in what way does your media product use
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IN WHAT WAY DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?
THE HORROR GENRE
Our media product ‘The Final Plea’ developed forms and conventions of a real media product as it conforms to our chosen genre, horror. In order to clearly produce a trailer for the horror genre, we incorporated the typical forms and conventions usually included within the horror genre. Pre-production of our trailer we analysed numerous of horror trailers to gain a feel into the structure and conventions that are highlighted within horror trailers. This helped us gain an idea on how we plan to produce our media production and most importantly we was fully aware of structuring our production within a three act structure, concurrently challenging the codes and conventions that usual trailers use.
IN WHAT WAY DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE FORMS AND CONVETIONS OF THE HORROR GENRE WITHIN NARRATIVE?When taking into consideration the narrative of our media product, we analysed existing storylines that included masked villains in order to conform to our sub-genre human monster. This included horrors such as, ‘you’re next’, ‘The Purge’ etc. These films consist of a normal family that is disturbed by a devastation of a kidnap, or an attack on the family. this is aspect that we included within out production as if sets off a realistic feel towards the narrative, yet is extremely interesting and intriguing for the audience to watch, so they are fully engaged. Moreover we have used we have used the forms and convention of the horror genre.In order to create a basis of the narrative and conform to elements of the horror genre, we wanted to create a sense of the unknown, which typical trailers use within their production. In order to do this we used our beginning shot as an extreme close up. This is an element that ‘before I go to sleep’ has also included. It highlights a feature that looks familiar, but however is recognised as extremely unfamiliar due to the use of shot type, this causes the audience to cast a shadow of doubt right from the beginning of the sequence. Therefore using forms and convention of the horror genre within narrative.
IN WHAT WAY DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT DEVELOP FORMS AND CONVETIONS OF THE HORROR GENRE WITHIN NARRATIVE? In order to developed codes and conventions within the horror genre, we created an
element of unpredictability, when analysing the horror genre we notice that this particular genre was predictable in its nature, once the audience is able to predict what is going to happen, it loses a large amount of its ability to scare the viewer. To be properly scared, they need to have no idea what's coming next. This is an aspect that we developed due to the transition in character, our main character charlotte, is presented as the victim throughout the sequence, through building the narrative within the three act structure, this included Mark (Charlottes father) forgetting her birthday, then within the second act Charlotte is kidnapped. They audience sympathise for her. However this differs within the last act as the audience are able Charlotte transform into her naturally role of the antagonist. However this is shown extremely quick within the last shot, this therefore gives a sense of the unknown as the audience are left confused as they have only gain’s a glimpse of her true characteristics.
IN WHAT WAY DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVETIONS OF THE HORROR GENRE WITHIN NARRATIVE ? Ways in which we challenged forms and conventions, In through the use of the last
quick shot of Charlotte. The majority of horror that we evaluated for example ‘gone girl’ (that has a similar narrative to our production) the ending of the film is always left unknown to the audience, however we thought by challenging this the audience are able to get a glimpse of the ending, without giving to much away. therefore the audience would be more likely to want to watch the film as if is left on a cliff-hanger, they want to know what has happened. Furthermore we have challenged the forms and convention this respect.
In addition by challenging this element we have also created a unique selling point, as majority of horrors do not do this. This makes the audience, more likely to what to see the film as it is exclusive, which is effective in the horror genre, as it is uncommon to others that we have seen, again challenged forms and convention of the horror genre.
IN WHAT WAY DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE FORMS AND CONVETIONS OF THE HORROR GENRE WITHIN LOCATION? Another aspect that is vital in creating an effective horror trailer was setting and location, this is in order to
apply to the codes and conventions that the horror genre consists of. Location was extremely important to us as we wanted to make it clear what genre the film conforms too. After analysis of other real media products it was clear that an isolated environment is what we intend to use to apply to the codes and conventions. An example are a product we looked at was ‘The strangers’ which included an isolated surrounding, a large suburban home located in a peaceful environment.
Within the setting of ‘The strangers’ you are able to see the utilised surrounding, this applies to codes and conventions as an isolated surrounding like the one we have picked conforms to the horror genre as realistically if anything did happen, no one would be able to help, which gives a really sinister feel to the setting and location that we have used. Another location that we have looked at in order to pick wisely our location is ‘you’re next’ this highlight once again an abandoned location. we looked at the many ways in which we could present the house through the use of shots. What was effective about ‘you’re next’ was the long aril shots and exterior shots of the house, this portrays the audience that there is no one around the house is completely deserted, which most definitely complies with the horror genre. As you can see through the imagery we have house the same forms and conventions as we have also incorporate dark exterior shots of a large suburban house to heighten tension through the isolation within the audience.
Our setting Example setting
IN WHAT WAY DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT DEVELOP/CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVETIONS OF THE HORROR GENRE WITHIN LOCATION? In addition we have developed the forms and conventions of a real media product as whilst evaluating horror trailers that
appealed to us as effective, we noticed they used a very small range of simplistic settings (usually with kidnapping based horrors) and the use of deserted locations, for example just a house. we thought that this was extremely limited. However we developed this by using multiple settings of the woods and tunnels in Waterloo, By doing this we was able to create an effective montage at the end of our sequence of cut at the beat of the music, using a huge range of settings, this was done in order to create a sinister feel and create tension which most defiantly complies to the horror genre.
A media text that we took inspiration from was ‘before I go to sleep’ as they have also used a montage at the end of their sequence. This is something that we thought was highly effective as it gives the sense of confusion which is ironic due to the main character ‘Christine’ being an amnesiac. This is an aspect that we applied to our production as the last act within the 3 act structure, must be fast due to the building of tension and leaving the audience on a cliff hanger, in this way we are able to represent the numerous about of locations we have used, this is to create chaos and confusion, this therefore develops the codes and conventions of the horror genre.
Ways in which we challenged the forms and conventions of the horror genre is through the main setting of the suburban home. Within usual horrors that involve a kidnap the within an isolated environment however within out production we have used a location that is packed with houses, this suggest that the masked villain is able to commit the crime with large around of chance getting caught. In this way we challenge forms and conventions as this isn’t common in horrors.
IN WHAT WAY DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE FORMS AND CONVETIONS OF THE HORROR GENRE WITHIN CONSTUCTION OF CHARACTER ? From analysing different horror trailer, a film that we took inspiration from was ‘Gone Girl’ similarly this text
highlights a young women going missing and the audience immediately feel sympathetic towards her, however just like The Final Plea the main character ‘Amy’ shows aspect of human monster and staged her own death, just like charlotte has staged her kidnap. This highlights that Charlotte has psychological issues with her mental health and is extremely disturbed and manipulative.
An aspect of ‘gone Girl’ that we cooperated within our production is the use of the voiceover, similarly we wanted an account from charlotte herself, to portray herself as the victim. in addition the use of props for example charlotte heaving no makeup on and a white top to symbolise vulnerability, this is also portrayed in ‘Gone Girl’ with Amy being a petite blonde, highlighting weakness. However she presented as a manipulative character due to the fact she has an evil s streak that runs through her. An element of ‘gone girl’ trailer that is effective is the plot is never revealed to the audience.
we challenged the conventions as we too wanted to create a sense of the unknown through the fact that the story narrative is drawn away from Charlotte being the antagonist, rather portray her side and present her as the victim. This tricks the audience and gives a sense of mystery.
Another way in which we developed the forms and conventions in ‘The Final Plea’ is through the use on the voice-over by Charlotte, this is evident as within the film Charlotte goes missing, however an account from Charlotte herself causes the audience to fell more in touch with the main character, the voice-over begins with ‘every year, every year he forgets’ this outlines that there is issues between Charlotte and her father and the audience are able to relate to her. A trailer that use similar forms is ‘Before I go to Sleep’, as just like our production they use a voice-over outlining who she is and what her illness is, in addition we also create a sense of the unknown by both beginning shots being extreme close up, highlighting something that looks familiar, being extremely unfamiliar due to the use in shot type, this causes the audience to cast a shadow of doubt right at the beginning of the sequence.
When constructing the masked villain we looked at the film ‘smiley, which is known as ‘the new face of fear’, we also wanted to give a fear factor to our main character, and therefore we conformed codes and conventions through how the clown is presented, throughout our sequence the clown is never revealed and does abnormal things throughout for example looking in the mirror at himself, this is when the clown is first saw by the audience and the fast shots gives a sinister feel, this makes the home invasion horror film much more appealing towards the viewers and uses the forms and conventions the horror genre.
the masked man is presented as a dominant character which has an aggressive nature, the man does not say a thing through the trailer and therefore is completely unknown towards the audience this gives an earie feel through the trailer as the audience can underestimate what the man is capable of. The fact that the audience are left on a cliff-hanger as the last shot is him grabbing Charlotte, makes the audience more eager to watch the film as it is unknown to the audience of what happens in between, therefore the construction of the masked villain is extremely significant to conforming to the horror genre.
