Final Film “He Sucks”

https://vimeo.com/875743608?share=copy

Pre-Production Reflection

Production Reflection

Post-Production Reflection

Final Reflection

OneDrive Folder Link

He Sucks Folder

Final Reflection

 “He Sucks” employs the Post-Horror genre through its use of slow zooms, long takes and psychological plot. The reviewing of classical films inspired me to explore German Expressionism, an early form of what we now identify as the horror genre, and use it in a modern setting. The film presents  a strong underlying societal message that is symbolically explored throughout the film, the message being the female experience of their early/first relationship with a man, and the toxicity and harm that women endure under the guise of “love”.  Mary’s boyfriend, James, his vampiric characterisation and the effect it has over her health is a symbolic exaggeration that looks into the tortured psyche of young women and the societal expectation to settle and to tolerate. 

The studio is very referential and I wish I had consumed more Post-Horror films and assigned reading  whilst doing the studio to further understand the genre’s tropes and conventions. Having this knowledge would have made me better equipped and more confident to make my own Post-Horror film. Navigating my role within the film production was certainly the biggest challenge, using my leadership role to be firmer in what I expect from the crew and accepting my own limitations.  I was ambitious in certain aspects such as shots and the time frame of shooting and missed out on getting valuable pick-ups and B-roll as I was too focused on the initial vision in my head. I tend to over exert myself in leadership positions and in hindsight, I needed to communicate better with my crew and collaborate more openly. Having another chance to redo the studio, I would’ve liked to have encouraged more opinions and creative choices from the crew, and given the opportunity for them to present their own personal experience with relationships as a way to feel more invested and connected to the film’s story and its message.  I also would’ve changed the setting for the asthma attack scene. The sounds of the building were far too distracting and I wish I had scouted out the location prior to shooting and opted for a much quieter space. I would have liked to have created a more organised lighting plan, taking stronger inspiration from Expressionist films, and even experimented  with more pops of colour in the film to draw focus and break up the constant black and white.  I would definitely redo the dialogue if I had a second chance and organise a run through/rehearsal prior to shooting. Whilst filming, I realised how stiff and cringey it sounded but had no time to rewrite the script of course. I recognise that writing dialogue is not my strong suit, and so I should have reached out to others for feedback, drafting more versions and talking openly with the actors on their personal opinion and interpretation of their character. 

The film’s strength lies in its artistic, Expressionist style, unique plot and the potent societal message within it. “He Sucks” also stands out amongst the other short films in the studio when it comes to aesthetics, with a black and white colour palette, diverse use of stock footage and a general experimental, arthouse approach. Its weakness’ certainly lies in the quality of shots that emphasis’ its amateur quality. There was some poor acting that  needed to be cut around and our use of chocolate sauce as blood was more comical than believable, which I had not  intended. Overall, the film lacks polish, and certain scenes could be seen as unintentionally confusing and comedic, but I am so proud of the crew and myself for what we’ve made as first time filmmakers and I’d love to approach this idea in the future with a more experienced hand.

Post-Production Reflection

In post-production, my editor and I first went through all of the footage together, deleting unuseable takes and beginning to think about ways in which to edit these shots into a scene. We divied up the editing work scene by scene  in what I believe was an equal share before working on these separately. However, because this was the editors main role in the entire film production I assigned her the role of colour grading each scene and allowed her to edit the scenes that were more creative and artistically driven with myself focusing on aspects like the credits and smaller scenes.

Receiving feedback from Tim on a rough cut, I was encouraged to implement a more Expressionist Style, utilising related stock footage, digital zooms and removing shots that felt too drawn out or lacked emotion from the Actor. This was incredibly helpful in bringing a stronger horror tone to the film.

Whilst editing, I noticed more mistakes within the raw footage e.g. Mics in shot, shaky camera and the focus being off. To conceal this, I used Warp Stabiliser on Premiere Pro, cut down shots that were initially going to be longer and interweaved it with stock footage and added in successful shots from other scenes. These editing choices helped to elevate the footage rather than amplify its flaws.

It was surprising to see how much dialogue and scenes were cut whilst editing. Listening back to the dialogue I’d written, so much of it made me cringe and I knew that the audience would likely experience this too. To avoid this, anything that was integral to the plot was removed and in turn, the scenes without dialogue were more tense and uneasy and the ones with dialogue became more impactful and meaningful within the film. Originally, the final scene was supposed to reveal that Mary, having escaped James’s grasp and in a new relationship, has become a vampire herself. Writing this ending was a struggle from the very beginning, trying to write a strong reveal, present her evil vampiric actions of evil, and crete an ominous future for her new partner. As a result of this uncertainty, the shots taken for this scene were lacklustre, and didn’t match what I had first envisioned at all. The ending needed to be both powerful and horrific, and so when it came to the editing process, I decided to remove this entire scene, and instead end on Mary having just bit James, covered in blood, laughing and finally free. The message of this is much more powerful with this ending, focusing more on women’s experience being in young, toxic relationships with men and the feminine rage that accompanies that. 

Production Reflection

During the Production, I leaned into the German Expressionist style, focusing on shots such as Close Ups and Super Close Ups to reflect the main character’s emotional state and emphasise the sense of terror within the film. I also wanted to employ long takes and slow zooms, typical techniques used in the Post-Horror genre that work to draw tension and give context. My main use for lighting was to light up the space, create shadows on walls and faces and add depth onto the actors’ face. I did this because I knew we would later be colour grading the shots into a black and white colour palette, and wanted to mimic the Expressionist style of harsh lighting and use of shadows. 

When shooting halted to a stop it was commonly one of these three reasons. Technical difficulties , which included our boom mics disconnection, navigating camera storage and adjusting the ISO frame rate to ensure our camera quality wasn’t grainy. Redirecting the actors with matters such as the realistic usage of the inhaler and the believability of an asthma attack. Finally, there was time spent adapting to shots that could not be executed the way I wanted. An example was the scene in which the character, James, had no reflection in the mirror whilst arguing with the character, Mary. Unable to film the shot that I initially envisioned, with both actors in the shot, I provided an alternative, which was to film each actor individually talking to each other, and splice it together to give the illusion of no reflection. 

Throughout production I was mainly focused on rearranging the camera and lighting and directing the actors and as a result of this, I missed some of the smaller details that would have made the shoot smoother and the shots of better quality. Details like ensuring everything was focused,  the mic was out of every shot and that unnecessary objects e.g. Water bottles and laptops were out of frame. I found myself caught up in the moment with visualising shots and engaging with cast and crew that I regrettably lost track of the shot-list and ended up missing a couple of important shots that I wanted to capture. This meant that some of the story and horror aspects were lost,a disappointing consequence. In future shoots I aim to refer to the shotlist more closely, ticking off each one as I go in order to prevent any reshoots or missed opportunities.

Pre-Production Reflection

I began my pre-production through storyboarding, amateurly sketching each shot and using the distance and detail of each drawing to then determine the type of shot to utilise. The story is predominantly linear, with recurrings shots of the bathroom scene as a form of foreshadowing which I deliberately used to add tension and invite intrigue from the audience. Looking back, I wished I had been more creative with my initial storyboarding rather than choosing to focus on continuity and shots purely for plot. This just comes with gaining more confidence as a filmmaker and director, as well as learning about the importance of collaborative work. I would’ve liked to have put more effort into reaching out to my cinematographer to brainstorm and visualise the shotlist together, balancing the workload better and allowing another creative mind to be involved in the pre-production process.

Our first meeting as a group was incredibly successful, organising our house location, a music producer, cast call information and props/costume for my Art Director to source. In regards to casting, we sourced our actors through Facebook, filtering through the applications sent to find the right look and experience and finally an audition on Zoom. The audition consisted of having the applicants read lines chosen from the characters, giving different directions to measure how adaptable and flexible they were as actors. I checked availability, location of residence and dietary requirements for each applicant, making sure my Production Manager was taking notes of these. I was lucky enough to find the two actors I wanted through the first round of auditions. Because of the intensity of the relationship between the two characters in my film, I held a follow up Zoom meeting so the two actors could meet each other, discuss their boundaries, safety precautions and their general needs in order to create a safe space for them both whilst on set.

