1. initial plans

Initial Reaction• My first response to this project is that I am happy and uneasy because it is finally time to move onto the final project and I cant wait to get stuck in but at the same time, most of my grade comes from
this project so, I have to get it right due to the fact that I want to get a distinction grade for this project. First things first, the allotted time to finish this project. As a group, we have 8 weeks in total to
start and finish this project. This is great for me because, unlike the previous projects where we only got 5 weeks, this gives me a lot of time to focus more on detail rather than worrying about handing
it in on time which also goes hand in hand with attempting to achieve a distinction grade which makes me feel more comfortable. When it comes to how I plan on spreading out the work over the first
weeks; I intend to just follow my tutors schedule for the work load so, I get an idea of how up to date I am using my tutors schedule as a reference and I plan on using this as more of a stress trigger to
keep me focused and on top of this project as the weeks go by/helps me keep up to date. From what I can see of the current schedule, we will spend the first portion of the first week completing the
initial plans which involves tackling the basic plans and bringing together a very simple concept and we will spend the last day of the first week on the first part of the research which entails
researching existing products and developing an audience through surveys and interviews and is finished off by shaping the product based on research gathered. On the second week of the project we
spend the first half of the week finishing off the already mentioned research and then we move onto the experiments for the second half of the week which involves creating something that would
look like our project or testing various elements of the editing software while also trying to learn some new skills last minute. The third week will start off with the proposal which has us create a
formal word document regarding the name of the product, the audience that is connected to the product and the concept for the product. The second half of the third week will be spent on the pre-
production stage of the project which entails the creation of storyboards, the call sheet, layouts for the product that is going to be made and discussing fonts as well as colours that are going to be
used in the project. The four weeks that follow these weeks will be spent on producing our actual products and filling out our processes which involves the us having to screenshot our work as it goes
on, discuss tools used, problems encountered, and reflecting on it as a whole. The eighth and final week of production goes to the evaluation of our product(s) and this is used to compare our work
with existing products that are similar, discuss weaknesses and strengths of the product, have our peers give us feedback on the product and a final reflection to send it off. This overall layout pleases
me greatly because its very existence gives me the opportunity to start thinking about how I can manage my time for this project and gives me a rough idea of what needs to be handed in on
whichever part of the project. When it comes to time management for my project; I just simply plan on following the schedule that our tutor gave us while also using time outside of college to finish
any outstanding work I may have so, I don’t fall behind and end up failing the course. This can be difficult especially when considering the fact that I am trying to create distinction level work and that I
struggle with completing work at home which is a major issue for me. When it comes to the options of the products I can pick, I have a total of three and these are Print, Video and Video Game and
these options come from the projects that we did throughout the year which and these projects mostly fall into these three categories. I feel that I am best at Video as it is something that I thoroughly
enjoy doing compared to the other 3 and this is mostly because I enjoy both the practical and editing aspects of Video whereas I don’t really enjoy the production for Print due to the fact that I find it
boring and I don’t really enjoy Video Game either as the animating side of things is very precise and small mistakes can lead to the complete collapse of the entire animation. The practical side of
Video is quite fun as we just film stuff we already planned and it can be amusing sometimes when things go wrong. Due to these reasons, I decided to pick Video as not only do I enjoy it, I am fairly
good at it and wish to specialize in Video for next year and hopefully, this will lead into job where I can edit films or even direct them if I try hard enough. In the Video category, I decided to create a
short film that will have two genres and so far, I have decided on three. These three options are Horror/Comedy, Action/Sci-Fi and Fantasy/Psychological. I have also decided to create a poster and Box
art for the short film on the side to push my grade up and make use of my Photoshop skills as well. Horror/Comedies are fairly popular in the film culture and this mostly comes from the fact that I
contrast each very strongly as they are almost polar opposites. Comedies utilize light colours and themes to make their target audience feel happier and more hopeful which goes hand in hand with
the humour and comic relief in comedies which directly contrasts with the gritty themes and dark colours horror films use to try and make their target audience feel uncomfortable and scared in some
cases. These films work because they generally place more emphasis on either the comedy elements which makes fun of horror clichés and tropes that have, sadly, become far too common in horror
films today or, the film places more emphasis on the horror and makes the comedy more subtle in the form of dark humour and jokes told between characters. Action/Sci-Fi films tend to go hand in
hand unlike horror/Comedy films which means that this idea will be much easier to pull off. Action films use a lot of action, one-liners and generally have one-dimensional characters and villains to go
along with it. The themes and colours tend to be rather bright and happy, though, this can be subject to change depending on the director and the other genres that are in the film too e.g. if the film is
also a thriller or a drama etc. Sci-Fi films on the other hand utilize the same themes and colour scheme however, Sci-fi films tend to use the colour blue a fair bit which is most likely due to its
connotations with freedom and the sky and this links in with the futuristic elements of the film. The themes and colours are still up to debate though as it depends on the other genres in the film as
well which was mentioned not so long ago. This could mean I may have to use another genre to go alongside however, I Haven’t decided what it should be yet. The third and final option is
Fantasy/Psychological which is quite a rare combination which should help to make my film more unique compared to other films. Using Lord of the Rings as a reference, I can say that fantasy films
use dark and light colours for a mixture of emotions depending on the scene however, some films only have fantasy as a sub-genre which would mean that the film typically takes place in a realistic
environment but, has fantasy elements such as powers or abilities of some kind which would make developing the this concept far easier. Psychological is also a fairly difficult one to put into action;
when this genre is introduced, it would mean that the film has to be more mature as it usually entails mental disability's and some plot twists along the way to keep the audience at the edge of their
seats. This would make the themes and colours very dark and some what gritty as well though, they can have lighter colours which may possibly represent the lie or a false reality. The Psychological as
a whole is mainly used as sub-genres for films which would make it more difficult to use as I plan on using fantasy as a sub-genre as well so, a third genre may need to be introduced here as well. Out
of the three, I am more leaning towards Horror/Comedy as I enjoy these films and I don’t have to take it too seriously either which would make it more fun to create which goes hand in hand with the
difficulty of the other two however I will still keep my options open in case I change my mind. These are still the early stages so, changing it won’t be too hard on me. I will cover this in more detail in
the mind maps below, the research and the pre-production stages of this Project. When it comes to my strengths; I am overly good at editing videos in premiere which mainly comes from my
enjoyment of it and this has led me to learn how to improve my editing skills. I know how to use a fair amount of the tools in premiere and can fix mistakes fairly easily. I am also good at using
Photoshop as well to edit or create images utilizing tools like the pencil tool, eraser tool, gradient tool etc. and these skills will come in very handy when designing both the Box Art and the Poster for
my project. My animating skills are also fairly decent as I can make a detailed animation that works to a certain degree however, I feel that I wont need to use this at all as I am making a film, a poster
and box art so, my animating skills are not needed. I have also developed skills in Wix which is a website where you can make other websites however, I feel that I don’t need this either as I’m not
making a website of any kind so, its not going to be useful at all for this project. My major weaknesses that may effect my performance in this project include my lack of organisation which
doesn't’make the project look very good and can make it more difficult to go through without getting a little confused, not completing work at home which can lead to me falling behind and this is a
severe issue as I need the extra time to complete my work to the standard that I want it. Another weakness comes in the form of not being able to find the cast and crew for my production though this
is more of a paranoid feeling then an actual weakness. This can also follow into me creating a concept that will be very difficult to pull off as I have a habit of doing this. More strengths and
weaknesses will be shown in the proposal. To wrap this up, I hope that my project goes well and that it doesn't go horribly wrong.

