The media product I have chosen is my slasher film trailer. All trailers have codes and conventions which they are obliged to, however some break these conventions and some set new conventions, this gradually changes, a great example for this, is that more and more videos, which are released up to date, are 3D and they mainly specialise in showing the audience what the 3D has to offer them, not what the film itself has to offer to them. Conventions sometimes followed are things like having the end card, voice over, and on screen captions. The captions help understand what is being shown on screen, but doesn't tell the full story, leaving the information gathered by the audience at a cliff hanger of some sort.
the beginning of the trailer starts off with the BBFC logo, this tells the audience delicate information such as the film name and such, most importantly it tells the audience the age certificate given to the film by the local/borough council. This is a very important shot to be using because it initially tells the audience if they are capable of watching this film or not. This also allows the audience to spot the specific production company, this sometimes has a huge impact on people, because some people usually watch a specific film just because it is directed/produced by someone they like, so keeping them aware of who created the film is a very good idea. the voice over used in the trailer is useful, once again this follows formulaic conventions. the voice over follows the trailer and gives us information about what we need to do, it matches the edits well. within our media product our voice over is that of the main character, who is made to sound depressed, because his friends are killed. So it is as if the main character is telling the story.
our trailer breaks a huge convention, this is obvious, because the killer is actually a feminine figure, and the final girl is evidently a final boy. Within our trailer there are many theories of narrative that can be applied;Vladimir Propp studied hundreds and hundreds of Russian folk tales, to realise that there are eight main types of characters, these are; the hero (seeks something), villain (opposes hero), donor/benefactor (helps the hero by providing magical gift/object), dispatcher (sends the hero on his way), the false hero (falsely assuming the role of hero), helper (gives support to the hero), princess (reward for the hero but also needs to be protected from villain), and the father. Although these aren’t exactly the types of characters in films, they are somewhat similar, and the concept can be seen as the same. The hero will always be someone who is sad/uneasy with themselves, due to some sort of bullying in their childhood. Wanting to break free of this sadness, they go out on a quest to find meaning. To assist them is the benefactor, who will give some sort of magical gift/object to the hero, to help him on his journey. (Star wars – Luke is trained in the force, gains lightsaber. Spiderman – spider bites hero). Within our narrative there is no specific hero, however the benefactor gives information about the situation to the ineffective authoritive figure.
The final girl in our narrative does not exist, instead we have chosen to have a final boy, this will challenge the codes and conventions of the narrative, and because our society is not as male dominant, it allows the female figure to look as if she is in full control, and we have also used the male gaze on the male figures throughout the narrative, which will help reinforce this meaning we are trying to convey – the society that we live in now is not as hegemonic as it used to be.For the trailer, we were required to make a full movie plot, so that we knew what the trailer would consist of, rather than adding in bits as we go. For the plot we decided to break some codes and conventions, we did this by making sure that the girl is the killer, and this will be made very clear so that the audience recognise what we are trying to do.
This will cause more suspense between the audience and the movie, because the characters themselves do not know who the killer is, and the audience does, so they will feel ironic sympathy towards the characters within the film. Also we have made the main killer, a mousy, brunette girl, and this again breaks the codes and conventions of a typical horror movie. The message behind horror/slasher films usually tend to be, that sex is bad for you. To reinforce this, the knife symbolises sexual contents, and usually the blonde, sexually active girl is the one to die, and she is killed by the knife which is mostly held by a male figure. We could easily create a new message behind our movie, because we chose to break the codes and conventions in a specific way.
The message we are conveying over to the audience is that, ‘if you take a girls virginity, she will take your life.’ Not technically, but in a way that, you could get her pregnant, or you could end up in a bad place because of this event. When thinking about the society which we all live in, which is a little patriarchal, which intends that males have more power over women, which in some cases is true. Our trailer will portray the message out to the audience that having sex before marriage, or just for the sake of it, can lead to serious conclusions.
