We made a survery on survey monkey. We got 5 people from all different ages to fill in the survey. This means we could get a wide range of information for our opening of our film.
We used survey monkey for
your questions so out target audience could give us feedback. By getting target
audience feedback this helped us see what the target age would like to see your
film to start and what they thought about our film. We started of by asking 12
to 20 years old how old they was to make sure we had a wide range of audience
for the questionnaire. We then asked how they would like to see the opening
film to start. We had a wide range of feedback from this question. One saying
it should be a flashback to his past school days. Another person said it should
start by Billy killing somebody or something. The last question asked is if
somebody should die in the opening we had one person say yes and the other 3
said no and one person skipped this question. By getting this feedback it helps
us see what our target audience would like to see in our film opening.
This post will explain the process from our initial ideas for our film all the way though to planning and preforming our 60 second pitch. we sat around one computer, and come up with some initial ideas for the whole film. After we had come up with them ideas we come up with a group decision to decide on one idea. This is explained in our 60 second pitch below.
This is a video of the whole classes 60 second pitches. You can find our pitch at 4:31 in the video above.
The reason that people get scared during horror films is the music and sound effects that help create tension. If these audio features were not used during horror films, they would simply not be as scary. If you were to turn the volume down when you are watching a horror film you would realise the significance of well-composed music and sound effects that help create a truly terrifying experience. Music plays a key role in a horror film because it immediately sets the tone. It also helps the director to set the mood of the scene and film. There is many ways to build up if something is going to happen here is some examples. A long eerie musical buildup suggests that a big event is just around the corner. A rapid sequence might suggest stress or panic, making the audience feel anxious.Music may progressively build to signify that a dramatic event is about to happen or it may be upbeat to lighten the mood.Music is the biggest contributor to getting the viewer’s adrenaline pumping.The viewer can feel scared before any events transpire based on how effectively and artistically music is being played in the background. A horror film with no music or the wrong music can not scare the viewer at all in-fact it could even make it funny or just boring to watch. If you click on this link and watch these seven horror films without the music they are completely different. Music is a key role in a horror film or even any film because it immediately sets the tone. Even before the actor says anything the audience knows what their fate is going to be based on the type of music that is playing in the background. Music completes the experience of a horror film Even though there are alot of diverse range in the music that has been used throughout different horror films, some of these common conventions include: *Isolated instruments are often used just before a key event occurs which helps link the idea of vulnerability, to the audience. *Long suspenseful notes often help contrast with short sharp notes to help shock the audience *Extreme but intentional changes of pitch tones. For example low long brass notes which suddenly change to very fast high pitched notes to make the audience feel immediately tense.
The picture below show what titles happen during the opening titles. it shows the exact timing and what has been said.
The typography section which is the bottom of the second picture talks about how the titles are presented and what effects they may have on them.
This part is where i have wrote down everything that I saw in terms of the font used and typography used in the opening titles. This includes font size, the font used and letters. lighting is also looked at to see what kind of effect it gives to the lettering.
The elements of sounds are what sounds can be heard during the titles. this includes the music which is being played, any sound effects that can be heard and non-diegetic/diegetic sounds.
Research into horror films I think my research into the horror films was good as I started from around 1930s to the present day. Research into a potential target audience I think the research into the potential target audience was ok but could have been better as it is not very detailed, however it is accurate as a wide range of audience has been questioned for the questionnaire.
Time management I think my time management is ok but could be better as sometimes I miss the dead line for some posts in the last couple of weeks. However they are posted by the next day or two days. Use of digital technology or ICT I think my use of IT is good as I done it at gcse and I am familiar with IT and computers. Communication skills I think my communication skills between my group is good. I will share ideas and speak to others and listen to what the other people in the group has to say and what their ideas are for the task. Level of care taken in the presentation of work I think I take a high care in my presentation of my work on my blog. I think this because the work on my blog is neat and tidy and is all organised in the correct way. They are posted in the correct order.
Codes are systems of signs, which create meaning. Codes can be divided
into two categories – technical and symbolic. Technical codes are all the ways
in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text, for example the
camera works in a film, the editing or the use of sound (diegetic and
non-diegetic).
Conventions
Conventions are the generally accepted ways of doing something. They are
genre specific. An example of this is in a horror film they never get phone
signal when they are needed. Another example is when someone is being chased in
a building and they run past the door that is unlocked and then go upstairs
where they are trapped instead of running out the front door to safety.
