Adam wants to create a horror film scene or trailer exploring the theme of love going horribly wrong. He plans to twist Romeo and Juliet into a modern cult gathering setting. Key influences include Climax for its oppressive party atmosphere, Romeo and Juliet for its tragic romance elements, Midsommar for its cult aspects, Suspiria for its vibrant lighting and set design, and The Shining for its unsettling atmosphere. For his research, Adam will analyze these films, experiment with lighting, learn music composition, research directing actors, conduct a survey on his concept, and identify his target audience. He has begun writing a screenplay to help direct his scene.

1. FMP RESEARCH
Adam Lepard

2. WHAT IS MY PROJECT?
I want to create a horror film that explores the unusual theme of love as this is an idea that
I’ve had for the past couple of years so I believe that because I’ve had it in my head for so
long I should be able to plan it more easily as it’s a very clear concept to me. Obviously I
won’t have enough time to shoot and edit an entire film so I want to create a scene or trailer
( possibly both) as this would be much more possible in the time I’ve been given. I’ve seen
horror films that have focused around the idea of break ups and this has always been an
interesting concept for me because a topic such as love seems like it shouldn’t work in the
key role of a disturbing genre such as yet when you think about it there is horror in the idea
of a relationship breaking down and leaving the separated isolated. I want to take my film in
a different direction, finding the horror in the formation of a relationship which is bound to
lead in disaster for the couple. My idea is to essentially twist Romeo and Juliet into modern
day horror film set in a cult gathering disguised as a party. Because I only have a limited
time my one scene will have to be chosen carefully so that the audience can have some
idea of what’s going on in the film. Hopefully as I do some research and explain my
inspirations it should become clear what I’m planning to do in this project and why my idea
works as a horror film.

3. RESEARCH INTENTIONS
In my research I want to look at a range of media that’s inspired my filming style as
well as the idea for for my project. I want to look at films such as Climax, Romeo and
Juliet(1996), Midsommar, Suspiria(1977) and The Shinning and explain why these
films have influenced me and how I will use specific elements from these films in my
project. I need to research into how I will use lighting in specific ways to create well lit
shot and I could do some experiments to test out lighting. I want to do some research
into making music as I want to create my own piece of music so I think researching this
would help me to create my music more efficiently. I want to learn more about directing
so I can get the best performances from them in my project so I want to research how
to direct actors as I think this will make a great improvement to my project. I need to
make a survey so I can get some feedback on parts of my project idea that I’m unsure
on and I think that reviewing the responses will give me some insight on how to adjust
my idea to make it more appealing to my audience. I will do some research into who
my audience is and what they want/don’t want in a horror film by seeing their
responses to the films that have influenced me.

4. I think that climax is a visually stunning film for a budget of £2.6
million which isn’t much when directing a film with several actors.
the film is incredibly choreographed so that the dance scenes a jaw
dropping in execution as well as being focal points of the film that I
could re-watch over and over again. Although I don’t plan on
including dance scenes in my film I do find influence in the films
concept of a party going horribly wrong and becoming a nightmarish
horror, I think that the film could’ve taken this idea in many different
places so I think that my film concept is a kind of response to where
I thought Climax could have gone. I think that the lighting in the film
is great at making the party feel oppressive and tense as the bright
reds and greens take over the screen in a way that almost hurts to
look at, I think this will be incorporated into my film scene somehow
yet I think that the lighting will resemble Suspiria more just because
it’s more easy on the eyes.
CLIMAX

5. This is as much about Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 adaptation
of Romeo + Juliet as it is about the original play. I know
that Romeo and Juliet isn’t a horror film at all but it’s
romantic/tragic elements have impacted how I’ve thought
about making my film. I originally had the thought of a
twisted love story happening within my horror film so I
kind of saw my film as a horror adaptation of Romeo and
Juliet after that point which sounds weird but I think that it
can work. I like the cinematography of Baz Luhrmann’s
Romeo and Juliet especially in the tomb scenes, I think
that the blue cross shaped lighting is great and I think it’s
weird that lighting like that isn’t used more commonly in
films. I don’t think that Romeo and Juliet will have any
impact on the scene that I’m filming for the FMP but I still
wanted to talk about it as it’s definitely been a big
influence on my film concept.
ROMEO AND
JULIET

