Film evaluation !

#1 in what way does your film use develop or challenge forms & conventions of real films?

The theatrical poster for 'Jeepers Creepers'

Our horror film challenges horror conventions with the timing of the film, late evening on an august night. The fact that we filmed it during the light was firstly to show that the characters were entering the woods before it was night, showing that the majority of the film would be occurring during the evening. Secondly because the use of light can trick the audience into a false sense of safety , believing that the day time would make the characters safe. It also subverts the themes presented in normal 'teen horrors' due to the fact that it would not be a bloody massacre like films such as 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' or 'Jeepers Creepers' but it would be a more subtle brand of horror.

'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'

The also film achieves this as well by not following certain typical character archetypes that other American horror films use. Many feature such characters as The 'comic relief', 'the nerdy one', 'the confident one' and as well as 'the one who is definitely going to die first'. My characters would have far more differential characters with complex story arch's and differing backgrounds and attitudes so as to create more believe ability within the characters. Further creating a better film experience for the viewer.





#2 How does your film represent particular social groups?

The film focuses on and only shows teenagers, making them the target social group. It shows them perhaps as inquisitive, in the fact that they want to  explore the woods. It also shows them as perhaps silly and unprepared. They are not dressed nor do the have the right equipment to spend a night in the woods.

The theatrical poster for 'Shrooms'

Other than the social group of  'Teenagers' The finished film could also dip into many various sub cultures associated to teenagers. It could take inspiration from such media texts like the 2007 psychological horror film 'Shrooms' In which the characters experiment with the use of 'magic mushrooms' as a drug. The whole reason given by the plot for the characters to be in the woods is to find and use the drugs. After this one of the characters has a 'bad trip' which leads to her murdering her companions without her knowing, and her to awake to her confusion of finding all her friends dead. This negative stereotype of youth and drugs use is one that could feature in 'Isolation' If the plot where to be advanced. It also featured a similar age group as the one present by 'Isolation'

The other example that could relate to the sub culture of drugs is in Season 3 Episode 8 of Skins. Entitled 'Effy' The characters set out to have a peaceful camping adventure in the woods, but a more troublesome member of the group turns up late and encourages the group to take the 'magic mushrooms' they found earlier. Immediately similar to 'Shrooms' Whilst the main character of the episode Effy is having a 'bad trip' she is confronted by another character Katie who orders Effy to stay away from her boyfriend, after this Kate attacks Effy . Effy acts out of self defence and beats her over the head with a rock. She then leaves Katie's body there leaving it unclear as to the fate of Katie. the cast is of the exact same age of 'Isolation'. The same element of drug use causing horror and confusion amongst the cast is one representation of social groups that 'Isolation' could conform too.

#3 What kind of media institution might distribute your product & why?

The theatrical poster for British horror 'Eden Lake'

I believe a small amount of cinemas would be the best way to start distributing the film. Only once it has had success could it be released more widely. I believe the company  'Rollercoaster films' (UK) would be inclined to distribute our film as it is similar to previous films they have distributed. Such as the film 'Eden Lake (2008)' is an independent, UK, low budget horror film . It was well received by critics and made a impressive box office of  £3,983,997 and was distributed in the US by 'The Weinstein Company' which would give the film a greater chance of reaching a wider international audience.

#4 who would be the audience for this kind of product?

The audience for most horror films would be the 15-25 year old market. So depending on the films age rating it would either be 15-25 or 18-25. The evidence I have to conclude this is the following graph :

As with the audiences for most horror films the audience is predominantly male. Due to the graphic or perhaps scenes of a shocking nature.Meaning the advertising campaign would be centred towards this market.

The theatrical poster for 'Harry Brown'

Due to the similarities between 'Isolation' and films such as 'Harry Brown' and 'Eden Lake' our film could potentially attract quite a wide audience from within the British cinema. But unfortunately for these films they had little success in the US, something I believe our film would suffer similarly with.








#5 How did you attract/address your audience?

The best way to attract the audience would be a combination of two different style of campaign.  Firstly it would be an Internet heavy campaign. With lots of trailers, interviews and behind the scenes footage on youtube. Secondly it would be a scare campaign, an attempt to convince the audience that the film was based on true events. Something that would work rather effectively with horror films.