Final Mind Map Idea (Page 1)
Horror/Comedy
Short Film Idea
Plot Idea: The general outline of my plot so far starts with the protagonist sitting at
home enjoying some TV regarding a killer that has been going around the news lately
when his mother calls out to him to go outside and do something, in a not so pleasant
way. He sighs and proceeds to move but hears a crash and the sound of his mother
screaming. Surprised, the protagonist turns around to find a pool of blood seeping
from the kitchen. He frantically makes his way over to find his mothers killer stood
above her corpse.; covered in her blood. The title would show up at this point. After
the title credits roll, it would pick right back up at a shot of the protagonist, more
angry then scared or even sad. After a brief exchange of dialogue, the killer would
chase the protagonist around the house, Knocking items over and performing the
classic trip up along with the serial killer pointing out his idiocy at some of the poor
choices that he had made before proceeding to mock his recently deceased mother.
Now even more annoyed, the protagonist lures the killer to the basement and
incapacitates him by ambushing him with blunt force trauma to the head using a
weapon of some kind. When the killer awakes, he finds himself tied down to a bench
by his hands and feet with the protagonist pushing a tray with tools towards him.
Revealing himself to the infamous serial killer on the news, the protagonist wonders
how he will make the killer pay for killing his mother and decides to test one of his
new ideas. The film cuts to black there and ends.
There are some minor problems with the plot such as the location of the house and
how to get some of the props required to pull this stunt off. Despite this, the plot is
still subject to change and this is not the final rendition of the plot.
Characters:
The Protagonist: Timid and shy, not very open to others as well as his low
IQ he doesn’t care about a lot of things in his life yet, he cares very much
about his mother, despite the fact he is a serial killer. He is also quite
weak so, its hard to imagine him to be a killer and his supposed low IQ
helps lend to his testimony; kind of smart if you ask me. He could have
an obsession with some of the people in his life even if they treat him
horribly. As a serial killer, he is ruthless and lacks any kind of sympathy for
his victims, such is required for a serial killer after all, yet he still seems to
care for his mother leading back to the unhealthy obsession part.
The Killer: Is a fraud. Tries to take credit for some of the murders
committed by another serial killer and perhaps, even lending to the
actual killer fame. He has a broad and somewhat muscular physique,
definitely well built for the job. His intellect is also pretty high as well yet,
he gets very cocky and his underestimation of his next victim leads to his
death. He’s also good at black comedy which is where some of the
comedy moments come in along with his ability to mock the dead in such
a harsh way.
The Mother: A character that is briefly heard from at the start of the film
and doesn't really appear in shot where she speaks. Judging from her
single scene though, you can kind of get an idea on the type of person
she is. Cold, cynical and insensitive towards others, even her own son. It
could even be said that this personality is what drove her son over the
edge in the first place.
Tone: The overall tone to the film will be quite dark and un-forgiving yet include the type of
comedy used in evil dead to create that creepy and dark sense of humour. The shots and music
will also share this tone too to help really push forward the horror theme. The dark mood and
setting will also help to make some of the scenes more serious and the comedy more creepy
rather than funny yet, some scenes will break away from this to try to create a light-hearted
comedic contrast. Shifting between horror and comedy tones will probably effect the film
negatively though so, this may be subject to change later if I feel it to be necessary. The music
will also help set the tone; by using creepy and strange music throughout only for the music to
cut out during a light-hearted comedic section to break the tension as this isn’t solely a horror
film.
Location: The Location of the film will have to take place inside a home for the
simple reason that, I wont really need anywhere else for this. If I did want to
change my product in some way; I would look at a more public place as well
such as a park which can be used to go into more detail with the mother and
son side story or a college to perhaps et a more younger version of the
character. Though at the moment, I am sticking with the house as it can help to
add the feeling of unease to have something so horrible happen in what is
often considered to be a safe haven. I also need a studio to take images for the
poster and DVD cover for my project and this can be done by simply booking
the studio and using it when it is free/my turn. This can only be done here as it
has all the equipment required such as a white background camera etc.
Props:
A Mask-Perhaps the most important prop. Used to cover the killer face to create authenticity
unless, I wanted to make the killer more of a personal killer compared to a copycat at some
point.
