Film Title Brainstorm

To begin these brainstorms, we first looked over various existing film titles and observed the conventions that they contain. The titles can be split into two halves; one word titles and two or more word titles, each excluding “the”. The titles with 2 or more words tend to be limited to four words, and in some cases five as with “Last House on the Left” and those with one word have a single striking adjective that resonates with the audience. Essentially, the aim is to have a title that the audience will remember whether that is through its brevity, or the foreshadowing of terror that it gives. Whilst looking into titles, it became apparent to us that we mainly wanted a single word title, but none that we looked at fit our project properly. It was evident that we needed two words to do the narrative justice. However, forming coherent and effective two word titles proved challenging as our expectations for this title grew higher. In the end, we came up with three 2 or more word titles that were to be considered for our project. Overall, we found that “Darkness Within” had a much scarier connotation, as “Demon Within” was too obvious and “Last One Standing” seemed far more suited to an action movie. “Darkness Within” also has the connotations with possession, and therefore fits in with our narrative much more effectively.

Ideas: Props and Location

Props:

In any film, there is a selection of elements that make a movie work. These fundamental aspects are found in every movie and without them, the film is sure to fail. Supernatural horror movies generally keep to the same conventions of the elements of costume, props and locations of other horror movies but with subtle differences.

An element that is important is props and within the horror genre, if chosen appropriately props can increase the terror in a scene, or destroy it. A useful facet of the supernatural genre in terms of props is that any object can look terrifying when supposedly possessed or cursed. The most commonly used are children’s toys or antiques as the innocence and the aged quality give it a creepy effect.

 Children’s toys have always been popular in the horror genre because, as previously mentioned, they portray innocence. The reason innocence is so scary in this case is because that quality is corrupted by a curse or an evil spirit and that resonates with the audience. Being a child is associated with being safe and secure, and by destroying that the horror is enhanced as the audience no longer feel the safety they expected from the objects. A prime example of this is in “The Woman in Black” when the toys are combined with the contrapuntal sound of a wind-up toy. 

Another example of this is seen in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining when young Danny rides around an empty hotel on his tricycle. The image of something so innocent paired with the tense music creates tension that raises questions in the audience's minds; "Where is he going?", "What's he going to run into?", and "What's behind that door?", and as Danny rides away quickly, the audience are left in wonder and fear at what lurks behind the door of room 237.

Antique items are always popular, and in some cases this is combined with children’s toys as seen in The Woman in Black, as they have a mysterious history that could hide all sorts of supernatural surprises. As well as that, previous centuries were deemed much more superstitious than present day and held séances, exorcisms and other events that seem out of place nowadays. One such antique item is the ‘Dybbuk Box’. This wine cabinet is said to be haunted by a Dybbuk, a restless, and malevolent spirit in Jewish folklore, that is said to haunt and possess the living and was the inspiration for the film “The Possession”.

The Dybbuk Box

Religious imagery is widely used and follows along the theme of superstition. The Christian faith is riddled with superstition, the main portrayal of that being exorcisms. Even before the movie of the same name, exorcisms have been seen as a terrifying event of pulling a demon from a person through religious ceremony. The presence of crosses has given the crucifix itself horrific connotations and now religious imagery is present in most horror movies.

Other conventions in the supernatural genre are Ouija Boards, Tarot Cards, Pentagrams and other Satanic Symbols that are all used to contact the deceased. Each of these inevitably led to a possession or bodily harm to the person exposed to it or using it. This all ties in to the human nature of superstition; most people will admit that they believe that there are unknown forces such as spirits or ghosts and many of those people would admit to doing certain things to avoid spirits etc. whether that is burning sage to ward off spirits or not looking in mirrors at night.

Witchboard from 1986 is an example as it uses a ouija board at the centre of it's storyline as a line of communication from a group of friends to a deceased friend on the 'other side'. The spirit they contact however is an evil spirit that is impersonating their friend and wants to possess the protagonist so that it can come back to life and soon friends begin dying in it's quest. 

The conventions of props that we have decided to adhere to are antique style items, possibly children's toys and possibly religious imagery. As the main conventions in horror, these props seem necessary to add the extra “scare factor” to our project.  Children’s toys and religious imagery may feature in our trailer, but the antique style items may feature across all three items and it is through this style of prop that we can create a symbiotic link between the products.

