Amy Bullmore- Media Studies

Hanworth Park House The location I have chosen to film at is Hanworth Park House and the forest around it, known to some as the 'Teddy Bear Woods'. This is because within the forest there is a clearing, and surrounding it are trees with toys strapped to them. You can't see this from the clearing, although there is a dream-catcher that someone has made across two trees. Once you leave the clearing to walk through the trees, the toys become more noticeable and the further you go the more you see. I feel that this would be suitable for the genre of horror for my opening sequence, as a dark forest is one of the codes and conventions of horror in terms of setting, as well as an abandoned house, which in this case is the Hanworth Park House. An Earth view of the house and the park surrounding it. A map view showing the surrounding area, which I will be using to know how to get there. Below I have found a video of someone viewing the forest and house from a drone, ...

Script for opening sequence from Amy Bullmore

For my audience research I interviewed 4 four people who I felt were part of my target audience in order to obtain information and their opinions on horror films. My target audience: Primary: Teenagers and young adults (15-25), Generation Z, Group E, Male and Female Secondary: Parents of those children (30+), Generation X. Niche: Fans of supernatural elements and fantasy. The audience research is useful because it has helped me gain an insight on how my target audience think and their views on the genre of horror. With this info I am then able to apply that to my opening sequence in order to make sure it appeals to them. For example, with the question on what sets apart one horror film from another, participants gave detailed and relevant answers which I can apply to my own narrative, making that stand out and generate interest from an audience as well as gaining their full attention. On some questions I made sure that they were closed so that I could get a variety of dif...

Below I have my storyboard, which will act as a guideline for me throughout filming and post-production. It includes the different shots and a brief description on what will happen in each, which also reflects what the finished product should look like.

The Dark Knight The Dark Knight is an action film released is 2008, and is the sequel to Batman begins, which was released in 2005. The film was created by The Warner Bros. and stars Christian Bale and Heath Ledger. The film reaches out to teenagers, and adults, especially male, and those who are interested in previous comics and films, as the film is rated 12. In the opening sequence, the audience is introduced to the antagonist, The Joker, which is different from most films as they usually establish the scene or introduce the protagonist. Throughout the clip we learn more about The Joker through other characters as they mention him, and he is only revealed at the end of the sequence when he takes of his mask, and realise that the Joker goon was actually himself. This shocks the audience as it's a big reveal, and they had been trying to piece together what was happening in this scene, but then the main villain is revealed to them. In the opening scene, the character of The...

After writing my treatment I made a treatment brief, which included vital parts of information in which I would present to my class to gain feedback and their thoughts on my idea. I got a variety of questions and feedback which I have thought about, which has resulted in me making amendments to the plot of my horror film and the ideas I had presented or not included in my brief. One piece of feedback was about my plot and the idea of having two students filming for their media coursework, which was said to come across as quite amateur towards the audience. Because of this, I am changing my plot to make it more creative, something that stands out and generates interest within viewers. Instead of having two media students filming, I have decided that the two girls come across the house in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees, however it is quite close to them. This confuses the characters as there are no main roads or towns near this area, and yet their maps say that it is only ...

Horror Codes and Conventions Research Shown above is a mind-map listing out different codes and conventions of a horror movie, which is the chosen genre for my opening sequence. It includes the categories: Costumes, Visual. Location/Setting, Props, Sub-Genres, Example films, Characters and Sound/Music. Listed within these categories are features that an audience may expect to find in a horror film, for example the location of a dark forest.

Opening Sequence Treatment: A cliché horror movie consists of a haunting, ghosts or demons, ready to thrill the audience. Some films have a unique selling point, but others are put into this category where you find out that they are all relatively the same, for example Paranormal activity and The Woman in Black. With my opening sequence, I have added a twist to the horror element; no ghosts scaring a family to death, but some supernatural features such as witchcraft to engage and have the audience on the edge of their seats waiting to see what happens next. The story that I have created is called The Child Keeper and is set in present day, as I feel that it is most appropriate because the characters will be using modern technology in order to reach their goal within the story. According to Todorov’s narrative theory, the story starts with the equilibrium in which two media students who need to film for an opening sequence for their media coursework. They have chosen the genre o...