Proposal

Draft proposal 

Content outline/ Synopsis

I will be working with MoonLit productions in the production and development of my film and will be working very closely with the MoonLit team to ensure that we have the utmost clear and accurate results which match my synopsis and outline of my film. 

The genre that i have chosen for my film is Horror. I have chosen this because I think that there is a gap in the market for a new kind of horror film - one that psychologically plays on your mind and genuinely has you frightened to find out what happens next. I plan to make my film awaken your deepest and darkest fears whilst giving you unexpected scary scenes to leave you constantly hung upon the edge of your seat.

My film is about a teenage group of five friends who on one night, decide to casually go out for a few drinks and enjoy their freedom. they go on a walk with an attempt to sober up one of their friends and lose track of where they are until, they come across a familiar abandoned manor house and decide to check it out. Feeding their drunk curiosity which rapidly leads to danger - a horrific, psychotic and paranormal experience that will end some and posses some - but may the bravest man win.

The five teenagers consist of:

Ally - The notoriously known scaredy-cat, she is the sensible one although clumsy and always ends up in sticky situations. However Ally is smart and witty and has quick thinking when she needs to, but will her fears get the best of her?

James - the cheeky jack-the-lad who's always up for a laugh. James has a likable quirky personality and can always put a smile on your face and doesn't take things too seriously but will he be having a smile on his face by the end of the night?

Craig - The charming yet sensitive one who never really gets out, brought up by fairly strict parents and has just been deprived of his curfew, decides to get out and get loose with friends to experience night life for the first time and take the early stages of adulthood in his stride, however - will this exciting debut of his prove to be worth while?

Rochelle - The active, sporty and bubbly one who shares similar traits to James but knows when to cut the fun and get serious. Rochelle is often misunderstood but always tried her best to help and support people in any way she can. She has a fairly quick reflex but hesitates when under pressure and can sometimes make risky yet smart decisions when nervous but which end of her instincts will we see?

Sean - The most humble individual who takes care of friends and has a good head on his shoulders. Tends to have a short temper when provoked, been in several fights and can be a little silly and reckless but knows how to have a good time and makes people feel at ease with his natural grace. Sean can often be seen standoffish by others, is sometimes the brave boy to save the day however, could his unknown fears get the best of him?

My film will start of with a casual night out with college friends, having a few drinks and just enjoying themselves on a night out. They bar hop and decide after a friend has had one too many that they'll go on a walk and cool off as well as attempt to sober up their drunken companion.
The friends end up on a long back road off the top of the high street and decide to keep walking as they're lost in conversation with one another and plan to call a cab in the next 15 minutes. With 2 out of 5 phones dead, one very low on battery and one temporary phone and another without a strong signal what lies ahead is ultimately beyond their wildest, darkest imagination. 

The truth behind what the stars have aligned for them is inevitable for them to run from and they only get caught up in the web of disaster as it as it begins to strike. 

Once they go into the house, a tale of sinister events starts to happen and the group gets split up and in a whirlwind of fear that they get drawn into hell. One of the teenagers breaks their ankle and cries out in agony, another falls onto a rake as they trip down a short flight of stairs, revealing a ghostly truth. Two of the teenagers team up and try to escape but lose direction in the house and voices that sound like their friends lure them into a room as they try to save as many of them as they can, they end up locked in the room, being horribly teased by the spirits in the house. 

The characters are brave and determined not to die, they all push and fight for each other. They pull together and add all their efforts in to survive from the old manor house but fate has already got a terrifying plan for them despite their courage, this is going to be a heck of an adventure!

Target Audience 

My target audience is for the ages between 15 and 25. During young adulthood you are in the key stages of developing yourselves and learning about the world, you want to try new things and experiment with different emotions and feelings as well as feel surprised and awaken emotions that you have never experienced before.You want to rush into life without being guided and therefore seek all thrill you can get as it liberates and excites you and brings out your risk taking youth. Horror movies give this thrill and can excite the young audience more than an older audience. The young audiences are also less susceptible to being put off the film by violence or unnatural images which may make older audience feel negative or offended by the film and they appeal to younger people as we crave the fear factor in many things we do, purely to receive that adrenaline rush! I have set my target audience similarly to the ages of the characters which star in the film because 

equipment/ location 

For equipment, my film won't require too much as this film is set at night and will need a good camera( Panasonic or legria camera) and a few lights to support some of the scenes before they get into the haunted house. We will also require a microphone to project as good of a sound quality as possible.

