Sketches for storyboard

Storyboard Idea - rough mock up

Victoria

Victoria's makeup

Make-up- Face: Victoria in the film opening is representing an older murder to the present day. As the film opening is going to have a Gothic like theme , I gave Alanah a pale face using white base face paint. However I avoided using too much face paint as it would have resulted in a clown like appearance.

Eyes: Too make her look upset and Gothic I used a mixture of black face paint and eye shadow . The black face paint created a dark underlay of the eyelid whereas the smudged eye shadow gave a tired, misty look. Mascara was used to emphasize her eyelashes showing her feminine look.

Lips- I did not want use lipstick , however having a paler face makes her lips look no exsistant so I used a thin layer of "rose" lipstick to again show her gender.

Hair- Originally , I wanted to straighten Alanah's her to make it appear longer , I then realized as this scene is set back in the day , straighteners will not have been used. Due to this I left it natural but brushed so it looks neat.   

Script

Film script

From the film openings I have studied , a large quantity of them had no dialogue in the first two minutes. They did however contain sound effects to add to movement , such as the razors in the evil dead title sequence. There is most definitely music in every non-dialogue opening . The type of music/background music used is dependent on the genre of the film.

I have decided to have no dialogue in the opening of my film as it is irrelevant to the style of the opening. I may contain some sound effects such as wind and footsteps. If I do add these sound effects I will record them separately and add them later on.

There will be quite like music in the background which will had suspense and cover the motorway sounds.Unfortunately I am not good with music so will have to find someone who can or get copyrighted music.

Props

Props list 

Props I need:

I had made this list near the start of planning and have bought all the above. This is important as it is necessary to my filming. Since then I have thought of other props to add such as an axe , however I already own an axe so it isn't necessary to add.

Where?

The severed slaughter graph

Now the symbol  is created , I know need a place on the body my killer (Trevor Emanuel ) is going to leave it. There are many places to put this "slaughter graph" but the question is where?

Body temperature

Body temperature can show ones mood . Different emotions can create heat patterns in different
 parts of the body.Trevor could leave his mark on body parts that show a clear emotion. From the scale above , sadness show clear heat on the face and chest. Surprise also shows a similar effect and also envy.
I could create the mark on the chest and face but it , if on the chest it will not be visible and my actress may feel uncomfortable drawing her face.


The ring finger

The ring finger is the fourth finger on the left hand . Before scientific discovery it was believed that the vein in this finger directly connected to the heart. Trevor could leave his mark here as it is significant to love in which he will never receive , only had.




Wrist

There is no theory behind using the wrist only that it is on show. I had this idea from watching Constantine and Halloween where the two characters had a marking on. This could also link to how people slit their wrist to bleed out in attempted suicide.



Conclusion- I have decided to use the wrist as it is visible and easy to find , it could also be used to look like attempted suicide.

Feedback on symbols

Feedback

I asked friends and family which symbol they thought would be best suited for my film opening. My friends are the same age group as my target audience so their  opinion is favored.

Problem occurrence 1

Problem occurrence 1
"mayday mayday"

Problem: I was walking round the woods in which my opening will be filmed in to find a large amount of trees I wanted to use have been chopped down and reused as walkway outlines.

Murdered trees

Solution: I can either film away from the cut down trees or incorporate the trees into my film. This could easily be done as my killer is a lumberjack and would emphasis his character and territory . In my shed there is a very blunt axe which I could hit into a stump as if he cut it down.

Creating the symbol

Creating the symbol

After researching different kinds of symbols I have created mock-up of the" slaughter graph". After I have chosen the symbol it will be painted onto the body of my victim.

Palm Reading

Idea 1 -

I created this symbol from the lines found from palm reading. Each of these lines represent different characteristics my killer will have or gone through.

• inconsistency in thought
• sudden change in lifestyle
• self made individual
• emotional trauma

This symbol looks confusing and will be hard to piece together. Where the middle line crosses with the second horizontal line it looks similar to a crucifix bringing religious viewpoints into the crime.This would be left on Trevor's victims.

