This is a post to introduce you to my blog and tell you what I have liked and disliked this year throughout AS Media Studies. Also, this post will inform you about what my blog entails. I have decided to sum up this post through a podcast:
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Thursday, 13 April 2017
Tuesday, 11 April 2017
FINAL Cut
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Please be aware that the annotations tool may be on, I have annotated this video for one of my evaluation questions (Evaluation Question 1a: Conventions). If you don't know how to turn these annotations off, you can refer back to one of my old blog posts that shows how to turn the annotations tool on and off on a YouTube video. Press here to learn how to turn these annotations off and on and how to add annotations on a video on YouTube in the first place.
Things I have done since the last rough cut:
The only things I have updated for the final cut are some sounds.
1. I found a better version of a scream for the start of the second scene (greenscreen abduction scene).
2. I added some non-diegetic string sounds for the entire lair scene and adjusted the volumes of these sounds and other sounds in this lair scene.
3. I changed some of the titles' fonts in the rape chase scene to the font 'face your fears'. I added a few more titles for the rape chase scene:
4. I made the last title of the first scene fade out and I made the three years later title fade in. I also made the screams of the second female chase victim fade up too.
5. I added a better secondary music element as the killer goes down the stairs. I made this secondary music better by adding irregular loud fast string notes. I also changed some of the audio levels of this already existing secondary music element by fading some of the sounds in and by making some of the sounds louder.
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Please be aware that the annotations tool may be on, I have annotated this video for one of my evaluation questions (Evaluation Question 1a: Conventions). If you don't know how to turn these annotations off, you can refer back to one of my old blog posts that shows how to turn the annotations tool on and off on a YouTube video. Press here to learn how to turn these annotations off and on and how to add annotations on a video on YouTube in the first place.
Things I have done since the last rough cut:
The only things I have updated for the final cut are some sounds.
1. I found a better version of a scream for the start of the second scene (greenscreen abduction scene).
2. I added some non-diegetic string sounds for the entire lair scene and adjusted the volumes of these sounds and other sounds in this lair scene.
3. I changed some of the titles' fonts in the rape chase scene to the font 'face your fears'. I added a few more titles for the rape chase scene:
- 'casting by Lisa Fields'
- 'music by Steve Jablonsky'
- 'edited by Daniel Duncan'
- 'written by Steven Zaillian'
- 'produced by Cathy Konrad'
4. I made the last title of the first scene fade out and I made the three years later title fade in. I also made the screams of the second female chase victim fade up too.
5. I added a better secondary music element as the killer goes down the stairs. I made this secondary music better by adding irregular loud fast string notes. I also changed some of the audio levels of this already existing secondary music element by fading some of the sounds in and by making some of the sounds louder.
Wednesday, 29 March 2017
EVALUATION Q1a: Conventions
EVALUATION Q1a - HOW DOES YOUR PRODUCT USE OR CHALLENGE CONVENTIONS?
To summarise this question in a creative way, I decided to create a fake interview between me and my mum. My mum playing the role of the presenter and me playing the role of a book author who has just recently published a book about slasher genre conventions.
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Here is my general film opening conventions vodcast from my earlier on in my blog:
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Here is my slasher genre conventions vodcast from my earlier on in my blog:
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Also, for this question, I decided to use the YouTube annotation tool to annotate my final cut to explain why I did/included certain things and what films I was influenced by for many parts of my film opening, you can turn these annotations off or on, on the settings button on the right bottom hand corner:
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"A slasher film is a sub-genre of the horror film genre typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or chainsaw etc."
The many general genre films I have looked at are Bridget Jones's Diary, For Those In Peril, Submarine, We Are Your Friends, Wild Child, The Girl On The Train, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Pulp Fiction, The Boss, Oblivion and This Is England.
The many slasher genre films I have looked at are Halloween, Scream franchise, Bride Of Chucky, Friday the 13th franchise, Jennifer's Body, Scary Movie, Cherry Falls, Psycho, Nightmare On Elm Street, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
To summarise this question in a creative way, I decided to create a fake interview between me and my mum. My mum playing the role of the presenter and me playing the role of a book author who has just recently published a book about slasher genre conventions.
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Here is my general film opening conventions vodcast from my earlier on in my blog:
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Here is my slasher genre conventions vodcast from my earlier on in my blog:
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Also, for this question, I decided to use the YouTube annotation tool to annotate my final cut to explain why I did/included certain things and what films I was influenced by for many parts of my film opening, you can turn these annotations off or on, on the settings button on the right bottom hand corner:
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"A slasher film is a sub-genre of the horror film genre typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or chainsaw etc."
The many general genre films I have looked at are Bridget Jones's Diary, For Those In Peril, Submarine, We Are Your Friends, Wild Child, The Girl On The Train, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Pulp Fiction, The Boss, Oblivion and This Is England.
