Soundtrack.

After looking at the audience feedback and discussing within the group how we could improve on our trailer we realised that we needed to add more to the soundtrack mainly some more background noise. Jacob our unofficial music scout then found a 'Horror soundtrack' CD on a site called AKM music. This CD is copyright free and so we were allowed to use it. We also got the idea for this soundtrack from our analysis of horror trailers and horror scenes.

This is a link to the AKM music site

Animatic

This is our initial animatic although we have included background music we have not added sound effects.

There is likely to be final version with a proper ending likely to include more shots and the title of the film.

Vacancy On Violet Hill prop list

This is a list of the equipment and clothing we are going to need in order to film.

Visual props

1. Record player x 1.

2. Plates x 2.

3. Fork x2.

4. Knives x2.

5. Glass x2.

6. Chairs x2 (already there).

7. Table (already there).

8. Food (cold pasta).

9. Lights (already there).

10. Torch.

11. Boxes.

12. Picture of mother.

13. Axe.

14. Mirror.

15. Lamp.

16. Dust sheets.

17. Car.

18. Table.

Filming equipment

1. Video camera.

2. Tri pod.

3. Boom mike.

4. Torch / lamp.

5. Reflective sheet.

6. Spare battery.

7. Mini DV tapes x2.

8. Clapper board.

9. Marker.

Costume

Gary – Stephen – Father

1. Jeans

2. T-shirt / polo shirt

3. Brown leather shoes (casual)

4. Coat (casual indoor)

Cameron – James – Son

1. Jeans (casual)

2. T-shirt / polo shirt (plain)

3. Combat trousers

4. Plain hoody

This is an equipment list of the props and equipment we need for our photoshoot in order to produce our ancillary tasks.

visual Props

1. Axe

2. Light reflective sheet.

Camera equipment

1. SLR camera

2. Tri-pod

3. Spare battery

4. Memory card

Shotlist

This is the shotlist at the bottom are some shots that have not been numbered they are possible shots.

1. Fade from black to production titles. The titles are de-saturated and grainy and occur as the sound track features the crackling of the vinyl record.


2. Reflective Media


3. Red moon Pictures


4. Long distance shot of Gramophone sitting on a small table at the end of a small hallway. The camera tracks forward slightly.

5. Extreme close-up of the Gramophone needle on the vinyl as the record turns. Sound bridge of cutlery sounds.

6. Shot above dinner table, Father is out of focus and close to the camera at close up distance, and the son is at medium shot distance at the other side of the table. The focus pulls from the son to the father as the father turns his head and asks ‘What’s that?’ referring to the music playing from the gramophone. A quick flicker of the lights occurs in the background.

7. Reaction shot of the father mid-way through turning his head from the last shot and looking just above the viewpoint of the camera at close-up distance.
(Do we want an eyeline match????)

8. Aerial shot of the two characters at the table, with the light bulb in view, flickering out.

9. Quick shot of the son doing a similar thing to the dad before the room plunges into darkness as the lights finally go out.

10. Pitch Black. He tells his son to stay where he is. Sounds of the father moving through the kitchen e.g. footsteps and opening a draw as the father takes out the torch.

11. Low angle shot of the father as the torch turns on and illuminates the area slightly. He starts to lift the torch.

12. Medium shot of the father as he turns around to face the dining table and starts to point the torch towards the general direction of the camera.


13. Point of view shot where the torch is pointed directly at the son’s chair, which is now empty.

14. Close up of the father’s face, demonstrating his reaction. He starts to move out of shot. The shot fades to black when he moves out of shot and bridges sounds of footsteps on floorboards.

15. The father calls his son’s name, and this audio bridges over the next couple of shots. Fades from black to close up of his feet stepping across the floorboards. Fades back to black.

16. Fades from black to a shot of a door from within a dark room as the torch peers around the corner and gets pointed directly at the camera and causes a lens flare. Fades back to black.

17. Sound bridge of the words ‘Daddy, I’m scared’ transition into the shot. Fades from black to a medium shot of the dad’s back as he walks slowly down the hallway from low angle (almost point of view from the son). The son steps into shot, his feet obscuring the view.

