Halloween
 |
| *Note: All the time this is playing there is a lot of subtle non-diegetic music used to create suspense. |
2) After a few more names are show we come to the main title sequence. It shows a pumpkin at all time on the left hand side which is slowly zoomed in on over the subsequent few minutes (see 3). One of the main titles shown is that actual title of the movies. It is also shown at the same time as the directors name so that the audience will always associate him with this particular movie.
3) In this screen shot you can see that the pumpkin is now filling the screen with just its eye and nose. The orange glow adds to the horror element at this point and it is a typical convention of horror movies.
4) This inter title is surely used to give the audience a sense of location. As I discussed in my previous blog entry this is one of the most important elements to ANY film opening.
5) This shot was tracked all the way from the front of the house. It is fairly shaky and takes a direct route straight to the window. This is obvious meant to be a point of view shot and therefore give the audience the sense that the couple in this shot are being watched. Because of the build up and the music it is also easy to infer something bad is about to happen. When the couple move the camera pans left and continues to track round to the back of the house where it enters.
6) The lighting changes suddenly as a switch is turned on by the character and we see that they walk straight up to the kitchen draw and grab a knife. Whats scary about this is that there was no hesitation or thought that went into this action. It give the audience the impression that this was premeditated and that the character has no emotions.
7) This shot doubles the danger. As soon as the boyfriend has left the audience know that the girl is now all alone in the house and that she is definitely in more danger than she was previously.
8) The girl turns around in shock and shouts "Michael!". The fact that the girl has spoken the characters name is even more shocking than before as you then learn that she knows him. With a few quick blows and exaggerated arm movements with the knife she is laying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. Vulnerability is a key convention in horror movies and it just adds to the fear and suspense already created by other factors.
9) As the boy exits the building a car pulls up. Out get two more characters. a male and a female. They also know who he is. The camera then cuts to a close up of the boy and the to a medium long shot which shows Michael holding his blood stained knife with his parents staring at him with a great amount of disbelief on their face. The fact that this young boy has just murdered his sister and then confronts his parents with a very emotionless look on his face unsettles the audience. This is another key convention.
Insidious
 |
| *Note: There is no diegetic sound in this clip and therefore it is filled with an eerie droning non-diegetic tone to enhance the effect created by the well framed shots. |
2) The previous shot is followed by another motif although this time there was a lot more animation, thought and time put into making it look good.
3) In shot 3 you can see what I previously mentioned. It once again mentions 'IM GLOBAL' and 'ALLIANCE FILMS' in just text. There is no motif shown at all. It also mentions another company previously not mentioned at all.
4) A clever bit of editing then follows. It shows the directors name in the middle of a light. As the shot begins to rotate so does the text. It follows the light all the way around and then disappears. By concentrating a lot of effort of the directors name people are more likely to remember it.
5) In this shot the camera is most likely on a crane. It shows a boy asleep in bed and his room AT NIGHT. The night scene is key to this shot because without it the shot wouldn't scream 'horror' at you, because of this simple convention of horror movies it is easy for the audience to identify. The camera then travels round the corner to show a scary looking face only seen because of the candle held in front of the face.
6) This shows the title of the movie. The difference in every genre of film with regard to the title screen is typography. You can see that this typography is iconic of the horror genre. First observation is that its red; red has connotations of blood, fear and death. Second observation is that it's got a chiseled effect and that it has quite low lighting. As we know low lighting/darkness is also another obvious convention of horror movies.
7/8/9) These are just a few of the credits that appear in the sequence which carries on for several minutes. They show lots of different peoples names and mainly those who have had most to do with the making of the movie. Every shot is framed very well and the proxemics are outstanding. This simple yet very effective opening style has a great impact on the audience and also build tension throughout due to the low level music.
Saw
 |
| *Note: As with all horror movies working within the conventions of the horror genre there is low level droning music to add effect. |
2) Following the previous motif is the motif of Twisted Pictures who are strongly involved in the making of all saw movies. The name is also very appropriate for the genre. The animation on their motif features a spike spinning which tightens barbed wire around the letters to either side. Immediately after is an inter title showing both the previous names but just as text.
3) Again following this is another inter title showing the directors name. This is shown just before the name of the movie and it will definitely stick in peoples mind, especially as he is notorious for producing brilliant horror movies.
