MEDIA LANGUAGE PRESENTATION.

Genre Codes and Conventions Research - Mirrors.

After watching the trailer for this movie, I notice the use of some common codes and conventions. Once again, the film revolves around a family, a normal one whose lives are suddenly disrupted, the equilibrium shifted. The protagonist in the film is male which is usually quite common in a horror movie as females are usually victims or are depicted as needing saving in movies of this genre.

However, what's interesting about this film in particular is that though the antagonists in the film is some sort of paranormal being, it inhabits the mirrors and so makes it appear as if the victims are actually themselves as it appears to be them causing the pain upon themselves. This is a very different convention than what is usually used in horror films because usually the antagonist is easily recognizable from the protagonists and victims.

Also, in most horror films, the antagonist is either human or depicted in a human like form, in this film however the antagonist is simply an everyday object. This proves a lot scarier for an audience because a mirror is an object that most of the population owns and so in it adds a lot of realism to the this film.

2008 - Mirrors (Alexandre Aja)

Genre Codes and Conventions Research - The Haunting in Connecticut.

The Haunting in Connecticut is a 2009 American Psychological horror film. It is based on a purportedly true story alleged to have occurred to Karen Parker and her family.

Once again, a lot of common codes and convention of a horror film are used in this trailer. For starters, the trailer begins with a birds eye view of a neighbourhood that appears very pleasent and somewhere families would live. The equilbrium is shifted which happens in many movies of this horror and the trailer starts off very peaceful and gradually the tension is built to the point that it becomes obvious that the house they have moved into is haunted. This is done with the use of music and the pace of the scenes flowing quicker and faster in pace. Also, flash transitions are used aswell to build up tension and create the feeling of fear.

As with Paranormal Activity, the setting for the movie is the house, a place we would associate with safety and comfort. This idea is twisted in the movie when it becomes clear the house is haunted and strange and frightening things are going on inside it.

As the credits come onto the screen of the trailer, we see the words 'based on a true story' this for an audience would create a bigger feeling of fear because the fact that i says it is based on a true story makes it seem even more realistic for the people watching.
The writing used for the wording is basic and simple, white on black. However the denotative meaning for this could mean such things like for instance the black background symbolizing darkness which we associate with fear and danger. Also, such simple writing gives nothing away creating a feeling of mystery for the audience.

2009 - The Haunting In Connecticut (Peter Cornwell)

Genre Codes and Conventions Research - Paranormal Activity.

A 2007 American supernatural horror film. The film centers on a young couple, Katie and Micah, who are haunted by a supernatural presence in their home. It is presented in the style of "found footage," from a camera set up by the couple in an attempt to photograph what is haunting them.

In this film, a lot of common horror codes and conventions are used. For instance, during the day, nothing out of the ordinary occurs, however during the night strange things start to happen. In horror movies, the dark is always associated with danger and so Paranormal Activity have gone along with this common convention. Another code and convention in a horror film is the disruption of normality and this is definitely portrayed in this movie. We can easily recognize that the family in the movie are living a normal life and through out the movie become disrupted from the supernatural presence that is in their home.

Codes and conventions in the movie however are always twisted and they don't always follow the route of a normal horror movie. One of the main ways in which the movie does this is by actually having the supposed victim of the movie in the end become the antagonist. This is is very unlike what usually happens in a horror film as their is generally an easily recognizable 'hero'. Another way in which the conventions of this genre are twisted are in the fact that in this movie, though the main atagonist is a supernatural force, it inhabits the bodies of the female characters causing them to kill. This is not what is expected of horror because usually it is the females who are seen as the victims.

The layout of the film itself is also quite unusual, the film itself is set out as if from the protagonists poitn of view or control because it is them who are actually recording the footage. This in a way creates the idea that it is them in control because it is from their perspective however through out the movie it becomes clear that this is not the case with strange things happening to them in their own home. This creates an uneasy feeling because usually the home is considered the safest place to be yet in this fim, this is where the danger is.

2007 - Paranormal Activity (Oren Peli)

Plot Ideas!

During lesson today, we gathered as a group and discussed plot and genre ideas for our horror movie trailer.

We firstly came up with a name and eventually came to the decision that we would call our film 'Silent Night'. This of course refers to the well known Christmas song and also adds a bit of mystery to the actual plot of the film so it leaves the audience guessing as to what type of film it is.

We then began discussing the groups narrative. We have decided to set out the trailer in the form of a story being told to a young child on Christmas eve. We wanted this story to be a scary one being told by an older sibling to a younger one. This is going to be the basis for our killers back story, explaining to the audience what happened and why. In the storyline, the younger sibling is then going to become increasingly scared by this story and begin to believe it is and real and start to see strange things going on around him. The main focus of the story is on this crazed killer who comes out of hiding every Christmas to kill children and is doing so in our trailer, so we will be depicting him killing or hunting down children and will show the young sibling trying to escape.

When thinking about the feel of the film, we decided we wanted it to be quite dark and so took inspiration from director Guillermo del Toro and his film 'Pan's Labyrinth' trailer (which you can watch here). We want to focus however more on the suspense and building of tension rather than the excessive use of gore for our trailer.

First Update: Groups and Chosen Task.

During today's media lesson we were given an overview of what we were expected to do for our practical work.

We were given 5 different options of different types of media product we could create, these were; a film teaser trailer, a short film, a documentary, a soap opera and a children's TV show.

After a short discussion we organized ourselves into groups and together we decided that it would be best for us to do a teaser film trailer because we have had a lot of experience in that area and would therefore be able to do well.

The people in my group are;

• Myself.
• Dean Harding.
• Sameena Miah.
• Thomas Youster.

Once we had decided on the type of product we wanted to make, we had another short discussion as a group and made the decision that we would like to produce a teaser trailer for a horror film.

One of the main reasons we all want to do horror is because it's a genre in which the codes and conventions are easily recognized but can also be subverted to create an original and imaginative media production.

One of the things that was suggested during our discussion was also what direction we wanted to take the trailer, we decided that it would be quite creative to use the upcoming holiday as a basis for our plot. As we were aware that the production would need to be completed by January, we thought it would be a creative idea to base the film trailer around Christmas and therefore produce a Christmas horror film. We think this idea is very original though we have taken influence and inspiration from a film entitled 'Black Christmas' which we can use for research and planning later on.

The trailer for Black Christmas is below: