1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The majority of films will fall into a certain genre. A genre is described as a style or category of art, music or literature – and in this case, film. Independent, low budget films can benefit from making a genre film, as there will already be a pre-set audience for them. With choosing horror films, the percentage gross box office for independent films under this genre has risen from 0.7% to 20.2% from 2012 to 2013, so there is clearly a demand for this genre of film. Over periods of time, producers of films have recombined codes and conventions of genre films to create a number of sub-genres. Within the horror genre, there are many sub-genres, including; super natural such as Paranormal Activity and Insidious, sci-fi horror such as Alien and The Mist, comedy horror, such as Scary Movie and Shaun of the Dead, and slasher films, such as Prom Night and Friday The 13^th. The motivation behind creating a sub-genre is to create and challenge the traditional conventions in order to provide entertainment for an audience, refreshing the traditional old recycled storylines and introducing new twists. However, many of these codes and conventions have stayed in place to allow the audience to familiarise with the film and recognise the genres. We created three ancillary tasks, a trailer, a magazine and a poster, for a low budget, independent slasher film. We conformed to the codes and conventions and didn’t challenge them.

Within slasher films, a basic narrative structure is apparent within each film. Vladamir Propp, recognised whilst studying Russian fairytales a series of recurring functions/narrative strands. He suggested that all fairytales shared similar character types and story elements. These devices and character types can be seen in many of today’s film narratives, especially in popular blockbuster films as well as horror films. The same goes for characters. Most slasher films have a similar set of chatacters that are apparent in each film.

Our Final Girl

Haloween's Final Girl

Our final girl is Rose, and we portrayed her as a typical, conventional final girl. A final girl is usually an innocent, virginal girl who the audience empathise with, as the majority of the film is shot through her point of view, and she ends up being the hero of the film. The term ‘final girl’ comes originally from a film theorist named Carol Clover in her book, ‘Men, Women and Chainsaw’s’, which spoke about gender representations within horror. She went on to discuss how the final girl represents social outcasts. She also spoke about how the final girl has a sense of appeal about her, and claims that the final girl is the character that drives the narrative forward, and towards the end of the film appears masculine due to confronting the monster with a weapon. Within our trailer, we see our final girl as being quiet and quite observant; we can see this through the extreme close-ups that have been used of her eyes looking around the forest, along with the diegetic sound of her scared breath. There are also shots of Rose on her own, which suggests that she is quite quiet and shy. She is usually wearing plain clothes such as jumpers and cardigans throughout the trailer opposed to the other two girls. We wanted a conventional way of representing our final girl as it fits into the genre’s typical storyline.

We attempted to use other conventions of typical slasher films within our other characters. We have a group of teenage friends, which includes a sexually active girl who we see get killed. This is usually a character that is a binary opposite to the final girl. She is represented sexually, wearing tight clothing, and on two occasions within the trailer she is shot through the male gaze. The male gaze theory is  a concept of gaze that deals with how the people within a particular media product are presented to the audience. The whole idea behind Laura Mulvey’s theory is that

women are shot through a white middle classed man’s viewing, and will be sexualised in many ways, through the characters personality to camera angle. We did this by filming her lying down from a high angle, as well as filming her being dragged along the floor by the masculine killer.

We decided to have a conventional killer too. Killers within slasher films often have a mask on or have their face hidden. Within film, the face of evil isn’t usually a face at all, it’s hidden under a mask. The majority of popular villains and killers within the horror genre all have masks on, for example, Leatherface, the crazed butcher in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Michael Myers from Halloween wears a pallid mask, and lastly Jigsaw from the torture film, Saw, wears a grotesque clown like mask. Masks are also apparent on evil characters in other genres as well as horror; it can also appear in other genres such as Sci-Fi, including Darth Vader in the Star Wars films. Through wearing a mask it subliminally makes the villains scarier. But why are masks so much scarier than the killers face? Some say it is to do with the psychology and the fear of anonymous death. For many people, the thought of being murdered by an unidentifiable stranger for no reason is much more terrifying than being killed by someone you do know. Our brains are specialised with recognising faces, and a person’s face gives us a wealth of information. Therefore with the face being masked, our wildest imaginations can create the face of our nightmares underneath the mask.

