The Chiller
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Name Brain Storm
My Individual ideas
- Ruckess
- Uproar
- Turmoil
- Turbulence
- Rebellion
- Rupture
- Contamination
- Rampant
- Manifest
- Intrude
- Juvenile
Plot Summary/ Synopsis
In a modern society we as humans are faced with many pressures. Religion, fashion and the constant pressure of adapting to the world progressing around us. With a growing population, we are at higher risk of spreading contagious diseases and infections. The latest outbreak to hit London is yet to be pin pointed, side effects causing youths to become violent and lose all sense of sanity. As the bridge between generations is growing, those older than 26/28 fail to see the true effects of this outbreak and are completely unaware of their behaviour. BEWARE! They have been known to carry weapons and you will not see the difference in character.
In the local Croydon area, there have been many upsets in the past. However, it is currently in a state of what they know to be equilibrium. The rise in crimes is becoming even more noticeable. Danni lives in Norbury, South London. Her mum is a single parent, and Danni lives with her alone in a small council flat on the edge of an estate. Recent events within have caused major up raw within communities and several people have been killed. The source of what has caused these events in unclear, but what Danni does know is that this extreme violence is heading towards where she lives.
After seeing such events on the news, the government has looked further into the case and have found that a violent virus has out broken and can only affect the bodies of those that are not fully matured. The infection has found to be contracted through the use of technology and appears to be a whole new type of technology bug which can penetrate the human body through broadcasts.
As this wave of violence gets closer, we start to see the effects in Danni herself. Danni owns a blackberry and is completely obsessed with it like most teenagers her age
.
What she does not know is that a broadcast through the BBM system is causing this violence to escalate through a cross bred technological/human virus; in turn effecting both technology and the human behaviour.
We see a shot of Danni in her room looking out of the window. Her phone starts to vibrate violently as she has receives the broadcast. The sender appears unknown and Danni is unaware of the effect given by opening the broadcast.
As she fights against the virus which is trying to take over her, she encounters many youths effected who want her to become sucked in.
She is constantly on the run from people affected by the virus and people living around her are becoming infected. Without thinking about it she allows herself to be violent against those infected making herself just as bad as they are.
She encounters an affected teenage girl. As she tries to attack her, she hits one of them down to the ground and runs away. The shot focuses on the attackers face on the floor with Danni running away in the background (the back of the shot is unfocused so is blurred).
Danni and her mum have an argument leading to Danni pushing her up against the wall in a violent outburst. Once she realises how she is behaving she backs away, she then runs and locks herself in the bathroom. Here she runs water and splashes it on her face to calm herself down. As she looks up from the water basin she catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She is visibly paler and has rather dark circles around her eyes. The coloured part of her eyes has become darker. The shot ends and she looks deeper into her newly darkened eyes and the camera focuses in on the darkness.
Relation to theories
Throughout our horror, especially in the bedroom and bathroom scenes with Danni, we feature a large number of voyeuristic scenes and through this scenes we aim to include some instances of male gaze. However when doing this we aim to subvert the obvious 'beautiful' and sexual connotations of the male gaze and instead portraying Danni to be awkward, and not yet developed making the audience feel bad and uncomfortable for watching.
In many ways we have aimed to follow Todorovs basic narrative theory
-State of equilibrium
-Disrupted by an agent
-Leads to a process of final resolution
-Return to a new equilibrium
We have followed Todorovs conventions of a narrative however we have included that the initial stage is a false sense of equilibrium, where the 'elders' believe that everything is fine, sitting in a false sense of security but the youths know that something is brewing.
In the local Croydon area, there have been many upsets in the past. However, it is currently in a state of what they know to be equilibrium. The rise in crimes is becoming even more noticeable. Danni lives in Norbury, South London. Her mum is a single parent, and Danni lives with her alone in a small council flat on the edge of an estate. Recent events within have caused major up raw within communities and several people have been killed. The source of what has caused these events in unclear, but what Danni does know is that this extreme violence is heading towards where she lives.
After seeing such events on the news, the government has looked further into the case and have found that a violent virus has out broken and can only affect the bodies of those that are not fully matured. The infection has found to be contracted through the use of technology and appears to be a whole new type of technology bug which can penetrate the human body through broadcasts.
As this wave of violence gets closer, we start to see the effects in Danni herself. Danni owns a blackberry and is completely obsessed with it like most teenagers her age
.
