Prop Sourcing

Shooting Schedule

Shot List

Audience Feedback on Location Report

Following from the first draft of our location report for Wiccan, we decided to ask 6 people from our target audience what they thought, giving any possible improvements. Below are the results. 

From the results, we decided to completely take on board what our respondents told us and we changed the location of the school room to Violet's bedroom to ensure the audience can connect with her on a more personal level just from the trailer, especially teenage girls, perhaps our main target audience. They loved the dark locations of the church and field, but were not too keen on The Spirit Guide's office so we have decided to change the location of the office to are more fun and quirky area to match the personality of The Spirit Guide and to also make it more visually appealing for the audience when watching the trailer.

Location Report (Final)

Location Report

Shot Tests

Lighting Tests

In preparation for filming our trailer, we conducted two separate lighting tests, one where we tested shadows which created a sense of fear of the unknown and ease and one with three point lighting where we positioned two lights at the side of the subject and one behind.

Shadow Tests



Three Point Lighting

Before

After

Wardrobe Decisions

Casting Decisions

 

Audition Tapes

To help us decide who should play the role of Violet in our trailer 'Wiccan', we conducted auditions. We wanted to audition teenage girls as this is what Violet is and someone who audience members can relate to and side with as she is our main protagonist despite the evil turn she takes and becomes violent (hence why we chose the name Violet). Here we have the audition tapes, from 4 potential actresses to play the role of Violet.

From the auditions, we came to a conclusion that Christy Duvenhage should take on the role of Violet. We loved her enthusiasm in and out of the role and also her own take of the script. Overall she was very determined and happy to play the role so we thought we would take full advantage of this. We did however also like Francesca Bjorkegren's audition but didn't think she would suit the role of Violet, which led us to think how perfect she would be whilst playing Elizabeth due to her innocent and likeable personality.

Test Shots of Blood

User Ratings on IMBD

In Conclusion...

From my findings of the 12 user ratings on IMBD, I have discovered typical horror film demographics. All the films have been rated predominantly by males and this indicates that the general target market is males. However, it is important to note the fact that not every member of the audience would have rated the film seen on IMDB. Males may be more likely to be drawn to slashers due to the blood and the gore, but within the bracket of supernatural and thriller horrors, women seem to make up a large percentage of the audience. When analysing The Conjuring, the film has strong female characters and a lack of gore, both of which could have attracted the 53% of females to the film. Similarly, Mama drew an audience that was 61% female and females made up 56% of the audience for The Purge. 

Audience Feedback on Script and Storyboard

Following from the first draft of our script and storyboard, we asked 4 people for feedback. The majority of their feedback was positive with comments saying they liked the locations and spells included. However we did get some improvements which was the whole point in this task. One of our respondents want to see more dialogue included towards the end between the two girls on the script, Violet and Eva, however we didn't think this was necessary as we didn't want to give too much away about the film from the trailer and we love how the trailer will end with splicing and music to build tension and fear.

With the storyboard, one respondent wanted to see the storyboard begin with the disruption as he loved the visuals. We wanted to begin the trailer with the equilibrium to show the audience what Violet was like prior to the possession. Another wanted to see more of a variety in terms of shots so we will add a dutch tilt when Violet approaches Elizabeth to suggest confusion and unease as Violet, an innocent girl, will be possessed by a demon. We have created a second draft for both the storyboard and script with the difference of beginning the trailer with an attempt to repair; Violet seeking help from the Spirit Guide. This will get the audience interested from the very outset as they will wonder what has happened to her, something that is briefly mentioned towards the end of the trailer.

Script and Storyboard (Final)

Script (Final)

Storyboard (Final)

Storyboard

Script

Script (Draft 1)

Narrative of Trailer and Iconic Imagery

Narrative of Trailer

Interior of library shows a girl (Violet) browsing through a shelf of books until she stops and finds a book called The Book Of Shadows. Intrigued by the name she picks it up and opens it. She is then seen researching Wicca online when she finds information about a meet up in her area. Violet meets up with the girl who organised the meet up, Eva. They perform a ritual and Violet gets possessed by a demon. She seeks the help from a Spirit Guide who tells her what has happened and the only way to get rid of it is by sacrificing something pure. Whilst this is heard through voiceover, we see Violet being controlled by the demon and putting Elizabeth in a coma. The trailer then shows a series of fast paced shots are shown as Violet attempts to sacrifice Elizabeth to the demon.

Iconic Imagery

Moodboard

Wicca in the News

Production Company Logo

Before creating a production company logo for our trailer for 'Wiccan', we decided to research various existing production company logos that are featured in paranormal trailers that have been released in the past few years. Below I have presented my findings.

All 8 of the production company logos are very dark, suggesting the genre; even the logos that are usually bright have been edited to fit with the genre of horror. The main colour palette for all of the logos are black (connoting evil, death and fear of the unknown), white (innocence, purity, hope) and red (blood, danger, power). The font is usually very bold too. Some production company logos even suggest common themes of films, for example the logo for 'A Bigger Boat' suggests isolation; we see a very empty location at night. From my research, we have created a production company logo that will appear in our trailer. The red will connote blood and death which we see in the trailer itself and the skull is linked to the production company name - Poison Productions; it is the main symbol for poison which also links to witches and covens.

Film Treatment

WICCAN

AFTER RESEARCHING THE WORLD OF WICCA, A GIRL UNINTENTIONALLY RELEASES AN ANCIENT DEMON THAT ATTACHES ITSELF TO THE PUREST OF SOULS AND RUINS THEIR LIVES, ONE BLACKOUT AT A TIME.

Main Characters

Violet / Eva / The Demon / Elizabeth / The Spirit Guide

Synopsis

I have applied the same layout as I did for research into existing trailer narratives for our trailer to Wiccan. This can be seen below.

Since then, our narrative of trailer has changed and we will open with the realisation of Violet seeking help from the Spirit Guide. I believe this non-linear narrative in the trailer will engage the audience straight away and make them intrigued to know what has happened to her from the outset. The narrative will keep going back to their conversation - the trailer will be almost structured around this, for example, when Violet reveals something to the audience, that part of the film will be briefly shown in the trailer (when she mentions she found the Book of Shadows, shots where she finds it in the school library are seen straight after).

Codes and Conventions of Horror Film Trailers Documentary

We filmed a documentary about the codes and conventions of various horror trailers. We cover Production Details and Text, Representation, Mise En Scene, Sound, Camera and Editing.

Narrative of a Film

We looked at the narrative of three paranormal horror films as well as the narrative of their trailers. We chose these films based on our influences when it came to creating our own synopsis for our trailer, Wiccan.

Poltergeist (2015)

The Conjuring (2013)

Sinister (2012)

Marketing Campaigns for Existing Horror Films

Friday the 13th

The Woman in Black

Audience Feedback for A Film Concept