Evaluation question 2: How effective is the combination of your product and ancillary texts?

Evaluation question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Evaluation question 3 - What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Positive

Creative and imaginative
Good variety of shots
Very good use of costume and props
Court scene
Effects were good (lightning at the end)


Negative

Anti-climactic at the end, possibly needed a jump scare
Unclear audio, too much noise in the background of the news reporting scene
Shots were too wide at courthouse
Wasn’t very ‘Horror-ry’
Lightning at the end
Unclear Narrative



We showed our trailer to a group of people aged 17-19 that would possibly be our target audience to gain feedback, both positive and negative about our trailer so we could improve it. This exercise was very helpful in finding flaws within our trailer, and also in finding what we had done well. I think that all of the comments said were fair and we took the advice to improve our trailer. We were unable to re-record the audio in the news reporting scene however we used effects to make it seem more realistic. We also tried to re-edit the courtroom scene as the shots were far too wide. Our initial idea wasn’t defined enough to go into production as our filming process wasn't great, it could have included more horror conventional features, however I think we were successful in creating suspense and tension.

Scripts

Judge’s script:

Have you reached your decision?

“We have your honour”

The court has very carefully considered and weighed the aggravating and mitigating circumstances found to exist in this case.

The court finds, as did the jury, that the aggravating circumstances present in this case outweigh the mitigating circumstances present.

Accordingly, the defendant ___________     ___________   is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment, with no chance of bail, for ___________     ___________ 

Newsreader’s script:

I’m standing here outside the very courthouse where just five weeks ago, ___________     ___________   was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Now, after just that short time, police are now searching for ___________   after he escaped from prison having left messages scratched into his cell walls that indicate he is seeking vengeance on those who put them there.

Questionnaire Graphs, Results and Analysis

Story Boards

Final Poster

Final Magazine

Finished Trailer

Narrative Theory in relation to Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978) and The Crazies (Breck Eisner, 2010)

Classic Hollywood Narrative is a term which is used to refer to the classic style of Hollywood movies that was established during the 1920’s. Many movies today go against this; however it is still accepted as the style of Hollywood movies today. We studied Bulgarian structuralist Tzvetan Todorov’s theory of the Classic Hollywood Narrative. He suggested that the stories would begin with an equilibrium, this means that all opposing forces are equal, this would then be disrupted by an event (which would lead into a series of events) causing enigma, the problems would be solved and bring a new equilibrium at the end of the film. I think that looking at the Classic Hollywood Narrative is very useful when trying to understand media texts as its breaks them down into four simple stages. Halloween follows the classical Hollywood narrative because at the start of the film everything is as normal, then Mike Myers escapes and returns to the city (this is the break in the equilibrium), he then torments Lorrie throughout the film until she kills him at the end, resulting in a new equilibrium. It challenges the classic Hollywood narrative because usually a male would be the hero at the end of the film.

Russian critic Vladimir Propp examined hundreds of examples of folk tales to see whether they shared any structures, from this he identified eight character roles and thirty-one narrative functions. The eight character roles are:

• The Villain(s)
• The Hero
• The Donor
• The Helper
• The Princess
• The Father
• The False Hero

Looking at these character types is useful when looking at media texts because it can help us understand the genre, however I don’t not find it useful when trying to understand the narrative. In Halloween, almost every character type is present. Laurie is the hero, Michael Myers is the villain, Laurie's girl friends are the princesses', although instead of being a 'prize' for the hero, they are killed by the villain, so seemingly more a prize for him. The detective/doctor character who looked after Michael when he was younger could be seen as the helper. 

Binary oppositions are sets of opposite values which reveal the structure of media texts, for example good is the opposite of evil. We studied Claude Levi-Strauss for this theory, he was not so interested in looking at the order in which events happened, and instead he looked for deeper arrangements of themes. Although this is helpful when identifying a genre, I didn’t find looking at binary oppositions useful when trying to understand media texts because you can almost find opposites with everything you see. Five examples of binary opposition within the film are: good and evil, male and female, strong and weak, light and dark, positive and negative.

