Target Audience Profile

Audience Theories

An active audience is one that engages with the audience, they do not just accept every media message given to them, they question what it is they are seeing and come up with their own interpretation based on numerous influences like family, education, culture and life experiences.  

A passive audience does not question the media text that is being presented to them but accept it with the intention that the media institution had.

Audience is a macro feature of media and they consume media texts and percieve the work in different ways. The audience theories help to devise a better understanding between texts and the audience. These are:

The Effects Theory

This is the idea that the consumption of media texts has an influence or effect on the audience.

Generally, the audience is passive and powerless in preventing the influence that the media text has over them. However, the power lies within the message of the text.


An example of this, is the 'clown craze' that has recently happened where people dress up as clowns and go out on the streets and scare people. It is said that this has been sparked by the upcoming film 'It' releasing in September 2017 in the UK. This clown phase could be due to 'It' marketing their film, however, it is speculated, that they should not release it as it can may cause this 'clown craze' to further. 

The Hypodermic Model

The theory that the media is being 'injected' into its' audiences and therefore the audience is impotent to resist, making the media seem as if it is a drug.

The Bobo Doll Experiment

This evidence was used for the Effects Model and was an experiment in which children watched a video where an adult violently assaulted a toy clown called a Bobo Doll. The children were then taken into a room with nice toys that they were not allowed to touch. Afterwards, they were taken to a room with Bobo Dolls and 88% repeated the violent behaviour they had earlier seen. Eight months later, 40% of the children imitated the violent behaviour again.

This concluded that the children repeated the actions of the violent behaviour from the media they had seen.

Contributing examples of this theory are:

- the film 'Child's Play 3' in the murder of James Bulger in 1993.

- the game 'Manhunt'

Media can also encourage inactivity leading to other implications like students and exam productivity, it can also offer 'copycat' behaviour.

The Uses and Gratifications Model

This theory is opposite to the Effects Model as it implies that the audience is active meaning that they use the text as oppose to being used by the media text for pleasure and gratification.

In this respect, the power is found with the audience rather than the producers, unlike examples of the Hypodermic Model where the audience is not rejecting the media's meaning.

The needs that are gratified by the audience are:

• Diversion
• Escapism
• Information
• Pleasure
• Comparison of relationships and lifestyles
• Sexual stimulation

The media also helps them with:

• Learning
• Emotional Release
• Relaxation
• Personal identity
• Social identity  
• Issues associated with violence and aggression

The theory also implies that by the audience consuming violent texts, this is helpful rather than dangerous as the violent impulses are being played out in the media texts. Therefore they are less likely to commit violent acts as the desire to behave violently has been decreased.

Reception Theory

This was developed by Stuart Hall, he theorised that all media texts are encoded with meaning by the the producers and it is up to the audience to decode them. In some circumstances the audience decode the message or meaning accurately and understand what is is that the producers are trying to convey. In other ways, the audience will fail to accurately decode the message or meaning.

Stuart Hall distinguished three types of audiences:

1. Dominant or preferred - this is where the audience decodes the message as the producers intends them too and aggreeing with it. It is as if the text is 'transparent' to them.

2. Negotiated - they partly share the text's code and may modify it in a way that reflects them and their experiences and interests.

3. Oppositional - when the dominant meaning is recognised but they choose to ignore it for cultural, political or ideological reasons

Two Step Flow

There are two steps to this theory. Firstly, the opinion leaders gain their information from a media source and they then pass this information, along with their opinions, to others.

An example of this is Paris Hilton being in 'House of Wax', she would've publicised this to her audience who would then go and see the film as she is in it. 

Target Audience Research

There would be no media without audiences, media industries produce media targeted at particular audiences to gain a profit. If there are no audiences, then there is no profit to be made from them.

Due to the competitiveness of the mass media, media industries and organisations have to intrigue an audience in different ways.

For a media organisation to identify their target audience, they consider the following aspects:

Demographic of the audience

This is the physical difference between people, helping to narrow down their target audience. They also use a people grading system:

Psycho graphic of the audience:

This method includes categorising people based on their interests, personality, values, beliefs and personal lifestyle.

To help with our opening scene, we completed a questionnaire with questions that are relevant to help us with making decisions for our horror film. These questions are to be completed by a range of people of different ages people to grasp an idea of the type of audience we are aiming for.

Horror Film Questionnaire

As a group, we created a questionnaire in order to gain an understanding of what our audience thought of horror films.


 

From our responses to the questionnaire, we learnt that the main age group of the people answering our questionnaire was 16-21. This helped with the planning of our own opening scene as it helped to establish our main target audience which is 16-21 and their demographic and psycho graphic.

