The following camera angles are what I am going to film for my trailer.
Victim (protagonist of trailer) shot angles:
Close up: Her hand holding a necklace her sister gave to her
Wide shot, tracking shot, pan: Girl walking in the garden
Following the girl in front and behind
Point of view shot/subject filming: sees the caravan through the girl's eyes
Tilt shot of her looking up to the sky
Wide shot of bedrooms, garden, caravan and the house in general to establish location
Close-up of wounds on the girl's body
Point of view shots: opening and closing doors
Mug shots of girl screaming showing emotion
Wide shots of her inside her sister's bedroom crying
Hand-held shots of girl falling to floor
Camera angles for the dead sister:
Black and white or sepia flashbacks at start of trailer. hand-held shots and subject filming (through sister's eyes) of her in garden walking, turning round and smiling at the camera, filming her from behind, sitting in the car, close-ups of her being happy.
In contrast: the sister believes that she can see her sister's dead body wherever she goes and goes mad. Dead body is lying on floor with messy hair, simple dark clothing and open eyes lying on the floor in wide shots in kitchen, bathroom and bedroom floors.
Monday 24 October 2016
Effects of lighting
High key Low key
Lighting in a horror film is very important for how you want the audience to react.
High key lighting is when the atmosphere and location is very bright, with sunshine, colours and happiness. Often in horrors we see this at the start of the film before things turn bad.
Low key lighting is when the lighting is very dark with lots of contrast and shadows. This is used to create the effect of not knowing what is around the corner or what may be out there.
Some trailer examples with low key lighting:
Annabelle- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paFgQNPGlsg
In the first few seconds of Annabelle's trailer, the establishing shot is dark and shadowy, the audience can't see around corners and the only source of light is the one coming from the house. This creates an isolation around the house and a enigma code- what could be out in the darkness?
The Boy- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1U21VBSbSs
The Witch- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjBN0ByAqDk
German Expressionism links to this, as these films were known for their shadows, corners and silhouettes creating an un-nerving atmosphere that would cause fear and confusion to the audience.
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuocVLKdSqQ
In this film the monochrome has a high contrast of light and darkness, especially from 21:30-21:51, as the set is very angular and unusual with different shapes and areas of darkness where we can't see anything. This is a good example of low-key lighting.
Faust- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Flnxq2HMOqA
Metropolis- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0NzALRJifI
Horror Music Research
The Shining main title
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWbI19Pt_nU
Kubrick chose to use some music by the avant-garde classical composer, Krzysztof Penderecki. A famous composition he wrote was called Polymorphia, which has many eerie scratching, squeaking and un-nerving sounds.
The crackling noises along with wailing sounds create a tense atmosphere making the audience wonder what is going to happen. The repetitive notes throughout create a hypnotic sound and make the audience wonder when the next scare will be. He was inspired by this composer as the music cresendos and builds tension and adrenaline, but then stops suddenly, making the audience jump or not know what to expect next.
The Woman In Black opening theme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZzgxCVBa1M&list=PL3qcecRT3YPufrt4II32VJnm6gdMCP8Ly
The chimes and notes in this piece suggest things to do with children from the tone. The repetitive notes and the tense build up of squeaking sounds create tension and really terrify the audience.
Dead Silence theme song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ix2-HV63Ek
This song again suggests children through the musical box sound. This is effective as it is twisting the idea of a music box, which is meant to sooth a child, but this is very different.
Saw theme tune
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWaNoK3gN6M
This song doesn't seem as creepy or psycological, it has tension but more of a heroic and building atmosphere almost like an action story. This could suggest the feelings of the victims.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWbI19Pt_nU
Kubrick chose to use some music by the avant-garde classical composer, Krzysztof Penderecki. A famous composition he wrote was called Polymorphia, which has many eerie scratching, squeaking and un-nerving sounds.
The crackling noises along with wailing sounds create a tense atmosphere making the audience wonder what is going to happen. The repetitive notes throughout create a hypnotic sound and make the audience wonder when the next scare will be. He was inspired by this composer as the music cresendos and builds tension and adrenaline, but then stops suddenly, making the audience jump or not know what to expect next.
