EVALUATION Q1: conventions and representations

EVALUATION Q1: How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

I saw / I did:

Interviews are an important part of promoting your film to a wider audience. To present this question in a creative way looked at a promotional WIRED Autocomplete interview with Penn Badgley for the new season of the psychological thriller YOU:

My Interview:

Transcript: 

I looked at many idents like saw Friday the 13^th and Saw and they were all altered to connote the slasher genre, so I wanted to replicate that by having new heights releasing ident turn red to connoted horror. The last ident typically has an audio-bridge to transition to the opening . There are typically three idents and I found that they are on average 6 seconds long.

We also looked at sound. So conventionally it's a combination of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. 

Horror films use instrumental strings, with a mixture of long or short drawn-out notes. This makes the audience hold their breath as it mimics the heartbeat, and increases the tension. The diegetic music heard within the film is typically related to the killings. Classical examples of this is the use of theme songs  in Psycho and Halloween and Friday the 13^th, so we used the notes from the iconic Friday the 13^th music for our film. 

 

There are usually sounds of slashing, stabbing, and the allusions through sound allow for less graphic deaths, as the audience's imagination is often more gruesome and effective than a films visuals. That is why we have the sound of  the slashing carry over to our title as well as sounds of water drips and splatters of blood. 

The first shot, the establishing shot is very important so we looked at many film examples and we found that it was most commonly a an els for exposition but we went against this convention. It was inspired by the opening of Cherry falls, we wanted to create a sense of a small town. We started by creating a shot for shot copy of the sequence. We used the hand of technique from the 1960 film psycho by Alfred Hitchhock to highlight that this story can happen to anyone and create verisimiltude of a small town through the mise-en-scene. The two most common shot types are

Dutch angles are commonly used in horror to create discomfort and connote that something is wrong with the audience, so we use that or the shot of the school.

Often, a blue tint is added to shots, denoting coldness and discomfort, and are often seen in horror, like in Bride Of Chucky. We used a combination oft he Day to Night effect as well adding a blue tint. 

Another use of lighting is the lack of it, as many killings or events typically take place at night. The darkness and little lighting allows for more cryptic shots and adds to the mystery of The Killer. 

So we started by looking at different fonts in horror films. For the names and titles we wanted to use relevant industry examples from recently made horror films. So we chose to collaborate with the British film institute and Film 4 since it’s a common convention for an indie company to receive funding from them. It is unconventional to see a double directing credit in the same line so we opted for one. But I looked at a few hybrid horror and rom-coms films to really get the font right and I saw that they opted for a white or sometimes even pink font like in Jennifers body rather than a bright red bloody ones.  

 

We used a varity of shot types: over the shoulder shots, extreme long shots, long shots, medium long shots, medium shots, medium close-ups, close ups, extreme close-ups, two shots, and master shots. 

We also used a variety of shot angles: worm's eye, low angles, high angles, dutch angles, and pov shots. Dutch angles and POV shots are conventional in horror. Dutch angles as they signify that something is distorted. POV shots are usually from the point of view of the killer, like in Halloween (1978).  

We looked at character archetypes in horror films and we modelled them after characters in horror films we looked at. So Marion, named after Marion Crane from Psycho is the stereotypical scream queen archetype, and follows all the conventions of being an attractive, blond and promiscuous, popular girl.

Norman, named after Norman bated from Psycho, is the jock archetype. Wearing the letterman jacket and being conventionally athletically built. In the film scream that we looked at he gets killed in the opening of the film but also he creates narrative enigma surrounding who is the killer. 

Mandy, named after the film All the boys love Mandy lane. is also a scream queen in the three girls are part of this high school clique that we modelled after films like Heathers and 

Laurie’s character, modelled after Laurie Strode from Halloween, stereotypical final girl, studious shy and modest. She stands out a lot from the clique, and she wear a lot more edgy clothing.  The moment of disruption in our plot is when it is revealed that Laurie is the killer, challenging the conventions of final girl and killer. The Killer is seen as superhuman, and impossible to defeat. They are usually serial killers with a revenge plan and choose their victims carefully, The use of a backstory creates further fear with The Killer's motives, making the killings more believable rather than a two dimensional character. 

The target audience (teenagers male and female) can identify with the characters in this film such as the final girl and the scream queens/jock. They are relatable as a teenager by wearing make up, doing teenage activities, being a school student etc...This would also be relatable to an older audience, as they once were school students. 

Uses and gratifications theory. Cambell’s Hero’s Journey so the archetypical heroic journey: departure, initiation and return. However our plot doesn’t quite follow this since Laurie is the false hero or the betrayer if we follow the Proppian character archetypes.

