Below shows a prezie that i made in order to show some of the 10 most famous horror movie killers. Within the prezie there are images as well as a brief outline on the story behind the killers.
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Genres
In class we studied horror genres and seeing wether or not the typical codes and conventions of horror films are consistent over time. To do this I chose 3 film synopsis', these included Shocker, The last house of the left and They. Below are several highlighted conventions that apply to the horror genre.
Genres
The movie synopsis will give you the basic plot details without giving away all of the main information that would ruin the film. The synopsis' of the films above has various things in common. These include:
Protagonists: They all have a recognisable protagonist which in these cases are both heros and villains. For 'Shocker' the protagonist is Horace Pinker who is the main villain of the story. Adjacent to this the protagonist in the last house on the left is equally the female victim, Mari Collingwood and the villain Krug. Within "They' the main protagonist is the lead role, Julia Lund.
Sock characters: These are rather minor characters that are apart of the story. Within 'Shocker' the minor characters that are brutally murderd. Examples include, Parker's family, Johnathan and his girlfried etc.
Witihin ' Last house on the Left' the minor characters include the ciminals family, the victims' family as well as Mari's fried Paige.
'They' includes Julia's many friends. Such as, Billy Parks, Sam Burnside, Terry Alba and finally Paul Loomis. Additionally, all of the above link as childhood friends as well as relatives.
Plots and Situations: Both 'Shocker' and ' They' include a traumatic event that has happened in the past and is now the result of the storyline. For example, in 'Shocker' the man was a serial murderer and was sentenced to death as a result of this he is possesing idividuals and continues to commit murders.
'They' is about an idividual who has previous had awful night terrors in their childhood and has now found a link between her night terrors and the demons coming to get them.
On the other hand, 'Last house on the left' is set in the somewhat present day. The criminal is shown to be taking a 'grilling' from the police and suddenly the tables have turned and he, along with his felon family murder the officers. Yet the story still includes some other familiar plot conventions such as a conforntation and intoxication of drugs leading to death, and several obstructions.
Background and Decor: 'The last house on the left' Is set in the spooky suburban woods and the family are away from their home. This is a common convention used to highlight themes of no escape and saviour, thus making the characters seem more vunlnerable to situations of danger.
On the other hand, 'Shocker' and 'They' are somewhat set in the modern soctiety because the story doesnt depend the setting itslef. Within 'Shocler' there is use of modern technology, in this case it is an electric chair. Within the film 'They' the main protagonist is awating her masters degree examination which hints that she is located in a hightly dense population area which is not away from socitey. Additionally, universities tend to be located in hightly populated areas rather than sparce suburbian areas.
Themes: Narration tends to express the common themes of good vs evil, right vs worng. In the case of all of the films, they all revolve around good vs evil. 'Shocker', main protagonist is the villain, ie evil, and the victims as well as the police who have arrested him are the good samaritans.
'The last house on the left' is also a case of good vs evil. The good side would be the innocent collinton family and the stock character Paige, conflicting with the evil criminal family.
Finally, 'They' is a supernatural theme of good vs evil. The innocent youth who has had awful night terrors in her past has to now face up to the attack of demons in her later life.
One last assumption that I have come accross is that older films have used the themes of fiction and the supernatural to build a horror story whereas, modern society is extreamly corrupt that storylines can unravel in everyday situations. Therefore, modern storylines are mainly based on events that have a possiblity of occuring or perhaps have occured and therefore are used as the basis of creating a storyline.
Genres
The movie synopsis will give you the basic plot details without giving away all of the main information that would ruin the film. The synopsis' of the films above has various things in common. These include:
Protagonists: They all have a recognisable protagonist which in these cases are both heros and villains. For 'Shocker' the protagonist is Horace Pinker who is the main villain of the story. Adjacent to this the protagonist in the last house on the left is equally the female victim, Mari Collingwood and the villain Krug. Within "They' the main protagonist is the lead role, Julia Lund.
Sock characters: These are rather minor characters that are apart of the story. Within 'Shocker' the minor characters that are brutally murderd. Examples include, Parker's family, Johnathan and his girlfried etc.
