Horror genre research

The aim of a horror genre film is to develop a sense of fear with the audience in order to alarm panic and disorientate them. Horror films are one of the biggest film genres because of the wide variety of ideas that can be used. Common horror film ideas are mainly based on people’s fears, supernatural or the paranormal plus gore and blood are main common factors in horror films.

In 2010 the horror genre was ranking 8^th gross box office genre with comedy taking first place with sex in the city 2. Horror came 8^th with paranormal 2, which had been released that year. In total the horror genre made £54.1 million 2011 with 31 site releases and an average of £11,624 per site within the horror genre leaving it about halfway up the genre table.in comparison the horror genre had only made up for nearly 6% of all the that year releases compared to nearly 28% for Drama releases.

In 2011, the Horror genre had dropped to 11th place in the best performing genre. The genre released 32 films, which is 1 more than the previous year. Two of the top three genres are the same from 2010 however they made more money in comparison to the horror genre which made one more film then previous and made nearly £24million less at the box office then the previous year. The Horror genre made fewer releases than the top 2 genres however two of the genres above it both released just 5 films and still managed to rank above the horror genre. The Horror Genre had only made up 5.7% of all releases in 2011 and made up of 3.3% of the total box office for that year.

mindmaps

this shows the mind maps we came up with in lesson to show what ideas we had for the filming and the variation of them but how they were all horror film ideas which we could build upon however in the end we decided to pick the voodoo doll idea

Notting Hill Essay

Notting hill

analyse how the films opening establishes genre conventions and reaches target audiences through technical codes, narrative and characterization

Notting Hill is a 1999 British romantic comedy film set in Notting Hill, London, and the film was released on 21 May 1999. The film was well received by critics, and also became the highest grossing British film released in that year. The film won a BAFTA, and was nominated in two other categories.

The plot revolves around William Thacker played by Hugh Grant. Will owns a travel bookshop in the area of Notting hill. Will has been divorced and now shares his house with a welsh eccentric called spike. When he’s in his book shop William encounters the Hollywood star Anna Scott played by Julia Roberts. Minutes after their meeting, the pair collides in the street where William’s orange juice spills onto her clothes. He offers Anna to change at his house across the road. After he gets all flustered having her in the house and starts babbling however she surprises Will with a kiss

In the first 15 minutes a British ROM COM usually depicts a male trying to win over a woman but also putting himself down in comparison to American ROM COM’s where they big themselves up.

In the opening scene to Notting hill it starts off by having Anna Scott in different shot and frames many of which are extreme close ups of her in a dress with paparazzi around her and having all these superimposed together with fades and dissolves. The scene fades away to will in Notting hill where he is followed down the street with a horizontal track shot with will in the focus then cutting away to people he describes along the way. The scene is set on a sunny day with a busy market feel and to giving the audience a reassuring atmosphere by the way he describes everyone and how the scene is set. The music is a non diagetic soft background to go with the genre.

The next scene introduces wills house and his house mate spike. The first shot in his house is a zoom out and backwards tracking out of his hall way where its seems relatively clean in comparison to the rest of his house which he uses to put himself down as a stereotypical British male does in films. When he arrives in his house all the diagetic and non diagetic music stops to show that the atmosphere has changed. Spike is introduced to us as he goes to try t- shirts  on for his date of which are shown by using shot reverse shots to get the expression off both of them as the first to wouldn't have been suitable. The next scene shows him going to work at his bookshop with his business partner there. The lighting is set that it’s darker inside the shop and the street is sunny this is representing the current situation of the shop making a loss and his life that behind the closed doors it’s dull and sad. The lighting is like this until Anna walks in. at first she it’s a focus pull from will’s face to her in the background entering the shop bathed in light as if bringing light to his life.

In this scene Anna has walked into the bookshop and is all in black with sun glasses as I not to attract attention to herself so most of the on her are medium close ups as we can’t see much emotion on her face as she is also looking down towards the floor most the time. As she leaves the shop Will is putting himself down in a 2 shot at the shop counter. As Anna leaves and his colleague returns the soft focus of Anna is lost for a sharper and duller lighting.