18. Medium close-up shot from behind the father as he turns around and starts to point the torch towards the direction of the camera / Medium close-up shot of the dad facing the camera. The Dad starts to turn and point the torch at the son, bringing some of the son’s silhouette into light.


19. Point of View shot of the father lifting the torch to his son’s face to reveal…wait for it…DEMON FACE! Orchestral swell and sharp dramatic audio.

20. The Light falls from the son’s face as the Dad drops the torch. The screen goes pitch black and goes silent

21. Small instrumental Crescendo. Cut to: lights back up with father and son in an embracing hug. Over-the-shoulder shot of the father’s face reveals that he has entered an anxious state. Dialogue from father “Everything will be OK”

22. Bleed on effect text: “A house of unseen evils”

23. Shot from the windscreen of the house. Camera movement: pan round to the father driving.

24. Shots of father and son unpacking boxes

25. Shot of father bringing out a picture of his wife. Over the shoulder shot + close-up reaction shot.

26. Shot of father standing in a doorway from behind. Father’s movement: turns his head as though he has heard something.

27. Bleed on effect text: “Will seize two lives” (after this point pace of editing increases, drums/music increases in volume + pace)

28.

29. Sound bridge: thunder. Shot of son pulling covers over his head (can have an insert shot of exterior of the house when the lighting strikes).

30. Cut to (this cut is timed with lighting from the previous shot) father looking at writing on a wall (just father in shot). Another flash from the lighting takes us to the next shot (fade to white, from white to Priest!!!! Or just another fade…)

31. Close-up of the priest as the sound bridges to him saying ‘It’s not your son, it’s the house!’ he could be holding the Dad on the shoulder, almost like he is trying to stop him from walking away

31. Cut to low angle shot of walls (father is slightly in shot) with the writing: “I will bury you”

32. Bleed on effect text: “And bury them” (Music/drums/whatever again, is becoming increasingly faster)

32. Cut to: shots of forest, man running through (tracking) with trees flashing across the foreground

33. Cut to: (transition=Wide timed with the trees flashing across the foreground) Cameron running through the forest

34. Cut to: In line with mirror, boy looking in mirror, hands suddenly come out from mirror and go to grab cam

shot of shadows creeping through gap at bottom of door more than one shadow

shot of windows bursting open and curtains blowing.

shadows creeping up the walls

shot of father bursting through a door with an axe in hand looking for son

Shot of son waking up in the middle of the night screaming.

Shot of them rushing/running through the house

Flash of lighting as gary/cam is standing at a window: silhoutte illuminated

Shot of gary picking up a teddy bear

Shots of forest (with man running- could have some shots of the boy)

Shot of axe (perhaps with man creeping around or swinging it!!!)

Shot from outside of the window when they are having dinner

Shot of son running down stairs

Picking our music

After looking at the conventions and techniques used in horror films and trailers we realised one of the key elements was music. In nearly every modern film there is a soundtrack this could be with music or just with sounds. We realised that in order to make our trailer more realistic and convetnional we would need a soundtrack so we began searching for one.

Jacob found a very suitable piece of music by a band called the ink spots who released a lot of popular songs in the 40's they were a rhythm and blues band mainly and helped to define the genre. The song we found was called maybe which was released in 1940. There were two main reasons why this song was a very good choice.
one was the tone and pace of the music it fitted perfectly with our idea for what our trailer would be like. it is important to have the right tone because music helps to set the scene and draw emotion from the listener. Another reason why this song was a good choice was because it is more than 50yrs old this means that it is copyright free and so we do not have to worry about copyright laws.


 We performed some sound test on the audio as well for example adding an echo to it to make it sound more sinister. We did this to ensure that it would sound right in our trailer.

Intial plot synopsis

The story revolves around two characters, a father and a son. The father is the main character of the film and has recently lost his wife in a car accident. He decides to move away with his son to escape a setting that reminds them of a troubled past. They find a house in the country, remote from their usual urban surroundings. The father and son move in and try to adjust to a more solitary life when bizarre events start to occur.