Uses and gratifications theory, so we wanted our audience to have personal identity with the characters so we made them all relatable teenagers. We also wanted the film to have a feel good aspect and have a sense of escapism. An audience world escape into our film because it's fictional (non-realistic) so people can watch this for pleasure. Horror is also a cathartic entertainment form as people view it in order to alleviate fears they have and feel control over them.

We looked at the enigma code  narrative enigma, so what we were going to withhold from the viewer, so it was ambiguous if Norman was actually the killer.

Todorov’s five part narrative structure.  So the equilibrium, disruption , recognition, Repair the damage and equilibrium again. 

Equilibrium- Setting the scene through the hand of god and street scene. Disruption- Snapping twigs, a disruptive element. Recognition- Marion realising there is a noise and someone could be watching them. Attempt to resolve- Marion sends Norman to check, Marion calling Norman to find him. New equilibrium- The girls in school realising Marion is missing. So everything after the main title of the film would be the equilibrium again. 

The forest is a stereotypical location for a horror film, as many of the examples I looked at used a forest. This denotes isolation, and a forest is badly lit in the dark and easy to get lost in, allowing for the killer to prey on its victims. For the Locker scene we were mostly inspired by Jennifer's Body (2009) when shooting the locker scene, and we decorated the locker to look like a stereotypical teenage girl's. We also made sure to include extra bags and coats for verisimilitude, as we shot after school and the corridors were empty. 

We also found that the transition between the opening and the main body of the film so we often found that it was marked by an animated main title of the film. 

 

My Conventions Vodcast from earlier in year:

The creation process of my ident 1 and ident 2. 

My post on sound creation is here. 

My post on slasher character archetypes is here.

Narrative theories:

The following theories I analysed can be applied: Barthes' narrative enigma and Todorov's 5-Part Narrative

Narrative Enigma: 

Narrative Enigma is defined as the intentional withholding of exposition in order to create mystery and suspense. This is seen in my opening as there are establishing shots revealing the town but exposition is still withheld. As we meet Marion and Norman, they reveal exposition through dialogue, and narrative enigma on who the killer is remains through the opening. In the locker scene, exposition is also revealed through dialogue. The costumes reveal the archetype and personalities of the characters

Todorov's 5-Part Narrative:

In my opening:

Equilibrium- Setting the scene through the hand of god and street scene

Disruption- Snapping twigs, a disruptive element

Recognition- Marion realising there is a noise and someone could be watching them

Attempt to resolve- Marion sends Norman to check, Marion calling Norman to find him

New equilibrium- The girls in school realising Marion is missing

 I saw / I did:

My rankings of how well the different social groups are presented in our film: 

Theories applied:

Laura Mulvey's Male gaze and gender performativity

male gaze is the act of depicting women and the world in the visual arts and in literature from a masculine, heterosexual perspective that presents and represents women as sexual objects for the pleasure of the heterosexual male viewer.

Gender performativity posits that gender is made up of the acts that mark a person as “man” or “woman” (dress, mannerisms, ect) and it is through the repetition of those gendered acts that the illusion of a stable gender identity is created.

Gramsci Hegemony

Marion and Norman are a hegemonic couple. Meaning stereotypical and often portrayed on screen. 

Levi Straus Binary opposition

When there is total opposition between two characters or forces used in order to further

the plot.

In my film:

-Binary opposition of male and female characters.

-Opposition of studious and shy Laurie with promiscuous and confident Mandy 

Katz and Blumers Uses and Gratifications 

when the audience personally identifies with the characters on-screen they feel gratified and fulfilled from the product

John Berger’s "Ways of Seeing" 

stated that "men act and women appear", with women being aware of their obligation of performance towards the male viewer.

The Bechdel test

Created by Allison Bechdel, a measure of female representation in films. The rules are that there are 

1) two women 

2) that are named 

3) and talk about something other than a man. 

In my film: 

-Three named female characters, Marion, Laurie and Mandy 

-Mandy and Laurie talk to each other about Marion missing and what Laurie is doing at the locker

ANALYSING FILMS: Scream

 Film Analysis: Scream (1996)

Director: Wes Craven

BBFC 18  MPAA R 

Opening Length: 12 minutes

Budget: $15 m 

Box Office: $173 m

Theatrical Distribution: Worldwide

Production Company: Woods Entertainment

Distributor: Dimension Films

Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Drew Barrymore and David Arquette.

