In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop Or Challenge Forms And Conventions Of Real Media Products?
My final film follows the conventions of horror and yurei horror films. However at times it also challenges the conventions. When a film is conventional to it’s genre or sub-genre it makes it more understandable for the audience as they may recognise things like, the music tempo speeding up because something is going to happen. For example in ‘Jaws’ when the shark is about to appear the theme tune increases in speed. This also makes the audience very scared.
When the action is in the dark it connotes danger and when the action is shot in the light it connotes being safe, this is a convention of all horror films. In my film when the girls are in the house they are in the light connoting they are safe however when Leila walks out the door she is walking into ‘danger’. Not long after we see Olivia peering out to see Leila dead on the floor. The violence only happened outside because it was dark and in horror films the violence often happens in the dark. After this has happened the audience can then identify that when it is dark and the actors go outside something bad will happen.
When the action is in the dark it connotes danger and when the action is shot in the light it connotes being safe, this is a convention of all horror films. In my film when the girls are in the house they are in the light connoting they are safe however when Leila walks out the door she is walking into ‘danger’. Not long after we see Olivia peering out to see Leila dead on the floor. The violence only happened outside because it was dark and in horror films the violence often happens in the dark. After this has happened the audience can then identify that when it is dark and the actors go outside something bad will happen.
Above are some images to show the difference between the action in light and dark.
Leila is hurt in the dark whereas Olivia is fine in the light.
Leila is hurt in the dark whereas Olivia is fine in the light.
My film challenges the conventions of horror and yurei horror films in the form of the sound. It is conventional that music increases its speed to scare the audience. Below is an example of where sound speeds up and slightly contrasts due to the action. It is taken from my film when Olivia notices the Facebook message from someone she doesn't know.
Another example is in ‘The Ring’ the whistle as she opens the bedroom door gets faster. However in my film I kept the music slow and calm. I did this so it would relax the audience so they would get even more scared when something actually happened. The audience may think ‘this is a sweet film’ then boom the horrific action happens.
In yurei horror films the victim is usually a young, short, Asian girl with long brown hair. The victim if a young girl is usually in contact with alcohol or has previously had her clothes off. However I didn't include this convention as I thought just having visual conventions like hair colour and height would be enough. Children and young adults are also usually the main character. In my film the two main characters are young adults this is the same in ‘The Ring’. The victim in my film has long brown hair and a white face. This is conventional to yurei horror films. I chose Sohni as the character Leila because she suited the conventions of the victim of yurei horror films.
In yurei horror films the victim is usually a young, short, Asian girl with long brown hair. The victim if a young girl is usually in contact with alcohol or has previously had her clothes off. However I didn't include this convention as I thought just having visual conventions like hair colour and height would be enough. Children and young adults are also usually the main character. In my film the two main characters are young adults this is the same in ‘The Ring’. The victim in my film has long brown hair and a white face. This is conventional to yurei horror films. I chose Sohni as the character Leila because she suited the conventions of the victim of yurei horror films.
The above images show the similarity between the actor in my film and the actor in 'The Ring'.
In the film 'Ju-on' the main character is a child. This is conventional to horror and yurei horror films.
Below is an image of the child.
Below is an image of the child.
My film is located in a big spooky looking house.
This is an image of the location for my film.
This is an image of the location for my film.
A scary location like a big house is conventional to horror films. ‘The Ring’ is located in a big scary house a shown in the image below.
A convention of horror and Yurei horror films is to have the ‘Yurei’ to communicate through an electrical device such as a TV like in ‘The Ring’. The yurei is communicating with her when the TV is fuzzy. In the film ‘One Missed Call’ a phone is used. The yurei screams down the young girls phone to communicate with her. And finally in my film the communicational device is the laptop. I chose to conform to this convention because in so many similar films that have the same sub-genre include an communicational device. Also from my market research the majority of people that I asked said it would be more interesting with one.
