Romen Basu A Level Blog

  Scream (1996) One of the most common stereotypes in horror media is the Final Girl character. Specifically the most common in slasher films, for example Sidney Prescott from the Scream films. Typically the last remaining female character in the slasher will manage to outsmart or out-whit the typically male villain in the final confrontation of the film. However my short film, switches this trope, having a male protagonist fall victim to a female villain. This creates a counter stereotype for patriarchy, putting a woman in a dominant villainous role against a man, while creating a new and interesting story for the horror genre, diversifying it from other previously released films. It is important to use counter stereotypes to create a new sense of interest, keeping the genre in the public interest and engaging with audiences in new and exciting ways.

 For my project last year, I played a major role in my film, which hindered the amount of freedom I had to articulate scenes, shots, and composition, so for my short film I will not be in the cast, only possibly I could be a random cult member. I have 2 auditions. Audition 1: Gavin Jordan Audition 2: Cole Bryant Both candidates have proved to be very competent in their acting skills, having previously worked with Cole, I was pretty familiar with his work, so when I watched Gavin's performance in Tiger Claw (2025), I was quite impressed. Analyzing both of their strengths, I noticed that Cole is stronger when it comes to roles with less dialogue, and is good for doing stunts, while Gavin demonstrated well delivered dialogue and some combat scenes in his film, and a combat scene takes place between Dillon in my short film. Selection I have selected Gavin Jordan to play the role of Dillon in my short film, as he demonstrates the necessary attributes needed for the character. While I di...

  Longlegs (2024) Here is the basic first rough draft for my film. Dillon is at his house getting ready to go to school in an opening montage featuring cult dialogue and speeches and music leading into the title card. At school Dillon runs into a new girl from school Anna, Dillon asks her out on a date and then a montage of them spending time together plays, during Anna mentions she has barley any friends. Cuts to days later at Dillon's house, where him and Anna have planned a date, and Anna is on the way over to Dillon's house. Anna texts Dillon that she's almost there, so Dillon walks out of his house and sits and waits for her on a bench, then Dillon hears some weird noises coming from bushes near his house, so he walks up to investigate them, then in the background we can see someone sneak into Dillons front door and close it. Dillon hears the door and turns around to go back into his house. Dillon looks around his house in the dark to see if anyone is there, and calls ...

  BTS still from Prey (2022) BTS still from Alien vs. Predator (2004) Practical effects are some of the most important parts of making a film, especially gory horror films, and films requiring creature effects. The examples I have above are from one of the most true to form movies series with practical effects; The Alien and Predator films have used practical effects throughout all the 16 live action installments (not counting the single animated film Predator: Killer of Killers, which doesn't feature any practical effects for obvious reasons). Practical effects are physical effects in films, that are a majority of the time much more effective than their vfx counter parts (however ideally a film would have a sort of harmony between both, as they both have limitations). Actors can actually look at and react to in real time to practical effects rather then pretending to see something to be added later on in production.  My film will feature practical effects for its major gore s...

  A film festival is an event which celebrates cinema through screening a diverse selection of indie films, international films, short films, and documentaries over several days. Film festivals can provide exposure for filmmakers who cannot get theatrical releases, and open opportunities for films to be released theatrically, and for new filmmakers to grow a name for themselves.  How films get into festivals Filmmakers must research what film festivals are going on and choose one to apply to, often finding one which matches the intended target audience, for example I would look for a horror oriented film festival. Next filmmakers will have to prepare their materials and get their film's; final cut, posters, stills, trailers, synopsis, cast and crew info and use submission platforms (one of the most notable being FilmFreeway), upload their content and pay the submission fee. It is also noteworthy for filmmakers to plan ahead on this process, submit their film early and be aware...

