Research into Target Audience: Pen Portrait
Within our group, we were told to decode our target audience by imagining our typical viewer of our film as detailed as possible, including his/hers demographic information (age, gender, location, ethnic background, income) and psychographic information (interests, hobbies, values, attitudes behaviours, lifestyle).
We want to target our movie towards teenagers aged above 15 (due to our age restriction forced on our movie) who are not exactly the socialists because I think that their likings towards exorcism etc. doesn't appeal to most human beings. I think people with twisted minds are also suitable for our movie because as much as their brain is dark and sinister, they can definitely reflect their personality within our storyline.
I think with the anti-social personality, they enjoy privacy and I think this can sort of link to the isolation in which Evangeline always ends up in after endless attempts of looking for a family to fit in.
I believe we were heavily inspired by Supernatural (a show where two brothers follow their father's footsteps hunting and fighting evil supernatural beings), because in the American TV series, they face many kinds of evil including monsters, demons, and Gods that roam the earth, and I believe Evangeline matches the criteria. Our target audience must have strong interest towards this TV series, or at least similar things because our movie is heavily dependent on the evil supernatural beings.
60 Second Pitch
Our group was required to create a 60 second pitch. This is part of pre-production where within the 60 seconds, an idea for a film is summarised clearly. It is often used when convincing production companies to fund the film. At this stage, the decision is made whether the filming can begin or come to an end.
We were to come up with a storyline for a horror film targeted at teenagers. The film is to be age restricted where 15 year olds and above can view the movie. At the beginning of our planning, we were convinced to go with the idea of cannibalism, but this has a high age expectancy, too high for our target audience, so we had to tone down that idea. In the end, we managed to generate many ideas and come to our final one who we all fully agreed on.
Luckily, we have an expert on exorcism and similar things, so we thought with the knowledge we have we could use this as an advantage for the movie. We decided to come up with a title 'Chriso' for our film because it defines 'christ' in Latin, and it links relatively well with our storyline.
I believe what didn't work out at the beginning was thinking of a production name. We generated numerous ideas but needed extended time until we came to a decision of naming ourselves as Clear Cut Films.
Analyse the Codes and Conventions of Horror Films as shown in the Openings of 'Dead Wood', 'Dead Mary' and 'Wrong Turn'
During this essay, I’ll be comparing 3 openings of horror movies which we have watched (Dead Wood, Dead Mary and Wrong Turn), and evaluate their efficiency of codes and conventions.
All movies consist of variety of camera angles and movements to achieve the effects the directors wish for. Taking Dead Wood as the first example, there was a lot of use of hand-held camera when action occurred within the scene. This technique was also featured in the movie Wrong Turn. Since both movies included rapid action, hand-held camera came in handy to follow the victims during their escape because there’s greater freedom of motion. It also creates a shaky-like effect to the raw footage so not everything in the scene is clear but blurred. The viewers are not able to see everything detailed precisely but just enough to understand the action in the certain scenes, which greatens the sense of thrill. However, Dead Mary acquires no use of handheld camera in their production, but more still shots to create calmer shots. This way, it enabled for the production team to focus on the details they’re keen to enhance to form a sort of sinister mood to their opening.
Alternatively, all movies featured close ups and extreme close up shots. These are always vital in horror films as these types of shots create a sense of anxiety. This is because audiences are drawn towards the victim’s expressive face and are more focused on their fear that transfers onto the viewers. I believe that the way the character’s face is nearer the audience, they feel more connected with them, which could be causing greater fear within the atmosphere.
We can view of an example in Dead Wood, when one of the victims has been drawn towards a dead end by the chaser. We can already detect the amount of fear in him because we’re given a clearer view of his anxious look on his face. There’s also a tight depth of field used in this shot, which allows for viewers to focus on the character’s face rather than on the background.
This effect is also used a lot in the movie Dead Mary to have the camera focusing on the important details. With these shots, the viewers are only introduced to details of the location, leaving them guessing where the scenes are taking place.
Only then is there an establishment shot that acts as the final answer.
