Audience Reseach

I conducted a survey asking a target audience ranging from 17-22 year old's of things that come to mind when thinking of horror movies, elements that are important to them and one element that makes a successful horror film:
(Surveyed 18 people, three people from each age group e.g. three 17year old's, three 18year old's ect.)

Results:

I put in all the words that were circled by 10 people who took part in the survey, into a wordle which shows the most popular words for each question.

1. The most popular words were:Killing, Darkness, Blood and Lonliness

2. The most popular words from the second question were: The Narrative, The Location/setting and The Murderer

3. The most popular word from the last question was: The Narrative, followed by: The Setting/location and The Killer/Murderer

Barthes' Enigma Code Theory

Roland Bathes was a french literary theorist, philosopher, critic and semiotician. (study of cultural signs and symbols) He publish a book S/Z in 1970 which was an analysis of a short story by Blaze. In hidwriting, he argues that every narrative is inter woven with multiple codes.

There are 5 different types of codes that Barthes came up with of which two apply directly to the narratives:
The Hermeneutic Code (The voice of the truth) - this is the way the story avoids telling the trut or revealing all facts. In order to drop clues through the narrative creates an atmosphere of mystery.

The enigma/Proairectic code (Empirical voice) - The way in which tension is built up, leaving the audience guessing to whats going to happen next.

The other 3:
The semantic Code (The voice of the person) - This code points to any elements in a text that suggests a particular, or additional meaning through connotations which the story suggests.

The Symbolic Code (the voice of he symbol) - Similar to the Semantic Code, but acts at a wider level. It organises the secantic meanings, into a deeper set of meanings. This is typically done through new meaning arising out of opposing and conflicting ideas.

The Cultural Code (The voice of science) - this code looks at the audiences wider cultural knowledge, moeality and idealogy.

Barthes also suggests a set of sequences which are followed:

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Different Audience Theories

Desensitisation Theory:

This theory explores how the longer people are exposed to violence, horror or any other shock (e.g. sex), we eventually become less sensitive to it and therefore it becomes less effective. 

In regards to our theme of horror, many films in the early 20th century exposing killing, sinners and gore would have scared the people of that era. But as over time, the continuation of using horror conventions may cause a sink in people that are shocked by it, as it has become something so frequently used. e.g. having a mass murderer or killer in a horror film that isn't exposed till the very end, or near the end of the movie. 

Cultivation Theory: 

This theory examines the long term effect of people living in the 'television world'. It is a social theory which states if people spend more time living in the television world, they are more likely to believe social reality portray in TV. 

Relating to horror movies, the Cultivation Theory would examine the long term effect horror movies have on people that are constant viewers. 

Copycat/Modelling Theory: 

The Copycat/Modelling Theory is where something (a social outbreak, or dispute)  is publicized by the media that creates a lot of attention; resulting in people to imitate, or copy this to gain a reasonable same amount of attention. E.g. copcat murders, suicides or any violent acts that come with no motivation other than gaining worldwide attention. 

This theory can help create a narrative for our horror movie, as we could potential base it off a true stories of people that copycat through violence to gain attention. 

Web 2.0:

This concept allows audiences to consume media materials online and has a huge impact on accessibility around the world. Companies now utilise modern day internet to publish their creations and productions. E.g. on social networking site, Facebook, Twitter, having adverts. And even having trailers playing on YouTube before the video you clicked on is fully streamed. 

Hypodermic Model Theory: 

This theory is also known as the Magic Bullet Theory. It is concerned with the influences the media has on societies. Relates to the idea of the audience passively taking messages conveyed through the media, which is informed in a way that is 'shot' through the audiences like a bullet hitting their minds. 

In relation to horror, the hypodermic model theory can help structure a strong message that we might want to pass on to our horror fans. 

Uses and Gratification Theory: 

Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT), is an theory which tries to understand why and how pople actively seek out specific media which satisfies their needs. It asks the question: Why do people use the media, and what do they use it for? 