Also, the two favourite sub genres from the responses was psychological and paranormal. From this, we decided to have the sub genre of our film as paranormal as we felt we could create this one better than a psychological film, with our equipment.

The majority also expected that hints of the narrative should be revealed in the opening and that they watch horror films to be scared. Thus, in the opening of our horror scene we are only revealing limited amounts of the narrative.

55% said that they find an asylum most suitable for a horror film and then followed by a haunted house. Unfortunately, we do not have access to an asylum or a set that we could re create an asylum, therefore we have adapted the 'haunted house' location to our narrative by leaving the audience to question whether it is the house that is haunted or the young girl to conform to the needs of our demographic.

84% responded 'yes' to having children in a horror film. The majority also said that they find possession the scariest in a horror film. Therefore, we decided to have a child in our opening and throughout the film, this correlates with the majority of the responses saying 'yes' to this.

Moreover, we are including just two characters in our opening, which was the most popular choice in our questionnaire as it is an opening, therefore showing too many of the characters will give away more of the narrative than needed in an opening. Furthermore, from the responses, 66% said that they wish to see two people in the opening of a horror film, so we did this in our opening.

The majority of our opening scene will have low level foley to add the effect of it being unnatural. This is due to the greater part of the responses said that they find silence the most effective in the opening of a horror film.

Binary Opposition Theory

Binary Opposition was theorised by Levi Strauss, he believed that we understand concepts or certain words not by the meaning themselves, but the we understand them by the difference of the word or concept opposite to it. For example, our understanding of the word 'villain', depends on the differences between them and the 'hero'.

Binary Opposition is a pair of concepts that have an opposite meaning, for example a protagonist and antagonist in film.

The good vs evil opposite is more commonly used in horror films as it enhances its plot. However other common opposites in horror films are human vs supernatural and sane vs insane.

Binary Opposites are usually used to understand the story and enables the equilibrium. These opposites used to be more simple but has progressed to be more complex concepts. For example, in Twilight the opposites between the werewolves and vampires isn't so clear in the first film but slowly reveals the opposition.

These are some examples of binary opposites:

Twilight is an example of binary opposition with the vampire vs werewolf characters and how certain characters are good and some are evil, one of the binary opposites shown above. 

Horror Films Budget

LOW BUDGET
It is not uncommon for horror films with a low budget to be more successful than one with a higher budget. For example, Paranormal Activity, had a budget of $11,000 but grossed $193.4 million in box office.

This is also the case with 'The Blair Witch Project', it took $60,000 to produce but grossed at $248 million worldwide. This film began the 'found footage' phenomenon that was a common theme in horror movies in the 2000s.

'The Blair Witch Project' was marketed to be a 'true story', therefore automatically, this adds to the fear factor.

Also, it was one of the first films to use viral marketing, which was effective as it reach out to its target audience.

HIGH BUDGET

'What Lies Beneath' was released in 2000, a year after 'The Blair Witch Project', yet it had a budget of an estimated $100 million, which is significantly more. It grossed just over $150 million dollars which isn't near the amount of profit that 'Paranormal Activity' made or 'The Blair Witch Project'.

However, it was said on a review on IMDb that 'too much of the plot and its elements of mystery were revealed in the marketing of the film'. This could be that the trailer showed too much of the narrative, digressing people to watch the film, to find out what happens.

An example of a horror movie that did have a high budget and a high grossing is 'The Exorcist' (1973). Its budget was $12,000,000 and it gross was just over $204,000,000. 

This research helped with our own opening and it helped us understand as a group that we don't have  to have a big budget in order to produce a film that is successful. However, there are films that do well with a big budget also. 

Initial Ideas for Our Brief

When it came to coming up with ideas for our brief, we firstly wrote down all of the types of horror films. Then after thinking of ideas for each, we narrowed down which one would be most appropriate for this task. For example, when we thought about doing a opening that revolved around the sub genre of psychological, we discovered that with our budget and equipment, this wouldn't be as effective as box office films.

Ultimately, we chose to use paranormal as the sub genre for our horror opening scene. The idea on the left of the sheet above is our initial idea that stemmed from this sub genre. However, after deliberating we realised that we would have location limitations as we did not have remote access to a church. Also, it would not be appropriate to perform an Ouija Board scene in a church, despite the haunted connotations it may have.

The idea on the right however, is our final idea that we came up with after brainstorming ideas for the paranormal sub genre. We felt that this sub genre would be effective for our brief as we was all confident that we could produce the best brief out of the other sub genres. 

Once gaining an understand of our story line, we went into more detail on the image above.

