Woman in Black 2 presentation

Conventions of Horror

 

The target audience of horror films tends to be young adults 16-30, this is because they tend to be too scary for anyone younger than 16. Once people become 30+ their taste in film genres changes and do not enjoy being scared. Directors target these types of films to these age groups by using characters of a similar age group, this allows the audience to relate to them more and get more aggravated when they do the wrong thing. However using themes like Halloween make some horror films more targeted to smaller children as they are more humorous than frightening.

The Conjuring (2013)

The scene starts with a mid-shot of a lady asleep in bed, we can see she looks very comfortable and relaxed. While this shot is happening the non-diegetic sound of someone knocking is very loud, implying that something is about to happen. As this scene is set at night its very dark and gloomy which indicates to the audience that this is a horror film. The camera then flips to a mid-shot of the hallway where we can see the door that someone is looking at, by using a mid-shot it suggests to the audience that they do not want to be positioned close to the door because something is about to happen. During this scene there is no non-diegetic sound used so the audience are able to focus on the action taking place, also it emphases the diegetic sound that is happening. An over the shoulder shot is used twice in this scene when they are going to answer the door, it portrays the fear of the two girls and how they are gradually getting further apart from one another making them more vulnerable. A close up is used of the women’s face when she opens the door to express her facial expressions clearly to the audience, fear. The camera then flips to a high angle close up of the note that is left on the floor saying ‘miss me?’ because this is written on brown crumpled paper with red writing on the audience immediately know that this is bad news. This scene is silent until a very loud thud takes place making the audience, and the characters, jump. While we see a mid-shot of the other girl opening the door non-diegetic sound is used to make this more scary and frightening, the audience are expecting something to happen, as we see the characters reaction before we are shown what is behind the door we have a split second to imagine what we are about to see. A close up is used of the doll to allow the audience to see every detail of its face. This shot lasts about three seconds so the audience can have a good look at it and almost start to scare themselves.
  The non-diegetic sound changes from spooky creepy music to a fierce tone when we see a close up of a man saying ‘there is no such thing as Annabelle’ this allows the audience to be properly introduced to the main characters and establish that this is not set in modern day because of the clothes that they are wearing. We then focus on a lady, who is sat next to him, who also looks fierce which juxtaposes the facial expressions of the other women. After again zooming in on the doll, there is a high angle long shot where we can see that these people talking are sat much higher up suggesting they’re more superior and highly educated. They are all huddled up together suggesting that they are frightened by Annabelle, this is further highlighted by the close up on their faces. The spooky backing music comes back again to finish the scene with a super close up of Annabelle’s face.

Drag Me Too Hell (2009)

The scene starts with a high angle establishing shot to introduce the audience to the setting. While this is taking place we can hear a childlike repeated high pitch noise, which is very spooky, emphasising to the audience that this is a horror film. The camera begins to pan downwards which is very calm until the van pulls up to the door at speed suggesting to the audience they are desperate and in a rush to get where they want to go. There is a mid shot of the back of the van showing a mother caring for a child who is covered in a blanket, this would imply that he is abnormal or strange so cannot be seen by the audience. The parents are wearing very old rag like clothes suggesting that they are not wealthy, also as they are speaking a foreign language its becomes more alien to the audience making them become confused. When they lady comes out there is a high angle over the shoulder shot which illustrates her being more superior, and highly educated to offer guidance to the family in need. This over the shoulder shot is continually used to follow the conversation between the two participants, it allows the audience to follow what is being said and anticipate that something is going to happen. When the necklace is removed from the boys pocket a fly comes out with it and continues to fly around the family, this gives us an indication that whatever this thing that is possessing the boy is hard to get rid off similarly to a fly. The change in facial expression also illustrates that a bad thing is going to happen. This is followed by a close up on the little boy who is sweating and looks petrified of what is going to happen to him. While still focusing on the boy the backing music gets much more dramatic, it continues to get louder and the fear grows on the boys face. The camera pans around the room to show the distress on his families face, and how the lady is using traditional spiritual methods to try and save the young boy. All of a sudden the doors are forced open shocking the audience the family are forced apart, this large distant makes the boy appear alone. He tries to run, with the camera following him, he is then thrown over the edge. There is a high angle long shot looking down on the motionless boy and then a mid shot of his parents faces to show the upset on their faces. Then as an audience we assume all the drama is over but the floor begins to fall in, the majority of the noise we hear in this is screaming. As the boy has been dragged into the floor we pan up to the women's face where we can see the shadow of the boys arm, this suggests she is a key character in the film and may have seen something similar to this previously.

Scream (1996)