We have also given the girl the power, so that means that girls are more dominant than men, when thought about within this film, or they are equal, and just doing what is right. This also shows that just because a girl is a mousy, nerdy girl she is not to be taken advantage of, as at first she is seen holding books in our trailer and then she is holding a knife, which will get the message out loud and clear. Also the location of the movie, is in a suburban area, which is an ideal place to take into consideration when making a horror/slasher film, mainly because so that the audience can relate to this. The majority of the demographic would live in an area like this, and so they do not feel safe at their own home.
Given that of the props, we have decided to make the killer have some sort of obstruction to her face; this will create tension between the audience and the film, because they can then portray their very own fears onto the figure on screen.We are also planning on using some elements of German expressionism, which is the effect of using lighting to create mood and tension. It is not the lighting itself but the shadows created from the lights. Using the light at different angles create sharp ragged shadowy shapes which allow the character to be seen with a lot more consideration, great example for this, is ‘Psycho’ where the killer, is seen standing, with shadows on the floor, which do not look normal. This makes the audience think, and so that the character is portrayed in much more detail. You can almost get an instant judgement towards them.We have taken into consideration of Vladimir Propp’s theory. Which are basically that there are always 8 types of characters, these are the benefactor, the villain, the hero, the ineffective character, etc. These characters can easily be identified within the majority of films, the benefactor is usually an elderly person, which gives advice to the youth, however obviously the youth do not take the advice being given by the benefactor, and then realise they were wrong to choose otherwise.
The villain always in some shape or form will always have an obstruction to his face; this is because it creates tension between the audience and the product. The reason behind the mask or scars or anything obstructing the face of the villain is to create an effect that the audience can then interpret into their very own image. They see their worst fears behind the mask, on the subject.Iconography plays a big part in the film, because as explained before, the villain in a horror film will have a knife, and this has representations of sexual contents, and for our trailer, we have chosen to keep this, mainly because it breaks the usual codes and conventions, the main character in our film is a girl, who is the villain.
We have decided to subvert some more of the codes and conventions of an average horror/slasher film, in order to do this, we have chosen not to give her a mask, this is to create an ironic sympathy, the audience will know who is the killer however the characters within the film will not know who the killer is, and because at first she is sweet and innocent, the audience can also then relate to that.Within our trailer when talking about sound, the majority of the trailer will contain diegetic sound; however we will also have some elements of non-diegetic sound. We will also be using the ‘hand held camera’ style for some parts of the trailer; this is to create a shaky effect. This will immediately give the trailer some intensity, as it looks like a point of view shot, and not shaky means that it is like watching from the view point of someone else, as this will put the audience in the shoes of the killer or the victim. For the non-diegetic sound part of the trailer, we will have some eerie music playing in the background; this again is to help the intensity of the trailer. We have also thought about the camera angles, in ways the shots we have taken, this has a huge impact on the representation we will portray on each of the characters. Having the girl in the shot from above, makes her look small, however we will then take the shots from below, giving her huge power, and letting the audience consciously know that she has gained a dramatic amount of power.
The killer in our trailer is first of all a female figure. This already twists the codes and convention of the usual slasher film. This will cause more suspense between the audience and the movie, because the characters themselves do not know who the killer is, and the audience does, so they will feel ironic sympathy towards the characters within the film. Also because our society is Patriarchal, in which the male gender acts as the primary/dominant authority figure central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children and property. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege, and entails female subordination. The majority of the audience will be relating to this, if not all. Also the fact that the girl is taking control of the situation will challenge the audience sub-consciously; this will also help keep the tension rolling for them. This will all seem new to them, because of the patriarchal society we live in. However we have also chosen other ways in which we can get the audience’s attention, the fact that the girl was at first depressed and caused to become a killer, will help do this. The message behind horror/slasher films usually tend to be, that sex is bad for you. To reinforce this, the knife symbolises sexual contents, and usually the blonde, sexually active girl is the one to die, and she is killed by the knife which is mostly held by a male figure. We could easily create a new message behind our movie, because we chose to break the codes and conventions in a specific way. The message we are conveying over to the audience is that, ‘if you take a girls virginity, she will take your life.’ Not technically, but in a way that, you could get her pregnant, or you could end up in a bad place because of this event. When thinking about the society which we all live in, which is a little patriarchal, which intends that males have more power over women, which in some cases is true. Our trailer will portray the message out to the audience that having sex before marriage, or just for the sake of it, can lead to serious conclusions.
