The conventions that I'm going to be focusing on is the dominant image, film title, the coming soon text and credits from the poster we have created.
Friday 29 December 2017
Evaluation Q1 Prep
In What Ways Does Your Media Production Use, Develop or Challenge Forms & Conventions of Real Media Texts?
The conventions that I'm going to be focusing on is the dominant image, film title, the coming soon text and credits from the poster we have created.
The conventions that I'm going to be focusing on is the dominant image, film title, the coming soon text and credits from the poster we have created.
Friday 22 December 2017
Regulation
Regulation is a ruling that is decided or set by an authority to protect the public from viewing media that can be very damaging or inappropriate. Every film has a BBFC rating which differentiates the level of intensity for different types of audiences. For example, a violent slasher with sex and drug references is going to be rated around 18 and over because that is what's considered damaging media to younger viewers. Every form of media has to be regulated as they all have the same violent things (e.g. video games, music videos, TV shows). The BBFC regulates video games as video games can be seen as films that are playable and are in your control. Video games are getting more realistic and graphic with the content (e.g. shooter games such as Call of Duty, Battlefield etc have guys running and gunning) and that type of content is regulated to stay away from children because to them, they can't be exposed to that type of content. The BBFC also regulate music videos as some music videos have a lot of nudity which is considered explicit and is not to be exposed to children. Also, some of the music will be censored if it has swear words or some sort of profanity. Some would agree that we can't just have one regulator because his right and wrong is going to be different from everyone else. One could argue that we shouldn't regulate as much as because we shouldn't hide from the truth, the reality of the world. The BBFC regulates many forms of media to protect the vulnerable from harmful and inappropriate content (e.g. a victim of war would not like to play shooter games). Also, they probably don't want criminal activity to increase because of the influence of media as a whole.
Thursday 7 December 2017
30 min timed essay - Digital Technology
Digital technology are electronic tools that involves a lot of things such as social media, applications and so forth. Currently, all forms of media texts including horror movie trailers rely heavily on digital technology since we live in the age where technology is everywhere we go now and it enhances creativity. My creation of media has gotten better over the 2 years due to my understanding of digital technology getting better too.
In the first year which was AS, the preliminary task was to create a college magazine. The college magazine wasn't my best work even though I have used digital technology before. I had only 1 or 2 influence in terms of research which contributed to why it wasn't good. The production had no effort as the students and I didn't know how to use the camera properly at the time since it is more advanced than the cameras on our phone. After production, I really didn't know how to use Adobe InDesign too since it was my first time and I was getting used to it.
Later on, I made my final AS music magazine; I had more influences for my magazine such as the NME magazine with Kano as one example. The examples of the magazines made it better for me to understand what I should put in my magazine in terms of rap and hip hop and magazines in general. In terms of the shoot, I did my shoot outside and used a black guy that is not skinny as my model for my magazine. I took the shot and it came out better than the picture for my preliminary task because I understood more about focusing and zooming better. After shooting, I understood how to use Adobe InDesign and Photoshop better. For example, I knew how to play with the brightness and contrast and make it black and white because I wanted it to look very urban. My understanding developed between the two periods of time.
Now, my group and I are making our A2 horror trailer, magazine front cover and poster. From then to now, we have had so many influences (e.g. from Friday the 13th to Jeepers Creepers) for our trailers, front covers and posters. This is to make sure we reinvent the old and that we put our own flavour into it or else it is just a carbon copy. When shooting for our trailer, we spend a lot more time now and we use lights to add more of an effect as well. We now know how to use the camera properly (e.g. depth of field) to make sure we make the best trailer possible. In addition, we use stabilisers and tripods to make sure our shots don't shake. Post production wise, I now know how to use Photoshop a lot better now; for example, for my poster I now know how to add a graphic overlay on top of the dominant image to give it that red evil look to it. Also, I was able to add blood to the main coverline s well by puttig it in Multiply mode when that specific layer is selected. In addition, we have learned to edit trailers on a professional level. For example, we know how use the blade tool on Final Cut Pro to trim footage that we took on our shoots.
