This is the Statement of Intent for our film opening!
Genre
Horror
Target Audience
Demographic
Females and males, age 15 - 25, located in urban areas where they can easily access the cinema and other digital devices.
Psychographic
Teenagersthat enjoy horror movies with some slashing action and a mysterious but creepy kidnapper/etc.
How we will appeal to this target audience
The whole set, props and costumes were mostly monotoned using black, grey and white as one of their main colour schemes with low key lighting setting the tone for the overall movie and is something audiences are expecting. There will also be red in a form of fake blood when the killer finally strikes and kills something which is what horror movie goers would like to see. We can use diegetic sounds like a screams and non diegetic discordant sounds of which slowly becomes louder the closer the main character is to the figure which builds the suspense of the overall opening.
Main inspirations
Hush, Texas Chain Massacre 2022, Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin, The Night
General Synopsis
A detective comes home from a long workday, only to be met by his old nemesis, an escaped serial killer he just put in jail earlier that day. His nemesis brought along members of his gang to finish off the detective once and for all.
Characters
The detective, serial killer and his gang
Representations
(How will people, places, groups be portrayed in the film opening?)
Dominant Reading
Always go home early, never go out at night alone.
Proposed Roles
Script
Max ð
Storyboard
Shannon ð
Location Scout
Maxine ð
Risk Assessment
Bams ðĢ
Screen Test
Max ðē ðĪŠ
Filming schedule
Bameswara ðĄ
Audience research
Shannon ð
Behind-the-scenes
Kenneth ðŪ
Editing
Kenneth ð
Reflection : We divided the different tasks to multiple members to maximize our efficiency in doing our work so, it would be completed quicker. I hope we can make creative ideas for our project in the future.
My Team and I have concluded to create a film opening in a genre based of Horror. Here is my research into the codes and conventions that are used in the openings of media text in this genre!
Typical conventions from the Horror genre : Films from this genre usually includes typical conventions such as, blood / gore, jumpscares, supernatural locations, ghosts, low lighting and shadows, distorted sounds and eerie music, the unknown, killers, isolated locations. This narrative is normally about the villain that has a bad backstory or a certain plot that made the villain, a villain.
The Exorcist : Believer
Produced by : Blumhouse Productions, Morgan Creek Entertainment, Rough House Associations
Distributed by : Universal Pictures
Genre / Sub Genre : This is a hybrid-genre; Horror, Thriller, Mystery and Supernatural.
What conventions does it conform to? : The conventions that it conforms to is the possession of a certain person by a malevolent force which makes the film more focused to the supernatural genre of the film. The convention of the unknown within the film makes the horror genre because, the characters within the film disappeared out of nowhere which makes it a bit of the mystery and horror genre. Chasing from a malevolent spirit or an unknown being can be for the thrilling genre. The religious themes within the movie that associates with Christian religion, the demonic voices that was said by the possessed characters which is the two girls in the film that disappeared in a forest, which that usually conforms to the horror genre. There was also a side in the film where it was involving psychological horror which was the mental hospital included in the film and also, one of the traumas which was the death of the character's mother.
What conventions does it subverts to? : There were no clear conventions that subverts in the trailer above, because it conforms to the genre Horror.
What representations are there (people/places/events)? : Two possessed girls, priests, parents, typical American suburban house, churches, gloomy forests, mental hospitals, possession, exorcism, supernatural phenomenon.
What technical elements are used to represent them?