6. MIDSOMMAR
After watching Midsommar I have mixed feelings but I think that it’s
been a big impact on my film concept especially in it’s cult aspects, I
think that it’s creepy in it’s presentation of the cult wearing constantly
happy faces and believing that what they’re doing is good which in
itself could be explored more deeply. I really like the production/set
design of Midsommar it’s homemade, pretty and intimidating at the
same time. I liked the break-up plot of the film and I think that my film
will kind of take the opposite approach. I think that the scene that I will
be shooting will be quite action packed so I’ll probably take influence
from one of the scenes in Midsommar where the cult discover that
one of the main characters is taking pictures of one of their sacred
books and a murder takes place. I think the cinematography in
Midsommar is great a lot of symmetry is used and the long take
tracking shot close to the beginning is probably the most terrifying part
of the film in my opinion.

7. SUSPIRIA
Suspiria in my opinion is the greatest giallo films that Dario
Argento has to offer, from its awesome set design and vibrant
coloured lighting to it’s sinister Soundtrack and impressive
cinematography. I think that these aspects of the film have
made it influential to me stylistically as I think that it uses a lot
of really fun visual techniques that you don’t really see in
most horror films. The films lighting is used match the mood
of a room and is primarily shown in night time scenes where
characters will be trapped in the oppressive lighting that has
a dangerous feel as if the lights signify the presence of the
witches. The whole concept of a dance school being
governed by a coven of witches was what inspired my
concept of a party being used as a cover for a cult. Although
the story and acting in Suspiria aren’t exactly masterful I think
that it’d be fun to take on a similar concept and try to re-work
it in a way where these elements are improved which is what
I’m kind of trying to do in this project.

8. THE SHINING
I think that The Shining is great with its use of setting and
acting to create a sinister atmosphere that slowly builds up
over the course of the film until it explodes into an insane
climax. I think that horror films like The Shining are very rare,
all aspects of the film are designed to draw the audience in as
every part of the film is unsettling. Even before we reach the
Overlook hotel there is a deep sense of something being
wrong with the Torrance family mainly how it’s explained that
Jack had broken Danny's arm “by accident”. The hotel feels
like an entity toying with the family and slow turning them
insane and I think that this is something really horrifying that I
want to try and put my spin on in my project or a future project
as I think that the concept of a setting being a threat is a great
idea that can be taken in many directions. I really like the the
symmetrical cinematography in the film as well as the over the
top acting that feels oddly real I don’t think I’ll incorporate this
into my film but acting is definitely something I need to

9. WRITING
Because my plot is very character driven I want to make sure
that I know enough about how to write out a screen play so
that in my pre-production I’m able to make a script for the
scene. Looking at screenplays and how they’re formatted has
helped me to understand what a screenplay is and how it’ll
help me to direct my scene. The screenplay is a useful tool as
it’s basically a script of the film with stage directions and the
added direction of the camera with the screenplay explaining
different shots and cuts.
I’ve tried writing out what will happen in my previous video
projects however because I’d never researched screenplays I
think that my pre-production planning could’ve been improved
drastically as a screenplay can be given to actors so they have
a better understanding of the character and their lines. It also
helps the director to remember little details of the scene that
they might otherwise forget. I want to make a screenplay in my
pre-production so that I can direct my actors better and have a
greater understanding of my scene concept which will
ultimately allow me to make a better project.

