Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Photos Taken and Used For My Final Products
These are photos which were taken and used for my Ancillary Texts.
Research for my Ancillary Texts
Click on the images below to see my Flickr analysis of existing horror posters:
Click on the images below to see my Flickr analysis of existing film magazines:
Saturday, 20 February 2010
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Click on the above images to see my comparitive analysis of existing teaser trailers and my teaser trailer.
Horror conventions
I feel like my groups teaser trailer uses a lot of Horror conventions and looks effective in certain places due to the use of key forms.
Usually, they are set in isolated places such as abandoned homes and graveyards to give the feel that nobody else is around. They are set in darkness and 'out of hour', usually at nightime. Skin Deep is set in a forest to give the impression of a large area/getting lost and not being able to escape/entrapement. It also creates interesting lighting effects as at times the tree's could block out all light or light seeping through tree's could add to a mysterious feel.
In Horror, there is no limit to camera angles. High, low and canted angles can give a feeling of disorientation. There is also usually an excessive use of extreme close ups to connote invasion of the audience's personal space.
In Skin Deep, we have used these and tried to show the unimportance of the victims when they are laying on the floor in blood by having the camera looking down at them. We have also used handheld cameras to give a shaky feel to when the protagonist is driving and running. There is depth in one of the frames, as the monster is walking up to the victim, who is tied to a tree, without her knowing. When the protagonist is running, there is a point of view shot of her running, which makes the audience feel they are in her position. The pace of our editing speeds up nearer the end after the general plot has been shown at the beginning. There is a series of fast shots, ranging from CU's to LS's and unsettling jumps to create suspense and show something is about to happen. Sound effects work alongside this, with booms, screams and unexpected noises to go against just the normal soundtrack as it is quite creepy but slow and quiet. We tried to find sound effects which would contrast with it.
Visual signifiers of genre are very important and common in horror. The colours red and black connote blood and darkness which we have used almost throughout our teaser trailer. Other signifiers include religious symbols, masks and weapons. The reason we chose to use a mask in our trailer was because it was very cheap which was suitable for our low budget, and we were able to do a lot with it in terms of lighting up half of the face and creating mysterious shapes and shadows. Colours such as low brightness and high contrast are used to emphasise shadows and to create an unfamiliar effect and this was something we enjoyed playing around with when editing. There were times in our trailer when we needed to film in daylight but could editing the lighting to look like moonlight.
The narrative structure for our trailer is very classic Hollywood narrative as it starts off as normality, reaches an enigma and then reaches a path to resolution before closure although as it is only a trailer, this is not given away as it would ruin the film, therefore it makes the viewer wonder what will happen, although we know it will end up with a final girl. Compared to other genres such as Action movies, it is a lot harder to distinguish who the hero will be as you do not know who will live or who will die whereas in Action, the whole film revolves around their heroic actions. I'd like to think my groups trailer is more outside of the box than certain sub-genres such as slashers where a lot of events are commonly repeated. A very small number of Propps narrative theories have been applied to our teaser trailer and these are:
5. The villian gains information about the victim.
The monster has previously gathered information about the protagonist and her job as being a model.
7. The victim is taken in by deception- unknowingly helping the monster.
By looking at her text and stopping the car, the protagonist is making it easier for the monster to reach her.
16. The hero is branded/wounded.
24. A difficult task is proposed to the hero (tests of strength/endurance)-
The protagonist battling for her life.
If this was a full Horror movie then it would contain considerably more.
The characters in Horror consist of 'immoral teens', children, ineffective police and law figures and usually a final girl.
In Skin Deep, there is a final girl which is the protagonist. Although there are shots of her left for dead, later on we see her running through the forest which shows she is strong. It poses questions- will she beat the monster and save her life? The monster in our trailer also has a hidden secret in his past which makes him the way he is. He has a desire for beautiful women such as the models featured in our trailer which is why they are his chosen victims.
Themes such as binary oppositions- good VS evil are used as well as out of control science, the hidden evil inside and Freud's return of the repressed theory. We have used this in skin deep to show that Horror is close to sex, as the monster has a sexual desire rather than a pure evil one. We have also tried to show a contrast between the characters and the monster as they are innocent women and he is ruining their lives for no reason.
Trailer Conventions
Firstly, teaser trailers are very short, usually 60-90seconds as it gives a very small insight to the film and makes the viewers look out for the longer trailer to be released at a later date. It provokes interest in the film immediately so that by the time the release date is nearing, the cinemas are due to be booked. Our trailer is just over 60seconds and we found that this was enough to show all that we wanted to convey the plot and show the horror elements.
Although the genre of the trailer is not spelt out, i feel that it is obvious through all of its elements such as the sound, darkness and use of the mask. The name of the Movie is included however it could be much larger to make it more eye catching and obvious. We have departed from using the usual production values as we currently have none, being new to the industry. We also felt that they were unnessecary and that we could use our short time in more useful ways.
We tried to pick out aspects of the film that we thought our target audience of Males and Females 15+ would enjoy, such as blood and gore (which appeared a lot in the audience research) and tension building music to leave the viewer wanting more. Although i liked our soundtrack, i feel there was not enough of a build up in contrast to previous trailers and this could have possibly detracted from the suspense. Our intertitles are short and spread out throughout the trailer, leaving a few seconds gap for the audience to await the rest of it. It explains the premise of the story but does not give a resolution, leaving the audience wondering and wanting to see the film in order to find out. The intertitles also back up the images shown. For example "Beauty is only skin deep" shows models posing, so we know that they are the beautys.
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
My Trailer and poster both work together as part of a promotional package to sell my film "Skin Deep". The title is new, witty and memorable which i think incorporates with the iconic mask we are using in our trailer. As it is significant in both my trailer and as the main image on my poster, it could easily become a well known image, making it recognisable for all of the right reasons- this is the thing which gives "Skin Deep" its name. This could even give it the oppurtunity to go on and we could turn this into a sequel.
"In a highly competitive market, every poster and piece of marketing you have needs to stand out from the rest. With 250,000 poster sites at roadside, you need to fight for your spot."
Trailers are the most cost-effective marketing technique and i have tried to make this relate to my target audience of males and females aged 15 to late twenties. "Distributors can send up to 3000 copies out to cinemas and they can also be put to the front of suitably targeted DVD's". With typical horror traits, blood, darkness and gore, it is guarenteed it will not dissapoint. Marketing is a hugely expensive stage and with multiple posters alongside a trailer, the costs soon add up. I think that the mask on our poster will catch peoples attention as it is supposed to show something which will interest the audience. The mask (showing the monster but revealing no information) poses questions, making people want to know more about the film.