The Woman In Black opening theme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZzgxCVBa1M&list=PL3qcecRT3YPufrt4II32VJnm6gdMCP8Ly
The chimes and notes in this piece suggest things to do with children from the tone. The repetitive notes and the tense build up of squeaking sounds create tension and really terrify the audience.
Dead Silence theme song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ix2-HV63Ek
This song again suggests children through the musical box sound. This is effective as it is twisting the idea of a music box, which is meant to sooth a child, but this is very different.
Saw theme tune
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWaNoK3gN6M
This song doesn't seem as creepy or psycological, it has tension but more of a heroic and building atmosphere almost like an action story. This could suggest the feelings of the victims.
Tuesday 18 October 2016
My New Narrative
I recently thought about how I could change my narrative slightly by having a deeper story line. I want to keep elements from the old narrative but change them slightly in the following ways.
5 years ago a young girl looses her older sister. She can't get over the loss and she misses her very much. The sister who died used to regularly go on camping holidays with her boyfriend/friends on the weekends, and the caravan is still in the girl's family garden. The girl regularly goes down to the caravan for comfort and to bring back memories. She also rings the number that used to be her sisters, and it always goes to voicemail. She loves to hear her sister's voice and sometimes she will leave a message.
In my trailer I am planning on starting with the girl reflecting on her sister's death with voice overs, visiting the caravan and ringing the number. I will also include some flashbacks. Further on the line things start to get strange, as the caravan might look different how it did to last time, or things move inside the house or the garden might get ruined. Eventually the girl will ring the phone number, and someone answers. I also might get a shot of the girl finding the sister buried underground, who might stand up and walk from her grave.
My new narrative follows Tzvetan Todorov's theory, as the narrative starts off with equilibrium of happy flashbacks of the two sisters, then we see the disruption of the sister dying by seeing different shots of the younger sister upset about the situation. We see the situation thickening and getting worse the more we see and the more she tries to resolve the situation near the end crescendo, however because it was a trailer I'd created, I can't reveal the entire narrative so the ending equilibrium explained in the theory won't be shown in my trailer. A common convention of horror films is for the ending to finish with equilibrium.
5 years ago a young girl looses her older sister. She can't get over the loss and she misses her very much. The sister who died used to regularly go on camping holidays with her boyfriend/friends on the weekends, and the caravan is still in the girl's family garden. The girl regularly goes down to the caravan for comfort and to bring back memories. She also rings the number that used to be her sisters, and it always goes to voicemail. She loves to hear her sister's voice and sometimes she will leave a message.
In my trailer I am planning on starting with the girl reflecting on her sister's death with voice overs, visiting the caravan and ringing the number. I will also include some flashbacks. Further on the line things start to get strange, as the caravan might look different how it did to last time, or things move inside the house or the garden might get ruined. Eventually the girl will ring the phone number, and someone answers. I also might get a shot of the girl finding the sister buried underground, who might stand up and walk from her grave.
My new narrative follows Tzvetan Todorov's theory, as the narrative starts off with equilibrium of happy flashbacks of the two sisters, then we see the disruption of the sister dying by seeing different shots of the younger sister upset about the situation. We see the situation thickening and getting worse the more we see and the more she tries to resolve the situation near the end crescendo, however because it was a trailer I'd created, I can't reveal the entire narrative so the ending equilibrium explained in the theory won't be shown in my trailer. A common convention of horror films is for the ending to finish with equilibrium.
"Powers of Horror"- an essay by Julia Kristeva
This essay addresses abjection which is about how viewers feel when watching horror. Abjection is the feeling where you feel fascinated about the horror but at the same time feeling disgusted by it. Kristeva was one of the first people to write about abjection.
"It lies there, quite close, but it cannot be assimilated. It beseeches, worries, and fascinates desire, which, nevertheless, does not let itself be seduced. Apprehensive, desire turns aside; sickened, it rejects".
This quote describes in detail the feeling you get watching gruesome events. She talks about how it worries you, a sickening feeling but fascinates desire at the same time. Horror is taking something out of the ordinary world and turning it to frighten others, which isn't what humans were made to do originally.
