Treatment For My Film

Phoebe is home alone one evening. Someone is out to get her and after a minute or so of a tense 'when will it happen' moment, the killer eventually stabs Phoebe in the stomach letting her fall to the ground and die. The killer is then revealed to look the exact same as Phoebe.
A couple of days have past and no one knows where Phoebe is. Then one evening on the news they announce that there has been a murder. A CCTV camera reveals that the killer is 'Phoebe'. Everyone then assumes Phoebe is a murderer and that is the reason why she hasn't been home for the past couple of days. When the killer returns to Phoebes home the family act as if nothing has happened but eventually when their next door neighbour is found dead in his conservatory Phoebes mum confronts her about the murders. The killer then lashes out and kills Phoebes mum. The killer then leaves that night leaving a note saying that no one is safe and that they should watch their backs.
Phoebes best friend Naomi confronts her and asks her why she is killing everyone. The killer replys by saying she isn't Phoebe and that she killed Phoebe 2 weeks ago and dumped her body at the old mine. Naomi realises the danger and gets her friends and Phoebes brother and sister to all go to a hide out knowing none of them are safe.
Typically the killer finds them and goes about killing them all. Many of Phoebes friends are killed and eventually it is just Phoebes brother, Tom and Naomi left alive.
After a very long night of horror Naomi stabs the killer but not before the killer stabs Tom. As both Tom and the killer lay dying at the old mine Naomi asks where Phoebes body was dumped. The killer points a black bag. Inside it Naomi finds a couple of teddys which belonged to Phoebe. She realises what has happened and runs over to the killer. Minutes from death, Phoebe realises she has killed all of her family and friends. We see a flashback of Phoebe in bed having a nightmare. She awakes screaming but then turns to look at a photo of her boyfriend who we discover was the first person she killed and that the day before she had discovered he cheated. We find out that Phoebe is schizophrenic and the dream she was having was of her 'double' killing her (the opening sequence). We discover she wasn't really killed it was just her bad side killing her good side and that is the reason she was killing people.
Phoebe then apologises to Naomi and Tom and dies in Naomi's arms.

Originally I didn't really know what was going to happen after the opening. I had it planned that the killer would be identical to Phoebe but I didn't know the reason why she was killing the people. This is the feedback I got from telling the class my idea for the opening:

Why is the main character killing people? The answer to this is that the girl has gone pyschotic.

Is it reincarnation gone wrong? No as in the end you find out it is the same girl and her murder was all in her head.

Random clues and pictures to suggest insanity? Yes there could be some very subtle but hard to notice clues that only the most observant people would notice first time round.

Questionnaire Results

I handed out questionnaires to 17 people aged 17-25 and here are the results.

For questions 4 and 5 some people gave multiple answers.

Q1. When watching a horror, do you like to see an introduction to the characters or do you like to see a killing scene?

5 people said they would like to see a killing scene.

8 people said they would like to see an introduction to the characters.

4 people said they would like to see an introduction to the characters that includes a killing scene.

The majority would prefer to see an introduction to the characters.

Q2. What's your favourite horror film?

7 people said Saw.

1 person said Paranormal activity.

1 person said Shaun of the Dead.

1 person said One Missed Call.

1 person said Shutter.

1 person said Let Me In.

1 person said Triangle.

1 person said Haunting in Connecticut.

1 person said Silent Hill.

1 person said Predator.

1 person said Cabin Fever.

This shows that Saw is a very popular film.

Q3. Who is your favourite horror bad guy?

5 people said Jigsaw (John Kramer).

1 person said Zombies.

1 person said Mike Myers.

3 people said they don't have one.

3 people said Billy the Puppet.

1 person said Chad Michael Murray.

1 person said Dracula.

1 person said Jason Voorhees.

1 person said the guy from 'My Bloody Valentine'.

The majority of people like Jigsaw AKA John Kramer from Saw.

Q4. What's your favourite horror sub genre?

6 people said Mystery.

5 people said Romance.

4 people said Gore.

4 people said Thriller.

1 person said Crime.

