Since analyising a series of our particular genre of films, as a group me, soph, xen and ellie finally decided that we would explore a sub-genre of Physcological thriller. We chose this as it will allow us to experiment with different camera shots and different camera techniques that do not necessarily have to be tidy or neat becuase of the context we are filming in. It also allows us to lose the hassel of having too much dialogue in our opening as we can experiment more with background dialogue and non diegetic and diegetic sounds.
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
common codes and conventions
Whilst watchign my chosen films, i decided to note down similar aspects and codes and conventions i noticed in each film. I then sent these to the rest of the girls in my group and along wiht their notes we was able to create a superb powerpoint that was very impressive and helpful to not only us but other groups doing the same genre.
These are the notes that i got from my chosen films........................
Most common codes and conventions in horror/thriller films
Costumes………..
Most the time the victims are dressed in normal clothes to create realism and allow us to connect with the characters, this is especially displayed in the victims. Scream (kacy) cabin fever (the college kids) they are also dressed in colours which connote innocence, youth and naivety (pink, white, cream, beige and blues). This can portray their characters and reinforce the realism to the viewers.
Editing…..
In the majority of films I have looked at scream, creep, cabin fever, signs. The editing is always straight cut and jump cuts. The straight cuts help speed up the pace of the film, and create tension and enigma for the viewers. It make them on edge as there is so much going on in the scene, it can also create a feeling of disorientation for the viewers and they are not quite sure what’s happening at the time.
Jump cuts are used, in horror films to connect characters and scenes with each other, there are more commonly used in horror/thriller films then any other genres because the audience like to piece together the story to try and find out who the killer is; who’s dead., who is innocent, who is going to be next etc Jump cuts help piece the story together bit, by bit and also create enigma too.
Credits….
Colours most commonly used in the films for credits are red (scream) white (cabin fever) and black. All these colours are used because they are more commonly associated with death, danger and evil. Red is almost always used as it can connote blood which is continuously associated with horror/thriller films.
Costumes………..
Most the time the victims are dressed in normal clothes to create realism and allow us to connect with the characters, this is especially displayed in the victims. Scream (kacy) cabin fever (the college kids) they are also dressed in colours which connote innocence, youth and naivety (pink, white, cream, beige and blues). This can portray their characters and reinforce the realism to the viewers.
Editing…..
In the majority of films I have looked at scream, creep, cabin fever, signs. The editing is always straight cut and jump cuts. The straight cuts help speed up the pace of the film, and create tension and enigma for the viewers. It make them on edge as there is so much going on in the scene, it can also create a feeling of disorientation for the viewers and they are not quite sure what’s happening at the time.
Jump cuts are used, in horror films to connect characters and scenes with each other, there are more commonly used in horror/thriller films then any other genres because the audience like to piece together the story to try and find out who the killer is; who’s dead., who is innocent, who is going to be next etc Jump cuts help piece the story together bit, by bit and also create enigma too.
Credits….
Colours most commonly used in the films for credits are red (scream) white (cabin fever) and black. All these colours are used because they are more commonly associated with death, danger and evil. Red is almost always used as it can connote blood which is continuously associated with horror/thriller films.
Analysis of essays presentation
Once me , xenia, sophie and ellie had all finished analysing our films. We got together as a group and discussed what we found similar and different in each of the films we watched. We compared how horros are different from thriller and physcological and so on. We also discussed the different techniques and codes and conventions used in our particualr sub-genre of film to see what was aeffective and waht wasnt when watching our films. This task allowed us to express our each individual ideas about what we think a horror/thriller/physcological film should or should not include.
After we had evaluated our films and come together as a group we then had to create a powerpoint presentation on what each of us had found common in these films.
We found the narrative structure at the opening of most of the horror/thriller films we observed and analysed contained similar narrative structures…
They either open with a flashback of an event, such as My Bloody Valentine (2009) and The Amityville Horror (2005)… giving the audience information to lead them into the rest of the film or building up tension and enigma setting them up for the rest of the film.
The time scheme used in horror films is mainly set in our time; the time that’s on the film is the time it is here. However sometimes the narrative structure can feature, flash backs or flash forwards. Creating a scene of past and history in the film.- We found that the diegetic and non diegetic sound were one of the most important conventions of a horror/thriller film for the enjoyment of the film. The fear factor of any horror film would almost totally disappear if the auditory features were removed or altered to something not benefiting a horror film. Striking sound effects and well composed music play in creating a truly frightening horror/thriller film experience for the audience.
In the majority of films we have looked at such as, Scream, Creep, Cabin fever, Signs. The editing is always straight cut and jump cuts. The straight cuts help speed up the pace of the film, and create tension and enigma for the viewers. It make them on edge as there is so much going on in the scene, it can also create a feeling of disorientation for the viewers and they are not quite sure what’s happening at the time.
This is some of the information off our powerpoint presentation. ^^^
Textual analysis preveiw
This is a little example of different parts in my textual analysis of the horror films i have studied. I found this task very beneficial as previously mentioned becuase i found it gave me an insightful vewi of what the audience want and what is common in our specific horro/physcological thriller genre of film.
2012
Costumes
The man that we initially see in the film, is a young man dressed all in beige and pale colours, which can connote innocence and vulnerability. The way a character dresses can give more of an impact in thriller/horror films than any other films because the way they are dressed helps us as the audience differentiate between who maybe the victim and who is the villain. We presume the man in this scene is the main character and is could be a victim due to the colour clothes he is wearing.