Dead Mary
Begins with a blonde girl trying to receive signal on
her phone, trying to start the car and trying to get a radio signal while she
waits for the other character to return with something useful, although between
all of these minor events there is someone or something stalking the two
victims from a fair distance and gradually gets closer to the two characters,
yet they do not suspect a thing.First of all
the technical codes; the use of camera in this film includes a lot of mid shots
of the character, extreme close ups of items in the vehicle that did not
necessarily work and a long shot towards the end of the opening of the other
character reaching the vehicle. The editing in this film involved a lot of
focusing shots that would start off very blurry and various cuts in the vehicle
showing each specific item. The main conventions used in this film is
secluded location, small group of people and no connection with other people
Dead wood
Events take a sinister turn when a mysterious
girl appears in their camp looking for her boyfriend. Soon the nightmare begins
as they find themselves lost in an endless wilderness stalked by a deadly
force. As those left fight for survival they will discover the true nature of
fear. The two couples try to escape from the mountain men while chased by them.
In wrong turn we hear no non-diegetic sound until the female slips of the wall
as a part of a jump scare, this is the same in dead Mary you hear no
non-diegetic sound until the jump scare of the man turning up at the back of
the car with the petrol tanks.The editing involved many cuts in between the chase to build suspense and slow motion of the male
character leaping across the ditch. The diegetic sounds used in this movie were
the branches snapping, leaves rustling which gave the audience the sense of
nature which could be interpreted as danger as it shows that they are in the
middle of know where and there is no safety or no help that they could receive.
They also use the camera to show how isolated they are by using
establishing shots to show the vast forest that they are in.
Wrong Turn
Wrong Turn starts off with two characters, one being
male and the other female rock climbing in a secluded location that are soon killed.
The technical codes, the use of camera in this film was limited to a lot
of high angle shots of the characters and location, which gives a sense of
power looking up towards the other character. The diegetic sound used in this
movie was simply things like the sound of the wire moving or clasping a hook;
although the non-diegetic sound real gave the film a sense a danger as the
tempo of the music picked up rapidly and increased in the volume and the pace. The symbolic codes; the mise en scene used shows the female being
slightly underdressed which is also a common convention in teen horror films,
blood on the body to show it was a vicious attack and a vehicle being used as a
prop to show the safety however she will never reach the car as the kill has it
planned.
In conclusion I think that wrong turn uses the most conventions in the
opening for the film as they are split up in the middle of a forest with no one
in sight. The male gets killed forest so it leaves the women left leaving their
to be more of a threat to the women. There is also a part when she is running
through the forest with a POV shot. She also gets to see safety by seeing the
car in the distance; however she never gets to reach the car as she is tripped
up and killed.
Conventions Conventions are the generally accepted ways of doing something. They are genre specific. An example of this is in a horror film they never get phone signal when they are needed. An other example is when someone is being chased in a building and they run past the door that is unlocked and then go upstairs where they are trapped instead of running out the front door to safety. Another example is that a person dies in the first 5 minutes this will set the scene for the rest of the movie. Codes Codes are systems of signs, which create meaning. Codes can be divided into two categories – technical and symbolic. Technical codes are all the ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text, for example the camera work in a film, the editing or the use of sound (diegetic and non-diegetic). Symbolic codes show what is beneath the surface of what we see. Symbolic codes are usually seen through aspects of mise-en-scene. For example, a character's actions show you how the character is feeling, a character's costume can be decoded to help us understand what type of person they are, certain props have suggestions or connotations which can be de-coded by an audience, etc. Some codes fit both categories of non-diegetic music for example, is both technical and symbolic. How codes and conventions apply in media studies Codes and conventions are used together in any study of genre – it is not enough to discuss a technical code used such as camera work, without saying how it is conventionally used in a genre. For example, the technical code of lighting is used in some way in all film genres. It is a convention of the horror genre that side and back lighting is used to create mystery and suspense – an integral part of any horror movie. For example Western films usually have have a good guy and a bad guy to resemble the good from the bad the costumes of the characters depict them from each over and give the audience an understanding of who they are. for example: the good guy will wear appropriate and sensible clothes on the other hand the villain might wear inappropriate clothing and will be usually dark colours. This research will help us produce a more effective opening because I now what makes a horror film and what and how directors can build the tension by diegetic and non-diegetic sounds and how they can create and imagine of a person just by the way they are dressed. This research shown me that codes and conventions are both very important as with out the mies-en-scene and the diegetic and non-diegetic are a big part in creating the film and they way it feels to the audience as without the music or with different music that is up beat the audience would not be as scared. It will help me because i now know how to use codes and conventions to help me create the horror film feel and how to use them to help create the tension in our opening.