All of my main stars and production values are at the top of my poster, making them stand out to the public eye. It is important as fans of stars are very loyal and you can profit a lot of money from the people involved in the movie. Also, word of mouth is a very valuable source so the more people that see the footage and posters, the more they are likely to tell their friends. The tag line on the top of the poster, compliments the intertitles on the trailer as they provide a very vague but interesting twist on what the plot features. Usually they contain punns, play on words and phrases to make them memorable and grab an audience's attention. I think to improve the combination of my products, i could have used a tag line which featured as a trailers intertitle because it would then be more recognisable- as seen in more than one way. I could also have created a second poster, showing the victim of the monster or possibly using an image from the trailer itself to jog people's memories. They will be able to link together the monster and victim, creating a contrast in the movie. Good VS Evil.
The magazine i have created is an example of publicity which is out of the distributors hands mostly, however they try to get as much of it as possible by encouraging their actors to accept offers and set up interviews with newspapers.. Publicity is things such as interviews, star appearances on television shows and promoting the film through other means as advertising. It is low cost as the distributor does not pay for it however it can prove effective due to fame and press coverage. My magazine also ties in with my other two texts as one of the main stars from the film is featured on the cover as she has given an interview. She could be spotted on the shelf and gain interest in her newest film which is also very large on the front cover. Also, on one day of our shoots, the very same magazine came along, took some shots and we spoke to them about what we were doing and the other aspects behind creating a movie so it has been really quite involved in our movie rather just focusing on lots of independent movies and producers. Promotion is tie-in-merchandising such as toys and games, paid advertisements and cardboard 3D displays in cinemas. It allows people to take notice of these and wonder what the movie is about, encouraging them to find out.
All quotes have been taken from http://www.launchingfilms.tv/
"In a highly competitive market, every poster and piece of marketing you have needs to stand out from the rest. With 250,000 poster sites at roadside, you need to fight for your spot."
Trailers are the most cost-effective marketing technique and i have tried to make this relate to my target audience of males and females aged 15 to late twenties. "Distributors can send up to 3000 copies out to cinemas and they can also be put to the front of suitably targeted DVD's". With typical horror traits, blood, darkness and gore, it is guarenteed it will not dissapoint. Marketing is a hugely expensive stage and with multiple posters alongside a trailer, the costs soon add up. I think that the mask on our poster will catch peoples attention as it is supposed to show something which will interest the audience. The mask (showing the monster but revealing no information) poses questions, making people want to know more about the film.
All of my main stars and production values are at the top of my poster, making them stand out to the public eye. It is important as fans of stars are very loyal and you can profit a lot of money from the people involved in the movie. Also, word of mouth is a very valuable source so the more people that see the footage and posters, the more they are likely to tell their friends. The tag line on the top of the poster, compliments the intertitles on the trailer as they provide a very vague but interesting twist on what the plot features. Usually they contain punns, play on words and phrases to make them memorable and grab an audience's attention. I think to improve the combination of my products, i could have used a tag line which featured as a trailers intertitle because it would then be more recognisable- as seen in more than one way. I could also have created a second poster, showing the victim of the monster or possibly using an image from the trailer itself to jog people's memories. They will be able to link together the monster and victim, creating a contrast in the movie. Good VS Evil.
The magazine i have created is an example of publicity which is out of the distributors hands mostly, however they try to get as much of it as possible by encouraging their actors to accept offers and set up interviews with newspapers.. Publicity is things such as interviews, star appearances on television shows and promoting the film through other means as advertising. It is low cost as the distributor does not pay for it however it can prove effective due to fame and press coverage. My magazine also ties in with my other two texts as one of the main stars from the film is featured on the cover as she has given an interview. She could be spotted on the shelf and gain interest in her newest film which is also very large on the front cover. Also, on one day of our shoots, the very same magazine came along, took some shots and we spoke to them about what we were doing and the other aspects behind creating a movie so it has been really quite involved in our movie rather just focusing on lots of independent movies and producers. Promotion is tie-in-merchandising such as toys and games, paid advertisements and cardboard 3D displays in cinemas. It allows people to take notice of these and wonder what the movie is about, encouraging them to find out.
All quotes have been taken from http://www.launchingfilms.tv/
What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
The target audience for our Horror movie, Skin Deep is males and females aged 15 to late twenties. We were able to work out our target audience from our audience research where we asked questions to determine what percentage of people and gender questioned liked/disliked the Horror genre.
Since the completion of our Horror teaser trailer, we have recieved feedback from not only our media class who has watched this and discussed it as a group but also our family and friends. There has been a critical analysis in class which we have talked about elements which we like and are effective as a horror text and those which are not successful as a horror text. Outside of college, each of us have shown our trailers to our family and friends to get their honest opinion. It has also been published on the website youtube for the general public to see and leave comments on.
The positives to our groups trailer 'Skin Deep' have definitely outruled the negatives however it is important to take them on board constructively because if we were real distributors then critics opinions would be valued so that we were able to change or improve our teaser trailers.
Positives +
Our classmates thought that our trailer has a good pace as it gets faster towards the end to build up the tension. They liked the elements of mise-en-scene such as the forest and tree location and the bloody hand. They thought that the close up's of faces and unexpected camera angles made it look disorientating as the angles constantly changed and differentiated throughout the trailer. It was mentioned that the beginning of the trailer is very professional-looking and continuity based as all of the shots link to tell the plot and are very detailed. We did spend a lot of time and effort making sure that there were no continuity errors and that all of our storyboard shots were stuck to. We also were told that all of the shots in our trailer link together well to convey the narrative very clearly and make the trailer look frightening as they are all related. The soundtrack also combines with this to build tension.
We were praised for the shot where the protagonist is running as the camera is handheld which gives a shaky feel and shows her point of view as she is running. It looks effective.
Although i was not keen on the intertitles of our teaser, people said that the way in which the second one grows makes it look like seeping blood. They also liked the way in which the sentence was seperated into two intertitles and clauses so that the phrase was not given away straight away. Our class picked up on the fact that Binary oppositions were present in our trailer and they liked the juxtaposition between desire and death (the model shots before death shots). The main thing which made a lot of the class jump is when out monster is first revealed. They liked the way that it was unexpecteded.
Since the completion of our Horror teaser trailer, we have recieved feedback from not only our media class who has watched this and discussed it as a group but also our family and friends. There has been a critical analysis in class which we have talked about elements which we like and are effective as a horror text and those which are not successful as a horror text. Outside of college, each of us have shown our trailers to our family and friends to get their honest opinion. It has also been published on the website youtube for the general public to see and leave comments on.
The positives to our groups trailer 'Skin Deep' have definitely outruled the negatives however it is important to take them on board constructively because if we were real distributors then critics opinions would be valued so that we were able to change or improve our teaser trailers.
Positives +
Our classmates thought that our trailer has a good pace as it gets faster towards the end to build up the tension. They liked the elements of mise-en-scene such as the forest and tree location and the bloody hand. They thought that the close up's of faces and unexpected camera angles made it look disorientating as the angles constantly changed and differentiated throughout the trailer. It was mentioned that the beginning of the trailer is very professional-looking and continuity based as all of the shots link to tell the plot and are very detailed. We did spend a lot of time and effort making sure that there were no continuity errors and that all of our storyboard shots were stuck to. We also were told that all of the shots in our trailer link together well to convey the narrative very clearly and make the trailer look frightening as they are all related. The soundtrack also combines with this to build tension.
