Practice 6 Panel Storyboards

Choice of Trailer

Our group has decided on doing a highlights trailer rather than a scene trailer because if we did a scene trailer its either context or action but with a highlights trailer we can show the context of the zombie outbreak which would be the rotten meat and it getting eaten, plus we can include some action scenes that would normally occur further into the film, we can use this to show off our gore effects too. We plan to use a few gore and make up effects to stay with the conventions of an action horror/ gory horror.

Dawn Of The Dead (2004) (DOTD) x 3

This is a shot from the opening credits of the film and this is only shown for a couple of seconds and is a subtle hint of where the zombie virus may be from. This shot shows people praying in a mosque suggesting that the virus may have come from the Middle East and not long before this movie came out the attacks of 9/11 had happened so many of the American public was scared of terrorists even more than usual. So making the zombies Middle Eastern gives the movie this theme of invasion because America has been taken over by this symbolic “virus”. During the opening credits there are several very grainy footage from the Middle East  which adds to the realism of the news report. The music playing during these credits links in very well to the film too because its all about the end of the world.

In this scene we see the remaining characters being chased by a horde of zombies that chase them into an elevator this breaks up the chase and changes the mood briefly and acts as a piece of collision cutting. The music is conventional for elevators but not for horror movies so this is also contrapuntal music as it is quite cheery and happy CJ also mentions that he likes the song. The way this shot is set up puts Ana in the centre connoting how she is a leader and central character. Monica is to the left  and is the female victim which is displayed by her use of make-up and long blonde hair which are the conventions for the female victim her expression also connotes this.

This is from the end of the film where we see the final characters get on the boat and Ana watches Michael shoot himself. This scene shows some themes of freedom and American independence. This is done by the placement of the American flag in the background and that the survivors are sailing away into the sunset to be safe and free. Even Ana is a representation of the stereotype of an attractive, blonde American women but it is done in a way that doesn’t objectify her but makes her look strong and independent. The weather is nice in this scene and sunny which connotes happiness, this is called pathetic fallacy. The sun rising (hence “Dawn” in the film’s title) because it reflects the mood of the scene and it is happy because they made it to the boat and are getting away. However halfway through the end credits there is more footage that shows where the survivors end up and they are killed off screen (restricted narration) and this is an unhappy ending which is another convention for horror films.

Dawn of the Dead (1978) Image Analysis x 3

In this shot we see two of the main characters; Stephen and Roger who is about to shoot a zombie in the head, leading to Tom Savini utilising some gore effects which the movie is well known for. It is also one of the first times we notice how useless Stephen is when we discover that he is poor with a rifle, and this goes against the usual conventions of films especially for the time it was made. Stephen conventionally should be the male hero as he is in a relationship with a good job as a news reporter and is handsome and overall he is the stereotype of a male hero. But instead the male heroes end up being Peter and Roger which was a bit of a shock for people at the time because in the context of 1970s audiences, they weren’t as used to the idea of a black hero either. The rifle can also be seen as a phallic symbol which connotes the higher male power of roger rather than Stephen.

 In this shot we can see a medium shot of Fran with Stephen being attacked in the background again showing that he is largely useless. Fran goes against conventions because she didn’t scream showing to the audience that she is a strong female character that isn’t always holding the group back and causing trouble, instead that role went to Stephen. However I wasn’t sure why she didn’t help Stephen. Maybe it was because see was focusing on the zombie coming the other way and wondering what to do. Another thing about Fran is that she is blonde and this characteristic normally belongs to the female victim however Fran is the final girl so again this film challenges a lot of stereotypes and this is something that the director George Romero is known for and is part of his Auteur style. He also uses a strong female character in Day of the Dead as well as some other unconventional heroes.

This shot is from the beginning of the film where a team of military police or something similar raid a block of apartments occupied by some Puerto Rican immigrants and zombies. There is one particular member of the team called Wooley who goes in and shoots anyone he can he comes across. Wooley  a racist and generally a horrible person and is a representation of everything that is wrong with society, but we are put at ease when the male hero Peter shoots him in the back and that could be seen as a symbol of black, non-racist power. This is Romero’s auteur style at work again and due to being half Cuban he hated racism and this reflects in his films. The exploding head effect used in this scene is now a well-known effect in action and horror films alike and DOTD is well known for effects such as these.

