After speaking with our costume provider we have decided to make a practical adjustment to the costume for our protagonist. This means that instead of using a choker necklace as planned we will instead be using a broach pinned to the blouse. The necklace was a key part of the costume, but was a practical difficulty due to the blouse having a high neckline. The necklace would have overlapped the blouse which would have had a negative effect on the validity of our period style as typically choker necklaces would have been worn with low neck blouses. Primarily however, the two items would have looked wrong together on screen.

As stated we have instead chosen to use a broach pinned to the high necked blouse. This will be a large golden star shaped broach, as the image below shows.

Images Edited to Match Intended Visual Style

Original Images

Purpose:

From the questionnaires we aimed to discover:

• What our target audience's expectations are for a supernatural horror film
• What their general tastes and preferences are and what they find most effective in regards to supernatural horror (e.g. Do they prefer a visible antagonist?)
• What they believe would be best in our own production and whether they support the decisions we've already made (essentially testing our concept)

Methodology:

• We opened our questionnaire with some introductory remarks to outline the purpose of the research and investigation to our audience.
• The terminology we used was not especially simplified. Our production will have some violence and prosthetics in it that would be more appealing to the core horror audience of 15 to 24, who are more likely to understand the terminology relevant to horror
• Our first two questions were used to gauge the participant's taste in supernatural horror, and, this being a separate part of the essay, we used both an quantitative and qualitative question
• The first being a circle box that estimates the frequency of a participants supernatural horror viewing and the second being an open question regarding the participant's favorite supernatural horror movie, which gives a more specific idea of the participant's tastes
• The third question required a scaled response and focused on ideology within our target audience, specifically gender
• The fourth question utilised semantic differential to judge what kind of atmosphere and style our audience likes in regards to supernatural horror
• The fifth question was a circle box that focused on the preferred time of day a supernatural horror movie should take place in
• The sixth question was qualitative and is used to discover what presentation of an antagonist people find most effective.

Questionnaire

Shown to the right is an example response to our questionnaire. We asked the participants to fill out the following questions:

• How often do you watch supernatural horror?
• What is your favorite supernatural horror film?
• How important is it to have a female protagonist in horror?
• Indicate your preferred style of horror.
• What time of day is most effective for supernatural horror?
• Do you think the antagonist should be visible in supernatural horror? Why?

Results

 Question 1 -

• 8 out of 12 people said that they almost never watch supernatural horror.
• 4 out of 12 said they watch supernatural horror at least once a year.
• This result was expected as supernatural horror is a very specific sub-genre, and although it is currently in fashion there are still relatively few well known films that follow this sub-genre. 

Question 2 -

• All the appropriate responses listed one of just four films as their favorite supernatural horror film.
• These were Insidious (Wan, 2010), The Conjuring (Wan, 2013), The Shining (Kubrick, 1980) and Poltergeist (Hooper, 1982).

Question 3 -

• This question saw a variety of responses and at least one response for every option given.
• Half of those asked replied that it is not important to have a female protagonist in horror.
• Only 4 responded saying that it was very or slightly important.

Question 4 -

• Again, there was a significant amount of variety in the responses to this question.
•  The option with the most responses to the first part of the question was option 1 with 5 people saying that they prefer supernatural horror to have a grounded setting. 
• For the second part of the question the most responses were for option 5, that a supernatural horror film should have a dark atmosphere.

Question 5 -

• All of the responses to this question stated that the most effective time of day for supernatural horror is late in the day.
• This came through with 5 out of 12 stating midnight was the most appropriate time, followed by both Twilight and Evening with 3 responses each. 
• Nobody thought that sunrise or midday were the most effective times for supernatural horror to take place.
  

Question 6 -

•  The short answer to this shows that 8 out of 12 people thought that the antagonist should not be visible in supernatural horror.
• Only 4 out of 12 thought that the antagonist should be visible to the audience.
• The longer responses varied in approach, with the majority stating that not having the antagonist shown creates more suspense.
• One response stated that the audience should see the antagonist as it gives a focus for their fear.

Evaluation

 This data is fairly useful for our project, although there are a couple of results we cannot take into account for purely logistical reasons.

The first question told us that among our target audience, very few people regularly watch supernatural horror. We feel this can be interpreted in two ways.

