DEAD MAN'S SHOES
Most slasher horror trailers have the same codes and
conventions to illustrate the sense of genre since a lot of those films have
the same storyline. Dead Man’s Shoes can be portrayed as a non conventional
slasher film however it has element of slasher films, this is because we see
the film from point of view shot POV of the killer.
The beginnign of the trailer is conventional, it starts with the distributions companies’
logo which then is followed by a non diegetic sound melody which goes in a slow
past at the beginning which allows establish the scene. todrov
equilibrium can be applied to the trailer ,. The slow non diegetic sound and the establishing shot,
shows top of the trees to see what is happening in the scene. The establishing
shot fades in to a shot which we see the characters. The first character is
called Richard who is on the road, which can convey the sense of a long journey
and that he’s returning home. He might have come from a war
from it shows.
Unlike him we see his other brother Anthony walking on the road but there not
communicating which can illustrate that the fact , they are on different paths
of the their own , this can be seen through the mise en scene.
Richard is carrying an army rucksack and some clothes to let
the audience identify what type of character he is. He is shown as a veteran
and the fact that he’s not wearing uniform shows that he is no longer in the
army.
The landscape in the scene is very empty with grey clouds
indicating there’s a storm coming soon, this is conventional location to many
horror films it is quit lonely and quiet; however during this point of the
trailer it doesn’t feel scary since the 2 characters are together, makes the
landscape less tense.
In the next shot we see the two characters travelling
through the woods, it shows shadows everywhere which is conventional the horror
genre, the shadows can represent that he cannot psychologically get out from. The
non diegetic music is still consistent, this can represent that it is the
characters home or somewhere he has been to. It can also furthermore represent
the characters personality it can show Richard as a calm person before the
storm.
We see captions to help the audience are still up to date
with the narrative, so that they can follow along the trailer understanding
what happen. It represents how strong the bond between the two characters is.
Furthermore we see a flashback of an old footage of the brothers to convey how
protective Richard to his brother and illustrates the love between them. This
helps the audience to identify with the character and help create connection
between him and also emphasis with the character in order for the audience to
create a perception of him that will prove his intentions later on.
The whole sequence shown conveys a sense of British social
realism as it represents the idea of a small story about struggling relationship, furthermore the use
of non known actors , are represented as working class behaviour and also they
are not meant to look attractive.
The next scene shows Richard putting his on a grey crack wall which can convey there living in a domestic situation and furthermore the cracks can represent
the psychological cracking state of mind this suggests the insanity going
through Richards mind. Unlike Richard, there is nothing
behind Anthony’s head
except from plants and trees which represents life, nature, peaceful. This type
of location is common in horror films, because it is middle out of nowhere.
We gain a further understanding of the trailer’s genre as we
are presented with caption saying “VENGENCE”". The atmosphere is changes from an
old folky sound to a screeching sound. The sounds help give a clue that the
horror has started due to its sudden change. Both factors help to convey the
sense of horror. This disrupts the todrov theory equilibrium.
We are presented with black and white flashbacks of past
events. The quick flashbacks transition is conventional in horror trailer as
they help to give a sense of suspense as well building up pace. It shows
Richards brother Anthony being tormented and laughed at by a group of bullies.
We see the killer for the first time, and we know its
Richard however he is conveyed in a conventional horror film as typical slasher
killer as he is wearing a mask to cover up his face. The main character in the
film is both protagonist and antagonist set to take on binary opposite’s role,
even though he is the killer in this film he can also be seen as the victim.
The pace of the trailer increases and the montage editing is
shown which is very conventional in horror trailers. The montage editing allows
the audience to identify what is right and wrong by blurring the lines between
them. If wrong it cuts to a flashback of Anthony being bullied, therefore
suggesting that Richard has the right to kill them. We see red flashes
suggesting blood and foreshadows the violence that is about to begin. The
frequency of the red flash increases where the pace starts also increase after
a sense of the narrative has been established.
