BACKROADS AND INROADS: ESSAY PLAN

BACKROADS AND INROADS:

THE LOW-BUDGET SHOCKER AS INDUSTRY CALLING CARD

ESSAY PLAN

INTRO

An introduction to the ideas and precedent of low budget horror film making; the film makers, the audience, the business track record. Also the reasons why film makers choose this route and how the product is affected by the limitations of the production, and how this has also created a new genre in itself.

MID

A detailed study of three successful examples of this genre – three films that have helped to define and redefine the genre; Sam Raimi and The Evil Dead (1982), Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick’s The Blair Witch Project (1999) and Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity (2007-9).

Focusing on the historical precedents for these movies; how technology contributed to the storytelling process and the films that were made, how the movies are a product of the limitations of low-budget production, and how the experiences of these film makers and the lessons they learned can be used to inform my own film production.

KEY AREAS OF INVESTIGATION:

History and influences.

Technology and its effects.

Finance and feasibility.

Story, form and practicality; how the product is shaped by the production methods.

The effects on the film maker's careers.

The effects on the industry and what comes next.

SUMMARY/CONCLUSION

An evaluation of how the films were affected and shaped by their means of production, and how this will continue to develop and affect future productions, including my own.