Horror: Zombie - Settings (deeper research)

Although I have already briefly covered settings, I have decided to do further research into it relating to the genre of our film and what effect the setting can have on the overall impression of our sequence.

Horror and zombie films are usually set in places that trigger fear and in places that you would most likely associate for the dead to be, A convention to the zombie genre is that the starting events happen at night as this is the scariest time of day.

Abandoned/Quiet locations

There are many different places a zombie movie could be set including isolated places and small communities which would offer more opportunities to create a sense of isolation and can cause trouble for the characters in the movie. These settings also are extremely hard to escape from and therefore it leads to having to hold out until help arrives, which is a common idea for a lot of zombie films, although the outcome is not always good. An example of one of the more isolated settings would be the cabin from Evil Dead.

Cabin in the woods from "The Evil Dead"

Another conventional setting is abandoned houses as it is an unknown environment for characters and the audience so this creates tension for the viewer. There is also the setting of a church, this is a good setting as it is a place considered to be safe and when it isn't it can be seen as ironic to the audience and it may go against their expectations which creates the element of surprise.



An example of a church used as a setting would be in the film '28 days later' in which the lead character must kill a priest in order to survive. The church itself looks very dusty and this reflects the lack of maintenance it has received since the start of the epidemic.

Churches make good settings for zombie films.

Other typical setting include places like sewers and graveyards because these are not places people would like to be around. Furthermore, graveyards contain a lot of dead bodies and therefore this is an ideal starting point for the dead to be raised from.

Public locations

These kind of locations can be seen as more frightening to the viewer as it connotes to a sense of 'Anytime, anywhere' which means that no place is truly safe from the apocalypse which can be seen as quite distressing to the viewer. The advantage of this is that a wider setting allows for more dynamic shots and it allows the director to tamper with visual sights for the audience to appreciate, as well as varying locations to prevent boredom. An example of this would be the following shot from 'I am legend'.

 Public locations can range anywhere from the city, to hospitals, to shopping malls. The issue for characters in public places is that there are a lot more threats, from zombies to other people and this creates an every man for themselves atmosphere. The structures of these settings tend to be fragile as this creates a more hostile environment for the characters within the film.

In 'Dawn of the Dead', the setting is a shopping mall.

These settings are similar to abandoned locations with the fact that they are both hard to escape from, but in the case of more public settings the issue is with the dense population of the dead rather than navigating from an abandoned environment.

Conclusion

In conclusion, taking into consideration the difficulty of filming in a public location on a low budget,  I believe a more isolated location would suit better for our sequence, this is because it still has aspects that can create fear for the viewer while also maintaining ease when filming, by this I mean no members of the public can disrupt the shots or scenes we take. Another reason for this is that the use of an abandoned or quieter setting follows the more traditional aspects of settings in zombie films, more of the higher rated classics take place in abandoned environments, such as evil dead and even night of the living dead, another aspect we can take from these settings is that we must create an abandoned feeling to the environment, which may include designing the environment in order for it to look unmaintained.





Horror: Zombie - Music and sound

Music and sound

In our media group we are considering making our own music for our sequence, using sound studios from our college, But first we must research the type of music that is used in horror and zombie films so we have an idea of the music that we can come up with and use effectively in order to create fear for the viewer.

Music

Music is an important aspect of the zombie genre as it helps to create a specific atmosphere within the film and adds a mood to the scene. If music is used effectively then it will allow for more emotion to be shown by the audience. There is a lot of diverse range in the music that has been used throughout different zombie films.
This includes things such as Isolated instruments being used, almost seeming out of place but they occur in parallel to key event within the movie which helps to link the audience to the fact that the characters are vulnerable. 
Longer more suspenseful notes of music are used in oder to help contrast short notes and this can come as a shock to the audience due to the difference in the notes.
 There are also extreme but intentional changes in the pitch of the music and this can make the audience feel tense. It is also common for a lot of these techniques to be added together, for example, low long notes can be changed to very fast high pitched notes to make the audience feel at threat.
An example of music in a zombie film would be the following clip from return of the living dead part 2, The music used helps to reflect the fear shown in the scene.

Sound

There are lots of sound effects which can occur in a horror film soundtrack, which could include: The classic sounds found in most zombie films and these are sounds that are related to the things that would frighten you such as Screaming, Church Bells, Evil Laughing and more. 

Voices and screams tend to be echoed as this helps heighten the audiences mood, sense and emotion towards the film which can give quite a fearful feeling. Lots of voices within horror films have been chosen to reflect fear, tensions and panic. An example of this would be another scene form the return of the living dead, In which music, sound and voices are all combined to create a fearful viewing for the audience, with a lot of strange screams and groans. 