To conclude, my understanding of the use of digital technology has developed drastically over the 2 years and I know how to do a lot more things with digital technology now than before.
In the first year which was AS, the preliminary task was to create a college magazine. The college magazine wasn't my best work even though I have used digital technology before. I had only 1 or 2 influence in terms of research which contributed to why it wasn't good. The production had no effort as the students and I didn't know how to use the camera properly at the time since it is more advanced than the cameras on our phone. After production, I really didn't know how to use Adobe InDesign too since it was my first time and I was getting used to it.
Later on, I made my final AS music magazine; I had more influences for my magazine such as the NME magazine with Kano as one example. The examples of the magazines made it better for me to understand what I should put in my magazine in terms of rap and hip hop and magazines in general. In terms of the shoot, I did my shoot outside and used a black guy that is not skinny as my model for my magazine. I took the shot and it came out better than the picture for my preliminary task because I understood more about focusing and zooming better. After shooting, I understood how to use Adobe InDesign and Photoshop better. For example, I knew how to play with the brightness and contrast and make it black and white because I wanted it to look very urban. My understanding developed between the two periods of time.
Now, my group and I are making our A2 horror trailer, magazine front cover and poster. From then to now, we have had so many influences (e.g. from Friday the 13th to Jeepers Creepers) for our trailers, front covers and posters. This is to make sure we reinvent the old and that we put our own flavour into it or else it is just a carbon copy. When shooting for our trailer, we spend a lot more time now and we use lights to add more of an effect as well. We now know how to use the camera properly (e.g. depth of field) to make sure we make the best trailer possible. In addition, we use stabilisers and tripods to make sure our shots don't shake. Post production wise, I now know how to use Photoshop a lot better now; for example, for my poster I now know how to add a graphic overlay on top of the dominant image to give it that red evil look to it. Also, I was able to add blood to the main coverline s well by puttig it in Multiply mode when that specific layer is selected. In addition, we have learned to edit trailers on a professional level. For example, we know how use the blade tool on Final Cut Pro to trim footage that we took on our shoots.
To conclude, my understanding of the use of digital technology has developed drastically over the 2 years and I know how to do a lot more things with digital technology now than before.
Thursday 30 November 2017
30 minute timed essay - Conventions of RMT
"Explain how significant were the Conventions of Real Media Texts in your development of creativity across your 2 years of production work."
Conventions are rules to follow for a good structure or foundation of the media text. Sometimes they are broken because following the conventions makes it limited and a carbon copy of real life examples. Breaking the conventions also makes the media text unique. lso, conventions are so common that the audience expects it in our horror trailer so sometime it's best to follow. Also, conventions have subtext or deeper meaning behind the media text.
In my AS, my preliminary task was the college magazine. I barely used any examples of college magazines to understand the conventions but I still had some conventions. For example, I had a masthead, main coverline a strapline, dominant image and a secondary image. However, each of them have no meaning underlying because at the time, I didn't learn much about conventions which is why it wasn't good
Later in AS, I did my music magazine which was based on the genre hip hop. Now that I started learning more about the purpose of certain conventions and how they differ depending on the genre you do, I purposely made my magazine lloked the way it was. Even though it is hip hop, I broke some conventions by making it black and white on the dominant image. Normally, in a hiphop magazine, the magazine is in actual colours. But to make sure that people know it is a hip hop magazine, I made sure my model wears a chain and have the text in bold and strong font. Also,I included red in the boost which is apparent in hip hop magazine. Also, I made suremy model has an intimidating face and isn't skinny to show masculinity which is apparent in hip hop because hip hop is predominantly male
In A2, I did my Year 13 summer trailer; to do this, I identified a set of conventions for certain subgenres. My summer trailer is a slasher horror and we added certain conventions of a slasher. For example, we made the victim a female that is a damsel in distress and the antagonist is a male that has a mysterious identity (because he appears as a silhouette in the trailer). The antagonist was way taller than the female which makes it apparent on the binary opposite.
