Bussing Sequence Evaluation

What did we do?

We had to create a bussing sequence of a shock consisting of a lone person and the creation of a fake shock and/or jump. We had to include a variety of camera angles to show a story from the lone persons perspective. The sequence was based on a girl who was being stalked by a mysterious businessman in the girl’s toilets .we created the shock through a loud bang on the toilet door and this sent the girl in to a state of paranoia. We also had a use of diegetic and non diegetic sounds during the sequence to add and build the tension during the film.

What problems did we face and how did we overcome them?

On the establishing shot we was unfortunate to have an oncoming truck in the back ground which made the setting more of an industrial site than a scary isolated school. Also when we looked over the sequence after we found we did not do enough closeup shots on the face of the victim to show expressions. On top on this we found while filming the setting we chose though was good for a stalking sequence we was disrupted on several occasions with people coming to use the toilet. There was some unavoidable blips aswell like the time of the day in which we was recording so this meant in the establishing shot it was broad daylight which does not fit with the usual horror stereotype where everything would tend to happen at night.

Analysis of product (sound,editing,shots,mise en scene)

I felt that although there were a few down points within our bussing sequence of which I have already mentioned stuff that was unavoidable. I think for a first attempt of a horror clip we did a very good job I feel the use of the digetic sound through the banging of the door worked well and effective as this was a typical horror type scene. Also the use of the non digetic sound I feel the Linkin park song we used fitted well with the clip and the use of the bang to end the song worked very well. Also we used a fair few camera shots in the clip and I think we did a very good job unfortunately we did not get enough of the close up’s to maybe create as much tension as we could of but maybe that was due to the setting and time we did the filming usually a busy time to use school toilets. I think we mastered the editing very well for our first time and we are now ready to make our actual horror trailers amazing when we get round to editing them.

What did others think?

When we asked the rest of our class to look at our bussing sequence their first impressions were it was a very good first attempt of a horror film however they did pick up on a few things for us to do better when we do our actual trailer. These were again the lack of close up shots on our face to create emotion from our characters. They also felt that when the girl (Melissa) is pushing back all the cubicle doors there should have been a camera shot of what the girl could see to show why she was relieved after every door. Finally they felt that the non digetic sound at the beginning maybe was not the right song for the horror as in most horrors it starts happy whereas this sound started with a sad tone.

What did I learn?

Finally I feel we learnt alot from doing these bussing sequences as we all have a real grasp now of how to edit our films to make them flow continually without any hitches also we know now how important it is to get all the shots involved as when we didn’t do enough close-ups it appeared to have noticed alot with our audience. But most of all I feel were ready now to make the best horror trailers.

Cast List

First Scene

Cast list – Toni Maybank,Freddie Francis, Melissa East

Location-Isolated lake

Costume-Toni-Tight revealing clothes, Melissa-Casualwear, Freddie-Jeans and a shirt

Second Scene

Cast list – Toni Maybank,Melissa East, Freddie Francis

Location-Isolated lake

Costume-Toni-Tight revealing clothes, Melissa-Casualwear, Freddie-Jeans and a shirt

Third Scene

Cast list – Melissa East

Location-Isolated lake

Costume-Casualwear

Fourth Scene

Cast list- Toni Maybank

Location- Woods

Costume-Tight revealing clothes

Fifth Scene

Cast list – Melissa East

Location-woods

Costume-Casualwear

Sixth Scene

Cast List- Freddie Francis

Location- Lake

Costume- Jeans and Shirt

Seventh Scene

Cast List- Martin Johnson

Location-Woods

Costume-Hoodie

Eighth Scene

Cast-Toni Maybank, Martin Johnson

Location-Woods

Costume- Anna-Tight revealing clothes, The Killer-Hoodie

Ninth Scene

Cast-Toni Maybank

Location- Woods

Costume- Tight revealing clothes

How does Shaun of the dead subvert structuralist notions of genre?

How does Shaun of the dead subvert structuralist notions of genre?

Shaun of the dead was a horror film with a real twist as it did not follow all the codes and conventions we would expect to see in a horror film. This took what was potentially a structalist film and turned it in to a postmodernism comedic horror, in the film we get an idea that the film is trying to make a statement to the British public that their life’s are boring and like a routine basically Wake up, go to shop, go to work, come home watch TV  and go to bed and the film does this through the use of Shaun waking up like a zombie on several occasions and we twice see him do exactly the same routine.

The setting used for the film is going against most codes and conventions of a natural horror film aswell and appears to be quite hypocritical in that the suburbs is usually where you expect peace and quiet and in this film we see the area becoming quite manic and full of zombies which would seem pretty unrealistic compared to a street in central London where the population would be a lot higher and therefore more chance of a zombie attack.

The characters we are with for most the film appear to follow of a structuralists view in that we have different types of characters though all that being said they challenge the codes and conventions  in that your usual horror film you would find a jock, a geek, a hero, a promiscuous girl  etc but in this we seem to find a comedy side as we pass another group of characters with very similar features but of that a girl leader which we would not find in a horror film of a structuralist film so this challenges the conventions of horror where the hero would usually be a male saving a promiscuous girl. Talking about the hero Shaun is not really your typical hero either as he is an every day shop assistant who has messed up with his girlfriend this contradicts your typical hero who usually appears they know there the hero from the beginning as they tend to be very big headed and the girls usually seek to there protection.