Occult symbols

Idea 2 -

My second design plays on the occult symbol ,satanic cross . The satanic cross is the questioning of god. This could be used as Trevor was a child when abandoned so questions a lot . He could also mirror those who have fallen under the power of Lucifer.

However my satanic cross has been recreated to suite the killer. The bottom of the symbol is the traditional upside down question mark as Trevor raises questions , who is he? why does he kill ? Is he still alive?. 

I have mimicked the crucifix by connecting an axe to the end of the question mark and through the dot . I chose an axe as it is Trevor's signature killing weapon. The horizontal part of the cross represents the "slaughtergraph"part of the film as it shows a razor (the piercing of the skin to make the symbol)

Rune symbol

Idea 3- 

After looking at the meanings and uses of different runes and chose the two which applied mostly to my character.

Nauthiz and Hagalaz which reveals Trevor's's emotions , past and intentions. 

It could also represent the devils "666" by the triple slashes. It could also link to a record of keeping of deaths (tally).

Symbol ideas 3

Rune Symbols

After looking up the symbol used in one of the Halloween sequels , I came across runes . Runes are a ancient germanic alphabet relating to the roman alphabet. In those days writing was extremely serious and  believed to hold magical power.Runes were used to mark monuments and cast spells. Spells were cast by writing down runes and chanting prayer. There are a large number of runes so I listed the ones which could be linked to my storyline.

I have highlighted words that could connect my killer to the story or Trevors personality.
Red highlight - Trevor's power/personality
Blue highlight - Trevor's Past
Purple highlight -Both (red and blue)
Yellow highlight -Trevor's intentions

Uruz- (wild ox) Physical strength and speed , untamed potential.Freedom , energy .action , courage , strength and tenacity . Sudden or unexpected changes, masculine potency .

Gebo-(Gifts) both in the sense of sacrifice and generosity , indicating balance .All matters of exchanging relationships and partnerships . Gebo cannot be reversed  but mat lie in opposition.

Eihwaz (yew tree.) Strength, reliability, dependability, trustworthiness. Enlightenment, endurance. Defense, protection. Providing motivation and a sense of purpose. Indicates that you have set your sights on a reasonable target and can achieve your goals. An honest man who can be relied upon. Eihwaz Reversed or Merkstave: Confusion, destruction, dissatisfaction, weakness.

Jera -( A good harvest)The results of earlier efforts are realized. A time of peace and happiness, fruitful season. It can break through stagnancy. Hopes and expectations of peace and prosperity. The promise of success earned. Life cycle, cyclical pattern of the universe. Everything changes, in its own time. Jera Merkstave (Jera cannot be reversed, but may lie in opposition): Sudden setback, reversals. A major change, repetition, bad timing, poverty, conflict.

Mannaz- (mankind.) The individual or the human race. Your attitude toward others and their attitudes towards you. Friends and enemies, social order. Intelligence, forethought, create, skill, ability intelligence, awareness. Expect to receive some sort of aid or cooperation . Mannaz Reversed or Merkstave: Depression, mortality, blindness, self-delusion. Cunning, slyness, manipulation, craftiness, calculation. Expect no help now.

Nauthiz - (need)  Delays, restriction. Resistance leading to strength, innovation, self-reliance. Distress, confusion, conflict, and the power of will to overcome them. Endurance, survival, determination. A time to exercise patience. Recognition of one's fate. Major self-initiated change. Face your fears. Nauthiz Reversed or Merkstave: Constraint of freedom, distress, toil, drudgery, laxity. Necessity, extremity, want, deprivation, starvation, need, poverty, emotional hunger.