Later on in A2, we're now making our final trailer which is again a slasher; the antagonist now has a mask and wears a boiler suit. Also, the trailer has a final boy featuring in it which can be considered as breaking the conventions because it is normally the final girl to battle the antagonist. There are now low angles and high angles of certain shots to emphasise on certain characters's positions. The antagonist is a male which is also a convention in slasher to show the binary opposites of gender as some of the victims are females. It makes males look overpowering as most of the victims die.
To conclude, my understanding on conventions has gone better over the 2 years and I've been able to apply it to my recent work although some conventions were broken.
Conventions are rules to follow for a good structure or foundation of the media text. Sometimes they are broken because following the conventions makes it limited and a carbon copy of real life examples. Breaking the conventions also makes the media text unique. lso, conventions are so common that the audience expects it in our horror trailer so sometime it's best to follow. Also, conventions have subtext or deeper meaning behind the media text.
In my AS, my preliminary task was the college magazine. I barely used any examples of college magazines to understand the conventions but I still had some conventions. For example, I had a masthead, main coverline a strapline, dominant image and a secondary image. However, each of them have no meaning underlying because at the time, I didn't learn much about conventions which is why it wasn't good
Later in AS, I did my music magazine which was based on the genre hip hop. Now that I started learning more about the purpose of certain conventions and how they differ depending on the genre you do, I purposely made my magazine lloked the way it was. Even though it is hip hop, I broke some conventions by making it black and white on the dominant image. Normally, in a hiphop magazine, the magazine is in actual colours. But to make sure that people know it is a hip hop magazine, I made sure my model wears a chain and have the text in bold and strong font. Also,I included red in the boost which is apparent in hip hop magazine. Also, I made suremy model has an intimidating face and isn't skinny to show masculinity which is apparent in hip hop because hip hop is predominantly male
In A2, I did my Year 13 summer trailer; to do this, I identified a set of conventions for certain subgenres. My summer trailer is a slasher horror and we added certain conventions of a slasher. For example, we made the victim a female that is a damsel in distress and the antagonist is a male that has a mysterious identity (because he appears as a silhouette in the trailer). The antagonist was way taller than the female which makes it apparent on the binary opposite.
Later on in A2, we're now making our final trailer which is again a slasher; the antagonist now has a mask and wears a boiler suit. Also, the trailer has a final boy featuring in it which can be considered as breaking the conventions because it is normally the final girl to battle the antagonist. There are now low angles and high angles of certain shots to emphasise on certain characters's positions. The antagonist is a male which is also a convention in slasher to show the binary opposites of gender as some of the victims are females. It makes males look overpowering as most of the victims die.
To conclude, my understanding on conventions has gone better over the 2 years and I've been able to apply it to my recent work although some conventions were broken.
Thursday 9 November 2017
Research and Planning Essay
I developed my research and planning over the course of 2 years by understanding the formula of magazines and how they are edited and structured when looking through all the really good magazines to enhance the creativity that I come up with. My understanding of the roles of each convention do and how most are required (e.g. masthead, main coverlines, straplines) has become better over the period of time.For my AS preliminary task, I had to do a college magazine. I had to look at some college magazine on the internet to get an idea of what to do since this was my first task. It required basic skills. such as putting the dominant image in the middle, did each convention and so forth. I didn't do that much because at the time I didn't learn that much so this limited my creativity - I couldn't do what I really wanted to do with the lack of knowledge in terms of editing at the time.
