Jack Bevens is proposing a horror short film project about a birthday party where one person kills all the other friends. The film would be 15-20 minutes long and feature more than 5 characters at Jack's house or outside. Jack wants to include subtitles for the deaf community and plans to write the script, direct, and possibly act. He takes inspiration from films like Halloween, Human Centipede II, Scream, and Lights Out that feature murder, blood, and twists. Jack has skills in teamwork, problem solving, meeting deadlines, and communication. His mood board shows inspiration from creepy settings like churches, wells, graveyards, and rocking chairs to build tension and fear.
2. Pre-proposal
Name Jack Bevens
Which is your area of interest for your FMP? Horror short film
If you had to choose right now, what would
you make?
Provide some basic details on the project,
style, format, etc
The story will be about a birthday party. One person kills all the other friends. I would like my film to be about 15 to
20 minutes long, because I love longer short films and I like being busy with filming. It will have more than 5
characters. I will use my house or outside of the house. I like filming in the daylight because it is more easy to see the
film.
What production techniques most interest
you?
My film must have subtitles because I will create the short film for the deaf community and they use sign language. I
like to direct and a little bit of acting too. I have some fake blood. I need to buy a cake, balloons and some
decorations. I would also like to write the script and lots of lines. I really want to use the movement of the camera like
truck, pan, roll, shake, and other shots.
What are your inspirations for your project? My ideas and inspiration comes from other films called Halloween (1978), Human Centipede II (2011), Scream (1996)
and Lights Out (2013)
Their films make me think of my own ideas and Iâd like to create something similar to them because of murder, love,
screaming, blood, special events and twists. I want to make a longer short film to show some scenes of love, kissing,
lying and shocking twists.
3. Skills Audit
I am good
at this
I am OK at this I am not confident
Team Working Joining in discussions Yes
Working in a group Yes
Influencing others Yes
Accepting the opinions of others Yes
Learning from others Yes
Knowing my roles and responsibilities Yes
Problem Solving Analysing facts Yes
Understanding why things go wrong Yes
Finding solutions Yes
Working to the requirements of a brief Yes
Self- Management Meeting deadlines Yes
Getting to class on time Yes
Being responsible for my coursework Yes
Working productively in class Yes
Not using my mobile phone in class Yes
Communication and Literacy Asking questions Yes
Listening to others Yes
Being accurate with spelling, punctuation and
grammar
Yes
Speaking to a group Yes
Communicating my ideas and concepts for
production
Yes
Speaking formally and informally in appropriate
situations
Yes
Writing clearly Yes
Application of IT Using computers to file and store information Yes
Using Adobe Premiere Yes
Using Adobe Photoshop Yes
Using basic computer packages like Microsoft
Word and Excel
Yes
4. Mood Board
I chose the image of church because the
church looks creepy and the building has
neglected. The church looks ancient, lots of
trees are close to the church and the ground
has lots of dying leaves to make creepy
rustling sounds. The church might have some
ghosts because there is also a graveyard. IT
is foggy too and it makes it look terrifying.
The well is best known from the film
called âThe Ringâ the girl who died in
the well. There are lots of real wells in
real life. The well is a small outside
building from ages ago, used for
collecting water from the well. The well
looks scary because I can imagine if I
accidentally fall down the well and
stuck in it for forever until I die.
The graveyard are absolutely creepy because
there are lots of ghosts from the buried bodies.
Also I can imagine what if zombies come out
from the grave and bite me. The graveyard is
always covered in leaves because graveyards
always have some trees and the trees are not
bright enough. There are some that are from
the 17th to 19th centuries, which is really scary
because that might be dangerous ghosts like
demon.
The swing is the popular for ghosts to use. In
the dark, nobody is there and swing moves
itself. I think the ghost swing is possibly the
person who hanged themselves by the swing.
That is the reason why swings always move
when nobody is there. Sometimes people see
the swing moving. I feel so scared to be close
to the swing in the dark because that is so
creepy.
The Blackwell Ghost is documentary which is true story
about a ghost which is caught on camera. I watched it
and that is amazing because there is a real ghost. The
ghost is in the house and is also found ghost in the dining
room and basement. The ghost are so creepy because
the ghost is full of bright white which means it could be
an angel or maybe something else.
