Evaluation - Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products

The genre of film that I decided to do was Horror, therefore I needed to look at other Horror products and find out what codes and conventions were used in the genre. I am going to look at whether I used and followed the common conventions of the genre.

There are many different sub-genres that fall under Horror such as Comedy Horror, Action Horror and Sci Fi horror, all of which follow very similar codes and conventions.

Some of the conventions that are a reoccurring feature in Horror films that I tried to incorporate into my own film are;- Suspense - Surrealism - Something that is not normal- Some kind of evil presence as the antagonist - Isolation or loneliness

Normally there is lots of darkness although, in my film I have decided to subvert the genre and made it seem more normally and happy with brighter lighting

Most horror films follow Todorov’s theory where the film begins with an equilibrium where everything is fine and everything seems normal, then gradually everything starts to go wrong. I tried to incorporate his theory into my own film where at the beginning everything seems to be going okay and there is a positive feel to it until half way through where it suddenly all seems to decline.

An example where Todorov’s theory occurs in a full feature length film is The Descent, a 2005 horror movie directed by Neil Marshall about a group of young females who go on a caving holiday which leads to inevitable disaster.

At the beginning they all seem happy and there is a very positive feel to the film, it seems like everyone is having a great time and nothing can go wrong.

In the middle everything goes wrong and averts from the norm.

CharactersTo follow the codes and conventions of the horror genre I chose a stereotypical teenage girl to act as the protagonist, it meant people can relate to her in themselves therefore adding more of a reality to the film which keeps the audience far more engaged with the character. If the audience engage with the protagonist well they will not want them to die, keeping them hooked on the film whereas if they didn’t care for the character they would soon get bored. This is why at the beginning the character needs to be introduced and shown in a good light that everyone can relate to, following Todorov’s theory of everything seeming normal at the start.

Personally, I feel that I portrayed this well as it just seems like a typical teenager going out for a walk to meet her friends and it looks like nothing can go wrong which is helped by the audio which creates a very mellow, happy atmospheric sound.

Using the same film as before, The Descent is a good example of a horror movie that includes female protagonists. It shows a group of 6 females with a different range of personalities which people can relate to themselves as a large range of the audience can connect with certain characters they feel they are similar with their own personalities.

The antagonist in my film also was chosen to follow the codes and conventions commonly used in horror films such as very dark clothing and generally the face is hidden, as though he has something to hide and does not want to be seen. He is also a large male he could look scary and overpowering.

These are all common features shown in an antagonist.

An example from a horror film that shows these conventions is Sauna. The images here shows that the two characters, my antagonist and the antagonist from Sauna both have very similar looks about them, such as the big, dark coat, broad shoulders and a hidden face. They both look as though they are looking down, like they could be looking down on someone making them look bigger and powerful.

I wanted to show my antagonist as being very stereotypical for the genre which I feel I have done quite well. Comparing him to the image to the right they are similar which shows I have showed my antagonist in a way you might see in other horror films.

SettingThe location used in my film can be associated with other films of the genre as the setting of a forest is commonly used in horror movies. It is a very successful location for a horror film as it shows loneliness and isolation due to being so far from anywhere in the forest. Rather than following conventions of traditional horror films and setting it in darkness, I subverted the genre setting my film in the day time. This meant the situation seemed far more real which makes the audience far more scared as it seems like something that could possibly happen to them in an everyday situation.It was also far easier to film in the light of day than it was at night which was tried out on one occasion during filming.

A similar film with a forest as the location is Sauna, set in Russia includes some of the shots in a wooded area but also, like in mine the lighting is quite bright. This gives it more of a normal feel to it making it seem as though nothing could go wrong which scares people more as they tend to feel safer in daylight.

I put my finished ancillary product into places where you would expect to see film posters that my target audience are likely to see such as on billboards in busy cities, bus stops and in magazines.