A Knife-The murder weapon the killer uses to kill the protagonists mother. The serial killer will
hold this throughout the film for authenticity and to make the film more tense. No room for
compromise with this prop however, it is fairly easy to get a hold of.
Some Fake Handcuffs- To tie the killer down when he is captured. Hard to get a hold of so, may
have to remove from plot completely for this to work.
Tools- The protagonist uses them at the end of the short. Also used for more authenticity yet, it
may go wrong if I can’t get a hold of any but I can improvise to a certain extent.
Casual Clothing- No specific clothing needs to be worn with the exception of the mask if I need
it. A butchers garb may also be needed but, is not one hundred percent required at this stage.

Horror/Comedy Short
film Idea
Equipment:
Video Camera- This can easily be acquired by booking the equipment via
the kit booking site on the college blackboard and collecting it from the
storeroom. This piece of equipment is essential for filming the short film
for my FMP otherwise, I wouldn't be able to film at all.
Tripod-This equipment can also be obtained from the storeroom after it
has been booked on the college blackboard. This equipment is very useful
for stabilizing shots for the short film along with it being impossible to
film a professional short film without stabilizing equipment..
SD Card- The SD card can also be obtained from the storeroom after they
have been booked. Used as a memory device for the camera, this is very
important as without it, I cant record equipment to be analysed later.
Battery- The battery can also be obtained from the storeroom. The
battery is used to power the camera and is important for this reason.
Photography Camera- This camera will be used to take images for the
DVD Cover and the poster for my project. I can’t take pictures without
this piece of equipment hence why I need it. This equipment can also be
booked and taken out from the storeroom though, it usually comes free
with the studio.
White Background- Found in the studio, this piece of equipment is used
as a backdrop for photo shoots. Very important when it comes to getting
shots as, editing the images with a backdrop can be pretty difficult so,
having a backdrop with a single distinct colour can be easier when
removing the background from the images.
Software:
Photoshop- The software that I will be planning on using
for the development of both the DVD cover and poster for
my project. I found that this software to be the most
helpful for this as I have had the most practice with this
software when it comes to editing images, text and other
parts of the image that I want to edit or create. I will also
use the tools I have learned over the course of the year
(as listed in the initial reaction) as well as any other
knowledge that is required for the DVD Cover and Poster.
Premiere Pro- I will be using Premiere Pro to create the
short film for my project. Considering that this was the
only software that we used all year when it comes to
filming, it makes sense for me to use this particular
software. I will use what I’ve learned over the year on the
short film to make it as good as possible.
Audience:
Age- In terms with what I think the age range will be for this product. I
imagine that younger audiences will prefer the horror aspect and the older
audiences will prefer the comedy aspects of the film. The reason that I think
this is largely due to the secondary research that I had done in the short film
project as I had researched people who enjoyed comedy films and the
results showed that people in their elderly years seem to enjoy comedies
more so than other ages. As for the reason that as to why people in their
youth prefer horror films; I just believe that they do because a lot of people
that I know who are my age tend to enjoy horror movies thoroughly. I will
perform a more thorough investigation when completing the proposal.
Gender- I don’t really mind which gender I appeal too as I plan on appealing
to both of them but, it all comes down to what my research into the
audience brings me. I could end up appealing to male, female or both at the
end of the day but for now, I’ll wait until the proposal to find out
Social Status- For my social statuses, I predict that it’ll just be ABC1 as this
social status is middle-upper class and these people are more likely to watch
films due to their income which gives them the luxury of partaking in such
hobbies. They also make up the majority of the population so, it would just
be smart to appeal to these people in the long run. I also study this more
when it comes to the proposal.
Psychographic- I’d imagine that my product would be more of for belongers
as this psychographic likes to stay in their comfort zone when it comes to
brands. This also stands true for film genres as well e.g. Someone who likes
comedy films and is a belonger will watch comedy films because he enjoys
them so, they will be likely to see a film such as this. There are some others
that I will inspect with greater detail when it comes to the proposal just so I
can widen my target audience.
Marketing:
To help market my product I will develop a Poster along with DVD box art. These
products will be linked to the short film to help advertise them like they were actual
products on the market. The poster will help more as the poster usually arrives
before the film airs in the cinema whereas the box art isn’t available until after the
release of the actual film but, it is still helpful in the sense that it can draw the
audiences attention to it. Even after the film has been released. The designs of the
poster and DVD cover will be symbolic yet also funny to add the comedic elements of
the film into the poster and box art just so the audiences knows exactly what they are
getting when they see the film. The symbolic meaning of the poster will come from
the horror elements of the story to add mystery yet, also spook the audience which is
what horror poster tend to have. Comedy posters are much more dumb and clearly
made for fun which is an element that I will mash together with the horror elements
however, this may backfire due to the severe contrast between the two genres and
can either come out looking more comedy or more horror. I can make this easier by
making this one of my questions for the research stage of production and see what
responses that I will get.

Cast & Crew
Crew- So far, I only plan on using one person for
the crew and that will be me as I am the director of
the film and it would make more sense and e far
easier if I was the cameraman as well because I can
do the shots that are in my head and I won’t have
to tell anyone what the shots are either.
Cast-Peer 1: I decided to list Tahmid as a potential
role as we get along and his acting skills are fairly
good. I would probably have him play the
protagonist of the story as he can play a comedy
role very well without breaking character during
the performance..
Peer 2: I may possibly use Sam for the role of a
murderer as his acting is also ok and he can hold his
character just like Tahmid. I also get along with him
too.
Peer 3- I haven't decided how this will work just yet
as I need a female or an older woman to work the
role of the mother but, I’m not close friends with
any females and, finding a older woman may be
difficult. I could always have a guy voice over the
mother but, this can come across as comedic which
is not what I want the mother to represent at all.
