Script idea

Begins with a black screen and a female voice speaking from a short wave radio.

Female voice: “Hello? Are you there? What’s happening?”

Fade in to a close up of a man sat clutching his head in fear. The short wave radio crackles and before the female ends the conversation.

Female voice: “I’m coming”

The close up of the man straight cuts to black and music begins playing. Titles fade in and out in red writing on black screen.

Between titles, straight cuts of people screaming and running. Film title fades in from black screen and out to black screen slowly.

On black screen, the music stops and straight cuts to a close up of a zombie hand bang on a door covered in blood. As it bangs on the door, music makes a banging noise and the shot straight cuts to black.

Synopsis of our film

The film shows the perspective of 2 survivors of a virus outbreak that alters the physical and mental capabilities of its host into that of a savage zombie. A female scientist and male criminal, they are brother and sister and alone. Throughout the film, they will be separate and trying to fend for themselves, communicating with each other over short wave radio.

The criminal, who is in prison for killing an infected person (prior to the knowledge of the virus). However, it was actually his sister who killed the person, and she feels guilty for him taking the fall for her. So when she hears that after 2 days of zombie infection spreading her brother is still alive, she rushes to save him.

Her brother, who had been in prison for a week, managed to escape his cell during a prison riot. During this time, he finds the dead body of a security guard, and takes a pistol from him, and a short wave radio. The influx of prisoners who had started the riot were infected, and now he was stuck in the building with a load of zombies. To save himself, he locks himself in a cell with enough provisions for 3 days of survival. While locked in there however, a zombie gets itself stuck in there with him, and bites his arm before he shoots it in the head. 

Institutions

 

What production company?

For our production company, we have chosen Universal studios. It is one of the 6 main film production companies, and is also a very high grossing company.

Why are they suitable?

The reason that they are suitable is because they have a history of funding and producing films of all genres’, of which the horror genre is a large part. Because of this, they will provide essential financial backing and also experience.

What other films have they successfully produced?

Other horror films that they have produced successfully include Van Helsing, which grossed 300 million. Alongside this, there was the well know Psycho saga, with the first film being a huge success, grossing 32 million, which compared to its budget of £800000 was a lot.

Why is that significant for your film?

The reason that this is significant for our film is because they would be able to give us the experience they have gained from releasing high grossing horror films. Because of this, there is a better chance of our film being a bigger success.

What distribution company?

For our distribution company, we stayed with Universal studios. This is because Universal studios is a vertically integrated company, which means that it contains all of the different companies required for producing and distributing a film in its own company.

Why is this significant?

This is significant because it means that our film will be made quicker, as there is less time with having to negotiate deals with other companies. As well as this, they receive all of the money from the film, which means that they can afford to put more finances into it.

What other films have they distributed?

Other films distributed by Universal Studios include The Strangers, a recent film which grossed 82 million. As well as this, there is Drag me to Hell, which again, grossed 90 million, three times as much as it’s budget.

How does that tie in well with your film?

This ties in well with the film as there have been many horror films which have been both produced and distributed by Universal Studios, so they have experience in this area. As well as this they will be able to distribute it effectively to the target audience, and will be able to get the most amounts of people in to watch the film as possible.

Generic Codes PowerPoint

Audience Response to Questionnaire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Findings

Questionnaire

Circle appropriate answer

1)      What gender are you?

Male                                        Female

2)      How old are you?

12-15                 16-18               18-21              22-30              30-40                40+

3)      What is your favourite genre of film?

Rom-com              Sci-fi                Horror                   Thriller                  Comedy                Romance              Period Drama

4)      Do you like horror films?

Yes                                 No

5)      Which of these horror films have you seen?

Sleepy Hollow                 The Others                      28 Days Later                        The Shining                    Final Destination                  None

6)      Which of these horror films is your favourite?

Sleepy Hollow                 The Others                      28 Days Later                        The Shining                    Final Destination            None

7)      How important are each of these elements for making a film scary?

Rate each on a scale of 1-5, 1 being not important, 5 being very important

Circle one number per element

Music                1 ------ 2 ------ 3 ------ 4 ------ 5

Lighting             1 ------ 2 ------ 3 ------ 4 ------ 5

Suspense           1 ------ 2 ------ 3 ------ 4 ------ 5

Characters         1 ------ 2 ------ 3 ------ 4 ------ 5

Plot                      1 ------ 2 ------ 3 ------ 4 ------ 5

8)      How often do you watch horror films?

More than once a week                         Once a month                            Rarely

9)      Have you seen a silent horror film?

Yes                          No

10)  Why do you watch horror films?

To be scared                        For entertainment                    Find them funny

11)  What do you do in your spare time?

Watch films                         Listen to music                      Sports                        Arts

13) Do you read horror stories?

Yes                            No

14) If yes, do you enjoy them?

Yes                            No

15) Which do you find more effective?

Black and white horror films                              Colour horror films

16) Which ‘monster’ do you most like to see in a horror film?

