The generic conventions of horror films are quite specific as it is important that the film does not become a thriller. Villains and victims are 2 generic conventions of horror films. These are quite prominent in our film. The two main characters are the villain and victim of the film they are the main focus. Darkness, fear, viol
ence and screams are also main generic conventions of horror films, which we have used in the first scene of our film, in the bedroom. The room is really dark until Kate turns the lamp on, and when Scarlett attacks her there is a point of view shot which clearly shows the fear on Kate’s face, this is also where we incorporated screaming.As our film starts with a flashback the villain and victim are shown straight away, the introduction to these characters is shown later in the film. We chose to do this to make the audience start asking questions as to what has happened to Scarlett, rather than giving them all the information straight away. Horror films u
sually include gore, but the branding scar in our film isn’t too over-the-top as this wouldn’t suit the rating of our film. This challenges that particular generic convention.I think the way in which we have used conventions indicate the sub-genre of our film, psychological horror. The use of darkness, fear and screaming all set a scary, mysterious mood. The violence of the attack is also a generic convention of horror which we emphasise with slow motion effects. Also, the scene which shows assumed normality in the household, in the kitchen, also makes the audience sense something unusual is going on with Scarlett which isn’t physically apparent.
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The characters in our film are all female. The character with the main focus is Scarlett. She has quite a prominent personality in the first scene, which goes against the stereotypical interpretation of a female. She is aggressive and forwa
rd and doesn’t seem to be the usual passive reserved female. However in the next scene, in the kitchen, we see that she is actually a quiet girl. In this scene she is more fitting to the stereotype, however she seems to have something bothering her, the possession and branding. The mother is represented in a stereotypical way; she comes across as pleasant and friendly and is also seen to be cooking.In our opening sequence, the villain and the victim are highlighted straight away, whereas in The Omen, a similar psychological horror film the characters are slightly more mysterious. It is alot less apparent and just hinted at through the use of non-digetic music and close up shots.
3.What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why? 
I think our film is something that could be produced by a major Hollywood such as 20th Century Fox, because it features characters that are marketable, and also it would appeal to a large audience. Our film has some similar elements to ‘The Omen’. They both have a lot of quick cuts and screaming and also, in the omen, the child is the antichrist and has ‘666’ branded on his scalp, which proves ours would be successful. Some elements of our film would be even more effective if it was to be created by a Hollywood studio, such as the scar created when Scarlett is branded. When done by a professional team of makeup artists who have access to special effects makeup and prosthetics it would look even more realistic. Furthermore, there are lots of opportunities for advertisement and marketing. The fact that the certificate of the film is only a 15 and not an 18 means that it could be advertised on billboards and on buses. A trailer of our film including shots used in it could be shown on the internet, or at the beginning of other films being shown in the cinema. The trailer wouldn’t give too much away, but enough to captivate an audience and make them want to see the full film to find out what happens.
I think it would be a film that would be shown in larger cinemas such as Vue or Cineworld. Its rating would mean it would attract a large audience and also, the fact that it has some similar elements to existing popular horror films would mean that it would have a good viewing rate. Also, I think it could be shown as a TV movie, after its initial release in cinemas, but it would have to be shown in the evening due to the restrictions of the certificate.
Another reason our film could be produced by a major Hollywood studio is that it has a lot of opportunities for merchandising. A lot of horror films have dolls or models of the evil character for sale, I think this would work well with the story of our film. I think that posters and soundtracks would also sell well as merchandise, using still images from our film.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The target audience of our film is limited slightly by the age certificate. I think there is no particular gender target, as horror films often appeal to both males and females. We wanted our film to attract a wide audience and therefore tried to include factors that didn’t really focus on one particular gender. I think people that are at the bottom end of the age range may find some of it a bit harder to understand, such as the use of the alchemy symbols. Another thing that could be confusing to younger people is the fact that it starts with a flashback. In our audience/certificate research we found that we would not be able to use too much bad language or violence. We managed to stick to these criteria well, there was no real need to include these things so it wasn’t difficult to avoid using them.
