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.