Location:

The typical locations that tend to appear in horror movies are generally in very isolated. These locations consist of isolated homes in a suburban setting, a forest, motels or a lake side area.  An isolated location also allows for vast building with lots of rooms where the victim can be chased and complicated floor plans that create a maze-like feel and add more intensity to the chase. These locations consist of isolated home in a suburban setting, a forest, motels or a lake side area. These locations are used in horror movies to add to the effect of the victims not being able to get contact with anyone for help when they are in trouble. These locations tend to be dark and dull areas which again, allow the audience to feel on edge when seeing these locations because they are typical areas where everyday people tend to be in. In supernatural horror movies a normal family home is used in order to scare the audience further because tainting the comfort of their own home, and they can no longer feel safe in their home.

The Uninvited (2009)

Taking into account existing locations for horror movies we have decided to use an isolated house for the majority of the trailer, because we feel that tainting the comfort of someone’s home will be key feature to scare our audience, some of the other scenes that we would consider using are an establishing shot of a mental hospital, a scene in the bathroom, a hallway of a mental hospital. We feel that these locations are reasonably isolated which fits in the conventions of a horror movie. The establishing shot of the metal hospital will allow the narrative to become clearer for the audience because this will show them that there is something wrong with the character “Mary”. We would film these locations in available lighting to give it a dull atmosphere that creates more of demonic feeling. As we progress more through our portfolio, we will have images of these locations and we will get feedback from our target audience to see if these locations are effective to make our horror movie successful. 

Our ideas:

Taking into account existing locations for horror movies we have decided to use an isolated house for the majority of the trailer, because we feel that tainting the comfort of someone’s home will be key feature to scare our audience, some of the other scenes that we would consider using are an establishing shot of a mental hospital, a scene in the bathroom, and a hallway of a mental hospital. We feel that these locations are reasonably isolated which fits in the conventions of a horror movie. The establishing shot of the metal hospital will allow the narrative to become clearer for the audience because this will show them that there is something wrong with the character “Mary”. We would film these locations in available lighting to give it a dull atmosphere that creates more of horror movie feel. As we progress more through our portfolio, we will have images of these locations and we will get feedback from our target audience to see if these locations are effective to make our horror movie successful. 

This is some of the locations which we have decided to use:

School Hallway for our hospital scene:

Corridor for a running scene

Ideas: Camera, Lighting and Non-Diegetic Sounds

Camera
Trailer:
The typical camera shots and angles that appear in a movie trailer range from long shots to extreme close ups. Generally they tend to start off with either an establishing shot of where the location is and where the whole horror scene is going to happen or a long shot of the protagonist. Throughout the trailer, we see a range of shots and angles to enhance a scene for example, a close up will be used in order to show the emotions of either the antagonist or protagonist, or to show us the demonic features. By using a range of angles it will give us an idea of how strong or weak the character at the certain scene, like a high angle shot looking down at the protagonist so represent that they are getting watched and make them seen vulnerable and weak as seen in The Shining in the image below.

Camera movement is also important in a horror movie trailer because it improves the scene and adds fluidity to the trailer. Camera movements include tracking shots, crane shots, zoom in/zoom out, pan, tilt, etc. In horror movie trailers, these movements are used frequently, which allows the transitions between shots to flow nicely. An example of a tracking shot is in the "Amityville Horror" is to show how the house is, the environment and the area in which it is located. This is a good way of getting a lot of information in a small amount of time but yet it doesn't give out a lot of the narrative. 

Poster and magazine:
When analysing posters and magazine front covers, we realised that there is a symbiotic link between the main images, as well as other features such as font, and that they are usually the same image but with less effects on the magazine cover or a still form the film is used as seen in the exorcist which uses a screenshot of the film for both poster and cover.



The shots that are used are usually long shots, mediums shots or a close up of the antagonist. A long shot is to show us the entire body and any deformities; it lets us see all of the it in one shot which gives us the idea of what is wrong with the antagonist.   A close up is to show us the intensity of the demotic possession of the antagonist. These shots have been cleverly used to show the audience exactly what the story is about but they have disguised it well. 

 

We have decided to use a range of shots and movement within our trailer to attract and retain audience attention. Were we to use only a single angle and technique of movement, the audience would soon become bored. To begin our trailer, we have decided to use an establishing shot of a house that pans to a medium shot of a reporter. We will use the movements to link our shots together to give the fluidity needed. Our idea is to show both sides of our character by placing her in front of a mirror and having her stand normally, but have her reflection showing her possessed side in a medium, over the shoulder shot to emphasise the contrast. By using a medium shot, the audience are able to see much clearer the difference between the character and her reflection. Our magazine front cover and poster will link together clearly by using the same image of our character for each product to show the audience the demonic possession of the antagonist.

