Media Timeline

Lucy-Anne RichardsonA2 Media Studies

Horror Films‘The Cult’

Other ideas for the film name include: Possessed and Swarm

The History of FilmThe very first camera used, that was associated with film, was the pinhole camera. As technology grew, the camera obscura was then commonly used. This camera allows light to go through the small lens from the environment which is then projected onto a screen of some sort. The very first motion picture was done by a man called Eadweard Muybridge in 1872. They wanted to discover whether a horse ever lifted all four legs off of the ground at once whilst it was running. They did this study using photographs. Twenty four stereoscopic cameras were placed along the track. Each camera was controlled so that it could be triggered by the horse when it ran past. This then created a series of moving photographs – or film. The next type of camera invented was the chronophotographic gun, made in 1882. It would take 12 frames one after the after each second within the same picture. It was invented by Etienne-Jules Marey.One of the very first films was the Roundhay Garden Scene . It was a short film, directed by Louis Le Prince in 1888 who was also An inventor. It actually only runs for 2.11 seconds (12 frames per second) and is the oldest film that has survived and can still be played today.In 1898, Come Along, Do! By Robert W. Paul was a short film of a couple walking into a building, then the next shot of them when inside. This is known today as a match on action and is good for continuity reasons. Then came the introduction of cinema in the 1980’s. As this was the time of the Industrial Revolution, big audiences could be entertained through film. It was a much easier and cheaper way as people use to travel far to watch theatre performances etc. Etienne-Jules Marey is said to be the ‘inventor of cinema’ due to the chronophotographic gun. Thomas Edison wanted to create a machine that could record moving images as well as having another device to actually view the sequence that had been filmed. Even through Thomas Edison provided the research, it was actually his assistant Dickson that created a camera that could photograph motion pictures - this was called a Kinetograph. Both of them later built a “vertical-feed motion picture camera” during 1892 (this is known today as a “basic standard 35mm commercial film gauge”.The first US theatre was opened in Chicago at Central Park Theatre in 1917 and was called B and K. Even though sound was established in film in 1900, it was not used in films until around 1923 and was later used in The Jazz Singer in 1927. These films were known as the ‘talkies’.

Georges Méliès had built one of the first film studios in 1897

Since then, film has become part of everyone's daily lives and the technology to produce and distribute it has grown vastly. Since the 1930’s, many new technologies have been introduced such as 3D cameras which actually allow the film to be shot in 3D using motion sensors etc. This also includes green screens – allowing the green background the be taken away and turned into anything else. Film is now seen through the audiences perspective and is mainly all about producing high ratings, which means a high profit. To watch a film at your local cinema now, it is around £7.00 per ticket.

Once Hollywood was introduced around 1903, film became very popular. Hollywood accounted for around 60% of all the US Films during that time. Once the mid 1920s came, film was incredibly popular, so much so that investments of up to $2 billion were given. Around 1929, Hollywood had 20 film studios.

Continued...

Film is looked at in 4/5 stages:PreproductionProductionPost ProductionDistributionExchange(also Marketing)

Film can now be seen through flat screen, wide screen TV’s through the internet, games consoles, Sky etc or DVD/Blu Ray. It is very common to see these technologies in someone’s home, much unlike in past years. It is also seen through cinema and digital download.

Some big films since the 1930’s includes:Saw 2004, Back To The Future 1989, Sweeney Todd 2007, Breakfast at Tiffany's 1961, all 8 Harry Potter’s, Halloween 1978, Batman 1989, Indiana Jones, King Kong, Star Wars, Spider Man, American Psycho, Jaws – which is said to be the blockbuster due to the use of a mechanical shark. Also, animations have become extremely good due to new technology and has made films such as Finding Nemo and every other Disney film.

The History of Horror

"Fear is the most powerful emotion in the human race and fear of the unknown is probably the most ancient. You're dealing with stuff that everybody has felt; from being little babies we're frightened of the dark, we're frightened of the unknown. If you're making a horror film you get to play with the audiences

feelings"John Carpenter – Director of Halloween.