"Loathing an item of food, a piece of filth, waste, or dung. The spasms and vomiting that protect me. The repugnance, the retching that thrusts me to the side and turns me away from defilement, sewage, and muck. The shame of compromise, of being in the middle of treachery. The fascinated start that leads me to toward and separates me from them".
This quote describes how the disgusted feeling is like in your mind and body which is not pleasant, but at the same time the horror leads you towards it. Love/hate relationship.
"Food loathing is perhaps the most elementary and most archaic form of abjection. When the eyes see or the lips touch that skin on the surface of milk- harmless, thin as a sheet of cigarette paper, pitiful as a nail paring- I experience a gagging sensation and, still farther down, spasms in the stomach, the belly; and all the organs shrivel up the body, provoke tears and bile, increase heartbeat, cause forehead and hands to perspire. Along with sight-clouding dizziness, nausea makes me balk at that milk cream".
This quote is a very graphic and visual description of how you feel watching horror linked with food, and the reason why it makes people feel so disgusted is because horrors show these scenes in such detail and audiences can thoroughly imagine the feeling of these things being inside us. These feelings are described in this quote, eg. gagging.
"It lies there, quite close, but it cannot be assimilated. It beseeches, worries, and fascinates desire, which, nevertheless, does not let itself be seduced. Apprehensive, desire turns aside; sickened, it rejects".
This quote describes in detail the feeling you get watching gruesome events. She talks about how it worries you, a sickening feeling but fascinates desire at the same time. Horror is taking something out of the ordinary world and turning it to frighten others, which isn't what humans were made to do originally.
"Loathing an item of food, a piece of filth, waste, or dung. The spasms and vomiting that protect me. The repugnance, the retching that thrusts me to the side and turns me away from defilement, sewage, and muck. The shame of compromise, of being in the middle of treachery. The fascinated start that leads me to toward and separates me from them".
This quote describes how the disgusted feeling is like in your mind and body which is not pleasant, but at the same time the horror leads you towards it. Love/hate relationship.
"Food loathing is perhaps the most elementary and most archaic form of abjection. When the eyes see or the lips touch that skin on the surface of milk- harmless, thin as a sheet of cigarette paper, pitiful as a nail paring- I experience a gagging sensation and, still farther down, spasms in the stomach, the belly; and all the organs shrivel up the body, provoke tears and bile, increase heartbeat, cause forehead and hands to perspire. Along with sight-clouding dizziness, nausea makes me balk at that milk cream".
This quote is a very graphic and visual description of how you feel watching horror linked with food, and the reason why it makes people feel so disgusted is because horrors show these scenes in such detail and audiences can thoroughly imagine the feeling of these things being inside us. These feelings are described in this quote, eg. gagging.
Monday 17 October 2016
Research into different horror titles
I did some research on different types of titles for horror magazines, posters and films. I noticed that the majority of horror magazine titles were fantasy or dreamlike, eg. "Nightmare" or "Shadows and Tall Trees". Some others I found were called "Cemetery Dance", "Splatterpunk Zinc", "Black Static", "Dark Moon Digest" and "Aghast". The titles are short and snappy, related to Gothic or gore themes. The words "Black" and "Darkness" are effective, as these are the scariest times to film as audiences's find it un-nerving not being able to see around corners, as well as feeling a sense of vulnerability. "Splatter", "Gore", "Scream" and "Blood" are graphic words which describe what the magazine will be about and will let audience's know if it will be their type of read.
Some different horror film titles I find effective are "It Follows" giving a vulnerable atmosphere, "Scream" which is a simple snappy word but gives off a feeling of fear and terror, "Don't Look Now" which shows the audience that the terror can't get any worse, "The Orphanage" which is a place where children are vulnerable, "The Others" which seem different to normal reality, but the title still remains un-clear and mysterious.
Some titles I have thought of for my film are "At the End of the Phone Call", "Her", "The One," "Listen Don't Speak", "We Will Never Forget" etc.
Horror titles in general give off a disturbing un-realistic view on things, and very often they are linked to psycological or gore themes which different people find disturbing. This could be through clowns, ghosts or slasher themes.
