My target audience is the general horror movie goers, 16-20 year olds, and due to the Evil Dead inspiration any fans of the the Evil Dead trilogy. While the general stereotype for this age group states that they listen to rap, i have previously stated my dislike for rap, and the vast majority of people I know in this age group prefer more rock/metal oriented music, so i will try for a Metallica style theme to the film. Although some parts of the theme (the bell on the opening credits) is based on less socially accepted pro wrestling (namely the Undertakers signature BONG!) i don't think this will matter when it comes to my target audience.
Something that they will expect is plenty of gore, while mt budget restraints (no budget) means i will have to improvise (all gore off screen or behind something, fake blood and sausages).
Sunday, 11 December 2011
begning, middle and end of film
The film will begin with initiation of the zombie apocalypse, it will be explained that the zombies are more like the Deadites from the Evil Dead, intelligent and fast zombies, than your stereotypical Romero style shufflers, as well as the in joke that no zombie film calls the zombies zombies, they usually refer to them as infected or something smiler. The opening will track humanity attempting to handle the outbreak and hold secure locations against the horde (Army of Darkness, dam ugly SOB's etc.) and some of them getting overrun and others holding.
The middle will revolve around the retreat from overran positions and attempts to evacuate civilians to safety and find a way to combat the horde, mainly by reclaiming armoury's and airfields from the horde to get armour and air support and attempts to find some sort of cure for the infected.
The last third will be about humanity finally getting its shit together and counter attack against the horde, reclaiming several major cities and relieving besieged locations via air support and airlift (e.g. the Tower of London, while it doesn't look like much on the out side, inside it appears to be built to withstand a nuclear apocalypse.) and the final discovery of the Necronomicon, the ancient book of the dead written by the "Mad Arab" Abdul Alhazer, and how its being used by a mad man to try and take over the Earth with his "Army of Darkness" and after being unceremoniously shot in the head, its said that hes "been watching too many films" before the speaker turns to the audience, breaking the fourth wall, and says "ain't that right".
The middle will revolve around the retreat from overran positions and attempts to evacuate civilians to safety and find a way to combat the horde, mainly by reclaiming armoury's and airfields from the horde to get armour and air support and attempts to find some sort of cure for the infected.
The last third will be about humanity finally getting its shit together and counter attack against the horde, reclaiming several major cities and relieving besieged locations via air support and airlift (e.g. the Tower of London, while it doesn't look like much on the out side, inside it appears to be built to withstand a nuclear apocalypse.) and the final discovery of the Necronomicon, the ancient book of the dead written by the "Mad Arab" Abdul Alhazer, and how its being used by a mad man to try and take over the Earth with his "Army of Darkness" and after being unceremoniously shot in the head, its said that hes "been watching too many films" before the speaker turns to the audience, breaking the fourth wall, and says "ain't that right".
Questionnaire Analysis
I asked ten 16 to 18 year olds - my target audience for a fifteen rated horror film.
Question One: 80% said they went once a month - which shows me that my target audience gos to the cinema a lot - my film could make a lot of money!
Question Two: 90% said they owned more than 50 DVDs - this shows that if my target audience saw the film in the cinema then there is still a very high chance that they would buy it on DVD as well, making even more money.
Question Three: 90% said they did enjoy horror films, this shows my target audience will be interested in the film.
Question Four: The poll for preferred genre of horror, supernatural or psychological, was spilt 50/50, this will not affect the genre of my film however.
Question Five: A minority of people said that horror is there preferred genre of film to watch with friends, the majority going for action or comedy, however due to the film being heavily inspired by the Evil Dead series (mainly Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness) this will not be a problem.
Question One: 80% said they went once a month - which shows me that my target audience gos to the cinema a lot - my film could make a lot of money!
Question Two: 90% said they owned more than 50 DVDs - this shows that if my target audience saw the film in the cinema then there is still a very high chance that they would buy it on DVD as well, making even more money.
