TREATMENT FOR ORIGIN

Background 

Our short film is set in rural Northern Ireland, and the main idea of it is that a girl who lived in the 1700s that was drowned has been resurrected and has come back to where she lived in 2017. It is the opening for a film so naturally we can't give away the plot of the film but the idea that we aim to leave the viewers with was that she was drowned as a form of the death penalty for being found guilty of witchcraft.

 This was not uncommon in Ireland in these times, the most famous witch trials would be the Islandmagee Witch Trial which took place in 1710-1711 in which eight women were found guilty of witchcraft. The area in which we will be filming is secluded and untouched by modern life, it is also not far from where the Islandmagee trial happened.

Screenplay Treatment

The film opens with a shot underwater, of a strand of hair floating across the screen. The music that we want to have will be created on Garageband and will be eerie and atmospheric.  

The next shot is above the water. The audio will cut and there will be the silence of the rural setting in which were filming, probably with the sound of trickling water around.

After this is an underwater shot of Meabh's hand, floating lifeless. The music from underwater before will resume playing. Then the shot from before repeats, with the still and isolated countryside and no audio.
Suddenly, Meabh bursts out of the water, as if risen from the dead. She is panicked and has no idea what is happening. She is breathing heavily. There is a close up on her face and we see the terror and confusion.

Then, a black screen will appear and our title, Origin will appear. 

After this we aim to have a side profile shot of Meabh with very heavy breathing and a Point of View shot of the sea and the skyline. Then, a wide shot of Meabh struggling out of the shallow water and sitting on rocks. To give the impression that a little bit of time is passing, we will get lots of the same sort of shots from different angles and have Meabh gradually get drier. By the time Meabh is on the move, her hair is damp and her clothes drier than they were.

Following on we want a shot of the road, which will be an extreme long shot and gradually we want it to lose focus, almost as if it is Meabh's confused eyes. 

Along a trail close to the water we want a shot of Meabh walking, from a low angle and then a close up on this. Around the trail is a bridge (seen above) and we want a shot of a vehicle passing over it. Meabh's face (as we see in a close up) is terrified and she backs away. Then she quickens her pace and is on the verge of running. 

We want to switch location then, to a nearby forrest, with Meabh running up the path and through the wall at the entrance. Meabh stops after a while and we see a close up of her face looking horrified. We are envisaging a shot of a ruined cottage and the intensity of the music continues. Meabh's breathing is heavy and she is on the verge of screaming. 

After this we want a shot of Meabh falling to her knees from behind. As we zoom in on her face we have her looking around, stunned. On the soundtrack we want voices, a baby crying and laughter to be audible. These are to be perceived as Meabh's memories, which are flooding back to her in her family's house which is now in ruins.

Finally we will cut to the scene of the ruin, with no soundtrack - completely silent except for the sounds of the surroundings. We will have a reverse zoom of the ruin to close to film. 

ACTORS

Our short film has one actor, Meabh. She was the perfect person for our character because she is tall and slim and has long hair. We wanted our actress to be able to convey vulnerability well and not be physically intimidating or seem very strong. Through her facial expressions and body language Meabh will be able to convey this. As of right now, we are keeping the characters name Meabh because it is an ancient Irish name, however this may change.

1700 Costume and Makeup

Origin 

Costume & Makeup 

The societal dictates of morality and prudery dictated what ought to be proper body coverings at bedtime, when arising, and for lounging around at home. During the Victorian Period (1837-1901), the guardians of morality criticized fashion trends that accentuated womanly attributes as they believed that the shape of the female body should be obliterated at all times by layers of wrapping to protect the mind from dwelling upon corporal characteristics (Kent, 1999, p. 177-191). Willett & Cunnington (1992) mention that between 1841 and 1856, the notion that a nightdress should be made attractive by trimmings of lace, for instance, did not sit well with the elders who viewed such extravagances in young women as a sign of depravity that went against the highest principles of prudery in the English lady (p. 151).

Different customs have been associated with nightclothes. Nightcaps, for example, were deemed to be assets as they were mentioned occasionally in wills. Willett & Cunnington (1992) remarked that in 1577, John Corbett left to his father “my beste velvet nighte cappe” and, Saffron Walden bequeathed in his will a “night cappe of black velvet embroidered” (p. 43). These authors also impart that in the 1600s and 1700s a custom was for a bride and bride-groom to give each other their wedding nightclothes (p. 61). An enduring custom has been to wear black mourning clothes as an expression of respect for a deceased. In the Thomas Verney Memoirs, dated 1651, Willett & Cunnington noted that this gentleman’s wardrobe included mourning nightwear such as “Two black taffety nightclothes with black night capps” (p. 61).

Originally, women’s linen nightdresses were simple, loosely cut and minimally trimmed. Willett & Cunnington (1992) describe a linen nightdress, dated 1825, that is on display in the Gallery of English Costume at Platt Hall as being rather plain and unshaped with a falling collar and sleeves that are gathered into a cuff and fastened by a hand-made button (p. 134). From the mid-1800s onward, female nightgowns would be transformed into more intricate, alluring, ornate, and colorful garments.

