This document discusses how the media producer's short horror film used and developed conventions of the horror genre from other real media products. It provides details on how the film followed typical conventions for setting, technical codes, iconography, narrative, characterization, and themes for the horror genre. It also discusses how the film was inspired by the video game Slender Man and the short film The Nightmare in its approach. The document analyzes specific elements that both followed and challenged conventions from these inspirational works.

1. Tyler Mills

2.  In what ways does your media product use, develop,
or challenge forms and conventions of real media
products?
 How effective is the combination of your main
product and your ancillary texts?
 What have you learned from your audience
feedback?
 How did you use new media technologies in the
construction and research, planning and evaluation
stages?

3. In what ways does your media
product use, develop, or
challenge forms and
conventions of real media
products?

4.  My short horror film was generally based on the conventions of
other real media products, but in some instances I decided to
challenge convention to enhance the narrative, which was also
inspired by some recent horror movies.
 A lot of the ideas I used for the setting, camera-style and special
effects were inspired by some of the real media texts I had studied.
 Initially, I looked at the typical codes and conventions of the Horror /
Psychological horror genre/sub genres.
 These basic aspects were essentially what I shaped my production
on, with the intention of later improving it with comparisons to real
media examples.

5.  Typically, the conventions of Horror films are based on the 6 aspects;
1. Setting
2. Technical Codes
3. Iconography
4. Narrative
5. Characterisation
6. Themes
 In the Horror genre, there are many basic codes and
conventions within each of these aspects – depending on
the effect, these are either followed or challenged.

6.  The biggest convention in Setting is Isolated or Small Communities
– essentially anything which connotes the theme of ISOLATION.
 Similarly to Iconography, a contrast between light & dark is really
important – so places with a “dark” history like abandoned
buildings, mental asylums and American Slave routes is popular.
 Some really popular and recent examples which I only briefly looked
at could be Chernobyl Diaries (2012) and The Haunting in
Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia (2013)

7.  Technical codes are really important to the framework of a horror
film, throughout the decades they’ve been so conventional that audiences now
subconsciously acknowledge the effect, rather than distinctly noticing.
 Some of the most basically acknowledged conventions could be;
1. Point ofView (POV) shots – Monster chasing the victim or victim hiding
2. Depth of Field – Difficult to see the whole picture (fear of unknown)
3. Ambient Diegetic / Non-diegetic sounds (Footsteps / Heartbeats)
4. Extreme Close Up Shots – Identifying theVictims’ fear / externalising monster
5. Edit Pacing – Slow = build up. Quick = Chase scene / action packed
 Additionally, camerawork is usually very expressive and structured – Higher and
lower angled shots can depict inferiority (victim), weakness and fear – depending
on the POV of victim or villain.
 Another increasingly popular technique is the ‘Found-footage’ and ‘Handheld’
camera style, which I myself decided to follow as a convention.
 The audience emphasises with the characters and feels the same emotions – Fear
of the unknown, atmospherically immersive and realistic

8.  Among some of the most celebrated horror films, which in the past
followed these technical codes very strictly – films such as
Halloween (1978), The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and The Ring
(2002).

9.  Horror films are often the easiest to distinguish because of their obvious
iconography.Visual styles with dark colours such as black and red are thematically
linked to monsters, blood, darkness etc.
 Typically a horror film will attempt to contrast the beginning light and later dark –
quite similar toTodorov’s EquilibriumTheory – to do so, Lighting is often
expressive and unnatural (dark surroundings / torch or fireplace)
 Often low-key lighting is used to create shadowy figures, unfamiliar shapes and
generally an unnatural and uncomfortable situation.
 Of course, the most prominent iconography is the use of props, usually combined
with specific characters – namely weapons such as knives, chainsaws etc. –
examples seen in films such as Scream (1996) and The TexasChain Saw
Massacre (1974).

10.  The narrative structure of the typical horror film is largely based on the sub-genre
and sometimes can be particularly formulaic; for example, in the ‘Slasher’ sub-
genre - a traumatic event in the past (shown usually in flashbacks) or medical
condition turns the villain into a monster – whose victims are usually ‘immoral
teenagers’.
 The strongest example of this is shown in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
 Usually, there is also the ‘survivor[s]’ at the end, who must overcome the
emotional damages and losses they have suffered to defeat the villain – this is a
much contested convention – as it has varied as to the victory of the survivor to
the victory of the villain.
 As a challenge and also support of the convention, it’s important to identify the
ending specifically. For example, The Cabin in theWoods (2011) (as a self-
conscious perspective on the horror genre), depicted the world’s ending and the
death of the protagonist survivors .

12.  Once again, the convention is dependant on the sub-genre – so there is really
no definitive characterisation – but there are typical codes for certain sub
genres.
 One of the most popular characterisations, mostly shown in the Slasher genre
– is the stereotypically immoral or stupid teenager[s] - The Cabin in the
Woods (2011) actually portrays this really well as a self-conscious reflection on
the genre – the ‘whore’, the ‘jock’ (tough guy), the ‘academic/ philosopher’,
the ‘fool’ and the ‘virgin’. Stereotypical characters who define the teenager
angst and as such the audience relate it (horrors target audience is primarily
teenagers).
 Some other typical characterisations which link to my own production as a
psychological horror, is the sinister or creepy children who are contrasted with
innocence and therefore make for the (intentionally) surprise villain.This has
been seen in many examples for decades, The Grudge (2004) and Sinister
(2012).
 Although in my own production there is a teenager, he doesn’t fit the
archetypal ‘immoral’ or ‘creepy’ stereotype, so it’s a brief example of how I
challenged convention.

