Idea
For this project, I will be creating a 10-minute long short film based on my year 1 final major project, the plot is about a cult who summon a demon in the woods, he then hunts down a group of teenagers and kills them off one by one. The movies origin is my sisters recurring dream she had about a demonic person hunting down her and her friends, killing them one by one, this was further research in my blog called The Origin of The Man In Black (FMP)
(Above is my year 1 final major project which has started the inspiration for this project)
I have been practising different techniques after the creation of my year 1 final major project, studying how to create suspense within horror movies and would like to use this technique within my movie as well as making a trailer for the movie, the most difficult part will be making the trailer and movie footage link and this is a professional practice I want to use as the film industry always make the trailers first before the main movie.
I also will be creating a working DVD for the final product as well as making a customised cover for a case, this will help me with the exhibition and the end of the production and allow me to practice using Adobe Photoshop, my main inspiration for the DVD case is the style used for IT.
Research
From previous projects, I have researched what techniques are used to make a horror movie, especially the technique of suspense and tension in the blog called: ‘Suspense: How Is It Made?’
Blocking
Blocking is very important, it is a camera technique used to make a conversation or action visually interesting. Blocking comes down to the precise position of an actor in the frame and follows three crucial visual elements: Space, Shapes, and Lines.
The movement of a camera as well as what is happening on screen can give the scene a story of its own, having the camera slowly move into shot with what’s happening on screen creates a terrifying impact on the audience, allowing them to visually take in what’s happening on the scene as well as the surroundings.
Camera blocking was first used by Alfred Hitchcock, he used it to make a specific character more dominant, or show the audience an event that is about to happen without the character noticing, for example, in the movie Phsyco which came out in 1960, there is a scene where actress Janet Leigh is taking a shower, the audience see her killer before she does create a build-up of suspense.
I plan to consider what is in the background of my movie to create visualizing footage whilst the events unfold, I also plan to let the audience see the man in black creeping up on his next victim, this allows the audience to feel more involved with the movie.
Lighting
Lighting is one of the most effective techniques in any movie genre, from having light at different locations and pointing it towards your actor can set different moods, if you use up lighting, for instance, are brain naturally compares this to hell which gives us an unsettling mood, this technique is widely used in horror movies.
I plan to do my filming in the day as it is safer for the cast and crew, this is because we will be in a local woods and it is easier to see the path, so for my day footage to be a night scene I’ll be using a Cincom tutorial. Natural lighting gives the movie a realistic feel, many directors are now starting to use natural lighting instead of studio lights as it has numerous psychological and physical effects on the audience.
Another common lighting technique used in horrors is low-key lighting, this technique usually uses only two lights, the use of low-key lighting can create tension within a scene, giving a scene the presence of something dark, the light is placed to the left or right of the subject to cast half a shadow on the subject.
In 2008’s The Dark Knight, there is a scene where the Joker and Commissioner Gordon are talking, you can clearly see that the only light is either really far behind the actors or close by, this creates a nice lighting on the jokers face that makes him look eerier with the audience able to see every detailing on his face.
I plan to use a similar technique in the interrogation scene of my movie, this will create a nice shadow over my actors face, showing that they are who the audience should be paying attention to within that scene.
Target Audience
Horror movies tend to have a target audience of people aged 15 to 25-years-old according to a presentation made by Isaac Randall, which had led me to choose an audience of 15 years old attracting towards both male and females, this is drastically improving with less older generation watching horrors, hence why horror movies are beginning to have a more modern touch such as Unfriended (2014) and The Ring (2002)
Researching on the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) on what the classification for a 15 age rating movie, I decided to use them aspects crucially when writing up my script.
Originally, horror movies were made to attract the male gender due to the fact that stereotypically men are more intrigued by violence, but this is beginning to change with females being more intrigued by the thrills of horror movies. So I decided to make a strong feminine presence in my movie instead of playing your typical damsel in distress, taking on a more muscular lead role.
Rituals
Demonic rituals are very dangerous but play a big part in the movie as I am recreating the opening scene. According to a blog post called ‘How To Summon A Demon’, most rituals happen at night and involve an offering of some kind that relates to that demon, if the offering is incorrect then it will most likely kill you.
After looking at black magic rituals on google images you can clearly see that a demonic ritual has candles in a circular shape with a pentagram in the middle, this has also been proven in ghost adventures episodes where they find the remains of burnt out candles and symbols drawn on floors in abandoned buildings.
My main inspiration is a scene in the wicker man movie where they sacrifice him to the sun god, as well as an episode of ghost adventures where they summoned a demon, the use of candles and being in done in the dark adds to the atmosphere.
