Attracting and Addressing the Audience

To attract the audience we have produced a Psychological Thriller and included many of the common storylines of which you would see in a film of that genre, however we have managed to put our own little twist on the film and through this we were able to address a certain audience which is of the age 15+, it is targeted at this audience because we felt that our film is able to relate to youths due to the fact that in the film the main protagonist (Kyle) is wearing the typical youths clothing and also being a stereotypical teenager by vandalizing property with graffiti.

We have produced some very well shot scenes and with a tripod we were capable of using imaginative shots such as establishing the location views of the warehouse. The film doesn’t have much sound in the shots because we felt that the soundtrack was what really gave off the Psychological Thriller feel to it so we focused on the soundtrack being the sound of the film, although at key shots of the film such as the can rolling and light bulb smashing, the sound and shots of these scenes should be able to attract and entice any viewer and leave them in complete awe. The soundtrack of the film is a slow sinister orchestral piece, it includes bass and violins, this gives off the feeling of under water seclusion.

For the editing of the film we de-saturated it into a black and white effect providing the film with a noir theme. We didn’t over edit the film too much because we didn’t want the film to be just all about the editing and draw away focus from the shots. With final cut pro we were able to include effects that were profitable to the scenes e.g. slow motion can roll.

What kind of media institution would distribute your media product and why?

We think that a film company called Dark Castle Entertainment would be appropriate and would be the best film company to produce and distribute our film.

Dark Castle Entertainment is a division of silver pictures, a production company which also has affiliations to the conglomerate company, Warner Brothers. It was created in 1999. It’s name is a dedication to William Castle, a renowned horror filmmaker from the 1950’s and 60’s. When the company first formed it was originally founded to remake Castle’s horror films, after two of his remakes it then moved on to producing new, original material, along with remakes of other non-castle films, the company then began producing films in other genres, such as RocknRolla.

We chose the film company as it has produced films like our film and it makes similar films to ours. The film company has produced horror and thriller films more than any other films they have produced and distributed and our film falls under that category. Dark Castle Entertainment has made films such as Thir13teen ghosts and house on the haunted hill which were both successful horror films. We think that this film company would be interested in producing our film and distributing it as it’s a gritty psychological thriller/horror film and it would appeal to an audience who likes a thrill or likes to be on edge whilst watching films, which is similar to films Dark Castle has produced in the past.

We would want a film company that’s interested in dark horror films and has made successful horror films like this film company and we would want them to produce and distribute our film because our film has been made into a black and white as if its like a classical horror flick but its not as its set in modern times and focuses on the teenage youth and what bad things can happen if you go into a unknown location by yourself not knowing what’s in there its like a film where you’re trapped and nobody can get to you so it’s a different film from most horror films. They have also produced ‘The Reaping’ which is a film that involves some satanic scenes, and the title of our finished movie is ‘The Warehouse (666)’ and 666 is believed to be the sign of the devil so that could make people and the producers wander maybe the story leads further than somebody just getting taken and tortured in a room it could focus on religions or maybe the kidnapper is a part of a cult which involves killing people. I think it would be perfect for this film company to produce our film as it seems like the sort of film they would be happy producing and distributing.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience that is aimed at for our media product is around the ages of 16+. This is because the final finished film has dark underlying themes to it and has a gritty torture theme to it so it may not be suitable for children for obvious reasons. We decided to aim the film at a teenage audience, as it would appeal more to that age range than any other. It’s aimed at an audience who has an interest in horrors or psychological thrillers, as that’s the genre of the film we produced. We was aiming for a mass audience as it’s a thriller/horror film so it would be expected to attract a lot of people to watch the film as a lot of people like a thrill whilst watching films. We think our film would be perfect for aiming at a mass audience as its different from most films so it would attract a whole different range of audiences.

If we put the film into cinema’s we would set the age rating as a 15+ as we think the film would just about pass for a 15 rated film. This would be good, as it will increase the amount of people who go to view the film. A lot of younger age ranged audiences have started getting into the horror scene type of films lately so it would be perfect.

Filming Evaluation and Shooting Schedule

Our filming process went reasonably well, throughout the filming we were incredibly well organized and punctual, because of this we were able to create filming goals and tasks and complete them on time. For our film we didn’t need many props because the abandoned warehouse itself was all we needed, the only prop that we provided was the clown mask, all the other props were found in the warehouse, the fact that we had a full warehouse to ourselves was beneficial because there were no disruptive actions caught on camera by the public.

The first day of filming involved us shooting establishing shots of the inside of the warehouse, these shots are to fill the time limit that we were given on the films duration. We took basic shots of the warehouse and ended the day there.

Day two of filming involved us shooting the beginning of the film where Kyle was walking into the warehouse and spraying the wall, this scene took us a while to film because it was a windy day and the wind was distorting the sound and shaking the tripod that we were using, finally we were able to finish the scene when the wind died down later on and this is where we finished filming on day two.

