Evaluation Question 1

In What Ways Does Your Product Use, Develop Or Challenge Forms And Conventions Of Real Media Products?

First of all to be able to analyse the use of conventions we have to define what the conventions of the genre are.

The Killer:

Jason Vorhees - unstoppable killer

The killer will often be a tall male who identity is often concealed. A narrative enigma is often maintained through point of view shots as well as selective camera angles. A theme often seen in slashers is the un-killable killer which often spurs many sequels for slasher films. Another theme which we will see often some sort of childhood trauma sometimes hinted at in the intro of these films. This anchors the viewers understanding of why the killers do what they do. An example of this would be in 'Terror Train'. 

How We Used This:
In our own video we took the idea of the killer and used some of the conventions associated with them. We introduced our killer through a series of selectively shot camera angles, being careful not to include his face. The killer in our own film uses a kitchen knife, a common convention within the 'slasher' genre. We decided not to include the childhood trauma element as we only had two minutes of film opening to work with. 

Moral Code:
A common theme we see throughout slasher films is the moral code we see. This is a warped justification for the antagonists killings. The victims of the killer will often be seen partaking in some sort of 'immoral' activity. This can include smoking, drinking or sexual activity. A prime example of this is in 'Halloween' where Micheal Myers sister is killed after having sex with her boyfriend. 

In our own film we had our victim holding a beer bottle in the opening shot. This was to signify the fact he had been out and drinking. The was further anchored in subsequent point of view shots where the camera blurs.

Final Girl/Scream Queen:

Classic Scene From Psycho 

The scream queen will most commonly be a blond, conventionally attractive female. These characters are often the first to die and will partake willingly in one of the immoral activities stated above. In our own film we chose to challenge this convention. 

In our own film opening we decided to challenge this convention. We chose a scream 'king' as apposed to scream queen. We thought this would bring in a wider target audience and appeal to both males and females.

The final girl will often have many of the opposite characteristics to the scream queen. She will often be studious and reluctant to partake in any immoral activity. Shes normally a peer of the scream queen and will always survive until the end of the film, hence the name 'Final girl'. We see this in Nancy Thomson from 'Nightmare on elm street'.

Normally this character is not introduced at the start of a slasher film so we didn't include them here. However in the treatment we mention a final girl appear later on. 

More common slasher conventions:

• Serif title idents
• Establishing shot of kill location
• Point of view/stalking shots
• False scare
• Continuity editing
• Sharp weapon
• Binary opposition 
• Long drawn out soundtrack

Underground uses a variety of slasher film conventions sometimes following them and other times challenging them.

Serif Font

As common with most films in general, ours starts with the company idents and then the title sequence. Our film titles are over the opening scenes in a white serif font which is common is modern slasher films and the sharp font represents a sharp object for example a knife. This is unlike older films which normally play all there credits at the start of the film and don't have as many as the end. Examples of these serif fonts 

The soundtrack to our film, fits with the common trends of slasher and other horror films. We will used long drawn out string notes with piano to build tension and help anchor out preferred reading whilst adding too the mood and atmosphere.

Conspiracy Ident

Another feature of slasher films is often a strong narrative enigma running throughout the film. At time the camera stalks the victim and also scenes which look like he is being watched. We also used selective camera shots to show only the feet and the back of the killer as to not give away too much. This will keep the audience engaged and provide polysemy throughout the film opening.



Stalking Shot

Another feature of our film is the moral code. Before the killing takes place the victim is seen as carrying a bottle of beer and the blurred point of view shots anchor this. This is a common theme in most slashers the victim being punished due to sinning before the killing takes place. 

Helpless Victim

Another way our film uses slasher convention is the location. Our character is walking down an empty pathway and is then taken to an isolated claustrophobic location where there is no escape. This is away of making the victim seem helpless and trapped.

We have developed the conventions of the scream queen and final girl by having a male 'scream king' introduced in the opening. This will help the audience relate to the character in the frame. Also our final girl character is introduced later in the film which is mentioned in the treatment.