• The first way is that they are not very interested in supernatural horror, or even the horror genre as a whole.
• The second is that there may not be many supernatural horror films that appeal to the group we tested, in which case we could try to cater our style to appeal more to our target audience than most supernatural horror films do.

We found the results from the second question encouraging as we have been using some of the films stated by the participants as influences for our opening. We are trying to create a style not unlike The Conjuring in terms of colour and sound.

The 5th question has presented us with a dilemma. All the participants in our survey stated that later in the day is a better setting for a supernatural horror film, however due to the time constraints of the church we have hired we can only film during the day. We hope to try and use either after effects or just premiere to apply a grade to the opening which will give a sense of darkness, despite the opening being set in the day. Of note here is that we are not trying to use VFX to create a day for night look, but are just trying to darken the scene a little to give the sense of mystery and suspense present in nighttime scenes.

We feel that in some cases our reference to supernatural horror may have led some answers astray, and think that instead we could have used just horror in general or paranormal horror. This wording problem may have influenced some of our results, particularly for question 2.

We also feel that the group we gave our surveys to were not very interested in the horror genre, and that this may have effected some of our results too.

However overall we believe that some of the information we have collected will be very useful in the final stages of planning our opening sequence.

Evaluation:

• Not reading from a script made for a more engaging delivery.
• The presentation was very well researched, and performing a location recce beforehand allowed us to use screenshots and talk confidently abut what we plan to do on location.
• We could have included more details on the positioning of the text and titles within the opening sequence.
• More detail on the plot synopsis could have been included in the main power-point

What we learnt from feedback:

• We need to further consider the placement of credits in the opening sequence, although we are fairly certain that the main title will appear at the end of the production. Credits will likely appear at the start, but it is important that they are not still appearing over the action as they will only detract from it.
• It's important the practice the scenes that require a demanding performance from our lead before we are on set. This means we won't have to waste valuable time perfecting them on location.
• It is questionable as to whether fishing wires would work for the hair raising scene.

Preliminary Task Analysis

• In terms of sound, we used both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds in this sequence. We used music and the laugh track to add comedic value to the scene, making it appear like a low budget sit-com.
• We used a moment of silence as the two characters stand next to each other to give an awkward feel to the scene, leading into the comedic payoff.
• We used a variety of shots to convey the action and the relationship between characters. Over the shoulder shots, both dynamic and stationary, were used to ground the characters' positions in relation to each other in the space.
• The final few shots were two shots from a side angle. We chose to take this approach rather than a regular mid-shot on each character individually to bring out the comedy of them both staring into space rather than talking to each other.
• The ending of the sequence featured still frames of the characters and a title screen for the mock sit-com. This presented the joke cast with stereotypical sit-com conventions, adding to the comedic value of the parody we were creating.
• We chose to present this task in the style of a comedy rather than a horror film in order to explore different shot types relevant to other genres.

