Here are some key genre conventions for psychological horror films that will influence your project: - Isolation/loneliness - Characters are often isolated physically or emotionally from others which heightens the sense of unease and paranoia. - Unreliable narrator - The audience cannot trust what they are seeing/hearing as reality is distorted or ambiguous. This creates uncertainty. - Ordinary setting made disturbing - Familiar, everyday environments like homes are used to unsettle the audience by subverting expectations. - Mental illness/psychological disturbance - Films often deal with themes of madness, mental breakdown, dissociative identity disorder etc. - Distorted reality - Reality is blurred, twisted or manipulated through

1. Initial Plans
Grace Gilbert

2. Initial Reaction
My first reaction is that I am excited to be able to have the freedom to create my own
project, at first it thought about doing a music video because I really enjoyed it when doing
the rotations because it gave me a chance to learn new skills and develop already existing
skills. However I have been thinking about it and I have decided not to do a music video
because I cant think of anything thing else that I could do as a side project alongside it and
creating a side project is something that I would like to do, I really enjoy working within
video so I like the idea of doing a trailer for either a film or a TV drama because this will
give me a chance to portray multiple skills, for example editing using Premier Pro and
writing a script. Alongside this I would like to create a couple side projects so my idea is to
have a short version of the trailer and then a longer version, I also want to create an
advertising poster because this will allow me to use skills in Photoshop as well as Premier
Pro. I haven't got a set idea as of yet but to begin with I wanted to do an action/adventure
because I thought this would be really interesting and exciting to film however after
thinking it through I have realised that production companies who create these types of
films they always have a high budget and with the resources I have I don’t think it would
be possible to do it to a good standard additionally these films include a lot of fighting and
violence. After thinking this through I have decided to do a psychological thriller because
this allows me to experiment with different effects on voices and it will also allow me to
use different types of cuts for example jump cuts, additionally I know the basics in premier
to be able to create a decent looking trailer. I like the idea of having it focus on someone
with multiple personalities because I think this is a good opportunity to have distorted
voices and whispers etc

3. I have decided to work in video and this is because in the future I want to work within
this industry, and this is because you can incorporate different platforms. For example
when working with video you have the chance to work with audio alongside it and you
can incorporate print into it because you can have advertising posters whereas if you
were to do a magazine it would be difficult to incorporate any audio or visuals.
Additionally I find video to be really interesting because you can include hidden
messages within a story that is relevant to current issues and I like the idea of making
the audience feel a certain emotion whilst they’re watching something that I have
made. Furthermore the reason I have chosen to work within the horror genre for this
project is because there are so many opportunities to experiment with after effects and
different lighting features that you may not be able to get away with if you were doing a
romance. I like the idea of altering the social norms and that is why I have decided to do
a psychological horror because I find it interesting to twist people’s perceptions of
certain things. I have multiple ideas which are discussed later in the PowerPoint, most of
the ideas have come from horror films that I have enjoyed watching because I think it is
important to create something that appeals to you as well as other people because it
allows you to fully focus and put 100% into that project. I have enjoyed watching horror
films that are more psychological because I don’t like too much blood and gore because
after a while it gets boring, however with psychological horrors you can explore the
human psyche and alter reality and I think that is an exciting idea. Some inspirations
have been ‘Split’ which explores a character with Multiple Personality Disorder also
known as DID, another inspiration is ‘The Babadook’ and this is one of my favourite
psychological thrillers because the way it portrays the characters grief as a ‘monster’ is
an interesting theory and I really like the colour scheme that is used because it adds to
the feeling of sadness with the different shades of blue and grey

4. Focusing on the marketing side of things I have been researching and come across a
website.[https://medium.com/@Vbwonka/horror-movie-marketing-516d3c99f1fa] This
website discuses the Do’s and the Don'ts when advertising a horror film, some of the
guidelines don’t apply to what I am making for example ‘Do: Tease the monster’ In my
project I'm not having a specific monster, however there will be personalities. One of the
guidelines has helped me there is one that mentions taking your experience offline and this
is saying that experiment with ideas and don’t just base it off of something you have seen
online. I think the Don'ts have been more helpful though for example one of them says
‘Don’t trick your audience’ and this is saying that if I am making a psychological horror focus
on the character and the ambience and this is helpful because it has made me realise what I
should be focusing on to get the point across however I do like the idea of it not being
entirely clear for the audience because I don’t want to create something that is predictable.
My next question that I asked myself was why do we watch horror films when we know they
scare us? I wanted to make sure that I create something that makes people feel
anxious/scared, I did some research and came across another website
[https://digitalcommons.liu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=post_honors_th
eses] This theses discusses why we like horror films and it looks at psychoanalysis’s theory, it
states that Sigmund Freud believed the purpose of horror films is to highlight the
unconscious fears and I think this is an interesting theory because how do we know what
the unconscious fears are. Later on it discuses that if the film had too many relevant
qualities or if it was too realistic then it would loose its entertainment value and this is
something that has helped because my plan was to make it as realistic as possible because I
didn’t want it to appear insensitive however after reading this I think it is important that the
trailer is entertaining. Looking more into the audience marketing I believe that more women
watch psychological thrillers because the lack of violence and that it challenges people’s
perception of things, however there isn’t a specific age group however I don’t believe under
15s should watch them because some of them are psychologically disturbing so I think this is
important to consider when creating my project.

