Mise-en-scene In Horror

Mise-en-scene is key in Genre as it allows the audience to identify with what film they enjoy and are watching.

For example low key lighting alongside certain times of the day to give needed effects. also to create shadowing.

Graveyards in horror are used to connote death and decay

Example of low key lighting

An example from the 2010 film paranormal activity 2 where the sephia tone adds to the horror.

Secluded areas are also used where there are woods especially after dark.

synopsis: FINAL DEADLINE

For media students in their in their final year of sixth form, have to make a film production. The grade they receive from this production determines whether they go to university.

The filming of the production is taken place in an abandoned mental institute.

The only person taking the project seriously , is grade 'A' student Jessica Woods, who wanders around and goes to explore the mental institute to finish the project on her own. whilst Jessica is exploring the 'jock' o fthe group, Dan Moorse decides to play tricks on his girlfriend Josephine Khemet, the popular girl.

The last of the four; Jacob gives up on the media project and sits in one of the rooms in the institute drinking a beer and smoking cigarette.

One by One all the characters slowly suffer bloodbath murders, suffering at the hands of fellow possessed student Jessica (killer).

Film Synopsis: DEVIL

The film begins with a person committing suicide by jumping from a building narrated by Ramirez (Jacob Vargas) who mentions that his mother tells him stories of the Devil roaming the earth, and it always begins with a suicide. Detective Bowden (Chris Messina) is called to the scene to aid in the investigation. Bowden is a recovering alcoholic devastated by the death of his wife and child in a hit-and-run accident by a driver who was never caught. As this is happening, five strangers, who have committed various crimes in the past, step onto an elevator located within the same building where the suicide has taken place.

The five strangers include Ben (Bokeem Woodbine), a temp security guard with a violent past; an elderly woman (Jenny O'Hara) who is a compulsive thief; Vince (Geoffrey Arend), a mattress salesman who moonlights as a con artist; Tony (Logan Marshall-Green), a former mechanic who served in the U.S. military during the War in Afghanistan who is now seeking employment within the building; and Sarah (Bojana Novakovic), a greed encompassed heiress meeting with her lawyer in the building.

Strange things start to occur beginning with the elevator becoming stuck between floors. Then, after the lights go out, Sarah is inexplicably wounded on her back. The remaining occupants of the elevator quickly begin to suspect Vince of having committed the assault. Slowly, one by one, the five strangers start to die. First, Vince is killed by a shard of glass from a mirror which slices his jugular vein. Detective Bowden, sensing a connection between this and the man who earlier committed suicide in the same building, is compelled to further investigate. Checking the building's guest log, Bowden finds that only four people have missed their scheduled appointments that day: Sarah, Vince, Ben, and Janecowski. The investigators misinterpret the latter as Jane Cowski and assume this is the old womans name, leaving Bowden suspicious of Tony who appears to be the only undocumented occupant.

With the help of the buildings security team, Bowden examines security footage and discovers that the old woman had stolen a wallet prior to entering the elevator. The office building's repairman is sent down the elevator shaft to fix it, but plummets to his death. During a power outage, the old woman is found hanging by the neck from an electrical cord and presumed dead. Sarah and Ben turn on Tony, while Bowden begins to suspect that Sarah's husband has hired Ben to kill her. A security guard inspects the basement and electrocutes himself attempting to secure a hot fallen wire. The lights go out again and Ben is dead with his neck completely twisted around. Each thinking the other must be responsible for the murders, Tony and Sarah prepare to fight each other with broken glass, but Bowden seemingly manages to calm them. As Sarah prepares to take out a shard of glass hidden in her back pocket, the lights once again go out and her throat is slashed. The mystery seems solved, when a tattooed woman arrives and informs Bowden that Tony is her fiance, and was at the building for a job interview. Only then is his full name revealed to be Tony Janecowski.

The old woman suddenly rises and appears behind Tony. It is now apparent that she is the Devil who has taken a human form. Having dispensed of the others, The Devil tells Tony its his turn to die. Detective Bowden watches through the CCTV as Tony confesses to killing two people in a drunken hit-and-run accident. Tony had been trying to grab another beer while driving and had not seen where was going. Tony says "I'm so sorry." and Bowden had a car wash coupon that says "I'm so sorry" on the back. At which point the Devil is forced to spare him (as he confessed his sin and apologized for it) and disappears as the firemen finish breaking into the elevator. Detective Bowden realizes Tony is the one who killed his wife and son, but expresses his forgiveness en route to the police station following his arrest.

The film ends with Ramirez telling the audience that his mother always reassured him at the end of her stories, "If the Devil is real, God must also be real."

Red- Protagonists

Blue- Stock Characters

Purple- Plots and stock situations

Textual analysis of film posters

The Concept of Horror

I noticed that on the apple trailer website when you asked for a trailer you could select which 'Genre' film you wanted. This lead me to question what is genre exactly? How do people know what film they like, and how do they distinguish these things?

I also felt that as a media student i should look deeper into what are the elements and formulas that add up to what we as the audience like viewing

Applying recognisable Trailer Conventions

• How does the trailer work as a promotional tool


• How is the audience engaged


• What role or function do the conevntional elements play

In order to play with the recognisable conventions of trailers, in groups we came up with ideas about how to market and promote are given Title BLOODSHED HIGH.

Bloodshed HiGH Presentation

From watching and analyzing horror trailers my group could come up with key conventions that marketed a successful trailer.

1. We discussed the USP (UNIQUE SELLING POINT) which is essential in the marketing of film. we asked ourselves what made our film different from the rest?
2. we had to make sure there were relevant actors that were known to the audience we could have a sense of familiarity with the audience.

From this task i learnt that trailers are not movies and that you only have a few minutes to show the most enticing features of the film without revealing the storyline or murders etc. i also learnt that audience expectations are key and you have to engage with them.

Film analysis

click here for link of trailer

• Overture film used as promotion tool to recognise genre
• Hammer
• Use of titling or credits in between to let audience know whats goign on ''in a quiet town''. this expresses teh film director star/themes etc.
• The use of dim low key lighting which is a convention in the horror genre
• The use of rapid shots as it gets nearer to the end makes the audiece jump and frightened also expressing action and the best bits.
• The title of the movie is at the end. Doing this makes sure its the last thing the audience remember.
• The use of non-digetic music to show genre.Audience can then relate to the familiar genre they know.

CLICK HERE FOR ''DONT BE AFRAID OF THE DARK'' TRAILER

• Non-digetic music makes the audience anticipate
• Miramax Film- Familiarity and promtion of the producers
• Blowing of wind alongside black background gives a cold chilly feel