The props used in Shaun of the dead go against the codes and conventions of a typical horror film as the weapons used by the men are a spade which would usually be deemed as a gardening object not a weapon to go attacking zombies with while Shaun uses a cricket bat which usually we would associate with a middle class man not a working class shop assistant again to go an attack zombies with although there is also some comedy used in this again where Liz is using an axe this again show us that Liz appears to have more power than the 2 males in this film which goes against your every day structralist theory of a horror film. Not only those 3 weapons but during the early scenes of the film the 2 males just pick up everyday objects to attack the zombies like throwing a old records like a Frisbee this takes this horror film to a postmodernism film as they take the Mick by trying to kill these potentially dangerous zombie with records and jars from the kitchen and while this going on they have time to decide what to throw they do not appear very bothered that the zombies are walking towards them which again shows why this is a comedy as well as a horror.

In Shaun of the Dead Liz challenges one of the key theories Clovers “final girl theory” as in most typical horror films the final girl is very dippy, screaming and running away all the time etc but in Shaun of dead she seems very well organised and knows what she is doing this again challenges the codes and conventions of horror as she can also be seen as the hero with along with Shaun. One thing that does still follow a structuralists view  of  horror is that slowly all the group of the characters are dying which shows they do follow some codes and conventions of horror as the group eventually ends up with just Shaun and Liz the two heroes for each other but cannot save their mates and family.

In conclusion in Shaun of the dead we can see it does follows some structuralists views on horror for example many of the group dying and there being a group of people who are completely different but it challenges the codes and conventions of horror very much with the props that are being used the fact the hero can be deemed as much Liz as it is Shaun also the way in which the zombies are so not frightening and in most horror films you would expect the enemy to look scary

How does Halloween follow the codes and Conventions of the slasher horror sub genre?

How does Halloween follow the codes and Conventions of the slasher horror sub genre?

In the trailer Halloween it follows codes and conventions through various different ways for example setting, characters, props, camera angles and paradigms.

During the trailer the film tends to be set around an American house which in many horror films can usually have a big part as this is where the killer would tend to go looking for innocent victims. They always seem to resort back to a place of which something has happened in the past in this film its the killers house and family live there as he goes to reap revenge for being disowned in a to mental house.

The characters used shown in the  trailer represent a horror movie well as you have the innocent girl who is always getting chased she does some of the silly notions such as trying to open window instead of just smashing the window more importantly she is wearing white this symbolises her innocence and purity to which the killer is trying to exact revenge on . There is also a scene where there is 3 women walking along and they all turn around looking worried and a sign of possibly vulnerability as in many of these horror films the women are targeted by the killer. The killer wears a mask to hide his face this is common in quite a few horror films as this allows the killer to walk around freely and the viewers will never know who the killer is unless the mask is removed from his face, its also a way of straight away identifying who the killer is .

The sound used in the trailer is very eerie from the very beginning voice he speaks in a real horror type voice and that straight away would get the public scared, also the like bell sound from the very first scene as we walk towards the house is a very scary sound this is a repetitive throughout and reminds me of songs from films also like the exorcist which again show us a representation of horror films. Sounds throughout are also very common with screaming and well you only associate screaming with horror films as this is a representation of something happening and being scared a killer moves towards a victim.

An important part representing the codes and conventions are the paradigms. There are a fair few that stick out in the trailer these consists of the murder weapon being a knife this is very common in horrors more of a sense of a vulnerability of the victim in many circumstances being a women and the constant repetition of a knife going in and out of them however in this trailer this may not be apparent a knife if used and this follows the convention of a horror movie. Next up is the mask on the killer again this is very popular in horror movies as this creates a sense of mystery who is hidden behind the mask and as mentioned earlier it gives the killer the freedom to move around throughout without risk of giving away their identity. The setting being in a typical well presented house in America is commonly seen as this usually has some kind of link to the killer in many cases possibly an old house or a family house etc so once again the use of this in the trailer shows its follows the paradigms of a horror film. In this trailer it only really shows us innocent girls which are commonly used however in most horror films there are more characters seen. However we do also see a doctor at one stage who says he omitted the killer to  a mental house which takes me of to the point that usually  the killer has some kind of problem in his past life which led to him being put in a mental institute.

Finally some camera angles used that are popular are an establishing shot at the beginning which shows us where the main part of the film is set this is important because it sets the scene for our viewers. Also the use of a handheld camera at the beginning used as a point of view shot which is shaky and unsteady is the representation of a killer and a scared man maybe as he know he is about to go kill people he loves.

Storyboard

Scripting,Shot types and Risk Assesment

First scene

Walking to lake:

Group of teens walking to the lake and there is a clear division between the bullied boy (Lewis) and the rest of the group.

