This document provides feedback and guidance for researching and analyzing horror film openings for a blog. It instructs the student to use technical terminology when analyzing sound, link generic codes and conventions, develop explanations, and analyze sequences with titles. It also includes links to example horror film openings and outlines learning objectives and tasks for the student's research on film certification, audience theory regarding why people enjoy horror films, and conducting audience research about the target demographics for horror films and what they like about the genre.
1. Essay Feedback
You will need to analyse a range of horror opening
sequences in the research section of your blog.
• Use technical terminology, e.g different types of
sound
• Link the generic codes and conventions (cliché or
challenge?)
• Develop your explanations
• Analyse a sequence with titles
• Read through your work!
2. Generic Codes and Conventions in opening sequences
Conventional Cliché Challenge
5. Learning Objective
To find out who decides which certificate a film
is given and what criteria they use to make this
decision.
6. Research Question
How is the certificate of a film decided? This
must include research into the certification of
specific horror films.
You must present your findings and case study
example/s in the research section of your blog.
7. Psycho (1960), dir. Alfred Hitchcock
“ Being one of the first movies
ever to show graphic onscreen
violence rather than cutting
away, Psycho was one of the
most controversial films of it's
time (particularly because of
the shower scene). The nudity
in the shower scene, an
unmarried couple sharing a
bed, and the usage of the
word "transvestite" also
caused an uproar; causing the
film to face censorship. ”
9. Independent Research Task
Use the internet to find the answers to the following
questions:
• Who decides what certificate a film is given?
• How do they decide?
• How do institutions go about getting their films
classified?
• What does each film certificate mean?
Look at a horror film you know and explain why it has
been given a 15 certificate.
10. BBFC
The UK's film ratings are decided by the British Board of Film
Classification and have been since 1912.
Previously, there were no agreed rating standards, and local
councils imposed their own - often differing - conditions or
restrictions.
For cinema releases, the BBFC has no legal power (technically,
films do not even have to be submitted for classification), as it
falls to councils to decide who should be admitted to a certain
film, but they generally apply the BBFC's certificates,
effectively making them legally-binding.
11. Film Classification and Censorship
The infamous video nasty list was
created in 1982 to protect against
obscenity. Films on this list were
banned and distributors of said
films were liable to be prosecuted
(some of the films were banned
before the list was made). This list
banned 74 films at one point in
the mid-1980s; the list was
eventually trimmed down, and
only 39 films were successfully
prosecuted.
Most of the films (even of the 39
successfully prosecuted) have
now been approved cut or uncut .
12. Research Task
Create a presentation on what you have found
out about film certification and make sure that it
goes into the research section of your blog.
Deadline: Wednesday 03/12/14
14. Learning Objective
To understand some audience theory regarding
audience pleasures and horror films.
To apply this theory to one or more horror film
as part of your research.
15. Discuss in pairs…
Why do we watch horror films?/ Why is the
genre so popular and enduring?
16. Questions
• Why are horror films so popular?
• Why do audiences enjoy horror films?
• Why has their popularity endured over the decades?
• What particular audience pleasures are on offer in horror
in the viewing of horror films?
• Also, what pleasures are their specific to different types/
sub-genres of horror?
18. Definition
Uses and Gratifications Theory is a popular approach to understanding mass
communication. The theory places more focus on the consumer, or audience,
instead of the actual message itself by asking “what people do with media”
rather than “what media does to people” (Katz, 1959) . It assumes that
members of the audience are not passive but take an active role in
interpreting and integrating media into their own lives. The theory also holds
that audiences are responsible for choosing media to meet their needs. The
approach suggests that people use the media to fulfil specific gratifications.
This theory would then imply that the media compete against other
information sources for viewers' gratification. (Katz, E., Blumler, J. G., &
Gurevitch, M. 1974)
19. Basic model
It is suggested that the uses and gratifications theory has to fulfil one
the following when we choose a form of media:
• Identify- being able to recognise the product or person in front of you, role
models that reflect similar values to yours, aspiration to be someone else.
• Educate - being able to acquire information, knowledge and understanding
• Entertain – What you are consuming should give you enjoyment and
also some form of ‘escapism’ enabling us to forget our worries
temporarily.
• Social Interaction – the ability for media products to produce a topic of
conversation between other people, sparks debates (etc who is left on the
x-factor)
24. Qualitative Research Methods
• The aim is to discover the preferences of the
target consumer and one good example of this
mode of research is the focus group
• The producers of a product will select a group
which has the profile of their target audience and
will show them their product.
• The producers then use the focus group’s
response to alter, re-think or confirm the look of
their product.
25. Quantitive Research Methods
• This type of research concerns itself with
numerical data.
• E.g. audience figures/ profiling
Quantitative and qualitative research methods
are used in parallel in order to research the
habits and preferences of the target audience.
26. Home Learning
Do your own audience research: Who watches horror films (age/
gender)? Why do they watch horror films? What type of horror do
they like the most?
Use the IMDB and other online sources for actual audience figures as
well as asking friends/family.
Record your findings in the research section of your blog (video
interviews, graphs, tables?).
Include quantitive and qualitative research. 1.Who is the target
audience of horror films and 2.what do they like?
Deadline: Friday 5th December
