I am doing some research for my coursework which I am going to based on

horror films. This will be a 2 minute opening showing that I can use all the

different techniques needed to create a successful film opening. To do this I am

going to look at the opening of films to gain ideas. Horror films have been dismissed as being violent, low budget movies. As

we don’t have finances to cover costs we have chosen to film the start to a horror

film.

Target audience

My target audience is for both genders aged between 15 and 25. This is because teenagers and younger adults are more interested in horror and violence.

Lighting

Lighting is used in 28 days later to keep characters mysterious and to just give the audience a slight insight into what is going to happen. A dark shot like this could be used at the start of a film to show that there is something mysterious happening and that the main character in the film does not know about what is going on.

In doomsday it starts by showing information to the viewers. This shows the people watching that there is something mysterious happening and that people are dieing. This leads into the viewers wanting to watch on and see what is happening and why the people are dieing.

At the start of the film doomsday it also shows a women dieing. This links instantly to the deaths that are happening showing the audience immediately what the film is about, but makes viewers wonder why she is dieing. This makes the viewers want to watch on.

Make up

Make up has been used to give the effect of disease in Doomsday. It shows warts on the face very clearly. Blood is also shown on the face of the woman. Faces are made up to look although they are infected. This makes us believe that there is a virus that is spreading. In my film I am going to use blood to show the audience more clearly what is happening.

Costume

A costume used is camouflage and a gas mask. This shows that the army is involved and that something has got out of control. This makes the audience want to watch on to find out what is happening. In my film the killer is going to be wearing dark clothes to show he's the killer. Casual clothing will be used as it’s based with teenagers.

Props

There is a gun used as a prop. This shows that something is out of control and that the army are trying to control it. In my film I am going to use props to show the difference between the characters e.g. a knife.

Scene

There is a tank used in the scenery that shows the army is there controlling something. There is also a long metal fence with barb wire on top. Both of these things show that something is being controlled and that order is trying to be enforced. This again makes the audience want to know what is being controlled. In my film it will be based in secluded locations e.g. woods and alleys.

Dialogue and Plot

The film Doomsday starts with dialogue that says “like so many epidemics before the loss of so many lives began with a single microscopic organism”. This tells the audience that there is a virus epidemic that’s killing. It also says “spread around the population of Glasgow like a common cold”, “no cure” and “claimed the lives of thousands in the first week”. This explains the storyline and the plot of the film by telling the audience that a virus is killing people. In my film dialogue will not be used as I don’t want to give the audience the plot instantly.