Camera Shots:

Establishing shot of the lake

Camera then pans rounds to the teenagers walking to the lake

Close up of Lewis’s face – longer than other close ups

Close up of all characters faces separately 

Job Roles:

Camera – Zoe

Lewis (Bullied boy) – Martin

Freddie (Jock), Toni (Promiscuous Blonde), Melissa (Geek Chic girl)
Director – Ashley                                                                            

Risk Assessment

Make sure no one carelessly falls or drops the camera or anything valuable in the lake.

Second Scene

The game:

At the lake and the entertainment turns to truth or dare between the group and further bullying towards Lewis

Camera Shots:

High angle medium shot of bottle spinning round in the circle

Medium shot of bottle pointing to Lewis

Close up canted angle on Jock nudging/kicking Lewis’ foot

Continuous long shot of Lewis walking into the dark words alone

Medium shot of him walking towards the camera and looking back at his ‘friends’

P.O.V shot from Lewis’ shoulder as he looks back at his ‘friends’

Job roles: 

Camera – Zoe

Stage Directors – Ashley
Lewis (Bullied boy) – Martin

Freddie (Jock), Toni (Promiscuous Blonde), Melissa (Geek Chic girl)
Risk Assessment:

Make sure no member of the public gets in any shots and to ensure that the woods are totally safe.

Third Scene

Confusion:

After inserting a tone card saying ‘Let the games begin…’ the action and cuts will be a lot quicker and will be supported by the increased tempo music.

Camera Shots:

Extreme close up of blood on Lewis’ hand

Canted angle shots of bloody knife on the ground in the woods, with quick jump cuts between shots to disorientate the audience

Over the shoulder shot panning around the final, geek chic girl holding bloody knife and aiming it at an ‘unknown person’

Job roles:

Camera – Zoe

Stage Director – Ashley

Lewis (Bullied boy) – Martin

Freddie (Jock), Toni (Promiscuous Blonde), Melissa (Geek Chic girl)

Risk Assessment:

Be wary when filming in woods, be careful of hidden objects that camera operator could trip over.

Fourth Scene

Chase sequence:

A chase between the killer and a blonde promiscuous girl, when the blonde girl trips over a log

Camera Shots:

P.O.V shot from ‘killer’ walking swiftly towards a running promiscuous victim, before she trips and falls to the floor, as the camera tracks towards her and shows a high angle shot looking over her.

Job Roles:

Camera – Zoe
Stage Director – Ashley
Lewis (Bullied boy) – Martin

Freddie (Jock), Toni (Promiscuous Blonde), Melissa (Geek Chic girl)

Risk Assessment:

Be careful when the actress trips over, that she doesn’t fall too hard and hit her head.

Fifth Scene

Body Scene

Geek Chic girl kneels down in front of a tree looking scared when she discovers her dead friend’s body, and then a hand from behind grabs her by the mouth to silence her screams.

Camera Shots:
Mid shot of the geek girl by the tree.
Close up shot of hand covering her mouth.
 
Job Roles:
Camera – Zoe
Stage directors – Ashley
Lewis (Bullied boy) – Martin

Freddie (Jock), Toni (Promiscuous Blonde), Melissa (Geek Chic girl)

Risk Assessment:
Screaming could cause the public to panic and think somebody is really in danger.


Sixth Scene

Hand Scene:
A quick shot of one of the characters’ bloodstained hand.

Camera Shots:
Close up shot of the hand draping into the lake.

Job Roles:
Camera – Zoe
Stage director – Ashley

Risk Assessment:
Make sure hands are washed after being placed in the lake, as there could be harmful chemicals in the water of the lake.

Seventh Scene

Woods Scene
A quick reveal of a character in the distance, but the hooded clothing keep their identity concealed.

Camera Shots:
Extreme long shot of hooded figure (the killer) in the far distance in the woods.

Job Roles:
Camera – Zoe
Stage director – Ashley
Lewis (Bullied boy) – Martin

Freddie(Jock), Toni (Promiscuous Blonde), Melissa (Geek Chic girl)

Risk Assessment:
Be wary of public in the woods, as they could get in the shots.


Eighth Scene

Stabbing:
One of the characters gets stabbed in the stomach, but the identity of the killer and the victim is not shown.

Camera Shots:
Mid shot of the victims’ stomach being stabbed with a retractable knife.

Job Roles:
Camera – Zoe
Stage director – Ashley
Lewis (Bullied boy) – Martin

Freddie (Jock), Toni (Promiscuous Blonde), Melissa (Geek Chic girl)


Risk Assessment:
The public may think that someone is actually being stabbed. Make sure we tell people we are filming a horror film to counteract this problem.


Ninth Scene

After Tone Card
One last shot comes up of promiscuous girl tied to a tree with rope and blood dripping down her. She is also in an unconscious state.

Camera Shot:
Long shot of the blonde girl tied to a tree.
Jump cut to a close up shot of her hands tied up in the rope wriggling.

Job Roles:
Camera – Zoe
Stage director – Ashley
Lewis (Bullied boy) – Martin

Freddie(Jock), Toni (Promiscuous Blonde), Melissa (Geek Chic girl)

Risk Assessment:
In case of a real emergency make sure the actress is able to get out of the rope quickly and easily.

Treatment Analysis