Question 1 Evaluation by Chloe Watret Question 1 In what way your media product use, develop or challenge forms and

d conventions of real media product? To make an opening to a horror film you have to consider the basic horror conventions. These horror conventions are things such as Iconography, mis en scene, props and costumes, script, location and characters. All of these things are someway involved in the aspects of making a horror film. For my groups opening scene we had to do a lot of research into other horror films and come up with certain ideas that we liked to create the right 2 minute opening scene for our film. Things we took into consideration were soundtracks, location and iconography. In the opening horror film we created there was alloy of horror conventions used. The reason for using these were because without these conventions of horror the opening wouldnt of been as chilling and sinister as it should have been. I have taken screen shots from our opening scene and explained the certain conventions used and why. Frame 1 this is the first frame from our opening to the horror film. The reason I have chosen this is because it sums a few of the horror conventions up already. For starters from this shot we can see that the 3 girls who are walking towards the camera are on some kind of school grounds. This suggests that these 3 girls are still in education. The establishing/location shot shows where they are and sums up there background in just less than 2 seconds. Influences from this shot would be from the slasher movie Halloween. The reasons for this is because in the remake which was released in 2007 we see a similar camera angles which was used for the characters in that film however the school girls are walking down a street. This influenced our film because Immediately straight away because of the school in the background we can tell that the 3 girls are in education and are coming home school. Also the use of props such as folders and a basketball suggest that 2 of the girls have been studying and the other girl could have been practising or going for a try out for a basketball game. This all links back to the horror film Halloween which influenced a lot of our camera angles. Also the idea of 3 girls and there venerable looking and innocence with no man to keep them safe because stereotypically in horror films the men keep the women or girls safe. Frame 2 In this frame we see the three girls again walking down a small alley way which leads to the woods which is wear our location has been used. The reason we decided to use this alley way is because along with the soundtrack that has been made and playing

Question 1 Evaluation by Chloe Watret throughout these frames the tension and atmosphere suddenly builds up. Creating a spooky feeling. The soundtrack that I created sounds chilling and fits perfectly with this frame because alley ways stereotypically create fear for people its an idea that at the end of an alley way someone could be waiting for you or someone is following you. Also because its such a small space it gives it the feeling of no escape if something does happen. Again from the first frame and this frame they both link together in a way using the horror conventions for costumes. The costumes we picked were not that stereotypical but only for one character which Ericka Yabut was playing the main lead role. Both the other girls are dressed in casual America style outfits. Our influence for this was from the cast of Friday the 13th and also from the cast of Halloween. The pictures below show a similar style but in stereotypical ways. The first picture shows the cast of Friday 13th. We went with the influence of how they wear their shirts over there other tops creating a natural look for the two girls. Whereas from the second photo which is from Halloween. We see 3 girls 2 wearing Baseball jackets suggest there apart of some cheerleading squad and the other in casual outfit. However these outfits create certain stereotypes for the characters. Such as If youre wearing American sports wear youre immediately thought of as a jock/cheerleader. If you wear hoodies youre seen as the gangsta/chav in the horror film. The stereotypes we went with were Jock, Nerd and causal funny character. Its stereotyped that you would see the jock as a man not a women. Which is why we casted Ericka to play this role. Frame 3 for this frame we decided to use mainly for camera angles. The reason we did this is because we wanted it t to seem like the girls were being watched by the killer who was in the woods. Our influence for this was again that in most horror films Ive watched theres always a camera angle showing you the killer peeking through the bushes to show that he/she the killer is watching them. This is to build tension in this scene. We wanted to make it creepy and more disguised looking so we decided that if we put it through twig branches it shows some kind of disguise. Also it shows that the next couple of scenes will take place in the woods purely because of the surroundings at this time showing mud and leaves and tree branches. Frame 4 again the same as with Frame 3 we wanted the feeling to be strong that this girl walking through the woods is being stalked and that we finally know that either she will make it because shes a jock or she wont because the killer is to

Question 1 Evaluation by Chloe Watret strong. However because you still cant see the killer only his point of view of what the killer is seeing it creates this mystery feeling of Who is the killer?. Decided to use the point of view shot to show the conventions of horror of the killer stalking his prey. Frame 5 from this frame we can already see a use of horror convention. Such as the shoes. The horror convention that we played upon for this scene was iconography. In mostly all the slasher horror films there is some kind of use of iconography. For our film we decided to go with the brown shoes. Iconography is something we wanted to use in horror film because it plays on an important role for the audience watching. This is because the director will make sure that the iconography used will stand out. If thats by choice of colour or choice of camera angles. For our frame its played upon camera angles. We wanted to use iconography because its a sign of when you see it in a horror film more than twice its something which identifies the killer. For instance in horror films such as Scream, Friday the 13th, Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street each of these killers have some kind of use of iconography. The influence we got from inputting this into our opening was from all movies but we strongly had a connection with Scream. This was because in the film scream the toilet scene we see the use of big black boots. Whereas in the opening to our horror film we see brown shoes. Whenever you see these black boots you will always think of Ghost Face Scream or if you see his mask the same with his costume/ knife. This horror convention had the biggest impact on our horror film which will be explained in more detail on the other frames. Frame 6 in this frame we see Ericka standing on her own looking over the shoulder in the woods. Again location/setting is played well here just showing this certain character in the big woods by herself creating a sense of isolation. The body position for Erickas character shows that shes uncertain and her facial expressions suggest some kind of paranoia. In this scene we played a lot on diegetic sounds. This created the feeling of Ericka being followed. The diegetic sounds that were used were