After feedback from our previous idea that are opening was revealing too much of the plot, we re-evaluated our ideas and altered them to make it more of an opening. Also, with the idea above, the prodcution will be more successful as we are able to get suitable actors and locations better.

Vladmir Propp's Theory

Propp theorised that the same events keep being repeated in narratives, creating a framework for stories.


He categorised characters that were typical in a narrative, these are:

• Villian: who has a challenge with the antagonist
• Hero: who restores the equillibrium
• Heroine: stereotypically a character who is shown to be vulnerable and needs saving by the hero
• Donor: this is who helps the hero and may supply him with an object to help him on his quest
• Dispatcher: this is who puts the hero on his journey
• Helper: they assist the hero in putting together the equillibrium. They meet them along their journey or be with them the whole journey
• False Hero: they decieve the hero to believe they are on their side, but actually go against them, usually seek to be seen as the hero

Propp also created 31 Narrative Functions which are:


1. Someone in the family leaves
2. Hero is told not to go somewhere
3.They ignore this
4. The villian is encountered
5. The villian is knowledgable of the victim
6. Villian tries to decieve the victim to take possession of them or their belongings
7. Victim falls for the villains decievement
8. Villian inflits some sort of harm to a group or family member or a member of family is in need of something
9. What they are in need of is made known
10. A counter-action is decided upon
11. Hero leaves their home
12. Hero is then challenge, interogated or attacked (preparation for the helper or donor to appear)
13. Reactions are taken place by the hero in aid of the donor
14. Hero is in need of something magical
15. Hero is directed to the location of what they are in search for
16. Villian and hero are face to face in combat
17. Hero is branded (hurt or recieves an object like a ring)
18. Villian is defeated
19. Initial what was needed, is resolved
20. Hero returns
21. Hero is undermined
22. They are then rescued
23. Hero arrives home or goes to another country
24. False hero gives untrue claims
25. Hero is tested
26. Task is then resolved
27. The hero is then recognised
28. The false is uncovered
29. Hero gains a new appearance (eg new clothing, becomes handsome)
30. Villian is punished
31. Hero marries or rewarded (descending throne)




Propp's narratives are easily applied to past and present narratives.

Production Schedule

Week 1	Monday – Initial ideas Tuesday – Basic Planning sheet Wednesday – Research into film companies to decide which one want to work with Thursday – Research into Barthes Enigma Code and producers to produce our film Friday – Research into the narrative structure of a film
Week 2	Monday – Research into Target Audience Wednesday – Research into sub genres and credits Thursday – Creating the questionnaire to help with ideas for our opening Friday – Research into certification and distribution
Week 3	Monday – Presenting our Pitch Tuesday – Responding to our Pitch feedback and researching camera shots Wednesday – Storyboard and sound for our opening scene Thursday – Continue storyboard and photo shopping pictures for the photo frame Friday – Screenplay and props and costumes
Week 4	HALF TERM      (filming)
Week 5	Monday – Character Analysis Tuesday – Location recce Wednesday – Begin editing Thursday – Editing
Week 6	Tuesday – Editing Wednesday – Adding sound effects to our opening Thursday – Creating a company logo and adding New Line Cinema opening to the start of our main brief
Week 7	Continue editing throughout , organise planning and research into blog
Week 8	Refilming
Week 9	Begin Evaluation Questions and finalise blog
Week 10	Finish evaluation Questions and blog

'Scream' Gender Analysis

How is gender represented in this extract?

‘Scream’ is a 1996 horror, produced by Dimension Films, which worked in synergy with Miramax to create this film. The opening of this film has elements which show how gender is mediated to the audience through different aspects such as mis en scene, editing, camera work and sound.

The mis en scene in this extract represents the protagonist in this film- whose name is Casey and is played by Drew Barrymore- as being innocent, through her costume. This is because she is wearing a cream sweater and has blonde, bobbed hair. By choosing to have her wear this particular mis en scene, it connotes her innocence as cream is stereotypically linked to purity. Also, with her hair being blonde, this links to the generic stereotypes, common in horror films, that she is dense. However, although she is being portrayed as innocent in this manner, she is being slightly sexualised by the way she is wearing a rouge coloured lipstick. This conforms to Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze Theory as although she is wearing minimal makeup on her face, her lips have been tinged with a red colour to make them the focus. This sexualises her as the rest of her appearance is not sexualised yet her lips give other connotations.

Also, when Casey is on the phone to the mystery male and he is imposing threats, she runs to lock all of the doors. On the door, there is a window section at the top with panels. This shot made Casey look as if she is imprisonment. Although she locks the doors, it makes the audience think she is slightly unintelligent to leave them unlocked when she is home alone. This correlates with the stereotype that because she has blonde hair, therefore she is witless.