We were praised for the shot where the protagonist is running as the camera is handheld which gives a shaky feel and shows her point of view as she is running. It looks effective.
Although i was not keen on the intertitles of our teaser, people said that the way in which the second one grows makes it look like seeping blood. They also liked the way in which the sentence was seperated into two intertitles and clauses so that the phrase was not given away straight away. Our class picked up on the fact that Binary oppositions were present in our trailer and they liked the juxtaposition between desire and death (the model shots before death shots). The main thing which made a lot of the class jump is when out monster is first revealed. They liked the way that it was unexpecteded.
Negatives -
Our classmates thought that the use of the camera clicking during the model shots were too overused. They also did not like the sound effect of the 'booming' as the monster appears, as it too 'in your face' as described. It was mentioned that some people did not realise that the monster appeared in the mirror, and there was some confusion as to whether it was outside, on the windscreen or in the back of the car. Once confirmed that it was the mirror then people began to notice it more. People thought that the soundtrack begins to lose pace nearing the end of the trailer and doesn't fit in. This was the same with the closing eye at the very end of the trailer. Although i personally liked it and disagreed, people thought that it didn't make sense and didn't undersand what it meant. It was orginally added to show the fear in her eye and to close the trailer with questios, however this didn't seem to prove effective. A main problem that needed to be sorted, given the time was the films title. It was mentioned that it was too small and hard to read, not making it stand out any different to the intertitles. I agree with this as i do not like the font and it looks very weak.
Given more time, i would change the factors which did not suit the audiences taste's and keep those which were praised.
Overall, our teaser trailer has been successful as most of the target audience spoken to has liked the trailer, and said that it would be something that they would probably go and see at the cinema with their friends. Although not every single part of the film appealed to them, most of them really liked the plot. They also thought it looked easy to relate to as the characters are of a similar age to them, making it seem like it could happen to them. They thought that it would also be easy to recognise a following trailer for the film at a later point due to reocurring elements and that it would be something they'd look out for- taking notice of advertising to find the release date.
How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
These are the new technology programmes i have used to create my media products (as numbered):
1. Youtube: I was already very familiar with Youtube however it is very useful for a number of reasons. I was able to use it to find pre-existing horror teasers as part of my research and to see other peoples uploaded video's for inspiration. It also allows me to watch my own trailer at home when evaluating it and makes it possible to show to an audience, which also ties in with research and feedback.
2. Blogger: I was first introduced to an online blog last year for my AS coursework. As i had not ever blogged before, it was new to me. Fortunately it is very simple and a good way to produce work as it is very modern and I can access it at home. It is definitely an advantage to writing an essay, as blogger can show a large number of posts in just a click, keeping them well organised under titles and labels, whereas sheets and sheets of paper are hard to keep track of. It is also easier to show visual aspects of creating our trailer due to printscreens and copy and pastes. It is simple to access Flickr through Blogger, which shows my annotations of images, compared to a lack of space on paper. This is not successful however if technology fails and either a computer or internet is at fault, as you cannot access Blogger in any other way.
3. Final Cut Pro: This was the main programme we used to create our teaser trailer. It was difficult at first but easy once I had grasped how to use it. It consisted of a timeline which could be zoomed in and out on and slotting in inserts of shots before editing them. It was used to edit footage (which was shot during daytime) to adjust the colours through brightness and contrast- to connote moonlight as it was not always possible to shoot in out of college time. We could insert text as intertitles, fades and dissolves between shots as editing and the timeline aspect allowed us to easily link sounds to images, through two timelines. It is not possible to do any of this through the camera itself and the programme gave us a huge advantage to working without these aspects as it looked more professional. In image 3, the timeline for our trailer is shown. The timeline consists of two- the top one being image and the one underneath being sound. Each soundclip can be inserted by lining it up where you want it to go which is why the sound does not start at the time time as the footage. The two lines above the first timeline show fades which we have created to be a specific length and to show between two clips.
4. GarageBand: I tried to use this programme to create a soundtrack for my groups Horror trailer, however i found it very difficult as you have to work from a timeline. I tried my best but other members of the group also tried to do some to extend our range of programme knowledge. We tried to use it as a way of creating an original soundtrack, rather than a previously existing one however it is time consuming and complicated- but shows creativity and extending technical knowledge.
5. Photoshop: I was familiar with this programme from the AS part of the course although it was nice to reafirm my skills and to learn more technical skills. I used Photoshop to create my ancillary texts as it is possible to edit images and create texts on different layers to create one large image. This, very much like Final Cut Pro, allows us to edit images, join many together to create a montage, adjust the colours to give a certain effect and to play around with many different things possible. I think it is very advanced and my knowledge on the effects are limited however it makes changing images simple.
6. Flickr: This has been an effective way to analyse still images as it is possible to add notes over a certain aspect of a photo. A photo has to be uploaded before adding a note and typing into a text box for people to see. When this note is scrolled over, the text shows outside of the image to inform the spectator. It is very simple to use and shows annotations in a neat, organised fashion. This contrasts to annotations on paper as there is no limited space on Flickr, as the notes can overlap- showing one note at a time.
6. Flickr: This has been an effective way to analyse still images as it is possible to add notes over a certain aspect of a photo. A photo has to be uploaded before adding a note and typing into a text box for people to see. When this note is scrolled over, the text shows outside of the image to inform the spectator. It is very simple to use and shows annotations in a neat, organised fashion. This contrasts to annotations on paper as there is no limited space on Flickr, as the notes can overlap- showing one note at a time.
7. Music Search Engine: This was a specific search engine on Google which our group used to search for the type of sound effects we wanted on our horror trailer. By simply typing "horror" or "creepy", it would show a list of websites which could provide us with what we wanted. The website we used was Creative commons which is a copyright free website. It is a corporation which provides free licenses (the creator decides the freedom and license it recieves) so that others can share. In some ways i think our soundtrack did succeed as it gave a very creepy feel however i think that there is not enough of a build up of tension and therefore it fits in some places and not in others.
8. Uploader Camera: I learnt how to upload our groups footage using an uploader camera. I was able to plug it into the Apple Mac and log and capture it very simply, just entering the description of the shot. Without this we would be unable to transfer footage from our tape to the computer.
9. Tripod: I used a tripod to keep the camera very smooth and still during filming. A tripod was very simple to use and just required the legs to be extended and the camera attached. It is unhelpful if you want to create a shaky, disorientating feel as the camera then has to be unattatched again and handheld instead.
10. Camcorder/ Still Camera: I was already familiar with how to use a this however i had to adapt to learn where everything was and the certain features on the camera as they differentiate in make.
11. Livetype: This was a more complex way of creating text rather than on Final Cut Pro. We used font from Livetype as our trailer intertitles as it looked like blood seeping. It is a simple programme to use, consisting of a text box and a list of possible texts to apply. It is more advanced than simple text programmes such as paint and microsoft word as it allows you to add moving text for your own time limit, at a certain size, colour and shape.
11. Livetype: This was a more complex way of creating text rather than on Final Cut Pro. We used font from Livetype as our trailer intertitles as it looked like blood seeping. It is a simple programme to use, consisting of a text box and a list of possible texts to apply. It is more advanced than simple text programmes such as paint and microsoft word as it allows you to add moving text for your own time limit, at a certain size, colour and shape.
Sunday, 13 December 2009
Our Chosen Teaser Idea
This is our final chosen idea in which our group is going to base our Horror teaser. As a group, each of us read out our pitch for a new Horror movie and we discussed which ones we would realistically be able to achieve and which we liked/disliked.
This idea came from Fern who had made it up from scratch. We really liked it as it would be possible to do as two members of our group are able to drive a car and we could all meet up at a local woods in Fritton which we wanted to use as our location.
We developed the idea further and changed some parts and came up with a situation. This is the original story, written in Fern's words.
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Ria, a typical teenage girl from the small town of lowestoft, was spending the evening at her boyfriend's house. At about half midnight, Ria decided it was time to leave as they both had to be up early that morning. She said her goodbyes, got in her car, turned her music up and began her 25 minute journey home. She was singing away and tapping her thumbs on the the steering wheel when something in her rear-view mirror caught her eye. Her head sparply turned towards it and she had a closer inspection, nothing was there. She shook it off and carried on driving. Wary of what she saw, she turned down her music. As she drove along the deserted, dark roads, she could feel soft, warm air blowing her hair forward on the right hand side of her face. She frantically checked that all of the windows and doors were fully shut, they were. She couldn't understand where this warm air was coming from, she turned her music off. She began to hear faint sounds of someone breathing near her head. She inhaled deeply through her nose, her eyes widened and she pulled over immediately. She got out of the car straight away without even turning behind her to look in the backseat, she turned off the ignition and slammed the door. She figured if there was something or someone in her car that she would be able to see them through the window, and at least then she would be outside of the car. Her palms sweating, she looked closely through the window, she saw nothing, she opened the boot, she saw nothing. She slammed the boot shut and looked back along the road she had driven down, she put her hands on her hips as she breathed a sigh of relief. Before she knew it, she heard her engine start, she whipped around and watched her car be driven into the woods nearby. In a desperate attempt to get her precious car back and without further thought, she found herself sprinting as fast as she could after her car. The ground was bumpy and uneven and as she tried to keep up with the car she stumbled. She didn't give in, she could hear the sound of her cars engine so she knew it wasn't far away. She thought maybe the driver had freaked out, left the car and ran off, why could she still hear the car? As she got closer the car got louder and she could see the headlights peering through the branches. She finally got to her car and was horrified at what she saw and was possibly about to happen to her...
This idea came from Fern who had made it up from scratch. We really liked it as it would be possible to do as two members of our group are able to drive a car and we could all meet up at a local woods in Fritton which we wanted to use as our location.
We developed the idea further and changed some parts and came up with a situation. This is the original story, written in Fern's words.
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Ria, a typical teenage girl from the small town of lowestoft, was spending the evening at her boyfriend's house. At about half midnight, Ria decided it was time to leave as they both had to be up early that morning. She said her goodbyes, got in her car, turned her music up and began her 25 minute journey home. She was singing away and tapping her thumbs on the the steering wheel when something in her rear-view mirror caught her eye. Her head sparply turned towards it and she had a closer inspection, nothing was there. She shook it off and carried on driving. Wary of what she saw, she turned down her music. As she drove along the deserted, dark roads, she could feel soft, warm air blowing her hair forward on the right hand side of her face. She frantically checked that all of the windows and doors were fully shut, they were. She couldn't understand where this warm air was coming from, she turned her music off. She began to hear faint sounds of someone breathing near her head. She inhaled deeply through her nose, her eyes widened and she pulled over immediately. She got out of the car straight away without even turning behind her to look in the backseat, she turned off the ignition and slammed the door. She figured if there was something or someone in her car that she would be able to see them through the window, and at least then she would be outside of the car. Her palms sweating, she looked closely through the window, she saw nothing, she opened the boot, she saw nothing. She slammed the boot shut and looked back along the road she had driven down, she put her hands on her hips as she breathed a sigh of relief. Before she knew it, she heard her engine start, she whipped around and watched her car be driven into the woods nearby. In a desperate attempt to get her precious car back and without further thought, she found herself sprinting as fast as she could after her car. The ground was bumpy and uneven and as she tried to keep up with the car she stumbled. She didn't give in, she could hear the sound of her cars engine so she knew it wasn't far away. She thought maybe the driver had freaked out, left the car and ran off, why could she still hear the car? As she got closer the car got louder and she could see the headlights peering through the branches. She finally got to her car and was horrified at what she saw and was possibly about to happen to her...
Preperation For Our Horror Teaser
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The latex can be applied with with a paintbrush or any try of hard tool and as it begins to dry the colour of it becomes more skin-like. It forms the outline of the wound and makes it look as thought skin is flapping. Grenadine is a fruity drink used in cocktails but is the perfect colour and thickness to use as blood. It is very sticky until it is dry but looks effective as it can drip and run down the skin without looking watery or as thick as ketchup. A black substance such as eyeliner really adds to the aesthetics of the wound, especially the bullethole as it looks like the inside of the skin rather than typical blood.
Friday, 11 December 2009
Storyboards
These are the storyboards which my group has created. These are guidelines so that we know when filming what we need to shoot and when.
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Audience Research
These are the results to my Questionnaire for my audience research, in which i asked 14 males and 14 females their views about Horror. These results may have an influence on the way in which my group decides to make a Horror trailer as we need to consider which will attract the widest range of target audience.
1.Are you Male or Female?
Male- 14
Female- 14
2.Do you like Horror?
Male
Yes- 11
Female
Yes- 7
No- 7
Overall
Yes- 18
No- 10
3.What type of Horror do you like?
4.What setting do you like?
The results to the "other" were warehouses and abandoned buildings.
5. What do you look for in a Horror trailer?
The most popular answers to this question were:
- the use of suspense and tension
- some clips of what is to come which will make you want to see more
- a build up with a quick editing pace
- voiceovers and intertitles which give the audience the basic plot
- special effects
- stars
- and something which makes you jump
6. What do you like about the Horror genre?
The most popular answers to this question were:
- Dark
- The Plot and undetrying meanings
- Blood
- Being Scared and made jump
- Escapism (not life real life)
- Mis-en-scene
Planning and Distribution
PLANNING A RELEASE.
- Distributors must consider what a film will earn so they can prepare a budget to release it. They must have a detailed understading of the core target audience but also try to attract a wider spread of audience.
- Distributors must plan the film release according to many factors such as:
which other films are being released the same week?
is there any star's amongst the cast?
is it being released in a holiday period?
what certificate will the film have?
- Distributors will need to work out whether the film will be shown worldwide in many screens or in very few independent cinemas, according to how popular it will be.
- When the distributor has viewed the finished film and confirms the release plan, the budget is worked out. This is all paid for by the distributor and this includes marketing costs, the cost of prints (35mm or digital) and advertising for post-release. The budget may be itemised in a table as shown below.
*
FILM MARKETING
- Full trailers may be preceded by early teasers shortly before the film.
- Most films have an official website, if not one hosted by a partner company which provides more information to the public and they see exclusive photos and behind the scenes footage.
- A poster also may be preceded by a teaser poster with the main stars and production values large. The designers must work hard to make each one stand out.
- Distributors may also provide cinemas with other display materials such as cardboard standee's.
- Screenings are held before the film is released for national critics as th epublic offen accepts news stories and features more readily than advertising.
- UK Film Distributors invest around £170M a year in media advertising alone to launch and sustain their releases.
- Awards and Premiers have to be taken into consideration as television channels can have 30minute slots to cast the newest films and stars walking the red carpet. Festivals also are imporant as new titles may be screened to juries of filmmakers and awarded prizes.
- Tie in merchandising can be literally anything. And the more of it there is, the better.
*
LICENSING FILMS TO EXHIBITORS.
- Every week, distributors hold marketing team meetings, reflecting on the films they have in current release.
- Sometimes, film eductation promotes educational use of the local cinemas by arranging screenings for school parties.
- Cinema operators need to be persuaded to 'stock' the product. Distributors screen their titles and present a date release as well as marketing plans. Potential blockbusters may be booked into screens simulatenously whereas independent, lower budget films may be just for the catchment area.
- 35mm film prints are sent to cinemas which are opened a few days before the first playdate. These are laced onto the projector. Digital screens have data on hard disks which are connected to a projector.
- A film can only be launched once. Usually a film will generate 30% or more of its entrie box-office during the first three days of release.
*
THE WIDER PICTURE.
-After the weekend box-office takings are counted, distributors sales teams discuss keeping the film on the screens and for how long.
- Distributors must consider what a film will earn so they can prepare a budget to release it. They must have a detailed understading of the core target audience but also try to attract a wider spread of audience.
- Distributors must plan the film release according to many factors such as:
which other films are being released the same week?
is there any star's amongst the cast?
is it being released in a holiday period?
what certificate will the film have?
- Distributors will need to work out whether the film will be shown worldwide in many screens or in very few independent cinemas, according to how popular it will be.
- When the distributor has viewed the finished film and confirms the release plan, the budget is worked out. This is all paid for by the distributor and this includes marketing costs, the cost of prints (35mm or digital) and advertising for post-release. The budget may be itemised in a table as shown below.
*
FILM MARKETING
- Full trailers may be preceded by early teasers shortly before the film.
- Most films have an official website, if not one hosted by a partner company which provides more information to the public and they see exclusive photos and behind the scenes footage.
- A poster also may be preceded by a teaser poster with the main stars and production values large. The designers must work hard to make each one stand out.
- Distributors may also provide cinemas with other display materials such as cardboard standee's.
- Screenings are held before the film is released for national critics as th epublic offen accepts news stories and features more readily than advertising.
- UK Film Distributors invest around £170M a year in media advertising alone to launch and sustain their releases.
- Awards and Premiers have to be taken into consideration as television channels can have 30minute slots to cast the newest films and stars walking the red carpet. Festivals also are imporant as new titles may be screened to juries of filmmakers and awarded prizes.
- Tie in merchandising can be literally anything. And the more of it there is, the better.
*
LICENSING FILMS TO EXHIBITORS.
- Every week, distributors hold marketing team meetings, reflecting on the films they have in current release.
- Sometimes, film eductation promotes educational use of the local cinemas by arranging screenings for school parties.
- Cinema operators need to be persuaded to 'stock' the product. Distributors screen their titles and present a date release as well as marketing plans. Potential blockbusters may be booked into screens simulatenously whereas independent, lower budget films may be just for the catchment area.
- 35mm film prints are sent to cinemas which are opened a few days before the first playdate. These are laced onto the projector. Digital screens have data on hard disks which are connected to a projector.
- A film can only be launched once. Usually a film will generate 30% or more of its entrie box-office during the first three days of release.
*
THE WIDER PICTURE.
-After the weekend box-office takings are counted, distributors sales teams discuss keeping the film on the screens and for how long.
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
My pitch for a new Horror Movie
This is my pitch for a Horror movie:
Ross and his pregant wife Jenny are driving through the mountains late one evening. They have been to a friends for a meal and are now making their way home. Depsite the fact the mountainous area was rumoured to have been a monsters lair many centuries ago, the locals were not afraid and stood their grounds.
As they are slowly driving through the tight, winding roads they come into a thick fog which makes visibility very poor. Jenny warily tells Ross that she feels an eerieness in the air and is scared for the edge of the mountain is very close but he reassures her. As they drive further on, the fog shows no sign of ceasing and the sheep which usually surround them are nowhere to be seen. Jennys overdue baby begins to kick repeatedly and she immediately knows that something is wrong although Ross insists she is just being silly.
All of a sudden their car comes to a halt without any explanation. Ross thinks he has hit the edge of the mountain and gets out to investigate. As he leaves the car and enters darkness, Jennys baby begins to put her in a lot of pain. As she fidgets in discomfort she hears a smack against the window. A disfigured hand rubs over the window and Jenny knows it is not the hand of her Husband. Before she has the chance to do anything, she feels the car is uneven and she fears what is about to happen.
The car goes toppling over the edge of the mountain and smashes after a long drop.
Ross's body was never found although Jennys was recovered just hours after the incident as sunlight began to break through. Jenny had given birth to her baby whilst she was fighting for her life after the drop. She had died after the birth of her son, who was found pale and cold.
When Jennys son reaches 18, he returns to the scene, without being told any information from anybody about what had happened to his parents. He had known what was going to happen before he was even born. Now he was back to investigate.
Ross and his pregant wife Jenny are driving through the mountains late one evening. They have been to a friends for a meal and are now making their way home. Depsite the fact the mountainous area was rumoured to have been a monsters lair many centuries ago, the locals were not afraid and stood their grounds.
As they are slowly driving through the tight, winding roads they come into a thick fog which makes visibility very poor. Jenny warily tells Ross that she feels an eerieness in the air and is scared for the edge of the mountain is very close but he reassures her. As they drive further on, the fog shows no sign of ceasing and the sheep which usually surround them are nowhere to be seen. Jennys overdue baby begins to kick repeatedly and she immediately knows that something is wrong although Ross insists she is just being silly.
All of a sudden their car comes to a halt without any explanation. Ross thinks he has hit the edge of the mountain and gets out to investigate. As he leaves the car and enters darkness, Jennys baby begins to put her in a lot of pain. As she fidgets in discomfort she hears a smack against the window. A disfigured hand rubs over the window and Jenny knows it is not the hand of her Husband. Before she has the chance to do anything, she feels the car is uneven and she fears what is about to happen.
