Conducting Genre Research - Horror.

In the process of researching the genre of Horror, group member Faye produced a Horror History Timeline through Dipity, analysing the history of Horror movies and the evolution of plots, technology and content. The timeline is embedded below.

History of the horror genre on Dipity.

I then created a presentation on Prezi into the conventions of a horror film and narrative, including narrative theories from Todorov and Claude Levi-Strauss, embedded below.

Group member Kala then created a collage on Photovisi, using images from Google to combine a collective image of stereotypical iconographies of Horror movies, embedded below.

The images represent the typical icons present in mainstream horror movies, for example blood, weapons, zombies, masks, prosthetics, ghosts, and vampires. The villains in horrors usually have a distinctive identity, as seen in the images above. Images also included are common horror locations, for example a haunted house. All of these images are dark in colour, most dominant colours being red and black. This represents the basic expectations of a horror film.

Kala also researched into the certificate rating of many horror movies and the reasons behind the ratings. They range on average between 15 and 18, purely because of the contents of the movie, consisting of bad language, violent scenes, sex scenes and graphic content in scenes. These factors are what cause the films to fall under the category of 15-18 certificate ratings.

Horror films previously found difficulty in passing as an 18 certificate rating because violence was a problematic situation and caused a lot of moral panic, in order for the film to get the rating certificate and be able to be shown in cinemas, they would have to remove the scenes that were inappropriate although these scenes will be shown in uncut versions released to the public, for example DVD. In the present movie industry, a lot more is accepted in movies, for example until recently any sex scenes were not allowed in 18 certificate rating movies.
An example of a movie is Cannibal Holocaust. This movie had to be cut by 5.44 minutes because of violent sex scenes and scenes of animal cruelty. 

Movies such as the Saw series are all rated 18, this is because of the excessive blood, gore and violence. Movies like Saw are more appropriate to have these ratings because the content is not particularly suitable for an audience under that age, which contains explicit language and is filled with loads of different violent ways of killing people. You can also see from movies like this that entertainment has changed so much over the years because the content of saw would not have been accepted even as a 18 certificate rating movie where as over the years they have had to be more lenient and accept more into 18 rating movies because it is what the audience now want to see and they want.

Group member Faye and myself then completed a video displaying the main conventions of a stereotypical horror movie, in parody format, embedded below.

Preliminary Task.

The preliminary task demonstrates the skills we have learnt, combined into a filmed project, i.e. Shot Reverse Shot, 180 Degree Rule and Match On Action. The project should include dialogue between two people and convey our camera and editing skills. Below is the planning, final project, and evaluation of the task.

Storyboard:

Shot List:

Script:

Doctor sitting at a desk typing

Doctor: (shouts) Next please!

Patient enters the room

Doctor: Take a seat please

Patient sits down

Doctor: So what seems to be the problem?

Patient: I’ve recently had red, itchy eyes, a blocked nose and have been frequently sneezing

Doctor: It sounds as if you are having symptoms of hay fever

Patient: Ok what can you prescribe to help?

Write out a prescription

Doctor: I will prescribe you Cetirizine, which will help with these symptoms

Hands the patient the prescription

Patient: Ok, thank you very much

Patient exits the room

End.

Below is the recording of the finished sequence:

Evaluation:

Below is an embedded Prezi, evaluating our preliminary task:

Match On Action.

Match on action is an editing technique where a sequence cuts from one shot to another that continues the first shots action. They may not be obvious to the eye of the audience as they are seamlessly edited in a way that the action becomes natural from two different angles altogether. For example, someone may be walking towards a door from one angle, but when they enter and walk through the door, the angle has changed at such a pace it becomes a bridge, the continuity seamless and flowing into the next shot. By having the sequence seamless, this interlinks with continuity, as it needs to be unnoticeable to the audience. 