Later on, I did my music magazine. I learnt more about Adobe Photoshop and InDesign and how they operate. This allowed me to make a magazine which was way better than the college magazine as I can now portray my creativity better. I cropped out the model in the image and copied it to make the masthead appear like it is on the brick wall in the background. Also, the I changed the image into black and white by typing minus 100 on the saturation panel as well as grayscaling it on Photoshop. This was inspired by the NME magazine with the UK Rapper Kano on it; on the double page spread, the whole spread is black and white including the dominant image. This was a good effect because it shows the gritty and grimy feel of London since it is such an urban place. On InDesign, I made sure all the conventions consisted of some sort of black and white combination to further emphasise on the theme. Also, I used the same font because I wanted it to be quite minimalist. I developed an understanding of Photoshop/InDesign which allowed me to flourish my creativity as it now has deeper meaning behind everything I do. But it is limited in terms of creativity; I only had to do a music magazine and nothing else.
After this, I am now creating a horror film trailer. Even though my AS music magazine has developed it still had some limits. In a horror trailer, I can now do much more in it than a magazine because so much subliminal messages can be implemented. When researching and planning, I've stumbled upon a lot of trailers such asthe Conjuring 2, Friday the 13th 2009 and many more. There's much more to do for a trailer. My group and I have to consider the location, the costume/makeup, sound design, shotlist and editing the trailer with the sound design as a whole. So creating this allows for more creativity to be shown and portrayed. Editing a trailer is much more complicated than editing a magazine so that means that we have now developed our skills over the course. But it still has itslimits. We are required to do a HORROR trailer, not an action or romance film trailer so it can't be abstract.
To conclude, over the course of 2 years, I have went from creating a basic college magazine to a horror film trailer which requires way more thought into it since so much needs to be considered in order for it to be a really good trailer. In addition, the software we have to use for a trailer is much more complicated (Final Cut Pro) than InDesign or Photoshop. But the more indepth it is, the more creative you can get so it opens doors for innovative content.
Thursday 19 October 2017
Media Language
Horror movie trailers utilise codes and conventions to apply deeper meaning than what we actually physically see. My summer trailer uses at least 1 of these theories that talk about this. Saussure talks about this before
Symbolic codes are seen in the mise-en-scene of the film; in other words, costume, props, setting, lighting & non-verbal communication fall under the category of mise-en-scene. In my summer trailer, we made the protagonist wear white (which is the Signifier) and that signifies purity and innocence. Also, our setting was in the woods which is a common location in horror movies. But the lighting wasn't lowkey enough for it to feel like a horror movie.
Technical codes is seen in the camerawork. For camerawork, framing of the camera and the movement of the camera is considered. In my summer trailer, as the protagonist is walking forward, the camera also moves forward along with her to create the suspense. The shot is a long shot so we can see her whole body and we can see fear.
Also, technical codes is seen in the editing so cuts, fades and other transitions are considere. In my summer trailer, there were a few cuts to a flashback of the antagonists' friends for like 3 secs. This gives viewers a bit of insight. This could be considered as a montage because it isn't always in chronological order like in the actual film.
In addition, audio codes are present so sound is considered. Sound is very important and holds 80% of the scare factor. In my summer trailer, the soundtracks we used was intended to create the suspense so we can get the audience waiting for something to happen. The soundtrack gets even more higher pitched and louder to feel like the antagonist is getting closer and closer. This could be considered as non-diegetic sound.
Lastly there was written code so in other words, text is present. The text has crayon-like look and we made it shake to make the film look distorted and twisted so that the audience feels uncomfortable. However, text wasn't focused as much and I think we could have put more into it and made it more effective.
Symbolic codes are seen in the mise-en-scene of the film; in other words, costume, props, setting, lighting & non-verbal communication fall under the category of mise-en-scene. In my summer trailer, we made the protagonist wear white (which is the Signifier) and that signifies purity and innocence. Also, our setting was in the woods which is a common location in horror movies. But the lighting wasn't lowkey enough for it to feel like a horror movie.
Technical codes is seen in the camerawork. For camerawork, framing of the camera and the movement of the camera is considered. In my summer trailer, as the protagonist is walking forward, the camera also moves forward along with her to create the suspense. The shot is a long shot so we can see her whole body and we can see fear.