Some different horror film titles I find effective are "It Follows" giving a vulnerable atmosphere, "Scream" which is a simple snappy word but gives off a feeling of fear and terror, "Don't Look Now" which shows the audience that the terror can't get any worse, "The Orphanage" which is a place where children are vulnerable, "The Others" which seem different to normal reality, but the title still remains un-clear and mysterious.
Some titles I have thought of for my film are "At the End of the Phone Call", "Her", "The One," "Listen Don't Speak", "We Will Never Forget" etc.
Horror titles in general give off a disturbing un-realistic view on things, and very often they are linked to psycological or gore themes which different people find disturbing. This could be through clowns, ghosts or slasher themes.
Saturday 15 October 2016
Analysing modern horror trailers set in isolated locations
Cabin in the Woods
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsIilFNNmkY
The trailer starts off with a positive, naturalistic normal vibe. All the characters seem positive and happy like a normal movie. When they are in the vehicle driving to their destination, their GPS says that it is "Unworthy of global positioning" which seems fun at first, before they realise it's no joke. There are many cuts at the start of the trailer showing different angles/objects establishing the area and the characters in a quick paced fashion. This is also effective from the up-beat rock music in the background, referring to the young age group. We see the vehicle driving into the woods with very high trees, and we immediately get an un-nerved feeling as the audience watching.
When they arrive at the abandoned site, it gives off a creepy atmosphere as they are vulnerable as they don't know where the are. The fade to black transitions also make these cuts seem like a faded memory. The wide shot of the cabin is effective, as it looks un-nerving due to the location in the woods and how it looks run down. The quick cuts matching in time with sharp ghostly sounds add to the creepy atmosphere.
The mise-en-scene is effective in the way the character's facial expressions are shown through close-ups and mug shots. This demonstrates their fear and establishes their personalities. Towards the end of the trailer, the cuts get faster, showing desperation and panic. This is also shown from the music in the background building up. These cuts consist of the creatures that are causing the damage in the film, facial expressions of the characters, actions the characters are making and showing the audience the different locations in the vehicle, different rooms in the cabin or the woods. This trailer works well due to the establishing shots, appropriate pauses and how the tension crescendos towards the end through the quick cuts and how the music builds up.
In this film/trailer the characters are archetype stock characters in a typical teenage movie. These characters include the rebel, the explorer, the caregiver, the hero etc.
The Forest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hW8hUcXR-A
The establishing shot is a wide shot of a nice house with a voice over. It then cuts to shots inside the house, as well as some flashbacks and the woman talking in the voice over. When the sister looks inside the tent then back out, a girl screaming in her face is un-expectedly there and makes the audience jump, which is also helped by the build up of music causing tension and fear. After that is an establishing shot of the 'suicide forest', giving an un-nerving atmosphere to the audience. Titles throughout this trailer are effective, as the background looks like a forest with fog, giving a blurred vision of what inside the forest looks like. The non-diegetic sound throughout is also effective, as it is a creepy/eerie whisper that is repeated throughout making the audience feel very un-comfortable. There are different angles and shot types of the forest to make it seem as scary as possible, through birds eye shots, pans and wide shots. Night-time shots are also effective as your vision is compared.
This trailer has little details throughout which are very effective, such as pauses, sudden sounds such as leaves crunching on the ground, a person behind the shower door etc. These shots give the audience adrenaline, because they can see what is going to happen compared to the character in the film who seems vulnerable. Shots of the dead bodies/spirits show the audience a taster of what the film will include and how scary it will be with lots of tension.
Frozen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiUNsDVjCbo
This trailer starts off with an establishing shot of ski slopes on snowy mountains. It also introduces the characters a bit. The text on screen is effective, as they are real facts about skiing and snow boarding, eg. "30 million skiers and snowboarders in the US..."