Bordwell and Thompson defined narrative, in their book ‘Film Art: An Introduction’, as “a chain of events in a cause and effect relationship, occurring in time and space”. Cause and effect means that one event causes a chain of events, some of these are shown in the film, and some we know happened but do not see, and these events take place in time. There are three distinctions of time within a film: the screen duration (the time the film takes to show), plot duration (the length of time the plot covers), and story duration (the length of time the story covers including all the inferred events we bring to it).

• ·         Two examples of events in the film that caused anouther event to happen could include Mike Myers murdering his sister, this happens at the start of the film and sets up the plot line for the rest of the film. Anouther example could be when Laurie puts the key under the doormat of Mike Myers house, this is when Mike Myers decides that she will be her next target.
• ·         Two examples of events in the film that we know happened but we don’t see could be the theft of Judith Myers’ gravestone, or the coundelling of Mike Myers whilst the detective/doctor was looking after him.

Halloween Questions

How does the start exemplify a common technical code and convention of the horror genre?

At the start of the film a little boy, Mike Myers, murders his older sister. He does this using a big knife, this exemplifies the convention of horror as knives, chainsaws and other sharp objects are usually used as opposed to guns. At the start of the film you can hear heavy breathing, this links to the mask which follows the costume and props convention of a traditional horror.

How does the setting fit in with the horror genre?

It is set in a suburban area which is common in horror films as it gives a realistic feel to it, this is mainly because if the area was not secluded it would be a lot easier to escape the killer. The film is also set around Halloween which clearly links in with the horror theme.

What iconography of “innocence” do we hear or see early on?

Laurie, the main character, is portrayed early on as very innocent. At the beginning of the film she tries smoking with her friend in the car and it is clear that she is not used to it as she coughs a lot, she is also virginal and feels uncomfortable talking about sex. She also decides to baby-sit instead of going to one of her friends parties, again portraying her innocence.

What was the main industry impact of Halloween?

The main industry impact of Halloween was that it spawned lots of ‘copy-cat’ films which had a huge impact on the industry.

Name some “slasher” films which followed on from Halloween.

After Halloween was released other “slasher” films were released such as: Friday 13^th, Bloody Valentine, Hell Night and The Slayer.

What are the four plot rules of the “slasher” film sub-genre which Halloween began?

The four plot rules of the “slasher” film sub-genre that Halloween began were:

·        -A traumatic event in the past creates a psychopathic killer.

·        -The killer returns the site of the event, usually on a specific date in the present that allows the maker of the film to use a calendar motif in the title.

·        -The killer stalks and graphically kills a group of obnoxious and stupid  teens of both sexes, usually with some king of blade, often a garden or farm implement.

·        -A ‘final girl’ survives, usually boyish and often virginal, to thwart the killer, although he is never entirely vanquished.

Give three ways in which Laurie is androgynous.

Laurie is very androgynous, for example she doesn’t not dress in the ‘slutty’ manor that the other female teens in the film do, and she does not wear any make-up. She also has a square jaw and a deep voice which ass to her masculine features.

 What does the extract mean by “a reactionary sexual agenda”?

This means punishing people who sin, for example people who smoke and have sex, and to let the virginal people survive.

How does the director, John Carpenter, counter the suggestion that Halloween had a reactionary sexual agenda?

The director, John Carpenter, countered the suggestion that Halloween uses the reactionary sexual agenda because Laure was always the target, perhaps she just got lucky.

Why does Mike Myers kill his sister?

The reason for Mike Myers killing his sister is that he was born evil, when she had sex this triggered off this evil within him, causing him to stab her to death.

The Crazies Narrative Questions

Does The Crazies follow the Classic Hollywood Narrative? Why/Why not?
The Crazies does not follow the Classical Hollywood Narrative because it begins with a big event meaning that it is not a state of equilibrium.

How many of Propps characters can be identified in the film?
Some of Propps characters can be identified in this film, for example, you the main couple are the heroes, and the wife could be the princess, Russell is a false hero until the end where he turns into a hero. The villain characters are everyone that has been infected.