Possible Distributors

Possible Distributors

Left Film Distribution

About- Left Film Distribution is releasing exciting independent genre movies for UK film fans. We are dynamic forward-looking film distributors, who are passionate about films and film-making.  We work on  UK film distribution of new independent movies - in cinemas, on DVD, and download. Many of our films are in the horror, sci-fi, action and comedy genres, and offer exciting new work from the new generation of film-makers. We also offer a fresh approach to independent film distribution, with audience engagement and social media marketing. We are boutique UK film distributors who care passionately about our films.

Left films would be a great distributor of our film as they specialise in horror and action films. Both of these qualities will have a part in our film. They have also distributed several zombie films so they definitely do the right genre for our film. Many of their films are also a 15 certificate like ours. This means that they will be able to distribute our film to their audience and know that their audiences will be interested in  our film. They also use social media marketing which means that they will be able to advertise and market the film for free using various means of social media. Another good thing about Left Films is that they distribute to many different areas including cinema and DVD, which will make the most amount of money for our film. As well as these they make the film available for download online which will also help people to hear about the film and this will also make extra money on top of what the cinema and DVD's make.

Altitude Films

Altitude Film Entertainment is a vertically integrated film company encompassing production, finance, international sales and UK distribution. The company was formed in May 2012 by Will Clarke, founder of British production and distribution banner Optimum Releasing, which he sold to Studiocanal in 2006. Partnering Clarke is Co-CEO Andy Mayson, a highly experienced executive who has held Board-level positions at such notable companies as Working Title, PolyGram, Icon, Exclusive and Hammer.

The Company’s vertically integrated structure also includes Altitude Film Sales, run by Mike Runagall, who formerly served as SVP International Sales at Pathé. This spirited and dynamic trio bring with them relationships from across the industry, fashioning ‘creative partnerships’ with both emerging and established talents. This collaborative edge is defined by a distinctive and commercial slate, teeming with diverse and eclectic content.

Altitude films would be a good distributor for our film because it is UK based. They also have created many zombie horror films such as 'WYRMWOOD'. This shows that it is definitely the right genre of films for our movie so that means that it would be more than suitable. It also means that they will be able to distribute to the same audience as they have their previous films. This will give the movie more publicity as they can use the same techniques as on their other films. Some people will also come to watch this film because it has been distributed by this company as they may have seen another film by this company before and been really impressed by it and want to see more.

20th Century Fox

20th Century Fox is an American film studio and one of the six major American film studios. Located in the Century City area of Los Angeles, just west of Beverly Hills, the studio used to be a subsidiary of News Corporation, but now it is currently a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox. It's the world's second largest major film studio, after Warner Bros. It also has an office in London UK which means that it would be more than suitable for use on our film.

20th Century Fox would be a good distributor for our film. This is because even though its Headquarters is in the US, it also has offices in the UK. This means that it would be useable for our movie. It also has made many horror films similar to ours so would not be against the genre of the film. It also means that they would have experience in distributing these types of films so know the audience to advertise to and the different methods that horror fans like to see when seeing a promotion for a new horror film. As this is one of the biggest film companies in the world many people will want to see the film just because they are distributing it as it makes the film look better having the impact of this huge company.

Conventions: Music

Conventions: Music

Music is going to be used through our filming of our film, although we need to create our own ideas so we need to derive from other soundtracks, I am going to talk about the music genres that we could introduce and what kind of scenes they could be intended for. We have the group ability to create music through our own methods, as we have the musical ability with both singing and playing instruments. This can be done through processing it on the computers to then add to the short film.

Soul Music

Soul is a very chill and relaxing kind of music genre. This is intended to be used for calm environments and the bpm (beats per minute) is lesser than usual. I went onto SoundCloud to find out to see what kind of music is out there that people like with Soul. I’ve heard female voices re-enact the chill and relax to this.

Soul would most definitely not be ideal for action scenes where zombies are getting shot, as that wouldn’t work. Although this would work for the after-math, closing down the scene or creating a bridge to the next scene which could be a cliff-hanger. I have looked at several songs within the online social website and I see a couple to be as good inspiration if we was to do some soul music within our piece.

Majid Jordan - Her

This is a good song which I have listened to, I feel like the voices are very lightly implemented into the music, as it seems to be smooth and understandable. Although I do find this to be way too upbeat for what the piece intends to be. I also find the bass to be too much for soul music, so I think that in order to make this a good piece, it has to have a lot of high and mids inside the sequence. 

I feel the soul bit of music that we create will have to have high pitched soft elements to it to endure a closure to the scene which will be acted out.

