create what is best suited to the audience. Survey Link- https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/N2ZWQJB
This is a quick moodboard I've created in order to show of a few key concepts and ideas we have for our film. More may be added later on as our ideas develop.
This is a survey that has been done to find out what people would like to see for our ancillary task of creating a film poster for our movie. Once again, we aimed to find out what people see as the most important aspect of the poster, which will allow us know which areas to put more focus into. It will also tell us what people will find visually appealing, meaning we can try to make our poster as eye-catching and interesting as possible, to attract more attention. The question given about what their personal favourite film posters are can give us a few references to look at and analyse, in order to see what they've included and what we can therefore include in ours.
We've also conducted a survey into what our audience would like to see in our other ancillary task for creating a film review page for our movie. The questions we used were chosen because they covered the main areas and concepts of film reviews and so allows us to get a good overview of people's opinions on the particularly important aspects. From this, we'll be able to gather an insight into what people like visually, in both images and colour, as well as what they think is most important in general. This will then allow us to focus on these areas within our own review and apply what people would like to see the most to it as well. Survey Link- https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/H5KPNSR
I have been recently thinking about potential locations for my film. I am ideally thinking of a place that is some sort of abandoned house, but also thought of many possible problems that this kind of location would cause. One problem that i might face is the problem of accessibility. This is because after looking around online for any local areas that suited my idea, I couldn't find many, meaning I would possibly have to travel to find locations and I don't think this would be the most convenient way. Even if I did find any nearby locations, there would also be the problem of trying to gain actual access to the property, since it would be most likely 'off-bounds' to people. Another problem I've been faced with, if i do decide to go for somewhere more derelict, is that it causes limitations in terms of lighting and other effects, since there would be no power source at hand. I will need to take all of this on board when continuing my search for the place I want to film in, while also keeping it in line with horror conventions.
Maddy recently created a Twitter Poll with a simple question that aimed to find people's opinions on potential weapons that can be used within a short horror film. There were limits to how many options could be put in the poll so it was narrowed down to the most iconic and conventional choices. It was quite a surprise to see that the top voted weapon ended up being the chainsaw, since it may be expected that something simply more common, like the knife, would be the highest choice. The high percentage of people who chose chainsaw may be down to the higher risk and danger that comes with it, as well as it being more scary in many aspects, such as it's appearance or sound. The influence of previous films, like 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' and the recent emergence of the use of chainsaws in horror may have impacted the opinions of people and therefore the results.
Similarly to last year, we decided to use SurveyMonkey in order to create our surveys this year. This is because we thought it was a really effective way of gathering the data and information we needed from our target audience. We sent the links for it through emails and over social media as well as just asking people to do it through word of mouth. This allowed us to get a wide range of responses from a variety of people, which will give us a good overview as to what a majority of people think. Our main age focus is still in the age range of 15-20 years old though and so that's what we're going to be mostly looking at for responses.
The auteur theory says that a film is a representation of the director's thoughts, and reflects their personal creative visions since they were the primary auteur (French word for author). Film-making auteurs usually have their own distinctive style which has almost become their signature for their pieces of work. It also keeps creative control over it, since it makes them very recognisable as well as individual.
Some examples of auteur styles that can possibly relate to our genre of horror are Tim Burton and his gothic, dark and quite unusual takes on conventional ideas and stories. There are many aspects within his films that all come together to create this style, for example, the choice of the same or similar actors throughout them. Those who are most commonly seen within his films are people like Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, as well as others actors who are very familiar with darker films like these. The mise-en-scene throughout the films is also very consistent, since dark lighting and quite run-down settings are usually used and paired together. In terms of costume used within the films too, it usually incorporates the colours black and white and often have patterns. They are usually quite stereotypically 'fancy' in terms of appearance too. As previously mentioned, his films are also, more often than not, based on traditional stories as well and since many of these are set in the past, they all reflect the periods they are based in, just with slightly more modern twists and concepts.
Another is George A. Romero who is known for creating films that fall into the Zombie sub-genre and has done a wide variety based around this idea of the apocalypse. Some of the concepts and ideas that he follows to create this own distinctive style for himself are, firstly, how in many of his film titles, he usually uses the word "dead" or other death and evil-related words. This means people can easily identify the movies he's created and relate many of them together. Many of his films are also a combination of both gruesome and satirical aspects, making them quite different to many others within the horror genre as a whole.