Applying to the horror genre, the different types of productions we'll be making:trailer, poster and magazine front cover, are all different forms of media, which by doing audience research will help us understand a successful way to present our horror film through those formats. 

Horror movies and society - The Murder of James Bulger

The media conveys the different elements of actives that take place around the world through the news and on TV in general. The murder of James Bulgers took place in 1993 by two young boys aged 10. Many people have said that the two boy's were influenced by the horror movie Child's Play directed by Tom Holland and that that a copy of the film was found in their house. 

The film Child's Play is about a son reviving a doll as a birthday present from his mother, which is actual possessed with a soul of a serial killer. 

The media created a moral panic about how movies and even games can influence children as young as 10, to commit crime as they replicate scene that they watch. This has led many parents to worry about what there children are watching when they are left unattended at friend's house or even at school.

It is important that films are classified properly as not everyone's morality are influenced by their parents and know that the "right" action should be, instead their moralities become influenced by fictional media. 

Audience theory - The Moral Panic

The whole purpose of a movie trailer is to engage with the audience and give them a snip preview of an exciting new film that will be releasing. In order to recognise what audiences what, after all it will be for their entertainment purpose I've looked into some audience theory's to help me conduct some audience research.

The Moral Panic 
Stanley Cohen stated in his book Folk Devils and Moral Panic 1972, that a moral panic happens when a "condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a treat to societal values and interests"
According to Cohen, the media plays a part in defining and shaping social problems and perceptions of threat, even if it is simply conveyed through reporting the news.
Cohen see's the media as overreacting to certain aspects of behavior which may be seen as a challenge to existing social norms. To demonstrate the classic structure of moral panic, I've created this flow diagram:

Examples of moral panic in society (media related): 

-Video games - GTA 5 - having a bad influence of young people 

-Online activities - Pedophilia, fraud, cyber bullying - raising concerns for parents 

-Electronic media and obesity 

-Screen/web addiction  

Ingredients for a horror?

I created a wordle to express the different things that come to mind when I created a mind map with connotations of Horror genre movies.

This has helped me almost shortlist thing types of things to consider when it comes to the production of our trailers, posters and magazine front covers. 

Halloween (1978) - Why's it such an significant film?

Halloween (1978) directed by John Carpenter is an independent slasher film. The whole production cost around $325,000 which is not a lot, yet grossed $47 million at US box office, making it one of the most independent movies! I found this quite significant as it goes to show, that you don't need a big budget to make an brilliant film.

The Film was also influenced by Psycho (1960) and Chainsaw Massacre (1947), which are very successful films in the history of horror; elements of influences are recognised in the film. E.g. The female is both Psycho and Halloween are naked when they are killed.

Also, noticing that camera work used in Halloween, the camera is hand held for most shots; no dolly tacks are used. This is something to keep in mind when working on my horror trailer as with a limited budget, filming with the camera just being carried with be our only option.

Halloween (1960) is also well known for birth of the Final Girl, although the main actress Laurie Strode,(Jamie lee Curtis, daughter of the main actress in Psycho: Janet Leigh who plays, Marion Crane ) does not kill the killer but saves the children, and defends herself again him, using his own weapon of the knife.

John Carpenter uses devices which creates horror and suspense through mind playing with the audience. He positions the audience in two different ways: What you THINK you see (implied), and what you ACTUALLY see (reality). I find the movement really helpful as it goes to show that its not the blood and gore that grabs attention of the audience, but the fear of unknown and suspense created. It is also something that I find worth considering when story boarding for my trailer.

Supsense is created in this shot; the audience can just about see a mask face creeping out from behind the door. 

Watching this video on the different locations used in Halloween has also made me aware of potential locations to look our for or that could be ideal for a horror trailer.

