H U D A H A I D

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products

Codes and Conventions

Codes and Conventions Split into sub genres , often hybridised Primary target audience – male, 16-24, Mainstreamers Uses and Gratifications (active audiences) theory can apply Extensive use of Narrative enigmas Exploration of Narrative Themes Slow pace of Editing, builds tension. Long takes Three act narrative structure Predictable narrative content (follows format) Clear binary oppositions e.g. good v evil Use of low key lighting High production values but many low budget horror films Dominant, hegemomic representation of gender: The Female Victim Extensive use of close up Incidental non-diegetic sound Distorted diegetic sound Extensive use of narrative off-screen space Young/teenage characters Point of view shots Low angle shots

Contemporary Examples that use typical Codes and Conventions of a Horror film

Contemporary Examples

Paranormal Activity 2

Saw (6 films in franchise)

Blair Witch Project Dog Soldiers

I Know What You Did Last Summer

Hostel

High Angle Shot used to show an overview of the scene. I have used this shot in my trailer.

Costume: SKYE

Costumes is a vital part with mise en scene in Horror especially in Slasher Horror which is my sub genre for the film trailer. According to Clover, a theorist who suggested that the final girl theory is a concept within slasher horror. As the final girl tends to be the survivor in the film. Therefore I wanted to include this in my film as its associated with the sub genre I have chosen for my film trailer but a typical convention of a final girl is that they tend to wear ordinary clothing. However as the film progresses the type of clothing they wear gradually changes because of how they are represented in the film. For example Sidney in Scream who wore very plain clothing and when the camera was on her, the lighting was very dark. However I decided to develop this convention by choosing bright colored clothing for the main antagonist and the lighting was very light until the antagonist appeared in the shot. However in the end of the trailer, the atmosphere is very dark with both characters in the room. I chose to do this because I wanted to show the audience how the lighting has been light throughout but becomes dark in the ending scene to show how the representation of the characters has changed through mise en scene.

Characters: SKYE

The antagonist in my film was represented very mysteriously as he wore dark clothing and a hoodie. Hoodies are usually associated with social realism films but I decided to use this as I hadn't seen many Horror films use a hoodie. Most Horror trailer's used an iconic mask such as the mask in scream. Throughout the scream franchise, the USP of this film was the mask as the audience can buy these masks. These masks somewhat promote the film. Therefore I wanted to make my film trailer more different as the antagonist wore a hoodie because this type of clothing is usually associated with my narrative which involves a stalker. By doing this, I’m challenging conventions of a Horror film by using costume which isn’t usually used in Horror films. The stalker in the film has a large scar on his face so that he could appear scary and create fear with the audience.

Narrative: SKYE

The narrative for my film trailer follows Todrov and I decided to use this theory as many mainstream films follow Todrov’s theory in their film trailer. However I decided to challenge his theory by starting my trailer with the disruption of the equilibrium as many typical Horror films would start off with the equilibrium and ends with the new equilibrium. The beginning of my film starts off with the antagonist kidnapping the victim of the film therefore this shows the disruption of the narrative. I challenged typical conventions because I wanted the audience to automatically be intrigued by my film trailer as it starts off quite frightening as the stalker kidnaps the young victim and then gradually shows the antagonist stalking the young victim.

Sound: SKYE

Instead of creating my own soundtrack for my film trailer, I researched sounds that I could use in my trailer. For example a website I used was freesound.org. I had used a range of non-diegtic sounds because I wanted to develop a convention. Most Slasher horror would not include many non-diegetic sounds but I wanted to include sounds such as a women screaming and a masking tape sound. As it could somehow increase fear with the audience. However its very typical to use a sound of a women screaming therefore I decided to keep this convention just so that the audience would recognise the genre of this film. The diegetic sounds I used were from soundtracks people online had created. The beginning of my film started of slow but the music becomes faster and builds tension throughout the whole film trailer. The dramatic scenes in my film trailer fit well with the sound used in the trailer.

Binary Opposition: SKYE

Binary Opposition is when something opposes with one and another, I used this theory within my film trailer as it’s a convention used in many mainstream Horror films and in some other genre’s too. For example the scene in which the main protagonist holds a candle in the dark shed and the stalker appears behind her without her knowing and blows out the candle. This not only creates suspension but it creates light vs dark between the two characters. The main protagonist represents light and the antagonist represents dark. Binary Oppositions isn’t common with Horror films but its common with the sci-fi genre. For example Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace and this is shown through the characters costume as the main character wears a light coloured shirt and a white colored robes and this represents purity and goodness whereas the antagonist has a red coloured lightsaber. I decided to use a typical convention of this sci-fi film and incorporated this into the genre Horror, as Binary oppositions is usually associated with horror films. The light candle I used somehow represents the protagonist of the film and the darkness represents the dark antagonist.

Candle used in the film.

Shot Types:SKYE

I used a range of different shot types that follows typical forms and conventions of existing Horror films. Most Horror films use close up shots or use handheld camera’s to show scenes. I decided to challenge these conventions by using a range of other camera shots such as a over the shoulder shot and a high angle shot. For example there was a over the shoulder shot from the antagonist perspective in the beginning of the film trailer.

Over the shoulder shot