Scream: Cover Analysis

Denotations: in the background of this cover there is a pale-faced and blue eyed woman looking scared/shocked with a hand over her mouth (it is not clear whether this is her hand or someone else’s). In the foreground there are four young adults, two males and two females, and then one older looking woman. They are all wearing black and have rather calm expressions. In front of these people is the title of the film, Scream, in white, bold writing. The ‘m’ of Scream has been pulled down slightly. Around the edges of this cover there is a blurred, black border.

Connotations: the scared woman represents the fear that will be experienced by so many of the characters in this film. The black and white colour scheme may be there to show that she is cold and lifeless, and, as black and white are boring colours, it could also mean that she is unimportant to the killer, possibly because he has killed so many already. The young adults and the older woman are on the cover as they are the main characters and will be involved in most of the action that goes on in the film. I feel the girl with the blond hair is right at the front as she is the person who is killed first, and is also an iconic element of the film (most people are aware of her death even if they haven’t watched the film). They are wearing black in order to compliment the horror genre of this film (which is rather dark and bleak) and the black also hints that this film is not going to be bright and cheery, but instead sinister, possibly with bad fates for these five characters. The connotation of the calm expressions is of a calm and peaceful time, but, as the storyline does not treat these characters well, I’m not sure why they have this look. However, these expressions do create a rather eerie effect (considering the fact that most of them are killed) which works well with the scary and unnerving genre. I feel the white writing is there in order to represent the killer, Ghostface, as he wears a white mask for the majority of this film. It may also represent the innocence of the characters on the cover, or it may just simply be there as a contrast against the black background. I think that the sunken letter ‘m’ may represent the long and lingering screams of the characters that are killed in this film, and the sunken part of this letter also looks very sharp, possibly signifying the sharp dagger that is used to kill in the movie. The black border is indicative of the bleak and gloomy nature of the film.

Is there anything missing from it that would make it better?: I feel these five characters should have more frightened expressions, due to their unfortunate storylines. The calm expressions are very confusing if you are in the know of the plotline of the film, as it is not as calm and as peaceful as these expressions suggest. Additionally, whilst I think it is clever to have white writing in order to represent the killer in this movie, white is usually associated with goodness and purity, and so is again confusing considering the plotline of the film. I think the title would be best in red, which has much more to do with the horror genre and has connotations of blood and gore.

Evaluation: Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

Looking back at my preliminary task, and then looking at my finished product, Slaughter School, I feel that my media skills have improved widely. One main improvement is that I have learnt to hold a camera steady and how to use a tripod, allowing me to get a professional shot. Also, during the preliminary task, I didn't really experiment much with the features on the camera, such as the zoom in and zoom out button, which I used a lot in my final production in order to create suspense or to focus in on something. Another big improvement is the variety of shots that I used in Slaughter School. In my preliminary task, I only really used the shots that we were instructed to use in the question, so I didn’t really get to be very creative, but in Slaughter School, I made sure that I used a variety of different shots in order to establish different things, rather than just giving the same, single shot to everything, which wouldn’t really be very interesting. I didn’t use editing a great deal in the preliminary task either – we had to cut the shots so that they would fit together smoothly and we added a title, but we didn’t really add effects or transitions to the shots, unlike in our final production (where there are black and white shots, cross dissolves, etc). The final thing I feel has improved since we did our preliminary task is continuity, as in the preliminary task, we didn’t really pay much attention to this, but in Slaughter School we were constantly checking to make sure that the mise-en-scene was exactly as it was in the last shot, in order to make the film flow, making it look more realistic. 

Evaluation: Question 6 (Pt. 2)

Mac – I had never used a Mac before I started working on this media project, but I found it relatively easy to use and get used to as they are very similar to normal computers, apart from the fact that they lack certain programs that can come in handy (such as Paint).