The genre theory draws the audiences attention towards what is different between the films the auteur does rather then the similarities such as their signature. It looks at the types and kinds of things in a certain genre and the characteristics and features expected in that types of genre, by the audience.
An important part of Genre theory is knowing at which period a film was made. This is particularly important when considering what technology was being used. With today's high speed films (shorter exposure times) films may be shot with very different lighting from those of twenty years ago. The rhythm and pacing of the film may have been altered with editing. Core values which would seem unimportant to us when watching certain films may be of prime importance to the people who are contemporary to the films. However, if all films were exactly the same then genre theory would be easy to study and defining which type of film it is would be easy. Unfortunately though it is far more complicated than this. As we look and analyse various films we find that although they have similarities in other aspects they are very different. It creates the need for genre theory to continually re-define itself according to the technology, the audience, the political message among many other variables. What may have been typical of a genre at one time may evolve other time as the audience evolve in such a way that an action film from the a few years ago may be a very slow paced film by today's standards, compare for example the Western with the action films.
There are some theories of audience that we can apply, these being:
The Effects Model is the idea that the consumption of media texts can have an effect or influence upon an audience. This effect is usually considered to be negative and audiences are passive and powerless to prevent the influence. The model is also known as The Hypodermic Needle, meaning the messages from the media text are 'injected' into the audience by the media. Once again, it is argued that an audience is powerless to resist it and therefore, the media works like a drug and the audiences become addicted and almost brainwashed to what they are shown. This model can applied to many areas of study such as film, psychology and more. Some examples of films are:
(Child's Play 3 in the murder of James Bulger 1993) (A Clockwork Orange 1971 in a number of horrible events)
The Uses And Gratification Model is the opposite to The Effects Model. In this one the audience is active, they use the text and are not used by it, the audience uses the text to their own gratification and pleasure. The audience will use the text to gratify there needs for:
Diversion
Information
Pleasure
Escapism
Relaxation
Emotional Satisfaction
Learning
Controversially the theory suggests the consumption of violent images can be helpful rather than harmful, the theory suggests that audiences act out their violent impulses through the consumption of media violence. The audience’s inclination towards violence is therefore sublimated, and they are less likely to commit violent acts.
Emphasises the subtler, less direct capacity of the media to influence perceptions. It recognises that people respond to other influences, such as opinion leaders, who may mediate the message of the media. Thus, media effect can be seen as one of reinforcement – closer to ‘influence’ than ‘brainwashing’. Research by Stuart Hall found that rather than the autonomous individualised audience members of the uses and gratifications approach, that audience members shared certain frameworks of interpretation and that they work at decoding media texts within these frameworks. Hall proposed three types of audience readings:
Dominant – the reader recognises what the text’s preferred meaning is and broadly agrees with it.
Oppositional – where the dominant meaning is recognised but rejected for cultural or ideological reasons.
Negotiated – where the reader accepts, rejects or refines elements of the text in light of previously held views.
Cohesive marketing is when a campaign links many different forms of media across multiple platforms showing a clear relation between each one such as, websites, posters, trailers etc, to get their film out to audiences on a 24 hour basis. This is also known as 360 degree branding. It focuses on things such as branding, synergy, brand image, convergence and more.
An example of this is The Hunger Games franchise:
Another example is the Saw marketing campaign:
Throughout all of the platforms the audience need to be able to identify a brand and this is done through creating a brand identity with:
Colour schemes
A slogan/Catchphrases
Certain actors
Layout
Typography
As you can see from The Hunger Games franchise their colour scheme is orange, gold and black throughout all of their platforms, along with the iconic Mockingjay badge and their slogan "May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favour." Not on every platform but on most, Jennifer Lawerance's and Josh Hutcherson's face will be to the sides or in the middle of the picture. The campaign involved an interactive website to make the storyline more realistic, this is a popular thing to do, films such as Jurassic World have also done this.
Conventional colours for a horror films are red, black and white which the Saw campaign follows making it easily identified as a horror. It also has the same typography throughout all of their marketing with the iconic Saw font with the W always being slightly bigger then the other letters. One part of the campaign involved Jigsaw (The main Antagonist) featuring in The Simpsons, a popular TV show watched by many people around the world. There's also the iconic phrase of "Want To Play A Game?" which is used throughout many forms of media, from the films to video games.