The classification of our film, as I have mentioned, is 15. I think this is the most suitable of all the classification criteria as our film fits in all the guidelines. The BBFC website states the classification of this certificate (http://www.bbfc.co.uk/downloads/pub/Guidelines/BBFC%20Classification%20Guidelines%202009.pdfo.uk/downloads/pub/Guidelines/BBFC%20Classification%20Guidelines%202009.pdf ); it says “Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury”. We have kept our film within this guideline, we don’t actually show Scarlett branding her sister, only the mark she leaves as that is the important part. Also on the topic of violence, it says “Dangerous behaviour (or example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.” This is something which we have achieved by not actually showing Scarlett creating the brand on her sister, and also, she doesn’t actually use a weapon, she does it by scratching with her nails.
‘The Omen’ is similar to ours, it has certificate 18 and would therefore appeal to a slightly older audience to ours. It is a lot more gory and graphic than our film and is certainly a lot more disturbing. I think the exorcist would appeal to a male-majority audience as it is extremely disturbing.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
The age of our target audience is 15-35, but there is no particular target gender. I think the fact that our film starts with a flashback rather than being in chronological order could make it slightly difficult for the lowest end of our age range to understand and the attack. The audience will obviously have an interest in horror films, this is why our clip starts with a flashback, so the audience are drawn to the action straight away.
The use of point of view shots puts the camera in the position of both main characters at various points. I think this is important when trying to scare them as they see what both Scarlett and Kate see, especially in the attack. They don’t actually witness Scarlett branding Kate, they just see a close up of the mark she leaves. I think the elusiveness of this is more likely to put the audience on edge than if we’d have shown the whole thing. Also, another point of view shot that helps to build suspense is before the attack. Kate is woken from her sleep by the rattling door handle, the audience only see the door handle, and Scarlett’s hand, until she actually approaches Kate and they see her in a medium shot.
6. What have you learnt about technology from the process of constructing the product?
To make our film we used a Sony HDV 1000. This camera was really useful as it had its own microphone. This made editing a lot less time consuming than it would have been with a separate sound. Although our film doesn’t really include much speech until the final scene. Also, the camera has a good auto function which meant we didn’t really have to worry about the image being out of focus. The battery life of the camera was really good, meaning we didn’t have any interruptions when we were filming, this helped us to avoid continuity errors. One problem we found with the camera was the size of it. The rooms in which we were filming were quite small, and to get the most effective shots we often needed to shoot from the corners of the room, this was difficult because the camera is so big.
The only problem we faced was that at first we thought the tripod was broken. The legs didn’t extend properly; therefore we found it hard to get the camera stable and level. When we looked at it more closely we noticed that it wasn’t actually broken just hadn’t been put away properly and the poles in the legs were out of place. It worked fine when we solved this. To stop it from happening again we were more careful when we were putting it away.
To edit our film we used ‘Final Cut Express’. This software is really useful as it has functions that allowed us to add special effects to our movie, we used most of these during the attack scene. We used white flashes in between shots of Kate being restless in bed and then a slow motion shot as Scarlett attacks Kate. We also used this software to create our title sequence as it has functions that made the text appear shadowed and shaky and also allowed us to edit the overall look of the background image we used. We got the ideas for our title sequence from a film called The Wasp Factory. The editing process was time consuming as we have used a lot of different shots so we had to make sure the continuity was good and also that they flowed well.
7.Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
When planning our film we started by deciding which genre we wanted to use. We thought horror would be most interesting, especially for the research aspect of our project, we then watched various horror films and began to create a spider diagram of ideas. When we decided on the basic theme of the film we began to plan the story line and script. A lot of the research we did into genre and generic conventions was done through the internet on websites such as www.imdb.com/chart/horror. We did a list of all the shots we planned to use, in order and also what they would include. This detailed plan of the shots came in very useful when we were capturing the film as we knew exactly what we needed to do. I think this saved us a lot of time! Compared to the planning we did in the preliminary task, this time round we went into a lot more detail. We did a lot more research to make sure the things we included were relevant to the genre and also did storyboarding and plans which helped the whole process be a lot smoother.
