Costumes Props and Locations

Costumes:
- All white uniform and black masks for cult members
- Teachers - casual smart clothes
- Students - clothes to fit character (e.g. Chav wears tracksuit bottoms and hoody etc..)

Props:
- Satchels/bags
- Killing object
- Note with "YOUR NEXT" written on it

Location:
Options = Highgate woods, Cherry Tree woods, Hampstead Heath, Kenwood, coldfall woods.
We decided to film the wood scenes in Cherry Tree woods as it was the most isolated and best fitting to create the eerie ambiance.
- Classroom in Fortismere School - Outside Fortismere Sixth Form building - Outside Fortismere School gates.

Rough plot for horror film

Intro: School camping trip to far away forest
Development: Students are split into two groups set by the teachers
Complication: Nerdy, bullied student gets sucked into the a murdering cult group
Crisis: Nerdy kid kills all his class mates as he is brain washed by the cult members and takes revenge
Resolution: All students are killed apart from one girl

'The Cult' full movie treatment

1)  Camera pans in on window of classroom, teacher talks to class about Planned camping trip. Camera focuses on individual students building up their characters. Students are put into two groups for the trip (group 1: Terrance: Bully, Thomas: Nerdy outcast, Lizzie: Popular – Terrance’s girlfriend, Richard, Beth, Tiffany: Lizzie’s friend/follower Group 2: Robert: Thomas’ only friend Francis: Goth stereotype Milo: Class Clown Stacy: innocent, vulnerable and stupid Katie: ‘Chav’ stereotype John)

 The bell rings – kids stumble out of classroom, Thomas accidently bumps into Terrance – Terrance holds Thomas by the collar up against the wall, and threatens him not to come near him on the camping trip.

2)  Trip to site – on bus – last three minutes of journey. Terrance tampers with Thomas’ diary on the coach. Lizzie witnesses, concerned facial expression, says nothing.

3)  Bus stops, everyone exits – Beth (overweight outcast) struggles to get off the bus – Terrance nudges her in attempt to push her off the bus – Milo offensively jokes about the incident.

4)  Cut to boiling pan of baked beans – slowly pans away to reveal teachers in conversation. Mr. Rogers concerned about location of trip. Mr. Wright and Mr. Mason reassure him that things will turn out just fine in a sinister, slightly disturbing manner.

5)  Kids settle in their groups and begin to explore the woods. Focusing on group 1 – Thomas looks at his vandalized diary, Lizzie advices him not to pay attention Terrance, Awkward silence, Terrance shouts for her, she goes to him.

6)  Whilst exploring the surroundings – Thomas finds mysterious sign carvings on trees. He hears rustling in the bushes – scared, Thomas searches for what the sound was – relieved, Thomas discovers an innocent dog playing in the bushes. Thomas opens his diary to find a drawing that he made previously that is identical to the symbol on the tree.

7)   Group 2 also explore the surroundings and find a slaughtered Deer marked with the same symbol that Thomas had found on the deer stomach. A knife lying next to it

8)    The two groups arrive at a meeting point – The discovery by group 2 is explained to group 1 – Thomas says nothing about his discovery. Teachers assure the kids that all is all right and it was a result of a hunting trip of some sort.

9)   Cut to a group of adults in a dark secluded room all dressed in white uniforms - wearing masks - One man shouts at another about being more careful when killing in the woods  

                 10)   Back at the camp – The teachers report that they are dealing with the “Hunters” and that all students must stay in the camp area until all is sorted. Teachers leave

          Thomas is left out whilst the rest of the students are eating breakfast the next day, and decides to go for a walk – when he gets lost in the woods he panics and starts to shout for help, no one comes for his rescue. He then discovers an animal like shape in the woods, as he walks closer to investigate he sees that this shape is in fact a human body and it is Mr. Rogers, dead, with the same symbol carved into his stomach. Before Thomas can even begin to think about what to do or even scream for help a hand is wrapped around his face groping him away.

     11)                  Lizzie announces that Thomas, Tiffany and Richard are missing – the others ignore her.

      12)                  Richard and tiffany are shown alone in the woods making out. A silhouette of an arm holding a strangely large knife, which kills Richard with an instant – Tiffany screams and is then immediately also stabbed, but not killed. A quick cut to reveal the killer’s face to be a frightening, unnatural Thomas – eyes wide and chilling, staring and glaring. Thomas makes Tiffany watch as he carves a slightly inaccurate symbol on his stomach. As Thomas slowly creeps towards Tiffany to kill her, she uses her perfume to blind Thomas and then pulls his legs to trip him onto the floor and then runs. 

       13) After about a minute of running and screaming, two large men in cult white uniforms knock out Tiffany. This incident occurred very close to where the rest of the students were settled, and so they heard Tiffany scream, however they are very drunk and having a lot of fun, thereby mistaking this scream for Tiffany and Thomas having sex. Terrance and John decide to go out to the forest to surprise the lovers and prank them. However he soon discovers Tiffany Dying on the floor, with a carving of the same symbol as they had witnessed on the deer. Before Tiffany dies, she manages to say, “There is something out there” in a slow incomprehensible slur.

      14)                  The students decide to separate into their original groups and are both given a walkie-talkie. Group 1 seem extremely petrified, whereas Group 2 seem to take things in a calmer way, and decide to sit down for a break. Katie (Chav stereotype) insults Francis (Goth Stereotype) about her appearance. Francis runs off into the woods, crying. Cut back to the group, as Robert is concerned about her disappearing alone. Quick cut showing Francis dead hung by her neck on a tree. 

     15)                  Milo insists that everyone chills out about Francis leaving and that everything is going to be all right. A fire is set up and Milo offers his group weed to relax. They all enjoy themselves, laughing and joking, smoking and eating. Milo gets particularly ‘stoned’ and wonders off into the woods.

     16)                   Katie feels bad for Francis and decides to go out to the woods to find her and apologize – the rest of the group tell Katie that they are going to carry on ahead and she will find them back at the camp later on.

       17)                   The camera follows Francis as she searches for Francis.

      18)                  All students have disappeared except for Terrance and Milo – Milo insists that the woods are haunted – Terrance ignorantly does not believe and thinks that Milo is being stupid, “Calm down, this is not The Evil Dead man, just a stupid school camping trip”  

      19)                  After wondering the woods for a while Terrance and Milo bump into Robert, asking him where everyone is, Robert does not know. “They’ve all just gone”

      20)                  Terrance, Milo and Robert join together to find their friends. They soon find a dead animal with a note stuck to it saying “YOUR NEXT” underneath he note, the threesome find a familiar symbol. They all panic and run – it is pitch black. They soon find a deserted cabin. Terrance suggests going in. Robert smartly insists that they check it out first by looking in through the window – they do to find all their living classmates hung up by rope looking very beat-up. Turning around they find themselves surrounded by men dressed in white cult uniforms eerily walking towards them, getting closer and closer. They panic and run – they separate and keep running and hiding.

      21)                   Cut to inside of cabin where two men in cult uniforms tease and torture the hung up students. Becoming hot one of the men takes off his mask to reveal one of the teachers.

      22)                  Students manage to distract the two cult members and escape – only 2/5 of the students escape alive, Lizzy and Stacy.  

      23)                  Cult capture the two girls and kill Stacy – struggle with Lizzy – Lizzy escapes.

      24)                  Stacy finds Terrance and Robert together they walk away and discuss what has been happening. After a while of walking they find Milo’s dead body hung from a tree with the cult’s symbol carved into his stomach. Lizzy cries Terrance puts his arm around her in comfort – a long sharp weapon then stabs Terrance in the back and comes out of his stomach. Lizzy screams – Milo tries to defend her by attempting to attack the masked cult member – he is killed. Only Lizzy is left facing the man in white petrified look on her face. Man in uniform raises his weapon to kill Lizzy – stops very near her heart. Puts the weapon down and unveils himself to be Thomas – crying. Thomas runs up to Lizzy hugs her, holding her tight, crying screaming that he is sorry. Lizzy still crying finds a knife in Thomas’s pocket and stabs him in the back to his death.

       25)                  Lizzy runs crying hard until she finds the camping site – she rummages through the teachers bags to find a working walkie talkie – she turns on the walkie talkie, to eventually get a police radio wave where she manages to explain the situation briefly. The police arrive to the forest Lizzy is taken into the ambulance car. The police however find nothing in the cabin or in the whole forest. The cult still lives.

