Mis-En Scene

Costume and Make-Up:

My film is set in the present day, so the costumes will be modern clothing. Nothing is known about the male character as he "dies" in this scene, but he will be wearing clothes typical of an inner city teenager. My vampires will not be dressed so typically and will instead have a more Gothic look about them. The more seductive one will have a very revealing outfit on in order to attract her prey, while the scarier one is dressed slightly more modestly. Both will be wearing black in order to emphasise their pale skin. I chose this theme for them to wear as vampires are traditionally the most Gothic characters, especially with the Victorian dress commonly associated with them.

In regards to make-up, my vampires will not be heavily made up as they have an unearthly but captivating beauty about them. Make up may extend to some light eyeliner for the "emo" or "Goth" look, red seductive lipstick, and to make them look slightly paler, foundation  slightly lighter than my actresses' natural skin tone.

Despite being a horror opening the death of my male victim will not be shown. Because of this there will be no blood shown on the victim or vampires. However, because false fangs will not be worn, to further the fact that these women are vampires I may put some (edible) fake blood on the naturally sharp teeth of the seductive vampire and show it in the close up of her teeth. To make them look even scarier the possibility of dabbing fake blood at the corner of their mouths is open. That can also confirm to the audience that they are vampires.

Lighting:

Because my opening will be shot in monochrome to hint it happened in the past, I will have to pay extra attention to the lighting. Because of this I will not be able to shoot in the graveyard I wanted to as there are no light sources. Shadow will also be something I have to pay close attention to because the film will not be as effective if the viewer is unable to actually see what is happening.

Setting:

My scene will be in the St John-at-Hackney Graveyard. Although setting a horror movie in a graveyard is a cliche, the majority of vampire films have scenes set in graveyards and this is usually because vampires have to sleep in coffins during the day. By using this cliche in the opening of my film, I can establish a recurring location, possibly one as the vampires' lair or main hunting ground as the graveyard is used as a shortcut by many people.


Character performance:

As there is no dialogue in my scene, the way the characters present and hold themselves is very important so that the viewer can determine what is happening. Vampires are supposed to move very gracefully, so they are almost flying and this is something that I shall have my actors try to impersonate. They will also have to move their bodies somewhat seductively to accentuate any parts that my male viewers will find attractive. My male character will also have to try to act very helpless to the over-the-top seduction of him and also appear scared, despite his large stature.

Props:


There will be no active props in the scene as I do not want to detract from the simplicity of the scenario. The props will instead be parts of the characters bodies accentuated by close-ups; specifically the eyes, hands and teeth. I have chosen the eyes as eye colour is distorted by black and white footage and they show lots of emotion, which adds to the realistic feel of the story and also draws my viewer in. The close ups of the hands show the control the females have over the male, both in strength and willpower, and the shots of the teeth tell the audience that the characters are vampires and hint at what is about to happen.

Subversion and Representation

Subversion is defined in the dictionary as: 

"To undermine the principles of; corrupt 
To overthrow something established or existing "

When applied to the media subversion refers to reversing common conventions, such as having a female action hero, or, as seen in 'Blade', a black hero against a white villain. Subversion can change the effect a film has and in mine, it shows that not all monsters are male. This is especially effective within my opening as vampires are traditionally undead males, such as Dracula, preying on helpless, young and generally beautiful women.

However my opening can be a very common representation of females, in that they are very vindictive towards males and use their "feminine wiles and sexuality" to entice men. This can be applied to my opening because one of the female vampires wears a very revealing outfit to lure her victim towards her, attempting to seduce him in the process. One representation of women that is not applicable is that women are weak and helpless. This is because my vampires do not hunt with a male; they are very independent and do not rely on a creator or even a Dracula-esque character to help them.


 It was also my idea that if the film were extended to have one of the female vampires fall in love with a mortal man, again subverting the tradition of a male vampire falling in love with a mortal female. This has been seen in many places, such as in film series The Twilight Saga, hit HBO television show True Blood and in the ITV drama series The Vampire Diaries.

Vampire Sexuality

Of all the monsters of fiction, the only one primarily associated with sex is the vampire. However, the vampire of folklore was not a sexually attractive figure; he was a dead man who fed on blood. Bram Stoker changed all that with his novel, Dracula.