Theatrical poster for 'The Blair Witch Project'

It would be a advertising campaign as that used by 'The Blair Witch'. An entire website crated around the myth and legends surrounding the Blair witch and then surrounding area. Blair Witch Home. It shows over 40 reported interviews with the towns folk, the sheriffs department as well as reports from national news corporations and the opinions from experts in their respective fields and from the anthropologists who discovered the footage.

It also shows supposed police evidence, such as photos of the abandoned car, missing person posters and bagged evidence. Such as the diary's of one of the film makers and the cans the film footage was stored in.

The sheer amount of pictures, videos and eye witness accounts help to create verisimilitude with the audience , as well as to help the film gain popularity and revenue. The Blair Witches advertising campaign is one that my movie would aspire to replicate.

Due to the age and gender of my target audience, if theoretically we had a budget from a production company another possible route for advertising would be select adverts in magazines that target younger men. Such as Zoo, FHM and Nuts. It would also benefit from theatrical trailers on select channels at certain times. Due to the fact it is a horror film, advertising any time before 8:30/ 9 would be a waste of money because television at these times is aimed towards a younger/ older audience than my film would target. Theatrical trailers, during half time adverts in football matches would be another way of reaching my target audience of males between 18-35.

#6 What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

The making of the film has taught me allot about camera and microphone recording technology. As well as the way editing software can be used to piece the film together. At the beginning of the film I knew very little about how editing actually worked but now I feel confident enough to edit a film by myself.

Theatrical poster for 'Submarine'

I also believe the best way to shoot the film in its entirety would be with digital cameras. The cost savings are significant for digital VS film as shown by ' Star wars : The Attack Of The Clones' which featured significant saving from the first film done with 35 mm print. I would also like to film in digital so that the film would be able to take advantage of the DSN (digital screen network) such as other British films like 'Submarine' and 'London to Brighton' to help the film be seen by a wider audience.


I learnt that it is incredibly important to check all the equipment is working before arriving at the shoot. If all the actors and props are ready to go but the camera equipment is faulty it would ruin the days filming.

From other members of my class I learnt that it is important to check the both the camera and the microphone are working. Many of them recorded the entire footage but when they came back to check it found that their audio recording hadn't recorded properly. This was also a worry with the fact that throughout filming I used 3 different microphones. One that attached to the top of the digital camera, to extend the distance to which audio could be recorded. One called a 'shot gun mic' because of the fact it only picks up what it is being pointed towards. I used this mic for recording sound effects such as breathing and twigs snapping. The 3rd microphone I used was a very advanced radio recording mic which I used for the voice recording session when I dubbed over the voices that had been recorded with the original footage.

#7 Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

 I learnt a large amount about sound editing and how to loop sound in a way to make it seem natural, as well as how to make editing effective and smooth. This is from where I had difficulty with editing the sound whilst the characters where walking over a large patch of fallen leaves. If the characters could be heard talking, but the sound of the leaves crunching would be a blatant accident.

I also learnt about how to film a scene, position actors as well as direct them and help them understand their purpose in the scene. Due to the fact that the characters in the film were not portrayed but professional actors, but by my friends and media studies colleagues. In some ways it could be referred to as an acting and directorial debut !

The amount of time and effort that goes into just one shot is something I learnt from the making of this and the preliminary task. Sometimes two or three takes are required to get the simplest things right. Once this is understood any film or television show can be looked at with a renewed respect.

Through learning all of this I believe I have a much larger knowledge of how filming works as well as a great appreciation for the film industry.

Films that inspired 'Isolation' #2 The Blair Witch Project !

The poster for the release of TBWP

The comparisons between Isolation and The Blair Witch Project (TBWP) are plain for the audience to see. Although groups of teenagers entering a scary location, such as a wood or haunted house are common in horror films the styles and themes presented within TBWP are ones that I would very much like a completed version of my film to share.

Its premise is very simple, yes extremely open to possibilities. It is a collection of amateur film footage following the story of three students who vanished whilst hiking in the Black Hills near Burkesville, Maryland. Their aim was to film a documentary on the local legend known as The Blair Witch. The viewers are told that the three students were never seen or heard from again but that their video and sound equipment (and most of the footage they recorded) is recovered the following year. The 'recovered footage' is the film the viewer is now watching.

