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The Descent (2005) Textual analysis and Micro/technical Codes and Conventions.Directed by Neil Marshall

The storyline of the Decent: A mother goes on a hiking trip with 5 of her friends a year after her daughter and husbands tragic death in a car accident. they venture into a cave and find themselves trapped with little supply's. they soon come to realise they are not alone which then forces them to come to terms with what they need to do to survive.

The film is a 18 which means there will be blood gore very strong language and maybe sexual scenes.

Through this powerpoint I will be showing you how The film "the Descent" uses micro features in the film and also be showing how the common horror film would interpret these into the film, The four Micro elements I will be analysing is Sound, Mesc-en-scene, Editing, Camera work and explaining what effects each can give on the audience.

The Technical Micro elements Codes and Conventions/ The Descent textual analysis

In most horror films low pitched sound is used to build up intensity which tells you when something bad is coming up we know this because the music builds up and up getting louder and faster then going completely silent when something is about to happen (tension and Jolt).A loud noise happens when the bad guy or commonly known the antagonist pops out. This technique is used in all sub genres of horror, it also tells the audience that this person/monster/ghost is near by.To build suspense the film would go completely silent this gives the effect of tension and jolt, because this builds up the tension when a non-diegetic sound is eventually made it is expressed by the silence before it, often makes the audience jump or go into shock.The noise of a phone going dead or ringing gives the feel of mysteriousness and often is known of a way of the ghosts can let the people know they are there. It also works vice verse – When the antagonist is called by the protagonist, a mysterious voice which hasn't yet been heard the other end of the phone which is often very low pitched and difficult to understand. This is often used in the Ring and tells the people once they have seen the tape the unbelievable is now believable. The Descent uses these techniques commonly throughout the film, the tension and jolt is used when the antagonist is close by and coming in for another attack. The sound is often silent in this film to give a more of a realistic effect on the audience.

Sound.

Misc-en-sceneThe misc-en-scene in a film is everything that appears in a frame and the way it has been arranged such as; Props, Costumes, Lighting, Make up, Casting, Framing and location.

Props: The props in the descent have a significant effect on the audience one of the main props are torches, which when in the cave are the only sources of light, alone being props these have a great meaning of loneliness and when they are used create quite a narrow viewing for the viewer for example when they are in a vast cave, the torch only allows them to see minimal in the cave which creates tension on the audience. Also climbing equipment is used to show they know what they are doing even though theyare a group of lonely girls they still have past experience of caving.

Location: Many horror films decide to use cold and dark settings in a film to create different effects on the audience as well as this it gives the feel of reality an example of this in the Descent would be the cabin in the woods as many people can relate to it as they might have been there in the past and found it a creepy experience. The director has made the cabin look a lot more paranormal as it is wet and the wood is water logged the director has done this to make it look like it desolate (nobody has been there for a long time). There is also an underground location used in the proportion of the film this tells us they are out of there comfort zone as they haven't been in that cave before. The location also looks very cramped and sharp which creates suspense as it would make the audience feel as if they were in danger.

Costume: The Asian women in the Descent is the Character with the most sex appeal and will often lead the group into danger the Descent follows this perfectly to the point where the Women with sex appeal dies first as she is stupid and immoral but it contradicts this as she is the first to kill in the film. People usually want that character to go first as they are immoral and irritating to the audience.

Slow and fast paced editing: The beginning of the clip is slow as it establishes the scene it last from 29 seconds. These images are cuts and the conversation taken place between the family it is calm and also uses the 180 degree rule to have the conversation between the child and women. The shots give a safe environment as it is focused on the family inside of the car. The last shot then introduces a van as you can see it through the windshield, the pace builds up as well as the tension with the mother and father of the child in the front of the car. The conversation cuts 9 times, the scene allows to make it seem as though that nothing is going to happen apart from when the guy admits the truth. The editing pace of the crash scene is fast as It all of a sudden happens within 3 seconds the shots are placed in an order to show the crash in different aspects and put it in action. The crash is shows to obviously have two deaths within the car the shots disguise the gory image but make it clear what has happens this is easy as the audience can easily fill the gaps. The computer generated imagery part of the crash scene is focused on the physical crash of the people inside as It is about to happen the first bit of generated image used is the copper polls on the van as they are inserted by computer and the effect of them sliding forward and crashing through the screen is also Computer generated imagery. Furthermore the rods going through the mans head and through the seat is also done using Computer generated imagery with the effect of the blood produced this was done post production. Lastly the Transaction used in the scene is a fade to black the only fade in the scene which was used at the end when the crash had played through. The fade is a zoom out away from the crash showing the scene had finished.

Editing

Handheld: this is used In horror films to make it look like a documentary this effect gives us the feel of realism like it could actually happen to us. The Descent uses this in many parts of the film as they are going through the cave and discovering different parts the most it uses it is when a character is alone and the music has paused for tension to make the audience feel like they are they. This film is really good at this as it uses it when the music builds up and up so we know when something bad is going to happen. Most horror films will use this when the character is alone and unaware of his/her surrounding. Horrors also use Bird eye/high angle these kinds of shots are used in horrors to make the figure or object that is being looked down on seem completely powerless and vulnerable. The Descent uses this uses this to show of the massive cave compared to the size of the characters, it also emphasises the dangers of where they are and what they have not discovered yet which could mean there is something lurking in the cave with them. Close ups are used in the horror genre to see clearly the reaction of his/her face. This is the shot the director would use to show emotion of the characters. They are used in key scenes to capture the detail in a important scene. The descent uses this often to show the girls in the cave have no idea and express the terror on there faces, a key scene this is used is when the Asian girl stabs the other girl in the neck by accident it then follows up with several reaction shots of each of there faces expressing how something really shocking has just happened.Low angle shots are very strong and overpowering in horror films as they really express how intimidating and scary the villain or creature is. They usually tie in with close ups as they show the persons reaction to the terrifying thing above them. This makes you as the audience and the victim in the film feel insignificant and weak.

Camera work