Developed Idea
Summary of Plot •
The genre of our film is horror and subgenre of our film is supernatural and most horrors are 15 age rated, however we believe that we can make a supernatural horror without the need for excessive amounts of gore or bloody imagery as my research suggests that too much excessive blood can make viewers uncomfortable.
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The protagonist arrives and moves into his new house, he unaware that the previous owners were murdered by a poltergeist haunting the house from the original owners, unaware the protagonist begins to relax and sorts out key items for the house like the electric and water. As this happens, the spirit begins to get restless with this new owner and starts to change things in the house, changing the electrics and smashing plates, the owner passes this off as the house and his own clumsiness. After a while of watching the TV the protagonist notices static on the TV then it cuts to black as the lights go out, the TV then comes back on with a clip of the spirit looking at the protagonist, the protagonist terrified heads to the bathroom, looks into the mirror and their skin is white and eyes red just like the poltergeist and smiles in a disturbing way. Then the credits roll and as this happens it cuts out and a jump scare of the ‘new’ poltergeist cuts in though static.
Character-Person (Protagonist) •
The main character is going to be just your everyday horror victim Nothing special about them helps to portray the idea that anyone and everyone is vulnerable. Additionally, it can help to show that the film is set in a normal setting, emphasising that the character is still vulnerable. The costume would be very plain, normal clothes making the protagonist more vulnerable. We would use this kind of costume, as it reflects one of the characters that are in the film that we are taking inspiration from ‘Ju-On The Grudge’, a supernatural film, as social worker Rika is dressed in normal clothes and is un-threatening, innocent and normal reflecting our protagonist.
Character-Poltergeist (Antagonist) •
Generally just looking scary and creepy. The appearance in the mirror could send different messages to different people, all of which add a sense of fear. Was he possessed? Is the poltergeist IN the mirror, similar to how it was in the television?
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The use of white represents purity, generally paired with goods things such as heaven and angels. However, the red splatters on the white disturbs the purity of the garment, possibly referring to how the poltergeist is disturbing the peace of people it encounters. Additionally, red is a known signal for bad things, as well as blood, adding a further sense of dread and fear to the poltergeist. The fact that the eyes are red as well at the end further emphasise that something is wrong, dangerous with the poltergeist
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We would take inspiration from the film ‘Ju-On The Grudge’ with the antagonist, Kayako, throughout the entire film having a similar skin colour tone showing that they are sprit with white skin and dark bags under their eyes.
Mise-En-Scene •
The location and setting of the film would be over the course of a few hours in a typical suburban home. This would make the setting seem innocent as the home would be neatly furnished and well kept.
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The props would be minimal. Using only a few items like a TV, plates and a switch board. These items are commonplace in a home, keeping with the setting of the film.
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The lighting would gradually get darker making the passage of time seem realistic, also their would be moonlight shining through curtains to add a sense of creepiness.
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There would only be a few applications of make-up in the film the only type would be on the poltergeist to give the skin a pale and un-earthly complexion. In addition the use of fake blood on the clothes would be used to show the danger.
Camera Work •
The camera work would consist of long drawn out shots and varying angles to build the tension and the creepy feel of the film. This should include establishing shots, long shots and close ups, the close ups will be used to immerse the audience and put them in the perspective on the protagonist, drawing them in, resulting in a grander payoff. We would use long shots to introduce the location. Also the shots would have a long run time o to build the tension, some of the shots that are used in supernatural horror are long to build the suspense.
Sound •
Diegetic sound- the only sound that would be produced by the protagonists is gasps and slow breathing, the antagonist would have deep long moans, also the smashing of plates and TV static would also be used. This would break up the non-diegetic sound and cut in throughout providing jumps for the audience.
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Non-diegetic- the non diegetic sound would be quiet creepy atmospheric music, used to build tension throughout. This would result in a higher payoff with the music slowly building and reach its pinical at the end of the film.
Editing •
There would be little amounts of editing in the film, doing this draws out the shots longer and builds tension and expectation of something happening, there would also be a filter over the clips to change the lighting making it more dark and emmersing the audience. Also, there would be little editing because it can distract take away from the emmersion and the tension of the film. We would also use a few transitions, like fade in and out and TV static, this would be used to introduce the protagonist and antagonist.Â