Suitability for Audience

In order to try and understand what would be suitable for our target audience, we decided to list the types of age ratings and their restrictions recommended by the British Board of Film Classification.

U-Universal viewing which should be suitable for audiences over 4 years old

• Aimed at very young viewers
• Children animated films
• Shouldn't address any significant issues, e.g. discrimination, sex, violence, drug use
• Moments of emotional stress are quickly resolved

Examples of 'U' rated films:

• Up
• Despicable Me
• Rio

PG-Parental Guidance which should be suitable for general viewing, however some scenes unsuitable for younger audiences

• General viewing
• No themes unsuitable for children 
• But will explore challenging issues such as bullying and bereavement 
• Violence and bad language will be mild
• Passing references to drugs/sexual material, but no focus on this

Examples of 'PG' rated films

•  Underdogs
• Black Nativity

12

• Generally, not suitable for those under the age of 12 (unless accompanied by an adult in some cases)
• No dark or unsettling tone to upset viewers
• Use of strong language may be used
• Brief and discreet sexual material may be used
• Some horror films may be accepted in this category but only moderate physical and psychological threat is permitted. Also as long as the horror sequences aren't too frequent or have an overall disturbing tone.

Examples of 12/12A' rated films:

• Divergent
• Jaws
• Red Eye

15

• Strong threat and horror allowed but no sustained focus nor sadistic threat
• No themes are prohibited, but must be suitable for 15 year olds
• The following are likely to be seen:

- Strong language

- Violence

- Drug taking

- Nudity

Examples of '15' rated films:

• Insidious
• The Purge
• Cabin in the Woods

18-Suitable for adults only

• No themes prohibited
• Issues tackled may even be offensive for adults
• Strong horror
• Strong blood and gore
• No limit on use of strong language or violence

Examples of '18' rated films:

• Orphan
• Friday the 13th (2009)
• The Chainsaw Massacre 

Lighting Checks

Lighting Checks

Before we begin filming, we need to know what time of day we will be filming at at each location.  As sunset was at 3:50 on my practice day, I needed to film around this time as too much before would be too light and compromise the scary aspect and too much after would be too dark.

The first video is a clip of the church location we are using.  The time of this clip is 3:35pm, which I feel is an appropriate time for filming this section as there is still plenty of light for the audience to see the gothic aspects of the church and to see the priest clearly.  Although the lighting is not dark enough to give off a scary atmosphere, we can always use filters in the editing process to rectify this.

The second video is of the alley way we wish to use.  The time here was 3:45pm and is obviously a little bit darker than before.  This is appropriate because the alley way scene comes after the church scene.  Alley ways are also quite enclosed and eerie so the darker lighting is in parallel to that.



The final clip is of the woods location.  This was filmed at 4pm which may be a little late as the clip is very dark so not a lot of high quality film would be captured.  Although we wanted to use torches and strobe lighting to create  shadowy low-lighting so it would have to be dark for that to work effectively.

In conclusion I think that the time between 3:30pm and 4pm is the optimum time for our film opening.  The church scene may have to be filmed at a slightly later time than I have used and once we have experimented with the torches we can decide when the best time for the woods scene would be.

The Bunker Deconstruction

Appropriateness for film opening

• Includes titles- production, director, costume, casting, cinematography, actors, sound, title
• Not too much happens, nice introduction to film
• Sets basis for the film

Approptiatness for target audience

• Certificate 15- No blood, sex, strong language etc
• Scenes of a disturbing nature

Appropriate for genre

• Supernaural horror- ghost, death, realistic everyday life, creepy music, unrecognisable speech (convention of possession), sharp gothic typography

Editing
There are straight cuts at the start to show different elements of the setting. The straight cut editing continues throughout the sequence between different camera angles and scenes.
In a particular, there are continuous straight cuts which allows the camera to mover closer and closer to her as she is going around the corner.

 Other editing techniques used are the whispering sound, which sounds as though it has been sped up and reversed. This makes it sound un-natural and disturbing, linking to the supernatural horror genre. Another editing technique used was the 'ghost girl', which had obviously been edited into the scenes as she was transparent, which is a common convention of a ghostly figure.