The many slasher genre films I have looked at are Halloween, Scream franchise, Bride Of Chucky, Friday the 13th franchise, Jennifer's Body, Scary Movie, Cherry Falls, Psycho, Nightmare On Elm Street, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
IDENTS
I found after looking at many film examples e.g. Bridget Jones's Diary and Friday the 13th Remake, that the average amount of film idents to be shown at the start of a film is 3-4 with/or without an audiobridge (audiobridges connote the genre of the film and create a certain atmosphere for the audience). Therefore, I made 3 film idents for my film opening which you can see here. After looking at the examples, Friday the 13th Remake, Wild Child, Oblivion and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, I decided to include an audiobridge over two of my film idents. Also, the average duration of the film idents I made is between 5-10 seconds because after looking into many film examples of multiple genres, I discovered that the average duration of idents is 5-10 seconds. Although, after looking at many slasher genre examples, I discovered that not many film idents are shown at the start, e.g. for 'Scream' and 'Bride Of Chucky' there is only one film ident shown at the start.
OPENING SHOT
After looking at multiple genre examples e.g. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Halloween, Bride Of Chucky,
Oblivion and The Boss, I discovered that the stereotypical opening shot used is an extreme long shot. This provides exposition for the audience and denotes the setting/time. Although, I did look at some other examples, e.g. For Those In Peril, Scream and The Girl On The Train and discovered that the opening shot used is not always an ELS but instead, a close up shot of an object or person of significance (a signifier). These two options for the opening shot influenced me for my film opening. I therefore decided to use a medium close up of the female rape victim's legs running. I chose this type of shot because I wanted to provide some narrative enigma (withholding information) in my film opening. Narrative enigma is created because the audience don't know who the character in the shot is (because you can only see the character's legs, not her face). You finally see the character's face in the third shot in.
TITLES
After looking at the slasher film examples Bride Of Chucky, Friday the 13th Remake and Halloween, I have discovered that colour, font and font size connote genre. In the film openings of these film examples there are a lot of titles used and the font colours are either white, red or orange. This helped me decide how many titles I wanted to use in my film opening and what kind of font and colour I shall use for these titles. I decided on the font 'face your fears' (from dafont.com) in the colour red. This font is sans serif and can be denoted as blood, written with a paintbrush and it has strong connotations of horror.
I got the 'face your fears' font for my film opening from the website, dafont.com. I also got many other fonts from this website for my film idents too. For the 'Lilac City Productions' ident I used the font 'Eddie DGL' as you can see below.
This is the font I used for my second ident (Lilac City Productions). I denoted this font as being sci-fi, but also somewhat Chinese like. I wanted to have a Chinese styled font because Chinese letters/writing is associated with sci-fi cities with really modern skyscrapers. The fact that Chinese writing is associated with modern cities influenced the name I picked for the ident also, (Lilac City Productions).
I also did research into the typical title order that you will see by looking at the examples 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo', 'Bride Of Chucky', and 'Halloween' and discovered that the typical order is usually:
This helped me decide the order for my titles:
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1. Ethereal Entertainment Presents
My first ident
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2. A Lilac City Production
My second ident
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3. In Association with Neonix Productions
My third ident
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4. An Evie Gibbons film
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5. Sophie Turner
Sophie Turner is an actress from the TV series 'Game of Thrones'. I chose to choose this actress because she attracts an international audience because of her appearance in Game of Thrones.
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7. Robert Sheehan
Robert Sheehan is an Irish actor from the TV series 'Misfits' and appears in 'Demons Never Die' and 'Mortal Instruments - City Of Bones'. I chose this actor because he attracts a young adult audience and his appearance in the low budget horror slasher film 'Demons Never Die' attracts an audience who watches slasher horrors/likes slasher horror films.
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8. Casting by Lisa Fields
This woman casted the film Friday The 13th Remake.
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9. Music by Steve Jablonsky
This music composer made the music for the slasher film Friday the 13th Remake and I chose this music composer because I really liked the soundtrack that was made for that film.
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10. Edited by Daniel Duncan
This person edited the film I Spit On Your Grave.
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11. Written by Steven Zaillian
He wrote the film The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
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12. Produced by Cathy Konrad
This woman produced the film Scream.
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13. Directed by Evie Gibbons
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FINAL SHOT OF FILM OPENING
After looking at many final shots of film openings for films e.g. Scream, I discovered that the final shot is usually of something that links the film opening to the main body of the film e.g. a new character's face that we haven't seen before or of the main protagonist's face in a new scene. I also discovered that it is sometimes hard to distinguish when it is the end of a film opening or when it is the start of the main body of the film, this is the case for the example 'The Girl On The Train' and 'Oblivion'. This influenced me to make my final shot for my film opening, a close up of the main protagonist's face (the 'final girl' character) as you can see here. If I were to film the entire film, I would have had a close up shot of the main protagonist in a new scene, after this shot. By doing this, this allows there to be a transition/bridge from the film opening to the main body of the film.
SHOT TYPES
In my film opening I used a variety of different shot types such as long shots, extreme long shots, medium long shots, close ups, two shots, master shots. In terms of shot angles, I also used many different types such as worm's eye angle view, low angles, high angles and dutch angles. I wanted to use many dutch angles because this is a very stereotypical convention of horror slashers. I used high angles and low angles to connote different statuses of power, for example for portraying the killer I used low angles to connote that the killer has a lot of power; For portraying the female rape victim in the rape chase scene, I used many high angles to connote that she is weak and vulnerable.
IDENTIFYING ANY PROTAGONISTS
After looking at many film examples, e.g. The Girl On The Train, Scream, Wild Child, The Boss and Oblivion, I have discovered that the main protagonist is typically the first character to be shown. They may not appear in the opening shot, but they would typically appear a few shots later in the film opening. In the case of slasher films however, the first character/s shown is usually the 'scream queen/king' (the person who will be killed by the killer). A 'scream queen' in a slasher film opening will usually be killed in the film opening itself, not even make it until half way through the film. This influenced me a lot because my film opening is of the slasher genre. Because of this, I decided to show two 'scream kings' in my film opening (the two rapists who raped the killer) first, including the female rape victim who turns into the killer. I thought it was important to provide some background context for the audience around the killer and her motives for killing people.
The audience only see the main protagonist at the very end of the film opening just before the main body of the film starts. The main protagonist is the 'final girl' and she is female (which is stereotypical for slasher films) as you have seen above in this post.
NARRATIVE
I looked into multiple genre examples and discovered that in the film openings of films, the following theories can be applied: Roland Barthes' 5 Codes, Levi-Strauss' Binary Opposition, Propp's 7-Character Archetypes and Todorov's 5-Part Narrative.
Barthes stated that there are 5 codes which can appear in a media text, these being the enigma code, the action code, the semantic code, the symbolic code and the cultural code. For example, the action code and the enigma code can be applied in the film 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' because in the film opening the audience have no idea what is going on, they see two characters talking on the phone to each other, but they are not being very clear to the audience of what they are talking about; therefore, narrative enigma is created. At the end of the film, the action code starts to become evident through the chase scene that you see. I was influenced by this, therefore I included the enigma code and action code in my film opening. The enigma code is applied in the first scene of my film opening, the rape chase scene. This is because it is not clear to the audience who the female rape victim is and also why she is being chased.
Levi-Strauss developed the concept of binary opposites. These are two very distinct opposites or clashing pairs you could say, for example (male, female; rich, poor). They are used to spark or create conflict for a film. This can be applied in the example Harry Potter. Voldemort and Harry Potter are a clashing pair - villain vs hero. I was influenced to apply this in my film opening between the killer and the female rape victim. These two characters are the same person (Jennifer), just the killer version of Jennifer is a lot different to the female rape victim version of Jennifer. The killer version wears all black, is villainous, dominant and kills people. The female rape victim version is feminine, innocent, vulnerable and submissive. So, the binary here is dominant vs submissive and also evil/vengeful vs kind/innocent.
Uses and Gratifications Theory
1. Diversion/Escapism
2. Personal Relationship
3. Personal Identity
4. Surveillance
Diversion/Escapism:
An audience may be able to escape into my film because of it's dramatic nature. Also, it is a fiction film which is non-realistic so people can watch this for pleasure as a fictional media product.
Personal Identity
I think the target audience can identify with some of the characters in this film such as the final girl and the scream queens/scream kings. I think teenage males and females might be able to identify with the final girl because she is relatable as a teenager by wearing make up, doing teenage activities, being a school student etc... I also think a some males may identify with the two male rapists mainly just because they are somewhat young. Also, there is reference to alcoholism by one of the teenagers, Simon, who sneaks some alcohol in a flask to a greenscreen studio, I think this alcoholism/drinking alcohol is relatable to teenagers also.
SOUND
Throughout my film opening, I made and used a combination of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. I used a variety of dark drones that connote wind, heartbeat sounds.
Rape Chase Scene:
Green Screen Abduction Scene:
Diegetic Sounds:
I made my own version of the theme music from the film Halloween. I only used this music in the part where the killer is walking up behind Simon about to put a bag over his head.
Lair Scene:
Diegetic Sounds:
Rape Chase Scene:
Setting
The location of this scene is very stereotypical of horror films. Most horror films are set in a forest at some point e.g. Friday the 13th, I Spit On Your Grave, Cherry Falls, Eden Lake. I decided to use this location because of these influences.
Green Screen Abduction Scene:
Setting
This scene is set at a greenscreen studio. I took influence from the film Halloween by having stalkerish shots as Simon walks from one studio to the other. In the film opening of Halloween, Michael Myers watches and stalks his sister and her boyfriend kissing and playing around. In my film opening, the killer stalks and watches Simon heading from one greenscreen studio to the other.
Lair Scene:
Setting
This scene is set in the killer's lair. This is very stereotypical of horrors for the killer to have a lair where they take their victims and torture/kill them. I was influenced by the TV show Pretty Little Liars because the anonymous 'A', in this show, has a lair with images taped up on all the walls as if the person who's lair it is is a major stalker of certain people. In my film opening I decided to incorporate some of the things that the anonymous 'A' villain has in Pretty Little Liars. I decided to create a lair for the killer in my film opening which has many objects that represent/connote the horror genre. I included:
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| My Film Ident 1: Ethereal Entertainment |
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| My Film Ident 2: Lilac City Productions |
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| My Film Ident 3: Neonix Productions |
OPENING SHOT
Oblivion and The Boss, I discovered that the stereotypical opening shot used is an extreme long shot. This provides exposition for the audience and denotes the setting/time. Although, I did look at some other examples, e.g. For Those In Peril, Scream and The Girl On The Train and discovered that the opening shot used is not always an ELS but instead, a close up shot of an object or person of significance (a signifier). These two options for the opening shot influenced me for my film opening. I therefore decided to use a medium close up of the female rape victim's legs running. I chose this type of shot because I wanted to provide some narrative enigma (withholding information) in my film opening. Narrative enigma is created because the audience don't know who the character in the shot is (because you can only see the character's legs, not her face). You finally see the character's face in the third shot in.
TITLES
After looking at the slasher film examples Bride Of Chucky, Friday the 13th Remake and Halloween, I have discovered that colour, font and font size connote genre. In the film openings of these film examples there are a lot of titles used and the font colours are either white, red or orange. This helped me decide how many titles I wanted to use in my film opening and what kind of font and colour I shall use for these titles. I decided on the font 'face your fears' (from dafont.com) in the colour red. This font is sans serif and can be denoted as blood, written with a paintbrush and it has strong connotations of horror.
I got the 'face your fears' font for my film opening from the website, dafont.com. I also got many other fonts from this website for my film idents too. For the 'Lilac City Productions' ident I used the font 'Eddie DGL' as you can see below.
I also did research into the typical title order that you will see by looking at the examples 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo', 'Bride Of Chucky', and 'Halloween' and discovered that the typical order is usually:
This helped me decide the order for my titles:
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1. Ethereal Entertainment Presents
My first ident
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2. A Lilac City Production
My second ident
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My third ident
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5. Sophie Turner
Sophie Turner is an actress from the TV series 'Game of Thrones'. I chose to choose this actress because she attracts an international audience because of her appearance in Game of Thrones.
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7. Robert SheehanRobert Sheehan is an Irish actor from the TV series 'Misfits' and appears in 'Demons Never Die' and 'Mortal Instruments - City Of Bones'. I chose this actor because he attracts a young adult audience and his appearance in the low budget horror slasher film 'Demons Never Die' attracts an audience who watches slasher horrors/likes slasher horror films.
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8. Casting by Lisa FieldsThis woman casted the film Friday The 13th Remake.
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9. Music by Steve JablonskyThis music composer made the music for the slasher film Friday the 13th Remake and I chose this music composer because I really liked the soundtrack that was made for that film.
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10. Edited by Daniel DuncanThis person edited the film I Spit On Your Grave.
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11. Written by Steven ZaillianHe wrote the film The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
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12. Produced by Cathy KonradThis woman produced the film Scream.
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FINAL SHOT OF FILM OPENING
SHOT TYPES
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| Use of worm's eye view angle |
In my film opening I used a variety of different shot types such as long shots, extreme long shots, medium long shots, close ups, two shots, master shots. In terms of shot angles, I also used many different types such as worm's eye angle view, low angles, high angles and dutch angles. I wanted to use many dutch angles because this is a very stereotypical convention of horror slashers. I used high angles and low angles to connote different statuses of power, for example for portraying the killer I used low angles to connote that the killer has a lot of power; For portraying the female rape victim in the rape chase scene, I used many high angles to connote that she is weak and vulnerable.
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| Use of dutch angle here |
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| Use of dutch angle and high angle |
IDENTIFYING ANY PROTAGONISTS
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| Rapist 1/Scream King 1 |
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| Rapist 2/Scream King 2 |
The audience only see the main protagonist at the very end of the film opening just before the main body of the film starts. The main protagonist is the 'final girl' and she is female (which is stereotypical for slasher films) as you have seen above in this post.
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| Female rape victim (Jennifer) |
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| Female killer (Jennifer) |
NARRATIVE
I looked into multiple genre examples and discovered that in the film openings of films, the following theories can be applied: Roland Barthes' 5 Codes, Levi-Strauss' Binary Opposition, Propp's 7-Character Archetypes and Todorov's 5-Part Narrative.
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| Opening shot of my film opening (provides narrative enigma) |
Levi-Strauss developed the concept of binary opposites. These are two very distinct opposites or clashing pairs you could say, for example (male, female; rich, poor). They are used to spark or create conflict for a film. This can be applied in the example Harry Potter. Voldemort and Harry Potter are a clashing pair - villain vs hero. I was influenced to apply this in my film opening between the killer and the female rape victim. These two characters are the same person (Jennifer), just the killer version of Jennifer is a lot different to the female rape victim version of Jennifer. The killer version wears all black, is villainous, dominant and kills people. The female rape victim version is feminine, innocent, vulnerable and submissive. So, the binary here is dominant vs submissive and also evil/vengeful vs kind/innocent.
Uses and Gratifications Theory
1. Diversion/Escapism
2. Personal Relationship
3. Personal Identity
4. Surveillance
Diversion/Escapism:
An audience may be able to escape into my film because of it's dramatic nature. Also, it is a fiction film which is non-realistic so people can watch this for pleasure as a fictional media product.
Personal Identity
I think the target audience can identify with some of the characters in this film such as the final girl and the scream queens/scream kings. I think teenage males and females might be able to identify with the final girl because she is relatable as a teenager by wearing make up, doing teenage activities, being a school student etc... I also think a some males may identify with the two male rapists mainly just because they are somewhat young. Also, there is reference to alcoholism by one of the teenagers, Simon, who sneaks some alcohol in a flask to a greenscreen studio, I think this alcoholism/drinking alcohol is relatable to teenagers also.
SOUND
Throughout my film opening, I made and used a combination of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. I used a variety of dark drones that connote wind, heartbeat sounds.
Rape Chase Scene:
- Dark drones which sound like wind
- Heartbeat sound
Green Screen Abduction Scene:
Diegetic Sounds:
- Strings
- Synths
I made my own version of the theme music from the film Halloween. I only used this music in the part where the killer is walking up behind Simon about to put a bag over his head.
Lair Scene:
Diegetic Sounds:
- I used the same drone that I used in the first scene in this scene.
- Heartbeat sound
- Drill sound
- I made my own version of the music from the shower scene in the film Pyscho for the final part of the lair scene when the killer starts walking towards Alex, this builds up the tension and scare for the audience because she is about to kill Alex.
Rape Chase Scene:
Setting
The location of this scene is very stereotypical of horror films. Most horror films are set in a forest at some point e.g. Friday the 13th, I Spit On Your Grave, Cherry Falls, Eden Lake. I decided to use this location because of these influences.
Green Screen Abduction Scene:
Setting
This scene is set at a greenscreen studio. I took influence from the film Halloween by having stalkerish shots as Simon walks from one studio to the other. In the film opening of Halloween, Michael Myers watches and stalks his sister and her boyfriend kissing and playing around. In my film opening, the killer stalks and watches Simon heading from one greenscreen studio to the other.
Lair Scene:
Setting
This scene is set in the killer's lair. This is very stereotypical of horrors for the killer to have a lair where they take their victims and torture/kill them. I was influenced by the TV show Pretty Little Liars because the anonymous 'A', in this show, has a lair with images taped up on all the walls as if the person who's lair it is is a major stalker of certain people. In my film opening I decided to incorporate some of the things that the anonymous 'A' villain has in Pretty Little Liars. I decided to create a lair for the killer in my film opening which has many objects that represent/connote the horror genre. I included:
- Knives
- Hammers
- Fake blood
- Drills
- Bucket of water
- Fresh roar meat
- Tape
- Piece of cloth to tie the victim's hands together.
- Wire to wrap around the victim's legs to stop him from escaping.
- Plastic sheeting
- Many candles lit of all sizes
- Saws
After looking at many slasher film examples, I discovered that there is frequent use of low key lighting so therefore I have to tried to apply this in some scenes of my film opening e.g. the lair scene.
Lighting:
Lighting:
Low key lighting is used in horror films to give the effect of something bad is about to happen for example shadows and light flickering makes the audience feel scared and nervous. As well as this, lighting can be used to give the mood in horror films, usually when some one is scared its quite dark and is usually raining outside. It can also be used to create a personality of a character by casting shadows across there face to create a sinister minded character or a split personality of a character. So, the lighting is usually low key and dark.
Props:
The main props used are the killer's weapons e.g. knifes, hammers, axes, chainsaws, saws, rope, cable ties, chokers, plastic bags etc... Also, there can be antiques and paintings which are a big prop used to create a dark and sinister scene.
Colour Scheme:
Colours used within horror films are usually reds or blacks because they connote danger, and death. The background colours are usually black with hints of dark red at times. The colours can also be pale (sometimes) e.g. twilight has a lot of elements of pale colouring of the scenes; the reason for that film to use pale colouring is because of the slight genre of horror that is in that film (vampires are usually pale and they drink blood which therefore connotes a horror genre). The colour red connotes blood majorly; the genre of horror expects to see a lot of blood so that is why the colour red is used for a lot of things e.g. font or colour/special effects.
Props:
The main props used are the killer's weapons e.g. knifes, hammers, axes, chainsaws, saws, rope, cable ties, chokers, plastic bags etc... Also, there can be antiques and paintings which are a big prop used to create a dark and sinister scene.
Colour Scheme:
Colours used within horror films are usually reds or blacks because they connote danger, and death. The background colours are usually black with hints of dark red at times. The colours can also be pale (sometimes) e.g. twilight has a lot of elements of pale colouring of the scenes; the reason for that film to use pale colouring is because of the slight genre of horror that is in that film (vampires are usually pale and they drink blood which therefore connotes a horror genre). The colour red connotes blood majorly; the genre of horror expects to see a lot of blood so that is why the colour red is used for a lot of things e.g. font or colour/special effects.
Saturday, 25 March 2017
EVALUATION Q1b: Representations
EVALUATION Q1b - HOW DOES IT REPRESENT SOCIAL GROUPS OR ISSUES?
In this post I will be giving many examples of representations in existing films in the horror slasher genre and in general genre films and referencing how they have influenced my media product. For a creative approach I have decided to make a sort of parody of the TV Show 'Top Of The Pops' with me playing the role of the presenter for the show and me also playing the role for each theorist in the top 10.
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THE SCRIPT
Presenter: Hello, good evening, welcome once again to... TOP OF THE POPS!
To fully answer this question, I decided to create a powerpoint with slideshare:
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In this post I will be giving many examples of representations in existing films in the horror slasher genre and in general genre films and referencing how they have influenced my media product. For a creative approach I have decided to make a sort of parody of the TV Show 'Top Of The Pops' with me playing the role of the presenter for the show and me also playing the role for each theorist in the top 10.
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THE SCRIPT
Presenter: Hello, good evening, welcome once again to... TOP OF THE POPS!
To fully answer this question, I decided to create a powerpoint with slideshare:
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Tuesday, 21 March 2017
EVALUATION Q2a: Audience
EVALUATION Q2a - HOW DOES YOUR PRODUCT ENGAGE WITH AUDIENCES?
I decided to make a radio show with my classmate Richard, who is the radio presenter in this radio show.
In this post I will be addressing the key points about audience for the slasher genre and for many other genres. Also, I will be explaining the target audience for my film and how my media product attracts and engages with this specific audience. I have used many forms of illustration to discuss these points.
I decided to make a radio show with my classmate Richard, who is the radio presenter in this radio show.
Radio Show for Audience - with Richard Dannenberg
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On top of a radio show to summarise this question, I also made an TV Show ('Vittel Show') interview for this question between me, Evie Gibbons, the director of the film 'Slaughter Revenge', and the presenter of the show who is asking me questions about the target audience for my film:
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AGE
The primary audience of the slasher genre is primarily teenagers/young adults in the age range of 15-24. It is not so obvious why teenagers are drawn to the genre.
"Critics of the genre argue that it is because of the frequent violence, nudity and sex that attracts them (Wong, 2004). Another reason for teenagers liking the genre, as Crane argues, is because violent films are frowned upon by cinema critics and authority figures so teenagers like to rebel against this and watch these films".
https://levizilla.wordpress.com/junk/sep2009/
Another reason why I believe that teenagers are attracted to the genre is because the main protagonists of the films are usually teens. In these films, these teen characters usually have boyfriends and girlfriends, therefore are sexually active. They also do stereotypical teenage things like drinking alcohol, taking drugs, smoking, watching movies/going to the movies with popcorn etc. All these activities are very relatable to teens. Also, after doing some primary research, I discovered that most people believe that teenagers watch these films for the thrill/scare because they want to be excited and jump out of their seat.
This research reflected the target age of the audience I would have for my film because my film is of the slasher genre also. So, I decided that the target age of the audience for my film is age 15-24.
GENDER
I believe that the slasher genre stereotypically attracts the male gender more than the female gender because of the gore, violence and scare. Males seek the thrill and action. I think the character of the 'scream queen' strongly attracts this male audience, on top of the action and violence in the film, because it is fulfilling their sexual desires. The character of the 'scream queen' is sometimes topless in slasher films and is usually sexually objectified in terms of clothing, cleavage showing, bust size and only being seen having sex or doing stuff with a boyfriend etc. This character is also usually attractive, glamorous, blonde, open about her sexuality, dumb and flirtatious.
To attract, however, a female audience to the slasher genre, the character of the 'final girl' is used. The idea of the 'final girl' came from the theorist, Carole Clover. She argues that the hero of the slasher film is the final girl (the female main protagonist) therefore there is a strong female audience for the slasher genre. This character is usually nerdy, intelligent, studious, brunette or dusty blonde, resourceful, tough and a virgin. When you think about it, the 'final girl' character can also somewhat attract a male audience, because the killer usually preys on her throughout the film making her the targeted victim (vulnerable, submissive, weak) until the end of the film when she kills or survives the killer. Males prefer and relate to seeing male characters in power - the killer is usually a male and is in power throughout the majority of the film.
CLASS
I think that slasher films are primarily targeted at the working class community and students/young people in the E category of the socio-economic status (people in the class A-C1 are usually adults aged 25+). This is due to the fact that for a start, the primary audience of slasher films is teens.
On top of a radio show to summarise this question, I also made an TV Show ('Vittel Show') interview for this question between me, Evie Gibbons, the director of the film 'Slaughter Revenge', and the presenter of the show who is asking me questions about the target audience for my film:
...
...
AGE
The primary audience of the slasher genre is primarily teenagers/young adults in the age range of 15-24. It is not so obvious why teenagers are drawn to the genre.
"Critics of the genre argue that it is because of the frequent violence, nudity and sex that attracts them (Wong, 2004). Another reason for teenagers liking the genre, as Crane argues, is because violent films are frowned upon by cinema critics and authority figures so teenagers like to rebel against this and watch these films".
https://levizilla.wordpress.com/junk/sep2009/
Another reason why I believe that teenagers are attracted to the genre is because the main protagonists of the films are usually teens. In these films, these teen characters usually have boyfriends and girlfriends, therefore are sexually active. They also do stereotypical teenage things like drinking alcohol, taking drugs, smoking, watching movies/going to the movies with popcorn etc. All these activities are very relatable to teens. Also, after doing some primary research, I discovered that most people believe that teenagers watch these films for the thrill/scare because they want to be excited and jump out of their seat.
This research reflected the target age of the audience I would have for my film because my film is of the slasher genre also. So, I decided that the target age of the audience for my film is age 15-24.
GENDER
I believe that the slasher genre stereotypically attracts the male gender more than the female gender because of the gore, violence and scare. Males seek the thrill and action. I think the character of the 'scream queen' strongly attracts this male audience, on top of the action and violence in the film, because it is fulfilling their sexual desires. The character of the 'scream queen' is sometimes topless in slasher films and is usually sexually objectified in terms of clothing, cleavage showing, bust size and only being seen having sex or doing stuff with a boyfriend etc. This character is also usually attractive, glamorous, blonde, open about her sexuality, dumb and flirtatious. 
CLASS
I think that slasher films are primarily targeted at the working class community and students/young people in the E category of the socio-economic status (people in the class A-C1 are usually adults aged 25+). This is due to the fact that for a start, the primary audience of slasher films is teens.
Monday, 20 March 2017
EVALUATION Q2b: Distribution
EVALUATION Q2b - HOW WOULD IT BE DISTRIBUTED AS A REAL MEDIA TEXT?
For a creative approach I have decided to make a sort of parody of the TV Show 'Mastermind' with my stepdad, Fred, acting as one of the contenders and my mum acting as the presenter for the show. She asks my stepdad, Fred, 17 questions on his specialist subject, this being, cinema:
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THE SCRIPT:
Mastermind
Presenter: "Hello I'm Joan Humphreys, welcome to mastermind, tonight I shall be cross examining for sharp brains in the famous black chair. The rules are simple, they'll be quizzed first on their specialist subject then on general knowledge. They won't be able to see the clock, but they will certainly know it's counting down from 2 minutes, that's all they get. The winner will go through to the next round and take a step closer to becoming the nation's mastermind. So, let's have our first contender please".
Presenter: And your name is?
Fred: Fred Hibbett
Presenter: Your occupation?
Fred: Construction Manager
Presenter: And your chosen subject?
Fred: Cinema
Presenter:
Which film studio is one of the 'big six', owner of Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar and more.
Fred: Disney
Presenter:
Name which film studio is one of the 'big six', owned by Viacom whose biggest hit remains Titanic, but also home for the Michael Bay CGI-fest that is the Transformer series.
Fred: Universal
Presenter: No, Paramount Pictures.
Name the low budget, digital only subsidiary of the Sheffield (UK) based Indie behind This Is England, funded by the now defunct UK Film Council and National Lottery.
Fred: Warp X
Presenter: Correct.
What is the term when two or more subsidiaries of a conglomerate create synergies (mutually benefit), as Rupert Murdoch's empire did by launching Sky Movies 3D with 20th Century Fox's 'Avatar'?
Fred: Horizontal Integration
Presenter: Correct.
What is the name of the term for the dominant production model of the film industry, Bridget Jones's Baby being an example?
Fred: Franchise
Presenter: Correct.
Who is the main theorist behind the concept of convergence?
Fred: Henry Jenkins
Presenter: Correct.
What is the name of the economic term which describes the radical changes brought to industries and their established practices by digitisation?
Fred: Radical.
Presenter: No, disruption.
8. What are the three stages of the 'film cycle'?
Fred: Production, Distribution, Exhibition
Presenter: Correct.
9. What is the name of the term for the blurring of boundaries between audience/producer and media technologies brought about by digitisation? With the smartphone being a prime example.
Fred: Aquisition
Presenter: No, convergence.
What is the term for what a corporation achieves by combining subsidiaries in production, distribution and exhibition?
Fred: Merger
Presenter: No, Vertical Integration.
Name which film studio is one of the 'big six', owned by Comcast, which boasts Focus Features and recent acquisition Dreamworks among it's subsidiaries, and has a US Network.
Fred: Universal
Presenter: Correct.
Name the term for films budgeted at $100m+ which risk the financial future of the production companies; Elberse uses the term 'blockbuster' to denote the same concept of focusing marketing resources on fewer major releases.
Fred: Tentpole
Presenter: Correct
Which theorist argues that a typical transatlantic hit will make ten times as much in the US (in dollar figures) as in the UK (in pound figures).
Fred: Pass
Presenter:
Name the film example which was self-financed, self-distributed, shot in just 12 days for £30k and screened at a cinema which led to the director getting a deal with Curzon Cinemas.
Fred: Demon Baby
Presenter:
Name the $500k budget, sci-fi film, directed by Gareth Edwards, that demonstrated the fact that technical convergence allows the filming kit to get smaller with digitisation.
Fred: Monsters
Presenter: Correct.
Name the trilogy which boosted marketing by the film production company, Working Title, getting involved in the marketing and by the two main stars of the trilogy talking directly to the audience through on-set diaries.
Fred: Cornetto Trilogy
Presenter: Correct
What two, main elements, are required for one of the big six film studios to distribute a film?
Fred: Stars and franchises
Presenter: You have one pass, which theorist argues that a typical transatlantic hit will make ten times as much in the US (in dollar figures) as in the UK (in pound figures), was Charles Gant. Mr Hibbett, you have 12 points. *audience claps*.
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I also made a fake interview with a Universal distributor to also summarise some of this post. My mum is playing the Universal distributor role here:
...
...
Also, finally, to go into full detail for this post, I made a powerpoint with slideshare on this evalution question (distribution):
...
For a creative approach I have decided to make a sort of parody of the TV Show 'Mastermind' with my stepdad, Fred, acting as one of the contenders and my mum acting as the presenter for the show. She asks my stepdad, Fred, 17 questions on his specialist subject, this being, cinema:
...
...
THE SCRIPT:
Mastermind
Presenter: "Hello I'm Joan Humphreys, welcome to mastermind, tonight I shall be cross examining for sharp brains in the famous black chair. The rules are simple, they'll be quizzed first on their specialist subject then on general knowledge. They won't be able to see the clock, but they will certainly know it's counting down from 2 minutes, that's all they get. The winner will go through to the next round and take a step closer to becoming the nation's mastermind. So, let's have our first contender please".
Presenter: And your name is?
Fred: Fred Hibbett
Presenter: Your occupation?
Fred: Construction Manager
Presenter: And your chosen subject?
Fred: Cinema
Presenter:
Which film studio is one of the 'big six', owner of Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar and more.
Fred: Disney
Presenter:
Name which film studio is one of the 'big six', owned by Viacom whose biggest hit remains Titanic, but also home for the Michael Bay CGI-fest that is the Transformer series.
Fred: Universal
Presenter: No, Paramount Pictures.
Name the low budget, digital only subsidiary of the Sheffield (UK) based Indie behind This Is England, funded by the now defunct UK Film Council and National Lottery.
Fred: Warp X
Presenter: Correct.
What is the term when two or more subsidiaries of a conglomerate create synergies (mutually benefit), as Rupert Murdoch's empire did by launching Sky Movies 3D with 20th Century Fox's 'Avatar'?
Fred: Horizontal Integration
Presenter: Correct.
What is the name of the term for the dominant production model of the film industry, Bridget Jones's Baby being an example?
Fred: Franchise
Presenter: Correct.
Who is the main theorist behind the concept of convergence?
Fred: Henry Jenkins
Presenter: Correct.
What is the name of the economic term which describes the radical changes brought to industries and their established practices by digitisation?
Fred: Radical.
Presenter: No, disruption.
8. What are the three stages of the 'film cycle'?
Fred: Production, Distribution, Exhibition
Presenter: Correct.
9. What is the name of the term for the blurring of boundaries between audience/producer and media technologies brought about by digitisation? With the smartphone being a prime example.
Fred: Aquisition
Presenter: No, convergence.
What is the term for what a corporation achieves by combining subsidiaries in production, distribution and exhibition?
Fred: Merger
Presenter: No, Vertical Integration.
Name which film studio is one of the 'big six', owned by Comcast, which boasts Focus Features and recent acquisition Dreamworks among it's subsidiaries, and has a US Network.
Fred: Universal
Presenter: Correct.
Name the term for films budgeted at $100m+ which risk the financial future of the production companies; Elberse uses the term 'blockbuster' to denote the same concept of focusing marketing resources on fewer major releases.
Fred: Tentpole
Presenter: Correct
Which theorist argues that a typical transatlantic hit will make ten times as much in the US (in dollar figures) as in the UK (in pound figures).
Fred: Pass
Presenter:
Name the film example which was self-financed, self-distributed, shot in just 12 days for £30k and screened at a cinema which led to the director getting a deal with Curzon Cinemas.
Fred: Demon Baby
Presenter:
Name the $500k budget, sci-fi film, directed by Gareth Edwards, that demonstrated the fact that technical convergence allows the filming kit to get smaller with digitisation.
Fred: Monsters
Presenter: Correct.
Name the trilogy which boosted marketing by the film production company, Working Title, getting involved in the marketing and by the two main stars of the trilogy talking directly to the audience through on-set diaries.
Fred: Cornetto Trilogy
Presenter: Correct
What two, main elements, are required for one of the big six film studios to distribute a film?
Fred: Stars and franchises
Presenter: You have one pass, which theorist argues that a typical transatlantic hit will make ten times as much in the US (in dollar figures) as in the UK (in pound figures), was Charles Gant. Mr Hibbett, you have 12 points. *audience claps*.
...
I also made a fake interview with a Universal distributor to also summarise some of this post. My mum is playing the Universal distributor role here:
...
...
Also, finally, to go into full detail for this post, I made a powerpoint with slideshare on this evalution question (distribution):
...
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