 While going over my rough ideas and what I want to incorporate into my film, I have made some decisions and thoughts that get me closer to my full story.  Evil Dead 2 (1987) -I want my main character to be a male high school student who is down or sad in some way, so he is very vulnerable in his current state. -I want to incorporate cults into my film, being the main imposing force and evil taunting the protagonist throughout the runtime. -The majority of the film will take place in the protagonists house as he hears something, and looks around his house as cult members break in. The intruders will be shown in the foreground behind the protagonists back throughout the main sequence. -I will try to incorporate a major gore scene with as realistic effects as possible. -For my cult I want many members to be a reveal, as the protagonist leaves his house, believing he is safe, many cult members are seen in his backyard. Knowing all these elements I want to incorporate into my shor...

  Here is the logo I created for my production company; Split Spine. My production company was created in 2025 after the release of The Attack of The Killer Roomba, and The Second Reign. Split Spine will focus on horror films while very occasionally bending the genre or endorsing completely separate genres, and of course producing my own films. I created the name Split Spine to let the audience know the films the company produces will be horror focused and feature plenty of gore, with the name and logo bringing the gore from iconic horror films like Predator, making a promise that will be delivered to the audience. The name also evokes a visual image, like the logo, which can easily be turned into a short title-card animation to play before films.    

  I will be looking further into the production company Atomic Monster, as it is the closest real life example to the production company I plan on making for my short film.  Renowned horror director James Wan launched Atomic Monster in 2014 shortly after directing the hit horror film The Conjuring in 2013. Atomic Monster is a film/TV company which produces mainly horror films while also expanded into the horror/sci-fi and even blockbuster action films like DC's Aquaman (being that Wan directed the 2018 film.). It is also Important to note Atomic Monster is a production company rather than a major film studio. Production companies are smaller and more focused teams which actively make movies. They often dont have the millions of dollars needed to fully fund projects and release them globally, so instead the sign a Fist Look Deal with a studio; which allows the company to pay a creator (writer, director, etc...) to review their projects first, before they are pitched anywhere el...

  My Preliminary Exercise For my preliminary exercise, I did not make a complex clip, but I made one that focused on camera movement and immersing the audience. For my short film I must gain the necessary skills to create scenes that revolve around one character that stay immersive and entertaining at the same time. This simple test was to see how well I could piece together a scene chronologically using a combination of diverse camera shots. I used a steadicam/ establishing shot of the school hallway, A tracking over the shoulder shot of Cole turning the corner, A close up of Cole looking down, and then an eye-line match/ POV shot of Cole picking up a pen. I believe this actually came out pretty good but I definitely do need to polish my skills for the final short film. My establishing shot was not very well framed, and could have definitely covered more of the set, and it also should have lasted abit longer so audiences can process it before the action of the scene. My close up s...

 The marketing for my shortfilm will primarily be on instagram, so I will be looking at some instagram accounts for films. This is an example of a post from the official Predator film instagram page. I found that the page posts many posters for the film, along with all the trailer released for the film, short form clips or teasers for the film, ticket booking information, behind the scenes clips, director and cast interviews, comic-con videos and clips, clips from the red carpet premiere, game tie ins, clips from the film, reviews, merchandise reveals, countdowns to the films release, and exclusive first looks at stills from the film and more. As you can see there is quite a-lot to go off of here, the account posted quite regularly leading up to the films release to generate as much hype and excitement as possible. However for my social media account, I do not have to go to this extent on how many posts I make, so with a more limited selection I will piece out which posts I believe...

 I need to release my short film under a production company. Film production companies are extremely important to the creation and release of films theatrically, on streaming services, and on physical media. They provide funding, manage the films budget, secure the necessary equipment needed for the film such as cameras, trailers, and more. They also create a handful of jobs involving the film being made, opening spots for set designers, practical effects artists, catering, transportation, and more. Some notable companies are: Walt Disney Pictures A mass media company for theatrical releases, streaming, and physical media, being a major license owner of a plethora of popular IPs, such as characters in the Marvel universe, StarWars, Pixar, and more. A24 A smaller company, but extremely notable, also including theatrical, streaming and physical releases. A24 almost marks a shift or dramatization of film studio engagement, due to its focus on unusual and original stories, it has compi...