14.  Thematically, horrors are very conventional and often follow very simple
contrasts – as Claude Levi-Strauss described as, ‘BinaryOppositions’ – for
example,GoodVs. Evil, LightVs. Dark and these ideas are present in most horrors
and sub-genres of horrors.
 At the same time, horrors typically present a variety of themes dependant on the
characters;
 Depression
 Insanity
 Childhood Issues
 Bullying
 Nightmares
 Religion
 Self-Consciousness

15.  With the framework of the basic Horror codes and conventions which structured
my general narrative, I decided to build the style and use the conventions from
real media products.
 As my idea was essentially to produce a similar production to the popular free
Internet Video Game ‘Slenderman’ as a short film, my intention was to use a lot
of the conventions and challenge very little.
 However; other than the setting, soundtrack, iconography and character
appearance I didn’t actually follow many the conventions too closely. I developed
my own ‘found-footage’ camera-style from other inspirations, made an original
narrative – along with pacing.While at the same time introduced the theme of
LightVs. Dark through the contrasting segments of filming which the original
concept did not have.
 A lot of my production was based on special effects and editing, which I actually
developed a lot of my ideas from other real media products.

16.  Setting
 The forest location set during the video game already connoted the themes of
isolation and fear of the unknown, as these were the aspects I wanted to
implement I decided to follow these conventions and film in a forest setting.
 Another interesting concept was the lack of distinction between my antagonist
‘Slender’ and the trees, which looked quite similar.This gave the audience
something to look out for, when the antagonist wasn’t so obvious to see. I think
this aspect reflects the cognitive satisfaction of the audience which enjoys looking
for ‘Easter eggs’ and predicting outcomes.

17.  Soundtrack
 One convention which I heavily debated including was the non-diegetic ambient
soundtrack, building up the tension and atmosphere until the final encounter. In
the video game this occurred when the ‘notes’ were collected, instead I decided to
develop this and build the soundtrack based on the sightings of the
antagonist, rather than the collection of the notes.
 The decision to include the soundtrack was a difficult one and I questioned it in 2
ways;
1. Would the soundtrack subconsciously build up the tension of the film, whilst
bringing the audience into the experience?
2. Or would the soundtrack ruin the realism of the ‘found-footage’ style and spoil
the immersion of the audience?
 On the video game it didn’t matter because it wasn’t produced to be
realistic, whereas my production was made as ‘found-footage’- but I decided to
follow the convention to reference the video game, which added a lot more
atmosphere.

18.  Iconography
 The video games’ iconography was really strong and I wanted to replicate this as best I
could, as the connotations and signifiers constructed a really immersive and
atmospheric experience.The most important feature was the antagonist’s
costume, the black suit which ‘Slender’ wears.The black colour connotes the fear and
darkness from which he appears, while the antagonist’s faceless appearance could
only be matched by using a white mask.
 Another really strong aspect was the low-key lighting which was created by the
torch, in the video game this was a key physic to the ambiance of the experience.The
illumination from the torch only heightened the fear of the darkness surrounding it
and while I had to make some concessions (2 lights instead of 1) so the camera could
pick up the light, I sought to replicate this.

19.  ‘Found Footage’ Camera Style
 One thing which the video game didn’t include was any definitive camera style, it
was played from the perspective/ point of view of the character. I realised that to
be made into a film, this sort of style wouldn’t work because there would be no
character development or realism – it had to be filmed as ‘found footage’.
 To create the realism and immersive atmosphere from the ‘found footage’ style, I
needed to conform to the conventions of this style, for example – including a
clock/timer, battery and a [REC] symbol.
 Of course the ‘found footage’ style has been a growing trend in recent years, with
films such as The BlairWitch Project (1999), Paranormal Activity (2007) and
Cloverfield (2008) – I took a lot of inspiration and ideas from these and this had a
significant impact on the production and camera style.

21.  Narrative
 TheVideo Game did not contain any genuine narrative, let alone any conventions
of one. There was little to no context or storyline, which as a style works well for
the platform as the focus is based on the antagonist and the goal of collecting the
notes – not for any specific purpose.
 Differently from theVideo Game, I wanted to create a realistic and emotive
narrative which still referenced theVideo Game with some form of context. As I
felt that the audience would feel more immersed in the atmosphere if they
emphasised with the character and had some emotional attachment.
 Subversively, the typical narrative consists of the ‘happy ending’ plot – where the
protagonist survives and completes some sort of ‘quest’. However, in my
production the protagonist follows the video game ending and is killed at the end
– which is actually quite a common convention for Horror films.

