The Horror Genre – Scarily Entertaining

BTEC EXTENDED DIPLOMA – CREATIVE MEDIA PRODUCTION (TV & Film)

Unit 26: Film Studies

Assignment 1 of 1

The Horror Genre – Scarily Entertaining

In modern day, the horror genre is a very popular genre amongst the public, Horror films often deal with the viewer’s worst fears. They create a living nightmare for the audience and can cause true terror for some. Horror films have many sub genres. Including Psychological Horror, Slasher Horror, Splatter Horror and Zombie Horror. There is no type of horror that is more common than the others. So I’ll start with one of my favorites, The Psychological horror.

           Out of all of the horror types this is the one that requires the most active spectatorship. As the story relies on the audience’s fears, thoughts and feelings to cause the emotions needed to create the scares. They also usually play on the audience’s guilt and beliefs, and use very strange and unnerving music scores and sound effects, this builds up a lot of tension and creates a stronger plot. A prime example of a psychological horror is The Sixth Sense (1999). The story is about A boy named Cole Sear “Haley Joel Osment” who communicates with spirits but doesn’t know they're dead. He then seeks the help of a child psychologist “Bruce Willis”. This film is a perfect example of a Psychological horror. As it uses unnerving sound effects, and some very powerful shots to build tension and get inside the mind of the viewer. A prime example of this is the shot where Cole is in his bedroom and he wants to go to the bathroom. He runs to the bathroom, hoping he won’t see anyone. But as he finishes there is a shot where a silhouette walks past the lens of the camera, along with the jumping sound effect used. This is a perfect shot, as it builds up a lot of tension and could make the strongest of minds crumble. This is the main reason why psychological horrors are my favourite, as they really make the viewer think and allow them to try and figure out what is going on. Then, just when they think they know, all is revealed and they are sat there. Not knowing whether to be scared or amazed. 

 

          Another very notable horror type would be the Slasher horror. Typically, Slasher films usually don’t require an active spectatorship. This does open up the audience slightly. As these films are usually just for notable antagonists and gore. The storyline never differs too much. All Slasher films usually have a group of friends or group of people, who are terrorised and murdered by either a notable “killer”(Halloween; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre; A Nightmare on Elm Street) or by an unknown person/people, who is/are revealed at the end, usually surprising the audience (Scream; I know what you did last summer) . These are the ones that usually cause the viewers to have a more active spectatorship, as they try to figure out who the killer is as they watch. Slasher films are usually known for their gore and suspense.

          As for the horror genre as a whole, the main reason why audiences (Including myself) like horror films and go to see horror films varies, it very much matters what type of horror movie it is, for example, in terms of Psychological horrors, audiences watch them for the suspense, jumps, and the active spectatorship needed. Whereas audiences will watch Slasher Horrors for other reasons, such as the gore and the antagonists.

          In my opinion horror is the best genre of film, the main reason for this is there is so many different types of horror films, whether I want to actively spectate a film and really get into it or just watch a film for some entertainment and for some jumps. The genre is so widespread and allows so much space to be very unique and creative. This is the reason why it is my favourite genre and I hope horror films keep developing and surprising audiences, like they have been for years.

Avengers Assemble - Promotional campaign analysis

BTEC EXTENDED DIPLOMA – CREATIVE MEDIA PRODUCTION (TV & Film)

 

Unit 26: Film Studies

Assignment 1 of 1

 

Avengers Assemble - Selling out!

 

On the 26th of April this year, marvel released their newest movie, and probably their biggest block-buster hit yet! Avengers Assemble. This movie brought together an all-star roster, including the character of Iron-man, captain America, Thor, and the big green man himself!! The movie was directed by Joss Whedon, and was also co-wrote by him, alongside Zak Penn. The film is also known as “The Avengers” or “AA”. The premise of the film is pretty simple. Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. assembles a group of superheroes to save the earth from the evil god “Loki” and his army.

          The target audience for this film is very broad, as it is pretty much a film for anyone. It has the very colourful “Superhero” characters, which appeal to the younger audience. It contains a lot of action and a decent storyline; it also brings together the fans of each of the movies that the characters are in.

          When it came to advertising The Avengers. The hardest part of the job (building up hype) was already well under way… In May 2008, “Iron Man” was released. Along with “The Incredible Hulk” being released in June of the same year. This is when the advertising for the Avengers really started, as between then and the release of AA. There has also been the release of Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011) and Captain America: The first Avenger (2011). This already started a massive fan-base of each movie. These fans would already be hyped for The Avengers which meant the numbers that followed just needed to be increased.

          To help with advertising, the makers of AA created an official website for the movie. The website is very well put together and includes many interesting sections for fans and followers alike. Including Videos, Characters, Downloads and an about section, which explains the movie in more depth, including the categories of Story, Cast and Crew. The Characters section contains mini Bio’s, and pictures of the ten main characters of the movie, which would have created an awful lot of hype for people visiting the website.