3 people said Comedy.

This shows the majority of people like a mysterious horror.

Q5. Where would you like to see a horror set?

2 people said a warehouse.

6 people said an old house.

2 people said somewhere abandoned.

1 person said a small town.

1 person said Earth.

1 person said Transylvania.

1 person said Miami.

1 person said LA.

1 person said Bristol.

1 person said not sure.

1 person said a spaceship.

1 person said in a city.

1 person said a strip club.

These results show that the majority of people would like to see a horror set in an old house.

Q6. Do you prefer it when the main character is killed, the killed is killed or both killed?

5 people said the main character.

1 person said no one killed.

5 people said both killed.

4 people said killer killed.

1 person said any killed.

1 person said kill whichever one is ugly.

This shows that the majority of people want either the main character killed or the killer killed aswell as the main character.

These results have helped me see what people like to see in a horror film.

Institutions

I think that a studio that is likely to work with me is Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures as they worked with the Saw franchise. Twisted Pictures works with horror films and the average budget is around $8,000,000.Twisted Pictures is a production company which helps with the production and the budget of the film. Lionsgate is a distributor which releases the films. The films are distributed through the cinema and on DVD.

Film Certificate

My film is going to be an 18 as most horrors are. This is because of the violence, gore and strong language that will be in my film. This will target my audience as my target audience is anyone aged 18-25. The film being an 18 will show anyone that age that it must be very gory and violent and therefore they will be drawn into watching it as many people enjoy horrors.

Audience

My audience will be aged from 18-25. There will not be any particular gender as it is just a general horror film. Although, as it is about a girl who is a Madonna she is quite strong and more girls may be interested in watching it. Many people enjoy watching horror films so there will be a wide audience and there isn't really a 'typical' horror genre audience. People who are into programmes like 'The Vampire Diaries' may like the film as it is similar with the doppelganger storyline.

Titles

In some horror films the titles are mostly shown after different clips. For example, you will see a small clip of film then a title, then film, then title and so on. Horror films with a killing sequence at the beginning tend to show the name of the film after the victim has died. The font normally looks quite sharp and given a scary look. Mostly in horrors the titles fade in on the screen as it comes across as quite tense. The titles tell you the producers, the director and the name of the film.

For my film I am either going to add the titles as subtitles over the film which will slowly fade in and out or I am going to do the same as the Saw films where I will show a clip of film then go onto some titles, then more film then more titles.

Music

The music in horror is very tense and scary. In some films the music is quite screechy and echoey. At times the music can be very fast when the action is happening but other times it is quite slow and tense. The music is mainly used to compliment the visuals to make the scene scarier rather than the music being obvious.

Sometimes the music is obvious like in Saw where at the end of every film they play the same music 'Hello Zepp' which is played when the events of the movie are all coming together and being explained.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deAkIoEe16w - Ending of Saw

Tobin Bell - Saw

Tobin Bell is most known for his role in Saw as the killer Jigsaw (John Kramer). Most of his roles in films are of the villian or serial killer. He has the typical old man serial killer look. Tobin really gets into his role therefore making him seem like a real serial killer who is quite sick in the mind. Whilst catching his victims he wears a long black and red coat (as seen in picture) and a pig mask. This is typical of horror films as it hides his identity and makes it mysterious to whoever he is catching.

Mood Board

This is a mood board of a selection of images that relate to my film and it's horror genre.

Textual Analysis of Saw 6 Opening

The film starts with quite scary, screeching music. It sounds like knives and metal. The titles are in a white font that flashes neon blue and looks like a light bulb flashing on and off. It has a black background with what looks like barbed wire and also some red bits that could be blood connoting that that is what is in the film.

This then goes on to show a room just like what the titles represent. A dark, old room with a flashing bulb. After the titles it starts to show close ups of things and then goes onto more titles. This is setting the scene and showing the gruesomeness of things.