The location will be in a dark field where a haunted house is placed and has space and filming. We will be using the Nork Park area to film and we have space to film this and it doesn't require much technology at all.

personnel/ requirements and specialists

MoonLit productions will need to pay for cabs for people there and back home as the filming will be done at night and in the middle of a field.
The production company will need planning permission from the local council to film here as it is on public grounds. We also need to obtain the necessary documents to enable us to film and project the correct scene to our audience. 

Project schedule

MoonLit productions estimate the production of my film to take between 5-10 days to ensure all the correct and appropriate scenes are taken, we have enough time for any cancellations, replacements and delays and so that we can try  to produce the best product we can given our equipment. The estimate of how long the location will take to about 10-15 minutes to reach from the meeting point which is the beacon school; this is a good time as we won't waste time on travelling expenses or handling.

Resources

For equipment, my film won't require too much as this film is set at night and will need a good camera( Panasonic or legria camera) and a few lights to support some of the scenes before they get into the haunted house. We will also require a microphone to project as good of a sound quality as possible.

Other pieces of equipment that I require will be available at school as the filming media department has a range of professional specialised equipment which will be required in the production of my film. Some of these pieces of equipment include a boom pole, which enables sound to be caught and blocks out any wind that may cause a fuzz through the microphone. Another is an Apple Mac laptop which can help me edit my film using some of its specialist features. A Panasonic AVCCAM AG-AC160AEJ 2.2 MP Camcorder - 1080p, which is a camcorder camera that we have available in the media department which is available for us to use to film with. I will also require a phone camera to use in the production of my film as there will be some scenes that it will be use for to give that live feel to the film and make it seems as though some of the teenagers are recording what they are going through and it makes the film seem more real life.

My other pieces of equipment that i will require are boom pole wind shields, as i will be shooting in cold weather, it will be crucial to carry around these extra pieces of equipment just in case of any weather surprises etc. 

Location

The location will be in a dark field where a haunted house is placed and has space and filming. We will be using the Nork area to film and we have space to film this and it doesn't require much technology at all.

Props

I wont require using many props on the first scenes of my film but will require some props to fill the haunted house to make it appear old and some props will be needed for some of the scenes that I set where they may be something in particular set up to fall from the ceiling or to fall down a flight of stairs to emphasize the feel and terror of the film.

Budget

My budget for my film is approximately is £0-£50
For my short film, my budget is a low - nothing budget as we have;t many costs for equipment of resources.

Horror film example clips - BELLUM

This is an extract from the movie 'the eye', which shows how silence in a horror film can be just as if not even more effective than too much narrative and screenplay. It shows the simplicity in a scene using a very small amount of music in the scene, it shows how much tension is built up by the silence as you are waiting for the point in which you'll jump and be shocked. The screenplay is effective in how it makes us wait for what is to come...


 Often in movies when the villain is a zombie or gory character, they place a man in the role, rather than a female which plays the ghost or the possessed character. Here is a scene from Nightmare on elm street, where a creepy burnt man is after another male, ready to kill with his blade like fingers.

  
Here we see an animal (Shark), which isn't after one specific person or small group of people like we usually see in movies, but is just ready to attack all. This builds suspense effectively for the audience as it is less predictable and explicitly portrays the fight and strength of man vs animal.

 
 Here we see a female being portrayed as the villain, the opposite of exactly what she should be, a demonic, scary, horrifying beings whom used to be, now back here for revenge.

location background - BELLUM

LOCTIONS

Here are some images of locations which are close to my house, the Epsom/ Banstead area which i think is appropriate for the genre of my film. I think that these images are somewhat effective in portraying the genre of my film without words, its just simple images for you to think about what the situation may be, what kind of villain may be involved whether that be a zombie, ghost, murderer, axe-man, deceased girl/woman (these have a tendency to be used in films as the female character is usually the innocent, elegant one, so to use a woman contradicts the stereotype) and/ or animals. 