What she does not know is that a broadcast through the BBM system is causing this violence to escalate through a cross bred technological/human virus; in turn effecting both technology and the human behaviour.
We see a shot of Danni in her room looking out of the window. Her phone starts to vibrate violently as she has receives the broadcast. The sender appears unknown and Danni is unaware of the effect given by opening the broadcast.
As she fights against the virus which is trying to take over her, she encounters many youths effected who want her to become sucked in.
She is constantly on the run from people affected by the virus and people living around her are becoming infected. Without thinking about it she allows herself to be violent against those infected making herself just as bad as they are.
She encounters an affected teenage girl. As she tries to attack her, she hits one of them down to the ground and runs away. The shot focuses on the attackers face on the floor with Danni running away in the background (the back of the shot is unfocused so is blurred).
Danni and her mum have an argument leading to Danni pushing her up against the wall in a violent outburst. Once she realises how she is behaving she backs away, she then runs and locks herself in the bathroom. Here she runs water and splashes it on her face to calm herself down. As she looks up from the water basin she catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She is visibly paler and has rather dark circles around her eyes. The coloured part of her eyes has become darker. The shot ends and she looks deeper into her newly darkened eyes and the camera focuses in on the darkness.
Relation to theories
Throughout our horror, especially in the bedroom and bathroom scenes with Danni, we feature a large number of voyeuristic scenes and through this scenes we aim to include some instances of male gaze. However when doing this we aim to subvert the obvious 'beautiful' and sexual connotations of the male gaze and instead portraying Danni to be awkward, and not yet developed making the audience feel bad and uncomfortable for watching.
In many ways we have aimed to follow Todorovs basic narrative theory
-State of equilibrium
-Disrupted by an agent
-Leads to a process of final resolution
-Return to a new equilibrium
We have followed Todorovs conventions of a narrative however we have included that the initial stage is a false sense of equilibrium, where the 'elders' believe that everything is fine, sitting in a false sense of security but the youths know that something is brewing.
Horror Clips and Responses
I showed six people of mixture of ages and gender these for clips, i asked them to comment on what they thought of the film as a horror, below are some of the most distinctive responses.
Extreme Gore
I know Longer find clips like this top be scary, instead it just appears to be ammature, the gore is too much. I enjoy a horror that builds suspense and has a well constructed narrative whereas i feel that Texas Chainsaw massacre focuses to heavily on the act of pain. i wouldn't let a minor watch it a it would be frightening to them but for me its a unengaged watch.
Documentry
I love the style of Grave Encounters as you really feel like your right there with them, your exploring with them. However i feel like i only like it because its rare, therefore if to many films where done in this way it would no longer interest me. Same style as Blare Witch Project. The realistic side of the this film is what appeals to me, they really play on fear that everyone already has although they tend not to admit it, the noise and shadows within your own home are reflected within this film.
Vampires
Vampires for me have become a fear of the past, whereas i believe now they have become something that intrigues us, they have taken on the human form and have become so casual that i believe many genuinely believe that they might exist. Films such as Twilight support this, but instead of being scared we are infact almost envious that we cannot see and for some even indulge in this life as in films they are portrayed as a celebrity, even higher being.
Realistic
Insidious is the scariest film that i've scene in a while. I love the fact that it has a well developed narrative as this is what i feel is lacking in many other horrors. It plays on real life emotions i could feel true empathy with the mother, and it allows you to believe that this could really happen.
Extreme Gore
I know Longer find clips like this top be scary, instead it just appears to be ammature, the gore is too much. I enjoy a horror that builds suspense and has a well constructed narrative whereas i feel that Texas Chainsaw massacre focuses to heavily on the act of pain. i wouldn't let a minor watch it a it would be frightening to them but for me its a unengaged watch.
Documentry
I love the style of Grave Encounters as you really feel like your right there with them, your exploring with them. However i feel like i only like it because its rare, therefore if to many films where done in this way it would no longer interest me. Same style as Blare Witch Project. The realistic side of the this film is what appeals to me, they really play on fear that everyone already has although they tend not to admit it, the noise and shadows within your own home are reflected within this film.
Vampires
Vampires for me have become a fear of the past, whereas i believe now they have become something that intrigues us, they have taken on the human form and have become so casual that i believe many genuinely believe that they might exist. Films such as Twilight support this, but instead of being scared we are infact almost envious that we cannot see and for some even indulge in this life as in films they are portrayed as a celebrity, even higher being.