In class, the activity set was to create a sequence of match on action in small groups, filming with two cameras at the same time, to make it simpler when editing the shots of the action together. Our group created a sequence of someone sitting down on a sofa, then getting off the sofa and walking away. We created a birds eye view sketch of our plan of setting, for example where we would place our cameras when filming, and props we should use, in our groups case a sofa. We had to make sure both cameras were at a good distance away from the sofa and actress to capture the action well within the frame. We also had to make sure that we recorded the footage at the same time, to ensure we had the same length of footage to edit. Below is the finished edited video.

The simplest part of this activity was filming the sequence because the cameras didn't need to move throughout filming and just remained in one stationary position. The most challenging part of this activity was editing the sequence together as the two recordings needed to flow seamlessly together, keeping continuity also. The match on action had to be exact in order for it to be seamless and unnoticeable. We edited two versions of our match on action as we wanted to demonstrate the two ways in which our sequence can be perceived. To overcome this, we reduced the speed of the clips to see exactly where the angle changes and if the continuity is exact.

In the process of this activity, I have learnt the technique of match on action, and revised my skills of precise editing, to ensure there is little or no error in the continuity of the match on action in the sequence. To improve our technical skills in this activity, we could include more than one example of match on action, for example when the actress sits down, as well as getting up off the sofa.

180 Degree Rule Script, Video and Evaluation.

Script:

Two characters are engaging in conversation about a recent homework task.

Character 1: [Enters room]
Character 1: Hi
Character 2: Hi
Character 1: [Questioning] Have you done the homework?
Character 2: [Shocked] No, what homework?!
Character 1: The media homework that was set last week - we've had eight days to do it!
Character 2: [Confused] Oh... what was it?
Character 1: That worksheet we started in lesson
Character 2: [Relieved] Oh thats okay, i'll do it this lunch time!
Character 1: You better do it!
Character 2: I will!

End.

Below is the recording of the dialogue.

Evaluation:
We ensured in the completion of this task was to the best of our ability, by making sure the camera was in the correct place and on a tripod whilst filming and precision editing to make sure the cuts flowed together to create the simulation of a conversation. We made sure both actors we in the frame and that the left character was always on the left, and the right character always on the right. We filmed all in one take per character to ensure continuity and mise en scene were correct and precise. The thing we could do differently on this task is that we should film in a fully lit room rather than next to a window, as the lighting slightly differs from one character to the next, as they are opposite each other. To imporove on the task, we could film with two cameras rather than one to reduce time of filming, and make the editing process a lot easier to accomplish. The editing helped make meaning to the viewer as the characters were engaging in conversation, and so in the editing of one character to the next when they start talking emphasises to the audience that they are speaking to one another. We demonstrated the 180 degree rule effectively as the editing highlights that the characters are opposite each other, meaning a change of camera at 180 degrees was used to film the sequence between the characters. To ensure success on our next practical activity, we shall use two cameras to reduce filming speed considerably, and to enhance continuity in the editing process of our sequence. We will also use a better quality of lighting to make sure all the task is in the same brightness.

The 180 Degree Rule and Shot Reverse Shot.

The 180 degree rule is the rule in which you keep the camera placed on an imaginary axis around two characters you are filming, not breaking the 180 degree barrier around one side of the two characters, keeping the left character on the left and the right character on the right. When filming a sequence, you must keep to that one side you choose in order to keep continuity in both of the characters eye lines,looking towards one another.

This picture I copied from Flickr demonstrates this rule, the camera keeping in the blue semi circle. The red character stays on the left, and the blue character stay on the right, as if both characters are looking at one another. If the camera then breaks this semi circle, as pictured above, the blue character now appears on the left, and the red character now appears on the right.

Shot reverse shot is the transition of edited shots between two characters having a conversation or engaging in another kind of dialogue. The shots follow the conversation between the characters, keeping to continuity of the eye lines of them both looking to one another.

The diagram above, which I copied from Google images, demonstrates the shot reverse shot rule, straight cutting between two characters as they engage in dialogue.

Introductory Post.

Introductory Post

My name is Georgia Pearce, candidate number 3132 and I am currently studying AS Media Studies at Swakeleys Sixth Form. This blog will follow the progression through my AS coursework unit, in which the end project will be the opening sequence to a film.