The chair lift creaks and angles of the lift as well as the darkness give an un-settling feel, and the audience know something is going to go wrong. The non-diegetic sound is effective when all the lights turn off. The crashes emphasise this and makes it even more un-believable. The shots of the character's faces freezing as well as the chair lift breaking bring huge tension to the audience as well as true fear for these people. A very effective shot is a point of view shot looking down as if you are the person jumping from the lift. This makes the audience cringe and terrified. This trailer is effective as it only has a few characters in the movie making the isolation as realistic as possible. It is also the type of film to put people off skiing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsIilFNNmkY
The trailer starts off with a positive, naturalistic normal vibe. All the characters seem positive and happy like a normal movie. When they are in the vehicle driving to their destination, their GPS says that it is "Unworthy of global positioning" which seems fun at first, before they realise it's no joke. There are many cuts at the start of the trailer showing different angles/objects establishing the area and the characters in a quick paced fashion. This is also effective from the up-beat rock music in the background, referring to the young age group. We see the vehicle driving into the woods with very high trees, and we immediately get an un-nerved feeling as the audience watching.
When they arrive at the abandoned site, it gives off a creepy atmosphere as they are vulnerable as they don't know where the are. The fade to black transitions also make these cuts seem like a faded memory. The wide shot of the cabin is effective, as it looks un-nerving due to the location in the woods and how it looks run down. The quick cuts matching in time with sharp ghostly sounds add to the creepy atmosphere.
The mise-en-scene is effective in the way the character's facial expressions are shown through close-ups and mug shots. This demonstrates their fear and establishes their personalities. Towards the end of the trailer, the cuts get faster, showing desperation and panic. This is also shown from the music in the background building up. These cuts consist of the creatures that are causing the damage in the film, facial expressions of the characters, actions the characters are making and showing the audience the different locations in the vehicle, different rooms in the cabin or the woods. This trailer works well due to the establishing shots, appropriate pauses and how the tension crescendos towards the end through the quick cuts and how the music builds up.
In this film/trailer the characters are archetype stock characters in a typical teenage movie. These characters include the rebel, the explorer, the caregiver, the hero etc.
The Forest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hW8hUcXR-A
The establishing shot is a wide shot of a nice house with a voice over. It then cuts to shots inside the house, as well as some flashbacks and the woman talking in the voice over. When the sister looks inside the tent then back out, a girl screaming in her face is un-expectedly there and makes the audience jump, which is also helped by the build up of music causing tension and fear. After that is an establishing shot of the 'suicide forest', giving an un-nerving atmosphere to the audience. Titles throughout this trailer are effective, as the background looks like a forest with fog, giving a blurred vision of what inside the forest looks like. The non-diegetic sound throughout is also effective, as it is a creepy/eerie whisper that is repeated throughout making the audience feel very un-comfortable. There are different angles and shot types of the forest to make it seem as scary as possible, through birds eye shots, pans and wide shots. Night-time shots are also effective as your vision is compared.
This trailer has little details throughout which are very effective, such as pauses, sudden sounds such as leaves crunching on the ground, a person behind the shower door etc. These shots give the audience adrenaline, because they can see what is going to happen compared to the character in the film who seems vulnerable. Shots of the dead bodies/spirits show the audience a taster of what the film will include and how scary it will be with lots of tension.
Frozen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiUNsDVjCbo
This trailer starts off with an establishing shot of ski slopes on snowy mountains. It also introduces the characters a bit. The text on screen is effective, as they are real facts about skiing and snow boarding, eg. "30 million skiers and snowboarders in the US..."
The chair lift creaks and angles of the lift as well as the darkness give an un-settling feel, and the audience know something is going to go wrong. The non-diegetic sound is effective when all the lights turn off. The crashes emphasise this and makes it even more un-believable. The shots of the character's faces freezing as well as the chair lift breaking bring huge tension to the audience as well as true fear for these people. A very effective shot is a point of view shot looking down as if you are the person jumping from the lift. This makes the audience cringe and terrified. This trailer is effective as it only has a few characters in the movie making the isolation as realistic as possible. It is also the type of film to put people off skiing.
Thursday 13 October 2016
British Horror films
Hammer Horror Films 1950's:
Cult Horrors:
Wickerman- 1973: Someone visits a small Scottish Island to investigate the report of a missing child.
Witchfinder General- 1968: A horrific tale of evil set during the English Civil War.
Contemporary:
Byzantium- 2013: A modern twist on a vampire horror incorporating romance and action.
