Audience Research

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Since deciding that we would go ahead with Idea 1, we have completed some audience research and looked at what people are looking for in a horror film. We also thought about what we wanted to see in a horror film, and our critisicms of some horror films out there.

One of the biggest problems with horror films today is that if they do not feature good actors and a solid script they can come across as cheesy or humourous. The last thing that someone wants to see when they go to see a horror film, is a comical scene or one that doesnt grip one. We are fully aware that if we want our movie intro to engage the viewer, we must keep them on the edge of their seat through the entirety of the clip.

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Lighting

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Lighting used in movies:

High Key Lighting is used to try and eliminate dark shadows in the picture. It can be used in daylight and night scenes.

Low Key Lighting is used to add significant shadows to the image, introducing anonymity and adding a sinister effect to the scene.

---------------------------------- HOW WE WILL USE THIS ----------------------------------

High Key Lighting will feature in our opening scene of the father/brother figure of the victim sitting down looking out into the lake. He is not a dark character and could be classed as the 'hero' of our film, he is one of the main characters and features in the script throughout the film, so his identity is known. Therefore, during this emotional scene at the beginning, we will be using High Key Lighting to eliminate any shadows (if any) in the scene.

In the scene following this, featuring our villain and the victim (the father's daughter / brother's sister), there will be only Low Key Lighting to enhance the sinister effect of the scene. Low Key Lighting will also help keep the identity of our villain hidden, this mystery will remain hidden throughout the film, and gradually unveil as time goes on.

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Result of Audience Feedback

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After hearing everyones opinions on our two ideas, we have decided to go ahead with our first and most prefered idea, and create a Horror/Thriller film. We will now begin pre-production, and hopefully start filming within 12 weeks.

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Idea 2: Romance

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Our second idea is very contrasting to the first as the genre is Romantic. The movie begins with scenes from the two main characters past. Childhood sweethearts through the majority of their childhood spending days upon days together. Perfection, only to be ruined by a family move to the city of New York. As the children are only Teenagers they don’t have any legal power to prevent the move and only have to concede that their love was not meant to be.


The film then continues to the present day and follows the two characters lives approximately 10years on, the character that moved to New York comes back to England and they both narrowly miss each other numerous times (one exits a building as the other enters)


Eventually they meet by complete coincidence.

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Idea 1: Horror/Thriller

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Our first idea is focused around the genre Horror. It begins with a small girl sitting in a corner of a room alone singing to herself (nursery rhyme). She is emotional and has running mascara down her young face. Then the door creaks open and a male figure enters with a wrench in his left hand. The camera will hold on this shot for several seconds then there will be a loud bang on the background music track and the shot will cut to darkness. This is when the credits will fade in.

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Camera Movements and Shots

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Here is a list of camera movements and shots that we learnt about in our theory lesson today:


Camera Movement Definitions

• Crab

(Camera movement across, and parallel to, the scene)

• Dolly

(Any apparatus upon which a camera can be mounted, which can be moved around smoothly)

• Pan

(Horizontal camera movement)

• Pedestal

(A movable mount for studio cameras)

• Tilt

(Vertical camera movement, i.e. adjusting the framing up and down)

Camera Shot Definitions

• Extreme Long Shot (Establishing Shot)

(Shows a large amount of the background with the character in context or without)

• Long Shot

(Shows the character in slightly more detail, including less of the background)

• Medium Shot

(Usually shows the character from the waist up, includes body language and expression)

• Medium Closeup

(Usually shows the character from mid-chest up, focusing less on body language and more on expression)

• Closeup

(Shows the character or object in detail with very little background)

• Extreme Closeup

(Shows the character in precise detail, often including no background)


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