Day three consisted of us filming the scene where Kyle is grabbed by his captor, once again the filming took us a while as we had the same problem as we did on day two of filming. We pushed on and made do with what we filmed, overall the filming came out fairly well and meets the standards of the rest of the film.

On day four we began to shoot the hallway scene where the captor teases Kyle with the light bulb, this creates a suspenseful atmosphere in the film and also for the audience. The filming deemed to be very valuable and productive for the film as we believe that this is the scene where we were able to create the whole psychological thriller feel and compliment the genre. After this day of filming we re-visited the location a few times just to shoot more shots of the location, this was to develop the film further, although the film may not show the all the shots we filmed throughout the filming process due to the fact that it would have over stepped the time limit, however the hard work was put in and is shown through out the whole of the film.

Our Location

The location was the perfect setting for our course work due to the aged equipment and surroundings left behind from whatever it was previously used for. We found the location by coincidence about a week before we started. It was in a completely abandoned state with multiple windows smashed, doors broken, leaving this place in a genuine state of decay. We all knew that this location was going to be the set for a great psychological thriller.

The warehouse consisted of three main buildings. They were particularly unique in their own different ways. For example, the buildings varied in size and contained different lay outs such as various sets of broken stairs and fractures in the structure of the building. This casts a shadow on certain places of the location even during the day which creates an atmosphere of suspension. They all individually gave a sense of tension and paranoia that contributed to the creepy style of the film.

The location seemed distant from normal civilized life, adding to the loneliness and seclusion of the location itself, as well as for the character. It can be referred to locations such as Hostel, and the Saw franchise, as it carries a heavy industrial look, which makes it seem more grotesque but also suitable for our chosen genre. The graffiti on the walls gave the impression that the character was definitely not alone as many people had been there before.

The lack of roofing provides all natural lighting and allows the character to be placed in dark spots to seem isolated from the view of any on lookers. The location lacks many physical barriers for it’s entrances and so allows the light to flood in, it also maintains a spacious environment, suggesting the character could be attacked and taken from anywhere. Overall the location had the perfect look, it had low natural lighting which made it darker and more creepier, the location is also in a heavily soiled state, making it appear more urban but also more vile and shocking which works extremely well given the genre we have chosen for our film.

Our Initial Ideas for our Main Task.

For our main task we first decided on a genre, for our film we have decided to work under the Psychological Horror genre, we have decided this because we are all avid fans of Psychological Horrors, but also because it appeals to a mass audience of both females and males.

We decided that we would follow a typical serial killer route, using a victim and a killer as this is also more easier to film.

We decided that our perfect location would be an abandoned warehouse or factory that our killer resides in, the reason we decided on this is because the scenery would suit the genre perfectly, it would be atmospheric and therefore create suspense and tension, we just had to find this place but luckily for us the perfect place was just down the road from college.

For costumes we decided that the killer could wear any type of clothing as long as it was black and he would wear a Skimask/Balaclava with the design of a clown on it (Aaron had this so he supplied the mask easily). We also decided that the victim can wear any type of clothing, whatever clothing he wears when we start filming he wears for the rest of filming.

With props we were apprehensive, but when we arrived at our location for the first time we saw that it was absolutely full of possible props, chairs, ladders, empty spray paint cans, large pieces of wood and even large lightbulbs.

For editing we all made a 100% decision to make the footage black and white, as this would add a heavier feeling of pessimism and tension.

For the soundtrack we decided that initially we would want a heavy industrial track, similar to our researched introduction sequences Se7en and The collector, we then realized it would be better to decide on the soundtrack when the editing has finished, that way we can decide what would suit the video.