Angles were also common amongst the movies. Taking Dead Mary as an example for high angle; when the female character holds up her phone in the hope of a signal, she fails to reach any, and the high angle (almost bird eye view) signifies how vulnerable she is without any reach of contact because viewers are looking down on her.
Wrong Turn also uses a high angle when the female character is climbing up the cliff. Because of the situation she’s in, she is looked down because of her falling behind, appearing weak. Whereas the man is looked up who appears fitter and stronger. However, these can also be POV (Point-of-view) shots because each character is looking at each other when the camera’s shot-reverse-shooting. However, the female character is still looking up to the male because she hasn’t made it before him and with the high angle; she appears weakened, making her the obvious victim
for the upcoming attack.
Non-diegetic sound is one of most effective technical codes because music acts as a source of emotion. When music contributes in horror films, it often begins with an eerie introduction to provide the mood of suspicion. This is usually followed by sudden changes to the speed or tempo of non-diegetic sound to enhance any unexpected action during the movie. This usually causes higher chances of spooking the audience or making them jump. Sometimes, it tends to slowly pick up the pace to match the action going on in the scenes. Alternatively, there can be a pause to the score to match the tension within the scene before a sudden appearance of thrill occurs.
Dead Wood starts of with unnerving background music along with an establishment shot. As soon as action occurs, there’s a sudden change to the music going from relatively calm pace to a dramatic, frightening attitude. This continues until the male character meets a dead end. This corresponds with the music because when the character has come to his end of escape, the music has also stopped. Then, the music is stopped to allow for the heavy breathing to be listened to by the audience. The music, once more, begins to build up along with the tension within the atmosphere. The character is frightened of his attacker, and as soon as the victim identifies his attacker, sharp violins come in to support the anxiousness.
Wrong Turn is similar. At the beginning, the music is peculiar with repetitive, heavy drums to build up awareness of the forest the audiences are looking at. You have sudden changes to the score when the female character manages to slip, and the pace is picked up along with the action to improve fear within the ether.
Dead Mary, on the other hand, focuses on diegetic sound, like the ordinary birds chirping to suggest the fact that the setting is located in the forest, and the constant sighing of the frustrated, solitary female character. I think her attitude is shown as ignorant and quite annoying due to the fact that she’s not satisfactory with her current situation (of course, who would) but when the male character comes along with the petrol, she’s frustrated with him being late rather than rescuing them with the bunks of petrol he had to carry for miles. Although, looking at the conventions, we can already suggest the fact that there might be some long survival because of the pair owning a sport-like car and plenty of gasoline. Moreover, the feminine character is shown observing a gun in the car, suggesting that they’re partly equipped against whatever they’ll be facing later on in the movie. Yet there’s unfortunate conventions featured too, like no signal on phone and radio not in sync, suggesting that the character is isolated from any contact or help. Therefore, their survival is not easy, and it will be likely that one of the characters from the pair will die, perhaps even both.
Conventions of isolation also occur in Dead Wood as well as Wrong Turn. I think this is often used in horror movies to create the sense of danger when you’re isolated and out of reach of help or any contact, making survival much more challenging for the victims. Taking Dead Wood as an example, the characters are lost in a secluded and dangerous forest. The forest isn’t completely tidy, creating obstacles for the male character to face when in attempt of his escape. This is when another convention comes in. The overweight character happens to trip over, slowing him down and allowing for the killer to catch up with him, making the victim much more vulnerable than before.
Looking at the way the character is dressed, he is judged as a casual, party person due to the fact that he’s wearing a Hawaiian shirt, chinos and white trainers. This type of clothing also suggests that it’s not suitable for camping, so the character hasn’t thought through about his situation. Comparing him to the female, she seems more organised. Firstly, her clothes are almost earthy colours, helping her camouflage within the environment. Also, she’s not sexualised unlike other movies do, like Wrong Turn and Dead Mary. In Wrong Turn, the female is dressed for rock climbing, yet she’s still wearing little clothes compared to the man. It goes the same with movie Dead Mary. Both females are wearing limited clothing, which show off their flesh and cause them to act as baits to the killers.
