Work Update

This week I have observed clips from different films, with different stylistic elements, similar to what I would like to incorporate in my work.

I have also nearly completed my screenplay and will make the storyboard in the next few days.

The music which will feature in the non-diegetic (and possibly diegetic) soundtrack of my film has also been decided upon and posted on my blog.

Film Music

These are the 3 main songs which will be used as the soundtrack of my film. The main reason I have chosen these songs is because the music itself evokes feelings of emotion, tension and horror

Silent Hill - Promise (Reprise) by Adam Amini

This song, which I believe has a very emotional sound to it, and also holds a very nostalgic feel, will be initially used in the title sequences of my film (which are home video style footage of the couple being happy together, before Peter murders his wife. It will also be used at several other points in the film, when Peter is remembering his wife, and being internally tormented by the memory of her.

The Musicbox by Adam Amini

This particularly eerie song, will be dubbed into the film as the tune from a music box which peter had given to his wife as a gift, and then destroyed it. He then will hear, and find it, when the hauntings begin. It may also be used non-deigetically when trying to build a creepy atmosphere. To represent Peter's confusion of what is reality, the tune may be played off key as well, to disorientate the audiences.

Horror film music - isisip original piano music by Adam Amini

This song will probably be used in the final sequences of the film, as I believe the emotions evoked when listening to it, have a distinct feeling which will suit the conclusion (involving Peter's suicide). I may also use segments of it earlier on as well, while establishing atmostpheric tension.

Textual Analysis - 03

In this sequence from Silent Hill, the nurse monsters shown between 0:46 and 02:50, move in a very eerie and unnatural way.

To acheive this, the director employed a group of dancers, used make up on them to make them look like the monsters, he then told them to walk backwards, and reversed it in the final cut.
This is the reason for the frightening way they move.

I would like to employ a similar technique to this when making scenes involving the ghost of Maria, as I believe it will ad to the horror of the film and the specific sequence.

Textual Analysis - 02

The main way the title sequences of Se7en have inspired me in planning my film is in the way this sequence has been edited. In my title sequence, I would like to incorporate a similarly paced technique, with the shots having a degraded, old look (useful to show the footage is from the past).
The way the text is shown on the screen, in a very sketchy manner, flashing and changing size, is also similar to how I would like the text to be shown the title sequence of my film.

Textual Analysis - 01

While this is a trailer for 'The Amityville Horror' (2005, Andrew Douglas, US) (therefore not a short film,) some of the stylistic elements in the trailer are similar to the effects I would like to achieve.

For example, the effects added during post production from 0:50 - 0:52, and on the film reel footage from 1:18 - 1:20, give the impression of an old home movie. I would like to use this sort of effect effect during the title sequence of my film, to give insight into the past of the couple (in the form of a home-movie). I believe this will be effective as it will add a slight backstory to the film and the editing on the footage will give a nostalgic feel to the opening of the film, which in itself will carry the ironic feels of romanticism held by the film's title, and when juxtaposed with the opening shot (the husband, a year after the murder, in the untidy house; hungover) it will add a severe contrast between his old and new life.

Also, there is a blue hue used in many scenes which is common of the psychological horror genre (the film has many psychological horror elements).

Many other techniques, such as the fast-paced style of editing in some small segments are similar to what I would like to achieve.

Aims and Context

For part of the assessed work, I have to hand in the following aims and context of my short film:

Aims:

My target audience is people (male and female) in the age range 15-30 as they are the main audience for my chosen genre. Two main stylistic inspirations are Silent Hill (Christoph Gans 2006) and The Ring (Gore Verbinski, 2002). My main purpose is to progress the narrative while creating tension and fear in the audience, and reflect the character’s fears. The stylistics I will use most effectively are editing and mise-en-scene, as they will allow me to achieve my purpose and be useful for incorporating the conventions of psychological horror such as flashbacks (i.e. an editing feature,) and cramped mise-en-scene to show internal entrapment.

Context:

I am going to make a short 4-5 minute film of the psychological horror genre called “Forget Me Not”.

Film Title

I have decided to make the title of my film: Forget Me Not

The reasons for this are because it ultimately describes a part of the plot of the film (i.e. the spirit of the man's dead wife making sure she doesn't forget him and is punished for what he has gotten away with in the past, but a 'forget me not' is also a name of a flower which is often given as a romantic gift.

This adds irony as the title has a romantic theme (and the plot features a husband and wife, ultimately,) yet the premise of the plot lacks romance completely, and if the man was able to murder his wife in a fit of rage, he clearly did not return the love which she will have felt for him.