Thursday, 29 April 2010
Brief
A promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with two of the following of the tree options:
- a website homepage for the film
- a film magazine front cover, featuring the film
- a poster for the film
Poster Analysis
In the Halloween poster the image is a painting, a convention at the time, apposed to a photograph in the Friday the 13th poster. I think they are both effective in their own way. However I think the Friday the 13th is more effective to the teenage generation because a photograph is seen as a more reliable way to show realism and therefore is more realistic, as modern expectations has expanded.
In both of the posters the background are dark if not black which ties in with the horror genre.
The mise-en scene that is included in both of these posters has a knife as the weapon which portrays that the films are in the slasher genre.
The titles are in different places but both title are the biggest font on the page.
When analysing both title typographies I found that they had in common that the typography style wasn’t scary, creepy or gloomy. I think the reason this is so that the typography doesn’t take away attention from the images but for the titles to stand out they have been put in a bright colour that standouts against black. For Halloween the colour used is orange to keep in with the associated colour of Halloween and for Friday the 13th red is used as it has connotations of blood, danger and warning
Both of the posters have taglines that are quite twisted in terms of they include a nice, warm, safe word that is put on a poster for a horror film which takes the safety away from the word which makes the audience feel indirectly scared, which is very effective.
I believe the theory of masochism; getting pleasure out of pain can be applied to posters and films especially when the target demographic is teenagers as I believe that teenagers tend to be quite masochistic, therefore when the audience feel scared they also feel pleasure , therefore the image, the title, the typography and the phrases in these posters are used and shown to be frightening because the audience gets pleasure from that feeling which attracts then to watch the movie.
Trailer analysis: Halloween 1978
Halloween 1978
The trailer starts of with a caption that mentions the title, which moves on to a shot of the house at which the camera jolts.[voice over with a very faint piano note]
This shows a safe looking house which the audience feel comfortable with how ever the jolting of the camera puts the audience on edge as this is a contradiction.
The camera seems to be wearing a mask only seeing a knife that looks like it is stabbing something, which makes the audience feel uncomfortable as they are positioned as the killer. The camera starts to go down the stairs and leaves the house, into the dark. [Degetic sound of some scream and non degetic sound of a loud piano key. The non- degetic sound seemed to be getting deeper as the camera goes outside where the car has pulled up.] The camera is played as a character at that moment. This done to leave the audience confused as to what is going on as they can’t see the full picture.
Then the audience find out the killer is a little boy. [the non- degetic sound is carried out however degetic sound is added of the father saying something ]
The juxtaposition of the masked camera that was doing the st5abbing and the little boy having a bigger effect as the audience are shocked and surprised that something thought to be innocent is actually a twisted murderer.
A caption appears [non- diegetic sound and the voice over repeating the caption] the caption says ‘Halloween’ and so does the voice, this is done to reinforce the name of the film but also reinforces that it is Halloween on that day.
A shot of an old man say some important lines that give a sense of the narrative [non degetic sound that is really low and degetic sound of the man talking]. There is not much sound when he says the lines because these lines are there to effectively tell the audience a bit about the narrative of the film and also building tension.
Shots form a scene showing the killer attacking the women in the car [non- degetic sound and degetic sound of the woman screaming and of the window smashing]. The audience will respond to this because it shows the killer actually trying to kill a person and shows what the killer is capable of, however he isn’t revelled creating the enigma which is who is he?
A shot of the old man saying that he thinks the killer is going to come back [degetic sound of the man talking]. A shot of the old man again saying and hinting to the audience what happens in the film.
A shot of the girls talking and walking down a suburban street and then turning around and looking shocked [only degetic sound of the girls talking, then non- degetic sound is added which increases in volume]
This scene is effective because of the juxtaposition of the old man saying that he thinks the killer is going to come back and the shot of the girls turning back, which implies that the killer is going to come into the girls lives.
