Film Mag Analysis 3

Film Mag Analysis 2

Film Mag Analysis 1

Halloween (1978) whole film case study

Halloween (1978) Trailer Case Study

Director's Case Study Research (Rob Zombie)

Poster Analysis of The Same Poster

Poster Analysis

Mood Board / Film Conventions

Mood Board

This is my slasher/horror mood board, it represents the common images you'd expect to see in horror films and also represents some of the most famous horror films. This mood board portrays the fact that it's most likely that men would be the killer's and women are most likely to be the victims as in terms of crimes women are aren't psychically strong enough compared to men. As you can see from the images displayed on the mood board most of the killers if not all have a hidden identity, this is a common film conventions used when looking at horror films. Also in this mood board there are more conventional iconography displayed such as blood, machetti and an axe, these are all common iconograhy seen in horror films.

Conventions of film trailer
- Release date
- Name of film
- Sound effect
- Credits
- Age rating
- Tag lines
- Quick cuts (transitions)
- Logos (production/studio company)
- Conversations are often one-liners
- Dramatic camera angles
- Voice overs (depending on film)
- Trailer often builds to a climax
- Music (create atmosphere)
- Narrative isn't in order
- Narrative exposition= establishment. Introduced to genre, era, main characters

Genre conventions

-Victims
- Blood
- Weapons e.g (guns,knife, axe, hammer)
- Dark music
- Hidden identity
- Vulnerable people
- Dominant character
- Motivation behind the serial killer
- Police investigation
- Angry killer
- More than one killing
- Innocent women
- Close -up (Cinematography)
- Outdoor (setting)
- Stock-types
- Key dialogue
- Final girl
- Freudian idea of knife "phallic" symbol
- Violins (Music, discordant)
- Instrument being played of school

Historical genre research

the pitch

The Pitch

Chosen Genre – Stalker/Slasher

Title –

Outline of ideas

Tagline – Can Sins Be Forgiven?

Basic Plot Synopsis

Name of Killer – Jonathan

He is a boy with no father (Passed away)

The killers mum has left her son and husband, she left when Jonathan was a young boy . His mother went off with another man who was financially stable and had his own business, his mother became a very successful business women.

After the departure of his mum Jonathans father could not handle looking after Jonathans as a single man so he became very depressed and emotional so he committed suicide. Jonathan was then sent to an orphanage home where he stayed there for a while . Jonathan had been a very troubled boy since his dad passed away , at the orphanage home he had committed a crime which  got him in so much trouble that he was sent to a tough borstal ( youth detention centre ). Being released from the borstal Jonathan was on his own and had to start a fresh new life, he was offered a job as a cleaner in a posh professional business firm which reminded him of the women his mother who left him had become and ever since she left him he had despised her. Jonathan’s manager where he was working as a cleaner was very bossy and bullied him constantly he thought that he was not kind to  him or fair at all , she treated him different  to the other workers. He became very triggered by his mangers behaviour towards him as he felt humiliated and intimidated so it caused him to kill her , after this very day Jonathan became obsessed with torturing and killing females who were associated with professional business .

What type of characterisation will you have?

We have one stalker, and 4  female victims from professional businesses/ High respected Jobs including the Manager at Jonathans work.

(Sectary, school finance department and one who works in an airport). These females are bubbly happy independent females who work hard for there money and are single.

 The killer is aggressive impatient and is triggered instantly by anything he feels is not right. He is sexually frustrated and hasn’t come in contact with a female in a while.

Describe the Mise-en scene to be used or any visual motifs.

We have a stalker with a hoodie or mask, and then different locations will be London city airport /train station, school, alleyway, common room and a basement. There will be a collage of various different pictures of females, with string to locate different locations or different victims. There will be headphones and party wear. There will be low lighting, chiaroscuro; also there will be street lighting at night, and natural ambient lighting during daytime.

What are your ideas about cinematography/photography?