The priests are mostly portrayed to be very holy and clean dressing, they were dressed with traditional religious clothing, this can also symbolize the fight in the trailer between faith and demonic forces. The two possessed girls were shown with an appearance with their physical body are marked by the white-pale skin, dark veins, distorted features with distorted voices that are also combined with a demonic-type voice. The parents were also shown with usual casual attire with tidy hair and appearance. Furthermore, with the camera angles, low angles were used on the two possessed girls to show that they were powerful and they put fear amongst the people, close-up shots were used to show the character's faces that they had a sense of fear or vulnerability. The trailer also used dim, shadowy lighting to create a eerie, isolated type atmosphere to the audience when they were showing the typical American suburban houses. Hospitals were also shown with a medical environment, which show that the basic explanation for health fails to against the supernatural occurrences. They also showed the usual gloomy forests which is in the typical horror movies and it gives off a isolating, eerie In addition, they also showed churches which reflects on the binary opposites which was faith vs demonic forces. They also put editing within the trailer with the quick, yet disorientating cuts between different scenes of the possession or the exorcism to increase the suspense or tension to the audience. There were also flashes of imagery of disturbing or symbolic props such as the crucifixes, the Bible, demonic faces which follows the eerie atmosphere with the places. The possessions and exorcism were represented with handheld or shaky camera to make the whole scene feel chaotic or unsteady as well as the supernatural phenomenon that happens within the trailer.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe
Produced by : 42, IM Global, Impostor Pictures
Distributed by : Lionsgate, IFC Films
Genre / Sub-genre : This is a hybrid genre, Horror, Mystery, Thriller, and Supernatural.
What conventions does it conform to? : The film conforms to supernatural horror conventions, particularly through the autopsy of an unknown body (Jane Doe) that seems to hide a malevolent force. The mysterious nature of the body leads to chilling, unexplainable occurrences, establishing the supernatural and mystery aspects. The unexplained phenomena happening within the morgue heightens the horror, while the increasing tension as the events unfold fits the thriller genre. The sense of the unknown, and the eerie stillness in the morgue, along with the progressive unraveling of disturbing secrets tied to the corpse, conform to mystery conventions. There is also the classic horror trope of being trapped in an enclosed space (the morgue), with nowhere to run from the supernatural forces.
What conventions does it subvert to? : The conventions that it subverts is rather than focusing on traditional horror settings like haunted houses or churches, the film subverts these by setting the supernatural events in a clinical and sterile environment which is a morgue. The protagonist's attempt to use scientific and medical methods to understand the strange phenomena, as opposed to religious or spiritual ones, challenges the usual battle between faith and demonic forces seen in conventional horror.
What representations are there (people/places/events)? :
A father-son team of coroners. (people)
The body of "Jane Doe" (a mysterious, pale corpse). (people)
The morgue. (place)
Autopsy procedures that progressively uncover the unknown. (event)
Supernatural phenomena tied to the body. (event)
What technical elements are used to represent them? : The morgue is depicted as a sterile, enclosed, and dimly lit environment, creating an eerie and claustrophobic atmosphere. The Jane Doe corpse, with its pale, untouched body, represents something both innocent yet deeply unsettling. The technical elements play on this duality, using close-up shots of her untouched, lifeless body juxtaposed with the chaos and terror happening around her. Low lighting is utilized to intensify the feeling of dread, with dim bulbs casting long shadows that make the space feel oppressive. The camera work often features slow zoom-ins on Jane Doe’s body to build suspense, while handheld shots are employed when supernatural events occur, adding to the feeling of chaos and instability. Sound design is a technical element, with creaking doors, sudden noises, and distorted sounds enhancing the eerie atmosphere, making the audience feel on edge. Additionally, the trailer uses fast cuts between calm moments and terrifying occurrences to increase tension and unpredictability. The use of silence, particularly during the scenes focusing on the body, adds an unsettling stillness to the environment, making the audience anticipate something horrifying to break that silence. Quick cuts are put during scenes where the supernatural events adds the suspense which then creates the sense of panic and danger for the characters.
A Quiet Place : Day One
Produced by : Platinum Dunes, Sunday Night, Paramount Pictures
Distributed by : Paramount Pictures
Target audience and how are they appealed to? : The target audience for A Quiet Place: Day One is more mature, likely adults or older teens who enjoy slow-building tension. The opening relies on silence, minimal action, and subtle suspense, which appeals to viewers who enjoy psychological horror and deeper storytelling. Younger audiences might find it too slow or quiet because it doesn’t have a lot of fast-paced action or loud scares. The film focuses on suspense through sound design and atmosphere, which the young audience can be attracted to.
What would you like to use in your opening in this? : For our own opening, we would like to use similar techniques, such as relying on dialogue to build tension and set the tone of the scene without jumping into action right away. We’d also adopt the low-key lighting style, using dark surroundings with focused light to create an eerie atmosphere and heighten the sense of mystery and unease. Close-up shots of characters faces will be important to us as this allows us to convey their emotions and help the audience connect with their fear or anxiety. We might also include casual attire or maybe old dirty casual attire for the characters and give off a serious tone to them.
