Evaluation Q7:

___________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

Evaluation Q5:

How did you attract your audience?

For our task we needed to make sure we knew what people in the age bracket for our target group liked about horror films.  We asked people from our focus group some questions about our media product. Below is the feedback.

Feedback on Our Media Product

PERSON 1 

LIKES	DISLIKES	WOULD YOU WATCH THE REST OF THE FILM?	WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THIS FILM?	WHAT AGE RATING DO YOU THINK IS APPROPRIATE?
I Liked that you used a wide range of shots which shows what’s going on in different angles and perspectives. I also liked the sound when the camera zoomed into the figures face. It was unexpected.	It was to understand what was going on; at the end I was a bit confused. When the girls were speaking at the beginning of the video, it wasn’t clear what was being said.	YES But I think it would be good to have another plot twist in the film.	YES I’m very curious to see what happens during the rest of the film.	12

PERSON 2 

LIKES	DISLIKES	WOULD YOU WATCH THE REST OF THE FILM?	WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THIS FILM?	WHAT AGE RATING DO YOU THINK IS APPROPRIATE?
	Although you meet in the day time and leave during the daytime, the shot of the train is in the dark. It would have been better for the figure to have a mask, or for the hoodie to be the same colour as the coat.	NO	NO	12

PERSON 3 

LIKES	DISLIKES	WOULD YOU WATCH THE REST OF THE FILM?	WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THIS FILM?	WHAT AGE RATING DO YOU THINK IS APPROPRIATE?
I Liked the close up of the figure, It’s not something you would expect. The music went really well in sync with scene.	The acting wasn’t very convincing. The script wasn’t how you would expect girls like that to speak. It was really confusing as the train came in the dark and the girls left during the day.	NO	NO	12

PERSON 4

LIKES	DISLIKES	WOULD YOU WATCH THE REST OF THE FILM?	WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THIS FILM?	WHAT AGE RATING DO YOU THINK IS APPROPRIATE?
I Liked that most of it was in the dark, so that made it scarier. I liked how whenever the figure appeared there was scary music to creep you out.	It would’ve been better if there were more transitions used.	YES	NO	15

Below is a video of members our focus group discussing our short film.

Evaluation Q4:

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Evaluation Q3:

Evaluation Q2:

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

*Originally this was a Prezi Presentation but due to some account issues, it wasn't possible to embed the Presentation into my blog.

Evaluation Q1:

Q1:
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products.

Conventions of real horror products:

Mise en scene

ICONOGRAPHY -  is the use of images and symbols to portray a subject, movement or idea. cons for horror movies may include young girls, haunted houses, and contrasting shadow and light in darkened places.
Bad guys often wear black to symbolize evil and leather jackets, often black, are worn by rebels or tough guys
REFERENCE: http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-iconography.html#HziHIttWQECs6SXA.99

MISE-EN-SCENE
SETTING

Horror movies often set movie scenes in isolate, abandoned dark settings, this is useful for making the audience feel alone and as if there is no one to call for help. It helps to the illusion that there is no one to save them and nowhere to hide or run. This was very effective in The Woman in Black, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and many other horror films.

 

The Woman in Black (Journey to the House)

For our task we decided that it was best to have two locations as we thought it would open the film up to more possibilities. Both although public, were empty. When watching our finished product we found that this was much more effective as there is much more focus on characters and it gives the illusion that there is no one else around to help them.

We also decided that it was best to film in outdoor locations as it was winter time and for the times we were available to film at, the atmosphere outside was dark and gloomy. This was perfect as darkness connotes evil, mystery and death. Darkness is very difficult to use to portray a positive meaning and we found that it did its job in our film opening.

Gif of park                                           gif of train station.

PROPS

We didn’t think of any specific props even though in most horror movies a very significant prop or motif is used. For example a ‘Chainsaw’ in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the ‘Knife’ in the famous shower scene from film ‘Psycho’, We wanted the protagonist to have its own power rather than it having to rely on a weapon or such. The girls however did have props, but only everyday items for example; a water bottle and two handbags (and the contents inside).

COSTUME AND MAKEUP

The girl’s costumes were all casual and modern clothing that girls of this generation wear. Their outfits were age appropriate, location based and weather appropriate. We thought it best to dress them in common modern day clothing as our audience can find it a bit easier to relate to them, ergo sympathizing with them. The clothing they wore; jeans (black or blue), trainers, tops and a coat as it are very cold.

The protagonist, Toby however was dressed in all black clothing (black trousers, black Hoodie, black coat, black scarf) and identity was hidden by black scarf covering face so no makeup was required.