There will be a tracking shot of a plane taking off, and then there will be an establishing shot of the airport. Then there will be a two shot of the  female who works at the airport /train station  walking into an airport and a male walking out in slow motion. At the station, there will be a close-up of the stalker with his hood up( representing his  identity ), and there will be quick cuts at different parts of the collage after which we will see a long shot of victim number 2 (The school finance worker) then a close-up of the females hand tapping the St Angela’s barrier to start her day off at work , then a close-up of the door opening behind her (A point of view shot, the stalker following her). Then in an alleyway we see the female Sectary walking home from a party. We will see a midshot of a stalker and then a shot of his shadow against the wall and then an extreme close-up of his eyes opening. Then in the basement there is a close-up of blood dripping from the victims face ( sectary character) , and the stalker crossing out pictures of the victim with blood. Then there will a two shot of the other two victims ( Airport worker / School finance worker) trying to escape, and you’ll see them crying (close-up).

Conventions of trailers/posters/film mags you plan to reinforce or reinvent?

The film company’s names (adverts) such as paramount picture will be fading in and out like many trailers in the film industry. We have loud eerie music when different victims are being stalked/killed. Then we will have a fast paced trailer, conforming to conventions. Then there will be quick cuts of different parts of the film without revealing the ending. The darkness and ambiguity of the stalker conforms to conventions as many film trailers and posters do not show the full identity of the stalker. The alleyway scene conforms to conventions because we see a lot of stalking happening in lonely dark places such as this. Also, having the victim’s female and the stalker male is typically seen in stalker slasher films.

What resources will you need?

      Actors

·        One male actor

·        3-4 female victims

·        An array of images that the stalker is targeting

·        A collage board with images and string for visual effect

·        A hoodie for the stalker

Props

·        Fake blood

·        Makeup

·        Rope/duck tape

·        Dresses ( party clothes)

·        Mobile phone

·        Casual office  clothes

·        knife

Settings

·        Airport (exterior)

·        dlr station  - London city airport (exterior)

·        Alleyway (exterior)

·        Staircase (aerial shot)

·        School corridor – common room (interior)

·        Classroom (interior)

·        Basement – Cellar (interior)

Justification of ideas in relation to genre and recognisable film influences also what is your unique selling point.

Stalking on the phone (an idea from the movie scream) shows mysterious of not knowing who is there. A slasher film often includes blood and victims being trapped/followed via a tracking system, which is where the idea of a collage represents this convention, helping you to recognise the genre. The idea of ambiguity and identity is important therefore the stalkers face will be in chiaroscuro so you can only see him slightly and can be recognisable through his hoodie, which portrays his identity. The trailer will be aimed at young adults, which is our unique selling point and subverts to  common stalker films because they are normally targeted at an older audience in which the stalker is often more mature than a teenager. 

Trailer analysis

                                                        Halloween Trailer Analysis

Iconography- The lighting in Halloween starts off with a Black & White sort of flashback, then the trailer comes into colour however the scenery is set at night time. After this, the trailer goes into the scene of the production and distribution company, this is done to give the audience some time to know who the film was produced by. One of the characters are wearing a Halloween mask and seems to be the killer, just links in with the film title, of Halloween being a evil day. The setting is middle class  people, due to the house being big, as film producers always go for the wealthy middle class people especially in horror films, also quite neighborhood not too many passer byes so that there isn't enough evidence and not too many people will know about anything happening. Props used was a knife, this a common prop in horror movies and a killer almost always has to be equipped with it. Furthermore  about the knife, the killer always seems to have a knife and also always seem to be going for the final girl; the Freudian idea of a knife is known as the "phallic" symbol. Horror/slasher films include dark lighting as well as chiarsocuro to mask the facial expressions of different characters as well as being set in dark areas during the night to build tension.

Narrative- Young boy called Michael who is bullied, however kills his bully and starts going on a killing spree , killing his family members apart from his mother and little sister. He is found guilty first degree murder and is put under the care of child psychologist Dr. Samuel Loomis. Fifteen years later he speaks to no one and escapes Smiths' Grove and goes back to his old house recovers the kitchen knife and a Halloween mask he stored under the floorboards the night he killed his older sister. That was Michael's motivation behind him causing horrific scenes of evil. In most horror films the killer normally has some sort of psychological problem, hence the reason why Michael was transfered to the child psychologist Dr. Samuel Loomis.

Sound- The trailer consists of a voice over, which gives the audience an insight on what the audience can expect in the film. Police sirens are incorporated at the start of the trailer with the flashback, this signifies straight away that something bad has happened, especially the fact that the child was at the back of the police car by himself. Another common sound used in most horror films and also in the Halloween trailer is silence, this creates tension and a sense of foreboading as well as the silence being developed through dialogue which is often fast paced and has a worried feel.