Day 15 : Using Photoshop





This photo was taken by me in A level Media Studies. I wanted
to have practice using Photoshop so I decided to use my photo as a template.
In relation to mise en scene, camera shots and angles the photos I've edited so far, have no link to the
conventions I've analyzed in Horror posters however I'm
just using these photos so I can practice. 

I added the basic text in which should be presented on a Horror movie poster.
Then I added a red tint to make it more scary.

I used a Horror movie poster as inspiration, as I liked the effect
of scratches they portrayed. I used a thin brush to create scratches like the poster.

The effect of scratches wern't as strong as I had hoped, so I got a
photo of sctraches and put it in a seperate later. I then changed
the properties to the photo until it looked how I had hoped.

Here is the Horror movie poster in which I gained inspiration from

Here's the scratch effect I got off Google. Testing photoshop with
different effects, enables me to see what my strengths and weaknesses
are in Photoshop. In the future I plan to trial different effects so that I can become
even stronger at Photoshop.

Day 14 : Mary Harron & American Psycho (2000)

In the Horror movie industry there's a large gap between the proportion of male to female directors.

Mary Harron is a Canadian film maker and screenwriter. In relation to Horror, she is mainly known for American Psycho a slasher/thriller story of torture and murder. Originally there was going to be male directors, however to the public's surprise Mary Harron got the part. As Harron began production the crew were warned with threats of protest, due to the Feminist Majority Foundation condemning the film as misogynist.


American Psycho is controversial due to a sex scene, which then turns into psycho killer Patrick Bateman chasing prostitutes with a chainsaw. This links back to the theme of  Horror movies killing women who're presented as impure and engage in hedonistic activities, which is why feminists critiqued the representation of women in this movie. However the film has been argued by some critiques to be a feminist movie, due to the inhumane, cruel and abusive attributes to Patrick Bateman in which male viewers would find him unlikable and would dislike viewing things from his perceptive, in terms of Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze theory.

Throughout the creation process I will have to take these aspects into consideration, which is why researching various different movies and directors will help throughout this process.

Day 13 : Halloween (1978) - Opening Scene + credits/ Critical Theory on the Representation of women

Halloween is a Horror movie of the slasher genre directed by John Carpenter. The story consists of a young boy named Mychael, who kills his sister resulting in him becoming institutionalized as a psychotic murderer. In the 2007 version which I talked about briefly before Mychael kills his whole family, which makes the original slightly different.

Here's an analysis I did on the opening scene and credits.

 Analyzing the opening credits made me realize that directors, put deep thought in what message they want to get across to their viewers. For example in Halloween the use of the pumpkin, reinforces the element of mischief and evil as the carved pumpkin looks as if it knows something we don't know.  Similarly in Psycho Hitchcock presented split lines, which makes the viewer curious to what it symbolizes. In my trailer I will have to plan every aspect including font to make sure it gets across a message and evokes a reaction from the audience.

Here's a diagram which presents critical analysis on Halloween but also slashers in general.

I agree that women have become more heroic compared to movies pre Halloween, however Horror movie heroines are still limited in terms of breaking the restrictions women have in the film industry. In terms of the looks and personalities they're presented with, they possess attributes which are somewhat masculine which almost implies for a women to be strong she must behave like a man as if a woman can't be strong.

Here's research I done for "The Final Girl" in terms of a definition, but also Laurie Strode from Halloween being the first final girl.

Overall Halloween is a perfect movie to gain inspiration from, as they've followed and subverted the norm in terms of using point of view angles and presenting "The Final Girl". In my trailer I hope to gain inspiration from Halloween depending on how it can relate to the story line and characters.

Day 13 : Alien

"What could be more "foreign" than the concept of the alien, and its representation of humanity's deepest fears? Elaine Scarratt, author of a forthcoming book on the Alien quadriology, considers the symbolic and psychological meanings and cultural impact of the aliens of Scott, Cameron, Fincher and Junet, and how they are constructed for audiences." Reading an article about the concept of aliens and the sci fi/Horror hybrid Alien, made me learn a lot about how I could subvert my characters in my trailer, but also the history of the word alien.

Here's a wordle of words which are synonyms to alien.

