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THIS BLOG IS NOW CLOSED!

We have really enjoyed working on this project and we hope you enjoy looking through our blog!

Eva, Megan, Jess

Audience Feedback

And here is the information we gathered from our questionnaires:

Group 6 Audience Information

Group 6 Audience Feedback

Screening Reaction

This is our first reaction from our screening. 

We used one room and had chairs and tables arranged as close as we could to a cinema layout. 

Our screening was at 1 o'clock, straight after another screening, so we asked all the people that were in the previous one to come and watch ours too. This meant that on top of the people we had attracted to come, we had a larger more varied audience.

The purpose of our screening was to gather information and feedback on our opening sequence, 47 people filled out our questionnaire, of varied ages, which meant we got as well-rounded a response as possible.

Publicising our screening

We used posters to publicise our screening, in order to get the most viewers possible. We also utilised sthe ocial networking site Facebook, which is very popular amongst our target audience to reach as many people as possible. The image below shows our event page.

Audience Screening and Feedback Session

We held a screening to showcase our opening sequence. We took the opportunity to collect feedback from our target audience. Here is the questionnaire we used:

Group 6 Questionnaire

Our Final Sequence

This is our final opening sequence to the film Captive:

To Do List

What we need to do before our deadline tomorrow:

- Post revised actor contract and signed versions           EVA - doing it noww
- Post addition to storyboard                               JESS
- Make sure posts are in order                       MEGAN       ✔
- Post final sequence YouTube video              MEGAN        ✔
- Post videos of sequences during production                            MEGAN      ✔
- Posts from during production - stills and screen prints of programs we used       JESS  ✔
- Post video of screening                                  EVA - done
- Post on why we added to our script                   EVA - done
- Add detail to posts that are too vague                   JESS          ✔    
- Post any finished draft posts, finish unfinished ones               ALL
- Check labels            ALL

Programmes we used for Editing

These are some screenshots of the editing programme Adobe Premiere which we used.

This screen showed us the clips we intended to move onto our actual timeline for editing. It allowed us to select the exact sections we wanted:

This is the second monitor which shows our full sequence.

The News Report

"Earlier today it was reported that Keith Roberts, recently convicted of murdering Sarah Walsh in his north London home, has escaped while being transferred from Coldingley prison in Surrey to Castington in Northumberland. He was last sighted boarding a train heading for London on the 16^th of March. If you think you have any information regarding Roberts’ whereabouts call the London crime stoppers hotline on 0800 555….."

We decided to use a news report instead of music because it meant that we were able to subliminally add messages into the opening sequence in a short amount of time. Although the audience doesn't know anyway in which the criminal and the girl in our sequence are linked, the enigma caused by his mention suggests that she is in danger.

Shot list and Shot log



This is a rough shot list we made when planning our shoot before writing it up onto an organised shot list. As a group we found it helpful to write down the shots we wanted to shoot in the order we wanted to film them in which is why we separated them into inside and outside shots:

This is one of our written up shot lists which contains more detail about where each shot was to be filmed from, which greatly helped us on set when filming:

This is an example of one of our shot logs we used on our shoots so we could easily capture our best version when editing on Adobe Premiere:



Genre and Audiences

Our film fits into the teen thriller genre, with themes relating to crime and action, as it's plot is tense and full of enigma, whilst featuring a promdominant teen cast.

We have a primary audience of teens/young adults (16-24), both male and female. We attract them to our film as our protagonists are teen aged and are presented in a positive light - they are strong and independant. As the thriller genre typically attracts more of a male audience, we felt that we needed to have strong female characters. So our hero's sidekick Charlotte, a girl, is strong-minded, brave, helpful and reliable.

Our secondary audience consists of adults who are fans of the thriller genre, and who are familiar with similar films such as Taken or The Dark Knight.

Narrative Theory

How is our plot line effective?

Todorov's theory

Our narrative begins with an equilibrium - Dani is safe, at home, leading a normal life with her boyfriend.
There is a sudden diruption - she is kidnapped during a short blackout
Problems are solved throughout the film - Josh and Charlotte fight to save Dani
Equilibrium is restored - Josh dies, the baddies leave Charotte and Dani when they escape, and they return to normal (although altered) life.

