Storyboard 1 (first draft)

Here is my first set of storyboards. They are my first draft because I have only used information from our plot. From this, I will then go on to develop the boards into a final storyboard before filming. I will use my final storyboard for on set reference.

Decision to change setting

After great consideration, it is now clear that the initial idea for location will have to be adapted. The hole that we visited is unsuitable for us to film at with the cast. I have therefore made the decision to not film at the hole and to use the local surrounding grounds more effectively.

“Producers should ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons working with and for them are not exposed to risks to their health and safety.” If we were to continue with the original plan and film at the hole, then as a member of the crew, I could not say I have met this guideline.

Health and Safety

I have been reading into Health and Safety legislation for filmmakers. There is some very good information from the BBC on what to do.

“Producers should ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons working with and for them are not exposed to risks to their health and safety. An example of what may be considered reasonably practicable would be if location filming was taking place in a warehouse with poor lighting. It would be appropriate to ensure that extra lighting is used and that all sharp or otherwise hazardous equipment is made safe.

You should have at least one experienced member of the crew who is aware of health and safety issues.

Some genres may pose more risks than others i.e. horror or action films or scenes involving animals. The production team should discuss safety issues before filming begins and take steps to avoid or reduce the risks identified.”

Source: BBC.co.uk

As stated above ‘you should have at least one experienced member of the crew who is aware of health and safety issues’. I have therefore taken it upon myself to become immersed in the Health and Safety laws that will affect us. I have been filming on a set for over 3 years now so I know the risks. I will ensure that I assess the situation on set of this Horror movie.

The Hole

‘The Hole’

Upon first visit to the castle we found a location that Joe had seen before. It was an underground bunker of sorts. It was relatively large and concrete built. It looked safe but would take much effort to film inside. We like the idea of involving this bunker in the filming but first we would have to ensure it was safe and wasn’t a danger to either ourselves or the cast.

Below is a clip of the bunker. The video shows more than the photos.

Character Profile - Danny

Danny

Actor: George Thomas

Quick Brief:

Danny is honest, kind and tends to think of other people before himself. He’s a family guy with his heart in the right place. He adores Lucy.

Danny doesn’t show a dominant and secondary trait, he’s just a genuinely nice person. What you see is what you get.

Dress sense: Very casual, slightly indie – skinny jeans/trousers nothing to make him seem different or abnormal.

Character Profile - Lucy

Lucy

Actor: Lucy Connah

Lucy has a Dominant and Secondary character trait.

Quick Brief:

Lucy is perceived as the ‘young/innocent/vulnerable/tame’ but this is actually a front. She manages to manipulate Danny by using her vulnerability in a way that he doesn’t see her to be a threat. This is her dominant character trait. She’s never had a boyfriend before Danny, we know little of her past.

Dress sense:

She has a very plain and ‘normal’ dress sense. Nothing that would make anyone look at her. She is attractive but doesn’t abuse the fact.

Enigma- Lucy’s true identity is the daughter of ‘The Keeper’. Therefore she has lead her boyfriend to ‘the trap’ and knows everything that is going to happen and when it is going to happen, as if scheduled. This is her secondary character trait.

Subtly, without Danny knowing, there is a personality change as more friends are killed. Whether Lucy becomes totally evil or not is left for debate, does she help kill Danny or not?

Temper:

Short tempered and volatile. This is hidden though. She knows she must mask the temper.

Habits:

She has a ‘nervous twitch’ which can be compared to that of ‘Professor Quirrel’ form ‘Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone’

What trait will make the character come alive?

The fact the she is helping her father with the homicide of her boyfriend.

Location Shoot

Below are images from the location shoot. All photos were taken by myself. The images start at the castle gates, closer to town and then go deeper into the woods, away from town. It includes images of the local derelict castle.

'The Male Gaze'

The male gaze is a theory that wasn’t discovered until recently, around 1975. It works by simply coming to the assumption that the camera is in fact male (heterosexual). Laura Mulvey, who introduced this concept, states that ‘in mainstream media, the male gaze takes precedence over the female gaze, reflecting an underlying power asymmetry.’

It can be seen as conscious or subconscious when used by directors in film making. Relating this back to ‘The Keeper’, I will certainly be taking advantage of this theory. We have decided that we could use it to our advantage in the following ways:

·         Danny is the male here and is brave and honest. He is the original ‘good guy’ who means well. Lucy is our sweet and cute female, but is hiding her true identity. If, through use of the male gaze, we could make George feel like the powerful alpha male and Lucy the weak female then we could lead the audience into a trap, before springing the twist on them, Lucy is in fact evil.

·         On the other hand, we could develop the male gaze and turn it into a possible ‘female gaze’. This is where we could have shots of Lucy looking at Danny, without him seeing her. We could then show that Lucy knows something Danny doesn’t. For example, when Danny is shocked at seeing or hearing something, a slight grin on Lucy’s face would show she knows something about it.

Initial Ideas for Plot

My work partner, Joe, is much more imaginative when it comes to plotting a story, than myself. He took the lead role in this one. My imagination skills are much better when I have a camera at hand and am on set.

Joe suggested a plot where we have a grounds man who is associated with our local castle. This lead me to suggest the title of ‘The Keeper’.