10. HOW TO DIRECT ACTORS
Something I knew I wanted to do going into this project was to learn
more about how to direct non actors as I found it difficult to keep them
under control when filming. I’ve watched D4Darious’ series on how to
direct actors which has taught me a lot about the directing process and
although I’m yet to practice the skills I’ve learnt from watching these
videos I feel like I’m more prepared for this project in terms of how I’ll
approach the role of a director. I know now that when I’m working with
my non actors to give them more respect and to let them have more
control over their role so that they can get a better sense of enjoyment
out of their role. I think that now I have more knowledge about how to
work with actors and non actors I can get better performances out of
my actors which is important for this project in particular as I think that
the characters need to be very expressive in their movements and their
voices. I need to manage my actors without over directing them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_co
ntinue=5&v=LNK6RtgTj3k&feature=emb_
title
Directing Actors On Set - D4Darious
2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlJV2v
vPG8g
Actors Hate this. Don’t Do It! - D4Darious
2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjBzv0Mcdw0
How to Direct Actors: Working With Non Actors
– D4Darious

11. MIDSOMMAR: TRAILER
The trailer of Midsommar clearly shows the film’s folk horror elements as
well as displaying that the film will be about the breakdown of a
relationship of Dani and her boyfriend Chris. The trailer shows off it’s
unique aspect of horror taking place primarily in daylight which was
definitely the first thing that caught my attention. The trailer only lingers on
parts of the film that are close to the beginning and later parts of the film
are only shown in quick cuts which useful for creating suspense and a
sense of intrigue without spoiling certain aspects of the film which is most
likely a technique that I’ll use in my trailer. I think that the trailer uses a lot
of different shot types with interesting cinematography in most shot which
is something that I want to use in my trailer as I think that cinematography
is a great way to sell the atmosphere of the film as it can be used to make
the viewer feel particular ways. Something that’s utilized well in the trailer
is showing all the great set design in the film which I think was main
atmospheric aspect of the film, unfortunately because I won’t have a large
budget (or any budget really) I won’t be able to create a set however I’ll
do my best to build an atmosphere with what I’ve got.

12. THE LIGHTHOUSE: TRAILER
I think that the trailer for the lighthouse is great for
introducing the atmospheric elements of the film, the
blaring sound of the fog horn, the use black and white
accentuates the time period and creates an oppressive
mood that will clearly linger throughout the film. the trailer
clearly conveys the direction the film is going in without
spoiling anything yet the viewer can clearly see that this
will be a horror film due to the tension being built
throughout the trailer. I think that I could improve my
trailer making skills by exploring the atmosphere of my
films setting, how will the party sound, how will it look and
how can I convey that film will be a horror without spoiling
any plot elements. I think that by building tension in the
dialogue of my trailer and placing it over the atmospheric
visual aspects of my trailer I can create something similar
in editing style to The Lighthouse’s trailer.

13. IT FOLLOWS: TRAILER
I think that the trailer It Follows is great at displaying it premise
through dialogue which is something that’ll probably do in my
trailer. What I like the most about the trailer is it’s music, I think
that the soundtrack for film is great at creating a sense of
horror out of weird synth notes and I think that the music from
It Follows will probably inspire the music I’ll be making for my
film scene. I think that the cinematography used in the trailer is
also pretty good at presenting how the film will look and feel. I
don’t think that the acting in It Follows it that good so I’m glad
that It’s something that the trailer doesn’t linger on otherwise I
think that it could put off some viewers. I think that the It
Follows stands out to me as a good horror trailer as the film
has a fairly low budget compared other horror films so it’s
trailer looks really great for what it’s worth which is impressive
as it looks better than a lot of higher budget horror films.

14. WHAT ARE CULTS?
The definition of a cult is a system of religious devotion
towards a person or object. Cults are often portrayed as
satanic worshipers in pop culture however in real life
cults are more subtle. Examples of real cluts would be
the church of Scientology or Heavens Gate, both of
which are infamous cults that have reached public
knowledge. I won’t delve into what these cult have done
as I believe that it would get very dark however I do not
want the cult in my film to resemble real life cults as I
would rather focus on something less relistic /upsetting.
The cult in my film will be a satanic cult that will be
worshipping a demon. Cults are known primarilly for two
things: recruiting new members and sacraficing people
for their cause the cult in my film will mainly be doing the
latter. I don’t particularly want the cult in my film to be
grounded in reality as I belive that there is more ideas to
be found if the cult idea isn’t taken too seriously.