Before Drew Barrymore starred in ‘Scream’, celebrities wouldn’t generally star in horror films, yet this relates to Richard Dyer’s Star Theory. This is because, by having Drew Barrymore in this film, it will lead to more people to watch it as they will recognize Barrymore, therefore gain more viewers. Furthermore, this lead to the popularisation of celebrities in horror films.

Also, in films, women are generally punished for being impure, she tells the man on the phone that she doesn’t have a boyfriend. Yet when he starts to be threatening, she says that she has a boyfriend. This creates the stereotype that the woman needs protection by a male as they are feeble and that in films, the male is the one to come and save them, despite their show of strength and independence throughout the film.

The editing in the opening of ‘Scream’ is slow paced with long length shots, building up tension and creating the effect that someone is following the protagonist. This is exemplified when she is walking round the kitchen from turning the popcorn on the hob, to answering the telephone. This is done in one continuous shot which is then followed by a cut to the swing outside, letting the audience know that the mysterious person on the phone is near. Also, the shot of outside, shows how she is in the middle of nowhere, provoking fear for the audience as this is an unfortunate likelihood that help will not get to her quickly.

The editing in ‘Scream’ is also climactic as there is a cut away to the popcorn, which is growing. This connotes to the audience that tension is building and the popcorn is the stimulus behind it. As the fear in the scene builds, the popcorn grows till it is bursting, and this is when Casey is beginning to become uneasy. This also represents the stereotype that Casey is slightly unintelligent as she has forgotten all about her popcorn that is bursting on the hob whilst she is consumed by the mysterious person on the phone.

Camera work also relates to this as there is a close up of the hob being turned on, creating the enigma as they audience wonder who it was that ignited the hob. This links to Barthes Enigma Code which he theorised that the text is like a ball of thread and it needs to be unravelled in order to piece together what the text means.

Moreover, as she goes to look out the back door of her home, she exits the shot but the camera focuses on the image behind her, it is a large painting of a castle hanging above the mantle piece. This relates to the gender in this extract as it is connoting that she is a damsel in distress, conforming to typical films, where the woman must be saved by a man.

Also, when Casey is crying, as she is terrified of this unidentified man on the phone, the shot is handheld. This patronises Casey making her seem weak, a common stereotype of women in horror films. The camera also moves higher, this manipulates the audience to see Casey as being belittled and feeble. The audience are granted gratification as they now appear to be above her and looking down on her, relating to the stereotype that women are weak in films.

There is also foley to exaggerate the sharpness of the knife as Casey pulls it out to admire when she is first on the phone to the male. The knife isn’t a particular sharp knife, however, this was used as iconography to lead the audience to feel that Casey has these weapons to defend herself. However, this realisation is diminished, when she is being closed in on by the man on the phone and she only grabs one knife instead of all of them in the stand as the man could use these against her. This conforms to the stereotype that females are submissive but not always smart when using their own initiative.

The dialogue is driving the narrative of this opening scene, this is exemplified when the male on the phone says to Casey: ‘I want to know who I am looking at’. The non diegetic sound then begins from the previous sounds of her breathing, representing her vulnerability. Also, this relates to how  males have more power,as he is dominant in this situation and blunt, common stereotypes found in films. This use of sound then mirrors how we as an audience should feel as the fear is beginning to set in for Casey and we now understand that the man on the phone can see her, foreshadowing what is to come. The audience also know that the male can see her as he calls her ‘blondie’ over the phone, this is a generic stereotype found in films that blondes are naive and aren’t as strong in pressured situations and the male is belittling her, gaining the power.

To conclude, mis en scene, editing, camera work and sound all show how the gender is represented in the opening of ‘Scream’. The mis en scene and camera work is manipulative to the way she is presented to the audience with her rouge lips and belittling by the camera angle. Moreover, the sound and editing show gender also but way they present the stereotypes of the male and female in this opening. Casey is represented to be weak and emotional whilst the male on the phone is dominant and powerful, all of which are common stereotypes found in horror films.

Barthes Enigma Code

Roland Barthes was a French literary theorist, critic, philosopher and semiotician (which is the study of cultural signs and symbols), born in 1915 and died he died in 1980.

'a photograph is always invisible, it is not it that we see'

This quote signifies how Barthes saw media not for what it looked like, but for the meanings we interpret. He theorised that every media text is like a ball of thread, the thread has to be unravelled and once this thread has been unravelled, it opens up different meanings.