As you can see, it is quite common for the people who are doing a demonic ritual to wear a mask and a hooded cloak, this has given me the idea to use black jumpers and a mask for my own demonic cult in the opening scene.
Camera Angles and Movements
The camera movements and camera angles help to define what is happening on the screen, creating different emotions for the audience if you use lots of scenes and cuts in the movie it can lead the audience to a path of emotion. According to a PDF called ‘Analysis of Camera Work in Horror Movies’, close-ups are most commonly used in horror to give the aspect of something unnatural.
Using different camera motions can capture different aspects, handheld can give you a more first-person perspective whereas a Steadicam can give you multiple, all these movements are considered a lot when filming a horror trying the best to make the audience feel different emotions, the movie ‘Blair Witch Project’ was all filmed in a handheld way creating anticipation and a new way of filming.
Storyboard
I decided to hand draw each scene of the movie in a custom made storyboard template, the layout allowed me to create a more detailed look on the surroundings and character positions, basing the drawings from the outfits in the trailer and the landscape from my location scouting images. Having a total of 11 storyboard pages it allowed me to roughly work out that the movie will be 14 minutes long.
I also decided to name each scene, allowing me to know what scene selection to have on the working DVD menu. With a total of 9 different scene selections which you can see on the top of the drawn scenes above.
Script
I made my script on Celtx which is a software provided by the college that allows you to create detailed and professional scripts, I asked my friends to check the script and they corrected me on some spelling mistakes but agreed it sounds good.
Locations
My locations play a symbolical role within this movie, I wanted to remove the characters from the comfort of an everyday location the audience can relate to and put them in an unfamiliar location. This idea that we are in an unfamiliar place makes the audience feel they have no control which is a primitive human fear.
My first location is Shaugh Prior Woods, there are a lot of ruins within this woods due to the fact it was used as a clay quarry, the ritual to summon the man in black at the start is where they use to store the clay and when climbing into the area there are 4 natural stones in a circle. The fact you can not see any sign of civilisation creates a feeling of isolation for the audience and victims on screen.
The main movie is going to be filmed in a modern estate, this is a contrast with the isolated surroundings of the woods creating a comfortable environment for the victims, this also allows the audience to connect to the characters due to the fact it is an environment we are all use too.
My last filming area will be the local woods near my estate, with its isolation and steep hills the woods has a character of its own, I personally feel that the natural shades of the trees will allow the lighting to create its own feeling, making the surroundings feel unnatural and isolated.
Finance
For this movie, money played a big part in making the product looking realistic. My budget for this movie is £40, but after adding all the props, mask and other various items together my total is £48.04, over budget by £8.04, I figured this out by keeping track of the prices on a piece of paper and categorising them as seen below.
The most expensive category was the props, taking a big chunk of £14.49 from the budget, this was mostly because they were ordered on Amazon and brought brand new as they did not have any in second-hand shops.
Makeup
The makeup in this production is not too over-done as I did not have the correct training to create latex effects, although only basic the makeup is still rather effective with the use of fake blood and a temporary tattoo made for the cult members using a pencil brush.
As you can see I did not spend too much on makeup as it only plays a small part of the production, I have also asked the main crew to look natural so it is up to them if they would like to wear makeup or not, I want the movie to feel realistic so this means that I want them to wear what they would with friends.
I created the cult symbol using video games as a research point, for example, in the game Dishonored there is a Cultist group called the Cult of the Outsider, as I wanted the cultist in my movie to have an all-seeing eye to represent the fact the man in black is a demonic creature I decided to add that as my main central feature.
The Cult Symbol will be drawn onto the characters left inner arm, this is due to the fact that the camera will mostly be facing them from the right side of their face, it will be drawn onto the arm using eyeliner make-up as it is easier to take off.
Props / Costumes
Props and Costumes play a big role in the entirety of the movie, allowing the scenes to look more realistic through colour contrast and graphic imagery. I had to get two of most things in case one gets lost or ruined before filming happens.
Props
The movie has a high variety of props which play a big part in the movie, although they are only a small part of the movie, it adds character-ism to the environment as well as creating practical effects instead of computer generated ones. The props I brought are as seen below:
Some of these products were brought from shops and online. These shops were Plymouth Fancy Dress Shop, Amazon and Tiger, this allowed me to find the perfect props for the cheapest prices they were being sold at. I did look in various charity shops and second-hand stores but they did not have what I was looking for.
I also had to borrow Ellie’s ‘JVC Pro QAN0067003 Mic’ for one scene involving a news report, originally I planned to buy an inflatable one but after consideration with the crews’ opinions, we decided it would look to comedic in a movie that is meant to be serious.
