Continuity Task - Storyboards

This is the storyboard for our task which depicts all the frames from our sequence. These shots have been envisioned by the shot list which was incredibly helpful when illustrating the storyboard.

In regards to the storyboard, it helps us as film-makers by providing us with an outline for a basic visual presentation on what our sequence should looks like. The storyboard will ultimately act as a guide and insight to how in which the camera should capture those specific shots.

As a result, this specific task was compelling in regards to the development and planning of our sequence due to the fact that the storyboards allow us to decide on the look of the project and if need be; we can simply make alterations before principle photography has commenced. This experience has provided us with experience and knowledge in association with planning and development which we will incorparate within our coursework. 

Continuity Task - Shot list

Shot list

1. (MS) Character #1 (Aayush) slowly walking towards the camera whilst on the phone.
2. (ECU) Of the phone displaying a text message received by character #2 (Ashley) telling (Aayush) to meet him in the cafe.
3. (Tracking Shot) tracking (Aayush's) movements from his location to the cafe, then meets (Ashley).
4. (Pan) round (Aayush) to reveal character #2 sitting down as character #1 takes a seat opposite character #2.
5. (MS) cut-in = Character #1 sits down. He begins to talk to character#2 
6. (Over Shoulder Shot) shot over character #2's perspective as character#1 talks
7. (MS) character #2 responds to the dialogue.
8. (CU) character #1 expresses facial expression 
9. (CU) character #1 clenches fist
10. (MS) camera placed behind character #1 as he swings his arm to punch character #2.
11. Over shoulder shot of character #2 as he reacts to the punch.

This is the shot list for our sequence specifically stating the shot types that will need to be captured for that certain shot ; whilst elaborating on key aspects involved within the shot. This will provide us with the visual presentations needed to be illustrated within the storyboard.

This shot list is important due to the fact that it will provide us with specific moments that need to be captured during filming whilst also allows us to envision the way in which the sequence will play out.

Continuity Editing Task

This task requires our group to establish our capabilities and skills required to effectively shoot a scene whilst ensuring that the continuity of the scene is effective. 

In order to successfully complete the task, we must ensure that our sequence incorporates all of the following points listed on the task sheet.

Before we begin filming our sequence; we must plan and storyboard our idea for our sequence. This task will be an insightful due to the fact that it will allow us to practise these skills needed within the planning and development process which will be vital for our coursework project.

Exam Practise

'Note taking' grid for exam analysis

Within lessons, we have been practising our writing techniques by attempting past examination questions. These exam questions require us to watch a brief clip from a television drama chosen by the exam board and then write a 1000 word essay based upon the question given to us.

This has allowed us to develop our writing techniques and adapting our vocabulary to incorporate all of the new media terminologies to ensure that our essays are as accurate and as detailed as the mark scheme acquires us to make it; this will help us gain achieve to our full potential.

In addition to our exam practices, we've been learning to take note within a form of a grid which breaks down the clip into segments based on its technical aspects ; also dividing it into sequences.     

Binary Opposition

Binary opposition is a theoretical idea round the facts related to terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning. With the media, there are many examples of binary opposition which we as an audience can identify almost immediately.

Examples of binary opposition:

• Good/Evil
• Man/woman
• Rich/poor
• Fat/thin
• civilised/primitive

This theory was developed by two french theorists, Claude Levi-Strauss and Roland Barthes based the idea on the fact that reality can only exist in the form of ideas which binary opposition presents those notions and fixations of our reality by presenting opposing aspects of our society. 

Within media, this can act as a compelling way of engaging audiences within the piece of media due to the notion that it draws them to depict their own society and therefore making it a relatable topic for the audience to witness.

Brainstorming concepts

This is a discussion that I recently had with my fellow group members in which we sat down to talk about our own individual thoughts and ideas on what concepts we'd like to pursue; whilst brainstorming and infusing our ideas to form a concept that we as a creative team are happy to indulge our minds to create and produce a particular concept.

As we delve more into the discussion, we ultimately realise why in fact we have chosen to go with our final concept due to the complexities and narrative conventions which have we have realised are too far fetched simply because they are not thrilling.

The Evaluation Questions

In order for our group to gain as much marks as possible from our coursework; we have to make sure that the final cut of our product does in fact include factors from the mark scheme whilst allowing us to have answers to follow the evaluation after production. 

As a member of my group, I must ensure that I fully understand what each question is specifically asking me in relation to my product.
Within the evaluation, there are many questions which our group must answer.