The follow on to that  scene is a suddenly cut away to will walking back from getting orange juice with a calm non diagetic sound in the background until in a long shot he collides  with Anna on the street corner. The clothing use for this scene is of the white shirts as the orange shows up more. Will then invites Anna back as he again puts himself down. Because it’s the 2^nd time we enter his house the camera has already tracked back to the end of the hall to unveil the extent to Anna.  As she goes upstairs we get a horizontal track from the kitchen to dining room where Anna returns in a long shot in order to capture her descending down the stairs with the editing of a soft focus. As Anna is leaving Will is trying to get her to stay longer and have a conversation with her so the extreme close ups of shot reverse shots get quicker as he tries to find something to interest her. When she leaves we get a long shot of the hall way then into an extreme close up 2 shot as she leaves however will returns to the door when she forgot her bag and then she kisses him in an extreme close up 2 shot and the lighting is a lot warmer now then what it should be inside his house.

In conclusion I think that this film fit the genre of British romantic comedy very well as the main character is a British male that put himself down in order to flirt with her and she is a woman who seems out of his league and outside his world of Notting hill in London.

breif plot

the plot is about a girl who had supposedly gone missing before and has now returned and is killing her victims which are linked together somehow. 

• starts with an extreme long shot of a girl in the center of the frame. she will have her head down towards the camera in the middle of the street with people walking past. this shot will be in black & white however she and other random people in the shot will be shown to be wearing red which was inspired by the scene in Schindlers list. this scene will have credits over played over the top.
• the scene then fades away to allow the title zoom and fade in with non diagetic sound.
• this will suddenly cut away to a news reported of a girl who has been missing with a picture of her however only her name will be stated.

The Dark Knight Rises Essay

The Dark Knight Rises

analyse how the films opening establishes genre conventions and reaches target audiences through technical codes, narrative and characterization

The Dark Knight Rises is a 2012 superhero action film which was directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay along with his brother Jonathan Nolan and the story with David S. Goyer. Featuring the DC Comics characters Batman, bane, Catwoman, Alfred and many other important characters. This film is the final instalment for Nolan's Batman film trilogy, this film is based as a superhero action genre film.

In a typical action film its usually based around one or more heroes who have been thrust into a series of challenges or situations that require physical feats (of sometimes unnatural ability) , extended fights and frenetic chases and many explosions. They tend to feature a resourceful character struggling against incredible or impossible odds, which may involve life-threatening situations involving an evil villain, and/or being pursued, with victory achieved at the end of all the difficult physical efforts and violence.

In TDKR this is shown in many ways throughout the film to keep the audience engulfed by the actions of batman as the lead protagonist. Whereas with horror films they use ECU’s and jumpy music in batman they mainly focus on ELS in order to capture the fights and chase sequences. Some of the main fight sequences involve bane giving the audience a clear scenes of good and evil within the fights and showing them at opposite sides of the frame. The fast cuts also indicate that it’s a action film because in comparison to rom coms there are no fade outs but it cut really quickly to keep the audience on the edge of their seat.

In the past all action sequences were done by real people and real props however with modern technology they are able to add CGI and create fight sequences or props that aren’t real in order to aid the action. Many of these techniques are shown in TDKR by the way Nolan uses CGI to add to the action scenes. The main sequences this is incorporated into is where the football pitch blows up showing the use of CGI in order to create an action packed film and push the boundaries of the technology. However Nolan didn’t want to over use CGI and kept to using many of the actors and built many of the props such as a working batpod and tumblrs and also built the bat however this was just a life size model.

 In the opening 15 minutes Nolan is trying to set out the story straight away and introduce the characters as soon as possible to quickly build on their relationships to develop the film.  The film starts off on a landing strip with people which had been captured with bags over their heads and the emphasis of the tension builds up with non diagetic music and quick cuts building up to the action where banes men attack the plane. This scene then cuts to a extreme long shot that’s panning over the city then to the speech at Wayne manor. This scene is shown to introduce some of the other major characters such as bat man, cat women and Commissioner Gordon.  The film builds up in suspense and action in order to move the scenes along at a quick pace and keeping the tempo of th music in line with the action scenes. The majority of the shots begin with extreme close ups when it starts on the plane to give the audience a sense of the small amount of space and the emotion of the characters and has many quick shot reverse shots to keep up the pace .

