Research: The Opening Titles of 'Se7en'

I located the opening to the psychological horror film Se7en on Art of the Title. This film was released in 1995 and has an interesting title sequence which draws on a series of images and non-diegetic sound rather than using a narrative. The synopsis of the film is as follows:

Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his modus operandi.

I watched the opening several times to familiarise yourself with it. I took a piece of A3 paper and divided it into 4 sections. In the appropriate box, I made a timeline for the opening sequence. It started at 0.00 and finished at the time the opening sequence finished. The opening to Se7en is just over 2 minutes long.

Whilst watching the opening, every time a title appeared on the screen, I paused it and made note of the time and wrpte the exact wording of the title above this time on the timeline. The first title was T1, the second Y2 and so on.

I watched the opening again, but this time without the sound and made notes abou the visual aspects of the opening. I had to describe what I saw which included locations, characters and any other images. I also had to comment on the font and colour of the text.

I played the opening for a the final time and this time watched it with the sound. I had to describe what I heard as accurately as possible. I had to include if there was music playing, and if so, what type of music. I commented on the tempo, the instruments and the feeling and emotion the music evoked. I also commented on the sound effects.

The Importance of Opening Titles: The Film Before The Film

Click here to view The Film Before The Film video.

A Brief History of Title Design (2011) — Art of the Title

A Brief History of Title Design (2011) — Art of the Title

Research: The Importance of Opening Titles

What information might you be given during the opening titles of a film?

• film's title
• cast members
• production company
• distributor company
• director, producer, executive producer, music, make-up, costume design, cinematography etc.

What is the difference between opening titles and closing credits?

The difference between opening titles and closing credits is; the opening titles inform the audience of the more important roles that people played within the making of this film such as the director, producer and production company. The closing credits list everyone who was involved in the making of the film, from costume design to the runners. The opening titles display the theme including font, colour, style and appearance. These all tie in with the film's genre.

What is the importance of opening titles?

The opening titles of a film are very important; the give the audience a lot of information. For example, they tell the audience who stars in the film. The most important roles in the film usually come first in the list of cast members. For example, in the opening titles to the psychological thriller film 'Se7en', Brad Pitt's name is the first of all the actors to be displayed on screen. Brad Pitt is a high profile name in Hollywood, which is possibly a reason why some of the audience were attracted to the film, so it was of great importance to include his name in the opening credits. It may also have been put in his contract for his name to appear first in the list of cast members in the opening, as profile and exposure is important. In addition, other crew members are mentioned in the opening titles. These include: the director, producer, executive producer, music and the distributors. These are important to include in the opening titles as, like the actors, the crew who work on the film can also attract audience members. The director of 'Se7en', David Fincher, is a very famous and successful director. Prior to 'Se7en' he had directed only one feature film, 'Alien 3'. However, he had directed many music videos for high profile artists which would have gained him fans.
Not only do we learn information about the cast and crew during the titles, we also recognsie the symbolic codes. The symbolic does during the opening mainly give the audience a strong indication as to what genre the film will be. During the titles of 'Se7en', the font and style of the credits, the music and the images used all contribute to the genre. It is clear in the titles that the genre of 'Se7en' is a thriller.

A Treatment for the Opening 2 Minutes (including titles) of 'MAISIE'

The screen and first shot of the opening will slowly fade in from black. It will commence with a long shot of a swing in the park, gently swinging back and forth. The creaking and screeching of the swing can be heard as it does this action. An arch bridge can be seen in the background of the shot, with a figure walking slowly over it. The camera then makes a cut to a long shot of the person walking over the bridge, and then to a tracking mid shot of the walker from behind. This then cuts to a mid shot of the person (our protagonist in our opening, 25 year old male Barney) from the front, once again it is a tracking shot.

Only diegetic sound can be heard, for example; the footsteps of our protagonist, the creaking of the swing (which will stop as soon as we cut away from the shot of the swing) and natural sounds, perhaps from insects. In addition, weather conditions may have an impact on the sound. As we are filming in the night time, harsh winds may be heard. If this is the case, that will be fixed during post production, otherwise it will overpower the subdued mood that the opening scene is aiming for and ruin the intensity.