Stoker used the vampire as a metaphor for the Victorian view of sex as dangerous. In Dracula, sex with the Count transformed women into seductive sirens and horrific murderesses – the opposite of the Victorian ideal of chastity and nurturing womanhood. Originally, only female vampires were especially beautiful. Other such spirit-like vampires were always ugly in their true form, but had the ability to shift their appearance to that of a beautiful maiden, in order to lure men to them.

An interesting aspect of the vampire’s sexual nature is their freedom from rules and social restrictions. From the earliest myths, creatures we now recognize as vampires, by their behavior and supernatural qualities, were female entities determined to punish men. Their raw, untamed sexuality gave them the power of seduction, where they used this to corrupt the minds of men, and send good girls into demoniac possession. In societies demanding sexual restraint, nothing is more frightening than a liberal minded women.

Final Synopsis

The camera follows a young male through a graveyard at dusk as he walks home. As he continues his journey he grows paranoid. Shot of him being followed are seen before he hears a noise and turns to see a pale beautiful woman not much older than he is wearing a very revealing outfit. Scared by her unearthly beauty he moves away from her, only for another, more conservatively dressed pale woman to move towards him from the opposite direction. He realises something is wrong and tries to escape them, only to be encircled by the two females. He is torn between survival and the mesmerising quality of the women. One puts her hand on his shoulder and pushes him to his knees with no effort. He only realises his mistake in not running when he sees them smile with unusually sharp teeth and the camera tilts up to the sky as the vampires (as the women are revealed to be) lean in towards his neck.

Original idea no. 2

My second idea was to have a two part opening. The first part would be a black and white version of my original idea, only slightly shorter and then it cuts to a colour scene with a one year later caption. What would then be seen is a young white male seen in church praying through gaps in the pews, to give a voyeuristic feel to the film. He would then walk to the entrance of the church only to be confronted by the victim from the previous scene who, after revealing her identity as a vampire tells him that she can indeed set foot on hallowed ground and that he shouldn't believe everything he sees in horror movies. 

This idea was scrapped partially for the same reason as the first idea, in that it would not be easy to film or seem very original. the other reason is that because my actors are religious, they did not feel comfortable filming such scenes in a church.

Original idea no. 1

My initial idea was to show how the character who would be my main "villain" became a vampire. The plan was to follow her through a graveyard where she would be attacked by another vampire. Someone would then scare off the attacker before they could kill her but by that point she would have already been infected with the vampire "virus" that would change her.


This idea was discarded as not only is it incredibly similar to the opening sequence of 28 Days Later, but also because a lot of vampire movies have scenes like that.

Target audience analysis

I have chosen my target audience for specific reasons. Horror movies are traditionally aimed at men, meaning that there is a definite gender audience. The usual age range a horror film is aimed at is 18-24, as they are also the the ages that people go to the cinema most. My film is also going to be aimed at this age because the certificate will most likely be an 18 due to a bloody and highly sexualised content.


My racial choice has been decided by the fact that the majority of cinema goers and major movie stars are white. Within that they are also male, making a clear audience that near enough guarantees viewers as they can relate to my characters more than, for example, a black man could. I also chose an urban collection of males as there are more people living in the cities that could go to the cinema to see my production.

Vampires are a horror monster most admired by the science-fiction and fantasy loving "geek", which is why they create my audience. Their lifestyle is probably likely to revolve more around computer games and perhaps the more traditional nerdy past-times of collecting memorabilia such as comic books or even just collecting games. They are the kind to stay up all night playing games like Call Of Duty or Halo all night on XboX Live. My audience is also most likely to be upper working class or middle class and are at the very least college educated and possibly in university.

Target Audience

Age: 18-24
Race: White
Gender: Male
Education: College/University students
Lifestyle: Geeky/nerdy, likes computer games and surfing the internet
Location: Inner city

Vampire Movies

Despite current popularity for extreme slasher and zombie horror movies, I have chosen to create the opening of a vampire film. This is because vampire horror has been popular since the silent era with the most common depiction being that of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which has generated 170 versions to date. Though typically a horror character, vampires are also seen in science fiction, romance, comedy and fantasy films.


In a traditional vampire movie, usually about Dracula, commonly seen elements are a pale, never aging male that sleeps through the day and is repelled by holy items, silver and garlic. He never eats and sleeps in a coffin. With the exception of a few films such as 30 Days of Night and Salem’s Lot, vampires are perceived as the most sexual of the mythical horror monsters. Because of this common conception, most vampires, especially female ones, either seduce or mesmerise their victims, as seen in Francis Ford Coppola’s interpretation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992). Subsequently I will have my vampires act seductively and mesmerise her victim. As shown in this clip, the female vampire has an unearthly beauty that renders the mind of her victim incapable of anything except obeying her wishes.