Propp's character theory

The 8 character roles:

THE VILLAINS - The corrupt businessmen

THE HERO - Josh

THE DONOR - The escaped prisoner who leaves clues to Dani's wherabouts

THE HELPER - Charlotte

THE PRINCESS / VICTIM - Dani

HER FATHER - Dani's dad

THE DISPATCHER - Josh's father, who causes the dispute between the businessmen and Josh

THE FALSE HERO -  We do not have a false hero in our story

Levi-Struass's Theory of Opposites

Some binary opposites in our narrative:

Good/ Bad
Josh / Corrupt businessmen
Innocent girl (Dani)/ Corrupt men
Teens/ Adults

Theory - Barthe's Codes

Barthes Five Codes

ENIGMA CODE:

Our opening contained a kidnapping, which played on Barthes enigma code, as it occurred during a blackout, which leaves the audience uninformed. It provides a mystery that draws the audience in and poses questions, causing the audience to become intruiged.

ACTION CODE:

In our opening, the boyfriend arriving at the location of the kidnapping could be considered to follow Barthes action code, as the audience has to wait to see what he will do. We don't get to see anything beyond the room. The suspense is created by the action, rather than the audiences desire to have mysteries explained.

SEMIOTIC CODE:

Within our opening, there aren't many signifier's for this code but we have an establishing shot of the road outside which shows a very British, average household, which suggests the film will have a realistic, gritty feel to it, and could represent a serious, dramatic theme due to the conventions of films set in the streets of London.

CULTURAL CODE & SYMBOLIC CODE:


The only place where the cultural code appears in our opening, is when Dani carries the bottles of WKD alcohol down the stairs before putting it into the fridge. The alcohol is a cultural substance, depending on age/location. We also use the symbolic code as we only hear Dani on the phone to her Dad, and with no sign of the mother the audience is left wondering if the Mother in the family has left/gotten a divorce/died? The voiceover can also be a symbolic code as the audience doesn't know the relevance the prison escapee has to the storyline.

Theory - Semiotics in our opening scene

In order to hint at what is to come, we used visual and auditory signs:

- We used clear, bright lighting at the beginning of our sequence to symbolise lightheartedness and safety.
- However, after the black out and kidnap, the scene becomes darker to symbolise the forthcoming danger.
- Dani wears light clothes to symbolise her innocence
- Josh wears dark clothes to suggests that he is tougher
- The news report that we hear mentions an escaped prisoner, which links to the kidnap
- The low bass music that we hear at the end of the sequence suggests danger and doom

Sound

We decided we wanted a song playing from a radio in our opening, and the themes we wanted it to connote were:

• Romance
• Rebellion
• Horror
• Disturbance
• Sex
• Mainstream
• Familiarity with the audience

 After searching on the internet we managed to come up with a few suggestions for the song:

• Paramore - Playing God
• Mystery Jets - Half in Love With Elizabeth
• The Script - We Cry
• The Fray - You Found Me
• Nickelback - Hero
• The Macabees - Toothpaste Kisses

Eventually we decided to use Toothpaste Kisses in the middle section of our opening, whilst the radio was on, but we used a score from Soundtrack Pro to create a spooky atmosphere in the beginning and ending of the opening.


However, after testing the song out in our opening, we realised it didn't fit the theme and we changed the middle song to a voiceover. We recorded the voiceover on a Mac computer, using Final Cut.

The news report:

"Earlier today it was reported that Keith Roberts, recently convicted of murdering Sarah Walsh in his north London home, has escaped while being transferred from Coldingley prison in Surrey to Castington in Northumberland. He was last sighted boarding a train heading for London on the 16^th of March. If you think you have any information regarding Roberts’ whereabouts call the London crime stoppers hotline on 0800 555….."


We decided to use a news report instead of music because it meant that we were able to subliminally add messages into the opening sequence in a short amount of time. Although the audience doesn't know any way in which the criminal and the girl in our sequence are linked, the enigma caused by his mention suggests that she is in danger.