The camera continues to follow the protagonist face on as he turns into a bollard on the bridge. As he turns into the bollard, it cuts to a shot of the camera hidden in the trees near the river, to give the feeling that the protagonist is being watched. He places his hands on either side of the bollard. He produces his phone from his pocket and the camera cuts to a close up of the phone. As he turns his phone on, it says that he has no signal. The camera remains focused on the phone as the protagonist tries in vain to find reception, moving the phone up and in different directions. A close up of the protagonists face depicts his frustration. He throws the phone into the river below the bridge. The audience hears a splash but does not see the impact of the phone hitting the water. The camera then cuts to the phone in the water, floating away to symbolise that his only means of communication are gone. This is a common convention used in horror films and makes the protagonist extremely vulnerable.

The camera then cuts back to the shot within the trees. However, this time it is moving forward slowly through the trees to the water to signify whatever or whoever is in the trees, they/it is on the move.

Cutting back to a close up of the protagonist's face reveals that his anger has subsided. Suddenly, he hears something moving around in the water. An extreme close up of his eyes shows them shifting from side to side, trying to deduce where the sound came from. The camera cuts back to a close up. 'Who's there?' he shouts. There is no reply, and when he hears someone moving in the water again, he decides to investigate. He exits off the left side of the bridge, the camera shows him leaving the bollard and in the next shot, shows him exiting the bridge and entering the shallow water. He starts to look all around him for signs of the source of the noise. As he peers under the arch to see if the mysterious cause of the noise is under there. The camera cuts to a long shot from behind the protagonist. An unknown assailant steps into the shot with her or his back facing the camera. The camera then cuts to a close up of the protagonist again, his face slightly relieved as he sees ni sign of danger. As he steps backwards away from the arch and out of the water, the assailant steps forward with a rope in their hands and pulls it round their victims neck. A deafening scream is heard and the screen goes to black and the title of the film 'Maisie' appears.

During the shots in the trees, non diegetic sound will be used, and we will create a score. The music will be brooding and ominous. The instruments that may be included could perhaps be a piano, drums or violin. The score will continue when the camera cuts back to the victim's face, but the music will be less prominent and noticeable. However, when he enters the water to investigate, the music becomes more prominent. It eventually builds to a crescendo when he is seemingly murdered, but is cut off immediately when the screen fades to black.

Titles will be included in the opening. The font will be lower case and scratched and in white, as it will stand out against the darkness. 'Produced by Cling Films' will appear during the shot of the swing, and other credits including who stars in the opening, director etc will all appear during the opening.

Audience Feedback

Planning: Potential Opening

Me and my group have identified who our target audience for our teen horror movie opening will be. With this information, we can now begin to plan and create ideas for the opening. In this lesson, we thought of 3 horror potential contenders for the opening of our film, Maisie. Each idea had to be distinctly different from the others in order to show variety and our ability to create and come up with different ideas.

Our first attempt to brainstorm ideas looked like this:


Potential Opening Planning: 1

 

For each of our three ideas, we gave a brief outline of what they would include. However, we did not give more insightful details such as the victim's name and the exact locations. Our mistake was quickly pointed out, and this structure to follow was written on our sheet:



 In order to giver our three openings the necessary detail they required, we decided to follow the formula of giving examples and an answer for 4 questions: who, what, when and where? Using this structure, we created our third and final sheet which had just the right amount of detail on:

 

For each potential opening we gave an answer to:

1.) Who?

-we answered this with what our victim would be called and their age. Their gender was evident by their name.

2.) What?

-we answered this question with a brief but concise synopsis and timeline of how the opening would play out.

3.) When?

-we answered this question with what time of day the opening would take place, as well as the time of year. We also included the day (Tuesday, Friday etc.) to give extra detail. Whether this will prove useful or necessary is yet to be determined.

4.) Where?

-we answered this question by stating where the opening would take place, and the conditions of the location. For example, potential opening 2 takes place in a small, cold and dingey room.

