Risk Assessment Form

Funding and Financing short films

Untitled presentation

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Storyboard

Genre Decision

After a short discussion, we decided to categorise the genre of our short film as a horror with the sub-genre of a thriller. This is because we are planning to use a mask for the antagonist which will be unrealistic such as a zombie, animal mask, skeleton, alien etc. Furthermore, some may class it as being realistic as it is possible for someone to buy this mask and stalk and murder a person. Therefore it is both a horror and thriller in one. However, we would not class it as any other type of horror due to the fact that we are not including any gory scenes showing a lot of blood and our main aim isn't to just frighten the audience. It is to also cause them to feel on edge and discomfort throughout as they are unaware of what events may occur. Another point we spoke about was that the horror thriller genre focus most on stalkers and serial killers more than any other type of horror would such as a horror focusing on murder and gore more than anything else. As stalkers and killers are what we plan on including, we have decided that it was the best option for our short film.

Surprise screenplay

Production Schedule

Short Film Pitch Q+A

Above is a video of our pitch for our short film idea being presented to an audience. A Q&A session did occur at the end, however the memory card as full, so was unable to capture the questions. At the end of the pitch, the questions the audience asked are stated below with our responses;

How will you make the shots with text messages in look professional?
The solution to this question is that the text messages will be displayed in an alternative way. We knew that the text messages are hard to film due having to film an over the shoulder shot with the characters hands typing in the shot. Obviously, this is hard to execute, and we took this into account by generating the options of either, having the text messages appear on the screen itself whilst being able to maintain mid shots, close-up and extreme close-ups to show the reactions to the text messages being sent and read by the protagonist, Zola. Therefore, this then obtains a professional edge to the shots by having clear and steady shots which allows better viewing pleasure, being as close as possible to the quality of 'big' films who have higher technology to aid them. Alternatively, we may even remove the audience sight of the text messages, and just have the protagonist see the message and as an audience we see her reactions. We can therefore, have that same professional impact through this method too.

Have you got the mask and costumes for your characters?
The costume for our protagonist is completely sorted already. We have white/light clothing for females already, being tops, shorts, tracksuit bottoms, jackets, jumpers, the lot. Moving onto the antagonist, we have decided he will be in all black/dark clothing. We have got the trousers and jacket sorted already. However, for the mask of Grimm, we had in mind the one on our pitch, however, we thought to create questionnaires to open up on social media to get the audience insight. We will create a first questionnaire to ask the audience their favourite mask from each category of mask to begin with, such as, animal masks, clown masks, zombie masks etc. Then we will take the audiences favourite mask from each and place them in a final questionnaire and get their overall favourite for the most frightening mask. We will see if the majority has dominate a certain mask and if we feel it suits our role, then we will purchase this mask.

The question below then was a question that followed up the previous question asked.

What if the masks are expensive? Have you got a certain budget for the mask? What research and where will you find the masks you are using in the questionnaires?
Jade and I have already taken all this into account. We have set a budget of £20 maximum for a mask, so it isn't too expensive but definitely worth the investment to tailor the audience preference. We also made it very clear the masks we put into the questionnaire have to be purchasable, within the budget and noted where from. Therefore, all the masks we will place into the questionnaire will be available and affordable. With this, we shouldn't encounter any problems.

Horror and Thiller Films

As shown in our pitch, we are yet to decide whether our short film will be of the horror genre or a thriller. Horror and Thriller films are not the same. However they can be fairly similar in the audience that goes to watch them, their certification and their intentions.


What is the difference between a horror and a thriller film?


Thriller is a genre used in films which enables the audience to experience many different emotions through the use of suspense and anticipation. In a thriller, the audience are likely to experience feelings of suspense, excitement, worry, surprise etc. In these films violence is likely to be shown however, not a lot of blood and gory scenes will be included in great detail. Instead of this, they tend to require the audience to think outside the box and pick up on key elements or clues to work out an explanation for an event.  Thrillers also tend to be realistic in their narratives as the antagonist may be a criminal who has escaped prison, a kidnapper, a murder etc.


A horror film is different. These films target audiences who wish to be on the edge of their seat, frightened and fear the unknown. Horror films involve many violent scenes with a lot of blood and gore. They also tend be less realistic as the characters who play the antagonist are normally make believe and do not exist , such as a zombie, and the audience believes that it could never happen.


Both genres intensions are to scare audiences. However, they are scary in different ways as a thriller is more suspenseful whereas a horror generally scares the audience with the appearance or the antagonist.

Target audience for short horror films

Age :

The usual age range for people to watch horror films is roughly between 15 and 25 years of age. Young teenagers and adults are beginning their journey into adulthood and go though the key stages of learning about themselves and experimenting different feelings and emotions. In this time, they want to make their own decisions and be independent. Normally, teenagers wish to seek as much thrill as they can, starting with horror movies. Horror movies excite young audiences more than an older audience due to young people being out off of films due to the scary images and violence used.

Gender:

It is said that males are more likely of being fans of the horror genre than females. This is due to stereotypes stating that females are less of a thrill seeker than the male gender. Another reason for this stereotype is the fascination with the violence that males have. Violence is a key convention of horror in which boys enjoy observing.

Class:

Generally horror films are watched at working/middle class due to the amount of thrill and excitement they give for a relatively cheap price. Higher class tend to not be the main aim due to them being financially stable enough to afford thrills in other ways such as sky diving.

Interests and groups:

Conventions of horror are blood, gore, violence etc. This targets individuals and groups with the same interests and also in the supernatural and unexplained. These individuals may also go to watch these films as they enjoy mystery and the sense of the unknown. The groups of people who tend to watch horrors the most are teenagers. This is due to them being social and known to enjoy scaring each other.

