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Vladimir Propp’s Character Theory

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Propp’s Character Theory Vladimir Propp studied classic folk tales and noticed that no matter what the story was about, the characters often played similar roles. It wasn’t about who they were as individuals but what part they played in the story —like whether they caused problems, helped the hero, or were the hero themselves. He identified 8 common roles that tend to show up in most stories: How We Used It  When we first wrote the film opening, we didn’t sit down with Propp’s theory in mind—we just focused on what felt natural for the story. But after learning about his character roles, we realized… we actually followed his structure without meaning to! Here’s how our characters match his theory: Jay is clearly the hero— he gets the dare and enters the creepy room. Sabari , the friend who dares him, acts as the dispatcher— starting the chain of events. But later in scene 3, that same friend reappears in a mysterious, eerie way—which makes him feel more like a false hero or maybe ...
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Todorov’s Narrative Theory

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Todorov’s Narrative Theory Tzvetan Todorov believed that most stories follow a simple structure made up of five stages. This sequence helps create a full, satisfying narrative arc—from normal life to conflict and finally to some kind of resolution. Here’s a breakdown of the five steps: How We Used It  Since we only created a short film opening, we couldn’t show the full five stages—but we still used the first three to build tension and curiosity. And About the Voiceover… The voiceover in our film shares Ethan’s story from the past. It sets a dark, mysterious tone and provides some backstory—but it doesn’t represent the “normal life” part of Jay’s story, so it doesn’t count as the equilibrium.
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Stuart Hall’s Reception Theory

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Hall’s Reception Theory Stuart Hall’s reception theory is all about how people understand media in their own unique way. He believed that the meaning of a film or show isn’t just decided by the creators—it also depends on how the audience interprets it, based on their own life experiences, beliefs, and background. Hall identified three main types of audience reactions: How We Used It  When we showed our opening scene to a small group of viewers, their reactions were surprisingly varied. Everyone watched the same clip, but their interpretations didn’t always match ours: A few people had a preferred reading . They totally got the vibe we were going for—how peer pressure and fear of the unknown were central themes. They understood that the haunted room wasn’t just creepy but symbolized deeper emotional tension. Others gave us a negotiated reading . They liked the concept but didn’t take the ghost literally. Some thought it represented Jay’s own mental state, like anxiety or imaginatio...
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Binary Opposition Theory

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  Understanding Binary Opposition Theory Claude Lévi-Strauss came up with the idea that stories often revolve around clear-cut opposites—called binary oppositions . These contrasting elements help drive the plot and deepen emotional impact. In horror especially, these oppositions can amplify tension and engage the audience more powerfully. Some common binary opposites you’ll find in stories include: Light vs Dark Good vs Evil Safe vs Dangerous These contrasts don’t just show what’s happening—they make you feel it. The shift between opposites is what keeps the story gripping, particularly in horror films. How We Applied It in The Whispering Nightmare Right from the beginning stages of our planning, we used opposing ideas to build the structure of our story and create suspense. Here are a few key examples:
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Roland Barthes' Theory

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Reading Between the Frames: Roland Barthes’ Theory in The Whispering Nightmare Roland Barthes believed that media texts don’t have just one fixed meaning. Instead, each audience member interprets what they see in different ways, depending on their culture , experiences , and point of view . In other words, what one person sees as just an object or moment could feel completely different to someone else. Barthes introduced two key ideas: According to Barthes, signs like setting, sound, facial expression, or even lighting can suggest hidden emotions or themes. These interpretations shift from person to person, making every viewer’s experience a little different. How We Used Barthes’ Theory in The Whispering Nightmare We kept this theory in mind when creating our scenes. Here’s how some simple visuals and sounds in our film opening carried deeper meaning:
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Steve Neale’s Genre Theory

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Genre with Steve Neale’s Theory— The Whispering Nightmare By combining comedy and horror themes, we wanted to establish a unique mood in the opening of our film, The Whispering Nightmare. Even though the story is only getting started, we wanted to let the viewers know right away what genre it is so they can be entertained We used Steve Neale's genre theory, which argues that while genres depend on recurring elements that viewers are accustomed to, they also need change to keep viewers interested. To put it another way, originality is essential to maintaining the experience's novelty value, even though certain conventions should be followed. Things We Recited (Well-Known Horror-Comedy Tropes) An eerie backstory and a ghostly location (Ethan Graves) Teens playing Truth or Dare together, which turns into a scary game Usually found in horror-comedy openings, humorous dialogue and light-hearted situations An eerie, silent conclusion that suddenly fades to black is a common horror cl...
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Feedback

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 We got positive feedback and comments and were satisfied with our work and thankful for the people who watched it and participated in it. 
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From Script to Screen: A Story Beyond the Frame

This is merely a synopsis of the entire procedure, excluding a few details. Let's move on to February and begin by selecting the genre we intend to work with, be it horror or just a short film that raises public awareness. Later on, we needed a subject to depict, or more accurately, a stereotype that we could utilize to create the movie, like peer pressure. Since some friends can be both positive and negative in specific ways, things can turn out badly, and nobody could have anticipated it. The script's construction process came next, where we talked about the specifics of the insert shots, the setting we would use, and the approximate amount of actors we would need to find a space that would work for everyone. We attended the course for two Saturdays after the school individually organized a trip to a college that provided the direction and information we required. I genuinely liked it, and it was very helpful in removing some of my uncertainties and providing me with a better...
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Dubbing

