Carrie Textual Analysis

26/10/15

This week, as I am finishing my textual analysis, I will begin to think about my influential figures in terms of what we would like to produce as a group. I will be thinking about directors, institutions and actors and will be collecting things like YouTube videos to get a better understanding of the thought processes behind their films. I will be aiming to finish all this research by the end of the week.

The Ring Textual Analysis

Saw II Textual Analysis

Saw II is the second film in the seven part Saw franchise and was released in 2005, following the release of the first film in 2004. It was directed and co-written by Darren Lynn Bousman, who also directed the third and fourth installments in the Saw franchise. We focused on analysing the ‘Venus fly trap’ scene from the film. The scene follows Michael Marks, who finds himself in a ‘Venus fly trap’ contraption before the villain Jigsaw informs him that the key to unlock the trap is situated behind his right eye. He cannot bring himself to remove his own eye so the ‘Venus fly trap’ eventually closes on his head, which results in his gory death.

As an audience, we can immediately identify the film to be a horror film through the use of typical generic conventions. The scene appears to be set in some sort of basement, which is a typical setting for a horror film. Dark colours, like green and black, and dark lighting are used to set the mood and atmosphere, also connoting the nature of the events that will take place later on. Michael Marks finds himself alone in this setting, which could be considered as another typical convention, as isolation often plays a part in the events that take place in horror films. Later on in the scene, Jigsaw sends a message to Michael on a screen. This is a typical convention, as in a lot of horror films the villain’s identity is concealed from the other characters. Another typical convention is the gory nature of the main event of the scene, where the ‘Venus fly trap’ closes on Michael’s head. This typical convention is emphasised by the screaming from Michael as he dies and the blood that can be seen on the floor afterwards. Using typical generic conventions will appeal to an audience because they will be able to identify them and it may help them to understand the story line more clearly.

The narrative of the films presents some typical characters from Propp’s character theory. Jigsaw is the typical villain and this is connoted by his deeper voice and hidden identity. Michael could be considered the ‘princess’ character as he is in distress and needs to be rescued. At this stage, the narrative seems to be a single strand, but Jigsaw makes some references to Michael’s occupation and things he has done, connoting that there is more than one narrative strand. The narrative is in third person as it allows the events to speak for themselves and as Saw II is the second film in a franchise, this suggests that it has a continuous narrative. In this scene, binary opposites can be seen of good versus evil, in regards to Michael and Jigsaw but we cannot know for sure whether it is protagonist versus antagonist as at this point we may be unsure as to whether Michael would be considered the protagonist. As an audience, the narrative may be considered as easy to follow as here it appears to be linear and the narrative structure allows the characters to be easily identified.

In terms of sound, both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds are present in this scene. For non-diegetic sounds, high pitched string instruments are heard in the background which create tension for the audience as the sharp sounds create a build up to the action. Also for non-diegetic sound, a ticking sound can be heard once Michael has been given the task of finding the key to the trap before it’s too late. This also creates tension as the ticking sound connotes the countdown to the end of his life, creating an anticipation from the audience. On the other hand, there are some effective examples of diegetic sound throughout this scene. Jigsaw, the antagonist, has a distorted voice which connotes the mystery and sinister nature of his character. Michael’s screaming is diegetic and this creates suspense as the audience is able to understand the horrific nature of his situation and potential death. The lack of sound in the scene once the ‘Venus fly trap’ has closed effectively connotes Michael’s death and makes this easy for the audience to understand.

The editing of the scene initially appears to be slow but this soon drastically changes. Once Michael is given his instructions from Jigsaw, the editing begins to become faster paced in order to build suspense and anticipation for the audience as he is getting closer to his death. There is also cuts between different shots of Michael’s face which allows his emotions to be exaggerated and may result in sympathy towards him from the audience. As Saw II is a horror film, the target audience will have to be more mature, especially as the film is certificated as an 18 in most countries. The appeal of horror films could be linked to the uses and gratifications audience theory as some people would consider it to be a diversion and a form of entertainment. It could also be linked to the social side of this theory as people often discuss what they would do if they were put into that kind of horrific situation. There is an indirect mode of address to the audience throughout the scene which could have its downsides as the audience may not be able to connect fully with the storyline or with the characters. This scene from Saw II features a lot of typical mise-en-scene for a horror film. The use of the darker, green tinted lighting creates a creepy, unsettling atmosphere, especially as the use of low key lighting creates a lot of eerie shadows. The basement is a typical setting and the fake blood and detailed eye make-up make Michael’s wound more realistic so it will have a bigger impact on the audience. The fly trap machine is a horrific contraption that looks quite medieval and connotes the ruthless nature of Jigsaw’s power. The image of the clock further connotes the idea of a countdown to the end of Michael’s life. When the negative image of a head is shown, this connotes and x-ray and indicates to the audience that the key to the machine is behind Michael’s right eye. When Michael is being told these instructions, the screen that Jigsaw appears on is shown through a distorted image, which connotes Jigsaw’s twisted mental state.

There are also examples of ideology in this scene of Saw II. There is both a stereotype and a reverse stereotype that could be interpreted from this scene. Since Jigsaw appears to be male, he presents a stereotypical male character as they are represented as being dominant and in control. In contrast, Michael could be seen as the reverse stereotype of a man as he is presented as being a vulnerable character. Jigsaw’s ideology is also shown as the audience knows that he believes Michael is not worthy of his life as he is a ‘snitch’, which gives the audience more of a sense of his character and his values. In this scene, specific camera shots are used to create certain effects. For example, there are frequents uses of POV shots, which is effective as it allows the audience to imagine what it would be like to be faced with Michael’s situation and makes it easier to relate to him. There are also a couple of high angle shots of Michael at the beginning of the scene, which connotes his vulnerability and weakness. While he battles to remove the fly trap machine from around his head, there are lots of close ups and extreme close ups on Michael’s face.

This allows his emotions and distress to be connoted to the audience, which may stimulate a sympathetic response from them. In this scene, lots of typical generic conventions of horror can be seen which may help us when we are finalising ideas for our own production. We will most likely be using the convention of a climatic build up as we feel like this is an effective way to have an impact on the audience. However, some of the props used like the ‘Venus fly trap’ machine are not something that we will be able to use as we have such a small budget. This is something we would have to consider when we are thinking about how to create effective mise-en-scene for our production.

18/10/15

As it is half term, over this week I plan to complete all of my textual analysis work. This research and analysis will allow us to gain a better understanding of the conventions of the horror genre and how we can effectively apply them to our own production. I will be looking at a few films including Saw II, Sinister, The Ring and Carrie, as these films are similar to the type of film we would like to produce and have all been very successful in the box office.

Sinister Textual Analysis

In our group we chose to analyse the opening to the film 'Sinister' to gain inspiration and further ideas for our own production. When the film begins, an establishing shot of the setting is shown. The audience is shown a scene with four people, who appear to be standing under a tree. This opening scene is very slow paced, which allows the audience time to think about what might take place in the scene. As the audience is already aware that it is a horror film, this creates a sense of foreboding for what might be about to happen. The whirring noise that can be heard in the background of this opening scene connotes that it is filmed on an old camera and creates the idea that it is a home style video.

This leaves the audience wanting to know why someone would be filming this. This scene also appears to be in some sort of forest behind someone's house which could be considered a conventional setting for a horror film. The opening scene to Sinister creates a creepy atmosphere, especially as the scene progresses and the audience sees that the four people are being hung from the tree and you see the last moments of their lives. This leaves this audience wanting to know more as they want to know why this has happened. This sort of opening is conventional for a horror film as it establishes the plot but leaves the audience wondering what will happen later on. Once the people have been hung, a clicking sound is heard as the screen goes to black which connotes that the camera has now been switched off and that the narrative strand is about to change.

The plot now flashes forward, showing the audience that the plot is non-linear as it is not taking place in chronological order. The audience is now shown scenes with what appears to be a happy family consisting of a father, a mother, an older boy and a younger girl. This is another example of a conventional opening to a horror film because everything appears to be fine but this creates a sense of foreboding for the audience as they know something bad will happen to this family. The cardboard boxes that are in this scene connote that the family are just moving into this house. The house that they are moving into appears isolated which connotes that they may be vulnerable there. It is also clear in these scenes that the narrative is in third person as we are able to understand the events through the character's dialogues towards each other. We also get the impression that there are either double or multiple strands as there is the initial opening, and then the scenes with the family and then later on other home style videos are shown, which could be considered as multiple strands. The way that these strands are presented to the audience connotes that they are intertwined. Once the family are inside the house, more dark colours are used which is conventional of horror films and also connotes that something significant will take place in this house.

However, when there are scenes inside the house where the whole family are together, there is more light on them which connotes the importance of this family unit. This also connotes the contrast in happiness between the family and the setting. Most of the opening of the film is slow paced which connotes that the film may have a slow build up but then suddenly go into the action.

In terms of representation, the man appears to be the most important character which could be seen as a stereotype because men are usually presented as the dominant characters in many films. His wife appears to be more of a secondary character which connotes that she is not the most important and may be a stereotypical character in films that doesn't have much importance to the plot. However, they do seem to be fairly equal in terms of their relationship dynamic. The house is represented as a typical American house in a typical American neighbourhood. In this film, a stereotypical family unit of a father, a mother, a son and a daughter is presented rather than a more diverse family unit which more people may be able to relate to.

Sinister is rated as a 15 which suggests that it would appeal to more of a mature target audience. The film uses many conventions that are typical of a horror film which means that it may be easier for the audience to understand and it may have the things that they are looking to find in a horror film. On the other hand, the inclusion of these typical conventions may mean that the audience may find the film to be predictable as they may want to be shocked when they watch the film. For our own production, we may choose to use some conventional features of the horror genre like having a slow, climatic build up to the action. However, we may choose to subvert some of the generic conventions as these sometimes make the film predictable and it may not have the impact on the audience that we want it to have if we stick to all of the conventions. Straying away from conventions may surprise the audience as it is not what they would typically expect from a horror film, so they may be more engaged in the plot.

Response to the brief

We have chosen to take on the brief of the video, which is to produce the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes. In our group, we have chosen this because we were more passionate about the video production side and we all decided this would be more fitting for us personally. We debated between doing a film opening for a horror film or an action adventure film. In the end, we came to the conclusion that a horror film would be a better option because we felt that we all had stronger ideas for this genre and it was just more realistic for us. We did have to consider the advantages and disadvantages for each genre to make this decision but we felt that the horror genre would give us the most effective opening.

We are aiming our film at an audience that is of a similar age to us and maybe a little bit older. This would be a good target audience for us to focus on because we are able to relate to them and hopefully understand what they would like to see in the opening to a horror film. As we are a similar age to our target audience, it will mean that we will know what existing horror films are popular in our age group and also what people think the current problems are with horror films. Hopefully, this will mean that we will be able to provide our target audience with an effective film opening.