Another caption [degetic and non degetic sound]
A shock of the killer wearing the bed sheet and a shot of the girl lying in bed not really scared [degetic sound of the door creaking open and non degetic sound] this shot is effective because of the dramatic irony of the girl who doesn’t seem to be bothered by the person wearing the bed sheet, looking quite comical. However the audience are aware that it is the killer creating a disturbing effect on the audience.
A montages of shots that show something bad happening and creating a sense pace [degetic and non- degetic sound]
Then shot of the girl that has fallen down the stairs and the killer is coming down after her [non- degetic and degetic sound of the girl crying, screaming and falling down the stairs, which is then followed piano notes playing at a beat] this shot set tension when the killer comes down the stairs and the sounds goes to the pace of the killer.
A shot from outside the house of the girl running across the street, screaming, whilst the killer follows [non- degetic sound and degetic sound of the girl screaming]. This shot is effective because the suburban street is shown which is known to be a safe place but in this case it isn’t and looks empty.
A shot of someone watching TV [non- degetic sound and degetic sound of the TV]. This shows that everybody seems to be busy and oblivious to the fact that there is a killer outside, also echoing the audience’s situation.
A shot of the main character banging on the door [degetic sound of banging and shouting. Non degetic sound of music and a voice over]
This is followed by the killer coming closer
The trailer finishes with the name of the film [degetic of the girl banging on the door and non degetic sound]. The trailer ends with the girl banging on the door, ending the trailer with a cliff hanger and leaving the audience questioning whether the girl got away.
Trailer analysis: Cursed
Cursed
Here is the hyperlink to the Cursed trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RxebaEloFU
The trailer starts of with the certificate age and details about the film (such as, warnings and website details) [no sound]
The first shot is of a full moon [no sound].The full moon starts the trailer and set a calm mood but on edge atmosphere because it gives away indirectly that the story is about werewolves.
This cuts to a scene of a car driving at night [degetic sound of the car driving which is over taken by the sound of growling]
This is when the audience see first of the characters. The growling sound confirms that the story is about some sort of beast but also tells the audience that the beast is involved with these characters that are driving.
Then follows quick shots of a car crash [more growling sound is added and the sound of the car skidding is also present]. These quick shots change the atmosphere to upbeat fear. The skidding sound and growling sound added together reinforces the beast is responsible for the accident.
Then a caption appears [non- degetic sound that is eerie]. The caption say ‘what seemed like an accident…’ the eerie sound and slow pace of the caption changes the atmosphere back to being on edge. The caption is a reinforcement of the quick shot because indirectly the audience have been told that the crash had something to with a beast and the caption directly addresses the fact that the crash may not an accident.
Shots from after the accident are then shown [degetic sound of talking]
The pace stays slow carrying on this on edge atmosphere whilst the damage of the accident is shown.
Then more quick shots of something happening to them or something trying to get them is shown [degetic sound of screaming and glass smashing is present]. The pace is quicker again, which shifts the atmosphere and mood of the audience to being with some excitement. The beast trying to get them shows that it’s not over. The screaming and glass smashing sound presents the violence of the beast but also adds to momentum to the atmosphere.
Another caption appears [the same eerie sound]. The slow pace and eerie sound changes the atmosphere again back to on edge. This caption carries on the sentence from the first caption.
Quick shots are shown of something happening to them after that night [degetic sound of the boy saying an important line]. This shows the audience the real problem and also shows them that the characters are changing into something.
Another caption follows [an eerie piano sound]
A shot of the girl changing into something follows [the same eerie piano sound is continued]. The pace carries on slow which is creepy with this shot because it shows that the many character is a beast to without knowing.
Another caption appears [low eerie sound]
Shot from a scene in the girl’s bathroom is shown [non-degetic sound of flicking with degetic sound of the girls whispering]. This scene is scary because the bathroom is normal place and I suppose is a safe place however in this scene there seems to be something abnormal happening to a girl in the bathroom, which takes away the safe feeling from the audience.
Followed by another caption [non degetic sound]
Then follows shots of the news reporting a murder [degetic sound from the TV] the director has put these shots in so that the audience begin to suspect the characters of murdering the victim and also begin to question the capabilities of the characters as the audience are already aware of what the characters have become.