List 4 examples of Binary Oppositions in the film?
- Good vs Evil
- Positive vs Negative
- Infected vs Non-infected
- Dead vs Alive

Give 2 examples of events that cause events later in the film but which occur before the film starts?
We never see the plane crash, however this causes every event that occurs in the film after a toxin contaminates the water supply.  Anouther example could be Judy getting pregnant, this happens before the film starts.

List 2 events from the 92 minute film that happen in a different time and space to the one that we are shown?

One event that happened off camera was the decision to blow up Ogden Marsh, another event is at the end where we assume that they are killed but never actually see it.

Trailer Conventions

Trailers are advertisements for a film; they usually include actual footage from the film and are used as a teaser to tempt people into watching the film. They are very specifically aimed at the films target audience and are designed to make the viewer want to know more about the film. They all will indicate the genre of the movie, the name of the movie and the production values of the movie (stars, budget, special effects ect). They will include a soundtrack that will keep with the genre and will emphasise a build-up leaving the viewer with a sense of ‘wanting more’. Most trailers are between 60 and 120 seconds long, however some do go against this key trailer convention.

Saw 7

• Title of the film at the end, makes the audience watch the whole trailer to find out this.
• Introduces actors         
• Introduces nature of the film (toture)
• Very emotive sounds track builds tension.

Insidious 2

• Emotive soundtrack builds up tension through out the trailer
• Title of the moive at the end of the trailer
• Introduces production values early (shows actors and special effects)
• Tells us that it is a physiological horror

The purge

• Very tense music to create suspense
• Introduces actors early on
• Sets the scene early on (America)
• Includes title of the movie at the end

Individual and Group idea

Our film is about a Doctor named Gabriel Peers, who gets convicted for professional misconduct, and was dismissed from his job. He was accused of ‘conducting his own tests on infants and pregnant women’. When appearing in front of the judge and jury he pleads innocent, but to no prevail, he was sentenced to ten years solitary confinement, however after six years spent in prison, his mental health deteriorated, he was deemed mentally insane and was ordered to move to a new facility. On the way to the new facility the transport unit overturns on unstable roads, and the assailant manages to escape. Peers would then round up all victims (the judge and twelve jury members that sent him to prison) into an old house that he breaks into, and starts kill them off one by one.

The primary target audience for our film would be young adults ages 18-25, and students who are up to date with trends and technology, who enjoy the horror genre and regularly view films. Special deals maybe be offered leading up to release on social networking sites or online film views services. 

Audiences and The Woman in Black

The primary audience for this film was probably Harry Potter and Daniel Radcliffe fans. He appeared on every poster, and he was the focus of every single advert. It also appeals to an audience who are looking to be scared suddenly by jumpy scenes, these are paranormal horror fans. Another secondary audience would be those who have read the book or seen the theatre play.

A huge selling point for The Woman in Black is the actors they used. A lot of their box office sales would have come through Daniel Radcliffe, because of his fame generated from Harry Potter. The sub-genres of this film are a mix between Psychological and Thriller which is known not to be the scariest of horrors although having a few jumpy parts. This appeals once again to a younger Daniel Radcliffe fan-base. Marketing of the film was found everywhere before the release of the film. These included; trailers, posters, merchandise, TV ad's, newspaper ad's, blogs, websites and interviews.






With the mass budget The Woman in Black had I felt they put it to the best of its ability to ensure there target audiences were being reached with this film. However I feel the constant exploitation of Daniel Radcliffe became unnecessary.

On it's opening weekend, it was shown on 3,267 screens in the USA and UK alone and made $25,812,412. It has since been released in 38 countries after its release in Feb 2012.

The budget for The Woman in Black was $17,000,000. This was made back in the weekend alone therefore the film was outstandingly successful and has gone on to form a brand as such, bringing in the book, the play and the film as a full movie franchise.






The film was so successful as it allowed those of a younger generation be able to see a horror genre film due to the 12 rating, this would've been a new experience for many children. Along with this they used Daniel Radcliffe a key actor in most young people life's to further persuade young people and there families to watch this film. The marketing and budgeting for this film was also a key element as it allowed The Woman in Black to use repetition in there advertising to draw audiences in.