LIGHTING AND COLOUR

For the majority of our film opening we thought it was best to have only natural light and low key lighting as many horror movies use the same. Low key lighting often alienates the viewer as the darkness may make them feel lost and out of place.

When filming at the park, shots were not as dark as we had hoped for in comparison to the shots from the train station so in order to make the shots darker, when editing we lowered brightness levels and increased contrast to give it a reddish tone with some tones of blue. Both are common tones not often used together but we thought that we used it effectively as it does make viewers feel uneasy.

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND BODY LANGUAGE

In horror movies, for a majority of scenes actors play characters as scared after the villain is shown to the audience.

CAMERA

For our film opening, we used mostly midshots at eye level as we thought that it was very important for viewers to see characters facial expressions clearly and for them to be comfortable at eye level as it lets the viewer divulge in the scene easier. In addition we used a variety of shots including; Long shots, mid-long shot, close up shots, shot reverse shot, tracking shots, establishing shots, low angle shots and an extreme long shot.

Long shots are useful for displaying the whole scene and shows the figure and background in detail.

Film Opening Deconstruction - Ouija

Film Synopsis:

In the opening scene, two young girls, named Laine and Debbie, are sitting in Laine's room playing with a Ouija board. Debbie tells Laine how to play and how to use the planchette to see any spirits. They say the mantra, "As friends we gathered, hearts are true; spirits near, we call to you." Laine looks through the planchette to spot a spirit, and is frightened when she sees someone, only it's her younger sister Sarah. She yells at Sarah to leave.

In the present day, the adult Debbie (Shelley Hennig) is playing with the Ouija board by herself. She appears distressed, and she tosses the board and planchette into the furnace. She then speaks on the phone with the adult Laine (Olivia Cooke). Laine goes over to her house, and Debbie says she is not up to hanging out with her and their friends that night. Debbie mentions playing the Ouija board and feeling odd, though Laine dismisses this as her being a spaz. After Laine leaves, Debbie goes back upstairs and sees the Ouija board and planchette on her bed. She looks through the planchette, and her eyes turn white. Debbie then grabs some Christmas lights and hangs herself.

The next morning, Laine is with her boyfriend Trevor (Daren Kagasoff) at a diner. They are met by their waitress friend Isabelle (Bianca A. Santos). Laine gets a text from her dad saying to go home immediately. When she gets there, Laine finds her dad, her grandmother, and Sarah (Ana Coto) gathered to inform her of what happened to Debbie.

All of Debbie's loved ones gather for the wake. Laine is too shaken to be there, but she holds it together. Debbie's boyfriend Pete (Douglas Smith) arrives with some flowers. Laine goes into Debbie's room where Debbie's mother finds her. Laine breaks down and hugs her. She asks Laine to housesit for them while they are gone. Laine agrees.

Laine discovers the Ouija board that Debbie was playing with. Since she cannot shake the feeling that Debbie's presence is still in the house, she gathers Sarah, Trevor, Pete, and Isabelle to Debbie's house to play with the board. They get together and say the mantra as they put their hands together on the planchette. It starts to move, which everyone thinks is Sarah moving it. The spirit implies that it is Debbie and it spells out "Hi Friend" on the board. The friends are freaked out and stop playing.

Each friend is followed by the spirit. Trevor encounters it on a bike ride, leading him under a bridge where he sees "Hi Friend" written on the wall in chalk. Isabelle sees it spelled out in her car window, along with a hand slamming against it. Pete sees it carved in his desk.

Thinking that Debbie is trying to communicate with them, the friends get together to play the board again. They learn that the spirit is not Debbie, but someone that identifies as DZ. Laine looks through the planchette and sees a little girl with stitches on her mouth. The spirit then spells out on the board, "Run. She's coming." Laine asks who is coming, and the spirit spells "Mother." Laine looks through the planchette and sees the girl point to an older female spirit screaming and running in her direction.

In her home, Isabelle is flossing her teeth and drawing herself a bath. She then has stitches form on her mouth, and she is levitated in the air. The spirit drops her, leaving her to slam her head against the sink, killing her.

Trevor is angry at Laine because she made them play the game, which led to Isabelle's death. Laine investigates Debbie's house and finds some pictures of two little girls and their mother. Trevor looks up on the internet an article on a missing girl from the same address as Debbie's home, as well as the girl's sister being taken into custody after murdering her mother.

Laine goes to a mental asylum to meet Paulina Zander (Lin Shaye), the sister of Doris, the girl with the stitches on her mouth. She tells Laine that their mother believed she heard voices and saw spirits that were trying to communicate through Doris, so she sewed her mouth shut. Paulina asks Laine to find Doris's body in the house and to cut the stitches open.

