General Genre Conventions
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.
IDENTS
I found after looking at many general genre film examples that the average amount of idents to be shown at the start of a film is 2-3. A lot of these films I looked at had audiobridges during when some/all of their idents played such as for the film The Girl On The Train, the audiobridge was over all the idents which was of the diegetic sound of a train getting closer and closer; also for the film The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, there was a non-diegetic audiobridge over the first two idents that has connotations of horror, discomfort and spookiness. I have discovered that audiobridges connote the genre of the film and create a certain atmosphere for the audience. Also, the average duration of the idents of these films that I have looked at were between 5-10 seconds.
TITLES
After looking at many film examples I discovered that the font and font colour of titles connotes genre. Also, the order of the titles is usually:
1. Company Names
2. Director
3. Roles/Cast
4. Director Again
Into more detail the title order is usually:
1. Production Company
2. Second Production Company
3. Third Production Company
4. Main actors
5. Casting by
6. Music by
7. Edited by
8. Executive Producers
9. Produced by
10. Screenplay by/written by
10. Director's name then film
The main title of the film can either come half way through the title sequence or at the end of the title sequence.
DURATION OF FILM OPENING
The average duration of film openings I found after watching many of the film openings of the films mentioned above were between 3-6 minutes.
OPENING SHOT
After looking at many different general genre film examples I discovered that the opening shots varied. For the films, The Boss, Wild Child, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo the opening shots were all establishing extreme long shots which is very common/a typical convention of films for the opening shot. I have discovered that the opening shot usually connotes/establishes the setting and time of the film to the audience. Some films such as The Boss include, as well an establishing extreme long shot, a written title stating the setting to make the setting even clearer to the audience. For For Those In Peril, the opening shot was a medium close up of the main protagonist, this is unusual for an opening shot.
Medium Close Up of a train passing by very quickly. The fact that the train is shown first is to connote that the train is the main signifier of the film, the most important element of the film. Also, the fact that the train cuts in very fast in the opening shot and the train sound all of a sudden gets very loud in this opening shot connotes the atmosphere and mood of the film: suspenseful, thrilling.
Overall, usually, the opening shot of a film is an establishing extreme long shot to establish the setting, time and place. If not an extreme long shot, the opening shot could be of the main protagonist or an object of significance.
SOUND
The Boss:
For this film opening there is a lot of non-diegetic music. When we finally start to see the titles, the song Eve - Tambourine starts playing, this song denotes happiness, hip-hop, rap and dance. This song works very well at connoting the genre of comedy and narrative of the story. Also, non-diegetic sound in comedies can also give emphasis on many scenes.
Other than non-diegetic sound, during the second scene of the film opening where we see the main protagonist grown up, on a stage with a whole audience screaming for her, she starts rapping then for a bit to the song 'All I Do Is Win' (this song connotes the narrative very well and represents what this main protagonist is all about) then after the song has finished she starts speaking dialogue, it is very clear to make sure that it be can heard and laughed at (stereotypical of comedy genre).
The Girl On The Train:
There is an audiobridge of train sounds over the two idents of this film. The train sound slowly build up until the opening shot where the sounds are at full volume. This connotes that the film has suspense and that it is a thriller. We hear the train sounds until the title swipes in harshly.
Wild Child:
Immediately when the film idents finish, non diegetic music/sound starts playing which is peaceful, romantic and tranquil to connote the vibe of the early morning rising as the main protagonist wakes up calmly. This non diegetic sound changes when we are fully zoomed in on the main protagonist in a close up shot, when a realisation hits her and she says "shit", then bratty, girly, rocky non diegetic music starts playing.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo:
Over the idents of this film, non-diegetic music starts playing which is very eerie, spooky and child-like. This immediately connotes the genre of the film and sets the atmosphere of the film. This music carries on playing in the film opening until the dialogue has finished between the two characters in the film opening then new non-diegetic music starts playing in the second half of the film opening which is very very different. This new music is in the music genre of rock and is very fast and loud to perhaps connote the action, crime nature of the film.
For some film openings there can also be presence of voiceovers, for example in rom-com films. The one film example I can give that has a voiceover in the film opening which is not a rom-com film, is Jennifer's Body. This film is in the slasher horror genre. It is unusual of slasher films to have voiceovers in the film opening so I have not included a voiceover in my film opening.
THEORIES
Propp's 7-recurring Character Types Theory
Vladmir Propp created a theory called 'the 7-recurring character type theory' which is describing 7 different character types.
1. The Villain (antagonist) - struggles against the hero.
2. The Donor - prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.
3. The Helper - helps the hero in the quest.
4. The Hero - reacts to the donor, saves the day, weds the princess.
5. The False Hero - takes credit for the hero's actions or tries to marry the princess.
6. The Princess or Prize - the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. The hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and father cannot be clearly distinguished.
7. The Dispatcher - character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.
Star Wars
1. The Villain (antagonist) - Darf Vader, he wants to rein terror across the galaxy and defeat Luke Skywalker.
2. The Donor - Obi-Wan Kenobi presents Luke with a lightsaber, a weapon only worthy of a Jedi.
3. The Helper - Han Solo, alongside Chewie he accompanies Luke on missions.
4. The Hero - Luke Skywalker, he wants to become a Jedi and defeat the evil Darth Vader.
5. The False Hero - ?
6. The Princess or Prize - Princess Leia, needs saving from the empire.
7. The Dispatcher - R2D2, he lands near Luke's home with a message from princess Leia.
I found after looking at many general genre film examples that the average amount of idents to be shown at the start of a film is 2-3. A lot of these films I looked at had audiobridges during when some/all of their idents played such as for the film The Girl On The Train, the audiobridge was over all the idents which was of the diegetic sound of a train getting closer and closer; also for the film The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, there was a non-diegetic audiobridge over the first two idents that has connotations of horror, discomfort and spookiness. I have discovered that audiobridges connote the genre of the film and create a certain atmosphere for the audience. Also, the average duration of the idents of these films that I have looked at were between 5-10 seconds.
TITLES
After looking at many film examples I discovered that the font and font colour of titles connotes genre. Also, the order of the titles is usually:
1. Company Names
2. Director
3. Roles/Cast
4. Director Again
Into more detail the title order is usually:
1. Production Company
2. Second Production Company
3. Third Production Company
4. Main actors
5. Casting by
6. Music by
7. Edited by
8. Executive Producers
9. Produced by
10. Screenplay by/written by
10. Director's name then film
The main title of the film can either come half way through the title sequence or at the end of the title sequence.
DURATION OF FILM OPENING
The average duration of film openings I found after watching many of the film openings of the films mentioned above were between 3-6 minutes.
After looking at many different general genre film examples I discovered that the opening shots varied. For the films, The Boss, Wild Child, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo the opening shots were all establishing extreme long shots which is very common/a typical convention of films for the opening shot. I have discovered that the opening shot usually connotes/establishes the setting and time of the film to the audience. Some films such as The Boss include, as well an establishing extreme long shot, a written title stating the setting to make the setting even clearer to the audience. For For Those In Peril, the opening shot was a medium close up of the main protagonist, this is unusual for an opening shot.
Medium Close Up of a train passing by very quickly. The fact that the train is shown first is to connote that the train is the main signifier of the film, the most important element of the film. Also, the fact that the train cuts in very fast in the opening shot and the train sound all of a sudden gets very loud in this opening shot connotes the atmosphere and mood of the film: suspenseful, thrilling.
Overall, usually, the opening shot of a film is an establishing extreme long shot to establish the setting, time and place. If not an extreme long shot, the opening shot could be of the main protagonist or an object of significance.
SOUND
The Boss:
For this film opening there is a lot of non-diegetic music. When we finally start to see the titles, the song Eve - Tambourine starts playing, this song denotes happiness, hip-hop, rap and dance. This song works very well at connoting the genre of comedy and narrative of the story. Also, non-diegetic sound in comedies can also give emphasis on many scenes.
Other than non-diegetic sound, during the second scene of the film opening where we see the main protagonist grown up, on a stage with a whole audience screaming for her, she starts rapping then for a bit to the song 'All I Do Is Win' (this song connotes the narrative very well and represents what this main protagonist is all about) then after the song has finished she starts speaking dialogue, it is very clear to make sure that it be can heard and laughed at (stereotypical of comedy genre).
The Girl On The Train:
There is an audiobridge of train sounds over the two idents of this film. The train sound slowly build up until the opening shot where the sounds are at full volume. This connotes that the film has suspense and that it is a thriller. We hear the train sounds until the title swipes in harshly.
Wild Child:
Immediately when the film idents finish, non diegetic music/sound starts playing which is peaceful, romantic and tranquil to connote the vibe of the early morning rising as the main protagonist wakes up calmly. This non diegetic sound changes when we are fully zoomed in on the main protagonist in a close up shot, when a realisation hits her and she says "shit", then bratty, girly, rocky non diegetic music starts playing.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo:
Over the idents of this film, non-diegetic music starts playing which is very eerie, spooky and child-like. This immediately connotes the genre of the film and sets the atmosphere of the film. This music carries on playing in the film opening until the dialogue has finished between the two characters in the film opening then new non-diegetic music starts playing in the second half of the film opening which is very very different. This new music is in the music genre of rock and is very fast and loud to perhaps connote the action, crime nature of the film.
For some film openings there can also be presence of voiceovers, for example in rom-com films. The one film example I can give that has a voiceover in the film opening which is not a rom-com film, is Jennifer's Body. This film is in the slasher horror genre. It is unusual of slasher films to have voiceovers in the film opening so I have not included a voiceover in my film opening.
THEORIES
Propp's 7-recurring Character Types Theory
Vladmir Propp created a theory called 'the 7-recurring character type theory' which is describing 7 different character types.
These are the seven basic character types also known as archetypes from the study of fairytales:
2. The Donor - prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.
3. The Helper - helps the hero in the quest.
4. The Hero - reacts to the donor, saves the day, weds the princess.
5. The False Hero - takes credit for the hero's actions or tries to marry the princess.
6. The Princess or Prize - the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. The hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and father cannot be clearly distinguished.
7. The Dispatcher - character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.
Star Wars
1. The Villain (antagonist) - Darf Vader, he wants to rein terror across the galaxy and defeat Luke Skywalker.
2. The Donor - Obi-Wan Kenobi presents Luke with a lightsaber, a weapon only worthy of a Jedi.
3. The Helper - Han Solo, alongside Chewie he accompanies Luke on missions.
4. The Hero - Luke Skywalker, he wants to become a Jedi and defeat the evil Darth Vader.
5. The False Hero - ?
6. The Princess or Prize - Princess Leia, needs saving from the empire.
7. The Dispatcher - R2D2, he lands near Luke's home with a message from princess Leia.
Slasher Genre Conventions
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...
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 slasher genre films I have looked at are Halloween, Scream, Scream 2, Bride Of Chucky, Friday the 13th Remake, Jennifer's Body, Scary Movie and Black Christmas.
SETTING
Slasher horror films are usually set in isolated areas where there is no help for the characters and no hope of finding somewhere to run. There is also the use of pathetic fallacy which consists of thunder and rain used to enhance on the use of isolation. Also, usually, the scary, sinister scenes are set at night because it's dark and the dark connotes evil.
SETTING
Slasher horror films are usually set in isolated areas where there is no help for the characters and no hope of finding somewhere to run. There is also the use of pathetic fallacy which consists of thunder and rain used to enhance on the use of isolation. Also, usually, the scary, sinister scenes are set at night because it's dark and the dark connotes evil.
IDENTS
I found after looking at many slasher genre film examples such as Scream, Scream 2, Friday The 13th Remake, Jennifer's Body and Bride of Chucky, that the average amount of idents to be shown at the start of a film is 1-3. Scream, Scream 2, Jennifer's Body and Bride of Chucky for example had only one ident shown at the start (Dimension). Surprisingly for the films Jennifer's Body, Bride of Chucky and Friday The 13th Remake the film production companies were part of the big six. Also, the average duration of these idents was between 5-10 seconds.
I found after looking at many slasher genre film examples such as Scream, Scream 2, Friday The 13th Remake, Jennifer's Body and Bride of Chucky, that the average amount of idents to be shown at the start of a film is 1-3. Scream, Scream 2, Jennifer's Body and Bride of Chucky for example had only one ident shown at the start (Dimension). Surprisingly for the films Jennifer's Body, Bride of Chucky and Friday The 13th Remake the film production companies were part of the big six. Also, the average duration of these idents was between 5-10 seconds.
TITLES
After looking at many slasher genre film examples, I discovered that the font and font colour of the titles connotes the slasher horror genre. Also, the order of the titles in slasher films is usually:
1. Company Names
2. Director
3. Roles/Cast
4. Director Again
Into more detail the title order is usually:
1. Production Company
2. Second Production Company
3. Third Production Company
4. Director's name then film
5. Actor 1
6. Actor 2
7. Actor 3
Scream and Scream 2:
1. Main Title
...
...
...
Bride Of Chucky:
...
...
1. 4 Main actors
2. Main Title: Bride Of Chucky
3. 3 Actors including the voice of chucky
4. Co-Producer
5. Casting by
6. Costume Designer
7. Opening Title Song Performed by
8. Music Supervisors
9. Music by
10. Chucky and tiffany dolls created by
11. Based on characters created by
12. Chucky and tiffany puppet effects created by
13. Edited by
14. Production designer
15. Director of Photography
16. Executive Producers
17. Produced by
18. Written by
19. Directed by
The font of the titles is usually the colour white or red on a black, dark background to create a contrast, like the contrast between good and evil. Horror fonts can also be serif or in upper case. The three main colours the titles usually will be are white, black or red to connote the sinister, bloody, gory, dark nature of the film (the horror genre).
DURATION OF FILM OPENING
After looking at many slasher horror film examples, I discovered that the average duration of film openings is between 3-13 minutes. Scream and Scream 2 especially, have very long film openings.
I looked into many existing slasher horror films and noticed that the opening shot is still usually an extreme long shot. The opening shot of Halloween is an establishing extreme long shot of a house at night time. However, the film Scream challenged that convention by using a close up shot of a telephone ringing, as the opening shot.
SHOT TYPES
Most commonly in horror slasher films there is frequent use of dutch angles and there is use of fast cuts, whip pans to connote action and to create suspense.
CHARACTERS
Scream Queen
The first character I will be discussing is the 'scream queen'. This stereotype is usually busty, blond, dumb, attractive and open about her sexuality.
This film opening below (from the film Scary Movie) very clearly represents and portrays how the scream queen is in slasher films:
...
...
In this film opening, the narrative and characters are entirely influenced by the film Scream. This film Scary Movie really plays on the common, typical stereotypes found in the slasher horror genre. The scream queen in this film opening is blonde, very busty, attractive and she decides to pick, from a choice of weapons, the banana which is the most dumb thing someone could do because if she had a weapon she could have defended herself. Also, in this film opening, she is making Popcorn, as 'Casey' did in the film Scream; making popcorn to eat while watching a movie is quite a teenage thing to do, so, this connotes that teenagers can relate to this character and that hobby connoting that the target audience is also teen.
Final Girl
The 'final girl' is usually the main protagonist in slasher films and she normally survives. She is tough, resourceful, nerdy somewhat, intelligent, unattractive, innocent and a virgin. In some cases the 'final girl' can be a boy therefore making it the 'final boy'.
Killer
Then there is the killer who is normally a man wearing all black, black leather boots, holding props such as knifes, hammers, chainsaws or axes etc... The killer's face won't usually be shown, making them anonymous; Although, some slasher films do show the killer's face or reveal who the killer is at the END of the film. In some cases the killer may be female e.g. in Jennifer's body, it is also known to the audience throughout the film that Jennifer is the killer.
SOUND
The sound in horror slasher films is usually very scary, suspenseful, creepy and makes the audience's heart beat fast and irregular. Also, the music can make the audience hold their breath unconsciously and therefore feel more scared.
...
...
...
...
LIGHTING
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.
MISE-EN-SCENE
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.
My Film Opening
IDENTS
I found after looking at many film examples, that the average amount of idents to be shown at the start of a film is 3-4, so therefore I made 3 idents for my film opening. Also, the average duration of these idents I made is between 5-10 seconds.
TITLES
Title Order:
...
1. Ethereal Entertainment Presents
My first ident
...
2. A Lilac City Production
My second ident
...
3. In Association with Neonix Productions
My third ident
...
4. An Evie Gibbons film
...
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.
...
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.
...
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.
...
10. Edited by Daniel Duncan
This person edited the film I Spit On Your Grave.
...
11. Written by Steven Zaillian
He wrote the film The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
...
12. Produced by Cathy Konrad
This woman produced the film Scream.
...
13. Directed by Evie Gibbons
...
dafont.com
I got various fonts from this website for my film opening such as the main font for all my titles and main title. The font I used for the titles was 'Face Your Fears'. I also got many fonts from this website for my idents. For the 'Lilac City Productions' ident I used the font '.
This is the 'Face Your Fears' font I used from dafont.com.
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).
OPENING SHOT
The opening shot of my film opening is a medium close up of female rape victim's legs running. This shot provides narrative enigma by withholding information of who the person running is. You can't see this character's face until the third shot.
FINAL SHOT
The final shot of the film opening is a close up of the killer lifting a knife up in the air about to stab someone (Alex).
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 (to have many dutch angles). 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 and for portraying the female rape victim I used many high angles to connote that she is weak and vulnerable.
CHARACTERS
Female killer - Jennifer - Emma Elväng/Evie Gibbons
Rape Victim - Jennifer - Evie Gibbons
Rapist 1 - Alex Elliott/Simon Svensson
Rapist 2 - Brad Storch - Richard Dannenberg
Guy working on the editing of fake film on computer - Richard Dannenberg
Victim girl actress in fake film - Adel Aitey
Director of fake film - Oliver Svane
NARRATIVE
I have applied many different theories to my film opening such as Barthes' Narrative Enigma, Propp's 7-Character Type Theory, Laura Mulvey's 'male gaze theory' and the Uses and Gratifications Theory.
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:
MISE-EN-SCENE
Rape Chase Scene:
Setting
The location of this scene is very stereotypical of horrors. 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:
Most commonly in horror slasher films there is frequent use of dutch angles and there is use of fast cuts, whip pans to connote action and to create suspense.
CHARACTERS
Scream Queen
The first character I will be discussing is the 'scream queen'. This stereotype is usually busty, blond, dumb, attractive and open about her sexuality.
This film opening below (from the film Scary Movie) very clearly represents and portrays how the scream queen is in slasher films:
...
...
In this film opening, the narrative and characters are entirely influenced by the film Scream. This film Scary Movie really plays on the common, typical stereotypes found in the slasher horror genre. The scream queen in this film opening is blonde, very busty, attractive and she decides to pick, from a choice of weapons, the banana which is the most dumb thing someone could do because if she had a weapon she could have defended herself. Also, in this film opening, she is making Popcorn, as 'Casey' did in the film Scream; making popcorn to eat while watching a movie is quite a teenage thing to do, so, this connotes that teenagers can relate to this character and that hobby connoting that the target audience is also teen.
Final Girl
The 'final girl' is usually the main protagonist in slasher films and she normally survives. She is tough, resourceful, nerdy somewhat, intelligent, unattractive, innocent and a virgin. In some cases the 'final girl' can be a boy therefore making it the 'final boy'.
Killer
Then there is the killer who is normally a man wearing all black, black leather boots, holding props such as knifes, hammers, chainsaws or axes etc... The killer's face won't usually be shown, making them anonymous; Although, some slasher films do show the killer's face or reveal who the killer is at the END of the film. In some cases the killer may be female e.g. in Jennifer's body, it is also known to the audience throughout the film that Jennifer is the killer.
SOUND
The sound in horror slasher films is usually very scary, suspenseful, creepy and makes the audience's heart beat fast and irregular. Also, the music can make the audience hold their breath unconsciously and therefore feel more scared.
...
...
...
...
LIGHTING
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.
MISE-EN-SCENE
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.
My Film Opening
IDENTS
I found after looking at many film examples, that the average amount of idents to be shown at the start of a film is 3-4, so therefore I made 3 idents for my film opening. Also, the average duration of these idents I made is between 5-10 seconds.
TITLES
Title Order:
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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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dafont.com
I got various fonts from this website for my film opening such as the main font for all my titles and main title. The font I used for the titles was 'Face Your Fears'. I also got many fonts from this website for my idents. For the 'Lilac City Productions' ident I used the font '.
OPENING SHOT
FINAL SHOT
The final shot of the film opening is a close up of the killer lifting a knife up in the air about to stab someone (Alex).
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 (to have many dutch angles). 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 and for portraying the female rape victim I used many high angles to connote that she is weak and vulnerable.
CHARACTERS
Female killer - Jennifer - Emma Elväng/Evie Gibbons
Rape Victim - Jennifer - Evie Gibbons
Rapist 1 - Alex Elliott/Simon Svensson
Rapist 2 - Brad Storch - Richard Dannenberg
Guy working on the editing of fake film on computer - Richard Dannenberg
Victim girl actress in fake film - Adel Aitey
Director of fake film - Oliver Svane
NARRATIVE
I have applied many different theories to my film opening such as Barthes' Narrative Enigma, Propp's 7-Character Type Theory, Laura Mulvey's 'male gaze theory' and the Uses and Gratifications Theory.
Propp's 7-Character Type theory
Laura Mulvey's 'male gaze theory'
Stuart Hall's preferred reading
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.
MISE-EN-SCENE
Rape Chase Scene:
Setting
The location of this scene is very stereotypical of horrors. 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
Characters' Costumes:
The Female Killer - Jennifer:
The killer version of Jennifer wears black heels, black fishnet tights, a black sparkly dress and red nail varnish.
The killer version of Jennifer wears black heels, black fishnet tights, a black sparkly dress and red nail varnish.
Rape Victim - Jennifer:
The rape vicim version of Jennifer wears a pink puffa coat, black wedged high heeled boots, black skinny jeans, a white jumper hoodie and a grey hoodie (two hoodies).
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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The rape vicim version of Jennifer wears a pink puffa coat, black wedged high heeled boots, black skinny jeans, a white jumper hoodie and a grey hoodie (two hoodies).
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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