My Favorite Film Image Analysis

My favorite choice of scene from my horror research is from THE CRAZIES. In this scene both the stereotypical good-looking strong male protagonists are using a phallic weapon (a gun) to protect their female friends this connotes male power and their ability to protect. The women are wearing light blue this symbolizes their innocence and purity. The historical context of this film with there being some sort of virus that is causing the people to go crazy is embedded into people’s fear of diseases such as swine/ bird flu which cause mass suffering and death.  I like how in this scene the audience is presented with the final girl being blond and this turns character stereotypes around as she should be the female victim, the brunet that she is protecting is actually the female victim who is an intelligent student (Propp).  

Dawn of the Dead (2004) Image Analysis

In this scene the audience is presented with a close up shot of the death of the female victim, the female victim dies in a way that is not expected within this film, because it is a zombie film we as an audience expect her to die through being eaten, however she is killed by accident by the gay man in the narrative when there truck crashes. I like this because it is much more horrific than just being eaten. In this scene her blood it extremely red fake, unlike in the first dawn of the dead where the gore was drawn out, the gore in this dawn of the dead is faster but more horrific, because it happens faster it adds to the panic without making it difficult to watch. Her death is something that is generic of the horror genre (Thomas Shatz) and this would please fans of the genre as it would have been something they were waiting for through the film. 

Dawn of the Dead (2004) Image Analysis

In this scene the audience is presented with the cast within the elevator, this scene is a really good example of the collision cutting within the films because it goes from having fast cuts with match on action shots and dramatic music with the characters running away from zombies to suddenly having them all standing with one long cut with calm background music, it comes across as ironic and also builds suspense within the scene. I also like how within this scene we have the character stereotypes all together with their characters personality so strong (Propp).  The non-typical final girl who has blond hair is in the center of the shot, dominating the shot with a powerful pose with her hands on her hips. The typical female victim is showing of her neck and flicking her hair, she is also heavily made up. The male heroes are on the far right and far left of the shot they both look to be deep in thought but not center of attention; they are both good looking typically strong men. 

Image Analysis Dawn of the Dead (2004)

In this scene that is presented to the audience within the opening credits we can see a news reporter reporting on the infection or virus. This pulls on the historical context of bird flu and the phobia that society had at the time of a super bug (bird flu foot and mouth etc.). It is also however through historical context tapping into the fear of the Middle East because of the backdrop he is reporting from, this also suggests that the ‘illness’ came from here, at the time England and America were still recovering from 9/11. Because of the use of the male good looking anchor that at the end of the scene gets attacked by the zombies it suggests that even powerful people of authority and celebrity were not as powerful as they thought, they were involved and vulnerable.   Because this scene is presented in the form of a news report it suggests that it is real and is something to be fearful of. 

Practice Shot List

Health and Safety for Trailer

Props List for trailer

Horror Mood Board for Trailer (with Flickr)

Class Trailer Review: "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark"

  Average score: 8/10

Best comments:
Liked jump scare.
Good camera work.
Edited well.
Love the setting.
The end was great.
Lots of camera shots and angles.

To be improved:
The font was too bubbly
The music doesn't fit - too loud.
Don't like the font.

Our Stereotypical fan

NAME: Clara Reece-Smith

JOB: Lab Technician (Analyst)

LIKES: Super heroes, crime fiction, paintball, misfits, shopping, cosplay, baking, and comedy films

DISLIKES: Racism, sexism, liars, pigs, bananas

LIFE STORY: Growing up in a town Clara was exposed to all the normal things in life, following the norms of her group of friends she watched all the latest films and listened to only the most popular music. Due to her older brother making her watch sci-fi when she was young she developed a love for cosplay and super heroes, as she grew up this love developed into a passion for psychological action horror films.

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE: Age 27, B1, White British female.

PSYCHOGRAPHIC PROFILE: Reformer, aspirer, (semi) mainstreamer

FAVOURITE FILMS MIGHT INCLUED: Batman, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Session 9 

Type of trailer we have chosen

A highlights trailer that we really liked was 30 days of night, this is one that inspired us to make one ourselves. 

We have chosen to create a highlights trailer. We have chosen to create a highlights trailer because we think that this gives us a better opportunity to take the best elements from our film and present them to our audience, this not only makes a more captivating viewing for an audience as much more is happening in the trailer, it also allows us to sell the narrative of the trailer as we can show the best elements of the film thus introducing the characters and the themes of the film effectively. We chose this rather than a scene trailer because we feared that a scene trailer may limit us to the type of shots and action that we could use within the trailer, we thought that a scene trailer would not convey the narrative to the same effect that a highlights trailer would and that this would be less interesting and memorable to a viewer, doing a scene trailer would also have made it difficult to put a jump scare at the end and this is something that we wanted to put in our trailer.