In conclusion I think that TDKR keeps to the genre of superhero action film. It has a more traditional approach as they try to make as many of the props as they can to make it seem more real in comparison to CGI which is what Nolan wanted to achieve. This makes the props aesthetically real and makes the whole film seem more possible in reality. The quick scene cuts and the long shots capture the action within the frame such as the plane sequence and the fight scenes further along in the film.

red dragon essay

Red Dragon

analyse how the films opening establishes genre conventions and reaches target audiences through technical codes, narrative and characterization

Red Dragon is an American thriller film of 2002 the film is based upon Thomas Harris' novel of the same name which features the psychiatrist and serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter. The film is set as a prequel to silence of the lambs.

The plot starts when Hannibal lecter is captured for cannibalism and gets a life sentence in a prison whilst the person who captured him has to track down another serial killer who says he’s trying to transform himself into the red dragon of a famous painting by William Blake.  

In the first 15 minutes revolve around Doctor Hannibal lecter and what he is. The first scene is in an orchestra performance where they focus on one person of the band and the switches back and forth between his and lecter’ s face whilst zooming in to show Hannibal’s facial expression. The scene suddenly cuts away to Hannibal in the centre of a long shot as host to his dinner party. The mise en scene of this scene is the lighting is very dim and has a red tint representing Hannibal’s state as the meat he has served is the man from the first scene.

The next scene is where will graham who is an FBI agent has come to consult Hannibal about a criminal’s behaviour as it seems the suspect had been removing edible body parts from the victims’ bodies which leads will to believe that the murderer is a cannibal. concern of Hannibal is shown on his face when he mentions it might be a cannibal with an extreme close up and then he walks out the room leaving will to look around .as the camera zooms in on the bookcase will finds an interesting cook book in which he recipes have been added to with body parts.as ill turns round Hannibal suddenly stabs him in the gut in order to hold him there so he can choke him however will manages to stab him with some arrows then  shot him as he come back towards him which is shown well with the use of white shirts in order to show the areas of blood making it stand out. As Hannibal is shot back he lands on his back and the camera pan vertically down to his face showing him looking up towards the ceiling as if he’s dead yet he isn’t as we find out later on.

The scene has cut away and its now many years in the future and will is investigating a serial killer who is killing off families in the south and is nicknamed “the tooth fairy”  the murders carry on and another family dies which leads will to consult Hannibal who has got life in prison for cannibalism. When will arrives at the prison he is told to walk down a corridor to the end. The corridor is very dimly lit and all that’s visible to will is a chair at the other end in front of Hannibal’s cell. The tension for this is built up through the non diagetic music and the slow forward track. The corridor is full of other criminals that seem to be more mentally unstable compared to Hannibal as he is able to have a civil conversation however h is the kind of criminal that gets inside the audiences head as for the rest of the film he is in the prison cell as the main character focus is on “the tooth fairy “.

I think that this film is a good representation of a thriller genre film. In thriller films its mainly set around the protagonist and the problem they face which in red dragon is will catching the murderer before he strikes again. This becomes the emphasis throughout the film as the problem to be overcome. The camera angles for thriller films are mainly close ups for the emotion and suspension and long shots for things to jump out. Most of them have a non diagetic soundtrack that is made to build up tension and suspense in order to scare the audience or to keep them intrigued when nothing seems to be happening. Also the mise en scne is key to thrillers as most have weapons and dim lighting or to create a thriller effect t build upon to creat the setting . other props are like the costumes as a good example is with white shirts to emphasis the blood stains

In conclusion I believe this film is a good representation of a thriller genre film  and keeps to the genre with the key aspects such as close us , non diagetic background for suspense plus a sortyline with a problem  to overcome 

Candyman essay

Candyman is a 1992 American horror film starring Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd and Xander Berkeley. The film was directed by Bernard Rose and is based on the short story "The Forbidden" written by Clive Barker however the film's scenario is switched from the setting of England to the Cabrini–Green public housing development on Chicago's North Side.