What Makes a Good/Successful Marketing Campaign?
A major factor in a successful marketing campaign is understanding your target audience for example, it's not very effective to have marketing on social media if your film is aimed at the elderly.
Another thing is 360 degree branding which is constantly being in the public's face, on their phone, on the side of the bus they get on, on the billboard they walk by etc. the more they see it the more likely they are to remember it. A unique marketing campaign itself can make it successful as people remember something different and if films were to do the same marketing things over and over again the public would get bored and dismiss them.
Something else that can make a successful/good marketing campaign is synergy, which is when different companies will come together to create something with a greater effect on the public than if they were on their own. An example of this is Space Jam and Mcdonalds, they teamed up and created a Bacon Burger at McDonalds which had never been on their menu before, as a result it caused a lot of buzz for both McDonalds and the film Space Jam, this made a successful campaign because they understood their target audience for Space Jam and then matched that with the majority of people who eat at McDonalds: Young Adults, Teens and Families.
I wanted to send an email to the production company, Bloody Cuts, since they have been such a big influence and inspiration for me so far. However, I was not able to find an actual email address that I could send my enquiry to and so instead visited their website and sent them a comment through their 'Get In Touch' page, since it seemed like the most effective way.
'I Am Legend' is a post-apocalyptic horror film released in 2007. The story is set within a world where a deadly virus has wiped out most of mankind and has turned many others into mutants. However, one man is immune and his story is followed as he fights to create a cure and to survive. I've decided to analyse this film review page because it is still a film within the horror genre, despite being part of a different sub-genre to my own, and I wanted to see whether different sub-genres where treated and presented differently in terms of their reviews pages.
'It Follows' is a supernatural psychological horror film released in 2014. The plot revolves around a girl who is being pursued by a supernatural entity that is out to kill her after she was involved in some bad events. I've chosen to analyse this review page since it relates quite closely to my film in both genre and plot.
'Don't Move' is a 14 minute long short horror film made by the independent British production company, 'Bloody Cuts' and was released on the 23 March 2013 on a budget of around £3,000.
Plot: When six friends meet up for their monthly 'games night', they foolishly choose a Ouija Board as their game of choice. Surprised it works, they scrawl down a sinister message declaring, "5 must die, 1 must live"...and accidentally unleash an ancient evil, which brutally eviscerates anyone that moves. Frozen in place, the remaining friends quickly realize only one of them can survive... but only if everyone else dies. As friendships fracture and dawn slowly approaches, they all must work out how to survive the night. But how do you escape when you can't move?
I personally think this is a good short film to analyse because of how closely it relates to what we are roughly thinking of in terms of many aspects within our own film. For example, how we are going to include the theme of friendship, are potentially going to have an Ouija board being used which then leads to paranormal occurrences and are going to have limited dialogue while relying more on reactionary shots. I've also realized that it includes overall plot-line aspects that we want to include, such as it's clever and in depth plot and the twist that comes at the end.
These two shots show the opening credits and film title. The background has a blood-like effect and is a mix of red and black colours. This is in relation to what the film is generally based around and the dark horror themes it includes, helping to signify to the audience what the film is going to be about or based on. However, the text white and in a simple font in order to just help it easily stand out and be easy for the audience to read. The diegetic sound during these credits serves as a way of quickly giving some background to the story of the short film, in an easy and effective way and lets the audience know how it all began. It has the main characters talking and joking, which turns into screaming when you can hear the demon being released that then starts killing. The end of this, before the film actually starts, has someone saying the title of the film, "Don't Move" which appears on the screen as they say each word. Overall, opening sequences like this are used to set a particular mood and atmosphere for the audience, before the film has even begun. They also act as an indicator, to some, about the quality of the film and as a way of keeping the audience attracted straight from the beginning so as to keep them wanting to watch on.
