How I Will Produce the Film

     As it is almost time for me to start filming, I need to look through my inventory and see what items will help me to produce, mix, and edit and scenes together. No horror film will come out looking good if the camera quality or the equipment in general is not up to standard with the technology of today, so I need to make sure everything I have is up to date. If I need to buy something at my local Walmart, then I will probably buy it if the price is good.

    I have a Samsung S10E, and all of my previous projects where I recorded something have been through my phone's camera. However, this is the final Cambridge project we're talking about. As such, I will most likely be using the phone of my friend's iPhone due to the superior camera and video quality. Every time I finish filming a scene for my opening, I will send the video from his iPhone to my Email. While this will take longer than simply filming from my phone, I want to get the best possible score on this, so I will take the extra steps necessary.

    Lighting will not be a problem because I will be filming during the day. The only realistic issue I see coming my way is that the sun will be extremely bright while filming and it will make the video hard to see. Considering it's March and approaching Spring, as well as living in Florida, it could be a concern. Worse comes to worse, I will change the contrast of the video to make it more visible for the audience to see what is happening, but still realistic enough that they won't notice a change.

    Once my Email has all the scenes sent from my friend's iPhone, I can easily access it through my laptop and begin the editing process, my weakness. All year, I have been using the app known as OpenShot Video Editor for my films. It is really basic and makes it so that someone like me, who has no experience whatsoever with editing, can decently put together a small piece. Unfortunately, it might be a little too basic, as it does not have a lot of features that other video editing applications have, such as small animation effects. If I have to, I'll use the free trial of some other application that has features beyond my imagination, such as Wondershare.

    

    My main concern with this whole thing is how my editing will turn out. Again, I have stated this previously many times, but my editing needs a lot of improvements. Thankfully, when we were doing group work within our projects, I met a lot of people that are good with editing that I became friends(?) with. I have their numbers so if I feel like I need help, I can ask them for any tips and tricks on how to improve my editing. I will also ask what software they use to make their films, which will be a big help.

Setting for My Film

     One of the most important aspects and most basic element necessary for a story, the setting is where the scenes take place. It describes the "where" and "what" of the plot, giving the audience context as to what they are seeing. In horror movies, the setting can vary widely, from a dark secluded room that the character is trapped in, to an entire woodland forest where an evil entity chases them at night. When it comes to the setting, there are many factors that need to be considered in order to effectively create the perfect horror environment.

Alternate History

    This is when the setting uses a historical event but diverges it from what actually happened. For example, I could talk about a top secret experiment that goes wrong during WWII, causing fallen soldiers to rise from the dead and attack their comrades. However, due to my budget and current circumstances, I'm staying away from this type of setting. Still, it would have been cool to do something like this.

Time Period

    The time period in horror can also have an impact in the setting. Most horrors take place in the present, but others have made it occur in different times that are not our own. Depending on what you are trying to go for, the time period will help create a sense of realism within that film. For example, in the 2015 horror The Witch takes place in 17th century New England. In that time period, settlers were terrified of witches, believing that they would abduct their children to eat. Because the villain in the story is a witch, the time period helps the audience settle into the story better and provides some context about the situation.

The Witch (2015)

Location

    This is the physical location of the setting- a forest, house, etc. People can connect the setting with a certain emotion. A house in the woods makes them think about paranormal activities. The desert makes reminds them of heat and dehydration. In my case, the woods/forest reminds the audience of isolation. 

The Forest (2016)

Day Or Night?

    Horror films are mostly known for taking place at night, as the dark background makes it easier to create fear and a sense of something evil lurking within the dark or unknown. However, this is over-used, so it has lost some of its charm over the years. Having it during the day can make the story slightly more original, as now the audience can not connect the daylight to safety and security, which would add to the overall horror effect.