15. THE CULT
In every horror film with a cult there is a reason why the cult do
the things that they do, every cult has a purpose such as a
sacrafice to a god to make their land more fertile like in The
Wickerman or to summon a demon to gain wealth and
familiars like in Hereditary. In my horror film I want the cult to
be summoning a demon as the cult will have a sort of
obssesion with money where the summonning of a demon
would bring them great wealth. The demon they will be
summoning will be Buer as I thought that it looked particularly
creepy and although it won’t make an appearance in what I’m
filming I will have one of the characters refer to the house as
the Buer house as a refrence to the demon. The cult members
will look just like normal party goers however if a character is
going to be killed off then the cultists will put on creepy masks.
I’d like to make my own masks for the cult as I think it would
add some originality and room for details.

16. LIGHTING
For my lighting I want to use coloured lights to heighten the
atmosphere of the party while also using the lights as an
emotive punch if the mood shifts in the scene as a coloured
light can by used to show a shift in emotion, this is
demonstrated in the prom scene in Carrie where a green light
is used to indicate peoples reactions to the pigs blood that’s
about to fall on Carrie, the light is only used sparingly so it
seems natural with the rest of the film but it expresses the
characters fears. I think this use of lighting could work in my
scene as it would punctuate the feelings of the characters
whenever necessary so the that it would build up a sub-
conscious message to the audience that the coloured lights
represent the characters thinking. Another way I could use
coloured lighting is by flooding the screen with colour like in
Suspiria or Climax so that an emotion can be sustained
throughout an entire scene rather than just in shot bursts. this
idea would also be effective in my scene as it would add an
awesome effect to the cinematography of the scene as well as
representing the unnatural otherworldly nature of the party, my
only issue with this is that I may need a lot of lights for this

17. MUSIC
Music is possibly the most important aspect to my project as the
scene that I’m filming will playout sort of like a music video. I want to
make a piece of music that feels loud and heart racing to draw the
audience into the atmosphere of a party however I also want to give
the music a strange aethereal quality to give a sense of discomfort
to the track. Listening to music and thinking of how it would fit into
the films has helped a lot in my search for sounds that would fit my
theme. I think that a lot of songs by Home such as Decay and
Resonance have the strange quality that I want as they use lots of
different synth noises to create their songs. 1969 by Boards of
Canada has a darkness to it’s eerie synth notes, heavy drumming
and distorted singing which I think would be something that I could
incorporate into my track as I could use a warped voice that eludes
to the cult activity. all the songs I’ve mentioned so far don’t have the
fast pace I desire however GhettoMusick by OutKast has the heart
racing pace that I want in my music. I think that the trick to making
my music is to incorporate different elements from my musical
influences, if I’m too limited on Garage Band to make the right track
to fit my concept then I will most likely use one of the tracks I’ve
listed as any of them could work as a back-up incase something

18. ONE TAKE TRACKING SHOTS
The Protector (2005) Prachya Pinkaew
Hard Boiled (1992) John Woo
The Shining (1980) Stanley Kubrick
I want to film a long take for the scene I’ll be presenting as my FMP
production as I think that this will show my skills as a director as well as
being something that will challenge me. I started looking at films that used
one take scenes and I came across The Protector (2005) which had a great
use of setting, stunts and choreography in it as the main character fights his
way up a flight of stairs. I think the scene had some great energy to it’s
visuals however it’s sound design and music were lacking in energy so in a
way this was a disappointment however I think the shot is a good starting
point when it comes to looking at how exciting a long take can be. The long
take from Hard boiled is incredible in it’s use of setting, stunts and action
and I think that this shows just how impressive a long take can be but I think
that I won’t be able to create this much excitement in my shot as there won’t
nearly be as much action however my scene will make up for this in its
horror. For horror based long takes I looked at The Shining as this was the
film that practically made the long take tracking shot by using the Steadicam
to follow around Danny on his bike. The shot doesn’t really have much going
on but it builds up a tension which carries on into the next scene which is
very different from what I plan to do but The Shining was definitely a key
influence in my decision to film a long take.