This is the first establishing shot of the film after the previous events you hear in the credits sequence. This is a high angled panning shot that shows the audience the consequence and aftermath of what has happened, as wellas the reason why. The tarot card for Death can be seen on the table and acts as a foreboding sign of the further events to come. Also, during this, the shot glass can be seen still spinning further showing that the events from the previous sequence have only just happened, helping to keep the film consistent. The blood splattered over the Ouija board also stands out because of it's contrast to the colours it's on, making it more noticeable and creating a point of focus for the audience through the way it can attract an audiences gaze. Some music can be heard in the background that is mostly composed of ringing notes at a slow pace, which help to build the tension within these first couple of minutes.
The previous shot fades to this piece of paper with the words "5 must die 1 must live". Once again, this is a way of slightly revealing the plot and the path the story is going to take to the audience, but in quite a subtle way. Also, some voices can be heard whispering these words too in a very creepy manner making the whole situation seem more paranormal. The words " I am here" create mystery and tension for the audience as it will make them wonder what's actually there and what's going to happen because of it. To the left of the frame, a picture of a dead or in pain person can be seen on the corner of the Ouija board, which reinforces the message and idea of the pain and death that is to follow.
There is another fade into the next sequence of shots where the camera begins a kind of slow tracking shot between each of the characters within the film in a way that seems as though the camera is almost gliding through the house. This could have be done to suggest that the view being shown is actually that of the demon who is patrolling the area and almost analysing each of the still characters. The first person that is passed by is a young woman standing in a kitchen who has a clearly worried look on her face and can be seen shaking slightly. She's holding a bottle of wine and a glass which shows she is a typical young person who enjoys drinking alcohol at parties. The light coming through the back window suggests that the time is during the evening or early morning, since it is a dark orange light, which goes against typical horror conventions of films similar to this. This is because many are usually set during the much later hours of the night. This idea of it being either in the evening or early morning is shown clearer by the clock on the wall to the right, which reads roughly 5:10. The music now has what sounds like a continuous high pitched and choir-like voice added to it. However, it's done in a way that feels uncomfortable and creepy to listen to. Overall, the lighting of the following sequences are quite dim, with a few sources of light to illuminate the areas slightly.
This shot shows various notes and papers attached to a pin board that is gently lit by a lamp to the right. In the centre is a calendar that's on the month October. This may be seen as significant because of how it could suggest that it is based around the time of Halloween whichwould be quite a typical time for something like this to occur because of how naturally scary the holiday is meant to be. Other films also use this typical Halloween based convention, such as the aptly named horror movie 'Halloween'. There are many different menus, tickets and notes dotted around the board too, which can all be quite typical of young people. There's even a picture of a group of friends pinned to the top right corner.
This is the second character we are introduced to and he is shown to be just an average young man, through what he's wearing and the way he acts. Like many of the other characters, he's wearing relatively light coloured clothes, making him stand out and making them a focus point for the audience again. He's in a casual shirt and jeans which is what we would typically associate with young people. The way he is standing completely still with very little expression on his face could serve as a way of suggesting how he's not as afraid and is managing to stay pretty calm under the circumstances. This fits the usual stereotypes of men being braver than women, since all the females are shown to look more scared and be more worried about the situation than he is.
We now see another female who is presented in a way that seems to connote she's the typically feminine girl, since she's very well presented, in a light coloured dress with various accessories and makeup. She seems to be like a slight opposite to her sister, who is found out later to be the girl in the kitchen. She also has the very anxious and afraid look on her face that many of the others have, which show what they're feeling in this situation. She's standing looking slightly to the left of the shot towards the male from the previous section, which could suggest she's waiting for him to do something to try and save them and is looking to him for safety. This would go back to the typical gender stereotypes given about women being more fragile and men having the role of being courageous and protective.
Once again, there's a shot of a distressed female character being shown. This particular character stands out from the rest slightly because she is in a noticeably different position to the others since she is sitting down, not standing. However, like the others, she's still wearing the commonly light coloured clothes we've seen throughout with makeup and accessories similar to the other girls. In this shot, you can also see a pair of legs behind her to the right frame. At this moment, the audience will be unsure as to who these belong to or what they even are creating more tension for them as they think about why they're there. They are used as a way of telling the audience some more important information about the future of the plot in quite a subtle way too. Similarly to the woman in the previous shot, she's also looking slightly towards the male suggesting that she may have the same thoughts going through her head about the situation.
