Evaluation: Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Shot1-9th selection:

                                     

                                                                   
Setting and Location- 
I have put together 9 shots from our opening scene that best shows elements such as the location. Theses shots show all the different locations in our opening scene. The first shot is a medium shot of Jade running, clearly making the audience establish the location of a woodland area. Instantly linking them to a stereotypical location of a horror movie; abandoned and alone. In the background a gate is shown which allows the audience to connect with this element further on showing a gate, also the 6th shot I've selected to show the location, showing a focus pull of a metal gate and chain linking to antagonist and showing a sign of horror.

The second shot I selected is a tracking, over the shoulder shot of Jade running. This clearly shows the location of a dark woodlands, surrounded by lots of trees and shadows, creating tension for the audience and linking to the genre of supernatural horror as the audience doesn't know whats around the corner. The leaned over trees on the right of the shot show a dark and creepy present. This makes the audience see how the woods is alive and perhaps having the idea of the protagonist becoming enclosed in the forest showing a link to becoming trapped and vulnerable making the audience more scared.

In some of the other shots the location of the woods is shown, allowing the audience to connect, showing the footpath sign and a bird's eye view shot of Jade running show the connection of the woods. This makes the audience understand the location and they don't get confused. The bridge location connects the audience with the idea of water being dangerous and linking to horror. The shot of Jade leaning on a car creates a reflection through the  window creating a mystery and connection to supernatural horror. The location shows the protagonist is near people suggesting she is safe now making the audience more reassured that the protagonist is out of danger. This stereotypically links to horror movies where the location makes the audience think the character is safe when they are suddenly in danger, building tension and linking to the genre of horror.

This woodland idea has the same locations as movies such as; The Shining and Silence Of The Lamb. The woodland is effective for highlighting the element of abandonment and vulnerable as the location is alone and isolated from the outer world showing how the protagonist is in danger, building tension. Fitting the conventions of a supernatural horror. This is an example from the opening scene of 'The Shining' which uses the same location of abandonment and isolated showing the conventions of a horror, follows the same location as this opening:

Costumes And Props-
From the shots above the mise en scene of the costumes are clearly shown. The Protagonist (girl runner) is wearing a lose white crop top with black leggings, Van trainers and grey hoodie. We wanted Jade to have a costume which was safe to run in to prevent slipping over but an custome which connected with our target audience of 16+. As theses clothes show a clear connection and a representation of young adults it shows the protagonist is vulnerable and in danger, which creates tension for the audience. The clothes chosen for the protagonist show normal clothes of a young adult meaning this event could happen to anyone, putting the audience on edge and making it more realistic. In the second shot I have selected shows a over the shoulder, tracking shot of the protagonist running. In her right ear a white earphone is shown, suggesting she is listening to music. This technique of using an Ipod to show the protagonist is unaware of the danger around her and showing the audience she is in more danger. This idea of the protagonist being in danger is the same as the opening sequence of 'Silence Of The Lamb' which influenced us to follow this idea as we felt it matched the conventions and linked to many horror openings such as this one:

The idea of using a prop that detracts the protagonist from whats going on around them really interested Jade and I as it shows the conventions of a supernatural horror by putting the audience on edge and makes the audience want to watch more to find out what happens next.

The Antagonist is clearly shown on the 7th selected shot with a extreme long shot showing the antagonist; wearing a black morphsuit, black boots and white scarf over body. We wanted to show a mrtry with what the antagonist was wearing to create instant tension with the audience when watching. We wanted to make the antagonist look dark and feel that dark presents without looking unrealistic so we decided to go with all black and have a ragged scarf to make her standout a bit more for the audience to create impact. The raggy scarf makes the character more ghost like which links to our genre of supernatural horror. We also wanted her to look like she had just come from the woods so made it supernatural with the long hair over face to create tension and mystery. We thought of the idea of creating a raggy and scary look for our antagonist links to the supernatural horror. 'MAMA' uses the same idea as our opening and its the same genre as ours so it fits the conventions of our opening:

This raggy and careless look makes the audience wonder about the antagonist past and history, showing that ghost and supernatural presents but also creating interest for the audience. The idea of being incidence like a little girl but then become evil shows a supernatural connection and builds tension for the audience making them more on edge.

