Our first draft for our 2 minute opening sequence went quite well. We made a few changes though for the real thing, such as sounds, foley sounds, editing and credits.
Link: 1st Draft
Thursday, 20 February 2014
Friday, 7 February 2014
Main Task Storyboard
Below is the storyboard our group created for our opening sequence, 'Run'. When filming our opening, we altered our shots slightly to the ones shown in our storyboard. This shows how our construction process changed and adapted to fit with our new ideas.
First half of 'Run' storyboard
Second half of 'Run' Storyboard
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
Analysis of first Focus Group responses
For our first focus group, we presented our photomatic to twelve people, unfortunately we only received eight responses. However, these responses were very full and detailed in helping us know what we did right and wrong in one of our first tasks as a group.
From the responses we received, we can understand that most of the people in our focus group felt our photomatic had a dark, horror theme to it. We could also see a lot of willingness in the responses to watch our film if it came out in a cinema.
We had some problems with the soundtrack, with some members of our focus group not being able to hear it at all. However, some did hear the soundtrack and felt it fit very well with the theme and mood that we were trying to convey.
From the responses we received, we can understand that most of the people in our focus group felt our photomatic had a dark, horror theme to it. We could also see a lot of willingness in the responses to watch our film if it came out in a cinema.
We had some problems with the soundtrack, with some members of our focus group not being able to hear it at all. However, some did hear the soundtrack and felt it fit very well with the theme and mood that we were trying to convey.
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
Beginning our Focus Group
Together, we thought of twelve people to join our focus group to help us learn and develop. We created a questionnaire for the group to answer relating to the Photomatic we made for our film opening 'Run'. We each emailed the members of the group that we had chosen. The questions were:
what do you think the meanings were that we were attempting to convey through the soundtrack?
would you want to go see this film in the cinema? why?
what genre do you think this animatic portrays?
what meanings do you think the photographs we took were trying to convey?
suggest one improvement?
Friday, 27 December 2013
Photomatic
First, we, as a group created a storyboard for our Photomatic to help us decide what photos we would take and what credits we would use. A photomatic is a preliminary version of a moving image text. It consists of a series of drawings, animated cut-out figures or photographs with a sound track or voice over. It is mainly used for test marketing purposes. We created a photomatic to present our preliminary opening credit sequence idea to our class and to our target audience focus group for feedback.
Below is the equipment we used:
Next, we created the real thing.
Friday, 13 December 2013
Japanese Horror Research
Japanese filmmakers first started making horrors set in the classical Edo Period (1603 to 1867 - when Japanese society was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional Daimyo. The period was characterized by economic growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policies, environmental protection policies, and popular enjoyment of arts and culture ) in the 1950s.
These types of films often focus on a tale of morality or revenge, with an influence of distrust in technology and the aftermath of atomic bombs.
Japanese Horror has become popular in Western society, with remakes being created of Japanese films such as The Ring (リング). The Ring is a 1998 film, was released in America. In The Ring, a news reporter named Asakawa discovers the story of a cursed video tape. According to the rumor, a video tape exists that will kill the viewer seven days after it is watched. The only escape from the curse is to make a copy of the tape and show it to someone else, who must then copy it and show it again to save themselves. Asakawa tracks the tape down and watches it only to realize that the curse is real and that she has seven days to live. She spends the rest of the film searching for the force behind the tape, a psychic girl named Sadako who was killed by her father and dumped in a well years ago. As we see at the end of the film, Sadako climbs out of her well and through the TV of her next victim, manifesting her wrath in the physical realm from beyond the grave.
We have a particular focus on Yūrei ghosts in Japanese horror. Yūrei ghosts are figures in Japanese folklore, comparable to Western legends of ghosts. They often wear white clothing, have long, black hair and their hands dangle lifelessly from the wrists, which are held outstretched with the elbows near the body. Japanese horror filmmakers explain that the long hair is a metaphor for ancient Japanese customs, where men wore their hair long and unbound and women wore their hair neatly tied up. The unkempt hairstyle of the female villains signifies madness or demonic possession due to its non-conformist associations.
