Still Scene- Quarantine

Mise en Scene

This is a collage of the props that we will need to be situated around the kitchen in order to make the teenagers trip seem realistic.
 Alcohol, cigarettes etc all symbolise the rebellious nature of the teenagers, which is stereotypical of teens in slasher genre movies.
The teens that indulge in rebellious behaviour are the ones to be killed off, leaving the final girl, who is well-behaved and virginal to overcome the killer.

Poster

Created on Photoshop.

-Key image of the masked killer is central, holding his weapon of choice which in this case is a knife. The mask is contrasted against a dark background, grabbing more attention. The mask is easily recognisable for the audience from the trailer and website, becoming the key figure as the killer in slasher genre films often does, for example 'Freddy Kreuger' in 'A Nightmare on Elm Street.' 

-The key hole in which the killer is being seen through links to the scene in the tailer where a long shot shows the girl opening the door after hearing a knock, setting off the string of violent killings. It provides a strong link to whole the whole 'Knock Knock' idea with the use of the killer being on the outside of the door.

-There are strong links to social media, in this case Facebook and Twitter. There is the universal symbols for both in the bottom left hand corner. This provides a global platform for worldwide promotion, as well as allowing the audience to get involved. The creation of the #KnockKnock hashtag again allows the audience to get involved, as well as creating another feature that is directly recognisable to the trailer.

-The same 'scream again' typography is used throughout, linking to the website and the trailer. As opposed to the trailer, it is distorted by blood splatters, which links to the gore and violence of the slasher genre. The typography is also slightly off white in order to blend better with background.

-The tagline 'Who's There?' uses the same typography as seen in the trailer, with sharp, gothic serifs that are typical of the horror genre. It is again distorted with blood smears to link to the gore of the slasher genre and is off white again to blend better with the background colouring.

-The credits are at the bottom in order to keep main focus on the key image of the masked killer. The same typography as tag line is used to stay in-keeping and provide a professional finish. The production company 'New Line Cinema' logo is also featured in the bottom right hand corner in order to give credit to the chosen production company. 'Coming Soon' a common feature within film posters if there is not a specific release date set.

Survey

In order to gain outside opinion on aspects that we were considering for our trailer we used Survey Monkey. Survey Monkey is an online site that allows users to create their own surveys that others can then access and complete via the web link-  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DGQN6MR. We asked for opinions on our film title, amount of gore, how much the killer is seen, what characters should be involved, powers the killer should have and the choice of weapon. There was also the option for people to comment ideas if there was not a choice that they felt was appropriate.

The options for our film title were 'Knock Knock', 'The Unexpected' and 'Who's There?' 11/20 (55%) voted for 'Knock Knock', whilst 8 voted for 'The Unexpected' and 1 for 'Who's There?' We included 'Who's there?' as our tagline as a play on the well known knock knock joke. It is common within the horror genre for twists on innocent child-like things such as jokes, as it is more disturbing for the audience. 

We then asked whether the audience would prefer to see a lot of gore, a little gore or no gore at all. 13/24 (54.17%) voted for little gore, whilst 7 voted for a lot of gore and 4 people voted for none at all. As it is within the slasher genre it would be unconventional to include no gore at all however as it is only the trailer we decided to make it minimal as we felt this would be more effective as we felt that showing too much could make it look unrealistic and therefore minimise the effect of our trailer.

When asked how much of the killer the audience would like to be physically visible of the killer 17/24 (70.83%) chose glimpses of the killer, as opposed to 5/24 that chose for a full view of the killer and 2/24 chose an unseen killer. We decided to go for partial view of the killer, as we felt that a full view would diminish the effect of the unknown slightly and the audience wouldn't be able to use their imagination. Having said this the killer is not completely unseen as we wanted to incorporate a mask and weapon of choice etc which is a large part of the slasher genre.

When asked what central characters the trailer should be revolved around, 13/20 (65%) chose for it to be a group of teenagers as opposed to a family or single character. The use of a group of teenagers is a classic convention within the slasher genre, with the group containing certain characters often found in slasher films such as the jock, final girl and her promiscuous friend. This was useful as it encouraged us to conform to this convention.

