Talking about Horror

I watched a video of a man talking about the horror genre to understand the horror genre more and how horror movies are edited to make them more scary. He talks about the different camera angles used in horror films to make then seem alot scarier. I got inspiration from this video for my opening titles to see ways in which I could use camera angles to make it like a 'real' horror film.

Iconic Horror Directors

George Romero
George Romero is an American-Canadian film director, film producer, screenwriter and editor. He is best known for his series of gruesome and humorous horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse, beginning with Night of the Living Dead.


Sam Raimi
Samuel Raimi is an American film director, producer, writer and actor, famous for directing the cult horror comedy Evil Dead series, the superhero film Darkman, and the Spider-Man trilogy.

Tobe Hooper
William Tobe Hooper is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for his work in the horror film genre. His 1974 film, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, was described as "one of the most influential films ever made".



 

History of Horrors

New horror films always get ideas from old films all the time but just use a mix of subgenres and new techniques to make something for the culture of today.

Horror Films in the Silent Era

Silent films became very popular around the 1930's. It was from Gothic literature that the first horror films found inspiration. The genre was popular in both books and theater at the time. The term horror did not come into use for film until the 1930s but filmmakers and film goers showed an interest in the macabre which is shown in this clip of a “Spook Tale” from 1895 created by the Lumiere brothers.




In 1896 Georges Méliès created what is considered to be the first horror film ever made..
“The Manor of the Devil” – with bats, castles, trolls, ghosts, and a demon







I found this information and videos from this website:
http://filmmakeriq.com/lessons/a-brief-history-of-horror/


When horror started to get scary





The late 1900's

Font Analysis

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-evil-dead-trilogy/


The font for the title sequence of this horror film is linked well with the theme of horror. The font is very rough and jagged, asif bits of the letters are missing (as letters are normally blocked letters). This is mysterious and could be represtenting how people can go missing and dissapear, which is scary and unpleasant. The colour used, which is red, is associated with blood and anger, these are negative and create a negative feel for the audience. The font also looks like it has been written in blood which is unusual and makes people think of death/murder.

Costume Analysis

The Clown

The costume that the clown is wearing is very unusual as clown costumes are normally related to children and are perceived as happy and cheerful. However in horror films clowns are portrayed as evil and twisted characterers. They come across as these type of characters for many reasons. One of theses being that the face is covered and you cannot see who the person is, this makes the clown mysterious and unknown. We fear the unknown and that is why we find the clown frightening. The clowns costume is brightly coloured and these bright colours are'nt normally associated with horrors.
Some people are scared of clowns anyway but even people that are not scared of clowns are scared of the fact clowns are ment to be happy but come across as scary. This is strange and confusing which makes people fear them.
The clown hair is bright red, this colour represents anger and is like the colour of blood. It's also a colour of hair that is unusual and strange, which again is unnatural for us so we fear it.

Zombieland Analysis

Click here for Zombieland opening titles

How does the title sequence establish genre, character and narrative?

The title sequence establishes the genre because its in low key lighting which automatically gives the viewer a sense of fear. Also there is a lot of gore in it as it shows zombies eating other humans. Its shows immedietly that a town has be over taken by zombies and that there is only a few humans left and mainly zombies. From watching the title sequence, you can tell there will be alot of gore and you have an overall idea of whats going on.

How does the titile sequence attract an audiences interest?

 The camera shots attracts the audience as some are really close ups of the zombies eating flesh ofother people. Also the voice over is unusual because he is explaining how to survive against the zombies. It intrigues the viewer to find out more as there is a few humans left that need to protect themselves fom the zombies.

What do you consider to be the target audience of the film and why?

 I consider the target audience of the film to be a 15 as there is mainly just gore in it, other than that there isnt nothing else. There is no sexual content or things that could disturb the younger audience.

Who has produced the film and how is that evident in the title sequence?

You can easily tell who produced the film as its appears in red which stands out against the background image.

