Images and analysis of the locations for our A2 Media Coursework

1. Location reports for ‘Mirage’- bedroom
We chose to use this bedroom, as the
black headboard looks dark and
dramatic, providing the perfect setting
for a horror film, as it looks dark and
threatening, indicating the genre to the
audience. In addition to this, the bed is
quite large, once again giving a dramatic
effect, but it is also easy to get around
the sides, meaning we will be able to get
a wide variety of shots.

2. Horror movie examples
Paranormal Activity
The setting of the bedroom in
Paranormal Activity is similar to our
trailer, as it is large and has a dark
and dramatic headboard, which
indicates the genre and adds to the
mise en scene of the overall film.
You can also see that this bed is easily accessible, just like the
bed we have chosen to use in our horror trailer.

3. Location shots for ‘Mirage’- Garage
This garage is an ideal setting for
our trailer, as it is very spacious,
meaning we will be able to get the
shots we need easily, a significant
example being Scene 5, which
involves a shadow passing behind
the protagonist. This will involve
somebody going behind the
camera and creating a shadow, and
so we will need a setting with
space to achieve this.

4. Location shots for ‘Mirage’-Kitchen
We have chosen to use this kitchen, as it
has good lighting and enough space to
film. However, it is still narrow enough to
create a creepy atmosphere, indicating
that the protagonist cannot escape from
the Ghost. This is especially important for
the setting of the Kitchen, as one of the
key scenes between Stephanie (the Ghost)
and the protagonist, Lilly takes place in
this location.

5. Horror movie setting examples
Once again, Paranormal Activity
provides an example of a setting
similar to our film- this time, the
kitchen. Like the kitchen we are
going to use in our trailer, this
setting is dark and quite narrow,
which indicates the film’s genre to
the audience, as well as creating a
creepy atmosphere.
Paranormal Activity

6. Location shots for ‘Mirage’- Living Room
We have chosen to use
this living room for it’s
lighting, as it is dark
enough to reflect the
film’s genre therefore
adding to the overall
mise en scene of our
trailer, but not so dark
that the camera cannot
pick up on anything.

7. Location shots for ‘Mirage’- Dining Room
We have chosen to use this dining room
for similar reason to the Living Room, this
reason being that the lighting is once again
dark, but not too dark. The latter is
especially important in this setting, as this
location will be used in the beginning of
the trailer, when the settings and
situations seem fairly normal in
conventional horror trailers.

8. Location shots for ‘Mirage’- Woods-option 1
These woods will be used in one
of the most atmospheric parts
of the trailer. We chose it for
this reason, as it is very dark and
atmospheric- woods are also
stereotypical settings of horror
films and so our trailer will be
able to follow the conventions
of the horror genre, in one of
the most intense parts (the
scene where the Ghost shoots
herself).

9. Location shots for ‘Mirage’- Woods-option 2
We chose the first location over
this one, as the it looked less
atmospheric and therefore it
would not have looked as
effective in the final trailer. This
was due to a greater amount of
trees in the second location
allowing for less light, making it
a much more effective setting
for a horror trailer.

10. Location shots for ‘Mirage’- Path-option 1

11. Location shots for ‘Mirage’- Path-option 2

12. Location shots for ‘Mirage’- Path-option 3

13. Location shots for ‘Mirage’- Path-option 4

14. Location shots for ‘Mirage’- Path-option 5

15. Location shots for ‘Mirage’-Path final decision
Of all the pathways we could have chosen, we chose to use option
5, as it is most accessible, meaning it would be easy to get to, as
well as being easy to film there and get a wider variety of shots,
which will make our overall trailer more effective. Additionally,
option five eventually leads up to a graveyard, which is clearly
visible at a certain distance. Graveyards are conventional settings
for horror films, indicating the genre of our trailer. It could even be
seen as foreshadowing, as the protagonist, Lilly, dies at the end of
the film, (she is literally and metaphorically walking towards death
as the film continues),as well as it being an indication of the themes
of ghosts and death in general.

16. Location shots for ‘Mirage’-swings- option 1
We chose to use this park, as it
looks dark and atmospheric,
which will help to convey the
trailer’s genre, as it will look
scary. Additionally, it is easily
accessible and is very near the
other locations that we have
chosen.

17. Location shots for ‘Mirage’-swings- option 2
This location would have been
effective in our trailer, as it has trees
next to it, which would have been in
the shot, creating an isolated and
creepy effect. However, we chose to
use the other location, as it has a
creepier atmosphere, which is an
important element of the horror
genre. The atmosphere created by
option 1 is due to there being less
grass than and it looking more isolated
compared to option 2 and this is the
reason why we chose this.

18. Location shots for ‘Mirage’-field
We chose this field for Scene 7, as it is
close to the location we have chosen for
the park scene. Additionally, it is large
and spacious, meaning we will be able to
get a wide variety of shots. Scene 7 also
involves taking shots from a wide variety
of angles, meaning this location is
perfect.

19. Location shots for ‘Mirage’-underpass
This underpass was
chosen because it has
good lighting, it is
easily accessible and
looks slightly old and
run down due to the
bushes next to it,
which will allow us to
create a creepy
atmosphere through
mise-en-scene, in this
case location.