The car goes toppling over the edge of the mountain and smashes after a long drop.
Ross's body was never found although Jennys was recovered just hours after the incident as sunlight began to break through. Jenny had given birth to her baby whilst she was fighting for her life after the drop. She had died after the birth of her son, who was found pale and cold.
When Jennys son reaches 18, he returns to the scene, without being told any information from anybody about what had happened to his parents. He had known what was going to happen before he was even born. Now he was back to investigate.
Horror Moodboard
My moodboard is based on villains of the Horror genre, although there is a wide range of them (everything from normal humans with mental health issues to animals and monsters). I am working within a group to create my Horror teaser trailer, therefore my personal ideas on the villain of the movie may be different to any of these.
Thursday, 12 November 2009
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
What are the Key Conventions of the Horror Genre?
There are several categories in which the key conventions of the Horror genre are categorized into and each of these contains a lot of recoccuring elements that can be widely recognised within a vast number of Horror films.
Often; the setting of horror is an abandoned building which later makes a reappearance as it has a history or hidden secret. Most of these buildings are set in a communal, suburban area or an isolated street so that it l
ooks like the community has something to hide or it deserted for a certain 'spooky' reason- see image. This is the case in the 1978 movie "Halloween" where a girl is murdered in a typically safe street. Years on, the house is shown and nobody has lived in it since the incident; however the rest of street remains neighbourly. A lot of the time, medical institutions play a part and this is also shown in Halloween when the murderer has mental health issues and has escaped. Most of the scary scenes take place at night time or in the dark, so that during the day it is shown how the characters live their typical day to day life, before they were affected by the 'horror'.
The camerawork in horror films is different to many other genres at the camera uses a lot of different angles and can be canted so that a disorientating feel reaches the spectator. Usually there is a lot of depth during shots of the hero in the foreground so that the audience is at an advantage if they can see a monster or evil thing emerging behind; as the protagonist cannot see this themselves. One of the most common conventions is the point of view shot, in which the audience can see the victim through the eyes of the mo
nster- see image. This shows us exactly what can be seen and shows us in what contex the monster is seeing the victim. For example in "Dracula" and "Nosferatu" which are films that have been made time and time again throughout many decades, the victim is always seen sexually and this is shown when blood is sucked from the preys neck(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2_dF7hn_hQ). The opposite to the point of view shot is the extreme close up of the victims face. Not only does this allow the audience to see the facial expression of the protagonist, it also builds up tension as we cannot see where the monster is. The camera can switch from the innocent to the evil, making the audience jump as this is an invasion of our personal space. The pace of editing indicates when something is about to happen as if it suddenly changes from constant and becomes very fast, you know the enigma of the storyline is nearing as tension rises.
Certain things such as props, costumes and colours relate horror in ways of common knowledge. Typically, anybody who see's weapons, masks and religious symbols knows that it is related to horror. This is because of the holiday Halloween which we are exposed to every year. Lighting is usually low key, as the atmosphere would not be scary if a monster was seen in daylight. Certain lighting techniques such as chiaroscuro and high contrasting could be used to emphasise certain objects or to show silhouettes and shadoes. A lot of lighting direction comes from unexpected angles for example in the movie "The Ring" where the main source of light comes from down the well. The moon is also a common source of light as it comes from above and can light below. The colours red and black connote danger and blood. This is almost unnoticed now during movies when these are seen as the audience is so used to seeing them that it is barely an unusual convention.
The classic Hollywood narrative structure of normality, enigma, path to resolution, quest, resolution and closure largely applies to horror although there may be certain examples when this is not the case (http://www.inpoint.org/pdf/LanguageofFilm02.pdf). For examples in all of the "Saw" movies, the end is left as a cliff-hanger so that there can then be a sequel to the film (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJyvVMgl-p0) This is mainly a way of making money by having fans of the first film wait for the next to continue the story. Saw 6 has recently been released and this is an example of a very successful chain of sequels. This narrative structure is now based on Todorov's theory. Another theory is by Vladimir Propp who studied russian folk tales and found that they all had certain amounts of structural features (http://mural.uv.es/vifresal/Propp.htm). This was applied to the film "The Shining" by Kubrick and it was proved that some of these did relate. In the sub-genre of 'slasher' movies, usually a psychotic child returns to a past location on an anniversary to kill. This usually includ
es a gang of teenagers and the surviving final girl. Binary oppositions are used quite commonly to create a sense of innocence mixed with evil. This is the reason dolls, children and fairgrounds are used in horrors and this creates a changing atmosphere- see image.
Character types are very simple and usually consist of the main protagonist (who is commonly female) and is kind, virginal and ends up being stronger than it was first thought. She ends up being the final survivor and hero of the film. Other characters include the villain with a hidden secret or deterioration of mental health, children who need saving, a group of immoral teens which are killed off and police/member of the law who the audience think will help when in actual fact, they are useless.
The main themes of Horror are out of control science, which relates back to the beginning of Horrir in the 30's when mad scientists were created such as Frankenstein, the hidden evil, binary opposites such as good VS evil, known VS unkown and natural VS unnatural and the return of the repessed. This is a theory by Freud who believed that bad memories were put in the unconsious part of the brain which then tends to reappear in behaviour. This relates to Horror as characters could have a flashback to an unpleasant experience, adding to tension.
There is no single text that can contain all of the concepts of a genre and the boundaries are very blurry, therefore it can be hard to tell when one genre ends and another begins. Because of this we must consider genre to be more than just a set of textual conventions.
Often; the setting of horror is an abandoned building which later makes a reappearance as it has a history or hidden secret. Most of these buildings are set in a communal, suburban area or an isolated street so that it l
ooks like the community has something to hide or it deserted for a certain 'spooky' reason- see image. This is the case in the 1978 movie "Halloween" where a girl is murdered in a typically safe street. Years on, the house is shown and nobody has lived in it since the incident; however the rest of street remains neighbourly. A lot of the time, medical institutions play a part and this is also shown in Halloween when the murderer has mental health issues and has escaped. Most of the scary scenes take place at night time or in the dark, so that during the day it is shown how the characters live their typical day to day life, before they were affected by the 'horror'.The camerawork in horror films is different to many other genres at the camera uses a lot of different angles and can be canted so that a disorientating feel reaches the spectator. Usually there is a lot of depth during shots of the hero in the foreground so that the audience is at an advantage if they can see a monster or evil thing emerging behind; as the protagonist cannot see this themselves. One of the most common conventions is the point of view shot, in which the audience can see the victim through the eyes of the mo
nster- see image. This shows us exactly what can be seen and shows us in what contex the monster is seeing the victim. For example in "Dracula" and "Nosferatu" which are films that have been made time and time again throughout many decades, the victim is always seen sexually and this is shown when blood is sucked from the preys neck(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2_dF7hn_hQ). The opposite to the point of view shot is the extreme close up of the victims face. Not only does this allow the audience to see the facial expression of the protagonist, it also builds up tension as we cannot see where the monster is. The camera can switch from the innocent to the evil, making the audience jump as this is an invasion of our personal space. The pace of editing indicates when something is about to happen as if it suddenly changes from constant and becomes very fast, you know the enigma of the storyline is nearing as tension rises.Certain things such as props, costumes and colours relate horror in ways of common knowledge. Typically, anybody who see's weapons, masks and religious symbols knows that it is related to horror. This is because of the holiday Halloween which we are exposed to every year. Lighting is usually low key, as the atmosphere would not be scary if a monster was seen in daylight. Certain lighting techniques such as chiaroscuro and high contrasting could be used to emphasise certain objects or to show silhouettes and shadoes. A lot of lighting direction comes from unexpected angles for example in the movie "The Ring" where the main source of light comes from down the well. The moon is also a common source of light as it comes from above and can light below. The colours red and black connote danger and blood. This is almost unnoticed now during movies when these are seen as the audience is so used to seeing them that it is barely an unusual convention.