I conclude that the most successful movie out of all is Wrong Turn due to its efficient uses of technical and symbolic codes, and conventions. I believe that Wrong Turn had very well-thought camera angles and movements to fit the action in the scenes, and comparing to other movies, the editing were quick where necessary (e.g. a lot of action taking place) but kept its match-on-action understandable. I think that the exposure in Dead Mary was too high and ruined the picture of the opening. Wrong Turn also succeeded in symbolic codes because even though they sexualised the female character, she was highlighted as the upcoming victim since she showed little clothing but lots of flesh, almost acting like a bait for the cannibal. The movie also consisted of numerous conventions. Even if in some scenes it was obvious that something was going to happen, it yet manages to surprise the audience.
All movies consist of variety of camera angles and movements to achieve the effects the directors wish for. Taking Dead Wood as the first example, there was a lot of use of hand-held camera when action occurred within the scene. This technique was also featured in the movie Wrong Turn. Since both movies included rapid action, hand-held camera came in handy to follow the victims during their escape because there’s greater freedom of motion. It also creates a shaky-like effect to the raw footage so not everything in the scene is clear but blurred. The viewers are not able to see everything detailed precisely but just enough to understand the action in the certain scenes, which greatens the sense of thrill. However, Dead Mary acquires no use of handheld camera in their production, but more still shots to create calmer shots. This way, it enabled for the production team to focus on the details they’re keen to enhance to form a sort of sinister mood to their opening.
Alternatively, all movies featured close ups and extreme close up shots. These are always vital in horror films as these types of shots create a sense of anxiety. This is because audiences are drawn towards the victim’s expressive face and are more focused on their fear that transfers onto the viewers. I believe that the way the character’s face is nearer the audience, they feel more connected with them, which could be causing greater fear within the atmosphere.
We can view of an example in Dead Wood, when one of the victims has been drawn towards a dead end by the chaser. We can already detect the amount of fear in him because we’re given a clearer view of his anxious look on his face. There’s also a tight depth of field used in this shot, which allows for viewers to focus on the character’s face rather than on the background.
Angles were also common amongst the movies. Taking Dead Mary as an example for high angle; when the female character holds up her phone in the hope of a signal, she fails to reach any, and the high angle (almost bird eye view) signifies how vulnerable she is without any reach of contact because viewers are looking down on her.
Wrong Turn also uses a high angle when the female character is climbing up the cliff. Because of the situation she’s in, she is looked down because of her falling behind, appearing weak. Whereas the man is looked up who appears fitter and stronger. However, these can also be POV (Point-of-view) shots because each character is looking at each other when the camera’s shot-reverse-shooting. However, the female character is still looking up to the male because she hasn’t made it before him and with the high angle; she appears weakened, making her the obvious victim
for the upcoming attack.
Non-diegetic sound is one of most effective technical codes because music acts as a source of emotion. When music contributes in horror films, it often begins with an eerie introduction to provide the mood of suspicion. This is usually followed by sudden changes to the speed or tempo of non-diegetic sound to enhance any unexpected action during the movie. This usually causes higher chances of spooking the audience or making them jump. Sometimes, it tends to slowly pick up the pace to match the action going on in the scenes. Alternatively, there can be a pause to the score to match the tension within the scene before a sudden appearance of thrill occurs.
Dead Wood starts of with unnerving background music along with an establishment shot. As soon as action occurs, there’s a sudden change to the music going from relatively calm pace to a dramatic, frightening attitude. This continues until the male character meets a dead end. This corresponds with the music because when the character has come to his end of escape, the music has also stopped. Then, the music is stopped to allow for the heavy breathing to be listened to by the audience. The music, once more, begins to build up along with the tension within the atmosphere. The character is frightened of his attacker, and as soon as the victim identifies his attacker, sharp violins come in to support the anxiousness.
Wrong Turn is similar. At the beginning, the music is peculiar with repetitive, heavy drums to build up awareness of the forest the audiences are looking at. You have sudden changes to the score when the female character manages to slip, and the pace is picked up along with the action to improve fear within the ether.
