Research in Generic Codes And Conventions

A horror uses suspense and tension as the main elements throughout to create a response from the audience.

The main character is usually the one who is being effected and tormented by what is happening and the storyline is based around there psychological journey. Sound is also important in create response and meaning as it is stereotypical and makes a scary intimidating atmosphere which is enhanced with darkness and shadows.

• Typical storyline - involves victims who get killed without anyone being able to catch the killer out, sometimes one character survives until the end to tell of the terror.
• Typical characters - they are usually people who are in a vulnerable position and isolated from others, therefore making them an easy target and also a predictable one for the audience.
• Typical iconography - costumes for the victims are usually casual and average which creates a more scary atmosphere as the audience feel it could be anyone who is targeted including themselves. Dark settings and shadows are also key in order to allow the audience to expect the killer/stalker to be hiding and creates suspense.
• Typical cinematography - close ups enhance the emotions of the characters and creates suspense and tension if they feel unsure. Long shots leave room for people/things to be hiding which also puts the audience on edge. Establishing shots illustrate how the character is isolated and makes them a good potential victim. POV shots from bushes and things around the victim put the audience in the killer/stalkers shoes and gives them extra knowledge than the victim which creates tension.
• Typical sound - loud but mysterious non-diegetic sound is used to indicate something bad happening but this is sharply cut into by loud intimidating sounds when the victim is closer or being harmed.

We are going to focus on the group of teenagers and how they are going to be scared for their life.  The characters will be casually dressed to show they are normal and makes the audience feel endangered as it could be them. Camera shots from the teenagers will give the audience a heads up for all situations and make them feel more involved but also create more suspense as they know what may happen. This is used in Final Destination (2000) where the director (James Wong) focuses on the victims and there deaths are centralised throughout. This creates tension within the audience and puts them in suspense as they are waiting for something to do but not sure who, what, where or when it will happen.

Synopsis And Treatment

-Three teenagers making a media project for college

 

-Create it at a place where no one goes

-Girl becomes possessed

- Kidnaps her friends and puts them into the boot

-End up at some next place and both they see is a bright light

 

 

A group of three teenagers drive into the forest to make a film, the camera would show the car on its way to the place, then whilst there in the car one of them would be purposely holding the camera by their hand and just filming random stuff while there on their way. they get to the abandoned house, they have heard rumors about people turning into something else and acting completely weird, whilst still holding the camera by hand she records the place all around while the boys talk about the story they had heard and she’s says 'I have a bad feeling' but the boys obviously laugh at her because she’s just a girl and girls are typically scared of places like that. her face does not show at all in the beginning, no one has ever stepped foot into that place after they have heard stories like this, so they decided to film their media project for college at that setting because they knew no one else would and they thought the old stories where all lies. Then it turns into a massacre when the girl disappears from their group, as she had a bad feeling about this from before. we film them going into the place, so you only see them from the back, and then u randomly see the camera on the floor and the girl walks away from it as if she is possessed, the boys pick up the camera while it is still recording.

When the boys realize she is lost they start to look for her all around the place, they think she’s playing some stupid game and they don’t take her seriously. They still keep the camera on just to mess about with it and have a bit of joking around.

They see movement in between the trees and start to investigate, they think it’s her hiding so they go closer, and suddenly the camera is behind them very close up, and Then she turns up from behind them saying 'hey guys' in a normal voice and the boys get scared and quickly turn around and they see her with a pale white face, with her long hair covering half of her face and her eyes black as ever, also with a black pole in her hand which she uses to strike both of them down to the floor.  They end up in the car, the car starts to move of on its own while she’s just standing there watching it. They both recover but wake up in the boot, tied up which is still moving and comes to a halt. As soon as the boot opens they are struck by sunlight and there is no one in visible sight. Then it ends with the girl coming into the camera screaming.

Media Language Analysis The Ring

The Ring Teaser Trailer Analysis

How long is it?