The evaluation questions are as followed:

• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

• How does your media product represent particular social groups?

• What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

• Who would be the audience for your media product?

• How did you attract/address your audience?

• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

I feel that with our opening sequence, we challenge forms and convention which are typically re-presented within the media. 

The ways in which we will do so is through the main subject of the piece whom at first you'd associate to be a form of radical, however as the sequence ensues then we learn his motives and intentions are that of noble cause. 

This is ultimately causing a challenge in forms and conventions by perceiving the audience to view the main character as a form of rebel on the verge of committing extremist act but then audiences will feel sympathy or possibly empathy for the character due to the vast themes and ideas of our controversial society resulting in the audiences understanding the character's mental motivations for his acts.

With our product, due to the controversial messages behind racism and the way we as a society stereotype races; I would imagine institutions may wish to distribute our sequence to act as a form of anti-rascial presentation which could possible be screened across  social-networking sites such as: Facebook,twitter, youtube in order to help spread the message behind the video. 

Due to the mature themes and ideas behind the sequence, our audience would tend to be aged from 15 and above simply because of the concepts and messaging presented in the sequence revolves around the idea of our capabilities to commit horrific acts of violence. 
Which is why I believe that our product will in fact lure in the attention of our audience specifically due to the compelling topics our product touch upon.

Project Development

Due to the progress our group has made in terms of research on our potential thriller sequence; we have developed a concept for our sequence which we are currently happy with in regards to our current fixation on the direction we wish to take. We have therefore begun planning and developing our concept by deciding the various codes and conventions we wish to include in order to help portray and depict different forms of social groups amongst us in this day in age.

This decision has ultimately caused us to delve into the hybrid genre of the political/thriller.Where we trust that through this specific type of thriller, is where we can emulate a particular style that will truly help us as film-makers re-present our target stereotypes in an  interesting perspective which will bring a large amount of depth to the character but most importantly will cause the audience to be captivated by the direction of the character which will help immerse them and engage them in our opening sequence.

As we continue to develop this concept, we'll be gathering research on the political/thriller genre and analysing the various styles the directors have chosen to present their openings. By highlighting and depicting the various conventions they have chosen to include, we can learn the effects they may have in relation to what impact those particular conventions may have on the audiences' understanding of the sequence in order to for us to learn and emulate these techniques and innovate the genre.

 

Group Discussion on summarising research

This is the discussion that I had with my group which involved us summarising our own individual research and associating their relevance with the development of the potential concepts we have in regards to what style of thriller we may potentially wish to plan and execute. 

Within this discussion we each individually state our own thoughts upon how we wish to produce a concept which can have an interesting take on the thriller genre. We also elaborate on how our research has influenced our decisions whilst inspiring our creativity to reach out far beyond what is expected from a typical thriller by infusing various conventions from another genre in order to produce a hybrid genre.

This discussion helped us not only realise our own individual ideas but also will allow us to then progress and develop these concepts in order to ultimately produce an idea that we'll all be satisfied with; until we have done so, we can move on to the planning and  pre-production work and research on our title sequence. 

Group discussion on the development on research

Recently I got together with my group to discuss the current state in where each of us are in regards to our individual research whilst elaborating on what we have learnt from the data we have collected.

We also discuss the relevance of our individual pieces of research in relation to providing us with ideas regarding the ways in which we are going to plan our opening sequence ; within this discussion there are brief mentions on our potential ideas and concepts on what we tend on achieving with our very own opening sequence.

This discussion was definitely insightful in regards to realising the present state of our research and where we are moving on to whether it's finalising pieces of research and beginning to move on and begin the planning and pre-production stage of our opening sequence.

The Art of the Title sequence

Within the opening to any given film,the film-makers can choose to start their given project through various methods; many openings consist of an engaging scene to introduce the audience to the premise of the film whilst presenting the audience with the characters that drive the narrative of the story.

However some openings can commence with a "title sequence" which is a sequence that presents the film's tile whilst including the names of the cast and crew; title sequences utilises visuals and sound to convey the film's tone.

For my research, I've focused on the art of title sequences due to the remarkable amount of creativity that is envisioned when creating a captivating title sequence. When creating a engaging title sequence ,it not only must it effectively reflect the tone of the film but in addition to the style and emotional feel to both the direction of the story and the characters.

As apart of my research I took notice of the title sequences from films belonging to various genres ; which helped me depict the ways in which typography has helped those individual films capture their audiences's attention whilst establishing and reflecting the overall tone of their film merely through the style and execution of the film's title.

Take these films for examples, these are the titles presented within the opening sequence of their films. Typography is an importance aspect of this idea of titles reflecting the entire film. This is the concept that the factors associated with the visual presentation of the title such as:font,colour,size and placement all help the title to embody the fundamental aspect of the film such as tone and style. As I went further in my research of "typography" the colours and font are what the audience associate when presented with a film's title within either the opening sequence or even promotional material.

Typography is a way that the audience make inferences and link in order to depict the film's genre and tone simple merely by the execution and presentation of the title. Distinct alterations to the typography of a title ; will inevitably play a toll of the way you wish to allude the mentality of the audiences perception and expectation of the film associated with the title. Simply through the use of particular colours such as: pink, red or black well the audiences automatically make indexical links regarding the colours; allocating them to various genres for example romance,thriller or horror. The font on the title acts as further clarification to what genre the audience will infer the film to be ; this is alluded through many aspects of the font particularly the style and the ways the words are crafted reflects whether or not it would the ideal for  example the font for the title of 'Mrs Doubtfire' is neat and elegant reflecting a film of a light hearted nature typically associated with a family film. Where as the font and colour of 'The Girl with the dragon tattoo' it's dark and harsh nature of the title displays a much darker and thrilling depiction of a story waiting to be told much more suitable for a mature audience. The typographies help audiences recognise also produce an expectation of the film merely by a glimpse at the title's presents on screen; due to is profound execution, audiences can almost immediately depict the style and tone of a film simply through it's title.

This research has drawn my attention in regards to my development and planning of my groups execution of an opening to a thriller; we must delve thoroughly in the presentation and the typography of the presentation of our title in order to present a depiction of the teasing sequence to our opening simply through the engaging and attracting reveal of the title of our project.

Opening Sequence analysis to "The Winter Solider"

"The Winter Solider" is a recent example of take on the hybrid thriller genre that incorporates both action and thriller conventions order to effectively execute a thrilling story of espionage  surrounding a super soldier working for a classified government agency is being hunted for treason.

The opening sequence to the film occurs during a search & rescue mission aboard a ship occupied by french pirates.
Directors Antony & Joe Russo boldly presented the audience with an introduction to the protagonist of the film whilst teasing the direction of the story whilst keeping the audience engaged and entertained throughout the duration of the sequence; effectively conveying its hybrid tones of action and suspense.    

The ways in which the film-makers achieves their inclusions on not only the thriller genre but on action and suspense which they emulated through various techniques.

Within the opening sequence, the film-makers built suspense by playing with both digetic and non-digetic sounds within the scene.
By adjusting digetic sounds such as footsteps by lowering the volume this allows the protagonist to seem as if he is sly and anonymous; it creates suspense due to the fact that the audience are witnessing the acts committed in the scene through the protagonist's perspective.

There by increasing the level of audio of the digetic sounds at a moment for example when the protagonist is in a conflict between the pirates, the sudden and thrilling impact of the physical punches or kicks are then emphasised a great deal due to the built up of anticipation and tension building to such a moment then plays a toll on the way in which the audience responses which is by being entertained whilst being thrilled at the stealth combat presented on screen.

In my opinion whilst watching this sequence it's most effective use of this technique of playing with digetic sounds was in the brief moment where the protagonist throws blade through a pirate's hand.
The various sounds of the blade flying through the air and its moment on impact were detailed and empathised due to the great deal of silence delivered by the minimal use of non-digetic sounds which ultimately helped exaggerate the harshness and shock of the blade piercing through the pirate's hand.

The ways in which the film-makers presented the action within the sequence is by primarily using medium shots in order to provide the audience with a close view to the harsh and brutal actions being committed which is enforced through the use of quick cuts from shot to shot as a way of emphasising the fast pace of both the sequence and of the fast movements of the protagonist whilst establishing his slick and stealthy manner.

This opening sequence was ultimately effective in regards to providing the audience with teases towards the directions to where the story may be heading whilst driving the audience's attention through thrilling action sequences in order for them to remain engaged; which the directors achieved through clever techniques which I have in fact noticed and realised it's effect towards the representation of the scenes.
Overall this opening sequence was a creative take on the hybrid thriller genre infusing both thriller with action.

