Location (idea one)

We have discovered that an episode of Goodnight Sweetheart (a TV programme) was filmed at our horror location. Although this is a completely different genre to our horror film it is interesting to look at how they filmed around the location and what shots they used.

Storyboarding ideas

We have two ideas for our opening two minutes. Both have similar story lines but have different locations and different camera shots. We have created two animatic storyboards to show our plots better. We are planning on filming parts of both to help us decide on which idea to use.



This is our first idea for our opening two minutes, the basic storyline is of a girl alone in an abandoned house who receives a phone call from some strangers. This results in her being followed around her house by them. We have used a variety of camera shots, however we are not too sure as to how well they are all going to fit together.



This is our second idea, it focuses on the same kind of idea however it is more suspense building as it is without the phone call so the girl is more unsuspecting. We have also looked at using longer takes building more tension.

Market research for our horror film

This is our questionnaire which we asked to 20 people to research into what audiences liked horror films and what kind of horror films people preferred. This will help us with our horror film because it will help us finalise our ideas for our film opening.

Q1.  What is your gender?

Male - 10      female – 10 

Q2. How old are you?

12-15 - 6        16-18 - 14      19+ - 0

Q3. Do you like horror films?

Yes - 15           No - 5

Q4. How many horror films have you watched in the last 6 months?

0 - 2      1-5 - 13       5-10 - 5    10-15+

Q5. Do you go to the cinema to watch horror films?

Yes - 6       No - 14

Q6. Where is the best setting for a horror film?

Woods - 11        Town -0        House - 7       Farm - 2

Q7. What is your favourite type of horror film?

Supernatural - 2         Torture - 3       Natural - 1       Real life - 14

Q8. What do you find scariest in a horror film?

 (Variety of results)

Q9. What’s the scariest film that you’ve seen?

 (Variety of results)

Q10. Why?

 (Variety of results)

From our results most of the people the majority of people we questioned were between the ages of 16 and 18 and most of them liked horror films. This gives us an idea as to what our target audience should be, from these results rating the film a '15' seems the most appropriate rating. We also found out from our questionnaire that the most favourable place for a horror film is the woods with a house coming second. This is good for our horror film as we have a location which would be good for a horror film in the woods. We also discovered that a lot of people liked horor films which are based on real life events so we will look at events which may have happened around the location.

Planning our opening 2 minutes

We have decided to do our horror film as we thought that we have a good location that we have access to all the time and could be scary. We have an idea of what we could do for an opening two minutes using the location we have to its full advantage. We are now going into more detailed research on costumes, shots, make up and characters.

Institution research

Paramount pictures

Paramount pictures corporation is an American film/distribution company. It is located at 5555 melrose avenue in Hollywood and it is the largest major film company which is still headquartered in Hollywood. Many succesful films, TV shows and adverts have been filmed on the 64 acre plot. It was founded in 1912 and is currently owned by Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio and is ranked as one of the worlds top grossing film companies.

Paramount consists of different film labels, Paramount pictures, MTV films, Nickelodeon movies, Paramount vantage and Paramount Classics, it has also made distribution deals with marvel entertainment and dreamworks. The Company’s global business operations include Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group and Worldwide Television Distribution.

Paramount produces a wide variety of films ranging in different genres. They have produced Paranormal activity 1,2 and 3, Titanic, Super 8, Puss In Boots and Dreamgirls to name a few which highlights the range of films they produce. Paramount could be a possibilty for our film institution as they have produced a few horror films, so are associated with this genre.


20th Century Fox



Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, is one of the six major American film studios as of 2011. Located in the Century City area of Los Angeles, just west of Beverly Hills, the studio is a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. The company was founded in 1935.

Some of Fox's most popular films are Avatar, Star Wars, Ice Age and Home Alone, however the company also produces famous TV shows such as The Simpsons and Family Guy.

This company doesn't produce many horror films so when it came to choosing a production company for our horror film we are likely to pick a different company. Although the company does produce a wide variety of films, a big majority are family orientated films. Many of these films are also big budget films like Harry Potter as they bring in a wider range of audience so a bigger profit. Fox is probably not the right institution for these reasons.

Lions gate entertainment corporation











Commonly known as Lionsgate, it is a North American entertainment company, the company was formed in 1997 in Vancouver, Canadea and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. It is currently the most commercially successful independent film and television distribution company in North America.

Some films that Lionsgate have released are 'Bloody Valentine 3D', 'Saw', 'The Haunting in Conneticut', 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' and 'The Devil's Double.' Although they have released other films a lot of them have been on limited release, so most of their well known films have been of the horror genre. This institution would be suitable for our film because it has produced a lot of horror films so audiences would associate Lionsgate with horror.

Certificate research

A film which is rated a U (Universal) should be suitable for children aged 4 years and over, although it is impossible to predict what may upset a child, this should be suitable. This film should be offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror.