There is another documentary I have seen called âThe Blair Witch
Projectâ it is so terrifying because it is not ghost, it is a creature. That is
not like bigfoot and itâs more like a strange creature, it looks like a mix
between a witch and an alien because the creatureâs face looks like a
witch but the body looks alien. That is a really creepy weird creature.
The rocking chair is most known for the
ghost using the rocking chair because old
men or women use this chair until their
death, and their ghosts stay. Also, the
rocking chair was made in 18th century
and most of people who use it is in this
century too. It is really scary when the
chair moves itself.
That is a British television
programme, the presenter and
the crew go to research to find
some ghosts in different
locations. I found it really boring
because they didnât find any
physical ghosts and they only
found the voices thatâs all!
5. Mood Board
I love that part of the story about
the ghostâs past. What happened
and how did she died? There are
some scenes that tell some of the
story about what happened in the
past and what happened to her.
That makes me feel emotional
because her past is cruel.
My favourite part is in the
beginning of the scene. The girl
shut the shop down, when she
switched the lights off and the
ghost appears close to her. She
switches light back on and the
ghost disappears. Finally, she
switches the light off again and
the ghost is really closer to her
with eerie sounds. That really
made me jump and my heart
beat really fast. I want to
create that same feeling.
I love the characters body language
and facial expressions because they
had really over the top, they really
look terrified and they have tears. I
love their dramatic facial
expressions.
During all the scenes, the ghost wonât
show her face because she is stuck in
the dark and she fears the daylight. At
the end, she finally shows her face
when the gun shoots with lights
flashing. Her face is chilling and shivers
ran down my spine
6. Mood Board Analysis
How does your mood board inspire your project?
⢠I collected some images about the film called âLights Outâ because the movie inspires my idea.
⢠I want to my characters to act in a similar way, very over the top and dramatic. That is important to make my audience feel
energetic and enthusiastic.
⢠I have used some screenshot images from YouTube because I like to show that I want my film to be similar as them. I would
like to create a similar scene, and use the dark screen - like the night because the dark can make the audience feel afraid.
⢠I like their use of candles and torches in the dark too because I love when the candle or the torch is near to the ghost who will
jump out at the main character and surprise and that will them jump. They are not expecting the ghost to be there. This also
builds tension for the audience, because they donât know when they will see the ghost again, which will make them feel
scared.
⢠I want to use the glow in the dark eyes because that makes people feel really afraid. They wonât know who it is and it will freak
them out.
How will your mood board influence your final product?
⢠Lights Out movie influences me because I want my film will have a lots of scary scenes and I want it to be terrifying.
⢠I collected some images on the mood board and I will to create my film by following some of the ideas on the mood board.
⢠I would like to film at night because I believe horror movies are more likely to use the night time, the night can be more scary,
because you donât know what is there and what you are going to see.
⢠I like the character who is very skinny (or possibly she has anorexia?) because that looks so creepy and eerie which can make
the audience feel frightened, she is very skinny so maybe she cannot defend herself very well. I want an actor who is skinny to
be in my film because I need it to feel creepy and freaky ghost.
⢠I want to create a film that will also have a story of the past and what happened to the ghost. I want the audience to
understand what happened to the ghost, and what happened in the ghostâs past and why is the ghost following the main
character. There might be a reason for it and it might make the audience feel like the ghost might follow them too. Also the
audience might feel bad for the ghost, if they have had a really bad past, they might feel sympathy for the ghost. For example,
like the film âThe Ringâ, the girl who is the ghost, when she was alive her mum threw her down the well, she tried to climb up
but she kept failing, she stayed in the water and in the end she died. Then she became a ghost and she wanted revenge, and so
we understand why she is doing the things she is doing. This is similar to Lights Out.
7. Mood Board
I love some of the scenes of the Christmas
party because they made me feel so
comfortable and cosy, and remind me of
much I love Christmas. There are lots of
Christmas things like shiny lights and
decorations which is ready for Christmas
Day. I like their way of at the beginning the
scene it makes me feel relaxed and happy,
before they make me become scared and
nervous. I also want my audience to feel
relaxed at first, so that they will be really
shocked and scared afterwards.
I love the beginning of the film, before the
title shows up. The girl is wrapping the
presents and drinking wine. Later, she gets
attacked by a mystery person, who uses a
pen to stab at her face. That made me
almost scream, because it happened so
suddenly.
