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Showing posts with label horror conventions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label horror conventions. Show all posts
Monday, 11 March 2013
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Prom Night Analysis
The film "Prom Night" is a horror and its poster is simple but yet very effective. There are a lot of mise en scene elements, such as props that connote to the target audience that it is a pure horror film that is aiming to scare its audience. The target audience of this film is teenagers and young adults, I know this because the title shows that it will have characters of the same/similar age to the audience and the events that may have or will experience for example, a prom.
Firstly, there are 4 colours that are noticeable and they are; red, gray, white and black. This is effective because it makes the poster seem bright because the colours go together and the colourful elements do not draw the target attentions away from the actual image. The colour pallet is a signal of ahorror genre for the target audience because it is dark and therefore the audience has a sense of not being able to see the picture in its true light
The poster has a worn and damaged look to it and this suggest the possible struggle that the character is in. Also the poster doesn't have a glossy, pretty look to it and this is ironic because prom is supposed to be glossy, pretty and stylish, which the poster isn't and obviously the poster suggests that it's a bad night. The target audience would have to watch the film to see why a stereotypical glitzy and elegant prom would be disrupted.
The film poster has followed the conventions of horror genre ad the victim is female.
Females are often chosen as victims in a horror film because they are generally classed as inferior, vulnerable and weaker than mean and this therefore suggest that they are more likely to be the one who is more likely to get attacked by the villain because they are vulnerable.
The title is in red and this can be related to blood, passion and evil. The colouring makes the title stand out against the dark sinister setting but it does not steal the focus from the main picture because it is correctly sized and is in a basic font. The edges of the text is slightly blurred into the picture and in my view this gives off a feeling that the writing is glowing or that it could be written in blood and is now dripping down. This shows that the horror genre is targeting the audience by implying that violence and harm will be occurring during the film and that the person being harmed is the girl in the poster.
In this picture there is what I would call a tiara and this is one of the main focuses of the poster and its cleverly used because the glamour is linked with fear. It is a stereotypical element of high school proms and this reinforces the setting of the title. The tiara is placed on characters head and the hair is untidy and this suggests that the character distressed and could of been involved in violence such as a struggle because the prop is displaced and her hair is messy. The tiara covers the characters eyes and this makes the audience focus on the mouth and her expression is linked with fear because it looks like she is screaming for help, or something similar.
The expression of the character is the main focus point of the poster because it portrays terror and fear, and these two elements are very common and important to horror films and this factor of the poster displays the genre to the target audience. The mouth takes up a lot of the poster (around one third) and this suggest that its highlighting the importance and presents fear that will be created throughout the movie. In addition it looks like she is screaming and this expression would cause the target audience to imagine that she is in a distressed situation.
At the bottom of the poster there's a short slogan or tag line which says "A night to die for" this is clever because its playing with words as it is a phrase that is used by the target audience but in this context the word "die" actually does mean "die" and that something is obviously going to happen. The tagline/slogan is placed under the title so it is the second the audience reads after the naming of the film. The text fits with the colour palette because it is in white and it helps stand out from the main title as well as the background itself
Firstly, there are 4 colours that are noticeable and they are; red, gray, white and black. This is effective because it makes the poster seem bright because the colours go together and the colourful elements do not draw the target attentions away from the actual image. The colour pallet is a signal of ahorror genre for the target audience because it is dark and therefore the audience has a sense of not being able to see the picture in its true light
The poster has a worn and damaged look to it and this suggest the possible struggle that the character is in. Also the poster doesn't have a glossy, pretty look to it and this is ironic because prom is supposed to be glossy, pretty and stylish, which the poster isn't and obviously the poster suggests that it's a bad night. The target audience would have to watch the film to see why a stereotypical glitzy and elegant prom would be disrupted.
The film poster has followed the conventions of horror genre ad the victim is female.
Females are often chosen as victims in a horror film because they are generally classed as inferior, vulnerable and weaker than mean and this therefore suggest that they are more likely to be the one who is more likely to get attacked by the villain because they are vulnerable.