Eden Lake-2008: A couple go away for a weekend by a lake where they meet a gang who cause serious injury.
Dog Soilders- 2002: a small squad of British soilders encounter a bloody massacre whilst on a nighttime training mission in the Scottish Highlands.
28 Days Later- 2002: A group of misguided animal rights activists free a caged chimp infected with a virus from a medical research lab.
The Children- 2008: A film where children turn against their parents and do strange things, such as mis-behaving and injuring people. They dominate over the adults, changing the stereotype in the media where children are seen as vulnerable and innocent.
The Hole- 2009: Some teenagers find a hole in a basement where a series of horrific events take place. Inside the hole are where the teenagers biggest fears are, eg. clowns.
The Descent-2005: A group of women visit North Carolina to investigate caves. When they're in the cave they realize they're not alone.
Woman In Black- 2012: A film following on from the theatre production. The woman in black is a supernatural ghost who lives inside a haunted house and some horrible events happen to the man staying in the house.
Low Budget films:
Kill List- 2011: Some dark events take place from a contract killer and his business partner as they carry out a new assignment.
Cherry Tree Lane- 2010: Horrific events take place in a couples home when someone knocks on their door.
Typically British horrors have low budgets and are set on location. They don't rely on big Hollywood names to promote their film and they don't depend on much CGI or graphics to make a statement. The majority of these films have co- productions where three or four production companies join to create the film, usually because they aren't big enough to create these on their own. In Kill List the two companies which joined were Rook Films and Warp X. In Cherry Tree Lane companies Limelight and Steel Mill Pictures joined.
Cult Horrors:
Wickerman- 1973: Someone visits a small Scottish Island to investigate the report of a missing child.
Witchfinder General- 1968: A horrific tale of evil set during the English Civil War.
Contemporary:
Byzantium- 2013: A modern twist on a vampire horror incorporating romance and action.
Eden Lake-2008: A couple go away for a weekend by a lake where they meet a gang who cause serious injury.
Dog Soilders- 2002: a small squad of British soilders encounter a bloody massacre whilst on a nighttime training mission in the Scottish Highlands.
28 Days Later- 2002: A group of misguided animal rights activists free a caged chimp infected with a virus from a medical research lab.
The Children- 2008: A film where children turn against their parents and do strange things, such as mis-behaving and injuring people. They dominate over the adults, changing the stereotype in the media where children are seen as vulnerable and innocent.
The Hole- 2009: Some teenagers find a hole in a basement where a series of horrific events take place. Inside the hole are where the teenagers biggest fears are, eg. clowns.
The Descent-2005: A group of women visit North Carolina to investigate caves. When they're in the cave they realize they're not alone.
Woman In Black- 2012: A film following on from the theatre production. The woman in black is a supernatural ghost who lives inside a haunted house and some horrible events happen to the man staying in the house.
Low Budget films:
Kill List- 2011: Some dark events take place from a contract killer and his business partner as they carry out a new assignment.
Cherry Tree Lane- 2010: Horrific events take place in a couples home when someone knocks on their door.
Typically British horrors have low budgets and are set on location. They don't rely on big Hollywood names to promote their film and they don't depend on much CGI or graphics to make a statement. The majority of these films have co- productions where three or four production companies join to create the film, usually because they aren't big enough to create these on their own. In Kill List the two companies which joined were Rook Films and Warp X. In Cherry Tree Lane companies Limelight and Steel Mill Pictures joined.
Tuesday 11 October 2016
Filled in Filming Schedule
Shooting Schedule
Monday 10 October 2016
Monday 3 October 2016
Special effects makeup
Someone I know has started to learn about and experiment with special effects makeup recently, such as creating realistic burns, gashes or wounds. I thought that this would be very effective to use on the ghost girl in my trailer to make her seem more powerful/disturbing. I could also put these fake wounds onto the victims to demonstrate the violence even further. These could be gashes or cuts on the face, burns or wounds on the arms or on the chest/neck. I will also use fake blood on the actor's skin as well as their clothing, to make it seem more realistic. I could also try using red food colouring and water to see if that would work well.
We could experiment with large or small cuts or grazes, seeing which ones worked best or having a mixture.
Here is an example of something they tried recently:
We could experiment with large or small cuts or grazes, seeing which ones worked best or having a mixture.
Here is an example of something they tried recently:
"Men, Women and Chain Saws" by Carol Clover
This book focuses specifically on the slasher genre and gender. It talks about how the slasher genre is explored, and how female and male characters come into it. It talks mainly about how female characters rise in the early 1970 films, such as "Carrie". (1976)
"A girl named Carrie White, the browbeaten daughter of a religious fanatic. Because of her strange clothes and shy mannerisms, Carrie is the butt of every class joke; the social outsider in every situation".
This quote introduces the audience to Carrie's character. It makes her seem weak and awkward, completely different to who she becomes later in the film.
"The source of her pain soon becomes the source of her power".
This quote goes against the media's interpretation of a female stereotype, where females are seen as being weak and vulnerable- this quote shows that Carrie can get stronger the more she gets put down, helping female characters in horror.
"She also has a mild telekinetic ability which intensifies after her fist menstrual period, and she finally uses this power to 'bring down the house' following a terrible social disaster at her high school prom".
This quote gives the viewers more detail about how her power gets put into practise, through locations, people and what she does.
"She is led to believe that she has been elected queen of the senior prom, only to have a bucket of pigs blood dumped down on her at the moment she is crowned. To which she responds with the force of her telekinetic will, causing the gym to go up in flames and her entire school class with it".
Once again Carol describes in even more detail how and what Carrie did, demonstrating her power and how her class mates treat her. Carol starts off describing the situation, then in further detail then in more detail and so on, to get the viewers an idea and to keep them interested.
"But what exactly is the horror here? if 'women's liberation' is the fear, is Carrie its representative monster, and if she is, who is the victim, and who is the hero?"
This quote's rhetorical question is effective, as it's a valid point that the viewers don't know. Carrie is an interesting character who comes across as weak, powerful and heroic all in one. Which one is she?
"A girl named Carrie White, the browbeaten daughter of a religious fanatic. Because of her strange clothes and shy mannerisms, Carrie is the butt of every class joke; the social outsider in every situation".
This quote introduces the audience to Carrie's character. It makes her seem weak and awkward, completely different to who she becomes later in the film.
"The source of her pain soon becomes the source of her power".
This quote goes against the media's interpretation of a female stereotype, where females are seen as being weak and vulnerable- this quote shows that Carrie can get stronger the more she gets put down, helping female characters in horror.
"She also has a mild telekinetic ability which intensifies after her fist menstrual period, and she finally uses this power to 'bring down the house' following a terrible social disaster at her high school prom".
This quote gives the viewers more detail about how her power gets put into practise, through locations, people and what she does.
"She is led to believe that she has been elected queen of the senior prom, only to have a bucket of pigs blood dumped down on her at the moment she is crowned. To which she responds with the force of her telekinetic will, causing the gym to go up in flames and her entire school class with it".
Once again Carol describes in even more detail how and what Carrie did, demonstrating her power and how her class mates treat her. Carol starts off describing the situation, then in further detail then in more detail and so on, to get the viewers an idea and to keep them interested.
"But what exactly is the horror here? if 'women's liberation' is the fear, is Carrie its representative monster, and if she is, who is the victim, and who is the hero?"
This quote's rhetorical question is effective, as it's a valid point that the viewers don't know. Carrie is an interesting character who comes across as weak, powerful and heroic all in one. Which one is she?
Sunday 2 October 2016
How horror has changed over time
Horrors started off years ago when there was a strong literary tradition of horror or ghost stories before films were invented. As well as this many novels were created, such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), the stories of Edgar Allan Poe (1830's/ 1840's), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) and Robert Louis Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde (1886) are all key texts and still influence the horror genre to this day.
Classic horrors such as German Expressionism, Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, Dracula and Sweeney Todd themes originated after novels and stories. Horrors started off with things that related to the public at the time, such as going against religion or sinning.
Horror also twisted entertainment purposes into frightening things, such as clowns or jesters. They made the costumes and masks as over the top as possible, and twisted small details, such as making eyes smaller or making teeth bigger to create a more disturbing element to films.