From this, the plot developed to a complicated story with characters that aren’t quite what they seem.

There are 2 main characters in the film, Lucy and Danny. We decided on a pairing of male and female as there are some classic theories that we can use with this.

One of these theories is the ‘male gaze’ that could play an interesting role in our film. I will explore this in more depth later on.

The main plot is all about how Danny wants to visit the castle to find out more about his brother’s disappearance. Upon arrival at the castle, strange things start happening. Things aren’t quite what they seem with his faithful girlfriend, Lucy either. Lucy comes across as sweet and kind. This is quite the reverse of the truth.

We soon find out that ‘the keeper’ has murdered Danny’s brother. The main twist comes when Danny realises that the Keeper is actually the father of Lucy. Lucy is in on the crime from the start and now has to decide for herself what she does.

Myself and Joe had a divide in opinion on this part of the plot, I preferred to include an emotional element to it by making Lucy decide what she wants, her murdering father, or her boyfriend (and best friend) Danny. Joe preferred to have a much more evil Lucy.

We did not have to decide on one of the two as the trailer would not reveal this to the audience, as it would give far too much away. So, we had an agreed general plot for the film, we now just needed to advertise the film to the target audience.

Research Summary

As part of my research I have done the following:

1.       In depth analysis of Paranormal Activity trailer

2.       Research into ‘what is a marketing package?’

3.       Codes and Conventions of a Horror movie

4.       The suspension of disbelief theory

5.       Ratings of films

6.       Looked at different length trailers (Fast5)

7.       Audience research (what is a target audience and how to work it out)

8.       Analysis of Paranormal Activity 2 trailer

9.       Questionnaire 1 (different types of film adverts)

10.   Research into the Film Industry

11.   Final Destination 5 Film review

12.   Analysis of Paranormal Activity 3 poster

13.   Analysis of Empire magazine Front page.

14.   Research Questionnaire 2 –Determining Target audience

Firstly, my analysis of Paranormal Activity’s trailer taught me a lot about how to make a trailer that embraces the audience. I feel that one of the best marketing techniques is to address the audience in the trailer. I found that this may well have helped with the success of the Paranormal Activity Franchise. The constant use of the visual noise and the ‘not so great’ camera angles are great for building suspense and making it jumpy.

Then, my research into what a marketing package actually is, threw up some useful information that I needed in order to produce my own. Again, Paranormal Activity pops up with its title as ‘the most profitable film ever made’.

Codes and Conventions of a Horror movie are quite straightforward, but without researching them, I may have easily missed some out. There are some not-so-obvious codes that are actually vital to make the movie fit the Horror genre.

The suspension of disbelief film is something that cropped up in the analysis of the Paranormal Activity trailer. I decided to find out more and soon realised how vital it was. As a producer of a movie, I have to ensure that the audience can subconsciously accept that what they are seeing on the screen is reality. Otherwise, they will find the film very boring and won’t recommend it to friends.

After seeing many trailers, I realised that I am overlooking an important point that needs further investigation. The MPAA rating cards. I found out lots of information on the different ones and decided that I need to ensure my trailer gets a ‘suitable for all ages’ rating card. I then looked at the BBFC ratings and decided that I didn’t want a rating too high because I will lose a large potential customer base, yet a rating too low will give the impression that the horror movie just isn’t very scary.

Different length trailers was something that I wanted to include in my production, that wasn’t actually compulsory. I wanted to vary the length for different situations and found that the longer trailers (2-2:30mins) are for cinematic use and internet but the shorter 30 second trailers are for television advertisement and are shown between programmes.

Before I decide on my target audience, I need to find out how to work it out, and what exactly it is. This helped me produce questionnaire 2 and I used the information I found to devise my target audience.

After the success of Paranormal Activity 1, Paranormal Activity 2 did just as well at the box office and since I took a lot of useful information from the first, I believed that the second would also throw up some interesting points upon analysis. I analysed the trailer and found a lot of continuity between the two PA films.

The first questionnaire that I wrote helped me work out the technical aspects of the trailer, longer or shorter? More or less content of plot given away? These answers have gone directly into helping produce the final product.

I have always been a fan of movies so looking further into the film industry helped me with getting my head around the industry that my product would be entering. I looked closely at the film industries of America (Hollywood) and the super industry of film that is in India, based in Mumbai (Bollywood).

I have stated many times throughout my research my respect for the Paranormal Activity franchise and its success. There is only one other Horror franchise that comes close to it, it is one of the longest running ever; Final Destination. I watched the latest film, Final Destination 5. I reviewed this and decided on elements that I enjoyed and disliked.

One of the ancillary tasks I have chosen is a poster for the film. I decided to analyse the poster of Paranormal Activity 3 to find out more about the poster.

The other ancillary task I selected was a film magazine front cover. I analysed the famous ‘Empire’ film magazine front cover for their exclusive on ‘The Dark Knight’. I chose this one as the main image was of the Joker who certainly has elements of Horror to his nature.

My second questionnaire was the one set out to determine my target audience. I found that the most popular age for horror movies was 15-17 years. This is a very tight gap meaning that the actual audience will spread either side of this range.

Example of Questionnaire 2