Costumes

When planning our opening sequence and character profiles, we decided on costumes:

Dannie's costume

Dannie is a laid back 17 year old girl. She is staying at home on, however is waiting for her boyfriend, Josh, to arrive. Therefore, her costume needs to be relaxed and casual, however still neat and slightly dressed up in order to impress Josh. So, we went with jeans and a plain top. Her flower necklace and pinned pack hair reflects her girly personality. She is wearly some make-up, which is for costume purposes, as well as to ensure that her skin appears smooth and attractive on screen in the harsh lighting. She is not wearing shoes, as we have established that she is staying at home in the opening. Her blonde hair is typical of a 'girlie' girl in a film: although we do not want her to appear weak and stereotypically girly like cheerleaders in American high school films, who only care about their appearance, the blonde hair is typical of a damsel in distress character, such as Dianna Agron's character in I Am Number Four.

Josh's costume:

Josh wears dark clothes in the opening scene, which portray him as tough. Their plainess reflect how the audience should view him at this moment in the film: he seems normal, yet he must become brave and save the day in the rest of the film.

New Actor

We edited the ending of our sequence so there is now the appearance of the boyfriend.
The actor playing 'Josh' is Jules Bredon. He lives near the shooting location and is reliable.

Filming - Behind the Scenes Photos

Photos of the set

The majority of our sequence is set in the kitchen of our main character's house. We chose to shoot at Eva's house, which is a reliable and convenient location.



We prepared the kitchen and hall by taping bin bags to the windows and doors to prevent unwanted light (from neighbours or street lights, for example) from ruining the effect of the blackout. To prevent the audience from being distracted by the setting, we cleared away any unncessary objects and kept the table clear. However, as the scene is set in a home, we kept some kitchen objects such as food and pots on display to keep a relaxed, homely and unstaged feel. We aimed to keep the kitchen as realistic as possible.

For continuity, we removed signs such as photos, which would show that more than just the girl and her dad lived in that house, or which would show Eva and her family, who actually live there.







Planning How We Will Shoot

When planning for our shoot, we decided a floor plan would be really helpful as two out of the three of our group had never seen the location, and we wanted to make sure the shots we needed were possible. 

We lettered the positions on the floor plan from A-G with a shot for M (master) as well, so that we could easily remember which position was where without difficulty.

This helped a lot with planning our shot list. We now know exactly where each camera is, and what it needs to film. This way, we will not miss any shots or get any shots that are at the wrong angle or defy the 180 degree rule.

What we need for our shoots this weekend:

Camera

Tripod

Clipboard

Clapper board

Whiteboard pen

Wiper

Shot list/log

Floor plan

Costumes

WKD bottles

Mobile phone

Additional Storyboard

After editing the first part of our sequence, we decided we needed to add a new section to make it more interesting. We also wanted to introduce another character so that the narrative structure would be clearer to the audience. It also gives the audience some clue as to what has happened in the kitchen, as the actual kidnapping happened in darkness.

Addition to Script

After editing our footage from our shoot, we have made changes to the script to make our opening sequence more engaging.

Group 6 Script 2

We also decided to add to the script because there was an issue with the actress, so were unable to reshoot the blackout scene. This meant that if we had left it there would have been an even longer portion of the sequence in total blackout. We talked to the media teachers and they agreed that something else needed to be added instead, so the appearance of the boyfriend was introduced. This worked out for the better actually, because it meant that the protagonist appeared at the beginning of the film so the audience was familiar with him and the circumstances before the film had properly started. 

We also changed our character's name from Lou to Dannie in order make the script feel more natural to the actors.

Run through of new idea

After scripting our idea, and drawing out a storyboard, we have run through our sequence in the class room with the help of Chris the technician, to ensure that there are no problems when it comes to shooting in the house.

We used tables and chairs to set teh classroom otu as if it was the kitchen at Eva's house. We made ti the same size to see what sort of shots we could get. While filming, we used a floorplan to note where we positioned the cameras to make compiling our shotlist easier.

Here is our rough edit of the footage:

New Storyboard

After changing our idea, we created a new storyboard with annotations describing the shot length and angle, so our shoot would run smoothly and efficiently.



Opening Sequence Script

Here is the script for our new opening sequence.