For example, you can look at a narrative in a one particular way: one viewpoint, one set of experiences and create that one meaning for that certain text. However, if you look at the text from a different point of view, you can create an entirely different narrative.

Barthes said that texts can either be 'open' (it can have different interpretations) or 'closed' (there is only one obvious meaning).

The theorist then narrowed down how texts were interpreted into 'Five Codes' which are laced into the narrative. These are:

The Hermeneutic Code (HER)

This is the voice of the truth and is the way that the story avoids disclosing the truth or revealing all of the facts. This code helps to create mystery as it leaves clues in the narrative as the film goes on, leaving the audience wanting more and frustrating the audience with the unanswered conundrums.

The Enigma / Proairetic Code (ACT)

The empirical voice which is based on experience or observation rather than a theory or logic. It is concerned with the way tension is climactic and the audience is wondering what is going to happen next.

The Semantic Code (SEM)

This is the voice of the person which is the elements of the text that refer to additional meanings by the connotations that are suggested within the narrative. The elements of semantic codes are called 'semes' and these are the connotational devices in the text which adds a further meaning in addition to the literal meaning.

The Symbolic Code (SYM)

This refers to the symbols within a text, it is similar to The Semantic Code, however gives a deeper meaning by using opposites to show contrast. This creates tension, drama and character development within the narrative. Antithesis is often used to illustrate these 'opposites' and this is where a new meaning is developed through opposing and conflicting ideologies.

Referential Code / The Cultural Code (REF)

This is the voice of science which means anything within the text that links to the audiences use of an external knowledge such as historic, cultural or scientific knowledge. As well as their morality or ideology understanding.


In my opening scene I will incorporate the Hermeneutic Code as it will be a mystery as to how Sarah just disappeared from the garden.
Also, enigma will be created as the audience may wonder what is going to happen next after Sarah has appeared behind Mrs Hobbs and how she is going to approach the situation.
The family photographs in the opening relate to the Semantic Code as they offer a deeper look in to the family dynamic and why the narrative may be altered by the one less family member in the second family photo.
The Symbolic Code, is used in our opening with the iconography of the knives as this creates drama. For example, in this scenario, the knives are used for cooking but as this is a horror film, it is antithesis as generally, they are used for violence, connoting that this is yet to come. 

Sub Genres

This research helped with our opening scene as it helped us to establish what sub genre we wanted ours to be.

As a group, we collectively agreed that our film is going to be paranormal horror as we feel this will be most achievable for us whilst still striking fear with our audience.

Films use sub genres as it encourages people to watch as it incorporates more elements. For example, a psychological horror film is more interesting to watch than just a horror film. Sub genres also enhance societies fears, for example a paranormal horror like Paranormal Activity, shows how a normal family is haunted in their home.

Narrative Structure

There are two different types of the macro feature, narrative:

Linear = a narrative that has a beginning, middle and end
Nonlinear = this doesn't always start from the beginning. Usually jumps around the timeline of                                events

Todorov's Narrative Theory

BEGINNING - Equilibrium established 

MIDDLE - Disruption of equilibrium

END - Equilibrium re-established

Our horror opening scene will most likely finish at the disruption of equilibrium which is about 2-3 minutes in. This is because horror films get to the action quite quickly therefore the disruption will be happening so early on.

Horror films can sometimes flip the narrative, this is called reverse chronology.

An example of Todorov's Narrative Theory is the film 'The Purge'.This is where there is peace in the beginning as the annual 'Purge' has not begun. Yet when this day comes, there is a disruption of the equilibrium as all crime is legal for 24 hours and the main family in this film try to survive throughout this. The restoration of the equilibrium comes when the 'Purge' is over and people go back to their everyday lives. 

Ingredients for an Opening Scene of a Horror Film

After my research of the four opening scenes of horror films from the previous post, I discovered the ingredients I thought that are required for the opening scene of a horror film.

      

The opening scene must display the significant characters of the film that will play a role in the piecing together of the horror. This may include the main stimulus of the horror, for example the ghost or demon, and any other characters that have notable relevance to this antagonist. The 'normal' characters are stereotypically shown as fearful of this unnatural character and display signs of dismay whilst the supernatural character displays dominance and control which ultimately stimulates more fear as the haunted character appears powerful. Generally, human characters that are enrolled in the opening scene have some sort of relationship whether it be family or friendship, but this is introduced in the opening to show that they will do anything to overcome the disturbed character as they have a strong relationship that will prevail. Also, by having a family in the film, it becomes more relatable to the audience provoking the fear that the unnatural happenings could be related to their life, striking the intentional fear.