Scene by scene analysis

Shot duration	Camera	Misé-en-scene	Sound
0:00-0:36	LS of the family together in the bed and a pan out to show them in the whole room and the TV, in an ELS. This is sustained from 0:30 to 0:36 with only very subtle panning to the right. This is all done using a high angle, which reflects the family’s  vulnerability.	Low key lighting as the scene is lit by the TV to give it an ominous presence. Character blocking places the whole family tightly together in one bed, which is partly done for comedic effect as the scene starts after the children are scared out of their rooms, but it also symbolises the unity of the family. The bedroom is a fairly stock location and it is convincing in looking lived-in due to all the domestic items that are messily placed around the room.	The American national anthem plays which is a call-back to an earlier scene when the tune also features before the TV cuts to static. This is foreshadowing how the scene will play out.
0:37-1:19 (no cut from previous shot but different camera movement)	There is a pan in from the ELS of the room to a CU of the TV. The television set is shown at a less high angle than the family, subtly implying it has power over them.	The most visible shot on the TV is of a group of American soldiers banding together to carry a flag which seems to symbolise the unity of the family and their relationship. A digital clock is visible on the television set and reads 2:37, showing how late it is.	The shift from the American national anthem to the sound of the white noise marks a more serious tonal shift.
1:20-1:28	The shot first focuses on the mother, before panning over to the younger daughter. The CU highlights that the mother is still asleep while her daughter is intrigued by the activity coming from the TV.	Strobe lighting is used to connote that the TV is now very clearly in control of the situation and to create an ominous atmosphere.	Silence, apart from the ambient white noise.
1:29-1:32	Mid-close up of TV alone almost from the daughter’s perspective as a POV shot connotes hat it is her destination when she climbs off the bed	The constant colour of the TV static combined with the strobe lighting around the room make it the screen seem almost enticing.	There is an audio sting that very clearly denotes that the TV is a threat.
1:33-1:46	Eye-level shot of the Heather crawling done the bed towards the TV.	Strobe lighting continues, and cast the room in nearly total darkness on alternate frames.	The sustained high pitched notes continue and a held long enough to create a sense of unease.
1:47-1:49	CU of the TV in similar framing to the shot at 1:29-1:32. Heather’s advance towards the TV is made very clear.		Soundtrack continues.
1:50-2:00	ELS of the room that shows Heather going to sit in front of the TV. Her family is still visible to the right of the frame o show that they are still asleep and that she is away from their protection		Music plays over the sustained screeching sound now. It appears to be a wind instrument and is designed to build tension.
2:01-2:04	Two shot of Heather sitting in front of the TV. This treats the TV almost as if it is its own character to emphasise its presence and connection with Heather.	The TV stands slightly higher than Heather to signify its dominance.	Whispering coming from the TV can be heard on top of the music. There is enigma here as it is unclear whether the whispering audible in the room or if it just exists in Heather’s mind.
2:05-2:08	Eye level shot reinforces the connection between Heather and the TV and the slightly over-the-shoulder camera places the audience with Heather. In doing so, it makes the TV seem like a powerful force to the audience.	The strobe lighting continues.	The whispering and music continue.
2:09-2:11	Mid-shot of the family in the bed shows they still have not woken.	The character blocking is more separated than it was in the opening shot, implying the family has been disrupted by Heather leaving the bed.	The whispering and soundtrack continue.
2:12-2:15	Close up of the TV. Each individual shot focused on the TV has been getting progressively closer in reflection of the television’s growing threat.	SFX are used to create a twinkling effect on the screen that confirms the TV is haunted and hints at a something greater appearing from the set.
2:16-2:19	Close up of Heather.	Heather’s facial expression makes her seem vaguely fearful, but equally curious. It implies she knows she knows there is danger, but is fascinated none the less.
2:20-2:25	The same positioning as 2:05 to 2:08.	After effects are again used, this time to create the hand of a ghost which reaches out to Heather. As it does so, she recoils in fear, helping place the audience in her position.	Audio stinger with the appearance of the ghost hand. The sharp noise accentuates the jump-scare.
2:26-2:28	The same positioning as 2:16-2:19.	Heather looks at the smoke that the hand changes into, in wonderment to show that she is not concerned by the danger it presents. She is naïve.	Sound increases in volume and intensifies with the arrival of the smoke from the TV to highlight that it is a threat.
2:29-2:41	ELS of Heather walking to the bed surrounded by the white smoke. This is similar to the previous shots of the room but is now placed at eye-level to connote that Heather believes she is in control of the situation and is no longer concerned about her parents.	The smoke slowly comes out of the TV and gathers around the bed above Heather’s family.	The sharper sounds of the soundtrack continue now that the danger has been revealed.
2:42-2:43	Brief close up of the TV screen.	The more exaggerated SFX shows the increase in speed of the smoke coming from the TV screen.
2:44-2:48	The same shot as 2:29-2:41	The CG smoke moves much faster over the bed, and pours into the wall with an intense white light that comes from the entry point on the wall, and a rippling water effect is used with the vanishing of the smoke that looks particularly unnatural.	Low pitch horns can now be heard as part of the soundtrack to make the fast movement of the smoke seem ominous and powerful.
2:49	Close up of Heather at the end of the bed with the television set behind her, reminding the audience of the source of the danger.
2:50-2:51	Mid shot of the family in bed. They are now awake.	Pro-filmic effects are used on the room to make the bedroom items fall. This creates a sense of chaos that serves as the pay-off to the slow build-up of tension.	A fast paced soundtrack with high pitched notes is introduced to anchor the destruction on screen.
2:52-2:53	Close up of the items above the TV to show specific objects being disrupted.
2:54-2:55	ELS with the same framing as before. The wide angle shows the chaos in broader context.
2:56-2:59	Shot with the same framing as 2:50-2:51.	Body language is used in the father’s action of reaching over to protect his family.	As the father reaches over, the music suddenly cuts out to silence except for the remaining sound of a few items in the room that stop moving, to reflect that the threat is over.
3:00-3:04	CU of Heather in front of the TV.		Heather’s dialogue is deliberately kept minimal to be more striking. As she says “They’re here” a shrill note emphasises the importance of the line.