The electricity power to the house frequently cuts out, but upon investigation of the fuse board, there never seems to be a problem. The gramophone of the house repeatedly switches itself on and starts to play old 40s records. At night, the father hears footsteps and doors opening and closing, and suspects that someone is tampering with the house. The father starts to question his son, asking him why he’s trying to cause trouble, as he is the only plausible suspect. The son denies all accusations concerning tampering with the house.

One day the father wakes up to find his son missing from the house. He starts to search the woods surrounding the house, shouting out his son’s name in an attempt to find him. Panic ensues, as there’s few signs or traces of his son in the woods, and he starts to get lost as he moves deeper into the forest. The father starts to see shadows moving across the scenery and hears menacing sounds. The father sees one silhouette standing still in the distance and as he starts to move towards it, the silhouette starts to run away. In a mad rush to catch the enigmatic figure the father stumbles across his son crouching in a forest alcove. The son won’t answer his father as his father asks him why he ran away. From here onwards the son seems to be afraid of his own father.

One night the power cuts out again whilst the two are eating dinner. The father tells his son not to move whilst he finds a torch. Upon returning to the dinner table his shines the torch light at his sons seat but his son is missing. The house starts to make menacing sounds again, and the father cautiously searches the premises. Entering the kitchen he finds all the draws open and several kitchen knives lying around the countertops. Moving over to the gramophone playing he stares at it to hear his son from behind him say ‘I’m scared’. The father quickly turns and shines the torch at his son to reveal the boy standing there with phantom/demon like features. Panicking, the dad drops the torch, scrambling to pick it back up and shines the torch back at his son standing right next to him now but now in a normal state. The lights flicker back on, but from here onwards the father starts to suspect that his son his possessed or evil.

The father visits the local church to consult a priest about his troubled thoughts. The priest, unaware that someone has moved into the community, asks where the two have moved in residence. After telling the priest what address they moved into, the priest starts to panic and orders him to leave his parish and never return to the village area again, and even to leave his son behind. From these words the father determines that his son is the problem, and not the house.

One night the son and father are in bed and the son, trying to get to sleep starts to get tormented by the house. Menacing voices tell him to ‘hide or kill’. Shadows start to creep up the wall of his bedroom and the window starts to open by itself as the voices get louder. Staring at the window petrified, the boy then glances back at his wall as he hears the sound of carving to see the word ‘Hide or Kill’ carved in large capitals on his bedroom wall. The boy jumps out of his bed and runs to his father’s room. He steadily opens the door, walks in and stands at the foot of his dad’s bed. He gets his dad to wake up by pushing at his ankles. The dad wakes up in a daze and turns on the lamp to see the walls of his room carved repeatedly with the words ‘I’ll bury you’. The father panics and yells at his son, screaming and cursing, telling him to get out. The son, frightened, runs out of the room and hides in the living room. The father grabs an axe from underneath his bed and creeps out of his room. He turns round the corner to see his son crouching in the corner. The father moves towards his son and sees him scared and nervous. The dad apologises and stretches out one hand to lift his son, but as the son looks up at the dad his face turns demon like once again. Panicking, the father swings his axe at his son, missing narrowly.

The father continues to hunt his son in the house with his axe whilst his son tries to find a means to escape. The sun currently sees his father as a terrible haunting figure as he chases him relentlessly until the boy is crawling on all fours outside the entrance of the house. Just as the father is about to take a swing and kills his son, the priest arrives just in time and shoots the father with a hunting rifle. The priest then takes the boy and puts him in his car to drive away from the house. The son looks out the back windscreen to watch the house disappear over the horizon. The priest tells the boy it will all be alright now, as the son sits forward and looks up at the priest with the same demon features.

Demon Face

One of group members produced this video of changing a face to a 'demon face' which will be one of the integral parts of our Trailer.

Second Ideas

Today we discussed what type of horror trailer we would be producing. Horror was one of the first genres of film to be produced the first horror being Le Manoir du diable translated into the house of the the devil.