Lighting

Profile lighting in Halloween (1979)

One of the main elements of creating a movie, lighting can change the entire mood and perception of a scene. Horror movies utilize lighting to set the tone of a scene and also give foreshadowing of events to come. For example, if a girl is in a dark room with light only coming from her phone or natural lighting from an open window, then the audience sit in baited breath for something to jump out of the darkness. The reactions the audience have are also due to lighting conventions of horror such as profile lighting, back-lighting  low angle lighting, and ambient lighting. Each of these gives a specific tone to each scene that is unique.

Profile lighting is when light falls on only half of a person’s face. This gives a sinister tone to the scene and the character or it can highlight the shock on a victim’s face. Another use for this lighting is to highlight specific features that may be deemed grotesque, and this effect enhances that.  This image below is an example of profile lighting in Halloween.

Amityville Horror (2005)

Low angle lighting, lighting aimed upwards from below the character, is also used for all of these reasons but is achieved by having a high angle light shine on a character from below them to make them seem menacing. These effects may be used in our trailer to bring focus to the protagonist’s shocked face as the protagonist attacks her.

 Backlighting is the placement of a light in the background of the scene to create a silhouette of those in the foreground. This technique hides the features of those in the foreground and also gives a sinister effect, as seen in the "Amityville Horror" film poster. Backlighting is common convention for horror films as it brings darkness and shadows to the film and enhances the fear of the audience; it makes them question what it is that lurks in the darkness.

Wolfman (2010)

Ambient lighting is the available lighting in a scene, such as the sun or the moon. This gives a more realistic and natural look to the scene as in the still from "Wolfman". We will use this technique during the street scene as it will be outdoors and most styles of lighting will be rendered useless.

For our project, we will primarily use low-key, ambient lighting, however we will use it in a way as to create backlighting and profile lighting and we will do this by angling the camera and the actors to achieve appropriate shadowing. 


Non-Diegetic Sounds

Typical non diegetic sounds that feature in horror movie trailers tend to be big bangs, eerie sounds, added footsteps (as opposed to enhanced footsteps), tensional music, orchestra, piano, contrapuntal sounds and stabs. These non diegetic sounds are added in a horror movie to emphasise the moment of that scene. Music adds more tension to the scene because people get scared when there is a build up to a jumpy moment and so it gets us ready for something big. Usually the added music starts of slow and calm within the trailer then the pace gets faster as it goes on. A stab is one of the most effective types of non diegetic sound that is added in horror movies and its trailer, a stab is a short, sudden, burst of sound which is used to potentially make the audience jump. It can also coincide with a moment of drama and help to heighten the existing drama. A stab is a crucial sound to have in the trailer since its one thing that the target audience always remembers. Tense music enhances the fear the audience feel within a scene that dialogue alone cannot achieve, and makes the scene more effective. An example of this is seen below in an excerpt from Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds". The orchestral music, specifically violins, aids in the building of tension before, and whilst, the protagonist is attacked by the Birds.

We have decided to use existing sounds from other movies and trailers for our non diegetic sounds. This will be an easy option since we wouldn't have the high quality sound software to create these non diegetic sounds. We will use a range of sounds from non-diegetic sounds to stabs and tense, eerie music which will come from other types of media like games, music and TV programmes. The soundtracks that we would consider using are from "Grave Encounters", "The Devil Inside", "Call of Duty: Black Ops - Zombies", as well as from other sources such as websites that offer sound effects. All these would be added to the trailer to create a unique sound to it and effectively create a frightening trailer. We have included some examples of possible soundtracks that we may use below. These have been chosen as we believe that they can relate and fit in well with our narrative and sub-genre.

          

Ideas: Costume, Make-Up and Hair

Existing costume in horror:

 Slasher movies consist of very specific costume choices for example the antagonist usually wears a mask to hide his identity which delivers to the audience fear the unknown and to make the villain look demonic. Masks are also memorable, therefore the audience will feel haunted by them. To top of the mask the antagonist usually wears heavy black, dark clothing that just enhances the fear of the person, the colour of the costume are dull which reflects the horror genre and also makes them look more sinister.