In the next shot we see a binary opposite of the antagonist
called sonny, the role is the bad person Sonny and the role of the good person is
Richard however the roles are mixed up since Richard posses the two qualities
of bad and good. The man Richard is talking to in the next scene clearly shows
he is the antagonist and can be seen through the mise en scene, by wearing all
black representing darkness and evil.
When the pace is starting to increase during the 2nd half
of the trailer, there is much more horror suggestion of horror as Richard is shown
to be carrying an axe which is described as the killer’s weapon of choice.
Near the end of the trailer we see many advertisements in
the illustrated in star rating and quotation of reviews are conventional to many trailers,
they allow to promote low budget independent films like dead man shoes as they
attract attention. It is considered as a seal of approval which helps to
attract the much needed attention that it is a must see film. The effect of
using fire effect typography conveys hell and gives it a horror type feel. The
director’s name is also included in the trailer (Shane Meadows) so the audience
will recognise him and therefore identify with his films; therefore it is a big
selling point of the film.
An end card is used to finish off the trailer; it is a way
saying to the audience that the trailer is finished. It includes names of the
production companies, actors, websites, directors etc.
Halloween
I am going to analyse a film called Halloween released in
1987 produced directed by john carpenter. This was one of the most successful
low budget slasher film ever made, The .film is about a psychotic killer called
Michael Myers who has been put in a mental prison after killing his older sibling,
who later escapes, stalks group of 3 teens.
The trailer starts off with establishing point of view shot
of an isolated house the audience is already aware by now what genre it is presented , a
handheld camera is used to add some verisimilitude and the non-diegetic sound
is used to build up tension, the music is high pitch which gives sort of alertness. All this reinforces the film being
a horror genre.
The next shows then cuts to the
killer stabbing someone which is taken from the killerspoint of view shot makes
the audience feel uncomfortable as they can see themselves killing someone.
This was applied to Roland Barthes Theory of semantic code, the idea is the put killers place to the audience to experience the narrative from one or more character’s point of
view. The killer is wearing a mask which is a common convention of a slasher films,
this reinforces that it is a slasher film... We see the killer as if they are
us
walking down the stairs and going outside where we see a vehical stopping by.
The non-diegetic sound appears to get deeper and heavier into the scene, this is because of the high pitch diegetic sound of the music. Fast editing is used , The shot then suddenly changes to a person
pulling off the mask of the killer to find out it is a little child which
creates a sense of confusion in the audience. This is because the little boy is
meant to convey a sense of vulnerability and innocence. The Diegetic sound has
also been used when the person calls the little boys name ‘Michael’. The camera
then cuts to a mid shot were we see the boy wearing a clown suit and holding a Sharpe
knife reinforcing the audience that he is the killer.
It then cuts to a caption which
says ‘Halloween’ and then cuts again to an old man which it is done using
montage editing. This helps reinforce the horror genre , as halloween is holiday which is assoiciated with monsters. The old man is talking along with the captions help convey
audience with the narrative of the film and to build up tension. The audience
believes that the old guy is a good
character. The camera then cuts to an
attractive young woman in a car, which suggests that she is the villain’s first
target which is common in horror films. The man starts climbing over the car effortlessly
suggesting that there something superhuman about him, the man tries smashing
the window glass and being taken out from her car at the late night. The camera
then cuts back to the man who is the benefactor of the film where he says ‘.the
killer is going to come back…’ which foreshadows the events which is about to
come. While the man is talking, there is a low volume sound of non-diegetic sound
being played in the background. This sound is calmer and quiet than the rest of
the trailer because it is emphasising the significance of what this man is
trying to say.
The next scene can be applied to todrov theory ,it shows a group
of teens walking
through a calm suburban area , not knowing that they are Michael Myers next
victim , it starts off with a equilibrium however it doesnt last that long , it is disrupted by the killer. The camera then goes behind them as if something is stalking them. The
groups of friends turn around looking scared which links back to the old guy
saying that he has come back. The non –diegetic sound used to break the equilibrium
is set low to high pitch the more they look around the louder it gets ,
conveying that something bad will come.
