Storyboards

These are the storyboards that we made in our group for the opening sequence of our film. 

The first shot is an establishing shot that moves down to show the main character entering the building. The shot will be a very high/birds eye shot to make him seem smaller. There will be diegetic sound of cars going past but no music.

The second and third shots shows the main character entering the building holding a letter, the camera starts in an over-the-shoulder shot and moves out to show him entering the building. 

The Main character then goes into 'Room 101' this is shown from a high angle with a CCTV camera effect. There will be diegetic sound of machinery and footsteps, it will be a medium long shot and should move on an axis on a reverse arc to replicate the movement of a CCTV camera. After a second or two he is shown running out of the room and the viewers aren't shown what was in the room. For the scenes where the main character is running away   we will edit the shots together quickly and so that the shots are around half a second in length, this will make it appear frantic and emphasise the panic of the situation. After running away he gets lost and then finds himself back at room 101, we will use things like canted angles and eerie music to connote that something strange is going on.

Then we had an idea to have a scene where a point of view shot is used to show that the character is being watched, this would be done by using a handheld camera and to make it appear to be following him. The next shot shows that he hears a noise and looks around, the POV shot is shown to hide around a corner as he looks around. An eyeline match is then used to show that he cant see anything there. A medium shot could be used to show him as he walks over to where he heard the noise, which then moves in an arc to show his face as he looks around the corner. The music in the background will be gradually building up at this point. As he looks around the corner the music suddenly stops and the camera zooms into his face to show his expression of fear. The viewers are left asking what he has seen as the opening sequence ends. 

Session 9 Overview

An asbestos abatement crew wins the bid for an abandoned insane asylum. What should be a straightforward, if rather rushed, job, is complicated by the personal histories of the crew. In particular, Hank is dating Phil's old girlfriend, and Gordon's new baby seems to be unnerving him more than should be expected. Things get more complicated as would-be lawyer Mike plays the tapes from a former patient with multiple personalities, including the mysterious Simon who does not appear until Session 9, and as Hank disappears after finding some old coins.

Conventions of a psychological horror

Weapons

When watching a Psychological horror film, the weapons you tend to see are not actual physical weapons, but tend to be more supernatural and psychological. For example, the killer’s twisted minds act a weapon of fear against the victims in the film. Also, in Supernatural horror films things such as visions, jumpy moments and so on are used as weapons of fear, supernaturally, rather than actually possessing a knife, or axe for example.

Settings

Some of the main settings you will see time and time again when watching a Psychological horror film are big houses, forest/ woodland areas, ware houses, schools, and hospitals and so on. These types of settings create realism for the target audience as they are able to relate to the film on some level, having seen/ been or currently live in these settings. This increases the fear for the audiences are they begin to picture themselves in these positions.

Sights

Quite often, when watching a psychological horror film, there are flashbacks that take the audience back to see why the killer is disturbed and to explain what happened to them in their lives that has lead them to become mentally challenged.

We also may see shadows/ silhouettes which UN nerve and terrify the audiences.

Sounds

Common sounds/ music that we hear when watching a Psychological Horror film are; Contrapuntal Sound- this is sound that doesn’t match the action that is on screen. E.g. at the end of the ‘Orphan’ film trailer, before the sting.

This contradicts the action taking place on screen and adds to the paranormal fears of the film.

Psychological horror films use eerie music, like other sub genres to build tension and to create suspense.

Characters  

A disturbed, or tormented individual is the main antagonist, usually comes back to get revenge on their victims. The victims can differ but like any horror film, a high percentage of the victims are female. The uses of children as the killers are also very popular. E.g. the Orphan, the Omen. When psychological horror films use children as the killer, again, the victims tend to be female. This could have something to do with the fact that mothers are maternal and the female audiences watching will be able to relate to the character in some way.

General Conventions

This type of horror tends to be more subtle, meaning there is less physical harm and bloody gore visible to the viewers.

Psychological horrors create discomfort in the viewer by exposing common or universal psychological vulnerabilities and fears.

They expose the evil that hides behind normality, but with splashes of the paranormal which the audience is unable to relate to completely. (This relates to the idea of why people enjoy horror films which is because they thrive on the excitement of being scared, yet in a controlled setting).

Some say that this sub genre should not be linked to horror, because it relates more the thriller genre, but in psychological horror one of the main purposes of the film is to frighten the audience mentally, whereas this is not the case in thrillers. 

The 180 degree rule

The 180 degree rule creates an imaginary line on a 180 degree axis, this is a guideline for filming and creating continuity in, for example, a conversation. 

Crossing the imaginary line will make it appear as if the two characters have swapped position on the screen, which may be disorienting for the viewer.

What is a psychological thriller movie?

Psychological movies are mainly based on mental rather than physical tension, suspense can be created when a character is seen to be battling against his own mind. They usually focus quite heavily on character development but sometimes also  have quite a complicated and unpredictable storyline.
Thriller movies are generally said to be somewhere between an action movie and a horror movie, with strong emphasis on elements like suspense, tension and excitement. Designed to keep the audience 'on the edge of their seats' thrillers often involve placing the protagonist in almost certain danger with no obvious way of escape.
Psychological thriller movies generally involve a well-known protagonist who is seen to be battling against his/her own emotions or damaged mental state. This may result in their mind playing tricks on them like seeing things or a recurring negative memory. 

Outline of the task

Our task in Media is to create an opening sequence for a psychological thriller movie.

Continuity Excersise

This week we filmed our continuity exercise and I played a mental patient in an interview with a doctor who turned out to be a figment of his imagination. We made sure to follow rules like the 180 degree rule and used a match on action and an eye line match for when I looked out of a window. We also used over-the-shoulder shot-reverse-shots to film the conversation, to enhance the realism of the conversation and to show the conversation from two different perspectives.  In order to make it appear continuous we will need to edit the clips together to make them appear as if it is shown as it happened.

What makes a good psychological horror?

'Horror films take our deepest fears - those ideas and thoughts that are just so scary that we can't contemplate them becoming real - and ask the question "What if?" The fear of the unknown has to be the strongest human emotion and a good horror film can make us feel like we are experiencing our worst nightmare.'

'Define your characters and give them good characterization, the audience will get attached to whatever characters they like best. This captivates the audience more.'


'Hitchcock used to make this distinction between surprise and suspense. If you see a couple sit down in a restaurant and chat for a while and then a bomb under the table blows up, that's a surprise. If you had the exact same scene but the camera went under the table to show you the bomb and then went on the same way, you'd see it a different way because you'd know what is going to happen. The best horror movies play on that type of anticipation. They don't rely on 'boo' moments.’
‘The most successful horror movies are those that slowly build up. The great ones deal with moral danger, not just physical. The unraveling of society. An example is "Night of the Living Dead", which came out in the '60s around the time of the Vietnam War. It was a very bleak film about people being under attack. It caught the spirit of paranoia and us against them’