Tuesday, 24 November 2009
Our Chosen Horror Movie Idea
1)Decide on which sequence is going to be constructed in your group
2)Begin to plan the construction
- What locations are needed? (think about distance and cost)
- who is required (what cast do you need)
- Think about narrative elements- what story are you setting up?
- Mise en Scene- what mood/style/genre elements must be included
Then start to storyboard shots
- How will they convey the right parts of the above points
- How can they be used to create tension?
Monday, 23 November 2009
Horror/Thriller
The movie above is of great relation to my horror/thriller idea. 7eventy 5ive is about a group of teens who's finals at the prestigious University of Dreyskill are finally over and it's time to party. "The Crew", as they are known by their peers and dorm mates, are invited to a rich classmate's hideaway mansion high up in the hills of Colorado. What was supposed to be a weekend of fun and relaxation quickly becomes a trip they will never forget... If they survive! A simple game of prank scare phone calls becomes an intense game of survival and escape when one of the Crew members accidentally calls the wrong person.
This film is the same as mine at it consists of teenagers at a secluded house, a killer ready for his revenge and of course, the action and chase sequences.
Thursday, 19 November 2009
What is a horror film?
The audiences own identification with FEARS or TERRORS of the narrative
WHY ARE THEY SO SCARY?
-FEAR of the OTHER/MONSTER in the DARKNESS
-Fear of the BODY BEING RIPPED/MUTILATED
-Our own personal boundaries being transgressed
People watch horror films due to the fact that the EMERGENCE OF TERROR at any level can be enjoyed from a SAFE/VICARIOUS DISTANCE.
IDEOLOGICAL
-The IMPLICIT (hidden) or EXPLICIT (obvious) messages embedded within the narrative
-Themes of PUNISHMENT, REJECTION or REVULSION at the subjects which deviate from ‘correct’ thinking
-From SIMPLISTIC or BASIC MESSAGES (the virgin ‘good’ girl surviving at the expense of the rebellious ‘slutty’ friend) to the more nuanced or subtle fears of the strangers/ hitchhikers breaking our boundaries
Or the condemnation of any deviant (i.e. non-chirstian) religious
Our perception that the POWER OF SCIENC CAN DEFEAT the DARKNESS that the expense of the older beliefs in religion and superstition
-In our modern understanding of fear, we rationalise the supernatural and defeat it with psychology rather than Latin chants
-Modern media creates ‘demon’ by crusading against sections of society and labelling them
Are there really so many more paedophiles today than in the past?
How many escaped mental patients have actually stalked and killed innocents
INDUSTRIAL / FINANCIAL
-Perhaps the most lucrative genre in the film industry HORROR draws in huge audiences justifying the continual re-invention, re-making and franchising of every successful HORROR product
-We wonder at whether there should be an Indiana Jones 4 or a lethal weapon , but no questions are raised over the legitimacy of producing saw 6 or re-making A nightmare on elm street after 9 previous incarnations
Some Horror Movie Trends
- Traditional, Gothic Horror
- Sci-Fi Horrors
- Stalk and slash horror
- Psychological Horror
Genre and Conventions
establish mood/setting though music, mise en scene, some horror characteristics
Establish Basic Story Elements
- Equilibrium normality
- Characters may be introduced
- Some elements of 'event' or story structure laid out
ICONOGRAPHY-recognise visual sign posts which establish genre
- Castle on hill - Isolated setting
- Night time / Darkness- moody setting
- Knives / Masks