Dead Mary, on the other hand, focuses on diegetic sound, like the ordinary birds chirping to suggest the fact that the setting is located in the forest, and the constant sighing of the frustrated, solitary female character. I think her attitude is shown as ignorant and quite annoying due to the fact that she’s not satisfactory with her current situation (of course, who would) but when the male character comes along with the petrol, she’s frustrated with him being late rather than rescuing them with the bunks of petrol he had to carry for miles. Although, looking at the conventions, we can already suggest the fact that there might be some long survival because of the pair owning a sport-like car and plenty of gasoline. Moreover, the feminine character is shown observing a gun in the car, suggesting that they’re partly equipped against whatever they’ll be facing later on in the movie. Yet there’s unfortunate conventions featured too, like no signal on phone and radio not in sync, suggesting that the character is isolated from any contact or help. Therefore, their survival is not easy, and it will be likely that one of the characters from the pair will die, perhaps even both.
Conventions of isolation also occur in Dead Wood as well as Wrong Turn. I think this is often used in horror movies to create the sense of danger when you’re isolated and out of reach of help or any contact, making survival much more challenging for the victims. Taking Dead Wood as an example, the characters are lost in a secluded and dangerous forest. The forest isn’t completely tidy, creating obstacles for the male character to face when in attempt of his escape. This is when another convention comes in. The overweight character happens to trip over, slowing him down and allowing for the killer to catch up with him, making the victim much more vulnerable than before.
Looking at the way the character is dressed, he is judged as a casual, party person due to the fact that he’s wearing a Hawaiian shirt, chinos and white trainers. This type of clothing also suggests that it’s not suitable for camping, so the character hasn’t thought through about his situation. Comparing him to the female, she seems more organised. Firstly, her clothes are almost earthy colours, helping her camouflage within the environment. Also, she’s not sexualised unlike other movies do, like Wrong Turn and Dead Mary. In Wrong Turn, the female is dressed for rock climbing, yet she’s still wearing little clothes compared to the man. It goes the same with movie Dead Mary. Both females are wearing limited clothing, which show off their flesh and cause them to act as baits to the killers.I conclude that the most successful movie out of all is Wrong Turn due to its efficient uses of technical and symbolic codes, and conventions. I believe that Wrong Turn had very well-thought camera angles and movements to fit the action in the scenes, and comparing to other movies, the editing were quick where necessary (e.g. a lot of action taking place) but kept its match-on-action understandable. I think that the exposure in Dead Mary was too high and ruined the picture of the opening. Wrong Turn also succeeded in symbolic codes because even though they sexualised the female character, she was highlighted as the upcoming victim since she showed little clothing but lots of flesh, almost acting like a bait for the cannibal. The movie also consisted of numerous conventions. Even if in some scenes it was obvious that something was going to happen, it yet manages to surprise the audience.
Codes and Conventions : Opening 1
Technical codes are the lighting, focus, denotation (what is in the picture) and connotation (interpretations that might be linked).
The use of hand-held camera work forms the feel of running along with the character and giving it an action mood to the scene. Moreover, close-ups and extreme close-ups were used to show the character's facial expression to the audience.
To display more of the setting of the scene, establishing shots were taken of the forest to help the viewers take in on the area where the current scene is taking place.
High angle of camera was used on the ditch to show how dangerous of an obstacle it is for the character to go over. The dead end is also shown from the low angle, where it's on ground level looking up towards the character, giving the audience a better feel to the danger of the ditch.
As soon as the action was picking up the pace, long shots quickly turned to fast cuts to match the speed and the action taking place.
When there's a pause within the action, heavy breathing of the character can be heard so audiences can feel the fear rising in him or sense the amount of running he's been doing to get to safety.
The birds as diagetic sound helped to establish the isolated forest to show that its an innocent place before the plot is twisted and action takes place. Along with this, leaves and twigs can also be heard when the character is running. There's also the faint sounds of river when it gets to the ditch area to suggest water down below. also, when the character has paused before the obstacle to look at his surroundings, there are faint effects of thunder that could suggest danger closing in.
