Textual Analysis/Conventions of Horror of our second draft

By Tom Andrews-Faulkner

The first shot of our of construction is a long shot of of trees and our distribution company (who we now know no longer distributes and have changed to Pathe) and the sky which looks cloudy and the trees are without leaves thus shows it is winter. This connotes coldness which is a convention of horror and the darkness/storminess of horror films which is parodied in lots of TV shows such as The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Halloween shows. It is similar to the title shot in Durham County (2007) which is also a long shot and the low key lighting and lack of life in the shot males it look murky and mysterious.The text is serif and with the first letter of each word in capitals with the rest in lower case and words normally are to portray a normal feeling at this stage of the sequence so that the audience can settle in and not feel scared yet. It is all in black to blend into the mood of the scene so that it’s almost like the shot has been totally desaturated to add to the murky atmosphere.The non- diegetic piano music starts at this point with a few chords being played. This music is on throughout our piece and adds a scary vibe to it due to the low tempo of it making it seem like something is going to suddenly such as a jump scare.

Durham County (2007)

Our second shot is a straight cut to our production company on a body of water which is a close up/mid-shot. Sticking to the horror theme we have also been influenced by County Durham for this shot a show above as both have rippling water I them with a desaturated effect to it about from the red of the roses in the County Durham shot. The low key lighting and lack of colour in this shot means it conforms to the conventions of darkness in horror showing early on that there will be a dark presence in our film as the opening sequence reveals as the antagonist is show yet his face is hidden.This title was created on Photoshop and the idea for it came from a group discussion after I came up with the idea for the name. The text is sans serif, is all in capitals and the words ’Xenon’ and ‘Production’ (we know this should be ’Productions’). This is in sans serif compared to the others being serif to really push our production company and promote it We liked this shot because it added to our piece with its artistic qualities and that it fits into our sequence because the film is set in cloudy/post-rain weather in which there would be puddles.

Durham County (2007)

Our next shot is a straight cut long shot of the sky and some tree branches with our stars names on. This shot is similar to one in Durham County due to the tree coming across the screen from right to left.The lighting is very low key and the shot is desaturated which shows the darkness of the shot and the darkness to come in the film. The shot also links to our first shot with the distribution company on it due to the tree with few leaves on it which connotes death which is a common convention of horror films. The text is bigger for the bigger star in the film; we did this because we though the bigger star would have more attraction to him thus having the font for him bigger. We now know that the text should not have ‘starring’ and ‘with’ in it because it isn’t needed and takes up unnecessary room in the shot. The text is serif to make it look more stylised so that it is similar tothe artistic shot it is placed in.

Durham County (2007)

Our next shot is through a window which has rain droplets on it. Originally this shot was shaky but using the ‘Warp Stabiliser’ effect on Adobe Premiere we could steady it creating a very effective shot. The focus of the shot is on the foreground meaning we can see the rain drops very well showing the continuity of the rainy weather in our sequence which is a common convention of horror due to it making things more obscured thus scary.The text is all on white and is serif to create a stylised effect of the text top add to the artistic qualities of our titles sequence shots.Shots through windows are commonly used in horror films as in the Woman in Black (2012). These cause a sense of fear in audience because they can be used as an illusion by directors so that things can appear through them to scare the audience. This is a common convention of horror thus conforms to the conventions of horror.

The Woman In Black (2012)

This shot is a a long shot of trees and the landscape in which the scene takes place with the Director on it. The director has their own shot because it is such an important role in the shooting of a film. The text is the same as in the shot before and is serif and positioned out of the way of the main elements to the shot (the trees) so that the audience can focus on it separately.There is then a pan shot round to Tod speaking on the phone to his girlfriend. This a close up shot and shows the emotion and body language of the character it is o. There is diegetic sound in this when he is talking on the phone and the music stops so that we can hear him properly and because it is important to the narrative of our sequence.This is a long take compared to the shots before it due to the pan making the pace of it lower so that the audience can get used to the normality of a man leaving work so that they can relate to it which is a convention of horror that we conform to.Phone calls are commonly used in horror films to scar the audience such as in The Babadook (2014) in which the evil being calls Amelia and just says the word ‘Babadook’ but it is enough to come across as scary to the audience.