Group 6 Script 1

(We changed our character name from Lou to Dani, so that the script felt more natural for the actors)

Location

We will be using Eva's house for our location as it is reliable and convinient. The kitchen, hallway and stairs are the rooms we will be using.

The Kitchen:

 

The Hallway:

 

Actress

Our actress is Danielle Hodson-Michael. She will be playing the only character in our new sequence.

We chose Danielle to act in our opening as we feel that her appearance matches our character's personality and traits well. Her straight blonde hair and pale complexion is stereotypically feminine and this is ideal for our characters, who at first seems innocent and girly, but is actually rebellious against her father.

New Film Synopsis

Our new film synopsis:

The film begins with the sudden kidnap of one of our main characters, Dani, who was at home alone waiting for her boyfriend, Josh.

Josh's dad recently died in a tragic car accident, meaning that Josh inherited his wealthy fortune. What Josh doesn't know is that the money was won out of a corrupt business deal between his dad's company and a rival firm in Italy. The owners of the rival firm actually murdered Josh's dad, and are hunting Josh down in order to reclaim the money. They help an old business partner out of prison and send him to kidnap Dani: a trap to lure Josh.

Josh searches for Dani with the help of Dani's best friend Charlotte, and they eventually find her after a difficult search. However, after a brutal fight when they try to escape unharmed, Josh is killed. The girls manage to get away unscathed, however the baddies have won back their money.

Change of Idea

WE HAVE DECIDED TO CHANGE OUR FILM IDEA

We realised that the idea that we had got was not working and that it would be too hard to make the sequence realistic and genre specific. We were told we had enough time to change our idea, so we have taken the opportunity to do so. However, we have chosen to stick with the horror/thriller genre as we have researched this already.

Our research on the horror genre is still valid, and we will be using as much of our past work as possible. We can reuse our actor contracts, with different dates.

Here are the reason we chose to change our idea:

- Our over all film idea was good, however needed a lot of fine details to make sense, as our characters, especially the girl, where so unusual. We didn't have time to figure out all of these elements, and without them our opening sequence didn't make sense.

- Shooting outdoors was tiring and unpredictable, especially shooting in February/March.

- Including a fight scene is very difficult. It requires immense effort and thought, as it must be choreographed and shot intricately. This planning must be conveyed to the actors, who need time to practise and learn to run through to sequence many times without injuring themselves. As we are inexperienced in this, the fight scene was very difficult to create realistically and believably.

- We felt that although dramatic, our opening scene wasn't engaging enough as it lacked dialogue and pace.

- As we realised how difficult the scene was becoming, as a group we lacked enthusiasm and belief in our product. We all felt that it was best to start afresh to ensure that we created a product that we enjoyed and backed fully.

We have all learnt a lot from trying to make our last idea work, and we will plan our new idea with these points in mind, so as to make or new production run as smoothly as possible, especially as we now have much less time.

Key points to consider when planning our new idea:

- Shoot indoors. This will make the shoot much more enjoyable and comfortable, plus, the setting will be reliable and the continuity controllable.

- Choose an idea that fits a genre, so that we have an ensured audience and theme.

- The opening scene can be simple, with a slight twist: the audience will understand it better and will be drawn in slowly.

- Keep the number of characters adn the action to a minimum. It is important to include some movement and dialogue, to engage the viewer, however a fight scene is too difficult!

- Come up with an idea that everybody in the group likes and feels motivated to produce. THis will ensure group cohesion and positivity, as well as effort and purpose during production.

Rough Edit

After our first shoot, we have made a rough edit of oru sequence to see what we have and haven't got. From this, we can see if we need to shoot again, and if we need to redo any shots.

There are some problems that we have already  noticed, the focus is off in some shots, and there are bags in the background of another. There are also some contiunity issues that we need to rethink (Where did the girl come from? Where did the man come from? What are their motivations?). We also need to imporave our fight scene, as we don't find it convincing.

Actor Contract

Here is our actor contract, whcih both of our actor's have signed:

Group_6_Actor_Contract

Shot List

In preparation for our first shoot on Sunday, we have created a shot list. This will help us keep to time, and ensure that we do not forget any shots.

Shooting Day

 

(note) - we have changed the meeting time to 10am for convenience.