In my opinion, dubbing has been recognised as a really lucky experience for anime fans such as me, which is why this is my personal favourite blog to write. Additionally, it was nerve-racking to perform in front of others, and the room was eerily quiet save for my raspy voice, which was recorded at a very low volume and hardly made any range.I was blown away! Should I be yelling at the top of my lungs just to get a standard queue? Even though I'm still not happy with the work I did, I had to give it up for a while and cope with it. Additionally, since dubbing was always the goal, we instructed the actors to do so. Since some of my friends have lower voices than mine, I was worried about how they would react if I couldn't perform properly. We all made a lot of takes and ended when the teachers and actors were satisfied.
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First Cut

  Lastly, the blog that serves as the actual main point of the most recent ones. I had to make sure there was no wasted space or mismatched audio for a clean cut because I was experiencing problems overlaying audio clips and creating sound motifs when I first started editing. Subsequently, I discovered that the main character's placement is so blatantly incorrect when he opens the door and in the following shot that we were forced to reshoot it. Since I basically have nothing more to say than what I've said in practically every blog, this one is shorter than my usual ones.
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Script Breakdown

  Since I have used the same concept for every blog, I am at a loss for things to write, but perhaps I might try to make this as descriptive as I can. I can begin by having us decide on which props are required and whether we need to write a letter of permission to our principal. To be honest, we didn't require many props, and it got simpler for us to continue making the movie. The characters were allowed to wear casual clothing that they would wear while hanging out with friends, so we weren't very picky about their attire. There is a lot of baggage with our work because the setting we used was solely inside the school. Fortunately, we were able to capture everything on a single day and in the evening. Even though the reshooting incident was unanticipated, we were able to handle it.
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Behind-the-scenes

To be honest, we weren't paying much attention to bloopers, but it kept happening, and we have a heap of behind-the-scenes footage. I'll admit that I contributed to it as well since I couldn't stop laughing when they began reciting lines; it was as if they were being kept captive and reciting the lines straight from a script. However, we had to be the ones to stop laughing because we were taking our work seriously.
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Actual Shoot

Although the day of filming was enjoyable, the weather is the one thing I would change. It was scorching hot enough to melt your brains and completely against us. Surprisingly, scenes three and two were easiest to shoot, and we finished it practically at six. However, scene one extended our time at school and gave us a fresh perspective of my school because the hallways were dark and the lights flickered. Although including it would have been a smart idea, it would have been a sudden insert shot that caused confusion, therefore I've learnt my lesson for the next project.
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Script Reading Session

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Although directing is difficult, I am lucky that, for the first time, the actors also came up with and used their own ideas to make the film better. They needed clarity to get a clear continuous shot, though, so they shouldn't move about too much or the frame would break eye contact. It was also difficult to avoid not noticing the camera. We had to hurry up and pretend that we weren't running late for class because we were also under a tight schedule. However, we all persevered and eventually got through the procedure.  
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Softwares

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  Fade is a software program that we used to create our script in the correct format. Despite this, I was aware that we used an independent cinematography software. The only difference I can think of is that one of the filters was the one we required. Since this is not my forte, I don't know much about it. DaVinci is the tool for editing and tying everything together.
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Test Shoot

 Scene 1 Test Shoot Scene 2 Test Shoot Scene 3 Test Shoot
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Casting Auditions

  As you can see, there are a plethora of differences between the actors and the original shooting site. We had considered recording on the stone bench where the tape is located above, but my teacher then stated that it seemed extremely professional and not at all informal because it was heavily scripted and took place during a formal conference. Later, we relocated to an area where the actors could act more casually. Due to scheduling conflicts between their classes, which we cannot have, it was challenging to locate the actors. Fortunately, we were able to find all of the performers who were willing to participate and worked with us through to the end, even if some of them were unable to meet up to remain until 6 p.m.
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Location Permission

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  The letter referenced a few locations and items that we didn't include in the finished movie. Even though we had a lot of locations to add, the process of putting it together took longer than expected, and we had to eliminate several extras that we didn't favour. As a result, we had to obtain permission from our principal, our friends' parents, and our own parents before we could shoot after school. Since it was three hours later, several compromises were made, such as carpooling. Although they weren't required to, I really appreciate that the parents made a few minor adjustments to their plans just for our project. ⁣ 
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Gantt Chart

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  The experience taught me how to design a gantt chart, which helps me manage the production schedule and shows a simplified but summarised version of the process of what is happening and when. The entire procedure, including the blog posts in May, has taken four months to complete. Many factors were overlooked, such as the need for a reshoot, but luckily, I saw the shot's obvious difference during the first cut, and it didn't go well with the rest of the clip. It was a little difficult to figure out when to show it to our teachers and classmates, but in the end, the wait was worthwhile.
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Budget Planning

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There isn’t much to say, as this was all taken in my school with all our equipment combined. As this is our first time ever being in this field, we weren’t planning on having a budget. Thankfully, most of us had what we needed and could progress with our production. Regardless, I’ve made a budget plan just for the sake of following the complete method and to also have practice before we do our A levels. Film Budget                                       
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Location Scouting

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Hunting for locations was quite simple, and it's concerning that my school had so many locations that created a sense of fear, particularly the area where the wall painting was left incomplete, suggesting that something terrible occurred but no one completed it. When I noticed the basketball net swinging in the wind, I thought it was a natural movement. Since we couldn't replicate it perfectly, we changed it so that it begins at a canted angle and moves in the direction of static to create the illusion of inverted perspective. However, I hope we achieved that. Later, the insert shots were actually a lot of fun to do because we discovered the park that was once part of my school but had been left in such bad shape. While we were on the grounds where all the physical activities take place, we heard the dogs barking and howling nearby, which was recorded and, to be honest, sounded like a howl for help when the footage was playing. We initially intended to play the game in an empty...
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Sound Design Research

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It was such a huge task trying to find the perfect song for our film that suits the genre as well as the scene. Luckily, we used Pixabay as our source to our music collections. We have collected the certificates and have gotten the permission from the owner through Instagram.
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