We have also given the girl the power, so that means that girls are more dominant than men, when thought about within this film, or they are equal, and just doing what is right. This also shows that just because a girl is a mousy, nerdy girl she is not to be taken advantage of, as at first she is seen holding books in our trailer and then she is holding a knife, which will get the message out loud and clear. Also this is something the audience can relate to, because our audiences, who are 18+, will definitely know or encountered someone of a similar status to that of the killer in our trailer at some point in their lives.Given that of the props, we have decided to make the killer have some sort of obstruction to her face; this will create tension between the audience and the film, because they can then portray their very own fears onto the figure on screen. Usually this is done via a mask and scars, we have chosen to use makeup, because the killer is a girl, and the makeup is normal to her, also reinforcing the fact that women are seen as monstrous at points, which can also be linked in with the Male Gaze. To help reinforce this, we can also take into consideration of Barbara Creed’s theory, in which she states that women are seen as monstrous. In the majority of horror generic films, monsters usually tend to be seen as a male figure, and the women are usually seen as ‘mans castrated other form from the Freudian position.’
We are also planning on using some elements of German expressionism, which is the effect of using lighting to create mood and tension. It is not the lighting itself but the shadows created from the lights. Using the light at different angles create sharp ragged shadowy shapes which allow the character to be seen with a lot more consideration, great example for this, is ‘Psycho’ where the killer, is seen standing, with shadows on the floor, which do not look normal. This makes the audience think, and so that the character is portrayed in much more detail. You can almost get an instant judgement towards them.Iconography plays a big part in the film, because as explained before, the villain in a horror film will have a knife, and this has representations of sexual contents, and for our trailer, we have chosen to keep this, mainly because it breaks the usual codes and conventions, the main character in our film is a girl, who is the villain. We have decided to subvert some more of the codes and conventions of an average horror/slasher film, in order to do this, we have chosen not to give her a mask, this is to create an ironic sympathy, the audience will know who is the killer however the characters within the film will not know who the killer is, and because at first she is sweet and innocent, the audience can also then relate to that.
Within our trailer when talking about sound, the majority of the trailer will contain diegetic sound; however we will also have some elements of non-diegetic sound. We will also be using the ‘hand held camera’ style for some parts of the trailer; this is to create a shaky effect. This will immediately give the trailer some intensity, as it looks like a point of view shot, and not shaky means that it is like watching from the view point of someone else, as this will put the audience in the shoes of the killer or the victim. For the non-diegetic sound part of the trailer, we will have some eerie music playing in the background; this again is to help the intensity of the trailer. We have also thought about the camera angles, in ways the shots we have taken, this has a huge impact on the representation we will portray on each of the characters. Having the girl in the shot from above, makes her look small, however we will then take the shots from below, giving her huge power, and letting the audience consciously know that she has gained a dramatic amount of power.
We have taken into consideration of Vladimir Propp’s theory. Which are basically that there are always 8 types of characters, these are the benefactor, the villain, the hero, the ineffective character, etc. These characters can easily be identified within the majority of films, the benefactor is usually an elderly person, which gives advice to the youth, however obviously the youth do not take the advice being given by the benefactor, and then realise they were wrong to choose otherwise. The villain always in some shape or form will always have an obstruction to his face; this is because it creates tension between the audience and the product. The reason behind the mask or scars or anything obstructing the face of the villain is to create an effect that the audience can then interpret into their very own image. They see their worst fears behind the mask, on the subject.
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