Why young people like horror films

According to Glenn Sparks, Ph.D, a professor and associate head of the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University, one reason for young people liking horror films is because of the way they feel after the film. This is called the excitation transfer process. Sparks’s research found that when people watch frightening films, their heart rate, blood pressure and respiration increases.
After the film is over, this physiological arousal lingers, which means that any positive emotions you may experience – like having fun with friends – are intensified. Instead of focusing on the fright you felt during the film, you recall having a great time. And you’ll want to come back for more, he said.


Young people are simply wired to enjoy high levels of physiological arousal. According to the literature, about 10 percent of the population enjoys the adrenaline rush. Not surprisingly, these individuals also love rollercoasters (mostly young people). Some people turn to scary movies because they’re novel. All of us are wired to pay attention to anomalies in our environment, Sparks said. Since danger disrupts routine, curiosity about change is important for survival. Sparks equated the pull of frightening films to stopping at the scene of a gory accident: “You don’t see that every day,” he said. This is why young people may enjoy horror films.

Mood Board

Creating the mood board has helped us visualise the idea as we have put down everything we visualise our film to be through images. All the main emotions and events happening because of the plot have made us visualise what we want our film to consist of. We believe that from this mood board, it is simple to see what the plot is and this has helped us to realise the colour, lighting and sound will be like on the filming day.

Shot List

1. Extreme close up of man waking up, confused and scared (about his dream). Looks to the side at alarm clock.
2. Eye-line match on alarm clock (03:17)
3. Close up of man 'sighing'
4. Wide shot of man going back to sleep... *Noise heard*
5. Close up of man shooting up out of bed, wide eyed/scared
6. Extreme close up to emphasise facial expression
7. Wide shot of man putting slippers on
8. Medium close up of man reaching the hammer
9. Extreme close up of hand grabbing hammer and torch
10. Tracking shot behind man walking in hallway pans towards the front of him, as he shouts 'Ben'
11. Close up of man looking to side
12. Eye-line match of Ben's door shut
13. Close up of mans face to show apprehensiveness
14. Over the shoulder shot as man reaches stairs
15. Tracking shot of man walking down stairs
16. Side on tracking shot of man walking in hallway, reaches for a door
17. Extreme close up of hand opening door (slowly)
18. Close up of extreme anxiousness
19. Over the shoulder shot of man searching room.
20. Wide shot (from inside room) of man leaving the room.
21. *Glass smashes* Medium close up of shock and change of movement, looks towards location of sound
22. Tracking shot of man walking into room where sound came from
23. Close up of hand opening door slowly.
24. Eye-line match of dark room with diegetic sound of man panting
25. Side tracking shot of man cautiously looking around
26. Medium close up of man walking towards separate room inside kitchen. As he leaves the shot, it focuses on the knives on the table in the background.
27. Tracking shot of man opening the door to sub room, steps inside
28. Close up of slippers stepping on glass, whilst ball hits his foot
29. Tilt panning up body until you see the man's face being shocked. In the background of this, we see the scary man holding a knife. Continuing this shot, the scary man lifts up his knife.
30. Birds eye view of house whilst hearing diegetic screaming.

Risk Assessment

Stepping on glass - High risk as this can be dangerous due to glass being sharp and cuts your foot. We will be careful as the actor will have slippers on and we will insure they remain on the entire time so no harm is caused during the filming of the sequence.

Wires from camera - May trip over the whilst filming and injure yourself. We will make sure this doesn't happen by constantly reminding each other throughout filming that the wires are there so no damage is done whilst filming. Low Risk

Danger from knives/hammer - Very sharp so might scratch yourself. We will make sure no damage is done by constantly holding the knife downwards in between filming scenes so no accidental accidents occur. This is very high risk and one we will constantly monitor throughout.

Falling downstairs with camera - Camera is heavy so risk of losing control of feet and falling. We will make sure this is not done by walking carefully with the camera tightly gripped to our hands. Maintaining the quality of the camera is vital as we don't want to pay for any damages. Medium Risk

Putting up tripod - Can cut yourself or hurt yourself when putting it up. We will construct the tripod slowly and carefully to ensure this doesn't happen. Low Risk.

Props

Red Hammer on windowsill – represents that the man is a carpenter and represents that there may be violence. Red represents danger.

Ben’s room sign – represents he’s a young child as drawing is by a child

Knives on table – represent danger and violence

Alarm clock - Shows the time, and puts emphasis on the time as it's in the middle of the night and an irregular occurrence.