Hagalaz -(Hail) Wrath of nature, destructive, uncontrolled forces, especially the weather, or within the unconscious. Tempering, testing, trial. Controlled crisis, leading to completion, inner harmony. Hagalaz Merkstave (Hagalaz cannot be reversed, but may lie in opposition): Natural disaster, catastrophe. Stagnation, loss of power. Pain, loss, suffering, hardship, sickness, crisis.

Isa -A challenge or frustration. Psychological blocks to thought or activity, including grievances. Standstill, or a time to turn inward and wait for what is to come, or to seek clarity. This rune reinforces runes around it. Isa Merkstave (Isa cannot be reversed, but may lie in opposition): Ego-mania, dullness, blindness, dissipation. Treachery, illusion, deceit, betrayal, guile, stealth, ambush, plots.

Symbol Ideas 2

Occult signs and symbols

Occult is the "knowledge of the hidden" also known as "knowledge of the paranormal".This is seen as knowledge that must be hidden . However people see it as the study of a deeper spiritual reality.

When researching this spiritual and religious points of view , some symbols seemed sinical a lot like my slasher killer . So I chose some to create another symbol idea.

Symbols

All-seeing eye

The all-seeing eye of providence is a symbol depicting an eye surrounded by rays of light representing glory and often contrasted with a triangle.This is commonly interpreted as the eye of good watching all.






Baphomet

-Is a form of man with goat legs and horns, this was created as a symbolic form.The image contains element of female , male good and evil representing the "sum total of the universe".However Baphomet has been connected with Satanism as well due to it being adopted by the church of Satan.














Satanic cross

-Is an upside down cross with an upside down question mark merged into it's based.This is the questioning of god. In the occult it represents the three princes fallen to the power of lucifer , Satan , Belial and Leviathan.

Symbol ideas

Palm Reading

Whilst trying to create a symbol for Trevor to leave on his victims. I thought of different things to include and looked up palm reading and what the lines mean. I merged the lines that related to Trevor's character and created a symbol.

Meanings:

Blue line means inconsistency in thought.

Green line break means sudden change in lifestyle.

Yellow line means self made individual.

Red line crossing heart line means emotional trauma.

Character profile

The unseen character

Even though my killer will not be revealed in my horror film opening , his back story is important as it will be relevant to they symbol left on the victims body.This will set up the mystery for my horror film and reveal it's genre.

Location-

I already have decided my character once lived alone in the woods as it will explain the reason he has chosen that certain location to commit his murder. This begs the questions why was he alone? did he have a family ? Why did he not live in the town? This helped me create his background as I needed to answer the questions.

Character Profile

Name - Trevor Emanuel 

Nicknames- The creature of the woods 

Age - unknown

Costume - Lumberjack outfit - red and black checked coat , ripped jeans , blood soaked t-shirt.

Weapon - Axe and utility knife.

I decided to give Trevor a Lumberjack outfit as he lives in the woods. Also successful slasher killers in horror films have a signature outfit and no character has has this outfit so far . He will use an axe as it coordinates with his lumberjack like appearance and is relevant to his way of life. The utility knife is used to leave the delicate marking on his victims. He cannot use the axe to create delicate marking so needed a steady weapon to do so.

Trevor's past / childhood -

When Trevor was young he killed his baby sister Mary. To cover/ protect their son the parents agreed to take him away from civilization and lead him to the dark parts of the woods and never returned. Trevor was blind folded so he could not see the way home and was forced to survive in the woods. Not knowing his reasons for his urge to kill people he was left to hunt food and build a home from wood. He enjoyed killing animals but as he grew up he was no longer satisfied. When young adults backpacked through the woods , Trevor would viciously kill them with his axe. He then carved a symbol  on the bodies and took them to the opening of the woods to be found by people passing by. Firstly he killed a young couple around twenty years old. He killed the girlfriend instantly but the man was harder to attack . Learning from this he stole the victims Lumberjack looking clothes and decided only to prey on young women as he was frightened to be stuck in another confrontation with a man. 

Trevor's innocent and clueless character reveals he has never learned to be a round people or ever received help . This will create sympathy from the audience towards him as he still has a child's mind and does not know how to act around people as they are seen as a threat.