We see a creaking door open
slowly adding tension with a person dressed in white cloak like ghost ,
this
links back to how the boy was dressed as a clown when he was young , knowing that he is the killer. The white represents the positive stuff
however it juxtaposes as he is the antagonist of the film. From looking at it
can just how much more scary he really as it can display just how messed up he
is. Using low angle shot it shows the killer the more dominant one and the women
on the bed to appear weaker.
In the next scene we see
slowly paced montage editing has been used showing how Michael Myers kills his
victims. Itshows a lot of shadows which common convention used in noir films
which creates an eerie feeling ,then we witness a victim falling down hall of
stairs from a point of view shot , from a low angle shot showing how powerless
the victim is , this makes the audience scared and frightened as it places us
the victim. This is typical conventions of a horror films. We hear diegetic
sound of screams making the whole situation even scarier and adds a sense of
realism. The sound increases therefore making creating even more tension.
The trailer end with a cliff
hanger leaving the audience wanting to see more and who survived, this will
only they would have to wait for when film releases in cinemas , this is a very
conventional of movie trailers that leave the audience find out what happen.
The Shinning
The shinning is a 1980’s psychological produced and directed
by Stanley Kubrick is about a family who travels to an isolated hotel for the
rest of winter where the father becomes possessed and his son posse’s psychotic
abilities and has the ability to see things in the past and future. The father starts causing chaos to kill his
wife and son. I am going to attempt to analyse the way in which convention are
coded.
Thee trailer challenges many of the codes and convention of
common slasher horror trailers due to the way the trailer presents itself. The
uniqueness of the trailer makes the audience want to see more therefore making
it a successful trailer attracting the audience by standing out. The director and producer of the shining is Stanley Kubrick
who is an internationally famous film maker who already would've had a set of
audience wanting to see the film, therefore generating much wider audience due
to his reputation (e.g. 2001 space odyssey).
The beginning of the trailer shows fade transition to an
isolated hotel hall which in front of us shows to red strip lifts, this part of
the trailer can be said as the equilibrium which todrov theory describes to
create a sense of peacefulness just before the story of the film becomes
disrupted. It is shot low angles creating a sense of panic and vulnerability,
it is almost like a point of view shot. However the cosy furniture’s make the
audience feel secured and comfortable. This creates binary opposition of the
two factors. We hear fade in transition of a low – non diegetic sound, buzz
type of sound , which this become louder and heavier throughout the clip. It is like the trailer is having more of
conventions of slasher trailer throughout the trailer , for example the pacing
becomes more faster and faster and the
increased non diegetic sound , similar to such trailer as Halloween (1978) by john carpenter. The trailer hardly uses
any editing to convey a horror genre.
Captions are used in a end card which challenges many horror
or any film trailer codes and convention as you normally would expect it to be
in an ending of a film trailer .
The bright red lifts may represent death may happen any time
soon as the lifts starts opening due the associated colour red which can represent blood and
death. The colour draws attention as being the focal point of the trailer. The
hotel hall way looks isolated and
abandoned along with the non diegetic sound
helps to create suspense. The image of the hotel corridor and the non diegetic
sounds helps to form juxtaposition between the two , as without the scary music
, it can be viewed in a different way.
As the lifts start opening huge amounts of blood is seen pouring out in
to the hall way of the hotel in slow paced motion. This follows Todrovs theory as
their will always by a disruption to an equilibrium then resolution to the
problem. The blood rushes towards the camera and blurs the audiences view , this makes the audience panick as they don’t know whats happening.
Afterwards it becomes clearer however there is a bit of blood left on camera
lenses.
In conclusion I believe the trailer is unconventional
however still has elements of horror trailers you would expect
.
Furthermore it also conveys the sense of slasher genre by using creepy music
and blood baths.
