Research & Planning: Paranormal Activity 3

Over the weekend I went to the cinema to see Paranormal Activity 3.
I had a lot of expectations of this film as the other 2 films before it, Paranormal Activity & Paranormal Activity 2, I thought were very enjoyable with a lot of scary scenes.

The film was given a 15 certificate so while watching I looked for typical horror conventions and looked at what made the film suitable to be a 15.

I really liked the use of the handheld camera in the film as this created suspense for the audience and made it more realistic for the viewers. This was a good film to watch because of the handheld camera as me and Nathan are thinking of using a handheld camera in our teaser trailer and I think that they are very effective. There was a blueish/greyish tinge as well throughout the film which created a darker, more scarier atmosphere. The use of the handheld camera also made us as the audience feel like we were physically involved making the audience active.

Research & Planning: Production Schedule

This is my Production Schedule that I have created to keep track of what I am doing when it comes to my media teaser trailer, film poster and magazine front cover. I will follow this during the who production as I have set times and weeks.

Research & Planning: Equipment and Software List

Teaser Trailer:

• Video camera to record the shots.
• A Tripod will be needed for static shots.
• IMovie will be for putting the shots together and for using editing techniques. 
• Garage Band to record our soundtrack. 
• Youtube  and Youtube Converter might be used for certain sound effects.

Poster:

• Photoshop to create the poster. 
• A camera will be needed to take photos for the poster.
• Steel tongs text will be used.
• IPhoto to upload pictures onto the computers. 
• IMac's will be used to create and research everything.

Magazine:

• A camera will be needed to take pictures for the magazine.
• Photoshop will be used to create the front cover of the magazine. 
• The internet for pictures from Google of the barcode. 
• IPhoto to upload our pictures onto the computers. 
• IMac will be used to to create and research everything.

Research & Planning: Costume and Prop List

 

Costume list for my media teaser trailer

• Casual clothes for all of the characters to show a sense of realism and to show that everything is normal within the group and that they are a normal group of friends. 
• For the possessed person there will need to be normal clothes at the beginning which then will become ruined as she gets possessed. 

Prop list for my media teaser trailer

• Red eye contacts or some form of scary eye contacts for the character who is possessed.
• Make-up will need to be used for the possessed person.
• A makeshift Ouija Board will be a main prop for the characters to use.
• Tents will be needed to show the scenery more and to show that the characters are on a camping trip. 
• Ropes will be needed for a scene where a character will be tied to a tree. 
• A video camera will be needed too as the friends will be filming each other while we are filming them.

Location for my media teaser trailer

• Location will be somewhere where people can camp out, such as a woodland area like Werneth Low

Research & Planning: Animation Storyboard

Here is my animatic storyboard showing different drawings that me and Nathan have drawn together and we have taken pictures of each separate drawing and put them onto the IMac to edit them together.

Research & Planning: Codes & Conventions of a Teaser Trailer

This post is to highlight the codes & conventions of a teaser trailer.

• Film title
• Clips of different scenes
• Montage
• Voiceover/subtitles
• Dialogue from characters
• Soundtrack
• MPAA sign
• Company name
• Distribution company

Research & Planning: Treatment

After discussing different storylines with Nathan for our teaser trailer and analysing our audience feedback we came to a decision of which of our plots we are going to produce as our trailer.

We have chosen plot 1 which is the possessed girl storyline.

• We are thinking of making our teaser trailer go back in time, showing the ending result of the friends night out first. Then all the other events will happen going backwards to show towards the end of the trailer how the night started off.
• The MPAA image will be the first thing shown as this is what is usually shown first on film trailers.
• The next image would be the Studio which we have named Static Pictures. An animation of a television will go with this along with the sound of the static of the television.
• The Distribution Company will be the next image shown on the trailer which will then fade to black ready for the first scene.
• The first sequence will be an extreme close up of scary, red eyes while the camera will be slowly zooming in on them. There will also be a soundtrack behind this which will be slow but high pitched and scary to shock the audience straight away of the image.
• The next shot will be a contorted image of one of the characters faces that looks as though she is possessed. This will also be a close up just of the face alone.
• The scenes that will be shown from now on will be more disjointed.
• The trailer will be showing the events backwards, showing the final event at the beginning and going back in time throughout the trailer going on to see how it all began.
• The next scene will be showing the prop of the Ouija Board which is what started all of the events off. This will be a close up too so that the audience can clearly see what the object is.
• The next scene will show fast paced editing and the mise-en-scene will be clearly shown of the friends with their own handheld camera filming each other while on their camping trip which they will be using on running scenes with the soundtrack and the use of dialogue. This will be shown with tracking shots so the audience will be worried for the characters lives and it will be unsteady.
• There will be a range of different shots next as the next few scenes will be showing the remaining characters scared and trying to get out of their situation and saving their lives. The first scene will be a long shot of them all together running away with the soundtrack becoming tense but fast with the diagetic sound of screaming.
• There will be more scenes of the characters individually as they each separate to get away from their possessed friend. Medium close ups will be used mainly for these scenes to show if the characters are hurt and to show their facial expressions.
• From these scenes, the location of the woods will be shown more and this will all be shot in the dark to create a scarier atmosphere.
• An unsteady shot of a female falling over and having her leg grabbed by the possessed friend will be shown next as she is being dragged away.
• Then the sequence will change again fast paced and it will be an overhead shot of a male character with a severed arm and they will be dead.
• The next shot will be one of the male characters with the handheld camera and a female running away together and there will be heavy breathing and the sound of heavy footsteps.
• The next shot will be of a female tied to a tree with ropes and the camera will be static here showing the area of the small space in which she's trapped and we will here whimpering and sobs.
• Then we will see the shot of the female who was dragged off about to be killed shown with high/low angles to show who is inferior/superior. 
• One of the final shots will consist of the friends all sat around the campfire at the beginning with a birds eye view/crane shot showing how close they all are showing their friendship to the audience. This is going back to the beginning of their camping trip and shows to the audience how it all started. Dialogue will be heard of them all laughing with each other and having fun. The soundtrack would have calmed down and slowed down although it still seems tense.
• The final shot will be a long one of the possessed character as she is walking towards the handheld camera with a feral snarl on her face. She will then crouch down and it will change to a medium shot and then the viewer will see the possessed character lunge towards the camera which will frighten the audience and be the last fright of the trailer.
• Then the final part will be the fade as the title of the films shows up along with the release date.