THE BASEMENT

CHANGES TO THE NARRATIVEThere has been a number of changes to the narrative as the project has progressed. Largely, this is due to the increased amount of horror films that I have watched, and has therefore provided me with a greater understanding of what makes an effective supernatural horror. These are some of the changes made to the narrative:1. At the end, Joel and Kerrie become fully possessed by the devil, with the final shot of the film consisting of them standing perfectly still, facing the camera, until the camera swerves to show what they are seeing, whereupon a figure in the darkness will be seen twitching against a wall. I have changed this because many of the target audience, questioned by my questionnaire, dislike the convention of one character surviving until the very end. This more ambiguous ending is therefore more likely to suit their needs, as well as creating a more unique conclusion to the film.2, A greater emphasis will be placed on the importance of sleep, and how each sleep is fraught with nightmares created by the devil that will appear real to the audience – so they never can be too sure when Joel or Kerrie are really awake. After rewatching a Nightmare on Elm Street, I realised how the dreamworld is rarely covered within horror films, and sought to rectify this within ‘The Basement’ by creating a sense of ethereality to the narrative.3. There will now be a cemetery in the back garden of the Cumberwell house, creating further emphasis on the backstory of the many antagonists.

CHANGES TO THE TRAILERSeveral key changes have been made to the trailer. The previous idea for the trailer narrative was too conventional to fit the premise of the film, and this has been sufficiently altered. Instead of the first 30 seconds using an upbeat melody and focusing on character introductions, the tension will be built right from the beginning. This will be achieved by using a greater amount of static establishing shots, each of which will be punctuated by a sharp flurry of violins combined with the sound of silence. Proceeding on

this, a few more ‘scares’ will be added on to the

scares already addressed in the storyboard and

previous narrative outline. In order to create

symbiosis with the poster and front cover, a scene depicting a wall running

down with blood will hopefully be utilised, and

there will be greater emphasis on creating vivid imagery like this. There will

be next to no dialogue in the trailer, as I hope to

mirror the complex narrative through visuals

and sound effects alone. If this is successful in a way that emulates The Woman in Black trailer, I feel that

the trailer will be much more effective in its

individuality. Apart from these changes, the trailer

will remain unchanged.

POSTER AND FRONT COVER CHANGES

Very little has been changed in regard to the initial ideas for the poster and front cover. Idea 3, regarding the bleeding wall, still remains unchanged for the poster, as it is unique and effective in

consolidating the subgenre while hinting at the film’s ambiguity. With the front cover, however, one of the antagonists will be chosen to be in the main image, dragging an unconscious Joel across the floor.

This is a way to combine one of the scarier ghosts within the film with an interesting human character, adding a greater element of depth to the film and enticing more of the target audience to watch it. In all other areas, however, the front cover will remain the same – with a masthead placed

vertically down the side and a jumbled layout similar to Fangoria.