This will be properly dealt with during pre-
production
Mini Schedule
I plan on spending the first week on the initial plans just so I
can have an easy intro to the project without burning myself
out at the start. I also plan on spending the second week on
both the research and some of the experiments as that is the
current schedule from my tutor so I will follow that for now
plus research and experiments are the middle stages of the
plans which can lead to one or two changes. This is also
followed by the proposal and pre-production on the third
week as these are next in line plus, we are supposed to spend
4 weeks on production and I want this time to complete my
product that I have planned. These two are also the last two
parts of the planning as they go over the finalized versions of
the planning and it is the time where ideas should be made
solid and any changes beyond this point would be impossible
to implement hence why I am doing them last. The next 4
weeks will be spent on the production as mentioned. This
amount of time is useful as I need it to make the short film
poster and DVD cover for my project. I plan on spending the
first two weeks on the short film , one week on the poster
and the last week on the DVD cover as the poster and DVD
cover are smaller and are meant to back up the short film as
that is the focus of this project. The two weeks spent on the
short film will involve the filming, editing, music creation and
final edits and these things can be quite long and arduous.
During the four weeks of production, I will also write up the
processes as I go along due to the fact that this is much easier
then completing them after the products are complete. The
last week will be spent on the evaluation and final reflections
just to wrap all of the work up and, if there is any more time, I
will be making some improvements during that time.
Horror/Comedy Short film Idea
Shot List
Medium shot- is a good shot to use for filming due to its
multiple uses. The shot also helps to add focus to the
character(s) that are in the shot as we can only see the
top half of their bodies.
Long shot- a shot that shows the entirety of a characters
body, can be used for a lot of different angles making this
shot quite viable.
Close-up- only shows the characters face. Can be done
from a variety of angles and is very useful focusing on
character emotions.
Establishing shot- Used to establish the location of the
scene. Useful for this purpose. Can be used at the start of
the film. Not as viable compared to the others shots as it
can only be used at the start of the film or when there is a
location change.
Extreme Close up- shot used to highlight very specific
parts of the scene, mouth movements etc. Viable but,
not as much as the first 3.
This will be covered in more detail during the pre-
production stage
Mise en scene
Not much has to be done with the house as I don’t need it to be any particular layout however, it would make
more sense to use my own house for this project so, I should build the mise en scene around that. The props and
scenery don’t have to be arranged in any specific way. The props will also be held by the characters and not
placed in positions. I could use small amounts of foreshadowing in some scenes and shots to try and convey a
subtle message to my audience.. This can be done by using red to represent blood; have the protagonist where
red to foreshadow the danger he can cause. I can also use colours like purple to foreshadow death and heave
them on the murderer to foreshadow his death. Other then that, there is nothing else I have planned for this and
it will be covered in more detail later during pre-production.

Mood Board Analysis (Horror)
Is there any repetition in the images you have collected? Repeated colours/images styles/fonts/tone/mood
• The primary colours that are being used in this Mood Board are Blues, Blacks, Whites, greens and reds. These colours are synonymous with horror as they usually have quite a few negative connotations or
work very well as dark colours. Blue for example has connotations with depth, stability, trust, wisdom, confidence, intelligence and heaven. These may not seem like they relate to horror films but, if you twist
their meanings then it makes more sense. In the case of Valak who was a demon that appeared in the conjuring series; you can suggest that he is intelligent as he constantly oppresses the warrens without
making himself obvious and even uses the Hodgson case to try and lure them in and kill Ed without anyone knowing until the final 20 minutes of the film. Trust can also be linked with Valak as, he is a demon
and being deceitful is his specialty which is what he does to Ed and Lorraine by using a form that both of them trust to try and break their faith in god. Trust can also correlate with the character Anna in the
insidious series who, despite at first being represented as hostile, is actually trying to help Elise save the girl locked in the basement by ted and shows her the way to the prison in the further to face the demon
‘Key Face’. Trust can also be used with the characters in Ouija as they are all friends who at first, just wanted to have a bit of fun and as things got more crazy; they helped each other out as much as possible.
This image can also represent stability as the entire composition of this image is fairly stable and relaxing to look at due to the static composition that this scene uses with both the characters on the table and
the blinds in the background. Stability also represents the start of most horror films where the characters usually have a relatively stable life before the film starts to kick off and the Ouija image does does
show the point where the stability becomes unstable and things start to slide into utter insanity. Most demons in horror films are shown to be wise and intelligent to a certain degree, mainly because of how
long they’ve existed for and that they have most likely engaged in wicked deeds before the film starts. The characters Valak, IT, Anna and Jason all represent this. Valak is, as I’ve already mentioned, is
intelligent because he can make great use of his shape shapeshifting abilities to attack people on a personal level and takes the form of characters from nursery rhymes to try and emotionally damage the
Hodgson boy. IT represents this in the same way, he utilizes his shapeshifting abilities to become the things that the losers club fear the most and doesn't kill them straight away as he knows that the build up
of tension, paranoia and fear in his target make them more delicious. The fact that he picks the losers club in the first place is a smart decision as he knows that all of the members have some form of
emotional damage that he knows he can exploit; for billy its his dead brother Georgie, for Stan it’s the scary image on the wall in his house and also having to live up to his fathers wishes and lastly Beverly has
issues with her father who is physically and sexually abusive to her. Anna is mart because she knows to reach out to Elise for assistance and Jason is smart because he knows to take his time an wait until
people are alone before he attacks them and makes great use of his environment and the weapons available to do so. Heaven really only represents the more supernatural characters but, even then, the
characters themselves are not the kind that belong in heaven with the exception being Anna but, she is still terrifying; these characters are Valak, Jason and Samara. This can also represent Sarah from the