19. CREATING TENSION AND FEAR
• Jump scares
I think that Jump-scares need to be done right in order to be
genuinely terrifying, this means that they need to have been
set up through a build up of tension and they need a flash of
something that looks and sounds scary. This type of scare
works in the short term and shouldn’t be used a lot in a film or
it’ll lose it’s impact as the film progresses, this is something that
I might do in my film scene.
• Rising danger
Rising of tension/danger is something commonly used in horror
films to keep audiences scared for a long period of time as the
character becomes more and more likely to be hurt/killed often
this is done by making the audience care about the character
or making the film extremely immersive so the audience also
feel this danger
• Dramatic Irony
Dramatic Irony is when the audience know something
that the characters don’t which is often used to make
the audience panic about the well being of the
characters. I am going to be using this in my film
HORROR FILMS: 3 Ways To TERRIFY An
Audience - Screenwriting Tips. Scriptfella-Mar
23, 2019https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1AFiqV0jU4&t=539s

20. ASPECT RATIO
I think that aspect ratio is something that I want to
incorporate into my scene and trailer as it can be used in
various ways to create cinematic effects. I’ve researched
into various uses of aspect ratios in the video SFX Secrets:
The Power of Aspect Ratios by Fandor, I found this video
useful in explaining the uses of aspect ratio in film as it’s
helped me come to a decision on how I will film my scene.
After watching the video I’ve decided to do an experiment
where I film a short video and see whether it looks better in a
21:9 ratio or a 4:3 ratio. I chose these two aspect ratios as I
think that the 4:3 ratio would be useful for creating a
claustrophobic atmosphere to the scene causing a rising
tension as the characters and the audience feel trapped.
The 21:9 ratio could also work well as a wide screen effect
that make the scene feel more cinematic as well as giving
the setting some space which would be essentially the
opposite of the 4:3 ratio as the visuals would isolate the
characters making the scene visually threatening. I then
watched some tutorials on how to make aspect ratios in
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcQaLx4oF
Hw
Stan Arthur: Premiere Pro: 21:9 vs. 16:9 Get
the Screen Aspect Ratio You Want Without
Exporting Black Bars. Mar 11, 2016
Fandor. SFX Secrets: The Power of Aspect
Ratios. Mar 1, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SotdCmhFR
QU

21. SHOT TRANSITIONS
I want to end the one take shot with a transition to another
scene, I’ve looked at transition shots from films and thought
about how I want to do this and I was inspired by 2001: A Space
Odyssey and Lawrence of Arabia and their use of cutting to link
together the scenes that we’re transitioning between with a
theme. In 2001: A Space Odyssey a bone being throne into the
air cuts to a space ship floating in space, this not only tells the
audience that the film is now set in space but it also show that
humanity has progressed from being apes to creating vehicles
that can travel through space, the shot not only shows a change
in setting but a change in time. The match cut from Lawrence of
Arabia is a great transition as it cuts from a lit match being
blown out to a sunset both being connected by light being
extinguished. I think that I should film some experiments where I
test out how to edit and film match cuts so that I’m more
confident with this idea when it comes to the production aspect
of my project.