Textual Analysis Of the Opening Sequence Of A Horror Movie: 28 Days Later

28 Days Later’ is a zombie-horror film released in 2002. Directed by Danny Boyle, it depicts the UK 28 days after a powerful virus that “locks those infected into a permanent state of murderous rage” is released, hence the title ‘28 Days Later’. From the very first scene this film can be identified as being part of the horror genre.

The first scene is shot in a primate research facility. We initially see a chimpanzee strapped to a table being forced to watch scenes of violence. The violence is a hint of what is to come. The lighting is dark and shadowy, creating an air of mystery. Some of the lights are also red, reflecting the anger and danger that will happen. The darkness is increased by the animal rights activists that break in as they are dressed all in black.

As well as the darkness and shadow, sound is key to revealing the movie as a horror. The sound from the TV sets that the chimpanzee is forced to watch is very crackly and fades into an eerie violin piece. When the shot cuts to the activists, you can hear the other primates held in captivity screeching and banging on their cages, furthering the hint of a violent movie.

The anger the primates already show is exacerbated by the flash of the camera the activists are using to take photographs of them in their cages, made known by the screeching increasing in volume. Primates are also known to be incredibly violent, so when the scientist they find on duty tells the other characters and audience that the animals are infected with a powerful rage virus he is basically telling the audience that the virus is about to be spread to humans and create the basis of the film.

The two colours used in abundance for this sequence are black and red, both of which connote danger and violence. When the activists ignore the scientist’s warning and open the cage, lights start flashing and the shots get a red filter as the chimp inside attacks the woman. The red ‘theme’ is carried on by showing those infected have red eyes and usually have blood around their mouths as they throw it up. The virus is also carried in the blood, making this definitive code of horror films a prop to infect others.

During the chimp attack, the camera is in soft focus and the lights are constantly flashing. Combined with the tilted angle shot used and the rapid cuts, the audience has trouble seeing the attack which adds to the fear, yet screaming from the victim lets the audience know the attack is still happening. Most of the shot distances used are either extreme close ups, close ups or medium close ups. This shows the audience the fear on the faces of the characters and can generate a reaction from them, be it fear or excitement.

The History Of Horror Movies

Horror is a genre of film and literature that is used to create fear in its audience. Within film, the horror genre was "created" in the 1930's with the release of "Dracula" and "Frankenstein", both released in 1931 by Universal Studios. 


One of the earliest forms of horror were those about vampires and other unholy creatures, making the first popular subgenre religious/gothic horror, which dominated the 1930’s and 1940’s with films like The Invisible Man (1933) and The Bodysnatcher (1945). 


In continuance, the 1950’s and 1960’s were divided by demonic horror and “horror of Armageddon”, or the fear of the end of the world. Because that was a common fear, films like Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963) and Psycho (1960) were very popular, as was the 1968 release Rosemary’s Baby, which was one of the first films to give the Devil a human form. The 1970’s sustained the occult themes in horror with films like The Exorcist (1973) and The Omen (1976) playing with one of the biggest taboos in horror - children and the Devil. 


The interest in the occult dwindled after this and the late 1970’s and early 1980’s spawned the beginnings of iconic franchises, such as John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) and Wes Craven’s A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984). 


Though these movies were an introduction to the slasher subgenre, the 1990’s saw a decline in interest of the horror genre because of so much gore being shown in the previous decade. The genre was salvaged in 1996 when Wes Craven directed the first of the Scream movies. Along with films like I Know What You Did Last Summer, slasher and “teen horror” movies became more popular and its target audience was drawn in with franchises like the Final Destination series during the 2000’s. 


Many Asian horror movies like The Ring and The Grudge were remade, or “Americanised”,  during this time, though a noticeable trend during the 2000’s was the return of the zombie subgenre with films like 28 Days Later (2004) and a remake of Dawn Of The Dead (2004) becoming prevalent. In the later part of the decade, extreme slasher films, now referred to as “horror porn” or “torture porn” due to the emphasis of the infliction of pain on victims, has become most popular with the Saw franchise currently holding the record for highest grossing horror franchise in history.

Welcome to my AS Horror blog!

Hi my name is Kiera. I am a media student at Hackney Community College. This blog is to document all of my planning and research regarding my AS level coursework, which is to make the opening of a horror movie.