Our narrative goes in line with Todorov’s narrative theory, due to the fact that our trailer has a beginning, middle and end. Todorov produced a theory in 1969 which he believed applied to any film, that they all follow the same narrative pattern.  There are five stages the narrative will progress through; A state of equilibrium, a disruption of such equilibrium by a certain event, a recognition that the disruption has occurred, an attempt to repair the disorder, and lastly a return or restoration of a new equilibrium. Within our trailer however, it was vital we only showed parts of the beginning and middle, and that we do not show the enigma resolution. The whole motive behind a film trailer is to create tension and to leave the viewers in suspense, so within our trailer we included elements of our narrative without spoiling the enigma.

Dead Man's Shoes Killer

Within our trailer, it was vital that we used each four of the technical codes (sound, camera, editing and mise en scene), and that we used them formally to convey a sense of genre, narrative and the setting up of the central enigma.In order to create meaning within some shots, the camera angles we used were a vital part. The first shot we decided to use was a shot of our killer. We used this as it immediately grabs our audiences attentions and shows the genre, and therefore the narrative. By using this shot, we showed the disruption of the equilibrium (Todorov) immediately, which isn’t common within horror trailers, usually the disruption will take place shortly before the climax. The use of a gas mask was an intertextual reference to two other films within the genre. Intertextual referencing to other films bring pleasure to an audience, as they can act as an ego boost to those who recognise the reference. Firstly, the miner from My Bloody Valentine (1981). We were heavily influenced by this cult classic film, as it was released in the peak era of Slasher films, therefore our opinion leaders were sure to appreciate this. Opinion leaders is a term given to those who get information from a media source and then pass the information on, along with their own personal interpretation to others, from the Katz and Lazarsfeld Two Step Flow model. These opinion leaders pay close attention to the mass media and it’s message, and are influential to the people who listen to them. Due to the ‘influentials’ looking up to the opinion leaders. Secondly, the use of the gas mask on a killer was also used in Dead Man’s Shoes (2004). We decided that this particular gas mask was the one we would use, a Soviet Russian GP5 gas mask. We were also heavily influenced by this particular film, as it was too an independent British slasher film. Despite the film being shot on a low budget, it was critically successful, and is highly regarded as one of the best British films ever made, coming 27^th in Empire magazines 100 greatest British films ever. The flashing strobe light was used with influences from 1950’s film noir. Film Noir is a cinematic term referring to 1950’s stylish Hollywood crime dramas. Film noir was shot using low key lighting schemes and dramatic shadow patterning known as chiaroscuro. It is widely suggested that a lot of camera shots within modern day horror movies are influenced by film noir. We also had use of disturbing non-diegetic sound, which signalled that the equilibrium was disturbed. 

After this shot, we see a dark establishing shot of our setting, the woods. This shot was influenced by German expressionism with the abstract shapes of the branches and the shadows. German expressionism refers to a number of creative movements beginning in Germany which were apparent within German films following the First World War. With the hard economic times faced in Germany after the war, filmmakers found it difficult to create movies that could compare to the extravagant features coming from Hollywood. Therefore, German filmmakers of the German Universum Film AG Studio created their own unique style by using symbolism and mise en scene to add meaning and deeper moods into films. Expressionism films used set designs with wildly non-realistic, geometrically absurd shapes and shadows to create meaning. In order to escape the increasing Nazi presence within Germany, many German directors moved overseas to America, and influenced many American films with their unique ways. This influence is still evident in many horror films today, as well as our own, as it helps to create disturbing psychological landscapes. We also included the diegetic sound of a crow, as the bird is a representative image of death.