Question 1 Evaluation by Chloe Watret twigs cracking. When they did Ericka looked over her shoulder. It created the sense that someone was close and that she heard it and started to get worried. We did this because again in most horror films usually the character will look over their shoulder then look back and the killer is standing in front of them ready to kill. Instead of doing this we decided that we would do the look over the shoulder and then let the tension keep on building up. The reason for this is because we wanted to the trick the audience and let them be scared into thinking that it was going to happen but actual fact its not. We wanted to trick the people who knew about horror films into thinking someone was there but there actually isnt. A lot like the film does with the use of post-modern horror. In the film Halloween theres a particular scene where Laurie looks in the shop mirror and sees Michael then she turns around and hes not there tis influenced our movie to do this with the long shot of Ericka becoming paranoid and afraid. Also it plays against her stereotype as a jock they would shake it off but we see Erickas character stereotype become this vulnerable and afraid. It builds up the tension for the audience. As a group we really liked the idea of someone is constantly watching you and your becoming paranoid as the character and paranoid as the viewer. We liked the fact that it became uncomfortable to watch because the tension and atmosphere is building up to its climax of a chilling moment. In some way you could also like the idea of paranoia into A Nightmare On Elm street such as the teenagers in this are too scared to sleep because they are paranoid they will never wake up again also seeing and hearing things fits in well with the diegetic sounds we used. Frame 7 from this action shot we see the jock character running from the figure in the distance. This plays against the stereotype of the jock being scared. Usually in horror films the jock would stand up and ask for something to happen however in this opening we see the jock stereotype running from the character which you dont see often in horror films. We decided to play on this because we didnt want it to be to realistic we just wanted it to show that not all stereotypes are accurate. It also shows that the jocks character for being the biggest and most strongest is actually the weakest because shes the

Question 1 Evaluation by Chloe Watret character that dies first, usually we see a the stereotypical dumb blonde die first but in actual fact its the strong jock that goes. The horror movie Scream again influenced us with this because in the very first opening starring Drew Barrymore we see the Jock character tied up in a chair, and again this character dies first too. A lot like how our film has been shown.

Frame 8 from this clip we can see the killer. This is the first time that we see the killer ad a whole person. Usually in a horror film we see the killer doing some fast walking with the soundtrack behind them. This is exactly what we have done for this frame. I would say in our horror opening this is the creepiest part. The reason for this is because finally we see the killer; the soundtrack is building creating a sinister chilling effect for the audience to watch. Also the costume and the setting surrounding. From this frame there are lots of inspirations from other horror movies which influenced us to do this. There are also a lot more horror conventions. Firstly the costume. The costume is too big for the charter creating this dirty and baggy look. Secondly there is the use of iconography used. The mask, rope and shoes. The character which influenced us the most to create a creepy character like this is Jason from Friday the 13th. The reason for this is our costumes have significant similarities and so does our iconography. The mask Im wearing is white splattered with red blood again another form of horror convention because these 2 colours are significant to horror films. The outfit itself creates a caretaker/janitor look which was influenced from the film Halloween however the colours made it seem a lot more Friday the 13th. The rope which you can see shows some kind of a weapon which will be used to kill. Giving the audience ideas on what will happen to the girl running in the woods, because the soundtrack I originally created is over the top of this its creating the climax for something to happen. This particular scene we wanted to follow the usual horror route in what they do with films with the sudden soundtrack the location and the costume and iconography all coming together to create the final part of the opening. From the picture below of Jason in Friday the 13th you can see our surroundings are very similar. The surroundings/location/setting was mainly influenced by Friday 13th because its a dark open wood which is isolated with no homes around it, creating the tension of no one being able to hear unless you

Question 1 Evaluation by Chloe Watret scream very loudly. Another important thing to do with this scene was that the way the character was presented. Usually the killer in slasher movies are strong people which is something I had to get across in this scene by the way I walked. Frame 9 in this scene we see the killer and the jock in a shot together. The way this is done is by having the killer in the background to show that the killer is stilling following them and knows where they are even if the jock is trying to hide. Characterisation plays well with this. This is due to the fact how the killers head has been placed. On the side. I was influenced by the killer Michael Myers. When researching into the film Halloween I noticed just before Michael kills someone he tends to turn his head to the side eyeing his next victim. This is something I took into account because it makes it seem more chilling and scary almost creepy looking too because its done so slowly. Its something you would see a psycho person doing which is why it creates the effect of it being creepy for viewers to watch. Also because the killer is playing around with the weapon it shows that he/she is ready to kill the jock. Its a famous move done by killers its called the Head Tilt. Again this scene is still very chilling because of the mask that has been used it looks creepy and creates a chilling effect along with the soundtrack. Something that is chilling about this scene is the fact that the camera is no longer on a tripod its now turned into hand held creating a realistic outcome of everything. This makes it more chilling. Also the fact that through the trees you can still see daylight which means its not as dark anymore its still light outside makes a scarier atmosphere for the audience. It will make you think twice because usually in horror films all the gruesome stuff happens at the night time however we challenged this in our group and decided to make it during the day because its when you least expect it and its more scarier because you can see everything its not just shadows and dark shapes. Frame 10 the reason I decided to use this frame is because we finally can see the expressions on the characters face by the close up we have chosen to use. We also finally see why the killer has been holding rope. In most horror films the killer somehow gets them from the back or from the front. In our horror opening we decided to go with an over the shoulder shot which is mid close up from the front showing the killer in the background. This is because not only do you get the jocks reaction to being strangled but you can finally see another horror convention used. This would be the colours on the white hockey mask.

