Question 1 - In what ways does the media product use, develop
or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Cinematography:
A key component in creating a smooth and coherent film was the cinematography used in it, especially when keeping a clear continuity of events. This is mainly done by shooting and editing together shots so that link in to each other, without any unnatural cuts or skips. By doing this, the film makers make these edits less obvious to the audience, creating a clean cut of events. We used the 3 main forms of editing to create continuity for our film.
180 Degree Rule:
This rule is used often in films when characters are talking to each other or are walking together, with the camera following them on only one side. The concept of this rule is that an imaginary line is placed from one character to the other, with the camera only being allowed to film from one side of the line, on a 180 degree axis. This is done to stop any confusing cuts between characters, as by crossing the line, it would appear to the audience that the character who has been shown in a shot before to be on the left, is now on the right, as the camera has swapped position. By adhering to this rule, staying on one side, the camera can move across the axis freely, without any continuity breaks of where a character is.
Shot - Reverse - Shot:
Primarily used for keeping continuity between conversations, the shot reverse shot method is the idea of switching between two characters, often over their shoulders, showing both characters in the shot, helping to establish where they are to the audience. By switching back and fourth between shots, showing the speaking character in the centre of the shot, the audience is clear on where each character is standing in relation to another, helping to keep continuity as they talk.
This can be seen in our film in the circus scene, when the lead protagonist, Jamie, first sees the antagonist and his henchman, using a over the shoulder shot to establish all the characters involved. This is then cut to a shot of El Cucuy's face, the main villain, showing his expression and properly introducing the character. After a shot of him eating a heart, the scene cuts back to Jamie's shoulder, showing the shot - reverse - shot aspect of our film, as well as aligning the audience with the main character, as its from his view.
180 Degree Rule:
This rule is used often in films when characters are talking to each other or are walking together, with the camera following them on only one side. The concept of this rule is that an imaginary line is placed from one character to the other, with the camera only being allowed to film from one side of the line, on a 180 degree axis. This is done to stop any confusing cuts between characters, as by crossing the line, it would appear to the audience that the character who has been shown in a shot before to be on the left, is now on the right, as the camera has swapped position. By adhering to this rule, staying on one side, the camera can move across the axis freely, without any continuity breaks of where a character is.
Shot - Reverse - Shot:
Primarily used for keeping continuity between conversations, the shot reverse shot method is the idea of switching between two characters, often over their shoulders, showing both characters in the shot, helping to establish where they are to the audience. By switching back and fourth between shots, showing the speaking character in the centre of the shot, the audience is clear on where each character is standing in relation to another, helping to keep continuity as they talk.
This can be seen in our film in the circus scene, when the lead protagonist, Jamie, first sees the antagonist and his henchman, using a over the shoulder shot to establish all the characters involved. This is then cut to a shot of El Cucuy's face, the main villain, showing his expression and properly introducing the character. After a shot of him eating a heart, the scene cuts back to Jamie's shoulder, showing the shot - reverse - shot aspect of our film, as well as aligning the audience with the main character, as its from his view.
An example from a mainstream Hollywood film can be seen in Spdier-man (Raimi, 2002), as Norman Osborn has a conversation with himself while slowly losing his mind, switching back and fourth between his two personality's, shown on screen through a mirror shot.
Match on Action:
The third cinematography technique we used to keep continuity is the match on action, which has the actions shown on one shot matched seamlessly by the following shot, making the movement look natural to the audience. An example of this would be someone being shown in a medium or long shot opening a door, with the camera then cutting to a close up of the persons hand opening the door, then finally showing the person coming out the other side, making a flowing movement.
An example of this technique in our film again can be seen in the circus scene, where one of the villains henchman hands him the heart of the person on the table. There is a shot of the henchman turning around and passing El Cucuy the heart, which then cuts to a close up of their hands, giving the heart over. This is edited together to match the movements from each scene, creating a steady cuts between the two, with no rough cuts.
Genre Conventions:
Every film genre has a set of generic conventions that are associated with them, which audiences except to see in them. These can be used as costume, location, lighting or different types of props, which together are all synonymous with the genre being shown. As our film is a psychological horror, many of our conventions will revolve around dark and fear provoking imagery, such as scary graveyards, clown costumes and spooky music, which together will be associated with the horror genre.
Setting:
We use a number of locations in our film, all of them linking in to the genre we are using. Our first location was filmed inside a graveyard, having the main character being chased through, dodging between gravestones. This connotes the themes of danger and death that are presented at that time, as graveyards are associated with the dead and horror films. The scene then cuts to the main characters bedroom, with him asleep in bed. This was done to link to the psychological aspects of our film, as bedroom produce feelings of safety and security, as they are your own space. This is then contrasted by the invasion of this space, not only being physically dangerous to Jamie, but also mentally. We also used a collage as a setting, to emphasis the protagonists age, but also the invasion of yet again another supposedly safe space. These scenes where overlaid by special effects to give the impression of a dream, adding to the fear being built upon. The final location used was that of a circus, which has been used in the horror genre for decades. By using this warped perspective of it, with rapid flashing lights and distorting music, it plays in to the genre conventions of horror to provoke the audience to feel scared and uneasy.
Costume:
Costume:
For the majority of the film, the main protagonist is wearing pyjamas, due to much of it taking place within a dream. Similarly to the use of his bedroom, by having him wearing only his pajamas, it produces the feeling of vulnerability he has while being chased by the villain, as these again are associated with comfortably and safety, not running around and being scared. On the other hand to this, the main villain, El Cucuy where's a colourful and detailed costume that adds to the menacing and fearful presence he puts across. His outfit resembles that of a clown, which not only matches the circus scene before, but also the horror convention of villainous clowns that are popular villains for the genre, with inspiration being taken from films such as IT (Muschietti, 2017).