Opening Sequence analysis to "Seven"

As I have commenced my duty in regards to gathering research and for-filling my task ; I have explicitly chosen to analysis the opening title sequence to a film that practically defined the thriller genre to this generation of cinephiles "Seven" is my first piece of research.

A film that is directed by David Fincher; a film-maker who has truly mastered the craft of shaping a thriller that perfectly embodies conventions expected from the genre such as building suspense and tension through both visual imagery and sound that reflect the emotions and characteristics the story acquires in order to embody the form of thriller that the director intended which is in fact a "crime thriller".

The opening to the film has been stylised to be in the form of a title sequence that contains various frames displaying graphic and disturbing imagery ultimately making for an effective opening sequence to a film of the thriller genre.

The title sequence is remarkable in the way in which it captivates and engages the audience's attention through the effective visuals within the sequence with the inclusion of none-diegetic sounds that really help play as a benefactor in regards to teasing a dark and gritty yet thrilling story.

The non-digetic sound included within the sequence beautifully blends with the visuals casted besides the musical track due to the profound nature of the music bestowing this eerie and sinister vibe towards the sequence causing the audience to perceive from the tone emitting from the visuals but primarily supported with the soundtrack; this film will indeed be have very dark and unsettling story that will of course thrill you beyond your expectation. The music achieves this through the use of metallic sounds which are produced by the consistent sound of the high-hat of a bass drum in in addition to the digitally created sounds in order to create a feeling of distortion and insanity.

The way in which the director has chosen to shoot these images is effective due to the nature and meaning conveyed by the symbolism within the frame; primarily is due to the fact that most of the shots are framed with an "extreme close up" of a particular object which in addition the film-maker has enhanced the audience's focus on the images presented to them by playing with the depth of field of the shot. The effects of this technique is to draw the audience's attention away from anything within the sequence that my deprive them of their attention towards the shot but to focus their attention on a certain object such as the book in the shot within the sequence. This tests the audience's ability to depict meaning and symbolism from the object in order for them to retrieve information in regards to the story; ultimately testing and preparing the audience for the psychological and thrilling story awaiting to be told after the opening title sequence has introduced valued and insightful information in regards to how in fact the director may choose to tell his story. Another way in which the editor has contributed to the concept is through the editing and pacing of the sequence; due to the vast pace of the sequence causing the audience to witness brief but memorable glimpses of these disturbing contents allowing the audience to not only further test their ability to remember details that may be need within the story but to justify that the overall tone and feel of the film's story will rely the gritty and dark nature of the crime. 

The gritty and dark nature of the story is also teased in the opening of the film through the cinematography of the sequence.
Through the inclusion of few dark colours connotes the idea of discomfort and evil due to the murky look in which the film-makers has delivered to the audience. This was important to note due to the idea that audiences naturally infer indexical meanings associate with colours depicted from the shot. Therefore this was intriguing to me simply because it established that they're many aspect of within the frame must be planned thoroughly in order to ensure that the audience are not misinterpreting any aspects of the opening to our opening sequence.  

In regards to the way in which the director has chosen to consistently use "extreme close ups" for the entire sequence is remarkably compelling due to the ideas surrounding the use of this particular shot type and the impact it must have in relation to the audience's psychological response to this.

The way this shot type has been used throughout this opening sequence draws the allusion of a obscure form of intimacy due to the close proximity in which these shot are taken which may reflect the audience's feelings discomforted and uneasy about the detail they are able to witness from these disturbing images.

Ultimately this is an effective opening due to the fact that it achieves its purpose in regards to teasing the audience on what to expect from the story and convey the overall tone and ideas to later further elaborate throughout the duration of the film.

The analysis of the opening of this film was very helpful in regards to my research due to the fact that it has informed me on technical aspects associated with the film-making process such as camera movement,framing,editing and sound must all be executed in the specific way in order to achieve the type of thriller you wish to deliver; overall this provided me with a insightful look in the many ways in which an opening to a film of the thriller genre can be executed. 

I look forward to analysing opening sequences to other films and understanding the ways in which those directors have chosen to execute their take on the thriller genre.

An Introduction to the coursework

Within media, Mr Ford has allocated every single student to a group consisting of 4 students whom in fact have different and unique skill sets which will help every group achieve their full potential in regards to progress and success.
Within the group that I have been allocated to which in fact includes myself "Benoit Ganesan",Ashley Banger,Jamie Gerrish and Aayush Joshi.

