Current Filming

Because we learnt last year that filming does take lots of time and preparation, we put together a plan for filming right at the beginning of the year so we could keep on top and preferably be ahead of things, another thing that has come at the perfect time is a house being refurbished which we have at our disposal, although we have only finished the research section of the practical side of the media course, due to doing the same thing as last year we had a clear idea of what we are going to do so therefor we thought there is no better time to get started then right at the beginning.
The house we are currently using for most of our filming is currently as mentioned being refurbished, most the furniture in the house has been removed, the floors walls etc are all being re-plastered and re-laid and we have caught this in the process so the house at the moment has a very rugged effect, scary, abandoned almost which helps us to create the idyllic effect we had in mind.
We are currently using two cameras, one of the cameras we are using is for the filming and we have another camera to use for the stills of location we we then hope to upload to our blogger accounts. The cameras being of a high quality enables us to films and set perfect to the location, last year we had to do the filming on a simple camera which we where given and then do lots of editing on the Mac computers using iMovie, once we had our end product although we experienced using so many different effects etc, we felt that so much of the movie was effect, and the camera quality wasn't great it didn't give the real effect that we where looking for, however now we can film a higher level of film and make the horror seem less effect and more realistic.
We have done a lot of filming we realised we are not going to even use half of it, this was similar to last year as we realised there is simply too much footage and too much excess, the trailer as i mentioned in previous tasks needs to be spot on, so much that people want to see more, not so much they know too much, not so little so they have no clue. At the moment they have so much vague footage that it will not give enough information or give much of the plot.


We decided to stick with horror for a few main reasons, first reason was that we had already gone through it all last year and knew lots about the genre, the other reason was that we did horror last year and we got our grades, we could use this and watch it, see what didn't work, what we didn't do so well and improve on it, the third reason was that not only had we done it the year before, but the whole process of getting it done, the effects, the techniques, the themes all this work in different areas that we had done we felt we could use most of the same stuff and we had done it before so we could do it again, possibly to a higher level.

While we were filming recently in the being renovated house, 2 younger siblings of one of the group members came to the house, we thought we would make the most of this, and based on our answers from the interviews, the conclusion for one of the questions was that people do find a movie with a young child in it more scary, so we dressed one of them up in larger clothing and made them scurry around the corner in one of the scenes we filmed that day, it proved to be very effective.
from the beginning we said we wanted more of a cast because then we could do more, improve the piece rather than it just starring the usual same people, (us) and now we have used them for a scene we can film a follow on scene using them also, this is an advantage which we where not expecting however came at the perfect time.

BBFC - British Board of Film Classification

It is clear to tell from the image and the post title what the BBFC is and what they do, they give movies their viewing certificates, these certificates can be given based on a few different things, could be the gore content of the film, action, drugs, sex, physiological scare they deliver etc.

U stands for Universal, although it doesn't say an age but it says it should be viewable for children of the age of 4, however at this age it is not easy to tell what would upset a child so movies of this certificate are kept rather subtle.

When it comes to bad language in a U certified film, the extent is words like "damn" and "hell", words such as "bloody" and "bugger" may be used but this is right at the very extent of what can be used.

With regards to sexual content in U certified films, there may be scenes instigating something sexual, e.g. making love is going to come next but they won’t necessarily show it, just the leading scenes up to it, scenes like this are widely used in all films, the effect where the audience knows what is going to happen, or the scene after they know what has happened.

Horror and violence scenes will be used briefly in U certified movies, there will be small fight scenes or scenes where characters are placed in danger, however solutions will be imminent and the audience will be reassured.

Unless there is a clear educational message, or anti idea then drugs/illegal drugs are not normally used in U certified movies.

U certified films can cover most themes and keep the tone throughout the films subtle and reassuring. Friendship, loyalty, honesty and respect are largely used and this is to help with the tone of the film, U certified films are designed not to have too much of an influence on children's emotions.

PG stands for Parental Guidance, as you may know or guessed this is the next level up of certificate for films, a PG film is suitable for general viewing however with parental guidance, films with this certificate should not affect children aged eight or above, however when watching this film with a younger audience parents should consider it may affect them.

Not all PG films are made with children in mind however, for instance documentaries which are certified PG, documentaries could reveal truths and have disturbing images, and largely they are suitable for general audiences however.

Themes as you go up in age become more adult, for instance the themes in PG certified films may include, bullying and things like anti-social behaviour will not be condoned, and if children are seen to be drinking and smoking then it will be presented as being bad and wrong, similar as if drugs are shown in a PG certified film then they will be presented as harmful.