Psycho (1960) Image Analysis x 3

This shot is from when Norman is talking to Marion in his office, one of the first things to notice in this scene are props such as the stuffed owl that is on his wall this is a representation of Norman because it is a bird of prey and Norman is a killer. Stuffing dead animals is known as taxidermy it is an odd hobby and connotes that Norman is outside the CDI as well as him living in the secluded motel. This is a medium shot of Norman however the main focus of the image is the owl, the low lighting also gives this image a menacing look and gives the owl a shadow behind it making it look more intimidating and possibly a representation of a darker side that you could link to Norman’s schizophrenia. Norman also mentions how Marion ‘eats like a bird’ which sets of more connotations about her being his prey.

This is a shot from the scene where Marion Crane is killed and one of the first times we see the character Mother. The lighting makes it so that we only see the silhouette of the character adding some mystery to her. This is a medium shot and possibly a point of view shot as well because we can see the image is distorted by the shower water rushing past. This puts us in the shoes of Marion which makes the audience feel scared and fear for their own life. You could also say that the shower water is a use of pathetic fallacy to suit the mood of the scene which is sad/ scary. The weapon she is using is a kitchen knife which could be a very subtle hint towards the mother actually being Norman because the kitchen knife can be seen as a phallic symbol for male power. The shot is a slightly low angle shot connoting the power that the character has in this scene, and you can also see that mother looks like she’s looking down slightly too. The shower scene was a quick montage too which gets the audience excited and even frightened, this was part of Hitchcock’s auteur style.

This image is of Norman’s dead mother and is just before the final girl is attacked. I think that this moment in the film when the corpse turns around connotes death because her face is basically a skull which is a popular representation of the theme of death.  It is a close up shot which gives us a closer look at the mother’s face this adds to the shock of the scene because the audience does not expect this. During this scene there is a swinging light that almost gives the illusion of the mothers eyes moving giving the corpse some life and making the scene even creepier for the audience. The light also adds some element of panic and distortion to the scene. This is also a reference to the real life killer Ed Gein who also dug up his mother and preserved her corpse in 1957 just three years before the release of psycho. Ed Gein was fresh in people’s memories and people where scared of him.

Film Review: Silent Hill (2005) Director: Christopher Gans

Brief plot outline: A young girl keeps having moments where she wonders off and puts herself in all kinds of dangerous situations only to be saved by her mother. The girl has no memory of the things she does, the girl and her mother go on a long drive but they crash just outside of Silent Hill and when the mother regains conciseness her daughter is nowhere to be found. Can she save her daughter from her own worst fears?

Which two scenes impressed you the most? Why? The first scene that impressed me was where the final girl walks into the room full of the undead nurses because the scene was so unsettling, the way they moved was unsettling too and the whole scene was very tense because of techniques such as low key lighting and the use of the flashlight which restricted what we could see making it that much scarier. The cutting gets quicker the further into the scene we get until the nurses notice the final girl and try to kill her but they just end up slitting each other’s throats the use of the gore here made this scene more disgusting for the audience. The other scene was where the character “Pyramid Head” rips the skin off of a living woman, this scene completely shocked me because it was very sudden and the use of body horror was very powerful too.

How has watching this film helped you understand this genre of film making? Which features on the genre checklist did you spot in the film? When? How? This film helped me understand the horror genre by using a wide range of cinematography, editing, sound etc. This film used most of the genre checklist however there was no psycho serial killer because it was not needed because instead it used a variety of slow moving monsters. There was plenty of body horror/ blood and gore like the end scene with the barb wire that kills nearly everyone, the creepy location was Silent Hill itself which worked very well because it created that sense of being trapped as the only way out was collapsed. Low key lighting was used when hiding from “Pyramid Head” in a dark room with only one exit. There was a male hero in this film but he wasn’t involved much because he wasn’t in Silent Hill, however there were two female heroes which were the police woman and the girl’s mother, although you might say the police woman was a female victim as well.