22. AUDIENCE
• In last years FMP I already found my ideal audience
specification which was for an audience aged 16-21 as
this was the largest percentage of people going to
watch horror films. I think that my audience would
mainly be males as the protagonist of the film is male
but I think that my product will still appeal to a female
audience as the film switches perspective halfway
through to the female love interest of the main
character however the scene I will be shooting is from
when the male character is still the main focus of the
film. The film would most likely appeal to those with a
working class background however I’m not really
making the film for anyone with a specific background.
• I want to explore the reactions of audience members to
the films that I’ve placed as influences to my concept
so that I can get a better understanding of my
audience and so that I can improve on things that
audience members disliked. I think this will help
improve my work as looking at the what people liked
Brent Lang. (2016). Horror Movies Make Tough Times Less Scary for
Studios. Available: https://variety.com/2016/film/news/horror-movies-
1201900551/. Last accessed 6th Feb 2020.
My FMP audience research 2019

23. AUDIENCE
The reviews of Midsommar are very spilt, it’ll either be a 4-5 star
review or a 1 star review as there were many people that are
probably more used to watching long films with slow paces which is
evident as there's a lot of character and plot development in that time
however this is also the films downfall as the plot is subtle and
character driven so anyone that finds the characters annoying will
hate the film as well. I think that because the cult is the main source
of horror in the film it also divided audiences as the cults motivations
are difficult to understand and you have to dig to learn about their
motivations. The film requires quite a bit of audience participation to
fill in the blanks so I want the plot of my film and the motivations of
characters in my film as I think this will be easier for regular film
goers to understand and appreciate the film. In terms of the scene I
will be making I’m planning on throwing the audience into a scene
with lot’s of action as I think that this would sell the type of horror film
I’m making without requiring much context to understand what’s
happening in the film.

24. AUDIENCE
I have to admit that I found climax more enjoyable in concept than I
found it’s plot in execution and I found a couple of reviews that
expressed my feelings as even thought the plot disappointed me I
really like the dance choreography and the visuals were stunning. I
think that I’ve already focused on how my plot will differ from
Climax and by adding an emotional weight to the film being the
main characters story arc so that we have something emotive to
move us through the film which I feel was missing from Climax.
The main thing that I’m taking away from the reviews is to make
my film in a way where it doesn’t come across as an arthouse film
which I wasn’t planning on doing in the first place but I’ll need to
make this clear through my directing style which shouldn’t be a
problem in the scene I’ll be filming. I think that because I’m filming
a scene that the audience will have little emotional investment in I
could run into the issue of them feeling disconnected to the
characters and environment of the film however I’m willing to take
the risk as I know how the scene will play out and I think it’ll be
great at showing my skills as a horror director.

25. AUDIENCE
I’ve stated before that the lighting and cinematography are the
main influences of Suspiria for me and these were typically the
main this pointed out as being great about the film as the acting
and the strange voice acting caused by the dubbing was pretty
bad and the plot is fairly typical. I chose these two reviews as
they reveal the faults of the film which is it’s bad acting and
voice dubbing which has shaped how I will film my project as I
want to disguise that I’ll be working with armature actors by
blasting my films soundtrack while filming so the audience can
barely hear what the actors are saying yet I will have subtitles
on the video, doing this might sound weird but I think that as
well as covering up bad sound quality it will bring the audience
into the atmosphere of a party where you can’t make out what
others are saying. Although this may be risky I think that it
shows that I’ve taken learnt from the issues of my FMP last
year and the issues with Suspiria.

26. AUDIENCE RESEARCH
I wanted to look at the audience statistics for The Shining as
it’s a key influence of mine as well as one of the most iconic
horror films of all time so I thought it would be interesting to
see what people thought about it. Lot’s of reviews of The
Shining are pretty similar, they praise the acting and the
directing and they announce it as the greatest horror film
they’ve ever seen but I wanted to look at the negative reviews
of the film as these are always the most interesting to me. In
most negative reviews the audience members found the film
boring and the acting of Shelly Duvall to be annoying and over
the top. I think these reviews have valid points, the films length
and use of tension can be misread as meaningless scenes that
linger on too long. I found a review that says that a lot of the
events in the hotel don’t have an explanation such as the
ghosts and Jack Torrance’s insanity however these are are all
things that are set up in the dialogue and behavior of the
characters, I think that with a lot of negative reviews people
take things at face value hoping that the film will spell things

