Norms And conventions of our genre
Before even starting any process in producing our horror intro we did extensive research into the genre of our choice e.g. thriller/paranormal.We had found out that the from doing research in the thriller genre that the main element is to constantly build up tension and make the viewer feel on edge with jump scares in between that make the movie seem more jumpy. we also found out that in thrillers the killer always seems to be male whilst the victim is are mostly females which plays into gendered stereotypes that show women as being vulnerable. The second main genre that we planned to put into our filming was paranormal, when doing research we felt like paranormal films had similarities with thrillers which is why we thought they would be good blend for a horror scene intro. The main conventions that surround paranormal is a spirit trying to posses or kill the main protagonist. They also seem to be set in suburban houses which we thought was a really effective setting as we felt that it allowed the viewer to be even more immersed as they can relate to the position of the protagonist as they are watching from their own house and although we didn't go all out with the paranormal theme in our final filming we used lots of the main key themes used within the paranormal genre. For the full in-depth research of the conventions behind diffrent horror genres they can be found in our research tab.
what sources did we inspiration or influence from?
to gain a general feel for what a thriller/paranormal intro should do and be we looked at 2 main opening's, the first being the SCREAM intro. From this intro we took inspiration on how to build tension and how the suburban home is so effective as it makes the viewer think the protagonist is safe but then it takes a sudden turn and we took this idea of a sharp change from safe to being near death. The 2nd intro we looked at was the conjuring, this intro showed us a variation on how to lay out are intro as this one starts in the past tense and shows the viewer how we got to present which is where the film starts. We found that both of these introduction scenes had a influence on our end product. We looked at dead silence not for certain themes or visual effects but more for a professional view on how to lay out the credits and timings so that are introduction seems more professionally done.
How did we make our movie seem more professional and in line with other similar opening scenes?
When trying to create the most professional and best quality opening scene for a horror film we did many things. Firstly we tried diffrent equipment like tripods and many diffrent camera techniques such as transferring the camera between two people over a gate which gave the effect of a paranormal spirit hovering over the gate. We used stereo typical shots for a horror film to make it seem more authentic such as an over the shoulder shot, pov of killer and wide shot to establish the setting. When it comes to mise en scene did follow some conventions such as the killer wearing a mask, suburban house and the killer coming from the darkness which all connote the norms within horrors. Finally when we came to editing we used a variety of diffrent techniques, firstly we slowed down some clips so the transition seemed less jumpy, we used a vareity of diffrent flashes combined with sped up shots which gives a ghost movement effect and we picked 2 diffrent songs with diffrent tones which complement each other and give that high tension build up.
Did we challenge any stereotypical norms within horror films?
We did challenge one big norm within horror films and this was using a male as the main victim instead of women who are most stereotypically.
(Zak Bakouras)
Before even starting any process in producing our horror intro we did extensive research into the genre of our choice e.g. thriller/paranormal.We had found out that the from doing research in the thriller genre that the main element is to constantly build up tension and make the viewer feel on edge with jump scares in between that make the movie seem more jumpy. we also found out that in thrillers the killer always seems to be male whilst the victim is are mostly females which plays into gendered stereotypes that show women as being vulnerable. The second main genre that we planned to put into our filming was paranormal, when doing research we felt like paranormal films had similarities with thrillers which is why we thought they would be good blend for a horror scene intro. The main conventions that surround paranormal is a spirit trying to posses or kill the main protagonist. They also seem to be set in suburban houses which we thought was a really effective setting as we felt that it allowed the viewer to be even more immersed as they can relate to the position of the protagonist as they are watching from their own house and although we didn't go all out with the paranormal theme in our final filming we used lots of the main key themes used within the paranormal genre. For the full in-depth research of the conventions behind diffrent horror genres they can be found in our research tab.
what sources did we inspiration or influence from?
to gain a general feel for what a thriller/paranormal intro should do and be we looked at 2 main opening's, the first being the SCREAM intro. From this intro we took inspiration on how to build tension and how the suburban home is so effective as it makes the viewer think the protagonist is safe but then it takes a sudden turn and we took this idea of a sharp change from safe to being near death. The 2nd intro we looked at was the conjuring, this intro showed us a variation on how to lay out are intro as this one starts in the past tense and shows the viewer how we got to present which is where the film starts. We found that both of these introduction scenes had a influence on our end product. We looked at dead silence not for certain themes or visual effects but more for a professional view on how to lay out the credits and timings so that are introduction seems more professionally done.
How did we make our movie seem more professional and in line with other similar opening scenes?
When trying to create the most professional and best quality opening scene for a horror film we did many things. Firstly we tried diffrent equipment like tripods and many diffrent camera techniques such as transferring the camera between two people over a gate which gave the effect of a paranormal spirit hovering over the gate. We used stereo typical shots for a horror film to make it seem more authentic such as an over the shoulder shot, pov of killer and wide shot to establish the setting. When it comes to mise en scene did follow some conventions such as the killer wearing a mask, suburban house and the killer coming from the darkness which all connote the norms within horrors. Finally when we came to editing we used a variety of diffrent techniques, firstly we slowed down some clips so the transition seemed less jumpy, we used a vareity of diffrent flashes combined with sped up shots which gives a ghost movement effect and we picked 2 diffrent songs with diffrent tones which complement each other and give that high tension build up.
Did we challenge any stereotypical norms within horror films?
We did challenge one big norm within horror films and this was using a male as the main victim instead of women who are most stereotypically.
(Zak Bakouras)