Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
In my opening horror film, I used the conventions of real media products such as various horror films to develop my film into a unique yet frightening horror. Some examples of basic conventions used in my horror film is illustrated in the above images. In each section, different types of conventions are shown- rather it be the title of the film, setting/ location, costumes, props, camerawork, editing, title font, style, special effects etc.
(Starting from the right) In the first picture frame, we see the main character looking back from a distance in a dark alleyway. Automatically this suggests the Genre of the film. The opening here suggests the Genre of the film due to the way the scene has been set. It is dark, isolated and mysterious. All of which are commonly seen in a Horror with mostly a vulnerably victim in sight. In addition, the main character in which is a female is left vulnerably alone in a place where she is potentially in danger. Vulnerable females are forms of conventions in a horror film because they are always prone to death or harm which is more thrilling. For example, in the film ' The Last Exorcism' the innocent young girl is possessed by a demon/ ghost who takes pleasure in the fear of others. This movie was one of my inspirations in which helped me to identify the type of ghostly elements I should input into my film to attract my target audience. The link below is a preview:
In the second frame, we see the heart wrenching close up frame of the main female character. This frame uses conventions of real media products through its camerawork. Close ups are always used in Horror to emphasise the characters emotions at the time. The use of close up in my opening Horror was to effectively illustrate the sorrow and fear my character felt at the time which audiences are able to emphasise with her.
In the third frame, we see the distortion of two characters from the point of view of the main character. This is used in my opening horror to develop conventions of real media products through the use of special effects. In most Horror films, what makes the film effective is using the special effects and making it realistic as possible. It is to convey the concept of the supernatural. For example, in the film 'Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes' many special effects are used throughout the film to make the most Horrific scenes realistic which makes the audiences ponder on the scenes as it is memorable to the imagination. Here is the trailer:
In the fourth frame, we see the establishing shot of the location of the film. This is typical of a convention of a Horror film. Through my research of many case studies, I've come to realise that in most Horror films that portray the theme of the supernatural tend to have religious concepts. In my Horror film, we used the the convention of religious concepts to choose our location- a church. This was so the impact of the supernatural concepts in our film will be more effective and so the audiences will feel a sense of thrill. My inspiration came from the film 'The omen' as the film uses a lot of religious imagery to emphasise supernatural themes which would have scared audiences. The picture to the right is from a scene in the film:
In the fifth frame, it shows the main character in our film in a match on action in where she is seen entering the church. This element is used to develop forms of conventions of Horror films as we are introduced to the setting of the film through the use of shot types. Match on action is normally used in a horror to build tension and to express that the setting may be the place of which dangerous or mysterious accounters may occur.Furthermore, in the sixth frame, we see the transition of two scenes through the use of superimposition. Superimposition is a form of editing in which more than one image is exposed in the same film strip. This a technique used to challenge conventions of real media products. Through again research, I realised they're not a lot of superimposition used in many Horror films. However I used this form of editing to show the passing of time in my film and to make the transitions more smoother rather than jumpy.
Moreover, in my seventh frame, we see the main character opening a hymn book in the church. This is again used to challenge the form of conventions in media products. In most horror films, many characters who enter the church have continuous encounters of supernatural elements which adds to the fear of the unknown. It is most unlikely we see victimised characters resting in a dark church; opening a hymn book. However we chose to add this element to highlight the main characters innocence and naive characteristics.
Furthermore, in the eighth frame, we the main character in a mid shot and from he distance we see a ghostly figure. Even before watching the first two minutes of the film, we automatically get an idea of what the story may be about just by looking at the mis-en- scene. This is used to develop the forms of conventions in a Horror as everything in the frame from the lighting, costume, makeup etc all come together to give people an idea of what the story of the film would be about; dark, female victim, church, ghostly figure in the distance.
In the final frame, we are finally introduced to the title of the film. 'Espiridion' is Spanish for little spirit. This is definitely used in my Horror film as a use of conventions of real media product. While researching about opening film titles, what I came across on Horror films is that the titles as well as occasional credits tend to be bold and have a distictive colour. The colour red was chosen in my title to convey the theme of Horror in my film. It ironically signifies death as well as life. 
No comments:
Post a Comment