27. Horror films tend to attract a slightly
younger audience, predominantly under
25s. It is said that roughly 42%
of horror audiences are women, with
58% being men. Horror films tend to
intertwine with thrillers in the way that
viewers seek out a certain thrill/scare by
diving into a world which isn't their own.
Horror Audiences
Male Female
42% 58%
Alex Gilbey. (2015). Horror Film Research. Available:
https://cmpalexgilbey.weebly.com/uploads/3/8/8/7/38878453/ho
rror_film_research.pdf. Last accessed 7th Feb 2020.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
14-17 18-24 25-34 35-49 50+
Age of horror audiences
genral population Horror film audience Series3

28. SURVEY
Questions I want to ask in my survey
• What age is the participant?
• What interests them about the horror genre?
• What don’t they want to see in horror films?
• What scares them in horror films?
• Would they watch a horror film with minimal characters, 2 or 3? (this doesn’t apply to my film
concept but it does apply to the scene I’ll be filming)
• Do they think horror films are better when they experiment with the genre?
• What’s their favorite sub-genre of horror film?
• What colours do they associate with horror?
• What sounds disturb them?
• What sticks with them in a good horror film?

29. SURVEY
The first question in my survey was mainly used to find
out more about how the age of those taking the survey
related to the age of audiences I found in my research. I
think that the demo-graphics are fairly similar which
shows that the information a gathered earlier was
reliable. I like that there were people of various ages
taking the survey as it helped me to get a good
understanding of what people of different ages want and
don’t want in a horror film. The main thing that I’ve learnt
from this question is that if I aim the film for an older
target audience of 18+ there shouldn’t be an issue as this
is where most of the survey responses came from. I think
that this question was important as it tells me more about
who I can target my horror film for and now I know that I
can make my video darker in tone as there is a demand
from an 18+ audience, I won’t make things over the top in
their gratuity but I will probably make the murder in the
scene more graphic/dark.

30. SURVEY
I wanted to use this question to find
out a bit more about the current
audience for horror films. I think that
learning about this was important for
me as not only does it give me some
idea about how I can make my
current project more appealing to the
current horror audience but it can also
work as a long term understanding of
what interests a horror film audience.
A reply that stood out to me
mentioned the “investigation of horror
itself” which summed up the points of
several other replies. I think that this
was an important response as it was
practically a summary of the horror
genre, this gave me the perspective
that I should be aiming to create a
strong sense of fear in this project.
Other comments mentioned
originality, I think that I can only
create the sense of originality when

31. SURVEY
In this question I wanted to find out which
tropes in horror I should stay clear of as I
wanted my film to appeal to as many
audience members as possible. I think that
things to take away from this are that I
shouldn’t include jump scares but I think
that something important was said in the
‘other’ option in this question which was that
I shouldn’t include poor illogical decisions
from characters. I think that this has told me
that in order to appeal to my audience I
need to have good writing that makes the
events of the film logical yet exciting. I
mentioned earlier that writing is something
that I wanted to focus on in this project and
future projects so I that I could improve the
communication of a situation to my actors
and crew so hopefully poor writing won’t be
an issue in this project.

32. SURVEY
I think that I was using this question
as a way to confirm that the
emotional horror that I wanted to
convey in this project was the right
option as a horror theme and this
was confirmed in the response to this
question. I did like the responses in
the ‘other’ section as the were more
useful as pointers in ways to create
fears more the overall themes that
fear can be based on. I think that the
responses to this question have
given me more confidence in my
concept as I’m now more sure of the
appeal. Emotional horror to me
means horror that feel personal and
linked to feelings and experiences
that many people will have faced
before.