The protagonist is usually female in horror movies, as well as most movie genres, as the audience are more likely to accept a female who is terrified and screaming as she battles against the antagonist, rather than a male. She usually wears sophisticated, unrevealing clothing which makes her stand out as the final girl, whilst her friends (the victims) tend to wear more provocative clothing like miniskirts and low cut tops which makes us think that they are an easy target for the antagonist. The protagonist generally tends to dress in a male fashion, but still maintaining her female qualities.  There clothing tends to be really plain and simple with dull colours as well which again reflects the horror genre.  

 In supernatural horror movies, the costume tends to be very modern as it is a more modern sub-genre. In "Paranormal Activity", the characters all wear average, every day clothing similar to that which the audience may wear so as to make the "found footage" seem much more realistic and therefore more terrifying. The characters within the movie are generally dressed very casually, however when the antagonist takes human form, the costume changes generally to all white, but the white tends to be tainted, which perhaps blood.   The colours of the general characters in horrors are often dull and muted to create a dark, mysterious and unsettling mood. In movies such as "The Devil Inside", the antagonist is dressed in an old fashioned grey gown, which makes her look ghostly and dull, which reflects the fact that she is possessed.

Our ideas for costume:

 Our movie is a supernatural, based on a possession. Our costume ideas are similar to The Devil Inside, because we feel they created a frightening antagonist look. Our antagonist, Mary, for the majority of our trailer will be wearing a very Victorian white gown to make her seem ghostly and other worldly, along with an old, rag like cardigan on top that will add a human quality to her that reinforces that the antagonist is actually human, and actually the protagonist's mother, making her more scary. The white gown obviously ages her, but the main reason for the white gown is to make her seem pure and innocent which contrasts to the demon that has possessed her.  The rest of the family are a modern twenty first century family, therefore their costume within the trailer will be casual, everyday clothing, most likely winter clothing because weather patterns in horror movies tend to be dull and cold.

                       

Existing make-up in horror:

 Make-up in existing horror movies tends to be very basic for the general characters. The make-up is generally used to enhance their look for the camera, or to make them look older or younger. The antagonist usually has the most make up, to give them a distorted look, and to add flaws to their skins to add to the horror effect. Special effect make up is used in every horror movie, to create things such as cuts, bruises, scars, burns, blood etc. 

Our ideas for make-up:

 Our make-up techniques will include ageing our main actress, in order for her to look very worn out and old. Other make up techniques are very minor within our trailer. For the beginning of the trailer, three photos of the murdered victims will be shown, and we plan to use make up techniques such as gun shots or slit throats. The other characters will just have basic make up, to enhance their features and generally look good on the camera.

                     



Existing hair styles in horror:

Generally in horror movies, hair doesn't play a big part; this is because you can’t really do much about the hair. The protagonist has straight or wavy hair that is either tied up or if it is short it will rest on their shoulders.  This is because they want to create a plain look and so people don’t focus on the hair, they want to present a normal, everyday look. The antagonist usually has very scruffy thick hair; it is never groomed just to reflect the whole edgy side to them which again links with their overall look and the horror genre. In regards to hair colour, the main protagonist of horror movies tends to have brunette hair as brunettes are stereotypically smarter, and will therefore last until she is the "final girl". Darker hair also connotes a darker spirit, as those with blonde hair are seen as innocent and pure. Just as there are different connotation to hair colour, the state of the hair also says a lot about a character. Taking the two images above as examples, the image of Liv Tyler on the left shows her with well-groomed, straight hair, whereas the image of the antagonist in "The Devil Inside" has wild hair that is unkempt and straw like; the lifelessness of the characters hair often reflects the lifelessness of the characters soul. Drawing from this, we have decided to style our actress a hairstyle that is similar to that of the antagonist in "The Devil Inside".


Our ideas for hair styling:
We have decided to give our main antagonist a very rugged look, her hair would be a natural colour with streaks of grey. This is again to age our main actress and make her stand out from the main characters. The victims will have basic hair styles like pony tails or natural waves. We aim to have an actress with long hair which will allow us to use a range of hairstyles within the trailer for the protagonist. 