Barabra Creed - The Monstrous Feminine

Barabra Creed is a professor of Cinema Studies in the school of Culture and communication at the University of Melbourne, she well known for her cultural criticism. In one of the bibliography's, The monstrous-Feminine: Film, feminism, Psychoanalysis, she writes about the monstrous representations' in Carrie, the quote below illustrates her view:

"In Carrie, the film's most monstrous act occurs when the couple are drenched in pig's blood, which sysbolises menstrual blood cycle in terms setup by the film. Woman are referred to as "
'pigs', woman 'bleed like pigs', and the pig's blood runs down Carrie's body at a moment of intense pleasure, just as her own menstrual blood ran down her leg in the shower. Here, woman's blood and pig's blood flow down together signifying horror, shame and humiliation." ~ The Horror Reader, Chapter: Kristeva, Femininity, Abjection. Barbara Creed, Routledge, London & New York, 2000. (pg.62)

This not only identifies how the director has used menstrual blood and pig's blood in similar ways to bring in elements of horror, but the significance of how femininity is shown to be a monstrous. This is another aspect in which women are portrayed as in horror films.

Carol J Clover - Her Body, Himself

Reading through an extract from Carol Clover's article on the Final Girl, she expresses how horror films have always portrayed females as the weaker, most vulnerable and as the victim. A section from her article that I found most helpful in towards the construction of my horror trailer is highlighted below:

I found this particularly significant as its something that I'm able to in cooperate within my own trailer if the story line has elements of the Final Girl. By having point of view shots from the killer near the beginning of the trailer, and working towards point of view shorts from Final Girl towards the end, but being aware not to reveal the main elements of the narrative.

The Strangers (2008)

I watched the horror movie called "The Strangers" directed and written by Bryan Bertino which I found had a lot of tension building moments and had scenes that made me jump with something being present on screen, but shown in the background were you wouldn't expect it to be. I found this as a clever technique in capturing the audience's attention as it engages them and makes them want to watch on for what will happen next, and by using loud, sudden, sound contrasting with a quite and silence atmosphere really makes the audience jump. 

A scene from the film demonstrating how the audience is aware of what in the background
but the victim isn't. 

The concept of having masked killers lives up to a convention of horror as the killers never revealing their identities. The twist at the end of this film is that before the victims die, the killers reveal their identity and then kill them. I found the idea of having female mask killers unconventional as most of the time, the killers are predominantly males. 

The stranger's poster

From watching the trailer of this movie, I liked how they have used slow, emerging text on screen to build up tension, as well as keep allowing the audience to decode the narrative of the film. The element of using a record player as a key aspect of the narrative, and in the trailer makes the film even more creepier as it makes happy/joyful music that is playing on their, turn quite scary, when it start to play by itself which implies that someone is in the house.

Male Gaze Theory

Carrie (1976)

I analysed the opening scene of Carrie to view how director Brian De Palma, play's with the audience’s expectation.

Music and Editing:
Both music and editing is important in the opening scene to Carrie as these two devices denote a sense of fantasy. It's filmed almost at the perspective of a man imaging what its like in the females changing room, slow motion and slow peaceful music is used; creating an atmosphere of purity and love, not as we expect in horrors. It subverts the connotations of horror elements.

Playing with audience's exceptions? 
The director play's with the audience's expectation in the sense with Carrie taking a shower; this symbolise purity, washing away any sins, and purifying herself. Close up shorts of her face express a sense of enjoyment, in contrast to this, the element of horror is brought into place with the use of blood. This signifies her menstrual cycle, and her innocence's and purity no longer being there.

Representation of femininity? 
The opening scene to Carrie could portray negativity to women; when Carrie has a breakout in the shower the other girls stand there laughing at her showing how females are represented as bullies to each other. Carrie herself is out of control, and is difficult to handle by the PE teacher; suggesting how females can get a bit out of hand when there on their menstrual cycle. The whole idea of females being the "sinners" in horror films is also put into practice in the opening scene as Brian De Palma uses blood from the female body in a negative way to convey horror, and almost fear of femininity.

Hybrid movie - Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Sean of the Dead is a hybrid movie between horror and comedy as is part of a trilogy starring one of my favorite actors Simon Pegg and is directed by Edgar Wright. In this film, the element of horror is shown through a zombie attack, and it is interesting to see how mise-en-scene is created through the makeup and acting of the zombies. The eyes and blood spilling out from their months gives them a scary and intimidating look. 



