The short film 'The Insane' effectively uses various technical elements to create suspense and fit within the horror genre. Through the use of camera angles, lighting, sound effects, settings and characters, tension is built throughout the film. Dark and deserted streets in the opening scene immediately make the audience feel on edge. Unusual camera shots and lighting further heighten the suspense. The increasing erratic nature of the music and main character suggests his descent into madness. Together, these technical elements come together to tell a story that keeps the audience engaged and entertained in a classic horror style.

1. ‘Discuss the short film ‘The Insane’ in relation to the key concepts of media language and genre’
The short film ‘The Insane’ is a horror directed by David J Ellison and Mark Cripps, and won the best
short film at the 2008 comic-con. Throughout the film you can see the repertoire of elements that
make the film a horror; these are shown through technical codes; throughout this essay I will be
unravelling these codes to show different parts that make the film that make it fit into the genre of
horror.
Throughout the short film ‘The Insane’ the camera uses different angles, shots and movements that
each connote to the audience different meanings, that then make the film part of the horror genre.
The opening of the film starts off with the camera showing dark streets in a city; not only are the
streets dark, they are also deserted, this could be connoting to the audience that something bad is
about to happen, making the audience on edge and feel the suspense; therefore, already making the
film fit into the horror genre. After the camera has shown the ghostly streets, the camera changes to
a shaky point of view shot of someone walking down an alley toward something in the distance; by
the camera doing this it could be connoting that the person is angry or even perhaps slightly scared
of what is about to happen making it already create suspense, which automatically fits into a horror
genre. When the main character kills the other character that he was walking toward, we see a low
angle shot of the dead person looking up at the main character; this could be connoting that the
main character has superiority or is just dangerous in general, this is a typical convention of a horror
film to have a character that has power over the other characters. Later on in the film we see an
extreme close up of the main characters eyes; this could be signifying to the audience that the
character has a lot of strength or even perhaps that the character is reflecting on himself and his
actions, this is also shown quite late in the film when we see a mirror shot of the character, which
could be signifying that he is self conflicted perhaps. Soon after the character starts to run away and
again we see a point of view shot, this time it seems as though the shakiness of the camera could be
connoting that the character is in fear and is panicking, adding suspense to the audience and again
enforcing the conventions of a horror film.
Throughout most of the film, the lighting stays the same; there seems to be an orange and brown
overcast light which gives the film an overall feeling of a comic book; this could perhaps be
connoting to the audience that the film is a horror comic type film, also the dark tint on the lighting
shows a typical convention of a horror film as it keeps the audience on edge. When the main
character is first introduced in the film, we get a point of view shot down a dimly lit alley, however,
certain parts of the alley are more lit than other, perhaps connoting to the audience that something
bad is hiding in the shadowed parts of the alley, putting fear into the audience. Later in the film

2. when the main character is at the train station, we see a red light go over his face, this could be
connoting that he is perhaps angry, or even more so dangerous; this makes the audience start to
question what he is doing or who he really is, which shows typical conventions of a horror. Although
through most of the film we see the orange/brown lighting, when the film nears the end and the
main character gets onto the train, we see the lighting become clear and realistic, this perhaps
connoting to the audience that the reality of what has happened has finally become clear to the
main character that he is insane, or just perhaps to the audience. This twist is also another
convention of a horror film.
When first introduced to the main character we firstly see that he is wearing a clean suite and rain
mac, which could be connoting to the audience that he is in control and sensible, or that he has
some sort of power, which fits into a horror convention as the main character usually has power
over the other characters. Then as the film goes on we start to become acquainted with the other
characters; the first ‘evil’ character we see is wearing a blood stained shit and holding a knife; this
could be signifying to the audience that he is dangerous and also a killer, putting the audience on
edge when watching the film. However, when the main character kills him, it becomes clear who
holds the power out of the two, which could be connoting to the audience that the main character
perhaps is scarier than the ‘evil’ characters. As the film goes on more of the ‘evil’ characters become
introduced, the weapons they carry become bigger and more dangerous, and end up back into the
main characters hands, this perhaps connoting to the audience that the main character is becoming
more dangerous and perhaps even the evil character. This then starts to make the audience
question what he is doing and also start to feel tense as to what will happen next; this again is
another convention of a horror film. To add to this, when the main character is walking away, we see
him looking up at the moon, this could be connoting that the moon has some sort of effect on him,
which makes the audience perhaps realise that he is the bad character.
Not only do the characters make the audience on edge when watching this short film, the setting
also adds to this. As soon as the film begins, we are shown many deserted streets and alleyways,
connoting to the audience that that something bad may happen, and puts the audience on edge
almost straight away. As the film goes on, it seems to be a repeated pattern that places are
destered, as we soon see the main character on a deserted train platform, this again puts the
audience on edge and connotes to them that something bad may be about to happen. However, as
he starts to run around the inside part of the train station, it almost looks as though it is an asylum,
which could be signifying to the audience that the main character is perhaps the delusional
character, this again makes the audience feel panicked and adds to the conventions of a horror film.

3. To add to all the other elements that make a horror film, the sounds throughout the film also create
suspense and panic to the audience. At the start of the film we hear a heartbeat which automatically
makes the audience on edge and could be connoting that something bad is about to happen, which
it then does. As the film goes on, and new characters are introduced they all seem to be making
noises that come across as angry and also scary which makes the audience worry about the main
character as at this stage you do not know that he is the insane person. Not only is it the noises that
are coming from the characters themselves, it is also the noises that are coming from the weapons,
for instance the knife and chainsaw; this could be connoting that the characters are evil or
dangerous which makes the audience again jumpy or panicky. Later in the film you hear police
sirens, this could be connoting that the place is being watched by police and that they are on to the
evil characters, however, the audience still panic because the main character hides as if he is scared
himself. As the film progresses, the music becomes more erratic and the bass becomes heavier, this
could be signifying how the main characters mind is erratic and he is becoming more mad as the film
goes on, this making the audience almost confused and want to know more about what is going on.
However, there are still some effects that go over the music, for instance he train screeching, makes
the audience jump, and could be connoting that something extremely bad is about to happen or it
could be a representation of a scream perhaps.
Overall I would say that the short film ‘The Insane’ has a group of elements that come together to
create a typical horror, that keeps the audience interested in the whole thing. The sound, lighting,
setting, characters, props and camera each use different aspects to make the film as interesting as it
was. Not only did these elements together make a good horror film, the storyline also added to
these things, for instance the twist within the story, created a great basis for the directors to get
inventive with things such as music, camera and settings.
Maddie Read