House Of The Devil opening Analysis

The ‘House of the Devil’ was made in 2009 but it is set in the 1980’s and it was directed by Ti West.






The first title is the film title, actor names but only the starring roles and the main characters , the casting director, the production designer, the original score, the sound designer, the director of photography, the executive producers, the co-producer, the producers, the writer, the director and then the editor. The film also pauses on the titles up until the casting director, this could be to allow the audience to read the titles. This will influence our film as this is as how it does professionally and we want to film to look professional.

The mise-en-scene is very effective for signifying that the film is set in the USA in the 1980’s because of the costume as this is something that people in the 1980’s would wear in America. This will influence our film as we would have to find similar clothing that British people would have worn in the 1980’s in order for it to be believable. The housing is good for signifying that it is set in the 1980’s as they are brightly coloured and they are quite old fashioned. This will influence our film as we will have to find an isolated house that was built in or before the 1980’s.

In the opening seconds there is a diegetic church bell ringing in the background this suggests that it is heaven at the moment as the main character has just looked at a house during the day however later on it suggests that the ‘devil’ may come later on in the film.  The non-diegetic  sound when the main character is walking is quite positive and hints at a sense of adventure for the girl it suggests that she will overcome future problems such as being haunted by the ‘devil’. This will influence our film as we could include non-diegetic music that sends subtle hints to the audience at what might happen to the character as it engages them.

The cuts between the over shoulder shots are quite slow, this suggests that it is a normal conversation and that the film doesn’t want to create much tension yet as the film is the equilibrium stage in ‘Torodov’s theory’. This will influence our film as we could also use slow cuts to show that the girl is in equilibrium when she is in her room.

When the main character is walking to her destination the camera is following her by panning walking. This suggests that the character is going on a long journey as the camera panning lasts about 2 minutes. This will influence our film as it is an effective way of following the characters story. There is also a distant over the shoulder shot when the two characters are talking by the side of the car this suggests that is a normal conversation between them and it allows the audience to feel part of the conversation.  

Titles

In Prom Night the titles come up in this order:-

• Production companies
• Title of the film 
•  Actors names ( the most famous and main characters appear first)
• Names of the peope who casted the actors
• The costume designers name 
• Music supervision
• Who the music is composed by
• The editors name
• The production designers name
• The director of photography name
• The names of the executive producers

This will influence our film as we will base our relevant titles in this order to make it look professional.

Scream analysis

In this essay I will be writing about what extent is ‘Scream’ is an example of a postmodernism horror by writing postmodernism in film, the horror genre leading up to ‘Scream’ and the need for a postmodernism film, identifying and evaluating how ‘Scream’ is a postmodern and how/what I can use in my own production.

Postmodernity means what we are surrounded by in today’s world, when the individual artist has been replaced by a non-fixed subjects who exists in a world of pluralism and cultural diversity. Intertextuality is one of the seven requirements needed to create a postmodern horror.  Intertextuality includes shaping a texts meaning by other texts, it can represent an author’s borrowing and the transformation of a prior text or to a readers referencing of one text in reading another. It is basically the relationship between texts. The process of knowledge to gain consciousness is called self-reflexivity; it is an act of self-reference where an artwork specifically gets attention to itself. The third requirement is pastiche and parody, pastiche takes different styles, forms, motifs and then combines them together  to form  a new production. A parody is something that intends to mock, comment or poke fun at an original creation such as ‘Shaun of the Dead’ is a parody of ‘Dawn of the dead’. The fourth requirement is the questioning of grand narratives this means that it pluralises the debate, it creates multiple sources of knowledge, diverse histories and offers many ways of analysing of modern society. The fifth requirement is simulacra this is when modern society has replaced all the reality and meanings with symbols and signs; they present the human experience as a simulation of reality rather than reality. The sixth requirement is late capitalism this relates to the general sense that the world has been taken over by the values of capitalism and that alternative choices have become extinct. This fear is backed up by the power of technology which creates the sense of horror that we are always being watched by evil. The final requirement is the breakdown between high and low cultural forms, this means that pop-culture is capable of an evaluation as high art. A postmodern artwork that employs pop and mass produced.

Before Scream horror movies were mostly aimed at teenage boys, as it is more commonly boys who enjoy risk, blood and gore. As they don’t want to show they are afraid of horror instead they want to show they enjoy watching horror. There was also more female nudity, lots of gore and the strongest characters are male, whereas in Scream there was less of this type of thing which will appeal more to the female audience. Also before Scream, everyone expected the same predictable movie for example They also all followed the typical cliché conventions such as running up the stairs, asking ‘who is there?’, get boxed into a corner (upstairs), stumbling, dark shadows, isolated location, female victim and disruption of normality. There was a need for a post-modernism in horror because all the horror film genre were the same and everything had been done, this means the horror genre stopped for a while as they had run out of ideas. But in December 1996 ‘Scream’ flipped horror upside down and changed people perception of horror.