The first shot of the room starts un-focused and then focuses onto some round metal object, behind a wired fence, that looks quite intimidating. It being unfocused at first could represent the person waking up in the room and you almost feel like it is you who is in the room. The camera then pans slightly to the right and there is a pull focus onto someone's hand with a big bug on it. This adds to the disgustingness of the whole atmosphere but as you think that is disgusting it is nothing compared to what is coming up.

After more titles there is then a tracking shot going along a black wall to then show a long shot of the back of a women sat down with something on her head. You only see a small bit of the room to the right with two thirds of the screen just on the black wall. This could give the impression that the women is being watched and someone is peering round the wall at her. Behind the women is a very tall, dirty looking, metal table with an object on it. You see the wired fence again so you know that the metal object you saw previously is behind it.

There is then more titles. As more titles come up more blood is on the letters. This could represent what is going to happen in the film as people will be fine and then begin to shed more and more blood.

We then see the first shot again. We see a shot with a narrow depth of field with the hand in the foreground in focus and the metal object in the background out of focus. The bug is now crawling along the hand and the hand begins to move. This signifies that the person is now waking up. This then changes to a medium close up shot of the womens head tilted over still. It pans round her slightly and you see her shoulder shake up and down so you know she is still shaking off the bug. You now see the thing on her head a lot clearer. We see a large metal thing attached to her head that doesn't look pleasant. We see some more of the table. We can see a yellowy coloured tube to the right and part of a small chain to the left. She is wearing a blue shirt which could suggest that she was taken whilst at work on on her way to or from it. There is very little lighting in this shot with a slight bit of key light coming from the right and focusing on the women. Her right side is easy to see where her left side is quite dark. The contraption on her head is well lit on top but her face isn't so most of the focus is on the contraption. There is a few streaks of light on the back wall with the only light on the table on the chain and tube. This lighting is only on specific things and everything else is very dark and you cannot see it. This light is highlighting the only important things for this shot. It then once again shows the close up of her hand and you see her finally flick the bug on the floor.

We then see another tracking shot. It starts with a close up of the right on the table (left when looking at the women). We see a few objects neatly laid straight on it. To the right we see a knife. In the middle we once again see the chain. it is very long and in the middle it is all bunched up in a pile. We do not see where it starts or ends and we do not know what it is attached to, if anything. To the left of the shot we see a meat cleaver. We can slightly see a big metal ring attached to the end of each object giving the impression that the chain may be attached to them. The knives connote that there is going to be something quite gruesome coming up. There is very little light in this shot. There is backlight coming from near the women and some key light coming from the right but the objects are mainly dark.

The shot then tracks up and slightly to the left and we see a small glimpse of the tube and the back of the women.

We then once again see another tracking shot. It starts as a medium close up of the women to her right side. Her hand is moving towards her head and we hear her heavy breathing. In this shot there is a lot less light. Her face is completely blacked out and most things are very dark. There is some filler light on the top of the contraption and once again on the chain. This also is to highlight the important parts of the shot. As is tracks around the back of her she notices the contraption and you hear her loud gasp and she then grabs the contraption. As her hand is getting closer to her head her hand is very well lit as it is the main focus.

The tracking shot then switches to her right side and starts t track round her clockwise again. We see key light on her hand and the contraption once again to make it stand out. Her face is still unidentified. As she is grabbed onto the contraption her head then looks up with the light straight on it and you see her face for the first time. As her head goes up you hear a tense, fast sound. It sounds a bit like a loud metal door opening quite far away but you can still here the echo.

After this the light is mainly on her face showing her expressions as she has just realised is isn't home.

Throughout this first minute to the film there is quiet, tense music playing. It sounds creepy and is quite quiet like an echo. It fits with the room as it quite big and old. It sounds a bit like a breeze echo around the room. It connotes that it is quite a tense and creepy scene.