          A lot of big companies collaborated with “The Avengers”. This opened the audience of the movie up even more and allowed even more people to know about it and want to see it. These included:

 

Harley Davidson: The famous Motorcycle Company created a competition surrounding the avengers. As the winner would be illustrated, with their motorcycle. In an up and coming marvel digital comic. And they would win a custom designed H-D Motorcycle of your choice. This was a good way to advertise the movie to

    

  Hershey’s: The American Candy Company also held a competition with revolved around the Avengers. This had a top prize of a “5 film set”. It contained Iron man, Iron man 2, The Hulk, Thor and Captain America. This is a good way to advertise the movie to children, but also to parents,

as they may buy the sweets for their kids. 

 

There were also many other companies that compiled with The Avengers. Including Dr. Pepper, Visa, Norton, Acura and more. This was a great way of promoting the movie, as fans/users of each of the companies would get to know of the movie, and get interested in it.

Also, the typical users of each of the companies are very different in gender, age, etc. and because the movie will target almost everyone. This means that the advertising campaign was great because it was targeting as many of the target groups as it possibly could.

          The Avengers also had a TV spot during the super bowl which would have caused so much hype as so many people watch the super bowl. . Also, once again the audience watching the super bowl is very widespread and varies, which means a lot of people would be interested in the movie.  This would have been one of the biggest parts of the promotional campaign. There was also multiple TV spots and trailers released to create hype for the film.

 

 





A BBC News article talking about The Avengers, and it's box office smash





          Overall, The Avengers had a very successful promotional campaign. . The reason it was so successful was because the movie slowly built up a lot of hype and attracted a very wide audience. This is the main reason why The Avengers had such a good turn-out at the box office, The Avengers is now the #1 box office opening of all time.  

             

Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Original vs. Remake

BTEC EXTENDED DIPLOMA – CREATIVE MEDIA PRODUCTION (TV & Film )

Unit 26: Film Studies

 Assignment 1 of 1

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – ORIGINAL vs. REMAKE

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an American horror film, directed by Tobe Hooper. The film is based around five friends, who are visiting their grandpa's old house. Whilst their they are hunted down and terrorized by a chainsaw wielding killer, known as “Leatherface”, along with his family of grave-robbing cannibals. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or TCM, was very controversial upon its release in 1974, and left audience’s “Disgusted, it was even banned in certain parts of the world, Including the UK at one point. But in modern day, TCM is regarded as a classic horror, and was a massive influence on many horror films to come.      

The Hitch-Hiker from the original TCM

          TCM includes some very powerful scene’s, especially for the time when it was released. Including the Hitch-hiker scene, in which the five friends pick up a hitch-hiker (who we later find out is part of the crazy cannibal family) who talks about the slaughterhouse, takes a picture of franklin, who is one of the five friends, and then burns it in the back of the van And then cuts his own hand open with a blade which was concealed in his sock, and then proceeds to cut franklin. At this point he is thrown out of the van; as he smears his blood all of the side of it. This scene is extremely near the beginning of the movie, and really sets the mood for what is to come.



The very contreversial "Hook" Scene

Another very powerful scene, is the scene where Leatherface has just killed the character of Kirk, and the character of Pam enters the house to look for him, and ends up falling into a room which is covered in bones and carcass’. There are some very good shots in this part as it just cuts from shot to shot, showing you the hundreds and hundreds of bones everywhere, and this is very powerful. After that Leatherface captures Pam and places her on a hook in his “Workshop”, at the time of its release this was a very disturbing scene for the public, and was one of the reasons it was considered so controversial. 

And of course we cannot forget the infamous Dinner table scene, which show the character of Sally, tied to a chair, and the full sick, twisted cannibal family, this is an extremely powerful scene and the aftermath of this is the climatic chase scene.



           In 2003, a remake of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” was released, under the same title, now although the story line is very similar, it is also different. The story is still based on five friends, who get hunted down by the now “Infamous” Leatherface. But the circumstances are very different, which we will get to in a minute. As an overall the feel and look of the movie are quite similar, although the re-make feels slightly darker, and it feels like there is more of a story-line to it. It includes more back-story and talks more about the now named “Hewitt family” than the original. As for the story itself, the five friends are driving through the backwoods of Texas, and pick up a traumatized hitchhiker, who shoots herself in their van. Shaken by the suicide, the group seeks help from the locals, but their situation becomes even more of a living nightmare when they knock on the door of a remote house. It's quickly realised that a family of inbred psychopaths reside there, and the friends suddenly find themselves running for their lives. Not far behind is chainsaw-wielding cannibal known as Leatherface. As you can see, the story is somewhat different, but still similar enough to realise that it is a remake. As for the story and individual scenes in detail, the TCM Remake is quite different, the Cannibalistic family now consists of roughly 7-8 members, which as drastically grown compared to the original 4.

