Film Proposal

Genre.
For our practical production we will be fitting our film opening into a horror genre. We decided on this as after briefly looking into the other genres we found this will enable us to produce the best quality opening possible. After researching into previous horror film openings this then confirmed this.To ensure that our opening follows the conventions of a horror film we will be using low level lighting as this automatically creates a eerie atmosphere to the audience. We all also going to ensure that the viewer is drawn into the clip by giving enough away to create suspense but not enough to give away the plot. During the clip we will give evidence of weapons and will ensure some blood is included. This is because horrors can often be mistaken for thrillers so we need to insure that this is established straight away.

Resources
As the genre is horror we will be filming the running scene in an area with a lot of trees so either a local park or woods. There are a number of available places we can use for example St. George's park, Troopers Hill and Magpie Bottom. For the second area for our opening we are hoping to use the Basement of TMH school as George and his family are close family friends with the caretaker there. However if this is not possible due to the type of scene we are aiming for if needs be we can simply use a public area that is very run down for example a youth centre or even a public toilet. This will mean as we have plenty of choice we can get the best possible results. We have friends that are taking drama who are willing to participate in our filming so these will be our actors. Due to the type of film the girl will only need basic clothing and the man will simply need baggy basic clothes which we can either borrow or buy for relatively cheap so clothing is not problem. We also have purchased some equipment to make fake blood and wounds which will benefit the horror genre and is very important. We may at a later date need some more props however due to horrors mainly using "makeshift" weapons for example wood with nails in this is not a problem.

Techniques.
As a results of the genre chosen we will be using a number of close ups. As we will need to get a brief look at the actors reactions and feelings during the situation. However also because we don't want to give too much away we will be thinking about the use of long and mid shots however the mid shots will be used when showing the girl running and simply of the legs. This is to emphasise the movement of the legs and the speed. Because of the technique needed to do this we will have to plan carefully how to follow the girl. The plan originally was to run along with her, using a technique we were made aware of where you simply attach coins to the bottom of the tripod to help it stay straight and level. However because with may result in bad quality we have decided that making it seem as if "someone" is filming her will be much more effective. At our other location we will mainly be using closeups however it will all be low level lighting so it will be hard to get a full understanding of whats going on. We have decided against diegetic sound e.g dialogue as in an opening scene this may give away too much. Also speech can effect the way something is edited and this could over complicate things when it simply isn't needed. However there will be some non-diegetic sound to help build the tension and suspense of whats going on.

Target Audience Questionnaire

We are producing a horror film opening to fit the age group of 18-25. We will therefore conduct a questionnaire to get an idea of what the target audience want from a opening of a horror film. We plan to ask a group of 20 people.

Question 1
What sort of lighting do you usually associate with horror films.
- Low level (13)
- High level (7)

Question 2
Do you think suspense is built better using colour or black and white?
- colour (9)
- black and white (11)

Question 3
What type of sound do you see in the horror film opening you watch?
- diegetic (6)
- non diegetic (10)
- both (4)

Question 4
Do you think the opening should include a scene of blood?
- yes (18)
- no (2)

Question 5
if yes do you think a killing should be included?
- yes (10)
- no (10)

Question 6
Do you think building suspense in the first few minutes of a film is an important factor?
- yes (17)- no (3)

Question 7
What type of camera movement do you think works best in horror film opening?
- steady cam (5)
- hand held (8)
- normal tripod filming (7)

Question 8
What type of setting do you think should be used?
- House (7)
- Forest (9)
- Road (2)
- Big open space (0)
- Other (please specify)
factoryboat
house

Question 9
How often do you watch horror films?
- Always (5)
- Often (7)
- Sometimes (4)
- Rarely (3)
- Never (1)

Question 10
If your answer to question 9 is never please explain this, so we can find the faults and improve them.
- Horror films are too graphic and the way technology has advanced things seem more realistic and are set in everyday places which adds to the feeling of realism.

Evaluation.
Using these results we will produce a set of objectives labelled under the headings of; Genre, Techniques and resources.