22.  Themes
 One convention which I developed quite a lot and for the most part built my
production on was themes, and in particular the contrasting LightVs. Dark.
 While theVideo Game only presented the player with one environment, the
blackened forest with only a torch providing light, I decided to broaden the
contrast and emphasise the difference between the safety of light and the fear
and anxiety that darkness represents.
 I followed the narrative convention ofTodorov’s Equilibrium theory, but decided
to sub-verse the 3rd stage ofTodorov’s theory by producing a mix between a
‘Implicit ending’ and an ‘Unresolved ending’ – as it’s unclear what happened to the
boy when the antagonist appeared at the very end and the camera cut out from
static.

23.  ‘The Nightmare’ was a huge inspiration to my own production, not just because of
the conventions used, but the original and innovative ideas made for an
interesting narrative, while the ‘Nightmare’ themes were fantastically well
designed.
 Once again, I focused on the 5 main aspects; Setting, Narrative,Characterisation,
Iconography and themes. But the best concept which I wanted to focus on was
the Setting – whilst ‘Nightmare’ presented a range of 3 environments, it did
devote a segment to a forested location which fuelled a lot of my reasons to film
in a forest, apart from the reference to the video game.

24.  Setting
 With no dialogue, the film emphasised the diegetic sounds of the environment
such as the crackling of twigs, the crushing of leaves and the ever present
uncomforting whistling between the trees.This was a concept I really wanted to
implement myself, but I couldn’t focus on it too much due to the dialogue I
needed to include.
 The best aspect of the setting however was the forest location itself, the
seemingly never-ending maze of trees provides a sense of no-escape with the
foliage blocking vision and sight.At the same time, the dark woods and uneven
terrain creates a state of panic and dismay; with an eerie feeling of being
watched.
 Naturally, the forest location is a prime example of a Horror genre due to the
isolation, but ‘The Nightmare’ really played on this well.

26.  Characterisation
 In terms of characterisation, ‘Nightmare’ really couldn’t be any more conventional - the
idea of a child’s nightmare is essentially the worst fears of all children put into one story.
 The aspect which really caught my eye and fitted to the conventions of my own
antagonist, was the faceless hooded killer who chases the boy through the forest.
Although the appearance of the antagonist was more ‘Slasher’ genred than
psychological, the idea of an inhuman, merciless and emotionless monster is more or less
the same concept that I wanted for ‘Slender’.

27.  Narrative
 To me, the strongest element of ‘Nightmare’ was the narrative story-arc – as
every single scene was integral to understanding the ending.
 Subtle differences like the boy’s breathing becoming heavier and less
natural, eventually leading to asphyxiation and suffocating (which seen in the film
as being smothered by an unknown assailant) keep the audience interested and
wondering what the narrative means, until it’s revealed at the end that the boy
was simply semi-conscious and choking on a sweet (which we saw him grab at the
beginning).
 Due to the strength of ‘Nightmare’s’ narrative I realised the importance that a
convincing and realistic storyline had on the reflection and perspective of the
film, so I decided on introducing the beginning segment of my production and
establishing the relationship between the boy and the dog, as well as subtle
references to Slender’s appearance, which are shown through minor statics
during the dark segment.

29.  Iconography
 Another influence on my own production was ‘Nightmare’s’ expressive use of
lighting and the contrasting natural and unnatural lighting in the forest, the bin-
bag maze and the house.
 The environments presented in the film are also quite symbolic of the Horror
genre; the woodland forest, the abandoned strange house and the claustrophobic
maze of bin bags could be associated with any place which there is no obvious
route of escape and impaired vision – claustrophobia and fear of the unknown are
also really strong concepts used to represent fear as well.
 Although simple, the very effective contrasting use of a ‘Greyscale’ effect until the
end to show the difference between reality and the semi-conscious nightmare not
only is a tool for the narrative, but also emphasises the lighting and shadows.

31.  Themes
 One key idea from ‘Nightmare’ is the themes, which everyone can relate to and
therefore makes the experience much more immersive for the audience. In each
scenario and the overall narrative is essentially taken from the most conventional
childhood nightmare – monsters eating you, running away from strangers – the
only difference is the extremities and hyper-real nature which ‘Nightmare’ creates
(the cannibalistic witches(?) is a good example of this).
 Another really prominent theme throughout is the idea of claustrophobia, which
is an increasingly common fear which again, a lot of people can relate to.The idea
of running away without any escape or being held back induces an idea of panic
and disorientation which is a very Horror-related theme, which again allows the
audience to emphasise with the characters and really engage on an emotional
level.This is basically what I wanted to translate into my own production, an
emotional feeling to what is being seen on the screen other than just jump scares.

32.  Whilst I took a lot of inspiration from the video game and the Short
film, I was also inspired by several real media texts in the film
industry.
 These general comparisons and snippets of analysis were very
useful to the construction of specific ideas in my production; for
example the characterisation and costume build of my
antagonist, as well as the special effects and sound bites.
 Although it may have been perhaps more helpful to analyse a whole
film in-depth, I decided instead this would be too time-consuming
for the benefits, instead I would focus on specific codes and explore
the effects these had on both the production and on the audience.