What would you like to avoid in your opening from this? :
There are certain technical elements we’d avoid which is rather than setting our scene in a formal or everyday location like an office or house, we would prefer to use an abandoned or eerie location like a gloomy forest at night or afternoon to create an immediate sense of danger and unease. We would also steer clear of the total silence used in A Quiet Place: Day One, we could choose instead for non-diegetic, discordant music to build tension and discomfort. While we want to focus on dialogue, we’d also include subtle actions or movements to keep the audience visually engaged and add layers of suspense.
Smile
Produced by : Paramount Players, Temple Hill Entertainment
Distributed by : Paramount Pictures
Target audience and how are they appealed to? :
The target audience for Smile is likely adults and older teens who enjoy psychological horror and supernatural themes. The film appeals to viewers who like building tension and creepy images. The trailer uses unsettling visuals, jump scares, and eerie sound effects, which attract horror fans looking for both psychological fear and traditional horror elements. The strange and disturbing smiles in the trailer are particularly appealing to those who enjoy being unnerved rather than just scared by gore or action. Younger viewers might also be drawn to the supernatural aspect and effective jump scares, but more mature audiences may appreciate the psychological depth and suspense.
What would you like to use in your opening in this? :
For our own opening, we would like to use similar techniques to create tension which is to include creepy visuals, such as unsettling facial expressions or strange body language, to build fear and unease. Using low lighting will be important to create shadows and darkness around the characters, increasing the mystery and fear of what’s hidden. Close-up shots of characters’ faces will help show their fear or emotional struggles, allowing the audience to connect with them. We might also dress the characters in everyday clothes that look slightly worn or messy, giving them a relatable yet unsettling look. What would you like to avoid in your opening from this? : There are some technical elements from Smile, we should avoid for our project. Instead of relying too much on jump scares, we want to focus more on building ongoing tension through the pacing of the dialogue and subtle, creepy movements. We would also avoid setting the scene in bright, typical places like hospitals or offices, choosing an isolated or abandoned location, such as a rundown house or empty street, to create a sense of unease right away. Finally, we wouldn’t rely only on silence or loud noises to create tension. Instead, we’d use non-diegetic, unsettling music along with background sounds to slowly build suspense, avoiding sudden jumps for a more lingering feeling of dread.
Insidious : The Red Door
Produced by : Alliance, Blumhouse Productions, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Releasing, Stage 6 Films
Distributed by : Columbia Pictures
Target audience and how are they appealed to? :
The target audience for Insidious: The Red Door is mainly adults and older teens who enjoy supernatural horror. The film attracts viewers who like creepy atmospheres and a mix of suspense and jump scares. The trailer shows unsettling images, dark themes, and eerie sounds, which appeal to horror fans looking for a scary experience. The focus on family issues and personal fears adds depth to the story, making it more interesting. Younger viewers might also like the supernatural elements and effective scares, but older audiences may appreciate the deeper themes and psychological tension.
What would you like to use in your opening in this? : In our opening, we want to use similar techniques to create a spooky atmosphere. We’d include strange visuals, like shadows or creepy images, to build suspense. Low lighting will help create a dark setting that keeps the audience on edge. Close-up shots of characters’ faces will show their fear and emotions, helping the audience connect with them. We also plan to dress the characters in everyday clothes to make them look casual to the audience, the casual teenager look.
What would you like to avoid in your opening from this? :
There are some things we would avoid from Insidious: The Red Door for our film opening, which is instead of using too many jump scares, we want to focus on building ongoing tension through the dialogue and small creepy actions. We’d also avoid bright, normal settings like homes instead, we would choose isolated or spooky places, like an abandoned building or a foggy street, to create unease right away. Lastly, we wouldn’t rely only on silence or sudden loud noises for tension but, we would use unsettling background music and sounds to build suspense, to give a lingering feeling of fear instead of quick surprises like sudden jumpscares.
Here is the video that helped me get the main idea with my group to further develop our knowledge into the Horror genre and how to open scenes in that specific genre!