 

I will answer the final question, 'why?' now.

 

Opening 1:

We decided that our victim should be a man and the villain a female as it challenges the stereotypical horror convention of a female being a victim as they are considered weak and vulnerable as opposed to men. Males are usually the villains as they are capable of doing more harm than female villains. However, we have reversed the roles for the reason stated above: to challenge the convention. For this potential opening, our victim (Barney) is walking along a bridge, possibly returning home from a friends house. He stops, checks his phone for signal and when he cannot find any he throws his phone into the water out of frustration. He stops for a while and looks out over the water. Suddenly, he hears/sees something suspicious and decideds to investigate. Whilst in the water, he is attacked by the villain (Maisie, although the audience does not know who the villain is) and is strangled. His limp body is then dragged off. The audience are left unsure as to whether the victim is dead. We designed the opening this way as it uses some of the typical horror conventions an audience would expect to see, such as the phone having no signal and therefore removing a source of contact. The victim also decides to investigate the mysterious noise/sight instead of being sensible and running away. The opening takes place near midnight. It will be very dark at this time of night and therefore increases the risk the victim is taking. It also creates and eerie atmosphere for the audience. The scene takes place on a bridge where water flows underneath. This is significant as water is dangerous and is a possible hazard for the victim. It is also a long drop from the bridge to the water, which creates another source of danger.

 

Opening 2:

Just like opening 1, our victim is a male, and therefore we challenge the convention again. Our victim is tied to a chair, with his mouth taped over. It is clear that he is a in a helpless position and is desperate to be found. As he starts to struggle in his chair, the ropes around his wrists and ankles begin to loosen and he eventually breaks free. As he almost reaches safety, he is confronted by the unknown (to the audience) assailant. It is then heavily implied that he is killed. This opening challenges another well known and heavily used convention of the victim almost making it to safety before being caught. We can also use fast paced editing to increase the tension and suspense. The opening takes place in the day as the victim can see sunlight. However, the room he is being held in only provides artificial lighting. We designed this opening to be set in a small, dingey and poorly lit room. On the walls are newspaper articles that detail murders of the villain's past victims and pictures of couples, and one of the victim in particular. The size of the room is important as it creates a claustrophobic feel. Possible signs of exit are almsot non existant which makes the audience feel hopeless for the victim. The newspaper articles and clippings also increases the fear factor; it is really sinister and shows that the villain is not a first time killer. Clues are also given away about the killer's identity.

 

Opening 3:

Opening 3 also has a male victim and female villain. Our victim Paul is 32 years old and has just said goodbye to his date at his door. He begins to tidy away the mess in the kitchen. During the process, he spills a glass of red wine. He then receives a text from his date, saying she has left her bag at his house and that she is returning to collect it. He opens the door as she arrives with a knife in his hands. Paul is then murdered by the person at his door. The villain's identity is kept a secret. We had Paul spill red wine as the colour red is symbolic of blood and this foreshadows that something dangerous is about to happen. This opening takes place at about 10/11 p.m on a Friday. It is set at night as it gives a more eerie, dangerous and secluded feel. The scene takes place in a house, which gives the audience a false sense of security. It is clearly the victim's house as he is clearing away the mess and is very comfortable. By not revealing the killer's identity, it leaves the audience in suspense and it ends the opening on a cliffhanger.

 

 

 

Research Into Target Audience: Pen Portrait

Me, Chelsea, Jake and Lucaas creating our Pen Portrait.

Our ideal target audience member.

Blue- Evie

Green- Jake

Red- Lucaas

Yellow- Chelsea

Female Villains in Horror Films

Unlike many other genres, horror films have not been very hospitable to the concept of female heroes, let alone female villains. Many of horror's protagonists have been women, but in addition they have also been victims. The rarity of strong female leads may be due to the stereotype and common misconception that women are weaker and more vulnerable than men and need a male companion in order to feel safe and secure. It is also for this reason that there are little female villains.

In our horror film, Maisie, our protagonist and villain is a female called Maisie Sedna, who has been betrayed and hurt by men her entire life and seeks revenge on every man she encounters.