Non-diagetic sound has also been included like the piano at the beginning. Focusing on the tempo, it's slow in the beginning but speeds up as soon as the character shows up in the scene. This is where more violins come in to add to the action.
Symbolic codes show beneath the surface of the things we see.
Mise-en-scene: blood and mud on character suggest the struggle to this survival against this beast he's attempting to get away from to safety. He's wearing a hawaiian shirt that can show he's a party person who's relatively laid back. This sort of enhances the fact that he's the first victim to go. He's also wearing white trainers and chinos, and this can show that he's not dressed for camping. This can also show how unorganised of a character he is. Alternatively, the girl is dressed more sensibly in dark colours and not sexualised.
The tent is small so not many people can fit it in for protection. The tent itself is not very protective either, putting the girl into a very vulnerable state.
To suggest the fact that the male character being attacked has died, he has blood come out of his mouth.
Conventions are the ways of dong something that us audience accept.
During the movie, the character trips over to slow him down and make him much more vulnerable and easy for the aggressor to catch him. Character also seems slightly overweight, making him a slow runner. He eventually meets a dead end; another unfortunate event. He's to overcome an obstacle but fails to make the jump over the ditch. He now becomes an obvious meal to the cannibal.
What makes the character even more extremely vulnerable is the fact that the forest is an isolated place and that the only safe place is the tent. But, it was to his reach before the beast attacked him. His friend comes out of the small tent in the reaction to the attack but no response. She becomes vulnerable.
What makes the character even more extremely vulnerable is the fact that the forest is an isolated place and that the only safe place is the tent. But, it was to his reach before the beast attacked him. His friend comes out of the small tent in the reaction to the attack but no response. She becomes vulnerable.
Research: Codes and Conventions
Your brain is a clever thing and you should be able to identify whether or not you are watching a drama, a news broadcast, a game show, a reality show, etc quite easily. The reason you can do this is that you recognise the codes and conventions of each of these genres of television programme. For example, you expect a game show to have a host, contestants, an audience, a set that is personalised for that show, a theme tune, lighting that illuminates the contestants, close up shots of contestants as they answer, shot-reverse shot between the host and contestant(s) if a conversation is taking place, so on. The same applies to genres of film; every genre of film has its own codes and conventions that help us to identify it. As an example of this, we can identify the poster's genre just by observing their codes and conventions.
We can tell that this poster (Psycho 1960) is advertising a horror movie because the use of colour, like the red, defines danger or blood since murder is involved in the movie. Black is there to form the fear of darkness, or worse, isolation. The wooden house looks abandoned apart from its owner standing by its side. Both subjects look like they're watching at the viewers, perhaps looking down on them. The text in the bottom left corner shows what movie it is, who its been directed by, the cast and so on, but the effect on the text, grunge to be exact, makes it look like it's suffered a lot and gives it an eerie mood to the atmosphere.
What are codes?
Codes are elements that can be decoded by the audience to prove meaning. These can be divided most easily into 2 groups: technical codes and symbolic codes,
Technical codes include the 'technical' aspects of creating a piece of moving image media. This includes things such as camera shots, angles and movements, editing, sound, titles and lighting.
What are conventions?
Conventions are the expected rules that, as an audience, we expect in a specific genre. For example, in a horror film we expect to see conventions such as a killer stalking a victim, a character being placed in a position of peril, a mobile phone running out of battery or losing signal at a crucial moment.
Summary
An easy way to think of codes and conventions is to view them as being the necessary ingredients to create a perfect generic film recipe. If you are given the task, which you will be, of thinking of an idea for a teen horror film you can start by creating a list of essential ingredients.
You can, of course, choose to challenge conventions rather than use of develop them. This doesn't happen as often in film as it can disorientate the audience. A convention of most thriller films, for example, is that the hero always prevails. How would you react if a director chose to challenge this convention and killed off your hero letting the villain win?
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