Production Company

Production Company;
-Big Scream Productions
 -We chose this because it is a play on words of the connotation of Films/Hollywood, it uses the word 'scream' instead of 'screen' so it relates to the films that the company produces, Horror.

The title sequence logo at the beginning of our film will have its own sequence, much like the big names such as universal and paramount. It will show someone lighting a candle and will be filmed at the same time as our title sequence. The low key lighting of the film and the candle easily connotes horror films. Also, the logo is very similar to the idea in which the title sequence is based on, a woman writing a book in a room only lit by candlelight.

Our Prodution Company Logo

Shooting Schedule.

Opening Scene;
7/12/11 in the evening from 4 O'Clock onwards until we finish filming, with everyone in our group and the main actors.

Title Sequence;
14/12/11 in the evening from 6 O'Clock until we finish, with everyone in our group.

Intial Script.

News scene;

(The scene begins with the camera focused on the TV, it then pans around the room to find Ryan sat in the armchair eating food and watching TV)

News Reporter 1; (on TV) "Late last night the mansfield library was broken into and burnt to the ground."

News Reporter 2; (onTV) "No casualties were reported, and police are appealing for witnesses, if anybody was near the library at approximately 1am this morning, and has any information, please report to the police."

Opening scene;

Claire; "Have you finished bringing them boxes in yet?" (Off set)
Ryan; "Not yet, ill do it in a minute"

Claire; (drops bag, groans, then storms into front room) "Get off your arse and get them boxes done!"

Ryan; b..but..(stuttering, as if he is slighly afraid of his wife)

Claire; "NOW!" (shouts)

Ryan; (Finds book on doorstep) "Hey Claire, do you know what this book is?"

Claire; "It probably fell from one of the boxes or something, just put it in that box over there".
(Claire walks over to the mirror on the wall, and sees a strange figure behind her, she screams, turns around to find nothing there)

Test photos of setting.

Setting test photos.

 

We have chose these locations for our film because we felt that they show a normal life for the young couple that star in our film. This will add realism towards the start of the film because the audience wil easily be able to relate to the film as they will recognise the location. We also chose this location because it is suitable for our film, the mirror in the hallway is a good way to build tension in the opening scene, as it holds different ideas that we could exploit and use. An example of these ideas is one person seeing things in the mirror that no one else can see, this would exploit the ideas of mental illness or paranormal activity.

Characters in Horror films.

Horror films have a lot of stereotypical characters, such as a very vulnerable blonde protagonist who is always the target of an axe wielding maniac for example. These stereotypes are displayed in most horror films, 'Scream' is an example of this stereotyping, as it shows a masked killer with a knife trying to kill a young woman. Young women are usually portrayed as victims in horror films as they are seen to be vulnerable compared to others, while masked killers are shown to be more powerful and dangerous.

These are the two main characters from 'Scream', the protagonist on the left, and the antagonist on the right, these two stereotypes are used in most horror films, as the characters are easily recognisable. Using these stereotypes would encourage the audience to watch the rest of the film, as they already know how some of the characters are going to act, without knowing too much about them.

Planning for our Horror film.

Main plot of film;
-Cursed book is delivered through the letter box of a house.
-Every occupant of this house receives the book through the letterbox.
-The occupants of the house begin to see strange things happening in the house after the book is delivered.
-The ghost/spirit that is haunting the house is also the author of the book.
-The ghost is taking revenge on anyone who lives in the house, as it is the site at which she was tortured and hung because she was thought to be a witch, and she uses the book she wrote to carry out this revenge.
-Eventually the ghost will set fire to the house, and claim its next vicims. This will the films main conclusion.


Title of the film;
- We thought of the idea that the name of the book, could also be the title of the film.
-Some of the title ideas we thought of; Revenge by the book, Household vengeance, Revoked Removal.
However, our working title is 'Chapter 4' We chose this because the story in the book will end at chapter 4, and when the occupants of the house read up to that, the film will come to its climatic conclusion.