33.  For the construction of my antagonist and the characterisation, I stumbled upon a
film called ‘Intruders’ (2011), in short, it depicts an ancient demonic entity who
prays on the imagination of children in an attempt to steal their facial features for
himself.
 I feel the biggest inspiration from ‘Intruders’ that I took and implemented into my
own production was the appearance of the ‘Hollowman’ (antagonist) – cloaked as
a floating, faceless ghoul with no voice or human relation.The uncomforting
appearance of the antagonist, combined with the unknown nature is a typical
horror convention and does very well to strike fear into the character, as well as
the audience.
 I also developed an idea about using the ‘hyper-sonic’ sound effect which the
antagonist induces upon his victims when he is seen, however I decided to scrap
this idea as it distorted the ambient diegetic sound too much. I wanted to
disorientate the audience, but sadly the hyper-sonic effect didn’t have the impact
I wanted.

35.  Although not a horror film, I analysed a thriller-film called ‘Savages’ (2012) which
depicted one really significant scene to my overall production and specifically, my
special effects.
 The beginning scene shows a group of men being tortured and then
executed, while this is conventionally brutal and horrifying – I didn’t actually focus
on these aspects, instead I was really interested in the transition on the ending of
the scene, how the ‘found-footage’ camera style faded out through the use of
static and camera interference.
 The film gave me a whole new perspective on the video-game convention of the
static effect – how it could be used as a transitional edit as well as a special effect
to build up the tension and fear.
 Most importantly, I realised from this how I could almost seamlessly transition
from one scene to the next without ruining the immersion of the audience, in
fact, I felt that the effect actually increased the suspense and continuity of the

37.  Throughout my research I pointed to several theorists without explaining
their theories, as such I developed a simple explanation of these.
 TzvetanTodorov suggested that all narratives follow a 3-part structure. At
the beginning of the narrative, there is a pre-existing ‘Equilibrium’ where
everything is balanced without any disruption.
 After some progress through the story, there is a disturbance which upsets
the balance.This is known as the ‘Disequilibrium’, usually at this point the
antagonist will appear.
 The last section is the resolution of the story. Once the disturbance has
been defeated, or has disappeared.The balance returns to the
story, although it does not always return to the previous Equilibrium, but
rather to a ‘New-Equilibrium’.
 In a basic way, this can be interpreted as a beginning, middle and an end.
This also incorporates Aristotle’s theory that all narratives contain an
aspect of drama, i.e. within all narratives there is disequilibrium.

39.  Levi-Strauss was a social anthropologist who studied the myths and
legends of tribal cultures – Examining the impact of the stories and the
unconscious reflection upon human values, beliefs and myths of a culture.
 These reflections are expressed in the form of ‘Binary Opposition’; insight
that the way we understand certain words depends not so much on any
meaning they themselves directly contain, but much more by our
understanding of the difference between the word and its ‘opposite’ or, as
they called it ‘binary opposite’.
 For example, our understanding of the word ‘coward’ surely depends on
the difference between that word and its opposing idea, that of a ‘hero’.
 There are many forms of binary opposition, for example,Youth/Age
binary, the Masculinity/femininity, the Good/Evil binary.
 Strauss’ work through time has been adapted by media theorists to reveal
underline themes and symbolic oppositions in texts.

40.  To Vladimir Propp, after studying over 100 media texts, he
developed a character theory which can be applied to most if not all
media texts. A typical example of Propp’s theory is the film ‘Shrek’.
▪ The Protagonist (Hero orVictim) – fights against theVillain or the
Princess
▪ The Antagonist (Villain) – Struggles against the hero
▪ The Donor – Prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object
▪ The Helper – Helps the hero in the quest
▪ The Princess – Person the hero marries, often sought for during the
narrative
▪ Her father – Usually dies during or before the film/book
▪ The Dispatcher/ Mentor – Character who teaches the Hero and sends
the hero off

41.  Roland Barthes described how there were 5 distinct codes which can be
depicted in any given narrative;
▪ The HermeneuticCode (HER)
▪ The Proairetic Code (ACT)
▪ The Semantic Code (SEM)
▪ The Symbolic Code (SYM)
▪ TheCulturalCode (REF)
 The Hermeneutic Code refers to an element within the story that is not
explained to the audience and as a result becomes a mystery that
can/can’t be solved.
 Usually within this code, the full truth of the narrative is avoided or not
revealed.
▪ Snares - Deliberately avoiding the truth.
▪ Equivocations – Partial or incomplete answers.
▪ Jammings – Openly acknowledge that there is no answer to a problem.
 The purpose of this code is to keep the audience guessing at the truth and
to keep them interested, until the end of the narrative where the truth is
revealed and a ‘closure’ is reached.

42.  The Proairetic Code is the element of building tension, where the next scene is
hinted or indicated – which keeps the audience guessing and on edge, focused on
the film.
 Typically the Proairetic Code and Hermeneutic Code work in a pair to develop a
story’s tension and keep the audience interested in the film.
 The Semantic Code is often the technique of using connotations within the story
to give deeper meaning to the narrative above the denotative meaning.
 This code is usually used to give a limited and basic storyline a far deeper
meaning, often this is used in low-budget films and cultural statements.