Question Three: 90% said they did enjoy horror films, this shows my target audience will be interested in the film.
Question Four: The poll for preferred genre of horror, supernatural or psychological, was spilt 50/50, this will not affect the genre of my film however.
Question Five: A minority of people said that horror is there preferred genre of film to watch with friends, the majority going for action or comedy, however due to the film being heavily inspired by the Evil Dead series (mainly Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness) this will not be a problem.
Saturday, 10 December 2011
Horror music
Perhaps the most iconic piece of music in horror history if not all of movie history, the Psycho violin screech, first heard when the Psycho attacks a woman in a shower, the sharp impact of this simple piece of music has in bedded it into our minds as THE soundtrack to all grisly murders.
Zombieland uses an edited version of Metallica's For Whom The The Bell Tolls in the opening scene, a much welcome break from what appears to be the norm of films that use licenced music for there soundtracks, while most will use some sort of inferior rap song (see Modern Warfare 2 and Battlefield 3 adverts), piece of modern pop music or grunge (see the vast majority of films), this goes for old school metal that fits the film extremal well, as society falls to the zombie horde we hear For Whom The Bells Tolls...
(Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, for it tolls for thee)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnTR-cG5W1I
Queen starts playing when the zombiefied pub landlord appears, creating a hilarious fight scene to the theme of Don't Stop Me Now as they try to fight him off using pool ques and a fire extinguisher.
What i believe deserves an honourable mention are the horror style sounds associated with WWE wrestler the Undertaker:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQDeM8xoXjs&feature=related
While not part of any horror movie the Undertakers theme, gong and sound effects still send chills down peoples spines (mine included), the character of the Undertaker likens himself to the Devil, claiming to be even more powerful than the Beast (he built the house the devil lives in, brick by fiery brick, and when he comes calling, the Devil still answers to him with "sir"), and its surprising a movie based around the Undertaker hasn't been made, the gong is iconic and, due it being just a single bell toll, a sound not a piece of music, is not copyright and so i am planning to use it in my film, the static is pure horror as it interrupts anything electronic, almost all the sound effects on display here I consider pure horror, hos theme has and will always freak people out, and due to that being a copyrighted piece of music, i cant use it as part of the film, but the static sound and gong can be used.
Zombieland uses an edited version of Metallica's For Whom The The Bell Tolls in the opening scene, a much welcome break from what appears to be the norm of films that use licenced music for there soundtracks, while most will use some sort of inferior rap song (see Modern Warfare 2 and Battlefield 3 adverts), piece of modern pop music or grunge (see the vast majority of films), this goes for old school metal that fits the film extremal well, as society falls to the zombie horde we hear For Whom The Bells Tolls...
(Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, for it tolls for thee)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnTR-cG5W1I
Queen starts playing when the zombiefied pub landlord appears, creating a hilarious fight scene to the theme of Don't Stop Me Now as they try to fight him off using pool ques and a fire extinguisher.
What i believe deserves an honourable mention are the horror style sounds associated with WWE wrestler the Undertaker:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQDeM8xoXjs&feature=related
While not part of any horror movie the Undertakers theme, gong and sound effects still send chills down peoples spines (mine included), the character of the Undertaker likens himself to the Devil, claiming to be even more powerful than the Beast (he built the house the devil lives in, brick by fiery brick, and when he comes calling, the Devil still answers to him with "sir"), and its surprising a movie based around the Undertaker hasn't been made, the gong is iconic and, due it being just a single bell toll, a sound not a piece of music, is not copyright and so i am planning to use it in my film, the static is pure horror as it interrupts anything electronic, almost all the sound effects on display here I consider pure horror, hos theme has and will always freak people out, and due to that being a copyrighted piece of music, i cant use it as part of the film, but the static sound and gong can be used.