Booking the equipment brought some minor challenges as well. My minimal knowledge of sound equipment resulted in myself booking too many mics that ended up not being the right fit for our production. This was an embarrassing realisation however it was quickly solved with the help of the tech support, booking a recorder that we ended up using for the whole two days of shooting. In regards to picking all the equipment up, the lack of crew members’ presence meant that the transportation of equipment was extremely laborious. In hindsight I needed to set a standard, emphasising the importance of everybody showing up to move everything and store it safely before returning it back. 

-Link to Script-

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DgEMBrAF4I21xyZDkpRKP8zqUSp68JpO/view?usp=drive_link

Research Statement

In my research for my script, I aimed to identify and apply a range of post-horror characteristics to my own story as well as look at both classical and modern depictions of vampires in film. Church argues in the reading, “Beautiful, Horrible Desolation: Landscape in Post-Horror Cinema”, that post-horror films “generate dread by isolating their protagonists within Gothically enclosed interiors or at a physical distance from sympathetic allies” (Church 2021). Taking this into account, I chose to set my film primarily inside; using moody lighting and having the time set predominately at night. The exception being when Mary escapes James’ clutches, a deliberate choice to reflect her newfound freedom. In regard to sympathetic allies, I chose for Mary to have no support system around her, always either by herself, with James and with her newfound partner in which the roles have switched, indicating her future abuse of him.

Nosferatu (1922)

The monster’s presence in a horror film, works to “challenge and unsettle us…our fear of them is often driven by our desire for what is unfamiliar” and “no more is the reciprocal relationship between fear and desire, and morality and immorality, present than in the vampire” (Bryon 2013). A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, had a strong “visual and cinematographic connection to the earliest iterations of the cinematic vampire” e.g. The German expressionist film, Nosferatu. The director stated that Nosferatu was mandatory viewing for the actors and the film crew to watch (Kazemi 2021). I was inspired by this call back to the classical, gothic portrayal of vampires, defying the typical, fantasised male vampire so often seen in the modern adaptations e.g., Twilight, Vampire Diaries etc. This was in order to avoid the relationship being romanticised and trivialised by the audience, showing a more disturbing dynamic between Mary and James. 

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2015)

Regarding The Shining, Church explores how the setting of the isolated hotel and the “monster” that is Jack Torrance becomes an allegory for “the nightmarish violence lying hidden in the foundations of American society. In Jack’s descent into madness, the film presents the viewer with a mirror image of the lower/middle-class conservative white male filled with misdirected rage at women” (Church 2021). I hope to also successfully send a clear message through my story and characters. The vampire is a creature that preys on the innocent, and I could use this trope to bring to light the normalised but harmful toxic relationships experienced by women in their youth.

The Shining (1980)

Bibliography

Byron, G., Bruhm, S., Gelder, K., Hogle, J., Horner, A., & Hughes, W 2013, Online vampire communities: Towards a globalised notion of vampire identity, In Globalgothic. Manchester University Press.

Church, D 2021, Beautiful, Horrible Desolation:Landscape in Post-Horror Cinema, Post-Horror : Art, Genre and Cultural Elevation, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh. 

Kazemi, F 2021. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Auteur Publishing, ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/rmit/detail.action?docID=6647113

Lutz, J 2010, From Domestic Nightmares to the Nightmare of History, The Philosophy of Horror,  University Press of Kentucky, Lexington

Reflection 

The first thought I had for my horror script was to explore the idea of asthma as a plot device; how it could be exploited by an antagonist and spark anxiety and tension within the audience. As someone with the condition, I know how sudden and intense an asthma attack can be, an inhaler providing relief and potentially saving a life almost instantaneously. I then chose to tie this in with the trope of the vampire who sucks the life out of their victim but instead of using blood, I thought that breath could be a unique and equally scary approach. A story about a toxic relationship is not particularly engaging for a horror film, so I chose to write an unsettling vampire character whose appearance and behaviour more closely resembled that of Nosferatu than Edward from Twilight as the boyfriend. This allowed for a more intriguing relationship and dynamic story; James’s appearance and treatment towards exaggerated and symbolic of a relatable experience had by many.

