Matt
From mediaartiststudio
Contents |
[edit] Introduction
My independent project will be a 30-45 minute anthology comprised of three short horror movies. I will write and direct two 10 minute movies while Nick will be write and direct a longer piece. Our intention is to use the anthology format to portray a wide spectrum of the horror genre, and we hope that the three movies will contextualize each other in a way that amplifies the elements of horror contained in them, making them stronger than if they were stand-alone pieces. The two films that I will be directing will be one slasher movie and one apocalypse movie. While drawing from the conventions of these sub-genres, I want to betray those expectations in order to more effectively disturb my audience.
[edit] Slasher Movie Outline
This movie will begin in what would normally be the middle of a conventional horror film. The protagonist will encounter a group of desperate survivors who we learn have spent all day running from an elusive but merciless killer. The group comprises of a calloused and determined male and female, as well as a frail, traumatized looking girl, who says nothing and is comforted by the other characters. The group hijacks the protagonists car because they claim they are being hotly pursued. The reluctant protagonist fights back against the group, inadvertently causing a car crash. In the aftermath of this crash, as the protagonist stands outside the wreck, the traumatized girl screams and runs around the car, alerting them to the presence of the killer. As the three of them run from the crash, the protagonist looks back to see the victim, the older woman in their group stagger in front of the car before collapsing from a bloody chest wound. The group runs to take refuge in an alley, and the protagonist walks away from the other two to attempt to call the police. We hear a scream in the background and suddenly the small girl is pulling his arms in a panic, trying to get him to run. He looks back to see his other companion’s corpse as he runs off with the girl again. The run off to another location, and as the girl begins to cry hysterically, the protagonist is finally becoming suspicious of the girl, and backs away from her cautiously. Suddenly the girl grabs a brick or some other blunt instrument and starts rushing at him with it. The final shot will show from a distance the girl pursuing the protagonist on a suburban street, overtaking him, beating him in the head repeatedly, and then sitting down and screaming until a new group of people come over to her and comfort her.
[edit] Apocalypse Movie Outline
This movie will combine different types of apocalypse films by personifying them in the characters. One character will obsessed with zombies, another with war, and a third with religion. These three people share a house with the protagonist while a major blackout occurs. As they go outside to fetch candles from a shed, they hear the sounds of sirens, gunshots, and general chaos carry from over the water. When they discover their cell phones get no reception, they begin to contemplate what is happening and come up with their own theories, involving zombies, terrorists and the rapture. The religious character is also coming down with a cold, which puts the nerves of the zombie enthusiast on edge. The tension grows even stronger as a dead body is found in the water. The zombie fanatic goes in to retrieve it, discovering a bullet wound in the head. Believing this to be the body of a dispatched zombie, he goes back into the house and kills his sick roommate with a wooden club. Outside, the other two roommates see another figure coming toward them on a boat. Assuming this person to be the murderer of the body they found, the war enthusiast takes no chances and shoots the intruder. The war fanatic now voices his belief that some kind of chemical weapon, released into the water, is turning people crazy. He claims that their other roommate who went into the water, is affected by it as well, and needs to be taken care of before he kills anyone else. As his two surviving roommates are about to fight to the death inside the house. The protagonist realizes the urgent need to escape, grabs some supplies from the house, and sets off in search of safety. He soon sees a car coming down the road, and waves for it to stop. The car accelerates towards him, and he jumps out of the way at the last second, slamming his head into a tree. The driver gets out and is revealed to be a girl that the protagonist had planned a date with that night. She wields a large metal club and explains to him what has been happening before killing him. Apparently what has been happening everywhere is the same thing that happened in the house. All it really was, was a major blackout that coincided with a failure of major cell phone networks, but this set off the nation in a rampage of senseless violence. People where just so ready for an apocalypse that they were eager enough to push it along at the first sign of chaos.
[edit] Genre Expectations
Both these movie will betray the expectations of the genre being portrayed. In the slasher movie, I will show a character who looks and acts like the stereotypical horror movie victim, yet turns out to be the killer. The audience will eventually ascertain that this character is aware of the way she is perceived and generalized by people, and uses this to her advantage. This will resonate with the common fear that drawing generalizations from the media can sever the individual from reality, as it clearly inhibits the protagonist from seeing the obvious truth about the killer until it is too late. The apocalypse movie will use a technique in which the conventions of different sub-genres are idealized by the characters themselves. I am hoping that audience members who are fans of these types of films will identify with the characters, assuming that their survivalist mindset and decisive action will help them get through the movie unscathed. I am hoping that once this mindset turns out to be the undoing of these characters, the audience will feel betrayed to the extent that they related to the philosophy that these characters presented.
[edit] Filming Issues
There will be some parts of these projects that will be extremely difficult to pull off convincingly. The car crash in the slasher movie will be a sizable hurdle. I will attempt to show the crash from the inside using a stationary car with green screens on the windows. The outside of the crash will be shown either by using a real, beat up car or possibly by utilizing after effects; I could also keep most of the wreckage off camera and hint at it with smoke coming from the car. Most violence and gore will be off screen in order to add realism to the movies and hopefully make the violence seem more gruesome in the audience's imagination.
[edit] Cast
For the apocalypse movie, there are 5 major roles and 1 minor one. I have two of the major characters casted so far.
For the slasher movie, there are four roles, plus a small group of extras I will need. I have one role casted at the moment.
[edit] Crew
Nick and I will be in each other's crew as much as possible, but since we will be both undertaking huge projects we will need more outside help.
For both movies, I will direct and be the director of photography. I will need an assistant director, a sound technician, and possibly a lighting technician. This would be the bare minimum however, and more crew members would make the shoots run smoother.
[edit] Schedule
The apocalypse movie will be filmed winter quarter and the slasher movie will be filmed in spring. Here is my tentative schedule for shooting
[edit] Winter Quarter/Apocalypse Movie
[edit] Week 1
I will begin week 1 with completed script and storyboards for the apocalypse movie. During the week I will finalize casting it and cementing a crew together.
[edit] Week 2
I will meet with the cast and crew to do table readings of the script. I will work with the acotrs on their characters and witht he crew on props and locations we will need. We will also agree on a shooting schedule, I will try to find two days out of the week that they will all be available.
[edit] Week 3 - Week 7
I will film the movie during these weeks. The order in which we shoot the scenes will depend on weather and availabilities of actors and props. We will shoot outdoor scenes and scenes that use the windows whenever it is not raining (too hard), and shoot the indoor scenes on the rest of the days.
[edit] Week 8 - Week 9
During these two weeks I hope to get through most of the post-production. I will do as much as possible without rushing it.
[edit] Week 10
This week will be dedicated to finalizing the script, storyboard, crew, and casting for the Slasher movie.
[edit] Spring Quarter/Slasher Movie
[edit] Week 1
I will meet with cast and crew this week to read the script and plan the shoots and finalize a schedule
[edit] Week 2
I will work with the crew on the trouble shots, testing out techniques, and experimenting with after effects to develop and technique that we know will work.
[edit] Week 3 - Week 6
These weeks will be set aside for filming. Hopefully, with enough preparation, this short movie will be filmable in a matter or days.
[edit] Week 7 - 10
These weeks will be dedicated to finishing post-production, and working all three movies together in a package.
[edit] Contact
If any part of this project sounds like fun, contact me or just facebook me. During week 1 or 2 of winter quarter I will create a facebook group for the project to communicate easier with everyone.
