Planning - Midnight Massacre 2- Synopsis

After researching plot lines / synopsis we were able to come together and discuss how we would like to write our synopsis so it doesn't give anything away , like most slasher horror films do.

Typical synopsis consists of killer always looking for a victim , or it starts of all 'jolly' then it hits rock bottom and someone gets killed - this was seen in 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'. However in

'Wrong Turn' the synopsis was different , it was written straight from when someone got killed then it explains the rest of the plot line which then shows it all 'jolly'. This is something you wouldn't expect as it is a horror movie. So after researching all of this we knew that we had to make ours stand out but still keep it the conventions of a horror movie.

Below is our OWN written synopsis of our film: (please click to enlarge)

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More research into location

As a group we each gathered pictures of locations in which we thought we could film our trailer. We recorded this information using different technology such as our phones and cameras. Throughout the school, we found locations and also props which would benefit our production in many ways such as a tap in the art room which had red paint all over it, which we used as a substitute to blood. Also, we found that there were many locations in our college looked quite spooky depending on many factors such as the lighting and angle in which I took the pictures from. Below I have made another presentation using a website named FLICKR. (click for link)

Planning-Character Factfiles- Midnight Massacre 2 (The Return of the MasKarade)

The main storyline of our trailer is about someone or something who is killing many young women. The horrific acts have described to be a Massacre in which the sick rant who killed these young women has not been found. The victims have many similar elements in their lifestyle such as children and were all found in the same borough dead with a mysterious kiss on the cheek. Also, all the women are said to have been killed within the hour of 11'oclock in the night, leading up to midnight. With only 1 minute left to 12'oclock, there is only one more person who needs to face their harrowing death.

Who will it be?
Below I have created a character factfile on powerpoint for all the victims of the Massacre.

(Please feel free to click the slides in order to make them bigger)

Research/Planning- Location, props and Costume / Relating to our Film Trailer

As a group, we wanted to do some research outside of our lesson time in order to see the different locations in which we could use in our production of our horror movie trailer.

We decided to take time out of our media lesson and research into locations within out own sixth form premises.

We decided that the drama room would be a good place to look research into props.

The Drama Props room was 'jam-packed' with props and costumes which related very well to our 'Midnight Massacre 2' film trailer. We were impressed by the sight.

There were different sections containing many costumes which made it easier for us to locate different oufits.

Below is a presentation which I have made using http://slide.com/ (click for link). This presentation features pictures in which I took using my mobile phone. We have also recorded this experience in which you may also like to watch.

As a group we found that many horror films share similar elements in terms of location. We found that locations in slasher horror films use a consistant pattern of a dark mysterious houses in the middle of no where, which was the case in 'The Strangers', or either woods which is very sterotypical as a horror location, this was seen in the film ' The Blair Witch Project' , there are many typical locations that are used in horror films for example a school when watching a teen based horror movie such as 'Prom Night'.

However there was one film that stood out from the rest that caught our eye which was 'Scream' , as 'Scream' was set in the cinema and we find that this a non-typical idea , something we like tob go with. So by weighing out all the locations that slasher horror films have we decided to not use any typical locations but to mix and match with locations.

Research Into Film Magazines Front Covers

Below I have uploaded a video including a voice over which myself and Vanessa made whilst exploring the front covers of 2 film magazines. We did this in the expectation that we will be able to incorporate some ideas or common elements into our own magazine production.

Research into other horror Synopsis

I have looked at 4 horror synopsis' for films such as Let Me in, Sixth Sense, The Hills have eyes and The Last Exorcism. I found they each have many similar concepts for example they all feature protagonist and antagonists. Also most of them include children who possess evil characteristics and are the main characters of the movie. I used a key to to highlight the protagonists, antagonists, stock characters and also themes. In terms of my horror production, this may help me and my group to ensure that we have covered key areas in our synopsis of our movie and also help us to create a trailer for a movie which avoids the usual cliche storylines or concepts of a horror movie.

Iconography

To fully understand the concept of genre we studied ICONOGRAPHY. Below I have made a presentation in which I researched the iconography of a film named 'The Blair Witch Project'.
(Please click for link to the Official Movie Website)

Analysing Horror Trailer

Dont Be Afraid of The Dark Trailer (Please click for film trailer)

Whats More important Images or Words?

BELOW: Image 1 Image 2 Image 3

In my opinion, I feel images are more important than words. I have many reasons for this argument. Whilst analysing film posters, I found that when I first heard of the name of the film, my intentions were sometimes completely different from what the theme or genre of the film was. I was only able to identify what genre the film was once I had seen the film poster itself. This shows that words alone are not entirely important as it may have a completely different meaning which is only recognizable once an image is viewed. Also images can be used as a way to show expressions and is more effective than words. For example the word Bang! is a way to show an expression of a loud and shocking sound. In that sense the use of capital letters and sound will be the most effective way to affect an individual. Image 2 above, demonstrates this well and is also an example of how images can be more effective than just the word itself. It highlights the word and makes it easier for a person to relate to it.

Although some people may argue that words are more important than images because they are more informative, I feel that images are more important as they are physical representative and is also informative.