ASSIGNMENT 5: FILM STUDY & CONVENTION IN A FILM Russ and Pam (for both is BLACK)

TARGETS CHECKLIST

We have chosen the level from C-B. As it meets mine and my partners grade. My one is a B and my partners is a C. (that’s the colour yellow)

Title page Level checklist Exploration of films Film of choice and reasoning Genre Subgenre Hybrid Stam’s theory Mittle’s theory Semantics Syntax Convention list of genre Convention analysis Dominant ideology Audience Audience theory

EXPLORATION OF TASK

thriller

Paranormal activity

Drag me to hell

SketResident evil

4321

The awakening

The devilChloeFree runner

splicepaintball

Jenifers body

avenger

FILM OF CHOICE AND REASONING

We chose ‘Paranormal Activity’ because:

Good example of thrillerWe’ve watched it beforeIt has supernatural thriller.

GENRE

Thriller: tension specific parts of the film creates climax makes the audience scared will want to know what will happen. Thriller: anticipates what will happen to

the couple keeps us on the edge of our seat. Suspense and mystery

SUB-GENRE

Thriller: when the demon hunts the girl when she is vulnerable.

Horror: supernatural occurrence.

The Ouija board

HYBRID

It would be a: Thriller – a lot of tension (subgenre) Drama – a lot of over exaggeration

when the demon does something (genre)

Low budget film. Unknown cast

Thriller Drama Unknown cast

STAM THEORY

Stam says that the genre is not so easily defined under the ‘main genres’ but can be classified in other ways such as budget, ethnicity focus or performer based.

However paranormal activity is not only thriller, because you cannot make an audience scared if there isn’t any drama to make it even more scarier than it is. This leads to having a drama genre and a thriller subgenre.

Low budgetMade $7m

MITTEL THEORY

The audience would know it’s a thriller as its trying to scare the audience by creating tension or even base it on a true story and something bad happens, it would be even more scarier as it’s a true story.

The audience would know it’s a thriller as its trying to scare the audience by creating tension or even base it on a true story and something bad happens, it would be even more scarier as it’s a true story.Katie being dragged towards the stairs

SEMANTICS

Semantics How these are evident in your film (in relation to its genre/sub-genre/ hybrid.

Characters The villain which is the demon comes at night. In every thriller/horror there's always a hero. In this case it Katie’s boyfriend Micah. Micah would be the hero as trying to protect Katie as she becomes possessed every night.

The demon's shadow Katie’s facial expression

is scared

Micah's support to Katie by holding her shows protection

SEMANTICS Semantics How these are evident in your film (in relation

to its genre/sub-genre/ hybrid.

Location It takes place in the main characters house but most of the action happens in their bedroom.

SEMANTICS

Semantics How these are evident in your film (in relation to its genre/sub-genre/ hybrid.

Story traits The male main character (Micah) experiments with his camera, supernatural occurrences takes place at night which is captured in the film, the supernatural force is attached to the female lead (Katie), the haunting start getting stronger as the night passes by, Katie wants to seek help and put an end to the haunting.

SEMANTICS Semantics How these are evident in your film (in relation

to its genre/sub-genre/ hybrid.

Costumes Katie’s and Micah’s costume is very casual as the story is all based at there house. However their costume in night wear as its mainly filmed at night because that’s where the suspense and the tension happens.

Wearing night wear, white shorts

Wearing a green baggy top

Wearing casual green top

A pale green T-shirt

SEMANTICS

Semantics How these are evident in your film (in relation to its genre/sub-genre/ hybrid.

Props there props have been used throughout this movie. For example the camera stand, where at night the camera has to be steadily placed to film what needs to be filmed. Also Micah's laptop as he researches and checks the recorded videos.

Camera stand

Can see the recorded videos

Laptop used to see the videos and research about the demon

SYNTAX

The moral message of paranormal is that its based on a true story, and how people would get affected by being possessed

shows how close ones would also get affected and feel, during, and after the bad situation of Katie being possessed

The moral message of the film is that curiosity killed a cat or most likely demon possessed girlfriend kills curious idiotic hard headed boyfriend

TONE

Dim light (low key and artificial light)

Lighting from light bulb (Available lighting)

Harsh light from Camera (High key and artificial lighting)

Cinematography

This was taking place at the beginning of the film and they didn't use any artificial lighting it was all natural lighting, which is from the sun. However there wasn't that much sunlight it was almost cloudy which then sets a mood of boredom, and almost sets a scene of being tired.