Older films also used people as the main source of horror in the films, such as Dracula, Alice Sweet Alice etc, so individual people would be the terrifying thing about the film. Many of these characters were possessed by the devil, linking back to religion, such as The Exorcist, Incidious, Devil Inside.
As older films didn't have the technology we have now, there was a lot of use of makeup, costume and location settings to scare the audience, such as fake blood, supernatural humans and isolated locations, which directors still use in films today. Gore, thriller, Gothic and slasher themes were common, as actors could reenact fighting scenes, which is also where the use of weapons and fake blood come in. Now, CGI is used a lot to create un-natural or ghostly characters, as well as having better editing software to create trippy effects, such as filters on the camera which makes everything seem hazy or realistic.
Psycological films such as the Shining are very popular nowadays, as they seem to scare audiences the most. Gore, body horror or slasher films are unpleasant to watch such as Hostel, but psychological films can mess people's heads around the most. Is that person behind that corner?
Classic horrors such as German Expressionism, Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, Dracula and Sweeney Todd themes originated after novels and stories. Horrors started off with things that related to the public at the time, such as going against religion or sinning.
Horror also twisted entertainment purposes into frightening things, such as clowns or jesters. They made the costumes and masks as over the top as possible, and twisted small details, such as making eyes smaller or making teeth bigger to create a more disturbing element to films.
Older films also used people as the main source of horror in the films, such as Dracula, Alice Sweet Alice etc, so individual people would be the terrifying thing about the film. Many of these characters were possessed by the devil, linking back to religion, such as The Exorcist, Incidious, Devil Inside.
As older films didn't have the technology we have now, there was a lot of use of makeup, costume and location settings to scare the audience, such as fake blood, supernatural humans and isolated locations, which directors still use in films today. Gore, thriller, Gothic and slasher themes were common, as actors could reenact fighting scenes, which is also where the use of weapons and fake blood come in. Now, CGI is used a lot to create un-natural or ghostly characters, as well as having better editing software to create trippy effects, such as filters on the camera which makes everything seem hazy or realistic.
Psycological films such as the Shining are very popular nowadays, as they seem to scare audiences the most. Gore, body horror or slasher films are unpleasant to watch such as Hostel, but psychological films can mess people's heads around the most. Is that person behind that corner?
Analysing Magazine Front Covers
This cover has typical elements which are effective, such as the large main image of a supernatural person. The eyes create a disturbing feel as well as the hammer covering the mouth, partially covering the face of the person. The mast head written in red with a dripping font is effective and is something I'd like to try in my cover.There aren't many cover lines on this cover, keeping the main image, mast head and main cover line the vocal point of the magazine cover.
The contrast of the darkness in the background (maybe suggesting fear of the unknown) and the red mast head create a good contrast as the red stands out. The image is effective, as the contrast of light and darkness is very large in this photo. It is also not showing the top of the person's face such as their eyes, giving a mysterious atmosphere to who this person is. The darkness creates an un-nerving atmosphere.
I like how this magazine cover is simple, with a large mast head. I like how there is only one image and that it is positioned on the left hand side, which is unusual for magazine cover photos which are normally in the centre. I like how the picture links with the mast head "The Fungus". There are only a few cover lines too, which keeps the mast head and image the vocal point of the magazine.
The rusty, old and dark background creates an unpleasant atmosphere to the viewers, as we don't know where it is. The font in "Hostel" on the right reflects the same effect. The mast head is very large, making it the vocal point of the cover. The single photo creates a simple but effective feel to the cover. If I was going to use one photo in my cover, it would have to be a powerful image such as this one, showing someone's fear.Colour Connotations
The colours red and black get used an awful lot in horror films, posters or other horror constructions because the connotations for them could be darkness, corners, fear of the un-known, vulnerability etc. for black, and for red the connotation is blood, gore and violence- something graphic or disturbing that audiences don't see in everyday life. They are continually used in posters as audiences recognize these connotations with these colours and are colours which stand out on a page and can be used in different ways, such as fonts, creating shadows etc.
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