Also, technical codes is seen in the editing so cuts, fades and other transitions are considere. In my summer trailer, there were a few cuts to a flashback of the antagonists' friends for like 3 secs. This gives viewers a bit of insight. This could be considered as a montage because it isn't always in chronological order like in the actual film.
In addition, audio codes are present so sound is considered. Sound is very important and holds 80% of the scare factor. In my summer trailer, the soundtracks we used was intended to create the suspense so we can get the audience waiting for something to happen. The soundtrack gets even more higher pitched and louder to feel like the antagonist is getting closer and closer. This could be considered as non-diegetic sound.
Lastly there was written code so in other words, text is present. The text has crayon-like look and we made it shake to make the film look distorted and twisted so that the audience feels uncomfortable. However, text wasn't focused as much and I think we could have put more into it and made it more effective.
Thursday 5 October 2017
Representation Essay
There are numerous different theories on how movie trailers represent certain characters and that there's a typical formula. In my summer trailer, not a lot of these theories have been applied which is expected.
The first theory I will be talking about is the Male Gaze theory by Laura Mulvey. This theory consists of female being seen as sexual objects which is intended at the male side of the auidence since horror is a genre that is pre-dominantly for the male side of the spectrum. So this means it would sell. However, in my summer trailer, they were no females shown which already means that this theory hasn't been applied. There's only males in the trailer. Even though there's a theory on Female Gaze but there's nothing for females to look at sexually since the main protagonist has his clothes on.
The next theory to talk about is the Final Girl theory. According to this theory, there should a last sole survivor and this survivor has to be a female. Since she's the last survivor, she has to battle the antagonist as the climax of the movie> Most of the time, the Final Girl defeats the antagonist. This theory is only common in slasher movies as the antagonist's purpose is to kill its victims. Since my trailer is more on the supernatural side of things, this theory can't be applied so it wasn't applied because it wouldn't make sense. This idea is good idea especially in current times because this theory shows the theory shows how females are becoming masculine and this is happening currently in terms of female rights.
The next theory is about religion and sexuality. This theory states that the idea of possession has sexual connotations as the evil spirit is most likely represented as a male and the person getting possessed is most likely a female. The portrayal of evil spirits relates back to religion (e.g. Christianity.) These things happen in supernatural movies and to repel these evil spirits, the protagonists normally have religious objects such as the cross or the Bible. In my summer trailer, it's not clearly apparent but with the cuts to the antagonist's face shows that there are evil forces lurking around. However, this theory has not been applied as much.
The next theory is about hegemony and teen punishment. This states that the teenagers get punished for committing sins such as sexual acts (because premarital sex is a sin) Also, this theory states that there is dominance from males to females. In horror films, the overpowering evil force is a male most of the time and the victims are females majority of the times, In my summer trailer, you can see teen punishment since m the protagonist in the trailer is a teenager and at the end yo u can see the teenager is about to get killed by the antagonist and is cowering in fear in a corner..
The last theory I will be talking about is the monster in the human and the monster in the human. The monster in the human refers to people being born with no sense of morality and are evil. On the other hand, the human in the monster shows that even monsters that they seem to be are actually just like us which makes the audience feel pity or sympathy for the monster since these monster did not want to be created. A good example of this is Frankestein's monster. This theory isn't applied to my summer trailer because this doesn't relate to this subgenre of supernatural. This relates to werewolf horror movies.
To conclude, my summer trailer needs a lot of work but some of there theories can't be applied because of the sub-genre of my summer trailer.
Thursday 28 September 2017
Essay (30 min timed): Narrative theories and summer trailer
I timed myself so some paragraphs are not finished
My summer horror trailer is based on the supernatural genre. The trailer consists of a narrative which is a story that is created in a constructive format. There are two types of narrative: linear and non-linear. Most trailers are montages so it would be considered non-linear.
The first theory I will be talking about is Todorov's theory. His theory states that a narrative consists of 5 stages/acts such as the equilibrium, the disequilibrium, recognition,, attempts to & lastly resolution. In our summer horror trailer, only the equilibrium and disequilibrium is shown (when the friends are together and when the girl gets 'killed' ny an unknown figure). This is to get the audience wanting to know what happens next.