Textual Analysis of Scream Opening

I based my film mainly on the opening of Scream as it has a very similar opening. The film starts with a black screen and some tense music. You can hear something that sounds like wolves howling within the music. Then you hear a phone ringing as the word 'Scream' shrinks into the middle of the screen. As it gets to the right size, you hear a loud bang that sounds like a gun going off or maybe a door banging shut. After then you then hear a slight heartbeat. As you hear the heartbeat, a red light flashes around the letters, in time to it. This all builds up the suspensful and tense atmosphere. Then, the same as before when the letters were stretched out on the screen and then slammed together, the word 'Scream' in red then shrinks and slams on top of the white one. As this happens you hear screaming and another bang as it gets the the right size. This one sounds more like a knife slicing at something or hitting something metal. The letters then come towards the camera, the heartbeat and screaming still going, and you then see a medium close-up of a phone ringing on a small round, brown coffee table. The heartbeat carries on going until a hand reaches out and picks up the phone. As the phone is being picked up, the camera pans up - following the phone as it does - to a girls face. The girl is then showed in a medium close-up as she answers the phone. The girl is wearing a creamy coloured knitted jumper. This could show she is quite casual, but also shows that she is innocent and pure. The walls are also white, also showing her purity. To the left of her is a bookshelf filled with loads of books. This could suggest that she is quite intelligent and has a lot of knowledge. The room is quite light and to the right of the bookcase is a lit lamp, The lamp is causing a circle of light to shine onto the wall and ceiling which is right above the girls head. This makes her look angelic and innocent, almost as if it were a halo. Whilst she is on the phone in her house you can hear the slight sounds of crickets and ambience, giving away that it is night time and very quiet outside. When the phone rings again you once again see a medium close-up of the table as she grabs the phone. Once again the camera pans from the phone, to a medium shot of the girl. This time the camera is at a slight dutch angle. This signifys that something isn't right with the phone ringing again and that something is going to happen, linking to the phone call. Once again the light from the lamp is creating a halo above her head but this time you can see the back doors to the left. This makes the audience think, "Is the killer out there?" and creates suspense to hook them into the film. The camera then tracks along towards the girl and turning more to the left. This then gets rid of the lamp and bookcase and you start to see more and more of the dark back doors. Eventually, all that is behind the girl is the dark doors and windows. This could represent that she has gone from being safe and is now going into danger and that something is going to happen to her. As she puts down the phone and walks off the camera stays on the doors for about a second, making the audience feel as if there really is someone out there staring in. There is then a cut away of a tree outside in the dark. You can hear the ambient sounds. The camera pans down from the tree to show a big, white house. This makes the place look quite scary and the audience can see that there is quite a big space of emptiness around the house. It also makes the house look like an abandoned haunted house, because of the quietness outside of it. There is a swing attached to a branch in the tree that is slightly swinging. This could show her childish side as she has a swing in the garden. The fact that it is swinging could represent the lonliness in the house and the emptiness in the garden.