The next shot is a CCTV shot of the three girls in the group of friends walking down the school corridor. We can see that our final girl, Rose, is carrying a collection of books, which is describing her character, and representing her as your typical final girl. This is also relevant to the caption that appears just before this shot, ‘someone’s watching you’. Within the CCTV shot there is a little stutter where we see a shot of the killer. We used this to show that he is the one watching the girls. This comes before a shot of Rose taking books out of her school locker, creating the character even further. This particular shot reinforces the voyeuristic nature of the narrative; the audience is being positioned through the camera to watch these characters, which echoes the killers’ motives.

Dead Man's Shoes

Masked

The shot of the knife on the floor has a red filter on it. We decided to use this as red represents blood and death, and we wanted to again grab the audience and direct them to the genre of the film. This technique is also used in Shane Meadows Dead Man’s Shoes, another British independent slasher film where the killer is in a soviet gas mask. A non-diegetic sound accompanies this shot, which adds tension and raises awareness to the shot. The shot of our killer surrounded by pictures of Rose was used to portray that Rose is on his mind. He shows this further by touching a picture of her. It also shows his mental state is all over the place with the pictures being all around his head.

After this we introduce the conventional group of friends that are found in the majority of horror films. Through these shots and the dialogue that the characters use, we are creating the narrative. We also used mise en scene within these shots. Four of the characters within the group are sitting on red sofa’s, red being symbolic of death, whilst they talk about stealing their parents alcohol and getting drunk in the woods. These four characters end up being killed by the killer, whilst our final girl, Rose, is sitting on a blue sofa, blue being symbolic of innocence and a sense of peace – Rose is the only one in the group not to talk in this conversation. This brings in the idea of what the real message behind slasher films is. Is it just a bit of fun and entertainment for our cinema screens? Or is it more in depth than that? Some people argue that slasher films have a very conservative narrative in the aspect that the message behind it is that teenagers will get punished (in the form of being brutally killed with a dangerous instrument) for misbehaving or being sexually promiscuous. Our narrative goes along with this idea; the innocent virginal final girl is the only one within the group of friends who survives. This is a functional analysis of the genre, and it reinforces the dominant ideology and the hegemonic values.

Once we get into the woods, there is an example of a match cut. This is a cut in editing between two different objects in which an object in the two shots graphically match, often establishing a strong continuity of action and linking the two shots. In this case, we have a shot of a hand pulling a sharp knife out of a tree, and a bottle being pulled out of a bag. Juxtaposed together, these two shots create meaning as the bottle is being pulled out, the teenagers are then being hunted down by the killer with the knife. This is followed by a high-angle shot of two of the teenagers drinking. By being shot via a high shot, this shows that the two are vulnerable, and they both end up being shown dead or injured within the trailer. There is also an example of non-diegetic subjective sound, as we hear a crash when the knife is shown, which is subjective of the danger that is about to be faced.

We included a shot of the group, with the camera panning around at them via a close-up, which gets faster and faster. This is symbolising the alcohol getting into their system and the manic nature of the narrative. This is followed by a quick cut to one of the character tied up against a tree with stabbing wounds, reinforcing the narrative and genre of the film. From here the climax begins, and we see another flashing red shot of one of the teens dead. The flash is the same flash we used on the knife, so by visually connecting the two shots, we are showing that the knife was what killed her, and therefore conveying an aspect of the narrative.

We used three point of view shots from the killers perspective within the trailer. The first being when he is spying on the group of friends whilst they are drinking, the second being when he is looking down as his bloody knife in his hand, and the last being when Alex is trying to crawl away from him on the floor. These point of view shots are related to Roland Barthes semantic code. The semantic code refers to characters and characterisation and what actions within the story are explained by the characters view point. The majority of our film is shot through the life of our final girl, however we found it important to implement shots from the killers point of view, especially the shot with the girl panicking away from the killer on the floor. This puts the audience in an uncomfortable position as they feel responsible as well as helpless whilst Alex is being killed. In changing the semantic code at these points, we are making the audience complicit in the action taking place on the screen. The audience are positioned to take pleasure in voyeuristically witnessing the events, which is disturbing for the viewers.The shot with Alex helplessly crawling away from the killer on the floor is shot through the male gaze. The male gaze theory is a theory produced by Laura Mulvey, and in a nutshell, she believed that the audience were viewing the film from a heterosexual males point of view, and that the male gaze leads to hegemonic ideologies within our society. This shot is shot from a high angle, pointing out Alex’s lack of power in comparison to the male killer.