Childish Gambino - Sober

This song I feel this is good, as it doesn’t have any deep bass, however I also think that it is too lively for the scene which we’re going to be acting out. I want this to be really soft toned. 

I feel that Lana Del Rey portrays her music in a very country way, and I feel that getting this across to the audience implies that it is going to explain the blue folk outline. I’d say that Lana Del Rey is Soul also.

Lana Del Rey’s Music

Elizabeth Grant’s overall aim for each of her albums was that they are able to express her love and use her found footage towards music, the found footage elements express simplistic compilations and montages. She used a lot of single chords and soft voice she had to imply delicacy to the video that she made. This improved the creation of her music and she became well known for hand footage and short clips snipped together. 

This video is an example of what has smooth lyrical value and soft notes that aren’t too difficult for the interpretation by our own creation of music. Her music brings the soul into a blue dark-hearted element, and her music is a heavy inspiration for the dark side of our clip.

Characters

Characters

Usually there are different types of characters that always appear in every zombie film. These characters are usually in groups that either have never met before and get together to survive. These people usually have different qualities and work well together to survive however because they’ve never met they find it hard to trust each other and often fight and argue. So who are the average characters in zombie films?

The Leader

The leader, often the main character is usually someone who was in a job that involved protection before the outbreak and takes charge in looking after the group as they are responsible and caring and has a good heart making them good for looking after the other characters. These leaders often have to make decisions for the good of the group and have to make sure they’re the right ones. An example of a good leader in a zombie TV show is Rick Grimes. He fits my profile as he was a policeman before the outbreak meaning he looked after the community and then becomes the leader in the group making good decisions and the right ones.

The Expert

The Expert is often someone who is good with weapons and could have had military training or body training in general. In other words they are prepared for the apocalypse and know what they are doing. They are usually the best with guns and weapons and have some sort of enjoyment from the new world and killing the zombies. This expert can sometimes be quiet but is usually a loud and expresses his feelings quite bluntly. An example of an expert is Tallahassee in Zombieland he is fearless and takes great pleasure in killing the zombies.

The Troublemaker

The Troublemaker is someone who can’t seem to get along with anyone in the group. Maybe someone who was strong or in authority in the past life or maybe someone who has always liked to cause trouble. This person either dies because of their need to cause trouble, gets into trouble or becomes so bad that the group have to leave him. Sometimes the character might not die but at his/her last minutes has a change of heart and turns to the good guy often getting you to love the character. This Character often appears in zombie films because it relates to real life as there is always someone who is a troublemaker and they often turn him good in the end to get the most emotions out of the audience. An example of this in a zombie TV show is Merle Dixon in The walking dead. He fits my profile perfectly as he is a troublemaker in the camp and gets left behind but later returns to them and does a courageous act of kindness and helps the group.

The Eye Candy

The Eye candy is usually a girl who is very attractive and not fit for the post apocalyptic world as they have no experience or strength and are girly and feminine and often can’t live without their make up or straighteners. She is usually in the right place at the right time to be able to survive without any skills just is lucky but usually the person either goes through a change and has to develop a different personality in order to survive in this world. If the character doesn’t go through this change they often die because they’re not suited for this life. An example of this type of character is Amy in the walking dead. She fits the profile as she is an attractive female that isn’t accustomed to the post apocalyptic world which makes her vulnerable and unfortunately dies.

The Kid

People often forget that in films after a zombie outbreak there are still children often very few due to the fact that children are weaker, slower and scared of a zombie post apocalyptic world therefore often die quickly but in a most zombie films there is one child who doesn’t get to have the childhood they’re supposed to and start out as vulnerable and childish but develop into strong courageous human beings. However this isn’t always the case as some children just can’t mature and often die in this world and not get to live their life. An example from the walking dead is Carl. He starts off as a young boy that isn’t strong or fit for the world yet transforms into a man earlier than he should where as Sophia doesn’t quite mature and grow quick enough and dies. This also relates to the (quite sexist) stereotype that men are stronger than women however most zombie films do contradict this stereotype.

The John Smith

Whenever you watch a zombie movie you always see yourself. The average Joe that has an average day job an average life and is average, even in the zombie world they are the average ones of the group. This character is used to connect with the viewers because they are average and just normal. An example of this is Columbus in zombieland, Despite being a funny character he is normal and average.

To conclude looking at the characters in these films that always seem top appear I will act upon my research and incorporate some of these stereotypes in our film. However these stereotypes aren’t always correct and can be wrong. Just because a type of character appears in zombie films often it doesn’t mean that it’s the correct way to portray the character. So maybe in our film we could go against the stereotypes to be different. But we want everyone to know it is a zombie film so maybe portraying our characters in the way that is common in most zombie films will be better for us in order to let people know what kind of film and genre it is.