Laine finds Doris's corpse in Debbie's home, with her mouth still sewed shut. She cuts the stitches open, bringing Doris's spirit out, along with Mother. Doris lets out a blood-curdling scream and vanquishes Mother's spirit.

Just when it seems that everything is over...IT'S NOT. Pete gets killed in his home by Doris's spirit. Laine returns to the asylum to tell Paulina that she did what she told her. Paulina chuckles, and Laine realizes that Mother was not evil, but it was Doris and Paulina that were communicating with spirits, and that their mother was trying to stop them.

Laine's grandmother tells Laine and Sarah that the only way to defeat the spirit is the destroy not only the Ouija board, but Doris's corpse.

The girls and Trevor go to Debbie's house to finish this. Trevor gets pulled into the pool and is killed by Doris. Sarah finds Doris's corpse and is attacked by her spirit. Laine gets out the Ouija board and beckons Doris to play with her. Doris grabs Laine's arm and almost kills her, until Debbie's spirit shows up to intervene. Sarah brings Doris's corpse and throws it into the furnace. Laine throws the Ouija board and planchette, and Doris's spirit is destroyed.

Laine and Sarah return home, relieved that everything is over. Laine flosses her teeth and gets ready for bed, and then finds the planchette on her desk. She picks it up and looks through it one more time.

REFERENCE: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1204977/synopsis?ref_=tt_stry_pl

Production:

Companies:

1. Platinum Dunes
• Production company
• Platinum Dunes is an American production company created in November 2001 by filmmakers Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, and Andrew Form. The company specializes in horror films.
  On October 7, 2009, Paramount Pictures announced a first-look deal with Platinum Dunes. They plan to branch out of the horror genre into action and thrillers with this new deal.
2. Blumhouse Productions
• Production company
• Blumhouse Productions is an American film and television production company, founded by Jason Blum. Blumhouse produces micro and low-budget horror movies, such as the Paranormal Activity, Insidious, The Purge, Sinister and Ouija franchises.
3. Hasbro Studios
• in association with
• Hasbro Studios is the award winning, Los Angeles based entertainment production division of Hasbro, Inc. Hasbro Studios' mission and vision is to develop and produce high impact, branded content based on the tremendous portfolio of Hasbro brands by partnering with the best and the brightest creative stewards in the industry. Hasbro was to pay for all development costs for the films and Universal was supposed to pay $5 million per property not made into films.
4. Dentsu Inc
• presented in association with
5. Fuji Television Network
• presented in association with
  
  
6. White Noise Factory
• music and sounds

REFERENCES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platinum_Dunes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blumhouse_Productions
http://www.hasbrostudios.com/

Examples include:

Platinum Dunes:

1.  Name: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

Genre: Horror

Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Budget: $16 million

Gross: $51.8 million
Date: October 6, 2006

2.  Name: The Purge
     Genre: Horror

Director: James DeMonaco

Budget: $3 million

Gross: $89.3 million
Date: June 7, 2013

Blumhouse Productions:

1.  Name: Sinister

Genre: Horror

Director: Scott Derrickson

Budget: $3 million

Gross: $77.7 million

2.  Name: The Bay

Genre: Horror

Director: Barry Levinson

Budget: $2 million

Gross: $1.6 million

Hasbro Studios (in association with):

1.  Name: Battleship

Genre: Horror

Director: Peter Berg

Budget: $209-220 million

Gross: $303 million
Date: May 18, 2012

2.  Name: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
     Genre: Thriller/Sci Fi Action film

Director: James DeMonaco

Budget: $200 million

Gross: $836.3 million
Date: June 24, 2009

REFERENCES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Universal_Pictures_films

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platinum_Dunes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Texas_Chainsaw_Massacre:_The_Beginning
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Purge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformers:_Revenge_of_the_Fallen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_(film)

Distributors:

Universal Pictures:

Presented the film & distributed.

Universal Pictures is an American film studio, owned by Comcast through its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal, and is one of Hollywood's "Big Six" film studios. Its production studios are at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California. Distribution and other corporate offices are in New York City. Universal Studios is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). It is the world's fourth oldest major film studio, after the renowned French studios Gaumont Film Company and Pathé, and the Danish Nordisk Film company.

Examples include:

1. Name: Unfriended

    Genre: Horror

    Director: Leo Gabriadze

    Budget: $1 million

    Gross: $64.1 million

    Date: April 17, 2015

2. Name: The Visit

    Genre: Horror

    Director: M. Night Shyamalan

    Budget: $5 million

    Gross: $98.5 million
    Date: September 11, 2015

REFERENCE: https://www.universalpictures.com/about

Setting: