Why we have chosen the male gaze for Megan Black

We decided to include the male gaze, due to the fact that we wanted to attract a wider range of audience. By doing so, we aim have larger market (through promotion) which could make our production much more successful. In the same way, we wanted to reinforce the conventional 'typical blonde' who are often presented to be sexy, for the pleasure of men, where they are also seen as promiscuous and thus are unlikely to survive (slasher genre). 

 We were inspired by 'Cabin In The Woods' (2012), however we will not be going to such an extent of male gaze, as seen in 'Cabin In The Woods', nevertheless we will be using some element e.g. mise-en scene (e.g. clothing). Furthermore we will be using some speed manipulation (slow motion), to further sexualise such character, allowing the male audience to become closer to such character (Megan), while possibly distancing the female audience. This comes down to the fact that, they (female audience), are likely to have more morals and thus may not agree with the way in which this particular female character is presented, hence why they become distant. We plan on using low angles, point of view and close ups to reinforce this sexualised female, however we will subvert some element,by making our character well educated and thus well spoken. Also she will not the the first one to die, but rather survives at the end until she is killed, which is unconventional within horror films. Lastly she will not always sexualise her, as she will be covered in some scenes highlighting the idea of her not being conventional 'typical blonde' character.

Why we have change our actress for the role of Flora

Safia 

This is our new actress, who will be playing the character of Flora. The reason being as to why we had to change actress from Jalisa to Safia, comes down to the fact that unfortunately Jalisa became seriously ill, which meant that she was unable to feature in our production. However due to Safia being her understudy, we were able to replace Jalisa without much damage caused to our production, in terms of delaying our shooting schedules. In the same way, Safia fitted the role of Flora quite well, due to her being likeable without anyone expecting her to be sinister (unexpecting for our audience), which our narrative explores. 

Casting of Flora

Here me and my fellow team mate (Chloe), took turn in both directing and filming this particular casting section. Due to there being only two of us, we had to constantly run back and fourth in terms of organizing who's up next, and how they should read the monologue.We decided to give them directions, due to the fact that many were shy in front of us as well as the camera being present, also they were unaware of how to read or portray the particular emotion required for the character of Flora.We decided to film this process, we a way of  referring back when making a decision, as to who fits the role of Flora this was used when we finally made our decision for the character of Flora.

Why we chose who we chose:

• Originally, we wanted a white blonde girl for the character of Flora, however due to this particular race being a minority, we were unable to find one that fitted the description nor the acting capability. This meant that we ended up casting an ethnic minority (mixed race) girl as the character of Flora. 
• Also this particular girl (Jalisa), was the most organised meaning she will be available for our trailers when we needed her.  

What have I learnt from this?

• For future reference, we should choose our characters (casts) before conducting our story board. This comes down to the fact that, we ended up making some changes to our cast. This can be seen with Megan who was originally supposed to be white, however again due to such race being a minority, we couldn't find one to fit the description we needed in our trailer. Yet we did have a 'white girl', who fitted this role, she nonetheless due to her being in year 12, she should be extremely busy and thus cannot make it when we needed her. 

Characters and cast list

These are our casts that we will be using for our horror trailer 'Insanity', as you can see they range from different ages, from 11-18 years old.

Locations, prop list and shooting schedule

Due to one of our team member not being present (on holiday), me and my fellow team mate (Chloe), have to over look all roles hence why we have occupied all four of the roles. However when she does return, we will split the roles more evenly, ensure we all have part to play. 

Clothing & mise-en scene for cast

Test shots: settings and mise-en scene (part 2)

Test shots Settings/Mise en Scene

Casting of Flora (where we are so far-update)

In order for our horror trailer to be successful, the actors play a significant aspect of this, due to their ability  to act. For this reason, I have been hunting for actors to play the role of Flora, this led me to go to different age groups, where I pitched our narrative to them to see if they were interested in auditioning for the role of Flora. After finding a variety of actors, me and my fellow team mate (Chloe) then put a notices in their register. Once our actors received their notices, they were instructed meet us in the drama studio, where we directed them on how to deliver their lines. We directed them, due to the age range (11-13), and thus didn't always know how to portray the particular emotion we needed for the character of Flora. During their delivering of their monologue, we filmed this process as a way of referring back to it when making our decision. It is also helpful as to why we didn't pick a particular actor (on our blogs). We will edit this and upload it soon!

Our storyboard of 'Insanity'

Follow the (red arrows- narrative order).

These are the theories we followed (those not mentioned above):

• Todorov basic narrative structure- we are planning to use most aspect of his theory, including equilibrium and disequilibrium. However we chose not to show the 'new equilibrium', as this is unconventional for horror trailer to show the ending of the narrative. This is for marketing reasons, whereby it attract its audience to watch that particular movie, hence why  horror films differs as a way of attracting audience (unique selling point). 

• Alvarado et al (ethnic minorities representation): With their theory suggesting ethnic minorities being presented as 'humorous, pitied, exotic and dangerous' we as a group wanted to subvert some element of this. The obvious subversion is the idea of having our cast a mixture of all ethnic groups, with two of the protagonists being from ethnic minority background. This differs from the conventional horror films, as ethnic minorities  are often killed off during the early stages, however we have chosen to have our ethnic minority characters to survive till the final scene. In the same way, we chose not to include the idea of them being 'humorous and dangerous', nevertheless we kept with them being presented as 'pitied' (to a limited extent- can be seen with the character of Jean) and 'dangerous' (Flora).  

• Clude Levi struss (binary of opposition). Where we took up on his theory of narrative, being 'driven by conflict'- this can be seen with conflict unfolding the events of the narrative. Here conflict is the reasons behind why certain characters act sinister. 

Recreating scenes from our narrative/storyboards

Here I have edited the different camera angles we tested out, using 'Adobe Premier'. Here due to us not knowing how to use a  'poor focus pull', me and Chloe wanted to test this out hence why we have conducted this test.

Exploring our narrative, issues covered

For our narrative, we as a group wanted to explore issues in which is a current concern in our contemporary society. With this in mind, we wanted to ensure that this was highlighted in our narrative, in a sense as a way of raising awareness of such issues. In order to do this, we as a group began to think of how we could include these with supporting evidence, (need to justify why we have focused on such issues). These were the issues we chose to highlight:

• Mental health (Schizophrenia). Here due to the age of one of our character (Flora), who has developed such illness, we wanted to ensure we had done in depth research as to when such illness begin. Before any research was done, we had we stated that Flora was 8, however after research we decided to change her age to 13. This comes down to the fact that research by NHS suggests 'illness begin by age 14'. Although NHS suggests such illness begin at the age of 14, due to the character of Flora we wanted to make her slightly younger to fit in with the child-like aspect, whilst evoking audience reaction with her sinister behaviour. This was also due to the classification of our production, which we are targeting the age range of 15, and thus needing to make the audience relate to the character of Flora.  http://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-news/2005/mental-illness-exacts-heavy-toll-beginning-in-youth.shtml

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-news/2005/mental-illness-exacts-heavy-toll-beginning-in-youth.shtml 

           
Here I looked into children with such illness and how they may act, to ensure I get accurate representation. This gave me an in depth understanding as to what courses schizophrenia, without giving false statement.Lastly this this gave supporting evidence that children do in fact have Schizophrenia, and thus enabling us to show why we chose to have Flora have such illness.  




          
Again I looked further into the illness of Schizophrenia, to have more understanding.

·         We also looked at the case of split personality, where we were influenced by ‘Psycho’ of 1960. However by making Flora to have this disorder would cause for too much confusion, along with having Schizophrenia. Furthermore there were variations of ‘Personality disorder’ ranging from A- C, because we didn’t want to portray the wrong image we didn’t want to offend anyone by making inaccurate portrays in our narrative. Such ‘disorder tends to have difficulty relating to others and usually shows patterns of behaviour most people would regard as odd’, which fitted in with this particular character. Contrasting this, other areas such as ‘feeling they cannot really trust their friends and associates’ didn’t portray Flora as we has imagined.

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Personality-disorder/Pages/Symptoms.aspx



            

Although not directly linked with the case of 'schizophrenia'. This gave me an idea on how we could direct our our actress, who would be playing the role of Flora (we may be taking some ideas from footage). I will be showing this to them during their auditing, which we would be conducting on Wednesday (4^th December) on how they could possibly play this role. The reason as to why we’re doing an audition is due to the fact that, there has been much interest where I have pitched our narrative to drama students who have also expressed their interest in playing such role. 

·         Lastly with the rapid increase of domestic violence, where is suggested by BBC news ‘70,000 people suffer domestic abuse...every year’, which sadly affects children. We wanted to show this in our trailer, demonstrating the full effects it has on children, hence why we included this in our narrative through the character of Flora.  

Ironically research suggests those affected by domestic abuse go unreported due to the normality of it. However a woman who was in a former abusive relationship stated ‘It's imperative that the word of abuse, mental and physical, should be known all over the country just to make everyone aware of what's happening.’ Supporting our reasons as to why we wanted to include such act in our production, however in a horrific manner to make a point. Such take on events could support ‘Postmodernists’ interpretation, which is a theory that undermines the conventional narrative, which our group aims to achieve.

These are the links for reference (feel free to have a look)
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/192104.php

http://www.rethink.org/diagnosis-treatment/conditions/schizophrenia?gclid=CIzegsnH87sCFTMdtAodET8AOA

·         http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25181546

Our narrative 'Insanity'

This is our narrative that we created as a group, here I have linked some of the images along with what is occurring within the narrative. Using 'Potosnack', I had made a mini slideshow. Due to there being no pulse button, I have ensured that this slideshow is repeated in order for it to be reader able.









 

Preparing our narrative

Today me and the rest of the group have started to come up with our own narrative, in order for us to prepare doing this, we have put together a 'Whatsapp' group. By doing so enables us to communicate more effectively, as well as making us more organised for the task set, which is to produce our own production. Due to us having this particular group, we had already started to come up with our own narrative, thus when it was time for us to plan our narrative we found this slightly easier.

In this group, we had discussed what the poster/magazine should consist of along with the trailer. We wanted to follow the conventional narrative for our production, however in some areas we have chosen to subvert using theorists to support our decisions. Similarly we have began to make links of influences which we want to feature in our production, especially in the case of the trailer, which can be seen in Gothic literature. This comes down to horror starting off in literature, we wanted to highlight this whilst reinforcing the importance, we have also referenced other horror trailers that could possible influence us.

We have also began to think of names for our trailer, however we found this difficult at start, as we wanted a name which would tie all elements of our production. ( I will shortly be posting this). Other areas in which we have also considered includes the following:

• Mise- en scene 
• Setting 
• Sound
• Post production 
• Extra (anything else we want to add in e.g. classification)

Our remake of Halloween of (1978), first group task

Using 'Premier', we have created a scene from 'Halloween', whilst adding our own twist on events. The main reason as to why we decided to change some element from the actual scene, comes down to the fact that we wanted to challenge ourselves, whilst allowing us to develop our skills. Additionally due to us having to make our own production, we wanted to get a sense of how some of our ideas would come across once its actually been filmed. This was a good indicator to see if we should make some elements of our ideas much more clearer e.g. in the case of the narrative without revealing too much. One has to have into consideration that due to the shortage of time, our scene couldn't wasn't our best as it could have been, for the final production we will be ensuring all the footage are edited smoothly.

What was effective?

• The use of text reinforced the genre of the film, which was in this case horror 'Be careful who you let in...' Although this was not actually stated in 'Halloween', we wanted to have the same fear factor as the actual film hence why we decided to include such text as a way of a evoking a reaction. Also we chose to make the text to be red, whilst canted as a way of reflecting the distraction of normality, suggesting that something is wrong connoting danger, which the audience can sense. 
• The narrative is clear, without causing confusion for our audience, this can be seen with the relationship the audience are introduced to. The audience rapidly get a sense of uneasiness, due to the voyeuristic nature, where is hinted the young couple are being watched. 
• The dramatic breathing adds to the suspense, whilst reinforcing the idea of them being watched. Here we slowing faded the breathing, whilst placing the actual soundtrack from the film on top as a way of building up more tense making the audience feel uncomfortable.  
• The slow motion of the mask, this is done to follow the convention of horror films, where masks are often one of many key ingredients. We done this, as we wanted the audience to feel as if they were watching from Micheal's perspective (point of view), which is used in the actual scene of Halloween.
• Slow motion of me slowing turning towards the camera appears to make it sinister, making it memorable for the audience as is not expected. Also due to it being the last image they see, is more likely to have much more of an effect, as is implanted in their brain, which is built up using only the breathing. 

Least effective/ what didn't work:

• There was a slight shakiness in the beginning scene, when the tilt was used, which is can be noticed by the audience. 
• Other shakiness can also be seen with the shot of the house, even though we were using a tripod, we struggled to film this smoothly, purely based on the height of the house. 
• The camera at one point was out of focus e.g. when the couples were saying goodbye to each other. Additionally the colour was out of balance, as there were far too much light coming out of the window making it look strange/ faded. 
• The scene with the couples consisted of  long takes that, it didn't add anything to the horror element. 
• Here the knife was being taken out, whilst close up of feet walking up the stairs due to the way in which we edited it (placing one footage on top of another), made it look messy, as well as the colour being out of balance. This made it hard for the audience to actually see what was going on, and thus not having as much impact as it could have possibly been. 
• Slight jump can be seen with me on top of the stairs holding a knife, which cuts to me slowly turning towards the camera. This was not effective as it made it predictable as to what will happen next, additionally it can be argued as adding nothing, due to the long take. 

What we would do different for our final production 

• For our final production, we will be ensuring we bring a white sheet of paper, as a way of us checking of the colour is  balance on the camera.  
• Shorter takes would be used, as otherwise makes the audience loose focus.
• Not to use canted sot, if not done correctly (as demonstrated from window scene).
• To practice using the tripod, to avoid shakiness.  

This what we as a group tried to recreated, as you can see there are some differences between our remake and the original.

First task as a group

Research into target audience: meaning behind answers

These are the trailers we used for our research, due to younger audience, we were unable to show a much more scarier trailer.





 Here we explained the reason as to why we changed the method in which we used to collect our research.

 

What we found from our target audience research: meaning behind answers

Research methods quantitative and qualitative

Definition of research:

• Such definition includes any gathering of data, information, opinions and facts for the advancement of knowledge. 

Quantitative data (own definition): this is the use of numbers, it produces statistical data e.g. questionnaires, surveys ect..This consists of close ended questions and thus can be representative. 

Qualitative data: (own definition): consists of word and as a result making it subjective, highlighting a person's social reality and thus can't be generalized. This includes open ended questions in order to the research to get deeper understanding. An example of this includes: focus groups, interviews ect.. 

Total Film v.s. Empire magazine front cover

How I could market my production

Using 'Photobucket', I have edited my photos, by adding a frame, mimicking a film wheel going along with the task set, which is to produce my own production.

Audience reactions to 'The conjuring': target audience

Here I have conducted my research into my possible target audience, using qualitative data (interview). I used 'Premier' to edit my findings as it was far too long, by doing so gave me a feel of using such program as I will be using this for editing my trailer. I wasn't sure as to who my actual target audience could be, leading me span my research into younger and older audience. Before I conducted my research I was set on, targeting younger audience, as I learnt from 'Paul Well's audience research' (2000). Here he suggested that younger generation, in contemporary times were a lot harder to scare, I however wanted test this hence why I started with younger audience. However in my actual production, I will ensure that my research, in terms of age goes up evenly, as here the age gap is far too big. Adding on to this, I will be using both quantitative and qualitative in my own production, as a way of backing up my evidence, making it more accurate.

What did I learn from my research?

• The use of interview allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of my participates (as to what scared/ their personal view on this particular film), as well as their social reality. 
• For my actual production (in the case of the trailer), I will not be aiming it at younger audience, this is because at some point one of my younger participate fell off her chair as she was terrified. This has led to me consider targeting older generation (who were less likely to be scared, contradicting Well's research). I'm thinking of aiming at age 15 and above possibly. 
• In the same way, for actual production, I will be collecting data from various source (age), to get a real sense of the different ages and how how horror impacts them. 

Early stages in our production

I used 'Premier', I have edit our findings/ thoughts. I wanted to get into grips with such program as we would need to use this for our final production of our trailer, hence why I have chosen to edit in this particular software.

Getting into terms with horror trailers: our take on making a horror trailer

I came up with the idea of practicing horror trailer before our actual project was to start, as I believed would benefit me in the long run when creating my own horror trailer. Due to the fact that I had never created a horror trailer before, I believed this would give me an experience of what its like to create one. However I couldn't do this on my own so I asked Chloe and Adelina if we could come together as a group and putting our ideas forward. One of the major reason as to why it would benefit us working in a group comes down to the fact, in our final project we would need work together as a group. By working in group will give us experience than thus if any problems that may occur, we would know how to overcome it and still make a successful horror production.  

Here we started to brainstorm what the narrative could include, whilst following the conventions of horror trailer/ film. As you can see, we chose to follow the norm of horror trailers, which is evident from the ingredients of horror films, such as the use of religion (however twisted- following the conventions), mask (as a way of villain hiding their identity, whilst creating suspense for its audience, as they are left guessing who the killer is), blood ect... Nevertheless we also wanted to subvert the conventions of horror films by ensuring at least one of protagonists is of ethnic minority background, as many horror films tend to kill ethnic minority characters first. In the same way, we wanted to portray the final girl to be masculine, as well as her being of an ethnic minority background, as a way of reinforcing our subversion, whilst making our product have a unique selling point.

Adding to this, we began to look at possible names for our horror poster, as a way of reinforcing our narrative, which again is conventional within horror films. These were the possible names we came up with: 'Guess who?', 'Hidden secrets', 'Who done it' ect.... As a way of making it easier for our group to pick the best name, we put this to a vote where we all decided it would be best if we were to go for 'Guess who', in hope to add suspense as a way of playing with the audience's mind as to who the possible killer could be. In addition due to it being a rhetorical question, creates a tense atmosphere, making it unclear as to who may possibly be the next victim (could create moral panic e.g. such 'Psycho' and 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre').  

This is our storyboard, outlining what each shot would be consisted of, here we have said how long each shot should be and the type of shot the frame would be. We done this, due to the fact that we wanted to have an idea as to how the shot would turn out once we actually put it into practice. By doing this made as think of each shot clearly, and how it relates to the narrative without giving too much away. With all of this said, when creating my own trailer, I would ensure that such storyboard is detailed e.g. date, location, as well as consisting of more shots.

Here we began to write and number our narrative, this came about due to the fact that we wanted the trailer to follow in a particular order, as we didn't want to cause confusion amongst our audience. In the same way, it also gave us an insight as to how the narrative could potentially be set out. Furthermore such method enabled as to created the storyboard as we were now sure of what each frame should consist of.. However when creating my own trailer, this would be typed up into a proper narrative, consisting of 150 words, where I would incorporate some form of a cliff hanger. I believe this is effective, as it draws the audience in further, desperate to know what will eventually happen.

This is the basic summary of our whole narrative, as a way of simplifying it for those who may want a little insight of the story. One of the main reason of its effectiveness comes down to the use of rhetorical question, in a sense breaking the fourth-wall, where the audience are also placed within the narrative. In addition the use of rhetorical question can create moral panic (amongst the audience), as it almost feels like a reality  they themselves also need to escape from. I personally believe this is effective, and would consider this in my own trailer

This are the character profiles, we wanted to use an ethnic minority protagonists, as they are often portrayed in horror films. This also reflects our aims, as we wanted to subvert certain representations, as a way of putting our own stump on it 'unique selling point', and potentially targeting a wide range of audience. Is evident throughout our character profiles that our aims are met, in terms of subverting the protagonists. 

What did I learn from this this?

• Greater care is needed when considering narrative, as it can easier cause confusion for both the characters (actors) and directors (us)
• Various location to bring the story alive, as well as making it interesting for our audience. 
• Find characters who are willing to stay behind after school in order for production to reach its ultimate success. Touching on from this, I have found it's a lot harder to find males who are willing to be in front of the camera. When creating my own production, I will ensure that I have back ups for characters in case any for whatever reason drops out. 

Location, location ....

Whilst walking home, I came across this location, which I found interesting for potentially filming my horror trailer. The main reason comes down to the fact that, the light against the shadows are quite effective, giving it that isolated and sinister setting.

Researching in target audience part 2

Researching target audience part 1