Final Project Mood Board

Welcome back! Today, my group and I finished constructing our final project mood board! We've done this to help collect our thoughts for our film and create the intended emotional appeal and response. It will also help guide us throughout our film setup, as we know what types of props, costumes, scenery, etc. to look for in order to get the most out of our idea! I have included our mood board below. Let me know what you guys think!

General Aesthetics

The general mood and aesthetics we wanted to capture are those of suspense, fear, and some anticipation. This was mainly composed of the dark theme of our film. We know that the dark is generally perceived to be dangerous and scary according to social beliefs. So, we implemented many things, like our setting, antagonist costumes, and underlighting, to convey this dark nature. A dark color palette helps create an environment where the audience gets anxiety from the lack of knowledge—ideal for the horror genre!

Main Character

The protagonist of our film is a fairly young man whose hobby is vlogging. It's hard to characterize his personality in two minutes, so we understand costumes and props are absolutely essential to designing him. We wanted to create this character as an ordinary man, so we opted for a more casual outfit for him to wear—a flannel shirt and jeans. This was done to allude to his rather ignorant mind, unaware of the dangers he is getting himself into. However, we also wanted to make him a reputable vlogger. So, we gave him some essential props, like a large backpack with gear and cameras to tell the audience his readiness for vlogging. Combined, these features illustrate that the protagonist is a prominent vlogger, but he disregards any cautionaries that apply when entering a potentially hostile environment.

Setting

We want our movie to be scary, and what better setting than a dark, unexplored forest? We included an image of a dark, foggy, dense forest to capture this eerie environment. We also included a cloudy sky with a full moon. This is not only to indicate nighttime, but full moons are a common practice in the horror genre. With this setting alone, we know that the audience will already feel uncomfortable, anticipating something bad to happen to the protagonist in an isolated area.

Costume

The costumes, as mentioned earlier, were purposely made quite simple for the protagonist. We wanted to express him as an ordinary guy who is out doing one of his hobbies. A typical shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes are all we need. Despite the casual clothing, he does have a vest on, but that is more for a dramatic touch to the vlogger's audience than actual protection, implying that the protagonist has poor judgement in the face of adversity. On the other hand, we did pick out a unique costume for the mysterious figure(s). They will wear large, midnight-black baggy robes, almost resembling the Grim Reaper. This allows them to blend in with the dark setting to promote their hostility to the protagonist.

Lighting

Lighting is a unique, extremely important element for the success of our film. Rather, the lack of lighting. We want to create a frightening setting, so we want the absence of light to reflect this, causing viewers to focus on the minimal light they see. Obviously, we intend to create moonlight, although we may have to do this artificially depending on the weather. Other than that, the only other lighting we intend to have are the flashlights, camera lights, and lanterns that will further reiterate the suspenseful feeling. We would like these to appear very similar to those on the mood board, as those pictures create a camping-like vibe. The only thing the viewers see is what the protagonist sees with the lights he brought with him. All together, the lighting will be absolutely key to evoking fear and anxiety in our audience, so we intend to focus heavily on this feature.

Props

Like costume, props will be major in characterization. Some props included on the board are an EMF detector, a bright flashlight, a golden lantern, and a GoPro strap. These props will all be used with the protagonist to emphasize his vlogging. Similar to lighting, the props will be directly involved with what the audience sees. In addition to creating an explorer-like appearance in the main character, his flashlights and lanterns will be used to illuminate the things he is looking at, forcing the audience to also look at these same locations. Finally, a scythe will be the last major prop. Associated with the Grim Reaper, we intend to have our shadowy figures hold this to create a more intimidating experience. Overall, the props used will be one of the most, if not the most, essential part of our film, as they characterize the protagonist, identify the antagonist as dangerous, and produce almost all the lighting in the frame.