Ideas 31st January 2013

      Today we discussed a lot more of our Title Sequence, alongside doing our Script. We have sorted our location for Clevedon Pier as it is perfectly old and quiet.


      We have also thought a bit into camera shots and editing for our Title Sequence. We plan to portray the desolate Pier and Amelia's walk down it using a long shot, with the camera being placed on the floor to capture her as she walks away.

      Using a panning shot when Amelia is looking at the view, the camera will pan from left to right slowly showing this. Finally, we decided to use a point-of-view shot when our Protagonist notices something in the distance, a figure possibly.

      I also sent Bex a message on facebook not long ago asking her whether she thought we could add 'Based on a true story' onto the end of our title sequence after finding various links and a news report on people seeing a ghostly figure on the Pier. Well, she just replied and she thinks it's a great idea! :D Because let's be honest, any horror film immediately becomes 10x scarier when 'based on a true story' is added on!

Ideas for Film Title

      Having looked at a few horror films, their titles often center around being short, snappy; usually just one or two words. Also they often come titled, as in 'The ______'. When discussing ideas for our own title sequence, Bex and I beared this in mind. We also thought long and hard about the plot of our story line. This being the two girls, believed to be sisters, but one having died at a younger age and the protagonist having flashbacks to scare her suddenly of the past she does not remember. So our ideas are as follows;

1. Doubt
2. The Unknown
3. The Deceased
4. Unknown Whispers
5. Distant Memories
6. Distant Voices
7. The Remaining Deceased
8. The Remaining

      Argh this is rather a hard job! Nothing is jumping out at us so over the next few days we seriously need to think about this and sort out a title! 

Script

   

Script notes:

      Although at first sight the layout of a film script may look complicated, it is, in fact very simple and clear. There are slight variations in layout (usually depending on the writer's taste), but all screenplays are written in the third person, present tense and usually run anywhere between 90 and 120 pages in length (roughly speaking, one page of screenplay equals one minute of screen time.)

Script ---> Storyboard ---> Locations ---> Filming.

"The script is the essence to a film."

     1 EXT. CLEVEDON PIER W-S-M. DUSK

Seventeen-year-old AMELIA WESTERN is slowly walking down Clevedon Pier. She wears jeans and a casual T-Shirt. Her hair is of medium length, a dusky blonde colour. She walks to the end of the pier, a slight breeze interrupting her hair. On the floor she sees a photo of 2 young girls, picks it up and looks closely. She pans the view surrounding her, stopping suddenly as she sees a figure in the distance. (eye-line match) (sound motif of scratching )

(confused) She looks back down to the photo at a double take, only to see one of the faces has been scratched out. The photo drops to the floor and she backs away, still looking at it. As she turns, she is stopped by the figure that stands in front of her. 

AMELIA is alone on the Pier. The sun is setting and a cool breeze messes her hair. She is surrounded by the sea as it crashes against the beams underneath her. 

 

Sighting of a Ghost on Clevedon Pier

      So today in class we were casually searching for 'real ghosts' on the internet and the use of an old Victorian photo, when I came across these two links. They are about the sighting of a ghost, or unknown person to appear and suddenly vanish on Clevedon Pier. Now this fits rather perfectly with the idea for our title sequence, we might aswel base it on a true story.....!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-16989153

http://hayleyisaghost.co.uk/cases/clevedon-pier-ghost/

Ideas on Quotes

Quotes

      We have been looking online and from films to find quotes we could use for our title sequence, possibly used as a voice over.

     A favourite of mine is from the film 'The Others', where the Nanny says to the young girl - 

"Sometimes the world of the dead gets mixed up with the world of the living."

      A few others are;

"If anything is true after you are born, it is that one day you have to die."

"Death is not the greatest of evils; it is worse to want to die and not be able to."

"I'm the one that wants to die when it is time, so let me live my life the way I want to."

"Do not seek death. Death will eventually find you. But seek what makes death a fulfilment."