Thursday, 8 December 2011
Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CjVKGphTW8
The film opens with Ash as a slave being dragged through the dessert in 1300AD, as he narrates the opening he talks about his past life, how he had a job in S-Mart (shop smart, shop S-Mart) and a girlfriend, he then goes on to narrate a alternate version of the events in the last film, he talks about the Necronomican Ex Mortis, the book of the dead, and how it awoke "something dark" and it took his girlfriend and possessed his hand, explaining that he had to cut it off and replace it with the iconic chainsaw hand. The scene shifts to an alternate version of the Evil Dead 2's ending, while Ash dose get sucked into the portal same as the last film its a very different sequence. With the scene set firmly on the portal the opening credits "Bruce Campbell vs Army of Darkness" come up in smoke with dramatic music being played.
The altered back story could be interpreted as Ash is a bit of an idiot, as he is the one narrating the opening, and gets in wrong. The opening scene shows that this is a horror/comedy a lot more clearly than in the last, for example Ash's manic, and hilarious, laughter as he cuts his possessed hand off. While not much of the plot is given away as we know from the first two films it will feature Ash battling the deadites, demon zombie monsters, and him trying to find a way out of 1300AD and back to his own time.
The film opens with Ash as a slave being dragged through the dessert in 1300AD, as he narrates the opening he talks about his past life, how he had a job in S-Mart (shop smart, shop S-Mart) and a girlfriend, he then goes on to narrate a alternate version of the events in the last film, he talks about the Necronomican Ex Mortis, the book of the dead, and how it awoke "something dark" and it took his girlfriend and possessed his hand, explaining that he had to cut it off and replace it with the iconic chainsaw hand. The scene shifts to an alternate version of the Evil Dead 2's ending, while Ash dose get sucked into the portal same as the last film its a very different sequence. With the scene set firmly on the portal the opening credits "Bruce Campbell vs Army of Darkness" come up in smoke with dramatic music being played.
The altered back story could be interpreted as Ash is a bit of an idiot, as he is the one narrating the opening, and gets in wrong. The opening scene shows that this is a horror/comedy a lot more clearly than in the last, for example Ash's manic, and hilarious, laughter as he cuts his possessed hand off. While not much of the plot is given away as we know from the first two films it will feature Ash battling the deadites, demon zombie monsters, and him trying to find a way out of 1300AD and back to his own time.
Questionnaire
Questionnaire
1) How often do you go to the cinema?
One a week
Once a month
Every six months
2) How many DVDs do you own?
Less than ten.
Between ten and fifty
More than Fifty
3) Do you enjoy horror films?
Yes.
No.
4) Which style of Horror do you think is the best?
Psychological.
Supernatural.
5) What is your favourite film genre to watch with friends?
Horror
Romance
Action
Comedy
Thriller
The poster style is extremal cartooney, a massive break from the last two films, with a large amount going on in the picture, Ash with his Boomstick and chainsaw hand is standing on the top of the wreckage of car with a beautiful woman hanging on to his leg, with 3 mini-Ash's attacking his leg and a skeleton army climbing up from under his car. The text is in bold orange letters to catch the casual observers eye while in smaller white text in the top left is the corny tag line "Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas"
In the centre of the poster is the facehugger egg, the cause of all the problems in the Alien series, the background is the empty abyss of space (black with speckled white bits) that highlights the eerie greens of the main facehugger egg and clutch with the tagline "in space no one can here you scream" cleraly visable.
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Research and Planning To Do List
I am going to have posted these ten posts by Wednesday 14th December:
1. Photos of my location and comments about why I am filming there.
2. Pictures of costumes my characters will wear and reasons I have picked them.
3. A post showing three titles in my genre. I will upload three horror posters and will explain what the titles are like and will explain what mine will be like.