How this video help? : This video helped us ( the group ) to know what to put as the opening scene, and this also lets us know what different types of opening are there to help incase, we decide to change things within the project (Comp 1).
Reflection : I researched deeply into the Horror genre on films, this showed a lot about what conforms in the horror genre, what to use and get inspired to use in our film opening project and what to prevent in our project to avoid any misunderstanding because, we do not want to subvert anything in our film opening to make an immersive experience for our audience.
- What genre am I working in? - Do I want my music video to be niche or mainstream? - What company would most likely produce my media text in the real world?
1. The genre I'm working in is Horror, Mystery and Noir.
2. I want my video to be niche, because it targets a smaller audience, has a way lower budget, and it can be realistic to our project.
3. Blumhouse Productions, as we plan to make a hybrid genre movie for our project and Blumhouse makes many horror movies such as, The Exorcist : Believer, Us, Speak No Evil and many more.
What other content do they produce? - Blumhouse Productions only makes horror genre movies and no other genres.
Who is their typical audience? - Their typical audience is usually, horror fans, young adults and teens and a niche audience.
How big is the company? How long has it existed?
- Blumhouse is a mid-sized production company, and it has existed since the 2000.
Reflection : The research for this specific industry ( Blumhouse Productions ) in the Horror genre shows that the content that they produce are only making horror movies and no other genres. Now, I know that a company in the Horror genres are mainly producing horror.
How did this scene introduce characters, settings and create intrigue?
What did you like/dislike about the intro?
Extraction II (2023)
Action
Fight, explosion
Introduce by showing the main character in a deeply injured state with blood dripping all over his whole body with a girl calling out his name “Tyler!”, most likely as only both of them were shown in the scene. The scene keeps fading in then showing the production team titles each time the character is walking slowly in pain. The setting is introduced by showing cars that are flipped upside down and smoke coming out of the cars and the character that is in an old yet, modern looking bridge. This creates intrigue as how did this character get injured, where is he at and why is he there which gives an audience the curiosity to be more immersed to the opening of the intro.
I liked how the intro shows the character dropping to the river with the white water splashes. Also, how it has a vibrant orange vibe to it which gives it like a rough state type of scene. The dramatic music that goes over it while, trying to revive the man from the gunshots
Pamali: The Corpse Village ( 2023 )
Horror
ghosts, murderers, ominous music, dark areas,
Introduce by showing a character burying “ something “ most likely a corpse and the corpse was covered in blood and the corpse was rotten, bloody, gorey. It shows the setting with fog surrounding the whole entire old graveyard while the ominous character burying the “corpse“. This also creates intrigue by the unknown character whistling a slow and eerie rhythm creating a sense of fear or sense that something ominous can be going on within that scene and the scary music.
I liked how the intro immediately shows a random man using a shovel burying something that the audience doesn’t know till it shows it while, a scary music plays as soon as it starts the scene. The whistling and the fog around the whole old looking village.
Introduce by showing no characters but only a some characters in a few scenes. They show the setting by showing the world in chaos, wars, and buildings on fire with a narrative explaining why that is happening to the audience till, later the setting goes to a nice, scenic with showing clean waters, sunsets and this creates intrigue because the audience wants to know how did it go from all wars and chaos to people having fun and smiling while the narrative telling the audience about this “operation” that everyone goes to when they reach a certain age so that they become “perfect”.
I like how the intro has the dramatic music while, showing the scenes of conflict, war, chaos then suddenly a few scientists knew about how to fix it about this certain “operation” to fix everything that caused the conflict.
500 Days of Summer ( 2009 )
Romance
love, breakups, woman vs man, arguments, divorce, separation
Introduce by using a narrative over the characters, introducing them to the audience by saying their backstory, their appearance, their personality, the scene introduces the setting by showing them separately in a office building and their houses ( specifically bedroom most likely ) and it creates intrigue by showing how two of the characters can be mutually connected as the narrative only speaks about the both of them specifically.
I liked how the intro connected the two characters by using the voice over or the narrative over them even when, we don’t know who they are till it kept on explaining how their life went through about the girl and the boy’s backstories in how the boy didn’t understand how happiness works while the girl is the opposite. This makes the intro a more curious plot as how will they both turn out if they have contradicting personalities.