What stood out the most in the"Fear and Fascination" article by Elaine Scarratt: 

• "Otherness" relates to aliens as in social sciences it's defined as those within society who are excluded, as they do not fit in to mainstream culture. This relates to the research of Edward Said, as he found in Orientalism (1978) western societies "othered" people in the east to maintain control over them. Naturally humans exclude those who're different, however what can they do when they can't control what's new and different.

• Sci-fi/Alien Horror films often are set in a place which is isolated or somewhere which is unexplored. This is extremely similar to other hybrids of Horror like slasher as they're often set in isolated places too. Sci fi differs only because the main protagonists would venture to somewhere dark, new outerspace which then is inhabited with creatures.

• Ripley the second female on board of the spaceship subverts the victimized female character you see in Horror, however she fulfills another stereotype. Ripley is masculine, 6 foot tall and androgynous. From a feminist perspective I've noticed that in movies, when a woman is intelligent and has heroic traits she has to be manly or masculine. She could not be extremely feminine and still be intelligent, which is why as a feminist I don't see the point of subverting if you're going to create another stereotype which limits women. 

• One of the most shocking aspects of Alien is the rape and impregnation of Kane. Kane is violated by a face hugger for its mission to produce and persevere its species. Conventionally men aren't associated with rape, which is why it has a larger impact and is more shocking to the audience.

Previously I hadn't watched Sci-fi Horror films which is why I thought it would be important to gain a perspective of what conventions they follow.

Day 12 part 3 : Freud

Sigmund Freud was the founder of psychoanalysis, who had a new approach of understanding the human personality. He was regarded one of the most controversial minds of the 20th century. In relation to Horror Freud's theory reinforces Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze theory.

Freud reinforces the idea that through media women are sexualized. It's all through how women are portrayed for example, through the way the camera makes us view the individual and the perspectives it makes us view. In Horror movies this is often presented in shower scenes. These traits link to the idea of "Voyeurism". Voyeurism is the compulsion to seek sexual gratification by secretly looking at sexual objects or acts. I agree with Laura Mulvey's theory of Male Gaze, as women are often told to act and behave in a way to please the eyes of the heterosexual male in music videos, tv shows and movies. 

Day 12 : Monstrous feminine & The representation of Carrie's mother

The monstrous feminine is a theory by Barbara Creed, in the The Horror Reader, Chapter: Kristeva, Femininity, Abjection.  It explores the idea of Carrie being oppressed due to attributes in which all women have, being twisted and turned against her as something dirty and shameful. Below I made a video using Adobe Premier about the representation of Carrie's mother and religion, but also the Monstrous Feminine theory.

Representation of Carrie's mother/Religious themes

Monstrous Feminine 

I agree but disagree with this theory as what Creed is suggesting sounds rather far fetched, however there's clearly evidence which supports her theory as the shower scene and the prom scene are alike in a lot of ways. For example the use of Romantic music which clashes with the element of Horror that follows, e.g in the shower scene Carrie starting her period and in the prom scene she's covered in pig's blood. In terms of how camera techniques are used, Creed has definitely got a point especially since Brian de Palma could have mirrored these two scenes to get that message across.

Day 11 part 3 : Well's Audience theory

Paul Well did research into Horror audiences . Wells conducted a small focus group study involving 12 members of each of the following age groups, 16-25, 26-40, 41-55, 56-80. The problem with Well's research method is that he only gathered 12 people from each age group, which means the data will not be representative of each group. Well's research is also rather weak since everyone regardless of age has a subjective view on Horror. All these age groups aren't homogeneous groups so it would be hard for Well's to find patterns and trends which he can objectively generalize.  

Here's a table which represents the conclusion Well's came up with for each age group.

This information can't be generalized however the research could be used beneficially. For example 56-80 year olds were scared of rats and the break down of law and order. This reflects the idea that the relationship of being frightened changes depending on what society and social conditions the individual grew up in. When creating my own trailer and discussing what audience I want to target, doing research to gather information on their perspectives of narrative, character and potential conventions they would like to see subverted would strengthen the reasoning behind a trailer. Referring back to Well's throughout this process would also be useful, which is why Well's is a good theorist to analyze and critique.