My chosen trailer s 1 minute 33 seconds long.

How many clips does it include?

It includes 76 different clips used from the movie itself

What type of transitions is used between clips?

 The transitions used in between each clip is a very fast jump cut and in between is a image of a static television screen which causes more affect to the next gclip. It draws in the audience in and keeps them watching till the very last second. Below is an image of the static screen between every cut.

Roughly how long is each clip?

Each clip is around 2-3 seconds long and some a bit longer ranging from 5-6 seconds

What logos and institutional information are included?

In the trailer there is only one type of institutional information, which is:

What other text appears?

Other text that appears in the video are titles sending a message to the audience to draw in attention. Saying things like;

Discuss the graphics and SFX?

The SFX used in the clip was very effective but there was only a small amount used.  The static TV screen and the noise used with it create an effect of something blurring out of the ordinary. This shows us that something else is coming

Discuss the soundtrack?

The soundtrack of the clip is a very slow paced eerie sound with speech  mixed with faded screams. This puts the whole fright in to watching the film. It draws in the audience and shows an insight into the film but does not give away the whole story.

How does it reinforce the genre/themes of the film?

The Ring is a horror/mystery; it keeps this in the viewers eyes as it shows a convention of each.  The horror is where we see this image appear which does look rather intimidating

For the mystery it shows this little boy watching a video which his mother stops him from watching…

Overall I believe that the teaser trailer is very effective in getting what it wants. It has unique ways to keep the audience watching.

Scarface trailer Narrative Analysis

Scarface Analysis

What is the Narrative Structure?

Scarface has a common linear structure where the story is told in an order in which the events happen with some gaps in diagetic time. This makes it easier for the audience to understand how Tony Montana went from the bottom of society to the top.

What is the Narrative Viewpoint?

The narrative viewpoint of Scarface is a restricted narrative. This is where the director wants the audience to feel they are a part of the narrative. It gives it a ‘edge of your seat’ feeling.  In this the audience only know as much as the characters of themselves.

The Shining 1980 Trailer Analysis

The Shining 1980 Trailer

v  When the rolling credits start the font is very simple. The background is plain which misleads us and is not very scary

v   Half way through the trailer the soundtrack gets intense and we start to see red fluid which is interpreted as blood, starts to pour out one of the elevator

v  At this point the credits stop rolling and the furniture start to move towards the foreground as if the blood was flooding the floor

v  The whole trailer has one standard shot throughout

v  The camera has a very soft focus as we can see the blood flowing and rippling along the floor.

v  When the credits start the soundtrack builds suspense, a synthesiser seems to be used to create an uncomfortable feeling

v  As the soundtrack starts to get intense it gets louder and faster and watching as the blood splashes on the walls it gives a breathtaking relief as it ends.  

Group Analysis with Emma And Ben

Taken Trailer Genre Analysis

Taken Genre Analysis

The soundtrack of the trailer at first does not help identify the trailer as it is a soft humming noise. It starts to change as you hear a phone ring, a normal conversation and then we hear screaming and shouting. The words used shows it is action thriller.

The mise en scene is very simple throughout, we don’t see any normal iconography of weapons but we see men in balaclavas and dressed in black, the main character is a very masculine male who comes across as a fierce person,  He uses words to tell the kidnapper how  he will find him and kill him for taking his daughter .

The stock characters are very typical for this type of film. We have a innocent girl who gets abducted and a very stern, strong male who shows his force to get his daughter back.

There are a range of themes , love between the father and daughter,  fear, of the daughter,  happiness between them all , anger, for when the dad finds out his daughter gets abducted, violence , when he shoots and kills his way through to get his daughter back.

The camera work helps as the shot ranges and angles are chose to how the emotions and make the audience want to watch the film. A High angle shot is shown when we see the father drive of as there is a great explosion. Also a low angle shot when he turns the car around. There are a lot of fast paced quick shots in a range to show the fast paced action packed film.