Textual Analysis of Saw 3D Opening

The film starts with quite sharp, screechy music. It starts quiet and gets louder as the titles 'A Lionsgate Release' zooms into view. This makes it sound like the titles zooming into view as the music fits in with the speed of it coming onto the screen. You can hear sounds that sound like knifes scraping on metal. This gives it a scary feel. The background of the titles looks like a long dark metal tube with little bits of light here and there giving the impression that maybe someone is inside something like a drain and there is a couple of holes in which light is seeping through. There are blood splatters on the screen showing that it is a scary film that will have loads of blood and gore. The titles are white and have a bright glowing effect. Some of the letters sometimes light up a bit more and flashes of white bright light feels the screen in certain areas.The letters now and then start shaking fast, almost as if an electrical current is running through them. To add to this there is also a slight sound of fuzzing electricity whenever they shake of light up. As the titles have first appeared on screen they stay there for a while and slowy start moving towards the screen. When you can first read them, you hear a non-diegetic voice over of Jigsaws voice. Whilst the titles are on screen he says "Hello Mr Hindell. Or as your friends called you around the hospital..." after he says that there is a slight pause in which the camera zooms down the pipe, past the titles and towards the darkness. As the screen goes completely black and the music pauses for a second, he then finishes with "Zepp." The music then kicks back in at quite a fast tense pace whilst a clip appears on screen that doesn't completely feel the screen. This is a kind of flashback that isn't from someone in the movies point of view. The reason why it isn't like other flashbacks where there may be a slightly different colour or in slow motion and with the sound being quite odd and quiet is because it is just a reminder of the end of the first film as it is relevent to know for the film. The small screen shows you that it is not part of the new film. It goes through the scene quite fast, skipping unimportant little parts so that you can understand the main point. At the end of this very quick clip, Jigsaw closes the door to Adam which then makes the screen go black and the music quietens down and is just a slight bit of music in the background which then carries it on to the next clip. This separates this part from the next part of the film which is when it actually properly starts. As the clip is about to come onto the screen the music gets slightly louder and sounds quite sharp and fierce as the clip suddenly appears. The music is very tense at this point but not fast, just quite breezy sounding. In the clip we see a medium shot of a green looking floor. Across the middle of it is a very wide smear of blood. In the blood is part of a bit of material soaked in blood which looks like a T-shirt. To the sides of the smear is a couple of spots and small smears of more blood as well as a bloody handprint to the right. The lighting is quite low and green looking which gives the illusion of it being quite sickly and ill looking. As the clip starts the camera immedietly starts tracking along the trail of blood. As the camera tracks along, we see more of the T-shirt and more bloody handprints. The tracking shot and the line of blood makes you feel like you are following or looking for someone/thing, as the blood is leading towards it. You can hear noises that sound like something scraping along the floor as well as the sounds of someone breathing quite heavily and struggling. Eventually, as the camera is tracking along the blood trail, you then see, at the top of the screen, a blood covered foot and to the right of it a black piece of material dragging along the floor in the blood. We see that there is a person dragging themselves across the floor. We then see more titles like the first ones. This time we can here some noises that sound a bit like water dropping on the floor slowly. When the shot goes back onto the person, we now see a medium high angled shot looking down onto the bottom half of a person. They are led on the floor and you can now clearly see that the blood trail is coming from the right leg. The light is still green giving out an ill look and most of the light is coming from the top left corner. The light highlights part of the persons left side, so you can clearly see his bent left leg and side. The injured leg is in the dark keeping what has happened and how it looks a mystery for the moment. The camera than pans up to reveal the rest of the persons body as they crawl and struggle to move across the floor. The floor looks hard and cold and represents how the person if feeling. The person now and then grabs the wall with his right arm which you see is also covered with blood. The music is still quiet and tense with a few 'tings' that sound like they are being slowly played on a keyboard. the music sounds echoey, which make it fit in with the room. The room he is in is from what you can see a long corridor. The walls looks hard and cold just like the floor and look like they are made from stone or brick. The sound fits with this room as it looks quite big so that any noises would bounce off the walls and echo around the place. This also gives the impression that the guy is alone in this place and also that it may be a abandoned. This automatically signifys that the film is a horror as the setting is dark and cold looking, and an injured character is alone. The tracking camera could give the impression that it is a point of view of someone following the man but doesn't need to rush as the man can't really go anywhere because of his injury. This makes the audience feel quite scared as they don't know if the guy is actually alone or if he isn't and is in danger as well as being badly injured. We then see some more titles. Just like before, as the titles go away and the camera zooms down the dark pipe, the screen goes black for a second and we then see a long shot of a corridor. As soon as we see the shot we see a hand appear on the floor from behind a wall. In the middle of the screen the walls are very dark and you can't see anything. This signifys that it is a scary place. There is a light on the wall in the top right corner, highlighting the wall in which you can see is very filthy with loads of cracks in it. The edge of the light is framed in green which also connotes that it is quite sick feeling. There is a slight bit of light on the wall to the far left, highlighting a pipe, showing that it isn't in a house but in some kind of warehouse or basement. The third section of light is in the bottom middle of the screen. From this bit of light you see a section of the floor and the edge of the wall in which the hand is coming from, so the light is also highlighting the hand. The camera tracks towards the wall and hand, as the man starts to appear from round the wall and into the light. The light could connote that there is hope for him as well as it finally revealing who is whereas before it was a mystery. As he crawls along we see that he is covered in blood and is wearing a white t-shirt with blood stains and is wet. His hair looks wet with sweat and his face is pale. The camera tracks along until we see a medium close up with the guy looking beyond the camera. His face is extremely white, signifying that he has lost a lot of blood. The light is now highlighting the right of his face, still keeping part of him in the dark. The blood on his t-shirt is highlighted showing that it is a horror film and there is a lot of green tinge on parts of his face, body and on the walls. He is wearing a plain white t-shirt and black trousers which shows that as well as being casual he was probably taken whilst at work or after work, signifying he has a good job. This signifys that he is a nice, innocent man who is one of the victims of the film.