Over the week leading up to the half term break, amongst our group we were tasked with the job to firstly assign particular tasks to members within the group. Tasks in relation to providing research towards the coursework. Our coursework revolves around ultimately  being able to produce a 2 minute opening to a new film belonging to the thriller genre; however in order to produce a clip of this genre, we as a group must gain extensive research and delve deep into our knowledge and understanding of the thriller genre.

What is a thriller?

In regards to cinema, the genre “thriller” is defined as film with an exciting plot that engages the audience through the experience the context offers. 

Throughout the history of cinema, the thriller genre not only has adapted into many hybrid genres but has also been classified differently to the eyes of the public due to their means of associating certain thriller conventions and applying them to films of a particular genre and classifying them as a form of thriller due to the inclusion of various conventions appearing within the visual presentation of the story.

What is the task I’ve been assigned with?

As apart of my research for my coursework in preparation for producing a two minute opening to a new thriller film; my task is to analyse openings of various films belonging to the thriller genre and to study the way in which the film-makers has used various techniques in order to thrill their audience and captivate them by having them remain engaged through the use of camera movements ,music and visual conventions expected from an opening to a thriller such as gritty imagery.

By studying the way in which many film-makers have executed the opening to their projects; I should then be have an understanding of what is expected from a thriller in addition to knowing the set of key principles set by cliché thrillers such as “Psycho” or “Seven” which will ultimately help me then emulate my very own opening with the correct technical aspects in order to execute the perfect thriller opening.

Laura Mulvey’s theory of “The Male Gaze”

Laura Mulvey was a theorist who argued that we live in a society where men dictate the rules and construct a representation of an ideal world, a world where males have dominance over women. This is also known as a “Patriarchal Society”. 

“The Male Gaze” is the theory she believed that audiences have to view characters from the perspective of a male. This theory consists of the idea that within a film, the camera will linger on the curves of the female character which are highlighted with specific editing conventions such as slow-motion deliberately causing the audience to focus their attentions on the female’s curves. And events which occur to women are presented in context of a man’s reaction to the event.

The theory proves that film relegates women to the status of objects.

Female viewer must experience the narrative in the 2nd person due to the nature of the narrative is that of a male. Despite that women in film/text tend to have no importance in regards to the story, however they play a toll on how the male character acts or feels which is important.

Visual Pleasure

Mulvey theorised that the role of a female character in a film; them within the narrative had two functions…

• To be an erotic object for the characters within the narrative to view.
• As an erotic object for the audience to view.

A perfect embodiment of this statement is within the James Bond franchise were women are objectified and forced by the audience to gaze upon their physical features. However, today this theory of “The Male Gaze” has only been frequently used within advertising rather than film due to the nature of our society now attempting to reduce the spectacles of women seen through man’s perception within film/television by portraying a far more factual representation of a female character; whom may cause the male protagonist to strive to be a better individual. (TO BE CONTINUED) 

Terror in the Night

This week, we were put into groups of four.Due to our particular set of skills involving leadership,teamwork and creative; these were vital to come up with a concept for a story based upon the title "Terror in the Night".

Once we had developed an idea, we then had to create ten storyboards for the short film which required us to include additional information in regards to timing and information regarding the movement of the camera with the various transition from one shot to another.

Ultimately the activity was extremely helpful because it allowed us to practise these skills in preparation for our coursework; in particular the further development of our storyboard by editing an animatic of our conceptual short film.

The animatic was a great tool for us in regards to visually present a conceptual short film through the inclusion of music and sound effects to help express the tone of the project which couldn't be expressed through a simplistic frame.Therfore our group was very impressed with the way the animatic turned out and the impact of the inclusion of audio affected the visual presentation of the frames within the storyboards.

 

is the animatic our group had produced which presented our concept perfectly and it was a great practise for our coursework and after this brief activity, I am very eager to delve into my coursework.

To summarise the brief exercise, our group decided to take a moment to discuss our thoughts in regards to our ideas and concepts behind our story and evaluate aspects of the development of the idea from presenting it on a storyboard to an animatic in addition to elaborating on how much both forms of visual representations can have whilst each conveying particular messages of the story.

Visual Meaning & Camera Angles

As I begin to learn and understanding the procedures involved when

producing a live-action motion picture; I have been studying different forms of camera angles and also ways of interpreting the visual meanings in which the director is presenting within the frame.

I have learnt that within any given film, the placement of the camera plays a major impact on the way the audience will feel towards the scene. Which is why the director applies appropriate shot types to particular frames within the scene to provide the audience with a certain form of sensation and emotion towards the sequence. The way in which the director chooses to shoot any given scene will play a toll on the way the audience will view the film therefore affecting their judgement of the entire film. 

