P2 - Film Concepts

Film concepts are all important when thinking of planning a film, or anything for that matter. This is why we brainstormed all the different sections that we think are vital in making a short horror film and how we would use them. 

P1 - Key Scenes

• Scene 1: A girl running away, deciding about what she should do. She runs to a high place and throws the jack-in-the-box away from her. One she does that, she has a sigh of relief and walks away still checking over her shoulder. The scene ends just focusing on the box.

• Scene 2: A group of boys walk into the park where the box is. They joke around with each other until one spots the box. One picks it up and throws it to another to say to turn it to open. Neither of them want to so they throw it to the other boys until eventually one says they'll do it (main character). When he turns it to open, nothing happens but the boys jump and start laughing. However the boy holding it feels weird and leaves with the box to go home.

• Scene 3: On his way home, weird thing start happening to him such as flashes of the ghost so he feels uncomfortable walking home alone. He then calls his sister to see where she is and tells her that her mum is calling so he has to bring her home.

• Scene 4: He picks his sister up from school and starts walking with her while she starts yelling about how he always ruins her plans. He tells her to shut up and to continue walking.

• Scene 5: In the foot tunnel, things start happening to him that only he can see. His sister is confused about the whole situation but he panics and runs to a high place and throws the box away from him. His sister catches up and tries to comfort him but he hastily takes her and him away from the box and they go home.

• Scene 6: The next day, two other people find the box and they turn it. The scene ends with the ghost face appearing suddenly and then it ends.

R41 - Radio Trailer Analysis of 'Insidious'

Insidious (2010)

The trailer first starts off with silence before a deep booming sound can be heard as it echoes back to silence. There are then slashin sounds as a non diegetic voice of "You ready?" can be heard. Another smaller booming sound can be heard before loud sharp ticking sound is evident - setting the atmosphere for the radio trailer.

There are then fast warping sounds as the dialogue of "Sweetie" can be heard. This makes the audience assume that it is a woman from the use of the word "sweetie" as well as her sincere tone of voice. Her mode of address implies that she is talking to her husband, or in fact her lover.

However there becomes a more suspenseful atmosphere as the voice shrinks to a whisper, indicating that they are hiding from someone. The dialogue says "he's not in a coma, they don't know what to call it". A muted boom in the form of a sting is then heard as the pace of the radio trailer gradually builds up. There is a loud high pitched scream, as well as the layering of the intense eerie music. On top of that with the fast paced trailer, a sound of a baby crying can also be heard. 

As there is more dialogue, it is more clear of the panic within the voices and the mode of address towards each other. In this way, it is evident that the actors/actresses are actually in fear of something, adding to the effect of the radio trailer. The sounds used are layered together as below the non diegetic voices, there are sounds of something crashing, and clashing. There is an effective use of sting after every 7 seconds of the trailer, or especially after there is dialogue to differentiate the times of them speaking.

Soon after, there is a large build up of sounds - the most effective part of the trailer. Here, we can hear; glass shattering, the baby crying, deep booming sounds as well as high pitched screaming and a increasing heartbeat effect. After intensifying these sounds and becoming louder, the trailer suddenly becomes silence for approximately 5 seconds. It is after this that there is a calm yet alerted voice says "It's not the house that's haunted, it's your son". The trailer then ends with a final boom, and then silence.   

R40 - Audience Profile (Female)

R39 - Research into Short Films

 By Saima Uddin

R38 - Development of our Film Genre

R37 - Experimentation with Camera Shots

Before we start shooting for our film, we wanted to test out different camera shots and angles to see which works best when incorporating it into our film. 

We were equipped with a Canon DSLR camera and a tripod. However when it came to using the tripod, we realised that we had taken a small tripod instead of a large, making it difficult to capture the wide shots we needed from a low ground. Also, we did not have the tab to slide our camera into our tripod, therefore we simply used our hands to hold the camera steady. 

We went to a local park - a potential place to use as our setting to see how we could capture the setting into the camera. We then tested out different camera shots and angles, and put it together.