Theorist - Barthe

Barthe's theory is about five codes that are "woven into any plot", although I will only be focusing on the 'action' and 'enigma' codes. The 'enigma code' refers to anything that isn't fully explained to the audience and becomes a mystery to them, giving them clues about what is happening but not fully telling them. The 'action code' refers to any action that implies a further narrative action - making the audience want to know what the outcome of the action is.

In my film, the action code applies to the bad things happening to Holly's friends, making it look as though there's a supernatural being behind it all. The plot twist in the film relies on the audience wanting to know what is causing everything and then, when Michael is revealed to be causing everything, they realise that the enigma codes all add up and it's been obvious that it's been Michael all along. This could make them want to re-watch the film now that they have a different perspective and the enigma codes no longer apply.

Film Production - Settings

Lunch hall - This is a social area that people will recognise as from in a school. These places are known for being busy and places where people gossip - there's a contrast with this idea when Holly and Amy are talking in the film trailer, alone at the table. This shows that this scene must take place during a lesson as there's nobody else around and connotes that Holly was desperate to tell her friend what's been happening.

Lockers - This scene connotes that the film is mainly set in a school and also suggests that the characters are of an age to be at school/sixth form. Like lunch halls, they also known for places of gossiping - as it's the only time people are separated from their cliques at school.

Class room - We decided to not use a typical class room as the students are older and would spend more time in computer suites.

Trees - These are typical of the horror genre and could be considered clichéd. We weren't sure if we would include this setting for that reason but decided that the trees added to the eerie vibe that we were trying to achieve. The trees provide a lot of shadows - which fits with the film title and add a sense of mystery - and we decided to film the shots near the trees when it was getting late so that the low sun gave us more shadows.

Bushes - There's a gap in the bushes that we decided could be used to hide something - which is why we used this as where Amy's body is found.

Playground - In our trailer, there's juxtaposition of friends having fun at park and swing by itself in the dark. This suggests there's something supernatural making the swing move but could also be seen as the girls disappearing suddenly from the park, or someone who has been following them.

Holly's house - This setting was used to add realism as teenagers tend to just spend time at home when they're not at school - which is why we made sure that these two settings were the most featured in our film. The familiar setting also adds to the idea of Holly not being safe in her own house and shows that the 'spirit' is following her not just at school.

The outside of the house is shown but the audience only see someone unknown pressing the doorbell in the trailer. The shadow that goes over the doorbell emphasises our focus of being 'in the shadows' but also connotes that whoever is there has bad intentions.

There are also scenes set in Holly's room to add a sense of verisimilitude. It's a typical teenage girl's room and would be where Holly feels comfortable - we contrasted with this by showing Holly having nightmares and waking up suddenly to emphasise to the audience that there's nowhere where she's safe.

Film Production - Actors

When deciding who would play Holly in our film, we chose our friend Shauna to play her as she is who we based the character on when we were planning the film. She also has experience of acting because she was the main character of a teen angst opening last year - and we needed somebody who is able to perform in our film professionally. Even though she isn't in many scenes of our trailer, the main problem with having Shauna as the actress is that it is hard to coordinate times when we are all available to film, as she had another lesson when we were media and we all had other arrangements outside of school.

Barnaby was meant to be Michael but could not meet our production schedule so we recast the role to Lucy's brother, Matthew, as he was available when Lucy was and it was easier to get footage including him - he's only briefly shown so we just needed him to be in the background of a shot in the trailer. Although he is too young to play the character, his face isn't shown in the trailer and he is tall enough to look like he's 17, so he was suitable for the role. He is an experienced actor but is only skilled in playing comedy roles, which is why we only wanted him in the trailer briefly.

Lucy and Eva play Holly's friends, Amy and Natalie. The clips of bad things happening to Holly's friends are only brief so the audience don't know much about these characters, so it doesn't matter that they are inexperienced in acting. An advantage of using these two as our side characters is that they are both in the group, so they knows all the details of the plot and how to film properly.

We didn't need an actress to be Holly's mother as she isn't shown in the trailer - although if we did need one, we would use Lucy's mother, as she would be available to film when we need her.

Film Planning - Posters and Magazine Covers

I am going to base the film's magazine cover on the 'Total Film' covers I made earlier. I will keep the colour scheme very dark to fit with the genre and use a picture of Holly as the main focus - with the shadows around her enhanced to fit with the title. I will advertise other independent films on the cover - such as the thriller films the other groups in class are making - but mention Hollywood films too as it is common for them to be featured to capture the audience's attention - these films might also all be horrors or thrillers and I could make the magazine have a genre special for thriller films.

Although I'm not sure what exactly will be on the poster, I'm planning for it to be simple but effective. It will follow the AIDA model, which is a theory for how people react to advertisement. The letters stand for: Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. This means that advertisement should grab the viewer’s attention, making them interested and desire to see the film. This would then make them want to take action, by going to see the film in the cinema or researching about it. I will get the viewer's attention with a large picture and then make them interested with the vague title, which will also take up a lot of room on the poster. They will desire to see the film when they see it is 'Coming Soon' and they will take action by using a hashtag seen on the poster or by visiting the website shown.

Theorist - Mulvey

Laura Mulvey has the theory that women are in films to appeal to the 'male gaze'. This is shown in many films by the female characters being over-sexualised or being portrayed and perfect and unobtainable.

I personally find this theory very outdated as it assumes that all men would be attracted to women and all women wouldn't be attracted to the same gender. This theory is also extremely sexist and I think that modern films should have more female empowerment in them.

As none of us approve of how female characters are treated in films, we made our main character a girl who is average and relatable. We want our audience to be able to relate to her because of what she does, not because they want to look like her. We have ensured that there will be no sexualisation of our main character, as is what most films in this genre do to gain popularity with the male target audience - but our film isn't typical like them and is aimed mainly at females.

Film Planning - USP

The biggest selling point for our film is the fact the it is British, as most films in the horror/thriller genre are American. This would attract a British audience but would also make Americans want to see the film as they would be curious to see how different the film is.

Also, the fact that our film is a combination of a supernatural, crime, and horror thriller will attract audiences because it is different and doesn't stick to the conventions of just one type of thriller.

Theorist - Strauss

Levi Strauss made the theory that all narratives canter around 'binary opposites'. An example of one is the common battle between good and evil in most films.

In my film, Holly and Michael have been designed to be opposites of each other to emphasise how different they are - with the most basic difference being their genders. Holly is an extrovert, who enjoys being with friends (which is why it's so hard to isolate herself from them), while Michael is an introvert that doesn't like having contact with many people. Holly's personality is friendly and, because of this, she is popular, while Michael is unpopular due to his unfriendly personality. We are also going to show these differences by having Holly wear light clothes and Michael wear dark clothes - and this is also because it's typical for the antagonist to be wearing darker colours.

The plot also is about the difference between people's social lives and their private lives, along with how Holly acts around her friends and her family. When she is with her friends, Holly is louder and more talkative, giving off the impression that she has nothing to hide, but when she is at home, she is quieter and keeps to herself. Michael is the opposite, with him being too shy to talk to people at school and acting a lot bolder when he's at home.