I will be researching some of horror's most famous female villains in order to get a better understanding of how they are portrayed and their characteristics, so we can incorporate some of the features into the opening minutes of our teen horror film.

Misery
Misery is a 1990 American psychological horror film, starring James Caan and Kathy Bates. The film is based on acclaimed novelist Stephen King's book of the same name. Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is a best- selling novelist, on his way home from Colorado after completing his latest book when a blizzard causes him to crash his car. He is found with critical injuries by former nurse Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), who takes her back to his remote house in the mountains.

 

Annie claims to be his 'number one fan'. Paul soon discovers that Annie is unusual and overbearing; she orders him to burn his latest manuscript after reading that her favourite character dies. Paul also unravels more about Annie's past and is terrified as he tries to escape. But there's one problem. No one knows where Paul is.

 

This particular female victim is clearly struggling with mental issues and obsessions, which lead her to become deranged and unhinged. Annie Wilkes is one of our inspirations for our character, Maisie.

 

Carrie

Carrie is a 1976 and 2013 American supernatural horror film, starring Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie (1976) and Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore (2013) as Carrie and her deeply religious mother Margaret respectively. The film is based on Stephen King's 1974 novel Carrie.

 

Carrie an unconfident and painfully shy teenage girl, who suffers abuse from her extremely religious mother at home and is bullied by her peers at school. After Carrie is humiliated publicly by her class mates in the girls changing room, she becomes increasingly more frantic and distressed and suddenly a light bulb bursts in the shower. This is the first sign we see of Carrie's...uniqueness.

 

 



 

One of Carrie's tormenters has a change of heart and regrets her actions toward her. She urges her boyfriend to ask Carrie to Prom as a way of apologising. However, another popular cliquey teenager is not prepared to let Carrie have her moment in the spotlight and plots a horrific prank. Everyone is unprepared for the catastrophic consequences.

 

 

Unlike Annie Wilkes in Misery, Carrie can be considered a victim rather than a villain. Carrie implores a different approach; it explores supernatural elements as opposed to mental illness and obsession Bullied and tormented her whole life, her powers manifest when she becomes distressed. Carrie causes havoc with her telekinesis and in the process kills many of her fellow pupils. However, she is the female protagonist who extracts revenge on her schoolmates and also her mother through murder; whether she is in control of her powers or not is unclear.

 

Orphan

Orphan is a 2009 American psychological horror film starring Isabelle Fuhrman, Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard. Husband and wife, John and Kate, recently lost their baby and decide to adopt a child. They visit an orphanage where their attention is quickly captured by the polite and charming Esther.

 

 

Kate becomes of suspicious of Esther when she displays maturity and knowledge beyond her years. As she tries to reveal and learn information about her past, Esther becomes increasingly more violent, especially toward Daniel, Kate and John's son. Kate's distaste for Esther becomes more and more evident as she begins to see her darker and less innocent side. In a dramatic and unexpected plot twist, the race is on for Kate to stop Esther destroying her entire family.

 

 



Orphan, like Misery, deals with the psychological aspect that is often explored in horror films. As the film progresses, Esther's past is unravelled and her mental instability becomes more obvious. However, unlike Carrie, Esther is fully aware and in control of her actions and plots with great consideration how and who she kills next.

 



60 Second Pitch

Pitching an idea for a film comes during the development phase of filmmaking. Pitching the idea to film executives and production companies determines whether your film will receive the funding necessary to make the film or not. This is what me and my group had to do for this task. As the project's producers, we had to create a story for a teen horror film. We worked together to prepare a synopsis of what the story would entail. We gave details of the main character, including: her name, her personality and her motives. We wrote a short script which we then preceded to film ourselves presenting. In the 60 second presentation, we gave a brief overview of the story arc, but made sure to include all of the necessary information to appeal to the audience. We will then find out if our idea receives a 'green light', which subsequently means pre-production can commence. During the development phase, we thought of many different concepts for a horror film. For example, we thought of honouring the traditional horror convention of having the villain as a male, and the victim a vulnerable female who is reliant on a male counterpart. We also had to consider ratings when planning the premise for our horror film, which effectively omitted several of our ideas.