As the entire film is just the footage the students recorded it is all shot using a hand camera, so all the scenes (especially the in the last sequence, when the camera operator is running down the stairs) are shaky. This adds to the effect as it is more believable that it is just the three students in the woods, as opposed to an entire film crew.

During the film, after entering the woods the characters become lost. No matter what directions they walk in the always return to the original place where they set of from. Due to this frustration the characters begin turning on each other. This separation of characters is definitely a technique I would have used in a completed version of Isolation. As it say in the title of my film, if the characters physically separated from each other it would create a brilliant sense of isolation amongst the audience, making them and they characters feel even more vulnerable.

It also perfectly uses the technique I so heavily praised 'Alien' for. The use of 'Less is more'. The film never actually shows the viewer what the Blair Witch looks like. Most of what provides the scares in the film is the tried and tested theme of the fear of the dark. When the characters pack up camp and go the sleep in their tents is when most of the films action occurs. Although, the first time they camp nothing supernatural actually happens, even though they are camped at a place called Coffin Rock a place rumoured to be the site where five men were found ritualistically murdered in the 19th century (a blatant misleading to the audience that something would have occurred this night). This is another effect of brilliant pacing leading up to the climatic events of the film, another thing this film has in common with Alien.

The second time they make camp is when the haunting actually begins. One of the characters accidentally disturbs a clearly man maid pile of stones. Believe it to be a bad omen for him to have done that, the female character hastily repairs it. During the night, they hear cackling sounds; they assume this to be animals or locals following them. Slowly but surely, the events of the film are growing more chilling.

Over the next few days things being too quickly become more suspicious, they wake up to find that stone piles have been made around their tents during the night as well as finding  numerous human like stick figuers hanging from trees and continue to hear strange noises at night. They quickly discover something truly disturbing is happening in these woods. The minimalistic effects throughout the film are perfectly used to create fear in the characters that transfers seamlessly into the audience.


Another reason TBWP is a film that inspired Isolation is the fact that it was made on an incredibly low budget, as well as the fact it was filmed very quickly, taking only 8 day to complete. It is also one of the most successful independant films of all time. Costing somwhere in the range of $20,000- $500,000 to make but the film grossed $248,639,099 worldwide!

For the minimalistic effects used, the great pacing of the supernatural events and the low budget and crew required to make the film, The Blair Witch Project is definitely a film that helped make and inspire Isolation.

Films that inspired 'Isolation' #1 Alien !

This latest segment is all about the horror films that inspired the making of my student movie Isolation.

Ridley Scotts original version of Alien easily has to be one of my personal favourite films as well as one of the most highly renowned films of all time. Few horror films managed to capture the minds of the audience as well as the critics in quite the same way.

It uses some of the most important elements in horror film, combined with elements most commonly associated with thrillers or even dramas. It uses suspense superbly, the where-abouts of the Alien (Sometimes referred too as a xenomorph) is almost always unknown and unlike most horror films the creature isn’t actually seen until towards the middle of the 117 minute film.

Nerdy fact. The actors in this scene were replaced by children, to create the illusion that the ship and alien where bigger than they actually were!

Nerdy fact. The actors in this scene were replaced by children, to create the illusion that the ship and alien where bigger than they actually were!

It uses pacing too an incredible effect. Most horror films allow for quiet shots where footsteps or breathing can be heard, but Alien allows, at times for complete silence. Something most directors never incorporate into their films. It puts the viewer on edge and it is something they are not familiar with in films. Previous to seeing the films the audience would have seen trailers of the film, known perhaps what the aliens looked like. This means that they knew what too expect, and that it could appear at any time. In the opening 10 minutes there are at least 6 or 7 different sounds or movements that could be believed to be the aliens when in fact it is nothing more than steam being released from a valve for example.