We asked if the killer should have super-human powers or no powers at all, which 19/24 (79.17%) preferred. Within slasher genre films, the killer is normally invincible, but does not obvious powers like flying etc. This worked well as we were able to perceive him as impossible to destroy, whereas it may have been hard to make him look like he has other powers such as flying without looking unrealistic. Having said this we did include a scene at the end which through the use of editing on final cut pro we made it look like he has just appeared in the mirror, giving the audience the feel of non-human powers.

We also asked for the preferred weapon of choice for our killer, which is a classic convention of the slasher genre. A knife was the most popular with 12/24 (60%) choosing it, instead of an axe, chainsaw or a rope. This worked well for us as we had easy access to a knife, as opposed to something such as a chainsaw. This also gave a more realistic feel to our trailer, with realism working  as a disturbing feature for the audience, conforming to our genre.

Here is a summary of our results. We conformed to almost all of them, as many of the responses also followed the conventions of existing slasher genre films. Although we wondered about subverting some of these conventions, the survey helped us to realise that this is actually what the audience would find most effective and therefore make our trailer more successful.

Filming Schedule

Filming Schedule

31st October 2014

Tors House- 6pm

Cast
Holly- Friend
Becca- Friend
Gaurav- Boy
Tor- Friend
Ella- Blonde Friend
Fraser- Boyfriend of blonde girl
Lorna- Final Girl
Edgar- Killer

Costume
Holly- Casual
Becca- Casual
Gaurav- Casual
Tor- Casual (leggings, top, trainers etc.)
Ella- Nose ring, girly clothes- crop top, leggings, heavier make-up
Fraser- Casual
Lorna- Conservative (jumper, jeans, minimal make-up)
Edgar- All black- black suit, black leather gloves, mask

Location
Tors- inside

Mask
Sack, cut out eyes, rope, stitch detailing

Props
Blood, knife, bottles, torch, weekend bag/any other bags, crisps, car keys. house keys, cigarettes, ashtray, coke bottles etc, drinking glasses glasses, phones, jackets, cards

To be filmed
All inside footage

Evaluation Question- 2

Typography 

The typography we chose to use is called 'Scream Again.' We felt that the sharp, distorted edges of the lettering linked well with the twisted nature of the slasher genre. We distorted the letters further, so not all of them were straight or same size, adding to the chaotic feel of the genre.

The website and poster for our trailer features the same scream again typography, we decided to add bloodied smears and splatters, giving a strong link to slasher violence and gore.  

The typography used on the poster is slightly yellow, this is in order to keep with colour scheme of the poster. Across all components the typography is kept light light against the dark background. 

The typography used for the 'Who's there?' tagline on the website is the same typography used for the credits etc. throughout the trailer, as well as across the website. 

The typography is capitalised, bold and easy to read. The sharp pointed serifs give it a gothic effect, which is typical of typography within the horror genre. 

Colour scheme

The main colours constantly used across all media components (trailer, website and poster) are shades of red, white, black and grey. The black and grey makes it look slightly dull yet sinister, which is typical of the horror genre. The red incorporated in the form of blood splatters across the title typography etc gives a strong link to violence and gore, the key features of the slasher genre. The strong link to violence e.g blood splatters is un-nerving for the audience. The red is not incorporated into our trailer in order to keep typography and colour more simplistic and minimal to allow more audience focus on what is happening. 


Tagline 

Our tagline follows our chosen 'Knock Knock' title. The 'Who's There?' tagline is a play on the classic 'knock knock who's there' joke. The fact that this is meant to be fun innocent game, mainly for children and is now linked to something much more sinister is disturbing for the audience.

Within the horror genre there are often links to childlike innocence, such as the use of dolls etc as it is more distressing for the audience, something we have incorporated into our slasher genre film as it is a useful component in building both tension and terror, key features of slasher films.