Analyse the Codes and Conventions of horror films as shown in the openings of 'Dead Wood', 'Dead Mary' and 'Wrong Turn'.

When watching a horror film, you may not realise it but you are witnessing many classic and cliché codes and conventions, related specifically to the teen horror genre. The two types of codes are:

Technical
Technical codes in a horror film include things such as camera shots, angles and movements, lighting, titles, editing and sound: both diagetic and non diagetic. Overall, technical codes cover the 'technical aspects' of filmmaking and creating a piece of moving image media.

Symbolic
Symbolic codes include the main elements of mise-en-scene (the French translation for 'put in scene') within a film. The different aspects of mise-en-scene include; costume, make up, setting and props. For example, if the leading lady in the film is wearing a short red dress or a revealing outfit with heavy make-up, the audience makes an assumption about her character and traits. We do this because of the symbolic value attached to the clothing and the make-up.

Conventions also play an important part of what attracts and audience to view a horror film:
Conventions:
Conventions are a set of unwritten rules that an audience expect to see from a specific and certain genre. For example, a convention in a horror film we would expect to see is the victim almost making it to safety before the villain catches up with them. In addition, another convention frequently used in the teen horror genre is a mobile phone running out of battery or losing signal at a poignant moment.

The plot for the films 'Dead Wood', 'Dead Mary' and 'Wrong Turn' all differ in some way, but they all have things in common; they all make use of  typical codes and conventions.

Dead Wood- Synopsis
Four friends leave the city for a relaxing camping weekend in the woods. Once they get settled, a strange young woman enters their campsite looking for her lost boyfriend. One of the four himself goes missing and the rest are pitted against mysterious forces in a fight for their very survival.

Dead Mary- Synopsis
Kim and her boyfriend Matt have just broken up, but they travel together to a cottage nearby a lake to spend the weekend with their friends Eve, Dash and his wife Amber and Baker and his new girlfriend Lily. The atmosphere becomes heavy with the situation between Kim and Matt, and one of them suggests them to play "Dead Mary". Matt, Eve and Dash summon the evil witch repeating her name three times in front of a mirror with a candle. Along the night, Matt hears weird noises, is killed and returns to life, while part of the group is possessed by the fiend. Without knowing who is possessed, the rest of the group fights to survive.

Wrong Turn
The film opens with two friends rock climbing, when all of a sudden they are both killed by a vicious and mysterious unknown force. Six friends then find themselves trapped in the woods of West Virginia, hunted down by "cannibalistic mountain men grossly disfigured through generations of in-breeding." 

Editing and the pace of editing is used to great effect in the three horror openings. The opening to 'Wrong Turn' is a great example of how editing is used to have an effect on the audience. During the dialogue exchange between the man and woman when they are rock climbing, the editing is very slow and the cuts between shots are very limited, mainly varying between the man's face and the woman's. However, when the man's body is thrown off of the cliff, the editing begins to pick up pace.The shots vary and change quickly from the reel, the rope, the female and her struggle to resist against the force pulling her up the rocks. The camera angles differ; for example when she has freed herself by cutting the rope and she is attempting to reach the other one, the camera uses a low angle shot. In the next shot, there is a close up of her face- this makes the scene more intimate as the audience can see the terrified expression and emotion on her face. 'Dead Wood' also uses similar editing techniques. When the male victim comes crashing through the water and is running away from whatever is chasing him, the editing is very fast paced and sudden to reflect the mood and intensity of the action. However, as there is little happening in terms of action in 'Dead Mary', the approach to editing is different. The shots follow the actions the female lead is carrying out, for example: picking up her phone to check it has reception, throwing her phone back in the car, her adjusting the radio etc. However, the camera always returns to a close up of her face. They have edited it this way in order to keep the actress the focus at all times as she is the main/principal character. Editing is a very important way of telling the audience how they should be feeling at a certain time or moment. If the editing is fast paced, it increases the audience's adrenaline and feeds their anxiety and heightens the drama and suspense. If the editing is slower, it relaxes the audience and sets them at ease.

