Audience Research

Before creating our film we needed to discover what the audience wanted and expected from a horror film, to help find out me and my partner created a short questionaire that covers the questions we wanted to find out. We asked ten people who enjoy horror films and questions that would help us create the best film possible that keeps the audience engaged.

One of the questions we asked was "Does a horror film need violence?"

4 people answered yes and 6 answered no so it was a pretty even response. We decided to not have violence in the opening but have evidence of violence and gore, creating the idea of the dead people in different places.

Another question we asked was 'in a horror film do you think music is appropriate?'

Like we had expected the majority thought that it was appropriate to have music, this was good because we have used music to build suspense and create the mood and atmosphere.

The questionnaire proved to be very helpful with the planning and making of our film, most of the answers were what we had expected, like whether darkness was a good effect within horror films (which adds to the spooky factor). There were a few questions we were surprised on like whether a group of friends was a good idea or not, we had first planned to use a group of our friends to reflect other horror movies (like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and House of Wax) but the audience disagreed and didn't want a group of friends so we decided on using a couple instead.

Organisation

Our planning of the film was split up equally between me and my partner. We mainly decided on our final decisions through production discussion, this was so we could discuss our both ideas, decide on the one that works best to create the best possible film we could. I was in charge of the shooting schedule, setting target dates as to when we planned to complete shooting a certain scene or finish editing part of the film. I was also in charge of the location set and the props used. My partner Sarah was in charge of deciding on the actors and their costumes, getting the release forms together and the overview of the film. We both researched and decided on the title of the film and the shot types. We both played to our strengths to develop the most effective planning and the best film.

I visited many of our friends houses and walked through where the scenes would be to find the set of the house. After I had taken photos and walked through me and Sarah sat down and discussed what would work and what wouldn't and finally decided on the location that would work best. For example we walked through Sarah's house, her living room is big and open and joins on the kitchen and dining room so it is all one room. This was not suitable because we walked a long hallway with wooden floor (to make the shot where Jake enters the house and kitchen more tense as you can hear his footsteps walking) Another reason against Sarah's house was that we wanted a room in which the killer could stand in the doorway of to create tension, however the room we would use was right at the top of the stairs so Jake and Rachel would potentially be able to see them and wouldn't work.

We decided on my house because it fitted what we wanted really well, there is a wooden hallway leading to the kitchen (where we find Rachel for the first time). It also works as we can shoot from outside at Rachel and Jake walking up the stairs creating a sense of tension that someone is watching them. I also looked into places we could film the outdoor shots, we decided on certain areas because they would work well on camera.

Creating the shooting schedule and setting target dates was important to make sure we had filmed all we needed too and on time. I looked through the storyboard and where we had located each shot and decided what would be best filmed and on what date. I arranged dates that all the actors we free and a time when the lighting was best. For example the shots of Jake and Rachel opening the door to find no one there needed to be almost pitch black as it would have been in the middle of the night. The shots of the dead people outside needed to be in daylight as we will need to see them in the shot. I made sure I left enough time for each shot and time for make up and setting up the mis-en-scene. Like the shot of the dead person in the bath tub, we needed to leave time to fill up the bath with ketchup and food colouring and then making the actor look dead. I set target dates of when we will have filmed a certain scene and made sure we made all those target dates to keep on schedule. This ensures we will have filmed it all in time for editing and have enough days where all the actors needed are free.

It was Sarah's responsibility to hold character interviews and then we both discussed what actor would work best. We wanted the main man to be stronger looking and the main women to be able to suit the typical 'housewife' role. We wanted the killer to be quite big built and the dead people to be quite average looking that the audience could possibly relate to. After holding out the interviews Sarah showed me her notes and her judgement on who would best suit the role. We discussed it and decided on the actors we have in the film now.

Sarah was also in charge of the actors costumes and getting them together, this included their make up. After discussing what would work best Sarah decided that the male lead should be wearing a suit to represent the typical 'male' role of going out to work and earning all the money for the wife. The female lead was wearing pink and white, which we wanted to represent as the soft, caring character that has conformed to the typical wife/mother role. This relates back to Laura Mulvey's theory of our female lead either being a madonna or a whore and that the females are usually passive and males are usually active.

I was in charge of the props used, I wanted props that would help represent the characters and their roles effectively. I chose the lead male at the beginning to carry a briefcase representing that he had been out at work in the typical 'male' role coming home and finding the lead female who has props like a cutting board and knife conforming to the typical housewife role. We also needed props in the next scene at the dining table like cutlery, plates and glasses and a bottle of wine to help show that they are a happy couple. We also needed other props for the deaths (ketchup and food colouring for the blood), and other everyday objects like the can of coke for the dead man by the bridge. We tried to show that they were typical people in normal everyday situations, for example the man dead by the bridge could have been sipping coke on the bridge normally before he died.