5. Mind Map

6. FMP Idea (1) synopsis
I want it to open with a long shot looking at the back of the character to reveal them in a
room which is similar to a therapist’s office. I want there to be a tracking shot coming in
from the right, and whilst this is going on the therapist’s voice gets quieter and more
muffled the further the camera moves around. There will then be a medium close up on
the character for a few seconds whilst the distorted voices are in the background
distinctively the therapist’s voice, then the tracking shot will resume and go round the left
to the back of the character to reveal them in a different room, preferably want the
movement to be sped up so it’s blurry but want the character in focus. I then want some
voices in the background over the top of each other and then the character yells
something like ‘Shut Up’ and it cuts to silence, I like the idea of having the screen split into
3 sections of 2 sections to get across a difference in personality and then have a voice in
the background, I think the best way to get it across is to have a really angry character that
has multiple outbursts of violence and then have the same person but they are really nice
etc and mention that they cant remember a certain event that others say that happen.
Some things to include are multiple jump cuts that are sudden and unexpected and to
accompany this I think suspenseful music would work well. Another thing to include is
create a character out of the personalities because they aren’t just voices in people’s
heads they to them are very much real and this is something I want to portray correctly

8. FMP Idea (2)
I like the idea of having a
distinctive font for the
title of the magazine
Here are some examples that
if I do a fashion magazine I
would take inspiration from
these

11. FMP Final Idea Synopsis
This idea is based off of the first mind map. The idea is to base it on someone
who suffers from dissociative identity disorder and the overall film will show the
struggles of coping with it however I have only decided to do a trailer so I am
going to pick certain bits out that are going to be interesting.
It will open with a medium long shot facing the back of the character then slowly
zooming in and panning from the right side then will finish on a medium close
up on the character, whilst this is happening a therapist’s voice will be heard
clearly at the beginning however as the camera pans round the voice will
become more muffled and distant. The camera will then pan round the left side
to the back of the character to reveal them in a different room, it will then be a
tracking shot showing her coming out of the room and then coming down the
hallway and whilst this is going on there will be her voice over the top of it. They
will then walk down the street but if possible I want to make it appear as if
everything apart from the character is going really fast so it is quite blurry, they
will then go home

12. Mood Board - Lighting
These are some images from the
film Pan’s Labyrinth, and the lighting
here is similar to how I want it to be
in the trailer. This is Low Key lighting
and I think there are many
cinematic benefits to using this
lighting as it can portray multiple
moods.
I took this photo using my phone and at first
it was too bright however I used a filter
called ‘Vivid Cool’ and I really like this filter
because the low coloured tones of the blue
create a feeling of isolation and I think this
would go really well with what I want to
create because it adds a sense of uncertainty
to a scene
In this image the use of blue lighting has overwhelmed
the scene and this is something I want to incorporate
into my film and this is because if you don’t overwhelm
the scene with blue it can create a sense of calmness, so
if you overwhelm the scene it can create a harsh mood
There will be a mixture of different
lighting, in the therapist’s office I am
going to use warm lighting to give a
sense of security and the feeling of
being safe. Then when the character
leaves o returns to their house it is
going to be cold lighting
I also like the idea of using split lighting
because this can show the shift in
personalities however I don’t want to
overuse it because I think after a while
it would loose the effect

13. Something that I will
use is Natural Lighting
and a good example of
this is in the film ‘The
Revenant’
Something I want to include
in my project is the character
being in a therapist’s office
and the lighting in there is
always a warm tone, and I
think this will work well in
contrast between the warm
light and the cold light

14. Mood Board - Camerawork
One of the key shots I want to use in
this project is a close up shot, and this
is because it breaks a barrier between
the character and the audience and it
also adds emotion to the scene
I like the idea of using medium close
ups because it allows the focus to be
on the one character and you can see
small movements etc. but you can also
show the body language for the
character
In this project I also want to use
medium long shots because it is
a good opportunity to show that
character in the location, and
similar to the medium close up
it allows for the character to
convey their body language to
the viewers
I plan to use a tracking shot because I think
they are really effective in terms of showing
the character in the space. Also I think it
adds suspense if it used correctly in a
specific scene, for example in my project I
plan to use it following the character
running down the hallway whilst there are
whispers going on in the background and I
think the tracking shot would work really
well because it gives the impression that
they are running away

