Typography, Practial, Louise

After looking at typography and the common conventions of typography within horror films I used photoshop to make one suitable for our genre and to work with our film poster/website.

As this was before we decided what we were going to have within our final product I just created a typography that was suitable for the genre however it was very basic. Below are the steps that I went through to reach my final product.

Editing Practical:

 

 Editing:

For our teaser trailer we wanted to show small snippets of events that occur within our piece. This and due to our internet theme we deemed that adding a glitch effect would look the best. I decided to figure out how to do this so I watched numerous YouTube videos and read different articles explaining how this was possible on the editing software that we had.

 

Firstly I selected the clips that I wanted within the jittering/glitch and added the 'Gaussian' effect to them. This blurs the images, (however when playing around with the amount, blur, vertical and horizontal the image can be altered.)

After I had done this I then added the 'Bad Tv' effect to the clips, and then brought the amount down to around 7/8 to give a subtle effect of a webcam/video.

After this I then selected the 'blade' tool, and cut up each of the different clips into around 6-10 different sections depending on the length. This was done so each bladed section could be manipulated in a different manor to give the effect that it was altering and jittering.

To do this I brought the vertical button down to 0 on each clip, and the horizontal to 100. This was in order to jitter the picture.

Then on each clip I did a different level of the 'Amount' and 'Blur boost' in order to create the desired effect.

I also at certain points added the 'Bad Tv' effect up to 100% to create a very clear quick glitch amongst the jittering.

After all of this was done I then selected the clip and made into a new compound clip to erase any confusion with the amount of separate clips and also allow for it to run smoothly without any lagging.

 

Editing Practical: Sound

Sound: 

During the basic editing stage we removed all the sound to ensure no excess audio was in place, therefore we needed to add a soundtrack/sound effects to add to the tension, make it interesting and ensure that it suited our genre of a horror with slasher elements. 

Firstly I searched on YouTube for an un copyrighted Skype noise for when the messages sending the link to 'The Monkey House' appears. This makes the clip seem more realistic as it uses the same sound it would in real life. After I had found it I converted it to an MP3, and downloaded it from 'YouTube Convertor'.

After this I inserted it into 'Final Cut Pro' and moved it to my desired area ensuring it played in time to the footage. I also adjusted the volume to ensure that it was loud enough to be noticeable, but not too loud that it is over powering.

Due to our teaser trailer being circus themed I believed that finding circus/carnival music would be very fitting. So I searched on websites such as Sound Cloud and YouTube for un copyrighted music that I deemed to be appropriate. Eventually I found a piece on YouTube, I added it to the scene where the Monkey House website appears and turned the volume up very loudly to create tension. I then duplicated and cropped the sound and played it on a very low level for the rest of the duration to add to a subtle, creepy effect.

During filming another of the victims screamed to create a realistic motion. I deemed this to be appropriate for the footage so added it onto the website footage and I increased the volume in order for added tension.

After making the glitch effect I then decided that sound effects needed to be added in order to make it have a more eerie vibe, and suit our genre of a horror with slasher elements better.

I found un copyrighted sound of glitch and bladed the desired areas and deleted the remaining so I was left with a variety of small glitch effects. I then placed them to my desired area to create the best possible effect.

Editing Practical: Basics:

Editing:

After finishing our filming stage I began to do the basic editing process of importing my footage and cropping it down and placing it in the correct order. This took a fair amount of time since during this process we needed to decide which footage and which take of certain scenes to include to ensure it worked the best together. W e also had to remove any sound and crop out any inappropriate scenes.

firstly I inserted the card into the laptop and dragged them to the dashboard. After this I selected the 'import' button and 'media' to import our footage into the document. I then selected the desired clips and imported them in.

Afterwards I then began to put them in the order that we had decided of during our story board planning process. I then began to crop out footage down from around 3 minutes, to 1 minute 50 seconds and then finally 50 seconds. This took time since I had to judge correctly what bits were necessary and which were not. As well as cutting down clips using precision editor to ensure they flowed correctly with the following e.g. match on action of the killer walking into her lare and opening and closing the door.



After this was done I then began to adjust and delete the audio of the clips. Since it had background noise as well as us speaking in the background.

Conclusion:

• Overall our basic editing at the beginning went fairly well.
• Due to planning in advance such as our story boards we knew what exact order the clips needed to be in ensuring no extra time was wasted.
• We also knew our time limit of 60 seconds so knew that it needed to be cut down as much as possible. 

Filming: Practical

Shots I filmed:

For our teaser trailer we planned for two filming days, within this I played the killer, therefore being in the shot a lot of the time and unable to film. However when the shots were taken of the victim I took that role. The first is the shot at the very beginning of our teaser trailer. Where the victim is holding up a suicide card. This along with the creepy environment and blood helps the audience to know the genre from the first few seconds (a horror with slasher elements) and helps to create tension. It also presents the killer at the very beginning with her weapon, further creating this atmosphere.

This shot is a reaction shot mid shot, shown after the match on action of the killer opening her lares door and closing it on the inside. A banging noise is heard and the victim turns to see what is occurring (allowing the audience to know that the killer is in close proximity, therefore that the victim is not safe). Lighting was important for this shot, I had to ensure it was neither particularly high-key or low-key, somewhere in between. Since we wanted it to feel like late afternoon.

This shot is shown at the beginning as an establishing shot, of the victim on her laptop. The lighting is very low-key with only the characters face lit. We wanted this to be done as emphasis of the darkness within the film, and highlighting how this will somehow effect her. A subtle use of foreshadowing.

This shot is a close up of the victim browsing YouTube in order to find more information about the deep web. To find out what exactly what a red room is. This shot had to be focused perfectly to ensure the audience got a clear view of what was occurring. We also chose a mac for our filming due to being popular currently, ensuring social relevance.