Final Thoughts

    In my case, I need to consider what is convenient for me and what would work best with what I have. After a lot of thinking, I have a general idea of what my setting for the film opening will look like (with 99% certainty). Set during the day, the characters will find themselves hopelessly lost in some sort of abandoned part of town close to a heavily forested area. Due to a practically non-existent budget, it will be set in a normal timeline (no alternate history) and take place during this time period. Personally, I would love to go for an old timey-vibe where the characters are wearing clothes from the 90s because the audience would get that classic horror feeling. Unfortunately, I do not have the clothes that fit well with that time period, so I'm going to have to stick with today's fashion. As for the location specifically, I think I have found the perfect place. All I did was search up abandoned areas in my suburb online and found a few good locations. Over the course of 1 week (maybe more due to a heavy load of daily assignments), I will be visiting each of these locations to see if they are what I envision as the opening for my film. Worse comes to worse, I will go to Markham Park, which is close by and can offer really good shots.

Group Discussion

     Today in class our teacher gave us the opportunity to meet with other classmates through Microsoft Teams and discuss what we had done so far concerning our final project for Cambridge. I was put into a breakout room with 4 other people, and we began talking about our genre and plot for our story.

    One person was doing a psychological film mixed with horror elements. They wanted it to be about a man who could not hear for some reason suddenly hear a loud bang, and music would play throughout the opening to create suspense. I had completely forgotten about the musical aspect of my film, and hearing their idea on how they want to incorporate it reminded me that I have to think about that. I want the beginning to be silent so that the audience can focus on what is being said by the two characters, and then when the killer is introduced there will be a quiet melody of violins, which slowly ramps up as he walks towards the characters. Once everyone breaks into a run, the violins will be blaring across the opening to raise the tension among the viewers.

    Another person decided on an adventure piece that would have a voiceover in the beginning, something I had not thought about implementing. I really liked the idea of using a voiceover, as it could definitely introduce the audience with the basic premise of the story or what the character is like. However, I will not use it because I do not think it would mix well with my genre or what I have in mind.

    Continuing, someone else had decided to do a drama revolving around a kid's life in school. They wanted to film multiple shots in the dark to get symbolistic concepts integrated in the piece, which I thought was interesting. They had LED lights and other tools to help them, which was also smart. However, I plan on filming in during the day, so I do not think lighting in my piece will be an issue. They also wanted to have some sort of color scheme in the piece to create a sense of formalism, using Lady Bird (2017) as an example. I am going for a sense of realism, so this did not help me in terms of adding something new to my film.

    Finally, the last person was doing a romantic comedy surrounding two kids and their lives. They really enjoy watching this type of film, so they were confident they would make it work. Personally, I find having to create a comedy difficult because you have to be really fun so that the audience will laugh, and I do not want to risk that for Cambridge. One thing I liked what she said was that she planned on filming some scenes at the park. The specific park mentioned would be a really good spot to film my scenes, so I wrote that down in case I decided to film there.

    One issue we all seemed to agree on was the editing aspect of our film. Almost all of us were not confident in our editing skills because either grades were low when we did edit, or the projects that were graded higher had someone else in our group edit the project.

Storyboarding

     I feel a little worried with the progress I have done on this project. I feel like I should have already done the the storyboards, but here I am only just getting around to it. Sure, it may feel like I still have plenty of time to work on it, but so many tests are coming around the corner that I am dreading the next month and a half. While I am not too worried on filming the actual opening, what scares me the most will be the editing process. My editing needs to be top tier to effectively scare the audience, but knowing that my skills could definitely use improvements, I am afraid that I'll fail to deliver. Hopefully I can pull it off, because my Cambridge grade depends on it. For now, enjoy my storyboards for the film, which should make things easier when I finally decide to record.

    The film would open up with an establishing shot of characters J and N (Jock and Nerd) walking through a heavily forested area. J is clearly annoyed/mad at N, saying that it is his fault that they got lost trying to find the way to their friend's party, he can't believe how N got invited in the first place, etc. In the next scene, J has had enough of N being so quiet and pushes him onto the floor for a reaction. An over the shoulder shot from J shows N slowly pick himself up and fix his glasses, before noticing something out of the frame, prompting J to turn around as well.