The title is in red and this can be related to blood, passion and evil. The colouring makes the title stand out against the dark sinister setting but it does not steal the focus from the main picture because it is correctly sized and is in a basic font. The edges of the text is slightly blurred into the picture and in my view this gives off a feeling that the writing is glowing or that it could be written in blood and is now dripping down. This shows that the horror genre is targeting the audience by implying that violence and harm will be occurring during the film and that the person being harmed is the girl in the poster.
In this picture there is what I would call a tiara and this is one of the main focuses of the poster and its cleverly used because the glamour is linked with fear. It is a stereotypical element of high school proms and this reinforces the setting of the title. The tiara is placed on characters head and the hair is untidy and this suggests that the character distressed and could of been involved in violence such as a struggle because the prop is displaced and her hair is messy. The tiara covers the characters eyes and this makes the audience focus on the mouth and her expression is linked with fear because it looks like she is screaming for help, or something similar.
The expression of the character is the main focus point of the poster because it portrays terror and fear, and these two elements are very common and important to horror films and this factor of the poster displays the genre to the target audience. The mouth takes up a lot of the poster (around one third) and this suggest that its highlighting the importance and presents fear that will be created throughout the movie. In addition it looks like she is screaming and this expression would cause the target audience to imagine that she is in a distressed situation.
At the bottom of the poster there's a short slogan or tag line which says "A night to die for" this is clever because its playing with words as it is a phrase that is used by the target audience but in this context the word "die" actually does mean "die" and that something is obviously going to happen. The tagline/slogan is placed under the title so it is the second the audience reads after the naming of the film. The text fits with the colour palette because it is in white and it helps stand out from the main title as well as the background itself
Wednesday, 30 January 2013
notes about the horror genre part 2
Equirbliam music - "Motifs are incidental"
Equirbliam is when the opposing forces or influences are balanced or in the norm.
Erigm a code - A narrative by an unawnsered question
Proairetic/Action code - Drives narrative through antciptation of an actions resolution
Linear - Start to finish
Non Linear - Jumbeled
Circular - Starts where it finishes
Parrel Narrative - Two narrated parts of a story set in the same place and same time.
Convergent Narrative - Come together
Interweaving Narrative - Two people whose lives come together and go apart again
Flashback - A scene where the character has a vision from his/her past, usually something that gives a clue or something back for example death.
Ellipsis - Things such as scenes missing
Equirbliam is when the opposing forces or influences are balanced or in the norm.
Erigm a code - A narrative by an unawnsered question
Proairetic/Action code - Drives narrative through antciptation of an actions resolution
Linear - Start to finish
Non Linear - Jumbeled
Circular - Starts where it finishes
Parrel Narrative - Two narrated parts of a story set in the same place and same time.
Convergent Narrative - Come together
Interweaving Narrative - Two people whose lives come together and go apart again
Flashback - A scene where the character has a vision from his/her past, usually something that gives a clue or something back for example death.
Ellipsis - Things such as scenes missing
Notes about the horror genre
Common Elements:
- Tension
- Fear
- Todorovs Theory
- Dark/Light Contrast
- Teenagers can relate
- Setting (Colleges/House/Small Towns) - Safety is theartned
- Final girl
- Element of suprise
- Disgust
The horror genre:
An attempt to make the audience experience fright fear or digust. Narratives often involve an evil force, event or supernatural character.
Gore fest = Zombie/Undead "Thriller" reflects to it
Denotation
Connotation
Camera Angle: 2 Shot
A two shot is a type of shor employed in the film industry in which the frame encompasses a view of two people (the subjects). The subjects do not have to be next to each other, and there are many common two shots which have one subject n the foreground and the other subject in the backgrouns. The shots are also used to show the emotional reactions between the subjects.