On a technical level, this scene is good example of how to increase the cutting rate of a sequence to create tension. For example the extract initially uses a very slow cutting rate with slow pans that last about 30 seconds at a time, before gradually evolving into a very quick cutting rate of no more than a few seconds at a time. The cutting most clearly increases with the sudden and aggressive movement of the smoke. A similar thing happens with the shot size which is initially quite distanced but pulls in closer as the TV becomes a more apparent threat. Eye level shots are particularly prevalent throughout the extract and the strobe lighting and CGI give the sequence a very unique look.

The sixth sense is an American Super natural movie which has bankable stars such as Bruce Willis. This movie was a high budget movie of $40 million with a box office of $672.8 million making it a very successful.
Click on the link to see the scene below.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc5B-ercdKE

Shot Duration	Camera distance /movement/angle	Mise-en-scene	Sound
0-8	MS of the protagonist, eye level angle	There is a young boy in the image, the scene is very dark as it is night time, there is only a bit of lighting on part of the door,	Mostly silence, can slightly hear the boy naturally breathing
9-13	LS of the protagonist and the door and other features in the hallway. Eye level angle	It is still dark, the boy opens the door fully and runs out of it towards to camera, he is wearing a white vest and pants connoting vulnerability and movement suggest he needs the toilet.	Same again except can hear the door squeak when it opens
14-21	LS of the protagonist, eye level angle,	The boys runs into the bathroom, the door is open while he goes to the toilet, he is facing the wall suggesting something may happen behind him. He is centred in the shot. The light is on which relaxes the audience.	Same again
22-29	CU of a timer, eye level	There is a timer which is ticking, the timer is centred in the shot perhaps conveying it is significant	Very quiet ticking sounds
30-33	LS of the protagonist,  eye level angle	He is stilling going to the toilet, then a figure walks into the shot going from right to left, cannot see the face just the body which creates suspense	The sound of the boy peeing, loud non-diegetic sound when the figure walks past which causes a jump as the scenes so far have been very quiet
34-43	CU of the protagonist, eye level angle	The boy is right of the screen, he turns his head slowly around showing he heard something, he has scared facial expressions and looks worried causing a build-up of suspense. When the boy breathes heavily the breath is visible from his mouth showing he is cold	Very quiet non-diegetic clangy sound when the boy turns his head around, can also quietly hear him breathing
44-57	LS of the protagonist, eye level angle	The boy finishes going to the toilet, turns around and walks towards the door to leave, he stands for a few seconds panting suggesting he is nervous and breath is still visible	Non-Diegetic sounds that are implied are coming from another room, sound of the toilet flushing, also dark music is quietly playing
58-1.10	POV shot from the protagonist, eye level angle, hand held camera movement causing the shakiness of it to sustain the suspense	The door to the kitchen is open, can see part of the inside of the kitchen, it is centred in the shot with the dark hallway either side which shows a juxtaposition in lighting and adds to the tension	Non diegetic dark music is still playing very quietly, there is also suggested sounds coming from the kitchen
1.11-1.18	LS of the protagonist, eye level angle	The boy is seen at the door of the kitchen from the inside of the kitchen, he is walking slowly with his hands on his legs suggesting he is nervous and scared,	There is dialogue from the protagonist where he says “mumma”. It is spoken softly and as a question
1.19-1.23	MCU of the mother, eye level angle	The mum is turned not facing the camera then turns to face the camera, she has a bruised face (pro-filmic effects) and an angry facial expression. She is wearing a dressing gown which is unusual.	There is dialogue from the mother where she speaks in a mean stern tone towards the boy
1.24-1.25	MCU of the boy, eye level	The boys facial expression show he is frightened and the lighting is darker which shows vulnerability for the boy	There is a sound bridge from near the end of the shot of the mother talking