The Babadook (2014)

The next important shot is a match on action of Tod getting into the car having walked from the building to it which I don’t believe is relevant enough to be analysed as it is is only long shots of him walking. The first shot of these is a mid shot through the window of the car as he opens the door and gets in. This is to draw the audience back in having seen the long shots so that they know the car is important to the sequence because having shots come closer to the character increases intensity of the mood making the audience feel like something will happen to them. The focus is in deep focus because all parts of the shot are relevant in this scene and the car and Tod are both important in the shots to come.The shot then cuts to a shot through the windscreen of Tod closing the door completing the match on action. This is also a mid shot keeping the continuity of the shots and not suddenly zooming in or out from Tod which would cut the continuity and possibly confuse the audience. At this point the pitch of the music becomes higher which is a convention in film that something is about to happen because music is so integral to the scare factor of horror films. It is still the same piano piece as has been throughout so continuity is kept but the slight change will cause a reaction in the audience making them want to carry on watching.

Once Tod has driven off the screen fades to black which we now know isn’t good because it cuts up the continuity editing whichwe’re aiming for so will change it for our final piece. The long shot shows the area in which we basing our film in to make it seem like a normal suburban road which isn’t overly busy and has normal houses for the area. This shows that the mise-en-scene for this scene is correct for our narrative as it fits in with Tod having a normal life which makes the audience feel more settled and be able to relate to it more. The non-diegetic music in this scene suddenly becomes lower in pitch as the car breaks down which shows it is synchronous to the scene which means the audience are more aware that something important has happened. This is important because it means that the sound we have used is effective thus we have sourced it successfully so that it relates to our piece and isn’t just a randomsoundtrack put in so that it isn't just diegetic sound. The car breaking down isn’t very realistic as it just stops randomly which is another part of this shot we need to address so that the audience understand why it has broken. This will be done before our final deadline in our final edit. Pieces of equipment randomly stopping working are common in horror films though which is most commonly the lights stop working meaning visibility is made worse to add to the scariness of the films which is used a lot in the Paranormal Activity Saga (2007).This use of the car also relates to the film The Car (1977) as it does things that subvert what you’d expect cars to do as the car in our film dopes by randomly braking down, multiple times as we see in the text.

Paranormal Activity (2007)The Car 1977)

This shot is an extreme close up of Tod’s phone as he is texting his girlfriend, Leonie, that the car has broken and he’ll have to walk home using a different route. This is significant because it is helping the audience understand the narrative of what Tod is doing and why he has to go through the woods, as it is his easiest way home. The close up is used to show the emotions and body language of a character and as he types you can see his frustration as it doesn’t take long and he seems to do it in a brutish manner. This would not be able to seen from a shot that is further away thus means that the audience get to understand the characters feelings and don’t just see him as a random person that they can’t relate with. The phone could be seen as quite feminine due to the colour purple being on the phone case which is stereotypically a colour associated with women. This makes the scene more colorful to the others which makes it stand out more therefore making the audience concentrate more which is what we intended because the text that is appearing on the phone is important for the audience to read.Extreme close ups are a common convention of horror but our film subverts the common use of them as they are usually used to show gory details or emotions of the character as shown in the photo above from the Blair Witch Project (1999) which shows the fear in the man’s eyes.

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

We know that the fade to black at the end of this shot should not happen because it cuts up the continuity and makes the audience think time has passed when in the narrative he hasn’t walked far at all and we will address this by re-filming so that we have up until he’s at the next shot. The first shot is a long shot of Tod coming up to a gate on the edge of some woods. The lighting is low key to show he is going into a dark place which is a common convention of horror because darkness connotes evil and death. The trees in it have no leaves which add to the death element of it and overall make it a creepy location with a rusty, barbed wire gate on the edge of it as well which could easily hurt someone. The second shot is the second of three parts of the match on action as he comes through the gate. We did this to show all angles of the forest to show the audience the landscape the next part of the sequence would be taking part in so that they can feel adjusted to it and not disorientated. Eerie music non-diegetic music, most likely from a violin, begins to play in the background which creates a spooky atmosphere so the audience know that we are building up to something but they have no idea what which means they’ll be on the edge of their seats in anticipation. Woods are a common theme of fear in horror films as shown in a Cabin in the Woods (2011) as they are the source of where the evil is hiding.

