SOUND

Sound is highly important throughout the production of my trailer.
Whilst looking on different internet sites I came across this, which came under the heading 'DON'T SHOOT! 10 tips to beat bad home video'

Don't use the built-in microphone.

Most consumer camcorders have tiny, low-power microphones. If you're shooting a school play, an interview, or anything in which audio is crucial, you'll achieve far better results with an external mike. First, make sure your camcorder has an audio input--not all models do. For interviews and other close-up work, choose a lavaliere--also known as a lapel mike, the kind you'll often see newscasters wearing. If you're trying to record audio from afar, a shotgun microphone will do the trick.

 From reading this and from shooting parts of my trailer already, I have noticed that the sound quality whilst trying to film can be pretty poor. This is be because when filming the camera can be quite far away and the built in microphone on the camcorder has trouble picking it up, unless your shouting however this isn't very realistic. To overcome this I have decided to see how I can enhance the sound whilst editing and if this doeesn't prove successful, I shall use an external microphone to re shoot the scene or dubb the voice over the top.

 Sound FX

• Hard sound effects are common sounds that appear on screen, such as door slams, weapons firing, and cars driving by.
• Background (or BG) sound effects are sounds that do not explicitly synchronize with the picture, but indicate setting to the audience, such as forest sounds, the buzzing of fluorescent lights, and car interiors. The sound of people talking in the background is also considered a "BG," but only if the speaker is unintelligible and the language is unrecognizable. These background noises are also called ambience.
• Design sound effects are sounds that do not normally occur in nature, or are impossible to record in nature. These sounds are used to suggest futuristic technology in a science fiction film, or are used in a musical fashion to create an emotional mood

For the use of sound FX, I found websites which could be used which provide copyright free effects. One website I have found provides these to my knowledge free of charge, the only problem is if they fit our trailer and if they would sound effective enough. If they don't then we could provide our own effects in through using the equipment in our music department.

http://www.freesfx.co.uk/soundeffects/horror_sci-fi/
This provides sound FX free of charge, hopefully I will be able to find one thats effective enough and fits our trailer. By using these it would mean downloading an array of effects and fitting them together to provide one effect or eerie music, this could be achieved when editing.

 Music

Establish a Mood 

At the beginning of a movie or scene, music is often used (along with establishing shots) to help set a tone, before any dramatic action takes place. In the beginning of a horror film, shots of a desolate, empty street may have ominous, foreboding music accompanying them, to establish that the action about to transpire is very scary.

Heighten Drama

Music score is a basic and effective way to heighten the drama of a given scene in a film. Regardless of the genre, a film score can add to nearly any scene. In an action set-piece, the music will match the action in terms of power and intensity. In a comedy scene, the score can be expected to be as light or silly as the action taking place within the scene.

PREPARATION AND FILMING SESSION 1

During half term, I have prepared for the production of my trailer.
My group and myself all took an outing into town in order to purchase the things we needed to start filming later that day. We made a list of things we needed before we went, these included:

-  Candle, which we found for 40p each at the rag market in Birmingham.
We bought these as they were the cheapest we found and were non-drip so could be held easily.
-  Nightdress, which we also purchased from the rag market. This cost us £6 and was again the cheapest we managed to find.
-  White Cream Foundation and Fake Blood Capsules, these were bought from the Oasis market in Birmingham. These cost £1.50 and 75p.
-  White Contact Lenses, were bought from a shop called Easy Fashion in the Pavillions. These only cost £6.99. We found these were the cheapest as we found places like Oasis market and Blue Banana cost £20, which were too expensive for us to be using for only one day. Due to this we were going to have to ensure that all filming with the ghost girl would be done in one day. This would also ensure that all hair and make up would be the same throughout.

We found that was all we needed to buy as everything else used would be our own.
This kept spending to a minimum which would be important during the production of a professional film as this would provide maximum profit.

We then set off to film:

Setting: House – Bedroom

              Exterior - Garden

Scene: We had a fair idea of what to film because of our storyboard however we still adapted the storyline:

The first scene we filmed was the opening of the loft which we filmed a number of times to ensure we captured the best footage. This was a scene that is featured on our storyboard, some scenes that were filmed do not feature on our storyboard however we decided to try out new ideas and improvise whilst in production.
For example:

Props/Special Effects used that day: Contact lenses, Nightdress, make up, lighting, candles, china dolls

Roles:

My role within the filming was to either play the main actress of the china girl or to film certain scenes. I also inputted in designing the nightdress I would be wearing and helped with shot positioning and lighting.