Analysis Of Opening Titles

The counjuring

http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/the-conjuring/


When we watched the opening titles for the counjuring it immediatly created a sense of fear as the background music was very mysterious and edgey. As the titles were coming up behind them was news reports of a family and hem moving into a old house. This makes the viewer want to know more as they want to know who the family are and why they were in the news. Also the lighting was all in low key, so was dark and dull, his also put the viewer on edge as we associate dark dull colours with negative and scary things. The images used of the house, on the newsapers were in black and white suggesting that it was in the past and that the house has a history. Throughtout the titles bits of papers and images are being switched and put over a lightbox projector, this suggest someone is showing these papers to a group of people, maybe its now an investigaion whatever happened to this family in the house. So all of this creates a sense of the unknown, and mystery. This intregues the viewers.

Analysis of Horror Opening

Horror Questionnaire

Link to my questionnaire:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1rgyULiLaB9ptI_9jnQ8IBkcJVa3_gH4vOL5Fo5vmGlo/viewform

Lint to the responses to my questionnaire:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhpwnOVE6AZLdHRYV3BDZ1ozNGxoanVQNXl2OUMwTWc&usp=drive_web#gid=0

BBFC Ratings

U- Universal

• Suitable for all ages.
• Audience- usually 4 and over.
• If something bad/scary happens, it is immediately counterbalanced with something good/happy.
• Horror scenes should be very mild and quick- shouldn't be able to cause anxiety with young children (should be reassuring).

PG- Parental Guidance

• General viewing- some scenes may be unsuitable.
• Audience- 8 and over.
• Parents should be able to decide whether its suitable or not.
• Horror scenes shouldn't be too long or intense.
• Language should be mild.

12/12A

• Suitable for 12 years and over, but if a child under 12 wants to watch then an adult must be with them.
• Can have racist/ sexist characters in but the film must not say them being racist or sexist is right.
• Drugs misuse- inefficient and should not be glamorised.
• Language can be mild, but must not be frequent.
• Moderate violence but must not be detailed.

15

• Suitable for 15 years and over.
• No one younger than 15 can watch a 15 film.
• Strong threat and menace are permitted.
• A 15 rated film may include; strong violence, frequent strong language, portrayals of sexual activity, strong verbal references to sex, sexual nudity, brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence, discriminatory language or behaviour and drug taking.
• There may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory language.

18

• Suitable for only adults.
• No one younger than 18 may watch an 18 film in a cinema or purchase an 18 film.
• 18 films include the following; very strong violence, frequent strong language and/or very strong language, strong portrayals of sexual activity, scenes of sexual violence, strong horror, strong blood and gore, real sex, discriminatory language and behaviour.

Horror Genre

Representation

Stereotypes
- 'visual shortcut' repeated so often that we assume they ae normal or true

Archetypes
- this is the 'ultimate' stereotype. eg. the white stiletto wearing, big-busted, brailess blonde bimbo

Countertype
- a representation that challenges tradition stereotypical associations of groups, people or places

Mise En Scene

*a french term meaning what is put into a scene of frame

*visual information in front of the camera

*communicates essential information to the audience

Key Elements

*settings and props
*costume, hair and make-up
*facial expressions and body language
*lighting and colour
*positioning of characters/objects within the frame

Golden Rules

Rule One

If you use Prezi or Microsoft powerpoint to present your work and what you have learnt, don't over use it as there are many other ways to presenting your work, such as in videos or pictures of the work you've done in lessons.

Rule Two
Be as creative as you can with your blog, play around with different fonts, add videos, pictures etc.

Rule Three
Don't copy other peoples blogs, use your own work and don't just copy it off other people or the internet.

Rule Four
Make sure your evaluations are well thought out and use key words.

Rule Five
Try and present what you have learnt in every lesson, to show people that you are understanding what you're learning about.

Rule Six

Make sure your blog is easy to navigate through and it is easy to find every thing you have written about. eg, put titles for all the work you upload to explain what its about.

Camera Angles

MY OWN CAMERA SHOTS

Long Shot

Low Angle

Close Up

Medium Shot

Low Angle

Medium Shot

Long Shot

 

 

CAMERA ANGLES