We constructed the character of Carol (the mother as a strong powerful character. That is sick of Marks being so neglectful towards his children. This is evident through the use of shot types and sound bridges used. For example when carol says ‘what's going on mark?’ in addition her strong characteristics is represented through the shot below Carol running through the house to see what has happened to Charlotte, while her husband Mark stays behind. This highlights that she is the dominant character within the family, which is what we wanted to present her as. In addition this portray motherly instinct to protect their children.
Mark is presented as the opposite to Carol and is the much weaker character within the two. This is highlighted below through the imagery of Mark crying. We challenged the typical codes and conventions as usually the men are presented as the more dominant character. However we presented him as the weaker character as he is the main cause of the storyline and therefore is in a state of panic. He is unaware of what to do. In this respect we have challenged the forms and conventions
IN WHAT WAY DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT DEVELOP/ CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVETIONS OF THE HORROR GENRE WITHIN CONSTUCTION OF CHARACTER ? Another aspect that impacted on developing the narrative was the formation of the character Charlotte, throughout how
the trailer we are able to develop the conventions through the evolving characteristics that are presented at the beginning and at the end. At the beginning charlotte is presented as an innocent young teenage girl that is desperate for some attention from her dad, the audience feel almost guilty for her. Nearer the end we are able to get a glimpse of the sub-genre ‘human monster’ as the audience slightly have a view on the last shot what Charlotte is truly like.
Another main character that we have developed in the forms and conventions of the horror genre was the clown that kidnaps charlotte within the second act. The fact that the man is never revealed gives a sense of the unknown which is vital when creating a horror trailer, this makes the audience on the edge of their seats as they question who the masked villain is. When deciding to use the subgenre of human monster which is highlighted within our production. The use of the mask was a significant aspect as we felt it would heighten fear and fright among that audience. During our research and planning we did specific research into particular films that was based around a villain in a mask, these included films such as; The Strangers, You’re next, Smiley, Chainsaw massacre, The Purge and so on. The use of the mask has developed forms and conventions through the fact that there is a small sample of films that is based around a masked villain, and therefore creates fight and terror for the audience
We have challenged the forms and convention of the construction of our main character as normally horrors would choose their antagonist to be a man, as they show higher authority and power, however we used a young girl. All the characters Developing the main character of charlotte was a significant aspect as individuals of charlottes age group would relate to her and be more likely to watch the film, the characteristics Charlotte obtains makes the film much more interesting and definitely applies to conventions of the horror genre.
IN WHAT WAY DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE FORMS AND CONVETIONS OF THE HORROR GENRE WITHIN PROPS/COSTUME The Props and costume is an important aspect in the construction of horror. Props and costume is a significant
aspect as it contributes largely to creating fight and scare, this is create from the use of clothing picked for the antagonist. During research and planning we mainly focused on analysing numerous of masked villains, we noticed that the most frightening masks were usually smiling which gave a horrifying feel. In order to use the forms and conventions we decided to use a clown mask as we thought it would be the most effective in creating an eerie atmosphere, we took into consideration that some individuals may have Coulrophobia, which a fear of clowns, this heightens fear for the viewer which is an aim in conforming to the horror genre.
A film that was very influential during our research and planning was the trailer ‘Annabelle’, the use of the doll creates irony as dolls are using used to entrain children, we develop this idea by also creating irony by the use of the clown mask, as this is also associated with children’s entrainment as clowns are usually distinguished as funny, however instead the mask is associated with fright, which applies to the codes and conventions of the horror genre.
An addition prop that we used was the birthday cake at the beginning of the trailer, we used this prop in order to represent charlottes current emotions, her blowing out the candles is symbolic of her loss of hope in her dad, and the sense that she’s given up, the audience are aware of their damaged relationships, the candles are symbolic of their relationship breaking down.
Another prop that we used to apply to the codes and conventions of the horror genre, was the body parts that we got from a butcher, that consisted of pigs, eyes, brain, ears and liver, these disturbing images gave a gory effect, this was done by the use of closes up placed in the montage. The fact that we have used gory aspects within out trailer conforms the forms and conventions of a horror as this is typically what trailers we have analysis have also used, an example is ‘The Texas Chainsaw massacre’ who present blood and guts within their sequence which is an extremely frightening aspect.