Here is the movie tralier for Sean of the Dead, which highlights elements that shows that it is a hybrid of comedy and horror. 

Representations

Through the horror films I've watched so far I've picked out the reputations that are conveyed.

Gender:
- Males: Villains - most killers in horrors are males
           Authorities - Represented as a statue of authority e.g. Police officers, lawyers
         
- Females: Victims - always the ones to get killed or stalked at by the killer
              Vulnerable - shown to be in a vulnerable state even with elements of the Final Girl

-Religion: Evil vs. God - Religion can sometimes be abused in horror films e.g. in the film Carrie. But is also a representation of safe that everyone seeks when something evil or bad is going to happen

- Age: Innocent children get killed, or become the killer (Halloween 1978)
          Teenage shown in their hedonistic ways, often becoming the victims too

-Mental disability: Usually linked with the victim, they have some sort of disorder that makes them go around killing or committing evil

-Mothers: A key representation shown to be over caring, monstrous and evil.

Similarities and Differences - Pyscho vs. Chainsaw Massacre

After watching Psycho and Chainsaw Massacre, I looked at some of the similarities and differences that they both had;

Assessing the similarities and differences from both films, we can see that there are more similarities which suggest that over time (Psycho - 1960, and Chainsaw Massacre 1974) conventions have stay similar within horror movies. This could be something to keep in mind with the production of our own horror trailers as, following same or similar convention patterns will allow it to become a successful narrative. 

Claude Levi - Strauss - Binary Opposition

Claude Levi - Strauss was an European academic thinker from the mid 20th century who suggested the theory of Binary Oppositions. He said that all narratives had to be driven forwards by conflict that was caused by a series of opposing forces.

Here I've created a flow chart to help convey what Claude Levi - Strauss said about Binary Opposition:

When construction a story line for our horror trailers, it will be important to think of the two binary oppositions that will drive our narrative forwards. This theory is quite simply and straight forwards but vital to remember. 

Horror movie posters

One other part of our main production is to create a horror movie poster that reflects against real media. To get started on research towards this I've created a college of horror posters and picked out conventions that are used to make the posters look successful and visually attractive.

Conventions: 

Colours:

- Red: symbolising death, gore and blood

-Back: creating a sinister look and the empty, remoteness that also runs as a convention in horror films 

-White: relating to Mise - en scene, connotations of purity, contrasted by the other two dark and heavy colours (black and red)   

Text: 

-Capital lettering: most text used in horror film posters are based around bold letter usually done in capital letters to create emphasis on the film titles.

-Context: Rhetorical questions are used to engage with the audience, creating a sense of fear but excitement within them, e.g. "Who will survive and what will be left of them?" - Chainsaw Massacre.

-Film names: Bold and clear to read, usually in the colour of white or red to create clarity against busier visual imaginary. 

-Often includes director's names, and primaire comments.

Image:

-Has a main aspect of the film, some create an uncomfortable feeling of terror e.g. The Last Exorcism film poster

-Verity of camera angles used depending on the subject e.g With a person (Drag Me To Hell) its a mid shot, angle of gaze is also dismissed, in differ to Alice Sweet Alice poster, use of more than one prop at a more mid long shot to show the presences of all props used. 

Editing: 

-Film title is more commonly presented towards the mid bottom of the poster

-Imaginary usually takes up most space 

-Common text font styles used: Copperplate Gothic Light, Bodoni MT Black, Charlemagne Std

Propp and Todorov's theory's in practice

To put Propp and Todorov's theories into practice we analysed a horror film of our choice that we could apply the two theories too.

Todorov's and Propp's Theories applied to World War Z from bertybeth

Psycho - 1960 Opening scene anaylsis

Here is a presentation demonstrating the analysis carried out for the opening scene for the 1960's film Psycho.

What horror films and trailers I've seen?

One of our main production tasks is to create a horror trailer. To gain knowledge about how horror films and how they have changed over the years I have been watching many different trailers and films to gain inspiration for the main task.