Realistic
Insidious is the scariest film that i've scene in a while. I love the fact that it has a well developed narrative as this is what i feel is lacking in many other horrors. It plays on real life emotions i could feel true empathy with the mother, and it allows you to believe that this could really happen.
Questions and Responses
I used Survey Monkey to gain a lot of primary research about what my possible target audience like in a trailer and what horror themes they most enjoy
Q1. What gender are you
Male 58%
Female 42%
This shows a good mix so i can get an even response, the fact that there is a few more males may be good as the horror genre is dominated by a male audience.
Q2. How old are you?
<15 0%
16-21 42%
22-30 38%
31-45 11%
45+ 9%
My target audience is most likely to be around 16-30 so these responses will be very useful as the majority of respondents fall into this age bracket.
Q3. What is you favourite horror setting?
House 48%
Abandoned building 13%
grave yard 9%
domestic setting 21%
out doors 9%
This shows that are audience prefers an indoor recongnisable setting.
Q4. What is your greatest fear?
Spiders 3%
Closed spaces 18%
Zombies 9%
Robots 21%
darkness 9%
death 21%
heights 9%
Most of my respondents said that there day to day fears had stayed consistent since childhood, however anything can appear scare once it presented in a scary way.
Q5. What object most signifies the horror genre?
Blood 42%
knife 21%
mask 21%
darkness 7%
abandonment 9%
Blood was proven o be a clear indication of fear and it highlights the idea of pain. However from discussions with my peers i have noticed that using solely blood or too much blood and gore can have the opposite affect and can come across quite comical.
Q6. What do u like to see in horror trailers
Gore 9%
suspense 21%
darkness 21%
voice overs 9%
fast pace shots 21%
a clear story 0%
a broken story 19%
This shows that the trailer has to be a combination of many things as the responses were extremely varied. However from both class discussions and this survey it clear that the audience does not want the whole plot to be given away in the trailer.
Q7.How often do you watch horror?
Always 21%
Occasional 47%
Rare 32%
Never 0%
Q8.What Media product most influences your choice to watch a film?
Trailer 64%
Poster 27%
Magazine 9%
This shows the trailer has to be the main focus as it is the main promotional tool, however the post is also very important as many take it into consideration. From discussion it was clear that that the younger population did not really but into movie magazines however it is still a good way to capture an older audience so it must be just as good.
Q1. What gender are you
Male 58%
Female 42%
This shows a good mix so i can get an even response, the fact that there is a few more males may be good as the horror genre is dominated by a male audience.
Q2. How old are you?
<15 0%
16-21 42%
22-30 38%
31-45 11%
45+ 9%
My target audience is most likely to be around 16-30 so these responses will be very useful as the majority of respondents fall into this age bracket.
Q3. What is you favourite horror setting?
House 48%
Abandoned building 13%
grave yard 9%
domestic setting 21%
out doors 9%
This shows that are audience prefers an indoor recongnisable setting.
Q4. What is your greatest fear?
Spiders 3%
Closed spaces 18%
Zombies 9%
Robots 21%
darkness 9%
death 21%
heights 9%
Most of my respondents said that there day to day fears had stayed consistent since childhood, however anything can appear scare once it presented in a scary way.
Q5. What object most signifies the horror genre?
Blood 42%
knife 21%
mask 21%
darkness 7%
abandonment 9%
Blood was proven o be a clear indication of fear and it highlights the idea of pain. However from discussions with my peers i have noticed that using solely blood or too much blood and gore can have the opposite affect and can come across quite comical.
Q6. What do u like to see in horror trailers
Gore 9%
suspense 21%
darkness 21%
voice overs 9%
fast pace shots 21%
a clear story 0%
a broken story 19%
This shows that the trailer has to be a combination of many things as the responses were extremely varied. However from both class discussions and this survey it clear that the audience does not want the whole plot to be given away in the trailer.
Q7.How often do you watch horror?
Always 21%
Occasional 47%
Rare 32%
Never 0%
Q8.What Media product most influences your choice to watch a film?
Trailer 64%
Poster 27%
Magazine 9%
This shows the trailer has to be the main focus as it is the main promotional tool, however the post is also very important as many take it into consideration. From discussion it was clear that that the younger population did not really but into movie magazines however it is still a good way to capture an older audience so it must be just as good.
Approaches to Research
Purpose Of My Research
Definition Research
In the broadest sense of the word the definition of research includes any gathering of data, information and facts for the advancement of knowledge.