Natural lighting

CONVENTION LIST OF THAT GENRE/SUBGENRE/HYBRID

Conventions of genre/sub-genre/hybrid

Examples from range of real film

tension Final destination

Innocent young female adults being the victim

clinic

hero Insidious

survival The resident

demon Drag me to hell

mystery The wicker man

CONVENTION ANALYSISConventions of genre/subgenre/hybrid

Examples from the film

Comparison to other films in the same genre/subgenre/hybrid

tension tension happens at night when the clock speeds up and stops to normal time which means the audience is expecting something

final destination, similar by waiting who would die next unexpectedly, but paranormal we know what's going to happen as the demon would always attack at night time.

When the clock is on the screen, speeds up to the time where something would happen

CONVENTION ANALYSIS

CONVENTION ANALYSISConventions of genre/subgenre/hybrid

Examples from the film

Comparison to other films in the same genre/subgenre/hybrid

Innocent young female adults being the victim

when Katie is being attacked from the villain and being possessed for example:-when she kills herself at the end

this is similar to clinic because the pregnant woman was attacked by taking her baby away and fighting the villain to get her baby back, whereas in clinic the villain is seen, but paranormal you cannot see the attacker as he is a demon

Can only see the shadow

CONVENTION ANALYSISConventions of genre/subgenre/hybrid

Examples from the film

Comparison to other films in the same genre/subgenre/hybrid

hero when Micah (Katie's boyfriend) is helping her from suffering and being possessed by the demand, he does this by:-researching the symptoms-filming and looking at the video tapes to over come this.

paranormal the victim and the hero dies at the end, whereas in insidious the victim lives but the hero dies

CONVENTION ANALYSIS

Conventions of genre/subgenre/hybrid

Examples from the film

Comparison to other films in the same genre/subgenre/hybrid

survival Katie and Micah being tormented every night by the demon and they to survived till the very end of the movie

The resident, is about a young doctor who bought a loft in Brooklyn, she feels that she is being watched yet she shrugs off the feeling until things get a bit overwhelming as the feeling of someone lurking in the shadows watching her every move .

CONVENTION ANALYSIS

Conventions of genre/subgenre/hybrid

Examples from the film

Comparison to other films in the same genre/subgenre/hybrid

Demon Katie being dragged of the bed by the demon

The female lead falling in to the train tracks, the man tries to save her before the train hits but hands appear from the ground and pulls her into the flames

CONVENTION ANALYSISConventions of genre/subgenre/hybrid

Examples from the film

Comparison to other films in the same genre/subgenre/hybrid

mystery Demon attached to katie since she was of a young age

In the wicker man, a sheriff went to investigate a missing girl from a small island where darker secrets dwell.

DOMINANT IDEOLOGY

Dominant ideology Example/evidence from film

Trying to survive Researching symptoms and how to over come this.

Not being possessed katie clutching onto the cross

Demon wont be involved in her life anymore

This shows as the demon has known her every since she was little and has been following her from house to house.

When Katie was a little girl

Their old house was burnt, the picture was also half burnt, this was then found in the attic.

AUDIENCE

Paranormal is for a mass audience as different aged groups can watch it and still be entertaining for them.

AUDIENCE

Details of audience

Target audience

Secondary research

Explain why they would be attracted (watch) the film

Age 15 to 25 30 and 40 they would be attracted to watch the film because the actors are young just like them, they would understand the situation more

Gender Male and female

Male and female

they would watch it for amusement.

AUDIENCEDetails of audience

Target audience

Secondary audience

Explain why they would be attracted (watch) the film

ethnicity White people Other ethnicities that understand English

They would watch this because the characters in the movie are white characters

Social class Middle class Middle and working class

they work to earn money and would want to watch something to also be entertained.

Social group Other social groups who watches just for entertainment

they would watch this because they might want to meet new people that would be interested in this film as well as they would.

AUDIENCE

Details of audience

Target audience

Secondary audience

Explain why they would be attracted (watch) the film

Sexual orientation

Lesbian, BI, Gay and straight

same because its for everyone not only for straight people.

Profession/role

Any students Taking their time off to relax

AUDIENCE THEORY MCQUAIL People would watch this movie or even buy it

for many reasons for example:

Reasons why people watch the film

explanation

entertainment People would go there for fun and to enjoy themselves, they work and with the money earned they would go and spend the money satisfy themselves

information To satisfy curiosity and general interest

Personal identity Gaining insight into one’s self