Horror Films, Behind the Scenes Filmmaking

If you cannot be on the set of a horror film during shooting I believe that the next best thing is to study behind the scenes footage. You learn a great deal about how the director handles the cast and crew. Some of the little problems that will pop up while you are shooting your film. Too many people believe that shooting a film is all sunshine and rainbows. It is hard work. From start to finish it is hard work and when it is finished shooting the really hard work of editing and marketing begins. The cool part about this post is that so many film makers took the time to do BTS reels so I had a great deal of them both micro budget and big budget to pick from.
First up are two videos from the guys at Bloody Cuts, They are great at delivering quality behind the scenes footage.

 
   

Here is footage from the big budget film the Conjuring.


   

 Good luck until next time. If you would like some hands on information from film makers who are out there doing quality work today you should pick up a copy of my film making manual On Low Budget Film Making available at itunes and in paperback at Amazon. The links are below.   At amazon click here.

itunes 2.99

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The Fan Horror Film

  The Fan Horror Film You learn by doing. Film making is that simple. You learn by making one. All the tutorials on earth do not make up for being on a movie set. I realize that there is a lot of pressure when it comes to making a horror movie. Coming up with a story and then a script can be overwhelming to the beginner. Perhaps the best way to start is to start filmmaking with something familiar. Why not do a fan film. Many of us started off by shooting short films based upon our favorite movies.
The most obvious question about fan films is can you legally use someone else’s characters and situations in your movie? The answer is yes, as long as you do not try to profit from it. You can not sell a fan film. You are making it for the love of the game. You have to offer them for free. This is not the worst thing when starting out. Not having to make money takes the pressure off. You get to learn film making wile shooting your film and you get your name out there as a film maker. Some of these fan films have become franchises of their own. Are you familiar with the movie Scream. The movie inside a movie called Stab has become a long running and popular online franchise. Pick a horror movie and there is a fan film connected to it. In the world of scifi there is an industry built around the Star Wars universe. Along with a growing number of films based upon the Dark Knight universe. There are so many movies and series that are ripe for fan films. Do Supernatural or Grim. Take a comedy and turn it into a horror film. The sky is the limit and the characters are already there.

Try Practical FX

                Practical FX Part 1

    CGI rules the world of film making these days, but with the exception of the big boys, Spielberg and Lucas and Cameron, most of these CGI effects suck.

    On your low to micro budget horror film you will not be able to compete with the big boys so why not go old school. Practical effects are usually more convincing than computer generated ones at our budget level.

    CGI bullet wounds just don’t rock as well as Squibs. Part of this is due to the fact that the actors can feel it when they go off and react to them. Squibs are not for every scene, but when the hero or villain have been shot it is a great moment on the set and for the audience watching to see something that looks like actual blood flowing from an actual gaping wound.


    Gaping wound, doesn’t that sound cool?

    Part of the reason we are doing this is because we love the blood and the gust and brain matter dripping from the walls and rusty objects. We love it when the bodies hit the floor and those bodies just look better when they are dripping red rather than having the red stuff added using a software program.

    Ask yourself this, which effects did you like better. The ones in the John Carpenter version of The Thing or the rebooted prequel? Consider this that every single effect in Carpenter's version were practical FX, no CGI. Could you find many or any scenes in that film that could have been improved by CGI?


    Sometimes less is more. Because they could do so much on the new version they ended up doing too much. Let’s go back to the future and use only CGI when it is called for.

          You may disagree and that is okay. Make your movie your way because at the end of the day you will own it. It is your baby and bring it into the world the best way that you see fit.

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    Good luck, see you guys soon.