EVALUATION- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our final outcome was designed to be a professional product which could easily inerate into the mainstream film industry with only a few progressive movements.

From my research the standard format of a horror genre's opening titile's were well established throughout the film industry standard. As a primary resource there was an obvious impact from our own experience of horror films in their entirity. Due to personal preference we had an idea for a stalker-esque film which would seem appropriate in the current horror climate (with films like; Fatal Attraction, Scream and One Hour Photo as resources) but with investigation and the lack of recent popular releases dettering from these themes the gorup decided (and was enticed) to further our ideas in a supernatural direction with upcoming releases; 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' 2010, 'Drag Me To Hell' and 'The Unborn' which in plot all maintain a stron supernatural or paranormal element that is sometimes undefined. This became our point of interest the introduction of the 'cursed' element as a more tandemic route for our premise.

Subconciously the opening titles were formed from the idea of a continous scene in the retrospective style of 'Hitchcock'. His film 'Rope' is edited to give the notion of a continous shot that also places the action in realtime. Although not evident profusely in our final outcome the premise was built soundly on a one shot constant focus on a single figure. The hope was this continuation would build tension much like that of the focus and excess movement much like that in 'Rope' and also 'Touch of Evil'. Although, in the advancement of technology it was easier to prodcue an agressive and tensious opening titles from a sucession of shots which interelated much like that of 'Dawn of the Dead' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0no0HE3xMo)

Due to our initial idea being so stationary in comparison to the movement of the camera evident in the example of tracking in 'Rope' and the the montage-esque flow of the opening titles of 'Dawn of the Dead' we finally used, was created by following the example of the film 'Se7en' (and the prior examples).

Defining separate shots and scenes seemed important in the editing process. By framing shots as to skew a perspective and then cut in a fastidious manner reflected the motion and ferociousness we wanted to suggest in the plot that would follow and acted in s subliminal fashion. We established several props, characters and settings; a female lead, the burning doll, a wilting rose, the bedroom (the mirror could be defined as separate, the reflection has its own space) and an exterior 'recreational' area, the swing and path. 'Se7en' focuses on; a book, a razor blade, skin, a masculine character established by hands and a needle.

The main difference is our introduction of an established environment, in 'Se7en' the interior is only suggested by the high-key lighting but that is differentiated by a contrasting low-key perhaps used to suggest a time progression. This was used to give the audience the relationship between the events in this film and the probability it could happen in any location. If no specific environment is established it can be assumed to be generic and creates a vast space for a verisimilitude that is overall more believable. We didn't conform to this as we were suggesting an idea similar to 'The Exorcist' of an isolated case for the later premise of our film. The suppression from our characters isolation and loneliness in the 3 locations gives her an ambience of the unpredictable, the shallowness of her movement enhances this perspective of diminishment. Hopefully to an extent to be retrospective enough to be credible in a modern filmic industry.

Some other point which I have tried to create relevance from in previous posts was the extent

I researched music and spent time composing and then re-composing in various forms to

create a piece which not only conformed to a stereotypical composition but also used

modern technologies in the form of advance additive synthesis and sampling and then

developed to conform in terms of musical structure within minimalism and experimental

pieces of composers like 'Philip Glass' and 'Steve Reich'.

'Candyman' Textual Analysis

'Candyman' is a 1992 horror film based around the idea of re-constituted urban legends and their realization in a contemporary reality.

What struck me about the opening title sequence was the use of one continuous shot. Instead of using a decisive succession of quick cuts and fades to present a motion of time in a film's reality the constant pace an tracking of the camera is a reasonable device to build tension when coupled with a dramatic change. The slow pace and apparent tracking of a vehicle is comparable to the motion of the female lead in 'Suspiria'. There is a sense of pace and accuracy in the performance form the actress whilst created with several shots that reverse and show point of view. The difference is the wideness of the exterior 'birds-eye' view in comparison to the seemingly close and narrowed shot in 'Suspiria'. The journey the audience are forced along in 'Candyman' is elegant and undeniably a metaphor for the effortless motion and strength of a character we are going to be introduced to.

The iconography of a long slow car journey is suggested although we are not even in a car, the longevity of the grey mass laid out before us is daunting, perhaps more so to an English audience due to the volume of road presented. It is clearly established as an American set film due to the block suggestion of the buildings and the width of the road. As subconsciously a road will represent a journey taken or not, the only lead to the meaning o this journey would be the environment the road is encountering. the fall form a tunnel, the bridge and its water bellow and the complex road junctions. The imagery of a tunnel is the illumination in learning something but in compensative use with the water's meaning of death and the imagery of a heart of cardio-vascular system the ideas of flesh and being form. Importantly a straight track is not followed the camera moves vertically aswell in a random fashion with an insecure pretense.

The striking thing to me is the use of a sound which can be presumed to be diegetic or non. There is a male voice heard which could correspond to the sound inside a vehicle or an additional sound exterior to the scene. As we have established no characters it should be taken as a non-diegetic sound coupled with the music. So suddenly we are presented with a combination of the static radio and gothic cathedral-esque music with a choir and organ. the amalgamation of prospective eras is relative to the folklore premise and story like realism of the film.

Some New Textual Analysis

The film 'Supsiria' has recently come to my attention through my horror music research.