43.  Moving onto my poster, I noticed that generally Horror posters are the easiest to
identify as a genre.This can easily be compared with how RomanticComedies
often have very obvious codes and conventions – as such, I wanted to produce a
poster which was very conventional and would allow the audience to instantly
relate to it as a horror genre film.
 Typically, there are several conventions to a poster, but also some very specific to
a horror genre;
 Red + Black colour scheme
 Theme
 Characters
 Lead Image
 Lead actors – typically hidden / less prominent
 Title
 Tagline
 Release Date
 Billing Block

44.  As a preliminary research task, I went back throughout the 100+ year history of
the Horror genre.This was actually really useful as I saw a clear change in
audience values – RickAltman described this as ‘society’s pragmatic approach’
and how film was a reflection on the society’s values within the horror genre.
 For example, in the decade of 2000 foreign films became far more popular as in
particular, psychological horrors such as ‘The Ring’ (2002) and ‘The Grudge’ (2004)
– this is a trend which has actually seen a resurrection in the late 2000’s and early
2010’s such as ‘Insidious’ (2010), ‘TheWoman in Black’ (2012) and the ‘Paranormal
Activity’ franchise.

45.  As I looked around and researched into Horror-Posters, I found an interesting film
called Sauna (2008) which I realised contained a lot of what I wanted to produce, as
such I followed a lot of the conventions and codes.
 First off, the darkened contrast of the poster between the tinted forest and the sky
was an interesting concept and one which made me consider the significance of a
contrast within the poster – as such I decided to contrast the brightness of ‘Slender’s’
face and the black surroundings.
 Another aspect which I had actually already considered but now had an example to
base on, was the rural environment in the forest which connoted an isolated and
desolate location, with no sign of civilisation and escape.
 Something which is a competed convention within horror posters is the character
image, some posters feature the antagonist which connotes the dual-storyline
between the antagonist and the victim, and some focus on the victim. ‘Sauna’ depicts
a lonesome, professional looking figure in the distance as a long-shot, which can be
more horrifying as the approach/ chase from the antagonist is often more terrifying
than the actions of it.
 Lastly, the strapline is written in a sinister font which for obvious reasons relates the
audience to the horror genre, again, something which I wanted to replicate.

47.  A film which I really enjoyed and decided to analyse as a poster was the psychological
horror Sinister (2012) as the themes were similar to my own production and I wanted
to see how I could convey these through the poster.
 The aspect which acts as the focal selling point here and one which heavily connotes
the psychological themes of the film, was the main image.The unnatural depiction of
the demonic eyes staring into the camera is in itself a clear horror-genre aspect, but
also as it’s written in blood the supernatural ideas are really prominent here.
 The image also links with the tagline, ‘Once you see him, you can’t be saved’ – as the
eyes have already looked into the camera and as such, the audience’s eyes, it makes
the audience uncomfortable and somewhat fearful. Although my antagonist has no
eyes, I wanted to try and implement the antagonist looking into the camera and
achieve the same creepy effect.
 Lastly as a really big inspiration to my manipulation of my poster, shown in the
background is a cracked wall which has 2 significant impacts; the desolate and
decaying setting, and also the decaying psychological feelings on the mind until the
nightmare becomes ‘real’.As such, I decided to follow this idea and put cracks onto
Slender’s ‘face’ – to show his supernatural being, as well as the psychological impact.

49.  Having done some detailed analysis, I had learnt quite a bit from just general research
and my historical analysis for the history of the genre.
 Conventionally, the main image is based in the centre of the page as a focal point
which the audience identifies immediately.As such, the image should denote an
important character or theme from the film, as well as connoting the sub-genre such
as psychological or slasher – in my own case, the unnatural appearance of my
antagonist and the brightness of his face in contrast to the black background conforms
to this.
 In addition, the poster typically identifies a prominent setting location, for
example, Cabin In theWoods (2012), or uses a specifically themed colour scheme –
such as ‘30 Days of Night’s’ excessive use of red to signify blood and the ‘slasher’ sub-
genre.
 However, an interesting aspect which I myself want to implement due to the ‘found-
footage’ camera style is almost a still from the film.Although without the effects
([Rec] symbol or battery), I felt that having a scene similar to the film would give the

51.  Once again, before I began detailed analysis of Magazine Review Pages I wanted
to identify the key codes and conventions, so that I could think about these in my
later research and how they were being used to create effect.
 Usually, these aspects are present in the typical review page;
 Screenshot
 Title / Masthead
 Rating /Verdict
 Captions
 Short plot synopsis
 Directors & Actors
 Pull-Quote
 Main Review
 Title / Logo of Magazine

52. • Below is a thorough example of the codes from a magazine review page, with a
few identified on the example poster from the major company ‘Empire’ .

53.  For my magazine review page, I didn’t want to be too experimental or
unconventional, I wanted to stick firmly to the purpose of a review – to be
informative and entertaining.
 The most important aspect then I wanted to focus on was the layout and design,
while the content had to be informative, as I researched I realised that the balance
between style and substance had to be slightly in favour of style – so as to engage
the audience and keep them interested.
 As an amateur designer, I decided to research in detail 2 different companies; as a
major company, ‘Empire’ and as a niche product ‘Fangoria’. Both of these taught
me valuable lessons and as such, helped me to build on how the conventions were
used to either inform or entertain.

