Shot-list

Prop-list

Health and Safety report.

Final Image analysis. The Cabin in the Woods

This scene from The Cabin on the Woods shows how genre conventions still exists and are used in modern horror movies.  In the centre of the shot we have the stereotypical male hero, the one who is going to save the day for everybody in the horror movie. We can see his strength though the iconography of the sports jacket. This tells us the audience that Curt is a ‘jock’.

Curt is also the leader as we can see him centre shot and the two character hiding behind him waiting for him to lead the way forward. To the left of him is the female victim, Jules. We can see this through her code of dress, the very short and reviling clothing suggest she likes to show of her body. Also the colour of her hair is blonde which has always been the stereotypical hair of the victim. To prove this point, Jules is the first character to be killed.  

I also like the mise-en-scene, with the dark cellar hidden underneath the cabin. This adds to the film’s already creepy atmosphere with the use of stereotypical, enclosed setting. This scene also uses great collision from slow->fast to build suspense and then deliveries a big pay off, as after this slow sequence we have a quick montage if the zombie family rising from their graves.

They keep these stereotypes because they work so well. There is nothing wrong in making something new but keeping some of the conventions. The genre of horror is a perfect example of if “it isn’t broke don’t fix it.” Although The Cabin in the Woods is a modern action horror, it still uses classic stereotypes in the film to let the audience know it still part of the genre.  This is a perfect example of Schatz’s Genre Theory. The director Drew Goddard uses the stereotypical conventions to make sure they pull the genre fans along to the film. Although the film is a battle against convention, it still needs to appear to be a horror to get the horror films to come along.

The Cabin in the Woods is an action horror movie that battles the genre as a whole. It looks at why all the stereotypes exist and if there is something behind it all. It’s really interesting to see the conventions being planned by an organization, a twist never done before in the genre. The Cabin in the Woods steps back and takes a look at why these stereotypes happen, and the reason why they keep turning up all over the genre.    

Mood Board. Why we chose them

 

The image with Freddy standing in the hallway was chosen because the way the lighting is makes him appear as a silhouette. This consequently makes him seem creepy, because we fear the unknown, which in this case is the figure at the end of the hallway. The lighting also creates a tense atmosphere due to the mist, making us feel empathetic towards the final girl. In the other NOES pictures they both carry on with the silhouette theme, and also have Freddy wearing the hat, which relates to our scarecrow, who also wears a hat.

Scarecrow’s face from Batman Begins was chosen because it is a very simple mask, but very effective because you can still see the person’s eyes, which is quite disturbing. It was also chosen because the idea of The Scarecrow from Batman spreading fear was one we wanted to somehow use in our trailer.

The barn in the mood board is very similar to that of the one from Ed Gein, in which he hangs up a woman and cuts her open. We hope to have a decent level of gore in our trailer. This follows on to the crow image which we chose because we would like a crow to be with the scarecrow, and for it to eat people. The crow can connote evil, but it will be twisted around in our trailer because the crow is actually a friend to the scarecrow.

The scene from Cabin in the Woods was chosen for the level of gore it involves. The film is practically gore-less until that scene, which makes it even more unsettling and shocking. The image of the dead woman was also chosen due to its realistic nature, which makes it seem more disturbing because it is a real life death.

Chad from Tucker and Dale vs Evil is on the mood board because we believe him to be a typical male character that is generally not a very nice person, and also ends up dying in an incredibly brutal way.

The Birds on the climbing frame was chosen mainly due to the scene from The Birds in general when they are all squawking and flying around then go completely silent. This is collision cutting, but it is done in such a way that it just isn’t expected because crows aren’t thought to be violent animals.

Choice Of Trailer

We will be making a highlight trailer. Because we are producing an action horror trailer we need to show off the factors from the movie. The best way to do this would be taking the biggest and best moments from the films action sequences and showing small pieces from them, to generate excitement.


 We will be doing a red-band trailer as this allows us to show the gore elements of our film. Also with a red-band it means we have no restrictions when making the film. Then we can explore body horror with freedom in the trailer. This would allow us to land a “sucker punch” on the audience which George A. Romero spoke about in the Documentary The dead will walk in which he speaks about landing a big moment of gore earlier on to really shock the audience and catch them off guard. In Dawn of the Dead his sucker punch is the head explosion earlier on in the film which shows the audience what type of film it going to be, a 18 certificate
gory horror.

A Stereotypical Action Horror Fan and Class Poll

Our stereotypical horror fan, mainly like action horror, but doesn’t mind elements of gore and psychological horror in the films that he watches. Wears casual clothing like jeans and a t-shirt. Generally goes to the cinema with a few friends. His appearance doesn’t bring across that he is a huge horror fan. Probably plays video games in his free time

Generally fits into the C2 and D1 demographics, but can also be above or below that. Mainly mainstream, doesn’t have all the characteristics of a mainstream psychographic, because he also adapts to what society is like at the moment (clothing etc.). Usually around 18-35 years old. They see themselves as a mainstreamer. They like whatever is popular at the time, however also show signs of reformer. They see things in the world aren’t perfect and they want to change it.  They enjoy horror movies as they twist stereotypes and like the forward thinking. They like the fact there are black and women hero, it shows how the world is changing and that just because you are a certain sex or race doesn’t mean you can’t do things.  

Their favourite horror movies would be:

·         The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

·         Dawn of the Dead (2004)

·         The Crazies (2010)

·         The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

Below is the class horror poll that we conducted in October, 2012. It was carried out with 8 males and 9 females, and confirmed that females generally prefer psychological and action horrors, while males prefer gory horrors. The results were close, however, which suggests horror can appeal to both genders.