Winchester film where she keeps spirits locked up in rooms which means that she is taking their heaven away from them. The colour black on the other hand has a lot of negative connotations that perfectly fit
the horror genre; these being Death, Evil, Mystery, power, elegance and formality. All of the characters shown in this Mood Board with the exception of the human characters share death in the sense that
they bring it unconditionally on others and cause a great deal of pain and grief to the characters in their stories. Evil also correlates with the antagonists of their respective films for the same reason that I
mentioned for death; they’re violent and won’t back down when it comes to killing people or causing them extreme pain. Mystery also works very well with the villains too as they like to remain out of the
spotlight and keep their motives hidden until the final act e.g. Valak who doesn't’ truly appear until the end of the conjuring 2, IT who isn’t actually known by anyone in Derry and even the losers club don’t find
out until a year after Georgie's disappearance that he exists, Anna who’s true motivations aren’t revealed for quite some time, Jason who wears a hockey mask for most of the film series and the Babadook
who isn't even known by the audience that watched the film. Moving on to the colour green, the colour has more positive connotations compared to the others which can’t really be twisted; these being
Fertility, safety, harmony and growth which does not really represent any of the characters on this mood board however, dark green does have connotations with jealousy and greed which resonates strongly
with some of the characters on this mood board, especially the more antagonistic characters. The connotations of the colour red are fire, blood, wrath, malice and longing. These also resonate with some of
the characters as well due to their negative emotions and their malicious intent whereas white represents purity, cleanliness and often represents perfection, not really a colour that links well with the
characters on the mood board. Not only do the colours mean something on a symbolic note, they also help with drawing the audience in; red is a colour that people are naturally drawn to so, characters like
pennywise and the crooked man get more attention from the audience compared to characters like Valak and Samara who use bland colours like black and white. These colours are also good at effecting the
tone of the film as darker colours suggest a darker and more grittier theme compared to lighter colours which are much more happier in tone. The mood board definitely portrays the horror theme in the right
way as the colours in this mood board are mostly dark. Most of the images use close-ups to create the effect that the character is almost trying to communicate with the audience which can makes them feel
uncomfortable and nervous about the film but it lacks in the fear department somewhat as it doesn’t show there full towering figure to create a sense of dominance that people naturally revere. Some of the
images use medium shots so, the audience can see some of the body and long shots to create the effect that I just mentioned. Some of the images rely on different tones and theme compared to others such
as the babadook which has themes with loss and emotional stress whereas Friday the 13th has generic thriller and slasher themes as it is quite an old film series what simply relied on murder. All of the images
shown don’t seem to use full body shots as they like to rely on the close ups and medium shots to try and terrify the audience as the characters being in the audiences face is good for making them
uncomfortable and paranoid.
How will your mood board influence your final product?
• This mood board was very useful when it comes to inspiration for my project. The colours used and their meanings can be useful for developing subtle meanings and perhaps make use of some foreshadowing
techniques in my trailer. I can use the colour red to represent danger more so compared to their other meanings as my characters won’t represent anger or malice but, I can have the protagonist wear red to
show how he is in fact fairly dangerous in comparison to the other characters in the story. Longing is also a term used to represent the colour red and this can be used to show how my protagonist ultimately
wants the attention from someone as his mother cant give that to him due to her personality in the story. Black and white can be used as more of a filter effect to represent a dark and gritty theme that I am
going to be using throughout the short film as a slight black and white filter can make the story feel detached from reality and also give the feeling that something quite dark and twisted is happening here.
Blue is also a nice colour that I may be using for my final product as it represents wisdom and intelligence and my protagonist is going to be wise and intelligent as he lures the person who is believed to be the
killer on a goose chase around the house and kills him when he gets tired and cant fight back effectively. The blue can be placed on the jeans of the character as this clothing still comes across as natural and
still has the colour blue tied to him. Dark green is also a nice colour to use as it represents greed and jealousy and can be tied to the killer who may wear some dark green to show his jealousy of the killer on
the news who is actually the protagonist of the story. As a bit of extra character development, the character could represent greed as he wants the fame that comes with being a serial killer. The tones in these
movies are quite dark so, I would want the film to be dark toned as well but still make use of the comedic light tone as well which is sill going to be difficult to pull off as I have yet to decide which genre I want
to focus on more. I can make the film dark by having more of a focus on horror and have the jokes in the film be quite dark and somewhat creepy as well however, the is my completely destroy the comedy
aspects in the movie as the jokes might not make people even laugh but just creep them out instead. Ultimately I don’t really know what to do with the tone just yet and this may have to wait until a bit later
when I have established what the people would like to see. I can make use of close ups and medium shots to make the audience feel uncomfortable or even somewhat terrified if it needs to be and I can do
this by drawing a focus onto the characters faces or the weapons they are holding to bring some tension into the movie. The mise-en-scene and composition can be made in a way that makes the film more
uncomfortable and this can be done by making use of dynamic composition and an environment that would naturally make people feel more uncomfortable e.g. Broken walls, darker colours, sharp object etc.
However this can still be difficult to acquire as it may mean that ill have to record my film in an abandoned house which doesn't exactly look like a place someone would live in and it would make the film less
believable to the audience. I could make use of sharp props and dark colours via editing and buying some props but, this may still be hard to deal with for a student film so, I may have to find an alternative for
it.

Mood Board Analysis (Comedy)
• The colours that the comedy mood board utilize are mostly oranges, reds, blues, yellows, greens, blacks and whites. As I have already gone over the negatives for these colours, I should go over the more positive side of them instead.