4. I wioll explain who my target audience is and will explain what kind of things they are interested in.
5. I will ask five people five questions about film and cinema and will explain what my results are.
6. I will explain my beginning, middle and end of my film - if I was making the whole thing.
7. I will analyse another opening two minutes to a horror film.
8 I will comment on the music in three horror films (uploading youtube links would be even better) and will explain what type of music I will use. I might even find some non-copyright music to use and will comment on it.
9. I will finish my neat storyboard and won't lose it.
10. I will have a picture and an interview with at least one of my actors.
1. Photos of my location and comments about why I am filming there.
2. Pictures of costumes my characters will wear and reasons I have picked them.
3. A post showing three titles in my genre. I will upload three horror posters and will explain what the titles are like and will explain what mine will be like.
4. I wioll explain who my target audience is and will explain what kind of things they are interested in.
5. I will ask five people five questions about film and cinema and will explain what my results are.
6. I will explain my beginning, middle and end of my film - if I was making the whole thing.
7. I will analyse another opening two minutes to a horror film.
8 I will comment on the music in three horror films (uploading youtube links would be even better) and will explain what type of music I will use. I might even find some non-copyright music to use and will comment on it.
9. I will finish my neat storyboard and won't lose it.
10. I will have a picture and an interview with at least one of my actors.
Monday, 5 December 2011
Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn operning 2 minutes
The film opens with a lot of smoke as a narrator describes Necronomicon Ex Mortis, the book of the dead, as the smoke clears and the book flies towards and slaps on the screen getting stuck and then peeling off, the camera then enters the mouth a portal in the mouth on the book as the narrator states that it served as a passageway to the evil worlds beyond and that it was written when the seas ran red with blood, cutting to a blood red sea, and how that blood was used to ink the book, as the book gets filled in with blood red lettering. The narrator sates that the book then disappeared, and it fades to the opening credits and title, that then turns into the tunnel that Ash and his girlfriend emerge from. They are talking about the cabin they are going to stay in, Ash stating that it is "deserted". After the shot cuts to them crossing a bridge it moves to the cabin they are in and Ash playing the piano as his girlfriend dances behind him.
The opening about the Necronomicon Ex Mortis shows that this is going to be a horror film but it dose not show that it is comedy at the same time very well, with only the deliberately cheesy sound effects and the book getting stuck on the screen giving that away, as the iconic scenes (such as the chainsaw hand and Boomstick) don't come till later as it dose not show Ash to be the badass that he will become not that later in the film but shows that he has a close bond with his girfriend, makeing the next scene even more horrible.
Thursday, 1 December 2011
Horror Cliches
When it comes to cliches the horror genre is just as rich as that of romance, if not more so, due to all the sub-genres with there own cliches and monsters to attempt to make us evacuate our bowls, and then there is Twilight... only getting a mention to due the presence of "monsters" ("vampires").
Every horror film relies on battle hardened cliches, the zombies will always be where you least expect them (how did they get up onto the roof?) if there were no creepy little girls in Japanese horror out to make you wet your pants, the sub genre would implode (and the Undertaker would be at a loss for creepy promos) and if in someway vampires almost seem like misunderstood in there own vamparic blood draining way (DON'T LOOK AT TWILIGHT!!!!!!) before they rip your throat out then they would cease to exist in modern cinema.
Small children are ALWAYS evil, be it in the possession of demons (the Exorcist) or are just plain creepy and we don't quite know what they are and what they have to do with the scary stuff, especial is they talk in rhyme (see Undertaker promos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX4XcTix6vQ&feature=related ). If there are teens in the film then more often than not they will be spoilt rich kids, they sort that make your fists itch each time they come on screen and you desperately hope that they will be the first to be disemboweled by the mask lunatic/demon/scary ghost thing or by zombies, vampires or werewolves.