Pros of Macs:

Easy to use, as they are very similar to normal computers

They contain programs such as iMovie, which are very useful for video-making projects such as this, as they provide a simple way to edit creations

Cons of Macs:

Lacks useful programs, like Paint and Word

iMovie – I had never used this prior to the project, but I learnt that this is an incredibly useful and easy program to use when editing videos. It allows you to easily cut down clips, add titles/sound/music and place effects/transitions, which really enhance the final product

Pros of iMovie:

Easy way to create professional looking videos through the tools provided

Cons of iMovie:

Often crashes when overloaded with information/actions

It is sometimes complex and annoying to add titles and change clips (for instance, when trying to revert clip back to original, you have to go back through all of the changes you have made to it)

Computer – I use computers all the time for school work and for personal use, so I did not have to get used to using this whatsoever.

Pros of computers:

They make life a lot easier (instead of writing out work, we can type it up in Word, we can download music, send emails to keep in touch with friends, etc)

Very easy to use

Provide entertainment (games, music, programmes and films)

Cons of computers:

Sometimes crash

Viruses

Can sometimes go slow/need updating often

USB Microphone: I use this for my own personal use so I am rather used to it, and didn’t have to learn much about it. We used this to dub over my voice in our film.

Pros of USB Microphone:

Easy and simple way to record voice/music/sound

Can create audio tracks to add to videos, which is helpful when doing a project such as this, as we needed to record a few sounds again that weren’t picked up very well in the actual film. Also means that I was able to create the distribution video.

Cons of USB Microphone:

Have to get distance from microphone right, or the sound can crack/go fuzzy

Scanner – I don’t use scanners very often, but I do know how to work them, so again, I didn’t need to learn an awful lot about this piece of equipment. However, on the scanner we were using, we needed to take a memory card from the scanner and then connect that to the computer so that we were able to get the images onto our blogs, which I had to be shown how to do.

Pros of scanner:

Quick and easy way of getting images/photos onto computer

Once the image is on the computer, you can enhance it by adding text/colour/images to it

Cons of scanner:

Images sometimes do not come out in the best quality/dark areas on images

Evaluation: Question 6 (Pt. One)

What have you learnt about technology in the process of constructing this product?

Video camera – I had never used a video camera properly prior to this project, so that meant that I learnt a lot about video cameras throughout this process. I learnt how to keep a steady hand when filming (and also how to use a tripod to enhance steady filming), how to control lighting when filming, and how to transport film from the tape in the camera to computers/macs. In fact, prior to this experience I wasn’t even aware that there were tapes in some video cameras.

Pros of video cameras: 

Quick and easy way of creating your own media visions, even if you haven’t had much experience with them before  

With a tripod it is possible to film in a very professional way, meaning that it is possible to create something very similar in standard  to what is shown on the television and at the cinema

Cons of video cameras:  

It is very hard to continuously control the lighting when filming  

As the video camera is handheld, it is very hard to keep a steady shot without the help of a tripod 

The low quality of the camera (not suggesting that all handheld cameras are low quality, but in this case, ours was)

Blogger - I had never used Blogger before this experience, but I found it very simple to use and quickly figured out how to upload videos and images, create posts, change fonts and colours, order my posts, etc. 

Pros of Blogger:  

Very simple to use, easy to work all the tools  

Allows you to create a personal area for your own thoughts/visions/work/etc

Cons of Blogger:  

Hard to place videos and images in the place you want them

Youtube - I use Youtube frequently in my everyday life, for other subjects and for personal use, so I found it easy to use this item of technology in my project, and didn't really have to learn anything about it. I adjusted quickly to uploading links from Youtube to my blog. 

Pros of Youtube: 

Quick and easy way of finding videos for inspiration, information and for blogs  

Wide range of videos  

Easy-to-use filtering system when searching for videos

Cons of Youtube: 

No notable, huge cons, apart from the fact that some videos take a while to load before you can watch them

Tripod – I found the tripod very easy to use, and didn’t need to learn an awful lot about it before using it. However, I did have to get used to the controls of the tripod (such as the tilt control and the rotational device) to get the best results possible.

Pros of the tripod: 

Fairly easy way to capture high quality, steady film

Cons of the tripod:

No huge cons, but the user must get used to the controls before using it

Evaluation: Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

In order to attract and address our audience during this project, we firstly gave out a questionnaire concerning films and the horror genre (here) to people of various ages in order to see which age group our horror film would be most suited to, creating our target audience (males aged 16-24). We chose to use a questionnaire as they are quick and easy to create, and we were easily also able to get them out to a wide range of people via the pigeon holes in our college. Our film appeals to that audience (or so we assume) as they answered the questions in the questionnaire accordingly (see here), also, the actors in the film (or the intended actors, if it were to be made into a full-length production) are of a similar age to these males, meaning that they would be able to relate strongly to the characters and the location around them (school/college). The directors are also of similar age, meaning that the vision they wish to create may be very similar in taste to what the 16-24 want to see.