Question 1 Evaluation by Chloe Watret The hockey mask is our sign of iconography and again you can see splats of blood over it. Red and white have a significant link in the horror genre of films. Every horror film there is the suspected colours are always white, red and black. This is because the colour white stands for the ghost look, the red stands for the blood of someones death and the black plays against the dark surroundings of a wood of shadows in the night. The reason we used the colours white and red is because the red stands out against the white showing the blood a lot more also if the cover of a DVD case for our film were to have the killers mask on it straight away you could tell it was a horror because of the splats of blood and the colours that have been used. Examples of this from other films that influenced this idea to us would Halloween: White mask Gets torn and looks dirt and old. Nightmare on Elm Street: Flesh looking colour skin, been badly burnt, Colour of this is still red (newly burns) Scream: complete white mask, blood splats when he kills somebody however black holes for eyes and mouth. Lastly Friday the 13th: Hockey mask (similar to the one we used) becomes old and tatty like Halloween mask is white. Frame 11 in this frame we actually see what the rope is used for. This shows how the killer plans on killing everyone; the location has a great deal with this because without the trees the film wouldnt have been called The Hanging. The reason we chose to call the film The Hanging and have people Hung is because in most slasher films now a days you dont see a lot of people being hung. Its always a knife straight in the gut or someone getting hit really hard by something. Which is why we decided as a group to stay clear out of this path and go for something different which hadnt been dont in a while? The reason for this is so it wasnt predictable for the audience. We didnt want to follow the whole slashing/killing type because 1) of opening is rated 15 and 2) we had to be careful of what to put into

Question 1 Evaluation by Chloe Watret the film having it look a lot like other films and following a same storyline as another film would have been copyright. Frame 12 this is the last frame I decided to choose. The reason for this is because it shows the blood on a tree trunk suggesting that someone has obviously been hung and the blood is pouring down. This blood is significant because in every horror there is a sign of blood. There is blood in movies such as Zombie, thrillers, psychological, slashes every genre there is blood. Blood is a key thing to have in a horror film and it also follows with the horror conventions too and plays with the mis en scene well. Blood usually creates the gore in horror movie which can sometimes be unsettling for an audience depending on if they are squeamish with it. The photo on the right hand side is from the movie Scream 4. As you can see by the bed sheets and the walls the room is full of blood. Creating the gore. However earlier on in Scream 1 the blood was never this extreme. This shows us that the further you go into a horror movie it only gets worse. Which is why we only used a little bit of blood to start with to show the audience that its only going to get worse with a lot more blood as you go on? We challenged the slasher route keeping red to keep conventional. The last thing that is also made our film chilling/sinister like would be the original sound track made by myself. Films that influenced me were films such as Dead Silence and Nightmare on Elm Street just for the use of repetition and gradually building up the tension throughout the soundtrack. The soundtrack itself took several days to plan and come up and compose. However when adding it to the film I found that it became a lot more chilling on certain parts of the movie. Fading in and fading it out to the right places of the movie had a massive impact because the film itself became a lot scarier to watch. The reason the film Dead Silence had a massive impact on the soundtrack is because at the start it only uses 3 notes however those notes are chilling and create the effect of the soundtrack gradually building up. This influenced me a lot to make up my own original soundtrack and I did the same with 3 notes of my own adding in violins and piano chords to create a bigger surrounding chilling affect for the opening. Overall the

Question 1 Evaluation by Chloe Watret soundtrack improved our horror opening a lot because it was more intense and gave the location a creepier feeling. Overall from the follow question we used a lot of horror conventions in our opening scene. A lot of our opening scene has been inspired by other horror movies which have used the same horror conventions as our opening. Films such as Friday the 13th Halloween Scream and A Nightmare on Elm Street all having big impacts on our opening. The Mis En Scene we chose for our opening and Conventions of horror were all through the research that we used to plan the opening scene. Throughout the research process we found out different things some we liked some we didnt and some we played around with creating the right opening scene to our horror film THE HANGING Main Influence towards opening scene in order: Friday the 13th Costumes, setting/location, iconography, camera angles Halloween The Killers characterisation, Costumes, setting/location Scream Characters/stereotype, colours Dead Silence Sound A Nightmare on Elm Street Sound and themes