What could go wrong?

These are the specific problems which could affect us:

• Bad weather conditions - could affect shot quality & cause issues for health and safety (actors slipping over/hurting themselves) - if there is rain we will make sure we take umbrella's and we will make sure we have a plastic bag to protect the camera. We will also have lots of warm clothing available for the actors and crew.
• We have to makes sure we finish filming by 5pm as otherwise the footage will be too dark and will appear grainy. We also do not want the actors to become tired.
• We will all make sure that we arrive on time and are organised, as we have a strict shooting schedule that needs to be kept to - if there is a problem getting somewhere on time we will make sure we contact each other in some way.
• As we are outside in a public place we have to make sure that there are no members of the public in our shots, so we may have to wait for them to leave our location before we continue shooting. We will also have to be careful that no other voices can be heard whilst filming as then the creepy atmosphere will not be as effective.
• As there is a chance that the location could change in some way, due to any possible problem e.g. a tree falling over; we have to try and film everything as well as possible on the first shoot so that continuity errors are less likely.
• We will remember to charge the camera's battery, and each member of the team will check that they have their allocated piece of equipment before arriving at or leaving the location. This will reduce the chance of anything being lost/forgotten. If there is an accident (which I'm sure there won't be!) we will inform the teachers as soon as possible and try to fix the problem together.

Character Profile - Girl

Name:
Poppy Johnson

Costume:

School uniform:

White shirt and tie

Long skirt and socks

Glasses

Satchel

Connoting – innocence, perfect/proper behaviour

After attack:

Ripped/bloodied shirt and tie

Socks rolled down

Scruffy

*Notice high heels*

Connoting – slight sex appeal, danger and femininity – a contrast to the previous innocence

Why lipstick?

We thought that the lipstick was a feminine touch that enhances the contrast in our character after her attack. It is also quite perverse as a ‘signature’ and degrades the male she has killed which we hope will encourage our female audience to feel empowered and united.

Personality

In the beginning, we want her to at first seem quite boring and geeky; the sort of person that doesn’t go out much. To her parents, teachers and friends she should seem like a perfect, innocent girl. This should contrast to her after she has killed the man, as she should look feistier and more confident. She will modify her outfit while she is choking the man so that at the end she has more make-up on, her hair is out, skirt rolled up and tie loosened.


How this is her 'coming of age' thing -


Throughout the rest of the film, the aim would be to use the film to show the girl’s character grow and develop. She is a sort of vigilante, so we hope that the young people that would watch it would be able to appreciate the growth that she experiences as it is a more extreme portrayal of the experience of being a teen. 

Why does she kill people?

To attract both male and female audiences to our film, we need to have a strong female character as well as the theme of murder and violence (thus merging chick-flick and horror genres). Therefore, we have developed our film idea so that the female lead is changes throughout the film: as she becomes older and more mature she is learning to fend for herself as an adult woman. At the end of the film, she is empowered and a stronger person as she has stood up for herself.
Specifically in the opening scene, we will show this change through her costume, as well as her actions. She will begin wearing her school uniform, which is neat and proper. By having pigtails in her hair and a childish outfit on she will come across as innocent, weak and vulnerable. However, once she has killed the man who was stalking her, she will walk off into the distance, dominating the frame, with a messier school uniform. Her skirt will be shorter and her shirt un-tucked. Her hair will be out and she will have put make-up on. This new outfit will present her as much older and will play up her sex appeal. Overall, her costume change will be a visual aid for the audience, showing how her personality changes throughout.
While she is fighting the man, her actions will be controlled and sharp, showing her to be very skilled at fighting. This will not only show that she is experienced in fighting people, but will also break the stereotype of weak women, creating a twist in the horror genre and empowering her.
Overall, we feel that by giving a reason for our female character to be killing the men that she dislikes and having a good outcome from it, that our film will be more appealing to the teen female audiences, as the characters are more relatable and almost likable. We intend for the audience to take her side throughout the film, rooting for her to succeed despite the violent nature of her actions.

This is a moodboard for the girl. The pictures are mainly about the girl's attitude change and how she will look before and after the attack.

