Question 1

1. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR
MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP,
OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND
CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA
PRODUCTS?

2. Is the form of your opening conventional?
Titles - our titles reflect the style of Napoleon Dynamite (Hess, 2004), another low-budget
film which integrated titles into the set. This is an example of iconography of low-budget
films. Furthermore - strengthening our 'latin writing' concept through the labels on the jars
was further exemplification of this.
Plot - in our pitch we described our plot as 'cat and mouse', this uses a conventional
horror-style plot, furthermore - using one location and the camera following the antagonist
strengthens this plot concept.
Character exposition - through character exposition we established an enigma, similar to
many horror films. especially ones of the 'slasher' genre. Our costume, through the mask
and the white coat, also act as a disguise and create an air of mystery.
Sound - in all the openings we have studied; sound has been vital in anchoring the footage,
from reinforcing actions on screen, to simply revealing the nature of the film. An example
of the anchorage we wished to achieve was from the opening sequence of Hannibal (Scott,
2001), a prime example o this is when the bell sound at 1;24 complements the visuals of
the title 'Ridley Scott' as well as the birds flying away:
• Prime example of anchorage

3. • A similar example in our piece is when the music speeds up towards
the end, creating tension and therefore complimenting the visuals.
Furthermore, the peak of the soundtrack anchors the gruesome
finale:
Camera - the use of a fast cutting rate and a series of extreme close ups was largely due to 'Dexter' -
an opening sequence which has meticulous and precise signifiers, achieved through the use of close
ups. Moreover - canted angles give the sequence a wacky, out-of-the-ordinary feel.
Furthermore - the utility of POV shots was recognised from an early stage following analysing the
opening sequence from film, 'House of 1000 Corpses' (Zombie, 2002). (House of 1000 Corpses
analysis).

4. • Concepts - the idea of using sections of action, such as the fly section, was
inspired by tv-show 'Breaking Bad', where, for example - in 'The Fly', this
episode reveals the extreme and perfectionist nature of character, Walter
White. We aimed to do the same - Character exposition of Walter White.
• Soundtrack - House of 1000 Corpses was important in revealing the
influence of a soundtrack which reinforces the film concept. For example -
the song from Zombie's film reflects the slasher genre of the film.
Moreover - the sound anchors the images, as the screams are often in
correlation with the most extreme graphic images.

5. How does your opening conform or challenge the
conventions of a 'psychological' horror film?
• A psychological horror film is a sub-genre of horror that relies on character's fears, beliefs, nature, as well as being heavily dependent on sound and
emotional instability to build tension. It is vastly different from 'slasher' films where audience engagement is derived from gore and violence, instead -
it utilisesuncanny valley, and the full nature of the antagonist tends not to be revealed until towards the end of the sequence. (Source -
http://www.slideshare.net/MediaBlog/psychological-horror-pp - slide 2.) To summarise - our opening satisfies all these credentials - the nature of the
antagonist is pivotal to building tension and fear in the audience, the dependence on sound effects and the soundtrack for anchoring the footage is
important, uncanny valley was utilised, as was an air of tension through the fact the antagonist's nature is gradually built upon throughout the
sequence. The following goes into more detail -
• 'relies on character's fears, beliefs, nature' - The OCD nature of the antagonist was vital in fulfilling this criterium, due to the lack of
dialogue, character exposition was created by the antagonist's actions - for example, his insane nature is only revealed in the final shot, but prior to
this his psychopathic nature is revealed through a variation of events such as cutting his own hand to the care and detail taken when dissecting a fly.
• Furthermore - my work on titles, I believe, contributes to the psychological concept. For example - theuse of masking and tracking on software such as
AfterEffects contributes to the polished nature of the sequence, and the precise and meticulous connotations displayed by the antagonist. This
process is described here - TW: Post production work. Moreover - the typography is important also - as the font has traditional signifiers, which is
reinforced by the use of Latin. Our typography is very similar to that of Hannibal (Scott, 2001.) This idea was furthered by our tracking shot of the
antagonist's weapons, as above the weapons were jars labelling body parts in Latin. However - the camera quality was not proficient enough to
capture the writing.
• 'heavily dependent on sound' - The magnification of sound effects, such as the fly being cut in half, has intricate connotations which reinforces the
concept, whilst intensifying the action and therefore creating a visceral experience.
• Classical music anchors the footage, and due to the nature of classical music - the soundtrack is definitely asynchronous, as it reinforces the action on
screen. A point where this is particuarly poignant is throughout our two tracking shots, from outside the garage and tracking down the line of
weapons - where the soundtrack which has been previously building up is interrupted by a more calm aura. The soundtrack also portrayed
as diegetic, which challenges the general form of a soundtrack - either initially visibly diegetic through headphones or the like, or simply non-diegetic.
The extreme close up of radio which reveals this also prompts audience engagement.

6. • 'emotional instability' - Our camera work achieves this primarily. Similar to 'Dexter', a series which is
dependent upon emotional instability - we used a series of close ups and extreme close ups with canted
angles to reveal the meticulous nature of the antagonist, exemplified by the precision when cutting the fly,
for example. The close up of his eyes when in search of the fly also reinforces the perfectionist aspect to our
antagonist. Moreover - editing was important in achieving this portrayal of emotional instability: firstly,
the final shot is an exemplification of immense emotional instability. Moreover - the editing style, what with
a fast cutting rate and continuity editing, juxtaposed with steady camera shots implies both franticity
through the cutting rate and continuity editing, as well as calmness and comfort-ability through the camera
angles. Therefore - editing and camera in co-ordination are vital to reinforcing psychological horror film
conventions.
• building of tension 'until towards the end of the sequence' - Firstly, the soundtrack is important in satisfying
this form of media product. The soundtrack builds tension by increasing in pace slowly throughout, and we
ended the soundtrack on a frantic violin piece which leaves tension at the highest throughout the sequence.
• The importance of mise-en-scene- Mise-en-scene was vital in contributing to the nature of the antagonist,
and the meticulous care we took when arranging the greenhouse set successfully achieves this portrayal.
• Character blocking was also important in portraying the antagonist as powerful, amongst other
characteristics. This was signified in the shot where he fills up the doorway and slowly reveals the interior of
the garage.
• Lighting was vital also - however, although psychological horrors tend to use low key lighting, we challenged
this convention by filming in optimum lighting conditions in the greenhouse. We believe that challenging this
convention creates unease as it challenges the norm, and makes the actions of the antagonist more fearful
as they are filmed in typical lighting conditions.
• Non-verbal communication - of course, was vital in revealing the nature of the antagonist; for example, his
deep breath seen after he cuts himself reveals this. This was partly inspired by the grinning look on the
antagonists in 'House of 1000 Corpses' at the body ahead of them.

7. • Audience engagement - is vital for any type of film, but in psychological horror - the film
has to evoke emotions and engagement with the characters. Camera work was essential
in achieving this - our use ofPOV shots throughout, for example - when the antagonist
scans over the pages, and the alternating POV shots in the final section contribute largely
to audience engagement. We used the handicam to ensure our POV shots were as stable
as possible.
• Challenging psychological conventions - I believe that our refusal to use a stock
location such as a graveyard, and use a greenhouse: not only challenges conventions, but
it also incites fear, as it adds an aspect of applicability and normality which audiences
find scary, similar to our use of uncanny valley.
• To conclude - our media product uses conventions of low budget films such as integrated
titles, develops conventions through a particular concentration on the nature and beliefs
of the antagonist, and challenges conventions of real media products through utilizing
fear of normality, and avoiding stock locations and characters, we hoped our character is
different to those viewed in our preparation - as he encompasses a number of
characteristics.