Harriett Folan: December 2016

'How does your media product represent particular social groups?'

There are many different factors that contribute to the representations in my short film. Examples of these are gender, ethnicity, age, regional identity, disability and sexuality. Some of these representations can be shown in a positive or negative light in our short film. There are also stereotypes that are shown and used within the film as well as counter types.

Gender-
In our opening of s horror film, there are many gender representations that can be analyzed. Firstly, the antagonist in our short film is a male. The general expectation of an antagonist in a horror film would be a man. The violence that is insinuated with the bat, as well as the news reports are mainly linked to a violent man, attacking the weak. You are also unable to identify the male antagonist which can links to the fact that men can be cowards in the sense of not wanting anyone to know them doing wrong, so t hey mask themselves. There is also a blonde male victim. This stereotype can be challenged as even though he leads her up the stairs, being a protective boyfriend, as well as being polite letting the lady go first, with the character being blonde he juxtaposes the usual strong male figure as blonde is connected to being less intellectual as well as quite girly therefore it is a countertype. This can make the character vulnerable and in danger, due to the unknown, the clown coming into the house. As well as a male victim we have a female victim that has brown hair. The female character in this film represents and challenges many stereotypes in the film. The first one that is shown in this short film is the fact that she is the one making a cup of tea in the kitchen. This can support the belief that women are meat to be in the kitchen doing homely activities. Female characters are stereotypically meant to do a lot of unpaid labor type work therefore this representation of the female in our short film supports this. Another stereotype that is portrayed by the female in the opening of our short film could be the fact that she has to be led up the stairs b y the male figure which shows that she is unable to do this for herself. This links to the stereotype of the fact that women depend on men, and are not independent in making decisions. The male figure insinuated going upstairs by turning off the TV as well as holding her as they walk up the stairs. But there is a counter type which is represented through the female character and this is the fact that she has brown hair. Usually the damsel in distress is a blonde women, and this is because blonde hair represents purity and innocence. All of these gender stereotypes that are shown in our opening can be supported by the theory of stereotypes that was set by Tessa Perkins.

As the brief was to create a short film I spent several hours watching short films to see what the key features that were included in horror films in general. Whilst watching examples of openings to horror films such as Amityville Horror, Scream, Hush, Purge and IT, I gathered information from each film that helped me with my own opening to a horror film. Each micro element in the films I analysed all played a big part in forming my own idea as in my short film there are many connections to each film I watched. These micro elements include, Mise en Scene, Camera Angles, Sound and Editing. Each of these microelements contributes in m short film. For example, in the Amityville Horror that was released in 2005 the mise en scene is very important throughout the opening of the film. The location and where the start of the film takes place are key features due to how it is set in a house. Using a house as a location is clever because it automatically gives the film a realistic feel and can create connections between the characters and the audience watching the film. It will make the audience feel more involved. Another key feature in the film Amityville Horror is the credits that are shown. Also shown in the opening of the film is a series or montage of news reports and newspapers. This links to my own idea because in my group’s film there is a very distinctive news report on the clown craze In the UK as well as a montage of clown videos that immediately let the audience know what the film is going to be about, which is the same circumstance as Amityville Horror because it shows the audience what the whole film is going to be based on straight away which eliminates any misunderstanding of what is going to be taking place within the plot.

Another film that can be linked to my own group idea by a certain micro element could be the 1996 American slasher film Scream written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Wes Craven. The film follows the character of Sidney Prescott who becomes a victim and target of a mysterious killer known as ghost face. This film can be linked to my groups idea and opening of a horror film with the micro element mise en scene as well as diegetic sound. An example of mise en scene in the film Scream in the very famous opening starring Drew Barrymore, the popcorn. The popcorn is used to continuously create tension that is becoming stronger as the opening goes on. By using the popcorn cooking and finally popping can be a metaphor for the suspense that is being produced. The popcorn plays a big part in the opening of the film so my group decided that we wanted to recreate this idea and use something completely different. Due to our location being a house we thought that we should be using something that is commonly used in the kitchen of a house. We thought about what would be the most suitable appliance in the kitchen and finally came to the conclusion of using the kettle. We realised that the kettle slowly builds whilst boiling the water as well as the sound getting progressively louder. The diegetic sound will be the kettle getting louder as the scene becomes more serious. As the kettle boils it will cause the tension to rise as the opening goes on. By using the kettle is helps us to let the audience know that something bad is happening continuously and is leading to the climax of the opening which happens right at the end of the scene. The sound of the kettle is unsettling and unpredictable due to the outbursts of the water in the kettle when it gets hot, therefore this appliance is perfect for our opening because little elements of our plot happen throughout to cause unease for the audience, and an example of this would be when the clown appears behind the glass of the door, as well as the glass window of the living room and lastly when the camera zooms up to door not being properly locked after the victims go upstairs.

Another film that would connect and could possibly link to the plot and storyline of our film could be the 2016 psychological horror film Hush, produced by Blumhouse productions. As a group we used different shots in order to interlink our short film to certain other films that have already been produced. The link between Hush and our film is the fact that there is a strong stalking element within the film. In Hush, the first half an hour of the film contains a lot of little hints and shots that suggest to the audience that the main character is being stalked. Similarly to this, in our short film we have specifically included a long shot taken in the kitchen when the girl is standing making a cup of tea, as well as when she has just gone in to the living room, with the clown standing in the door way, where he is visibly seen through the window of the door. This is done to create a sense of tension and helplessness for the audience, as they know that there is something wrong but the characters do not. This also adds to the tension within the film as it builds up everything that will all climax at the end of the film. Another shot that is taken in our short film is a point of view shot taken outside of the window looking into the characters watching Tv. This point of view shot is very important because it shows the sites of the antagonist and helps the audience understand what the clown is seeing. This is a popular occurrence in horror films as it involves the audience in seeing what they consciously do not want to see but also subconsciously do want to see. This adds to the psychological content of the film and makes the audience want to see more.

As well as 2016's Hush, the gory horror film The Purge that was produced in 2013. Right at the start of the film there is a huge montage of scary clips that informs the audience of what the purge is and what happens. The effect of a montage of CCTV clips at the start of the film, gives the film a realistic feel and this is channeled throughout the whole of the film. In comparison, our film has a montage of clips and pictures of clown attacks that have happened throughout the world. This will grab the watchers attention and also make them aware of what is actually happening in the world craze at the moment. It will make the audience stop and think about what has happened and will maybe encourage them to research it and gain awareness. As the clown craze was actually a real and was actually happening during the time we made an idea for our film, it will give our short film a very truthful and genuine representation of the events that occur within our film. Adding to this, the news reports in the back ground of the opening titles of both The Purge and our groups film, are very similar which makes the link between the two films stronger.

Lastly, the micro element of mise en scene is seen in 'Smile' can be linked to the film 'IT'. The costume of the villain seen in the film IT is a full clown costume with make up and a wig. This has a slight link to our film, but our film has a modernistic twist to it. In the recent clown sightings in the UK, they have all been linked to the younger generation. Therefor in our film, the clown is of the younger generation picking on two young people. Our clown has clown make up with a bloody smile to it, but has a modern tracksuit on as his costume. In the older film 'IT' the clown wears a full body costume including a wig and plain like make up, but with big sharp teeth to give the clown a scary look. But in contrast the clown in 'IT' is an older man picking on younger children.