Questionnaire Results

What is Your Favourite Horror?

Males:
Halloween (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LydgEmQWOp0)
Blair Witch Project (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zfAdZq3Ygg)

Saw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFQebvkii90)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l7WLabRkTs)
Death Racers
Battle Royale
Three males didn't have a favourite

Females:
The Exorcist (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGdbbVcKJlc)
Silent Hill (x2) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5mT5LhbRJw)
Saw (x2) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFQebvkii90)
One Missed Call (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1F7hJNsi5M)
Blair Witch Project (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zfAdZq3Ygg)
Two females didn't have a favourite

When You Think of Horror, What is the First Thing That Comes to Mind?

Males:
Thrill
Blood (x3)
Tension
Death
Jumps
Severed Limbs
Scary (x2)

Females:
Screaming (x2)
Suspense/Fear
Scary
Human Eating Killing Characters
Chainsaw
Blood (x2)
Gore

Explore How The Horror Genre Represents Women

Representations of women in the horror genre differ from the 'classic' approach to women in other film genres and in the media as a whole.

We usually expect to see women objectified in films and this is very often in a way that concentrates on their sexuality and narrowly defined physical beauty. Stereotypically they are emotional, submissive and defined through their relationships with men. Female characters rarely seem to be given a very strong identity and as a result we, as the audience, find it more difficult to identify with them compared to how easily we could identify with a stereotypically strong, dominant and independent male character. Women are weak and presented as damsels in distress who must be saved by a male character both physically and emotionally.

Cinematic techniques are used to show women as objects to be looked at and men as subjects who look at them. This is known as the 'Male Gaze' because the audience are literally put into the eyes of the male characters (usually the main protagonist). Camera shots and movements that help to objectify the women include shots from the males' point-of-view and reaction shots of the male when he looks at a woman. Long shots are used of the women which discourages identification with them as we don't see their facial expressions clearly and therefore we are unable to know their emotions easily. Tilts up the body including fragmentation of certain body parts e.g. the legs concentrate on a woman's physicality and acts as a sexual display for the male's advantage. The 'Male Gaze' is a sadistic and voyeuristic way of denying women their own identity.

According to Jeremy Tunstall (The Media in Britain, 1983) representations of women in the media are emphasised by the women's domestic roles (domestic), their sexuality (sexual), the idea of women as consumers (consumer) and the women's roles in the family (marital).

Many of the dominant ideologies mentioned above are challenged by the female protagonist in the horror genre, which is interesting as this is the only genre in which it is obviously and almost always done. Although the protagonist challenges the above ideas there is no denying that there are still sometimes less important female characters which help to reinforce the stereotypical ideas of women.

Instead of a weak submissive female character the horror genre often provides us with a stronger more independent female protagonist who survives until the end of the film. She is known as the 'Final Girl' and instead of being an object of sexual desire she is often boyish and not obviously beautiful. In 'Halloween' (John Carpenter, 1978) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LydgEmQWOp0) the main protagonist, Laurie, is virginal and this appears to be a possible reason as to why she manages to survive. Her friends Annie and Lynda are both sexuality active and are killed before or after having sex. They are presented as sexual because of this and also through what they are wearing. Annie gets her normal clothes dirty and so spends most of her time on screen wearing just a man's shirt which clearly draws attention to her legs. These two characters therefore reinforce the idea of women as objects.


The idea of the final girl is interesting for a number of reasons. Firstly because her appearance is not the most important thing but also because she is independent and does not need to rely on a male character to help her out or to define her identity, as in other genres. Jeremy Tunstall said that one of the ways in which women are presented in the media is through their family roles (marital). This sometimes appears to be the case in horror films but as the plot progresses we often find that this idea is then challenged. For example, in 'The Shining' (1980) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfout_rgPSA) and 'Eden Lake' (2008) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6j3K4MmOKs) the main female characters are first presented as wives. However, as both the films progress the husbands are separated from the women either physically or mentally and this allows for the women to show their own identities.

The female protagonist is presented as a subject rather than an object and the male gaze is not used on her. Instead we are able to identify with her because close-ups are used on her which allows us to see her emotional reactions and POV shots from her perspective allow us to see things from her eyes and therefore we feel that we are in the situation with her.