The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

The next shot is a slow tracking shot of Tod as he walks through the forest. This type of shot is a common convention of horror film usually used to reveal something. The camera is in deep focus so that both Tod and the area are in focus because they are both important parts of our film as he’s the protagonist and the woods are the antagonists ’hunting ground’.His body posture makes him seem suspicious to the audience and that there is something wrong which would intrigue them to wonder why he is hunched over looking miserable. At the end of the clip is the first time we hear the diegetic sound of the music box which at this point he can’t hear because he has his headphones in so it creates dramatic irony meaning the audience know but the characters don’t. A dark figure in the woods would cause the audience to be scared as this is a common convention of horror films to scare the audience. Our character therefore subverts the common preconception of a character dressed in black as the audience see earlier on that he’s normal as his texts to his girlfriend are shown. This could be associated with the myth of Slenderman who is a mysterious figure in black clothing only seen in woods.

The Slenderman

The next two shots are shots in which you can see Tod walking in the background but the focus is on the foreground and on the leaves and feather respectively. We chose to use the foreground focus to on these because they are artistic elements of the setting thus we thought we’d make our film more attractive so that the audience would be more interested in it. For most of the shots before this the camera was in deep focus so changing it at this point would embassies the changes that are about to occur in the next few seconds.Shots through bushes are common conventions of film and are used to show someone is hiding and are used as point of view shots. These shots show that Tod is being watched but due to having them from different angles we know it can't be a person standing there but a presence is definitely watching him causing tension in the audience.We used a rack focus to change from foreground focus background focus so that Tod is more visible at the end of these shots so that the audience can get ready to go back into the action.

This is a close up shot of Tod taking his headphones out because the sound of the music box has become so loud he can hear it over the music he was listening to already. The close up is used to show his confusion at what he can hear and why it is the woods. It is contrapuntal to the setting it is in as you’d usually expect it to be in someone’s room at a desk. This confuses the audience because they are also keen to know what is making the sound is so tension and atmosphere are increased. Close up shots are used to show emotion and body language and ours shows Tod’s well because we would not be able to see his reaction from a mid or long shot his making this an important shot in our construction because it shows his emotions. Characters experiencing emotions also makes the audience like them more and feel attached to them so watching the film becomes more exciting because they are able to relate to the character thus will be more scared when he’s in danger. This is a common convention of horror films as close ups are commonly used to show a characters expression as shown in The Ring (2002). In this film it is used to show the detail of the antagonists face and how it is an object of fear for normal people such as the audience.

The Ring (2002)

The next shot is a close up over the shoulder shot of Messer. The focus is on the foreground to emphasise the stubble so that we know he is older than Tod making him more likely to be the villain. This is a convention of horror as shown in The Shining (1980) with Jack having stubble. There is non-diegetic sound the moment the shot begins having straight cut from the shot of Tod walking before. This could be described as ’jump scare’ music as nit is very sudden as is the appearance of this man. It sound like all the keys of a pianohave been pressed down at once like it is a cacophony of notes. This is synchronous to the piece because it is at the same time as the man appearing and is like a sound motif for him. The music is very similar to the one used when the titles appearin Insidious (2011) which is where we go the idea for it from. The close up shot shows that he is still and almost lifeless when watching Tod which makes us dislike him because he is not interacting and being friendly as you’d expect when seeing someone n the woods therefore giving the audience the impression that he is evil.This shot is a jump scare which is a common convention of many horror films to add a scare factor to them. An example of this is the jump scare in Insidious where the Devil/Demon-like creature appears over Josh’s shoulder.

The Shining (1977)Insidious (2011)

The next shot is a long shot of Tod because it shows his whole body. This is done to show that he has the music box in his hands and his facial expression at the same time because he is on focus thus is easiest to see. His expression is of wonder at what the box could be and what is in it because the nursery rhyme sound does not fit in with the area he is in meaning his confusion will be transmitted to the audience as well. The diegetic sound of the music box is of a nursery rhyme which is a common convention of horror as in The Woman In Black (2012) scene at the start with the three girls jumping out the window. The music is very similar and anyone who'd seen the film would be able to relate it thus causing a sense of fear because that scene is one of the most frightening in the film. The use of music box was also used in The Conjuring (2013) which shows how our film relates to conventions from other films. The mise-en-scene of the box is that of a child, not a man in a forest. This means that it juxtaposes the area which can cause disorientation in the audience which is the desired effect we wanted to begin to increase the scare factor as it is just before a confusing sequence.

