Day 37 : Films which follow Todorov's Narrative Theory

Through the process of researching various Horror movies, I realised that a lot of them fufil Todorov's narrative theory.

Here are a few examples below :

The fact that both Psycho and The Cabin in the Woods follow Todorov's theory, shows that there is a trend for Horror movies narratives to function in this specific way. When creating my own narrative I could gain inspiration from Todorov as narratives of this structure clearly work well, in terms of Psycho and Cabin in the Woods.

Day 36 : Doing our own Market Research

Introduction

Doing our own research will enable me to gain a deeper understanding on my potential target audience and any other particular topic I want to strengthen my knowledge or prove a hypothesis from. For example if I believed that women would generally enjoy watching women who are, unified, strong and powerful in contrast to the "Damsel in Distress", I would have to do research to prove it.

Me and Priscilla are working together as researchers, to carry out our own market research. Below are pictures which represent our planning, development and ideas so far.

What I've learnt 

From planning research, I realised how much needs to be taken into consideration before carrying it out. When conducting research you must evaluate your plans as if there are any errors the data could be effected, this could result in the data having low validity. This was illustrated when me and Priscilla were creating questions for the survey, as we realised the research could be stronger if we used one trailer and focused on a variety of concepts in relation to one specific trailer. Next week we will be carrying out this research and I will evaluate what went well and what could be improved.

Day 35 part 3 : Getting into terms with Horror trailers

Introduction

In the next couple of weeks we will be getting into groups and starting are final products. To demonstrate organisation skills and the ability to work in a team, me Priscilla and Adelina decided to create a detailed plan as if we were working together to create our final pieces.

Priscilla created the poster and took photos, Adelina created character profiles. We made a list of each job which needs to be completed and allocated roles within our team. Here's a list which presents who was doing what.

Here's a list which we created as a group. It presents potential settings we aimed to film the trailer, but also brainstorms for poster ideas and jobs each member could do.

Priscilla and Adelina's roles 

What I contributed

Conclusion/What I've learnt

I was in charge of creating the storyboard and writing a narrative summary. Creating a storyboard was difficult at first, however when referring back to trailers I had deconstructed and seen in the past it was easier to describe each aspect, in terms of shots, angles, transitions and sound.

Making a narrative summary meant I had to reveal  just the right amount of the story, so that the audience would be intrigued to watch the movie and find out what will happen next. I used Barthes's Enigma code theory as inspiration whilst writing the summary, as I believe in terms of Horror narratives, movies which keep the audience curious to what will happen next are the best stories. An example through trailers would be Cabin in the Woods, as the trailer hinted aspects of the storyline which made me curious to find out the unknown.

In the final piece I hope to use theorists, movies, directors and layouts as inspiration when creating the trailer, magazine and poster however doing a practice plan was a good process. When creating my final trailer, I hope to refer back to this project in terms of how I have improved but also how doing detailed research can strengthen the creation process.

Day 35 part 2 : Cabin in the Woods Article

Here are key quotes which I found the most interesting whilst reading his article, about 2012 film Cabin in the Woods. 

- “The opening sequence introduces five college “types”, including the archetypal Whore, Athlete, Fool, Scholar and Virgin.” This quote illustrates the idea that in some ways the characters presented in Cabin in the Wood's are conventional, however if you have seen the film you could argue that the "Fool" is actually the most intelligent character, as he senses something is not right straight away.

- “Dana is the smart and innocent, yet ridiculously attractive “Virgin”. The fact that Ryan Richardson describes Dana as ridiculously attractive, highlights the idea that the intelligent girl is often unattractive so Dana is an unconventional character in terms of the representations of women.

- “The characters leave the city for a weekend at the cabin in the woods, and the traditional “backwards versus city” Levi-Strauss binary oppositions are set up”. This highlights the idea that theorists can often underline the reasoning for choices made in film. In my trailer I hope to use theorists as inspiration.

- “This movie actively draws attention to the scopophilla of film. Monitors, windows, mirrors and eyes are repeated signifiers used by the director throughout the film to draw attention to the spectacle of Horror.” This presents a theme of voyeurism which is consistently represented in Horror, as we as an audience are voyeurs due to things we see that we shouldn’t but characters also become voyeurs.

Conclusion

This article explores themes which reinforce aspects of subversion, but also traditional conversions presented in Horror films. Especially in terms of character representation, which is why in my final trailer I think it could potentially engage with the audience more, in terms of interest and curiosity if there are characters which are underrepresented or if there's a twist in terms of narrative and genre. This relates to the concept of Postmodern film which is subverting the norm and creating something new, which is why I would love to use Cabin in the Wood's as inspiration in terms of representations, but also camera techniques, mise en scene, setting and sound.  

Day 35 : What is Research?

Research includes any gathering of data, information, opinions and facts for the advancement of knowledge. Research is mainly carried out with an aim or belief which they want to reinforce with data. For example sociologists often make a statement, e.g "There's social class inequality in the UK". They would then have to carry out experiments to strengthen their statements. 

Research produces data which can be split into 2 research types. These are represented in the table below. 

Summary

Both these research methods can produce quantitative and qualitative research. When creating our Horror trailers we need to have a deep understanding of our target audience. I could possibly carry out observational research to gain a perspective of what scares people, or a quasi-experiment to find out about representations in terms of characters and how they psychologically impact individuals views of a specific subgroup, e.g what do you think of this character from this picture. 

Day 34 : The Promotion and Marketing of Horror Films

Whilst analysing trailers, I've learnt that camera techniques, mise en scene, editing and the use of sound can make a trailer more effective. In this post I plan to explore how the market campaign and promotion, can impact how successful a movie is. 

Here's a video I made which explores the role of a marketing campaign in promoting movies, what makes potential audiences go out and watch a Horror movie and how the title can convey the narrative and genre. Throughout this course I need to understand what makes people attracted to Horror films, so that I can apply it to my audience research.

Day 33 : Short Film - Porcelain Rising

What I liked the most:

• In terms of casting I thought the actress who played the young girl was extremely convincing, which made her likable as a viewer but also relatable as I wanted her to conquer the villain. This relates to Carol J Clover's (Men, Women and Chainsaw) statement where she argued that audiences identify more with the victim than people present. 
• I liked the low angle shot as the main protagonist walked over to the wardrobe. The fact that we could only see her feet from a perspective underneath the bed created tension, as we are curious to whether she's in danger or not. 
• In terms of conventions a scary doll is an expected aspect of Horror movies. However in this film the doll is quite unconventional, as the girl then becomes the doll at the end. I thought this was quite unique and in terms of narrative, I enjoyed the way the twist was at the very end when her father walked in.
• In terms of setting there's the constant flashing of lightning, which in terms of Horror movies is conventional as the weather often reflects the idea that something bad will take place. In relation to this film the weather is extremely effective in this film, as we know the doll is coming to get her.

What I learnt: 

I really enjoyed this short film, as it highlights the idea that making things simple often works the best, as if you over complicate things it may not flow well. I also learnt that when making a product of a short duration all aspects of mise en scene, camera techniques and setting which are dominant in a wide variety in movies can be just as effective when the product is a trailer or short scene.