My friend Kiah also helped to make two of the props on exchange for Jaffa Cakes, I asked Kiah how she made the props above, this is what she said,” For the props I tea stained the paper overnight to create a weathered look. I then used crimson ink and a fountain pen to spell and note in a calligraphy style. On the spell, I researched old spell book styles and took inspiration to create the look of a very old page that looks as if it’s been torn right from an ancient book”.
Costumes
I did not want the costumes to be too extreme, with the main characters wearing normal day clothes it allows me to create a realistic environment and show that the characters can be anyone who is watching. The friends’ outfits will be colours that contrast with black, to represent the battle of light and darkness, they will also be wearing coats and black shoes.
The Man in Blacks costume is very basic but still creepy, due to its dark colours it allows him to blend in with the environment, his outfit is a black jacket, black skinny jeans and black boots with the black metallic robot mask which can be seen on the right.
The cult members outfits are very similar to the Man in Blacks outfit, wearing black jumpers, dark jeans and black or grey shoes, there mask can be seen on the left. The reason I chose this mask because it naturally looks creepy and allows enough room to add fake blood without ruining the mask.
Sound Effects / Music
The sound effects for this movie are made of both downloaded and Foley sound made in the sound studio at the Tavistock Place campus. After looking into the different methods of creating sound in a previous project I listed the different objects used as well as used my notes from when I watched Berberian Sound Studio for my first year final major project on a blog called ‘The Review Of Horrors’, this movie shows you the amount of hard work used to create a horrific sound for horror and the effect it has on the Foley artist.
Music
I asked my friend George Vowles to create the music, in order to do that we will need to communicate every day after filming as well as make a rough edit in order for him to see how the scenes look, I made a team drive to upload the rough edits onto instead of having to email the videos, making it quicker to share and create the music.
In case George does not have the time to create the music, I will be using royalty free music from YouTube, this will mainly be based on ambiance, white noise, and suspense. The reason I chose these specific categories is that I researched suspense and what makes the correct feeling, this was covered in a separate blog called ‘Suspense: How Is It Made?’
Sound Effects
Sound effects are one of the main aspects of creating fear, from the little sound of leaves crunching under boots to the noise of blood squirting everywhere. I researched the aspects of Foley sound to create this in a book called ‘The Sound Effects Bible made by Viers, R. This book gives a detailed explanation on how to make certain sounds.
The sound effects of a horror movie normally depend on fruit and vegetables, for example, the sound of celery breaking can be used as bones breaking or squeezing tomatoes can be used as blood. To do this I have booked out the sound studio at the main Tavistock Place campus, I want the best quality sound to be recorded and asked Neil to book this out for me.
In the end, I had to download the Foley of a royalty-free website called free sound, this website has a wide variety of sound effects covering all ranges, from horror to romance to the faint sound of someone walking. The reason I had to do this is basically, I ran out of time and did not have anywhere that was soundproof to do record the Foley.
Testing
For this project I wanted to see how things look on screen before using them when doing the main film, this is mostly the smoke pallets as they are quite small and smoke is not very visible on screen, so I decided to use one of my red smoke pallets and book out a camera and just film it. Trying to find the correct secluded location was the main issue as I did not want to alarm members of the public.
I also asked George Vowles to help practice colour grading at different points of the day, mostly sunset and night as the movie is set during that part of the day, it was rather easy especially since I also used a tutorial from Cinecom to help show the easy process of turning day time footage into a night scene.
The video above is a comparison from colour graded footage before and after showing how it looked originally, the scenes are set at different parts of the evening, the saturation and brightness plays a big part in colour grading the footage giving a realistic feeling to the surroundings and how the light source effects shadows on peoples faces
DVD Menu / Case
My DVD cover is mostly based on the Annabelle and Cabin In The Woods design, with the main villain portrayed on the front and the main cast on the back. I made a rough design on a notepad of how I would like the end product to look like, and I also made two google document what will be included on the DVD Case and DVD Menu.
The total budget for this category was £12.95 which was spent buying the blank disc and plain DVD cases, I had to spend more on the DVD cases as could only order 25 instead of 10, this is a big issue as I now have too many and do not know what to do with the spares.
The DVD case cover will be done as a photo shoot in the lighting studio then edited on Adobe Photoshop, this is due to the fact I want the lighting to be a specific way when making the final production and the DVD menu will be made on a free software called ‘DVD Styler’ and I will burn the movie onto the disc.
Equipment
When making a movie, choosing the correct equipment is very important, I had to book out up to 10 pieces of equipment to cover filming, lighting, and audio. These are:
All this equipment is free to book from the college, the only issue we have is trying to find a way to waterproof the equipment when filming in case it begins to rain, this will probably be done by using plastic carrier bags and umbrellas.