In the preliminary task the range of shots we used was very limited. Also, the composition of our shots was really poor, as shown in this example of one of our shot-reverse-shots. I think we did alot better in this final project at making the shots look alot more professional and precise. It was one of the first filming tasks we had done and the camera was really small. I think the fact that the equipment we used this time was a lot more advanced meant that we could do a lot more with it. In particular we used a lot of point of view shots. These show the audience what the characters are looking at, such as when Kate looks at the rattling door handle, Scarlett looks at the branding mark on Kate’s back and also when Kate finds the sheet of alchemy symbols in Scarlett’s book. I think that as a group we worked with the equipment a lot better by the end of the task than we did during the preliminary task.
I think our end product is really successful at fulfilling the task. Our film is at least 2 minutes long and is part of a full horror movie. I think we did a lot of good detailed research and planning which resulted in the actual making of our film really successful.
I think our film is something that could be produced by a major Hollywood such as 20th Century Fox, because it features characters that are marketable, and also it would appeal to a large audience. Our film has some similar elements to ‘The Omen’. They both have a lot of quick cuts and screaming and also, in the omen, the child is the antichrist and has ‘666’ branded on his scalp, which proves ours would be successful. Some elements of our film would be even more effective if it was to be created by a Hollywood studio, such as the scar created when Scarlett is branded. When done by a professional team of makeup artists who have access to special effects makeup and prosthetics it would look even more realistic. Furthermore, there are lots of opportunities for advertisement and marketing. The fact that the certificate of the film is only a 15 and not an 18 means that it could be advertised on billboards and on buses. A trailer of our film including shots used in it could be shown on the internet, or at the beginning of other films being shown in the cinema. The trailer wouldn’t give too much away, but enough to captivate an audience and make them want to see the full film to find out what happens.I think it would be a film that would be shown in larger cinemas such as Vue or Cineworld. Its rating would mean it would attract a large audience and also, the fact that it has some similar elements to existing popular horror films would mean that it would have a good viewing rate. Also, I think it could be shown as a TV movie, after its initial release in cinemas, but it would have to be shown in the evening due to the restrictions of the certificate.
Another reason our film could be produced by a major Hollywood studio is that it has a lot of opportunities for merchandising. A lot of horror films have dolls or models of the evil character for sale, I think this would work well with the story of our film. I think that posters and soundtracks would also sell well as merchandise, using still images from our film.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The target audience of our film is limited slightly by the age certificate. I think there is no particular gender target, as horror films often appeal to both males and females. We wanted our film to attract a wide audience and therefore tried to include factors that didn’t really focus on one particular gender. I think people that are at the bottom end of the age range may find some of it a bit harder to understand, such as the use of the alchemy symbols. Another thing that could be confusing to younger people is the fact that it starts with a flashback. In our audience/certificate research we found that we would not be able to use too much bad language or violence. We managed to stick to these criteria well, there was no real need to include these things so it wasn’t difficult to avoid using them.
The classification of our film, as I have mentioned, is 15. I think this is the most suitable of all the classification criteria as our film fits in all the guidelines. The BBFC website states the classification of this certificate (http://www.bbfc.co.uk/downloads/pub/Guidelines/BBFC%20Classification%20Guidelines%202009.pdfo.uk/downloads/pub/Guidelines/BBFC%20Classification%20Guidelines%202009.pdf ); it says “Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury”. We have kept our film within this guideline, we don’t actually show Scarlett branding her sister, only the mark she leaves as that is the important part. Also on the topic of violence, it says “Dangerous behaviour (or example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.” This is something which we have achieved by not actually showing Scarlett creating the brand on her sister, and also, she doesn’t actually use a weapon, she does it by scratching with her nails.
‘The Omen’ is similar to ours, it has certificate 18 and would therefore appeal to a slightly older audience to ours. It is a lot more gory and graphic than our film and is certainly a lot more disturbing. I think the exorcist would appeal to a male-majority audience as it is extremely disturbing.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
The age of our target audience is 15-35, but there is no particular target gender. I think the fact that our film starts with a flashback rather than being in chronological order could make it slightly difficult for the lowest end of our age range to understand and the attack. The audience will obviously have an interest in horror films, this is why our clip starts with a flashback, so the audience are drawn to the action straight away.
The use of point of view shots puts the camera in the position of both main characters at various points. I think this is important when trying to scare them as they see what both Scarlett and Kate see, especially in the attack. They don’t actually witness Scarlett branding Kate, they just see a close up of the mark she leaves. I think the elusiveness of this is more likely to put the audience on edge than if we’d have shown the whole thing. Also, another point of view shot that helps to build suspense is before the attack. Kate is woken from her sleep by the rattling door handle, the audience only see the door handle, and Scarlett’s hand, until she actually approaches Kate and they see her in a medium shot.6. What have you learnt about technology from the process of constructing the product?
To make our film we used a Sony HDV 1000. This camera was really useful as it had its own microphone. This made editing a lot less time consuming than it would have been with a separate sound. Although our film doesn’t really include much speech until the final scene. Also, the camera has a good auto function which meant we didn’t really have to worry about the image being out of focus. The battery life of the camera was really good, meaning we didn’t have any interruptions when we were filming, this helped us to avoid continuity errors. One problem we found with the camera was the size of it. The rooms in which we were filming were quite small, and to get the most effective shots we often needed to shoot from the corners of the room, this was difficult because the camera is so big.
The only problem we faced was that at first we thought the tripod was broken. The legs didn’t extend properly; therefore we found it hard to get the camera stable and level. When we looked at it more closely we noticed that it wasn’t actually broken just hadn’t been put away properly and the poles in the legs were out of place. It worked fine when we solved this. To stop it from happening again we were more careful when we were putting it away.
To edit our film we used ‘Final Cut Express’. This software is really useful as it has functions that allowed us to add special effects to our movie, we used most of these during the attack scene. We used white flashes in between shots of Kate being restless in bed and then a slow motion shot as Scarlett attacks Kate. We also used this software to create our title sequence as it has functions that made the text appear shadowed and shaky and also allowed us to edit the overall look of the background image we used. We got the ideas for our title sequence from a film called The Wasp Factory. The editing process was time consuming as we have used a lot of different shots so we had to make sure the continuity was good and also that they flowed well.
7.Looking back to your preliminary task, what do you feel that you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
When planning our film we started by deciding which genre we wanted to use. We thought horror would be most interesting, especially for the research aspect of our project, we then watched various horror films and began to create a spider diagram of ideas. When we decided on the basic theme of the film we began to plan the story line and script. A lot of the research we did into genre and generic conventions was done through the internet on websites such as www.imdb.com/chart/horror. We did a list of all the shots we planned to use, in order and also what they would include. This detailed plan of the shots came in very useful when we were capturing the film as we knew exactly what we needed to do. I think this saved us a lot of time! Compared to the planning we did in the preliminary task, this time round we went into a lot more detail. We did a lot more research to make sure the things we included were relevant to the genre and also did storyboarding and plans which helped the whole process be a lot smoother.
In the preliminary task the range of shots we used was very limited. Also, the composition of our shots was really poor, as shown in this example of one of our shot-reverse-shots. I think we did alot better in this final project at making the shots look alot more professional and precise. It was one of the first filming tasks we had done and the camera was really small. I think the fact that the equipment we used this time was a lot more advanced meant that we could do a lot more with it. In particular we used a lot of point of view shots. These show the audience what the characters are looking at, such as when Kate looks at the rattling door handle, Scarlett looks at the branding mark on Kate’s back and also when Kate finds the sheet of alchemy symbols in Scarlett’s book. I think that as a group we worked with the equipment a lot better by the end of the task than we did during the preliminary task.I think our end product is really successful at fulfilling the task. Our film is at least 2 minutes long and is part of a full horror movie. I think we did a lot of good detailed research and planning which resulted in the actual making of our film really successful.
A sample of our target audience (male and female 17 year olds) watched our film and gave us feedback of what they though. Some of the comments they gave were that it fitted the genre of horror well, and that it was intriuging...making the audience want to know what happens next. They also said that we used a good variety of camera angles which represent the power of each character, however the fact that the opening scene is a flashback could have been made more obvious. Each person said that the music and title sequence was really good which I am pleased with as it took us quite a long time to decide which soundtrack to use, and also did alot of research into the creation of the title sequence. This is a link to a video of their feedback: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUHRidOdyMI
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