Final Ideas for Film Magazine

When it came time for deciding whether or not I would opt for a film genre magazine, I looked back upon my target audience profile and came to the cocnlusion that even though my film will be aimed at both genders, I specifically wanted to focus primarily on my male audience as they tend to buy film magazines more. I wanted to create a film mgazine that focused on one sub-genre within horror resulting in a limited edition copy coinciding with the release of my film.

The Masthead

Naming my magazine required a lot of thought and consideration as I tried to shy away from any of the corny and cliched names that are often associated with the horror genre. I knew from the beginning that I needed to find a suitable name that reflected the fact it is a male publication that focuses on horror films in particular.The name also needed to be a reflection of the target audience and their sense of humour.

Film Freak

This was suggested to me by a friend who found the idea of adding freak to describe the readers huge love of horror films. It also has connotations of unusual and disturbing behaviour which compliments the characters minds within horror films.

Premigore

This was a particular favourite of mine as I love the play on the word 'Premiere' which at first was my ideal choice when considering producing a mainstream film magazine. The gore element relates back to the genre and indicates that the magazine will be full of things of an unpleasant nature.

Creeper

Inspiration taken from the film 'Jeepers Creepers', I found this name fun playful and menacing. Readers of the magazine will be find this amusing as they'll be able to have their own nickname and will help them establish a comfortable relationship with it.

The Main Image

 I was quite worried when it came to chosing the main image for my magazine front cover as I didnt want to give too much of the characters identity away, losing the scare factor and mystery for the audience before they have even seen the trailer. I then researched into existing horror magazine covers in order to see how they manage to promote the film and part of its narrative without giving too much away to its readers. I came upon these two covers from the horror movie magazine Fangoria promoting, Terminator Salvation and Jennifer's Body:

Terminator Salvation Cover

 

 Jennifer's Body Cover

I like the idea of just the skull being the main image as it is chilling and ambiguous. Ultimately I want an image which will be iconic and instantly readers will be able to identify the model/image and associate it with the film.

Furthermore, I also am attracted the the idea of using the female protaginst for the cover, inspired by the image of megan fox as her character from the film Jennifer's body. It is unusual for female chracters to be on the cover of horror magazines and this cover satifies the theory that in order for a magazine with a female cover to sell, they must visually satisfying. For example, this cover in particular shows Megan's character as her demon alter ego with the sell line 'Megan Fox will eat you alive!'. With obvious references to her sexual persona, male readers of Fangoria will find this appealing as the focus is more on the actress rather than the character in the film. 

The Main Sell-line

 I wanted to give the reader of the magazine the first glimpse into my new film and offer them everything from, pictures, how the film was made and produced and else exclusive interviews with the cast and director.

 Additional Sell-lines

As my magazine will be a special edition issue, the sell lines will include other popular supernatural horrors that have helped inspire my own trailer.

Colour Scheme

Following the typical convention of horror using dark and bleak tones, to help the magazine stand out from other horror publications, I would like to include zesty and bold colours such as lime green which can be associated an an unpleasant colour and also relates back to the fun nature of my target audience.

Storyboards

Ideas for Lighting

I want to aim to use a range of lighting in order to demonstare the tension and horror on screen. Lighting in a horror trailer is extremely important as ithelps establish chracters, emotion and mise-en-scene. Even though the majority of my film will be shot in night vision, I still want to be able to explore the wide range of lighting availbale, as I feel it will be incredibly beneficial in the preparation for filming. These are just some of the ideas I was thinking of using:

- Low key lighting (sharp contrast between light and dark)
-Top lighting (Main source of might comes from above, creating a god-like, glamorous angelic effect)
-Back Lighting (source of light comes from behind)
-Under lighting (source of light comes from below)
-Profile lighting (half the subject or object will be shrouded in shadow, remaining half lit and visible – sinister)
-Ambient lighting
-Artificial lighting

 

Angle	Description	Purpose	Example
Back lighting	The main light source comes from behind the character.	It is used to create a silhouette. The character can be made to look mysterious due to the effect of the shadows. It can create a sense of impending doom and is often used in horror movies.	When Larry introduces the documentray
Key and fill lighting	It is the main light source in a particular scene.	It is usually directed onto the main character. Fill lighting can be added to soften the effect of shadows.	The first appearance of Katie as a Demon.
Under-lighting	The main light source comes from below the character.	It can be used to disfigure the face. Horror films make use of this technique.	When Joe is playing around with the camera.
Top lighting	The main light source comes from above the character.	It is used to remove shadows produced by the key lighting. It can also create the illusion of a bright, sunny day.	When the film crew are laughing and messing about in Katies bedroom.
Side lighting	The main light source comes from one side of the screen.	It is used to light one side of the character’s face and produces shadows across the set, creating a sense of mystery.	When Katie first introduces herself to her disturbed roommate.

