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How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues? Emilia Pratt
Media Conventions Conventions are ways of using media codes. They are connected to audience’s expectations of the media product, creating genres, stories... Our opening sequence falls under the horror genre and some typical conventions you associate with this are: fear of the unknown death darkness suspense music abandoned houses innocent children a 'devil' / monster
Typical Camerawork Screenshot from Scream-close up: • High angles and birds eye shots typically used • Close ups • Tracking and panning shots • Tilted angles • Long shots + establishing shots • Low angles • Handheld shots • Point of view, zooms, over the shoulders etc.... Screenshot from Saw-high angle
Our Camerawork Tracking Shots Long+mid shots Handheld shot+ close up Eyeline match on the floor
Lighting 'Halloween' 'Saw' Click to add text Click to add text
Our lighting We decided to be conventional and follow the idea of using low key lighting:
Sound in Horror films- Horror movies typically use music and sound that unsettles the audience watching. Aspects typically include whispering voices, shrieking violins and unrelenting synth beats. The music and sound in a film is what causes the emotional experience and lets the audience know something is about to happen.
After research, we decided to go against the typical horror conventions and use contrapuntal sound:
Editing Horror films typically include: • Quick cuts- fast pace editing, jumpy • Despite fast pace editing being the most common, Long, slow takes are also used. • Jump cuts which are used to scare the audience • Example from the film 'The Conjuring' of fast pace editing during the action:
Our Editing • Our editing was slow paced • We also chose to give our killer the majority screen time, and our victim less.
Social groups and issues Character introduction Female Character- Victim Male Character- Villan
Typical gender representations- • Horror films conform to the stereotypical gender representations- • Innocent girl • Villan is a male • For example, in the horror film 'Scream'
Our Gender Representations Female is inferior Male is dominant High angle shots- powerful and superior in this situation. Majority of screen time, long shots, mid shots and close ups- his importance, the film is about him Handheld shots and tracking shots of him- we as the audience are following him through his journey (the storyline is about him) Body language- dances with confidence to the music, almost like its an everyday, normal task for him Facial expressions are blank- he shows no emotion to the wrongdoing. • Her white dress- white signifies innocence and purity • Low angle shots- make her seem inferior to the man • Eye level shots- make the audience sympathise with her situation • Body language- lifeless and flimsy, connoting she's dead (been killed)
Visuals for gender representation Female character on the floor Male Character
Our Age Representations Female- young and innocent Male- old and powerful Althoug the actor is teen, style of glasses, style of clothes, fact hes playing old walkman, old music, retro fashion, might suggest that he is older, in compariosn to fleur whos wearing contemporary clothes, older, in their 40s; Middle aged men often represented as being more creepy • Young people are typically represented as victims in films therefore this is adhering to stereotypes by having my victim a young girl. • This also portrays an age division between both of our characters which are presented throughout this sequence as the male character comes across as much older due to his beard and his mannerisms whereas the female character comes across as much younger due to her clothing.
A Social Issue We Portray Mental health issue In terms of a social issue, it is clear that our male character is mentally unwell. We chose to portray this through the use of our non digetic sound. The fact that he is dancing whilst doing such a sinsiter thing signifies he has no emotions as he doesn't see the wrong doing. His facial expressions are blank- no emotion Body language- dances with confidence, as if it’s a fun every day task We also chose to include the shot of all the shoes piled up to signify to the audience that this isn't the first time he has done it and as a group we thought this was a really unsettling, disturbing image for the audience.
A social issue in a real film When discussing mental health, in real horror / thriller is that often, rather sadly, it used as a way of making a character seem extra scary or creepy. Some people think this is a negative representation of mental health issues etc.. But it also helps an audience to understand the plot, and many audiences enjoy stereotypes etc..
