Planning: From Production Company Name to 60 second Pitch

Production Company name; From our initial brainstorming (developing from some not-so-scary adjectives, through to greek gods, into planets) we have decided on the name 'PLUTON PRODUCTIONS' - Pluton being Pluto in Polish, as 'PLUTO' would have had connotations with Disney's 'Pluto the Dog'. We discussed idea for the company logo, and straight away everyone was eager to have a neon/futurefunk/retro glow motif! As we had a planet for our production name, we had ideas of having a hollow meridian-grid globe, which developed into a geometric sphere. Wik made a template for the planet in a neon pink, then overlapped it with a neon green, then I made the typography and UFO, adding in white to contrast the black background. I got the font inspired from 80s arcade titles, and the UFO followed into the final design all the way from the initial sketches! (Made with FireAlpaca). Finally, Wik made a gif of our logo that looked retro and creepy - resulting in a great glitch effect,

Original sketch.

Wik's geometric template.

Final design!

Final animation!

For our ideas for the film, we opened Google Docs and jotted down all our ideas - eventually settling on a world set in a neon future, with a serial killer murdering his victims with glowing chemicals based on what Chinese Zodiac animal they are assigned. Below explains our ideas in more detail on 'TOXIC';

And finally, we created a pitch for 'Toxic'; 

Research: The Importance Of Sound

Music in horror movies is essential to create tension - otherwise there would just be scenes of violence and sound effects with no buildup - yet the specific sounds in horror movies can bring audiences to the edge. Using Jaws as an example, while the Shark is supposedly in the water (aka, footage of the ocean while his theme plays), there are chilling minor chords to show he is present, yet when he attacks there are jerky booming chords and high-pitched chaotic screeches of a lifeguard's whistle. Without these sounds, the movie would just show an extended scene of families at the beach until a shark appears from no where. 

Humans are naturally shaken by non-linear chaotic noise, which is why many horror movies base their soundtracks from screams and other sounds that resemble danger.

Research : The British Board Of Film Classification

The BBFC has been examining content since 1912, and puts movies into classifications of mature content. For example; movies with a U rating can be seen by all audiences, but those with a 12, 15, or 18 rating are restricted to younger audiences for having graphic scenes of violence, discrimination, drugs, horror, nudity, or sexual themes. The specific guidelines for a 15-rated movie are that; characters taking drugs can be shown, but only if the substances are not easy accessible (like aerosols or solvents), nudity/strong language/ and sexual scenes (in minimal detail) can be shown, but gore is unlikely to be acceptable.

The main classifications are;
 U (Universal) - can be seen by all audiences
PG (Parental Guidance) - young children can watch, but parents can choose wether they find the content okay for them.
 12A - suitable for 12 years and over
 12 - suitable for 12 years and over
15 - suitable only for ages 15 and over
 18 - suitable only for people aged 18 and over
 R18 - adults working for licensed premises only

The Importance of Opening Titles

Opening titles are a string of visuals that are shown before the film begins, stating (and showing) who the films producers are, the main cast, director, and other people who contributed greatly to the film. They frequently show matching imagery relating to the film alongside the names of all those previously mentioned, whereas those who worked on the film with lesser importance have their names shown in the credits. An opening title can also give hints as to what may happen in the film, or could be completely contrast the movie's main aesthetic.

Crimson Peak

The standard order of how the titles are given is usually;
1) The name of the studio - The studio that distributes the film, but has not always produced it.
2) The production company - The company that did make the film, (or at least funded it).
3) The director - The person given primary credit for the film, usually followed by the main writer if the director did not write the script.
4) The main actors - These names may also be shown first depending on wether the production team wants to advertise the fact they have a famous actor involved, or keep it orderly.
5) Then lastly, the films title! Films may also include the names of the casting director, music composers, visual effects producers, the editor, production designer and director of photography.

Hannibal

Coraline

Godzilla

There are many different elements that contribute to making a visually appealing opening title. They have to relate to the genre most importantly, have high quality and intrigue the viewer into watching more. For a high quality film, there might even be a whole team dedicated to picking the right typography, colour palette, and method for the perfect opening.