The next theory is Propp's theory. He decided that a narrative needs to include certain types of characters (e.g. hero, villain, dispatcher, princess etc). In my summer trailer, this theory was not present. You can clearly see that...
The next theory I will be talking about is Strauss' theory. According to this theory, it is a theory of binary opposites(e.g.good vs evil, boy vs girl, young vs old etc.) In our summer horror trailer, there were a few binary opposites. The obvious one is good vs evil. In the trailer, we have the protagonist getting assaulted by the evil antagonist. It is easy to tell as she was wearing white and the antagonist was dark in terms of clothing. Another binary opposite is the gender - the boy vs girl; the protagonist was a girl whereas the antagonist was a boy. This is important because the antagonist was way more dominant whereas the protagonist was submissive.
The last theory to talk bout is Barthes' theory. His theory states that every narrative has multiple codes (e.g. enigma, action, symbolic etc). In our summer trailer, there are enigma codes (for example, the mystery of the antagonist which will have the audiences wondering who killed the protagonist
To conclude, my summer trailer needs improvements as it doesn't have al the narrative theories applied
My summer horror trailer is based on the supernatural genre. The trailer consists of a narrative which is a story that is created in a constructive format. There are two types of narrative: linear and non-linear. Most trailers are montages so it would be considered non-linear.
The first theory I will be talking about is Todorov's theory. His theory states that a narrative consists of 5 stages/acts such as the equilibrium, the disequilibrium, recognition,, attempts to & lastly resolution. In our summer horror trailer, only the equilibrium and disequilibrium is shown (when the friends are together and when the girl gets 'killed' ny an unknown figure). This is to get the audience wanting to know what happens next.
The next theory is Propp's theory. He decided that a narrative needs to include certain types of characters (e.g. hero, villain, dispatcher, princess etc). In my summer trailer, this theory was not present. You can clearly see that...
The next theory I will be talking about is Strauss' theory. According to this theory, it is a theory of binary opposites(e.g.good vs evil, boy vs girl, young vs old etc.) In our summer horror trailer, there were a few binary opposites. The obvious one is good vs evil. In the trailer, we have the protagonist getting assaulted by the evil antagonist. It is easy to tell as she was wearing white and the antagonist was dark in terms of clothing. Another binary opposite is the gender - the boy vs girl; the protagonist was a girl whereas the antagonist was a boy. This is important because the antagonist was way more dominant whereas the protagonist was submissive.
The last theory to talk bout is Barthes' theory. His theory states that every narrative has multiple codes (e.g. enigma, action, symbolic etc). In our summer trailer, there are enigma codes (for example, the mystery of the antagonist which will have the audiences wondering who killed the protagonist
To conclude, my summer trailer needs improvements as it doesn't have al the narrative theories applied
Tuesday 12 September 2017
Summaries of themes
Final girl:
This refers to the last remaining female survivor out of the whole batch of main charcters in a horror film. This type of character is more apparent in slasher films since the girl will most likely have a final battle with the aggressor at the end of the film. This could be seen as the girl not having to lose her virginity as this point and that she is still young so the aggressor would attempt to attack her with a sharp weapon like a knife to represent the penetration as it is a phallic object and it involves intimacy which is why the aggressor purposely doesn't have a ranged weapon like a gun for example.
For instance, in The Shining, a character called Wendy Torrace was the final girl during the scene of the antagonist cutting the bathroom down in order to get to her.
Male gaze:
This refers to male audience observing females especially if they are sexualised. In the eye of the straight male side of the audience, women are supposedly seen as sexual objects for their pleasure. In horror films, you see that the males are dominant whereas the females submit to that type of dominance. It could be protagonists to each other or in a slasher, where the aggressor appears to be a male and is chasing after the last survivor which happens to be a female.