Settings;
-The whole film will be set in modern house in England which was newly built on the site of an old house that was burnt down.


Props;
-old looking book.
-Cardboard boxes to emphasise that the couple have just moved in.

Music in Horror films.

Music in horror films is generally very dramatic and dark, this is to build and promote tension that could give some clues as to what will happen later on in the film. An example of this dark and gloomy music is from the hill have eyes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df4HaJWfMzI&feature=related 


We've decided that the music in the title sequence will also be very dark, quite quiet, but loud enough to build enough tension to add clues about the rest of the film. This will give the title sequence a creepy and tension built atmosphere, which will encourage the audience to watch the rest of the film, because the initial title sequence provides tension that will build up throughout the film.

We also decided that the main part of the opening sequence will have no music, this will emphasise that the main characters live a normal life, not a very unusual exciting life, which is very stereotypical of most horror films that have been made. This causes the films to emphasise the fact that the events in the film can happen to anyone in any situation, which adds realism, which in turn causes the film to gather more tension and suspense. The only music that we will used will be very sudden and dramatic music when a strange dark figure appears in the mirror, the will cause the sudden event of an unusual figure appearing in the mirror, to be much more of a surprise for the audience, causing them to be drawn in to watch the rest of the film, because they want to know find out why the unusual event occurred.

Age Classification.

Most Horror films that are produced are usually given the age ratings of 18 or 15, this is because some of the material and images in the films, are unlikely to be suitable for younger viewers to watch. We've decided to give our film a '15' classification, this means that no one younger than 15 can watch a '15' rated film in the cinema or buy/rent one. We've chosen this rating because our film fits in with many of the conventions of a classified 15 film, which are;


Theme; No theme is prohibited, but they must be suitable for 15 year old's to watch.

Language; Frequent use of strong language is allowed, but the use of the strongest terms will be have to be clearly justified, also frequent use of aggressive strong language is permitted.

Nudity; Nudity is allowed but without strong detail.

Sex; Sexual activity is also allowed but without strong detail, and references to sexual behaviour is permitted.

Violence; Strong violence is permitted, but it must not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. Scenes of sexual violence must be discrete.

Imitable techniques; Dangerous images (such as; Combat, hanging, suicide and self harming) should not dwell on imitable detail. Also easily accessible weapons must not be glamorised.

Horror; Strong threat/Menace is permitted, but the strongest gory images are unlikely to be accepted.

Drugs; Drug taking may be shown, but the whole film must not promote or encourage the misuse of drugs.
Our film  will not contain any scenes which contain strong blood and gore etc, the type of horror that we are using is the supernatural, not the type of horror where the main threat is produced from blood. Also, our film will contain frequent use of strong language, but will not feature any of the strongest terms, and there will not be any frequent use of aggressive strong language. The film will also contain very strong threat and menace, based around the supernatural, which easily fits into the conventions of the 15 classification.

Initial Ideas and planning for the title sequence of our film.

Title Sequence;
-A variety of Close/Extreme close ups of a person putting old photos and writing into a book.

-Newspaper articles on the table next to the old book.

-Old style music, or in the style of a girls jewellery box.

-Edit the title sequence into sepia, so it looks like it was made a long time ago, which will add to the effect of the background story in the film.


-Or the first part of the title sequence can be in sepia, then the second part can be in normal colour, this will show that the events in the film carry on through time.

-Show a person writing the book. - Writing the story.

-Candlelight is the main source of light, this gives the sequence a much more mysterious and uncanny feeling, it also means we can use any setting, and we don't have to make it look like it was being done a hundred years ago, which is when the book would have been wrote.

Stereotypical Horror movie fans.

The stereotypical horror movie fan is on average between the ages of 16 and 24, and is in some sort of further education, whether this is A levels, college or university.
Both of the photos below show some fans of horror films, we asked them what they like and what they do, which is shown in the tables below. Both the male and female fans are both not the stereotypical horror movie fan, they are counter types as the stereotypical fan is shown to be gothic, dressing in black and wearing black make up. In fact most fans of Horror movies are stereotypical teenagers or young adults. 

