In my earlier post of vampire film codes and conventions, I talked about the "lore" which is a major part of the vampire genre due to it determining how the vampires in the actual film behave and act to make it relate back to the old legends of vampires. For example, in the earlier literature of Dracula he wasn't harmed by sunlight, just weakened and he could turn into mist, a bat etc. Now the rules are complete different, depending on the person who is creating the media like in "Blade", vampires burn in sunlight which is a very common feature now, passed on to shows like "The Vampire Diaries". So this post will pick out the key features that contribute to a vampire film whilst giving a much more detailed analysis of them compared to my other post and establish my "lore" for my film.
Common features
As mentioned before in previous posts, blood is one, if not the most important, part in a vampire film. Its the substance that all vampires need to survive and the reason that makes them feared by the human characters since they will kill for it. In the various vampire media, the amount of gore associated with this element of "feeding", determines other factors like certificate, potential audience and the tone of the film. If there is a lot of emphasis on mutilation, blood spraying from the victim etc then the certificate will obviously be much higher but if its more subtle and not lingered on like "The Vampire Diaries" it has a lower rating along with gaining a larger audience.
So for my trailer, I don't want to go overboard with the blood during certain scenes like the feeding, the gunshot so its not too gore focused but try to capture the balance "The Vampire Diaries" has as it feels more grown up then "Twilight" but no too far adult orientated. To capture this sense of more teen focused genre, I'll show the start of the feeding for example, the blood trickling down their neck, the vampire pulling up to show the blood stained mouth but no excessive blood and shredded necks.
Another key feature is how the vampires themselves are presented within the show. There are a few very basic rules that carry over into almost every vampire related media, one being pale skin. This is used to show them as different to humans and easily identifiable as vampires to the audience but also connotes the horror and supernatural element behind them. The pale skin shows they are undead, having no colour due to them being dead for hundreds of years, making them terrifying to the audience as soon as they see them since all these features instantly connote them to be one of them. Another feature is they predominately wear black, the style of clothing being whatever time period they are in. The black has the obvious connotations of evil, representing their twisted and corrupted nature of them being vampires that relish in death by drinking the blood of their victims, so they usually dress with this colour scheme in mind to blend into the society they inhabit as not to attract unwanted attention.
A more interesting feature though, is how some media shows the transformation of the seemingly human character into a vampire. The best show for this is "The Vampire Diaries" as seen in the photo below, they add much more then the pale skin and fangs. They change their eyes into a dark red/oily black and the subtle veins under the eyes which makes them truly more freighting and horrific to see as it happens suddenly when they feel the curse take over, surprising the viewer with this spilt second change and instantly making them more monstrous. I would love to recreate this effect for my trailer but I can't do something no where near as good or detailed due the limited programmes and my ability to use them but something as changing the eyes solid black is possible through black eye contacts and editing since Sir has told me of a way to due this for a few second close up to gain the effect of portraying them as monstrous.
For my trailer, I will going for this look since it is very easy to recreate as mentioned in my previous posts, my vampire characters both wear black but different styles to represent their different natures and how they view their affliction with the vampire curse. Also the pale skin can easily be done with simple make up but I'll try to make it more subtle then "snow white" pale like in "Twilight" as to me it always felt too obvious when they where shown on screen. A little colour made them seem like more efficient killers if they didn't look like they covered their faces in icing sugar and avoids looking cheap if they are deathly pale which is more suited to vampires who are starved or feral.
Now this feature is equally important as the blood element, but in a much more physical and costume aspect. This part is what makes the character a vampire since its the most distinguished feature they have and what they use to drain their victims. Without this, it loses the feel of a true vampire film so it has to be done right otherwise it could break the entire film in terms of verisimilitude and quality. I have acquired some amazingly decent style fangs that look real enough for the camera and blend into wearer's teeth well if fitted properly as the test footage I gained helped show (will be posted soon). So I'm a lot more comfortable with this aspect of my project then I was originally since it was a very crucial part of the project in terms of establishing the genre. Now I don't have to worry since all the actors required to wear them tried them, acted out scenes with them in and they could talk perfectly and they weren't uncomfortable. (Even though the dental gum did taste rather awful).
In terms of settings for a vampire film, there a few common features between all forms of media. They tend to be night time settings due to the widely accepted part of the lore being vampires burn in sunlight and its adds a much more fearful atmosphere to the film since the vampires are in their element in the darkness. With being supernatural creatures, they hide in the shadows and stalk their pray, letting the fear build up within them which is what makes up the horror element to these films. The audience watch this happen and are powerless to do anything to stop it, making them feel as helpless as the victim in the media. Another common setting is also graveyards due to their links to the supernatural and the connotations of death which the vampires have in common. It allows for some rather terror building scenes with for example a character wandering through the graveyard while the vampire dashes between headstones, increasing the terror, suspense and horror tenfold.
Well for my trailer, due to the quality of the cameras and lack of extra lighting, shooting at night is not ideal since the shots will start to degrade and not be clear. So the best bet is to shoot in the day, being a bonus if its cloudy or bleak so the light is still sufficient but helps recreate the darker tone, as it can be edited to be darker or desaturated to fit in with the typical vampire style setting.
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