Camera Angles and Sound
At the beginning of the sequence is an establishing shot. The audience are able to understand that the scenes will take place within a sea-side setting amongst the surrounding hills. The diegetic sound of the waves crashing add to this establishing scene. There is also the diegetic sound of the wind in the background, which is heard throughout the sequence until the bunker scene at the very end.

There is a long shot of the ruins and also of the missing posters, plastered along a wall. The camera then zooms in on one of the posters to allow the audience to absorb the information from the posters, which clearly depicts a missing young teenage girl.

There is another long shot of more ruins within the surroundings, and also a long shot of another young teenage girl walking across the frame. There is a cut to a mid shot of the girl that is walking, which cuts back to a long shot. There is then a long shot of a stick in the middle of a patch of dry earth, in which the girl is obviously heading too, and the audience is able to recognise that this obviously will hold some significance. There is a constant non-diegetic rumbling sound, which helps to build tension, linking to the supernatural horror genre. This is layered with the sound of static, which makes it 'uncomfortable' to listen to.

There is a close up of the girl puting down flowers, and then a close up of the message attached. The message provides further information to the audience as to what may have happened and what events could occur as the film progresses. The statement 'it should of been me' is intriguing and builds suspense, which links to the supernatural horror genre.

There is a long shot as the girl walks out of the frame, and a long shot of the cliffs, in which the ghost can be seen in the distance. The audience are now aware of supernatural happenings within the film, which again links to the genre. When the ghost is seen the non-diegetic rumbling sound stops, and instead there is a non-diegetic un-recognisable whispering sound played, sounding un-natural and creepy, which links to the supernatural horror genre perfectly. This happens whenever the girl is seen throughout the whole sequence.

The long shot of trees is blurred into focus. A mid shot of the girl wiping her eyes allows the audience to experience her emotions, and allows them to notice that she is obviously very upset about something that has occurred.  There is a non-diegetic metal clanging sound, with the diegetic sound of the girls foot-steps layered over the top, to bring a sense of reality. Along with her footsteps is the diegetic sound of birds chirping, again this brings realism to the scene which the audience can relate to, this is a common convention of the supernatural horror genre.

There is a long shot of her walking down the road into the distance, which then cuts to a long shot of the ghost between the trees, allowing the audience to recognise the ghost is following and therefore haunting this girl, but the reason why is unknown.

The girl walks in to and out of the frame before there is a close up shot of her and the diegetic sound of her gasping as she notices the ghostly figure (whom is then shown in a long shot with the whispering.)

There is a close up shot of the leaves on floor as the girls feet runs through them, with the diegetic sound of her footsteps and the leaves crunching as she runs. There is a mid shot of the girl looking back which cuts into a long shot of her running down. She then runs around the corner which is then repeated and seen as a long shot, mid shot and close up. There is layered, quiet whispering until there is silence.

The diegetic sound of heavy breathing is heard from the girl in the bunker, before the dietetic sound of a piercing scream as she realises there is something in there with her. After the scream there is blowing sound and then silence as the film title appears. 

Titles
These included the names of the production company, director, costume designer, casting director, cinematographer, actors, sound editors and the film title.

Mise en scene and Lighting
The location used is a grassy area by the sea which featured tall cliffs and old ruins. There is also the use of a country lane and a bunker, which links to the title of the film 'The Bunker.'  Natural lighting is used, which is fairly dark as it is a dreary, cloudy day.

In terms of costume, the main actor's dress was a casual white girlie dress. The use of white would usually depict innocence, however the use of a red cardigan symbolises bad and evil, which is supported by the 'it should of been me message', suggesting that she has indeed done something wrong.

The ghost girl wears a pale yellow dress. The colour yellow is usually a symbol of happiness, however this is clearly not the case. She also wears white shoes, and is pale with dark make-up and her hair hanging over her face, concealing some of her features which allows the audience to use their imagination, which is common within the supernatural horror genre.

Survey Results

What Villain would you find most frightening?  

The results for this question show that our target audience would find a child villain the most frightening, which is a major component of a supernatural horror.  But with the second answer being demon, we could incorporate the two villains together as we have already considered the use of a demon to go with ideas of possesion.