Alex’s role was to play another main character which she played very well. She was able to take on the role of a scared victim successfully which enabled us to shoot good scenes, Alex also helped with camera positioning and lighting when I was being filmed alone.

Tewsdae worked mainly with the camera as she wasn’t a character within the story, especially when Alex and I were both within a shot.

Alex and Tewsdae also did my make up.

Make Up:

Sarah: By looking at the codes and conventions of horrors, we found that the ‘creature’ usually has a pale complexion and dark eyes. We therefore decided to achieve this look by using white foundation, black eyeliner and mascara which was watered down to give the effect like I am crying. I also had very messy hair to fit in with the destruction I would be bringing.

Alex: Her make up needed to be a ‘normal’ as possible in order to look like the average everyday girl. It would also give a definite distinction between Alex and I, and therefore would look vulnerable.

Nightgown: I was wearing the nightgown, which was made to look very distressed and worn. We achieved this by ripping, burning, slashing, and rubbing in lots of mud. As a result of this the dress was very smelly!

Candle: This was used frequently throughout our filming. The candle was significant throughout our filming as I (ghost girl) held it whenever I appeared to haunt Alex, therefore the candle was associated with the ghost girl so if the audience or main character (Alex) saw it, it would bring a sense of fear. The main appearance for the use of the candle was at the end when I blew the candle out, this acted as a cliff hanger to entice the audience.

In order to create soft and harsh lighting without the use of professional equipment we have used lighting such as:
 
Candles which can be held in the characters hand and can highlight the face. This proved very effective when filming a scene in the garden, which highlighted the face of the ghost girl. However a problem of this was that we had to wait till the wind had stopped blowing so that the flame could pick back up again.

For areas that needed a lot of light because they were very dark depending on whether we were outside or inside we used objects such as flashlights. Depending on whether we needed alot of light or a small amount of light, decided the type of flashlight we needed. For example, we used a very large flashlight for the scene outside when the ghost girl was on the top of the shed. We used lighting under her face to highlight her features and then lighting at the side when we had both the ghost girl and main character in the shot so that everything could be seen.
 
Lighting is very important when film making, however without professional equipment it can be very hard to get right.

Photographs: We used photographs of ourselves when we wre younger which we had taken close up photos of with the camera to include as quick cuts after the loft scene in our trailer

LIGHTING

Today, I have looked at lighting. As our group don't have the proper professional equipment to making lighting as effective as it should be we have to use certain substitutes and make the best use of what we have. Lighting is important throughout our trailer as alot of it is in the dark, so we need subtle highlights to excentuate particular parts we want the audience to focus on.

 

Soft and harsh lighting. Soft and harsh lighting can manipulate a viewer's attitude towards a setting or a character. The way light is used can make objects, people and environments look beautiful or ugly, soft or harsh, artificial or real. Light may be used expressively or realistically.

CAMERA

During the production of my media magazine at AS level, I used different camera angles and shot sizes to make my magazine look professional and of a high quality. As I am now producing a film, I have now had to go back and re research different camera angles and shot sizes so that I am able to choose ones that will be most effective to my genre.
To help me with my research I looked on the website 'The Grammar of Television and Film', this showed my different shot size, camera angles and camera movement. These show the most important conventions for conveying meaning through particular camera and editing techniques.

CAMERA TECHNIQUES: DISTANCE

 Important ones I will be using through the production of my film will be:
XLS or Establishing Shot - This will be used because it shows all or most of a fairly large subject and usually much of its surroundings. I can use this shot for the opening scene of the house which will set the scene for my trailer and also when establishing the bedroom we will be filming in.
MCU - BCU - Medium Close up, Close up and Big Close up will be useful when displaying reactions of different characters, throughout my horror these are useful when displaying fear, shock and evil (within the ghost girls face). These shots can also show reaction shots between two characters.

CAMERA MOVEMENT : ANGLE

 Important ones I will be using through the production of my film will be:
Low and High angle shots: These will exaggerate the power or importance of a character. For example, the ghost girl will have a low angle shot because she has power over her victims, this angle is a very effective way of showing this. A high angle shot will show the vunerability of the other characters.
Birds eye: This angle will be used when filming ontop of the wardrobe, behind the chine dolls which will give the effect that someone is watching her.