Synopsis:  A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorised by a new killer, who targets the girl and her friends by using horror films as part of a deadly game. (IMDB)

LINKS: wikipedia , IMDB , Box Office Mojo , the numbers

Trailer:

Key features of the opening:

• Only one ident shown, on screen for 9 seconds, which is unconventional and fast for being the only ident. Due to the time of the film being made, it was common to only have one production company, and therefore only one ident. 
• The opening shot is of a telephone, which is heard ringing through an audiobridge over the title. This is unconventional to have the close-up of an object, as a typical opening shot is an ELS. This denotes the object as a signifier, and could be relevant later in the film. 
• The titles start out expanded, then zoom in to reveal the name in white. A red border appears around the title, then turning it red. The title zooms into the letters and the screen turns red. The sans-serif font and same case connotes humour, but the spacing of the letters creates a sense of unease for the viewer. 
• The audience is introduced to the protagonist, a conventionally attractive, blonde, teenage girl. The blonde hair is a common signifier of a scream queen. 
• The shots are fluid, and track her movements. These long shots are unconventional for horror, as it typically uses shorter shots (Barthes' action codes) to create suspense. 
• A dutch angle is used here, to denote something is wrong. Following the rule of thirds, the scream queen is in the right third of the frame, with the window/door on the left third. This creates a vulnerability for the protagonist, also due to the high angle of the camera.
• The shot of the trees is used to show the dark and nighttime, as well as connote the supernatural or horror. 
• Becker’s tone of voice changes throughout each of the anonymous phone calls, at first her voice is soft and friendly then progresses to flirtatious then when Becker realises she is being watched she turns frantic and the caller turns malice.
• At first the camera pans from the phone ringing to Becker lifting to her ear then holds on a mid-close up of her throughout the conversation this is used to focus the audience on the dialog. The phone itself is an important prop in the film it’s what starts the next set of events off. The close up of her locking the door shows the audience that she doesn’t feel safe this also happens when she runs through the hallway locking the doors and windows as she goes. While the camera tracks Becker around the house when she is flirting with the caller this is giving the call a false sense of security making it seem normal and she isn’t taking to a stranger. The use of the POV shot while she is looking out the front door window, is slightly shaky giving the feel of frantic urgency like the audience is in Becker’s position.
• Roland Barthes’ narrative codes include enigma codes meaning things that raise questions for the audience. This applies to film by making the audience first question ‘who is calling?’ with the help of the diegetic sounds of the phone rings. Also towards the end of the scene the loud doorbell makes Becker jump leading the audience to mimic the action. The tension also is helped built by the use of non-diegetic sound for example when the caller says ‘can you handled that, blondie’ there’s a beat that replicates the sound of loud footsteps like Becker is being followed and also the use of camera linking as well that the camera is tracking her as she’s running giving the audience the feeling that they’re chasing her. The ELS of the exterior of the house shows the isolation of the character. The use of windows along the sides denotes vulnerability, and voyeurism. 
• The titles include screams, and an audiobridge of a phone ringing. This is a clear genre signifier for horror. The protagonist is heard speaking to the caller, who is heard replying. When showing exterior shots, the foley sounds of crickets and leaves are heard, further creating suspense and isolation. The protagonist puts popcorn on a stove, which is heard popping until it bursts. There are sounds of slashing when she picks up a knife, which is another genre signifier. A non-diegetic piano chord is heard, which builds up and becomes a series of drawn out chords, increasing tension and audience heart rate. 
• The opening credits uses non-diegetic sound effect of a knife slash and a scream linking with title to the film and the rest of the films narrative.

INITIAL VODCAST: summary of openings conventions

This Vodcast sums up my initial understanding of the basic expectations of film openings. I looked at 8 basic conventions: company idents, film titles, opening shot, main character being identified in the opening, sound and genre signifiers, diegetic sound and narrative enigma, transition to the main body of the film and audience representations.

Idents:

The average amount of idents before a film is 3-4, usually shown largest shareholder to smallest, and are often accompanied with an audio bridge to connote the genre of the film before it’s opening shot.

In Bridget jones diary there are free company idents as well as ident for working title, it is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures that are part of the big 5. The ident for Universal is 20 seconds and it is the longest idents highlighting that it had the biggest share in the production of the film. The idnets for StudioCanal and MiraMax come out to be around 12 seconds which I found to be the average amount of time for an ident. The ident for working title has an audio bridge that denotes the whimsical and romantic atmosphere of the film. 

On the other hand, in Pretty in Pink there is a single Paramount ident that also lasts 12 seconds. Paramount being the only ident tells us that it was produced by a single company, meaning there was no one to share the risk and cost of film with. 

