Film for evaluation

What do you think? What needs changing?

1st video!!!

Real bad, but i’ve only been working on it less than an hour, and is my first bit of working. It needs a lot of work, but it’s nice to get started all the same.

My filming on Sunday

I went out to film this Sunday, had a tripod for my video camera, and my camera (with a seperate tripod) props and ‘actor’. I checked my battery on my video camera, and it still was pretty much full but, after about 5-10 mins of filming practice, and as i was just getting started, my cameras battery went dead. I did get a couple of shots for my poster, but not much more than that. I will have to go up again this weekend and finish it off.

Going back to film this weekend

I’m going to be going back up to Deerhurst this weekend to improve my filming. At the moment the camera is too jerky, and the rain and wind didn’t help it make look very good. This time I’m going up with my props which include camping equipment, to make it look authentic, and also a weight for the camera too make it’s movements more smooth. I’ll also need to borrow a tri-pod for when the charscter is talking into the camera. I also think it would be good to have a photo of the character with his family, or something along those lines. This is so I can have it used as part of the ‘picture sequence’ in the trailer. The ‘picture sequence’ is just, as the name suggests, a series of picture put in between cuts, such as trashed camping equipment, and the photo, but defaced.
Hopefully my filming will work better this time.

Filming on sunday…

Got some filming done this weekend at deerhurst, but unfortunatly it was quite rainy so didn’t get much done. Also, what i have done wasn’t great, but it has given me a good feel for the area, and what i’d like to do.
One of the big problems is that the camera is far to shaky, even for a ‘hand-held’ horror. I can try using a weight to steady the camera.

Teaser ‘Script’

This will be the first draft of the script I will use for my teaser, most, if not all of the talking will be done by the Presenter.
“Day one of looking for the illusive (whatever) We’ve just set up camp, and are now exploring the area, too see where we should be looking. Did you know we’re one of the few people to ever explore this area in the past one hundred years? This used to be a very supersticous area, there was a lot of sacrificial rituals, and not just goats, people too. Of course, when people found this area and it’s inhabitance they were all brutally murdered. (Jokingly) Some stil say that some of the inhabitance still live here, hiding. Others say the was an ancient cursed placed upon the area. Others just say it’s a good place to look for (whatever)’s (both laugh). We better get looking, it won’t find itself.”

This is just a first draft, so it does sound pretty bad, but even after i’ve left where i’m filming, this part can be re-shot. This is because it doesn’t really require anything apart from being outside and it lookign a bit grassy/woody.

Shots for Teaser.

Pretty much the whole teaser will be the ‘presenter’ talking into the camera about what he’s doing there, it’ll seem like part of a propper documentary. However, this will be cut up with shots of them getting into, and being in danger, and each shot reduces in length. The first will be them seeing the old chappel in the area, then it will move on to them walking aorund, or into the chappel. At the end of each of these longer shots it will for a a brief period of time, on an image that is a bit creepy, or just add a bit of tension. the shots will then speed up and will include shots of them being chased, obviously first person through the eyes of the cameraman, them maybe hiding somewhere, that sort of thing. The teaser will end with the music stopping, you can hear the Presenter talking happily, but this sound will overlap the image of the camera being on the ground sideways, and the Presenter lieing on the ground dead.
I’m not sure if i should have always have the Presenters voice overlapping all of the video, we’ll see when i’ve finished filming. The music is probably not actually going to be musuic, more of a droaning sound that get louder, similar to the Hills have Eyes trailer i analysed before.

Filming plans

I am going up this wekend to deerhurst to do the main bulk of my filming. It’s perfect for what i have in mind, as it is secluded, has foresty areas, and also a very old chapel. However,at this time of year the weather conditions are likely to be not great, so that might hinder me (or actually, work quite well for i have in mind).
I might try out doing some’hand-held’ style of filming, similar to movies like ‘Cloverfield’, but that might end looking a bit rubbish, in filming quality and style

title sequence ideas + tagline

Highlight what happens to the teenagers at the end, say it likes it’s true. Say how the movie is almost a ‘true’ account of what happened.