Horror films work best in one of two settings, either out in the countryside around the middle of nowhere (this can include a castle) or in the midst or just after some sort of apocalypse (more often than not zombie, although nuclear has been touched upon) but the unifying factor is that in both there is no way of getting outside help, to coin a famous tag line, "in (insert location here) no one can hear you scream". And when one of the main characters inevitable descends into the lair of the antagonist (basement, cave, vampire castle etc.), and is more often than not the pretty girl you hope will survive, and depending on the situation she will either be taken prisoner or (with vampires) find the head vamp and get bitten, and its then up to her relative/boyfriend to rescue her/find a cure/stake her.
A staple of horror movies is the "is it really there" or an anti-climax, when the character sees something in the mirror, or rush by the window but when they turn round or leave to investigate they will find nothing, and put it down to nerves due to there current social problems. Or encounter said nasty in a shower, so you make the assumption that they have never seen Psycho (cue universally known Psycho stabbing music http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfthzU3V4zo) as well as when the check into desolate motels, so once again, you have to make the assumption that Hitchcock never existed in whatever alternate universe the movie is set in.
Never go to sleep as there will be something nasty will be gnawing on your face when you wake up, strangers will always be some sort of cannibal or Satan worshipper (or worse Cthulhu)and if they try to get help from a priest more often than not they will be well meaning but incompetent buffoon and dont trust the nuns.
Every horror film relies on battle hardened cliches, the zombies will always be where you least expect them (how did they get up onto the roof?) if there were no creepy little girls in Japanese horror out to make you wet your pants, the sub genre would implode (and the Undertaker would be at a loss for creepy promos) and if in someway vampires almost seem like misunderstood in there own vamparic blood draining way (DON'T LOOK AT TWILIGHT!!!!!!) before they rip your throat out then they would cease to exist in modern cinema.
Small children are ALWAYS evil, be it in the possession of demons (the Exorcist) or are just plain creepy and we don't quite know what they are and what they have to do with the scary stuff, especial is they talk in rhyme (see Undertaker promos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX4XcTix6vQ&feature=related ). If there are teens in the film then more often than not they will be spoilt rich kids, they sort that make your fists itch each time they come on screen and you desperately hope that they will be the first to be disemboweled by the mask lunatic/demon/scary ghost thing or by zombies, vampires or werewolves.
Horror films work best in one of two settings, either out in the countryside around the middle of nowhere (this can include a castle) or in the midst or just after some sort of apocalypse (more often than not zombie, although nuclear has been touched upon) but the unifying factor is that in both there is no way of getting outside help, to coin a famous tag line, "in (insert location here) no one can hear you scream". And when one of the main characters inevitable descends into the lair of the antagonist (basement, cave, vampire castle etc.), and is more often than not the pretty girl you hope will survive, and depending on the situation she will either be taken prisoner or (with vampires) find the head vamp and get bitten, and its then up to her relative/boyfriend to rescue her/find a cure/stake her.
A staple of horror movies is the "is it really there" or an anti-climax, when the character sees something in the mirror, or rush by the window but when they turn round or leave to investigate they will find nothing, and put it down to nerves due to there current social problems. Or encounter said nasty in a shower, so you make the assumption that they have never seen Psycho (cue universally known Psycho stabbing music http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfthzU3V4zo) as well as when the check into desolate motels, so once again, you have to make the assumption that Hitchcock never existed in whatever alternate universe the movie is set in.
Never go to sleep as there will be something nasty will be gnawing on your face when you wake up, strangers will always be some sort of cannibal or Satan worshipper (or worse Cthulhu)and if they try to get help from a priest more often than not they will be well meaning but incompetent buffoon and dont trust the nuns.