Within the confines of the ship it is incredibly claustrophobic. The camera work uses this to great effect to build suspense as well as making the viewer feel trapped. To support this feeling of being trapped the viewer is constantly being reminded of the fact the entire cast is floating through space, by showing shots of surrounding planets or from the outside and from underneath the ship. With the constant reminder it gives more reason for the characters to panic therefore creating more fear for the viewer.


The most important lesson I learnt from Alien that helped in creating Isolation is the term ' Less is more'. In life, as well as in a horror film. People fear what they do not understand. The less the audience see the alien, see this creature that is causing mass hysteria amongst the crew of the Nostromo the more they are going to fear it. If they are exposed to prolonged shots of the alien that would make them better understand it. Meaning that the less they see, the more they fear it.

The Alien. One of the most iconic imagines in film.

For a film that is now 33 years old it still manages to terrify audiences and build suspense more than any other horror film. It is still believed to be critically one of the best films of all time and its influence can be seen in all horror as well as any film that builds suspense. It is truly a film that has stood the test of time.

The 'chestburster' scene has been frequently noted as one of the most memorable moments in film. For this reason I have included it below, it is one of the best parts of the film and considering it uses effects that are now 33 years old it far out-shadows anything of its time.

Due to the superb special effects that still seem real to this date, the brilliant sound track including the times when the film allows silence and the claustrophobic atmosphere created by the characters being trapped in the space ship, Alien is deffinetley a film that inspired Isolation.

Exhibitors !

There are three main exhibitors of films in the UK

Cineworld Cinemas - It has 78 cinemas, 76 of which are located in the UK. It is the second-largest cinema operator in the UK with 801 screens, and Cineworld Glasgow is the tallest cinema in the world as well as the busiest, by customer base, in the UK.

 Odeon - It is the UKs largest cinema chain with over 100 cinemas with that number still growing as it has recently announced the acquisition of 4 more cinemas and the construction of 2.

The Vue brand  was launched onto the UK market in 2003 with 38 cinemas. Since then, Vue’s UK & Ireland circuit has grown to 68 cinemas with 657 screens with over 140,000 seats. In the 12 months to the end of May 2010, the company served over 37 million customers. Vue also operates a 9 screen cinema in Faro, Portugal and a 13 screen cinema in Taipei, Taiwan serving a further 1.1 million customers. It is one of the most advanced cinemas in the UK with 95% of its seats in stadium seated screens, which is the highest in the market when compared to other major multiplex operators.

Set Photos Part Two !

The sheer amount of photos taken by Tasha gives me the ability to write allot about the Pluckley and the surrounding area. Enough to fill up two, maybe even three blogs worth of pictures.

This is a great picture allowing the viewer to really get a feel of how large, as well as old the church yard is.

This is the view from inside the walkway which the characters passed through towards the end of the film . It also made a convenient place for us to store our equipment when we weren't filming. Multi purpose !

Another picture showing how creepy the pluckley church yard can be when filmed/ photographed effectively.

Set Photos !

Before the initial filming of  'Isolation'  Tasha took numerous photos from around Pluckley so that we could get a feel for what the village looked like, as well as what locations would make good shots for the film.

After seeing the above photo of the Grave yard and Church it was clear that this was a location we had to film  at. The deteriorating tombstones as well as the eery mist made it hard for this location not too be in the film. This is where the 4 characters walk through whilst the monster is watching them. To the top right corner of the photo is the walkway which the characters pass through just before the end.

This photo is the grassy area the teenagers walk through after passing through the graveyard. Due to the almost crop circle look to the area this shot is area could have been one revisited as the film would carry  on. It is an area that only features for a short amount of time in the film but it could be a symbol seen multiple times through out the film. Perhaps at times of great distress or during supernatural happenings. Used as a recuring motif throughout the film.

Costumes !

The costumes are based around similar clothing seen in other popular "teenage horrors". Such as Halloween , Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Hatchet. Whenever you see a teenager being chased through a forest by a chainsaw wielding maniac they are never appropriately dressed for the task. They are always wearing their favourite jeans, shoes and t-shirt. They're never dressed warmly enough and never have the right equipment.

This is why the characters are wearing their casual clothes, and not properly dressed for camping in autumn, as well as the fact they aren't carrying camping equipment,

How everyone victim in horror films seems to dress.

The guy that they are running from.