My Genre

I'm going to do horror as I like horror films like saw and it has very specific and different codes and conventions for it. I will enjoy filming with the right mis-en-scene for a horror film. For a horror I need to make sure it is set at night. The setting can be anywhere from a scary, haunted house, to an abandoned warehouse or even just a normal everyday house. I need to make use of blood and weapons, mainly knives as knives are more commonly used in a horror. In certain settings the lighting has to be right to make sure some spots look dark and scary whilst others are very lit up so the audience can see certain things in the room.

Code And Conventions Of Horror

Generic Conventions:

• Victim has innocent look.
• Set in quiet place. House, Warehouse etc.
• Male and Female victims.
• Killers identity is normally hidden.
• Suspicious person - Hotel Owner, Neighbour etc.
• Low key lighting.
• Shadows and suspicious dark shapes.
• High angle and low angle shots.
• Close-ups of victims scared reactions and emotions.
• Medium shots.
• Long shots.
• Reflections in mirrors.
• Usually dark - set at night.
• Woods and forests.
• Knifes.
• Blood.
• Fire.
• Violence.
• Suspense.
• Thriller.
• Gore.
• Some humour.
• Isolated area - no one to help.
• Whenever there is a group of people, you always get the one annoying person who messes things up and is hysterical.
• Twists

Opening Sequences

Opening sequences are important because it helps the audience to get to know the characters and establish the setting. They can also sometimes help the audience to know what the film is about. It can be a marketing tool for the rest of the film as most people decide whether they are going to like a film or not from the beginning so it is important for it to grab the audiences attention.

This opening sequence of Saw 2 gives you an idea of what the rest of the film is about.

Preliminary Task Evaluation

I think my video went quite well. We included many different shot types, including high angle, low angle, dutch angle and close ups. We had a problem when changing to the dutch angle as it was of the same scene as the clip before so we ended up with a jump shot. We solved this problem by removing the clip before the dutch angle as it wasn't a very important clip. From this task I learnt about more shot types and I learnt what the 180 degree rule was. We broke this rule as we had a shot showing my right shoulder and Joshs left shoulder. The shot then changed and showed my left and Joshs right. We include a match on action when I passed Josh the phone with the photo of Mr Palmer.

If we were to do this again I would make sure we didn't break the 180 degree rule and also include shot reverse shot as we forgot to include this.

Audience Theories

Hypodermic Syringe Theory:

The hypodermic syringe theory is the idea that the media injects the audience with what they want people to think. This can include ideology.

The Frankfurt School developed concerns about the power of modern mass media.

Male Gaze

In films the lead character tends to be male and the female is just there for something for the male to 'win'. His actions become surrogate for our own part in the narrative. We psychologically align ourselves with his point of view. He is the ideal ego.

The male leads romantic interest is objectified. As the male lead desires to be with the female lead, the audience desire the female lead also.

Laura Mulvey 1975:

Feminist arguement to make political use of conventional Hollywood film. Film places women as subordinate, inactive and limits them to narrow and two dimensional roles. The audience are asked to take a male point of spectatorship in most cinema.

Scopophilia and Voyeurism

Freud and Lacan say that we construct our indentities by looking at ourselves and at eachother. As children, we get pleasure from looking at other peoples bodies. This is Scopophilia.
The first time we fully see ourselves in a mirror, is the first time we understand ourselves as people.
We enjoy the voyeurism of going to the cinema as it allows us to look at other people without being seen ourselves.

