Film Title - 'Lullaby'

After analysing all of our possible film title options, we finalised with the title: 'Lullaby'. We felt like this name related perfectly to our plot and created the atmosphere that we are trying to create with the child ghost. Also we felt that with the title and actual whistle in the trailer in conjunction with each other, will create a memorable and dark link to the film for the audience which will catch their attention and allow them to make a link to film, which is an effective way of attracting people to watch the film, alongside synergy with other media platforms such as a poster and magazine covers etc. Below is the video for the song by 'The Cure' named Lullaby that could fit in the horror genre with it's strange and mysterious theme.

Film title Initial Ideas

Below is a mind map of our initial film title ideas, we will pick a final 3 that best suit the atmosphere that we are trying to create for our horror trailer and analyse them and out of these 3, pick a final title for our film.

These are the three title that we chose to analyse for our final choice:

1) La File Fantome

We considered using a French title for our film as our trailer is set in paris and so thought that this would capture the overall miss en scene and theme of our trailer. 'La File Fantome' translates in to english as 'The ghost girl' which fits perfectly with our storyline and plot.

2) Lullaby

The title lullaby derived from the song title of a famous alternative rock/gothic band known as 'The Cure'. In our trailer, as it is a horror trailer, we want to create a dark, mysterious atmosphere and the gothic connotations that link to the group, will translate well with this feel. Also a major part of our plot is an echoed whistle that can be heard that signifies the presence of the ghost that haunts our protagonist and so this title is an obvious reflection of this component.

3) Apartment 12

We thought that this title got straight to the point without giving too much away apart from where the whole plot takes place. Also it is simple and applies directly to our trailer as the room umber of the apartment in Paris is number 12.

Location Ideas

Before we begin shooting, we have decided to look at possible locations for filming our trailer. Due to the synopsis of our film, there needs to be shots of Paris. In the summer, Zoe visited the city and got several establishing shots.
 As well as this, we also need to get shots of Ellie in the airport, on methods of transport and even a shot of a plane in flight to show the transition of her journey from England to Paris in a few seconds. We think that either Liverpool John Lennon airport or Manchester airport will allow us to get the shots that we need - both airports have areas where you can view planes taking off, and large lobbies where filming could take place. To enable us to do this and for safety reasons, we may have to ring up the airports to ask for filming permission. Although Liverpool may be closer, Manchester is bigger, and there are several areas of the airport that have interesting lighting that could create a slightly unusual mise-en-scene, such as the neon walkway (shown in the image below). We may not be allowed to film this area though, so, as I have mentioned, we may need to contact the airport to ask their permission.

Also, filming in the Parisian apartment for all of the trailer footage was not possible and accessible for us and so we had to try to scout a location to use that would still be suitable and have aesthetics similar to that of a Parisian apartment. We have looked at several houses that we could use, however, Ellie lives in a large Victorian house in Crosby, complete with wooden floors, high ceilings and a very large attic. We decided that this would be the perfect location to film the rest of our shots and still keep the authenticity of the trailer.

Profile of Main Protagonist

Cast List - Production

After quite a lot of production planning and overall plot for our trailer we have managed to narrow down our characters in the trailer to just 2 people.

The first cast member, who will play the role of the main protagonist of a young girl who moves to a new apartment, in Paris, to become more independent, will be played by;

Ellie Bray: 

Ellie and I have been friends since we were very young and so she feels confident in portraying a character for the film. Although she has never seriously took part in acting roles before, she is a very confident person, and her interest in fashion (she studies a fashion course at college) means that she has participated in several runway shows. I trust her as I know that she will take the role seriously. Although she is only 17, she looks old enough to play a character who is a couple of years older than herself, and I think she will fit the role accordingly.




For the role of the ghost girl, we have asked Zoe's younger sister, Holly aged 14, to take on the part. Again, she is a very confident person, and I know that she will take it seriously. I think that Holly will represent the character well, as when dressed in the right clothing, she will look convincing as the character. We considered a few young people to play this role, however after considering all aspects of the girl character we wanted to portray, Holly had the best all round fit for this character.

Prop List

Within our film trailer, we will need to use several props in order to make it interesting and life like. One of the props that we would like to use is Zoe's Crosley portable record player (which you can see in the photograph below). This will provide sound effects and will also play a role in the story of the trailer.

Obviously, to accompany the record player, we will use a vinyl record from Zoe's collection. We are still unsure of whether the actual audio from the record will be used, or whether we will edit over the sound with a tune or song of our own choice. We will try both of these possible outcomes and see which is most effective for our trailer.

Another prop that we may need is a clock. Similar to the phone, I'm not sure what type of clock will look best - a vintage clock? A modern clock? I know that I would like it to be an analogue clock with a second hand, as it will be used to show the passing of time and to build up tension within the trailer. It may also be used for sound effects. A passport will also be a necessary prop which will add to the narrative of the story. 