The classic Hollywood narrative structure of normality, enigma, path to resolution, quest, resolution and closure largely applies to horror although there may be certain examples when this is not the case (http://www.inpoint.org/pdf/LanguageofFilm02.pdf). For examples in all of the "Saw" movies, the end is left as a cliff-hanger so that there can then be a sequel to the film (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJyvVMgl-p0) This is mainly a way of making money by having fans of the first film wait for the next to continue the story. Saw 6 has recently been released and this is an example of a very successful chain of sequels. This narrative structure is now based on Todorov's theory. Another theory is by Vladimir Propp who studied russian folk tales and found that they all had certain amounts of structural features (http://mural.uv.es/vifresal/Propp.htm). This was applied to the film "The Shining" by Kubrick and it was proved that some of these did relate. In the sub-genre of 'slasher' movies, usually a psychotic child returns to a past location on an anniversary to kill. This usually includ
es a gang of teenagers and the surviving final girl. Binary oppositions are used quite commonly to create a sense of innocence mixed with evil. This is the reason dolls, children and fairgrounds are used in horrors and this creates a changing atmosphere- see image.Character types are very simple and usually consist of the main protagonist (who is commonly female) and is kind, virginal and ends up being stronger than it was first thought. She ends up being the final survivor and hero of the film. Other characters include the villain with a hidden secret or deterioration of mental health, children who need saving, a group of immoral teens which are killed off and police/member of the law who the audience think will help when in actual fact, they are useless.
The main themes of Horror are out of control science, which relates back to the beginning of Horrir in the 30's when mad scientists were created such as Frankenstein, the hidden evil, binary opposites such as good VS evil, known VS unkown and natural VS unnatural and the return of the repessed. This is a theory by Freud who believed that bad memories were put in the unconsious part of the brain which then tends to reappear in behaviour. This relates to Horror as characters could have a flashback to an unpleasant experience, adding to tension.
There is no single text that can contain all of the concepts of a genre and the boundaries are very blurry, therefore it can be hard to tell when one genre ends and another begins. Because of this we must consider genre to be more than just a set of textual conventions.
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
Teaser Trailers
This teaser trailer does comply with some of the key conventions of movie trailers:
There are three intertitles which firstly present the producers name Michael Bay (which is a prodution value) and then presents the name of the Movie- "Nightmare on Elm Street". There is no voice over and as there is no other intertitles, a situation is not proposed to the audience and there are no rehtorical questions, therefore they are left to make their own minds up about what is happening, based on the clips of the movie shown. The last intertitle at the end of the trailer says "dont fall asleep" which we know has something to do with the plot of the film.
Although we know from the title that the movie is a horror, the beginning of the trailer could be mistaken for an Action film as the mis-en-scene presents an industrial, scrap yard sort of area, followed by a man being chased by cars.
There is no music accompanying this trailer however there is a sequence of constant sound effects with a few pauses to add moments of suspense. There is a creepy song sung by a child with a recoccuring tune and this leads to the build up of louder screaming, banging, smashing and shouting. As the woman wakes up and gasps for breath, the audience thinks that it has ended however after a black screen there is another "in your face" sort of shot with the same woman screaming.
We can gather from this trailer that the villian in the movie is a monster with metal claws. These claws are a reoccuring element as they appear from in the bath and are wrapped around somebodys arm. We also know he is burnt as the woman in this film says "im having a dream, about this man..and hes burnt". Fire is also a reoccuring element in this trailer.
Usually teaser trailers are much shorter than this one, typically ranging from 30-90seconds however there can be some exceptions.
This teaser trailer does comply with some of the key conventions of movie trailers:
There are two intertitles which present the name of the producer (which is again Michael Bay. This shows how popular he really is in the film industry.) and one which mentions that it is from the same director of Chain Saw Massacre. This means that if there are any big fans of the 4award winner film, they will want to see this due to the qualities they enjoyed in the other. The name of the film is displayed twice, once over a zooming out image of the "monsters' mask.' with the number 13 changing from white to red (as it is supersticiously unlucky.) It is then shown again at the end of the clip, floating on the right over an 'earthy' patch in the background.
There is dialogue throughout the teaser which acts as a sort of narrator although it comes from the actual movie. It proposes the problematic features of the plot and is an older sounding women. Her voice has an echo effect and it is creepy sounding.
We can immediately establish that the genre of this trailer is a horror as the sound at the beginning is very obvious. Although there is no soundtrack accompanying the trailer, there are constant effects which create a lot of tension. There are bird noises which sound more like an large, hunting bird rather than a small sweet whistling tune. This is followed by a black screen, low key lighting and a dark and strong mysterious blowing wind noise. There are sound effects throughout such as doors creaking, cars, bangs and breathing and there is one quiet screeching noise which runs throughout the trailer.
There is no real build up towards the end of the trailer but i like this as the sound keeps changing and the audience does not really know what is going to happen next.
Usually teaser trailers are much shorter than this one however again there are exceptions.
This teaser trailer does comply with some of the key conventions of movie trailers:
There is a voiceover throughout the teaser. It is a deep, authoritative males voice and it informs the audience that the movie is set at halloween. The speech is broken up into clauses with dialogue and visuals between each one. These visuals back up what the voiceover is saying for example we hear "Terror is just around the corner" and then see a clip of a young female standing next to a corner. The lights behind her go out, therefore the audience knows that something is lurking there.
There are no rehtorical questions, alliteration or other grammatical devices in this voiceover however what there is, is short and sweet and is effective in explaining the 'complication'.
One intertitle introduces the name of the movie in a contrasting white font compared to the black blackground. It is in upper case and the font is creepy looking as it has squared edges rather than round. The text falls back into the background and looks very effective.
There are no production values shown in the movie especially since the movie had not yet been shot as the trailer was a callout to try and get funding.
We do immediately know that this trailer is for a horror because not only does the name of the movie give it away, the music is eerie and different to that of an action or rom-com.
There is one tune throughout the beginning of the trailer which underlies the dialogue and sound effects. It is very high pitched and of a constant volume. It ceases at the sound of a knife and from there onwards it begins to build up. This begins with a bang, the laugh of a 'monster', a rising pitch which is played by string intruments and ends with a long, echoed scream.
