Audience Research - (Target Audience, User Ratings)

Audience Research: Who our film will be aimed at.

Dawn of The Dead

Males Under 18

28 Days Later

Males Under 18

Resident Evil

Males Under 18

As all 3 films I researched had a main target audience for the under 18 category (specifically male) therefore our target audience for our film will be the same, consequently making our horror film a 15.

* All information was discovered on www.imdb.com 

The Walking Dead - Textual Analysis

The list of jobs that appear  during the opening sequence are:
Casting by . . .
Editor
Production designer
director of photography
Produced by
Executive producers
Written By
Directed By

In the picture above, red is the most dominant colour. It is effective in creating a sense of danger and is a good colour to use in a zombie film, as it is associated also, with blood and gore. Black is also a dominant colour, it effectively brings out the colour red making it appear deeper and creates a sense foreboding. In the opening sequence "Dead" appears larger than the rest, this is very eye catching, as it draws the viewer in.

Dawn Of The Dead - Textual Analysis

The list of jobs that appear  during the opening sequence are:
Casting By . . .
Music By . . .
Music Supervisor

special effect make up 
costume designer
 co producer 
editor 
production designer 
director of photography
executive producers 
produced by
Screen play by
Directed By

I thought that the visual effects were quite effective. They stood out against the black background and was very clear to read. The title that appeared during the opening sequence looked like they  were drops of blood being blown away which i thought was compelling  to watch and an effectual way for the title to leave the screen.

Red is the most dominant colour during the opening sequence of the Dawn of the Dead. The colour red gives the audience a sense thats there is danger, it also reminds us of blood. In the images , the colour black stands out the most amongst the light backgrounds, it creates a sense of desolation. 

18 Certificate - What we Can and Cannot do.

Information about an 18 rated film.

No-one younger than 18 may see an ‘18’ film in a cinema.

No-one younger than 18 may rent or buy an ‘18’ rated video.

In line with the consistent findings of the BBFC’s public consultations and The Human Rights Act 1998, at ‘18’ the BBFC’s guideline concerns will not normally override the principle that adults should be free to choose their own entertainment. Exceptions are most likely in the following areas:

• where the material is in breach of the criminal law, or has been created through the commission of a criminal offence
• where material or treatment appears to the BBFC to risk harm to individuals or, through their behaviour, to society – for example, any detailed portrayal of violent or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use, which may cause harm to public health or morals. This may include portrayals of sexual or sexualised violence which might, for example, eroticise or endorse sexual assault
• where there are more explicit images of sexual activity which cannot be justified by context. Such images may be appropriate in ‘R18’ works, and in ‘sex works’ (see below) would normally be confined to that category.

In the case of video works (including video games), which may be more accessible to younger viewers, intervention may be more frequent than for cinema films.

Sex education at ‘18’

Where sex material genuinely seeks to inform and educate in matters such as human sexuality, safer sex and health, explicit images of sexual activity may be permitted.

Sex works at ‘18’

Sex works are works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation. Sex works containing only material which may be simulated are generally passed ‘18’. Sex works containing clear images of real sex, strong fetish material, sexually explicit animated images, or other very strong sexual images will be confined to the ‘R18’ category. Material which is unacceptable in a sex work at ‘R18’ is also unacceptable in a sex work at ‘18’.

*This information I gathered above was taken from the website; http://www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/guidelines/18-2 

Audience Research

Name of horror film and Certificate.

• 28 Days Later         -   18
• 28 Weeks Later      -    18
• Dawn of the Dead  -   18
• Dead Snow             -   18
• Shaun of the dead  -   18
• Zombie Land           -   15
• Night of the Living  Dead - 18    
• The Waking Dead  -   18
• Resident Evil           -   15
• Zombie Strippers    -   18

Clearly, the majority of zombie films in this sequence is of the certificate 18, therefore I am going to view what, as a group we can and cannot do and also I will identify the target audience for a film with a certificate of 18.

Nightmare On Elm Street - Textual Analysis

• In this video clip, entitled 'Nightmare on Elm Street' it kept the murderer's face hidden which is a clear representation of a restricted narrative, which only increased the levels of mystery and suspense by forcing the audience to open there mind to imagination.
• The film was also of a non-linear standard, as it wasn't clear whether the main character was dreaming about the attack of whether it was a premonition of reality. 

• Personally, we quite liked the usage of the title sequence, as various roles appeared at the side of the screen which looked classy with out distracting the view from the opening of the film. In addition to this, we thought that the opening credits didn't look cheesy with titles such as "starring . . ." 
•  However there were a few factors in the opening sequence that we were not found of as a group, such as the beginning of the film where the title "Nightmare On Elm Street" looked slightly cartoonish which in our opinion it looked inappropriate for the genre.

The list of jobs that appear  during the opening sequence are:

List of actors "Starring. . ."

Produced By . . .

Casting

Director of Photography

Product Designer

Mechanical special effects design

Theatrical Engines

Associate producer

Film editor

Music By . . .

Co-Producer

Executive Producer

Produced By . . .

Written And Directed By

Horror Movie Planning

Genre: Zombie Horror 


Film Plan: 
IDEA'S

 Point of view shot:The character looks then begins to walk down the stairs: Background Noise, the  TV Playing quietly in the background.

 Long shot:See the girl watching TV, looking up at the ceiling as someone is up there. (Close up shot: of the door handle as it opens) Character walks through door "Oi, I'm Going Bed. Night" _Creates tension the audience doesn't no who is in the house, it could have been anyone_: 

Sound:Throughout the beginning of the scene strings will be played, slowly building up and getting louder. Ambient noises will be amplified, like the creaking of the stairs.

 The girl continues to watch TV: Background Noise, quiet screams. The Character mutes the TV. Silence. Can't hear anything so continues to watch TV. The light behind flickers on. Through the glass of the door the audience can see a silhouette of a mysterious character (Long shot) The character sitting down is unaware of the goings on behind her. The light goes off once more, then flickers back on again. However this time the mysterious silhouette is pressed up against the window. (medium close up) _Creates dramatic irony, and build suspense the audience is aware of the ominous figure however the character is not_

The character turns around realizing something is wrong & gets up to investigate. Medium Shot as she walks into the kitchen. The characters winds down the blind and perches over the kitchen top. BANG! alarm goes, as a hand hits the window and slides down (Close up). The girl screams then scrambles through the draw (POV shot) to get some matches.

Sound:Silence, when she mutes the TV and hears the screams. Silence as she winds down the blind. Then the loud bang of the hand, alarm and scream.

The character heads out side to see what it was, she lights a match (Extreme Close Up) as the out side light is not working. She drops the light, (Silence) then lights another (Sound of the match box as she lights the match) she holds it up to her face, there is a zombie in front of her. The lights from the match illuminates hers and the zombies face. She screams, blowing out the match out. BLACKNESS.

This is what we want one of our shots to look like, however she will be holding a match not a candle. But we still want the same effect, where everything around her is dark but the light illuminates her face.

For one of our last shot we want a two shot, similar to this however we would like the character to be holding a match, so it highlights hers and the zombies face. So when the match goes out all goes dark around the characters.

Sound:Fast paste music, builds suspense as she scrambles in the draw to get the matches. As she drops the match after lighting it, everything goes silent, she is left vulnerable without any way of seeing. Sound of her breathing heavily. She strikes another match, sees zombie then loud scream.

Target Audience: Under 18 category, specifically male.

Certificate: 15 

Title Sequence: Flash of images where the words are incorporated into the scene.

We would like to do something similar in the opening of our film, like the video above.