Evalution - Conventions

Evalution - Conventions

• 1.
  Reviewing Conventions and Comparing ‘Paralysis’ withreal texts By Tim Loe
• 2.
  Conventions of aHorror Film Are they in Paralysis? (yes = ) Iconography Characters Narrative Setting Colour/lighting Blood Antagonist - Endings are usually Woods Desaturated supernatural left ambiguous Knifes, axes Protagonist – Narrative always Graveyard Blue tones vulnerable revolves around the concept of death The supernatural Expert During the Castle Low key lighting is protagonists quest mostly used, even she will be exposed if the protagonist is to extreme present (usually to isolation. However imply that the the help of an antagonist is expert is usually watching them). required. (e.g. Psychiatrist) Solitude African American House Anti-religious Bimbo Countryside ideologies Religion Sceptical person Empty school The survivor Places of solitude
• 3.
  Meeting Conventions - Trailer
• 4.
  Use of Titles Our text screens meet convention, which we thought would be best to emulate since it is proven to be successful. We used a grunge texture as a background, which is similar to ‘Sinister’ and presents a menacing tone. Our titles also had a conventional animation. We key framed the position so that the title would zoom in. Overall our use of titles meet convention.
• 5.
  Technical form • Ourtrailer was uploaded at 16:9 aspect ratio, matching the industry and it adds an element of professionalism to our product. • Also due to the small amount of dialogue it meant that ADR could be used, this gave our trailer crisp and clear dialogue, and made our audio sound a lot cleaner, which is vital due to the substantial role of sound in the horror genre.
• 6.
  Camera • The cameraplayed a vital part in allowing us to meet conventions, the use of the 50mm lens enabled a shallow depth of field for close ups, which we felt was necessary to exploit, and is the reason for the regular use of close ups (as well as to meet conventions). • Also to enable a contrasting light, we had to change the exposure and aperture on the camera so that more light was let in, and we could fully manipulate our shots with artificial light.
• 7.
  Conventions we haverejected • In order to follow our research, we needed to reject some conventions to follow the auteur theory. • This was firstly done by a regular use of focus. (out of focus to in focus) • The use of optical flares in post production also reject convention, since they do not contribute to a colder look (although they look more aesthetically pleasing).
• 8.
  Conventions we havefollowed • We also had to follow conventions, since in our research we stated that a mixture of the auteur and genre theory would apply to us. The conventions we followed are: • Colour – Desaturated blue colour grade • Characters– vulnerable child, caring mother, expert, supernatural antagonist. • Narrative – The mother is on a quest to cure her son’s condition, and is forced to do it in solitude, when no one can help her. • Shots -regular use of close ups. This establishes characters expressions more effectively, which is vital for a horror • Lighting – ambient lighting used for outdoor scenes, artificial light used for all indoor scenes, and positioned to create a contrasting light on the actors. • Sound -stings, atonal score, atmospheric sound • Location – The woods is conventional of the horror genre since it connotes isolation, a house has also become conventional with the rise of the domestic horror.
• 9.
  Similarities with Insidious •De-saturated, blue colour grade • Conventional establishing shot of location (house) • Conventional narrative, which is portrayed in order to build enigma in trailer (two out of the three stages of Todorov’s narrative theory are used - equilibrium and disequilibrium). The third stage of his narrative theory is not shown in the theory, since it would give away too much information, and also there is not always a new - equilibrium in the horror genre. • Conventional Progressive pace of a horror trailer – both trailers build up to a final sting at the end. • Both products include a shot at the end, after the text screens – A conventional device to provide the audience with one last scare • Similar text screens – both have textures behind them • Suitable variety of Locations • Conventional soundtrack and scores used (atmospheric and melodic)
• 10.
  Things we couldhave improved for our trailer • The 5th shot breaks the 30 degree rule. • The rule states that every cut requires a 30 degree angle change for the cut to be smooth. • I felt the atmospheric score was not quite right for our trailer. It was adequate, however I feel that we could have found a more suspenseful, violent atonal score. • In some shots colour correction is needed for continuity. An example being the shot at 1.15. The contrast between the colour of these shots make the cut seem less smooth, and disrupts the continuity of the scene.
• 11.
  Meeting Conventions -Ancillary Tasks
• 12.
  The Poster • Forcoherency our poster closely followed the themes and iconography present in the trailer. • Colour – similar desaturated and blue colour • Mise-en-scene such as costumes (pyjamas), lighting (low key, contrasting light) • Composition of the shot – Using the rule of thirds the antagonist is emphasised. • Editing – grunge textures and gradients • This required coherency meant that we would also be using conventions in our poster. (Conventions already listed include colour, lighting, costumes, composition of shot). Other conventions are: • Location – portrays a sense of solitude, and connotes the boy is possessed or in a dream since it is behind his bed. • Characters – the vulnerable boy in the middle of the shot, with direct address connotes that he is the protagonist, and presents his unawareness and vulnerability.
• 13.
  Use of Vignetteto portray a sense of entrapment. Isolated location in the background Vulnerable Contrasting protagonist – light – direct address Conventional light use for a Menacing shot of horror poster. house, with a Desaturated blue colour, presenting a cold atmosphere. The antagonist in our poster serves a similar function to the eyes in the insidious poster. They portray enigma to the audience. Grunge texture blended into title. Giving titles a menacing look suitable for a horror film.
• 14.
  The Magazine • Themagazine has similar features to the poster. Here is a list of what has been included for coherency: • Text colour scheme • Colour grading of image • Texture on the Paralysis title • Direct address of the protagonist, connoting his unawareness and vulnerability • Low key lighting and use of black gradients to connote a sense of entrapment
• 15.
  Horror iconography used.The colour red connotes blood, clarifying the genre of this product. Background is never a solid Low key lighting – connotes colour. It is the antagonist is present usually used to emphasise the main image. The dark blue colour of the background presents a cold tone. Antagonist is present, which is a common feature of magazines since it builds enigma. The images are very minimal, which is The images feature the conventional colour conventional for horror grade for a horror, which is a blue tint. This products. conveys a cold atmosphere.