Certification Research

U stands for Universal which means that a film with this certification is suitable for ages four and over. As these films allow younger viewers to watch them, they must have certain  restrictions.
- Sexual activity is prohibited
- No violence or horror is allowed 
- No references to drugs and alcohol
Despite having strict restrictions, there are many films with this certification. These films are most likely to be family, comedy or kids films.

PG stands for parental guidance. It is general viewing and all ages can see the films but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children, hence why the child may have to have parental guidance. - - References to illegal drugs or drug misuse must be innocuous or carry a suitable anti-drug message.
- Mild bad language only.
- There may be some nudity but with no sexual content.
- Violence is usually mild (without detail)


 Films with a certification of 12A or 12 means that the film is advisedly suitable for children aged 12 and over. Any child that wishes to see a film of this classification and is under the age of 12 will not be allowed without an adult present.
- Use of drugs must be unfrequent and must not promote them.
- Not too much violence as these children are likely to copy.
- Strong language may be permitted, depending on the manner in    which  it is used.
-There may be nudity, but in a sexual context it must be brief and discreet.
-There may be moderate violence but it should not dwell on detail.


No one under the age of 15 are allowed to watch this film in cinema.
   - Drugs may be taken and shown in the film but must not encourage illegal drug use.
- Dangerous behaviour such as suicide may be shown but not in detail as it may be copied.
- Very strong language may be permitted.
- There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context. There may be nudity in a sexual context but usually without strong detail.
- Sexual activity may be portrayed, but usually without strong detail. 
- Violence may be strong 


No one younger than 18 may see an 18 film in a cinema. No one younger than 18 may rent or buy an 18 rated video work.

Exceptions are most likely in the following areas:

- where the material is in breach of the criminal law, or has been created through the commission of a criminal offence

-where material or treatment appears to us to risk harm to individuals or, through their behaviour, to society. For example, the detailed portrayal of violent or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use, which may cause harm to public health or morals. This may include portrayals of sadistic or sexual violence which make this violence look appealing; reinforce the suggestion that victims enjoy sexual violence; or which invite viewer complicity in sexual violence or other harmful violent activities

- where there are more explicit images of sexual activity in the context of a sex work (see below) or where the primary purpose of the images in question is sexual arousal In the case of video works, which may be more accessible to younger viewers, intervention may be more frequent than for cinema films.

History of Horror Films

1920s - 1930s

This was when the horror films became popular to the audience as the film gave them a satisfying adrenaline rush. Remakes of old classic horror films such as Dracula were made. Bram Stoker first made a novel in 1897 and he was popular for making many others such as 'The Mummy'

1940S

Due to the outbreak of World War II there was a steep decline in the success of the horror film industry. However, even during the war, some films were still made such as, 'Wolf Man', 'House of Dracula' and 'Cat People'

1950s

At the end of the WWII, colour in films was introduced which caused the horror film industry had a rapid increase. This was due to the colour being able make the horror film more frightening as the real colours of elements can be shown. For example; the colour of blood can be shown. In this decade, Great Britain became a main producer of horror films. After the war, rather than returning back to the classic gothic horror, films about 'outside' threats were introduced.These are films such as aliens, mutations and bugs.

- The Wasp Woman

- It came from Beneath the sea

- The Beast from 20,000 fathoms 

Durig the late 50s, the film company 'Hammer' focused of this genre and had great success from films involoving classic gothic horror characters in colour for the first time.

       

1960s

This decade brought a new genre of horror and the word 'thriller' was first used for a film. Alfred Hitchcock's film 'Psyco'(1960) was the first slasher film. He also made the horror film 'The Birds' in 1963. Some other horrors made at this time were:

- Night of the Living Dead

- Blood feast

- Carnival of souls

'Night of the Living Dead' (1968)  was a huge success as it brought horror into real life as it involved events that could happen in real life.

1970s

More films were released with the occult theme, starting with 'The Exocist' in 1973 which was then followed up by other films involving the devil. This decade also included gore and sexual overtones. Some of these films focus of family members such as the film 'Halloween' (1978) which is about a six year old boy murdering his sister and the is sent to sanatorium. Body horror was also introduced by the film 'Shivers' in 1975. Other films made during this time were:

- Jaws 

- Texas Chainsaw Massacre 

- Carrie

- The Omen

- Alien

1980s

During this time period, the horror film industry took a positive turn and the quality of the films got better. This was due to the new technologies, special effects, sounds, better graphics and costumes. This improvement then made the gory slasher films more detailed and scary for viewers. The 'Sam Raimi Evil Dead' films are a good example of the outcome. Other films made were:

- The Fly

- Nightmare on Elm Street

- The Thing

- The Shining 

- Hellraiser 

1990s

Due to the many slasher films being made in the 1980s, the horror industry declined. This decline was also due to the amount of vampire and zombie movies made which left the audience less scared. To bring the horror genre back up, the topic of psychopaths were introduced. This would lead to films about brutal murderers such as the one in 'Scream'. However, this would mock the original conventions of ordinary slasher films that have been made in the past decades. Some films from the 90s are:

- Se7en

- Silence of the lambs 

- Candyman 

- Sixth Sense

- Misery

2000

This was a quiet era for the genre as most horror films were remakes and extended versions of the classics such as 'The Exorcist' whereas in this era, the extended version was made. Zombie films returned with films such as '28 Days later' and 'Resident Evil'. Gore also became very popular so torture films like 'Saw' were well known. Other films made are:

- The Ring

- The Grunge 

- The Descent

- Final Destination Saga