Tom Batty conducted research and experiments for his short film project. Through a survey of his target audience, he learned that people enjoy dark comedy in horror films. He analyzed popular horror films to see what elements were successful, such as R-rated content in films appealing to teens. For his short film, he believes a 12A rating is suitable. He explored potential production techniques from films like The Dark Knight, Django Unchained, and Lord of the Rings. In camera experiments with classmates, he practiced shooting techniques but found planning locations in advance would help.

1. STAGE 2
RESEARCH +
EXPERIMENTS
Tom Batty

2.  From doing my Primary target audience research survey I got back mostly
very good feedback that has helped me think about how I will shape my final
short film ideas.
This question was quite a big one
for me because I was
defiantly going to add some comedy
into my Horror but didn't’t know
how well it was going to go down
with people viewing it.
Even though this question was about
comedy and not I'm going to have my
genre of film about but knowing that
people like dark comedy can really work
on adding that into my final product.

3. With question 4 I felt like I needed to
know what people enjoyed about
Horrors and implemented them into
mine.
This I would say is the final question
that I would class as important
because this can help me base my evil
character on the feedback and make an
ultra evil character.
Like any survey there will always be the odd few people who think they're
funny and wright or type unnecessary things that don’t help you with your
information but the majority of the tie just like now I have received some very

4.  Here are some statistics of the largest grossing films since 1995 to present
day.
What I have learnt from doing research
is that a lot of the most popular
Horrors are R rated in that they
contain bloody images, violence and
including language and sexual
references. Obviously this is rating and
guideline for teens and young adults
and adults. R rated films defiantly
always appeal to teens and young
adults with the story line and content,
such as high school, parties groups of
friends and summer time. The main
favorites of teens are psychological and
parodies. Looking at reviews of ‘IT’ I
have seen comments mentioning that it
has great laughs and really good scares
which bring the novel alive. Then
looking at reviews of the ‘Blair witch
product’ and I saw a lot of reviews
mentioning how real the film is just
makes it seem feel way scarier then
any other teen horror flick.

5. Like this film here just from the
internet I know that a lot of
teenagers love the really scary
supernatural Horrors and are
always talked about when the
OFFICIAL trailer comes out. With
loads of comments of “omg did you
see the new trailer”. I really like the
example I have given because this
was originally a short film idea and
now the guy who directed the short
film got invited to shoot it into a
whole film. And now he’s doing
really well in the film industry at
the moment.

6.  U- A U film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over, although it is
impossible to predict what might upset any particular child. U films should be set within
a positive framework and should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat
or horror. If a work is particularly suitable for pre-school children, this will be indicated in
the BBFCinsight.
 PG- General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. A PG film
should not unsettle a child aged around eight or older. Unaccompanied children of any age
may watch, but parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger,
or more sensitive, children.
 12-12A- Films classified 12A and video works classified 12 contain material that is not
generally suitable for children aged under 12. No one younger than 12 may see a 12A film
in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult. Adults planning to take a child under 12 to
view a 12A film should consider whether the film is suitable for that child. To help them
decide, we recommend that they check the BBFCinsight for that film in advance. No one
younger than 12 may rent or buy a 12 rated video work.
 15- No one younger than 15 may see a 15 film in a cinema. No one younger than 15 may
rent or buy a 15 rated video work.
 18- No one younger than 18 may see an 18 film in a cinema. No one younger than 18 may
rent or buy an 18 rated video work. Adults should be free to choose their own
entertainment.

7.  From my primary research I found out that people my age enjoy having comedy in horrors
which I said before is something I needed to know because I was going to add that into my
final product. Another thing I thought was interesting was that people liked dark comedy
more then the other types. If I had more time and more options I would focus on this
aspect more because I would find it interesting to see what I could create. Most of the
feedback was very positive but the only problem was is that more people would prefer to
watch a comedy over a Horror, so this means my short film wont be as popular as a
comedy.

8.  For my short film I feel that a 12 or a 12A is more than suitable
because I feel like the content is going to mature and almost too
complicated and not interested for a younger audience. I know roughly
what will be contained in my short film and that there will be small
amount of violence and quite a bit of threat throughout my 60 second
film. There might be some distressing scenes with a stressing feeling. I
feel like I want to make it very intense throughout ab might be too
much for kids younger than 12. But I feel like this wouldn't reach a 15
with some simple facts that there wouldn't be loads of swearing or gory
violence and no sexual references.

9.  Research potential production techniques you might want to
use or feel would be most appropriate – these can be related to
camera, editing, story, sound, etc
 You should look at a minimum of 3 related products in your
research.
 You should collect clips/still images/how to guides/etc that
might help you. When watching scenes from films, etc you
could also ask potential target audience what they think.
 You will need to add extra slides!
 With each technique you should assess whether you can use it
or how you might employ or why you may want to disregard it
completely

10.  The Joker- When I thought of my idea for my short film I instantly
thought of what dark, evil and crazy character I wanted. The joker
from the dark knight (batman) was so well acted and really for me just
amazed me how someone could just change them selves that much for
a role. I thought of he masked part at the start of the film where
they’re about to rob a bank, because I have the same mask that the
joker used in the film for one Halloween. This all just fitted so well
together and everything about the character is just pure psychopathic
and really a perfect character for a hostage situation. When the joker
entered a scene he brought a sense of darkness and evil everywhere he
went and put everyone on edge of what he was going to do. Such as his
favourite story telling of how he got the scars on his face, it always
ends in death.

