Question One of Evaluation: In what ways does your media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

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

2. Camera Angles and Shots
I have incorporated some camera angles and shots that are typical conventions of
horror films and slasher films. This includes:
• Canted angle- This is shown in the establishing shot of the corridor, I decided to
use a canted angle to creating a sense of uneasiness and suggest that there is
something wrong which creates enigma.
• Over the shoulder shot of the killer- This is shown through an over the shoulder
shot of the antagonist looking down at the girl, who is walking through the corridor,
this furthers the sense of enigma as the identity of the antagonist is unknown, as is
their agenda and the fact that they are positioned higher up suggests that they are
powerful.
• Close up / extreme close up of victim’s fear- I have used a close up a few times
like when the girl gets the anonymous phone call and also when at the very end of
the sequence. The close up of the victims fear portrays that the threat is real and
immanent.

3. Camera Angles and Shots
• Arc / 360 degree shot to show isolation / fear of victim- I used a 360 degree arc
in my own horror opening. At the beginning of the arc there is a glimpse of the
antagonist however as the 360 degree comes back to the beginning the antagonist is
not there this creates enigma for the audience as this implies that the antagonist is
there but cannot be seen. The rest of the arc shows the victims isolation and how
the only person who was there was the antagonist making the situation seem
scarier.
• High angle shot to show victim’s vulnerability- I used a high angled shot of the
victim twice, both as they were in the school walking though the corridor. This
implies her vulnerability and suggests that the antagonist is a threat.
• Point of view of both victim and killer- I used a point of view shot of the victim
when they saw the antagonist in the mirror walking past the window and they turn
to see the window and no one is there. This shows the victim is worried and
shocked that no one is there. Additionally the I also used a point of view shot of the
killer to suggest the stalker element that is found in horror films.

4. Character Conventions
I followed some conventions of the villain through the appearance of them. Like in many Horror
film have them wearing a hood so they cannot see their face in order to keep the identity
unknown and is creates enigma as a result. This villain will be the antagonist as they are the
murderer/stalker figure and the audience will be against them and in fear of them. This is
found in many similar films of the same type of genre. This reflects my sub genre which is a
teen horror as the villains face cannot be seen and a threat to the teenagers, this is found in
films such as the Scream series and also I know what you did last summer. This therefore links
to a typical convention found in horror. The villain/ antagonist was wearing a black hooded
jumper which is symbolises the idea evil or bad and have their face covered to keep their
identity unknown . This type of character is typically found in many teen horror films such as
Friday the 13th with the character of Jason , Scream with the character of Scream-face and I
Know What you Did Last Summer with the character of the fisherman.

5. Character Conventions
Another way I met conventions with the characters is through the protagonist. The
central protagonist in the opening is a teenage girl. I met typical conventions of
teen horror films by having a a female character as the person who is first
threatened by the antagonist. This is shown in many teen horror films such as
Scream, Final Destination and I Know what You did last summer. In these films it
is often represented as an innocent teenage school girl, which i applied to my own
horror opening. Furthermore I developed conventions of the appearance of the
teenage girl character, by having them wear normal clothing that someone of that
age would. These same characters in existing films sometimes wear light clothing
to contrast with the dark clothing of the antagonist, however I wanted to keep the
verisimilitude and use normal teenage clothing. In openings the character often gets
killed within th opening sequence such as in Scream, Casey gets killed by Scream
face, however I challenged these conventions by leaving the ending on a cliff-
hanger rather than killing the central character to entice the viewer into watching
more. I didn't want to condense a narrative into the opening but rather leave the
audience asking questions such as who is the antagonist and what is going to
happen next?

6. Score
For the score I have produced follows some conventions of a
typical score in a horror film. I used high pitched sounding
instruments such as the String Ensemble which is often used in
horror scores to create a sense of uneasiness and creates
tension. An example of this is in the opening title sequence of
the first Final Destination film. I did a practise of my score to
test creating the score, I used GarageBand to do this.

7. Effects and Filters
I applied some effects and filters to my horror opening. I did this
to make the shots seem darker without loosing too much light,
I did this to try and create tension and suspense. Although my
opening is set in a house and a school, I tried to make the
location seem scarier by adding a dark filter and a vignette.
Some films have done similar things to suggest that the
location is is more of a threat. Whereas some horror films have
decided to use more ambient natural lighting, I applied a filter
to add tension and reflect the idea that not everything is okay
or harmonious, I have developed this in some way.

8. Location
The locations that I used was a school and a normal house. The setting of a
house reflects the middle class representation and is a common feature in
horror films as it is applicable to audiences and makes it more horrific, this
links to Wes Craven’s theory. The setting of the school applies to the teen
side of the horror film. In films such as Scream the start of the film is set in
a house and appears to be invaded by the villain, also in When a Stranger
Calls the main character is in a normal house, but has someone anonymous
calling them. Wes Craven created the theory that if the horror is set in a
location that is stereotypically a safe environment, it would make the
horror seem even more horrific and scary. This is shown in Craven’s own
film as in Scream the opening scene takes place in a house.

9. Sequence
According to Todorov's conventions in narratives such as films there is a stage of
normality in which everyhting is balanced called equilibrium, then there is
dsiruption a part which something disrupts the equilibrium and changes it, then
there is disequilibrium when the disruption has taken over there is no balamce and
order. Following this there is a resolution to the disequilibirum and consequentially
there is a new quilibrium. However in horror film the narrative is based around the
disequilibirm, I used this convention however I did not fulfil the whole sequence as
tthis is only the opening sequence. I started with equilibrium as everything is
balanced and in order and she is walking through the corridor, the disruption is
when the girl gets the phone call so the audience knows that something is not right
and the balance and order is gone. The opening finishes at the disequilibrium when
the girl sees the person outside and the door shuts. In openings the character often
gets killed within th opening sequence such as in Scream, Casey gets killed by
Scream face, however I challenged these conventions by leaving the ending on a
cliff- hanger rather than killing the central character to entice the viewer into
watching more. I didn't want to condense an entire plot or narrative into the
opening but rather leave the audience asking questions such as who is the
antagonist and what is going to happen next?

10. Sequence
According to Todorov's conventions in narratives such as films there is a stage of
normality in which everyhting is balanced called equilibrium, then there is
dsiruption a part which something disrupts the equilibrium and changes it, then
there is disequilibrium when the disruption has taken over there is no balamce and
order. Following this there is a resolution to the disequilibirum and consequentially
there is a new quilibrium. However in horror film the narrative is based around the
disequilibirm, I used this convention however I did not fulfil the whole sequence as
tthis is only the opening sequence. I started with equilibrium as everything is
balanced and in order and she is walking through the corridor, the disruption is
when the girl gets the phone call so the audience knows that something is not right
and the balance and order is gone. The opening finishes at the disequilibrium when
the girl sees the person outside and the door shuts. In openings the character often
gets killed within th opening sequence such as in Scream, Casey gets killed by
Scream face, however I challenged these conventions by leaving the ending on a
cliff- hanger rather than killing the central character to entice the viewer into
watching more. I didn't want to condense an entire plot or narrative into the
opening but rather leave the audience asking questions such as who is the
antagonist and what is going to happen next?