Zombies representation:
Zombies are the undead that only live off of flesh and brains which is their only purpose. Zombies are basically lost souls and are not bright at all. But the idea of zombies is much more than that.
Zombies can be seen as a representation of the mindless consumerism that is present today like on Black Friday for instnace. This means that we act a certain way price has been lowered for certain materialist things whether we like it not; sometimes we don't question ourselves when we buy something or put thought into it. Some people just buy because of the price. Also, this could represent people buying luxury things and base their whole life on materialistic things. They buy these things to prove that they are better.
The evolution of horror
Horror has changed over many years. it originated from stories, tales, fables back in the ancient times. Then as it got to the 1890s, there were short films of supernatural events. During the 1920s, many horror films were being produced such as Nosferatu, The Phantom of the Opera, The Unknown and many more. Nosferatu was the first vampire themed movie to be produced.
Post-Modern Horror
This is often remixed, shaped in a different way to challenge what we normally see. Movies like Cabin in The Woods is an example of post-modernism in the horror industry; this movie was a big metaphor for the horror industry and how hard they work in order to please their target audience. Also, it was very exaggerrated especially at th ened where you all the monsters were set loose.
This refers to the last remaining female survivor out of the whole batch of main charcters in a horror film. This type of character is more apparent in slasher films since the girl will most likely have a final battle with the aggressor at the end of the film. This could be seen as the girl not having to lose her virginity as this point and that she is still young so the aggressor would attempt to attack her with a sharp weapon like a knife to represent the penetration as it is a phallic object and it involves intimacy which is why the aggressor purposely doesn't have a ranged weapon like a gun for example.
For instance, in The Shining, a character called Wendy Torrace was the final girl during the scene of the antagonist cutting the bathroom down in order to get to her.
Male gaze:
This refers to male audience observing females especially if they are sexualised. In the eye of the straight male side of the audience, women are supposedly seen as sexual objects for their pleasure. In horror films, you see that the males are dominant whereas the females submit to that type of dominance. It could be protagonists to each other or in a slasher, where the aggressor appears to be a male and is chasing after the last survivor which happens to be a female.
Zombies representation:
Zombies are the undead that only live off of flesh and brains which is their only purpose. Zombies are basically lost souls and are not bright at all. But the idea of zombies is much more than that.
Zombies can be seen as a representation of the mindless consumerism that is present today like on Black Friday for instnace. This means that we act a certain way price has been lowered for certain materialist things whether we like it not; sometimes we don't question ourselves when we buy something or put thought into it. Some people just buy because of the price. Also, this could represent people buying luxury things and base their whole life on materialistic things. They buy these things to prove that they are better.
The evolution of horror
Horror has changed over many years. it originated from stories, tales, fables back in the ancient times. Then as it got to the 1890s, there were short films of supernatural events. During the 1920s, many horror films were being produced such as Nosferatu, The Phantom of the Opera, The Unknown and many more. Nosferatu was the first vampire themed movie to be produced.
Post-Modern Horror
This is often remixed, shaped in a different way to challenge what we normally see. Movies like Cabin in The Woods is an example of post-modernism in the horror industry; this movie was a big metaphor for the horror industry and how hard they work in order to please their target audience. Also, it was very exaggerrated especially at th ened where you all the monsters were set loose.
Cabin In The Woods Analysis
Cabin In The Woods Analysis
Cabin In The Woods is a typical horror movie as it has the expected horror codes & conventions and has its its character types such as the dumb blonde, the intelligent, the 'innocent' virgin, the drug addict and the athletic person. This is to represent the teen stereotypes which means the target audience are teens and up. However, it's not what you would expect it to be and has a very unexpected twist at the end specifically. It is considered as a parody of horror movies in general
In the movie, you would see scientists watching the victims every move when the arrive at the cabin which is something I did not expect. This seems to be a metaphor for the people involved in the horror industry and are behind the works of a horror movie. Later on, you would see that they are trying to impress the Gods of their world (which represents the elites or the higher ups that no-one really knows about) but this idea has been exaggerated of course. Later on, you would see that everything is set up and that the characters deaths are premeditated.