 

Character Profile - Man

Name: John Smith

Age: In his 50's

Clothes:

• Black Gloves
• Hat/Hood
• Dark Clothing
• Dirty Shoes/Boots

We are not supposed to find out much about his personality, other than us revealing that he is following the girl. This signifies to the audience that he is not to be trusted and that he most probably is a kidnapper. We will show his creepyness through shot types as we will not reveal much of his body, making the audience question his role in the film. We want him to immediately come across as the antagonist, therefore placing the girl as the protagonist, meaning they'll be shocked when their roles switch.

In our opening the man is supposed to appear unlikable and creepy, so we decided to have him wearing dark clothes, which connotes mystery and evil. By hiding his face we are not allowing the audience to get any idea of who he is, so they won't sympathise with him when he is killed. The gloves are also a stereotypical item which criminals have in films/television series. Because our shots only reveal little parts of the man at once, we need each item of clothing to be very specific. By making the man creepy and evil we are appealing to the female audience as they will want to see revenge taken as it acts as female empowerment. The man dies at the end of the opening sequence so we don't want to make his character too detailed. He is supposed to be one of many men the young girl will murder and so we want him to be anonymous at this point.

The man will put up of some kind of fight against the girl, but he will be easily beaten, making him seem small and weak. When he is being killed he will be on the floor, shown through a high angle shot to show that the power has transferred from him to her. His movements will be quite sloppy and dis-organised, contrasting with the girls clean, smooth movements which will then cause him to be taken out.

(picture of actor in character clothing on set)

Props List

These are the items we have decided are necessary for our opening:

• Gloves
• High Heels
• Tie
• School Uniform
• School Bag
• Books
• Make-up
• Hat
• Male Costume - jumper, jeans, hat, old shoes

This is the school uniform our female character will be wearing:

Storyboard

Here is our first storyboard which is still being worked on and edited:

We broke down our opening into all the separate shots we want to film, with annotations about shot type and camera movement. We used post-it notes so that the order of the sequence could easily be re-arranged without too much hassle. We tried to include a range of shot types to create variety and to keep the opening interesting. We colour co-ordinated the post-it notes so we could easily distinguish between them:

• Green - Long Shot (LS)
• Yellow - Point Of View (POV)
• Blue - Mid Shot (MS)
• Pink - Close Up (CU)
• Orange - Wide Shot/Establishing Shot

After a meeting with a teacher, we decided that the fight sequence (in the middle) needed to be better planned, and so we booked a session with them to learn how to properly film a fight sequence.

Rough Storyboard

After planning our sequence in ten second intervals, we drew out a rough storyboard to illustrate our ideas:

Character Names

To show the character’s true nature/ her secret killings, we have been debating whether she should have a name that has connotations to evil/ death/ blood. We came to the conclusion that her name could be a red colour, e.g. Scarlett, Ruby.

This may be a good idea for part/all of the title, e.g. Scarlett Kisses. This would be an effective name as it links to a large part of the film; the character’s name and her signature doodle on her victims.

Name options:

FIRST NAMES

Ruby

Scarlett

Crimson

Fuscia

Heather

Magenta

Poppy

Viola

Hazel

Siena

LAST NAMES

Jones

Smith

Johnson

(Red = final choice)

What could be our schoolgirl killler's unique mark?

We thought about what the killer could leave behind to mark the murder as her's.

Her mark needs to be individual yet reflect her psycho schoolgirl personality. A doodle would be appropriate: it is both childish and easy to draw. We like the lipstick idea as it reflects her feminist personality, however we thought that a kiss would be too romantic, and would suggest that she is killing these men for a romantic reason.

So, we have decided to combine the doodle and lipstick, so that the schoolgirl killer draws red lipstick onto her victim. This would reflect her teenage female role, fulfilling the stereotype of a teen girl using make-up. It would also humilate the man, adding an element of light-heartedness and comedy to the horror sequence: merging the chick-flick and horror genres. Using red signifies horror and blood, so reflects the themes in the opening sequence.

Feedback

We were told that the genre was good; chick flick horror, but the institution identity and idea needed improvement. With the idea, we were told that there was a tension between the synopsis andrelatability of the main character. The audience wouldn't be able to sympathise with a girl just going around killing guys, so we need to work on this aspect of our idea. We decided to have a signature that she left with every death, instead of the collection of moustaches.