Writing dialogue was one of my biggest challenges as I am often worried it will come across as too corny and fabricated. To combat this, I chose to limit as much dialogue as possible, removing exposition that could be shown rather than told. Deciding on what to write for the breakup scene was also a struggle, wanting a climactic ending between the characters but unsure how to pursue it. James killing Mary would be an unexpected and depressing demise for our protagonist and having James be killed by Mary would take away from the realism of the piece, his death also being too cathartic for the audience. I wanted Mary to still experience an empowering moment for herself and also hint at her later vampiric transformation so there were a lot of factors I took into account and it was definitely a struggle to decide a worthy ending.

Reflection Blog Posts pt 3

Initiative Post

Watching Midsommar was truly a landmark in my Post-Horror film education. Seeing a film so disturbing be filmed almost entirely in daylight, and with a bright colour palette completely rewired my brain and challenged what I perceived a horror film to be. Fully dimensional, realised, complicated characters within Midsommar was an unexpected addition that, for me, further elevated the story and made it more horrifying. These were REAL people, the stakes feeling much higher and the reaction more guttural. Florence Pugh was just phenomenal, and I, as a viewer, felt emotionally invested in her and her future. Her ending evoked a plethora of mixed emotions; relief, satisfaction, fear and disgust. To have a horror film successfully evoke this range is proof of how powerful horror can be; not just a cheap scare.  David Sims explores how Midsommar was intentionally shaped as folk horror, as well as a “break-up movie and a fairy tale with horror elements” (Sims 2019). I love the mashing up of genres, especially with Horror, and it got me thinking about how combining unlikely genre tropes can create a subversive story, that goes beyond the expectations of the audience, and can create a unique unease. 

I was also quick to latch onto the powerful, feminist statement seen through Dani’s journey about the embracement of one’s emotions, fostered by the communional setting (Lane 2019). At the beginning of the film, Dani is already isolated. Her boyfriend throughout the film tries to convince her that she is overreacting, minimising her feelings. Christian makes  “Dani feel like she’s guilty for needing his help, so he doesn’t have to feel guilty for not being able to provide it” (Ryan 2019). Throughout the film, Dani actively isolates herself, especially from the male characters, whenever she feels overwhelmed and emotional. Ryan argues that, in doing this, “she’s unable to heal in any meaningful way. There is no one to help her share the burden of her loss” (Ryan 2019). After witnessing Christian’s infidelity, she leaves to cry in private, “only to be surrounded, held up..by women who tacitly give her permission to feel everything she’s feeling right in the moment”. They echo her cries and screams, sharing her grief and her rage and amplifying it (Lane 2019). It’s a scene that is both uncomfortable and cathartic to watch. The final moments of the film reflect the  release Dani finds in no longer minimising herself. “Gone is the woman who has decided to conceal her emotions for the sake of sparing others” (Sims 2019), the film’s final shot being a close up of Dani as she watches her boyfriend go up in flames, her face morphing into a look of pure joy and peace. It’s a bold and complex story such as this that has further inspired me to look deeper into what Post-Horror can provide for the audience and the characters within the film. Its ability to mirror real life experiences and issues whilst still being horrifically whimsical reflects the potential and power of this genre that I can’t wait to further explore.

Bibliography 

Carly Lane, 2019, HOW MIDSOMMAR ILLUSTRATES THE CATHARSIS OF EXPRESSING EMOTION, SYFY Wire, 27 June, How Midsommar illustrates the catharsis of expressing emotion | SYFY WIRE

Danielle Ryan, 2019, ‘Midsommar’: Ari Aster And Florence Pugh’s Complex, Climactic Catharsis, SlashFilm, 17 July, ‘Midsommar’: Ari Aster And Florence Pugh’s Complex, Climactic Catharsis (slashfilm.com)

David Sims, 2019, ‘What Kind of Movie Ari Aster Wanted Midsommar To Be’, Atlantic, 3 July, https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/07/ari-aster-midsommar-interview/593194/