The inital flow of credits is reminiscent of perhaps, lower budget production values but serves as an immediate pace setting. The non-diegetic use of a voice over is in tandem with a percussionist dream like music is a visage to the narrative format and fairytale facade this film creates. the lullaby like music motif we hear consistently is simultaneously linked to the strange framing choices.

The descending crane of the camera would usually place the audience in a position of authority due to the space and freedom they are given by the smooth swoop across the screen but the framing of the people who are moving towards the camera is awkward due to the relatively high cutoff just below the shoulders. This way there is a discontinuation with the establishing of the main actress. She is shown in this shot but it clearly meant to be a generic female role in the initial conception.

The next shot is a 3 shot with a direct connotation of the holy trinity. The correlation of the female presence and the direct absolution of the primary masculine nature of this trinity is a reference to future developments of female superiority later in the film. As no male characters are established, except for a subservient male taxi driver there is a social bond between the fragile nature of a stereotypical woman and the apparent strength and dominance of the females in this film. This shot also allows the main character to be established in the movement of the two parallel females past the camera. Again asserting the female dominance as they can move at a faster pace than the audience is allowed by the director and also embodies the initial sensitivity and weakness of the central female lead.

The first glimpse of surrealism enters in the reverse shot the audience experiences in the proceeding movement of camera. The music itself non-diegetic rises above the diegetic sound in volume. The tannoy voice over is quickly cut to allow our perception of her dislocated state. In a generic film the verisimilitude is created by being as realistic to the world created as possible but as we have been told by a voiceover this is our reality (as he has named countries as Germany ect.) there is a breakdown of the films immediate realism. This is what establishes the film as uncomfortable. If the director has deliberately used this, which he has, it has been to the effect of disrupting barriers in the movie, the audience have suddenly become enveloped in the lead characters own imagination, her dreams, and is now subject to the limitless possibilities of the human mind.

Setting the initial scene in an airport could have several connotations. An airport is a place of transit and, for most is the first part of a new country you see. The idea behind the use in this horror film is to establish a strong sense of location and the essence of dislocation for the character. Forcing the creation of a symbiotic relationship between the decidedly 'lost' lead role and the audience themselves. In contrast another interpretation could be that the airport was used to manufacture a correlation between commercialization in the 1970's and a seemingly processed movement of human culture. The performance given in the slow pace towards the mechanical and metal/glass clinical door is coupled with a white dress and small eggshell blue scarf. The denotation is instantly distilled with the connotation of hygiene and a hospitalized environment that is thrown in harsh red lighting, reminiscent of a microwave's radiation and lighting. The impression of purity and cleanliness is a suppressive link to the increase in mass culture and social climate change in the 1970's, primarily from growth in the technological sector of industry.

A strange match on action use occurs in this sequence of her progression towards the exit. The highlight is given to the mechanical movement of an automatic door. The door itself seems reluctant to move as it is timed to perfection but also is violent and unremorseful in it inhuman state. The ferocious timing and execution of this spliced continuation editing is disturbing due to the connotations of mechanical superiority being almost framed as an obedience in the presence of this unseemingly woman. If machines fear her, should we?

Fluently, Dario Argento has a consious deliverence from the seexulaiasiation of innocence and the virginal state of the femlae form. The vivid penetration of the machinery is a physical manifestation fo the raw sexual energy that is hel within the characters virginal looks. The gust of wind the breaks her hear across her face would represent her loss of protection and the meatphorical 'first time' her conception fo the country and also her sexuality. My interpretation of the strong female presence later in the film provided a strong lesbian characterisation and tperhaps the lack of a male dominance within her first 'penetration' within the film relates to the lack of sexual orientation.

The Cursed | Music Upload

After comparing our footage to that of a gothic horror like that of Hammer Productions I decided more drama and articulation was needed in our soundtrack.

The opening title sequence for 'The Horror Of Dracula' Has a full orchestral score and so does 'the Phantom Of The Opera'. The use of strings and voice is truly prevalent and created a luscious cacophony of dissonance untouched in my original composition. Although there is no use of dissonance in these examples the principles of auxiliary chords (chord with additional unsequencial notes) the idea is more contemporary and the mixed frequencies produced create a scream like timbre to all the instruments.

The new music also bears resemblance to the leitmotif used in 'Suspiria' the breath just audible and the repetitive cell of melody was the perfect suggestion for a supernatural horror.

MUSIC FINALLY FINISHED FOOTAGE TOO

This may be one of the happiest days of my life!

After several hours of strenuous labour on the editing process we finally have a product which is presentable to an audience. The new outlook of a ferocious volatile film structure has provoked me to re-compose the music to the footage rather than fit the track we already have.

Credits

My research on youtube suggested a specific order for the credits to follow and to merge into convention I believe we should follow this order. Here is a list of possible credits and the order they will follow:

Prince Studios Presents
a Vallis Williams production
Sophie Thomas in
The Cursed
Phillip moore, Michael Jones, Stuart Cocker
Casting by - Penelope Hurst
Music by - John Vallis
Cinematographer - Stacy Williams
Art Director - Helen Austin
Editor - Liam Greenfield
Production Designer - Jane Matthews
Screenplay by - Micheal Gregory
Produced by - Sam James
Executive Producer - Jane Phillips-Smythe
Directed by - Simon Snow

The title sequence of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang uses the same order most title sequences in modern films follow. To add the air of professionalism we wish to achieve we will follow the basic outline structure of this format.