Evaluating how our product used, developed and challenged the forms of conventions..... Leah Zalani

Evaluating how our product used, developed and challenged the forms of conventions of real media products.

Titles and credits

• We used the colour grey for the credits as it was quite a muted colour and looked almost ghostly.
• On the other hand we used red titles to possibly represent blood and hate.
• The red font stood out and is used as a stereotypical colour for horror films and it also suits the mysterious feel of our genre.

      Characters

• Our main characters are young females
• Through the location of their house, they are seen to be at least middle class, which is classic in horrors as it makes the disruption worse.
• The two sisters are seen to be troublesome and mischievous, but vulnerable at the same time.
• The two girls would be seen as everyday teenagers in today’s society.
• The mother is seen as an ambiguous character, where she could be seen as sweet and loving or an evil and cruel woman.

Mise-en-scene

• Our first location is filmed in a graveyard; this location is used often in many horror films as it is seen as a spooky location.
• On the other hand our main location was filmed at the house; this would be seen as a typical place where a family murder would be held. We didn’t make any adjustments to the house, as we wanted that homely sense.
• We used various props, for example the flowers were used to show remembering the dead when the mother is at the graveyard.
• The envelope is also used as a significant prop; as the audience are suppose to identify this envelope later on in the film. A key prop is a feature of the thriller genre.
• The soup was another important prop; in the pot was tomato soup with kidney beans to possibly resemble blood and flesh. Again, this kind of prop is conventional for the genre.
• The costume used for the mother and children, were everyday casual clothing as nothing serve has happened at this stage and it allows the audience to orientate themselves with the normality of the characters through their clothing and to also connote vulnerability. This would be due to the little sisters dressing up in innocent and girly clothing.
• Our film was during the day, which doesn’t necessarily make it scary; however we are mainly allowing the audience to orientate themselves with the characters and story line, and later in the film nighttime events become more important.

Camera work and movement

• We used the use of a long shot of the mother walking down to the graveyard, to allow the audience to orientate themselves with the surroundings and the action-taking place.
• There is an establishing shot of the house, to allow the audience to get a sense of where the action is taking place and what time and era it is.
• We have used an over-the-shoulder shot to film the conversation between the two sisters, this was done using shot reverse shot as well. It allows the audience to see both sides of the conversation, there is an even screen time used between each shot. Not only is this a conventional way of filming a conversation it allows the audience to get a sense of the sisters relationship through facial expressions and other gestures.
• We used a POV shot to film one of the sisters rummaging around in the drawers. This allows the audience to see what the character is seeing by allowing us to identify with them more as we are experiencing the action with them. POV filming is very common in horrors / thrillers.
• We used many extreme close ups of significant props for example the letter, which is a conventional way of signalling high importance to the audience.
• Close ups were commonly used in our extract for example it allowed the audience to see emotions and reactions and also being warned about a significant object.
• We have used the use of two shots between the sisters; this shows us the relationship between the two sisters, showing intimacy and closeness.

 

 

Editing

• The ticking sound and the creaking door handle were added in postproduction, this is effective as it suggests deliberate decisions, for example we added it to enhance our sound to create an impression on the audience  by adding an eerie soundscape to indicate the genre.
• Through screen time the audience get a sense that the mother and two sisters are the most important character, which also allows the audience to sympathise with these characters.
• We used the technique of cross cutting to cut between the mother cooking and the children talking on the sofa, this was used to build up tension and allow them to be seen with some connection.
• There is a small use of ellipses from where the mother is at the graveyard to where she walks into the kitchen, this is used to show that time has passed.
• We used various transitions such as fade to black, to show something has come to an end or a beginning and to end the sequence.

Sound

• There is a use of diegetic sound to create authenticity and verisimilitude, for example when door slams.
• There is a use of dialogue between the sisters, which helps tell the story and gives us the impression of the character. For example when the younger sister says, “When is mum coming home?” this suggests through the tone in her voice that she is a vulnerable character. Dialogue is often used in opening sequences to establish character.
• In the graveyard there were sound effects from footsteps picked up by the camera, which is a use of ambient sound, this helped create verisimilitude.
• There is also a use of non-diegetic music, which is a low hum in the background to create a scary feel.
• Through these uses of sounds the genre of our film is identified within the first seconds of our film.