Camerawork And Editing-
At the beginning of our opening sequence we created an Ident to have a zoom-in effect on the eyes to make the audience see the importance of the company who produced the movie and because the idea of black bats with big eyes link to the supernatural creature of a witch links to our genre of supernatural horror, highlighting the eyes and instantly making the audience connection with the type of genre. We started creating a roughcut to get a feel of the order of shots to make it effective for the audience. From there we began putting in transitions to make the different shots follow more instead of simply cuts. The main transition we used was Cross Dissolve cut which gave the audience a more of an; ghostly, erre present as it slowly moved to shot to shot. In the 7th shot I selected, showing the antagonist in an extreme long shot is an example of how we used editing to create an atmosphere of fear. The Protagonist runs towards the camera from where the antagonist is standing, we decided to cut the protagonist running so it speeds up time, cutting out sections to make her appear closer to the camera then a final cut to reveal the antagonist. This creates an atmosphere of fear linking to our genre of supernatural horror as the audience are shocked when they notice the antagonist appear like a ghost, this changes the atmosphere from calm to scared in seconds. We didn't want the opening sequence to be over powered with transitions as we felt it would be unrealistic and confusing for the audience when following the narrative.

The Camerawork we used was interesting and linked to the conventions due to the fact they created mystery fear for the audience. We used a 5D EOS Canon to shoot the footage. Being able to create focus pulls to shallow-depth creating an atmosphere and mood of certain and fear. We were able to add filters to darken the shots, creatings more horror and dark feel. Shot 1 and 3 which I selected show a Birds eye view, we manage to get on top of a tree in order to get the right shot needed. We felt this shot shows the audience the location and how its alone and isolated, highlighting the importance of the surrounding area. The shot also has a nice perspective, shown on shot 3 perhaps representing the antagonist point of view, or its presents instantly connecting the audience to the conventions of a horror and more involved with the narrative. The 5th shot I have selected is a tracking shot, over the shoulder of the protagonist running. This creates a point of view shot and makes the audience more involve with the movie, following the protagonist like a journey, connecting them with the character. This technique of connecting the audience with the 'good person' protagonist is used in other movies with the same genre of supernatural horror, such as; Paranormal Activity: Marked Ones-

The paranormal activity matches our opening conventions and follows the same idea of using the point of view shots to create tension in the audience. This movie helped us to become influenced with this idea as this film is the same genre so matches the conventions perfectly therefore we were aware of what match the conventions of a supernatural horror.

Typography/ Titles-
Shot 1 and 4 of the chosen shots I have selected show the typography we used. We knew this was an important stage the make sure it matched the convention of a supernatural horror, however we didn't want the titles to over power the narrative. After researching in to many different types of titles we both agreed plain white will suit the conventions of a supernatural horror, linking to the icon of ghost and standing out against the dark filter. The transitions we used was a fade in and out effect to create the ghost like atmosphere and link to the genre of supernatural. The font was small but clear enough to read, we didn't want to make it over the top; using red colours and lots of transitions. We felt although red standouts and links to blood and horror we thought it was to unrealistic to use in our opening sequence, we wanted it simple and effective to still link with the genre. We felt red would make the movie look even more 'homemade' and less effective to fit the conventions and link to the audience. Here is an example of red typography from Insidious, showing how its unrealistic and doesn't fit the conventions:

How does the opening setup the story?
In our opening sequence it starts with a few different perspective shots showing the audience the type of location, instantly linking them to the genre of horror. A medium close up is shown of the protagonist runner, instantly showing her personality and telling the audience she is the most important character due to the fact she is shown throughout the opening. The audience gather an idea that the movie is based on a horror due to the use of a girl stereotypically being the victim. After more establishing shots showing the audience the theme of isolation and fear, the antagonist is shown (shot7) instantly showing the audience the protagonist is in danger. The shots beginning to show more and more of the antagonist, building tension for the audience and showing the relationship between the two characters. The opening gives a clear setup about the whole story making the audience aware this 'creature' is going to affect the protagonist throughout the movie. This narrative is used in many supernatural horrors, the idea of the antagonist mentally or physically affecting the protagonist, creating an on edge feel.

How does the opening suggest the genre?
From the very beginning of our opening it shows the genre of supernatural horror, through the use of dark filters, creating a fearful and stereotypical dark mood. The typography with the use of white fade in and out titles show a ghost like present and connects with an supernatural creature. The different perspective shots create a scary and interesting look in to the narrative, showing the audience how the antagonist is affecting the protagonist. The location creates an isolated and alone feel making the audience aware of the danger instantly linking the opening to a horror as this genre stereotypically uses an isolated location to make the audience fear for the protagonist.

How are the characters introduced?
The protagonist is first introduced with a medium shot up (shot1) where the opening continues with shots of the protagonist running. Eventually the antagonist is shown in the background of different shots, the shots increase closer to the end, showing a clear relationship with the characters. The protagonist remains oblivious to the antagonist with its 'stalk' like present. This instantly shows the audience that the protagonist can't see the antagonist linking to ghost and supernatural creatures. The antagonist is first shown from far away making the audience intrigued to watch more to see closer shots of the antagonist to discover what the supernatural creature is.