Genres

A genre is a style or category of art, music, or literature. Horror is the genre we have chosen for our opening required to complete AS media studies.

A sub-genre is a subdivision of a genre of literature, music, film, etc. A sub-genre of horror could be; comedy, it will combine horrific events with comedic for example Shaun of the Dead (2004).
A hybrid genre blends themes and elements from two or more different genres. In horror there are 2 main types of hybrid films; the first is Deadlands which is a cross between western and horror and the second is Alien which is a cross between sci-fi and horror.

Narrative structure of Scream (1996)

The title was originally in white; signifying innocence however, you then here the sound effect of a knife cutting followed by a scream, at this point the title flashes red representing danger.
The first character we see on camera is a young blonde girl, she answers the ringing phone which is diegetic sound. The stereotype of a blonde girl is that she is naïve and vulnerable - this stereotype proves true as we soon discover.
The camera shot pans however at the front of the shot is always the knife set which our character interacts with whilst on the phone. This prop is enhanced by sound effects, foreshadowing its later use as a weapon.
The iconic phone-call is regularly used, it starts off as an innocent, everyday sound however it soon represents the sound of the antagonist as every time the phone rings we know he is on the other end of the phone.
We also hear the sound of a dog bark which is often associated with someone arriving, disrupting the scene and so this suggests to the audience that someone is outside however it is not confirmed until later.
The setting is isolated, we see an establishing, external shot of her house to reveal this. We also hear the sound effects of a swing however we do not see it yet, this sound suggests someone is present and using it. As the camera jumps to an internal shot, we see the blonde girl going around her house locking the doors, to which she has many! This also tells us that she is naïve as she has left them all unlocked up until now.
The antagonist uses diegetic sound in "turn on the patio lights...again". This connotes to the audience that he has been out there the whole time, watching her without her knowing. Within this extract there is gender stereotypes as the man is telling the girl what to do, as he is in control, during this time (1996) there was still elements of patriarchal control. We are also aware he is watching when he refers to her as 'blondie' on the phone- suggesting he can see her but it is also quite a condescending term confirming he is the antagonist.
Scream was one of the first films to use post-modernism, this was used when the characters discussed their own film genre's conventions when the antagonist says "you're not meant to ask Who is there? don't you watch horror films?".

Narratve structure

Linear narrative is when there is a clear beginning, middle and end. This is the structure of most horror films.
Non-linear narrative is when the film does not start at the beginning but in fact starts with a flashback. There is no clear structure as the film manipulates chronology.

Key terms:

• Generic convention:  They are the features shown by texts that allow them to be put into a specific genre.
• Audience expectations: These are the advance ideas an audience may have about a text. This particularly applies to genre pieces. Don't forget that producers often play with or deliberately shatter audience expectations.
• Repertoire of elements: These include characters, audience, setting, theme, narrative, iconography and style.

Because of the repertoire of elements, my audience has formed an expectation from the horror genre and so I must include the generic conventions.

My mini brief evaluation

Pros…

ü  We met and understood the requirements; match-on-action, shot-reverse-shot and the 180 degree rule.

ü  We included non-diegetic and diegetic sound.

ü  We used a variety of camera shots including long-shots and close-ups.

ü  Our storyboard proved very useful as it assisted our filming by keeping us on track.

ü  Our character profiles helped us to understand the character when acting.

ü  Our research into the drama genre introduced us to the generic conventions required in order to capture our target audience. We tried to film a realistic situation to which the audience could potentially relate to however, it would have been more realistic to have had a middle-age woman act as the mother figure.

Cons…

Ø  Our pan shot should’ve been filmed using a tripod as it was a bit shaky. The quality of the film when uploaded into Adobe Premiere Pro was also poor which led us to render our work multiple times. To avoid this for our final piece we will use one of our own personal cameras which will produce a better quality film.  

Ø  We could’ve used more props to enhance the film e.g costumes.

Ø  Our location let in a lot of light which did not set the scene of a girl coming back in the early hours of the morning. If I was to do it again I would film in a darker area or film at a later time of the day but due to the limited time allocated to filming and editing for our mini brief I think we made the best of the situation.

Ø  Our initial storyboard was altered in order to suit the changes required to get the filming finished in time. This meant we had to improvise some shots and so to better this for our final piece I would take the recces and organise our time before drawing up the storyboard.

Ø  Our initial script was also altered as when it came to editing, some shots were just not needed and so as a result; some dialogue was cut. The mini brief involved exchanging dialogue and so extended convocation was not needed however it was initially planned.


Strengths…

ü  My strength would be organising and directing the filming period. I drew out the storyboard and wrote the script, both of which are essential to making the film possible.

ü  Jake’s strength would be in editing and filming as he is experienced with Adobe Premiere Pro however I am more experienced with IMovie which we plan to use next time.

ü  Esme’s strength would be in assisting the piece; she takes drama and so is skilled with acting and knowing where the characters are best positioned. She thought about the reactions of the situations.

  Weaknesses'…

Ø  Our editing was poor when using Adobe Premiere Pro and so to better our chances of creating a more advanced final piece we will use IMovie.  This is quicker and easier to use and so it will provide us with more time to plan and film.