Reconnaissance

The Setting

As the narrative of my trailer centers around the story of a student who died in her Halls, I set about to try and find a suitable location to film. A friend of my cousins, kindly suggested that her student halls at Roehampton University would be free and that I was more than welcome to use it. With my setting discovered, it was time to carry out some investigation into the Halls to make sure that they were appropriate for filming and the narrative.

Roehampton University

Accommodation

Roehampton consists of four colleges around which accommodation is centred:
Digby Stuart College

• Bede House
• Lee House
• Newman House
• Shaw House

Froebel College

• Aspen House
• Linden House
• Willow House
• Lawrence
• Garden Court
• New Court (Where I shall be doing the majority of my filming)
• Old Court
• Mount Clare

Southlands College

• Aldersgate and Epworth Court
• Wesley Hall

Whitelands College

• Beverley and Cheltenham
• Durham and Gilesgate
• Kings and Melrose
• Sutherland and Walpole

Shots outside of the halls

The Forrest

The grounds of the Univsersity are truly beautiful and really capture the bleak and lonely world for my main protagonist. Just from surveying the campus, I felt an overwhelming sense of tradition and tranquility that would fit perfectly as Supernatural Horrors are often set in relatively normal surroundings such as forrests, suburban homes or churces.

 

Where I hope to be doing the majority of my filming...

Im considering using the kitchen as the setting for the murder. Although I havent quite decided how Katie will be killed, I like thee idea of the roommate poisoning or spiking the students drink as these are often the  stories you tend to hear about out of control parties whilst at Univeristy.

 A massive thank you to Holly and her roommates for letting me use their Halls for a couple of days to film and gather pre production materials!

I wanted to set my trailer in an actual University as Id felt that I would be cheating my target audience in some way as the end product wouldnt look as effective or authentic to achieve a realistic peice of  work.

Inspirational Director

Oren Peli

Oren Peli  is an Israeli-born American film director, producer and screenwriter, best known as the director/creator of Paranormal Activity.

Peli moved into his first house all alone and without family nearby. Peli would hear creaks and knocks without having anyone around and it gave him the idea to make a movie about the weird noises you may hear in your home. Paranormal Activity came about with the idea that someone would have cameras running all over a house while the family slept to catch what was going on at night in the house.

After the success of Paranormal Activity, Peli began to play with the idea of doing similar low-budget horror films in order to capture audiences in a new and unique way. Peli was stuck on the idea of doing films in an "old-style" way. Peli and his production team approached director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell with their idea; it only took five months for Peli and his collective team to get the film rolling. While Insidious was not shot in the characteristic Blair Witch-style, it incorporated some classic suspense elements from the earlier eras of horror films.

Year	Film	Director	Producer	Writer	Cinematographer	Editor
2007	Paranormal Activity	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
2010	Paranormal Activity 2	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
	Insidious	No	Yes	No	No	No
2011	Paranormal Activity 3	No	Yes	No	No	No
2012
	Lords of Salem	No	Yes	No	No	No
2013	Area 51	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No

Ideas For Props

I was slightly unsure as to which types of props I would include within my film trailer as they all have to compliment to the story and play a significant role in establishing what is goimg on in a scene. Whereas in slasher horrors, the killer usually punishes his victums with gruesome attacks and violent murders, supernatural horrors rely on the invasion of the audiences mind in order to truly scare them. Ghosts/demons/spirits do not posess the weapons adopted by other genres, which is what makes them so appealing - the true terror lies with the antagonist controlling the mind of the protagonist.

If I were to consider the use of props for the benefit of mise-en-scene they would probably be:

A Suitcase

Used by Katie in th opening scene to establish her new life at University, it could also be a symbol of her indpendence.

Tea Mugs

Used by the murderous roommate to kill Katie, One idea is that she will strategically place the poison/drug in the mug disguised as tea for Katie to drink it. This is also a link to my target audience as they love nothing more than to wake up to a nice hot tea or coffee, perhaps not with the same resuts as Katie!

Magazines

 

 

As the trailer is set in a studen accomodation I wanted to add touches that would also reflect my target audience and what they would usually read in their spare time. An idea I came up with for my trailer is to have the killer roommate casually reading the magazine just after she has poisoned Katie to demonstare how twisted her chracter is that she would carry on reading as if nothing has happened. 

Mobile Phone

One scene which I had in mind was to have Katies character glance down at her phone to check what time it is after a night out of heavy partying. It would add an element of humour and empathy to the scene as my target audience would have possivly been in that situation at some point during University. However as the narrative is set 15 years ago and mobile phones were still something of a growing trend I decided to cut this idea as it would not match the time in which the narrative would take place.