Also, it blends some sub genres together such as supernatural, monster, splatter, slasher and many more. This is seen where all of the antagonists were released out of their cages and two of the main characters attempted to kill them all at the laboratory. You would see monsters such as massive snakes and you would see supernatural forces like ghosts and ghouls. The element of the splatter genre is seen when the monsters get killed which leads to blood bath. This also proves that this is a play on horror movies in general.
Cabin In The Woods is a typical horror movie as it has the expected horror codes & conventions and has its its character types such as the dumb blonde, the intelligent, the 'innocent' virgin, the drug addict and the athletic person. This is to represent the teen stereotypes which means the target audience are teens and up. However, it's not what you would expect it to be and has a very unexpected twist at the end specifically. It is considered as a parody of horror movies in general
In the movie, you would see scientists watching the victims every move when the arrive at the cabin which is something I did not expect. This seems to be a metaphor for the people involved in the horror industry and are behind the works of a horror movie. Later on, you would see that they are trying to impress the Gods of their world (which represents the elites or the higher ups that no-one really knows about) but this idea has been exaggerated of course. Later on, you would see that everything is set up and that the characters deaths are premeditated.
Also, it blends some sub genres together such as supernatural, monster, splatter, slasher and many more. This is seen where all of the antagonists were released out of their cages and two of the main characters attempted to kill them all at the laboratory. You would see monsters such as massive snakes and you would see supernatural forces like ghosts and ghouls. The element of the splatter genre is seen when the monsters get killed which leads to blood bath. This also proves that this is a play on horror movies in general.
Thursday 22 June 2017
Analysis of 3 horror movie trailers
Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
https://youtu.be/g7Xn2JqH5ng
This movie is a part of the supernatural/psychological sub genres. This means that there has to be a presence of a supernatural being such as demons, spirits or ghosts for instance. In this trailer, for example, the chandelier was moving on its own to indicate that this is in the control of something that is supernatural. Then there was another scene of the girl being lifted up in the air which shows that us humans are no where near as powerful as these beings.
Friday the 13th (2009)
https://youtu.be/cCfO1aB8CIE
This movie is considered to be a slasher since Jason stalks his victims and has a weapon in his hands. It involves very quick cuts to create this lingering suspense. Jason stabs one of his victims in this trailer a which is very intimate and personal compared to a gun. The weapon can be seen as a phallic object as the it penetrates the skin. The victim was a female so it was a representation of sexual intercourse.
Alien (1979)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjLamj-b0I8
This movie is considered to be a monster movie. The trailer has no dialogue which actually creates more suspense. All you hear are unusual sounds which also creates more suspense. At the end of the trailer, it says 'In space, no one can hear you scream.' This phrase alone sends chill down people's spines because in space, you're helpless.
https://youtu.be/g7Xn2JqH5ng
This movie is a part of the supernatural/psychological sub genres. This means that there has to be a presence of a supernatural being such as demons, spirits or ghosts for instance. In this trailer, for example, the chandelier was moving on its own to indicate that this is in the control of something that is supernatural. Then there was another scene of the girl being lifted up in the air which shows that us humans are no where near as powerful as these beings.
Friday the 13th (2009)
https://youtu.be/cCfO1aB8CIE
This movie is considered to be a slasher since Jason stalks his victims and has a weapon in his hands. It involves very quick cuts to create this lingering suspense. Jason stabs one of his victims in this trailer a which is very intimate and personal compared to a gun. The weapon can be seen as a phallic object as the it penetrates the skin. The victim was a female so it was a representation of sexual intercourse.
Alien (1979)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjLamj-b0I8
This movie is considered to be a monster movie. The trailer has no dialogue which actually creates more suspense. All you hear are unusual sounds which also creates more suspense. At the end of the trailer, it says 'In space, no one can hear you scream.' This phrase alone sends chill down people's spines because in space, you're helpless.
Wednesday 21 June 2017
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