media coursework

1. Conventions and
Representation
CCR Task 1

2. Our Film
Our opening title sequence was made for a
horror/supernatural film.
Some examples of key iconography for this genre of film are
• Masked killers
• Screams
• Candles/rituals
• Ghosts
• Weapons e.g. knives, axes, scythe
• Demons/demonic possession
• Many supernatural films also have religious connotations
• In a home to make it more relatable and scarier for
people

3. Comparison films
We watched the opening title sequences of the following films to inspire us and to
compare our film/ film idea to them. I used Safari to help me find this information.
The Exorcist
1973
Direcor: William Freidkin
The Possession
2012
Director: Ole Bornedal
Insidious
2010
Director: James Wan
The Conjuring
2013
Director: James Wan

4. Comparison films similarities
What is similar between our final product and the comparison films we used
• The Exorcist (1973)
 We liked the exterior shot that The Exorcist opens with because it sets the scene and gives an atmosphere
 We had originally planned to do an exterior shot and we did take it however we didn’t end up using it because of the amount of content
we had taken inside the room
 We also wouldn’t be able to take a pan shot because we weren’t able to get a gimble in order to make the shot smooth
 The characters in The Exorcist and in our film Consumed, are fairly similar, we decided to only have Amelie acting in our sequence as she
is the protagonist of the sequence and in The Exorcist the main character is the girl who gets possessed so there are similarities in the
storyline in that aspect
 The editing paces are also quite similar, they are both quite slow paced with creepy music which creates the tense atmosphere of the film

5. • Insidious (2010)
 In the title sequence of insidious, the first scene in a little boys room and our title sequence is set in the girls room
 There are random shots of things around the room in Insidious and we took inspiration from that in ours
 Both sequences show the demon of the film in the title sequence, in Insidious it’s the scary face behind the candle and in Consumed it is
Amelie which we find out later on in the film
 Both films also have non-diegetic sound, the music which creates tension
 Both sequences have dark lighting throughout and are set at night to make the audience feel on edge
Insidious
Consume
d

6. • The Conjuring (2013)
Uses pull focus like we do on the skull
In both sequences we are shown a piece of paper with what the person is doing on it
Both have diegetic sounds: Ed and Lorraine speaking in The Conjuring and the girl
whispering her ritual in Consumed
• The Possession (2012)
The Possession hasn’t got an opening
title sequence
In the opening scene it goes straight into
a possession

7. Title Use
 We used a white font color so that it was visible
on our dark background
 The font that we chose to use for our credits
was chosen because it reminded us of a spell
book and it had a vintage look to it which
incorporates old rituals
 Our title is in more of a modern, bold font to
make it stand out to the viewer, we initially
wanted it to appear at the end when the screen
goes black but we had to stick to the order of
titles that we had learned in the title workshop

8. Ordering Titles
When ordering our titles we followed the institutional conventions of the form:
1. Big production company who funded a lot
2. Production company
3. Directors name
4. Big star name
5. Film title in custom font
6. Actors names
7. Casting by
8. Costume designer
9. Music by
10. Producers
11. Director of photography
12. Executive producer
13. Producers
14. Writers
15. Directors

9. Challenging Conventions
Steve Neale states that ‘genres all contain instances of repetition
and difference, difference is essential to the economy of the
genre’
• In our sequence we decide to keep fairly close to the traditional conventions of
this genre
 Dark setting
 Voodoo rituals
 Candles
 Spells
 In a bedroom
• We did challenge a few conventions
 Clothing/outfits
 Looks

10. Amelie is represented as mysterious

11. The room is represented as eerie

12. The experiment is shown as sinister

13. Theories of representation
• Teenagers experimenting/ risk taking behavior
• Representations of witchcraft/the occult
• In our film we support Clover’s last girl theory, because the girl is
associating herself with the dangerous character in the movie and in spite
of her actions her looks seem fairly innocent.
• Fiske’s denotation and connotation theory, our soundtrack immediately tells
the viewer that this ritual is a negative, possibly satanic one. If the
soundtrack was upbeat, we would think of it differently
• We used enigma codes to captivate the audience (Barthes theory). The
audience wants to know what the girl is doing and therefore keeps watching
as these questions will be answered later in the film.
• We supported and subverted the expectations of Butlers gender
performativity theory. The girl was represented as a typical female figure in
a supernatural horror movie. However, this stereotype goes against the
typical one of a woman. She is not represented as weak or neurotic.

14. Stereotypes
• We represent teenagers as being experimental. Teenagers are stereotypically known to be naughtier and more
experimental with what they do, they like to push limits as they are still learning their limits. In our film Amelie is
performing a risky, dangerous ritual. The use of fire represents the danger. During her chanting she is shaking her head
and speaking in tongues which gives us the impression that she is talking about something negative.
• The ritual is represented at secretive. The lighting throughout the sequence is constantly dark with what seems like
candlelight and moonlight being the only sources of light which increases the sense of secrecy. The sound also stays
fairly quiet and even when she does speak in tongues this is in a low, whispering voice.
• The occult is represented as evil. In our sequence we see many associations with the occult, all of which are represented
negatively. Through the book, posters and the skull that is shown, this is emphasized. The music is eerie and builds in
tension throughout the sequence too which makes the audience uneasy. An example of the opposite of this would be
Harry Potter. In the film Harry Potter, magic is glorified and although there is evil magic (Voldemort) the films also have
many representation of magic as a fun, useful thing.