These types of films often focus on a tale of morality or revenge, with an influence of distrust in technology and the aftermath of atomic bombs.
Japanese Horror has become popular in Western society, with remakes being created of Japanese films such as The Ring (リング). The Ring is a 1998 film, was released in America. In The Ring, a news reporter named Asakawa discovers the story of a cursed video tape. According to the rumor, a video tape exists that will kill the viewer seven days after it is watched. The only escape from the curse is to make a copy of the tape and show it to someone else, who must then copy it and show it again to save themselves. Asakawa tracks the tape down and watches it only to realize that the curse is real and that she has seven days to live. She spends the rest of the film searching for the force behind the tape, a psychic girl named Sadako who was killed by her father and dumped in a well years ago. As we see at the end of the film, Sadako climbs out of her well and through the TV of her next victim, manifesting her wrath in the physical realm from beyond the grave.
We have a particular focus on Yūrei ghosts in Japanese horror. Yūrei ghosts are figures in Japanese folklore, comparable to Western legends of ghosts. They often wear white clothing, have long, black hair and their hands dangle lifelessly from the wrists, which are held outstretched with the elbows near the body. Japanese horror filmmakers explain that the long hair is a metaphor for ancient Japanese customs, where men wore their hair long and unbound and women wore their hair neatly tied up. The unkempt hairstyle of the female villains signifies madness or demonic possession due to its non-conformist associations.
Tuesday, 19 November 2013
Primary Target Audience
There are many important factors to focus on when it comes to thinking about your target audience. These include, genre preferences, class, gender, age, fears and anxieties, education, values and hopes.
Our primary target audience for our two minute opening sequence will probably be older teenagers and adults who enjoy horror films, because our opening sequence focuses heavily on this theme.
We will try to focus on audiences who fear similar things such as escaped people, being home alone, being stalked, the dark and unknown phone calls. These are the fears we will be portraying in our opening sequence. By focusing on our audiences fears we are trying to create a more tense atmosphere for their viewing pleasure.
We will also focus on audiences who have similar values and beliefs. For example, what one would do if someone broke into their house. All these values and beliefs would come together to make our opening sequence seem altogether more interesting and gripping.
For our own opening sequence we want to focus on a target audience that appreciates Japanese horror, primarily the westernised type, such as 'The Ring' (2002). We want our opening sequence to shock and scare our viewers, as horror films traditionally do. We want to focus on an opening with no special effects or over exaggerations, just simple costumes and makeup, going back to the traditional popular Japanese horrors, such as 'Dark Water'. These types of films rely on suspense rather that over-the-top scare tactics used in many American horrors. Many fans of Japanese horror like to think of themselves as away from 'mainstream' and part of a lesser known cult of J-horror, so we would like to focus on people who are already part of this Japanese horror cult.
Our primary target audience for our two minute opening sequence will probably be older teenagers and adults who enjoy horror films, because our opening sequence focuses heavily on this theme.
We will try to focus on audiences who fear similar things such as escaped people, being home alone, being stalked, the dark and unknown phone calls. These are the fears we will be portraying in our opening sequence. By focusing on our audiences fears we are trying to create a more tense atmosphere for their viewing pleasure.
We will also focus on audiences who have similar values and beliefs. For example, what one would do if someone broke into their house. All these values and beliefs would come together to make our opening sequence seem altogether more interesting and gripping.
For our own opening sequence we want to focus on a target audience that appreciates Japanese horror, primarily the westernised type, such as 'The Ring' (2002). We want our opening sequence to shock and scare our viewers, as horror films traditionally do. We want to focus on an opening with no special effects or over exaggerations, just simple costumes and makeup, going back to the traditional popular Japanese horrors, such as 'Dark Water'. These types of films rely on suspense rather that over-the-top scare tactics used in many American horrors. Many fans of Japanese horror like to think of themselves as away from 'mainstream' and part of a lesser known cult of J-horror, so we would like to focus on people who are already part of this Japanese horror cult.
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