During this last part of the sequence, the diegetic sound of the shot glass can still be heard, while the soundtrack changes to a more sinister tone as it seems to reach a bit of a climax to set the atmosphere for the reveal coming up. Everything had been completely quiet up until now in terms of diegetic sound and so the pure addition of the shot glasses spinning sound creates an eerie suspense. The shots show the overview of what had happened at the beginning again, possibly to remind the audience of the reason behind what is going on. The shot of the table with the Ouija board on it is covered in items you would associate with a young people's party, such as the snacks of crisps and alcohol. However, pieces of paper and a book can be seen scattered around the table, which may suggest to the audience that this is how they summoned the demon and where the important words of "5 must die 1 must live" where written. This long tracking shot ends as it finally stops when it reaches the dead body of this young male. It is clear that he has had his heart ripped out through his chest, made apparent by the bloody wound that is shown and the fact that the heart can actually be seen on one of the plates in the shot before. It is only now that it is revealed to the audience what the demon is actually capable of, as well as exactly what happened during the credits and to who. The audience may link the killing of this particular character, to his involvement with the writing and the paper, since they're both in front of him and so was the target of the demon.
The shot then fades to black as the sound of the spinning shot glass slowly fades out too. This sound is then replaced by heavy breathing. All of this seems to signal the end of the establishing element and reason for all of the overview shots previously that set the scene. This indicates to an audience that the main plot of the film is now going to set in after the transition.
The shots following this, of each character, seem to be heavily revolved around capturing their emotion and feelings through their facial expressions. The first shot we see is the extreme close up of the woman's face, with most of the focus on the fear shown through her eyes as they dart from side to side frantically. During these shots of the woman standing in the kitchen, she can clearly be heard breathing heavily as well and is shaking quite drastically. This shows the massive amounts of fear she's feeling and how she's barely able to contain it. It also helps to reveal a bit about her character potentially being quite a timid and reserved person through the way she's presented in this situation. This may actually act as an audience pleasure as some may relate to her and the way she's acting and how she's feeling in this situation and may ultimately feel sympathy for her because of this. It also ends up being a form of helping to better engage the audience. The demon that has been hinted at so many times is now shown for the first time too and can be hear making a disturbing clicking and growling sounds. It moves around the woman in a way that makes both the audience and the character uncomfortable and tense, because of how close it is to her and the potential for what could happen at any moment. The demon floats around in a dark, swirling mist with long claws. Many of these characteristics aren't necessarily the typical features of what people think ghosts and demons stereotypically look like and so may be even more frightening to an audience as it's unusual and maybe something they've never seen before in films of this genre. Most people would assume them to be completely transparent and lightly coloured or even have a humanoid appearance, but the entity goes against these by being portrayed as almost a completely shapeless, dark mist. The demon also creates a contrast of darkness against many of the lighter colours, especially since it passes in front of the windows light, almost making it seem more evil and out of place.
This is another highly reactionary close up shot of a character, that shows her fearful expression. She's looking in the direction of the kitchen where her sister is and the demons clicking can be heard in the background. She also has tears in her eyes and her lips are trembling, as if she's desperately trying to hold the emotions back. This may give the audience similar feelings towards her, as they did for the woman in the kitchen. The music during all of this has now changed to be more sinister again, creating lots of suspense, since the demon has now been revealed and there is uncertainty for what will happen.
This shot is done at an angle and the camera movement is quite shaky. This may be done to show the fear of the character because of the way it seems to suit the uncertain and literally shaky emotions. This could aim to further include the audience in the events and make them feel a part of it because of the way they'll be able to relate to the feelings and view through the camera's movements. It can be seen here that this character also has tears in her eyes and even some that have actually rolled down her cheek, which are shown through the reflection and position of the lighting. You can slightly hear the characters heavy breathing as she looks to the left of the frame towards where the woman from the previous shot is standing, in response to the way she's feeling and the way she's also faced to look at her.
These show two over the shoulder shots used to show the exchange of looks between the male and female characters shown. All three of the characters in this living room area continue to switch glances to one another like this, as if they are in preparation for something that's about to happen. In the case of camera movement like this, the camera actually breaks the 180 degree rule by switching sides between this exchange. In this case, the camera is always positioned with a view from the left shoulder of the character, which is unusual in sequences like this and it ends up giving these shots a different feel to usual ones. The male's point of view has a wider range and shows a lot of the surroundings, such as the dead body to the back left, while the female's point of view is limited with much of the focus on the man. However, despite this the shots still feel consistent and easy for the audience to follow since it isn't overused.