Horror films go back as far as the onset of
films themselves, over a 100 years ago. From our earliest days, we use our
vivid imaginations to see ghosts in shadowy shapes, to be emotionally connected
to the unknown and to fear things that are improbable. Watching a horror film
gives an opening into that scary world, into an outlet for the essence of fear
itself, without actually being in danger. Weird as it sounds but there's a very
real thrill and fun factor in being scared.
This is one of the very first horror movies
with actors in them it was called The Devil's Castle.
The 1930s horror films
Horror movies were reborn in the 1930s. The
advent of sound, as well as changing the whole nature of cinema forever, had a
huge impact on the horror genre. Horror, with its strong elements of the
fantastic and the supernatural, provided an effective escape to audiences tiring
of their Great Depression reality, and, despite the money spent on painstaking
special effects, often provided a good return for their studio. here is an example of a advertising poster for a horror film called Dracula in the 1930s
The 1940s horror films
Wartime horror movies were purely an American
product. Banned in Britain, with film production curbed throughout the theatre
of war in Europe, horror movies were cranked out by Hollywood solely to amuse
the domestic audience. The studios stuck with tried and tested ideas, wary of
taking risks that might suggest they had no measure of the zeitgeist, and
trotted out a series of variations on a theme.
The 1950s horror films
It is hard to grasp the changes that took place
in popular consciousness between 1940 and 1950. In ten short years the concept
of a horrific monster had altered irrevocably. Whereas Lon Chaney, Jr in a fine
covering of yak's hair had once served as a powerful envoy from the dark side,
now there were more recognizably human faces attached to evil.
Horror Films in the
1960s
The 1960s saw a great sea change in what the
public perceived as horrible. The social stability that had marked the post-war
years was gone by the end of the decade as a huge rethink occurred in
everything from hemlines to homosexuality. Horror movies, usually made for low
budgets outside the mainstream studio system, offered the counterculture
opportunities to debunk old taboos and explore new ways of perceiving sex and
violence.
Horror films in the 1970s
Horror movies of the 1970s reflect the grim mood
of the decade. After the optimism of the 1960s, with its sexual and cultural
revolutions, and the moon landings, the seventies were something of a
disappointment. By 1970, the party was over; the Beatles split, Janis and Jimi
died, and in many senses it was downhill all the way from there: Nixon, Nam,
oil strikes, glam rock, feather haircuts, medallions. However, when society
goes bad, horror films get good, and the 1970s marked a return to the big
budget, respectable horror film, dealing with contemporary societal issues,
addressing genuine psychological fears.
Horror films in the 1980s
Horror movies of the 1980s, which start with
alien in the 1979, exist at the glorious watershed when special visual effects
finally caught up with the gory imaginings of horror fans and moviemakers.
Technical advances in the field of animatronics, and liquid and foam latex
meant that the human frame could be distorted to an entirely new dimension,
onscreen, in realistic close up.
Horror films in the 1990s
In the 1990s for the
most part, cinema attendance was up - mostly at multi-screen Cineplex complexes
throughout the country. Although the average film budget was almost $53 million
by 1998, many films cost over $100 million to produce, and some of the most
expensive blockbusters were even more. It can be argued that
the so-called psychological thriller took precedence over horror in the first
half of the 1990s, and indeed, many dark, disturbing films of this period
describe themselves as thriller, not horror. Yet directors such as Jonathan
Demme were adopting the codes and conventions of the horror genre, when representing their characters, and when manipulating the
shock/suspense mechanisms of their audience. Films such as the
Blair with project and scream were made in the 1990s
Horror films in the 2000s
The monsters have had to change, however. Gone
were the lone psychopaths of the 1990s, far too reminiscent of media portrayals
of bin Laden, the madman in his cave. In 2005 there was calls for a ban on all
horror films in the name of world peace however this did not get put in place.
In the 2000s films such as final destination and saw was created.