Male Fans;

Like	Sport, comedy, video games, films
Dislike	Reading, animals, shopping
Shop	Designer clothe shops, sports, music
Music	Rock, RnB, Heavy Metal
Clothes	Designer Clothes
Job	Paperboy, work in shops, lifeguards
Money	Medium Wage
Class Status	Middle class
Other Films	Comedy, action/adventure
Education	GCSE’s, at college, sixth form or university

Females
 

Like	Animals, Make up, Gossip, celebrities, reading, shopping
Dislike	Insects, sports, video games
Shop	Clothes, make up, accessories
Music	RnB, boy bands
Clothes	Designer
Job	Work in shops, Hairdresser, Teacher
Money	Medium Wage
Class Status	Middle Class
Other Films	Romantic comedies, comedy, musicals
Education	GCSE’s, and studying at college, sixth form or university.

Typical horror films and the conventions of them.

Background information;
The two first ground breaking horror movies that was made were Frankenstein, and Dracula, both made by universal in 1931, since then countless horror films have been made by a number of different production companies. One of the most famous and scariest was the exorcist made by Warner Bro's in 1973, it won several academy awards and is one of the highest rated horror movies of all time.

The horror genre has many different audiences, but it mainly targets young adults between the ages of 16 and 25. They do this by using the main characters as young adults, which the audience can relate to the people on screen and see themselves in the situations that they are in.


The Horror genre has many conventions that are seen in almost every horror film, for example the main section of the film is very dark and gloomy, which reflects the mood of the film. It also adds and creates tension for the film.

The mise on scene of every horror film is almost the same, there is always a lot of low key lighting, and a lot more towards the end of the film, where the tension is at its highest. There is normally some sort of prop which plays an importance in the storyline, and this is brought to attention by the lighting and the camera shots. This is shown in the picture on the right, which shows a dark figure inside with very low key lighting hifing his face, which adds to the tension and the suspence that the scene creates.

The camera shots used in horror films are used in an affect which gives scenes a lot more tension than they would normally have. They often leave a lot of important information out of the camera shot, which only gives the audience limited ideas in to what's going to happen next, this gives the film a lot more tension, as the audience does not know what's going to happen next.

The sound that is used in horror films generally gathers a lot more tension as the plot of the films gathers pace and momentum, this will generally make the film a lot more scarier, and gives the scenes a lot more tension, which keeps the audience watching.

Research on 'The Haunting of Connecticut'.

The Haunting in Connecticut;


Title Sequence;
0:00-0:35  Production Company logo's and sequences
0:35           Title 'Lionsgate and Cold circle films present'
0:37           Various other titles all in the same font
0:45           Old fashioned picture of a mid shot of a family dressed smartly
0:47           Old fashioned picture of a mid shot of two young girls
0:50           Flashed picture of an extreme close up of scissors (red filter)
0:51           Blood dripping from a table (red filter)
0:53           Old fashioned picture of children
0:57           Old fashioned picture of an old woman
0:59           Various quick flashes of extreme close ups of surgery
1:01           Mid shot of the same young girls
1:03           Enlarged photo of the family, this time shown to be next to a corpse
1:05           Close up corpses face
1:07           Extreme close up of a different corpse's eyes being shut
1:09           Enlarged photo of the old woman, this time shown to be next to a corpse
1:10           Long shot of two different corpses, then flashes to a close up
1:13           More various shots of surgery
1:15           Long shot of a middle aged couple next to a corpse
1:19           Blood running out of a pipe down a drain
1:20           Long shot of a corpse on a bed holding a dead baby
1:26           Long shot zoom of two boys, one appears to be asleep/dead
1:30           More camera shots of blood dripping from a table
1:30-1:35 Black screen
1:36          Title of the film 'Haunting in Connecticut
1:45          Title 'Based on a True Story'

The title sequence of The Haunting in Connecticut is very foreboding towards the rest of the film. It shows many different photographs of different aged people standing or sitting next to corpses in coffins, this gives a strong connotation towards death and misery, which sets the mood and tone for the rest of the film. From seeing this, the audience will now know that the main feature throughout the film is death, and the outcomes that come from it. Another main feature of the title sequence is surgery, and the connotations that it has. This, like the photographs of death, provide foreboding into what's going to happen in the film.