Evaluation: Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

This is Thomas Brown. He is 16 years and 3 months old, and he lives in the suburbs of Nottingham.
He dresses casually, usually donning jeans and a printed t-shirt with trainers. He enjoys hanging out with his friends, playing video games, going to the cinema and listening to music.
He likes to watch films such as Harry Potter, TRON, Shutter Island, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Inception, Happy Gilmore, The Big Lebowski, Sean of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, and he will usually go to see these at the cinema before buying them on DVD to watch with his friends.
He watches television programmes such as Family Guy, The Simpsons, Friends, Top Gear, The Big Bang Theory and The Inbetweeners, so mainly comedy.

The music this boy listens to varies, but the main genres he enjoys are indie, rock, techno and dub-step. He doesn’t listen to popular music very often, as he feels that this type of music is overrated, the songs sound too similar and the lyrics are superficial.  

Thomas is a stereotypical boyish-boy, who enjoys male orientated programmes and music, and therefore he would most probably like the male orientated and “manly” genre of our film (horror, which we discovered is a genre favoured mostly by males from our questionnaire). However, he is also a little less mainstream, due to his choice of music, and consequently he would probably appreciate the unique quality of the location of this film (a school), which is not very conventional or usual of the horror genre. Also, due to his age, he attends school, which means that he would be able to relate strongly to this location, increasing his fear when watching and also making him anxious during future trips to school.

Evaluation: Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

A film distributor is a company or individual that releases a film to the public either by cinema, DVD, television or downloads. A distributor may do this directly or through theatrical exhibitors and other sub-distributors.

In addition to this, we also feel that our production would be distributed by a British distribution company, as British distributers are known for taking on small or amateur productions that do not have the funding or skills to earn distribution from larger companies (such as The British Film Institute). Our film is also solely British, with British actors, directors, producers and camera men, so that is another reason why having a British distributer would make sense.

Evaluation: Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In our horror film, Slaughter School, the main character is a teenage girl. She wears girly clothing (a short dress with leggings and studded boots, and a fur coat that can be seen on the floor at the start) and wears her hair in a feminine way (down and straight). She acts in a weak and nervous way at the threats surrounding her (she gasps at the deadly message on the whiteboard and holds her hands up to her face), and she also displays a rather unintelligent personality as she goes closer to the source of supposed danger when the door slams. We have represented teenage girls as easily scared, timid, overtly girly and slightly dim-witted, and we feel that we have represented them in a stereotypical way according to our genre, as this is how teenage girls are represented in most horror films. For instance, Casey Becker in Scream and Paige Edwards in House of Wax, who are both killed like our main character, display similar traits, such as: not act intelligently in their threatening situation, wearing girly, fashionable clothing and gasping/screaming a lot, showing that we have indeed represented teenage girls in a similar way to other related media texts.

Evaluation: Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products (i.e. of film openings)? 

      
This shot is of the red titles against the background of an isolated school ground. This is a convention that we have used, as many horror film titles are included in the opening to create a sense of tension and to give a feeling that 'something is building up' (see The Grudge). The titles are also included in the opening as they give an opportunity for things to be placed in the background that foreshadow elements of the film (again, see The Grudge at 2:40, where the murderer's hair is shown). We have achieved this by placing our isolated school locations in the background, in order to foreshadow our character's isolation in this location and the unhinged activities that will later take place there. Horror film titles are also usually red, as this colour holds strong connotations of blood and gore, and we have used this convention by including all red titles in our opening. 

This frame shows our main character in our filming location, a school. This challenges normal horror convention, as typical horror films are located in scary places where horror-like deeds and action are expected to take place, such as a wood or a torture chamber. Our film is shot in a school, and therefore the form of a creepy location is challenged, as a school is a friendly and peaceful environment where people do positive things (such as learn). However, as the school is deserted, we have also used a horror film convention (that of isolation), which is used in many horror film openings to give a sense of disorientation and to create a daunting atmosphere.