There are many genre's of horror such as:
- Psychological
- Science fiction
- Comedy
- Slasher
- Desomic
- Gore
- Apoclyptic/Armageddon
Villians can appear to be the hero. However this is not always obvious. This is driven by, revenge, mental instablity, love for the female and obessions. Ofren has an object/weapon (iconography) that signfies them, for example in "Scream" there is iconography of the phone, the mask and the knife.
Thursday, 13 December 2012
Conventions in Hide and Seek
‘Hide and Seek’
Long corridors: In the film Hide and Seek there are many long shots of long corridors this is usually from a subjective camera view. This makes the audience feel as though they are slowly walking towards to door and creates dramatic tension. In Hide and Seek the door at the end of the corridor always leads to the bathroom (which is a common place for horror movies). When the character David first wakes up unexpectedly he slowly walks up to the bathroom, doing this it makes people think something is going to happen and creates a sense of suspension. When he opens the door nothing seems out of the ordinary but the non-diegetic music is still playing which shows that something is going to happen and that’s what makes the audience scared. When David moves the shower curtain he find his wife dead in the bath what is filled with her blood.
Sound: The sound in Hide and Seek is essential as it’s the main part what creates all the tension and suspension within the film, its usually always playing throughout the film. Non Diegetic sound is used and this is when the character cannot hear it. It’s generally used to set the atmosphere for that certain moment and can be vague at times. In the beginning of Hide and Seek, the daughter, Emily is with her parents at the park they’re all having a fun time and music is playing in the background however there’s something about the music what makes it seem different and strange, its almost as if its trying to hint to the audience something bad is going to happen soon, soon after 10 minutes into the film, the mother is found dead in the bathroom.
The non diegetic sounds are significant within horror films as they set the mood and the tension for the moment. Diegetic sounds are sounds that the characters can hear for example Emily gets given a jewellery box at the start of the film, Emily is a sinister character and the sound of jewellery box makes it more creepy than what it should be. Dripping taps are also used within Hide and Seek which is a typical horror convention and is used in a lot of horror films.
Lightning: Horror films typically have dark lighting this suggest that there is loneliness and isolation in the film. At the start of Hide and Seek when Emily is playing outside with her mother, their clothing is significant because they are wearing bold clothing and what are also bright. The outside lighting is bright which is in the equilibrium, however as the film is in progress the lighting gets much more darker, and Emily and her father seem to wear darker clothing which are dull, this could suggest that neither of them are normal and don’t have a good bond together. The lighting becomes darker and sinister after the mother dies which shows that neither Emily of David (the father) wont get over the loss of the mother.
Remote isolated setting: In the film Hide and Seek the setting of the house is on the outskirts of New York but there are not many bigger houses nearby. However the house they live in is scarily big for 2 people to live in; it’s also set next to the woods and this suggests that Emily and David are very isolated from the rest of the others and society itself. Though before Emily’s mother died they lived happily in New York what generally has a bigger population., they moved away to a smaller unpopulated destination after she died which shows they might want to get away from the bad memories they have of her dying.
Long corridors: In the film Hide and Seek there are many long shots of long corridors this is usually from a subjective camera view. This makes the audience feel as though they are slowly walking towards to door and creates dramatic tension. In Hide and Seek the door at the end of the corridor always leads to the bathroom (which is a common place for horror movies). When the character David first wakes up unexpectedly he slowly walks up to the bathroom, doing this it makes people think something is going to happen and creates a sense of suspension. When he opens the door nothing seems out of the ordinary but the non-diegetic music is still playing which shows that something is going to happen and that’s what makes the audience scared. When David moves the shower curtain he find his wife dead in the bath what is filled with her blood.
Sound: The sound in Hide and Seek is essential as it’s the main part what creates all the tension and suspension within the film, its usually always playing throughout the film. Non Diegetic sound is used and this is when the character cannot hear it. It’s generally used to set the atmosphere for that certain moment and can be vague at times. In the beginning of Hide and Seek, the daughter, Emily is with her parents at the park they’re all having a fun time and music is playing in the background however there’s something about the music what makes it seem different and strange, its almost as if its trying to hint to the audience something bad is going to happen soon, soon after 10 minutes into the film, the mother is found dead in the bathroom.