Other changes we decided upon were:

• the guy makes a move on her before she kills him
• the opening sequence would be showing her third murder
• the character would develop through her experiences with the men
• it would be the afternoon as opposed to evening
• there would be only a few killings in total
• her signature is a doodle of some kind

Stereotypes in Chick Flicks

High school Chick Flicks

I researched high school Chick Flicks as this is more applicable to our idea than the entirety Chick Flick genre. 

Useful Nerd Character Stereotype

The nerds do not go out on the weekends, but stay indoors playing video games instead. Clothes:  plaid shirts and high-waisted pants; glasses or braces, sometimes both. They get picked on by the Jocks and dream of someday being able to get with the cheerleaders. They have amazing skills at troubleshooting computers.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/276956/high_school_stereotypes_explained_pg2.html?cat=25

Common Chick Flick Content

• A female protagonist embroiled in some sort of conflict or another
• Conflict is then mitigated by the presence of a promising, handsome, charming man
• Prince Charming is characteristically flawed
• She undergoes a personal revolution
• (Gender stereotyping)
• A happy ending
• Personal redemption and empowerment
• Themes of conflict, yet it seems as though rather than the focus being on interpersonal conflicts between the protagonist and another character
• Sports films, issues of gender roles, gender dominance and masculinity vs. femininity arises
• Objectifying women as sex objects
• Undercurrent of love and sexual relationship
• Heart-wrenching moment when tears flow
• The female lead must be a strong woman who faces adversity and overcomes it, usually by pure force of will.

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/local/scisoc/sports/f05/papers/sm.html
http://blogcritics.org/video/article/what-makes-a-chick-movie/page-2/

We will use some of these stereotypes, such as the geeky schoolgirl idea, to establish our character as being fairly normal and insignificant. This will hopefully help improve the surprise of the twist when she turns out to be a killer. We will use the Chick Flick convention of having the geeky school girl become empowered, strong and sexy.

Our Production Company

We are a small, independent British production company, who are passionate about producing unique, niche films. We specialise in making thriller films for the British film audience, however we incorporate elements of other genres, such as crime to create a film which is distinctive and unusual, with large appeal.

We have named our company Darkhouse Productions, to portray the thriller films we create. The use of the word 'house' has connotations of a haunted house, which is a stereotype of thriller films.

Our past films have specifically been targeted at British teens, although the themes can appeal to a larger audience as well.

Stereotypes in Horror Movies

In our film we are going to play on the stereotypes of horror movies and twist them around to break conventions.

'The horror film has always been populated by male monsters, many of which do carry out monstrous acts of violation, rape and castration. The horror film is also filled with male monsters who grow fur, change shape, bleed and give birth. What is it that defines male monstrosity? How does the male monster differ from the female monster? In contrast to the monstrous-feminine, the male monster is almost always defined in close relation to its sexual other, that is, the male monster is a feminised creature linked to woman, nature and the animal. Woman is the prototype, the male monster her impression.'

We are switching this by making the girl the killer and therefore the audience will be shocked but interested.

Here are some key stereotypes from the teen horror genre:

• Jocks and Cheerleaders usually have bad behavior and are often the first one to die
• African-American, Asian, and Hispanics are also killed fairly soon
• Gay people and those with obesity are killed quite quickly
• Those who survive are usually Caucasian male or female who are nice, not promiscuous, and strong enough to take challenge after challenge.
• The women are always the weaker ones being protected by the men in the films.

Target Audience

Our target audience is:

Teenagers, male and female (15-25)

We think our film opening would appeal to them because:

• Strong female characters - someone they can relate to/admire
• Horror genres popular with male audiences
• Chick-flick genre popular with females

Here is an example of our target audience and the things they are interested in:

Girls:

• Pop culture - celebrities, music, tv
• Going out with their friends - partying
• Fashion
• Going to the cinema
• Social Networking

Boys:

• Sports
• Hanging out with friends
• Music
• Gaming
• Spending time on the internet

We also have a secondary audience of: adult fans of horror or chick-flick genres.