He leaves the bodies to be found as a warning to people not to come near the dark parts of the woods as it his territory. The symbol is purely to show the deaths are no coincidence.

The hunting of the creature

The town of star-cross formed a witch hunt for Trevor or as they called him "the creature of the woods". He was seen as pure evil and followed up to his log cabin . The mob then through petrol bombs at the house . Although his body was not found he was presumed dead.

Outside of the box

"Thinking outside the box"

After reading up on various symbol meanings in films , I realized they have all been cleverly used to link the villain to the crime and acts like a riddle for the audience. The Silent hill symbol inspired me to make a clever symbol to set up my horror mystery. However this means I will need to think of a background story for my Killer's character  so I can design a symbol to mark his victim in my opening.

Research - slasher killers background stories

Freddy Krueger
-Is a fictional character from Wes Cravens A nightmare on Elm street.He is a disfigured serial killer who uses razor modified gloves to slaughter his victims in their dreams.
It was revealed that he was a child killer that was hunted down by a mob of angry parents and cornered into the boiler room he used to kill his victims in. This ended in him being burned alive in the boiler room leading to his burnt skin in the film and why he came back , seeking revenge.



Jason Voorhees
-is a fictional character in the Friday 13th film series.He first appeared as the son of the murderer Mrs Voorhees , a camp cook turned murderer.He then became the main antagonist who would stalk and kill his victims at camp crystal lake.In his original appearance Jason was a mentally disabled boy and is silent throughout the films. Drowned ad a child it is apparent he is not an ordinary character and follows in his mothers footsteps.



Leather face
-is a fictional character in Texas chainsaw massacre.He wears a mask made of human skin and engages in murder and cannibalism alongside his inbred family.However he is controlled by his family to commit these crimes as he is just a "big baby" and kills in self defense.



Both Jason voorhees and leatherface have mental issues and are controlled by their families to commit these crimes. The audience can't help but feel some sympathy towards these characters as they are portrayed as innocent as well as evil. I like the idea of the main killer having a sad past as it creates sympathy and a deeper reason of why they kill unlike Freddy krueger who kills for personal pleasure.

symbol meaning

Symbols in films

The symbol left on the victims body in the opening is vital to the story-line of the film as it is what links the murders of Star Cross to the earlier murders of Trevor Emanuel . I have seen many horror films involving certain symbols/signs so I  have looked up their meanings to help create Trevor's "Slaughtergraph".

Halloween VI (Slasher)- In Halloween IV the camera reveals a tattoo on Michael Myers wrist. This is the symbol of thorn (Thurizas) which is a third rune. This holds the meaning "Gateway,with thorn's of resistance".Thorn is relevant to Michael Myers character as it is a rune of challenging, testing as well as protection and defense. Thorn is also seen as a tribal curse which is inflicted on Michael .
There is an old poem to go with this rune which again show Michael s impact on the curse.Thorn can be seen as good and evil.

Poem "If urgency tells me to tie the opponent with magic , then I dullen the steel of my foes so that their swords will not cut anymore.
In the Latin alphabet the surviving thorn rune looks like a "P" with a neck-splint.

Silent Hill (Horror /mystery)- The symbol in silent hill is very important to the story line as the film was made after the game. The symbol appeared in the game frequently and in the film. This symbol is the Halo of the sun and is the main symbol of the order , the religious group behind the strange goings on in silent hill.

The letters around the outside are mainly the Hungarian alphabet but again holds different runes with different meanings and fortunes. For example the symbol includes the rune "Wynn" which is meant to bring joy and relief. This symbol holds many significant symbols and references to families in the game so I mapped it out in the image above.

Sinister (Horror/mystery/thriller) -Throughout the film sinister a there is a symbol which appears on the attic films and in the house. The symbol is the Pagan symbol of the Bagul. Also known as Mr boogie and the evil-doer. He is the Babylonian god of darkness , collects and consumes the souls of children. Unlike the other symbols with different runes and meanings , this one connects the villain with his occupation , which is less of a puzzle.