The typical post-modern horror must include the following, the final girl which is Sidney, a frightening place which is a house when the teenager is left home alone which in Scream is in a remote area of America for example near a woods, the ominous mise-en-scene and narratives that move from equilibrium to disturbance and back to a new equilibrium (murder/normal day at school/murder). The stereotypical characters such as the blondes being stupid (first to die), the brunette girls being intelligent (usually final girl), the jockey’s being killed of first and the smarter boys surviving longer are used in the majority horror movie this is used in Scream:-

·         Sidney – the smart brunette, who is the final girl

·         Casey, Tatum – the flirtatious blonde’s who both die, Casey is the second to be killed.

·         Randy – the smart boy, who knows everything about horror movies stays alive.

·         Steve – the jock who is first to be killed.

·         Billy – loves the horror genre and later has to be told to stop stabbing his partner of murdering - Stu.

‘Scream’ has many inside jokes and references to other popular horror movies such as ‘Halloween’, ‘Pyscho’ and ‘Carrie’. The killer has a very good knowledge of the horror movie genre as when ‘Casey’ picks up the phone he makes her answer trivia questions about horror films, to try and save her boyfriend’s life (Steve). The characters are also very familiar with the rules as Randy explains that ‘there are rules for surviving a horror movie’, this includes suspecting everyone, never drinking, having sex, (as the virgin always survives in the 1970’s horror movies) and if you say “I’ll be right back” it is guaranteed  that they will be killed. The murderer tells a victim that “You might as well go outside to investigate a strange noise!”. It is a post-modernism  because it acknowledges that its audience will have watched horror films. It allows the viewer to comment on the predictability of the genre and it also offers the viewer a new, self-conscious, at other times it is funny and it is also frightening.  

In my own production I will be very likely to use the traditional horror characters such as the brunette girl being the final girl and the blonde girl who isn’t a virgin would be killed first. I also liked the idea of not knowing who the murderer is, as it keeps people engaged with the film. So in my production I could also create an illusion to fool the viewer by having the character they least expect to be the murderer or have a big twist.

Prom Night Analysis

Prom night – 2008 - Nelson McCormick

The titles appear in this order; the production company, the name of the film, the names of actors come up with the most famous and main characters appearing first, the people who cast the actors for the roles, the costume designer name, the music supervision titles, who the music is by, the editor, the production designer, the director of photography and the executive producers. This will influence our film as we will put the titles in this order so it looks professional.

Mise-en-scene

The time of the horror is at night as there are a few street lights and the camera also pans over a large woodland that looks dark and mysterious the effect on the audience is that they recognise this is a horror convention.  This will influence our production as we will include some of the horror conventions such as the woods.

Sound

The non-diegetic music in the opening titles isn’t very unsettling or typical horror music, the effect on the audience is that they don’t immediately feel scared, they could have done this as later on, she finds out it is a dream. This will not influence our film as we want music that will cause tension as we only have two minutes to create this impression.

Camera shots and movement

The aerial view of the shot panning over the location in the opening titles is effective on the audience as it feels like they are being taken on a journey. This will not influence our film as we don’t have enough time to create this and it would also not be relevant to our storyline.

Urban Legend Analysis

Urban Legend – 1998 – Jaime Blanks

The titles appear in a specific order which is the two production companies, the producer, title of the film, the lead and most famous actors, casting, costume designer, the music, the editor, the production, the photography and the executive producers. This will influence my own film by having the appropriate titles in the right order.

Mise-en-scene

The weather in the opening is shown to be raining with thunder and lightning at night time when the titles are starting, it then shows a car driving through the woods, the effect on the audience is that it sets the atmosphere for the opening few minutes. This will influence my own film as we will include an effective establishing shot.  The colours are very dark for example the trees are dark shade of green and the car is black, the effect of the audience is that they should have recognised that the opening is going to start with something negative in this case the first victim of the film. This will influence my own film as we can use certain colours to send subtle messages to the audience.

Sound

The non-diegetic sound is an eerie sound the effect on audience is that it makes the atmosphere feel tense, this will influence my own film as we can use eerie music in order to make the scene tense. There is diegetic sound which is played in the car called ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ which contains the phrase ‘turn around’, the effect on the audience is that they will find it ironic that as the killer is at the back of her car. This will influence my own film as we can include a song that is ironic for the future events.

Editing

When the camera cuts to the close up man at the gas station up against the window, the effect on the audience is that the audience will be scared as they might have been startled by the man suddenly appearing and they also think that the woman is about to murdered by this man. This will influence my own film as we can use this editing technique to create fear for example we can cut to the killers face at the end of the 2 minute opening.

