CaseCosis: Research

In order to produce a short film, we needed to be creative and plan carefully about what genre we wanted our film to come under and what we wanted it to be about. We decided to produce many story boards to document all of our ideas about genre, general story ideas and plots.

We first wrote down as many different genres that we could think of (comedy, action, horror, and drama). We then chose two genres that we thought would be the best and most effective. We first chose Horror and Action then started to think about story ideas.

- Done by Iram Dogar (8th September 2014).

Initial idea:

As a group we got together and decided to make a film within the Horror/Thriller genre; we believe that the story idea that we have come up with within this genre (a group of friends who discover a murder, and a curse but it's all an illusion due to psychosis) would be interestingly effective and would allow us to experiment with different camera- angles, effects, and music.

Before finalising the plot to our short film, we decided to do some research into the Horror/Thriller genre and into Psychosis so that we could gather an understanding of exactly what we should include. By doing this it would give us a greater understanding of characteristics, and appearance.

- Behraam Khan, Halyma Khan, Iram Dogar, Lorna Keaton (16th September).

Horror Genre:

In addition, one of the first things we did was the research into horror genre, to notice key code conventions such as settings, camera angles, props and costumes.

- Done by Lorna Keaton and Iram Dogar (16th September 2014).

Context.

We also needed to research the context so we fully understood the issue that is the central theme to our film. This will ensure that it is realistic.

In our film we are going to include different elements, aspects and behaviours that a psychotic person might experience.

- Done by Behraam Khan, Halyma Khan, Iram Dogar, Lorna Keaton (18th September 2014).

Short film Analysis:

Film: Who's There

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XByDmt_cSt8

Short film (4:55)

The short film “Who’s there” was created in 2013 by Matthew McComish. The short film was produced by Domnall & Jasmin McCormick,  Starring Kristy McComish as Leah Ciarán Taggart .The short film is about a young teenage girl who allows her paranoia to get the better of her, which results to her not being able to sleep peacefully. The short film is set in a house, which empahises on the young girls paranoia when hearing the littlest of sounds around her. This specific shot (above) is an over the shoulder shot of the back of the young girls head, allowing the audience to directly see what’s stopping her from getting back into her bed. This shot also empahsises on the fact that the young girl is extremely paranoid to be thinking there is someone underneath the sheets. I believe this shot is very effective and brings realism; therefore we will be using shots like this in our short horror film to build up the tension and instantly draw the audience in. The lighting also works well as it is dark and cold. The non-diegetic sound is creepy and builds tension and fear. We want to try and include similar elements in our film.

- Done by Halyma Khan (30th September 2014).

VCE Media Short Film - PineGrove:

I like the use of camera angles and how it moves from low to higher up. At the beginning the use of the camera is brilliant as the camera man/women uses soft focus and dept. of field is good. The music goes with the scene really well; the use of shots and music creates mood.

However, one criticism is that I don’t like the continuity; there are times when the action moves from scene to another but it doesn’t follow properly. For example, we see the boys placing some large barrels in the van but in the next scene their no longer in the back of the van.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRSn1iHIxpg

- Done by Iram Dogar (30th September 2014).

Film: 'Victim'

'Victim' it's based around the story of Slender Man.

- Done by Behraam Khan (30th September 2014).

Camera Shot Types:

- Done by Behraam Khan (1st October 2014).

Research into costume, sound and body language

Halloween 2007: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSeK8v7XmDQ

The plot of Halloween consists of a boy who is 10 years old. Through out the beginning of the movie he shows consistent signs of a psychopath. Later on he starts killing while showing no remorse. He then starts to get worse and stops interacting with humans, and when he does he ends up killing them. Also a key aspect of the film is that Michael Myers the main actor has an obsessive disorder with masks, and when wearing them forgets what does. For example, cannot remember killing. In the film Michael Myers asks “Is everyone at home ok?” this is evident that he has no memory or cannot acknowledge what he had done.

Costume: Masks is a drastic part of the movie Halloween. A mask represents the concept of hiding your face or a certain persona. Also it represents a sinister and dark feel, creating a dramatic and scary atmosphere depending on the actual mask. Similarly, in our short clip ‘Casecosis’ we want to create a similar atmosphere. In the film the masks are said to create a mental sanctuary in which Michael can hide within himself and from himself. Likewise the antagonist in ‘Casecosis’ will be wearing a mask.

Sound: In Halloween the non-diegetic sound that starts when something bad is going to happen. This enhances the dramatic atmosphere and makes the scene extremely scary. Thus, it would be a good aspect to include in the short clip.

Body language: Swift and fast body movements. Michael Myers is a prime example of this as he moves from one place to another extremely fast. Also even when he walks its without momentum and looks lifeless and effortless. This is a good aspect to use in ‘Casecosis’ as the swift and fast movements create a thrilling atmosphere, which builds up tension.

- Done by Lorna Keaton (23rd October 2014).

Media music research for our movies.

This music would be used to play in the background, as non-diegetic sound. This would give a much more sinister effect to the film. As it would make the audience more afraid and scared. Which is the overall aim of a horror movie in general.

Here are some examples of what we are going to use.

- Done by Behraam Khan (23rd October 2014).

CaseCosis

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Research