OUR FINAL OPENING SEQUENCE - Captive

Monday 31 January 2011

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.

Thursday 27 January 2011

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.





Meeting 3

Initial thoughts:

So far we have:
  • Got an idea
  • Got a location
  • Got a male actor
  • Got a car

We need to:
  • Get an actress
  • Do a treatment
  • Research openings
  • Add to group blog
  • Profile target audience

Today
We have decided to change the idea because it is too conventional and boring
We are going to start to make a mood board including a profile of our target audience
We need to think of a twist
We need to change the synopsis
Work out our character profile

New idea:
Man following girl
We make him look dodgy and pedoish
She attacks him *twist*

Inspiration
Orphan
Hulk
Kickass
Heathers
Sorority row
Book: fearless series

Additional ideas in beta mode:
Reference to films e.g.
Charlie’s Angels – sniffing hair (moustache?)
Rambo tie one forehead

Girl costume
School uniform:
White shirt and tie
Long skirt and socks
Glasses
Satchel
Connotating – innocence, perfect/proper behaviour

After attack:
Ripped/bloodied shirt and tie
Socks rolled down
Scruffy
*Notice high heels*
Connoting – sex appeal

While choking the man we want her standing on his throat controlled – she may light a fag/ eat a lollypop … she tweets on her phone – cryptic messages on the internet
Once the man is dead we want her to rip off his moustache

This is a FLASHBACK

It is a character driven film so this could relate to the title…

Our Summarised Proposal

Group 6 Proposal Page

Questions about our opening sequence


1.       Is it practical?

Yes, our idea has been kept quite simple and manageable. We only require one location, two actors and props that we can easily get hold of.

2.       Is it an idea that works to the strengths of the group?
Yes. Eva, who is also studying AS level Drama has chosen to act in our sequence, so this utilises her skills. Megan is good with photography and camera work, while Jess has knowledge using the equipment and technology. Therefore, at each stage of production, each member of our group can lead in the area that they are most comfortable in, and help the others.
3.       Will it show off the skills you have learnt so far on the course?

We will be able to use theories such as Levi-Strauss’ theory of binary opposites and Propps character profiles, as well as other theories that we have learnt about. We will include many camera shots and movements, using ones specifically to convey our theme of horror, and to reflect the action in our sequence. By having made a short clip for our preliminary task, all members of our group have learnt how to film and edit a short sequence, and we can use the skills we learnt to produce this sequence: such as using Adobe Premier Pro.

4.       Is it something you can reasonable shoot and edit in the time available?

As we only require one location, we can aim to shoot all of our footage on one day. We will not need to move all of our equipment, and as we only need two actors, prep and acting time is reduced.  As the sequence features one, continuous narrative, this will make filming and editing easier and faster.

5.       Can you get access/permission to shoot in the chosen location at the chosen times?
We have chosen to shoot in a public park so that we do not need specific permission to film there. From visiting the park several times in the past, we have learnt that there are no gates that will be locked at a certain time: our filming time is therefore almost unlimited. From past experience we also know that the park is always almost empty, so we will not have too much problems with people in the background/ in the way.
6.       Can you organise lighting to use in that location?

We plan to shoot during the day, mostly using sunlight, to minimise lighting problems.  We do have access to small portable lights that could be used if necessary. However, our sequence does not require dramatic lighting, so this element is not that important.

7.       Have you included dialogue? If so, will it work to shoot conversation in that location?

We have included dialogue, but kept it to a minimum as to keep the sequence easier for both the actors and us when we come to edit. Hopefully with less dialogue, shooting time will be minimised as less takes will be needed.

8.       Do you have guaranteed high quality reliable actors to play the characters?



Yes, Eva has been chosen to play the main schoolgirl in our sequence. She is in our group, so is committed to filming schedule, and understands our expectations and what we are trying to achieve. She understands the character well, and is studying AS Drama, so has experience acting. Her dad will play the man in the sequence, so is also committed. We will draw up actors’ contracts to further ensure that the actors are committed and reliable.

Wednesday 26 January 2011

Overall Film Idea

SYNOPSIS OF FILM

The story focuses on a 16 year old schoolgirl, who appears to be innocent and composed. However, she once accidently killed someone after having an argument with them, and after realising that she enjoys murdering people, now kills anyone who annoys her. She hides her psycho killer personality under her innocent school girl appearance. The opening scene to our film is a flash-forward, and ends with the text ‘two years earlier’ on the screen at the end of the sequence. We then go back in time to when the girl first began killing, and as the film goes on she murders more and more people. The film ends when she frames another girl for the murders. She leaves free, ready for her next conquest.
                                                                                                                                             
GENRE AND THEMES

The genre of our film is chick-flick horror, which will appeal to a wide audience.
Everyone in our group enjoys chick flicks and horrors. As a genre hybrid, it is very original; however there are similar films that we can draw from.

Our film will be horror based, and will feature almost all conventions of a horror film, verging on parody to audiences familiar with the genre. However, for people who do not know much about horror films, it will seem quite gruesome. We will also include references to other films of the genre, to develop the element of parody further.

Films and characters that we can use as inspiration:

Kick-Ass (Vaughn, 2010) - Hit Girl

Heathers (Lehmann, 1988) - Female killers


Black Swan (Aronofsky, 2011) - Female (Nina) with two personalities


Initial Research on Horror Films

Horror films are unsettling movies that strive to elicit the emotions of fear, disgust and horror from viewers.” – Wikipedia

Horror films are made to scare audiences, and this is often done through typical gruesome attacks and monsters: the genre often overlaps with fantasy, science-fiction or thriller.

According to the UK Film Council:

7% of all film releases in the UK last year were horror films
The 35 releases generated £66.7million in box office gross
The most popular horror film of 2009 was ‘Final Destination’ (Ellis 2009)
Horror films are more popular for male audiences; however elements of comedy would bring in a female audience, as would female characters.

British production companies that are famous for horror:

Hammer Films – Dracula (1958), The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
Amicus Films - Dr. Terrors House of Horrors (1964)
Tigon Films – Witch Finder General  (1968)

This is a quote on why someone likes horror films:
“I think I like them for a number of reasons. First, they’re escapist. Because even though you read the news, and the news is bad, this [horror films] is not real, that lack of reality, it’s a kind of guilty pleasure. Then, the creativeness. I saw something about the ‘Saw’ movies and how they researched torture methods used during the Inquisition. I mean, how can anyone think of stuff like that?

Other reasons why people like horror films:
  • They are willing to endure the terror in order to enjoy a euphoric sense of relief at the end.
  • The person is not actually afraid, but excited by the movie.
  • Watching scary/violent scenes provides a funnel for them to exorcise their own anger, animosity or other negative emotions.
  • An appreciation for the FX artistry, monster design etc.
Responses from our target audience:

Sam: Keeps you excited and it's surprisingly quite socialable - people generally experience the same emotions so can relate to each other.

Actors

Our two actors are Eva Calland-Waller, who is in our media group, and her dad, Jonathan Waller. The link that they both have to our group means that they are most certainly going to be reliable, but we are going to make a contract for them both to sign to secure their participation.


Tuesday 25 January 2011

Photo's Of Our Location

We quickly decided on the location for our opening as it is practical and easily accessible. There are no time restraints so our filming could take place at any point in the day. The location creates a dark, mysterious effect which is what we are intending for our opening.

Development of our Idea

This was our original idea:

Old Film Synopsis:

A girl gets kidnapped. Her friend tries to find out where she is and a private detective is put on the case to look for her. After the girl is kidnapped three others have been reported missing so the detective looks for witnesses and speaks to close family/friends for information. He meets the friend and her interest and understanding impresses him, and he gives her his card. She does back to the crime scene finds evidence and takes it back to the detective. Together they solve the case - her friend turns out to be dead - there's a struggle and the kidnapper dies.




Rough storyboard of old opening sequence idea


We then decided the idea was too conventional and would not be unique from other films made before so we changed the plot and theme to add a twist.

Here is our new film synopsis:

The story focuses on a 16 year old schoolgirl, who appears to be innocent and composed. However, she once accidently killed someone after having an argument with them, and after realising that she gets pleasure from murdering, now kills anyone who annoys her. She hides her psycho killer personality under her innocent school girl appearance. The opening scene to our film is a flash-forward, and ends with the text ‘two years earlier’ on the screen at the end of the sequence. We then go back in time to when the girl first began killing, and as the film goes on she murders more and more people. The film ends when she frames another girl for the murders. She leaves free, ready for her next conquest.


Rough storyboard of our new opening sequence idea


New opening sequence in detail:

The girl, in her school uniform, is walking home from school through a forest and park. A scary looking man seems to be following her, and the audience are lead to believe that he is about to kidnap her. Suddenly, she turns around and attacks him, pushing him to the ground. She stands above him, waiting for him to die. She comedically cuts off his moustache, and drops it into her bag, saying “Another one for my collection…” She leaves behind something that is unique to her, reflecting her schoolgirl killer persona. The scene ends with her walking away, her uniform messed up and looking much more rebellious than before.

--------------


We have changed the synopsis by making the girl the killer, instead of the man, which is not what the audience expects and adds intrigue to the film. It is also more original and will therefore make the film more interesting, whilst also making it appeal to females and males due to the strong female character who dominates in the film. We decided to have her kill men who had done something wrong, or weren't nice people so that the audience sympthathises with her in some way, whilst also allowing the audience to relate to her as she is a young schoolgirl.




Monday 24 January 2011

Group Meeting 2 Notes

As a group we met to discuss and develop our opening sequence idea. We decided on the following things:


Genre
Mystery, Crime, Action, Thriller

Location
Forest/Park? – Hillyfield Park + Graveyard
Hollow Ponds
Epping Forest

Time
Early Evening

Ideas
Camping, being watched, argument
Riding bike home
Girl gets kidnapped

Ending
Boot closing – screen goes dark – friend sees

Characters
Girl – vulnerable
Unknown stalker
2 boys, 2 girls
Dog and owner
Jogger
Girl, Stalker

Feelings
Isolation
Vulnerability

Useful shots/techs
P.O.V. of girl
Hand held
C.U. hands, bike wheel spinning

Issues/ things to work out
Lighting
Need a car
The sort of car – inconspicuous/ dark, foreboding
Car access

Final Idea
Girl riding bike home from school through park/ forest
She gets off her bike to walk through some trees
A man is following her
He puts a bag over her head and kidnaps her
He puts her in his boot

Film Synopsis
Girl is first victim – she has a friend who looks for her
3 other girls die
The friend becomes a potential victim
Friend uncovers plot with a private detective’s help

Characterisation
Girl – small, able to be carried – aged 15/16/17
Male – adult, tall, strong

Sunday 23 January 2011

Group Meeting 1 Notes

In our first meeting we decided to create a film opening within the action genre. We wanted to have a chase sequence through a crowd with fast paced editing and dynamic shots ranging between CU's and establishing shots. However we soon found that this idea would be impractical due to the fact that we wouldn't be able to control the crowds reactions to the action and the result would be unreliable, potentially ruining our film as they might have stared directly at the camera or gotten in the way. There would also be many continuity errors as the people in the crowd would keep changing meaning our opening would be less effective and believable.