Evaluation: Question 4

Evaluation: Question 3

Evaluation: Question 2

Evaluation: Question1

Shot List

The first shot used in the film is a pan of the car park. This functions as the establishing shot, revealing that the film is in fact set in a car park. 

I also used various low angle shots, on the zombie in particular. I used this to add a sense of mystery to the beginning of the film, building dramatic tension as the audience wonders what it is that is stalking the couple. 

I used close ups, especially on the zombie's faces, as a method of shocking the audience and revealing the details of their terrifying faces. 

A point of view shot was used, or rather a zombie-shot. The camera took the perspective of the zombie, following the couple and making an attack on the lead male. This shot continues the concept of mystery, as the audience are unaware of what it is that they are seeing through the eyes of. I feel it is also a common convention that I have followed within the horror genre. An American Werewolf In London is a perfect example of this.

I used an over-shoulder shot when the zombie was first on camera. The zombie was seen directly over the shoulder of my lead characters, allowing the audience to see it from their perspective, as well as creating the sense that they are with the characters, creating more feelings of fear.

I used a worms-eye shot to show the zombie chasing after the couple. The reason I did this was to make the audience feel insignificant compared to the creature, creating a sense of further weakness and fear of him.

Script

Open with the green film rating screen. This cuts to a fade-in of the establishing shot; a pan of the car park. At this point, the ambient sounds starts.
Fade in the production company titles with smoke effects.
Car pulls in with a radio announcement over the music.

Radio announcement: Breaking News! We have numerous reports of violent attacks across the country.

During the voice-over, a low shot of the zombie's leg passing behind a pillar and a shot of Laura and Jordan getting out of the car.

Radio Announcement: Police are advising you to stay indoors. Do NOT go outside unless essential. For all updates and information, please see our website.

Laura: (Hears a sound and turns around) What was that?

The zombie approaches and the couple run.
Laura makes it into a lift but Jordan is left behind. A close up of Jordan's face before quickly cutting to the title screen, a loud crash of thunder accompanying it.

A final shot of Jordan as a zombie closes the film.

Dead Country Magazine Cover

This is the completed ancillary task of my magazine front cover, advertising my film 'Dead Country'. I used many conventions that I have found in other covers, such as dramatic use of colours and shades, bold titles emphasized using striking colours relating to my genre, as well as other things such as magazine date, issue number and price to add to the effect of authenticity.

Below is the original image I used for my magazine cover. 

Magazine Cover Flat Plans

I made various flat plans to draft my ideas of how the final magazine cover should look. 

The cover I decided to take most inspiration from was the final one, as I feel it would really be striking to have a close up of the zombie from my film, especially on a magazine cover. I also feel the title 'Cinemark' really stood out compared to the other ideas that I had come up with. 

Film Magazine Cover Analysis: Empire - Tron Legacy

I analysed the cover of an issue of Empire magazine and noticed several key concepts I could incorporate into my own magazine cover.

-Very powerful, bright masthead immediately attracts the public. I must follow this convention and create a bold and attractive masthead.

-A slogan that makes the story in the magazine sound un-missable, encouraging people to buy the magazine to find out more.

-Confidently bigs itself up with a high ranking title. In this case; magazine of the year. 

-The title of the main film in question is displayed in an attractive and relevant font, attracting potential fans of the film. I shall use this convention on my own magazine.

-Use of a self-supporting phrase implies that it is superior to other magazines, with the key word greatly emphasized. I will use take this approach with my magazine, stating why my magazine is better than others. 

-Offers other reasons to buy the magazine than just to read it, such as free gifts or collective value. A potential idea I could incorporate into my magazine.

-Other interesting stories displayed clearly on the cover to encourage the public to buy the magazine to find out more.

Filma Magazine Cover Analysis: Total Film - Star Trek

As I was going to make my own film magazine front cover, I needed to look at previous products for influence and use of conventions. First of, I used an issue of Total Film concerning Star Trek to analyse, picking up on various factors I should incorporate into my own magazine cover.

-Other stories in the magazine are mentioned at the top of the page, in a bright, eye-catching colour. I shall use startling colours on the important titles in my magazine

-The magazine’s masthead is bold and eye-catching, attracting the view of the audience. I will follow this style and create a powerful, attractive masthead.

-A statement of why the magazine NEEDS to be bought; in this case, implying that the story can’t be found anywhere else. 

-Main image at the center of the magazine draws the focus of the viewer. As well as attracting the attention of passers by, it lets them know what the main article is about without the need to read anything.
 I will follow this convention and have an eye-catching central image.

-The title of the subject film is bold and clear to attract potential reader/fans of the film. 