The Conjuring (2013)

The next shot is of a timer counting down which is shown on and off through the next few shots between the shots of the woman being attacked. This is the start of the flashbacks to the last murders of the killer in our story. The effect of two times on the screen at once is done in post production as a special effect. This makes it even more confusing because there are two of it making the audience seem dazed as you see double when you’re dazed. The sound at this point is non-diegetic and very scratchy which disorientates the audience which is the desired affect of this part of our construction because it isn’t meant to be clear what is happening. However, the audience must understand it’s a flashback which is shown though the shots of the woman with the box before she was attacked then whilst being attacked which we hope conveys the idea that we also picked up the box then was killed by the same man setting Tod up. The sound is also similar to that used in The Shining (1977) when Jack is shown (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDpipB4yehk) which shows how we used existing films to portray scary parts of our film as that music is used in The Shining when he’s looking for his victim with an axe.These are all short cuts which make the pace of the piece increase and before this most of the shots had been long takes which keeps it normal. The sudden increase in short takes causes the audience to be confused at what is going on.

The Shining (1977)

These two shots are of the killer and are used to portray what he looks like put not exactly who he is which isn’t revealed in the sequence.The first one is a n extreme close up of the antagonists stubble which was already shown in the woods thus the audience already know of him so can relate these shots together and realise Tod is in danger. This means that dramatic irony is now present because the audience know Tod is in trouble but he has no idea.They are both short takes and have straight cuts to show that they are around the same time which would also mean they are in at around the same time as the murder thus linking him to them. This means that the audience really have to focus on these flashbacks to understand the narrative but we hope our sudden change in music has drawn them in to realise it’s an important scene.The music at this point is still the same scratchy non-diegetic sound with sudden blasts making it louder every second or two to keep the audience interested meaning they don’t stop focusing on the action. This is because changes in music connote changes in what’s happening in the scene so the audience will be drawn in to this part of the film.The red colour to the room connotes blood which links to the murder that has just occurred there and leaves a creepy impression on the audience which would leave them scared until after these shots are over.The use of a shadow is a common convention of horror films as shown above in the photo from a Nightmare on Elm Street of the shadow of Freddy Krueger’s hand. Our characters hand is not as scary as the claw like hands of Krueger but would still cause the audience to be fearful of him as it is human nature to be scared of the unknown and what we can’t see.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

These next shots are close ups of the antagonist washing his hands under a tap in a darkened room with the same red lighting as the shots before. The close ups really show the amount of blood that is on his hands from the murder thus showing the trouble Tod is now in.There is diegetic sound in this of the water which is the only diegetic sound in these shots which shows how important it is that he rids the evidence of the last kill and he moves onto his next, which is Tod. The same non-diegetic sound that has been on throughout is also still playing which means the audience know that this is till part of the montage of shots from where the murder took place.The lighting in the shots changes from darkness to having the light on. This is important because without the light the audience wouldn’t be able to see the blood which is integral to the narrative because we need to see it to know that it was him who killed the woman.The focus of the shot is on the hands so is in foreground focus because the hands are the important part of the shot thus need to be seen the best which is why we didn't do a deep focus and just did it on the foreground.This shot is similar to ones in Se7en (1996) in the opening sequence which also have shots of just hands which are a fairly abstract type of shot because close ups are mainly used for facial emotions, not limbs. It also has the effect used in the timer shots so that there are two of the same things at once.

Se7en (1996)

This is the final shot of our piece and is of our title which reveals itself onto the screen. They flicker onto the screen and flicker out by having many short clips of each of the shots above.The non-diegetic sound in this is mechanical and sounds a machine is putting the letters onto the screen because it is almost in time with titles put also fits into the sequence in the darkened room before this due to the scratchy nature of it.The text is serif and is all lower case. This creates a childish affect to it which relates to the music box which also connotes children. Serif text looks more hand written which is also childish and it all being lower case makes it seem less academic and more like it was done by a child.We were influenced by the titles of American Horror Story (2011) with the white on black colour scheme. The lack of colour portrays death and emptiness which immediately gives the impression to the audience that it’s a horror film.

American Horror Story (2011)