A cause and effect kind of sequence is shown here that is used to show the consequence of a certain thing happening to cause it. In this case, a close up shot shows the character pressing a button on the remote, which is then instantly cut to a close up shot of the radio turning on. This keeps the reasoning clear and easy to follow as to why it's happened. The non-diegetic soundtrack during this time also gradually builds up, leading to an increase in tension for what's to follow the button press. The loud rock music is then played which is used to break the silence and build up of suspense created by the sequence before, for both the characters and the audience. The shots that follow this then become quite fast paced in a way that makes them seem suited to the song being played.
At this point the woman standing up tries running
but trips over. This is an extremely typical convention for horror movies, especially in those with someone being chased by a killer, such as in 'Scream'. Also, since the woman who could be considered the highly feminine one within the group is the one that falls over it can also be considered typical in this aspect. This is because a lot of females of this type within horror movies tend to be portrayed as quite dumb or naïve and so always end up doing something foolish and easily avoidable. This could be considered an audience pleasure due to the fact that this will be something that is commonly seen for horror film fans and so is something they may find enjoyment out of seeing done in different ways. As well as this, the way that they will find it enjoyable to know they can potentially predict when and whether this event will occur is something they may be entertained by.
The shot of the character being killed shows her in quite a lifeless way already as she is still being killed. This creates a very emotive shot which aims to make the audience feel sorry for her and be sad about what has happened overall. This seems to have been made more personal and audience-inclusive by making it so that she is almost looking directly at the camera, however this could also connote the freedom she almost reached as the door is right in front of her and that may be what she's looking towards. This close up shot shows the reaction of the character as she shouts her sister's names, after hearing her screaming. During these shots, the other diegetic sound of the radio can actually be hard stuttering and playing in a small loop. Having this being played like this during a death seems to emphasize what is happening and generally make the whole effect of this feel that much more impactful. The music then stops as soon as she is actually and is left to fall to the floor.
After the woman is killed, the character sitting down turns off the music again with some more cause and effect shots of her pressing the button and the radio turning off. This time, the shots are plunged back into silence with very minimal sound which is a drastic contrast between two extremes in the space of a few seconds. The shot then cuts to a close up of the woman standing in the kitchen. She's positioned to the right side of the frame with an open door to the left of it. In the background of this, you can see the dark mist of the demon passing along the bottom half of the door. This is unnoticed by the character and so the audience will feel on edge knowing something the character doesn't and just waiting to see what comes from it. The diegetic sound of the door slamming is very loud and sudden too and serves as a kind of jump scare, which is typical convention of horror movies. This is then followed by the character screaming loudly in response and, once again, her reaction to everything happening is shown through her shaking and heavy breathing.
Once again, these next few shots are done in an extremely emotive way. The way the female character says "where's my sister" is one of very few words actually said throughout this particular sequence, but is highly impactful in the way it's said. It's said in a slightly broken way, but to where each individual word is slowly emphasised This can effect the audience in ways such as making them feel sympathy for the character because of what has happened or through being able to relate to the scenario in one way or another and just generally understanding the feelings the character has in that moment. The second shot is almost an over the shoulder shot, but is slightly more focused behind her head and it shows us who her question is actually directed towards as she looks through the doorway towards him. The camera is actually positioned more over her right shoulder though, which goes against all the previous uses of the left shoulder, however it was most likely done this time in order to give a better view.
These close up shots show the expression of the woman sitting down after what's happened so far. She's breathing quite heavily too and has tears in her eyes. In the first shot, she's positioned to the right and the demon's dark mist can be seen passing behind her from the left of the frame. During this the lights also become dimmer connoting the more evil and sinister atmosphere because of how the dark can suggest and signal the involvement and upcoming inevitability of the demon and the danger to come. The woman then stares in a worried way in the direction of the man and says the words "Don't move". This is obviously a clear reference and relation to the title of the film and is a way of keeping the whole idea of the plot about, having to keep still, on the audience's minds by reminding them too. The way this is said is broken up and emphasized similar to the way the other character asked where her sister was. However, it makes the audience feel differently this time since it is said as a warning to be cautious and for a reason the audience will have already grasped.