They also have a powerful statement about the film, with a key word highly emphasized. 

-Dramatic use of colours makes the magazine all the more interesting. I shall use the same style on my magazine.

-Mentions other films and stories mentioned in the magazine to tease the reader and encourage them to buy the issue to find out more. 

-Reveals the issue number, price and website, with the web address being slightly bolder to encourage readers to check it out.

Dead Country Poster

This is my final ancillary task of my film poster. 

I have followed various conventions from the horror genre, as well as conventions of a film poster itself, such as a rating from a well known film magazine and a website, among others. 

Below are a the original images I used in my poster. I simply asked a few of my classmates to pose in a zombie like fashion against a relatively white wall.

Film Poster Flat Plans

I have created a number of flat plans of my film poster, drafting out various ideas of what my final product should look like. I used various conventions that I have found in other products, such as use of actors' names, bold titles, a release date, a slogan and even a web address.

The plan I decided to take most influence from for my actual product is the final one, which I think when created using colours relating to the horror genre, such as reds and blacks, will create a highly stylised, eye-catching image.

Film Poster Analysis: The Dark Knight

Though not specifically related to the genre I am tackling, there are many conventions on this poster that I can apply to my own product.

-List of famous and talented actors really sell the film to the audience and a displayed clearly at the top of the poster. 

-Main image is of a key character, clearly a villain as they stand amongst great carnage, portrayed darkly with a gun in hand. This teases the audience with part of the plot, making them want to see the film to get the whole story.

-Background image creates great drama as it displays great chaos and destruction, a common theme in the film, which also reveals a bit of the film, in the sense of the scale of the disequilibrium.

-The title of the film is bright and clear, with an iconic symbol that relates to the film behind it, attracting the attention of the viewer. 

-Though not specifically a release date, the 'Coming Soon' at the bottom of the poster gives the viewers a feeling of anticipation as they await the film’s release.

Film Poster Analysis: 28 Days Later

As the film 28 Days later is quite an influential product on my own film, I decided to analyse a advertisement poster and note common conventions which I could apply to my own poster.

-Reveals the director at the top of the poster, who is well known for directing other successful films, raising the expectations and likelihood of other seeing this film. 

-Short, sharp phrases reveal a little of the story to raise interest in what actually happens in the film.

-Title of the film is central on the poster as it is the most important part, letting the audience know what film it is they should go and see. It is also very large and eye catching. I will make my film title follow the same pattern on my movie poster. 

-Reveals lots of information about the film at the bottom of the poster, using a dark colour so that it does not particularly stand out, such as the actors and production companies involved, both to credit them and perhaps even sell the film to the audience if they favour a particular actor, etc. 

-The films slogan creates an even more drama and interest to the audience, making them want to see the film. 

-Vibrant, artistic use of colours makes it more eye-catching to passers by, attracting attention and making people want to see the film, as well as creating a sense of mystery as to what the silhouettes actually are.  On top of this, the colour red is associated with horror and danger, fitting with the conventions of the horror genre.
I will use this artistic approach in my film, as my film also follows conventions of the horror genre. 

Film Storyboard

These are a the original plan of the shots for my film.

Updated Film Trailer

I have updated my film trailer, this time including dialogue. First off, there is dialogue in the form of an old radio announcement coming from the car, mentioning the violent attacks (unknowingly caused by the zombies) and recommending that individuals stay indoors.

A second line of dialogue is spoken by my lead female, questioning the sound she heard in the car park, caused by the zombie.

Distribution Company

 Motion picture distributors are companies or individuals who release films to the public, either theatrically or for home-viewing (DVDs, etc). It is also the distributors job to ensure enough prints of the film are made to service all contracted exhibitors, ensure that the film arrives at each exhibitor’s theatre before the opening date and returned to the distributor by the contracted ending date and ensure it is being shown in the right theatres at the right times. However, this physical film print and its delivery around he world is slowly being replaces by digital distribution.

As well as all of this, it is also the distributors job to manage the creation (if the products aren’t provided) and distribution of film advertisements, such as posters, trailers and articles.

In order to get my film out to the public’s eyes, I would need to select the right film distributor.

Columbia Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. The company is one of the leading film distributors in the world, and released such films as The Da Vinci Code and Casino Royale. Although they are a particularly strong distribution company, they would not be the distribution company I would select to distribute my film, as they do not typically release films of a similar genre to mine, and so I would rather select a distributor with more experience with zombie-horror production, especially in terms of the advertisement distribution. 

The production company I chose to distribute my film is Paramount Pictures. Paramount is also an American giant in the long list of distribution companies, as well as being the third oldest film studio in the world. The reason I chose Paramount pictures is because they have released many successful films of a similar genre, such as Paranormal Activity and The Ring. Also, they will be the company to release the highly anticipated zombie-horror film, World War Z.