Moreover, horror films are either set in a normal setting like a house, or in a extramundane place. For example, in the 'Insidious' opening scene, it was set in a house, having such a normal setting, juxtaposes the supernatural occurrences that happen and could play on the audience's mind whether it will happen to them in there own home. Oppositely, in 'Blade', it is set in a psychopath's horrific fantasy, where blood is sprayed from the ceiling and the characters are finding pleasure in this. This sparks an unnerving mind twisting experience for the audience that isn't a horror that would be likely to ever happen in their life, so they gain fright from the unrealistic yet extreme behaviour.

       

Furthermore, often horror films will be set around certain time periods, for example, in 'The Woman in Black', this was set around a Victorian era in the opening scene. This has iconography to a gothic nature and creates a lexis between this gothic taste and the horror acquaintances.

      

In regards to the opening credits, these are generally mysterious-if chosen to use, as some horror films do not have them in their opening- however it can be effective in introducing the sense of the genre. If a opening scene does not have opening credits, this can be purposeful too as it gets straight to the action and tension, dropping the audience into the film without being eased into the action. Alternatively, if a director decides to have credits in the opening scene, these are climactic, leading the audience into the action and an expectation of what's to come. An exemplification of this is 2010 Insidious, these titles play as the camera tracks around the rooms of the house. These credits are red and bold with a reflective effect on the letters, again, heightening the mystery and relating to the 'old school horror'. At the end of the scene, the title of the film 'Insidious' appears abruptly on the screen, this comes as a shock to the audience, leaving to believe that the film will be full of surprises and elements where they metaphorically 'jump out of their seats'. The sound effects with this also create horror before the film has fully began.

    

Finally, little of the plot is disclosed, this leaves the audience gripped but also leave an inclination as to what may be the stimulus of the 'horror' and a distinct idea between good and evil.

    

Overall, a horror film opening scene has many different elements that distinguishes this genre as horror and uses these elements effectively to grip the audience and give foreshadowing of the plot.



This research helped with the planning of our opening scene as I know what is needed to be in a horror film in order to conform to the genre. 

Horror Opening Scenes Research

I watched four opening scenes of horror films to help with my pre production research and here is my notes taken from these opening scenes:



BLADE (1998)

Characters: 

A the female who leads the male into the 'club'. 

The male comes across as naive as he carelessly follows the female through the abattoir failing to       see the abnormality of the situation.

There is a large, powerful looking guard at the door dressed in all black to show mystery and his         antagonistic behaviour.

In the 'club' the camera frequently cuts to a medium shot of a blonde woman to convey her reactions and emotion. Foreshadowing to the audience that she must hold some significance in the film. She is also dressed in white creating a purposeful juxtaposition between the innocence this connotes and her behaviour later on in the scene, when she is enjoying being showered in blood.
Towards the end of the opening scene,'Blade' is introduced, he is conveyed as dominant and intimidating. This is portrayed in the low angle shot and his stern, cold facial expression as he enters the room; he knows he is feared and important. The mis en scene of Blade also connotes his menacing demeanour that is being portrayed in this scene. Also, the his sunglasses signify mystery and could show how he is hiding by masking his eyes, a part of the body that convicts emotion.

Location/Time: 

The establishing shot of to set the scene is a shot-reverse-shot of the female and the male character driving to the slaughter house where the enter a 'club' hid away in the back of this abattoir, guarded by a male at the door. This is particularly peculiar as a slaughter house has iconography to a horror film yet to have a club at this location is unorthodox, making this location particularly horrific and unsettling for the audience.

This film is shot in the 90's, however, has iconography that also shows that this is the era the film is set in, this is due to the electronic style music and the hairstyles of the young adults in the club.

Opening Titles: 

The opening titles of 'Blade' are in bold and are red, connoting danger and to also give the recognition to the audience that red was chosen for a reason. For example, shortly after these opening titles, blood is sprayed from the ceiling of the 'club'. They are also in capitals, this makes them striking and shows the audience that this horror film is bold and fearful.

What do you learn about the story? 

From this opening scene, you learn that the blond male character is slightly naive and will fall under the manipulation as he follows the female in the opening around a slaughter house but fails to see how abnormal this place is to 'hang out'. You gain the knowledge that the film focuses around the idea of the rebellion of these young adults as they show provocative behaviour in the 'club'. Also, there is a stigma around the blond male as the other people in the 'club' glare at him in disgust. This gives the indication to the audience that he is different from them and this is further recognised when the blood is sprayed from the ceiling of the club towards the end of the opening scene. The male is horrified by this as all of the other people seem to gain pleasure from this, You also learn that Blade is a feared character as all the characters stop when he enters the room, he has a presence that is dominant shown by the mis en scene and low angle shot showing him to be powerful.