The non diegetic sounds are significant within horror films as they set the mood and the tension for the moment. Diegetic sounds are sounds that the characters can hear for example Emily gets given a jewellery box at the start of the film, Emily is a sinister character and the sound of jewellery box makes it more creepy than what it should be. Dripping taps are also used within Hide and Seek which is a typical horror convention and is used in a lot of horror films.
Lightning: Horror films typically have dark lighting this suggest that there is loneliness and isolation in the film. At the start of Hide and Seek when Emily is playing outside with her mother, their clothing is significant because they are wearing bold clothing and what are also bright. The outside lighting is bright which is in the equilibrium, however as the film is in progress the lighting gets much more darker, and Emily and her father seem to wear darker clothing which are dull, this could suggest that neither of them are normal and don’t have a good bond together. The lighting becomes darker and sinister after the mother dies which shows that neither Emily of David (the father) wont get over the loss of the mother.
Remote isolated setting: In the film Hide and Seek the setting of the house is on the outskirts of New York but there are not many bigger houses nearby. However the house they live in is scarily big for 2 people to live in; it’s also set next to the woods and this suggests that Emily and David are very isolated from the rest of the others and society itself. Though before Emily’s mother died they lived happily in New York what generally has a bigger population., they moved away to a smaller unpopulated destination after she died which shows they might want to get away from the bad memories they have of her dying.
Male protagonist: David is the male lead of the movie Hide and Seek and he is also Emily’s father. Emily has what she calls an “imaginary friend” however at first David is unaware of who Charlie is and assumes that what Emily is saying is the truth – It’s only imaginary. David questions Emily a lot during the film and when he found the writing on the bathroom wall he suspects Emily did it and also questions her on that too; after that event happened a lot more strange things start to happen. David starts to believe that Charlie is real but he doesn’t know who or where he is. Through out the film it becomes clear to the audience that David is Charlie. This is because David has a split personality (related to schizophrenia) which was kicked off after he found his wife having an affair at a New Years Eve party, so in conclusion it was actually David who caused all the murders and the event that took place in the film.
Props: A effective prop that was used, is the jewellery box and the music plays and because its horror movie, it seems very creepy and makes it seem as though something is going to happen. Throughout the film, creepy toys what children use are effective. I know this because Emily has many dolls, her favourite doll is called “Alex” she takes the doll everywhere and anywhere she goes. After her mother dies and her father is taking her to bed, he realises that Emily no longer has the doll, when he questions her on why she hasn’t got it anymore, Emily states that she has a new friend called “Charlie”. The fact that Hide and Seek is using dolls is that its typically a familiar item that is considered safe however the movie makes the dolls seem scary and disturbing.
Props: A effective prop that was used, is the jewellery box and the music plays and because its horror movie, it seems very creepy and makes it seem as though something is going to happen. Throughout the film, creepy toys what children use are effective. I know this because Emily has many dolls, her favourite doll is called “Alex” she takes the doll everywhere and anywhere she goes. After her mother dies and her father is taking her to bed, he realises that Emily no longer has the doll, when he questions her on why she hasn’t got it anymore, Emily states that she has a new friend called “Charlie”. The fact that Hide and Seek is using dolls is that its typically a familiar item that is considered safe however the movie makes the dolls seem scary and disturbing.
Thursday, 15 November 2012
"The Ring" Horror Conventions
'The Ring' is a modern 2002 remake of a Japanese horror film of the same name, both films are based on the novel written by Koji Suzuki. The female role has changed throughout the horror genre as in a traditional horror the female would play a “damsel in distress” that needed to be saved; however in modern horror films -such as 'The Ring'- there are characters like Rachel, a strong female able to support herself and find out what's happening.
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