Hot Fuzz opening 2 minutes
http://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=XpeYvuV5J_I
(due to problems with the insert video option, copy and paste the link into the address bar)
The film opens with a man entering a building and aggressively walking up to the desk, just before he reaches it he takes his hat off and, with a sneer on his face, brings out his ID witch, the picture also sneering, tells us he is P.C Nicholas Angel as the narrator (himself) tells us that as well. He then starts to narrate he life up to that point, telling us of his education, how he joined the police force, his training and how he excelled at the aggressive side of the police force (urban "pacification" and riot control) as well as at theoretical coursework and exams. He then states that he graduated top off his class and received an award (the Baton of Honour) and then entered the Metropolitan Police Service. The shot cuts to him running up some satires in full police uniform and then cuts again to him talking to elderly members of the community and elderly ethnic minorities whilst P.C Angel says that he established an "effectiveness and popularity within the community" and immediately cuts to a shot of him in front of a presentation with a picture of what we assume is a drug dealer in the centre and the elderly couples around the edge with the words "BE A CREDIT TO YOUR COMMUNITY" in block capitals (as shown). It is then shown he was lecturing offenders. He goes on to list how he improved his skill base, e.g advanced driving and cycling, during both he had the same snarl on his face, and then cuts to him practising Fencing, Judo and Chess in the same hall and he states he holds the record for the 100m dash. The shot cuts to Angel in full body Armour carry an assault rifle as he narrates his time with the SO19 armed response unit. Then the shot cuts to him walking down a corridor as he states he has received 9 special commendations, cutting to a fast moving shot of aforementioned commendations, and how he has the highest arrest record for any officer in the Met, cuts to shots of handcuffs being placed on wrists, and then he states his injuries, and how the last one was caused by a man, dressed a Father Christmas, and the scene cuts to Peter Jackson dressed a Father Christmas stabbing Angle just after he knocks on a door.
While this tells us nothing of the films plot it dose set up one of the main characters, Angel, as a "super cop" with a perfect service record. This sets the film up as a parody of the American cop film subgenre, as shown by Angel haveing the same epression when he was driving the car and riding the bike, as well as the extream aggression shown when playing chess and last of all his injury from a man dresses as Father Christmas.
(due to problems with the insert video option, copy and paste the link into the address bar)
The film opens with a man entering a building and aggressively walking up to the desk, just before he reaches it he takes his hat off and, with a sneer on his face, brings out his ID witch, the picture also sneering, tells us he is P.C Nicholas Angel as the narrator (himself) tells us that as well. He then starts to narrate he life up to that point, telling us of his education, how he joined the police force, his training and how he excelled at the aggressive side of the police force (urban "pacification" and riot control) as well as at theoretical coursework and exams. He then states that he graduated top off his class and received an award (the Baton of Honour) and then entered the Metropolitan Police Service. The shot cuts to him running up some satires in full police uniform and then cuts again to him talking to elderly members of the community and elderly ethnic minorities whilst P.C Angel says that he established an "effectiveness and popularity within the community" and immediately cuts to a shot of him in front of a presentation with a picture of what we assume is a drug dealer in the centre and the elderly couples around the edge with the words "BE A CREDIT TO YOUR COMMUNITY" in block capitals (as shown). It is then shown he was lecturing offenders. He goes on to list how he improved his skill base, e.g advanced driving and cycling, during both he had the same snarl on his face, and then cuts to him practising Fencing, Judo and Chess in the same hall and he states he holds the record for the 100m dash. The shot cuts to Angel in full body Armour carry an assault rifle as he narrates his time with the SO19 armed response unit. Then the shot cuts to him walking down a corridor as he states he has received 9 special commendations, cutting to a fast moving shot of aforementioned commendations, and how he has the highest arrest record for any officer in the Met, cuts to shots of handcuffs being placed on wrists, and then he states his injuries, and how the last one was caused by a man, dressed a Father Christmas, and the scene cuts to Peter Jackson dressed a Father Christmas stabbing Angle just after he knocks on a door.
While this tells us nothing of the films plot it dose set up one of the main characters, Angel, as a "super cop" with a perfect service record. This sets the film up as a parody of the American cop film subgenre, as shown by Angel haveing the same epression when he was driving the car and riding the bike, as well as the extream aggression shown when playing chess and last of all his injury from a man dresses as Father Christmas.
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