Another mid shot of the victim on her laptop browsing YouTube to gain more knowledge on the deep web. The lighting is fairly high-key.

 This shot is a reaction shot in low-key lighting. Within it the characters face is lit up white at first, and as she clicks the link to 'The Monkey House' her face is lit up red. Representing the blood, pain and death to come within the film.

The teaser trailer ends on a very similar shot to the one it began with, however this time, with the victim holding up suicide cards, covered in blood, in the killers lare. However this time the killer is not shown, due to the suicide card footage not being shown in chronological order, due to the start of the footage being shown at the very end.

Conclusion:

• Overall I think our filming days went really well as we were very prepared and brought all our props and all the equipment that we needed.
• However lighting was somewhat an issue, but all we had to do was wait a few hours to ensure it was dark enough in the victims bedroom to film the shots of her face lit with the laptop.
• The use of us thinking about lighting in advance, helped us achieve the effect we were looking for nicely.



Production company:

Monkey House productions: 

As a practical task I have created my own production company, labelled 'Monkey House Productions'. I attempted to make it fit in with our circus/carnival theme by using a footage of a jack in the box popping out against a dim dark background in order for it to stand out well.

For added affect I also using editing skills and acting as a practice for my teaser trailer jittered/glitching the footage including images of the jack in the box burning. Allowing for it to fit in with the horror theme, I also manipulated the music to give it an eerie feel, again helping with sound within my final piece.

Within this I also played around with lighting in order for it to stand out and work to its best ability, again good practice for our final piece. The use of the fire also allowed for very high key lighting on the toy, which acted as a great contrast to the low-key dim lighting behind.

I also watched numerous YouTube videos surrounding how to create the glitch effect I desired.

Many of them included a 3D effect within the glitch which I did not deem to me suitable as I wanted to use the technique for my production company glitch on our teaser trailer.

However after watching numerous clips i cam across the tutorial of the small logo glitch, which although fairly time consuming gave the desired look of a computer glitch. I also added the 'Bad TV' filter in order to further emphasis this.

Conclusion:

• In conclusion I like certain aspects of my production company including the use of lighting and contrast of colour.
• However I do not think my typography looked professional, and the theme of circus seemed over done due to it also being with in our trailer.

Production company we went with: (other group members)

Sound Practical:

Sound Practical:



As a practical task I used researched different types of horror/circus music to gain inspiration, I then downloaded un copyrighted music and altered and distorted it to my desired effect. This is good preparation and practice for my final piece as it allows for me to try different methods and learn new techniques of how to put sound together successfully.

This practical work will be used in my final piece however will be altered to fit timings and have any added sound effects or soundtrack if i deem it suitable at a later stage.

To create this piece i…

• Used screams that i pre recorded to add tension and portray one of the victims that will be in our piece. 
• I also used multiple glitch effect noises which is a clear representation of our internet theme, and seems appropriate for the events that will be unfolding. 
• I also added a wind whistling audio clip to add a haunting horror feel.
• Lastly the main circus theme, which is an uncopyright audio i found on Youtube

Practical piece:

Conclusion:

• In conclusion i feel that the practical task turned out well and i deem it to be effective for our genre and our theme.
• I like the use of a diegetic sound effect of the victim screaming which adds to the realise that we wanted to portray within our teaser trailer.

Practical - Masks

Making Masks for our Trailer

Following the results of our survey, it seems that the idea of using masks in our trailer is particularly popular. However, as we have no yet decided what kind of masks we want to use or if we want to use them at all, I didn't want to spend a lot of money on something we hadn't agreed on yet. So, I decided to use plain surgical masks as I already had a lot of them at home, and just bought fake blood, as it's likely we'll end up using this at some point. 

I started with plain masks, like above. I bought two types of fake blood; a liquid one to create drips with and one in a spray bottle that would create a splattered effect. On top of a plastic bag, I sprayed the masks with the spray bottle to make them less pristine-looking. 

Just with this spray, the mask looked effective enough to be used in a horror film, however I wanted to experiment further. Using a cotton bud and the liquid fake blood, I drew mouth expressions onto the masks. 

However, this was not as effective as I hoped it would be. Despite this, I think the masks with the blood sprayed onto them could still be useful in our trailer as they are very cheap to buy and I already have a lot of them. 

Typography Practical:

Typography-Practical:

I have done a practical task  making of a 50's vintage style horror movie typography, using the programme 'adobe Photoshop'. Practice such as this allows for me to improve my editing skills for my final product.

Although our final product is not going to include 50's style Horror typography, I thought it would be an interesting contrast, and used this practical as a method of gathering ideas and finding out how to use this programme correctly and efficiently. Although it did not end up how I originally intended it too, the greater amount of practice that occurs, the greater the final product. Therefore making it a useful task.

Here are some examples of 50s's vintage horror movie typography that I used for inspiration:

What I did:





Firstly I inserted a picture of a location I deemed fit for this genre, and changed the colour scheme, making is darker/a deeper blue.

I then added a black and white filter, to ensure it matched the genre I was going for. 

I then proceeded to download a font on dafont.com, one that I believed matched the style I was going for. Afterwards I removed the background and adjusted the size and width to ensure it filled the page to my desired way.

I then adjusted the colour and opacity of the text ensuring it fitted and faded well against the background. I also added in two layers of old movie film scratches to ensure it looked aged and further fitted the look I was going for.



Conclusion:

• Overall the attempt did not go fully to plan, looking very unprofessional and ineffective.
• I plan to use Photoshop more often to help improve my skills on making it as a piece fit well together and look effective. The use of font looks very childlike and does not fit into the background well, the positioning is also uneven.
• Next time I plan to spend more time beforehand researching so I can produce a more interesting looking typography.