Throughout the trailer is a soundtrack. The soundtrack rises in tension throughout the trailer before hitting the climax, which we can tell due to the non-diegetic sound of the snare. At the end of the climax within the trailer during the shot of the killer with the flashing strobe effect, there is an intertextual reference regarding the sound. We used sounds composed by Joseph Bishara which were used in the Insidious films. We thought that these sounds would be effective as the chords played are not neat, and are therefore unpleasant on the ears of the viewers. This in turn, creates an unpleasant feeling through sound along with what they are viewing on the screen.

In conclusion, our trailer and our film in general is a very conventional slasher film. By making a conventional film, we are able to receive interest from a pre-set audience.

As for my magazine, I decided to use Little White Lies. Little White Lies is a bimonthly British independent film magazine that features writing, illustration and photography related to cinema. As a whole, Little White Lies is a very unconventional illustration. Little White Lies often features independent, low budget films, so I thought that this would be good for my film. Rather than the usual A4 sized magazine that we are used to seeing, Little White Lies is a square shape. Even the design of the front page is very unconventional. The magazine features a painted close up of a main character within the featured film, and the title. The masthead itself breaks typical codes and conventions by being placed in the centre of the page, rather than the top left hand side. The reasoning behind the editors breaking so many codes and conventions could be because you get the sense of quality when you look at this magazine, and the targeted niche audience can appreciate the lack of mainstream ideas within the illustration. The use of breaking many conventions mirrors the audience of the magazine, niche and unique. I decided to use Little White Lies as the readers of the magazine enjoy independent films, and if my film is wrote about positively, it can create a buzz among the niche audience. Little White Lies never features the actual logo of a film, so instead I just wrote ‘Masked’ in a usual font. I decided to use capital letters intentionally, as it as seen as powerful, much like the killer – as well as the higher demographic of Little White Lies’ readers being male.

For the image I used on the cover, I decided to use the gas mask of the killer, rather than the main character, Rose. I decided on this because the gas mask is unique to my film, and is seen as a brand image and identity for the film as it is an iconic image. In order to create the painted like effect, I tweaked my image by using Adobe Photoshop. I added a glow around the image to create a sense of super natural, and it will also grab people’s attention as it makes the image stand out.

The poster I used to advertise my film is quite conventional, and it contains a main image which is representative of both my film and the genre. My colour scheme was black and white; I used these to create a dark feeling about the poster, and therefore the film itself, and also that black and white are the most commonly used colours within the genre, along with red. The two colours are also binary opposites, and represent the good vs evil apparent within my film. The mask itself is used again to further endorse the brand identity of the mask. I chose to edit the original photogrpah of the mask, as I didn't want they eyes to be visible, however, you can still see that the killer is looking directly at the consumer. The white glow of the gas mask was used to represent the un-humanistic supernaturalistic element about the character. Unlike many other film posters, I broke usual codes and conventions, and aimed to keep my poster as simplistic as possible. I did this because I felt it created a feeling of uncertainty about the film, which mirrors the uncertainty of the narrative, i.e. who the killer is. I featured a tag line underneath the film's title, which is "Not everything is as it seems". We decided to use this tag line as it plays with the narrative of the film, which is that everyone assumes Ben is the killer, however that is not the case. The caption will stimulate the audiences curiosity as it doesn't give away the enigma.

I decided to include the institutional film companies logo’s on the poster, which is conventional of a film poster – and I also included the BBFC age rating. The principle cast and crew also feature on this poster – this is because with a quick glance, people can instantly recognise this as a film poster. Without the principle cast and crew being featured, it could be anything, from a book to a advert.