54.  Starting with ‘Empire’, I developed a lot of my own production from the codes and
conventions which Empire used so well to both entertain their audiences and
keep them up-to-date with the latest reviews.
 Some of the biggest influences my analysis of Empire had was the need for an
organised layout and clear presentation of the information, using features such as
the ‘Sidebar’ and the ‘Panel’ which I followed and included in my own production.
 Also, I conformed to the conventional Rating and ‘Verdict’ panel which was
included at the end of the review, which highlighted the main positive and
negative aspects of the film in a short synopsis.
 Lastly, the ‘Information Box’ containing the core details of the reviewed film such
as Release Date,Age Rating and Director was another aspect which I sought to
follow as it presented a lot of key information in a simple and attractive format.
 One thing which I did change was the colour scheme to suit my horror genre, the
red and black I felt created the immediate identity of a horror film and therefore
the audience could react to the information with the theme already in mind.

57.  After researching ‘Empire’, I began analysing ‘Fangoria’ which began as a horror-
specialised niche magazine which eventually gained popularity in the USA – this
grass-roots approach was what interested me and the audience-interactivity was
another big aspect which I wanted to look into.
 I think the biggest influence that ‘Fangoria’ had was a vital lesson in style is
sometimes much better than substance.
 Whilst the review is detailed and full of both informative and entertaining text, I
realised that the ‘wall-of-text’ was very unappealing to look at and for the casual
reader, it would be very off-putting if I wasn’t a dedicated fan – which works well
for this niche following, but wouldn’t work for my own production.
 The use of images and the target-audience orientated tone and style impressed
me, but again, I felt wouldn’t suit my review. Conventionally it was somewhat
solid, with some alterations and creative ideas, but I couldn’t really defy of these
conventions with my situation and therefore decided to follow in ‘Empire’s’ codes.

59. How effective is the combination of your
main product and your ancillary texts?

60.  When comparing my products to work out the effectiveness, I had a
few considerations in mind;
 How the 3 products link together – what are the effects?
 How accurately are the characters and representations portrayed in the
products in comparison?
 How consistent are the aspects of narrative and storyline between these
products?
 Do these 3 products work well together in terms of codes & conventions?

61.  Before I created my products I decided on the order of construction as many of
the features would be imperative to creating the other, for example, by making
the Film Poster first, I could then build on the conventions I had already put in
place (i.e. – forest setting, character appearance and general narrative).
 Also, I could begin to implement some hints at theory and ideas – Altman’s
semantic theory with the location being rural and isolated and the antagonist’s
costume. As well as the title font as well (Base 02), presented as decaying.
 As well as this, the tagline ’There Is No Escape’ is essentially pointing out the
obvious in regards inTodorov’s Equilibrium theory – there will be a disturbance
and the character will not survive.
 Lastly, building on this tagline the ideas of Barthes’ connotations can be taken
into account. Escaping from the dark implies a fear of the dark or the unknown, or
perhaps what is inside the dark – as we can see from the antagonist who blends in
with the background setting.

63.  Once I had completed my poster I moved onto the main product, the Short Film.
With the concept already in place with the poster, the main product was made to
present the narrative and storyline to the overall production.
 The poster only really presented half of the story, as it depicts the antagonist in
the location and some conventional taglines – it doesn’t give away any of the
context or narrative and therefore the audience can be attracted to watching the
film.
 The 2 products also link together quite well as the festival awards signify a very
well made production in the horror genre, which will entice people to watch the
film – although the main emphasis of this will be on the review page.
 The main focus however is that the poster is a form of advertising, it shows that a
film has been produced and that is has been well received by festival critics – once
again really this is emphasised by the magazine review.

64.  After the production of the main product and the poster, conventionally the
magazine review is made of the film – and so the same is done here.
 What really links the 3 together is the constant depiction of the antagonist
figure, in both appearance and in name – there is a constant here which the
audience is consistently reminded of: the focus is on ‘Slender’.
 Something which I think makes the review link so well with the other products is
the slightly separate image selected – on the film poster there is a still image of
the antagonist in the location. Instead, the review depicts an image of the victim
holding the camera in the ‘found-footage’ style, in the woods during the night-
time segment. I feel this worked really well because they are almost alternating
perspectives and ‘teases’ the audience into wanting to watch more – as
such, watching the main production.

65.  I think overall some of the most effective links can be seen in the colour
schemes, both the poster and the magazine review use a black and white (and
red) layout which is conventionally a horror-genre idea and as such, it’s clear that
the film production is based on horror and the antagonist ‘Slender’.