Dead Country Trailer

Comment on the filming experience

Filming for my horror trailer was not the first time I had filmed outside and I feel that experience from filming my AS film. However, it was the first time I had filmed in a public place. I found this to be quite and interesting experience, and I enjoyed it a lot.
There were a few shots that I am rather proud of (mainly the ones viewing the feet of the zombie) and I am pleased with the way that they came out. I am also proud of my use of initiative, as we lacked a tripod dolly and there were shopping trollies at hand, I decided to get into a trolley and film as I was moved around by one of my actors.
There was one shot, however that I would really have liked to redo. I attempted to shoot the elevator doors closing on my lead male as he tries to get in, and I had taken over 15 failed shots, but eventually the guard requested we stop filming in the lifts. Though we had phoned ahead and were granted permission to shoot in the lifts, that particular shot took too long and I was unable to capture it at acceptable standards, eventually running over our agreed time limit as the lift needed to be reopened to the public. All of this aside, I am happy with the way I managed to link different shots together to show that the doors closed on the lead male.

Budget

Make-Up: £2.50
Travel Expenses: £6
Food costs: £25 (£5 per person)
Entrance to car park: £6.50

£40

All in all, these expenses seem quite small. As the college in fact lent all the equipment to me, the most costly parts of film production were largely irrelevant to me. If I had to pay for the equipment (camera, tripod, etc) and the production was of a more professional quality, the production would be much more expensive. Also, I was generously donated make up materials such as liquid latex and fake blood.

Equipment list

To actually film, I will be using a Cannon EOS 600D. This camera is very useful as it films and stores footage in a digital format, allowing me to easily edit my footage without needing to convert it. On top of this, the camera has various useful functions such as automatic focus, allowing quick and efficient filming at a reasonably high quality.
Alongside the camera, I shall be using a tripod. These are very useful as they provide great stability for cameras, creating steady, high-quality shots, and can be manipulated to create various angles and movements when filming.
To edit my film, as well as design both of my auxiliary tasks, I will use an Apple Mac. It is a very professional piece of equipment and can be used to create many high quality pieces of media.


In terms of software, I shall be using Adobe Photoshop CS5. This is a very professional image manipulation program, allowing great precision when editing images. This is what I will be using when creating my film poster and magazine front cover.

For editing my film footage, I shall use Final Cut Pro, a very powerful video editing program which provides various video editing techniques whilst remaining easy to use. I shall mainly make use of the ability to cut and assemble various clips in any order, as well as various filters and sound files to create the right atmosphere for my film.

Crew List

The crew shall consist only of two members; myself and Hal Smith. Hal, having had experience with the particular equipment I would be using as well as being an experienced film maker in general, selflessly volunteered to help with production, teaching me how to use some of the pieces of equipment that were new to me, as well as operating an additional camera.

Other than this, myself as director and camera man are the only crew needed.

Make-Up

As I am creating a horror film, makeup is both a very important part and a very fun part!
Having looked at various videos and images (such as those shown below), I picked up a few tips and ideas and got to practising on a kind volunteer.


The process, I learned, generally involves applications of liquid latex and tissue, steadily layering one after the other. After the general texture is obtained, appliances of white face-paint should be made, before moving onto to darker and bloodier colours, as well as dabs of fake blood. Below is step by step progress whilst practising.










I was relatively proud of my first attempt at zombie makeup, however for my final product I shall definitely use lighter colours and avoid to much black, as it gives off a more 'burned' feel than a decaying texture, the latter of which I want for my zombies.

Costume ideas

Costume ideas

When coming up with costume ideas, I made sure to take inspiration from more modern horror films. It came to my attention that many of the recent horror films are aimed at a much younger audience than previous horror films. For this reason, many of the female characters wear rather revealing clothing, appealing to many of the males in the audience (Mulvey 1975). An example of this is Megan Fox in Jennifer’s Body, shown below.



To replicate this, I shall make sure that the lead female role in my film has a particularly short dress, however I will allow my actress to wear tights if she'd prefer, both to make the film seem more appropriate for the younger audiences and to preserve my actress' dignity.

For my lead male, I simply decided that a casual approach is best. As my film is set in the present, my actor should wear whatever a typical male of his age would. This also helps appeal the the members of my audience who are of a similar age to my characters, allowing them to relate more and therefore share the horrors that my characters endure.
However, it would have to be able to be covered in fake blood, as well as handle a few rips and tears, and so I can't ask that my actor brings his own clothes. I shall have to get some of my own, and the same generally applies to the zombie.