THE FOREST ANALYSIS

This film is labelled a mystery horror, and is described as;

Rising at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan, the legendary real-life Aokigahara Forest is the suspense-filled setting of this supernatural thriller. A young American woman, Sara, journeys there in search of her twin sister, who has mysteriously disappeared. In the company of expatriate Aiden, Sara enters the forest having been well warned to "stay on the path." Determined to discover the truth about her sister's fate, Sara will have to face the angry and tormented souls of the dead that prey on anyone who dares come near them. These malevolent spirits lying in wait for Sara at every turn will plunge her into a frightening darkness from which she must fight to save herself.

CHARACTERS

Natalie Dormer as Sara and Jess Price

Taylor Kinney as Aiden

Eoin Macken as Rob

Stephanie Vogt as Valerie

Yukiyoshi Ozawa as Michi

Rina Takasaki as Hoshiko

Noriko Sakura as Mayumi

Yûho Yamashita as Sakura

James Owen as Peter

SOUND

Journey to Aokigahara
into the forest

Song the tent

follow the rope

the reversing river

alone in the cave

the cabin

theme of the forest

JAPAN

SHOT TYPES

The film begins with a nightmare, which is shot in a very particular style that instantly grabs the viewers attention. The shots are very short, very quick give the illusion that she is running, very quickly. This paired with the heavy breathing rk setting and eerie music, send a very spooky vibe and grabs the attention of the viewer. The camera angles constantly change, from behind the running girl, to the front, to the ground.

 In these clips, there is an overlay of shrill screams and cries for help, again reinforcing the terrifying nature of this film.

Here we can see that the first few clips were just a nightmare, and this is a technique that is used very often in the horror genre as it means terrifying scenes can be created without the worry of whether or no it seems realistic.

A soon as she wakes from her dream, she packs a suitcase, including a photograph of two children, and jets off to Japan. At this point we are unsure why, and this sense of mystery engages the viewers and encourages them to stay watching, an aspect which I think would be great to incorporate into our film.

Here we are shown numerous flash back type scenes that answer all the viewers questions. We are told what brought on the nightmare, why she set off for Japan in the middle of the night, and we learn who Jess, her sister is. These flashback scenes are over layed over a clip of the main character in a taxi in Hong Kong, clearly distraught and worried for her sister's life. I think this technique of inter-locking flashback with modern day is very clever and a technique that we could use in our film.

I also thought this film related well to our movie as it is set largely in a forest area, similar to our film.

Gun Kawamura
Courtesy of Primrose Music
Under License from 5 Alarm Music

THE WITCH ANALYSIS

The Witch  is a 2015 historical period supernatural horror film written and directed by Robert Eggers in his directorial debut and stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger and Lucas Dawson. The film follows a Puritan family encountering forces of evil in the woods beyond their New England farm. 

This film is similar to ours as it is set in a similar location and a similar time period. It also carries the theme of witchcraft through out it. 

CHARACTERS

MUSIC 

SHOT TYPES

The film opens with music and black overlays, with the title appearing over a black screen. This is a way we could introduce our film. The first shot is of a close up shot of a girl, in what appears to be a court room. The scene is dimly lit, and this adds to the eerie, old nature of the film. Another thing to note is her clothing, and her facial expressions; she looks terrified.                                            

                                                                               

                                                                                        The camera then changes and we are shown a close up of this young boy, looking equally as terrified. There is a loud, intimidating voice speaking over these clips, whist we have not yet been shown the face of the speaker, we imagine he is a man that these children are extremely fearful of.       The camera then changes and we are shown a close up of this young boy, looking equally as terrified. There is a loud, intimidating voice speaking over these clips, whist we have not yet been shown the face of the speaker, we imagine he is a man that these children are extremely fearful of.   

                                         

 The camera then changes and we are shown a close up of this young boy, looking equally as terrified. There is a loud, intimidating voice speaking over these clips, whist we have not yet been shown the face of the speaker, we imagine he is a man that these children are extremely fearful of.

The shot type then changes again to an over the shoulder the shot, this time we are shown the back of someone's head, perhaps the one who is speaking, which we can now understand is very religious.

MISE EN SCENE 

The room is dimly lit, and appears to be a courtroom. There is not many props, other than the old-fashioned style clothing they are all wearing. The lighting is very cool toned and dark, creating an eerie setting. Everyone looks terrified, and there is a very tense atmosphere. The room is in silence other than the authoritative figure's voice.

CONVENTIONS

The film is not a conventional horror type, it uses psychological uncertainty to engage the audience, and in this sense it is similar to our film. Due to the unsettling nature of the film, its target audience would consist of those 17+, whereas generally the audience for horror films is 15-40.

THE WICKERMAN ANALYSIS

A police sergeant is sent to a Scottish island village in search of a missing girl whom the townsfolk claim never existed. When he arrives he notices strange celtic rituals and a lack of Christianity which builds until the end of the film. 