Which aspects of the film would you like to AVOID in your own trailer? Why? Can you recreate this in your own film? How? If I had to choose something that I would avoid in my own trailer it would be that the film used too many computer animated effects on the gore and personally I prefer practical effects because they look more realistic.

What were the best aspect/ more enjoyable moment in the film? Why? Can you recreate this in your own film? How? I wouldn’t say it was an enjoyable moment but when Cyndil (the police woman) is burnt alive for being a witch. I’d like to recreate this because she was a likeable character who was unfairly killed because she saved the final girl, there was an emotional effect when she was killed and I would like to recreate this so that it has a horrifying effect on my audience.

How does the film show the influence of its “auteur” director? How does it show the directors filmmaking style and soul? Give examples of three scenes from the movie that show their auteur style. You can see from watching films directed by Christophe Gans that he likes dark plots which is clear to me after watching Brotherhood of the Wolf which is about a serial killer in eighteenth century France . This is also made obvious from the opening to Silent Hill has a little girl nearly killing herself so already you can tell the auteur style is dark, as for setting the first time you see the town of Silent Hill it is barely visible because of the fog and instantly makes the audience feel gloomy. Then there is the children’s school which is creepy and this makes the audience uneasy especially because of the use of blood and corpses.

Film Review: Alien VS Predator (2004) Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Brief Plot Outline: A team of handpicked soldiers and scientists are sent to Antarctica to investigate a pyramid they believe to be built by the first civilisation; the only problem is that it’s several thousand feet under the ice with more than just stone and dust within.

 Which Two Scenes Impressed You The Most? Why? There is a scene mid-way through the film where a Predator fights an Alien for the first time in the film. I liked this scene because of the character design and the fight itself was fast paced and in the form of a quick montage. My second favourite scene from the film is where the last Predator and “final girl” team up and fight the Alien Queen; I liked this scene because the power between the two sides was constantly shifting making me wonder who would win.

How has watching this film helped you understand this genre of filmmaking? Which features on the genre checklist did you spot in the film? When? How? Watching this film has helped me understand that if you’re going to make a fictional species it is a good idea to give them a good backstory because the backstory used in this film links in to things in the real world like why all ancient structures look so similar across the world. The other is that one of the best types of monster to include in your horror is one with no emotion which is why the Alien works so well, the Alien is also intertextual to the werewolf in some ways too because they are both fast moving monsters that just eat and kill everything. From the checklist I noticed; blood and gore this was shown near the beginning of the film where the aliens start bursting out of peoples chests and when the Predator from the fight scene is killed however that part could also be seen as restricted narration because the blood is green which for some reason doesn’t affect us as much. The creepy location used was the underground temple which was excellent because it is so secluded and puts the fear of being trapped. Most of the film used low key lighting; a quick montage was used in the Alien and Predator fight scene. Slow montage when the alien eggs appear, collision cutting was used in the final scene. Close ups were used on the Aliens several times. There was a canted angle used as an Alien POV shot which is also a quick moving monster. The film followed horror conventions and had a female survivor, male hero and female victim, the fear of death was got across through using certain characters such as ones with families the ending was an open ending and there was historical context in the Predator/ Alien backstory.

Which aspects of the film would you like to include in your own trailer? Why? If I had the money and time I would like to include several aspects of this film in my own such as the excellent latex effects or props in general. I would also love a good location to film although Antarctica is obviously out of the question.

Which aspects of the film would you like to avoid in your own trailer? Why? There isn’t much I would avoid however I would like a smaller cast of characters to get the audience more intimately involved with the main characters so it matters more to the audience when one dies and causes an emotional effect. However in the sequel AVP 2: Requiem the lighting was too low key to the point where you couldn’t see anything throughout most of the film which is a problem because I found it hard to immerse myself in the film.

What were the best aspect/ more enjoyable moment in the film? Why? Can you recreate this in your own film? How? I think that the build-up to the predators arrival was very exciting because of how they used quick montages of the predators putting on their gear but without showing their faces, these montages had a military feel to them too which was done through the use of props such as weapons and armour etc. The scene also used parallel music; I would use this technique in an action film or a hybrid of action and horror rather than just a horror.