I've always had a love of horror, but there's always been some subgenre's that I didn't enjoy, so I tasked myself with creating a short horror movie from one such subgenre to branch out. I chose Found-Footage and made a monster movie with a few friends. the movie took three months to plan, shoot, and edit into a coherent piece.
I started by writing out a three-act-structure I wanted my film to take, and what would happen in each act. I then figured out my characters and settings, deciding on a pair of friends, one believer and one sceptic, searching the local woods for a monster.
Once I had that, I began working out my storyboard.
My storyboard took up about forty shots, and came in at what I estimated to be just over six minutes of film.
The sketches I did for the storyboards were basic, but conveyed what I wanted and I was able to follow them as I filmed, though my descriptions could do with some improvement. I’d give them a bit more detail if I was to write this again.
Planning out my schedule and filming time was easy enough. I would shoot over four non-consecutive days and edit the following week.
The final film was 7 minutes 32 seconds long and took three days to film, with an extra two weeks to edit.
These missing posters were used as props in the final film. All images were either under CC licenses or Public Domain, and all credit was given. These posters took roughly a week to complete, print, and artificially age.
Overall, I’m really happy with how this film turned out. The film has an “amateur video” feel to it, mixed with the found-footage theme it really works to the film’s advantage.
My actors, Michaela Pirie and Robert Farmer were absolutely stellar, and I couldn’t have done it without them, they really brought life to their characters!
The only change I’d make to this film, is that I’d include the monster more in the “filler montage” as he’s not really involved until the third act.
The final video is still online on my YouTube channel. You can find it at https://youtu.be/ch4RrfWuFlw