We could use some of the ideas in this title sequence, we could use images that would provide a strong connotation and foreboding to what would happen in the rest of our film, this would give the audience a slight idea into what the film is about and will encourage them to watch more, much like the title sequence in 'The Haunting in Connecticut'.

The Haunting in Connecticut was released in 2009 and was displayed on 2732 screens across america and made $23,004,765 on its opening weekend, and grossed $55,325,526 overall. It's about a family who move into a new house nearer a hospital, only to discover that the house has a curse on it and is haunted by its past. This is very similar to what our plans for our film is going to be, a family moving into a new house.

Title and opening sequence of 1408.

Seconds	Image
14	Black Screen with title ‘Dimesion Films presents’
29	Road at night, torrential rain. Pathetic fallacy-The rain could represent the mood of the whole film. Low key Lighting.
35	Pan shot across screen. Title ‘Samuel L Jackson’
42	Close up of the car and title of the film. The title gives connotations of a ghost, or ink caused to run by the rain.
45	Camera tracks the car reversing-Shows the driver may have gone the wrong way
54	Close up of the drivers face
56	POV shot of the sign, shows the drivers lost
59	Close up of him looking at a map
1:15	Long shot of a car pulling up to a house in the woods – shows isolation Actors names on the screen.
1:24	Rain has got harder when the person goes over a bridge. Also shows the place is isolated
1:31	Long shot of a big house, with more titles of actors’ names, also a POV shot, which looks like someone’s watching the main character.
1:37	The scene switches, mise en scene becomes a lot more light and happy, with high key lighting.
1:47	Dialogue; ‘Mike, Checking in’ This shows the audience that the big house is a hotel.
1:59	Shot reverse shot between the main character and the couple in the hotel. Finishes with “you probably want to hear about our haunted history”.

This title sequence iis very simple and set the mood for the rest of the film. The very beginning features a completely black screen with a title for the production company. Then the rest of the title sequence is merged into the opening of the film. The opening scene of the film sets the tone for the rest of the film, as its raining the audience know that the mood of the film is going to be dark and gloomy, this is called pathetic fallacy. We could use these ideas in our films, using the weather as a contributing factor into setting the mood for the film. Also, the first opening lines of dialogue suggests what the film is about; "you probably want to hear about our haunted history". This tells the audience that the film could be a horror/thriller, or feature some connotations of those films.

Initial Ideas for our Horror/Thriller Film.

Initial ideas for our horror film.

Characters; A young couple who have just brought their first house.
          -Ryan Jacobsen and Clare Walker

Settings; the new house, or a field when their walking their dog.

Main Storyline; A cursed book is left on the doorstep of the new house, this happens to every occupant of the house. The story in the book relates to Ryan and Clare, but is not entirely identical to their life?
The story in the book begins to come true for Ryan and Clare.
Books named after a year, the story is set in that year, yet the same storyline and events happen to them.

Names of the film; Continuous fate..,

Production company Name; Big scream. Play on words with Big screen-Which is a connotation of the film industry.

Title Sequence; The titles of the film could be in the book, and there is a different title on each page of the book. There could also be a slightly burned looking newspaper on a table next to the book, which suggests a fire.

Initial Horror/Thriller film research.