Signs
Stock setting
The setting used meets the generic codes for a thriller films because normally a haunted house, forest or school is used and this setting is exactly that. The way we just see the garden in the opening of the scene can give an implication to the audience that something is going to happen or take place there. The garden looks deserted and quite and props used in the garden likes a wooden swing and a crooked wooden bench all add to the effect the director is trying to create. The garden looks eerie and the inside of the house matches this setting, as it’s a dark house decorated with all dark wood and has no bright colours anywhere. This could connote danger, mystery and the unknown about the house.
Jaws
Props
All the pros were realistic, drinks, phones, food around the camp fire. These props create normality and reinforce realism to the audience creating the effect that the characters are just normal young people.
I am legend
Narrative structure/function
The way the narrative has been structured really helps the thriller genre be portrayed. As the audience we do not as of yet know what’s happened to everyone in the city, we don’t know why only will smith is left, how his dog survived, why he has a gun, where everyone else has disappeared too. The way the film does not answer any questions for certain in the opening creates enigma and anticipation for the audience as they will be on the edge of their seats wanting to find out more and more about what happened to the characters. Also by only having one main character it gives a twist on the normal thriller we see, and creates more suspense for the viewer as they want to know why will smith is the only human that is still alive.
Cabin Fever
Editing
The blurring of the two colours red and cream off the credits kind of looks like water swishing around, which fits in well with the first image we see as the audience is of a lake which could connote that something bad is going to happen to the lake due to the comparative colours used.
The editing used is straight cut editing, to show what is going on in one scene and what’s happening in the other. This is generally used more in horror films to build up tension of two scene colliding together and the horror part happening. As we see the scruffy man find the dead dog, as the blood splats at his face he screams and it automatically straight cuts to the college kids screaming form excitement about going on their vacation. This helps the audience link the two stories together and creates enigma as too what will happen next.
2012
Costumes
The man that we initially see in the film, is a young man dressed all in beige and pale colours, which can connote innocence and vulnerability. The way a character dresses can give more of an impact in thriller/horror films than any other films because the way they are dressed helps us as the audience differentiate between who maybe the victim and who is the villain. We presume the man in this scene is the main character and is could be a victim due to the colour clothes he is wearing.
Signs
Stock setting
The setting used meets the generic codes for a thriller films because normally a haunted house, forest or school is used and this setting is exactly that. The way we just see the garden in the opening of the scene can give an implication to the audience that something is going to happen or take place there. The garden looks deserted and quite and props used in the garden likes a wooden swing and a crooked wooden bench all add to the effect the director is trying to create. The garden looks eerie and the inside of the house matches this setting, as it’s a dark house decorated with all dark wood and has no bright colours anywhere. This could connote danger, mystery and the unknown about the house.
Jaws
Props
All the pros were realistic, drinks, phones, food around the camp fire. These props create normality and reinforce realism to the audience creating the effect that the characters are just normal young people.
I am legend
Narrative structure/function
The way the narrative has been structured really helps the thriller genre be portrayed. As the audience we do not as of yet know what’s happened to everyone in the city, we don’t know why only will smith is left, how his dog survived, why he has a gun, where everyone else has disappeared too. The way the film does not answer any questions for certain in the opening creates enigma and anticipation for the audience as they will be on the edge of their seats wanting to find out more and more about what happened to the characters. Also by only having one main character it gives a twist on the normal thriller we see, and creates more suspense for the viewer as they want to know why will smith is the only human that is still alive.
Cabin Fever
Editing
The blurring of the two colours red and cream off the credits kind of looks like water swishing around, which fits in well with the first image we see as the audience is of a lake which could connote that something bad is going to happen to the lake due to the comparative colours used.
The editing used is straight cut editing, to show what is going on in one scene and what’s happening in the other. This is generally used more in horror films to build up tension of two scene colliding together and the horror part happening. As we see the scruffy man find the dead dog, as the blood splats at his face he screams and it automatically straight cuts to the college kids screaming form excitement about going on their vacation. This helps the audience link the two stories together and creates enigma as too what will happen next.
Textual analysis
For part of our coursework we had to analyse 5 openings of the particular film genre we chose and 3 full films. In these essays we had to include the codes and conventions presented in the films, we analysed mise en scene, costumes, sound, editing, lighting, camera shots and movements, props, stock settings and stock characters. By analysing different horror films we were able to focus on the technical codes and conventions that are shown in these films and apply them to our own opening to create a realistic effect for the audience. We also want the openign to be as big an impact as possible and in order to do this we had to evaluate other horror films in order to help us do this. Personnaly i thoguht this was a very helpful excercise as it enabled us to really pull apart the different techniques used in horror films, how we could use them in our opening and what effects work best as we were watchign as the audience
Film analysis...i am still yet to finish two of the whole films
i am ledgend
signs
cabin fever
scream
2012
jaws
I chose to analyse these films as they were particular horror/thriller and physcological films that i specifically remember watchign and have left an impact on me after watching them. To me this is what a good horror/thriiler or physcological film should do.
Film analysis...i am still yet to finish two of the whole films
i am ledgend
signs
cabin fever
scream
2012
jaws
I chose to analyse these films as they were particular horror/thriller and physcological films that i specifically remember watchign and have left an impact on me after watching them. To me this is what a good horror/thriiler or physcological film should do.
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