The plot revolves around Helen Lyle who is a graduate student conducting research for her thesis on urban legends and myths. Whilst interviewing people over their superstitions she hears about a local legend known as Candyman. The legend contained many elements similar to the most well-known urban legends, which included endangered babysitters, spirits who appear in mirrors when fatally summoned, and maniac killers with unnatural deformities and behaviours.

In the first 15 minutes Bernard rose ah tried to give it as much of a horror feeling as possible to build up the tension but not to give anything away to early. The credits start off with a horizontal track above the city with what appears as gothic style font and a non diagetic sound of organ playing and a choir which gives us the link to spiritual and supernatural happenings. The way it’s been set out with the credits is to give the clear idea its based in an urban environment because most people would think the city is safer

This scene cuts away to a woman giving a narration over a scene set in the suburbs with a babysitter and a lad she likes. The reason its been set in the suburbs is because no one expects it to happen there as generally wealthier people live here so it is considered safer with more security and protection. The girl and boy are upstairs and in front of a mirror with the reflection giving a 2 shot of them together with a build-up of non diagetic music to give tension to the scene. The girl then dares the boy to say Candyman 5 times however he only reaches 4 times. The boy then goes downstairs and the girl then says it to the mirror for the 5^th time and turns the light off with a superimpose of Candyman appearing and striking her down with “a hook in his bloody stump” and then blood coming through the roof and onto the lad below in order to give the film a horror feeling early on.

One of the props used in was the girls white bra which is a stereotype for horror films showing that the girl is still young and innocent and as in many horror films it’s the innocent girls that die. Whereas in comparison to the boy who is in a black leather jacket and on a motorbike. This shows that in horror films girls are less protected against the violence and typically get killed for usually being sexually unclean or because they are set out to be pretty and young.

The story then cuts away to an Ariel shot over the city and then into the university and then into the building where the main character Helen is listening to the diagetic sound of a tape recording of the story with an extreme close up of her talking it back to herself although sh4e doesn’t repeat her saying Candyman as if she thinks there is truth behind it. This is also shown by the build-up of non diagetic sound which suddenly stops. This scene then cuts away to a lecture hall where the lecturer is giving a talk on urban myths and legends. The lecture finishes and Helen heads down to the male who turns out to be her husband. However a girl hangs round to talk to him and her body language suggests she likes him, plus she has been portrayed as a young and pretty blonde girl which is normally the most used stereotype for horror films. Nevertheless from the-lecture and her investigations we learn that they are both intelligent and think they have a high level of understanding of what they are dealing with which misleads her into thinking that the murderer comes from behind the mirror via a hole in the wall which is a design flaw in the buildings structure.

The following scene is then of Helen and her friend and they are stood in the bathroom looking at the mirror in a 2 shot. The tension is built up with non diagetic music and a zoom in through the hole in the wall where the murderer supposedly comes through. They then put the mirror back on the wall and star saying “Candyman” however the 2^nd women stops before she reaches the 5^th time although Helen carries on. This is followed by a prolonged silence and a zoom in on her face resulting in extreme close up of her face to show her curiosity and anxiety in the situation however this is followed by her calling her friend a chicken which lightens the mood and breaks the silence with laughter however the scene then cuts away back to the mirror but this time it’s now night and darker as the camera starts reverse tracking down the corridor and begins to pan into the woman’s room where we catch glimpse of a Christian cross. The cross possibly represents she’s a Christian which links back to the first girl who was killed because she also was wearing a cross however was becoming  sexually active which is shunned upon; having sex before marriage. This all links back to being a horror genre because with any religious vies there is good and evil so this portrays Candyman in a devil/ demon manner.

in conclusion I believe that The main technical codes used to represent the horror genre are camera angles and the mise en scene. The reason for this was because it shows the fear and emotion on the characters face. The camera angles are an essential part of the horror genre but so are the mise en scene props such as the white bra and blood and also the mirror and saying Candyman 5 times plus the hook in the stump. Whereas other technical codes these 2 go together with aspects of each other such as the lighting and the camera angles.