My favourite part of the film is when the girl
gets attacked by mystery person, the person
took her eyes out. The personâs fingers force
inside the girlâs eyes and pull her through
the hallway and sheâs alive, she is moving
and trying to get away when the person
took her.
Some scenes are disgusting because
the person who took the girls
eyeballs eats it! That made me
almost vomit, but that is really good
dramatic scenes. I want my
audience to feel horrified.
I love to see the group of girls
sat on sofa, they have a drink of
wine and gossip. They made me
feel like I want to join with them
because I would also like to drink
wine and gossip with them.
8. Mood Board Analysis
How does your mood board inspire your project?
⢠I like a horror movies that are set at Christmas because we expect Christmas films to be nice, comfortable
and cosy. But now, some films are set at Christmas, and they have murder, killings and death that is not
relaxing. I want to create a horror Christmas film because I like to show how much things can ruin their
happy Christmas. By setting the film at Christmas is makes the audience feel falsely safe.
⢠I collected some images of some camera shots. I would like to use similar camera shots because they are
nice, big and clear between the character and the background. I donât like to small shots because it can be
difficult to see the background. Horror films always show the background, for example - the ghost behind
the character. This creates tension and makes the audience feel jumpy.
⢠I would like to use Christmas decorations because I want to use the Christmas lights for the person who will
be hanging. This will look really frightening. My idea is for the killer trying to kill someone by using the
Christmas lights to strangle them.
How will your mood board influence your final product?
⢠I want to use the Christmas because I would like my film to look nice, comfortable and cosy at the beginning.
This will make the audience feel calm, before they start to feel really scared. Then later in the film, the
Christmas tree will be covered in blood because some of the characters have been killed, everything will be
a mess and it will make the audience feel scared. It will be a big difference from the start of the film where
the tree looks lovely, to later in the film when it looks horrific.
⢠I like nice colourful lights on the screen because that is can make the audience feel excited.
⢠I want the characters to be sitting on the sofa, drink the wine and gossip because I want to use it to make
the audience feel relaxing and cosy. Also, it will remind the audience of themselves, and make them think
that what is about to happen on the film could happen to them too. The people in the film are innocent and
have done nothing wrong but they will still be killed. As soon as the murder happens it will make the
audience feel less excited, and much more scared.
⢠I still want to use the story about the mystery personâs history about what happened and why did the
person want to kill someone.
9. Mood Board
I like some scenes when Michael Myers, who
stalking the three babysitter girls, starts
aiming at one person â Laurie. She is the one
who survived, unlike the two other
babysitters who had died. He starts to stalk
her and it made me feel so creepy and
nervous. Like you do not know who is
watching you and who might be following
you.
That is part of the film freaked me out
because the girl found another girl
dead on the bed with a gravestone.
There is also a pumpkin with an evil
smiley face and the sounds are eerie.
They made me feel freaked out.
I love the beginning credits because there is a
pumpkin face with organ music sounds. That
can make me feel goosebumps because of the
sounds. I think using the pumpkin is a good
idea because it has a strange face, there is
nothing else really on the screen so they will
remember seeing the pumpkin. It will make
the audience feel like it is staring at them.
The scene to the left made me feel so
terrified because the girl hides in the
wardrobe and Michael is banging the door
and trying to break the door with the knife.
When his face came through the door, it
made me scream. I was really shocked.
The house is very creepy because it is
the house where Michael grew up and
killed his sister. At the ending before
the credits pop up, the house is shown
again with sounds eerie to remind the
audience that this is where he
murdered his sister.
10. Mood Board Analysis
How does your mood board inspire your project?
⢠My favourite time of the year is Halloween evening because I love scary stories, costumes, trick and treat and
parties. I would like to create my film similar as the Halloween film because my idea also includes stalking.
⢠I like the mystery person stalking the main character, this builds tension and the audience wants to know when she
will turn around and see that he is following her, and we wonder what he will do to her and when. I will create my
film with stalking in it because I want to tell them about stalking, and warn them that it can happen and it is
dangerous.
⢠I like films tat are set at the night because that is popular for Halloween, and Halloween in real life always happens
at night. So I might want to film at night because I like my film to be realistic.
