In today's post I will mostly be sharing pictures of the props used during the filming and some I built and put together.
Part 1: The tools
All throughout the "Scare Crow works on the cure he needs his tools. This includes the basic non made tools such as construction tools. Take a look for your self!
Part 2: The stands and holders.
I found 2 things I could use to hold these said tools. They connect together to make a stand for these tools. I also found a jar where he will put the herbs for the cure in.
You connect the two pieces as seen in the gap to make the stand.
Today, I want to dedicate my planning post on the location which I will be filming. I chose to film in my house but more specifically inside the garage.
Why the garage?
I chose to film inside my garage as it will best fit the narrative and idea of the "Scare Crow". It has open space giving me a lot of room to record and set up different angles for different shots. The garage also has a murky type of feel and in a dark setting would amplify the sense of horror in the opening.
But enough about the garage, take a look for yourself!
Since it will be darker and the shots will be much tighter you will not be able to see all the stuff in the back round of the garage. I will set up a table and chair where I will place all the props and will act as the work bench in order to make the cure.
Here are shots from the entrance of the garage.
The shots in my back yard where the "Scare crow" puts on his mask upon hearing the intruders.
In this separate blog post I will be going over my script and providing it with .
The opening starts with a man grabbing a flashlight and flicking it on as he walks into a dimly lit room. He turns on a mostly useless light as his run down garage has no power but still barely illuminates from the little there is left. We get shots highlighting the tools the man is using to build his cure as the credits play throughout . We get a shot of his bench and a photo of a man labeled "times with dad", he clutches it not wanting to let go. We then hear stomping and chatter, the man, the "Scare crow" leaves the room then puts on his scare crow like mask and clutches a weapon as the noise gets louder and closer. Then, title card.
Although my opening is horror centered and most of the time have no character development in them. I have came up with a story for the antagonist "The scarecrow". Why implement character development at all? Well, character development prevents the character from being boring and dull and drives his intentions further.
Example: Friday the 13th
In the original Friday the 13th the plot revolves around a young special needs boy named Jason Voorhees as he attends a camp named Camp Crystal Lake and drowns as the counselors do not notice since they are distracted and drinking. This enraged Jason's mother, Pamala. Who sought to kill all the counselors who wronged her and letting her son die. She then dies after trying to murder the final girl. In the later films, Jason goes on killing sprees from the commands of Pamala's voice in his head.
Although, there is no excuse for murder Pamala's reasoning is quite tragic as she lost her son and went ballistic. Shortly after her raged induced son follows in her sprees. Both these characters are evil but have development and reasoning to why they do the things they do.
(Pamala Voorhees)
(Jason Voorhees)
Why does the "Scarecrow" do the things he does?
The main antagonist is a very cruel person in the methods he uses to deals with intruders. But there is a method to his madness. Throughout the opening he is building something but what? As he holds up a picture of his father and inspects the herbs we piece together he is developing a cure for his father's cancer back at home and will do anything to stop any outside information from figuring out what he is doing. He believes if word gets out, the government will dispose of him quickly giving the audience sympathy to his cause even if it is extremely wrong. This makes the audience question if the antagonist really is the antagonist for taking the safety of his father into his own hands as he can't rely on the health system.
Sometimes, the key to making a horror movie scary is not gore or jump scares. But rather the audio heard during the scene. The audio influences the tone and immersing the audience as it creates a tone.
The Music
Let's talk about a horror movies music. The music in a movie makes that film memorable and keeps consistency throughout while establishing its tone. A very famous and extremely praised music score goes to the original Jhon Carpenter's Halloween as it ticks all the boxes to what makes a horror movies audio affective.
For my opening I will implement music that is not as provident but more subtle and gives off a feeling of despair as the antagonist continues to develop his contraption. I will use non-copyrighted music since I do not want to get permission from the artist.
The sounds
For the majority of the sound affects in the opening I plan to use foley. Foley is sound created using props and devices a good example being recording a creaking floor. For the scenes of the loud roaring of the contraption I will use the tools in the shots during the credits such as the hammers, screwdrivers, and saws. the sounds will be a lot more prominent.
A amazing example of great of foley is that of Gary Hecker's foley in A Nightmare on Elm Street remake.
Gary Hecker stated in an interview by Tory Hoen (October 12, 2012) "For the last Nightmare on Elm Street, I had to come up with the signature sounds for Freddy’s deadly hand: a series of slicing, razor-sharp metallic “shings.” I used a creaky leather ammo belt for the glove part, and then two types of blades: a machete to give that ringing blade sound, and surgical steel blades to give the sound of sharpness. Every time he clacks his blades in the movie, it’s a combination of these elements."
Of course I wont only use foley sound effects such as a downloaded sound of muffled knocks and chatters indicating our protagonist that there are intruders breaking in.
Last time we focused on the costume and props with how they make that film important and how I was going to incorporate costumes. Today I will go over the lighting and location of my opening instead. Lighting and the area can influence the scene's tone and can amplify the feeling of fear through these elements.
Lets talk about the two major types of lighting, low-key and high-key lighting. High-key lighting which is rarely used in horror is bright with a minimal amount of dark areas and creates a mostly more open tone. Low-key lighting uses the dark spaces to create a more fear inducing mood and is used in horror almost constantly. In my film opening I will definitely be using low-key lighting here are a few examples!
(A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors)
(The Exorcist)
I will use low-key lighting in most of the scenes during the credits and take advantage of a buzzing light giving the scene a grim tone and highlights the objects used and makes the credits pop.
A set's costumes and props make the production and characters what they are. The audience can tell a lot about a character judging on what they wear, and the things they use or hold close to them. While the production's setting and mood could be established by the character's attire as well. Today, I will be going over my sets props and costume!
When I say a character's design costume and prop wise can speak for them I am not kidding! Look no further than these two famous slasher franchises, them being Friday the 13th and Scream.
(Halloween, 1978)
(Scream, 1996)
What is so special about these 2 movies and there set design though? Lets go over it starting with the franchises main antagonists, Michael Myers and Ghost face.
(Michael Myers)
Michael is the main antagonist of the film Halloween known for terrorizing the fictional town of Haddonfield every Halloween and sports a grayish green jumpsuit with an expressionless white mask and a kitchen knife. From first glance the audience can already tell he is the main antagonist of the film through his concealed face and overhand grip on the knife. The main and most iconic part of Michael's costume is the mask. The reason being, it symbolizes Michael Myers as a emotionless killer through the white and blank expression on the mask contradicting his jumpsuit but some how also complementing it despite opposing colors. This costume and signature kitchen knife belongs to the one and only Michael Myers making it an excellent costume design.
(Ghost face)
Now lets talk about Ghost face. Unlike Michaels unique look to him and him only the thing that makes the Ghost face scary is that anyone can be him. He sports a black robe and white mask in a scream like state and is as easy to acquire as going to the costume store. Throughout the Scream franchise we have seen several masked killers all wearing the same costumes. This makes the costume extremely iconic and worn almost all the time during halloween!
The goal of these costumes are to establish the character along with the items they use.
If you want to see a list of all the ghost faces check this article out!
In my case the scarecrow's main costume design is with a rather torn and tattered clothes with a sack like mask resembling a scarecrow. Why is this? The scare crow is building something beyond comprehension and wont let anyone stop him. He scares away and deals with anyone interfering with his progress just like a scare crow. He uses the all different types of tools to his advantage and wont let anyone see what he is creating.
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