                       

Costume ideas

Costume ideas



My film is set in modern day however the clothes Victoria is wearing will later reveal the old footage is of an earlier murder compared to the recent one. So her clothes need to look dated /vintage. Victoria will need to look girly to emphasize her vulnerability


Dress- Using a white dress will make Victoria look girly and innocent. This emphasized by the clean white dress. This will also show of her legs . However this dress will most probably get dirty and stained during the progress and will leave my victim cold throughout.This will result in having to buy a dress to prevent ruining mine or Alanah's.

Jumper and shirt - This looks dated and will keep Victoria/Alanah warm during filming as it is cold this time of year. The grey of the jumper looks grungy and dated. But this does not looks as feminine which can cause problems but keeps in theme with the genre of the film.

Pinafore - A feminine type of clothing , still shows body and legs. This has a school girl look to it which can emphasizes the vulnerability of a young girl .This looks old and dated so is a possible option.

Doc Martens- are an expensive brand of shoe. However I already own a pair of these so will not go into my budget. They will last well in the muddy woods and keeps with the vintage theme. Unfortunately I have size 8 feet whereas Alanah has size 7 feet so they may be loose.

Brogues- are back in fashion and cheap to buy. Both me and Alanah own a pair of these. They look "old school" and fit the image. These may not be suitable for slippy mud but may be used.

I also have this hat. Clearly looks old. May not be suitable in the wind but will keep alanah's hair dry. The colour may not match the rest of the outfit.

Character

Characters

Know I have chosen my Premise I have a clear idea of what characters to include in my film opening. My film opening sounds complicated as my scenes consist of two different scenes merged together. This will be the murder itself and the aftermath of the murder not necessarily in that order. 

Main Character -

Character name : Victoria May

Character Age - 16

Character Appearance - Young , Slim , Long hair 

The main on screen character is my victim who is a teenage , slim girl who is being chased by the killer. The victim is female as young girls are seen as more vulnerable than young men which will emphasize she is in trouble and is defenseless against the murderer. Casting a female actress for this part will be easier as I have close friends who fit the profile.

As most of the scenes are based on Victoria and the rest are shots of the crime scene it isn't necessary for any more characters too be shown,But this doesn't mean I won't add scenes of other characters in to show a definite time difference.

Character confirmation- My close friend Alanah is more than happy to play the part of Victoria . She fits the character profile and took Drama for G.C.S.E so is good at acting. Having a close friend to play the part is great as it makes it easier to cooperate with her and she will not be embarrassed to act like a "looney" . She is happy for me to do her face paint and makeup which works well.

(Me on the left. Alanah on right)


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Film Genre

Film Genre

From my early survey , my target audience revealed the most popular horror sub-genre is slasher. My research and personal interest in horror films shows that slasher films are extremely popular. However I believe many slasher films are very similar so I decide to merge it with another sub-genre crime/detective.

Typical slasher story line- masked killer tortures/stalks group of people and kills them one by one . The killer is revealed at the end but however this is not the end of his reign of terror.

Many slasher films do not end up showing the killer getting caught or murdered as it sets up another plot for a sequel. This applies to these slasher films-

-Halloween

-A nightmare on elm street

-Dead silence

-Friday 13th

Definition :

Slasher film- A horror film involving a single villain who commits a series of murders using a sharp , signature weapon.

Mystery Film- Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction


Why? 

In most slasher horror films there is a sense of mystery . This is used to create fear as the group of harassed people are clueless as to who the murderer is . This also creates tension in the audience as they will not know who it is until the end of the film. My film however will emphasis the mystery as it will keep the audience gripped onto the story line and eager to find out who this murderer is. To show my film opening is a slasher and mystery horror I will include a murder , clues and hints plus a crime scene.