We have also used 'Knock Knock' as a social media hashtag, allowing the audience to get involved on twitter, a global platform. The use of a constant hashtag also provided a recognisable link to the film, in the same way that a tag line does, also incorporating the use of social media as a way to get things trending and shared worldwide.

Layout

The poster includes a main image, which is the key image of mask, a representational link of the film for the audience. The killers mask is a classic convention of the slasher genre, with the villain becoming a famous figure within the franchise. It also include the film name with the repeated use of scream again typography, ultimately acting as a logo. Within the poster the typography is distorted by the addition of blood smears and splatters as a link to the violence within the genre. The tag line, 'Who's There?' again follows the same typography throughout. 

There are links to social media, a way of targeting and reaching a global audience. This includes the creation of the 'Knock Knock' hashtag as a way of getting the audience involved, for example sharing their opinions. There is the inclusion of social media logos (Facebook, Twitter and Google+) which are universal. 
The credits, names of producer etc placed at the bottom of the poster follow the same typography as tag line etc. We have placed the names at the bottom in order to allow complete attention to be given to the key image of the killer which is central to the poster, engaging the audience.

After researching other slasher genre film websites, we were able to ensure that our website included many key features. The first of these is an integrated trailer. The trailer plays as soon as you go onto website, so the viewer instantly watches it. 
The navigation buttons follow the same typography used for the tag line. They are clear and user friendly, making it easy to navigate around the site for anyone.

There are again many links to social media, providing a global platform. The 'Knock Knock' hashtag and universal media logos (Facebook, Twitter and Google+) again allow more ways for the audience to participate, therefor allowing for promotion of the film. 
The use of ratings by well known and trusted companies such as 'The Guardian' provides sincerity as well as a reliable source of information for the audience. 

The real time 'tweets' are there to encourage the audience to get involved, as well as displaying feedback about the film to other audience members. It is a moving feature that makes our website look technologically more advanced and professional.

Key Image 

The poster features the central image of the killer through the key hole, providing a link to the scene in the trailer where a long shot shows the girl opening the door after the knock is heard to see who is there. 
The knife, which is the killers weapon of choice is pointing forwards towards the key hole, making it feel unnerving and threatening to audience. The mask is easily visible in contrast to dark surroundings using low key lighting, which is important for projecting the audiences full attention on the killer.

The mask is a classic convention of the slasher genre e.g 'Halloween' and 'Scream,' both examples of films where the masked killer has created a franchise as audiences form a recognisable 'bond' with the killer. The mask becomes iconic for slasher films, therefore creating a strong image. The fact that it is an image as well makes it universal, not for one language etc. 

The mask is seen as a main feature in both the poster and throughout trailer, as well as on the webpage through trailer,  linking all the components together.

The typography has also carried through the same features that are easily recognisable, for example the scream again 'Knock Knock' title becomes a logo, again that the audience can link back to the trailer.

Combination


The killers mask is used within the trailer, poster and website, becoming the key image associated with this trailer.  The masked villains often become famous from many slasher genre films, for example 'Scream' with the ghostly mask and 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' with the disfigured face and clawed hand. The title has also become recognisable having been included within all components. The tag line is simple and easy to understand, again giving a twist on something child like as is common within the horror genre. We had learnt this through various research and deconstructions.

Our strong links to social media provide a world wide platform in order to promote the film through the poster, website and trailer through the participation of the audience through features such as the live streaming of tweets on the webisite and the 
#KnockKnock.

Typography Manipulation

Now that we had the font for our film name, I had to come up with ideas to make our film name look more creative. One idea was changing the colour of our font. 

I opened up a new file on Photoshop.

I then used the default Photoshop size.

I went onto texts and selected the font 'Scream Again' which I downloaded from 'Dafont'. 

In my new layer, I kept the 'mode' as normal and the 'opacity' as 100%.  I named the layer as 'Knock Knock'. 

This was the font style of 'Scream Again'. 

I then went onto 'color' and then adjusted the intensity of the red colour to 244.

After adjusting the final settings on 'color picker', I then selected the letters in the film title which I wanted red. The red colour visually signifies blood and is therefore conventional of the slasher genre.