Another caption appears [non degetic sound]
Shots from a scene where the dog is monstrous [degetic sound of the boy talking and the dog aggressively growling], this is there to take away the safe zone for the audience as the shot shows something and innocent as the pet dog turned into a beast.
Shots of the girl changing into something monstrous too [non degetic sound and degetic sound]
Then really fast shot of violent, aggressive and weird things happening to the characters is shown [voice over and non- degetic sound]. This is a montage of fast and excitingly scary things happening which make the film seem like it is pack with lots of scary and interesting events/
Another caption appears [non degetic sound]
A shot of the girl scared but then changing into the monster is the last shot [degetic sound of the girl and boy talking and non degetic sound]. This last shot is effective because the pace has calmed down and so has the music tell the audience that it over however it’s not because the girl ends the trailer by becoming monstrous.
The atmosphere and mood of the trailer is like a rollercoaster just like the pace. The mood keeps changing back and forth as the pace of the shots become faster and slower.
Trailer script - narrative
‘Billy, watch out’
‘Help me’
‘Are you okay?’
‘Do you hear that?’
‘What’s going on out there?’
‘Ever since the other night thing are happening, things I can’t explain’
‘Elly what’s wrong?’
‘Just having a really bad day’
‘Can I help?’
‘Last night a young women was attacked and killed’
‘Hey buddy, you okay?’
‘What was that?’
‘My dog’
‘What kind of dog do you have?’
‘Something’s wrong’
‘The only way you can break the curse is to kill the person who started it all’
‘Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you, it’s just that I needed to talk to you’
The dialogue gives away the story but not the ending. From this dialogue the audience know that something weird is happening to the characters; also that there has been a murder. The audience then find out that there is a curse that needs to be broken, which is basically what the story is about.
Institutional elements
The end card is at the beginning.
There is a voiceover near the end that explains a bit more about the curse.
There are a few captions in the trailer:
- what seemed like an accident
- was really something more
- but beyond what’s changing them
- lies a price they must pay
- from the director was craven and writer Kevin Williamson
- the creators of scream
- cursed
Editing
This trailer is full of fast shots and slow shots. The speed varies through out the trailer.
There is also a montage of shots that are fast.
The end shock is her about to bit her boyfriend.
The Wizard of OZ: Analysis in terms of narrative theory
The wizard of OZ: Analysis of Narrative theory
Narrative theorists have argued about different films having the same story or having the same structure.
Tzvetan Todorov argued that the same basic structure can be found in all stories. This structure is the equilibrium, which is normal life for the characters, a life before a problem or change has occurred. The equilibrium is disrupted by some kind of change or problem. The problem/ change is resolved and everything is restored. Then the story ends with a new equilibrium. Normal life (the equilibrium) tends to always be different after the disruption stages because the characters have changed over the course of the problem or their life has changed. For example, characters dying. Making their life different and therefore they have a new normal life.
Tzvetan Todorov’s theory can fit into the story of the wizard of OZ.
The film starts off with a girl, Dorothy and her dog, Todo running from a mean woman that lives nearby. She is soon surrounded by her family, her aunt and uncle who live on a farm, in the scene there are men that are working on the farm doing their everyday jobs. This is normal life for Dorothy, being on the farm even though she doesn’t tend to work. this normal life is initially disrupted by the mean women that is legally taking Todo away which is then followed by Dorothy leaving and then coming back searching for her aunt, she ends up being caught in a tornado. That is the disturbance in the film. The new equilibrium can’t be achieved until the problem is resolved and restores. The problem being that she wants to get home and doesn’t know how to get there. So through the film she meets people and animals and goes on an adventure through the land of OZ to resolve her problem. Near the end she meets the wizard of OZ, who tells her how to get home and resolves the problem. When she is home everything is restored and there forms the new equilibrium. There is a new equilibrium because the character has changed by the event that have happened. At first Dorothy was unappreciative of her life but after the disruption was resolved she was appreciative of her life.