4) The title says it all in a glimpse through the great use of typography. It is white and the effect they have used makes it look like it has a ghostly quality; and what do we associate with ghosts? Horror movies. Instant impression made on the audience about what to expect.
5) The film then goes from having a fairly slow start to cutting right into the action. A man arises from underneath the water in the bathtub, obviously stopping himself drowning only to find himself chained to a wall in the pitch black. He screams for help only to get a reply from another victim who is also trapped but more calm. This confrontation and build up of anxiety created by the character is felt by the audience. A few more line of dialogue are exchanged before it moves onto shot 6.
6) In shot 6 the other man finds a light switch. This immediately blinds the two of them because they have adapted to the dark conditions ad ultimately it results in panic because neither of them can see if there is anything of danger to them directly next to them.
7) The camera then cuts to a high angle long shot of one of the most stereotypical features of the horror genre - a dead body. Not only is the man dead lying in a pool of his own blood, but he is also missing half of his skull and is holding two items in his hands, a gun and a tape. This strikes terror into the actors and it makes the audience ask the question - How did this man die? Did he kill himself or did someone else kill him? etc. One of the keys to a successful horror movie is to keep the audience asking questions, the only way they can answer them questions is by continuing to watch the film.
8) This shot just shows a close up of the weapon the man is holding, it is framed so that the blood from the man is still in the picture.
9) The final shot I have shown give an indication of the size of the room and the proxemics. It again leaves the audience asking the question; How are the man going to get the tape from the dead man in the middle? Whats going to happen next? and this is why saw is such a successful series of horror movies - because it constantly makes the audience run through these questions in their head.
The Strangers
 |
| *Note: As in the other movies a low level non-diegetic drone is playing throughout this clip. |
1) The motif for Rogue Pictures is shown. Just the name of the company already starts to make an impact on what the audience are feeling.
2) Immediately following the Rogue Pictures motif is an inter title with text which mentions Rogue Pictures and a previously unmentioned 'Intrepid Pictures'.
3) The next inter title says 'What you are about to see is inspired by true events' this is a very conventional line for the start of a horror movie. Although it might not have an instant effect on the audience it will eventually; as the film goes on and more scary things happen it will make them think back to then statement and will ultimately increase the fear they are feeling.
4) The first paragraphs of this next inter title explains what the family were doing that night. by using something happy such as a wedding it makes the bad seem even worse i.e. Something bad that happened to nice people always seems worse than if the people weren't liked in the first place. The next part says, 'The brutal events that took place that evening are still not entirely known'. By using the word brutally and unknown it just emphasises how bad the following events were; therefore building up anticipation and expectation in the audience.
5) A horror film always requires an iconic stereotypically 'haunted house' and this is exactly what this shot shows. It shows a big empty looking almost mansion like house surrounded by trees with few leaves. This also indicates that the season of autumn/winter is also a key icon of a lot of horror movies. The shadows that the trees cast on the house also make it look a lot darker than what it actually is.
6) At this point the screen fades down and the non-deigetic sound of a voiceover dominates the rest of the opening all the way to the title screen. It is clearly an Emergency distress call from a young boy. when he is asked question he tends to mumble, cry and repeat things previously said. This indicates to the audience that something terrible had happened. Horror films tend to use young actors and actresses to make a bigger impression on the audience. They tend to react more if something has happened to a young child more so than an adult.
7) This is a shot which has had a lot of work put into the framing and proxemics. It shows a car with a hole in the windscreen and as the camera pans around it you can see that the two boys site in that gap perfectly from around waist heigh. The interesting thing is that the hole is shaped like a heart and by putting the two boys in that heart it is creating a nice juxtaposing situation because the heart has connotations of love and compassion whilst the smashed window clearly indicates violence. Maybe these two boys were loved dearly by the people hurt. We will never know without watching the whole film but thats the whole point!
8) Up till this point we, as the audience, had just assumed that there had been violence but now at this point in the opening it is clear that somebody got badly hurt. The knife with blood on it is typical of the horror genre. It is rare to sit through a horror film without seeing a weapon of some kind stained with fresh blood.
9) Finally the title screen is shown and as usual the typography used is typical of the horror genre.
Summary
In conclusion to my research into horror opening codes and conventions I have found that most horror film incorporate something to make the audience ask a question; otherwise known as a hook. They all have a lot of inter titles which are very stylised making them define the genre on their own. A final convention I have noticed is that there is always a form of or a suggestion of brutal violence.
No comments:
Post a Comment