The question in relation is 1b and there are 5 topics which can come up:
- genre - AS
- audience
- narrative
- representation
- media language
In this post, I will be discussing genre. Out of my two coursework portfolios I would choose my AS opening title sequence if this topic was to appear in my exam. So without further ado...
For my AS coursework, I chose to delve into the horror genre and created an opening title sequence.
To help with this post there was an evaluation question which was in what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms of conventions of real media products?
Here is the podcast I created to answer the question.
Evaluation #1 for Last One Standing from Toni Hendry on Vimeo.
In this I discuss the key conceptions I found in the horror genre.
Mise en scene
First of all the mise en scene for the horror genre includes settings such as an abandoned house and run down areas. The settings are usually very dark and look as if there is no life about it. For my coursework I decided to film in a similar setting. I chose to film in the outskirts of the woodland behind my house which I thought to be a suitable setting. Luckily enough, on the day I chose to film to started snowing which made the setting look even more miserable and dull. Because it was awful weather there was nobody else round either which helped to make the setting look even more deserted and neglected. I also filmed in my house but I made it look disheveled and untidy, like it hadn't been cleaned in a while. I wanted it to look like my character was set up in an old, run down house as she was in the midst of an apocalypse with no one else around. I made sure that it looked like there was no electricity by using natural, dull lighting in the interior scenes.
The costume she wore was dark clothing which further helped to dull down the setting. The dull, heavy, bulky clothing she wore helped to establish my genre as she is in the apocalypse, so her clothes aren't going to be the first thing she cares about as long as it keeps her warm. Her appearance in general is dishevelled and unkempt - she doesn't care how she looks because it's not important, only her survival is. She is also covered in blood which is on her skin and her clothes. This is another convention of the horror genre which I wanted to utilise. I placed blood all over her so that the audience would be able to see it and it creates an enigma of the character.
The props she uses as well are a part of the horror genre. She carries the golf club as her weapon, as a part of the horror genre there are always threats, and the use of the weapon help to demonstrate that. She's protecting herself, but what is she protecting herself from? There is a lot of violence and blood in horror films so this was my subtle way of incorporating it into my work.
Production Techniques
The editing of the sequence is quite choppy, no shot lasts a long amount of time. A lot of the shots I used are short which helps create a sense of confusion amongst the audience. The shots only last a few seconds which is just long enough for the audience to gather the information from the shot before it moves onto the next one, where more information is given to them. The editing moves from each shot by cutting to each shot. This is very typical of the horror genre, to keep the editing at a fast pace, which helps to create tension.
There isn't a lot of camera movement, the camera remains still, bar a few shots of a POV. This is quite typical because instead of the camera moving, the subjects do instead. If there was a chase scene or an action scene then it would be more likely for the camera to move with the subject. However, in my opening sequence I just wanted to establish the setting and the character so there was no need for movement.
There is a lot of close ups in sequence, so much so that we are placed especially close to the character, almost too close for comfort. There are a lot of famous scenes in the horror genre that use close ups. This really helps to keep the audience in the action, to place them almost as if they were in the screen too. It also helps to show the audience any details they would miss if it were anything less than a close up shot.
The filter I placed on the video really helps to dull down the colours in the video and make it look really dingy and dirty, I really wanted it to look extremely dull. As mentioned above, this helps to establish the horror genre in my video as dark and dull colours are extremely common in this industry.
The soundtrack I used is Gustavo Santaolalla's The Last of Us which is taken from the The Last of Us video game which is also a part of the horror genre. I chose this track, firstly because it is from the same genre and secondly, I thought it worked well as a soundtrack to help establish the mood and setting in the sequence. The song is very low-key and has no enthralling elements to it - it helps to set the mood of a dull, dark life for the character in a world with no hope or company to keep her sane.
Symbolic/Action Codes
As mentioned above, the first code worth mentioning is the golf club which is the character's weapon. She uses it for protection whilst also posing a threat to the audience. There is also the prop of the broken lantern in the final scene which helps to establish my idea of a broken, dark, dull world she now lives in. Nothing works anymore, so she is forced to use anything she can to survive. A golf club wouldn't have been her initial weapon of choice, but it is the only option she has.
There are also some action codes such as the close up of the character clenching her blood covered fists. As mentioned above, some of the use of the close up shots were used for detail. The clenching of the fists tells the audience she is an angry, threatening character.
There are other codes that I sought to disregard and challenge in this genre.
Firstly, there is the use of a male protagonist. I used a female as the main character as there as a gap in the market for this. There are very few horror films with a strong female lead. So my character was created for this reason.
The second convention I saw was the use of news reports and images of every day life. I used neither of these as I wanted to set my sequence in the aftermath of the apocalypse. There is a sense of every day life, but again, it is in the apocalypse and is no where similar to the life my character lead before it. I used no news reports as I wanted the audience to remain clueless about the situation. I wanted the whole of the sequence to remain one giant enigma which would keep the audience second guessing themselves 'til the very end.
This is some of the points I would discuss if genre came up in my exam. Closer to the time I will actually put all of this information into a plan for me to use but for now this is just some of the ideas i have for discussion.
Until next time,
Toni
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