A third prop that will be used in the trailer is a mobile phone. Again, this will play a role in the narrative of the trailer. I'm unsure whether to use one of the phones that me or Zoe own, or source another phone which would look more effective for the aesthetics of the trailer, but we will consider all of our options and decide from there. 

Even the mise en scene and set dressing will need to be considered. Things such as certain make up an clothing the character will wear and also features of the actual set will be considered. These will be used in-conjunction with one another to create the atmosphere we want to portray in our horror trailer.

Film/Trailer Synopsis

When a young 21 year old girl wants to become more independent and decides to move to her dream destination in an old apartment in Paris, she is haunted by the previous house owners daughter who died at a young age through reasons that she will need to figure out if she is to stop hearing the 'whistle', followed by sightings/paranormal experiences of this young girl.

Final Production Company Name

After closely analysing all of our possible names, Zoe, my production partner, and I decided on the name 'Spectre House Productions'. We believed that this was the most fitting with our film trailer as 'Spectre' is the French spelling of the word 'Spector', which is another word for ghost. As our trailer is based around the story of the ghost of a young girl, it links well with the connotations we want to portray. Also we plan to use Paris as a shooting location for some of our shots and so the French spelling of our ident will feed our audience this feel in a subtle way. The next step is for us to start planning how we want our ident to look by drawing up and developing some ideas and eventually finalise one that we will use in our trailer.

Film Trailer Synopsis Idea

After discussing possible plot ideas for our film trailer and before we begin to storyboard, we came up with a simple log line to sum up the story line of our film in the horror genre.

A girl moves to Paris, however the apartment she moves into is haunted by the previous owners young daughter who was killed - the girl has to figure out why she is haunting her and overcome it .

As this is just the log line, we will later develop idea and conjure up ways of portraying the main features of the film effectively to the audience, for it to completely make sense using just a sort time length a typical trailer is.

Product Company Name Initial Ideas

After creating a mind map of initial ideas, I have managed to narrow it down to a few names that most stood out to me. The following names where strung from the mind map to create a more detailed analysis of connotations of the final possible names;

Spectre House Productions/ Studios
The connotations of the word 'Specter' produce an image of a ghost like figure, ghosts being common features of horror films and especially our trailer as it also has a plot of a haunting of a ghost girl in a Parisian apartment. I think that this would coincide well as we also used the spelling 'Spectre', as this is the French spelling, which makes the whole feel of the trailer more authentic and realistic - we have had several ideas of shots in Paris, and so this could fit in very well here.

Locked Door Productions/ Studios
We liked this name, as it produces connotations of mystery, as well as horror. The title could provoke the audience to question themselves on what it is that could be lurking behind the door. This in turn would create an almost eerie feel to the name, as the result may be terrifying (this would be appropriate, due to the fact that our trailer would be in the horror genre).

Heartbeat Productions

We both quite liked this name, as it is a bit more suggestive than just simply linking straight with the feel of the horror genre. It has many meanings. The word 'heartbeat' may have connotations of love when you first think about the word, however, in more depth, it could link to the thought of a physical heart, further linking to the idea of blood (which is obviously linked to the horror genre). Another word for heartbeat is also pulse, and when frightened or unsure of certain situate that could be potentially dangerous, the pulse (or heartbeat) rises and quickens in the moment. When analysed, the meaning behind this name is subtle, yet suggestive of the horror genre.

Black Raven Productions

Again this name could have several different meanings behind it. The name 'Raven' is associated with the well known named bird of death, which has an ominous black body. When in flight it casts a dark silhouette in the sky. This connotation of darkness can be linked to the horror genre. The history link with the raven's may also spark some darkness in the audience as raven's are known to have continuous references with mythology throughout the world, across many different cultures. It is most famously known in Edgar Allen Poe's poem, 'The Raven'. Although it is not strongly thought of as horror, within the poem, the raven (who is a key figure throughout) is referred to as a 'thing of evil', and so because of these past literature links and myths, ravens have become a key figure in quite a lot of newly released horror films, including "The Raven' (released in 2012), which is also a movie heavily based on Edgar Allen Poe himself and his poem. They are most commonly used as symbols of evil and death.

Fatal Fear Productions/ Studios

This name was created as analysed out mind map previously and linked the two words together through alliteration, which is common feature of many production company names to provide emphasis, and aid with memory (a key element in marketing a product). The connotations of the words both fit well with the horror genre. 'Fatal Fear' suggests that something is so frightening to the point that it is deadly, which definitely links to horror.

Film Production Company name initial ideas

To begin planning ideas for a production company name for our own film, I produced a mind map of words that are associated the horror film genre. The production company name needs to have some relativeness to the horror genre to have the most realistic outcome at the end of production that are seen to specialise in films only of this genre.

Storyboard rough Mock Up's

These are pictures of storyboards of initial ideas that we drew for frames for our trailer. Doing these will help us with ideas of what to shoot and how to bring the clips together at the end during the editing process. This will also help our time management as instead of going straight into filming blind, it gives us a frame to plan around and organise days and locations etc. These storyboards and ideas however are not definite and during the process of production along the way these scenes will most likely change.