We chose to follow to normal conventions of a film trailer in order to promote it successfully. Charles Derry argues that there are three sub-genres witinh horror these are

1. Horror-of-the-personality: Threats in this story are normally stemming from human beings

2. Horror-of-Armageddon: A me

nace which usually comes from nature going mad threatens human’s existence

3. Horror-of-the-Demonic: Horror stems from the idea that evil otherworldly entities exist

We created a mind map of the main ideas we had as a group they are numbered showing which sub genre they are related to.

After creating the mind map we decided on three different stories that we could into more detail about and create a plot story. The three stories we decided on is.

1. A man has recently been released from a hospital with head injuries. When returning to his given address he walks through the front door and his house starts to reveal itself as a labyrinth of bizarre and dark events. When he walks through a door the setting completely changes. He always watches people being hunted by a crazed masked killer from a removed perspective like a fly on the wall. Eventually he realises that the killer was himself before he suffered from amnesia.

2. A boy and a father move into a new house in the country and begin to hallucinate occasionally seeing each other as demonic figures. Strange occurrences take place in the house; bizarre reflections in mirrors, sinister shadows creeping across the walls etc. Both the father and son find themselves being haunted by each other. The father tries to discover if his house is haunted and why, but he eventually starts to suspect his son of being possessed by an evil entity.

3. A farmer begins to suspect that the scarecrows on his farm are moving independently of their own whilst he is asleep. All his possessions start to go missing and turn up in strange places. His anxiety is heightened when the animals on his farm get slaughtered over night. Locals then tell him that they’ve seen men walking around outside his house at night suspiciously. His objective is to uncover the mystery.

We decided upon the second story this was because.

• We decided not to use the first idea because although we all thought that the first idea was the best it does not evoke the horror and fear that we were looking to evoke within our audience.
• We chose not to use the third idea because it would be hard to organise the trailer as we do not have access to a farm whereas we can easily get access to a house.

Initial Meetings

During our initial meetings we decided to produce a thriller film trailer feeling that this would help us to capitalise on our likes and skills. Some of the thriller ideas we came up with were; a murder, a chase, hostage situation, terrorist attack and a robbery.

We decided to produce a crime thriller based around the concept of a chase between two characters using character development to develop the plot to a decent standard. We decided to make ac rime thriller with this premise because we all have an interest in crime thrillers and we all had a lot of ideas about how to make the trailer. We decided that we all the same taste in films some of our favorite crime thriller films being The Departed, Pulp Fiction and collateral.

In our next meeting we decided to mind some ideas for names for our protagonist. Some of the names we came up with were:

• Myles
• Jason
• John
• Chris

Some of the names we produced for the antagonist were:

• Vincent
• Alfie
• Frankie
• Jason
• Eddie
• Marcus
• Desmond
• Jack

Some of the titles we mind mapped for the film:

• The slip
• Runners High
• Loose Fortune
• Mile a Minute
• Dead Venture
• Live Wire
• Blind Alley

After some discussion within the group and feedback from our peers we decided upon miles for the protagonist, Alfie for the antagonist and Mile a Minute for the title.

Our initial plot idea was : Young hacker Myles Harvard finds an Internet forum request to hack a database online for a phenomenal fee. Myles hacks the data from the database after being told to not look at the data he stole. Myles looks at the data anyway. After retrieving the data he is told to meet the Antagonist in town so that he can make the exchange for money. Myles waits for him on a street corner when a car shows up and the Antagonist invites him in. In the car the Antagonist is ready to give him the money when Myles is tricked into revealing that he read the data. The Antagonist is about to shoot Myles when the car crashes by chance. Myles jumps out of the car taking both the disk of information and the money while the Antagonist is disoriented. Myles returns to his house to find that the police are inside investigating his room after his IP address is tracked from the hacking job. Myles now has no one to turn to knowing he’s a convict and chooses to run with the money he took from the Antagonist.

We are going to pitch our idea to our tutor within the next few days and hope to receive feedback on our idea.