Film Genres - Pros and cons

Film Genres

Horror mood board

Horror mood board

This is a mood board which fits the genre of my choice and projects the different kinds of horror movies that are out there which include children, adults, adults with child minds and each of them have a specific target audience which they aim at. My target audience is teenagers as my film will be teenager horror and this is the most popular genre of horror films as its the most watched type of horror film and receives the highest number of audiences. The teenage audience is also very influenced by horror and scary scenes as they are thrill seeking, adventurous and spontaneous - they are the ones seeking new experiences and that's what i would hope to give then through watching my film. i hope that they would experience by having a new, unexpected way of making the scared, having unpredictable scenes which would make the, jump and having a creative plot twist to seal the deal. 

Short film Justification - BELLUM

The genre that i have chosen is horror, horror aimed at the teenage/ young adult audience.. Horror is a very popular genre, especially to younger generations as they enjoy the adrenaline rush that they get from watching the movies. Trailers increase the anticipation within the people whom have yet to wait till the film is released;the emphasis created of the severity on how scary it is makes people want to see the movie and this is a good way to build and gain the attention of customers, which would result in ticket sell-outs.

My narrative is well suited to my audience because i include teen horror which appeals specifically to that age group as well as young adults. This is because certain horror genres which include children are usually watched by adults, ones that include adult killers are watched by teenagers and adults and i have thought through which genre i want it to be aimed at so i will include teenage actors for my teenage horror film.

Horror movies can be created quite simply if the main focus is scaring the audience rather than the actual acting and screenplay. The audience is looking to be scared and surprised with tension-filled scenes rather than interesting and well played acting as this grasps their attention a lot more than effective narrative. There are several benefits for my audience viewing my horror movie such as:

It gives you an adrenaline rush - Getting an adrenaline rush is good for the body, it revives your cells and can make you more aware of things by help boost your concentration. 

It's good for the brain - Watching horror movies can be beneficial for the brain. The roller-coaster ride of emotions that happen when viewing scary movies can lead to the secretion of certain feel-good chemicals in the brain such as dopamine, serotonin and glutamate.

HISTORY OF HORROR
Horror is an ancient art form. We have tried to terrify each other with tales which trigger the less logical parts of our imaginations for as long as  we've told stories. From the ballads of the ancient world to modern urban myths, audiences willingly offer themselves up to sadistic  storytellers to be scared witless, and they are happy to pay for privilege.

The first depictions of supernatural events appear in several of the silent shorts created by the film pioneer George Melies in the late 1890's.

 In the early 20th century, the first monster appeared in a horror film, Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre-Dame who has appeared in Victor Hugo's novel, Notre-Dame de paris

During the early period of talking pictures, the American Movie studio Universal Pictures began a successful Gothic horror film series. Tod Browning's Dracula (1931), with Bela Lugosi, was quickly followed by James Whale's Frankenstein . Some of these blended science fiction films with Gothic horror, such as The Invisible Man (1933) and, mirroring the earlier German films, featured a mad scientist. These films, while designed to thrill, also incorporated more serious elements.

Character Types:

• The main protagonist, often the ‘victim/hero’ of the movie.        
• The villain, often a monster, mutated freak, alien or serial killer – tend to have a trademark characteristic as to how they kill (e.g. weapons and who they kill)
• The stupid/immoral teenagers that always get killed
• Creepy children
• Police officers (either good or bad)
• Many others: Ghosts, zombies, demons, psychopath, stalker, weirdo, werewolf, cheerleader etc…

Themes:

• Good vs Evil
• Depression
• Religion
• Childhood issues
• Revenge
• Supernatural
• Beyond death
• Science gone bad
• Zombie Apocalypse 
• Nightmares
• Madness
• Insanity
• Lust
• Envy
• Suicide
• ‘self-consciousness’ – making you question what is real and not.

Some directors use the innocence of children to be the villain of the movie. Using a small child who does scary and supernatural activities makes the storyline more freaky and disturbing for the viewers. Audience members are totally surprised when the child who may look like the victim turns out to be the villain. As we associate children with happiness, playful and innocent the thought of a child doing adult like behaviour becomes creepy.  For example The Exorcist is a film about a young girl who is possessed by the devil.  William Friedikin the director used Religion in an unseen way; this film was eventually banned as people thought it was too explicit and outrageous. There have been many remakes of the Exorcist and it has still had the same reaction.