          Also many of the most powerful scenes of the original have had been changed quite drastically. For example, the hitch-hiker scene now consists of a girl, who is a victim of Leatherface. she shoots herself in the head back of the van at the beginning. In my opinion the changes made to this scene and the shots used (Especially the shot where we can see the characters through the gun-shot hole in the girls head) set a very different mood to the original. I can’t decide if this is for better or for worse, as both scenes are very well put together, and really set up the story very well in their own ways.



The lead up to the "Hook" scene in the Remake



Another scene which is quite different is the hook scene, as this time it is the Character of Andy who is placed on the hook, but at the same time the scene is very similar, as it is still set in Leatherface’s “Workshop”, which is now in the basement. Also the dinner table scene in the original, which is personally my favourite scene. Is very different, as in the remake they aren’t really around the table; they are just in the kitchen/living room.

 But once again the female lead is tied to a chair. Although this scene is extremely different to the original, it still shows the relationships between the members of the Hewitt family and the way they live, and even goes into deeper emotional levels than the original. And in my opinion the meaning of this scene (in the original and the remake) is to convey to the audience the relationships of the family. So even though the scene is done very differently I think it means exactly the same thing. There is also a big similarity between the two films, one of the most iconic shots of the original was included in the remake, this is the shot where Leatherface slams his steel door, which was one of the scariest and most memorable shots, in both the remake and the original.

          In conclusion, I think that both the original and remake of TCM are great pieces of film, and even though the content of the remake is somewhat different, I think it sparks the same emotions, thoughts and feelings as the original. Which I think makes it one of the greatest remakes of all time, as it is basically just a modern version of the film, it can bring that same fear, and that same amazement, and same thrills to another generation.

Stanley Kubrick - Auteur?

BTEC EXTENDED DIPLOMA – CREATIVE MEDIA PRODUCTION (TV & Film )

Unit 26: Film Studies

Assignment 1 of 1

What is an Auteur?

Out of all of the media texts, film is probably the one that requires the most collective effort, from a lot of different people, who all work together to get a film made. People generally see the most important people as the actor’s, who are on-screen but those who are also of great importance are the directors, as they are almost like the puppet master of the whole process. Some directors are very specific with their technique, personal style, and the meaning of their films. Directors who follow this path are known as auteurs.

          An auteur’s film reflects their personal vision, and is very stylistic. They are the type of director that will never change their vision for anything; they are usually very artistic and are very specific with what they want. Many directors who are considered auteurs become very well known, and develop their style as they make more and more films. There are many “auteurs” in the world of film-making, each with their own views and opinions, which shine through in each of their films in a very specific way because of their unique style. Many auteur directors will not settle for anything less than their vision, because of this they may stick to certain types of story’s, certain crew members, or even similar shots and sound-tracks.

Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick was an American film director. He is known as one of greatest filmmakers to come out of America. Kubrick was known for his perfectionism, using extreme care with scene staging and working extremely closely with his actors. His films were known for their amazing and unique cinematography, attention to detail, realism and beautiful soundtracks. Kubrick's films covered a variety of genres. These included horror, science fiction, war and even black comedy. During his career, Kubrick directed 16 titles, these included; A Clockwork Orange, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shining. In regards to auteur theory, Stanley Kubrick has very specific views and opinions on the world. And in my opinion this shows very well through his work, and even though he has directed many different genres, each of his movies has certain traits that let you know it’s a Kubrick movie. For a first, a lot of his films talk about almost “Controversial issues” and they are shown in an almost beautiful way. Kubrick uses a lot of very nice tracking shots and almost always uses a very “classy” musical score, and despite being an American, Kubrick filmed nearly every single film in the UK, which was where he lived with his family. Kubrick was also known for his extreme attention to detail. For example, during filming of the movie “The Shining”, Kubrick wanted approximately 70 takes of the scene where Halloran gets killed by Jack Torrance, but Jack Nicholson talked Kubrick into going easy on the 69-year-old Scatman Crothers and stopping after 40. Although Kubrick’s style is very “Specific”, it is all worth it in the end though. As his films end up being “Close to perfect” masterpieces.

My Opinion

In my opinion, Kubrick is definitely an auteur. As he fits into a lot of the point’s mentioned in the “Auteur Theory”. He has very specific ideas and he has a very specific way of film making, he uses similar shots, similar sound tracks, and even similar crew and filming locations, and because of this, I think that Kubrick will never be forgotten, and will always be considered one of the greatest (Auteur) directors of all time.