Ø  Our acting skills were poor and so next time we will try to make the most of our resources by using friends and family with experience in acting. We must use those who best suited to the role of the character which could be achieved through auditions.

Textual analysis

Here is my work on Blade; it discusses important theories and also goes highlights the four micro-elements of film.

My textual analysis of Blade (1998)

Within the film Blade it was particularly effective when the character saw something before the audience. We are first presented with this when the Blond young man is walking through what appears to be a butcher (following the red headed girl). His facial expressions portray him to be excited yet confused; he is looking around interested however his face suddenly focuses on something which is off camera. The audience are left on edge until the camera pans round to reveal what he was looking at; bodies hanging from hooks in bags - not the typical butchers. Up until now the audience has been given no reason to question the events however things start to get weird.

The location of the club itself could be seen as an exotic location, it is well hidden making it seem like part of a secret executive club. In order for the woman to get passed the bouncer she must speak what sounds like Russian. At this point the blond boy is even more confused however as the girl kisses him he soon forgets and carries on, confirming the stereotype. The opening includes social fears such as foreigners being vampires, they are immortal and so in this extract appear to have no limits which is why there is promiscuity occurring as well as lesbian activity. Vampires are also well known for being faster than the average human, we ae presented with numerous jump cuts and other fast paced editing to reveal this. At this point it is not confirmed that they are vampires as we have not been shown the iconic fangs.

A mid-shot of the blond boy reveals a drop of blood fall on him, with confusion he tastes it as behind him we see all the party-goers raising their arms in the air as if waiting for something. This makes the audience feel tense as you are unaware of what is about to happen. We then see a long shot of the DJ as he announces something. At this point the lighting reveals the words on the poster behind him ‘Bloodbath’ and before you can guess what is about to occur next you see a close up of the sprinklers pour blood all over the club. The blond boy is in hell as he looks around at all the vampires as they finally reveal the iconic fangs.  This scene is interrupted by the character crawling into some clean, black boots. The fact they are clean suggests this character has only just arrived. We then see a long shot where we can make out the character through peoples limbs. They all start to move away revealing a superior character dressed in black, our initial thoughts as an audience is that he is the protagonist. A man who we frequently are shown being involved in promiscuity has now stopped and fled the scene. This reveals how powerful this character is because only he has been able to bring this party to an end.

The PEEJ structure

Today in class we went over the exam techniques required to write a successful textual analysis. We were introduced to the PEEEJ structure which stands for;
Point
Evidence
Explain
Effect (on the audience)
Justify
Within the exam we must include at least 3 PEEJ paragraphs whilst mentioning all 4 micro elements of film. We must also imply, infer, suggest and symbolise what is portrayed within the film. Various sentence starters could be used for example...
-This is effective because...
-This could suggest to the audience...
 Below I have included my structured PEEJ paragraph;

The use of diegetic sound in the form of techno music during the opening sequence connotes normality and a state of equilibrium. The music provides continuity which is only disrupted when the suspected protagonist enters the scene. This implies to the audience that he is a superior character as only he is able to stop the music.

Textual analysis of Blade (1998)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHBhKbF2xMA Today in class we watched the opening of Blade - it was a film I had not seen before! Blade is a horror-action film that involves an element of fantasy as it features Vampires. Our teacher played it to us three times and went through the process familiar to the one that we would experience during our A-level exam. We were to write notes on the four micro-elements of film; editing, mise-en-scene, camerawork and also sound. We were also told to assess the macro-elemets of film which involve representstion, genre and also audience. I am going to write up my textual analysis of Blade and post it on my blog.

Filming our mini brief

Today we decided to film everything required for our mini brief in order to give us plenty of time for editing after. We were each assigned roles;

• Jake was the cameraman when both actors were required, Esme was the other camerawoman. As I was featured in every shot, I could not film. Esme also acted as the mother whilst I was the drunken daughter.
• I directed each shot using the help of our storyboard as a guide.
• I ensured we included the 3 shots required as part of our mini brief; match on action, shot-reverse-shot and also abide the 180 degree rule.

We had many bloopers and takes before getting the shots we wanted. Filming everything in one day also meant that the lighting was the same, adding to the continuity of the peice. Here is a preview of some of the shots we took;

The above shot is the only one that we have included in our final piece out of the three. Myself and my partner are not actors and so maintaining a high level of concentration proved difficult however we managed to take some serious shots which was required in order to grasp the purpose of the piece; a disappointed mum dealing with her drunk daughter who arrived back home in the early hours of the morning.

Recce's to test potential shots in our location

Our initial location was in one of our houses where we would film in the kitchen, lounge and corridors. However this did not seem feesable given the time allocated to film in school hours and so we decided to film on the school site in the club house. This had all aspects of a house that we needed other than a sink and so we have cropped out the scene where she pours herself a glass of water. These are some of the shots we tested to see whether our location would work with the shots we initially planned, which it did! This is the over the shoulder shot where she locks the front door. 

This is our match on shot showing the start and end position of our camera from left to right. The girl will walk from the door to the sofa showing the continuity of her actions. 

These are our shot reverse shots, abiding by the 180degree rule as the girl is always on the right of the camera shot. 

My mini brief storyboard

We firstly drew a storyboard draft to decide how our footage would flow in order to create our mini brief. We then printed a storyboard template which we filled in with each shot showing how it would look. This would assist us when filming so we know in advance how it is meant to look. We went into detail by including camera angles and dialogue so we knew which character was speaking at which part.

In order to agree with the mini brief we had to include a match on action shot, a shot-reverse-shot and also abide the 180 degree rule. The 180 degree rule is important as it assists the continuity of the peice and also avoids confusion with the audience as the characters are always on one side of the screen. The match on action shot also enables continuity by revealing an action from different angles to please the audience. And finally, a shot-reverse-shot to represent the conversation between two people and also show the audience the reactions taking place as the dialogue is exchanged. 

Camera shots - The 180 degree rule

This represents the acceptable camera positions in order to abide the 180 degree rule.
This avoids confusion with the audience as each character or object stays on one side of the screen.
As this is a new concept for me, ihave had to research how it works and why it is used to advance my understanding,
I found this useful spreadsheet which communicates all aspects of the rule...

Script for my mini brief

As our mini brief is only a short film which involves an exchange of a few words between two people, our script is relatively short. The parts in brackets explain the actions taking place and the writing in bold represents the emotions expressed by the character.

Script

(Isabelle stumbles into kitchen with her heels in her hand and leans on work surface for support as she is struggling to stand on her own feet. Here we have a match on action shot to exaggerate Isabelle’s drunken state. She goes to the sink and pours out a glass of water where only then does she look up and see her mum sitting on the dining room chair. We have a shot reverse shot to reveal the reactions between the two.)

Mother: (looks at watch) What time do you call this?

Isabelle: looks in shock (goes to speak) I…

Mother: Save the excuses I know you’ve been out drinking again with your new irresponsible boyfriend. Why do you keep doing this Isabelle? You’ve got your whole life ahead of you and you’re throwing it away for some stupid relationship that isn’t even going to last!

Isabelle: How dare you say we’re not gonna last! I love him - why can’t you accept that?! If you’re not gonna support our relationship then I guess I’ll just go live with him!

Character profiles for my mini brief

Character profiles:

Isabelle Wiltshire

Teenage girl who has recently been throwing her life away partying and getting drunk to become popular to impress her new boyfriend. She used to be a straight A student however is now failing as she feels being dumb like her boyfriend is sexier than being a so called ‘nerd’. She has also been staying out each night, lying to her mum about her whereabouts however she has just been caught.

Esme Roberts (Isabelle’s Mother)

A mum who expects highly of her children, she doesn’t pressurise them too much; she just wants them to succeed and be the best they can be. After recently celebrating Isabelle’s GCSE results she has held back a little bit to let Isabelle celebrate herself. After briefly meeting Isabelle’s new boyfriend on results day (only to discover he didn’t pass any of his exams) she was cautious, as his first impressions have left an imprint on her that she can’t shake off. After recently worrying about Isabelle’s whereabouts one night she decided to track her daughters I phone - something she hasn’t had to do before however discovered her daughter was at a nightclub when she was meant to be working at the local Italian restaurant. Isabelle’s mother waited up for her daughter to have a few words…

^The above profiles describe the charcateristics and background of each character within the mini brief. I will play the role of the drunken girl whilst my other two group members will fulfill the roles of the disappointed mother and also the camera-man.

Research into the drama genre

It is important to research the genre and its conventions before developing a storyline as you must include various things to portray the genre to your audience. For example a drama must exhibit real life situations with realistic characters, settings and stories. A drama must include intense social interaction as well as moving the audience emotionally. Drama is based around conflict, it includes real life struggles that result in audience pleasure especially when they are able to relate to the character or situation. I believe a drunken daughter dealing with their mother after a night out is something most people have been through and so they will be able to relate, resulting in audience pleasure. As an audience they may relate to a certain character, forming a relationship making them want to watch more to see how it turns out. I look to imbed all the conventions of drama within my own mini brief.

Mini brief

Today we were given our mini brief which is something we have to complete before we can complete our main brief which is to create an opening to a horror film. Our mini brief is to create a short film. We have decided to film a mum waiting up for her daughter to come home after a night out. We must include a match on shot, a shot-reverse-shot and also must show our understanding of the 180 degree rule. I will be posting my groups progress which will include a character analysis, a storyboard and also various location shots.

About me

Hello, my name is Isabelle Wiltshire, I am an AS media student at Coopers Coborn sixth form. For my coursework this year I have been given the task to create an opening sequence for a horror film in a group. Within the group we will each be assigned a role into which we will contribute ideas and material which will be used in our final piece. Before we do this, it is essential to research the history of horror films, the micro-elements of the horror genre, the audience pleasures of the genre and I will also investigate Paranormal Activity as a case study. As a horror film fanatic, I am very passionate about creating a concept that is new and appealing to my target audience. I am going to share the process of creating my horror opening on this blog so you can track my progress and share your thoughts on each piece.