PROJECT INSPIRATION + BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

Virginia Creepers: The Horror Host Tradition of the Old Dominion is a 2009 documentary discussing the history of horror hosting in Virginia and Washington DC. The film interviews producers on horror hosting shows, horror host fans, as well as the hosts themselves, speaking about what it was like to be a part of creating the shows, and to participate in the culture around them. Virginia Creepers addresses a very similar topic to my project, since it explores horror hosting on a local level. However, the film has a more narrow focus, on the hosts in just one state, while I am hoping to pull examples from around the country to provide a more holistic view of the trend's impacts across local communities. The form and medium are also very similar, it combines interviews and archival footage/sound/images in the way that I am planning to. I have been brainstorming ways to make the form of my documentary connect to the subject matter of horror hosting, to make it more original and engaging. I was thinking of having the documentary be presented by a horror host, who could guide the audience through the content. I was interested to find that Virginia Creepers had a similar idea. The film opens with Mr. Lobo, a Virginian horror host who introduces the subject and appears throughout the film to map out topics, just like the horror hosts did on their shows. I don't want to copy their format entirely, but I would still like to incorporate a similar idea with my own spin on it. Overall, I really liked Virginia Creepers, it was clearly very well-researched and did a good job balancing the history of the genre with stories about how it impacted people, and it captured the charm of producing a low-budget show for devoted fans. Some things about the film's production felt a little bit outdated, namely the design of the on-screen text and the transitions chosen. I am hoping to create something that is more stylized and unique in form, while also maintaining the quality/integrity of the research and interview content. 

An honorable mention of a creator that I am very inspired by and hope to interview/collaborate with for my project is Hayden Hall, who plays Luther Vangross, a local Philadelphia horror host on Luther's Mid-fright Snack. The form of Mid-fright snack is incredibly inspiring to me, it combines all of the things that I love about old, low-budget horror like practical effects, animation, and puppets. If I can capture even a fraction of Mid-fright Snack's charm in the form of my project, I will be thrilled!

I feel like the list of skills that I will need to execute my project grows every day. In addition to filmmaking skills like camera operation, cinematography, sound recording, and editing, I would also love to incorporate 2D animation, graphic design, web design, and maybe even music composition to give my project a unique and stylized form. I feel pretty confident in my post-production skills and my graphic and web design skills, as well as my organization and communication, but I will definitely need to put in work to gain confidence filming and operating equipment to ensure my footage is high quality. I will also need to work on building my interviewing skills, since I don't have a lot of experience with interviewing people for video. 

When it comes to research, I am excited to gather a lot of background information on both my specific topic and the theories and background that support my angle. For example, I will be building a personal database of horror hosts including their local stations and the times they were active, and researching the history of the trend overall. But I will also be looking into research about the ways in which local media is impactful, and the ways that media personas impact the popularity of media. I am planning to conduct most of my research in MSP 5114, where I will create an independent case study on a specific horror host. I know that I am being ambitious by going so in-depth on both production and research, but I am passionate about being as involved and well-rounded as possible in this project. 

References

(2009). Virginia Creepers Horror Host Mini-documentary. Retrieved September 6, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSOBMiig0Fc&t=49s.

(2022). Luther’s Mid-Fright Snack Presents: PANIC. Retrieved September 6, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wegzFh1hUE.

Horse Archer Productions, LLC. (2009). Virginia Creepers: The Horror Host Tradition of the Old Dominion.