"Is there a God? Is there an after life?...I think now, more so than ever, people are much more willing to take the time and question what's really out there."

Progression of Photo Idea

         The first problem of this idea we have is of course which girl to pick. Here, the eldest girl has had her face brutally scratched out. I believe this has worked very well and is definitely along the lines of what I had envisioned. However, I feel that possibly it is just too drastic and takes the viewers eye away from the rest of the picture. I think the scratches on the face are far too large and powerful, just eating up the rest of the image. So we tried a few other ideas...

      Here, we used the younger girl, yet immediately Bex and I knew this wasn't right. Her eyes are quite open, which we would like to keep.

      This image is just to show where we went wrong. We went a little too deep and ended up cutting into the photo, which is not our plan at all!

   
      Now this is perfect! Yet strangely enough, does not look as brilliant and effective without the light on the eyes to emphasize the scratches. It's freaky, it's scary, it's pretty disturbing too!

      Here is just a photo of Bex scratching out the face, using different ideas and techniques to get the look we want. We have also been talking to our teacher, Michelle about recording the scratchy sound this makes, as it is really painful to the ear and possibly using it in our opening sequence.

      Later we tried a real messy attempt with the idea behind that the other girl does this while Amelia is looking away. This works great with the creepy idea we want to portray and also the  hidden secret of her past. The scratched out face in this attempt works well and is certainly messy enough.

      This image simply isn't harsh enough or focused on the face. The scratches are far too long and the face isn't covered enough..... Not that I'm fussy at all....but...NEEXTT! 

      The scratched out face on this image is far too neat and cross-like we agreed. It simply isn't the messy out of control look we are aiming for. After a lot of deliberation, Bex and I have decided to scratch out the entire face of the older girl, in a really messy way and film it when Amelia Western is looking away.

Why do people like being scared?

Sinister, but safe thrills.

 

      People enjoy feeling scared and seek the feeling out because, deep down, they know they are in no real danger, according to David Rudd, head of the College of Social and Behavioral Science and the University of Utah. They understand the real risk of these activities is marginal and because of this underlying awareness, they experience excitement rather than actual fear, Rudd explained.

      Watching horror films poses no physical threat, with the minor pyschological threat being that they might have nightmares as a result of seeing it.

http://www.livescience.com/8884-people-love-scared.html

     Virtually everyone knows what it's like to feel scared. A pounding heartbeat. Increased breathing. Nervous perspiration. Butterflies in our stomach. But whether that fright is caused by a nail-biting horror film, listening to a spine-chilling story, or prowling through a dark-as-night  haunted house on Halloween, some people actually revel in feeling frightened. They thrive on the latest Friday the 13th film or Stephen King novel. They relish roller coasters, perhaps even sky diving. They simply want to feel terrified! The hormonal reactions people get from responding to a threat or crisis is what motivates us to 'like to be scared'. At the moment we feel threatened, we have an increased strength, power, heightened senses and intuition. This, we call, an 'adrenaline rush'.

      Horror films have been attracting viewers since the beginning of cinema. This particular genre of film are designed to elicit strong emotional reactions from viewers, fear and dread included of course! The appeal of horror depends on characteristics of the viewer, the film and the viewing circumstances.

      

The Viewer and the Film.

      There are various motives as to why we view horror films. These include the need for excitement, the desire to feel intense emotion and the distraction from everyday concerns. Although dramatic films can fulfill some of these needs, films depicting violence and horror have features that other forms of genre do not, including the violation of social norms and the portrayal of events seldom seen in real life.

      
      Not surprisingly, people rarely view horror films alone. Violent entertainment appeals primarily to males and it appeals to them in groups. For many young people and adults, horror films are a topic of conversation, a source of shared experience and a means of self-presentation. Not everyone will like the blood and gore, but many may continue to watch to demonstrate their ability to tolerate it, or the desire to master the threatening images.