For our main actress we decided to use the young girl shown above who will be possessed by a demon. We think this is effective because she is small and vulnerable and her blue eyes and blonde hair has connotations of purity and innocence.
"Orphan" (2009) also uses a small child as the main character however they break conventions as she is not the victim but the murderer. She has ribbon in her hair and around her neck which has conventions of innocence and child-like which makes the audience assume she is "innocent".
In more modern horror films now, they are beginning to use little girls more often in their movies as it has more of an effect on the audience because they do not suspect a "little girl in white" to have any conventions of evil. In the film "the possession" (2012) The little girl is also the main character as she is possessed by a demon. We decided to base our costume designs and ideas from this as she wears white dresses, flowers and ribbons which emphasises her age and innocence.
The brief that we are pursuing is a horror trailer because it is challenging and there are many techniques that you can learn by doing this genre of a trailer.
2. Identify if this is an individual or group project.
It will be a group project and everyone will have their own role to play so that everyone has contributed to the project
3. List roles and
responsibilities if you are working in a group?
There are three people in our group, I will be doing the post-production and editing, Shannon will be filming the trailerand rachel will be doing the mise-en-scene such as locations and costumes aswell as performing in the trailer.
4. Write a brief summary
of your CONCEPT for the main task.
The plot of the trailer is about a young girl who is possessed by a demon through a doll she has found in a carboot sale which did not belong to anybody. The doll then bigins to talk to the girl and takes control over her body whilst her mother and sister are trying to save her.
5. List any ideas for LOCATIONS. (Mise
en scene)
We have concluded many locations for our trailer such as:
Field (for the carboot sale to be placed)
little girls room
kitchen
library
narrow street
We have used these locations because we want it to take place inside a home where you would think you would be safe however the demon lives there
6. List any ideas for COSTUME and PROPS (Mise en
scene)
Doll (maybe a china or porcelain doll)
For the girl we have decided to oufit her in:
White party dress (purity and innocence)
frilly socks
ribbons
7. Outline your ideas for each ancilliary task:
For my horror poster I intend to use the young girl as the main image in long shot sitting down with the doll, she will be wearing a white gown and only the slightest shine of light will show her as the rest of the poster will be black so all you can see is her.
When The Lights Went Out The trailer begins with a family driving along the countryside in their car, there is a light piano playing in the background which does not suggest that this is a horror film as the mother and father are making jokes of their stroppy teenage daughter, typical conventions of a normal modern day family who are moving house. The text "based on a true story" also does not give away that it is a horror as the text is in gold and fades softly showing no conventions of a horror. However when the scene changes to the darker surroundings of the woods and the girl says "I've been in there" "its right mysterious" the music changes to a more eerie and deeper tone suggesting that something is not right and gives the viewers a hint of what genre the movie will be now. The contrast with the bright and happy scene at the start to the darker scenes within the house suggest that there is danger revolved around the house.
The scene of the father in a dark room connotes unknown danger as we hear non-diagetic sounds of banging and scraping suggesting that something else is there in the room with him, his face is shadowed suggesting mystery and eeriness within the room, the non-diagetic voice over of him saying "shes played tricks before" suggests that he believes it is his daughter but in the scene she is not there and he has realized that it something else.
When sally looks through the key hole and asks "why are you crying?" you can hear the non-diagetic sounds of weeping coming from the dark room her father was in. This suggests to the audience that the "thing" inhabiting the house could be a child and also the reflection in the car window of sally is not of her but another child who appears to be dead which could also denote that there are two sides to sally now.
The repeated verse of "the majestic Christ commands you" increased in volume as the scenes become more violent responding to him, building up to a climax of the trailer which will also put the audience on edge as they know something is going to happen when he stops repeating the verse. The last scene cuts to sally, talking to an empty staircase suggesting there is something there and connotes a sense of supernatural, as she tries to run towards the door the music comes back and builds up the more sally is dragged up the stairs by nothing and into a closed room connoting isolation and making the audience want to see the movie to see what happened to sally behind the door.
