Textual Analysis

Textual analysis

This link will take you to a Prezi presentation of a textual analysis on the film: The Blair Witch project. I chose this film to analyse because it has a lot of typical horror conventions but also some uncommon conventions so it is a good example to use this film as it shows a variety of conventions.

Link

http://prezi.com/-v132excw6qk/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
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The different areas I have analysed are shown below:

Music
Text/font
Main characters
Technical codes
Mise en scene
Impact on audience
Conventions included

Title Sequece

Title sequences are used to highlight the key people in the film such as: Stars/produces and directors as well credit them as they are essential to the film as it would not of been made if it weren't for the stars, producers and directors. The title sequence also indicates the genre of the film and sets the tone by using the genre conventions. Such as any of the following: Symbolic codes, colour scheme, technical codes, font styles, editing effects and soundtrack. These conventions help the audience distinguish the genre. Depending on the style of the film, some films will rather tell the story from present tense and some will start with the past leading up to the future to set the scene.   

Blair Witch for example starts by introducing the main characters and them getting ready for their journey. However not all films start by introducing the characters. Depending on the style of film will depend on what the director will do in the opening.

Se7en for example doesn't start by introducing the characters. Se7en starts by introducing the villain which isn't common in most films. The opening features. The opening shows the villain writing in journals and examining x-rays which leads us to believe that he has been conducting experiments. The cutting off the skin on his fingers with a razor alongside the fast flashes of random images is a clear indication of his mental instability.

Fincher for example uses action in openings to grab the viewers attention whereas Saul Bass uses "typography, colour and imagery" in openings. Film openings are described to be the same as "opening the curtain in the theatre" they start the film off and introduce us to the characters and story, however the style in which the opening is presented in depends on the director an what message he is trying to portray.

Mood boards

Saw

The darkness adds tension to the shot as the darkness conveys loneliness and isolation which creates a sense of mystery as to where he could be. A tricycle is a kids toy yet it is being ridden by a puppet. This creates fear as it is unexpected as we would not typically expect to see a puppet ride a tricycle. Black can represent mystery and fear whereas green represents safeness and harmony. These two colours clash and since there is more black than there is green, it is used to show how the fear and isolation is empowering the safeness which creates a sense of danger


This character is wearing a mask which is common in horror films as it covers the identity of the villain which creates the sense of mystery as you don't actually know who is behind the mask. The mask is used a lot in Saw as this is the identify of the bad character. Studies show that masks are scary because of the Psychology of fear. People fear others if they cannot create a scene of identity. When you can see someones identity, you can normally pick up characteristics which can help you make judgements of a person. Without seeing their identity, you are unable to know who the other person is. This power of uncertainty is used by directors as it installs fear as well as making the audience want to carry on watching so they can find out who is the person behind the mask.

This mask as a result has become iconic to the film as the mask is similar to a clown and clowns are considered scary by many people which makes this mask effective for creating fear for the audience

Friday The 13th

Again, this film uses a mask in order to hide the identity of the character. This is to make the audience more scared as they do not know what the person looks like therefore can't pick up on their characteristics. This is also to make the audience watch the other films to find out who the masked villain is. The building looks extremely run down which is typical of a horror film as it is unsettling and makes the place look abandoned. The colour scheme again contradicts the villains as the background colour is beige which typically represents calmness however this is far from the truth. This helps to add to the 'unsettling vibe' especially since he is holding an axe.

The axe is symbolic to Friday the 13th, in every film the axe is featured as the axe is associated with the character. The blood stains show that the axe has been used before which shows Jason (The Killer) as a murderer.
The axe is featured in Friday the 13th, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and the remake and is the second most used weapon used.










I have also created a collage of multiple different horror films that I feel are the most iconic to the Horror genre

http://www.gomoodboard.com/boards/oIBjiiG0/share

Genre

Genre

Horror

Horror as a genre is a genre that is meant to make you scared, anxious, fearful- Just to name a few. Horror in film has been around since the late 1890’s in Georges Méliès short film: Le Manoir du Diable which translates to ‘The devil’s mansion’.

The main convention of Horror films is jump scares. Jump scares are described as "the most basic building blocks of horror” and wasn’t really introduced till the late 1970’s. Jump scares is a technique where an abrupt change in sound and image catches the audience by surprise and scares the audience. Typically, the soundtrack starts of iet and then the backing soundtrack stops to create silence. This is used to build tension as more suspense is growing. Then a music sting will happen abruptly followed by a change in image. This sudden change is used to scare the audience.

Narrative structure

Narrative structure is essential to horror films as they are the building blocks that make the film. The narrative structure is what makes films recognisable. Todorov’s theory is the general sequence we commonly expect to happen in horror films. If the narrative structure does not follow the linear narrative of horror films, it may run the risk of being confusing resulting in people not having an interest in the film.

I should first start by explaining what the Todorov theory is. Todorov came up with a theory that suggested that films follow a traditional structure. The structure is: Equilibrium, Disruption, recognition of disruption, attempted fix of disruption and return to equilibrium. However, the horror genre doesn’t always follow this structure. The Saw franchise directed by James Wan and Se7en directed by David Fincher both have different narrative structures. Both endings do not return to ‘equilibrium’. Se7en for example ends with sadness as the ‘disruption of equilibrium’ is never resolved.

These two films are an example of non-linear films as they do not conform to the traditional film narratives. This manipulation in structure means that the films are less predictable as it makes the audience unsure as to what is going to happen. 

Introduction

My name is Nathan Blows and I am a 17 year old Media student from Rayleigh.

My task is to create a film opening on a genre of my choice. I will use this blog to show my understanding on film conventions by looking at openings in particular. Some of the conventions will include mood boards, textual analysis, title sequence, BBFC and production companies- Just to name a few. I have chosen to do a horror opening as I feel it is easier to follow the conventions as most horror films follow the same conventions. Films such as: The Babadook, The Conjuring and The Orphanage are just a few examples of horror themes that include jump scares. I like the genre of horror as it is captivating and has a broad set of conventions from isolation through to vulnerability. This means I have a wide choice of what theme I want to have.

This experience is not solely about documenting my film progress but is also about analysing the conventions that horror films have and developing my understanding of why horror films follow certain conventions. This will help me to understand the conventions of horror and therefore I will be able to use the research to improve my film opening.