A PG film (Parental Guidance) is suitable for any age, and children aged 8 or over should be able to watch these films without an adult and not be affected by them. A film rated PG should not include any sexual, racial references, however their may be short scenes of moderate violence, but only in context.



To watch these films the viewer has to ber 12 years or over as there may be unsuitable content for younger children. 12A films only exist for the cinema where no children younger than 12 can see the film without an accompanying adult, for a 12 film nobody younger than 12 can buy or rent the DVD.  In these films there may be moderate physial and pyschological threat, sexual references and bad language, infrequently.



Nobody younger than 15 is allowed to see a 15 in the cinema or buy or rent a DVD rated 15. Drugs may be shown in the film, strong menace/threat is permitted, there may be strong violence and language, sexual activity may be portrayed and no themes are prohibited.



Nobody younger than 18 can see a film which is rated 18. These films will include explicit sexual scenes, violence and strong langauge. There is nothing which is usually prohibited in these films unless a scene promotes/glorifies a certain activity.



To be shown only in specially licensed cinemas or supplied only in licensed sex shops, sold only to adults no younger than 18. The ‘R18’ category is a special and legally restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults.

The British Board Of Film Classification (BBFC) is an independent, non governmental body which classifies films through the last stages of production, for showings in Britain.

What we would do in a romance film

Romance music

Romance target audience

• Most Romance films attract a female orientated audience, there isn't a particular age group they attract as they differ in so many ways appealing to a variety of audiences.
• For example, Disney fairytale films could be classed as romance and they attract a very young audience.
• On the other hand lots of teenagers (13+) are attracted to romance films as they can find them relatable, especially as many teen romances are set in schools, and watch them with friends.
• Other Romance films can attract an older audience because they are traditional stories made into a film (Pride and Prejudice) or there is a humorous side to the film too.

Snow White attracts a young audience as it is a cartoon, however it also attracts an older audience as it is a classic fairytale. The rating of a U makes the film appealing to families.


This film is rated a 12 and based around a group of friends from school so appeals to a teen audience. It higlights some of the worries teenagers may have at school and appeals to them because it is also a comedy.


This film is rated a 15 and is a romantic comedy, this attracts an older audience.

Romance titles

Analysis of Romance films - Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice is a humorous story of love and life among English gentility during the Georgian era. Mr Bennet is an English gentleman living in Hartfordshire with his overbearing wife. The Bennets 5 daughters; the beautiful Jane, the clever Elizabeth, the bookish Mary, the immature Kitty and the wild Lydia. Unfortunately for the Bennets, if Mr Bennet dies their house will be inherited by a distant cousin whom they have never met, so the family's future happiness and security is dependent on the daughters making good marriages. Life is uneventful until the arrival in the neighbourhood of the rich gentleman Mr Bingley, who rents a large house so he can spend the summer in the country. Mr Bingley brings with him his sister and the dashing (and richer) but proud Mr Darcy. Love is soon in the air for one of the Bennet sisters, while another may have jumped to a hasty prejudgement. For the Bennet sisters many trials and tribulations stand between them and their happiness, including class, gossip and scandal.

This is a classic love story and would be a suitable kind of film to do for our final project because it is filmed in simple locations and doesn't have lots of expensive special effects so wouldn't be overly expensive to film.



Analysis of opening 2 minutes

This film starts with a fade in to an establishing shot of an early morning of frosty field with birds chirping in the background. The shot stays the same however it gradually gets lighter as the day begins and the field becomes clearer. Slowly the sun appears from behind the trees and lights up the field. This shot intrigues the audience as it is cleverly done it also sets the scene for the film. A very quiet tune on the piano is played on the background and it gives the shots a calm, classical feel. Shots like this would be good for our romance film as they are easy to film you just have to have the time to do it and it results in a good effect.

The shot then changes to a close up of a lady walking along reading a book, this indicates to the audience that this could be the main character and gives them an idea of her personality. We then see a close up of the pages shes reading, these two shots interest the audience as to who she is. Next there is an establishing shot of a house with ducks on the pond outside and sheep and we see this lady crossing a makeshift bridge across the water. This shot just gives the audience an idea of where the film is set and also indicates the time period as the house is old and isolated and the lady is wearing a dress down to her ankles. These shots would also be suitable for a romance film we could do because none of them are particularly expensive to shoot and they give a relaxed atmosphere to the film.

We then see her walking through the courtyard and there are lots of white sheets out to dry and in the background there are lady's in long dresses and white hats working suggesting that this is an older time period. She then walks past a doorway where the camera leaves her and zooms in down a corridor into a room where a lady is playing a piano. This is effective for the audience because as the camera zooms in it interests them as to where they are going.

This is an effective film opening because it indicates to the audience where the main setting of the film will be and it also suggests the time period it is set in. It interests the audience as no dialogue is spoken throughout so they want to continue watching to see what else will happen. This would be an effective opening if we were to do a romance film because it sets a good atmosphere and it isn't expensive or no specialist shots are used. However it doesn't show the audience that this is a film of romance genre.