The top 20 rated Horror/Thriller according to imdb.com;

1.)Psycho
2.) Alien
3.)The Shining
4.)Les Diaboliques
5.) The Thing
6.)Nosferatu
7.)Faust
8.)The Exorcist
9.)Rosemarys Baby
10.)The Cabinet of Dr.Caligan
11.)King Kong
12.)Frankenstein
13.)What ever happened to baby Jane?
14.)Dawn of the dead
15.)Bride of Frankenstein
16.)Kwaidan
17.)Night of the Living Dead
18.)Shaun of the Dead
19.)Onibaba
20.)Invasion of the body snatchers


Top 10 highest grossing horror films of 2010;
1.)The Twilight Saga; Eclipse; $300,531,751
2.)Shutter Island; $128,012,934
3.)Paranormal Activity 2; $84,612,342
4.)A Nightmare on Elm Street; $63,075,011
5.)The Wolfman; $61,979,680
6.)Resident Evil Afterlife; $60,128,566
7.)Predators; $52,000,688
8.)Saw 3D; $45,710,178
9.)The Lovely Bones; $43,645,137
10.)The last Exorcism; $41,034,350

Top 10 grossing horror films of all time.

	Title	Studio	Gross Domestic Box Office
1	Jaws (1975)	UNIVERSAL	$795,369,426
2	The Exorcist (1973)	WARNER BROS	$686,631,452
3	The Sixth Sense (1999)	BUENA VISTA	$357,566,366
4	The Mummy Returns (2001)	UNIVERSAL	$221,650,716
5	Jaws 2 (1978)	UNIVERSAL	$215,603,340
6	The Amityville Horror (1979)	AMERICAN INT.	$213,841,738
7	Alien (1979)	FOX	$200,233,659
8	The Mummy (1999)	UNIVERSAL	$189,949,583
9	What Lies Beneath (2000)	DREAMWORKS	$179,115,699
10	The Omen (1976)	FOX	$177,620,519

Production company logo research.

20^th C

The 20^th  Century Fox logo is gold, which is a major connotation of the best at what they do, Olympic champions get gold medals for example. Also the spotlights are a huge connotation of Hollywood. This shows that the company make good enough films to be in Hollywood, where the best films are made.
Examples of films; Marley and Me, Avatar

Dreamworks;entury Fox;

The Dreamworks logo shows that they make the films of your dreams, as the main image is of a man sleeping on the moon, which could be seen as a connotation of sleeping. Dreamworks produce animation films, which target younger audiences, who might dream of the films that they are producing.
Examples of films; Madagascar, Shrek, Kung Fu Panda

Film 4;Film 4 ‘develop and co-finance smart and distinctive feature films’. Their logo is very bold and eye catching, it also features a very large ‘FILM’ This lets the audience know what the company does; it creates and manages films.
Examples of films; The inbetweeners movie, 127 hours.

Paramount;The paramount logo is very powerful in the way that it suggests that its the best at what they do. The logo has many stars around it, which are an obvious feature of celebrity lifestyle. The name is also on top of what appears to be mt. Everest, the tallest mountain on earth, which suggests that is above everyone else. They produce and manage films such as; The transformers series, and star trek.

Take Two Productions;
The main image of this logo is made up of film strips, this is a major connotation of the movie industry, and shows to its audience that they know what they are doing with films.

Universal;The Universal logo suggests that it produces films that are the best in the world, as its shows the name of the company to be bigger than the earth. It also suggests that the films they create are for the entire world, not just for a smaller audience.
Examples of films produced; Fast and Furious, Robin Hood

Vertigo Films;

The word Vertigo means Fear of heights, so this is used in the company’s name to induce that they are above everyone else, and that their productions are the best. Also the logo is red, which like film 4, makes the logo stand out much more and be a lot more noticeable.
Examples of films; Streetdance, Horrid Henry

Warner Bros.
The Warner Bros logo is also gold, much like the 20^th Century fox logo, this suggests that it is the best at what they do and produce the best movies. The fact that the logo is high up in the clouds also suggests that they are above everyone else, and the best in the business.
Examples of films; The harry potter series, Sherlock Holmes.