Analysis of Film opening sequences: Se7en

For our second film analysis, we shall be talking about the opening title sequence to the 1995 movie Se7en. Directed by David Fincher.
Our clip starts with a shallow focus, close up shot of a book with the silhouette of a hand changing the pages, but the way this is done seems to be in a dark, sinister manner, the hand slowly caresses the book suggesting that this person may be possibly psychotic, and may be the villain. The next image we see is of a detailed drawing of human hands on stained paper, the screen then quickly moves to a close up shot of a man dismantling a razor, removing the blade itself, we then see a quick image of the man's hands but he is cutting away the skin off his fingers with the razorblade we have just previously seen. This footage of the man removing his fingerprints is extremely effective, due to the fact we actually see the skin being peeled away from his fingers, this causes a sense of disgust within the audience but also creates suspense and fear at the same time, the reason for this is that this causes the audience to think why is he removing his fingerprints, we then come to the conclusion that he must be the villain of the movie and prepares us for the grotesque scenes later on in the movie.
We then see various clips of the man and his poorly bandaged fingers handling various items, ranging from making a cup of tea, handling images of murder scene to writing, drawing and cutting up images of the negative film from cameras, so this tells us that the man is creating something like a diary or a scrapbook, so this keeps us drawn into the film and makes us want to know more.
Towards the end of the sequence we realise that he is actually making a scrapbook. To keep the pages held together he uses a needle and thread which seem to be covered in a red, dry matter (we assume this to be blood) again this creates suspense as we want to know what he is making the scrapbook for, especially due to the fact it contains pictures of mutilated corpses and murder scenes, so again this draws us into the film and keeps us on the edge of our seat.
The titles used throughout the whole sequence are alike to the collector, the titles flicker onto the screen and are in a distorted, eroded style font, this works well along with the sequence as the images we are shown are very dark, grim and have a violent aura about them due to the nature of the images themselves.
Background we have the soundtrack playing (Nine Inch Nails, Closer Remix) the song is a very dark, slow paced piece of music composed of metallic sounds and deep bass fluctuations, this suits the footage used as the song itself (due to the sounds it is built up on, loud bangs and scratching etc) suits the dark, psychotic images we are shown, so both the sound and footage used contain many elements within themselves which creates fear, suspense and confusion.
Overall this title sequence works very effectively, although there isn't much footage used, the various elements used within the sequence itself all come together and work as one for example the quick shots of the murder scenes and of the man's scrapbook work well with the dark scraping and loud banging noises of the soundtrack song. This sequence doesn't seem to rely on the footage itself as their is not much used, but it relies and focuses on the image presented by the footage and music, and the image given off is dark, but interesting.

Our finished preliminary task.

Analysis of Film opening sequences. The Collector

For our opening sequence we have decided that the genre of our work will be a psychological horror.The definition of Psychological Horror is a a genre of film that creates a sense of threat, fear, suspense and sorrow within the audience, we have decided to work with this genre as we are all avid fans of horrors and psychological thrillers. Here I will Analyse and evaluate three movie openings similar to the genre we have chosen for our work.

Our first selected clip is from the 2009 movie The Collector directed by Marcus Dunstand.

The opening title sequence is a montage sequence with a heavily distorted soundtrack in the background.

It starts with a number of clips that flicker onto screen at a fast rate, the clips come onto the screen on the beat of the song, thus making it more fast paced and dramatic.

There are clips of insects and bugs used such as tarantulas, cockroaches, maggots and flies, the director may have used clips of these as there are a large number people who have a phobia ofthese creatures, so here he has already started trying to inject fear into the audience.The other clips we see contain images of blueprints to devices that we cannot identify (this helps build up the suspense as to what they are) and blueprints of peoples homes. After these clips we are shown images of various surgical devices (scalps, forceps) and household tools (drills, saws) this also builds up more suspense as we wonder what all these are meant to be for, specially with them being covered in what seems like dried blood.

We then also see an image of a large, tall man, who has a large box behind him, the man is shown as a dark silhouette (maybe hinting that he is the bad guy in the film?) But then incontrast to the large dark figure, his surroundings are lightly lit but have a saturated look to it, instead of appearing as a nice white light, the background colours consist of blood red, brown, a dark orange and black shadows, this helps set the scene and mood for this movie. The scene of the introduction to this movie seems to look like an industrial warehouse, thus making the film seem more gritty and dark.

The soundtrack is also very important. The song is called Shut up and bleed by the industrial band Combichrist. The reason why this song suits the intro is due to the actual nature of the song. The song consists of heavily distorted bass and drums, it is also made up the sounds of clanging metal and sawblades cutting through metal, and this matches up with the industrial warehouse look of the introduction. The sequence ends with a grotesque image of what seems like a person covered in red liquid (we presume this to be blood) the figure then moves and gives a bloodcurdling screen that is distorted, this kick starts the movie. Overall the introduction to the The Collector works amazingly well, every aspect of the sequence is dark, distorted and fear provoking, it is made up of silhouettes of a large built man, instruments used for torture and then the distorted song playing in the background which itself is heavily distorted, this provides all the perfect aspects for a introduction to a psychological horror

Our group and the Preliminary Task

The members of this group are; Aaron Sherratt, Kyle Jones, Javad Amiry and Tom Walsh.

Upon starting this module, we were given a preliminary task to complete, this is to show our understanding of the 180 degree rule, and to show how well we can work with a camera.

Our preliminary task can be anything, but chairs must be used. When hearing this, our group decided to film a basic conversation between two friends, with one friend asking the other to come out, however the other friend can not as he has work to do that must be finished for the next day.

We already had a basic idea on what to do as we had already planned the shots and most of the conversation previously before filming, this helped us to work more efficiently and quickly thus giving us more time to edit and more time to focus on our main task.