We both discussed possible titles for our film, we wanted a title that would interest the audience and also suit the genre of horror. We came up with many possible names including:

-Taken

-3:33

-The Minds of Others

-Took

-Captured

-Unexplained

-Mysteria

We decided on the title Mysteria because it was the most interesting one that was spooky and represents our film quite well. It comes from the word mystery, which relates to our film as it is a mystery as to what happened to the female lead or to who took her.

We also both decided on what shots to use and where, we both had a clear image of the direction we wanted to take our film in and easily discussed what shots would work best to create tension and keep the audience engaged. We created storyboards and experimented on what shots would be most appropriate, we used different shots like close ups and long shots to keep the suspense and tension within the film. Me and my partner found this task quite easy as we both knew what we wanted our film to be like and could easily compromise to get the best result of our film possible. We made our storyboards detailed and tried to make them as realistic as to what we could film as possible.

Textual Analysis

Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The establishing shots of Texas Chainsaw Massacre are black and white, achieving an old film effect. There is a voiceover, a deep and powerful voice telling the audience of the "the film they are about to see" (the Texas Chainsaw Massacre) this builds suspense. There are then different shots of different things, like police tape around a building, close ups of someone typing 'preliminary autopsy report' and someone being carried into a van on a stretcher. These disturbing images help create the mood and tension along with the suspense music. They also signify danger and something awful has happened. The film then engages the audience by showing quick flashes of the evidence collected, all in close up shots (including a chainsaw). The voiceover then introduces a tape of a policeman walking through one of the attacks. This is quite a shocking and will disturb the audience. It then introduces the title with a scream overlapping what then blends into the screams of a group of young adults having fun. The music 'Sweet Home Alabama' starts playing and contrasts on the black and white effect and the suspense sounds to keep the audience engaged. The start of the film goes by Todorov's theory of the Equilibrium. (The setting has been established and the storyline set up).

White Noise
The establishing shot of White Noise is a quote on a black background that relates to the film (spirits and communicating after death) This instantly involves the audience and has their attention. There is then the black and white effect, like a television tuning, between shots of a record player. There is also the sound of a television tuning whilst the definition of E.V.P. This signifies that the film is going to be about communicating making the definition relevant. There is then the tuning of a television effect for the transition to the next clip of the titles. Between each title is the sound of a television being tuned and static. This is uncomfortable to listen to and makes the audience feel uneasy. From the titles there is slight noices of static then it goes to a black screen for about 3 seconds. Suddenly the title of 'White Noise' appears on a background of television tuning that makes the audience jump and hearts beating. Making the audience jump is classic for the genre of horror and immediatly establishes that this is what the film is. The titles then keep rolling between static and the music of a piano or a similar object starts playing. A digetic sound of a scream is then heard mixed in with static almost trying to cover it up, it signifies something bad may happen. It then fades to a shot of the sky where it is a sunny day and clear blue sky, this contrasts to the darkness of the titles. There is a slow panning shot of a house, that then goes into static again. The sound of a radio/television tuning is heard again which then blends to the close up shot of a radio and into quite a normal shot of the radio being tuned (with quick jump cuts of static and black and white effect) and a man making his child breakfast before school.

The Omen

The Omen's establishing shot is of a wooden roof which opens to reveal the sky, the music is very creepy and sets the mood. The shot slowly pans down to reveal a microscope which then pans around to reveal someone looking into the microscope. There is then a extremely quick shot of a extreme close up of an eye looking through the microscope. The slow movements contrasts with the quick shot to create a sense of shock and suspense as to what will happen. It then goes back to the slow panning of the man behind the microscope, ending in a high angle shot which could signify that he is powerful and in control. There is then a shot of the sky with a zoom of some bright lights and stars in the sky, this leaves the audience confused as to what it could be. The man then looks up from the microscope looking worried signifying something is wrong. There is a long shot of the microsope looking at the sky which is 7 seconds long. Having a shot that long can make the audience uncomfortable, by doing this The Omen is conforming to the genre of horror/mystery. The music then increases pace with extreme close ups of someone scribbling on paper. This builds tension and is very tense, it hooks the the audience wanting to know what is happening. The numbers 666 keep coming into shot which is an indication as to where the answers could be later in the film. There is quick shots and flashing images which keeps up the pace of the film and suits the music which is quite high pitched and has a sense of urgency to it. Then there is a tracking shot of an old man sat down at a desk, then a long shot of a mysterious figure at a door. The camera work and different shot types used to help build up the suspense and tension wich fits into the genre of horror.

Conclusion

I feel that you can easily create suspense and tension like these horror movies have through the clever use of sound and imagery. The sound is extremely important as it can create the mood and atmosphere, like White Noise, it uses the tuning of a radio to confuse and make the audience uncomfortable which is part of the genre of horors. The use of different shot angles is also important particularly close ups and extreme close ups. Like in The Omen, which cleverly uses different shot angles to build up tension of who is the mysterious black figure. Another effective technique is quickly flashing from one scen to the next or of different images. This keeps the audience engaged and makes them focus on the images and storyline.