Comedy films tend to use primary colours instead of secondary colours to make the film more vibrant and colourful and this can help to effect the audiences mood throughout the film. The positive connotations of these colours match
comedy films very well and, starting with orange, these would be enthusiasm, happiness, creativity, determination and stimulation. The characters Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber, Igsy from Kingsman and Ace Ventura from Pet Detective
represent these connotations well as all three of them have been shown to be rather enthusiastic ; Lloyd and Ace are very talkative even if it is the wrong thing to say at the time, Ace is shown to very confident as not only does he show
this through his demeanour and attitude, he makes an effort to hit on women constantly. Igsy is enthusiastic because he always wants to shine and stand out from the rest, even if it means performing and engaging in illegal activity. His
enthusiasm makes him a sweet talker who can talk his way out of most situations and he always has something clever to say. All three of them project happiness in their own way; Lloyds childlike attitude makes people around him
constantly smile and his innocence can be quite heart warming sometimes, Ace is always shown to be quite the happy guy as he wears a charming smile on his face and knows what buttons to push with everyone he meets, Igsy’s use of
speech is exactly what makes him funny sometimes and his lack of seriousness is exactly what the other characters in the story need to feel better about the situation and raise their morale as well. They all also show determination as
well whether its because of their lack of intelligence or because they feel its the right thing to do, they’re always determined to deal with the problem that they are faced with and always push themselves to try and meet the expectations
of others. According to plutchicks wheel of emotion, orange represents vigilance, anticipation and interest which are aspects that represent these characters quite well as all three of them show vigilance which links in with their
determination as they are vigilant on their beliefs and never change their mind unless the situation requires it. Igsy is more anticipating compared to the other two as they are rather unintelligent and can’t see some twists coming whereas
Igsy anticipated his drink to be poisoned so, he switched his drink with the culprit so, he would poison himself and this worked without any problems. They all show a keen interest on things whether these are women or the problem at
hand and when this is compared with their determination, it can have quite the devastating result. The more positive connotations of red are joy, sexuality, passion, leadership and courage and the characters that wear red in this mood
board are Lenny Feder and Kurt McKenzie from grown ups, Kevin McCallister from Home Alone, Mitch Buchannon and Matt Brody from Baywatch and Pete Regazolli from Bad neighbours. These characters represent sexuality a fair bit
which is mainly due to existence within these films as they are all sexual in one way or another. Lenny Feder and Kurt McKenzie are prone to making sexual jokes, Mitch Buchannon and Matt Brody are sexual in the sense that they are
considered to be so by various women in the film and draw attention from their looks, Pete is a college kid and is prone to not only making sexual jokes but also engaging in sexual acts as well. They are all very passionate as they tend to
stand their ground and won’t take people who mock them. The characters that best suit this however are Kevin, Mitch, Matt and Kurt as they all get fairly defensive when they are mocked and like to take matters into their own hands
when they are e.g. Kevin defends his house from robbers and his methods get more violent as the film goes on which is mainly due to their constant mocking. Matt gets very aggressive when he is underestimated or when his swimming
talent is mocked by others etc. Some of these characters take on the role of the leader as well e.g. Mitch is the leader of the Baywatch team, Lenny tends to lead the gang in Grown Ups and Pete is the vice president of Delta psi Beta. All of
these characters show strong leadership especially Mitch who takes great pride in doing so and is actually pretty good at what he does as well. Characters like Lenny and Pete aren't as serious when it comes to leading but, they still do it
anyway and are fairly good at it as well. Characters like Matt, Mitch and Kevin show a great deal of courage; Matt and Mitch are courageous as they are life guards so, it is their job to be however, these characters are courageous to the
point where they could easily die as they would do anything for anyone who is in trouble. Kevin goes up against criminals who break into peoples houses for a living which is fairly courageous only he is a young boy so, this even more
extraordinary compared to a normal guy who would be defending his house. Plutchicks wheel of emotion only has negative connotations for the colour red and these do not fit in with this mood board in any way whatsoever. The next
colour in line is blue and the positive connotations for this colour are stability, trust, sincerity, cleanliness and understanding. The characters that are involved with this colour from the mood board are Mr Bean from Mr Bean, Mitch and
Matt from Baywatch and Marcus Higgins from Grown Ups. These characters represent trust and sincerity because they are all usually shown around others as part of a group for instance Marcus is really only shown with his friends rather
than on his own and this denotes trust because the fact that he is around them in the first place proves that he can be quite trustful whereas Mitch is a lifeguard who always makes casual conversation with the people on the beach which
makes him out to be very trustworthy and his friendly nature can make him out to be fairly sincere. They are stable because they all lead lives with a set plan in mind for instance Mitch is a lifeguard who sticks to a routine and Marcus also
works a job and runs a routine as well. Mr bean on the other hand represents stability because he contrasts it so directly that I had to draw a comparison between the them. He lives a very strange and unorganised life which is where the
comedy in the series and movies come from. These characters also represent cleanliness and understanding as well because they all seem to be hygienic as nothing is ever mentioned when it comes to their clothes and Mr Bean always
uses napkins when eating. The characters don’t really represent understanding very well but they can be when they want to be e.g. Mitch has a thing against Matt throughout the film and doesn't really understand him until the end and
this is when he finally makes the effort to. Plutchicks wheel of emotion doesn't give an insight into the more positive connotations as they are only negative. The colour yellow has connotations with joy, energy and intellect and the only
character who appears to be associated with this colour is Teddy Sanders who is a character from Bad Neighbours. His joyous nature is shown through his constant partying and the jokes he pulls on the protagonists of the story, he is also
energetic which is mainly due to his build and his willingness to participate in trolling the Wagners and he is intelligent because he is able to pull these things off without getting into trouble. Plutchiks wheel of emotion also states that the
colour represents joy, serenity and ecstasy which are shown in Teddy’s character as he can be quite joyful, laid back and he is rather ecstatic sometimes. The next colour in line is green and this has connotations with growth, fertility,
safety and also denotes a lack of experience. The colour is only shown as a background colour but a correlation can be drawn between it and the characters. Green is also nice on the eyes as it has the opposite effect that red has as it
makes people relax rather than be alarmed by it. Black and white on the other hand does correlate with formality, faith, virginity and elegance which are traits that characters like the characters from Hangover and Harry Dunne from
Dumb and Dumber represent . Harry Dunne represents virginity and innocence because his character projects a childlike innocence that stems from his stupidity which is also a leading reason as to why he is till a virgin. The hangover
characters always dress quite formally and they show a sign of elegance is some cases which does match there characters (when they want to be course). The genre affects these images by making use of lighter colours which suggest a
light-hearted and comical tone. They also suggest that you should not take the film seriously and that it should be watched under the context that it is just a funny film and does not need to be taken seriously. The characters themselves
strengthen this as they are often shown to be either quite innocent and dumb or they like to make jokes a lot/the way they act around others /their overall personality. The composition is also fairly symmetrical which makes the scenes
much more relaxed and viewer friendly and this works very well with the comedy genre as the a dynamic composition would just make the audience feel tense and uncomfortable so, the symmetrical composition definitely works better
here compared to the dynamic one. They also use rule of thirds which helps to draw the audience into the certain aspects of the frame and in the case of comedies, this would mainly be characters and the mood board demonstrates this
very well as I am drawn into the characters themselves rather then the environment. The colours themselves are also very good at drawing the audience in to the frame as they are quite strong colours, especially the red and the orange is
useful for drawing attention to certain elements of the characters and green is good for relaxing people and prevent the scene from building up too much tension. The mise-en scene on the other hand is quite bland. The setup is usually
has nothing going for it other than the colour of the environment which may be used to add some extra symbolism in for example; Ace Ventura isn’t wearing the colour orange however, it is in the background and orange is a colour that
describes him perfectly and even in Grown Ups where the background makes use of the colour green to tell the audience to relax and have fun. The shot types in the mood board are generally more close ups and medium shots again and
this is used to try and bring the emotions of the characters to the audience in full force. On the other hand, the mood board does make use of shots like the long shot and two shot which help to make the audience relax more and show
how close the characters are to each other respectively.