The audience identify with her further because as well as being a hero she is a victim. Her victim/hero role allows us to create an emotional attachment to her as her escape from the villain is not easy. For example, in 'Halloween' Laurie discovers her friends are dead and is then pursued by the killer herself and is alone in trying to defeat him. Interestingly, the female is often demonised in her struggle and ends up harming and sometimes killing other characters in order to survive. We see this in 'Eden Lake' when the protagonist kills two of her enemies without really thinking because she had gotten to a point of desperation and her own survival has become the only thing that matters to her. Even though it could be argued that she has become evil herself the audience still feel a connection to her and want her succeed because we have identified with her and feel that we are in her shoes. We have followed her struggle and distress throughout the whole film so understand why she has resorted to extreme measures.

The horror genre represents women in a much less sexist way than other film genres. Even though there are sometimes still female characters that fit in with the stereotypically objectified and helpless representations of women, horror films adopt a strong female protagonist who challenges the 'classic' ideas of women and appears to take on a more typically male role by being independent, intelligent and powerful. She doesn't rely on others to survive and manages to come out on top despite having to fight her way there without any help. As a result of her 'male characteristics' she has her own identity and therefore the audience are able to identify and relate to her.

Distribution and Marketing

Every film has its own unique distribtion plan which is developed in agreement with the producers and/or studio of the film. The main questions considered are when and how to release a film in order to make the most of its chances. Once distributors have considered what a film may earn they prepare a budget to release it. Launching films is expensive and risky and therefore a lot of thought is put into it. In the UK the distributor pays for all of the release costs including marketing and the duplication of prints (35mm and digital). Each film release is individually planned and the final distribution plan is only confirmed once the entire product is available to view.

- Audience
Another main decision the distributors make is what audience they are going to target the film at in order to maximize the films success. A detailed understanding of the target audience can determine how and where a particular film is promoted. However, as well as keeping sight of their core audience the distributors will also attempt to 'break out' by attracting as wide an audience as possible - from niche interest groups to broad mainstream groups of all ages.
Market research will be conducted to gain audience understanding before the film is released. This can often include test screenings followed by a questionnaire so that the distribtor can formulate a more confident idea of the expected audience at the box office.

- Risks and competition concerning release plans
- Competition is a primary consideration as a distributor will have to know what other distributors will be releasing at the same time in order to know whether there will be competition for target audiences and the amount of screens available in the cinemas. Predicted release dates are often changed as distributors fight for position each week.
- Is the film a mass market blockbuster or a specialised film
- Does the film feature any well known actors and/or famous directors or producers
- Are any cast members available for publicity or a premiere
- Is the film being released for a holiday period such as school holidays
- Will the film have any hopes for award nominations
- Is there already a buzz suurounding the film for example, is it based on a book
- Is it a sequal or franchise, if so what will make it able to do as well or better than it's prequel?
- Has the film already been released in other parts of the world and encouraged positive word of mouth
- What certificate has the BBFC classified the film with?

- Types of Release
- a saturation release 'at cinemas everywhere' could mean that a film opens simultaneously in 1000 screens across the country, usually at more than one screen per multiplex. This type of release is often used for large scale sequels and star-led holiday releases in order to accomodate large numbers of people eager to see the film when it first comes out.
- in contrast to this a specialised film may be released in a maximum of 25 screens in selected locations only, usually including London and university towns.
- In rare cases a film might be 'platformed' in only one location such as London before being ditributed elsewhere.

As well as a distribution plan every film also has a detailed marketing plan. The objective of this is to raise awareness and create interest for the film. Audience members must be reached in interesting and compelling ways in order to persuade them that this film will be entertaining and worth watching. There are three areas of marketing which are advertising, publicity and promotion.

- Advertising
- Posters: there can be large numbers of posters displayed in a cinema foyer at any one time and so distributors and designers must work hard to make theirs stand out and attract audiences. Posters are also displayed in places such as bus shelters and billboards. The UK has approximately 250,000 poster sites at the roadside or by railway platforms.
- Trailers: distributors have to work with the audio and visual content they have available to them as this can sometimes be limited due to some trailers (teasers) being made and released before the film is fully completed. Distributors will brief specialist agencies on creating the trailer to include a representative glimpse of the films best bits without giving too much away.
- Online and mobile: the internet is used to release snippets and teaser images from a very early stage. Many films also have their own websites on which things like stills galleries, trailers, blogs and video diaries can be found.

- Publicity
- interviews: with the film's cast including actors and directors
- TV and press releases: publicists will often arrange events to which a large number of journalists are invited to interview the cast and find out more about the film. Press kits are also produced which include cast and crew lists, biographies, facts about the production and a synopsis of the film.
- premieres: these are arranged as an official launch for the film and give an opportunity for photographs and red carpet interviews. The main aim of a premiere is to give a film an entertaining and high-profile launch in order to create a buzz about the film.

-Promotion
- merchandise: manufacturers are licensed to use logos, images and characters on products in a range of all sorts of things such as toys, clothing and calendars. Each film usually also has an official soundtrack available to buy. Most films do not make a profit from their theatrical runs alone so the selling of merchandise is very important.
- competitons: certain TV channels or publications sometimes have competitions in which people can win film merchandise or holidays to the location of the film. This sort of exposure helps to broaden the film's campaign and create additional talking points surrounding the film.

Horror Trailers

Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)



At the beginning beginning of this trailer we could be led to believe that the genre is action because we see a man being persued by people in cars and being trapped inside a building. However, as the trailer progresses we realise that it is in fact advertising a horror film as we soon see a teenage girl explaining to someone about her nightmares. The mise-en-scene suggests horror as a lot of the scenes we see are set at night time - a typical convention of horror films. We only see glimpses of the villian through most of the trailer which creates suspense and only see his face right at the end which is shown to be disfigured and scary. We often see a clawed hand and so presume this belongs to him and that he uses it as a weapon. Other indicators of the horror genre are screams, shadows and the inter-titles are in red and black with a blood splattered background. The red connotes danger, death and panic. The music is eerie because it is of children singing what sounds like a nursery rhyme. The music is contrapuntal and makes us feel un-easy because it contrasts against the scary scenes that we are watching. The song relates to the story of the film as we hear the line 'never sleep again' sung.
The name of the movie is indicated at the end of the trailer. However, we are already given some clues into the name through the shot showing a strret sign of Elm Street and well known scenes for the original version of the film. For example, the children skipping, the hand coming out of the bath water and the girl rising out of her bed into the air.
The production values of the film are made clear because right near the beginning we are told that the studio is New line Cinema and after we see the man being chased we are shown that the producer is Michael Bay who is a well known name.
There is no voice-over in the trailer but dialogue from the film is used to give clues into the story and back up the visuals we see.

Click on the stills to see notes about them:

horror still 1
Originally uploaded by Jasmine Gardiner

freddy
Originally uploaded by Jasmine Gardiner

Hide and Seek



The genre of this trailer is first easily distingushable when we see the shot of the bath with the words 'You let her die' written on the tiles. The writing is in red and so we presume that it is written in blood. The titles at the end are blue, black and white. They also have an eerie lighting effect on them. The colour scheme appears quite spooky and sinister. The horror in this film is psychological and the idea that the young girl has an imaginary friend is suggested in the trailer however, it is not made clear and so therefore the trailer has created an enigma about the film. Alot of spooky scenes are set at night time which is typical of the horror genre. The limited amount of light creates added suspense because we are unaware of what might be hiding in the shadows.
The name of the movie is revealed near the end of the trailer. Links are made to it in the trailer such as when we hear the little girl counting and right at the end when he says 'come out, come out wherever you are'.
We see the 20th Century Fox logo right at the beginning of the trailer so know that the film has been made by a big studio and so probably had a high budget. The names of the two main actors are revealed. Dakota Fanning and Rober DiNiro are both well known names and so the film has recognisable star power. The use of a young star makes the film seem more horrific because of the fact that she appears to be possessed which is a horrible thought as typically a child is supposed to be sweet and innocent.
There is no voice-over and dialogue is used to give away some clues about the narrative. There are two inter-titles right at the end which again give clues into the story and act as a tagline for the movie.

Click on the stills to see notes about them:

hide and seek still 1
Originally uploaded by Jasmine Gardiner

hide an seek still 2
Originally uploaded by Jasmine Gardiner

Teaser Trailers

Here are some teaser trailers. One is for a horror film but the other two are not:

Saw VI


This teaser trailer for the upcoming Saw film follows most of the conventions of a movie trailer. There are inter-titles and a voice-over that give us clues as to what the film is about and we can guess the genre through the use of sound and the visuals. We see and hear people screaming and we see a butcher's knife in the trailer which tells us that it is a horror film. The background of the inter-titles is red which could connote blood and danger. The editing is fast paced which creates suspense. Other indicators of the horror genre are things like the low-key lighting and the darkness and shadows it creates. Also the characters suggest it because they are all scared, trapped and paniced.