INSIDIOUS (2010)

Characters:

The opening scene shows a young girl, who is part of a family that are in this film. This makes the film particularly chilling as using a family, makes it seem as if the abnormal can happen to the normal.

There is a haunted woman, who judging by the opening scene, will be the main source of horror in     this James Wan film.

The opening scene also makes a point to show a woman asleep. This is done purposefully as she will have a significant role in the film, which she does as she becomes the protector, fighting against the evil spirit. The way she is portrayed is peaceful, she is asleep, therefore this sparks a peaceful connotation to the audience. However, this juxtaposes how her character is actually aroused to be: a key figure in putting a stop to the evil occurring to her family. In a way, this is a heightened, non realistic way of symbolising how a mother is in a family, a protector of her children and will stop anything bad happening to them.

Location/Time:
It is set in a house and is in the modern day, however, the trailer seems to make it look older. This could be due to the generalisation that horror films that are set in older periods of time provoke more fear.

Opening Titles:

The titles are in red with a black screen, this connotes danger and mystery. Also, the font of the titles are in bold and in capitals to signify caution and alarm. Some of the words of the titles have blurred reflections and they fade off the screen, making them more mysterious and uncanny. 

'Insidious' flashes on the screen at a climatic moment of the music. The names of the people in production also fade. 

What do you learn about the story?

There is something haunting about the house and it plays a key role in the film. This is because in the opening, the camera takes shots of room that has no one in it. There is also a significance to the family living in the house, this is due to a family photo being shown in the opening. The clock is foreshadowing something as the camera pans towards it. 

SIGNS (2002)

Characters: 

In the opening of 'Signs' there was a male in a black top and a male in a red top. Both of these colours relate to horror films as these are generally the main colours in this genre (darkness and blood). There is also a young girl and a young boy called Gup, both mysteriously in a corn field. 

Location/Time:
The two locations in this opening are a modern house and a cornfield. The characters do not seem to not be in the corn field for very long, however, at the end of the opening, there is an aerial shot where it shows the characters to be deep into the cornfield with two dogs circling them, adding to the peculiarity of the film.

Opening Titles: 
There are no opening titles in the opening. This is effective as they characters are put straight into the action as this film seems far fetched and mysterious.

What do you learn about the story?
There is mystery evolving around the dogs being in the middle of a cornfield and how quickly they became amidst it with little walking from their house.





THE WOMAN IN BLACK (2012)

Characters:
There are three little girls playing with teacups, teapots and dolls. They are playing in silence which is striking for the audience. The three girls all of a sudden get up and jump out the window, the camera then pans back to reveal a figure who is dressed in black with a veil. It is evident she plays a role in the horror and supernatural events of the film.

Location/Time: 
The opening scene is in the girls bedroom. It is clear that is not set in the modern day, the girls are in frocks and playing with dolls that are old fashioned. The opening scene doesn't give much away of the era as it is just in the girls bedroom however, the furniture isn't modern, showing how it isn't set in the in the present day.

What do you learn about the story?
The girls all of a sudden become possessed and trample on their traces of innocence (the dolls and tea party set) to get to the window. There is a haunting about the house as a dark figure appears at the back of the room.




This research helped as these are all popular horror films so to analyse how there opening scene is pieced together, helps with the success of our horror opening.

'Insidious' Textual Analysis

Insidious Textual Analysis

 ‘Insidious’ is a paranormal horror film, released in 2010 and directed by James Wan, who has also directed other popular horror films like ‘The Conjuring 1 and 2’ and ‘Annabelle’. In ‘Insidious’, the family are on a search for help for their son after he mysteriously had a coma after being in the attic. The family rediscover the past and the truth about what has happened to their son.

In the opening of ‘Insidious’, there is lots of panning with a wide lens, which makes the audience assume that something is going to happen in the background, therefore they are more concentrated and engaged. There is use of a handheld camera shot when there is a silhouette in the kitchen, which makes it seem as if the audience is discovering this and feeling the first hand fear. The tracking shot that is used to get closer to the clock foreshadows the significance of this mis en scene. This opening does not relate to ‘Todorov’s Narrative Theory’ as there is no obvious equilibrium and it’s disruption. The opening then moves onto a montage of photos showing how the house is deserted and these are all long shots, establishing the room and its surroundings.