The Exorcism Of Emily Rose The trailer begins with light music beat from a key board playing over a non-diagetic voice of a man saying " I don't care about my reputation, all I care about is telling Emily Roses story" when this is played over a washout effect of showing Emily Rose which suggests to the audience that it is in the past and something may have happened to her. When the text "based on a true story" fades in it will draw the audience in as they will want to know her story more because it really happened. The shot of the playing recorder suggests that it is playing the voice-over of the eerie voice giving connotations of danger. The overlaying text "Her exorcism was recorded and that audio tape recording played a crucial part in the events that followed" denoting that this audio tape was the original version, making the audience on edge as it ends with a "alienated" sound that suggests something not human.
The washouts suggest that they are talking about the past and it shows events what has already occurred such as the sheets being pulled from the bed and the breaking of the bed and then it fades back into the present of the people talking about her. When the detective asks the doctor why he could not help father More he replies "because there are no injections against the devil which is then overplayed on a shot of a church and a cross, suggesting that there is a religious theme flowing throughout the movie.
When the low beat of a drum is played over Emily who is lying on the floor in a disfigured shape the breathing of the boy is overwhelming suggesting fear and making the audience on edge, expecting something to happen as everything is quiet apart from his heavy breathing. When the music returns sharply the girl opens her mouth with a strange noise, suggesting that something has taken over her and gives the audience a shock.
The scene washed out to the text "witness the disturbing story" over a non-diagetic choir giving connotations of religion as well as the man saying "demons exist whether you believe in them or not" suggesting that this story is supernatural and not of this world. The text overlay is split into three sections of a clip "Witness the disturbing story" "that will make you question" "all of your beliefs" this creates tension within the trailer and draws the audience in, a screeching noise is then played over the fast paced clips suggesting that it is building up to something and is then cut as the man says "it has begun" suggesting that there is something evil and not of this world which has occurred. The choir then returns which contrast with the scenes of lightening, thunder and rain which suggests that something is not right and doesn't belong, a heart beat is then played over each shot as they cut creating tension and a build up of emotions, suggesting fear of the unknown, for the "glory of god" making the audience want to see the movie because it is abnormal and "true".
The Possession begins with a typical family scene of a father picking up his two daughters while the music being played is a soft piano, making it difficult to know at first what the genre of the movie will be. For example, when the father and daughter are using shadow puppets and laughing which will make the audience believe that there is nothing wrong.
However, when the girl goes towards the box the music changes to that of a more deeper sound contrasting with the lighter piano sounds previously, giving connotations that there is something wrong with the box as the music becomes more tense. There is a non-diagetic voice over of her father saying "I think whoever made this didn't want anybody to open it" while she is trying to open the box which gives connotations of danger. When she opens the box the music disappears and the non-diagetic sounds of thunder and wind are quietly played, making the scene more tense and makes the audience on edge as they want to know what is inside the box. There is a long shot of the girl sitting upright in the bed with the box, everything else around her is black giving connotations of the unknown and the girl is a wearing a white gown, symbolizing her innocence. After she has opened the box there is a non-diagetic sound of whispers and noises, connoting that the box is eerie and dangerous.
By using the text "based on a true story" it will draw the audience in as they believe that the events are true and will want to go see the movie. Also, it makes the movie more scary as it is based on true events. As the pace of the shots begin to quicken so does the non-diagetic sound of the girl stabbing her fork on her plate, suggesting that something is going to happen which is when she then stabs the fork into her fathers hand and the music then increases in loudness as well as the thunder. The non-diagetic music of a choir singing suggests that there is religious theme to the movie.
The last scene of the trailer there is a non-diagetic voice of her mother saying "I saw something in her" while the girl is looking down her throat. There is a silent pause creating suspense until you see the fingers and the music returns to give the audience a shock
-The Possession Trailer