Dialogue from the film has been used to create enigmas about the film and leave us wanting more. The voice-over repeats the name of the film twice so that we remember it. Once in the tag line 'If it's Halloween... it must be SAW' and at the end when it says the title on it's own. The tagline refers to the whole series of Saw films as well as just this one which means that is trying to sell itself to existing fans of these films.
However, we don't see any production values in this teaser trailer whereas in full length trailers we usually find out things like the studio, director and actors.

Saw 6 still
Originally uploaded by Jasmine Gardiner

The Dark Knight


This teaser trailer conforms to some but not all of the conventions of a full length trailer.
We get some clues into what the genre is but because the trailer does not actually contain any footage from the film we cannot look at the mise-en-scene and are still unsure. However, the visual we do see shows blue beams of light being shot out and then we see the batman logo which then starts to crumble away and disappear, almost like an explosion. This therefore suggests that the genre of the film is action. The music reinforces this idea because it is fast paced and fits in to what we can see. Throughout the trailer it builds up which creates suspense.
There is no voice-over or inter-titles but we hear dialogue from three different characters which give some clues into the narrative and again into the genre. We hear one character talking about a mob and another talking about people dying so again it suggests action. We don't see the characters and this creates curiosity among the audience because they want to know who these people are and what they look like.
The name of the film is given away at the end of the trailer but most people will already know that it is a Batman film because they will have already recognised the logo. The title of the film does not contain the word 'Batman' because the makers of the film will presume and expect people to be familiar enough with the logo to recognise that it is a Batman film.
The beginning of the trailer tells us that the production company is Warner Brothers and straight afterwards we see the Legendary Pictures name and logo. We know that the film has high production values because of this.

Up


This teaser trailer does not follow many of the conventions of a full length trailer.
We are given some ideas of the genre because as the film is animated we presume it is going to be for children. The use of balloons also connote ideas of playfulness and childhood. However, we are still unsure as to whether it will be a children's adventure or children's comedy etc.
The name of the movie is given at the end of the trailer along with the studio. The film will attact audiences with it's production values because Disney Pixar is a well known and loved studio and has had many hit films in the past.
There is no music or voice-over in the trailer and we only see one character right at the end who says 'afternoon'. The lack of voice-over, dialougue and inter titles means that not much of the story has been given away. The only clues we get into the narrative is that there is a house floating in the air held up by balloons because these are the only things that we see in the trailer.

Applying Propp's Narrative Theories To 'The Shining'

In 1975 Vladimir Propp analysed a number of Russian folk-tales and found that they shared common narrative structures and character roles.

He reduced the range of characters to eight different roles. However, one character can occupy more than one role and one role can be shared by more than one character.
Character roles in 'The Shining':
Hero - Danny/Wendy - they are both victims/heroes and Wendy fits into the idea of the horror genre's 'final girl'
Villian - Jack and/or the hotel - Jack goes mad and tries to harm his family and the hotel is the reason for Jack's madness and has a dark past therefore making it a villian aswell
Donor - Halloran? - he arrives in the snowcat which provides a means of escape for Danny and Wendy at the end
Helper/Magical Agent - Halloran and/or Tony - Halloran tells Danny about the shining and Tony lives inside Danny's mouth and tells him what to do and gives him visions
Princess - Danny/ Wendy - when Danny is the hero Wendy becomes the princess and vice versa
(Her Father) - Jack?? - He is the actual father of Danny but is he the father in the sense of Propp's chacter roles?
Dispatcher - the job, Jack and/or the hotel manager - the job has a bad past attached to it so past events could repeat themselves. Jack takes on the job knowing the risks and it's past. The hotel manager employs Jack recognising the similarities between him and the family that got murdered
False Hero - Jack - at the beginning we think he is the hero but as the film progresses he turns mad and transforms in the villian