15. I like the idea of doing a shot
reverse shot between the
character and the therapist
because it gives the impression
of continuity, and is effectively
used for conversations
This is an example of a canted
angle, and I think this would be
really effective in terms of my
project because it helps get the
idea across of disorientation,
madness and frantic behaviour
I like this shot because of the
way it focuses the attention on
the character in the centre, and
the background is dark and
slightly blurred and this is
something that I want to do in
my project
This is an example of a high angle
shot and whoever is in the frame it
gives them the power and this is
something I think would work well
in terms of showing the different
personalities
Another thing to focus on is
framing the shot correctly,
and having the character
being the main focus

16. Production Techniques
One of the key production techniques that I am going to need is framing the shot
because this is something I haven’t been able to fully practice it and it is important to
get a good quality looking shot because it adds to the overall quality of the project.
Additionally it is important that the shot is visually engaging because it will allow the
audience to keep focused and interested in the trailer, it is also important that every
type of shot you take is relevant to what you're making, for example if the moment is
energetic and chaotic one of the shots you could use would be a hand held shot. Some
of the key shots that I am wanting are medium close ups and close ups, accompanied by
tracking shots. These are the main types of shots because I want it to be focused on the
character and I feel like if there were too many long shots it would feel quite distant and
that is not what I am wanting however I will incorporate a few because it will allow me
to show the character in a particular setting. Something I will struggle with is the
panning shot at the beginning because if I do it hand held it will look a bit shaky but I
don’t want it to be however I think I could steady it with a tripod. Another thing is the
lighting because I am wanting to do low key lighting it will be tricky to find places that
are dark enough however I am able to alter some of the lighting in post production.
Furthermore I want all of the dialogue to be non diegetic because I want to give the
illusion that we are inside that character’s head so this should be achievable because I
can record the dialogue separately and add foley sounds on top.

17. Mood Board - Colour

18. Mood Board - Poster

19. Mood Board – Colour/ Poster
On the previous slide I used Adobe Colour to pick out certain
colours that I am wanting to use for the trailer as well as the
poster. Some of them are very similar and then one stands out
because of the light brown used in it and this is because this is the
colour scheme for the therapist’s office because they are warming
colours which create a sense of security. In the poster mood
board I have included a selection of films that are based off of
dissociative personality disorder for example ‘Split’ and then I
have also included other psychological horror films for example
‘The Babadook’. I have noticed there are similarities between
them for example there is always a large image of a character then
the title, they use dark colours which contrast with the white and I
like this because the contrast is very effective

20. Mood Board Analysis
Is there any repetition in the images you have collected? Repeated colours/images
styles/fonts/tone/mood
In particular the lighting mood board there are multiple repetitions of the low key lighting, and
most of the images contain someone in and they are always lit with the lighter tones which
creates a contrast form the background. Additionally some of the lighting that I am aiming
towards using come up in the camerawork mood board so this indicates to me that the options I
have picked out for my project they work well together, for example in the medium long shot
example the character is surrounded by a mixture of blues and this creates a mood of
uncertainty because the blues are darker and this avoids conveying the wrong mood because if
the blues were lighter it would suggest a calmer atmosphere. There are also loads of similarities
when looking at the posters in terms of the colours used and the structure that they are set out
in, and this is something I will consider when doing my project
How will your mood board influence your final product?
My mood board will influence my project quite a bit because collecting all the ideas together
and seeing them next to each other is inspiring. Something I want to certainly use is the colours
that I have seen throughout the posters as well as looking at the lighting, I think the dark blues
contrast really effectively with the light blues and the sharpness of the white and this is
something I want to do when editing the trailer and the poster. Additionally looking at all the
camerawork and putting it all together has helped me realise what sort of shots will work with
the genre and what is the best way to portray the different personalities by using different
angles like canted angles or high angles

21. Genre Conventions
I have decided to look at genre conventions for horror instead of psychological horror to
get a wider variety of different conventions. Some of the conventions that I have found
are that horror films are typically made to cause frighten and panic for whoever is
watching, additionally the mise –en- scene for horrors ten to be that they are set in an
isolated location and most of the lighting is low key which allows a shadow to be
reflected onto the wall. Another key convention is the type of sound used and when
watching horror films I have found that non-diegetic high key sounds are used to cause
the audience to jump as it is unexpected. Another thing that horror films do in particular
is the use of iconography where a symbol or a certain object plays a crucial part in
figuring out what is causing the haunting.
Even though some of these conventions are relevant to what I am working on I think
most of them comply to a stereotypical horror so I researched some more and looked
into Psychological Horrors and I have found that a psychological horror doesn’t contain
any gore and it aims to frighten the audience in a different way as the aim is to alter
people’s perceptions and make them question the social norms. They are also usually set
in realistic locations for example a house or a hospital, and I have found that
psychological horrors use the music and sound effects as a key contribution to how the
audience feels. For example they use a high key orchestral sound to create an eerie
atmosphere accompanied by sharp string instruments when something bad happens and
this is something I should incorporate into my project. I think I can incorporate both
conventions into my project and take aspects from both because I want the audience to
be frightened but I want to avoid gore and violence.