While studying Russian fairytales Vladimir Propp recognised a series of recurring functions/ narrative strands. These functions are mostly seen in teenage action or adventure films.
For example, one of the functions that he noticed was that the hero leaves home near the beginning of the story. In the wizard of OZ, Dorothy is the hero for the people that live in the land of OZ and near the beginning of the film she decides to leave home because she doesn’t want Todo to be put down. Also another is that the hero meets a benefactor, in the wizard of OZ Dorothy meets the witch of the north who welcomes her to the land of OZ and helps her by giving her a magical gift, which is a pair of red shoes, this is another one of Propp’s functions; the hero receives a magical gift.
Also Propp said that the hero gains a helper. This is accomplished when Dorothy meets the scarecrow, the tin man and the cowardly lion, who join her on the adventure.
The villain attempts to stop the hero is some way. This was done in the wizard of OZ by the witch of the west poising the poppies. Another function is the hero is tested, interrogated, attacked, etc. in the wizard of OZ, Dorothy was captured and interrogated by the witch, which is then followed by another one of Propp’s functions whish is that the hero and villain join in direct combat and the villain is defeated/ the witch was defeated when Dorothy splashed water on her and she started melting.
Claude Levi Strauss looked more at there are stories unlike Todorov, looking at the structure of stories. Levi Strauss believed that stories were told to explain things, such as contradictions and therefore believed that a story would be full of binary opposites.
Looking at the wizard of OZ, the binary opposite that are most apparent is good and evil. Good winning over evil gives of the message that good wins and evil loses. Also two other binary opposites are hero and villain. In the wizard of OZ Dorothy is the hero and she seems to kill all the evil characters in the story and the wicked witch of the west is a villain as she wants to kill the hero. In Claude Levi Strauss’s theory having two opposites explains to the audience what a hero is and what a hero does and what a villain is and what a villain does.
Roland Barthes is a structurelist thinker who identified a number of codes (set of conventions, which help find the meaning of the story). Barthes believes that every story have the same codes and conventions behind them.
He came up with 5 codes. The first being the action code, this code is about seeing if there is something generic in the story, for example, in the wizard of OZ it is generic that the hero kills the villain and good wins over evil, which links to Propp’s narrative strands and Strauss’s binary opposites.
The second code is the semantic code. This is the character’s point of view that the story is told from. In the wizard of OZ the point of view shot is from Dorothy’s point of view. The story is about what Dorothy goes through and the audience sympathize with what she is feeling, whereas the film ‘wicked’ is from the witch’s point of view and the story follows the witch rather than the hero.
The third is the enigma code, which is that every story should have a problem or a mystery. In the wizard of OZ the problem is that Dorothy wants to go home, but doesn’t know how.
The fourth code is the referential code, which means the mise-en scene.
The fifth code is the symbolic code, which are symbolic connotations to help represent and portray certain characters and situations.
Image Board:The Location
Halloween 1978
This is the location used in Halloween, which is a suburban house on a suburban street. Having the setting on a normal street, with normal houses makes this the scene and the situation scarier as placing such a horrible situation in a place that is known to be safe eliminates the safety factor that the audience have for such a normal place, leaving the audience scared.
In the trailer when the girl is running across the street away for the killer, makes the audience tense as this common neighbourhood suddenly seem deserted leaving the character helpless.
The Blair witch project
The Blair witch project is set in the woods. This is an effective location because the woods are like a maze making the characters feel lost and alone. It is the obstruction of the trees that portray the characters as venerable as they can’t see what is around them, it is this aspect that is effective as it plays on the fear of the audience, which is the fear of not seeing, or of the fear of being blind.
The chain saw massacre
The location of The Texas chain saw massacre is set in the woods and in an abandon house. This is common convention of slasher films, as the woods plays of the audience’s fear of being blind and lost. The abandon house plays on the audience’s fear of the unknown, as it is an unknown place. This allows the director to use the element of surprise as the audience and the characters don’t know what to expect.