1.25-1.27	XLS of the mother, eye level angle	The mother is standing in her dressing gown and is standing on the right of the shot, a lot of draws and in the kitchen are open which suggest the mother has been frantically looking for something which keeps the tension	There is dialogue from the mother where she shouts “You can’t hurt me anymore”, it is thought that she is directing it at someone who isn’t the son but he is the one there. Her voice is high and shaky suggesting she is scared.
1.28-1.29	CU of the mothers slit wrists, Eye level angle	The mothers wrists are in view which are slit and blood is visible which shocks and scares the audience, her wrists are shaking showing she is not in a right state of mind which sustains the tension	There is non-diegetic music that plays when her wrists are revealed, the music sounds metallic and enters as soon as she puts her wrists out to shock the audience
1.30-1.36	LS of the protagonist running, handheld camera which is shaky which matches the boys running action	The boy runs away the hall into another room, it is dark lighting again and harder to see him	The mother starts to shout for someone else which creates a scary atmosphere
1.36 – 1.38	POV shot from the protagonist looking back at the mother, canted angle, hand, fast movement	A very quick shot of the mother is seen when it is implied the boy is closing a door to block her out, it all dark except the light coming from the kitchen and her, the door is then shut and only black is visible on the screen	The mother continues to shout with the tense soundtrack still playing, There is an emphasised beat when the door is shut from the inside suggesting the boy is more safe
1.39-1.42	MCU of the protagonist, eye level angle	The boy is sitting in a dark space with a torch, the scene is mostly dark but there is light so the audience can see the boys face, he is crying showing he is very scared	Sounds of the boy crying, music continues to play at a lower volume however the music sound changes and it more tuneful and church like
1.43-1.45	MLS of a Jesus ornament, eye level, the camera is focused on Jesus and the surroundings are blurred	There is a Jesus ornament of some sort shown in the scene, he looks sad which suggest he is perhaps ‘watching over’ the young boy while he cries, there is some flickers of light shown from the torch that the boy holds	Music continues with the sound of the boy crying
1.45-1.47	Shot of lots of other ornaments, the camera positioned at one side of the surface the ornaments are on at eye level angle	There are other ornaments and there is light flickering again from the torch and shadows of the ornaments are visible	Music continues with the sound of the boy crying
1.48-1.52	XLS of the protagonist sitting in the room he is in which looks like a fort he has made, eye level angle	The boy is sitting pointing the torch at the shelf of ornaments, there is some light coming from the torch and the boy is panting and just finished crying but is stressed	Music continues and the boy is heard panting and there is dialogue from him repeatedly saying “ok” showing is trying to calm himself down
1.53 – 2 (end)	XLS of the fort/tent the boy is in, high angle,	The fort/tent the boy is currently sitting in is shown, the outline of it is detected through the light of the torch than is seen, everywhere else is dark, shadowns of the ornaments are seen through the tent, the torch light is shaky which show she is still distressed and not completely calm	Music continues while still hearing the boy panting, a voiceover is heard which starts to tell a story about a boy

There are aspects of the sequence that I find useful and can help influence the opening scene my group and I do:

• The cutting rate is slow which does help to build up suspense as the length of them cause me to feel nervous as I do not know what is going to be in next shot.
• Many of the shots feature no dialogue, which we do not want in our opening sequence. It was very effective in the sequence when there wasn't dialogue as it made the scene more nerve-racking     
• There are many times in the scene where it is quiet which would be good for our opening as it helps to create tension and makes the audience feel uncomfortable and unsettled       
• There is a jump scare in the scene when the dark figure suddenly walks across the shot, this is good as it is unexpected and in our sequence, we hope to do a jump scare.
• Pro-filmic effects were used in the sequence to imitate blood on the mother and bruises.
• There was a POV shot which was very effective and visceral which contributed to the intense atmosphere. This could be a good one for the opening sequence I will be doing.