The previous shot then quickly cuts to this close up, with a loud, piercing sound which is used again as a form of jump scare for the audience. Jump scares are used regularly in horrors because of the simplicity, yet effectiveness of them when trying to get a reaction from an audience. There is shallow focus being used here as the man in the foreground is primarily in focus and so is the main point, while the demon behind him is shown in less of a way. The demon can still be heard making the eerie clicking and growling sounds as it moves around. The non-diegetic soundtrack has also changed slightly to where it has a slightly more high pitched tone added to it to create tension in this close moment.
The first shot shows the camera slowly moving down towards the ground in time with the character putting her feet on the ground. This helps to keep it continuous for the audience as to what she's actually doing by showing each different step. Also having it done in this slow manner emphasises the care and caution she is forced to take in the situation. Once again, when the camera is positioned almost from the point of view of a character, it is done from the left side. This means that many aspects have been kept continuous throughout, even these small camera details. The camera for the next sequence follows the woman slightly as she gradually rises from the chair to stand up, while staying in this very slightly shaky close up shot. A tear can be seen rolling down her cheek too, which itself is quite slow paced and so fits well. This close up means the audience is purely focused on her and her reactions, as well as helping to further include them in the action and her kind of mind-set.
The next few shots are purely close ups too, for more reactionary shots from the characters. The shots show the characters on different sides of the frame with the male positioned to the left and the female to the right. The male can clearly be seen in deep thought, shown by the way he's staring into space towards the ground, while whispering to himself the words from the beginning that "5 must die 1 must live", which finally leads him to the realisation of what's happening. The lights then completely go out, which is a big change to what had happened before with them, where they only dimmed slightly meaning a potential increase in the danger. This may cause surprise for the audience and once again alert them to what's about to happen. A 'whooshing' sound can be heard just as the lights go out, connoting that it is something paranormal and this is then follow by the diegetic sounds of the female screaming and panicking slightly.
This character can be heard making sounds as if he's in pain or gasping for air, connoting the fact that he seems to be getting possessed. The soundtrack gradually gets louder over this time until loud non-diegetic sound is heard. This signals the completion of the possession and is also shown through the way the light's then slowly fade back on behind him. The character now has a few dark, vein-like things around his eyes and his pupils have now grown with a dark and misty effect. These are all in relation to the demon and it's dark colour scheme with black, swirling mist, suggesting that it's actually the demon who's somehow possessed or taken control of the character. He also has his head tilted at a slight angle downwards which can be considered an evil or menacing way of looking at something, by many people.
This close up shot shows the demon extremely close to a character again. The female character is centred in the middle of the frame with the demon positioned to the right and some of it's dark mist to the left. This makes it seem as if she is completely surrounded by the demon connoting she's powerless and is unable to do anything. The shot clearly shows her expression in the situation again and this time she even has her eyes closed suggesting that she may be bracing herself for the worst, or using it as a form of protection in making her feel better.
Some cause and effect shots are used again to show the male character calling the female character in the kitchen's phone. He can be seen tapping to call her in one close up shot and then it cuts to another close up of the phone buzzing and ringing in her pocket. The phone is sticking out of the pocket slightly so that the audience know it's ringing and so they can see it, which is made easier because of the way it's bright screen contrasts with the dim lighting. This causes her to go in to a panic as she desperately tries to remain calm and stop him from calling. This sequence is an audience pleasure since they may find it interesting to see this take on killing a person indirectly, as it is not often done within horror movies and even more so by the friend rather than what is expected to kill. This may also make the audience question what they would do if they were in this particular situation themselves.
Another cause an effect shot of the wine bottle and glass smashing on the floor as they are dropped. The glass can be heard smashing too as a scream is also heard. This is in response to the character seeing the demon coming for her. The red colour of the wine connotes the idea of blood and this idea is made more 'real' by the way it splashes on the ground and is a sign that she's going to be killed.
This shot shows the character to the right of the frame, being pinned up against the wall by the demon that's to the left of the frame. It shows the binary opposites between the two as one side is clearly dark and evil, while the other is light and afraid. The non-diegetic music has changed again to be more high pitched and piercing again which ends just as abruptly once she's dead. Various background diegetic sounds can be heard all the while, such as the character's screams, the demons clicking, the phone ringing and even the demon slashing her skin with the claws.