Bad language is something you will see more of in PG films, however only words such as "shit" and "son of a bitch," if the bad language is more vicious then there is chance it will be passed up to the next category.

There will be more sexual references in PG films, the only time the movie will be moved up to the certificate above is if they believe the child is going to be able to recognise and understand it, otherwise the film will be left with a PG certificate.

Violence will not be a main part of a PG film, although there may be some, there won’t be detailed scenes of horror and violence, there may be blood, how it came about will not be clear or highlighted.

Drugs involvement will be labelled with a clear message that this is bad, wrong and harmful, the only time you will see drugs. Pg certified films are all in all for every ones viewing.

The 12A and 12 certified films, 12A means that children under the age of 12 may watch the movie however they must be accompanied by an adult, if you are over the age of 12 then you can view the movie without adult company.

The language in both these certificates becomes stronger, the words stated before will still remain but words such as "fuck" "bitch" and "twat", even thought the language may get stronger, the use of bad language is going to be less frequent, unless strongly condemned racial and homophobic terms will not be used in 12A or 12 certified films, and if the use of them is frequent and not shown as wrong/bad then the certificate will be pushed up.

Sex may be portrayed in both these certificates however it would be very discreet, the type of things that would not go beyond young teen minds, strong sexual preference is unlike to be accepted into this category and with regards to nudity, it may remain in this category as long as it’s discreet.

the limit to violence n this certificate is increased yet not by so much, the odd scene of some gore and blood is feasible, however nothing in detail is allowed, for instance seeing an injury, crime scene with blood, these are the small references which are allowed.

The horror in this category has definitely increased, physical and psychological danger is allowed, for instance things like hanging and other means of death may be shown as long as they do not frequent or very sustained. Weapons are used in 12A and 12 films however the type of weapons that aren't hard to get a hold of should not be advertised/glamorised in the films for obvious reasons. Reference to drugs and drug use should not be frequent and should not be instructive and the idea that they are bad and wrong should still remain.

When it comes to the certificate of 15, its where cinemas, movie rental places and games stores begin to get much more strict, the rating of a game should not be underestimated due to the fact that it is a game, the rating remains the same and the content is going to be pretty much the same as it would in a 15 rated film, the rating has nothing to do with how hard the game is etc.

Here is a list of some of the things you may find in a 15 rated film:

· Strong violence

· Frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***').

· Portrayals of sexual activity

· Strong verbal references to sex

· Sexual nudity

· Brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence

· Discriminatory language or behaviour

· Drug taking

Language can get much stronger, words such as "C***" may be used which you would not get in any of the underneath categories, everything is pushed to higher level at 15 rated which is why companies may be seen as much more strict when it comes to selling a game or letting someone into the cinema.

The use of drugs may be more frequently shown but still must be labelled with the same message that they are bad, things such as aerosols and solvents which are also drugs are not allowed to be advertised/glamorised due to the reason they are easy to get a hold of, similar idea behind weapons being used in 12A and 12 rated films.

18 rated films are the highest rating a film can be given, with films rated at 18 all of the things in the previous descriptions which could not be used for whatever reason, you are likely to find in a film with and 18 certificate. A game rated 18 is the same as a film rated 18; they are going to contain the same content or very similar content.

Here is a list of some of the things an 18 certificate contains:

· Very strong violence

· Frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***') and/or very strong language (e.g. ‘c***’)

· Strong portrayals of sexual activity

· Scenes of sexual violence

· Strong horror

· Strong blood and gore

· Discriminatory language and behaviour

One thing however is that drug use may be frequently shown however there must still be clear indication not to misuse/take drugs. You may think that because something is rated an 18 that it will be full on filth and bad however even at 18 there are limits and levels.

The messages which lie behind film, all the things that could make someone cause harm to them, infest ideas about harm to society through violence all have to be thought about when rating a film, some films may never be seen or used in certain areas because of reasons that have been mentioned.

Audience Research

Currently we are coming up with a questionnaire to go around and ask to various ages throughout our school, because our theory is that the age where you begin to really think of the certain genres you like and have actual reasons for why. The questions we created for the questionnaire begin with general but then get into depth when we find out what kind of horror people like and we ask for reason as to why. the questions where:

• How old are you?
• Do you like horror films?
• If you don't why?
• What kind of horror films do you like and why? (gory or supernatural)
• What do you expect to see in a horror film?
• Do you fear the film more if it is based on a true story?
• What time of day do you prefer watching horrors and why?
• Have you ever had to stop watching a horror because its too scary?
• Have you ever had sleepless nights from a horror, if so what was the horror?
• Do you find horrors scarier when there is a child involved?