Film and Trailer Narrative

Film Narrative:

In November 1996, Mary Wilson murdered her family in their home. She killed her husband, son    and eldest daughter, but the only family member who was unharmed was her youngest, Ella Wilson. Mary was arrested and sentenced into a psychiatric unit, because doctors assumed she was schizophrenic. Ella was taken into the care of close family members, and fifteen years later is where the new story begins. Ella got happily married, and is now Ella Garcia. Ella married, William Garcia, and they had two children Logan and Layla. Ella has been visiting her mother for a year, who has made a significant recovery, which means that Mary can be released into her daughter's care. Mary's physical and mental state, are still tainted from her past, she may be recovered, but she is still not completely with us, mentally. Mary soon settles into her new family home, and the first person who notices that she is still not right is William. William then consults Ella about the strange things he has seen, and they both begin to realise that maybe Mary was never mentally ill. At a family dinner, Logan is sitting with Mary at the table, when she stares at him her eyes go completely white, and later on Logan is being tucked into bed, and demands that his Mum doesn't leave because he is scared of her eyes. William and Ella begin to research other illnesses that could be wrong with Mary, and begin to realise that it is not an illness, but she is possessed. Ella tries not to let this bother her, and she does not want to mention it to her children or her mother. As a result of this, Ella tells Logan and Layla to go spend time with their Grandma, and this is what triggers Ella to get help. During this time, Mary is playing with a jack in the box, singing pop goes the weasel, and when Ella walks in the room, the jack in the box pops out, and she screams "Your next". During the movie, Mary gets worse and the demon within her begins to focus on the family members through physical actions. The conclusion of the movie comes when the grandmother attacks the family and gets pushed out of the second storey window. As the family rush out of the house to see the body, they frantically call the police only to see that the body has disappeared. The film ends with a cut to Logan's face and his eyes are tinted white like the grandmothers had been.

Trailer Narrative:

The trailer begins with an establishing shot that tilts upwards to a dominating view of a house with crime scene tape outside it. The scene cuts to a news report of a reporter outside of the house detailing how a mother tried to murder her entire family but was intervened before killing her youngest daughter, Ella. The woman, in question is led out of the house and into a police car and the camera follows the action as she drives away. The trailer then cuts to television static to show the transition between the news report and real life, and then 15 years later comes up. The daughter is being led through a hospital ward to her mother's room whilst being told of her mother's restored mental health. They look into the room as the doctor advises that she stay in her daughters care to aid her transition from the asylum. Ella takes her mother home to live with her and her family, and they are all in severe trouble because of it. Events begin to replay themselves and the family must fight to survive. 

Case Study: Influential Director (Eli Roth)

Eli Roth's cinematic style has influenced our trailer because he uses classic ways of filming instead of modern techniques, which reflects in his work. "The Last Exorcism", a film that was produced by Eli Roth was one of our main influences, and these was a found footage style movie, therefore I feel the narrative was unpredictable and this is how we would like our trailer to turn out. Roth also mentions that left over footage could sometimes have the best effect, and when putting our trailer together, we have used some of our rough footage, because we feel that it had the scariest effect and really helped the narrative come across. 

Cinematic style:

Trailers of which he has directed:

Case Study: Annelise Michel

Anneliese was a German Catholic woman who was said to be possessed by demons, and therefore had man exorcisms carried out on her. The case has been mistaken for mental illness, religious hysteria, and abuse. The Exorcism of Emily Rose is one movie that was loosely based around Michel’s story about her possession. Anneliese was born on 21^st September 1952 in West Germany into a strict Catholic family. When she turned sixteen, she was diagnosed with epilepsy due to continuous seizures she kept having, and she was later diagnosed with depression and began to hear voices in her head. Michel’s depression began to get worse because her treatment she was receiving in her psychiatric hospital was not working. Her long term treatment was unsuccessful, in every aspects of her illness, which frustrated Anneliese deeply. Anneliese began to blame her illness on demonic possession, because she could not withstand religious rites, or walk past a crucifix. Michel had another seizure in her psychiatric hospital where she was saying and began talking about devil faces that she could see.  Michel was now certain that she was not ill but she was possessed and therefore appealed for an exorcism from the Catholic Church.  Many priests declined her, and she was put back on medication used for schizophrenic patients. She went on a pilgrimage, and at this point her family had finally come to conclusion she is possessed.  Finally they met Ernst Al, who agreed to perform an exorcism on Anneliese and after sixty seven exorcisms; Anneliese began to starve herself due to the exorcisms. On July 1^st, Anneliese died in her house due to malnutrition and dehydration which was blamed on the priests who performed the exorcisms on her, and were then fined.

This case study has shown us the effects of a possession and thus given us inspiration for our main antagonist. In researching Anneliese Michel, we gained a better understanding of the effects of possessions and the means people go through to be rid of them. This also gave us the idea of our antagonist's possession being misdiagnosed as schizophrenia and therefore not taken seriously until it is forced to be taken seriously.