Filming Schedule.

To make sure we get everything done in the time we had to film, we arranged a filming schedule. It tells us what time we shoot each shot, what/who is needed in terms of props and characters and where it is shot. We think this will make filming a lot quicker and more efficient and therefore we can get a lot more done. 

Possible Titles.

Deciding what the name of our film was going to be was a very hard and important decision to make. We thought about what would relate to the film's synopsis without giving too much away. 
Throughout the year there are specific times when a horror movie comes out. At times the name of this film will determine when it will come out by having a date or time in it such as 'Friday the 13th', 'Halloween' and 'My bloody valentine'. Using this as inspiration we thought of many names that we could use that had a time in. 
These are the names we came up with:

• Final Curtain Call
• Final Show
• Play Date
• Closing Night

We then thought of names of the film that didn't include a date, but related to our them/USP. Our unique selling point is that it is set in a theatre. 
Therefore here are the names we came up with:

• Kill the Lights
• Break a Leg
• Curtain Call

Although we liked all these options, we then came up with a final decision. The name of our film was going to be related to our theme of the theatre but also include an element of horror and fear as well. The name of our film is
Stage Fright.

Storyboard animation.

Our Characters/Actors.

Hollie Bowden as Emily.
Emily is the fearless one. She is the one that suggests going into the Theatre in the first place. Nothing scares Emily and she is very outgoing. Emily is the lead character and the remaining girl in the end. This is a convention used in Horror movies which we have decided to repeat. 
We thought Hollie Bowden would play Emily very well as she has the tough, fearless and strong look that we imagined Emily to have. 

In terms of research, the character Emily is similar to any remaining girl in Horror movies, such as Sidney in 'Scream'. She is the one that fights her way to the end, just like Emily does.

Joey Jarossi as Jacob.

Jacob is the unusual one. He is smart and quite afraid. This character is one often used in Horror films. In our film, the twist is that Jacob is also the killer. This seems very unlikely due to him being very scared at the beginning and seeming very vulnerable. 
Joey Jarossi (my partner) would play this character very well as he is very intelligent and can give off the perfect atmosphere. Joey has a  good looking, different look that emphasises how smart he is and also how he can be quite a freaky character. 

This character is similar to Damien in 'The Omen' as he is a strange boy and as time goes on he is revealed as the bad guy.
This character is also a masked killer, which is a convention used in horror movies frequently. 

Kyle Lo Monaco as Morgan.
Morgan is seen as the popular, good looking, typical "jock" character. He is the brightest character but everyone wants to be friends with him. Morgan is not scared and has a slight power over other characters. This kind of character normally goes out with the typical "popular" superficial girl which is why Morgan is the boyfriend of Vanessa.
We thought Kyle had the perfect look. He is good looking, athletic and stylish and we believe he can make Morgan exactly how we picture him. Kyle can easily play a ladies man and a caring boyfriend.


The character Morgan is similar to Carter in 'Final Destination' as he is the typical boyfriend.

Jessica Stevenson (Me) as Vanessa.

Vanessa is the typical popular girl in all horror movies. She is the one that is not the smartest out of all the characters and has very little knowledge of what is going on until the worst happens. Vanessa is very focused on her image and mainly on her boyfriend, Morgan. We thought I would be able to play this character well as I can show my affection. We also wanted to challenge the normal horror movie convention of having a beautiful blonde girl and use someone who was not conventionally pretty with red hair.

Vanessa's character is very similar to Terry in 'Final Destination' as she is the typical girlfriend to Carter, whom Morgan's character resembles.

Our Film Synopsis.

31 years ago in The Cherub Theatre a 7 year old boy was laughed off the stage when he forgot his lines, which led him to commit a violent suicide.  

Now, in the modern day, 4 teens, Emily, Jacob, Vanessa and Vanessa’s boyfriend Morgan are sat in The Cherub Park looking for something to do. The outgoing and fearless Emily suggests they stay the night in the abandoned, supposedly haunted Cherub Theatre. The loved up couple, Vanessa, the girly girl and her handsome boyfriend Morgan are easily convinced whereas skeptical Jacob votes against it. After a while of reassuring him everything will be okay, Jacob doubtfully agrees. After telling some scary stories and eating some junk food Jacob wanders off to find the furnace. Whilst he is gone, sitting in darkness, the girls and Morgan hear crying from downstairs. The lights come on and when Jacob re-emerges he tries to reassure them that it was not him crying. 
They carry on as if nothing had happened, but suddenly the lights blackout. In the confusion Vanessa reveals a deep scratch in her arm. When the lights come back on they discuss who might have been the culprit and discover Emily has blood on her hands making her seem very suspicious. Now feeling very freaked out they try to leave the building but discover that all exits are now locked. The girls try to uncover how they got locked in whilst in the theatre Jacob is being possessed by Little Benjamin (the boy who committed suicide 31 years ago). The girls go back into the theatre to find Jacob sat in the front row of the audience. They ask him 'what's wrong?' and he replies in a whisper. 'I'm rehearsing'. The girls go to get him some water but when they return to the theatre he is gone. They hear a noise from upstairs. Thinking it might be Jacob they go to investigate. They look everywhere but cannot find him. They decide to split up. Finding nothing, they all come back together. At this point the real chase starts as they see a masked figure standing on stage. Running, tripping, crying, they all try desperately to escape this hellish building. Emily has found herself back in the main theatre on stage alone. Breathing heavily, Emily backs up towards the wall as she hears a voice reciting the opening prologue of ‘Romeo and Juliet’. As the voice reads the line ‘A pair of star cross’d lovers take their life’ the camera reveals the masked figure standing behind Emily. Finally finding a quiet and safe looking room, Vanessa and Morgan realise Emily is no longer with them. Morgan tells Vanessa to stay where she is and hide while he goes to rescue their friend. Meanwhile Emily finds a secluded room, in which she enters, to find many pictures of Little Benjamin all over the room. When Vanessa is on her own she gets brutally murdered by the masked figure. Finding Emily with a room full of Benjamin pictures Morgan states how much Benjamin looks like Jacob when he was younger. Realising Vanessa is alone they rush to her aid. Emily and Morgan find her dead and the killer is nowhere to be found. Jacob comes in and immediately starts reassuring them that it was not him that murdered her. They all try hysterically to escape the theatre. Jacob gets possessed right in front of them as he finds a weapon and immediately starts trying to kill them. There is a struggle but eventually Jacob kills Morgan. After the deed is done he stands in the middle of the theatre with the two dead bodies lying around him and recites the opening prologue to Romeo and Juliet.

Location.

Joey and I went out one day to visit our location and take some pictures of it. We took pictures of the park opposite our main attraction and of course the Theatre itself.
These pictures were taken during the day time so do not have the scary and horror-like atmosphere we will have when its night time. This is why the trailer is going to be shot during the night.
We are both very happy with our location as we feel it captures the story line very well and we can really create a freaky and crazy atmosphere. 

'Nightmare on Elm Street' synopsis research.

One of our tasks was to find a synopsis of a film released recently and highlight all the conventions shown throughout the synopsis. I highlighted things such as Stock Characters, Protagonists/Antagonists, Plot and Stock Situations, Themes, Icons and Background and Decor. These are all very important elements to think about whilst making a horror movie trailer.