What time of day would you find most effective?




The results from this question signify that night-time would be the most relevant for a supernatural horror as expected.  We have already considered using night-time as it is the most appropriate for genre, although we will have to consider lighting techniques to use it effectivly.

What location would you most like to see in a supernatural horror?



 The results are quite close for this question, family home just about beats wooded area so we could easily use either location.  In this sitution we had already discussed using an urban area such as an alley way, but we can easily encorperate all three location together.

What style of music would be most effective?





Classical music wins this by quite a way so this is definitely the music genre we will be using.  Orchestral music is often used in horror films to create an eerie and frightenign atmosphere so we will most probably be using this genre of music.  
Would you like the music to be...?




 It is indicated here that sections of music should be played instead of no music or music being played throughout.  This is in parallel to what we had already discussed as it is effective to use some sections of either silence ot just diegetic sound.



Which character would you be most sympathetic towards?



As expected the child is the person chosen who most people would feel sympathetic towards.  Although our audience think that a child would be appropiate, it would be more practical for our group to use a teenage girl as we have already discussed this point.

What type of injuries would be most appropriate for genre?

 The results are quite tight for this question so all injuries indicated would be appropriate for our film opening.  We have already conducted research on bruising and cuts and how to recreate them so theese two are probably the two we would use.



What kind of haunting would you like to take place?

 Unseen demon is the largest answer, and would be appropriate for genre.  We had already discussed using an unseen villain as then we do not have to worry about creating a realistic creature that is also scary.  We can base a lot of the opening on the fear of the unknown.

Silent Hill Deconstruction

In this scene the mise en scene is particulary important because it is so different and effective at making a fantasy horror world.  The location is in an old, dirty street which is run down and covered in ash.  The ash symbolises how the town is still burning which links to the ideas of hell.  In the background there is a pire of sticks which resembles when witches were burnt at the stake.  The gives a very dangerous and cruel feel to the place and convinces the reader that this is a bad place to be. 

The juxtaposition between the woman the young girl shows how different this world is from the real one.  The girl is dressed in normal, practical jeans, body warmer and hoodie.  The hoodie is pink which portrays her as quite girly and therefor vunerable in this dangerous place.  In contrast the woman fits in with the location as she is also covered in ash.  She is also wearing a dark and dirty shawl which covers her body so she blends in with the background. 

The use of a church in the scene is very commonally used in supernatural horror as religion is a very effective juxtaposition to the world of hell.  It is almost anti-christ to have such an holy building in a world which resembles hell. 

I thought that sound was used very effectivly in this scene.  Underneath the dialogue there is quiet, soft, non-diegetic piano music.  This creates an eerie, fantasy atmosphere which is in parralell to the scene.  As the conversation goes on the girl gets more agitated, the music builds up with more bass tones being brought in to raise the mood and tension.  The diegetic sound of a siren is then brought in which is a very ominous sound as the audience will already associate this sound with danger and trouble.  Diegetic sounds of blackbirds cawing is symbolic of death so the combination of this and the siren creates a sound which is parralell to the dangerous location.



In this scene the mise en scene creates a frightening atomosphere as it plays on a wide spread fear of hospitals.  The creatures in the scene are dressed in nurse's outifts splattered with blood and dirt and are carrying weapons so the audience already know that they are bad creatures set out to kill. The boy is strapped down to an operating table so the tension is increased as he tries to get himself free, this is playing on another usual fear of captivation. 

Again the girl in the scene is used to create a juxtaposition between the real and fantasy worlds.  She is wearing pink and is clean, whereas the boy is wearing all dark colours to fit in with his world. 

The use of sound in this scene is very important as it is a vital part of the audience knowing when the boy is in danger.  Whenever you heard him move, the chains clink.  This then triggers the creatures to move with a disgusting squelching of flesh. This, along with their harsh and inhumane body movements confirms the fact that they are not human and are horrfic creatures from another world.  As the scene goes on the non-diegetic background sound increases in volume; strating off as a soft, eerie wind like noise, steadily adding layers such as high pitched sirens and eventually loud, deep drums.  This helps to build the tension and feeling of danger in the room.