Witihin ' Last house on the Left' the minor characters include the ciminals family, the victims' family as well as Mari's fried Paige.
'They' includes Julia's many friends. Such as, Billy Parks, Sam Burnside, Terry Alba and finally Paul Loomis. Additionally, all of the above link as childhood friends as well as relatives.
Plots and Situations: Both 'Shocker' and ' They' include a traumatic event that has happened in the past and is now the result of the storyline. For example, in 'Shocker' the man was a serial murderer and was sentenced to death as a result of this he is possesing idividuals and continues to commit murders.
'They' is about an idividual who has previous had awful night terrors in their childhood and has now found a link between her night terrors and the demons coming to get them.
On the other hand, 'Last house on the left' is set in the somewhat present day. The criminal is shown to be taking a 'grilling' from the police and suddenly the tables have turned and he, along with his felon family murder the officers. Yet the story still includes some other familiar plot conventions such as a conforntation and intoxication of drugs leading to death, and several obstructions.
Background and Decor: 'The last house on the left' Is set in the spooky suburban woods and the family are away from their home. This is a common convention used to highlight themes of no escape and saviour, thus making the characters seem more vunlnerable to situations of danger.
On the other hand, 'Shocker' and 'They' are somewhat set in the modern soctiety because the story doesnt depend the setting itslef. Within 'Shocler' there is use of modern technology, in this case it is an electric chair. Within the film 'They' the main protagonist is awating her masters degree examination which hints that she is located in a hightly dense population area which is not away from socitey. Additionally, universities tend to be located in hightly populated areas rather than sparce suburbian areas.
Themes: Narration tends to express the common themes of good vs evil, right vs worng. In the case of all of the films, they all revolve around good vs evil. 'Shocker', main protagonist is the villain, ie evil, and the victims as well as the police who have arrested him are the good samaritans.
'The last house on the left' is also a case of good vs evil. The good side would be the innocent collinton family and the stock character Paige, conflicting with the evil criminal family.
Finally, 'They' is a supernatural theme of good vs evil. The innocent youth who has had awful night terrors in her past has to now face up to the attack of demons in her later life.
One last assumption that I have come accross is that older films have used the themes of fiction and the supernatural to build a horror story whereas, modern society is extreamly corrupt that storylines can unravel in everyday situations. Therefore, modern storylines are mainly based on events that have a possiblity of occuring or perhaps have occured and therefore are used as the basis of creating a storyline.
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Applying conventions of trailers- Trailer Treatment
Below is showing the initial planning process and generation of ideas me and my group produced.
During the task of applying conventions of a trailer in relation to the creation of a trailer pitch I have learned to visualise how a trailer functions and the narrative structure many trailers follow by. In addition, I have learned how to build up dynamic and tension through the convention of only allowing images to last on screen for a fraction of second and in order to create greater demand and generate excitement it is essential to showcase famous actors/ directors/ producers.
The reason why trailers differ from films are because trailers provide an overall visual synopsis of a film whereas a clip from a film would provide no previous information and depending on where the scene is the dynamic may not be the same of that of a trailer. Films also are the entire story line and pot where as a trailer is a form of advertising the film.
Audiences generate thoughts an expectations when they are presented with the production company. This is because they are known to associate the previous work of the production companies and match it against the action shown on screen. This engages an interested audience in a specific genre, in this case it is the genre of horror. We applied this knowledge when choosing Rogue pictures as our production company for our trailer. This is a company known to produce high budget and high concept films that are of a horror genre.
Thursday, 15 September 2011
Overall Research on Dreams and Sleep Deprivation
I have researched and studied dreams, specifically Freud's theory, as well as the effects of sleep deprivation because these are two of many themes that have presented within "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and is a reason why I wanted to look into it in order to gain greater understanding of the themes Wes Craven tried to express in the original 1984 script. During my research I have understood why many of the characters where un able to stay awake and I also noticed the parallel of microsleep being mentioned within the film. Furthermore, I decided to look into dreams this is what created the main story line of a fictional character murdering individuals within their dreams.