CHARACTERS

Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle

Edward Woodward as Sgt. Howie

Britt Ekland and Rachel Verney (voice) as Willow MacGregor

Diane Cilento as Miss Rose

Ingrid Pitt as Librarian

Lindsay Kemp as Alder MacGregor (the landlord)

Lord Summerisle

MUSIC

The music in this film was composed, arranged and recorded by Paul Giovanni and the Magnet. It is all folk music performed by characters in the film. The opening song in the main title is called The Highland Widow's Lament. The use of non diegetic music heightens the sense of mystery, as folk music is not often a style that one would associate with a horror film.

SHOT TYPES

The opening aerial shot was filmed in South Africa, as the film was set in Spring yet they filmed through Winter, and they did not have a big enough budget to create a spring-like set. The shot types vary in the opening scenes, from wide to over the shoulder to aerial.

MISE EN SCENE

The mise en Scene of the Wicker Man is very bright and colourful as opposed to normal horror films which usually stick to dark miss en scene. It is this paired with the odd nature of the characters that makes the film more mysterious. The characters in this film are dressed typically for an isolated island in the 1970's and at first glance the village seems fairly normal. None of the characters are presented as genuinely evil however we see a cult like side of them when May Day comes around. For example, the villagers all wear animal themed masks which adds to the mystery of the film.

CONVENTIONS

This film, whilst a horror, does not follow the typical conventions of a horror film. It completely contrasts to the rest of the films I have analysed. There is no villain in this film, which is something that is very common in horror films. Whilst the film is very bright and colourful, the film still has a creepy, mysterious aura. However, this film does follow the conventions of a psychological horror, so this relates to our film.

PRODUCTION

British Lion Films is a company that was founded in 1919. It has produced over 170 films.

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT ANALYSIS

The first film i have decided to analyse is the Blair Witch Project. I choose this film as it is entered around the witch theme which is fitting with our movie.We are developing the idea for the beginning of  a film that falls under the horror genre, more specifically psychological or historical horror. Horror films have very specific characteristics to create the terrifying atmosphere. Here i will go into 5 movies that i feel relate to the film we will be producing. 

The Blair Witch Project is a very famous horror film, and at the time of its release, was feared by many. The film takes on a new style, with not a single shot in the entire movie being still. The basic plot of the movie involves three student filmmakers who hike in the Black Hills near Burkittsville, Maryland in 1994 to film a documentary about a local legend known as the Blair Witch. The three disappear, but their video and sound equipment is discovered a year later; the "recovered footage" is the film the viewer is watching. 




TITLES / DISTRIBUTORS

The distributor for this film is Lionsgate, so this could be a possible distributor for our film. 

The film is also produced by Haxan films. The company is named after the 1922 hybrid of documentary and fiction that focuses on witchcraft and demons. This of course is fitting for the Blair Witch Project. 

The title is very simple, basic white font over a contrasting black background. However, this basic style title works well with the casual style of the film. A over done, professional looking title would not of went well with the rest of the movie. The title also shakes, and there is no audio or music, which adds a chilling vibe to an otherwise plain title. 

There is also text that pops up giving us some background information, and also adds a sense of reality to the film, making it even more terrifying for viewers. 

CHARACTERS

Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, Josh Leonard are the three main characters in the film. These three teens go missing in the forest when searching for the Blair Witch. This is very typical for a small group of friends to go missing in horror films.

MUSIC AND SOUND

The Blair Witch project soundtrack; 

The first song, Gloomy Sunday is also known as the Hungarian Suicide Song which is blamed for the deaths of 18 people, more than any song in history. This song was banned from the BBC for 66 years until the ban was lifted in 2002. The song is a lament after the musician's lover's death, and it ends in a quiet prayer for sins.


SHOT TYPES

This entire film was shot on a hand held camera, and it is not steady at any point. This realistic approach makes the film more terrifying for viewers. The entire film was shot with natural lighting, and often low light. There is plenty of different shots in this film, including many zoom shots. One of the most famous shots in the whole film is the extreme long shot filmed by Hannah leaving a message  for her friends and family. The varying shot types and shaky camera work all make the entire plot seem a lot more realistic. There is a very loose frame for the characters to move around the large empty house, they are never seen standing still in one shot throughout the entire scene.

MISE EN SCENE

The mise en scene is essential in creating a successful horror film. This film is set in woodland areas and derelict buildings. This sets the aura for the film and is something that we should take into consideration when creating our film. During the scene where the friends are entering the derelict house, a lot of the footage is shot using a low lighting key enabling  the audience to feel the haunting effects of the empty house. 

CONVENTIONS

The Blair Witch, a story of three student filmmakers who go missing in the Maryland woods while making a documentary about the myth of the Blair Witch, provides a new twist on the horror genre. However, in other ways, the film follows the codes and conventions of a typical horror film in that

• it is set in a derelict, isolated area
•  has young children involved with the small handprints in the wall
• envolves a small group of friends 
• bad weather conditions 

TARGET AUDIENCE 

• Social Media - in a time when social media was really only making its first breakthrough, the filmmakers took advantage of the main social media users (aged 18 to 29) The filmmakers created an elaborate backstory and online presence for the film before it was even released.
• New type of film - this was the first mockumentary so attracted new innovative filmmakers
• Young actors - this is relatable for younger audiences