11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6LWmD9YRpU

12.  Django unchained- I picked Django unchained is an amazing film and
the thing I would pick from it is the massive use of Tarantino’s gore.
Especially in tis film blood is an explosion from every gunshot and
with it being splattered all of the ground and walls in a 5 yard radius.
When I first watched the film I was just like “urrgh” and just shocked
at how peoples heads were exploding but was loving it at the same
time. His use of gore and violence in his films has made him stand out
along side of how god he is at making films. But for my film I couldn't
use this simply because I'm aiming to make it a 12A and with that
much extreme gore and violence it couldn't be a possibility. Also I'm
not experienced enough I feel to use that technique at such a high
level and I'm also thinking about the costs.

13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZRkzg-WqXM

14.  Lord of the Rings- For my final choice of product is the music from the
trilogy. Music in films can be so effective if done correctly and can
bring on a whole other feeling when watching. But in these films every
bit of music was done to perfection and makes each seen even better
then it already was and just gives you goose bumps. The main scenes
that I'm talking about are all the big battle scenes and one in
particular in the third and final lord of the rings when it’s the battle of
Gondor and its when the ride of Rohirrim come to save the day. But
when it coms to my film I want to have just as moving music and make
the scenes seem ore intense and interesting. Music that really
expresses what is happening without any speech. The music I will be
using wont be done by a massive orchestra but will be more intense
and serious.

15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmTz7EAYLrs
Skip to 3:26

16. EXPERIMENTS
Camera/Editing/Audio Experiments
Be prepared to add extra slides

17.  When we started filming we were given as a group a camera and a
tripod with a sheet with a list of shots and techniques we were
supposed to use. We were all also given the task of giving the filming
and ending to the story. As a task we only got about 3 hours max to film
every shot and then to edit the shots into a short film. When we started
filming we set out for a nice quiet area to film our story. We ended up
finding a good set of stairs and hall way to film the story. Not being
able to think out where we could film before hand and to workout how I
was going to film each shot was hard because in my final edit I had to
zoom out a lot to try make the shot better but ended up making the
filming not as good as it could’ve been. I myself thought of how the
story ended and all the small talk between the actors. When shooting
all the scenes as a group we all made sure not to rush and to shoot each
scene more than 3 times but as this is my second time filming I have a
lot to learn and places I can improve at. I could of personally thought of
adding in different techniques instead of following the sheet we were
given put its all stuff I can think of and improve on. Towards the end on
our final two scenes we took quite awhile because we got a little of
track but it ended up being a positive because we took time and re
shooting the same scenes and helped us Improve the work.

19.  The elements I will defiantly use in my final product from my
experiments are the close up shots because these for my short film idea
will be key for intensity and drawing the viewers in. I also may include
some medium shots but I'm undecided because they might not work n
my short film. Because my film is going to be more of a thriller I like
the idea of long shots because it can make the mood change
dramatically. Even though I didn't use this technique in my experiment
I really like point o view shot because it really adds some involvement
from the viewer and can work really well if done properly. Because I
didn't really use that many elements and techniques I'm hoping to add
a lot more to make my final product really good.

20.  When doing the editing process I firstly removed the sim card out of the
camera and took the scenes I shot off the sim and onto the mac into a
file. I did the editing on premiere and I went through all the clips we
shot and I picked the best ones by watching each one and then dragging
them over into premiere. After put them all in order and then began to
edit. When editing the clips I used the razor tool to get rid of all the un
wanted footage of each clip which made the clips a lot more cleaner.
Then after doing all that editing and making it look cleaner I decided to
add a couple of fade in and outs of the audio which helped each scene
follow.

22.  On my reflection of my editing I think that I have a lot more to learn and
having more time to think about what I might add to make the best possible
product. This may have only been a practice and not a proper attempt but I
rushed and didn't think about what else I could add. So next time I now
know I need to think about how I'm going to add effects to advance my work
to its best possible outcome. But for the most part I know exactly how do
edit and made it the best possible work.

23.  When going out and doing the audio we were first put into pairs and
then given a device to go record our own audio. We were also given a
clip from Shaun of the dead with no audio, so our task was to go
collect sounds for us to edit the clip. We watched the clip multiple
times and rote a list of all the sounds we would've needed and then
once we were both satisfied we set off. With each sound we needed I
made sure that the area was nice and quiet so the audio wouldn't’t be
effected. With each sound we recorded we re listened and if we weren't
happy then we would record them at least 4 times for each sound.
After we collect all the audio needed we came back to then edit the
clip. When it came to editing I placed all of our audio onto the mac
and then began to to place them into a separate file. Again I edited on
premiere and began the process of picking all the best audio and
placing them into the clip. When it came to editing the audio, I again
used the razor tool to snip off all the un wanted audio that didn't’t fit
very well. If the audio was too fast then I would edit the tempo to slow
it down or speed it up if it was too slow. After finishing and happy
with what I had it together I had to export it and put it on YouTube.

25.  Reflecting of my audio work I found it interesting and liked the process of
doing the work. Again if we had more time and if this was for our actual
short film them I could have planned everything better and have a set
plan of my own. But from hat we were given and told to do I did pretty
well and ended up making the experiment very well. But some parts could
have been done a little better if again we had more time to think and
record. Over all it went well.

26.  The constraints of my production will come under time, technical, location and probably
organisation. I was thinking of filming out of college but I'm not sure if that could be
possible only because the equipment is expensive and I might not be trusted. When it
comes down to organisation if I'm not careful enough and don’t make everything
organised then a lot cold go wrong whilst filming and it could mess all the production.
This could involve all things such as with the people involved in the filming may not be
able to film when I would like and then I will get behind on work which then effects
how much time I have left to film. Whilst filming the camera may or may not be
working correctly and all the footage that I film could be lost when transferring it onto
a computer.