Story board - scene plan

Here is a storyboard that I have created on a website called storyboardthat.com. This was the first time I had used this website and it is good for easily creating storyboards for simple narratives for people who aren't that experienced with graphic design. I have designed six storyboard shots that give a rough outline as to what the story of our horror chase trailer will be like. Beths character is the first one to be introduced, and I will be playing the ghost/spirit that chases Beth at the church.


Made with Storyboard That

More detailed plan for filming

Here me and Beth have planned how we will film our horror chase so we can refer back to this when filming takes place.

Scene 1:

blackout- slow introduction to establishing shot. 

Establishing shot/ Pan- of the Church to be able to set the scene, to see the location in which the character wants to get to.

long shot -Bethany walking through the alleyway, towards the church, looking nervous as she feels that someone is watching her.

close up/two shot- to show Bethany's expression on her face of being scared, more shots of her walking

Zoom- To show that the spirit is approaching Bethany.

Over the shoulder shot - The spirit is really close to Bethany and is about to get her.

Medium close up- Bethany looks around to show that she can feel the spirit close to her. "LEAVE ME ALONE"

long shot/point of view shot- to show that Bethany is looking around to see if she can see the spirit. Could be a pan shot.

extreme close up - the spirit is right in front of Bethany and is screaming at her.

Mid close up- Bethany screaming and running away

Long shot/from the side of bethany - Bethany running through the graveyard towards the Church, looking behind her.

Extreme long shot- Bethany running towards the church, screaming and crying

Medium shot/Zoom- bethany banging on the door, the zoom to show the spirit is again approaching her. No one is in the church, the tension builds as she knows she is going to get caught.

Over the shoulder shot- the spirits hand reaches out for bethany's shoulder.

Extreme close up - Bethany's face screaming as the spirit has caught her and knows she is going to die.

Zoom- zooming into Bethany's mouth as she is screaming.

*Blackout*

Horror movie Posters

Here are some horror movie posters that I have found to help us when we come to plan how we are going to film our preliminary task. I thought that it would be good to see how some professional film posters present themselves and how they convey the theme of horror.



For The Scream poster, it is clear to see that the woman on the front is the victim or one of the victims in the movie. This then suggests that the movie is more of a thrasher/real life horror rather than a supernatural one. The close up of her face shows is effective in showing her emotions and this is definitely something that we will use in our trailer.
The Friday 13th poster shows the killer in a dark/eerie lighting. This is good for showing the horror aspect and makes it clear that he is the killer. Additionally, the scene has been set by the trees in the back, and as we intent to use outdoor / alley as one of our shots, it gives us a good idea on how to position our killer in the trailer.
Finally, the last poster is of a Korean horror film called The Wig. The reason I decided to include this poster is because it inspired me on how I shall look when I play the character of the ghost/spirit. The film (similar to the original ring movie) has its villain as a young girl with long dark hair covering its face. This is really effective when it comes to horror and the supernatural aspect of the theme. As I have long hair, I will most likely be using this to my advantage to easily look scarier.

Plan for our Pleriminary task

Here is the brief that was given to us for our preliminary task:

'Preliminary Activity

For the preliminary activity you will be working in groups of three or four.

You will be producing a moving image product for a short narrative within a genre of the following:   

·         A western gunfight 

·         A horror chase

·         A romantic encounter

·         A gangster deal

The product must be no longer than 60 seconds and the work should be planned and divided between the group.  All members must develop their practical skills in the use of the camera, tripod, editing and sound.  Each member of the group will produce their own edit.

The project must include;

·         a shotlist

·         a storyboard

·         a script

·         2 characters

·         use of all of the camera shots/ angles and movements listed below

·         dialogue 

·         titles

·         a soundtrack

·         mise-en-scene

·         a final product

Shots that you must include:

1.Establishing shot

2. Long shot
3. Medium shot
4. Close-up
5. Extreme close-up
6. Low angle shot
7. High angle shot
8. Medium close-up
9. Tracking shot
10.Over the shoulder shot
11.Point of view shot

You can use other shots too and you can use the above more than once if you wish.

Look at the examples below to get ideas.

You will have to complete this work before you leave for the summer.  This will mean using a lot of independent study time.  You must get used to this as this will be the expectation throughout this coursework project.'

Our initial ideas: 

Me and Beth, who I will be working with throughout my A2 project, have come up with some ideas for our preliminary task. We have chosen a 'horror chase' from the list of possible genres above. We chose this as I immediately came up with a good location to use and that choosing a horror will be a good way to learn how to properly use iMovie. We have planned that I will play a ghost/spirit character, and Beth will play the victim. There will be religious connotations to the trailer and this will be shown through our location.

Location:

For the location, I have thought of using the local church near my house, there is also a long alleyway that could be used to our advantage in the horror chase. The location is good because it is near us and is quiet during the week so there will be no problem when it comes to filming. It also helps us portray the horror aspect of the trailer.

Characters: 

We thought that I could be the villain/spirit, due to my dark hair and clothes and that Beth will be the stereotypical 'damsel in distress' type character that I will be chasing. Having only two characters keeps the plot simple and easy to follow for the short amount of time that we have.

Movie magazine analysis

Camera and Tripod research

Before I go ahead and start filming the introductory task, I have done some research on the camera and tripod I will be using to film it with This is also the same camera and tripod I will be using to film my preliminary task, so it is important for me to have a good understanding of the products before starting to ensure I can produce a good media product.

Features of the camera include:

• Lens cap, which acts as protection from dust, fingerprints, scratches and damage when the camera is not in use.
• strap to put your hand through when filming hand held shots / disorientated shots so that the camera is always secure and safe from being dropped.
• Flipable touch screen. The camera is very easy to navigate due to the touch screen, everything can e accessed through simply pressing the options you want on screen, when filmig in small groups or even solo shots with the camera, the screen can be flipped to face the front. This helps with things like making sure you/other characters and still in shot in a scene, or just for generally seeing what you are filming without having to go around the back of the camera.
• Zoom, this is a good feature as a good fim/film trailer uses different shot types and a close up shot is a very effective one for portraying emotion. With the zoom on the camera, it is easy to create close up shots without actually having to go close to the subject itself.

Features of the tripod are:

• Adjustable legs. These help to easily place the tripod at the exact height you wish, and they are very sturdy which creates a safe platform for the camera to rest upon,
• The pan-handle is the handle on the top left hand side of the tripod. This allows for horizontal and vertical movement in the camera.
• The platen is the actual part that hold the camera in place. This part is important as if it is loose or insecure, there is the risk of wobbly shots or even the camera falling off.
• Crank of the tripod is used to adjust the height of the tripod o the top half of the tripod.

Preliminary Task Brief (Summer Project)

Narrative overview

For this preliminary task, we have decided to feature a religious horror film, with the main character facing the problem of being chased by an unworldly spirit. We want to create the setting in a scary location as well, so we will be filming this next to a church and also next to an alleyway. This will really set the scene for the horror chase as the protagonist can get chased down the alley and end up at the church looking for help. She will be attempting to reach the church in the attempt to reach a vicar or someone else who could save her from the spirit. Unfortunately it would be too late as she cannot enter the church for an unknown reason, meaning the spirit eventually catches up to her with the suggestion that she is caught at the end. I will be working with my partner Beth in this task, and we are both planning to play the characters in it. Location has been chosen, now we will work on the script, shot types and the costume so that we will be ready to film by next week.