66.  The accuracy of the character portrayal is very clear in the appearance and
representation of the antagonist, although I feel that the Magazine Review Page
slightly underdoes this portrayal as the image depicts the victim’s perspective of
the note on the tree, which only shows a drawing of ‘Slender’ amongst the trees.
 Whilst this representation as the antagonist as ‘part of the darkness’ which is
shown in both the film poster and the short film itself, is also slightly present on
the note drawing, it’s not as strong as the rest but the general idea is there.
 However, strongly shown in all 3 products is the representation of fear, fear of the
unknown. In the short film, the antagonist is always seen blending in with the
location until the very end, the poster presents ‘Slender’ as only discernable
through his head as his body is completely submerged in darkness. As well as
this, the magazine film review depicts the darkness and the trees, which both are
comparable to the antagonist and therefore represent him.

68.  The most important representation shown in all 3 products is the binary
opposition between light and dark – how the torch illuminates the darkness and
provides an illusion of safety.
 The darkness is both represented by and represents the antagonist conflicts
combines the 3 products, as the film poster and magazine review show the 2nd
segment of the short film, as the victim wakes up in the darkness with only a torch
as a light.
 The film poster depicts the antagonist as an unnatural and uncomforting entity
through his alien-shaped head and faceless appearance, only discerned by his
human-like stature. In the magazine review he’s presented as just a ‘stick-man’, a
child’s drawing, something which has no emotion or expression.Whilst in the film
these representations are all portrayed together, as well as the antagonist’s ability
to move around without running – seemingly teleporting, which is in itself
unnatural.

69.  In all 3 products there is a definitive structure of narrative, albeit that the
magazine review is essentially an extension of the short film, but from an
analytical perspective.
 Beginning with the poster, as mentioned before, the tagline signifies a lack of a
‘new equilibrium’ and a clear disturbance from the ‘escape’ – connoting that there
will be a chase that will inevitably result in the victim being caught – which is a
possibility as the short film presents an ‘Implicit Ending’ where the antagonist is
behind the victim as he turns around, before the camera shuts off.
 In terms of the characterisation consistency, the appearance of ‘Slender’ remains
the same and is shown clearly on the poster, while the antagonist is distorted and
staticed snippets during the short film.
 However, the film poster does not present any narrative of the beginning
segment which is the most important to the context of the narrative and there
could arguably be some inconsistency as the audience might assume it’s all about
the antagonist’s narrative and not including anyone else.

70.  There is however, a complete consistency between the short film and the
magazine review page – as the review seeks to provide a detailed analysis without
giving away the ending or posting a ‘spoiler’.The magazine review presents a
short plot synopsis as well as short detailed analysis of certain scenes, which is
narratively consistent with the short film itself.
 The only true inconsistency which could be argued is the whole image itself on the
film poster, which is shown as without any camera static, interference or
disorientation. I decided not to include these as the design just wouldn’t have
worked; fonts would not have been prominent enough, the appearance of
‘Slender’ would be unclear and only the name would be an indication to the
audience who could identify from the video game.
 If I was to be completely consistent, the film poster image would have been
distorted as I wanted it to be almost a scene from the film as a ‘found-footage’
still, and every other scene with ‘Slender’ depicted is in some way distorted.

71.  As I described in detail before, all 3 of my products follow many typical codes and
conventions – especially the film poster and magazine review page which I did not
want to alternate too much from, as I wanted these 2 to be easily identifiable for
what they are.
 But for comparison’s sake, I feel that by keeping the 2 ancillary tasks conventional
and not experimenting too much, the overall sense of professionalism and
informative nature is stronger than if I was to sub-verge from convention.
 Also, aspects like keeping to the typical colour scheme and using particularly
sinister looking fonts provides the emphasis on the horror genre.
 The only concept which I feel maybe detached the products from one another
was that I wanted to be slightly subversive in my short film, to try and create
innovative design ideas from combining ideas – to create a hybrid film in
essence, with features such as special effects and sound effect for the static and
disorientation.

72. What have you learned from
your audience feedback?

73.  Overall I feel that audience feedback wasn’t an integral part of the construction
and development of my production, and as a result, I think my final product could
have been improved by doing so. I should have attempted to gain more feedback
on my final drafts, especially on my Magazine review page and Short Film which I
received little-to-none on.
 However, the audience feedback which I then built my target audience from with
several questionnaires at the beginning of the production stage was majorly
significant to how I went about the designing and planning of my productions.
 My audience feedback has been helpful though, but I think that it has only been in
certain stages and maybe I should have devoted more time to the drafting
process rather than aesthetic aspects like titles and fonts.

74.  Initially, I produced a questionnaire detailing some simple questions to base my
target audience on and what I would be producing as a genre.This included
questions such as;
▪ What is your age?
▪ What film genre do you most prefer?
▪ What is your main incentive for watching a film?
 The results from this beginning questionnaire were actually very useful, as a basic
overall view I could begin to think about how I would develop my production on
the basis that it would be for 16-18 year olds, based on the Horror genre and that
the storyline were the most important aspects.
 From this I could then begin to draw a more detailed plan on my production, but I
still needed more specific information;
▪ What sub-genre of Horror do you most prefer?
▪ What is your main incentive for watching a horror?
▪ What modern conventions of Horror films are most required to you?

76.  From my questionnaire I could then develop an ‘Audience Profile’, which was
specifically accurate to what my audience wanted from my production. I decided
that while this was good evidence, I wanted some more facts and figures to
accurately support my production – so I looked at the MPAA website.