The Effects of Sleep Depravation
Sleep deprivation is seen to have clear consequences. It is believed that when and individual has been deprived for more than 72hours they inevitably have short periods of micro sleep whilst visually appearing awake. EEG recordings show that microsleep have the same as sleep and have equal benefits despite appearing awake.
Case Study: Peter Tripp began a charity fundraiser and stayed awake for a total of 201 hours. Three days into the experiment Tripp became extremely unpleasant and abusive, after 5 days he began to hallucinate and witness things such as spiders in his shoes, as the days further progressed he became paranoid and believed that people were drugging his food. Additionally, Tripp showed a dramatic decline in body temperature and began to show equal brain wave patterns that were virtually indistinguishable from those of a sleeping person. When Tripp went to sleep, he slept for a total of 24 hours, later awaking and feeling perfectly normal.
Freud's Dream Theory
Freud believes that dreams are spyholes into our unconscious. Fears, desires and emotions that we are usually unaware of make themselves known through dreams. Dreams as said to be fundamentally about wish-fulfillment, this also includes negative dreams.
Negative Dreams tend to consist of punishment and other forms of anxiety which are a form of wish-fulfilment, the wish being that certain events never occur in reality. On many occasions these dreams interpreted as a warning.
Freud believed the dream to be composed of two parts. The manifest and the latent content. The manifest content is what a person would be able to consciously describe to someone else when recalling the dream. Freud suggested that the manifest content possessed no meaning whatsoever because it was a disguised representation of the true thought underlying the dream. On the other hand, the latent content holds the true meaning of the dream. In this case it is the forbidden thoughts and the unconscious desires that will never truly be revealed because it is difficult to remember when conscious.
Negative Dreams tend to consist of punishment and other forms of anxiety which are a form of wish-fulfilment, the wish being that certain events never occur in reality. On many occasions these dreams interpreted as a warning.
Freud’s work was solely concerned with internal stimuli. These consist of strong negative emotions, forbidden thoughts and unconscious desires being disguised or censored in some form or another. When confronted with these, the dreamer would become distressed and would eventually wake up.
Freud believed the dream to be composed of two parts. The manifest and the latent content. The manifest content is what a person would be able to consciously describe to someone else when recalling the dream. Freud suggested that the manifest content possessed no meaning whatsoever because it was a disguised representation of the true thought underlying the dream. On the other hand, the latent content holds the true meaning of the dream. In this case it is the forbidden thoughts and the unconscious desires that will never truly be revealed because it is difficult to remember when conscious.Analysis Of Film Trailer- A Nightmare on Elm Street
We have recently studied trailers and ways of analysing them in order to use similar codes and conventions when creating our very own trailer. Below is a short slide show of the research i made when analysing the trailer "A Nightmare on Elm Street"
Audio- Second half of trailer- Children Singing by user3751743
The sound cloud is showing the music used during the second half of the trailer. This is after the brief naration at the start and during the part where the trailer increases pace and tempo. They have juxtaposed infancy with gruesome murder. The fact that infants are singing a rhyme about Freddy Kruger means that they have been affected from childhood and has been implanted within their minds to fear the male protagonist.
On top of being an oxymoron is able to give a brief idea of what the story line is going to be about. A female is stating "I'm having these dreams and there's this man, and he's burned' on top of a male individual later on stating "Don't fall asleep", which is also the strapline to the film. The language of there being a man in their dreams creates the obvious impression that they are talking about Freddy Kruger and the mentioning of dreams and not falling asleep hints that he is capturing them in their dreams and is making them fearful of falling asleep. However, whilst many viewers of the newer generation may be unfamiliar with the old 1984 film others recognise the story line and are familiar with what occurs. This film is a mere re telling of the original story using modern technology yet, is still able to generate equal excitement mainly due to the fascinating visuals.
The overall music used of the children singing advertises a typical horror. Many infants are used in horror films such as "The Omen". This is mainly because their lack of knowing about the world and their inability to protect themselves increases their vulnerability. In this case their memories from childhood within their cognitive memory has remained with them during adulthood and they are able to distinctively remember what happened because it was such a significant part of their lives and eventually fear the protagonist. This supports the idea that our upbringing influences our future behaviours and attitudes towards life. To sum up, the language used is the immediate recognition that this film is indeed a horror.