Reflection Blog Posts pt 2

Workshop activities

In week 1 we were put into groups and tasked with finding a short film that fell into the genre of post-horror; exploring and explaining the stylistic choices and underlying message for the class. Each group chose very different short films and it was intriguing to see the diverse range of plot, artistic approach and deeper themes from each one. My group chose “The Dollmaker”, whose use of a creepy doll became a device to explore the idea of grief and loss, and the self-destructing inability to let go that can arise from it. Whilst the film did explore societal issues much like post horror films, it didn’t fall under the category for post-horror for other areas with an average music score and lack of long takes and zooms. There is of course no clear distinction of what a post-horror film can be. We can only use the examples of films e.g. The Babadook, The Lighthouse and the directors e.g. Jordan Peele, Ari Aster. They take artistic/technical risks to defy the expectations of a horror film, utilising the genre to bring political and societal issues to the front of people’s mind. After watching all of the short films, we discussed what we found effective and what, if we were the filmmaker, would change about the short film. After watching the film “Other side of the box”, the class had differing opinions about what they would do to improve the story. Some argued that having little explanation about the nature of the box and what would happen to the protagonist decreased the enjoyment of the film for them, whilst others argued that if the box was more explained, it would reduce the tension and horrific nature of it. It goes to show how diverse the audience’s personal taste and perception of horror can be. Just like how beauty is in the eye of the beholder, It is near impossible as a filmmaker to create a post horror piece that unanimously connects with and horrifies each and every viewer. 

In week 2, we were introduced to WritersDuet, a great website to help with script writing. We were tasked with writing a scene for a post-horror film. I explored the horror of asthma, and the terror of someone antagonistically depriving you of your medicine. I thought it could be a great representation of young people‘s first relationship and the toxicity and cruelty that can come from that. Asthma is a condition that can be so easily triggered by factors such as exercise, being a great plot device to use when you need a character to become unwell in a short amount of time. The relief from a Ventolin inhaler is almost instantaneous, so much that it can oftentimes feel like your lifeforce. The script and plot aloud for a great exploration of sound; incorporating wheezing and heavy breathing into the soundtrack as well as isolating them to create a claustrophobic, panicked feeling within the audience, I doubled with the idea of body horror at the tail end of the scene, turning the manipulative, evil boyfriend into an inhumane creature, and subverting the audiences expectations. Looking back at this creative choice, I can see it being a difficult visual to pull off as an amateur filmmaker. I will probably refrain from writing too ambitious a story (special effects wise) to ensure that it is a project that could be easily made with the knowledge and budget that I have, indulging more in the horrifying side of realism. I really enjoyed writing a script, which surprised me as I’ve always seen script writing as too difficult and complex.  After Tim’s comments that the script is the blueprint to the film’s story, and doesn’t require every shot and camera angle, I felt much more confident in script writing, and certainly see myself potentially writing a script outside of uni, just for fun and to further practise the skill.

Reflection Blog Posts pt 1

What do I want from this studio?

The studio asks us to explore the criteria and rise of the genre, “Post-Horror”. We question when the birth post-horror was, and its influential origins. Analysing iconic “Post-Horror” films, we explore the filmmaker’s deliberate subversion of horror film tropes and the adoption of a distinct, sometimes contrasting style; working to elicit a plethora of emotions from the viewer in a unique and daring way. We are encouraged to delve into the deeper themes and messages within these films and how they provide a voice for social justice issues and a platform for underrepresented groups in society. Alongside the studio’s theory work, we will also be able to create our own Post-Horror work in the form of scripts, scenes and a short film. We apply our study of the artistic and technical approach of Post-Horror filmmakers, utilising and experimenting with signature styles of filmmakers, and be inspired to find our own flair. In this studio I’m really looking forward to delving into the practical side of filmmaking, exploring technical aspects of production that I’m unfamiliar with e.g. editing, camera operating, lighting and sound.

My aim is to, ideally, learn about an aspect of filmmaking that I wish to further pursue as a potential career or as a passion. I’m especially excited about applying these newfound skills to the horror genre; an incredibly diverse, eclectic and confrontational genre of film. I’d like to hopefully strengthen my ability and passion for script writing and become familiar with the steps it takes to fully realise a scene or short film e.g. getting acquainted with shot lists, shooting schedules and continuity sheets. I’ve never been involved in the making of a short film outside of acting so being able to collaborate creatively with my peers and see how our ideas come to life will be such a rewarding experience. I hope that overall, this studio will challenge the way I look at Horror, and encourage me to take risks when it comes to creating media in general.