Fake blood - Represents danger and death

Torch - walking round with it whilst going downstairs. Used to see as room will be dark. Also adds to the suspense.

These are the main props needed in this sequence. We already have these items apart from the fake blood, which we will buy from amazon.

Film Idea Feedback

Q:"Where are you going to get the music from?"

A:"We are going to decide whether to do the music ourselves or get it from Youtube or Premier Pro."

Q:"I thought it's a very good idea and has a lot of potential."

Q: "The idea was very original and scary. It can be done very well and it's very clear it's a thriller. However, where are you going to get your actors from?"

A: "We are going to use our family members and friends who have acting experience as they have done A level Drama in the past."

Q: "Are you going to let your actors and actresses wear their own clothes or give them costumes?"

A: "They will be wearing their own casual clothes as it's set in a home and they will use their own make up as they have suitable make up for the film."

Q: "How are you going to record the scene when you need a crane to do it?"

A: "We are going to figure out what room we can do it in and practice the angles in the room until we discover how to do it."

To conclude, from this feedback, I learnt that we have a very good idea, however it is very complicated to complete. Therefore, we will need a lighting kit to help us with making shadows. We need to work hard on the camera angles and research the sound we need to use to make it tense for the audience. We have also come up with a back up plan if it doesn't go to plan.

Effectiveness of storyboard

The storyboard has allowed me to think in more detail of my sequence. It has enabled me to think about how I can create suspense and has also given me a better idea of the camera shots that I will use. It's enabled me to visually document and explain the storyline, and has made it clearer for me to understand the audience. It has allowed me to show how I can represent fear and vulnerability by looking at the shots on the storyboard. It has also given me the chance to measure the time of the sequence as I can test it out by doing it picture by picture.

Change of Film idea

This storyline will now be our new thriller idea. We have decided to change because we didn't have the suitable equipment to make the other film idea. Our new idea is:


1. Person wakes up after nightmare sweating and looks at the clock saying 3:17am (Close up shot, eyeline match)

2. Person calms down, deep breaths and wiping sweat off face (Close up)

3. Person lies back down and tries to go to sleep, but hears noises and shoots back up (Medium shot)

4. Person gets out of bed and puts on some clothes and slippers (Wide shot of room)

5. Person grabs a hammer from bedside table and clutches it (Close up of clutch)

6. Person walks out of room and nervously calls ‘Ben’ (Tracking shot)

7. Person is walking along hall, passes Ben’s room and stops (Close up looking at room)

8. Eyeline match of Ben’s room with door closed and sign of his name in children’s writing

*Non-diegetic music starts (tense horror music)

9. Person goes downstairs calling ‘hello’ (Tracking shot)

10. Searches the kitchen, and there’s nothing there (eyeline match of kitchen)

11. Person walks towards exit of kitchen, more relaxed (Camera in front when walking out)

12. Camera focuses on knives on the table in the background

13. Person about to step out but a ball hits their foot (Close up of ball)

*Non-diegetic music stops

14. Backs away, turns around and scary man is there with knife and hood is up

15. Bird’s eye view of house and diegetic screaming

Storyboard for thriller film idea

Sherlock Holmes poster analysis

• -In the Sherlock Holmes poster, Sherlock wears a hat and wears a suit. This may indicate that he is a detective and means business.

• ‘Nothing escapes them’ phrase suggests that there will be suspense and the film will be a mystery.
• The frame of the poster is metal, which signifies that the people in the poster are trying to catch people.
• The colours are very dull, showing that the film is about crime and mysterious.
• The man in the hat is looking confident, which implies that the two men are successful as he is proud of their work.
• Sherlock’s smirk suggests that he is a ‘good guy’.
• They are both wearing very old-fashioned clothes which suggests the film is set in the olden times.

Conventions of a thriller film

A convention is a way in which something is done. In this case, it's how a thriller film is made.

There are many conventions of thriller films. Most thrillers create:

• Anticipation
• Tension
• Anxiety
• Uncertainty 
• Excitement
• Suspense

The characters play a massive role in the thriller film. Most of the main characters are criminals, or may commit a crime during the film. This creates many themes such as crime and suspense, or maybe a bit of mystery.

The location also plays a massive part. Most of the film is usually set in a dark place to create suspense. The non-diagetic music played usually builds up a lot of tension. There are also many weapons used that are involved in the crimes, such as guns. Cars are also often used for 'getaways'.

Sub-genres of thrillers