Camera movement is used effectively in all three horror openings. The opening of 'Dead Wood' commences with a crane shot, that brings the audience down through the moderately safe canopy of the forest and into the unknown and unsafe territory of the ground level where danger lies. During the shot, we are transported through a holly bush which has connotations of agony and sharp discomfort and the camera then eventually settles on a fixed shot of a murky and pungent puddle. There is also an element of symmetry during the opening; when the male victim has been murdered, his female companion emerges from a tent and begins calling his name. We are then transported back into the canopy of the woods with another crane shot. This could signify that the chase is over and the terror and suspense will subside momentarily. The opening to 'Wrong Turn' is very similar. It begins with a crane shot of the forest as it shows the audience tops of the trees. The camera then bring the audience down to where the couple are rock climbing and provides us with a birds eye view of them. Alternately, this can be seen as almost an establishing shot, as it establishes that most of the action and horror will take place within the confines of the woods.

Each horror film opening makes use of conventions. One convention that the opening of 'Wrong Turn' uses is the victim almost making it to safety; when the girl who was rock climbing realises her friend has been killed, she cuts herself away from her harness and falls to the ground. She then proceeds to run back to the safety of her car, when all of a sudden she is tripped by a piece of barbed wire. Before she is pulled away by an unknown force, we see a final shot of the car, signifying that she was so close to escaping her doomed fate. This same convention is also challenged in the opening to 'Dead Wood'. A male is running through the woods, clearly being chased by an unidentified assailant. There is the predictable cliché of the victim falling over, which would therefore put less distance between him and the villain. However, he recovers and continues to run through the forest, when he encounters an obstacle; a steep river bank which he must jump across in order to escape the assailant and return back to his tent. He judges the situation first before making the jump, once again giving the mystery villain more time to reach him. He takes a run up and jumps, but unfortunately does not quite make the jump. He is left clinging onto the other side of the bank, trying desperately to pull himself up. Blood then pours out of his mouth and he is dragged into the bank, presumably by the thing he was running from. The convention of almost making it to safety is often challenged in horror films, because it creates tension and suspense for the audience. It also increases the adrenaline the audience feels as they are willing the victims to make it to safety. The film 'Dead Mary' does not challenge this convention.

However, all three openings use the same convention of having a female victim who is reliant on a male counterpart. In 'Dead Mary', it depicts a female waiting alone in a car. She is in a vulnerable position as there seems to be no sign of any help if she needs it; this is reinforced by the convention of her phone having no signal. She picks up her mobile and tries to find signal by adjusting her phone and holding it in the air. It is clear that signal cannot be found when she carelessly throws it back on the car's dashboard and lets out an exasperated sigh. This limits a source of contact and communication and shows her solidarity. Her male companion then returns to the car with a can of petrol; this shows that she is reliant on him as he was the one to fetch the petrol and ultimately save the day. In 'Dead Wood', the female is also reliant on the male. After her partner is dragged into the river bank, she emerges from the tent and begins to helplessly call his name. This makes her seem vulnerable and timid, and she could not cope without him as she is weak and defenceless. The opening to 'Wrong Turn' is very similar. When the female and her male friend are rock climbing, he reaches the top easily without seemingly breaking a sweat, whilst she has difficulty scaling the rocks. When he reaches the top, she asks him to pull her up, making her seem weak and insignificant as she does neither have the energy or the patience to continue to climb the rocks. On the other hand, he gives off the persona of seeming cocky and confident. When he is murdered and thrown off the rocks, she is inconsolable and hysterical. This convention is often challenged in horror movies. Females are often seen as subordinate, weaker and more vulnerable than men, so therefore by having a female victim, it makes the audience root for them more as opposed to if it was a male victim.