Filming
Filming was done over the course of 4 days due to weather and when the actors are free. It was definitely a learning experience being the director and trying to make sure that everyone does what I say due to the fact I feel bad when bossing them around.
Day One – The Estate
On Thursday 4th April, we filmed all the scenes on the estate, these scenes were ‘Playtime’, ‘News Round’, ‘Vision’ and ‘The Note’. Due to the fact that we had limited actors as one was too unwell to attend, we had to use the same actor who plays the man in black, this can be done as the man in black is meant to be a demonic entity with a mask so he could be anyone.
We only had till 15:00 to do all the filming as the equipment had to be returned as someone else booked similar things, but this made the footage look more realistic whilst still holding that high definition feeling. We had to do a lot of takes when filming these scenes as it began to rain and vehicles kept going past, abstracting the audio, this was resolved by moving further down the estate from the originally chosen location
We had to add a new day to come back and film due to the weather affecting the mud in the woods, I also feel that we should re-film the playtime scene as it was not how I imagined it to be when compared to the storyboard. But overall day 1 of filming went well and the audio turned out perfect.
Day Two – Lighting Studio
On Thursday 25th April, we filmed the scenes in the lighting studio as well as a photo shoot for the DVD case and menu, the scenes we filmed were the end credit scene as well as Megs’ interrogation. The filming and photo shoot was completed before 2 pm giving enough time to upload footage.
Everyone was here apart from Allan Higson Sweeney who has quit being an actor to work on his own production, but I will superimpose him into the image when editing on Adobe Photoshop. After researching what the more common police interrogation cell looks like, George Vowles printed of some posters that are found in them, we built the interrogation room from a fold-able wall in front of the entrance with one LED pointing towards Meg and a table with two chairs.
We managed to complete all the filming and get all the photos for the DVD Case only taking two four takes at different angles, George Bleek did the photography as well as George Vowles for the photo shoot, this experience was not as stressful as day one mainly due to the fact we were indoors and did not have to rush things as did not have to be back for a certain time
Day Three – Shaugh Prior Woods
On Friday 3rd May, we filmed every scene needed in Shaugh Prior, this was a news report, demonic ritual and the end battle between Meg and The Man in Black. The filming only took an hour and 30 minutes, finishing before the lunch break, my mum drove all five of us to the location as there were no buses that went to the location.
I took on the role of the man in black due to the fact one of the actors chose not to be part of the movie and edit their own final major project which is totally understandable. During filming a pedestrian walked past and watched us doing are projects out of shot, this is totally fine as the woods are a local area owned by the national trust and soon after he left to carry on doing what he was doing.
The problems we had were less than day one, we only had half a battery on the camera and I forgot to pack double A batteries so we could not use a zoom, instead we decided to use an audio recorder app on Megs phone, this actually worked with the audio sounding just as good, if not better than what we would get with the zoom. The footage was exactly how I put it in the storyboard too with no people pressing forward their ideas which were less stressful than the previous two days.
Day Four – Bircham Valley Woods
On Wednesday 15th May, we filmed the death scenes in Bircham Valley Woods, as well as re-shot the scene where Meg has a vision of there friends dead. The filming took two hours to do, with 20 minutes for the bus journey there, this was mainly due to the fact people were messing around as well as the amount of discussing what to do in the next shot.
We had to figure out a way of killing Allan of the screen, this meant changing the script and storyboard completely for this scene, in the end, we decided to add the lines: “Has Anyone seen Allan?”, “He’s not replying to his text.”, “Me Neither”. This worked quite well as well as not taking up too much screentime to explain exactly what happened.
Today’s experience was rather chilled out, similar to day 3, this is mainly due to the fact I knew exactly what I wanted to happen and made sure got that across, I yet again played the role of the man in black which was rather difficult to do as well as direct and run around making sure everything looked perfect on camera. I asked my friend Ellie to film due to the fact my main cinematographer was busy, but she did an amazing job, making sure the lighting matched what was happening on screen.
Behind The Scenes
For behind the scenes of filming I asked Cody to take both photos and videos, she needed help on how to do the behind the scenes so I made her a booklet that has the basics of creating a professional outcome, this was researched and I came to a blog telling you 6 Tips for Effectively Shooting Behind the Scenes.
The reason I made it into a small booklet was that I wanted the tips to be easy to carry around in a pocket so she can look at it when needed without using up her hands for holding the camera. I also will be using the footage to create a behind the scenes video for the DVD.
The Blogs Of A McCarthy 