       26)                  THE END

Horror trailer analysis

As part of my research and preparation into making a horror trailer, I thoroughly analysed 2 marketable horror trailers, in order to fully comprehend the different techniques that are used, understand which techniques are most used and to decide which approach I will take in my own trailer, in regards to types of shots, camera movement, sounds, horror iconography and any issues of representation.

When examining "The Crazies" I found that although there were some close ups (8) and extreme close ups (5), the majority of shots were medium shots (12). I also counted six long shots and four extreme long shots, which is unusual for a trailer, mostly I found that they only include one or two extreme long shots.

In regards to camera movement I found that the shifts  predominately moved sideways (4), this creates an uncertain and slightly disturbing and uncomfortable feeling for the viewer.

The dialogue was mostly made up of screaming and other useless talk, thereby not relying on the dialogue to tell the story. The only other sounds that I found important were several conventional gun shots, drum beats, burning fire and heart beats. What I found interesting was that some of the diegetic sounds, such as explosions and windows smashing were silenced whilst the ironic "Mad World" plays as a non diegetic soundtrack.

The trailer incorporates many classic horror iconography including a house in a deserted location, supported by the idea of the connection with the outside world lost, shown with a mobile phone with no signal . This entrapment creates a scary, almost claustrophobic alienation and therefore presents a classic horror image. In addition another typical horror iconography in his trailer is the mysterious, unstable character who is shown with a dangerous weapon. Other conventional symbolisms in the trailer are visible, such as fire, zombies and a trail of blood. I can therefore depict that "The Crazies" is a conventional and orthodox film. This is also made obvious through the representation of gender that is made clear in the trailer. The hero is a boring, white male character. In support, the female shown is victimized and vulnerable yet comforting, this also supports the male gaze theory.

When considering "The Fourth Kind" the shot types confirmed and heightened my findings in "The Crazies", as I counted 17 medium shots. More appropriate to the genre, I also counted 14 close ups and 8 Extreme close ups. This is because the movie is intense and acute, therefore these close ups are essential to intrigue the audience.

In regards to camera movements, I found that the cameras mostly tend to move nearer. This supports my point above about the intensity of the film.

The dialogue in the trailer is very heavy, this contrasts to "The Crazies", "She's always staring at me". Also there is a lot of historical register. Furthermore the trailer creates a sense of authenticity as it includes the main actress speaking about her character and also warns the viewers about the forthcoming trepidation.

The music used is a very soft eerie sound, however mostly, throughout the trailer there is silence in order to create a sense of isolation. Other conventional horror noises are high pitched screaming and scratching, and camera movement in order to create a recognition of genuineness  and unnatural happenings.

The iconography that mostly stands out to me in the trailer, is the evident attempt to convince the viewer that the events in the film are real and true, by using real footage and ancient links. Other classic horror iconography used in the trailer are alien connectivity, people having visions and isolation in a small American town.
The gender representation in this trailer challenges the conventional, as we see that the hero is female, who is a strong and scientific character. Whereas, the male participants, whilst being interviewed  are driven to the edge, they are vulnerable victims.

Representations in Eden Lake

Eden Lake tells the story of a young, white middle class couple that go on a romantic vacation to a hooligan infested resort. As this beloved site of the lower class is being taken over and constructed by the richer ‘yuppies’, the locals of the village are not welcoming to the nice couple on their holiday break. Eden Lake raises many issues of representation including gender, class and age.

The film begins by setting up the perfect, stereotypical, middle class couple. Jenny is played as a caring, gentle and sensitive primary school teacher, we see this in the opening scene as she is shown taking care of her class of young children. Her boyfriend, Steve, evidently makes enough money from his job to allow Jenny to do what she enjoys doing. Eden Lake plays on this female stereotype as she later on leaves her maternal approach, which she attempts to prove again at the lake, as she tries to talk to and possibly help the lonely child in the woods, as well as the way in which she seeks to defend for herself against the youth killers, which I will explore further.

The male participant in the relationship is represented as ‘the perfect man’. Steve has a well-paid job, a perfect relationship, a family car and a relatable sense of humor. Withal, he is sensitive, but still manages to maintain his manly technique right from the beginning, where Jenny mocks him for relying on his SatNav and tells him that he is “Such a boy”. However which is an act, the manly behavior, or the sensitive gentility? Steve’s manly pretentiousness is explored further as he reveals aggression towards the hoodies, first when they cycle through a red light, disrupting his driving, and again when he assumes it was them that left the glass bottle under his car, to burst his tyre, which he manages to very quickly fix. As expected by Jenny and the waitress at the café, Steve reacts to the kids and refuses to be bullied into leaving. It could also be seen as Steve’s sensitive and reasonable side being the fraud personality that he fakes to please his girlfriend, as we see Steve becoming aggressive, chasing after the kids, however when he looses them, he decides to do the ‘sensible’ thing and asks around for the parents of the hoodlums, to report their behavior, although this approach might have worked well in their suburban, middle class town, their naivety of the lower class is mocked as Steve’s enquiry is rejected by a strangely defensive answer, “Not my kids!” The irony in this is that the film satirizes the male stereotype as after being laughed at by the waitress for being worried about a group of kids is unmanly of him, and that he should not worry about them, Steve is the first to be killed by the gang, uncommonly early in the film.

Eden Lake’s representation of gender also satirizes the female stereotype as Jenny, the loving, caring schoolteacher naively believes that Adam is helping her to escape, however he leads her back to the gang, to watch her boyfriend being killed. Jenny, then happily escapes the gang, sacrificing Adam, a little boy, as the gang burn him to death. Suddenly, Jenny’s affectionate, tender way is forgotten, as she learns from her mistake and before Connor, a young gang member, manages to give his help, she cuts and kills him with a broken piece of glass. Finally, when she escapes with a stolen van, she does not hesitate to run over the innocent member, Paige.

Whilst the gang tortures their victims, the gang leader orders Paige to film the happenings on a mobile phone. The only girl in the gang is used to report the event rather than help out with the criminal acts.

Eden Lake represents two very different class systems throughout the film, Jenny and Steve are middle class, we see this by the big expensive car they drive their nice, probably expensive clothes and strangely through their choice of holiday. Although they could probably afford to stay in a very smart, expensive hotel in a resort destination, they decide to be alternative and go camping on a beautiful lake, which they can then show off to their friends. The rest of the characters belong to the lower class, this is shown through the stereotypical identities of the locals; the pub owner is a sexist shaved headed, bear bellied bloke. The mothers shout and hit their young children aggressively and their older children are murdering gang members.

Although the film represents the lower class in a stereotypical and horrid way, it also plays on how the middle class believe they are better than them and have more rights, as we see Steve becoming overly annoyed at the lower class gang when they cycle over a red light, however it is allowed when he does it. On Steve and Jenny’s first night in the resort, we experience the middle class mocking the behavior of the lower class, as Steve makes jokes about their accent and way of speaking. Furthermore, when the couple witnesses a mother shouting and hitting her young daughter, Jenny becomes upset as it contradicts her love of children. This could also debate the fact that the hooligan’s behavior is subject to bad parenting of the lower class.

The middle class is again satirized, Jenny is represented as naïve and simpleminded, her failed attempt at rescuing her boyfriend from the gang was to use her Bluetooth to connect to Steve’s GPS on the phone. Her callow attempt at this and assumption that the lower class will not figure out what she is doing is a symbol of the middle class ignorance and leads to her death.

The fear of youth is highly explored in ‘Eden Lake’, the approach to the unruly teenagers reflects on the modern day society’s trepidation of youth. This is shown firstly, overall as the monsters in the film are killing ‘hoodies’. The imagery used to represent these teens are dangerous, lawless kids riding their bicycles laughing and disobeying laws. Tension is revealed on how to deal with misbehaving children, as the parents identify the kids as “Little terrors” ironically, they mean this in a light hearted manner, as it is expected of kids to misbehave, kids will be kids. However these kids are in fact terrorizing.

In conclusion, ‘Eden Lake’ brings up these issues of representation in all forms, in regards to gender, it presents both male and female, in regards to class, it presents two very different class systems, middle-class and lower-class. Finally, in regards to age it presents both the terrorizing youth, as well as the way in which the older generation view the young. 

Preliminary task

My preliminary task was was to film a 1 minute story that follows the following simple plot: 3 characters want the same object, however only one can get it. Filming and editing this gave me the basic skills in handling a camera, using different shots, as well as gaining skills in iMovie to edit the footage. Furthermore, the writing and planning of this small project allowed me to be creative and think about the narrative.