The questions we have come up with we feel look at most the different sides of horror and tell us what the audience actually like, what age they are etc, so we can look at the elements, find a possible trend as to what particulars the audience like and add them to our trailer.
We set out to ask mostly people in our year because as mentioned before this is when you are informed and have seen enough to really make your mind up about what you like. We also planned to ask teachers and generally older aged people who we know, the reason for this was because although our age in A2 is when you properly decide what you like, as you get older things change, people change, situations change, environments change, so there is a large chance that what people like is going to change. A question i am going to add on to the questionnaire for the older interviewees is precisely what I'm looking for:

• Has your choice since you where younger changed of what you like?

Depending on the reply we get we can then contrast the different ages and the different responses, look at reasons perhaps there are so many differences/similarities in taste by age.
By asking this question we may also be able to draw other strings about what kind of films people like and what they like in later life, do they like horror at a young age and then prefer comedy as they get older, do they settle into family life and prefer action, do they grow and get into horrors at an older age, so many thing can be drawn from one single question, As Roland Barthes says, different perspectives produce different meaning, he described text as "tangled threads" and once the threads where untangled they provide a whole range of potential meaning.
Rather than handing out questionnaires we have chosen to ask them the questions while filming them, given them a brief couple of minutes before we film so they can see the questions and think to give properly informed answers rather than off the top of their head which wouldn't give us such great feedback to work with.

Theories and Trailers

From research i have gathered various information for what makes a good trailer, there is a balance of elements which come together to produce a good trailer. If too much of the story is added to the trailer of a film then the audience will think there is no point to watch the film because they already have the plot and main scenes all in the trailer, however if too little of the story is given away the audience is left with a confused mind and question weather watching the movie is even going to be worth it.
Although we are not creating a full movie at the end to follow on from the trailer, these are the elements needed to create a good trailer regardless of weather its just a trailer or a movie is to follow.

Tzveta Todorovz's theory of narrative is worked around the idea of equilibrium, when things are at equilibrium they are balanced.
His theory goes:

• Equilibrium
• Disruption of the equilibrium
• Recognition of the disruption
• Attempt to repair the damage/disruption
• New equilibrium

Equilibrium, everything being okay at the beginning, you see a little bit into the character, his/her surroundings and personality.
Disruption of equilibrium, thing going wrong for the main character, for example hes a hero and hes challenged.
Recognition of the disruption, the character is over the reality that there has been a disruption and begins to look into and see what it is.
Attempt to repair the damage, comes up with a plan/scheme to fix what has happened, may have aquired a team or something for instance.
New equilibrium, the hero has solved the problem and everything has settled and the situation may be different then the beginning, for example some character may have died but things have gotten better and settled now.

Another theorist, Claude Levi Strausse had another media theory, this theory was of binary opposites, " a pair of opposites, thought by the Structuralists to powerfully form and organise human thought and culture."
Some of these opposites being the obvious, for instance, cold-hot, dark-light, although these are basic terms the way they are used and implied throughout media gives them allot more meaning, for example, you would have a gory horror scene set on a hot beach in broad daylight, the horror scene would be set in a dark forest where it gets cold and scary etc.

Another studied theorist in media is Roland Barthes, text in media is used on a wider level then in common vocabulary, text is used to describe images, actual text, film, basically the subject that you are working on, Barthes said texts where either "open or closed", his way of describing was that text is like lots of tangled threads, and he said that once those threads have been untangled it gives a whole range of potential meaning.
You can begin to look at a narrative from one perspective, however if you continue to break the narrative down with a different perspective you could come up with a complete different meaning. Barthes came up with 5 key codes which are found in any narrative.

• The Hermeneutic Code (HER)
• The Enigma/Proairetic (ACT)
• The Symbolic Code (SYM)
• The Cultural Code (REF)
• The Semantic Code (SEM)

The Hermeneutic Code: is the way the story avoids telling the truth or giving away all the facts, this is to cause mystery, this can be identified in horrors and many other films, the story only really begins to unravel itself halfway or even further through.
The Enigma/Proairetic: this is the buildup of tension and the effect of leaving the audience on edge and thinking what happens next..
The Symbolic Code: similar to the semantic code, it puts semantic meanings into bigger categories and sets of meanings, this is when there is antithesis, opposing and conflicting ideas.
The Cultural Code: morality and ideology, looks at the audiences wider cultural knowledge.
The Semantic Code: this code points to the particular elements in a text that suggest a particular, often additional meaning by way of connotation. Connotation: cultural/underlining meaning, what it symbolises.

http://www.slideshare.net/alexdabriel/barthes-codes-theory