The male character can now be heard with a slightly altered voice due to being possessed since, it makes it seem generally more demonic. This close up of his mouth as he says his next few words makes the atmosphere even creepier as the focus is on the sinister way he says them. The way it's still said in such a calm helps to make the feeling it gives more uncomfortable. He says what seem to be the words "Don't beg" which are another set of words that are said that can be associated quite closely to the title.
These shots almost seem like a standoff between the two final characters in who will survive and this may make the audience tense as they wonder what the final outcome will be. The characters are positioned in a way so that they are either side of the doorway in the centre through which the demon enters. The doorway that the demon comes through actually has an orange and red glow maybe connoting the idea of fire, danger and more specifically Hell, all of which can relate to this demon. This can essentially imply that this is the gate or doorway to Hell. Meanwhile, during this the lights are also flickering, which seems to be a common occurrence for when this demon is around, which could potentially be because it can supernaturally disrupt light due to it darkness.
The camera movement here is shaky and moves around quite a lot. This is to show the struggle between the two characters and to try and make the audience feel a part of it. You can hear the diegetic sound of the them struggling and screaming, while the demon can be heard growling in the background and getting ready to attack.
This is almost a point of view shot from the woman's perspective looking towards the demon as it explodes. The way it screams and then explodes with a bang into smoke, may fool the audience into thinking it's dead and completely gone and give them a false sense of security that everything's over. Basically creating relief for both the audience and the character. The flickering of the lights can also been seen calming down as the demon disappears too, furthering this assumption that people may get.
This tracking shot follows the character as she slowly walks towards the exit while glancing at what has happened along the way. The framed poster hanging on the wall behind her at this point once again references death with the words "Death Scenes" and so seems to be a foreboding sign again, like what has happened previously. The non-diegetic soundtrack has now changed to be a more light and melodic tune which continues the trend of trying to fool the audience into thinking it's all over. The diegetic sounds of the character seemingly taking sighs of relief in between her heavy breathing. The fact that this female character is the final one alive at this point is a typical convention of many horror movies and is called the 'Final Girl' idea. This simply occurs when a female character is the last person alive after the events of the movie.
The shot glass can still be seen and heard spinning hear and is actually used as a clever signal to subtly signify to the audience if the demon is still around. This is yet another foreboding sign of what is to come and hinting at the twist that's going to follow.
The first shot shows the 'Final Girl' almost reaching her freedom, before being distracted and turning around quickly. The small amount of light coming through the window on the door could connote the small chance she has for freedom and what she's turning away from. The black, swirling mist of the demon can be seen at the bottom of the frame creeping up behind her too, until it is directly behind her, ready to attack. During this time, the non-diegetic soundtrack has begun playing again and gradually gets slightly louder as the sequence continues. This sinister music being used again immediately gets the audience on edge, since they've heard it being used before during times. The screams of the other friend can be heard in the background as well as the usual demon noises. The lights have also begun flickering again which is another obvious indicator that the demon is still lurking around.
Just as soon as the 'Final Girl' idea is seen within this film, it is gone against almost immediately. This is because the final female character which is expected to and should supposedly live, actually ends up dying in the end due to a twist in events. For people who are aware of this concept while watching films may find this very surprising to see gone against within a horror movie just because of how typical it is. During these final moments the last diegetic sound that can be heard is that of the female character screaming in pain. This is before a final, loud non-diegetic beat is heard along with a cut to black, signalling the climax and end of the film. During the black screen, the shot glass from many of the previous shots can actually be heard coming to a stop. This acts as confirmation for the conclusion of the film's events around the demon, because of the way that it was used as a sign of the demon's presence, as well as for the film as a whole.
The final credit sequence can be compared heavily to the opening credits through many different aspects. For example, The colour usage of black and red as well as many blood-like effects or the clear, block white writing that is used. The font used for the title during this is also very similar to that of the Ouija board shown in the previous section. The music in the background is quite slow and seems to be mostly made up of stringed instruments being played. The overall effect of this soundtrack is quite unusual since this is music that you wouldn't typically expect to hear within a horror movie at all, however it is still sounds as though it could be suitable for any kind of general finale.
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' 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.
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.
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.