Ideas For Make-Up

Katie/Demon

When deciding how I should approach the look of Katie as a 'ghost/demon', I brainstormed all of the different types of special effects and masks that I could use when it came to filming and editing. I also found inspiration from existing movies such as Paranormal activity, Grave Encounters and The Crazies (although it is considered part of the Zombie sub-genre, the make-up and effects really impressed me). There was also the decision pre-production of whether or not I should include more elements of the slasher genre within my trailer as I like the idea of practising my body painting skills on the character of Katie. My cousin who is also a professional make-up artist took a course on body painting and special effects and suggested that we test out different looks on Lauren (who plays Katie) before filming.

My 'Slasher' look for 'Katie'

 

Completed in just over three and a half hours, 'Katie's slasher make up and costume composed of a plain grey cardigan, black leggings and a smile black sleeveless t-shirt and ALOT of patience. Just observing the attention to detail and the specific make-up used was extraordinary, and also the amount of 'stiches' applied was enough to make me squirm!

After much consideration I decided to go with the much less complicated and time consuming option of applying simple pale and gothic make up on Lauren as setting up and attempting to re-create the slasher look would heavily delay filming, there is also the problem that 'night vision' effects may not do this fantastic piece of art any justice. Therefore I have decided to edit much of 'Katie's make-up post filming as I would like hopefully achieve the 'demon' look as seen in this scene of Jennifer's Body.

 

Holly and Claire

With regards for my other two female actors, I decided that they should reflect the everyday look of normal students. Being the same age as the characters they were playing, I had asked them to just apply their everyday natural make-up as I didnt want their heavy make-up to distract from anything else on screen or that would interferre with the look of the crew members they were portraying. I had also visited a couple of youtube tutorials on how to apply light natural make-up based on the character of Bella Swan from the Twilight series as I feel she truly reflects the look of an everyday teenager.

 

Some of the clips from a Youtube Make-Up Tutorial 

Costume Ideas

Katie 'Opening Scene'

When it came to creating Katies costume, I tried to picture her vharacter in my head and what she would look like if she was to walk past me in the street. I imagined a very shy, awkward girl who used clothes as a way of hiding herself from all around her and hated anything that would draw attention to her. This is why I chose the following look to represent her entrance into the University.

 

I sought inspiration from films such as Sorority Row, Tormented and Scream 4 for characters who also are shy and modest and who aren't as provocatively as most of  of the teenage girl charcters you tend to see in horror films.

Katie 'Party Wear'

After the audience is introduced to Katie as a shy and nervous student, I wanted them to see that there was hope for her and that she would soon relish in the University lifestyle and culture. This is also evident in her clothing as the audience sees the new, confident Katie stumbling home from a Freshers week party! This is where I have decided to follow the convention of horror films as traditionally women are represented in horror films as the damsel in distress and are usually being attacked by the killer because they have committed a sinful act. This can be repesented through the use of clothing, for instance...

The pink lace top while sexy and revealing still has a innocent aspect to it with connotations of virginity (white lace). The ideo of a item of white clothing was inspired by Drew Barrymores' character in Scream, in which she is murdered within the first ten minutes of the film. She is dressed in a mens white shirt indicating a sexual relationship and promiscuity while also signally purity and delicate.

Katy 'Demon'

As I was aiming my practical peices at a largely male audience, I felt that the main protagonist while incredibly scary should also reflect the representation of most female charcters in horror films. For instance The book “Men, Women and Chainsaws” by Carol J Clover supports this “The functions of monster and hero are far more frequently represented by males and the function of the victim far more garishly by females. The fact that female monsters and female heroes, when they do appear are masculine in dress and behaviour and often in name and that male victims are shown in feminine postures at the moment of their extremity…”

For instance I have chosen to use a sexy and revealing dress for Katie's character when she has become a demon. This is due to the fact that the demon (in a strange way could also be incredibly attractive meaning that she is irresistable to her main victums, for example Megan Fox in Jennifer's Body. Black is also a symbol for Katies soul less body and has connotations with death.

Crew Members

The Girls

 

Inspiration from the Bella Swan and the Cullen family in Twilight:

• Use of dark tones
• Smart/Casual Clothing
• No name brands or logos

 

Also influenced by the film crew in Grave Encounters:

• Black logo free clothing
• Compliments the horror genre
• Black also signals death and fear

Killer Roommate

 

 The main inspiration for my antagonist is the character of Rebecca from the film The Roommate.Throughout the film, Rebecca's character wears alot of dark and expressionless clothing which is used to portray her personality and mental state of mind. Her hair is always poker straight in contrast to the student she obsesses over, who is fresh, attractive and glowing in confidence.

As the killing will take plaxe in the morning after a party I felt it would be useful for mise-en-scene purposes to dress the antagonist in appropriate costume, therefore I had decided to use a fluffy pink bath robe for the murder scene. This will be when the roommate offers a drink to Katie and I have chosen to use such an innocent, fun and innocent pink bathrobe as it is a total contrast to the roommates twisted personality and will fool the audience into believing that she is genuine and kind after all. So then, when they witness her poisoning Katie they will be shocked and wondering how they did not see it coming.

A Collage of Film Posters