Q) What can you sat about the voice of the person delivering the voice-over? Why do you think this voice was chosen? What effect does it have?
Audio Introduction of Trailer by user3751743
There is not a narrative voice over within this specific trailer however, does have dialogue during the first half. This is used when the original story is being re told. This acts as a narrator in other trailers because it is giving a brief background of what previously happened. This beings with a chase and initially you hear loud panting and swerving cars to support that it is a chase.
The dialogue used between the characters of "Kruger, come on out you sick bastard" and "you open this door Kruger". This shows that he is hiding from something he has done. In reply to this, "Whatever you think i did i didn't do it". This questions his innocence. Yet again due to this film being a remake most of the audience are recognisable with the franchise and know the storyline.
Analysing Trailers Official
View more presentations from Angeliagjonas
Q) What Clues does the music give us as to what type of film the trailer is advertising?
Audio- Second half of trailer- Children Singing by user3751743
The sound cloud is showing the music used during the second half of the trailer. This is after the brief naration at the start and during the part where the trailer increases pace and tempo. They have juxtaposed infancy with gruesome murder. The fact that infants are singing a rhyme about Freddy Kruger means that they have been affected from childhood and has been implanted within their minds to fear the male protagonist.
On top of being an oxymoron is able to give a brief idea of what the story line is going to be about. A female is stating "I'm having these dreams and there's this man, and he's burned' on top of a male individual later on stating "Don't fall asleep", which is also the strapline to the film. The language of there being a man in their dreams creates the obvious impression that they are talking about Freddy Kruger and the mentioning of dreams and not falling asleep hints that he is capturing them in their dreams and is making them fearful of falling asleep. However, whilst many viewers of the newer generation may be unfamiliar with the old 1984 film others recognise the story line and are familiar with what occurs. This film is a mere re telling of the original story using modern technology yet, is still able to generate equal excitement mainly due to the fascinating visuals.
The overall music used of the children singing advertises a typical horror. Many infants are used in horror films such as "The Omen". This is mainly because their lack of knowing about the world and their inability to protect themselves increases their vulnerability. In this case their memories from childhood within their cognitive memory has remained with them during adulthood and they are able to distinctively remember what happened because it was such a significant part of their lives and eventually fear the protagonist. This supports the idea that our upbringing influences our future behaviours and attitudes towards life. To sum up, the language used is the immediate recognition that this film is indeed a horror.
Q) What can you sat about the voice of the person delivering the voice-over? Why do you think this voice was chosen? What effect does it have?
Audio Introduction of Trailer by user3751743
There is not a narrative voice over within this specific trailer however, does have dialogue during the first half. This is used when the original story is being re told. This acts as a narrator in other trailers because it is giving a brief background of what previously happened. This beings with a chase and initially you hear loud panting and swerving cars to support that it is a chase.
The dialogue used between the characters of "Kruger, come on out you sick bastard" and "you open this door Kruger". This shows that he is hiding from something he has done. In reply to this, "Whatever you think i did i didn't do it". This questions his innocence. Yet again due to this film being a remake most of the audience are recognisable with the franchise and know the storyline.
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Features of Multi Modal Texts- My Soul To Take
Features of Multimodal texts:
Written Text on Screen: "Riverton Ripper kills 7", "Riverton Ambulance", "Riverton Varsity", "Riverton Ripper Exclusive". The frequent use of the word "Riverton"sets the scene as well expressing a community within the suburbs. Additionally, "riverton ripper" uses alliteration in the form of fear and signifies the impact this event has on the community. "Ripper" is a well established phrase for a human committing a number of serial murders.
By mentioning Wes Craven, who has been the director, writer and producer of many films within the horror genre the audience are able to associate his previous work with this film and therefore expect something similar tot the lines of horror. By mentioning the release in the fall season adds to the dark gloomy atmosphere of the film and the outside weather is able to match the mood of the film. Another point is the phrase "bringing you closer to fear" this to me feels like an invasion of privacy and personal space. I feel as though the film will frighten me more because it will be as if the villain will come out towards me. The lettering pooping out of the screen also hints that the film is in 3D and creates a high concept expectation.