Below are images of different type of communication deviced used in my film, 'The Ring' and 'One Missed Call'.
Below are images of different type of communication deviced used in my film, 'The Ring' and 'One Missed Call'.
In my film I stuck to using dark colours. Whether this be for the lighting or the mise en scene. To use dark colours is a convention of horror films. Anything dark makes the atmosphere seem creepy and the audience are more scared. In my film Leila the victim wore dark clothing whereas Olivia the protagonist wore colourful and bright clothing. The contrast in their clothing colour stands out and shows who is in danger and who is not. The bedroom that the girls are in is dark and consists of darks objects like the bed and the carpet. This gives the whole film a dark and dreary setting which is conventional to horror and yurei horror films. The laptop that was used as the communication device that the yurei communicates through was black. If the laptop was a bright colour like yellow or orange it would not be as scary the laptop would be seen as safe but it is not.
All yurei and horror movies tend to have similar narratives. Such as someone that dies, dying in a horrific way like stabbing or a gunshot. In my film Leila dies by being hit by a car. The audience do not see the car however hear a car break and then a picture of Leila dead with blood on her face, as shown in the image below. The horrific death of Leila is conventional. Another convention is the film having an enigma. In my film the enigma is when the audience hear the car crash but don’t know what has happened until they see Leila. Keeping the audience waiting and unsure builds tension and keeps them on the edge of their seat. In the film ‘The Ring’ an enigma occurs when she is walking up the stairs. The audience is unsure of what they are about to see so they prepare themselves for the worst.
All yurei and horror movies tend to have similar narratives. Such as someone that dies, dying in a horrific way like stabbing or a gunshot. In my film Leila dies by being hit by a car. The audience do not see the car however hear a car break and then a picture of Leila dead with blood on her face, as shown in the image below. The horrific death of Leila is conventional. Another convention is the film having an enigma. In my film the enigma is when the audience hear the car crash but don’t know what has happened until they see Leila. Keeping the audience waiting and unsure builds tension and keeps them on the edge of their seat. In the film ‘The Ring’ an enigma occurs when she is walking up the stairs. The audience is unsure of what they are about to see so they prepare themselves for the worst.
Certain cinematography can be conventional. Such as close ups of gory things and a shot reverse shot. In my film a close up of Leila’s bloody face was shot. Without a close up the effect would not be the same. If a mid shot of her face was shot it would not seem as scary. Near to the end an establishing shot is shown. This makes the audience aware of where the action has or is happening. In every horror film there is an establishing shot. This is shown in both ‘The Ring’ and ‘Ju-On’. A point of view shot occurs in my film. The audience become Olivia when she is looking at the laptop at the Facebook message. Below is a screen shot of when this happens in the film.
A point of view shot makes the audience feel more involved in the film and they can get a stronger reaction to certain things. For example, when Olivia is at the laptop screen, if it was a mid shot and Olivia read the message out, the audience would not react as well as it being in a close up where they feel they are Olivia, and they feel as if they should think of what they should do to help. Another shot also used when Olivia is looking at the laptop is a high angle. This shot can make the character feel threatened and belittled. In this situation Olivia is in that position because she is being told that her sister is in a coma.
In conclusion I feel my film has conformed to the conventions of Yurei horror. For example I have used a communication device and used a scary location similar to the location in 'The Ring'. I have tried to keep to the conventions of Yurei horror films so the audience can understand and recognise the genre. My target audience are young adults so by using a young asian girl as the victim and a young girl as the protagonist makes the audience relate to the film more. This can also make the audience more scared.
In conclusion I feel my film has conformed to the conventions of Yurei horror. For example I have used a communication device and used a scary location similar to the location in 'The Ring'. I have tried to keep to the conventions of Yurei horror films so the audience can understand and recognise the genre. My target audience are young adults so by using a young asian girl as the victim and a young girl as the protagonist makes the audience relate to the film more. This can also make the audience more scared.