The length of this teaser is also inbetween the average length of 30-90 seconds therefore it gives enough information and footage to leave the spectator wanting more without having seen too much or the resolution of the movie.
Saturday, 3 October 2009
The Shining
The film 'The Shining' by director Stanley Kubrick was made in 1980. Vladimir Propp looked at a wide range of tales and found that all of them shared certain important structural features. He categorized these into character roles and narrative function groups. This relates to 'The Shining' in a number of ways and the character roles are:
• The Villian: This is Jack. He starts off like a normal man but we see him becoming more distressed and isolating himself from his family, wanting to be alone. This is when he becomes driven to harm his wife Wendy and son Danny.
• The Helper: This is the Cook, better known as Dick Hallorann. He could also be considered as the false hero as nearing the end of the film, he returns to the Overlook hotel and there is a chance he could save Wendy and Danny, but he is killed when he stumbles upon Jack. He is mainly the helper as he speaks to Danny about having the shining, gives the family a tour of the hotel and tries to check up on them over the winter.
• Hero/Victim: This is Wendy. She is Jacks main target and we find out that she is stronger than we first thought. She fights for her own life and puts her son Danny before her although there are times when we are not sure if she will survive or not. She manages to escape Jack when he is exhausted and cold; driving out of town in the Snowcat with Danny.
In the narrative categories, the occuring functions are:
• PREPERATION.
1. A member of family leaves home- Jack leaves home for an interview. He later takes the rest of his family with him as they move to live in the Overlook Hotel for Winter.
2. A prohibition or rule is imposed on the hero- Jack tells Wendy she must never enter the room when he is typing.
3. This prohibition is broken- Jack is having a nightmare and Wendy runs in the room to help him however Jack never says anything about her having disobeyed him.
5. The villian learns something about the victim- Jack learns Wendy is mentally and physically stronger than he first thought as she hits him with the bat and locks him in the sotrage cupboard.
7. The victim unknowingly helps the villian by being decieved or influenced by the villian- Wendy could have left the hotel at a much earlier point when Jack was more mentally stable, instead she hung around until the very end, making it easier for him to take advantage of them.
8. The villian harms a member of the family- Jack never physically harms Wendy and Danny although he tries to, he causes them a lot of harm mentally as they become unhappy and he tries to axe them.
• COMPLICATION
8a. A member of the family lacks or desires something- Jack desires to become a writer. This was his reason for moving to the hotel in the first place so he could get inspiration.
• TRANSFERENCE
11. The hero leaves home- Wendy leaves home along with Jack to the hotel.
12. The hero is tested, attacked, interrogated and as a result, recieves a magical agent or helper- Both Wendy and Danny are interrogated and Hallorann comes to help them as he gets the shining from Danny.
• STRUGGLE
16. The hero and villian join in direct combat- Both Wendy and Jack are in confrontation in several parts of the film. One being when Wendy edges up the staircase with the baseball bat and Jack is following her. Another is when Jack is chopping through the door and Wendy slices through his hand with a kitchen knife.
18. The villian is defeated- Jack dies overnight when he becomes tired in the snowy maze and sits down to rest. He becomes covered in ice and Wendy and Danny are left to escape.
• RETURN
26. The task is accomplished- Wendy manages to escape and save her and Dannys life. This is what she has been aiming for ever since Jacks mental health went downhill.
• RECOGNITION
30. The villian is punished- This is through losing his life. He cannot enjoy his life any longer and has been taken from the earth at a fairly young age.
• The Villian: This is Jack. He starts off like a normal man but we see him becoming more distressed and isolating himself from his family, wanting to be alone. This is when he becomes driven to harm his wife Wendy and son Danny.
• The Helper: This is the Cook, better known as Dick Hallorann. He could also be considered as the false hero as nearing the end of the film, he returns to the Overlook hotel and there is a chance he could save Wendy and Danny, but he is killed when he stumbles upon Jack. He is mainly the helper as he speaks to Danny about having the shining, gives the family a tour of the hotel and tries to check up on them over the winter.
• Hero/Victim: This is Wendy. She is Jacks main target and we find out that she is stronger than we first thought. She fights for her own life and puts her son Danny before her although there are times when we are not sure if she will survive or not. She manages to escape Jack when he is exhausted and cold; driving out of town in the Snowcat with Danny.
In the narrative categories, the occuring functions are:
• PREPERATION.
1. A member of family leaves home- Jack leaves home for an interview. He later takes the rest of his family with him as they move to live in the Overlook Hotel for Winter.
2. A prohibition or rule is imposed on the hero- Jack tells Wendy she must never enter the room when he is typing.
3. This prohibition is broken- Jack is having a nightmare and Wendy runs in the room to help him however Jack never says anything about her having disobeyed him.
5. The villian learns something about the victim- Jack learns Wendy is mentally and physically stronger than he first thought as she hits him with the bat and locks him in the sotrage cupboard.
7. The victim unknowingly helps the villian by being decieved or influenced by the villian- Wendy could have left the hotel at a much earlier point when Jack was more mentally stable, instead she hung around until the very end, making it easier for him to take advantage of them.
8. The villian harms a member of the family- Jack never physically harms Wendy and Danny although he tries to, he causes them a lot of harm mentally as they become unhappy and he tries to axe them.
• COMPLICATION
8a. A member of the family lacks or desires something- Jack desires to become a writer. This was his reason for moving to the hotel in the first place so he could get inspiration.
• TRANSFERENCE
11. The hero leaves home- Wendy leaves home along with Jack to the hotel.
12. The hero is tested, attacked, interrogated and as a result, recieves a magical agent or helper- Both Wendy and Danny are interrogated and Hallorann comes to help them as he gets the shining from Danny.
• STRUGGLE
16. The hero and villian join in direct combat- Both Wendy and Jack are in confrontation in several parts of the film. One being when Wendy edges up the staircase with the baseball bat and Jack is following her. Another is when Jack is chopping through the door and Wendy slices through his hand with a kitchen knife.
18. The villian is defeated- Jack dies overnight when he becomes tired in the snowy maze and sits down to rest. He becomes covered in ice and Wendy and Danny are left to escape.
• RETURN
26. The task is accomplished- Wendy manages to escape and save her and Dannys life. This is what she has been aiming for ever since Jacks mental health went downhill.
• RECOGNITION
30. The villian is punished- This is through losing his life. He cannot enjoy his life any longer and has been taken from the earth at a fairly young age.
Thursday, 17 September 2009
The Return of the Repressed
Sigmund Freud created the term "The Return Of The Repressed" to explain bad thoughts and memories which are put into the unconscious part of the brain. These then tend to reappear in behaviour which could relate to horror films by characters having a flashback to an unpleasant experience, adding to tension. The opposite to this is wishes and fantasies put in to the consious part of the brain where they are supposed to be remembered. Repression is now considered a defense mechanism.
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