33. SURVEY
In my initial concept I thought of my idea as
a cult/slasher film as it feature tropes and
themes from both sub-genres and I liked
the responses that I got as they reinforced
the slasher genre as a favourite and I think
that incorporating the cult theme into my
project won’t be an issue either as it got a
couple of votes so I doubt it’s a very disliked
sub-genre. I think that the ‘other’ answers
for this question was interesting as it gave
me some insight into the genres that I had
left out of the survey. I included genres such
as folk, creature and paranormal in the
survey as I knew that I could probably find a
way to make these a part of my video if they
were the most voted for but since that didn’t
happen I can carry on with my original
concept.

34. SURVEY
• In question 6 I wanted to find out
whether the amount of people in my
video would effect the appeal as I have
a feeling that I won’t be able to have
many actors while filming, and the
result of the survey is reassuring
although I will still try to get quite a lot
of people I know to be in the video.
• In question 7 I was trying to find out
whether my ideas for unconventional
horror would be appealing and the
result for the most part was that as long
as whatever I make is effective in
scaring the audience then it will appeal
to a horror film audience.

35. SURVEY
I wanted to use this question as a way to
find out the colour of lighting/colour
scheme I should use in my video and the
responses seemed to fit with my concept
and research so far. One of the
responses was to think Argento which
was interesting as it shows that the
lighting that I wanted to use is seen as an
effective horror colour scheme. The main
response to this question was red so I
think that it would be appealing to make
the main colour of lighting be red
however I think that it would be more
effective if I use red lighting when
something scary is happening so that it
gives a foreboding sense of dread, with
this in mind I’ll use green lighting for non
scary parts of the scene.

36. SURVEY
In this question I wanted to learn more
about how I could make my music more
effective. In horror films the soundtrack
and sound design are probably the most
important aspect of immersion as it can
be used to shock and disturb the
audience, learning what sounds can do
this is useful as I can make the scene
more scary by incorporating some of the
responses. High pitched noises were a
common response as its uncomfortable
to listen to a point where high pitches can
hurt to hear. I like that the response to
this question. Was so varied as it gives
me a lot of ideas for what I could do with
the sound in this project.

37. SURVEY
This question was important for my
research as I wanted to know what I
could do in my project that would make it
more memorable as good horror. I think
that looking through the responses I need
to make important parts like kills,
protagonists/antagonists and the writing
feel original and immersive so that the
audience are drawn into the film that I’m
creating. Realism was something that
came up quite a bit in the responses and
I think that realism is more likely referring
to believability of the events in the film
and this is something that I’m fine with
incorporating into my film as believability
and immersion is something that I want to
achieve in this project.

38. BIBLIOGRAPHY
 2001 A Space Odyssey (1968) Stanley Kubrick
 Actors Hate this. Don’t Do It! - D4Darious 2014
 Carrie (1976) Brian De Palma
 Climax (2019) Gaspar Noe
 Directing Actors On Set - D4Darious 2014
 Fandor. SFX Secrets: The Power of Aspect Ratios. Mar 1, 2018
• It Follows (2014) David Mitchell
• Midsommar (2019) Ari Aster
• Romeo and Juliet (1996) Baz Lehrman
• Suspiria (1977) Dario Argento
• The Lighthouse (2019) Robert Eggers
• The protector (2005) Prachya Pinkaew
• The Shinning (1980) Stanley Kubrick
• Hard Boiled (1992) John Woo
• HORROR FILMS: 3 Ways To TERRIFY An Audience - Screenwriting Tips. Scriptfella-
Mar 23, 2019
• How to Direct Actors: Working With Non Actors – D4Darious
• Alex Gilbey. (2015). Horror Film Research. Available:
https://cmpalexgilbey.weebly.com/uploads/3/8/8/7/38878453/horro
r_film_research.pdf. Last accessed 7th Feb 2020.
• Brent Lang. (2016). Horror Movies Make Tough Times Less Scary for
Studios. Available: https://variety.com/2016/film/news/horror-movies-
1201900551/. Last accessed 6th Feb 2020.
• Stan Arthur: Premiere Pro: 21:9 vs. 16:9 Get the Screen Aspect Ratio You
Want Without Exporting Black Bars. Mar 11, 2016