Character Ideas For My Film Opening

Vladimir Propp looked at the narrative structure and character types within a plot. He introduced these character types: Villain, Dispatcher, Helper, Princess,Princess' father, Donor, Hero, False hero.

 An example of a villain.

 An example of a hero.

For my film opening, I have decided to use some of these character types. It will include a villain, although we don't see who the villain actually is. Also, the heroes will be the group of friends, and the victim will be one friend in particular who gets kidnapped by the villain.Other characters such as the helper, the donor and the false hero are introduced at later points in the film.

Other character types that the audience expect to see in a horror film are: creepy children, characters that always get killed, ghosts, zombies, demons, stalkers, werewolves etc.

                           

                                                                                                                                                                        

Location Ideas For My Film Opening

Horror film locations are often based on the connotation of being alone or isolated. These types of places can include: dark, narrow alleyways or streets, and small community areas.
Other horror locations could be places like graveyards, parks, subways, undergrounds, science labs and hotels.
 This is the main location in Amityville Horror; the house. A haunted house can be seen as a typical location for a horror film.

I have made a list of possible location ideas in which my opening sequence can be filmed.

Possible location ideas for my film opening would be:

• Park - With open spaces and a small building (Hiding places)
• Graveyard/Church
• Town centre - Isolated
• Deserted areas
• A house
• A forest 
• Hospital
• Countryside
• School

I have chosen a park to be my location for the opening of my film. This will give me the right mise-en-scene and sound that I need within my film. I think it will work better than others as my location.

     

Horror Genre Research

Early horror films are often based around the Gothic genre, in 19th century literature. Horror films set out to get a negative, or emotional reaction from the audience. Many of the plots include typical horror conventions such as ghosts, gore, torture, demons and serial killers. These are all based around the fears of the audience.

Other things that the audience may expect to see are zombies, viscous animals, blood, haunted houses, and ancient curses.

         
An example of a horror film is The Grudge. The Grudge is an American film which was brought out in 2004. The plot follows the description of a curse that is born once someone is dead. Anyone that comes into contact with the curse will be killed, and the curse is passed on from victim to victim.

Carrying out this research helped me to understand more about horror films and how they target their audiences. Also about typical horror conventions and how they are shown in films.

My Film Questionnaire

Film Questionnaire

Age________

Gender___________________

1.     What is your favorite type of film?

A)    Horror

B)    Comedy

C)    Sci-Fi

D)   Action

E)     Other___________________

2.     Name a film from the genre you have chosen, that you have enjoyed. What did you like about this film?

3.     Do you watch many horror films, if yes, what film did you like most and why?

4.     What kind of plot would you ideally use in a horror film?

5.     What kind of things would you expect, or like to see in this horror film?

6.     What kind of age range would you use for this film?

A)    12-15

B)    15-18

C)    18+

D)   Other

Thank you for completing this questionnaire.

I have created a questionnaire so that I had an idea of the kind of film I should choose, and what kind of things I should include in my film. I asked a group of my friends as they were my initial idea for my target audience of older teenagers. I first asked what kind of film genre people liked the most. The genre of horror was a particular favourite, and so I decided to stick with my initial idea of a horror film. I then went on to ask what horror films were the favorites among the people I asked. I did this so that I could carry out research on some of these films. Popular choices of horror film included The Grudge, The Ring and Saw. I also wanted to know what kind of things people liked or expected to see in a horror film. Some popular choices were deaths, mystery and ghosts.
Another question I asked was about the kind of plot. This was useful because I was able to change or add to my own ideas. I asked about the age range so that I could make the film appropriate to the audience, I decided to make the age range 15-18, or older. I chose this age group because I found in my research that the majority of horror films were suited to this target audience. This is because younger/older children would find them scary, or more difficult to understand.

Carrying out this questionnaire was useful because it gave me a guide on the genre, plot and audience I should use in my own product. I was able to research the suggested horror films and use them for more ideas.