Johnny English (2003)
Comedy
funny jokes, unexpected, funny situations,
Introduce by showing the character in an all black uniform or vest looking like he is on a specific mission for something while, he looks very unserious or clumsy during it. They introduce the setting by showing a fancy italian looking mansion when, it is midnight. This creates intrigue by how the character has an unserious mood and jokingly tone even on a serious mission.
I like how the intro shows the character using toys in a dangerous mission, and also even when the character couldve instantly died, he still manages to escape by using clumsy tactics. Near the end of the intro, it shows an unexpected moment where all of that was a dream and it shows the main character daydreaming in his usual office attire.
The genre we decided is a hybrid genre which consists of Horror, Mystery and Noir
Reflection : Researching 5 videos about different genres were a bit complicated while, knowing what scene introduces the characters, settings and create intrigue. Although, it was fairly easy after I got the hang of thinking about how they did it, while watching the videoclips.
In this first week, we made new blog posts about our upcoming project about a film opening. We also did research on multiple genres which was the preliminary research. In addition to the research, we also researched about different industries that is corresponding to our film opening genre such as, Blumhouse Productions, A24, Haxan Films and many more.
Week 2
In the second week, I looked further more into our horror genre and we did research about the film, I picked which was " The Exorcist : Believer ", and we did research questions based of the film we picked out and we find out even more what conforms within that certain genre and what subverts. We also know about the usual typical conventions used in the horror genre, the technical elements used to give the representations a meaning. The analysing part for the research was still a bit confusing to explain on how it conforms and subverts, so I'm still learning how to explain it in a way that can be understandable.
Week 3
In the third week, we learned about media consolidation, vertical and horizontal integration. Media consolidation is the ownership of other media companies in the industry. Vertical integration is when a company owns multiple companies in different types of sectors ( production, distribution, exhibition ). Horizontal integration is ownership of multiple companies in the same type of sector.
Week 4 In the fourth week, our research about our genre we picked for our Comp 1 was getting graded by the Teacher although, I didn't finish it. I got a decent score to be proud with. In addition to that, we also did the Statement Of Intent for our project to know our overall information for the project that were doing and the roles of each member in our team. Furthermore, me and my team has different kinds of ideas for the movie opening but personally, I think we should conform to most of the things within a horror genre. Our film will subvert the isolation feature and psychological harm instead of physical. Including with that, we learned about passive and active audiences. For passive which is, hypodermic needle and two step flow. Active is diversion, personal identity, social relationships, and surveillance.
Week 5
In the fifth week, we created our initial idea for our scenes which was the storyboard, script and the screen play. We also watched a video how to create a storyboard to really visualize how the scenes will go through in the movie opening, it was helpful as there were things we didn't know how to put within a storyboard such as how the camera should be moved in the storyboard and how the characters has to be shown to get a specific idea on what the camera angle should be.
Week 6
In the sixth week, the entire week we were mainly focused on our blogs for our project and we were given a piece of paper to track our work and fully complete it. We also did auditions for screen test with everyone in the class.
Reflection : The 2nd term was good, I'm understanding more better with the concepts, technical elements and the theories that the teacher taught us in class. The teacher also taught us how to write the essays for future unit assessments and it was really helpful as he explained it very well.
Week 1 We went back to Week 1 as we started a new semester, we learned about New Media ( any type of media that uses the internet or computers, smartphones to deliver information or entertainment and Technological Convergence ( it is when two medias combined into one media that has multifunctional purposes )and we did the shooting practice to help us with filming in the future for our projects and we recreated the Jennifer's body scene when they were in school. The teacher also gave us video clips to practice on about continuity editing and we made a whole video from it to know how all the different editing techniques are used.
Week 2 At week 2, we learned about more theories on media which are cultivation theory, desensitisation theory, social learning theory, reception theory. We also learned about dominant reading, oppositional reading and negotiated reading which is made by a person named Stuart Hall on the representation theory.
Reflection : I know what will be the main task for the project will be and what blogs must be put on into my blog to make it more completed for our teacher to check.