CAMERA TECHNIQUES: MOVEMENT

One type of movement which I do not want to use is zoom. Within a horror trailer I really don't think it looks very professional or effective.
Panning: This is effective as it can display more of a scene of act as though something is following the movement of someone whilst staying still.
Tilt: This will be used when shooting the attic scene (when the two characters open the attic door) It will be tilting down, following the motion of the door opening.
Hand-held camera: A hand-held camera can produce a jerky, bouncy, unsteady image which may create a sense of immediacy or chaos. Its use is a form of subjective treatment. This will be effective when filming the scene of looking out from over the wardrobe. It also provides a point of view shot, which we act as though someone is watching that is unbeknown to the audience yet. Provides a sense of tension and intrigues the audience.

PRACTICE

Here I have tested out the camcorder I am going to be using:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWeoNIR-bXY

I think the quality of the video is better then I had expected, as is the sound quality. I believe I would be at ease when using this piece of equipment.

TECHNIQUES TO A SUCCESSFUL HORROR FILM

Paranormal Activity

What techniques make this a successful horror films?

In order to help me with the production of my trailer, I have watched paranormal activity. Through analysing sound and how this develops suspense throughout, and also how the characters are established I am able to gain a better understanding on producing an effective trailer.

Setting;

Throughout the whole film the set completely within one location, this is the directors own home. The main scenes take place in the bedroom, this then leads the audience to associate the happenings with that room. Therefore whenever the scenes cut to the bedroom, suspense is automatically created.

This is useful to know because my trailer will be similar, in the sense that it will be filmed entirely in my friend’s house. This makes it easier for the audience to follow the narrative.

Analysis of sound;

Whilst watching Paranormal Activity, I noticed that sound was used effectively to create suspense and tension. There is no non-diagetic sound throughout the film, as everything is filmed with a hand-held camera. The setting creates perfect oppurtunities to create sounds that will build so much tension for the audience, for example, the use of wooden stairs provides the director to use the sound of banging as if someone or something unseen is walking up them, this creates a great deal of tension and is really effective. This has given me a good insight into how to use sound correctly.


Characters;

Katie and Micah are the main characters and the only characters featured. This makes it easy for the audience to follow and enables a deeper understanding of their lives. Using only two characters also allows the audience to be able to sympathise with the characters more. We are able to learn about the history of the characters when another character is briefly introduced, the psychic who asks questions to both characters about their past.
What is also good about the characters is that they are not famous holly wood stars but normal people, therefore it becomes slightly more believable.

How is Paranormal Activity good as a trailer?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSSqxrh5kp8


I thought this trailer was really good, I liked how it showed the audiences reaction to the film which makes it seem even scarier because you can see someone else's reaction to it. 

I also think the use of comments from magazines or viewers is effective as it allows the potential audience to see what others thought of the film. The text used also fits with the title which makes it look professional.

I decided to look at this trailer and analyze this horror film in more detail than others because it is a recently successful horror film which was made on an extremely low budget compared too many other films of today. Despite its low budget, it still effectively engaged its audience and has become so successful there is now a second being produced and shall be out on 22nd October.
I shall be seeing the second when it comes out.

NAME IDEAS

Main Entry: ghost

Part of Speech: noun

Definition: spirit of the dead

Synonyms: apparition, appearance, banshee, daemon, demon, devil, eidolon, ethereal being, haunt,

incorporeal being, kelpie, manes, phantasm, phantom, poltergeist, revenant, shade, shadow, soul, spector, spook, vampire, vision, visitor, wraith, zombie

Ones that stood out the most to use were PHANTOM, SPECTOR and WRAITH

wraith

   [reyth]  

–noun

1.an apparition of a living person supposed to portend his or her death.

2.a visible spirit.

From this we decided we would call our film ‘THE WRAITH’

We also had to think of a name for out Production Company. After first thoughts we were going to use 'Scorpio' however as we didn't you Phantom we decided this would be a good name to use as it fits with the Wraith perfectly.

PHAN·TOM

[FAN-TUH M]

–noun

1.

an apparition or specter.

2.

an appearance or illusion without material substance, as a dream image, mirage, or optical illusion.

3.

a person or thing of merely illusory power, status, efficacy, etc.: the phantom of fear