Camera shots and movement

The aerial shot of the car driving down the road in dark is effective on the audience as it sets the scene of the opening sequence which is set in a dark, isolated and dreary location. This will influence my own film as it is an establishing shot which we need to feature in order for the viewer to know where that scene is taking place.

Film script

Title shows with non digetic sound playing
Fade in of the music:
Fade In Transistion:
        1) EXT. ROAD - Early afternoon 
          
           There are different camera angles of her running away from the house. - Long shot of Amelia running past the camera
           In the BG you can hear a piano instrumental
          
Dip to black:
            
 2) EXT. AMELIA'S BEDROOM - Midday
                                 Comes up with date: 25th November 1987
                                 The style font should be typewriter (with the noise of typing when date is shown)

           Amelia is in her room listening to records and she hears a strange noise
           Extreme close up of Davids (her father) hand holding a knife covered in blood and in slow motion, the knife is shown being dropped on the floor
        
        
 3) Low angle shot of Amelia slowly walking down the stairs.
 Amelia walks into the living room to find her mother dead on the floor.
Amelia: Screams
 4) An over the shoulder shot of Amelia's father.
 As Amelia is looking at her mother, crying, you can see David behind her.
 Camera is focused on Ameila screaming
        Camera is later focused on David smiling with a sinister look within his eyes

 5)As David is walking slowly behind Amelia
 Two shot of them
        Ameila looking around and breathing heavily



We have since changed our script as we changed from our intial idea.

Jennifer's body

Film scripting

EXT = ExteriaFade in = Transition
BG = Background
FG = Foreground
ECU = Extreme Close up
CU = Close Up

What we need in our scripts:

• Dialogue

• Background/foreground

• Time of day

• Fade in/out

• Information on key shots

Horror Questionnaire Result Charts

This is the questionnaire we gave out to gain our results.

These charts show the results I concluded from giving out the questionnaire above.

Horror conventions

Hide and Seek horror conventions

Media flow chart: Moral Panic

Media homework - Moral Panic
 Movie title - The Man who isn't there

First pictures School and City Centre

  We took this photo in black and white because it makes people focus on the person in the photo. We were aiming to make the subject (Matt) the focal point of the image. I think we have succeeded this because he is in the centre of the picture and the colours contrast with the background. Originally we intended for him to be posing off the ground but we found this difficult capture due to the camera limitations. To improve on this we could have used burst shots which means we could have gotten at least one image of him in the air. There is no special camera angle with this shot.


 

We took this photo in colour because we wanted to capture some distortion of the subject which can give an impression/mood from the person being focused on in the photo.  We are still following the rules of thirds with the bench in the background and me being the subject foreground. To improve on this picture we could have taken it black and white to give the picture more effect of me looking evil or angry.

 

We took this photo in Sepia because we wanted the focus to be on the subject (Ellie) as the tree is a deep green and would have been overpowering in the photo. Which would have meant the subject wouldn’t be the focal point of the photo. We have used the rule of thirds but the subject is still in the centre of the photo.

 

We took this photo in colour because there are lots of strong colours in the background. This is a long shot portraying me using the rules of thirds. I am in the foreground with the walk way leading out of the shot. By doing this we have achieved greater depth in the picture. An area to be improved is to look for distractions in the picture as one of the teachers is in the background.

 

We took this picture from City Hall. We decided to take this picture because of the interest in the foreground and background. The rule of thirds applies because there is something in the whole of the picture apart from the top horizontal three. The sun is shining behind the Church which emphasises the Church, showing that it is just as important as the Lion. We could improve this picture by avoiding any incoming traffic, which affected the picture as there was a van in this photo.

 

We decided to take this photo in colour because of the way the bright background colours stand out against the dark foreground. The picture was taken from a sitting position and the slightly heightened view suggests a ‘looking out into the world’ perspective. The rule of thirds applies because all of the action is happening in the top right of the photograph. When the rule of thirds overlay is present we can see the evidence of how the action is in the top left thirds. Even though there are bright colours in the right of the photograph our eyes are drawn to the left of the photo as this is where the ‘action’ is happening. I think that an improvement to this photo could have been taking it earlier so that the people were not in the photo. This would allow the viewer to focus on the bus and the background rather than the people. Although the people do give a better idea of life passing by.

We took this photo in a natural setting because we thought it would add effect because they don’t know we are taking the photo. By doing this it means. It adds how people would normally act instead faking it all. In the photo you can see Norwich market and the shops around it. The angle we took it from is high up and looking down onto the specific area. We did this because we wanted to capture the entire view of Norwich market, the people and the scenery around it. I don't think the rule of thirds applies as there’s no real focus upon the picture. My overall thought of the picture is that, it's good but we could have done better, by emphasising the rule of thirds.