This is for my media blog. It explain what I did when I went to the uni of Sunderland.

1. University trip
Last Thursday the 26th of June I missed an opportunity to work with Tyneside Cinema.
Their workshop involved a ‘mockumentary’. Briefs were given on how to use the cameras
and they were told what their parody documentaries were about. Within the course of the 3
lessons provided, TC (Tyneside Cinema) had shown the class a reel of documentaries which
allowed others to see the characteristics of a documentary. If I were to do a documentary
this master class would have been very beneficial and top talk to some professionals that
work in the field of film would have been amazing.

2. However … my English literature trip clashed with this and although I really wanted to part take in the
media workshop I went along to the University of Sunderland to learn more about the theme ‘Gothic’
and to understand ‘Wuthering Heights’. We arrived late into the first lecture so I’m not too sure what I
missed but that day was very interesting. The lecturers were dressed up in all sorts of fabrics and
colours – most looked like changelings (often known as fairies). Even though this trip mainly focussed
on how the time period and society influenced the way people wrote, we did look at film adaptions and
one caught my eye.
In the past I have watched Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Don’t be afraid of the dark’ and to my surprise I
enjoyed it. I do enjoy a good thrilling, spooky horror but this one didn’t really stand out for me. We
looked at clips of the film as he was influenced by a good supernatural writer Arthur Machen (1863 –
1947).

3. Del Toro himself said: "I love the Welsh author Arthur Machen and his idea that fairy
lore comes from a dark place, that it’s derived from little, pre-human creatures who are
really, really nasty vermin but are magical in a way, living as they do for hundreds of
years. His books are what compelled me to do this."
Watching these clips with actual context allowed me to see how he perceived the
supernatural world and who he admired. Looking at how Del Toro took this inspiration
and transformed it into a film was rather amazing. This day allowed me to have more of
an understanding for the supernatural/horror genres and if I were to change my mind and
do a horror trailer instead of a short film, it has allowed me to have an open mind when it
comes to making a horror film.