    In this section, the two subjects are not in view, but they make some sort of gasping sound to let the audience know that they spotted something weird off in the distance. Hiding behind bushes and trees, they see a masked person with their hands behind their back, as well as tilting their head about 60 degrees. The Nerd begins panicking, explaining about a rumor they had heard a while back about a killer who wanders the forest looking for victims. People called him "The Rubberneck" because of how he moves his head in a funny manner while watching his victims. The Jock, not buying it, laughs it off and mocks the killer. Only when a utility knife is pulled out from behind the killer do they realize how much trouble they could be in, so they start running.

    In this section, the two characters decide it's every man for himself, running in opposite directions hoping the killer chases after the other. Parallel editing will show the perspectives and surroundings of each person, but at the same time let the audience know that both are occurring simultaneously. While The Jock is running and jumping over bushes, rocks, etc. like an athlete, The Nerd is simply running straight with his hands over his head.

    And that's all I had drawn for today's post. I plan on probably finishing it up over the weekend so I can have it ready for filming. What I had not drawn yet includes the POV scene of the killer chasing either The Nerd or The Jock; it is not meant to show who he is chasing, as this will create suspense within the audience because they do not know who will get jump scared and die. Another scene left to draw would be when both characters hear a rustle from some nearby bushes and as they are bracing to be attacked one of them is greeted to a lizard or some sort of animal, while the other is killed by the Rubberneck.

 

Target Audience & Representation in Horror

     Before I can elaborate further on my film opening, I went ahead and did some more research on the horror genre so I could understand more about this type of film. I had a general idea about who horrors were directed at, but to be honest, I  had no clue about anything related to representation in the horror film industry.

Target Audience

    Horror films are aimed at an audience between the ages of 15 to 30. Going lower than that would go into the range of kids who are still to young to enjoy this type of film because they are too busy crying or covering their eyes due to the violence and villain, making them terrified. On the other hand, going towards an audience that is not young adults would lead into territory where they were not desensitized to blood and violence when they were little because they did not grow up with technology. As a result, they would view the gory special effects as too much and would not be able to handle it. As people get older, they tend to gravitate more towards drama or romantic films, topics that many young kids and teens typically view as boring. This is why the range of 15 to 30 is a good target audience for a horror; teens and young adults within this group are into thrills, as it is excites a younger audience more than it would an older one.

    Furthermore, people in this target audience like to get that rush of adrenaline while watching a movie. The extra blood pumping into their veins and faster heart rate is something young people love to experience when watching a quick chase sequence. Meanwhile, the same cannot be said for older people, as an adrenaline rush is likely to put stress on their heart and have other health implications. 

Representation

    Representation in horror movies has often been subject to criticism by everyone. Women in the film are usually shown as being the damsel in the distress who needs the help of a strong, male character (The Nice Guy). Also, many women who are attacked in a horror movie have often committed some sort of sinful act, as if being murdered is some sort of sick punishment for them. Horror movies would portray women as the victims unless they were shown to have masculine traits or characteristics, while men were the heroes or the killers. However, over the years, this has become less of a problem, as more horror movies are giving women the star role and are able to figure out how to beat the villain without help from their knight in shining armor.

    Something horror movies are heavily criticized for is racism and lack of representation of minorities. Many films have a pre-dominantly white cast and focus on developing only them, leaving the minorities to have little development throughout the film. They would only have a minor role to play, so nothing much is ever really expanded on them. For example, black male characters in a horror are mostly known for either being the best friend of the main character or for the presumed trope that they are likely to die first at the hands of the villain.

Creating the Characters That Will Star in my Opening

    Now that I have the basic idea of what my opening is going to be like, I need to create a background for the three characters that will appear in the film. One of them, of course, will be the villain who chases the two other characters throughout the forest. The two characters will be dressed so that the audience can distinguish them as being The Jock and The Nerd. While I still do not fully know where would be the perfect place to film, I am going to go on Google Maps to see if I can find any locations near me that would be an ideal environment for the story. 