The concept of horror, within films, began around the 1890’s with the attempt to scare its viewers – which is still the same in modern times. The main goal is to create negative emotions and thoughts from the audience by using/incorporating their fears.Horror looks into common themes such as the supernatural such as evil spirits, as well as thriller or fantasy with vampires, zombies and demons etc.From the 1890’s onwards, a series of silent short films were created by Georges Melies which was one of the first known to involve the supernatural. Many believe one of the films he made called The Haunted Castle (1896) or also known as The Devils Manor once translated from Le Manoir du Diable, was in fact the first horror film. Frankenstein was then produced in 1910 by Edison Studios (Thomas Edison) which was a sixteen minute movie – classed as horror or sci-fi. It was adapted from Mary Shelley’s novel written in 1823.The filming took three days to shoot, using a stagnant camera, in New York, USA. Due to the time period, there was no access to the technologies we have today. They used simple cardboard sets which occasionally move within the film if touched. However, one of the pulls towards this movie, when looking at camera work etc, is the effective scene of when the monster was being created – they filmed a dummy burning, then played it in reverse. Then came ‘The Werewolf’ in 1913 which was also a silent film, directed by Henry MacRae. This was the first ever werewolf film and was, again, based on a story by Henry Beaugrand.In 1920, a silent film was produced by Paramount called Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. They introduceda more realistic approach to horror with a split personality. Like most other films of this time, it is based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel – The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Many films of today have stemmed from this by using the, now known illness of split personality disorder or schizophrenia, such as Hide and Seek (2005).

The first successful, black and white vampire film ‘Nosferatu’ was created in 1922 and was an adaptation from the Dracula novel written by an Irish author named Bram Stoker. In Sweden, Nosferatu was actually banned due to ‘excessive horror’ and wasn't lifted until around 1972. Unlike other horror films around this time, this film was in full length of approximately 94 minutes.From the 1930’s onwards, there was a real interest in horror as Universal Studios recreated Dracula in 1931. As time went on, films became more successful so it was now possible for this film to have a budget of $355,000.

Hound of the Baskervilles was made in 1932 (Universal), about Sherlock Holmes investigating Dartmoor. It was an unsuccessful film. However, they then went on to The Mummy 1932 which was hugely successful. The cinematographer (taking pictures with a motion picture camera) on previous films including Dracula, Karl Freund, also directed a few days of filming. The producer wanted to find an Egyptian based horror novel to create this film, they found ‘The Ring of Thoth’ which was later changed to ‘The Mummy’. Many films later on became sequels of this film such as The Mummy’s Hand 1940, The Mummy's Tomb 1942, The Mummy's Ghost 1944 and The Mummy's Curse 1944.In 1935, The Bride of Frankenstein was created as the first sequel to Frankenstein as well as Draculas Daughter in 1936. The Bride of Frankenstein was very successful as it made around $2 million at the time. However, reports state that up until the present 2012, it has earned $26.9 million.

From the 1940’s onwards, horror became some what comical for its audiences.It is said that the birth of science fiction horror or Sci-fi horror started in the 1950’s.The Thing From Another World (1951) was the first, or one of the first sci-fi horror films which involved aliens rather than the usual werewolf/vampire themes from the past. This is the same year as The Day The Earth Stood Still which was also alien invasions. Once again, this theme carried on in upcoming films such as the 1953 The War of the Worlds. The War of the Worlds is most noticed as it the first colour sci-fi film. The story has also been recreated in modern times with The War of the Worlds 2005. Technology was becoming a lot more stronger and effective, with the very first film shot in 3-D – The House of Wax 1953, which has already been re done in 2005.

“Them!” – 1954 Used current global issues to scare its audience as it is more realistic (The nuclear threat from Cuba in the 1950’s)“Tarantula” – 1955 Clint Eastwood battling a gigantic spider“The Curse of Frankenstein” – 1957Another recreation of the original Frankenstein, created by Hammer Studios. This film was very popular, so they then followed with another version of Dracula.“The Blob” – 1958This is said the be the highlight of the decade within sc-if/horror films. “The Mummy” – 1959Hammer Studios made their own creation of the original.

After this came the “most influential horror film of all time”, being ‘Psycho’ which was influenced and taken from a novel written by Robert Bloch and turned into a movie in 1960. This film is referred to, still, as one of the most gory films. The director, Alfred Hitchcock actually wanted to create this film in black as it would be “too gory in colour”.

“The Brides of Dracula” – 1960This was part of a sequel to the previous Dracula films. This film was a success due to its profits.“The Curse of the Werewolf” – 1960Also successful, both this and the above movie were produced by Hammer Films. From the 1960’s onwards, many of the top horror films were created including: The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb 1963, Night of the Living Dead 1968, The Devil Rides Out (Hammer Studios most successful release) The Exorcist 1973, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1974, Jaws 1975 with legendary Steven Spielberg, Alien 1979, Friday the 13 th 1980 which then went onto inspire The Poltergeist 1982, Nightmare on Elm Street 1984 (with a sequel of Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare 1991.Some films actually sparked a series such as Dracula and Frankenstein which made episodes such as Frankenstein must be destroyed.

Horror has since become just as popular, if so even more than in the past. Top horror films with the past few years include: 28 Days Later, American Psycho, The Hills Have Eyes, Hostel, The Ring and Saw.