However we developed the forms and conventions by making our trailer less predictable than ‘Chainsaw Massacre’, therefore we only used a small elements to disgust the audience and not overdo it, as from research we found that the films that did overdo it were less effective and unrealistic. Moreover we were able to create the same effect of fright, however also created the sense of the unknown as the audience question what has happened to Charlotte, is she dead or alive?, if we used loads of blood the audience would just assume that she is dead, which is not what we wanted, in order the create an effective trailer we need to leave the audience on the edge of their seats, wondering what would happen next. I think we executed this very well within the costume and props, by heightening suspense conforms to the codes and conventions of the horror genre.
Another prop we used in order to develop forms and conventions was the use of the bloody knife. This was symbolic of the fact that the blood is on his hands, meaning it is his fault his daughter is missing. in addition it also makes the audience question why there is a bloody knife in Charlottes room. Therefore we develop forms and conventions of the horror genre, yet apply to them.
The choice in which clothing we chose for our character was vital in conforming to the codes and conventions of the horror genre. We decided the dress our main character Charlotte in normal everyday clothing that consisted of a white top, dark jeans and a cardigan, this is effective as we wanted to trick the audience into thinking she is a normal, innocent girl we will dress the protagonist in everyday normal clothing. In addition this also conforms to the target group of teenagers, they would be able to relate to her. However, nearing the end of the trailer, Charlotte is shown towards the end of the trailer differently, she is wearing all black and has a full face of makeup on, this is to highlight her transition in character, the audience are able to get a glimpse of the real Charlotte, which therefore challenged the codes and conventions the of the horror genre.
The costume of antagonist (the masked kidnapper) was also significant, in order to conform to the horror genre we dressed him in all black clothing to highlight him as evil, the audience immediately feel threatened by him as the colouring black is usually associated with intimidation, mystery and authority, this gives a sinister feel to our trailer, and conforms to codes and conventions as this is the colouring horror’s typically use. In addition this suggests the unknown as the audience are unaware of who this man is, creating mystery, this is done through the use of the mask. And lastly we dressed the family in basic, simplistic clothing such as jeans and a top, in order to look realistic, as it creates an image of a stereotypical family living in a suburban setting acting out everyday life.When considering other horror films that we have looked at many have used a phone as a prop to heighten tension, in addition create a feel of isolated. This is usually created through the eerie silence of no one responding. This is evident in ‘when a stranger calls’. We wanted to use the forms within our production as it highlights to the audience that she is all alone and is now in danger.
IN WHAT WAY DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE/ DEVELOP/ CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVETIONS OF THE HORROR GENRE WITHIN SPECIAL EFFECTS Special effects was a significant factor when conforming to the codes and conventions of a horror
film, therefore we used many in order to heighten fear. We edited part of our title on Photoshop Adobe and used a punch out effect. In order to do this we used a screenshot of the body parts, then we placed the text ‘The Final plea’ on the image and used the cutting tool to remove it and place it on a new layer, in addition we changed the levels of opacity. We placed in on black background so it was much bolder and stood out.
Another effect that we used to develop the conventions of the horror genre was the overlapping of the shots and changing the opacity to a lower level, so it creates a ghostly effect. We did this in order to create fear, as the audience are unable to see a clear image of the clown, in addition the overlapping of the different shots of the parents highlight their desperation and distress of Charlotte going missing. This creates a disorientated effect creating confusion, making the audience question what is significant about the double effect used. We challenged the forms and conventions by given a sense that time is running out.
We also used minor special features by amplifying, we done this by overlapping the sounding to make it much louder, we done this in order to heighten fear at the moments which were much faster, for example when Charlotte can hear the chair fall from upstairs. In addition to this we added effects to the voiceover on the words ‘I feel as though I could disappear’ we added an echoing effect on the ‘disappear’ to highlight this was in the past tense, irony is used here as charlotte does go missing, suggesting that she knew this would occur. This gives a much more sinister feel towards the voiceover at the beginning as it’s an account from Charlotte herself, she has almost predicted what is going to happen at the begging of the sequence. This thickens the storyline as the audience now feel Mark (Charlotte’s father) is involved in the kidnap, and therefore the audience sway towards Mark being the antagonist and sees Charlotte as the victim.