 To keep my audience engaged for 5 minutes I must create a likable character who you can route for. This is a skill I must adapt as in my previous works, most notably my opening scene for The Second Reign, you didn't necessarily route for any of the characters, as they were throw away kills, and my film lacked the development to make them interesting. So I will be looking at some of my personal favorite film characters, and diving into why exactly I connect with them, and what techniques where used to create them.  Jake Sully - Avatar series (2009-2025) Jake Sully was a marine paraplegic veteran, who got to use the RDA's Avatar program on Pandora, where he could inherit the body of a native to Pandora. Jake is presented with a task of exploiting the native Na'vi so that the RDA can mine Unobtanium from their home, but while pursuing this Jake explores Pandora, learns the ways and become a member of the Na'vi, presented with a choice Jake chooses to fight for Pandora aga...

To make my horror short as good as possible, I must look back at some great examples in the genre, to analyze what worked in those fils and how I can integrate those elements into my own film. I will be looking at Fede Alvarez's Don't Breathe (2016). As a fan and regular viewer of the horror film genre Im used to the common storylines and connotations, however this film stood out to me when I watched it. The film created tension excellently and had me tense and genuinely worried for characters I assumed I wouldn't even like, the film also got me with a-couple of its twists which built the horror excellently. Don't Breathe (2016) The film's premise follows a group of thieves looking to rob a blind veteran for a life changing amount of money, but everything goes wrong. The first thing that intrigued me with this film was that I was not expecting to side with the thieves, and I had thought Id be more so routing for their victim the blind war vet. However as the charact...

I want to create a character and story driven approach to my short film, and I must be able to introduce plot threads and characters within the short 5 minute time frame, that are interesting and engaging to the audience. To prepare myself for this task, I will analyze a short film 1/5th the length of mine which manages to create an interesting character in under a minute.  The Wait (2020) While this film is drastically different in terms of theme and genre to what my film will be, it still has universal characteristics that develop it and build audience engagement and interest. As you can see this short film engages the audience quite quickly using a number of tactics on the portrayal of the protagonist. One big tactic I noticed was mystery or a lengthy introduction; the character is introduced in different 'chunks' creating mystery and building interest and audience engagement. First we hear the character talk, then we get glimpses of his interesting and unique outfit; hintin...

  The Second Reign (2025) Last year I shot The Second Reign a Horror films opening scene. I will be analyzing how I portrayed the story so that I can avoid making some of the same mistakes I made while making the film. While watching the film I notice the tone is not really there, or at least doesn't work completely. The camp and noticeable dummies for the gore scenes are very evident, and make the film funnier than it is scary. I will say in my own defense, it is a fun bad film. However I do believe if I had added in more camp or humor in the film, the tone would've matched better, this is something I plan to avoid in my short film, but not by making a purposely campy film. I want to preserve suspense in the film, and adding in humor may break or ruin the tension that needs to be built, so I plan to use the camp or humor in the gore scene to use as its own message or metaphor for the themes in my film (toxic relationships, self acceptance, etc..) akin to the crazy third act of...

  The Empty Man (2020) I want to make a horror short film that focuses on a single character who is alone in their house and is stalked and attacked by cult members. I plan to include a practical gore set piece in my short film, and I plan to base my short film off of themes of self love, identity, worthlessness and toxic relationships. Right now my ideas and plans are all over the place, and I will do research and brainstorming to lower down my thoughts and get a solid story with clear messaging. I also want to look back at my previous final project, which is also a horror film with a gore set piece, and piece out criticisms and improvements I can make this time around. As I am creating a short film focusing mainly on one character I will also look into short and effective forms of character development, so that my film can introduce it's character, play out its story and have clear messaging in a natural pace that keeps the audience entertained throughout.