Lighting:
To fit the tone and expected conventions for the horror genre, the lighting we used throughout the film were quite dark and lacking any strong forms of light, to highlight the feelings of fear the characters were feeling. The majority of it was set at night, meaning that the dark, foreboding lighting outside worked well with the dream and horror themes, as you cannot see in the dark, producing feelings of being unsafe and unaware. Additionally, we used lighting inside, such as the collage and circus scenes to highlight the dream state, as the bright blinding light and rapid strobe lights disorient and confuse the audience to an extent, similarly to how people feel in dreams.
Iconography:
A key factor to the horror genre is the use of scary and disturbing imagery to shock the audience, which is a major reason they like those themes. This can be seen primarily through the props and objects used within the film, such a dripping blood, a heart or a knife, all props associated with danger and fear. In the circus scene, the antagonist hands over a dripping red heart to Jamie, with a long panning shot emphasizing the grotesque image of the heart. This is a common trope seen within the horror genre, having a gruesome scene to create a shock response from the audience, which many of them look for when watching a film of that genre. Although it is associated with, the blood and heart imagery is not only seen in the horror genre, but also other mainstream forms of film. An example of this can be seen in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Spielberg,1984), which has a human heart being taken from someone's chest.
Richard Dyer's Theory Of Entertainment and Utopia
This concept of Dyer's theory is that audiences consume media to escape from reality, using the content to focus on and forget the real world. This is done through 5 key elements that together create "Utopian sensibilities", the aspects of the media that connote a better world.
This aspect of the theory often relates to quick action sequences and high intensity fight scenes, which create a high energy atmosphere the audience are interested in. Examples of this can be seen throughout our film, with suspense and action being themes we utilized. The opening sequence has the lead protagonist, Jamie, running through a graveyard, being chased by the disembodied voice of El Cucuy, who speaks down to him from the church. This is the first introduction the audience had to the premise and characters of the film, meaning the fast pace running and fear from Jamie creates energy for the audience, as they are unaware of what has happened before, or what is going to happen. A scene with similar use of energy can be seen in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Genreration (Henkel, 1995), as a lead protagonist is chased by the villain. 
Lighting:
To fit the tone and expected conventions for the horror genre, the lighting we used throughout the film were quite dark and lacking any strong forms of light, to highlight the feelings of fear the characters were feeling. The majority of it was set at night, meaning that the dark, foreboding lighting outside worked well with the dream and horror themes, as you cannot see in the dark, producing feelings of being unsafe and unaware. Additionally, we used lighting inside, such as the collage and circus scenes to highlight the dream state, as the bright blinding light and rapid strobe lights disorient and confuse the audience to an extent, similarly to how people feel in dreams.
Iconography:
A key factor to the horror genre is the use of scary and disturbing imagery to shock the audience, which is a major reason they like those themes. This can be seen primarily through the props and objects used within the film, such a dripping blood, a heart or a knife, all props associated with danger and fear. In the circus scene, the antagonist hands over a dripping red heart to Jamie, with a long panning shot emphasizing the grotesque image of the heart. This is a common trope seen within the horror genre, having a gruesome scene to create a shock response from the audience, which many of them look for when watching a film of that genre. Although it is associated with, the blood and heart imagery is not only seen in the horror genre, but also other mainstream forms of film. An example of this can be seen in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Spielberg,1984), which has a human heart being taken from someone's chest.
Richard Dyer's Theory Of Entertainment and Utopia
This concept of Dyer's theory is that audiences consume media to escape from reality, using the content to focus on and forget the real world. This is done through 5 key elements that together create "Utopian sensibilities", the aspects of the media that connote a better world.
Energy:
Many of the scenes associated with this aspect of the theory revolve around creating an emotional response from the audience. This is done by commonly by presenting the emotions of characters in an exaggerated way, to clearly present the way they feel. This intern creates a understanding for the audience, as they can clearly see what the character is feeling at that moment . An example seen within our film is as El Cucuy is introduced for the second time, being his first physical appearance to both the audience and Jamie. As he appears, the music playing changes to that of circus music and Jamie begins to breath much faster, showing his distress. At this point the audience can sense the fear he is feeling, as the powerful presence of the antagonist projects fear. An example of this type of scene can be seen in The Silence of the Lambs (Demme, 1991) as FBI agent Clarice Starling meets Hannibal Lecter for the first time, with her uncomfortable manner and fear clearly being seen by the audience, which they then share.
Transparency:
This aspect to the theory revolves around audiences understanding and identifying feelings from a character, often feeling it themselves. By doing this, the audience is able to connect and relate to the characters at that point, immersing them in the plot of the film, creating more importance for what happens to the characters. Within our film, this can especially be seen in the circus scene, as El Cucuy passes Jamie a bloody heart, to which he runs away from, showing his disgust. The graphic and intense nature of the this scene helps to connect the feelings of Jamie and the audience, as they are both repulsed by the shot of the heart and El Cucuy eating it. An example of transparency in another film can be seen in A Nightmare on Elm Street (Wes Craven, 1984), where Nancy hears the antagonist Freddy's voice from down a hallway, with clear distress all over her face, clearly being seen by the audience, as they share this feeling with her.
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