⢠I love the pumpkins because they look so creepy face with evil smile. I want to use the pumpkins because I want to
the pumpkin scare to them. We use pumpkins every year at Halloween and I want to remind the audience that
when they are carving their pumpkins, something terrible could happen to them too, I want to make them feel
really scared.
How will your mood board influence your final product?
⢠I would like to use the pumpkins because I like to remind the audience that the film is a Halloween special.
⢠I want to use an old house because I like to show the house has mystery and I want to show the past, and the
childhood of the people who lived there. The house looks so creepy when it is old and ancient. It looks like the
owners do not look after the house, they neglect it and it becomes old and scary. Horror films always have a creepy
setting, and I want mine to have a creepy setting too, to make the audience terrified. There is a creepy park near my
house that I think I might use for filming.
⢠I like that one person survived from the horrible murder and I will also create a film where one character will survive
at the end of the film. I want to make my audience feel such relief and wonder what happened after the film.
⢠I would like the mystery character to hold a knife because the mystery person wants to kill the three babysitter girls.
I want to same as them because I would like to remind the audience that the stalker might have a knife or gun. It can
make the audience feel horrified when they see the big knife.
11. Mood Board
That part of scene made me feel
shaky because the person uses
staples and put the staples on the
victimâs mouth to connect it to the
other peoples bum. The people
were screaming in pain. That is
sounds really painful and looks
horrific, but I like it because that is
a really fantastic film.
The person in The Human Centipede 2
loved to copy The Human Centipede
(2009) film and he tried to create the
real human centipede. That made me so
scared of him because he is mental. I felt
really sorry for the poor people who he
makes members of the centipede.
The part of the film in the picture
above makes me so worried because
the lady is pregnant and she has
been kidnapped. Lucky, she escapes
from the centipede and she goes
into labour. She gets in the car and
she gives birth to her baby.
Unfortunately, the baby died
because her foot crushed the babyâs
head when she moves the car. That
made me cry.
I love the characters body language and facial expressions
because they are very over the top and dramatic. They
look really horrified by what is happening to them and
when actors have good facial expressions and body
language, the film looks more real and more scary. They
are so brave when they suffer injuries by banging the
head with a crowbar, this is brutal and horrific.
12. Mood Board Analysis
How does your mood board inspire your project?
⢠I like it when films are shot black and white because they make me feel nervous and pale. The black and white
might be a sort of cover to stop the audience from being sick or fainting, like we might if we saw the colours and
the blood. Also the black and white can makes the audience feel depressed because the film might be
depressing.
⢠I think itâs good idea because that could protect the audience who have sensitive stomach and I donât want
them be sick can make half miss to watch the film.
⢠I like their characters because I want to my actors to have a brilliant over the top facial expression and body
languages to make the audience feel like they connect more to the characters. Also the audience will
understand how they feel about it.
⢠I want to use lots of blood because it can look disgusting and give the audience shivers. The characters wear
some blood to make the audience know that they have been cut or banged their head.
⢠Black and white filming also looks very dark, so there are no bright colours to make the audience feel
comfortable and safe. They will be creeped out by the dark colours and the shadows.
How will your mood board influence your final product?
⢠I want to my characters to be covered in lots of blood because I want to make the audience feel so horrified and
scared.
⢠I would like to black and white shots because I like to make the audience feel cold and depressed. They will
know the is depressing, like the person who wanted to create the human centipede, feel down and depressed.
⢠I might also use staples because I like to show the audience that what is happening will feel painful. My
characters will be screaming to make the audience want to scream too.
⢠I like the character who is pregnant and I might create a similar character them because I love to make a twist.
Also, because she is pregnant we feel really sorry for her and we want to help her and save her but we canât. We
might think that the person wouldn't hurt her because she is pregnant but he does, so it shows he is really
twisted and will hurt anyone. Another thing is when the lady finally escapes from the centipede and gave the
birth make the audience feel happy and relief for her. But when she accidently puts her foot down and crushes
her baby head and dead make the audience feel shocked and disappointed with her.
13. Key Influences
Tom Six
Tom created three popular horror movies called The Human Centipede: First Sequence (2009), The Human Centipede II: Full Sequence
(2011) and The Human Centipede III: Final Sequence (2015). Which follow on from each other, he created the sequel movies. I watched all
the three movies and he influenced me because I love horror, thriller and gross films. He created his first film because he has other films
but they are short films. I did watch his short films and they are alright but I felt little bit bored to watch them. Then, I watched his big
movie, The Human Centipede, and I loved it because it is the first gross film I really watched, other horror films have murder and rape,
death and ghosts, but this one really is gross. It make me feel sick. I would like to create similar films as him because the first film The
Human Centipede had professional skills camera shots. I want my camera shots to be professional too. They use special effects, like when
people have false stitches on the mouth and cheeks to make look real and also they put some fake blood on too. I feel I want to try some
special effects too, I want to try using make up to create cuts and bruises, to create a similar feel to his film. He also influences me
because this was the first time he created a horror movie and the audience loved it. I want to create my first movie and I hope my
audience will really like my film. I like his characters because the actors are brilliant, they are very over the top with their facial
expressions and that helps you understand how scared they are feeling. They also wear lots of blood and duct tape to look like they have
been through an operation, but not stitched up properly, and left to rot. He used actors whose first time to acting this was and used them
in his movie and they are brilliant , especially their facial expressions and body language. That is what I want to do too, to invite some
actors who it is their first time in my film, I want to give them a chance like he did. He decided to create the film in black and white to
make people who are watching feel creeped out and nervous. I however, have decided not to use the back and white screen in the film
because I feel not comfortable to use, I have had no experience with this and I prefer the colour screen, to show blood and gore.
14. Key Influences
David Sandberg
I like David because I watched his first short film called âLights Outâ (2013) before he created the full-length movie of
Lights Out (2016). When I was watching his short film I was scared. It made me jump because the ghost suddenly
appears. Three years later he created the movie and released it in 2016. The full length version is just as scary. I found
he influenced me because I like his skills with the camera, sound and explicit language from the script and special
effects. For example, the ghost hides in the shadows cast by the single light. The ghost comes near the person but the
light doesnât show the ghost. That is a great use special effects created with light and dark. Once the lights are
switched on the ghost disappears. I am wondering to use the editing software to make my ghost disappear once the
lights are switched on. I would like to be similar to Sandberg by creating a short that the audience loves enough to then
be made into a full length film. A short film is useful to get the audiences opinion.
15. Key Influences
John Carpenter
He created the movie called Halloween (1978) and I love his film because it makes me freak out. The film is linked to
the time of year. The Halloween movie is popular because the film reminds the audience to make sure they stay safe
at Halloween. His film influenced me because I like the Halloween story and I love the mystery person stalking the
main character who is a babysitter. There is one thing I like: the stranger murders some characters with a knife in a
very dramatic sequence. I like his characters because they are pure melodrama and have over the top body language
and facial expressions. In my film I would like to have one character survive because I want to make the audience feel
relief at the end of the film. Carpenterâs film has a happy ending because the stranger dies at the hands of the main
character. I want to have a similar ending before the credits roll. Carpenter used pumpkins with the end credits and I
will use the birthday cake with my credits. I like his camera movement when the characters are running, walking and
falling down because Carpenter uses a point-of-view shot. Carpenterâs film takes place mostly at night because
thereâs a link to Halloween being celebrated in the evening. I decided to film in the daylight because my storyline of
a birthday party fits with daytime better.
16. Why?
⢠I feel creating this trailer is very important,
because it can help me to create more work that I
can then submit to York Film Festival. It will give
me more experience in using a camera, editing
and subtitling, which will help me in my career.
When I leave college, I hope to get a job at BBC
See Hear, which is a fantastic programme for Deaf
People. At the moment, BBC See Hear doesnât
have any films or programmes that are really
scary and horror, so I want to create that.
Editor's Notes
Collection of images related to your product/inspirational/visually interesting
At least 15 needed. These should not just be just existing products. Anything and everything that inspires this project should be here.
Make the theme obvious â make it clear what youâre trying to get across
Use a combination of images sizes â or build around a larger central image
Incorporate text
Look beyond the internet â use books, your own photos, etc
Be a curator â create links between the content, the âthreadâ will make it easier to understand
Make more than one! If you want to examine different themes or cover different aspects of the possible outcomes of your project, create multiple boards to convey you thoughts and intentions
Identify at least 3 key influences and discuss how and why they will influence your project.
Identify at least 3 key influences and discuss how and why they will influence your project.
Identify at least 3 key influences and discuss how and why they will influence your project.