Theory of Propp

Propp said that all films follow the same narrative structure and that all the characters have a purpose to the film. Propp's theory of narrative involved 8 different types of characters:



The Villian - Against the hero. Causes trouble.

The Donor - Prepares the hero or gives them a magical object to help them defeat the villian.

The Helper - Helps the hero in his quest.

The Princess (The Prize) - The hero should be with her but cannot because of unfair evil, usually because of the villian. The Hero marries the princess when he has defeated the villian.

Princesses Father - Gives the Hero his task. Rewards him by letting him marry his daughter.

The Dispatcher - Sends the Hero on his quest.

The Hero - Saves the day. Marries the princess, does the task for the Princesses Father.

The False Hero - Takes credit for what the Hero does and/or tries to marry the Princess.

Semiotics

Roland Barthes argued that verbal language is just one way to communicate.
Other ways to communicate include:
Hairstyle
Clothing
Body Language
Make-up

Language is constructed by people to produce meanings within their culture. Only when we name objects and events that they are given meaning.

Denotation -> Connotation

Denote:

Deconstruction of any media texts begins with a detailed description of what is empirically present (visually and audibly) or what is denoted on the page/screen.

Connote:

After the initial description, you can move on to assessing what is connoted by the signs.

There are three parts to every sign:

Signifier: Physical form of the sign. Eg. Written word or traffic light.

Signified: The concept or idea the signifier produces. Eg. Red light- you know to stop.

Referent: The real thing. Not the signal or the idea but the real, individual thing. Eg. An actual rose.

Examples:

Signifier: Red Rose.

Signified: Love, death.

Signifier: Leather Jacket.

Signified: Biker. Tough guy.

Semiotics emphasises that our perception of reality is shaped by the words and signs that we use and how we interpret the words and signs of others.

Signifiers are denoted. What is signified is connoted.

The connotations of the signs create the meaning.

To approach signifiers you have to realise there are objective ones (ones that are put there intentionally to give you clues how to feel or react) and subjective ones (not intentionally put there but something that reminds an individual of something in their life or memories from the past).

Ideology

Selena Gomez is from the Disney Channel programme, 'Wizards of Waverly Place'. She is known as a Disney Teen as most of the TV programmes and films she has been in are Disney. This shows the ideology for Selena is a "good girl" image. People see her as innocent and you wouldn't expect her to be in horror films or films with a certificate over 12. People expect her to be in nice, happy family movies. When people see her they think "butter wouldn't melt" because of her cute, good image.

Types of Shots

This is a two shot. It is used when two people need to be shown at the same time. This can include conversations. It also shows the relationship between the two characters as you can see their body language towards eachother.

This is a medium shot. It shows the top half of a persons body. It is used to show what a person is doing with their arms if they are not walking or doing anything with their legs so the only thing you need to see is their arms.

This is a long shot. You can see her whole body and everything she is doing. This shot helps you see what the person is doing and a bit of what is happening around them.
































This is a very long shot. You can see her whole body and her surroundings. This shot helps you see what the person is doing and what is happening around them.

This is a big close up. This shot helps you see the persons facial expressions alot clearer and helps you know how the person is feeling.


















This is a medium close up. You can see the persons face clearly but can also see their shoulders. This is used to see the persons facial expressions but also see what they may be doing with their arms.

This is an extreme close up. You can see her face very clearly. This is used to see a certain part of a persons face as they may be crying or smiling and it is the main focus so you can see it properly.

Horror Posters

This is the poster for saw. You can tell it is a horror film because of the black background. There is a close up of the side of a womens face. She has a big, metal contraption on her head which looks terrifying and unpleasant. Also there is a shadow on her face making it look mysterious and unknown. Also the tagline "How much blood will you shed to stay alive" shows that it is about people in horrible painful conditions where they will have to try and survive. The name of the film is in a simple, bold text in the colour red which represents blood.

Media

I chose media studies as I find it interesting and I am hoping to pursue a career in the media. I am interested in filming and film editing and this lesson can help me improve on techniques on how to make the films look better.