The editing in the opening of ‘Insidious’, portrays the genre as the credits are red and have the effect of smoke rising above the names, showing how this mysterious effect could be important, relating to the dominant ‘Reception Theory’. The slow paced editing in this opening gives the effect that the audience feel that it is climaxing to the horror. When the title of the film appears on the screen, it is in large, bold letters and is also in red, like the credits. After the camera has moved on from panning in the modern house, and goes onto to show the photos, the establishing shot of the first photo, has been given a black and white effect to show its age and generally, in horror films, the older era, connotes that it is haunted. The shots of the photos of the rooms fade in and out, giving it the effect that the audience are reflecting on this mysterious past also.

The mysterious and prominent music begins straight away in the opening of ‘Insidious’ to grab the audience. After the camera leaves the boys room- which is the first room to be explored in the opening- then the music becomes more eerie. This is done as it is climaxing to the silhouette in the window of the next shot as the music reaches a higher pitch of classic horror music. The music then continues to sound like screeching, which could connote screaming and therefore bring fear to the audience.

The mis en scene in the opening generates fear for the audience as it is set in a house, which the audience may then feel this could happen to them in their own home as this film makes it seem realistic. When the room is shown with the sheer curtains, this suggests that a figure may appear as this is an element that is used in horror films to not exclusively reveal who is causing all of the horror. Furthermore, the house in this opening appears to have just been deserted, as if the people living in it have just left but there are elements that are shown in the opening of this film that are iconography that it is a horror film. For example, the old paintings on the wall suggest that this homes dates back, therefore people who have lived in it may have died. Also, there is a baby’s crib in this house which could connote that the child is part of the narrative. This links to the 1970s horror films of commonly having a child in them as part of the horror.

A woman asleep is the only character to be visibly shown in the opening of ‘Insidious’. Her being asleep connotes the innocence of her character and maybe the way the director wanted the audience to view her as vulnerable. This relates to the ‘Effects Theory’ as the audience are passive in accepting this message.

Overall, the camera movement, editing, sound and mis en scene, all relate to the genre of the film and have effects that affect the audience and their viewing of the film. This research has helped with the opening of my film as it shows how having the location of the film in a house, can generate fear for the audience and also having prominent music throughout the opening. Furthermore, panning is used effectively in this opening and in our opening, we plan to use panning shots in the beginning.

History of Horror Films

1920s

This was the beginning of horror films and in this era, they believed monsters existed, therefore they found this element scary. The key conventions of horror films at this time were that there was a male antagonist with a female victim. They also had a very Gothic theme.

Nosferatu (1922)



1930s

The same theme and genre continued from the 1920s. Horror films were generally filmed in castles and far off land. Monsters, vampires and werewolf's were a common feature in horror films in the 1930s. The first talking horror appeared in this era, Dracula (1931).

1940s

In the UK, horror movies were banned due to the war, therefore America took over and they added characters that turned into animals, for example, Cat People (1942).

1950s

This is the era where teenagers became the primary target audience and when the war ended, people feared the effects of radiation. Therefore, horror movies were created to play on this fear, exemplified with 'The Blob' (1958), this was one of the movies in the era where there was a nuclear and unpredictable killer, creating fear as this sort of behavior was unusual.

1960s

This era focused less on monsters and nuclear changes, but more on psychological aspects. This was done to create fear for the teenagers as they were rebelling against society and showed what a normal looking human could become if they had looser morals and attitudes and what could happen to the human brain. 

Psycho (1960) gave fear to the audience by telling them that if they are bad, a killer is going to come and get them. This correlates with the eras common theme of intense killing as a consequences of wrong actions.

1970s

In the 1970s, the pill was invented and this suggested that sex was now for fun rather than to create a human life which society feared would break down decency and family life. Horror films during this period portrayed this by having an antagonist who was a younger child or an older psycho killer. Films in this era with this included The Exorcist and The Shinning.

1980s

This was the era of gore, technology had risen and more SFX was added. Slasher movies were more apparent as there was more blood and gore like in Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). During this era, household objects were used as weapons in horror films, this creates fear for the audience as these objects are easy to get a hold of. 

1990s

Scream (1996) was originally made as joke, it still made the audience feel fearful as the killing in this film was so sudden it stood out as a horror film, as it showed the irony of horror films. Weapons and masked characters were carried on during this era from the 1980s as well as the consequences of rebellious behavior from the 1960s. 

Horror films were becoming more predictable, therefore audiences were wanting films that were more unforeseeable. 

2000s

Supernatural was becoming popular in this era as people were watching horror films from across the years and were becoming accustomed to seeing monsters and psychotic characters, therefore they didn't feel as scared. However, the fear of the unknown makes the audience not expect what is going to happen next and it is still apparent even today. Movies with found footage became popular like Grave Encounters (2011).