  Through making this trailer we will use a creepy location of a forest which is fog filled and never ending. We will use lots of expressive angles and camerawork with high and low angles to show the power distribution within the narrative and things like points of view shots  from the slow moving monster (tree) that is possessed by the serial killer (spirit). We will have typical character conventions of the final girl, female victim and male hero so that the audience gets what they are expecting from the film. We will have sex and the taboo through having a final girl who is obviously sexually active and is therefore punished for this. The fear of death shall also be a theme through our trailer as the group are scared of being caught and hung. The generic feature of Isolation shall be conveyed through the location and the way that the characters are picked off one by one isolating them from one another. 

Class trailer review: 'Cloverfield'

Film: Cloverfield (2008)

Genre: Action Horror

Your Mark: 6/10

What happened in the trailer:

This is a scene trailer from the start of the film where thee characters are putting on a leaving party for their friends, it is all being filmed on a film camera so it is all hand held. The party is then interrupted by a loud thunderous noise so they all go to the roof, only to watch new york start to be blown up, we then watch the characters scramble to escape into the building and onto the road just before the head of the statue of liberty is blown into the road.

What positive aspects of this trailer would you like to use?

I like the enigma that drives this trailer with the ending, as audiences don’t ever see what is blowing new york up, this enigma keeps audiences thinking about the film after the trailer has ended and more likely to go to the film. Because it is filmed with a film camera a hand held camera it makes the audience feel like they are the one holding the camera and this draws them into the narrative effectively. At the end of the trailer I particularly like the use of Dramatic irony when the man say’s ‘it’s going to be a good night’ when as the audience we know that it isn’t going to be. I think that this was a very bold move by the producer as a jump scare is more typical of the horror genre however I think that this is more memorable and entertaining.

What negative aspects of this trailer would you avoid using?

I think that one of the things that were disappointing about the trailer was as a horror trailer the audience would be expecting the generic feature of some sort of gore, however there is no gore and no suggestion of gore at all in the trailer and this might put of horror fans from this film. The beginning of the film was a little bit slow with a bit too much emphasis on the introduction of characters rather than selling the film and its plot.  I personally also found the jerkiness of the handheld camera quite disorientating and sickening, this made the trailer hard to watch therefore audiences are more likely to turn off and forget about the film therefore making the trailer unsuccessful.

What was the trailers average score, why:

7.5 because although it was a strong trailer with a good enigma, the characters were interesting and engaging however  I personally feel the trailer did nor feature enough of the generic horror conventions for  horror fans to be excited about the film and want to go and see it. 

Dawn Of The Dead (1979) Image Analysis

In this scene one of the bikers is being eaten alive by the zombies. They are pulling his intestines out of his stomach; this is the typical style of gore that will be found in a George A. Romero film, he said that the gore is part of his style because it shocks the audience into a state that they are then more open to the more political messages of the film such as consumerism and materialism, this is extremely typical of his Auteur style (Andrew Sarris). The gore in this scene was created with animal intestines; they are extremely pink in this shot because the actor who was having them pulled from his chest had a phobia of dirty/ bloody innards. I think that the gore in this shot is particularly disturbing because of how believable it is. The high angle point of view shot forces the audience to feel as though they are one of the zombies carrying out the violence, this is an uncomfortable for them to watch. 

Dawn Of The Dead (1979) Image Analysis

In this scene Fran and Steven are in bed naked but looking totally out of love with each other. Fran looks really unimpressed and because the scene suggests that they have been sexually active it once again questions the male hero’s male power and ability. This is shot from a high angle which makes the subjects seem vulnerable and small to the audience. This scene comes at the end of a slow montage sequence showing Peter, Fran and Roger feeling imprisoned by the mall that they had originally been enthralled by this is George A Romero commenting on consumerism and materialism that were becoming increasingly dominant ideologies within America in the late seventies and eighties. This political satire is typical Of Romero’s Auteur style (Andrew Sarris). This is the only scene in the film which includes sexual taboo as they are both naked, this film is very weakly linked to the genre theory (Thomas Shatz) and relies more on context and auteurs.

Dawn of the Dead (1979) Image Analysis

In this scene we are presented with the typical male hero (Steven) who is attempted to shoot a zombie and failed with a gun (phallic symbol) which represents his male power, because he is unable to work his gun it is bringing in to question his ability to have any male power, this is bought home when Rodger comes in and physically pushed Stevens gun out of the way and uses his own gun (phallic symbol) to finish the task, thus suggesting that he is more competent and holds more masculine and sexual power. This is very typical of George A Romero’s Auteur style (Andrew Sarris) as he is turning character stereotypes (Propp) on their heads and therefore creating more dynamic and interesting characters. Within the mise-en-scene of the image Steven is wearing designer clothes whereas Rodger is wearing overalls this could be symbolising true class power and the way that capitalism has de-masculinised Steven

Psycho Image Analysis

In this scene Norman has lifted the painting of   ’ Rape of Lucretia’ to peep through a hole at Marion getting undressed not only is this imposing a male gaze (Laura Mulvey) onto the audience and make them feel uncomfortable it is also suggesting that he is raping Marion with his eyes through voyeurism, because he is looking through a hole it is a very phallic symbol of his male power over Marion. The Dark shadows of the room in which Norman is standing symbolises the darkness inside him or the evil that he is. Whereas the light, symbolising innocence or purity is coming from the room that Marion is on, because Norman is looking into the light it suggests that he wants to be pure or good but there is always something in the way, the wall.  The dark shadows in the room created by the night and low key lighting use pathetic fallacy to connote death and mystery.

Psycho Image Analysis

 In this scene from psycho Marion has just been killed in the shower and has fallen onto the bathroom floor. The extreme close up of her eye is very unsettling to an audience and makes something that is typically seen as beautiful disturbing and difficult to look at as it feels as though it has entered their personal space. The shot then revolves and tracks away from the eye mimicking the movement of the water draining down the plughole in the previous shot. Because the eyes are regularly referred to as the doorways to the soul this symbolises the life draining out of her, a ruined soul. This scene shows Hitchcock’s Auteur (Andrew Sarris) in the film because Marion because she was young, beautiful and blond but also killed in a horrific and violent way. The water drops from the shower that have fallen on Marion look like tears and this could be symbolising how she was sorry for what she had done. Although the eye is slightly lower down in the shot than the centre the pupil is holding a direct address with the audience drawing them into the image and the emoticon.

Psycho Image Analysis

In this scene from Psycho where Norman has invited Marion in to have something to eat we are presented with a low expressionist angle which gives Norman lots of power in the shot as the audience feels that they are looking up at him it also places the stuffed swooping owl who is placed in the top left corner of the mise-en –scene, the owl symbolises the fate of Marion and its pose and position symbolised the way that this fate is bearing down upon her.  This is bought to the viewers’ attention when Norman say’s that she ‘eats’ like a bird’. The painting in the center of the mise-en-scene is’ Rape of Lucretia’ which depicts female innocence being taken. This shows the weakness of Marion and also the tragedy that becomes of her. This scene shows how Hitchcock had mastered the art of cinematography within his films to create heavy and strong atmospheres. 

Film Trailer Reviews 'Evil Dead'

Tile: Evil Dead remake (2013)

Genre of trailer: Gory Horror (red band trailer)  

Your mark after viewing: 8/10

What happened in the trailer:

This trailer is a highlights teaser trailer that shows lots of parts of the film, it presents the main characters and the general plot line without giving away the complete narrative. It cuts between scenes that come from  different parts of the film showing the ‘best bits’.

What positive aspects do you think you could include in your own trailer:

The music was extremely effective in this the beat sounds like a heartbeat and increases in speed throughout the trailer raising the heartbeat of the audience, this pumps adrenalin into the audience and makes them respond to the trailer well. The fast cutting between scenes and shots creates a sense of panic and mania and this was carried across well in the trailer. This also meant that the pacing felt right as it didn't feel rushed but it didn't feel slow. The gore was well done with the right amount to anchor this trailer into the horror genre but not enough to spoil the film for gory horror fans. The dialogue was also well used as it helped the audience understand the narrative of the film but also pushed the trailer along in pace.

What negative aspects do you think you would avoid in your trailer:

As the trailer progressed it became slightly samey with the amount of gore and the narrative, although it was a gory horror it suggested that the gore was the same through the film and this may have put off some gory horror fans. In some places the gore seemed over the top as well like when they are chain sawing the blood is going everywhere and looks orange in color this makes it a little bit unrealistic.

Trailers average score:

  8.5 because overall it was a well-rounded horror that catered to the demands of its target audience who would have seen the generic features of their favorite type of film and been interested in going to watch it even if in places it was a bit similar and over the top.