On a related note, all three females are dressed in a way that could be considered inappropriate. These are symbolic codes. For example, in 'Dead Wood' the female victim is wearing all black (the colour black has connotations of death and mystery). However, she is wearing a knee length skirt with a slit in the front and back and also a pair of heeled boots. These items of clothing are not widely considered appropriate for camping. Their tent is also positioned right near the edge of the river bank, and it is also very small and flimsy. In addition, it would be extremely difficult to run away from a blood-thirsty creature in that gear. Her male companion was also wearing a tropical Hawaiian shirt; this demonstrates that neither of them are seasoned or experienced campers, which will ultimately make the process even more thrilling and unsuspecting. The female in 'Dead Mary' is dressed all in blue and is wearing a blue vest top which exposes her flesh. She is also not wearing any footwear. This symbolises that she is not expecting any trouble and is completely unprepared for an attack (if there was one). The female in 'Wrong Turn' is also quite exposed and vulnerable to an attack with her clothing choices. She is wearing a sports bra with pair of latex shorts. Whilst these clothes may be suitable for adventurous activities she was partaking in such as hiking and rock climbing, they do not offer much physical protection and she is very exposed. This symbolises how exposed she is to her surrounding and the danger she will ultimately face.

Another example of a symbolic code and mise-en-scene is make up. When the male victim is running through the woods in 'Dead Wood', there are visible signs of blood on his face. This indicates that he has already encountered danger and violence previously. 'Wrong Turn' also uses mise-en-scene through the medium of make up. The only way she realises her male friend is injured is when his blood drips down on her face. This gives the impression to the audience that something extremely dangerous surrounds the area and gives a heightened sense of threat. There is no blood or even a remote resemblance to blood in 'Dead Mary'.

Overall, I think 'Wrong Turn' challenges the most technical and symbolic codes and conventions. During the opening credits, we hear only non-diegetic sound in the form of the score. The score is predictably eerie which is highlighted by the use of strings and sudden beat of ominous drums. The credits that play over the opening sequence when the camera flies across the wooded area are quite scratchy and appear quickly and unexpectedly. They are all in capitals and are white- white connotes purity and innocence. This juxtaposes with the eerily sinister font. These are all technical codes. 'Wrong Turn' challenges the symbolic codes and mise-en-scene through make up and costumes and it also challenges many conventions such as the helpless female victim, the victim almost making it to safety and in addition, the fact that the action takes place in a forest. Forests are quiet and secluded areas where generally (especially in the horror genre) there aren't many means of communication around. In conclusion, 'Wrong Turn' uses the most technical and symbolic codes and conventions to create the most effective and terrifying opening few minutes; it gives the audience an indication of what to expect for the rest of the film.

Planning : Getting Into Production Teams

The group I will be working with includes Chelsea Craig, Jake Hughes and Lucaas Chaiyaractha. Our production company name is titled Cling Films.

Research: Codes and Conventions Famous Examples

 An example of a convention in a horror film is the villain's identity not being apparant or revealed. This technique is used in the 1960 film, Psycho. The horror starred Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh and was directed by acclaimed film maker Alfred Hitchcock. In this scene, Janet Leigh's character, Marion Crane, is about to be murdered by a shadowy- figured assailant. By the audience not knowing who the villain is, it keeps us guessing all the way through the film until the murderer is finally revealed. It creates mystery, tension and suspense. Another convention that is evident in this scene is that the victim is a female. Females are often victims in horror films as women are portrayed as more vulnerable than men and need protecting. Additionally, female victims gain more sympathy from the audience, due to the reasons stated above.

Another horror film that makes use of typical codes and conventions is Scream, released in 1996. At the beginning of the film, teenage girl Casey Becker receives a phone call from an unknown person. He does not give his name and he is very flirtatious. Instead of being sensible and hanging up the phone, she converses with him. This is a convention, as it creates a dangerous situation and gives the villain a perfect opportunity to kill. Another convention used, like Psycho, is that the first victim is a female. Females are perceived as weak and defenseless against the villains. A symbolic code used is when Casey is in the kitchen and she lifts a knife from the knife block briefly. This is an example of foreshadowing that she is about to be murdered, perhaps even using that weapon.

Researching Codes and Conventions: House at the End of the Street Trailer

The horror film House at the End of the Street uses several codes and conventions, as displayed in the trailer.