Spoken Language: Bible Reference- voice over "Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake. I pray the lord. (Pause) My soul to take". The language immediately hints the unknown or a supernatural being controlling the victim. "Soul" hints a mysterious un obvious power and/ or some form of afterlife. "If i should die before i wake" Gives a murderous theme of unknown killings "I pray the lord my soul to take" Finally, the reference to God creates the typical themes of good vs evil and the theme of a higher power controlling you and owning you and your life.
"My name is Adam Hellerman but everyone calls me Bug" The names used show connotations too. Adam is a religious name, perhaps reefers to Adam and Eve, whilst Hellerman "Hell" Shows negative outcomes of possibly the afterlife or a living hell/ nightmare etc. Finally, Bug, could mean that the character shows characteristics of a Bug which could be Sneaky, nosey and unnoticed.
Moving Images:
- Ripper is difficult to identify, large being, rather odd looking.
- Close up of various Knives as well as showing the discovery of dead bodies by the river
- Person thrown off a bridge at the start as well as a number of other killing and attacks took place.
- Images showing somewhat supernatural behaviour
Suspiciousness and Curiosity springs up as to who the Ripper might be and puzzles the audience into the desire to solve the mystery and discover the mysterious Riverton Ripper. The beginning of several murders supports the audience expectations of a horror film and generates excitement as the deaths become more and more frequent the pace and tempo increases. Finally, the unraveling of the dead bodies by the river connotes the main headline title of many articles shown, "The RIVER-ton Ripper" By following through the irony of being called the riverton ripper and killing victims by a river continues the story and justifies the name given to the villain.
Sound Effects:
Heart Beats, Knife slashes, Heavy breathing, Ghostly whispers, gusts of wind, gun shots, sirens, high pitched piano notes, an instrument commonly used in many horror films due to the high pitched sounds produced which are commonly associated with horror and fear.
Sounds played are only played for a short amount of time which could represent short violent attacks and murders as well as accompanying the increase in pace and tempo as well as horrific atmosphere through the unraveling of the storyline. Sounds used such as gun shots and knives are related to the murders and killings which thus create a horror atmosphere and expectation.
Music: Sick Puppies "Your Going Down"is the song that is played towards the end of the trailer. The title of the song connotes a fight and violence which complements the film and what it is trying to portray. Additionally, there is the sound of guitars as a background melody to the story line and narration voice over section.
The title of the song "your going down" impacts the audience's thoughts and they believe, by the loud heavy metal and fast tempo of the track, that there will be a fight until one person has died. The song is also matched against a violent attack to support this.
Finally, the introduction of guitars tends to imply a western style that is usually played in the build up to violent action. This music supports the audience expectations of violence and fights to take place within the film.
Sick Puppies "Going Down" by user3751743
Evaluation of Film Titles
In todays lesson we began to evaluate film titles by looking at the language, colour, typography etc and seeing the effect it has on the title overall on the audience and what they might expect from the film.
Sunday, 11 September 2011
The USP of Trailers
In class we spoke about the unique selling point of films and in particular the usp of Cowboys and Aliens, Green Lantern and finally Real Steal. Below is a screen shot of an explanation relating to the usp of the three films as well as photographic evidence to support my findings.
A mix of genres such as sci-fi and western as well as an odd child like title yet represented in a sophisticated format.
Blog Evaluations
We have recently studied other blog sites and looked at what makes a good blog and the tools they use to make their blog successful so we can incorporate these features into our blog sites. Additionally, we recorded our findings in a grid that is shown below:
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Conventions of Trailers
Below is a screen shot showing a grid that I, along with my Media Class did as an exercise together. We were given the task to match the beginning sentences with the final ones and this is what we were able to achieve, with the unfortunate 2 mistakes. The sentences match together to state the many conventions of trailers.
Thursday, 8 September 2011
Introduction into the Discussion of Trailers
I have previously looked at trailers and began to study the codes and convention of what makes a successful trailer and what is the purpose and intention of film trailers. Please find the enclosed link at the bottom of this post to look at the research i have made into the topic of film trailers.
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