• This mood board was also very useful when it comes to inspiration for my product. Once again I can make use of the colours meanings and symbolism for my product. The colour orange can be useful to help represent determination and
creativity and these can be used for the protagonist who is going determined to kill and creative in the way he does it. Perhaps I can have the killer be determined as well as he wants to kill the guy so badly. The colour can be placed in the
background or even used as a small item that the character is using to subtly hint at his nature and the type of character he is. Red can be useful again as a danger colour but, I can also use it to represent the passion for the killer though,
this does not make the film more positive. I can use blue to help the character appear more trustful and stable and maybe change his character to where he wants to help the killer but the killer does not listen and still tries to kill him
anyway. I could just take whatever I already have for blue and make it more positive but this may ruin the film and make it less serious then I had intended. The colour is going to be yellow and this can be made to represent the joy and
ecstasy that the killer may have or could even be included in the protagonists character as a way to present his dumb and dense nature. Perhaps a yellow wristband may do the trick as a way to show his happiness. The next colour is green
and this can make the audience relax and see the film as more of a joke rather than take it seriously. If I blend it into the background and make it a part of the mise en scene then, it could work as a way to represent this. Black and white
can just be used as shades or filter effect as I don’t want to ruin the seriousness of the film or the draw the audience away from the horror of the short film. The lighter colours will just be used to make the film more enjoyable and I can
tie these to the protagonist while also making the killer seem dark by having him wear black and white, maybe I should even dress him up in a suit. The protagonist will still be dressed up in casual clothing with a red t-shirt, blue jeans and
a yellow wristband. The tone is still difficult to come up with at this point as I have difficulty with trying to go for a horror tone or a comedy tone. I don’t want the colours to effect the tone to the point where the audience can’t seem to
see what tone is trying to be shown or what type of story is being told. Currently I am more on the side of horror while making use of the lighter colours to show their personalities on screen. The Mise en scene can be used to make the
scenery more light hearted and normal and this can be used to create the impression that this house is normal rather than a house that is clearly horrible to live in as I want to create the effect of the house being normal rather than a
house that looks haunted as if it did, it would make the twist appear more obvious. I can still use the close up and medium shots to try and draw the attention in where it is needed rather than use it to represent fear and make the
audience uncomfortable. I would have some more symmetrical composition to balance the film out a bit more, perhaps use symmetrical at the start and make the composition more dynamic as the film goes one.

Mood Board Analysis (Comedy/Horror)
• This Mood board is a combination of both genres as I have decided to see if there is any way if I can get some more help with this when analysing the meaning of the colours as well as the way the composition and the shots all fit in
together. The Colours that this Mood board mainly use are white, red, black, brown, beige, purple and Green, The colours this time around are definitely odd in a sense as they rely more on secondary colours rather than primary ones
which may a result of the two genre being pushed together so, the colours are pushed together to create secondary colours which gives them two very different meanings. The first colour to discuss is white which is a primary colour that
can represent innocence, virginity, cleanliness and safety, this colour is effective for Shaun from Shaun Of The Dead as it represents his character at the start of the film; someone who is innocent and clean and this does change as the film
goes on as his white shirt becomes stained with the colour red from blood which represents anger and malice; emotions that he picks up as the film goes on and even comes to show how his personality changes throughout the film. This
colour is also used for the gremlin which actually contrasts the colour itself entirely which is the point. Its uses this contrast to make the scene funnier as it does not represent the character at all. The Ghostbusters on the other hand
represent this colour as they wear it to symbolize purity and faith as they are going up against poltergeists. While the Ghostbusters themselves don’t necessarily contrast this colour, they use it to contrast the spirits instead. To show that
they are the direct opposite/rival and even mock them with it. The colour is also shown on Patrick from the film American Psycho as he too directly contrasts the colour but, in his case, he wants to represent this colour as he tries so
desperately hard to be normal and innocent in an attempt to cover up how he really feels. Essentially he creates a facade or a face to hide behind in a desperate attempt to hide his psychotic nature. On the other hand, the Killer from
scream simply uses the colour to allow his mask to take the foreground when juxtaposed to his black attire which is the opposite of the colour white. The next colour red which is a colour that represents malice, joy, anger and love
however, this colour is only shown along side Shaun's battered attire as already mentioned however, it is a part of the colour pink and could represent the man in the image to the bottom right as it appears he has ulterior motives or
perhaps wants to harm them in some way and when combined with white, this represents the girls in the image who are most likely innocent and would never harm a fly. The colour red can also be made out in the image with Ash, a
character from the Evil Dead who is currently possessed by a Deadite. The red could represent the Deadites hatred and malice for the characters and his will to kill all of the cast members and make them his own. The colour is also still
slightly pink which is created with white alongside red and the colour white represents innocence so most likely, this is trying to show the character may still be in there somewhere. The colour black on the other hand has connotations
with formality, death, mystery and elegance which come to represent Ash who is a character who becomes evil after being possessed by the Deadite as he is technically dead and evil at this stage and his formality and elegance come from
his clothing; gives a brief insight into his character before he becomes possessed. The character in the top right image also wears black but this may simply represent her formal dress wear or maybe even the way she presents herself.