There are two different result forms that you get, these are quantitative and qualitative.
In my research i will require a combination of these to gather some basic audience background information on my respondent and to understand fully what they expect and what they would like in a horror.
- What is my target audience
- What interests them (gore, atmosphere , ect)
- What do they recognise as horror (visual, sound, narrative)
- Is there correlation between Paul Wells theory of life experience
- Do they prefer a hybrid (teenage, romance, thriller, ect)
Definition Research
In the broadest sense of the word the definition of research includes any gathering of data, information and facts for the advancement of knowledge.
There are two different result forms that you get, these are quantitative and qualitative.
- Quantitative - figures which can be analysed and conclusions can be drawn, these are found in closed question questionnaires.
- Qualitative - in depth answers, these are found in open questions allowing the respondents to lead.
In my research i will require a combination of these to gather some basic audience background information on my respondent and to understand fully what they expect and what they would like in a horror.
Audience Theories
Desensitisation Theory
Theory suggests that because people are exposed to so much violence in the media, violence no longer makes a strong emotional impact upon them.Most people would agree that by watching lots of violent movies, a viewer no longer gets upset while watching violent movies. However, the debate surrounding this concept is whether people will also be desensitised to real life violence.
Cultivation Theory
Those who watch more than 4 hours of TV a day are labelled heavy television viewers and those who view less than 4 hours a day, according to George Gerbner (1976) are light viewers. Heavy viewers are exposed to more violence and are therefore affected by the Means World Syndrome, an idea that the world is worse than what it is. The overuse of TV is creating a homogeneous and fearful populace.
Copy Cat Theory
The copy cat theory relates to something that is publicized in the media that creates a lot of attention, resulting in other people to imitate or copy this to get the same amount of attention. A known example of this is the copy cat murders and suicides. Audience react differently to various situations as they have different interpretations.
Theory suggests that because people are exposed to so much violence in the media, violence no longer makes a strong emotional impact upon them.Most people would agree that by watching lots of violent movies, a viewer no longer gets upset while watching violent movies. However, the debate surrounding this concept is whether people will also be desensitised to real life violence.
Cultivation Theory
Those who watch more than 4 hours of TV a day are labelled heavy television viewers and those who view less than 4 hours a day, according to George Gerbner (1976) are light viewers. Heavy viewers are exposed to more violence and are therefore affected by the Means World Syndrome, an idea that the world is worse than what it is. The overuse of TV is creating a homogeneous and fearful populace.
Copy Cat Theory
The copy cat theory relates to something that is publicized in the media that creates a lot of attention, resulting in other people to imitate or copy this to get the same amount of attention. A known example of this is the copy cat murders and suicides. Audience react differently to various situations as they have different interpretations.
Theories In Depth - Paul Wells
Paul Wells conducted a study using different age groups to see what audiences wanted out of horror. A small focus group was put together looking at the relationship between audience and the horror genre.
My understanding is that the relationship changes with age and relates to factors such a life experiences.
My understanding is that the relationship changes with age and relates to factors such a life experiences.
Male Gaze
' Film has been called an instrument of the male gaze, producing representation of women, the good life, and sexual fantasy from a male point of view.' - Jonathan Schroeder (1998)
Laura Mulvey wrote a very influential essay 'visual pleasure and narrative cinema' (1975), which suggested that the way women are viewed in the cinema is unequal. The camera sexualises women for the please of men.
1- the look of the camera as it records the filmic event
2- the look of the audience as it watches the final product
3. the look of the characters at each other in the visual images of
the screen illusion
My interpretation of male gaze
Laura Mulvey wrote a very influential essay 'visual pleasure and narrative cinema' (1975), which suggested that the way women are viewed in the cinema is unequal. The camera sexualises women for the please of men.
1- the look of the camera as it records the filmic event
2- the look of the audience as it watches the final product
3. the look of the characters at each other in the visual images of
the screen illusion
My interpretation of male gaze
This is true in older films, portraying females in an ideal form in the eyes of the majority of males. However with the new empowerment of women this is no longer always the case. Hardly any of the new iconic films have these moments.
Which is why in my trailer i may attempt to subvert this, show element of male gaze but then have it contradict it self when the female does not look so attractive. This is represented in twilight where the protagonist Bella is not your usual 'beauty' and so any voyeuristic male gaze shots come across quite awkward.
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