Reasonably decent Taglines from other horrors(ones too look at):
Re-Animator (1985)
“Herbert West has a very good head on his shoulders…and another one in a dish on his desk.”
Alien (1979)
“In space, No one can hear you scream”
The Thing (1982)
“Man is the warmest place to hide”
Jaws 2 (1978)
“Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water”
House (1986)
“Ding dong. You’re dead!”
Night of the Creeps (1986)
“The good news is your dates are here. The bad news is ..they’re dead.”
Maniac Cop (1988)
“You have the right to remain silent. Forever.”
The Fly (1986)
“Be afraid. Be very afraid”
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
“Who will survive and what will be left of them”
Last House on the Left (1972)
“To avoid fainting, keep on repeating…it’s only a movie, it’s only a movie”
The Hills Have Eye (2006)
“The lucky ones die first”

Horror Taglines to avoid:
Suspiria (1977):
“The only thing more terrifying than the last 12 minutes of this film are the first 92.”
Black Christmas (2006):
“This holiday season, the slay ride begins.”
“When you can’t breathe, you can’t scream” – Anaconda (1997)
“See natives eaten alive by giant vultures!” – Beast Of Blood (1971)
“Today the pond! Tomorrow the world!” – Frogs (1972)
“This time it’s personal” – Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
“The scream that shocks the screen with 300,000 volts of horror! Inhuman! Invincible! Inescapable!” – The Indestructible Man (1956)
“Calvanism. Catholicism. Buckets of blood.” – Jack Of Hearts (1993)
“In cyberspace, no-one can hear you scream.” – .com For Murder (2002)
“Cheaper than a Chainsaw!” – The Nail Gun Massacre (1985)

These ones have similar qualities that show their best to avoid.
Things i SHOULDN’T do for tagline:
Puns.
Make them to long, or complicated.
Make them funny.
Say exactly what the film is.

Trailer Ideas

General Plot:
A group of teenagers go camping in the forest but take a wrong turn, and get lost. While camping, they notice their bags are missing, and their stuff is replaced by some sort of creepy image, to try and scare the campers. They’re being stalked by a man in the forest, but in the trailer there is very few shots of the man. The teenagers are shown as being chased, locked up in a shack/shed, killed.
Shots:
Many 1st person shots. 1st person chase scene, the characters being watched via nightvision. Also have shots going very fast, and sped up, similar to the ending of this trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB7lZUIqzWo&feature=related.
Also, at the start maybe have images, also like the trailer in The Hills Have Eyes, talking about things like ’3 teenagers went missing in 2006 in…’ for example and newespaper clippings about people going missing in the forest.
Location:
Forest, Certain places on (about 1/3 of the trailer) Chosen Hill (not the school) in the foresty/woody areas, shed and shack shots. Most of it would be in the forest, but have scenes of chasing, and different angles, to make it look like a different place. On a footpath near town cars there is a wire fence, with some run-down looking machinery there, could be used. Also there is many ‘bridges’ of woodland area in the footpath, which could be good for a chase scene.

Sequence:
Titles: ‘In 2005, a group of teenagers went missing in ___ forest…’ (or something similar, along these lines.)
Cut to a newspaper clipping, and quickly change to different, yellow tinted pictures or their camp, but it’s wrecked and empty.
‘…Their bodies where never found’ something along those lines, depending on if the plot is going to change.

Starts of with a shot of the group walking through the forest, someone stating they’re lost. Shot of the group together, but close-ups when someone says something with a slight delay. They try using mobiles, but there’s no signal, soht of one of them doing this, but with another person beside them. They set up camp, but there’s a shot from the bushes (possibly night vision) of the killer wathcing them.
They’re all sighting round a fire, or around the camp, the shots go quickly from them having a good time,
(A close up of a hand pulling away their things.) to them standing up, realising their bags are lost. Focus on one person here, but have the other people in the background.
A 1st person chase in the eyes of the killer. very fast shots of people screaming, picking up things seemingly as a weapon (baseball bats, bits of wood etc), people being killed. Finish of with a shot with someone locked in a shed, banging on the walls, as the camera pans away.

List of props:

Wood & nails

Some sort of bat (cricket, baseball etc)

A fire

Tent/camping stuff

More to be added…