Film Review Deconstructions

In order to prepare for the preliminary tasks we deconstructed some existing film reviews and decided what  works and what we we intend to recreate in our own preliminary film review.

Lighting Experimentation

The Poltergeist is a 1982 American horror film directed by Stephen Spielberg, which was iconic for its powerful and efficient use of lighting. The simple, single source lighting was used to create incredibly dark silhouettes of characters in the film, creating a sense of mystery to the audience. This is a convention we plan to use in my short film, the antagonist will, at some points, be filmed with a strong light force from behind. We chose this method of lighting because it creates a heavy contrast between light and shadow. As you can see in the picture below, normal characters are made to look slightly terrifying, just by using simple but

powerful lighting.
Jono and I went out with a camera and our chosen actress, and took some pictures whilst we were experimenting with a single light source. The results were pleasing, as we achieved the desired result and subsequently, we are prepared and fully capable of using this type of lighting.
The three pictures below, were taken on the main stage at The Kings School with the main curtains closed, so the only light source would be from a high window. After recently watching 'The Ring' I wanted the pictures to vaguely represent the film, with the thin white ring almost present at the head of the character, and the character in the picture herself looks slightly like the antagonist in 'The Ring'. Jono and I have decided to use this method to create our preliminary tasks and have an image similar to the ones below.

Preliminary Filming Worries

Within our lesson we discussed issues we may encounter and the worries we had about starting the filming process. As a group we had similar worries concerning the editing software not being something we were used to and a fear of failure after creating the film that we had visioned, therefore not achieving the grades we desired. Another issue we discussed was the sheer lack of time and organising the cast and location. To overcome these anxieties we put eachothers minds at ease by complimenting and cstructively critising eachothers ideas. Miss then showed us some Preliminary filming from another group of students and we critqued them, this helped us to see how to improve our own ideas but also realise other peopel mistakes and learn from them. The mistakes being made more often were lighting, costume, empathy with characters and timing.

Title Ideas

Jono and I looked at some ideas for the title of our short film. We looked at classic examples of horror film names and these included short simple names like "The Grudge", "The Ring", "Dolls"and the more complex names that tell a little bit about the story such as "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"and "Don't be Afraid of the Dark". We preferred the shorter names and we felt they were more impacting and came up with some of our own ideas...

"The Haunting" was our favourite out of all of our ideas. This related directly to the haunted house setting and the haunted character that is being followed by our atagonist. We thought the name was impacting and iconic as the films listed above are and ergo we think it will make a perfect choice for our films title.

Target Audience Feedback

Jono and I asked some of our target audience with their feedback so we can make decisions based upon this feedback and construct our film to fit the needs of our target audience. Using their critique it will be a lot easier to make our film knowing what the audiences desires and expections are. Taking on board their thoughts we will make sure my TA get the adrenaline rush they love!

  "I like horror films because: They raise my adrenaline levels, they can have hidden satirical messages and because they have gore!! Some of my favourites include Paranormal Activity, Saw, The Unborn, Shaun of the Dead, Alien"

"Horror films offer the auduence a variety of emotions; digust, fear, horror and sometimes exhiliration. For this reason amongst others i prefer horror as a genre and the variation in different plots, depending upon the sub-genre. I love the thrill, suspense and adrenaline rush. I prefer older horror films such as the Exorcist and the Omen as they appeal more to me and concentrate more on psycholoigal human defects."

"I love the adrenaline rush you get from watching horror films, and the victims in the films... you just want to scream at them! However i do not like the blood, guts ect. But i do liek the supernatural stuff, and i also like the "based on a true story" horror films such as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre."

"I like horror films because they are scary and rise my adrenaline. They put me on the edge of my seat and have me hooked. I love the effects of strobe lighting in horror films and the blood and gore! I also love the horror films that have a psychological effect on your afterwards and make you feel like it's going to happen to you."

Filming schedule

Jono and I have created a filming schedule so our filming is organised and runs as smooth as it can. We will allocate specific times to each piece of filming and ensure our film is filmed quickly but accurate in its entirety.

Costume Ideas

When looking at costume I have to consider the connotations and representations I will be trying to achieve with my choices in costume. I will try to try to connote the correct messages to my audience with my costume for each character. My main protagonist should wear a costume with light colours, showing her innocence and purity. It should also be quite feminine to connote the representation of women being the weaker gender, as much as this is a stereotype most women would like to break, I think it would be useful to portray the character as such. She must also attract the male gaze, so perhaps something fitted and slightly revealing. I had a look on some clothing websites to get an idea of the type of clothing i'd like my protagonist to wear and these are some of the ideas I came up with.

The pastel colours within the pretty day dresses show a binary opposition towards the gown the antagonist will wear. It also directly relates to the representation stereotypically used to display her angelic nature. Jono and I  were considering using a pastel blue colour for the dress as we feel it has a virtuous and harmless nature. It also represent the sky, and a sense of freedom which is soon to be taken away form her by the antagonist when she is trapped in the house.

Secondly, I must consider the costume for the antagonist. Her costume must be of dark clothing to connote her corruption, darkness and her haunting face must be rememberable in the audiences mind. This will mean they are still thinking about the antagonist as they leave and apply it to moments in their life as they are at home, and suddenly feel a chill. Her face must be in her mind, creating resonance, the kind of costume and make up idea we'd like to take on board include:

As you can see from these images, the use of a white gown is used. Usually white is used to connotes the incorruption of a person however the iconography associated with the white gown is used so often it will not be subverting the genre it will be following a typical antagonist costume design.  The use of the white but dirtied gown shows an innocence corrupted, as the antagonists haven't always been corrupt they were once normal. I think this makes them scarier as it shows a change in their mental and physical stability making the impossible seem more universally applicable.