Propp also outlined a list of thirty-one narrative functions. These were then put into broader narrative groups that show us their place in the development of the plot. These groups are Preparation, Complication, Transference, Struggle, Return and Recognition
Narractive structure in 'The Shining':
Preparation - The first steps of preparation are followed as the family move home to the hotel and have rules imposed on them: Jack must look after the hotel all through winter and Danny mustn't enter room 237. One of the rules is broken as Danny and Jack enter the forbidden room.
Complication - Wendy desires to take Danny to a doctor and Jack wants to write a book but Jack is unable to write and he won't let Wenday take Danny. There is a stage in this group that says the hero takes action against the villian which Wenday does when she knocks Jack out and locks him in the store room. However, this happens towards the end of the film whereas in Propp's structure it is happening very early on.
Tranference - The hero (Danny) receieves a helper/magical agent (The Shining and/or Halloran) but again this is could be happening in the wrong order as Danny has had the shining all along and the arrival of Halloran in the Snowcat also happens near the end of the film.
Struggle - The heroes and villian join in direct combat: Jack traps Wendy in the bathroom and he chases Danny through the maze. The hero is branded: Wendy is mentally branded as she begins to see strange and horrifying things in the hotel.
Return - The villian is defeated: Jack freezes. There is an implyed return home for Danny and Wendy as we see them escape in the Snowcat. We could say that a false hero made false claims because at first we thought Jack was the hero. But again this is in the wrong place as we thought this right at the start and soon realised he was in fact the villian.
Recognition - It is very difficult to fit any of the bits of the film into the parts of this group. It has been missed out entirely and so we cannot apply this part of Propp's theory to the film.

Analysing 'The Shining' according to Propp's narrative theory can be useful especially when looking at the character roles. By assigning the characters to the roles it helps us to understand their part in the plot and how they are used to help the story progress. It stops us from taking characters and their actions for granted. For example, when I first watched the film I wondered why Halloran was made to come back all the way to the hotel only to get killed more or less straight away. But when I thought about it properly and as him as the donor I remebered that it was him who brought the Snowcat with him that Wendy and Danny escaped in. However, when looking at the narrative structure it became too prescriptive and I found that I was just trying to fit parts of the film into Propp's structure just for the sake of it. I also found that the ones that did fit in were not in the correct order and as a result there tended to be big jumps in the narrative and it didn't make much sense. I think it is clear that 'The Shining' does not fit into Propp's narrative structure naturally and that it is very difficult to make sense of the plot if we do try to fit it in.

The Return Of The Repressed

The return of the repressed is a phrase coined by Sigmund Freud where an unconscious thought or feeling presses to be released. The feeling would become repressed in the first place because it would be unacceptable to release it e.g. jealousy towards a sibling. The feeling would tend to reappear in consciousness or in behaviour.
This relates to horror films because of the way that the villian can often be a character with a terrible past which is what causes them to be monsterous. For example, in The Grudge someone has died in a terrible rage and as a result has come back as the monster.

'The Grudge' trailer

This is a trailer for 'The Grudge'



This trailer follows the key conventions of movie trailers.
- It clearly indicates that it is from the horror genre in a number of ways. Firstly, the colours in it are mainly dark and alot of the scenes shown were from night time . The inter-titles are blue, black and white which create a sinister effect and the transitions to the titles from another clip looked like mist moving across the screen which gave it a very ghostly and eerie feel. The music matches the action and editing going on on the screen and is again very sinister as there are sound effects of wind backing up things happening on screen. In the trailer the music builds up until the end and then abruptly cuts off leaving us wondering what is going to happen. There is also a heartbeat used at the beginning of the trailer which again builds up tension and we hear a person scream.
- The trailer has clear production values as the first thing we see are the production company, 'Colombia Pictures', and the director Sam Raimi. At the end of the trailer we see the title of the film and written above that is Sarah Michelle Gellar. We know that she is the main chracter in the film because of this and that the company want to use her to help sell the film.
- The trailer creates interest for the target audience by showing them glimpses of the monster so that they can see that it is scary. However, it is not shown too much so that when the film is watched properly there will still be elements of curiosity, suspence and suprise.
- There is no voice over in the trailer but instead inter-titles have been used to give away some of the story and to create enigmas for the audience. They tell us that the complication in the plot is the monster who 'never forgives... and it never forgets'. The sentences are fragmented into clauses and clips from the film are shown between each inter-title. We also hear dialogue from Sarah Michelle Gellar who backs up what the titles are telling us.