Villain/Killer: The Rubberneck

    For the villain, I decided to give them that name because the term "rubberneck" is defined as staring at something or someone in a comical manner. So, there will be a famous rumor within the story of the film that talks about a masked person who awkwardly stares at their next victims from a distance. When The Jock and The Nerd see the masked figure tilt his head in a childish fashion, they will recognize the situation they are in and run, which will introduce the background of the movie to the audience. In terms of the costume, I went around my house looking for something that the killer could wear. I found a creepy skull mask that would definitely scare me if I was wandering in a forested area and saw someone staring at me with it. I also created this all-black getup that would make the villain practically invisible at night, which would make it obvious that I should film at night. Unfortunately, due to certain events, my parents have not been allowing me to be out when it starts to get dark for my high school years, so it will prove rather difficult to film under the desired conditions. As such, I will most likely film during the day, but as of now it is still undecided.

    The thing I like most about the Rubberneck would be his choice of weapon: a utility knife with two sharp edges instead of one and with small razor edges along the side. I did not want to go with the classic kitchen knife that slashers such as Michael Myers or Ghostface, but at the same time I wanted to stick to those roots. I thought the utility knife was a perfect fit, and the design was unique enough that the audience would definitely connect my slasher with that specific knife for years to come.

Ryan (The Jock)

    The Jock known in the film as Ryan will be a good-looking guy with a decent build. In the beginning of the opening where he is conversing with The Nerd, he will be talking in a condescending tone and make the audience sympathize with the other actor. His constant bickering with the other archetype is common since The Jock and The Nerd do not mix well at all. If the audience does not connect Ryan as being a jock, his choice to wear a jersey of his favorite team will support the idea that he is also into sports. Furthermore, he will be wearing dog tags, which is connected to the Marines, which also correlates to staying in shape and being active.

Gordon (The Nerd)

    Gordon, AKA The Nerd in my film, will be a small guy (compared to Ryan) wearing glasses. He and Ryan will be arguing with each other when the scene begins, and it will show Gordon as an outcast and introverted. He does not directly look at Ryan while talking, showing he is not confident in what he is saying. Furthermore, at the end of their argument, Gordon will be shoved on the floor and get dirt on himself, representing his weaker social status to someone such as The Jock. While I do not have an idea of what clothes he will wear, I found some sneakers that were old and were originally hand-me-downs. The Nerd typically either has no fashion sense or does not care about their image, so I thought it would go well with the archetype.

Outline for My Film Project

    For my film project, I decided on my film opening being outside in a heavily forested or simply far away from buildings, infrastructure, etc. Because I live in Florida, finding a place like this is fairly easy. I could either film close to my neighborhood or go to a nearby park, so I will drive around those areas until I find a spot that looks really good on camera.

    I want my film to be introduced with a fast paced running-through-the-forest sequence followed by a slow scene where the character is taken out by the villain. Also, I want there to be 2 characters that are trying to run away from the antagonist. Throughout the opening, the scenes will transition between the location of both characters running in opposite directions, with another transition showing the villain chase after someone. This will be done so that the audience has no clue who is actually being chased until towards the end of the opening. So, as the scenes continuously change, they become slower and more silent as the character is trying to be quiet in the hopes that the pursuer does not find them. At the end, both characters will hear a loud rustle from a bush or a snap from a twig on the floor. Both frantically turn at the area where the sound was heard, only for one of them to be relieved when a small animal such as a lizard scurries out from the place. The audience will quickly be hit with a jump scare when the character who was not greeted by the animal gets attacked the villain, while a scene change shows the other person finally escaping the forested area and runs out onto the streets. The video below is a good example of a chase I would like to replicate. The dutch angle makes the shots look more chaotic and suspenseful, adding to the horror feel the movie creates.

    

Dead Wood (2007)

    However, something that was pointed out to me by my teacher has made me realize that I need to think more about what to incorporate into the opening. Simply begin the film with the two characters would be cheesy; it has to have some sort of context so that the chase sequences mean something; otherwise, it would be pointless to the audience and they would have no idea what to think about. As a result, I was thinking I could start the film with the two characters arguing with each other for getting themselves lost in the forest while on their way to a party at a camp. As they argue they would be greeted by the villain, who they spot staring at them a good distance a way with a mask covering their face. They ask if there is a problem and the masked figure responds by silently walking towards them, picking up pace and revealing a knife or a gun. At this point, both characters figure it is every man for himself and they run away in different directions, commencing the chase sequence.