Werewolf                        Zombie                  Vampire                        Ghost                    Psychopath

17) Which of these do you enjoy most?

Horror films set in the past                               Horror films set in the present                       Horror films set in the future

18) What do you expect to see in the opening of a horror film?

A death                   Introduction of characters                   Introduce a story

19) What catches your attention when watching the opening of a horror film?

Music                     Titles                    Voice over                  Characters

20) What sort colours would you expect to see on a horror film opening?

Black/grey/red/white                                Pink/purple/yellow/green

IT (1990) opening

                                                                           0:00 - 2:00

Title

-         Zoom in and out of old photographs (black and white) in an album

-         Actor’s names appear in bold, white capitals – simple and stand out

-         Photographs fade out – mysterious, wonder who they are

-         Old photograph of a cinema turns into colour and present day

-         Creepy/scary music

Camera movement

-         Tilt from cinema to sky – lightning bolt; connote danger

-         Pan child’s tricycle – emphasize the fact it’s a child

Camera shots

-         Low angle shot of washing blowing in the wind – mysterious, suggests something other than the weather is causing it

-         Close up of old china mugs filling with rain water – raining for a long time, miserable weather

-         Close up of tricycle wheels – unusual for children to be playing in the rain

Sound

-         Mysterious, eerie music playing throughout – build fear and tension

-         Little girl singing nursery rhyme – creepy

-         Tricycle squeaking and rattling; old and used, untrustworthy

Editing

-         Straight cuts between objects looking abandoned – lonely and suspicious

The old photographs are of children, this and the little girl singing on the tricycle and the close up of the tricycle that’s old and used, suggests the film revolves around children’s fun following them into their adult life, unwanted.

The Shining (1980) opening

Camera shots

-         - Long shot of lake, show distance and size of area

-         - Long shot of car driving at different areas on the road, long journey in empty area

-         - Bird’s eye view of car, see surroundings – desolate, no one else around

Camera movement

-         - Crane over lake – shows size and length

-         - Crane over mountains – shows emptiness of area, long way away

-         - Tracking the car, camera looks like a car - on journey with the driver

Sound

-         Music is mysterious and creepy

-         The music makes banging noises

-         Goes screechy and almost hypnotising – suggests psychological issues

Lighting

-         High key lighting, looks natural; makes it more mysterious -  creepy music and sounds on a bright and sunny day

The opening doesn’t show characters or have any dialogue. The opening focuses on the car driving in an empty area. It shows the driver going on a long journey with no signs of where they’re going, which creates a sense of mystery as it has the mysterious, creepy music playing over it.

From Hell (2001) opening

Sound

-        -  Dramatic, scary music

-        -  Music slows, becomes eerie

-        -  Lighting a match

-        -  Breathing in the smoke

Camera shots

-        -  Close up of candle – connote danger

-        -  Extreme close up of mouth, breathing out smoke

-        -  Extreme close up of eyes, closed and they open

-        -  Long shot of London, red sky, smoke coming from chimneys – red connotes blood and danger

Camera movement

-          Panning man smoking

-          Crane down past windows of building – families; look poor

Editing

-          Black background with white text – quote from Jack the Ripper; “One day men will look back and say I gave birth to the Twentieth Century” - 1888

-          The quote tells the audience who the film is about

-          Black background and red text – connote danger and blood

-          Extreme close up of eyes fade to long shot of London – like he’s watching London                                          

-         Film title in red on black screen, in capitals; bold, stands out, clear, simple

Costume

-          The characters that are shown through the window; poor clothing, dull colours

-          Gives a sense of time and money

Lighting

-          Low lighting, dark – mysterious

-          The shot of London; low lighting – looks unrealistic, almost like a painting

-          Golden tint at the start; candlelight – looks warm like fire, dangerous

Final Destination (2000) opening

Sound

-         -     Slow and eerie music

-         -     Thunder - dramatic, make people jump

-         -     Knife blades - connote death/murder

-         -     Quiet screaming

Lighting

-          -    Low lighting – dark and mysterious

-          -    Night time

-          -    Flashes of light, lightening – dramatic

Camera shots

-          Close up of skeleton toy – connote death

-          Mid shot of shadow of skeleton – looks like someone hanging themselves

-          Close up of fan – emphasis of the blades, danger

-          Close up of plane ticket – Alex Browning, identify character

-          Close up – book about France, inform audience

-          Close up of fan blades – look like knifes

-          Close up of the word ‘devil’ – connote death and danger

Camera movement

-         Pan down the window at start of film – start negatively

-          Pan across to the fan, making a knife’s blade sound – danger and murder

-          Zoom in, image of a guillotine – execution

Editing

-          Lightning flashes – some people fear lightning

-          In red the words “this is the end” are written in a book, fades to black but the writing is still on screen – emphasize and focus

-          Red connotes blood

-          Fade outs between images of the devil and people dead – scary images