      Another horror film convention that we have used is that of a young and slightly dim-witted girl (our character acts dim-witted by going towards the source of the noise instead of running away) who is killed first. In many horror film openings, the first person to get murdered/harmed is normally a young and dumb girl who acts in a rather unintelligent way considering the circumstances (take Scream for instance, where Casey Becker, a teenage girl, is killed in the opening sequence by a masked murderer after flirting with him on the phone, which is a rather foolish thing to do).

      
In our horror film opening, we have also developed an idea that is being used by many directors nowadays in the horror/thriller genre. In order to give a feeling of disorientation, reflect the scared feelings of the characters and create a far more realistic atmosphere, directors are starting to use more and more shaky shots in their films. We have used at least three of these shots and also shaky point-of-view shots in order to create a feeling of uncertainty, to match our main character’s nervous feelings and to foreshadow the unhinged events that will later take place. 

      
In many horror film openings, a hint is given at who or what the killer is and the sort of way in which they will be killing. For instance, in the Scream opening, we are introduced to Ghostface, who is then the killer for the rest of the film. He kills his victim in the opening with a knife, which is then followed on in the rest of the movie with more violent and bloody deaths. In The Ring, the scary, young girl comes from the television, and this is hinted at in the opening titles by a teenage girl screaming in the direction of a television set, without actually showing what is on it. We have used this convention as our killer is shown in a subtle way (by a hand and some clothing) and it is implied that the murders will be mostly violent and gruesome as he/she is holding a bloody hammer, but we do not actually see the death.

Editing

We have been editing our horror film for a while now, and everything concerning the cutting, transitions, fonts and music is going well. However, we have noticed through the process of editing that the colour of our clips is far too bright and cheery for such a dark and creepy production, so we have decided to change our clips to a black and white colour scheme. This makes our clips look far more scary and sinister, and it also gives them a better quality look. We are aware that a black and white colour scheme is usually used on clips that form some sort of flashback or dream sequence, but as our clip is rather ambiguous anyway, we feel that it could well be a dream or flashback, as it is the start of the film and there are many possibilities for the rest of the production, if it was to be made into a full scale film. In order to compliment the new, dream-like feel of our clip, we have taken out all of the sound, and have just left in the music track. However, we needed to leave in sounds such as the creaking door and our character’s voice, so we altered them in a music software to make them sound more dream-like so that they would work well with the new feel of our piece.  

Altered Storyboard

Throughout the process of filming our production, we have changed many elements of our storyboard. We found that some shots didn’t flow very well together when put into practise, we realised that some shots weren’t physically possible for us (because of lack of space, it needed to be higher than we could reach, etc) and, as we have also altered the storyline slightly, we needed to alter some of the shots, and create new ones, in order to compliment this.

New Storyline:
Our new storyline begins in pretty much the same way as our old one, with our victim sleeping, waking up, and realising that she has slept past her home time. She still makes her way out of the common room, attempts to open the media room door, hears a noise and walks towards the source of the noise, but when she walks through the second door (to get closer to the noise), she now finds blood on the floor, inspects it and then notices the killer at the top of the stairs before the screen fades to black and we hear her screaming. We had to take out the corridor sequence from the film as we were not permitted entrance to the corridor in order to film this. We feel it looks better without this sequence, as the viewers do not get to find out the fate of the character, but from the screaming they are able to piece it together in their mind, creating something worse than the reality of the situation (as people tend to do this when watching horror films), and the screams also create a very haunting effect.

(Previous storyline here)

Filming Pt. 2

We have been filming our horror clip, Slaughter School, for some time now. We are doing this in our media lessons and in any free periods that we have, as it is set in school and therefore needs to be filmed within school hours. We have filmed a great deal of our project, but recently we have had to go back and film certain elements of it again, due to wrong lighting or bad lighting, and incorrect or inappropriate misé-en-scene that was left in the shot carelessly. We have also had to alter various elements of our storyboard, as some shots have not been physically possible or have not worked out quite as we hoped.