This scene starts with a close up on the telephone which suggests that this is going to play a key part in the scene. From this close up we follow the phone up to the person who answers it, this therefore introduces the audience to the main character, at this point we don't think anything of the person on the phone. There is then a mid shot of the lady walking away from the phone, this shows her facial expressions which just appear normal. Then as the phone rings again her face appears confused as if this situation was to happen normally you would not expect a phone call straight after. We then become more wary of the man on the end of the phone and assume he also plays a key role. When the lady is still talking to the man the camera turns enabling us as an audience to look through the patio doors at this point we are searching for something suspicious and abnormal, while the main character is unaware of this all. An establishing shot is then used to highlight the fact that this is set in a rural location with no neighbours around or any other people. There is another mid shot used again and this time we can see that the lady is starting to become more annoyed with the male calling. whereas he is using it as a chance to flirt. We follow the lady again as she walks around her house and once again we are looking and waiting in apprehension. The conversation then becomes more flirty on each side of the phone call, the atmosphere becomes more chilled and we know this is when something will happen. We then have a close up on the ladies face to emphasis the change in her facial expression, from happy and friendly to straight faced and nervous about what is going to happen next. There is then a close up on her locking the door to illustrate how she is now feeling scared. When the phone rings again the tone of the man changes and becomes much more aggressive, this causes the lady to become much more panicked, this is emphasised by her wiping a tear away from her cheek. The close up illustrates how panicked she is now getting from this stranger shouting down the phone at her. By her looking sideways but the camera not following her it allows the audience to feel the same sort of fear that she must be feeling, fear of unknown. This tone has now changed again and the man is treating this as some sort of joke, this increases the fear. The camera follows her into a corner and then as she runs around her house, locking all the doors again. As he is treating it all as a joke it makes the audience fear him more because he is acting abnormally. There is no music at this point and all we can hear is her crying, when the door bell rings it comes as a shock to both her and the audience. We are zooming into the lady crying and although she is the focus of the shot the audience are looking all around her to try and find clues as to what is happening. While we are doing this the camera flips so we see from her point of view walking away from the door, this allows the audience to think they are moving away from the man. Close ups are the most common shots used throughout this to portray how she is feeling to the audience through the use of facial expressions and body language.

Women in Black 2 Powerpoint

 

Titanic

Titanic (1997)
This film is set a very long time ago, we can tell this by the very old traditional clothes being worn and by the old technology, camera. The music is very calming and relaxing which is typical of a romance film however it may be also be the calm music before the storm suggesting to the audience that this is going to be drama. The scene starts with people saying goodbye to their loved ones which is very emotional and maybe even relatable for some people. Many long shots are used throughout this to highlight how many people are getting on the boat and how exciting this is for everyone. This is followed by a mid-shot of people, showing their body language and facial expressions, they all looked very honoured to be a part of this part of history. After this we fade out into a picture of the sea making it obvious that these people are going on a cruise and the sea will pay a huge part in this film. Although the music could be interpreted as calming it may also be quite sinister and entrancing, connoting death and distress. This is filmed in the dark so when you see the lights of the boat it may be simile for the lights at the end of the tunnel that people imagine to see when they are dying.

Clueless

Clueless (1995)

As the movie starts the song ‘Kids In America’ begins to play which immediately suggests to the audience the film is going to set in American and based around children/adolescents. The first shot is a high angle shot of a car with a bunch of teenage girls in, this makes the audience feel as if they are looking down on the girls and would suggest that the people within this car are going to be the main characters. We then have a mid-shot of young girl who is very well dressed carrying lots of shopping bags we immediately think she will be posh and bratty, a mid shot is used here so we can see her facial expressions, smiling and smug. This is set during the day as we can tell by the lighting this implies that this girl is of schooling age. After this there is a mixture of social events where this girl is in the middle of the crowd for all of them, this suggests to the audience that she is very popular and liked by everyone. When the music stops playing it changes to a voice over of the main character as if she is addressing the audience this makes the audience feel much closer to her and more involved with the story. The girl is very happy and open with her body language highlighting the fact she is wealthier and her ‘normal’ routine of picking her school clothes differs hugely from other peoples. While she is still talking we move to a high angle over the shoulder shot of her dad so we can see the large house and the maid they have working for them, this implies they are rich and do not have time to complete basic tasks so have got someone to do it for them. The use of the close up emphasises how the daughter believes she can do anything she wants and sucks up to her dad in order to get her own way. Then a mid shot is used of the car that her dad brought her suggesting she is very spoilt and gets anything she asks for. As the daughter always refers to her father as ‘daddy’ it makes it clear that she sucks up to him for her money and is always kind to him so when she asks for something he is more likely to say yes. She is a very carless driver which suggests she does not care about her own or others property. Also her friend lives in big house suggesting that she only likes to associate with people of the same class as her. This is a very typical school drama film based for children and teens.

22 Jump Street

22 Jump Street (2014)
The film starts with a brief account of the previous film to give highlight to the audience that there is another film before this, this enables people to watch the first film before they continue to watch the second. Then the scene starts with a shot of college lecturer wearing a very smart suit, he is very well spoken with a very monotone voice suggesting to the audience he is very boring. A mid low angle shot is used so he appears to be above us making him look more superior. We then zoom out of this and focus on two men, the two main characters, who are sat on the bonnet of a car. A mid shot is used again to introduce us to the characters and to the setting which we can see behind them, this is film during the middle of the day so is very well lit. The characters are sat very close to one another which implies to the audience that they are friends and enjoy each other’s company. Both the men are dressed very casually which suggests they are young and not at work, also they do not make the effort to dress up and take care of their appearances. They then fist bump and say ‘partner’s for life’ which furthers emphases to the audience that they are good friends not only in their spare time but they are also work partners. Followed by this there is a close up of two guns and a change in the backing music to a more upbeat song this gives the audience an opportunity to predict what is going to happen throughout the rest of the movie. A routine is then done by the two men suggesting they are well trained and educated, however not all of these looking serious illustrating to the audience that this is a comedy film. Within this collaboration of moves there is a few low angle shots pointing up making the men seem more superior and masculine. This ends with establishing shot of the city in a helicopter to really make the audience feel comfortable with the setting, it really makes the audience realise how large the city is and how beautiful it is.