Conventions:

• The victim is a young woman: women are usually the victims in a horror movie as they are perceives as more vulnerable as men.
• The victim almost makes it to safety before the villain catches up with them and re-captures them.
• There are also several shots of woods in the trailer. In horror films, woods are most commonly used as locations as they are quiet, secluded areas which have an eerie and mysterious film at night.

Codes:

• The facts that woods are used as a location is also a symbolic code. They are quiet, secluded areas.
• During a murder, the weather is stormy and thundering and lightning. This is symbolic and a use of foreshadowing as it indicates that something bad is about to happen. The villain also twists the door knob slowly, and then suddenly attacks.
• The victim has make-up on that makes her face look dirty; it makes her look like she has been through an ordeal.

Theatrical poster for The House at the End of the Street.

Without even seeing the trailer, it is obvious that the film is a horror. Half of the poster is black, which has connotations of mystery and death. The actress in the poster, Jennifer Lawrence, who stars in the film has limited looking space, as she is hiding behind and looking at a door. Limited looking space gives a constricted and chlostrophobic feel. The tag line, 'Fear Lives Here' also heavily implies that the film is a horror. There is also light eminating from the door which brings the focus onto the actress.

Research: Codes and Conventions

We learnt about codes and conventions and how they are used in the horror genre. This was interesting and useful, as it meant I could analyse and spot the codes and conventions whilst watching the opening two minutes or so of a teen horror film. In addition, it will subsequently help me when it comes to pre-production of my own opening of a teen horror film. Below there is some information about codes and conventions which will assist me.

What are codes?

Codes are elements that can be decoded by the audience to provide meaning. These can be divided most easily into 2 groups; technical codes and symbolic codes.

Technical codes include the 'technical' aspects of creating a piece of moving image media. This includes things such as camera shots, angles and movements, editing, sound, titles and lighting.

Symbolic codes include the main elements of mise-en-scene within a film. Mise-en-scene is a French term that means 'put in the scene'. This covers things such as costume, make-up, setting and props. If we see a girl in a short dress with bright red lipstick we may, as an audience, make an assumption about her. We do this because of the symbolic value attached to these items.

What are conventions?

Conventions are the expected rules that, as an audience, we expect in a specific genre. For example, in a horror film we expect to see conventions such as a killer stalking a victim, a character being placed in a position of peril, a mobile phone running out of battery or losing signal at a crucial moment.



Black make-up is used on the eyes in this image. The colour black connotes death and mystery. This contrasts her white face which gives a ghostly feeling. These are symbolic codes. The technical codes used in this image is the camera angle; it is a high camera angle, with the girl in the image looking up at the camera, but she's not tilting her head and has only moved her eyes. The lighting is also focused on her face.

Judging from the poster, the genre of the film is a horror. I can deduce this from the poster because on the front of the ship is a skull, which has connotations of death and violence. The title of the film is 'Ghost Ship', which is half submerged in water. The background of the poster is black which connotes death; the front of the ship is also damaged which implies there is something dangerous, or something dangerous happens on the ship. The film was also given a Halloween release date




The genre of this film is a children's comedy. I know this because on the poster it feature a dog DJing whilst wearing sunglasses, with headphones around its neck. It also shows two other dogs, both are wearing hats, and one of them is wearing a jumper with chains around its neck. This is not a serious film; it is light hearted, which is implied not only by the dogs, but by the background as well. It features a bright blue sky with two palm trees. From this I can predict that the film will be set in an exotic location.


Summary

An easy way to think of codes and conventions is to view them as being the necessary ingredients to create a perfect generic film recipe. If you are given the task, which you will be, of thinking of an idea for a teen horror film you can start by creating a list of essential ingredients.

You can, of course, choose to challenge conventions rather than use or develop them. This doesn't happen as often in film as it can disorientate the audience. A convention of most thriller films, for example, is that the hero always prevails. How would you react if a director chose to challenge this convention and killed off your hero letting the villain win?

Researching the History of Horror Films: 1940's-1950's