Film Magazine Cover

Within the promotion package, I will include a film magazine cover featuring my film. This is a very good way of advertising to the public and increasing viewings of the film. Films have been included within magazines and on the front cover etc since the 1930’s. One of the first examples would be ‘Movie Mirror’ magazine in 1938. Other examples would include Silver Screen, Motion Picture, Movie Story and Photo Play. However, these included a wide variety of films rather than just one genre such as horror. Some examples would include ‘Monsters’ which has Dracula or some form of vampire on the front cover – it also includes (inside) The Woman In Black. As magazines and films evolved and became better with the introduction of new technologies, the magazines were of better quality. You can see the difference between the magazine above (1950s) and the magazine below (2011).

For my front cover of the magazine, I plan to have a dark and eerie image of the young girl once she has been possessed. I looked at images from films such as The Ring and The Uninvited. This fits in with the usual conventions of the horror genre i.e. – dark colours, pale makeup, blank stares, upright position etc. The cover will also include an inside section explaining more about the film so I will include a cover line on the front page.

PosterThe film poster will be very similar to the picture on the magazine cover. However, it will include a background which the magazine doesn’t as it would be cut out and placed onto their background. I took inspiration from the Skeleton Key film poster as I liked how they put one image into the other. It is an image of an eye whilst a man looking at a house is inside it – as if that’s what the eye can see...The poster is used to advertise a film, it could be seen on a bus or on a bill board for example. In the film industry, the studio often print lots of different posters each different sizes and different language if the film is being shown in different countries. Film posters before the 1990’s weren't as advanced as modern ones so they would have had drawings or illustrations along with the title. However, today would be the main actor as a photograph. Film posters were introduced when films themselves were introduced as, for example, they put them in the timetable/programme when the film was showing. In the beginning, the theatres were in control of the posters as they would put them up outside the theatre/cinema, but today the studios would be in charge as they are used almost anywhere and are involved with the success of the film due to advertising. This change began in the 1980’s.

I want to use the environment within my poster such as having the house in the background, surrounded by willow trees and perhaps the girl just standing in the middle looking at it or looking from the attic window. The title on the poster will be, as of now, ‘The Cult’ , it will be in black and very simple – much like all other similar film posters. It will then have the usual conventions such as the production names, actors etc which will also be in simple black writing at the bottom of the poster. I want to incorporate the swarm of flies within the poster as it will be one of the main extracts in the trailer. They also represent the spirit.The DVD case – if this was actually going to be created – would be the same as the poster which is why I wanted to include the names etc at the bottom of it. It also makes it look more professional and real.

Influences

From doing this research and looking at the history of horror films, we have come up with some ideas for our own horror movie. Even though we wont be making an entire film, we want a basis and a well structured idea so we know exactly what key extracts we want to show in the trailer. To start off with, from doing the Initial Ideas, I had an idea of my own involving some sort of spirit within a pair of earrings, the spirit is then cast into a young girl to do an elderly ladies bidding (spirit) of revenge. An idea for the name is ‘The Cult’ as she then finds other members from other states and begins the gatherings. We got ideas from recent films such as The Skeleton Key and The Uninvited – which also presented similar posters that we want to create. The Skeleton Key would have been the film that influenced me the most as the main idea was very similar in that a spirit gets transferred into a young lady which then frees the old. Looking at camera and editing techniques, I wanted to have black (flies for example) coming out of the young girl when she is free of the spirit at the end of the film. This could be in the trailer and would suddenly go silent and black then that short extract plays. Other forms of techniques would obviously involve the usual close ups such as a close up of the girls face, long shot of the mysterious house, panning shots when the car pulls in etc. However, I also want to try new techniques such as using a dolly which could be following the girl as she runs through the forest and also match cuts when the ‘cult’ is doing the same actions.From watching other horror films such as The House of Wax, I want the atmosphere to be very eerie so I would do this by adding candles in the attic of the old house for example. Also, The Last House on the Left has a scene where a young girl is running through the forest as she’s being chased which influenced using a dolly. A recent film, The Woman In Black, actually gave me imagery of the kind of house I wanted to use (the inside of the house as the outside is far too large). The music would be or would be similar to that in Dead Silence along with sound affects. In many trailers, to create suspense, they mute all sound after a fast paced scene, then it goes black and suddenly a scene – which I plan to be the spirit coming out of her body (flies) – plays.

Bibliography

http://www.angelfire.com/darkside/realmofhorror/history1.htmhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0001223/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0003526/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022835/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-At8OKa_VA

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0013442/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosferatuhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021814/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBXCapBaZtEhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023245/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024188/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_of_Lost_Souls_(1932_film)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045888/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054215

www.google.com/imageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_film