CONSTRUCTION: FILMING THE REPORTER SCENE

Although I only used a small clip from this scene and was not crucial to part of the trailer in the end, it was beneficial for the group to work on an aspect of the trailer close together due to most of it being independent. By not using the majority of this clip, in the end, helped show me how the story and structure of the trailer may change and adapt over time. I see this as a positive as I have found other routes which I believe would captivate the audience and entice them to the story constructed.

 

CONSTRUCTION: FILMING IN THE FOG

For our filming, we used a drone to capture some establishing and aerial shots which otherwise would not have been accomplished with equipment such as a tripod. We chose to film in the fog to add to the eerie and mysterious atmosphere which helps to reinforce the genre we have chosen, horror.

 

CONSTRUCTION: SCRIPT

 As a group we decided to put our initial ideas into a script using Celtx. Here is our final product:

PLANNING: AUDIENCE QUESTIONAIRE RESULTS

My audience questionnaire has provided informative and illuminating responses which confirm our production teams assumptions about the ways in which audiences actively seek escapism, diversion and entertainment from the horror genre. Our film will meet these needs by atmospheric locations, convincing props, intriguing situations, moments that generate fear through tension and menace, and tropes like jump scares.

PLANNING: MY PROMO PACK

 

Online Copywriter Socal Media Specialist Final Artist by Harrison Allman-Varty

CONSTRUCTION: SMASH CUT

The purpose of a smash cut is to jar the audience with a sudden and unexpected change in image or sound. I aim to use this technique to help heighten the emotion of anxiety and increase the fear which I believe is one of the main goals of a horror/ thriller film. This can be created by a series of fast-moving, disorderly shots combined with images flashing up to confuse the viewer in an uneasy and sinister way. Ways that I intend to use a smash cut is a sudden brief appearance of our unexpected horror character (Charlotte) complemented by a sharp and shocking sound the audience will most likely not expect. This smash cut will take place towards the end of the trailer, after a build-up of tension.

The book "Cinematic Storytelling" outlines the different uses of smash cuts with examples from renowned film Psycho and American Beauty. In American Beauty, a smash cut jumps from a wide aerial shot to an imposing close-up, jolting the audience. Psycho uses a moving shot than then slam to a stop with a static shot, making the audience feel as if they have ground to a halt.