By Hannah Burgess, Katie Charman and

Lauren Hill

Codes and Conventions of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytGB0HZkigY

“Films portraying groups of people menaced by a stalker, set in domestic and suburban spaces”

Through the majority of the sequence, we do not see the protagonist’s face, leaving them to appear anonymous to the viewer. However, as with all slasher films, they stalk their victims and the viewer finally see’s the attacker on screen as they pounce. At the very end of the sequence, we see a glimpse of Freddy as he goes to attack the girl.

We are introduced to what seems to be a workhouse and are able to see the attacker’s preparations leading up to the attack. This further suggests that this is a slasher film as we are shown images of construction and harm. The iconography in the sequence is the famous razor glove and we see the process of Freddy creating his weapon and a number of significant images are seen: knives, wood, metal, glasses, tools and a flame torch.

Furthermore, the typical ‘damsel in distress’ girl seen running through Freddy’s world tells us that she is his victim and concludes to us that she is being stalked.

How is the genre of the film (slasher) constructed?

From the very beginning of the sequence, we can see that something is being constructed and that the creator knows exactly what they are doing. There is no planning from what we can see, and they know what they are going to create. However, the audience are unaware and uneducated of his activities and what exactly he is planning for. As the process of creation progresses, we can see that he is creating a weapon. Then, as the image of the finished product is shown along with a crescendo of music, we know the process is complete, leaving a feeling of unease and an apprehensive atmosphere as we do not know for what purpose he has created this weapon.

The use of close up shots position us in line with the killer- they seem to show an externalized thought process of his scheming and planning.

They make the audience feel almost complicit in the planning, yet because of the close up shots and anonymity of the killer we are still left uneasy as his identity is concealed which sets up the thriller genre.

What do the opening titles show, visually? How is narrative enigma created here?

At the beginning of the sequence, the music is fairly quiet, with a main droning sound that as the sequence progresses, becomes more higher pitched. It fades every so often to a lower pitched sound and then gets higher again. Along with this, there is also the sound of machinery and pipes. There are also two loud beats that repeat themselves frequently. The crescendo of all these noises create a jumpy atmosphere. After the crescendo, the music returns back to normal, however the tune changes and has more of a rhythm then before. This stays the same up till the very end of the sequence. Where the music fades completely before Freddy appears.

The music represents the nervy and anxious state of the victim. She is alone at first and is wondering around hopelessly with nothing happening. It can represent the feeling of fear as everything seems longer when scared, as the music doesn’t change much and makes the scene feel longer.

What is the effect of the music?

How has typography been used?

The fonts used throughout are fairly basic. This could be because it is an old film. The text at first is displayed beneath the image, and then later ontop. This could be as the crucial part is at the beginning, so it’s underneath to not distract the viewers attention.

The text throughout is simple which acts as a contrast with the title, which is in red, symbolizing blood and death and is used to stand out.

The title ascends from the bottom of the screen and zooms out to scare the audience.

The repetitive images of mechanics make the scene feel very cold and uncomforting. This is shown through the use of tools at the beginning, and the machinery that the girl is wandering through. This could represent the productive mind of Freddy and his continuous attempts of murder.

How is the mise en scene conveyed?

We are able to see the creators and the main people involved in the film. We also can see in writing the main actors in the film, along with the title of the film itself.

The opening sequence introduces us to the character of Freddy only briefly. We know that he has made a weapon, and that his intentions are to kill people, however, no storyline has been made yet, and there is still suspense as to who he is, and how the victims end up being victims in the first place.

What information is provided in the opening sequence?

Throughout the entirety of the sequence, straight cuts have been used to allow continuity of the scene and hence, make it more believable.

An unjustified cut is used after we see Freddy’s glove break the material, and then a girl enters the scene. To us, it is unclear what the relevance is.

Text is added ontop of the images.The image fades just before the title appears,

however it then cuts straight to the next image.

Fade to black at the end.

How has the sequence been edited?