Using mammals and not humans is also a well known storyline and a monster horror. The Jaws franchise was huge from 1975 and has also be remade several times. The fear is not of something that walks on earth but lives under water. Steven Spielberg an amazing director used a lot of natural lighting in this film to create more suspense. He used queue music when Jaws was approaching and Foley sound effects when he attacked.  Even back then when CGI did not exist, directors found other clever ways to create fear in movies.

The camera angles connote the fear in the movie by doing many natural lighting shots. The director will use many close angles, low and high angle shots and point of view shots. This makes you feel part of the movie and the suspense is anxiously waiting.  This is normally used to keep the audience members engaged with the storyline. Hand held shots are difficult for the audience to figure out what is going on. A prime example of that would be Cloverfield of Paranormal Activity. Both of these films are point of view shots and these situations that occur in the film are unexpected and shocking.

Music and sound effects play a big part in making a movie a success. Lots of incidental music is added and Foley sound effects can be used to make the intenseness more striking for the target audience. When a particular sound of music which is usually been made for that specific movie or show it is known as theme music. This makes the audience recognised what product they are watching.

The audience is made to view scenes of gaze for the heterosexual male. Sex and male gaze is portrayed commonly in horrors. Nudity has been accepted on screens to pleasure the male gender. It is not in usually to see woman naked in a movie of this type. Usually when a young woman appears naked in a scene it is time for her to be terribly killed by the pray/ murder. The murder will probably stab or suffocate her.

The survivor of a horror is normally the young girl who is dedicated to her school work and job. She doesn’t have a boyfriend; she finds sex an awkward subject and is usually quite nerdy and self conscious about herself.  She is known as the ‘Final Girl’. Her intelligence and common knowledge helps her survive her near death experience. The audience is mainly rooting for this girl and hope she makes it alive even thought the ratio of her still be alive when the credits appear are high.

The audience is made to view scenes of gaze for the heterosexual male. Sex and male gaze is portrayed commonly in horrors. Nudity has been accepted on screens to pleasure the male gender. It is not in usually to see woman naked in a movie of this type. Usually when a young woman appears naked in a scene it is time for her to be terribly killed by the pray/ murder. The murder will probably stab or suffocate her.

The survivor of a horror is normally the young girl who is dedicated to her school work and job. She doesn’t have a boyfriend; she finds sex an awkward subject and is usually quite nerdy and self conscious about herself.  She is known as the ‘Final Girl’. Her intelligence and common knowledge helps her survive her near death experience. The audience is mainly rooting for this girl and hope she makes it alive even thought the ratio of her still be alive when the credits appear are high.

the location i have chose for my movie is Banstead woods and Epsom park. I have chose these locations because i believe they have the scene set for a goof horror film, they have eerie parts of the woods which will help with the atmosphere of the film also the natural scene and overgrown woods will help create the feel overall. I think that these locations will have a positive impact on how well i am able to portray the story and fear through my film. 

I have chosen OCULUS and THE EYE for inspiration for the production of my film because they both have elements in which i would like to include in my film. Oculus, is set in a house, with children and adults and 2013. It includes a haunted mirror which once stared into, reveals
  I have also chosen The Grudge for inspiration for my second film and this is because it features a young girl who is the antagonist, the Grudge itself and the main horror of the film. The Grudge uses subtle effects when scaring the audience as its not gorey or too dramatic, its sly scary scenes that really shock the audience. 


http://iconicpictures.weebly.com/conventions-of-horror.html 

Film genres

Film genres – Pros and cons

Comedy – Comedy is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement and most often work by exaggerating characteristics for humorous effect. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception).

Horror - Horror is a film genre seeking to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's primal fears. Inspired by literature from authors like Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, and Mary Shelley, horror films have existed for more than a century.

Romantic comedy - a film or play that deals with love in a light, humorous way.

Thriller/ Suspense - These are types of films known to promote intense excitement, suspense, a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, anxiety, and nerve-wracking tension. Thriller and suspense films are virtually synonymous and interchangeable categorizations, with similar characteristics and features.

Action film - A film genre in which the protagonist or protagonists end up in a series of challenges that typically include violence, close combat, physical feats and frantic chases. Action films tend to feature a resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life-threatening situations, a villain, or a pursuit which generally concludes in victory for the hero.

Short film ideas