78.  Importantly as well, having an audience of 16-18 meant that I had to consider
theAge Classification and Certificate ratings, from the BBFC (British Board of
Film Classification).
 As such, I realised…
“I believe that my film will fit into this category very well as the film will induce
minimal psychological fear while posing very little threat in terms of damaging
or over-visual psychological terror.The creative flexibility of the ’15′ category
that a ’12′ or ’12a’ do not provide will be very beneficial to the creation of my
Horror Film and allow me to explore differing aspects of terror, while giving me
restrictions towards the extreme themes of horror / terror.”

79.  I think the most I learned about audience feedback, is it’s importance to the
overall process – not just the construction.After my initial feedback for the
questionnaire I didn’t use a lot of audience interaction, I went through a large
scale planning process for my production but didn’t ask my peers for any
feedback or advice.
 I think I could have improved my plans a lot just by consulting my peers and
asking how I could have improved things in the early planning stages.
 As well as this, I really should have asked for some advice regarding my risk
assessment. Upon reflection I realised that a lot of the conditions which I filmed in
(Snow etc.) were not included, and I believe that had I consulted some peers as to
some hazards which could have been added – I could have made sure.

80.  An aspect which I personally feel I wasted too much time on and have learnt from,
was my persistence in trying to receive feedback on things like the fonts for my
poster. Instead, I should have received more feedback on my layout designs and
my overall plans for the construction – rather than the minor aspects (albeit
something which is quite important to the aesthesis).

81.  Once again, I feel that I made the same mistake. Instead of asking for feedback on
what I could have changed or added on the poster, chose to ask people for their
advice on what font I should have when the overall poster had already been
completed.

82.  Another huge mistake which I really regret was not even asking for audience
feedback on my Magazine review page and also my main production. In hindsight
this cost me a lot of opportunity to gain an outside perspective and a chance to
improve my production.
 So overall I believe that while I did not receive many benefits of audience
feedback, what I did receive about the questionnaire results and fonts was
actually really helpful.The questionnaire especially really contributed to my plans
and allowed me to think creativity about how I could try and implement some of
the aspects which they wanted.
 However, I do believe that when audience feedback is utilised correctly, it can be
really effective. If I had consulted my peers about my magazine review or main
production, I could have made a lot of changes and perhaps improved it
immensely. It’s a hard lesson that I have now learnt.

83. How did you use new media technologies
in the construction and research, planning
and evaluation stages?

84.  My use of new media to my overall production was something I
thought I did quite well, having only really used basic programs in
my foundation portfolio I made a huge jump in the programs that I
used and also how confidently I used them.
 From this point on, I’m going to be showing an example of what I
used and how it was useful to what part of the overall production
and how I had developed since using it.

85.  In my foundation portfolio, I only used a basic camera so moving up to a video
camera was quite a step – especially as I wanted to use it professionally as a film
director.
 The video camera was used as ‘found-footage’ style, meaning that my
protagonist actor was holding the camera handheld and had a lot of freedom and
movement to work with.
 An issue which I think may have hindered my production was the sensitivity of my
camera to the darkness, which I should have really considered before filming.
Instead a lot of my footage came out grainy and unfocused and I had to use a lot
of editing and manipulating to correct the footage, but it still didn’t look as good
as it could have done – even with 2 lights shining from the end of the camera.

86.  Something which I had little previous experience with was the editing
software, SonyVegas 10.This was a massive step up from when I was using
Windows Movie Maker and included a lot more accessories and
compatibilities, albeit a lot more complicated as well.
 Throughout my entire short film I edited with SonyVegas, including the micro
edits, transitions and also the cuts – the transitions were especially difficult as I
had to combine sound effects and special effects very specifically for the end of
each scene where I wanted it.
 A lot of the special effects I wanted including the static, blur and screen tilt
required some learning process but with a lot of time put in, I could continue to
draft and improve my production overtime.

87.  Adobe PhotoshopCS5 was something which I had been using in my foundation
portfolio, but I was very inexperienced and didn’t know how to do a lot of
things, essentially I knew how to contrast colours and remove backgrounds – not
a lot.
 However, having watched many tutorials and experimented with my software, I
manipulated and drafted my Film Poster several times until I was happy with the
final result.
 In the end, I learnt how to combine multiple images and layer each one separately
for effect, specifically cut and alter the image, apply transformations on
background layers and how to produce a basic static effect.

88.  YouTube was something I didn’t get a chance to use for my last production, but
for my short film I needed to upload in order to draft and show my cast and co-
director the results.
 As well as this, I also usedYouTube to watch several short films and trailers which
helped me in my research and planning process to develop my overall production.
This was also very useful asYouTube ‘recommended’ me several short horror films
I may have never found before, which in the end I actually used to analysis and
gain inspiration from.

89.  As a last piece of software, I have used Slideshare to upload my evaluation in an
easy, simple and quick method which is then accessible to anyone who wants to
look.
 As opposed to uploading it directly to my blog, which would have been
inconvenient and also doesn’t support the format which I wanted to upload my
PowerPoint on – it would have been smaller and therefore harder to read.