Brown on the other hand has connotations with stability, masculinity, security, protection and belonging. The colour is made with red, yellow and blue so we can draw some connotations from these three colours as well. The colour
brown can be seen in the background of the image from Babysitter and this film can only really be shown to represent masculinity in the sense that this often represents strength and dominance which can be attested to this scene as the
characters all appear to be fairly dominant in this image and they look down on Cole as he is tied to a chair. The red aspect can represent blood and violence as these college kids are cultists who want to sacrifice people to their cult and
they decided to sacrifice Cole as he had walked in on them during a ceremony. The blue aspect can represent trust and loyalty as the head of the cult is Coles babysitter so, this could be likened to that trust being severed. The yellow can
also represent joy as these characters actually have a fair bit of fun when offering sacrifices to their cult. The colour beige has connotations with neutrality, calmness and relaxation. It shares connotations with the colours brown and
white. This colour does pop up a fair bit in the film This Is The End as it used in the background quite a lot of the time as well as in scream and little shop of horrors. These films have been shown to be rather calming and relaxing unlike
their counterparts where they can be more intense. This is mainly because the films are more comedic rather than horror so you can expect the colours to be less intense as well. The has also be considered to be boring so, the audience
would be more interested on the characters compared to the background and, is most likely the reason as to why theses films use the colour more for the background compared to using it in the foreground. Purple on the other hand has
been shown to foreshadow impending death on the character who is associated with it however this colour is shown under the Gremlin image yet, it may still represent how that gremlin in particular is going to die or even, that the
gremlin is the herald of death on someone else. The colour green on the other hand can be shown to represent greed which perfectly aligns with the Audrey II from little shop of horrors who needs to devour humans in order to survive
however, he does not correlate with any of the other aspects of green as his character is not fleshed out fully. The Genre can be shown to effect these images as it tries to make use of light hearted colours to create a more happier and
comic theme but also a darker colour scheme to bring the audience back down to earth and make the film more gritty/Violent. Essentially, there are some moments that should be taken seriously and also moments that should be e.g.
When Shaun’s mother dies in Shaun Of The Dead, it is very emotional despite how humorous the film is meant to be but this moment brings the audience back down and it has them take the film more seriously. The characters are usually
portrayed to be rather dull or stupid to make the film funnier or sometimes serious as a way to bring the contrast to the film and can even alleviate comedy in the scene. However, these tones can be shifted during character, as already
mentioned, or when the monster is actually horrifying in which case, the film becomes so much more scary as a result of this. The composition can be either symmetrical or dynamic e.g. The image of Shaun Of The Dead is fairly
symmetrical with all the characters being in a line with Simon to the front and the other two closer to the back whereas the image of American Psycho is fairly Dynamic as Patrick is more to the right with the kitchen utensils being off to
the left. This works here as he is about to murder someone so, it puts the audience on edge and builds up into the moment slowly which makes the killing blow more satisfying then it would be if there were no build up. The image on the
bottom right however, uses a symmetrical composition for the girls to represent how they are in a state of relaxation and the guy in the shot makes the composition more dynamic and this makes the shot more uncomfortable for the
audience as its almost like he is disturbing the shot and does not belong there. They also make use of the rule of thirds to draw attention to certain parts of the scene, whether they are characters or parts of the environment. The colours
are very bad at drawing the audience in here as they don’t really go for primary colours as secondary colours have double meanings which can help to find the positive connotations and these represent the comedy aspects although they
also have negative connotations which represent the horror aspects of the film. The mise en scene for this mood board tends to follow the pattern of having two or more characters in frame with them being the dominant components of
the frame. The lighting is usually quite moderate, not too high or low and not using a lot of shadows either however, the image at the bottom right has quite high lighting which comes from outside and is possibly just artificial compared to
the others which may use low lighting to make the shot appear more dark and creepy to go along with the horror theme of the film. Shot types are medium and close up with some long shots as well. These shots also tend to have multiple
people in them to show how close they are together as friends/couples. This also means the shot at the bottom right may use this as a way to show that the man in the background may know them already which is exactly what makes it
eerie.
• Again, this mood board will definitely be very useful when designing my product as first of all, I can make use of secondary colours to create duel meanings from the connotations of the colours. The colour beige stands out to me as the
most useful; its blandness makes it perfect for background colour as it draw more attention to the characters in the foreground as they are more interesting to look at and is a nice effect for drawing focus to where I want it to be. The
colours listed here may be included, or already are, as I’m not sure that they would fit very well in the project. I feel I should latch more onto horror as this makes the film more interesting and can help bring some seriousness too it as if it
were comedy orientated, it would act more like parody which is not what I am looking for. Composition will probably end up being dynamic sometimes and symmetrical other times to show the tension where it needs to be shown so it
has the right balance of comedy and horror. The Lighting that I have decided to use for my product is going to be mostly artificial as acquiring specific types of lighting may be extremely difficult, more so then it needs to be. I may use low
key and high key lighting where possible however. The clothing will remain very much the same with the protagonist wearing blue jeans, a red T-shirt and a yellow armband to represent his personality traits with the killer either wearing a
suit to represent formality or the tracksuit that I had originally intended to make use of however, it will still use the colour black to make the killer more ominous in appearance. The tone of the film will stay the same as I have explained
on the last slide and this remains largely the same for my composition and Mise en scene.

1. initial plans

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1. initial plans

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