In Tyrannosaur the lack of idents tells us that it is produced by a small indy company, but it isn’t typical. 

Titles:

I would expect to see over 20 titles in an average film opening with the total running time being approximately a minute as we see in Bridget Jones diary and Napoleon Dynamite. In Bridget jones diary we start with the titles of all the leading acting roles. The bigger stars have bigger titles. Then technical roles like editor and executive producer and finally the director Sharon Maguire. The roles and linking terms like ‘and ’are distinguished with a different font. The names are done in calligraphical font to connote the romantic genre of the film. 

In napoleon dynamite there are also over 20 titles lasting 2 and a half minutes which is longer than expected however they serve as exposition to the film and letting the viewer know that this is a teen comedy film through the use of pops. The first credits are to fox searchlight pictures and paramount pictures who co-produced this film in association with MTV films. Instantaneously, the viewer knows this is a teen comedy through the incorporation of the film name into a student ID card. Jared Hess is the auteur of this film as he is listed as a writer as well as director. 

Pretty in pink is a counter example as it only has two credits, one to paramount pictures and one to John Hughes. This is a counter type to what we would normally see in a romantic teen comedy, however, it broadens the film to a secondary audience which is older.

Opening shot:

The most common opening shot is an ELS (extreme long shot) like seen in Submarine. There is a use of cross fading extreme long shots that reveal the main character. This scene has great exposition as we are met with a mise-en-scene of a messy chaotic room of a teenager signifying that this is a coming-of-age movie as well as immediate dialogue denoting the location through the use of accents. 

The opening shot of Bridget Jones diary starts with a mls with the protagonist in the middle of the shot which isn’t the norm. There is exposition straight away with the use of her English accent and a classic taxi in the back. The mis-en-scene is set to be very nostalgic and connote Christmas which would link to the romantic genre of the film. 

In tyrannosaur the opening shot is a big close up of a dark silhouette against a blue background. This shallow field of focus provides exposition about this character’s villainous attributes.  

 

Main character identified:

Another convention is the main protagonist being identified in the opening. For example, in Bridget Jones diary the character Bridget is shown immediately with no narrative enigma whatsoever. She is in the central of the shot and the camera tracks her as she walks anchoring her as a central protagonist.

In Pretty in Pink however the initial narrative enigma over their identity of the main character is maintained by avoiding revealing face and following her morning routine which provides exposition on her as a person. Stereotypes of her being a teenage girl are reinforced through her flowery jewellery and pink make up. 

Sound and genre signifiers:

In bridget Jones diary there are many genre identifiers like the voice over, as well as the mise-en-scene that tells us that Bridget is working class. Everything in the scene hints towards her living alone, from a single wine glass, heart picture frames and the overall mess of the apartment.  This is when all by myself starts playing. The scene is set clearly to portray Bridget as a hopeless romantic who is incredibly lonely. The use of red as well as hearts and flowers we are told the romantic genre of the film.  

In pretty in Pink “Pretty in Pink” by the psychodelic furs plays, which is a pop song furthermore stereotyping her as a teenage girl 

Audience:

In Bridget Jones diarys primary audience is women aged 18-35 as they either like romantic comedies or can relate to the title character. It appeals its target audience mainly through its narrative of finding Mr right who is a conventionally attractive actor. The stereotype of a realistic British woman boosted commercial potential in the UK, however, might not be so great for productions seeking international distribution. 

Ternasaur, being an 18 rated film would have a much older and less varied audience. A younger audience might not be inherently attracted to this film because of its longer takes and an older protagonist making it harder to relate to him. Using the uses and gratifications theory we could identify the primary audience as being upper class men who might use the film as a diversion, since the protagonist is working class. The secondary audience might be females 35-44 as the second lead character is around that age, making her easier to identify with. 

Other examples were non-diegetic sound is successfully used as genre identifiers is Submarine, napoleon dynamite and pulp fiction

Sometimes the transition from the introduction to the main body of the film and sometimes its clearly identified, like in pulp fiction. There is a clear distinction as there is a freezeframe and non-diegetic music starts playing.

Narrative enigma creates mystery by intentionally withholding information to create mystey while Diegetic voiceovers do the exact opposite. They give the viewer exposition, giving them context and information about the characters. Narrative enigma provides derives from a theorist Roland barthes who believed in a system of 5 codes. The enigma code The action code The semantic codev The symbolic code and The cultural code . The enigma code creates intrigue so a voice over would not be used. A voice over is used in the film opening of bridget jones diary.

The voice over gives us insight into her background and her relationship with other charcahters

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