The film-makers must ultimately be aware of what they wish to show within the frame in order to gain the right response from their audience.

A director can visual present meaning within a frame of their film due to the content within the shot help convey particular ideas to the audience to help them understand and learn aspect of the character or the story. 

An example of showing how a director can present visual meanings within their shot and also highlighting these aspects through the use of key shot types to heighten the visual representation of their story is within a sequence for the film "Full Metal Jacket". Stanley Kubrick creatively uses certain shot types to attract the audience to focus on aspects of the shot to further understand the story and gather information in regards to the characters by depicting symbolical,iconic and indexical signs.

This is an “extra long shot” or “wide shot”; within this scene it is used to establish to the audience where the location of the scene is. This establishing shot also conveys the tone of the scene due to all the soldiers being fixed in position therefore causing the audience to allude to possible outcomes to why they might be in this formation.

Due to the vast amount of space presented within this shot, this allows the audience to be aware of many aspects of the frame such as the amount of subjects within the scene. In addition to aspects included within the frame, this shot effectively uses dull colours which further emphasises on the setting that being of a military location. The use of dull colours connotes the ideas of military life and the seriousness of it.

The director uses a “pan shot” to transition the shot from one location to another which not only causes the audience to focus their attention to the subject walking across the set from one side to the other… But is also walking closer to the camera causing the audience to depict information on the subject but lures the audience towards the privates filling the audience with curiosity and tension as they may learn more information about certain subject through dialogue or visual representation.

Within this “medium shot” the audience is confronted with a closer look at the two subjects within this frame; this is an effective shot due to their clothing and expression reveals information in regards to the characters.

Particularly with the drill-sergeant and by his decorative uniform this clarifies that he is of higher ranking not only through his medals and patches but through his uniform which segregates him from the rest of the men granting him with respect and authority.

This “low angle shot” is deeply effective due to the fact that it emphasises on the drill-sergeant’s power over the private whom he is addressing. Due to the low positioning of the camera it connotes the mental state of the individual who the drill-sergeant is addressing making him feel lower than his sergeant enforcing on the drill-sergeant’s control and menacing character. This shot also plays a toll on the audience effecting their well-being due to the point of view of the shot alluding them to feel as if the drill sergeant is addressing them directing causing the audience to feel a form of discomfort.


This ultimately proves how much of an importance shots are and how various camera angles can vastly impact the audience's emotional response to the scene. Particularly through the use of the sequence from "Full Metal Jacket" I have understood how different camera angles can help captivate the audience's attention to certain visual aspects of the frame and how it plays a toll on how effective a scene may be towards the audience.

The Horror Cycle

From the my notes I have learnt that as time passes,genres evolves and remains to be updated on the trends in which the audiences are favouriting at that moment in time.I realised that they're many forces that have a major impact  over the evolution of any genre; specifically speak social and psychological forces.

The horror genre for example has evolved over eight decades due to our society's profound nature to change preferences due to social and phycological aspects playing a toll on our fears ultimately causing the horror genre to adapt to our changes in fear in order to satisfy their audiences with the sensation of fear and discomfort by their films.

Within each decade over time, there has been a specific phobia used to indulge their audience with fear. However, this timeline of the evolution of horror emphasises on the audience's control over the genre dictating it's conventions in order to ensure it remains satisfying to the audience; where as it may become predictable causing the genre to ultimately fade out of trend. 

Within my notes, you can depict the various forms of phobias audiences were fixated to in regards to what in fact was believed to have been scary in that decade. However like all trends, they grow out of fashion which in this case the audiences overcame their fear over those phobias.
This provided film-makers with the opportunity to explore various forms of fear to creatively redefine the horror genre once audiences felt the need for an innovative idea.

An example of a film-maker who redefined the horror genre was Alfred Hitchcock. The cinematic masterpiece that is "Psycho" presented the idea that human beings can be as horrifying as monsters due to the fact that the mind alone can be a fearful place to explore. Hitchcock also alluded the idea that that our comfort and safety provided by our homes can violated. 

A key scene within this film that best presents this concept is the scene where the lead actress is brutal murdered within the comforts of her own bathroom.
Not only did this scene portray the idea that not the lead character  is not suppressed from danger due to her importance of the story; but also that our privacy and safety are all irrelevant due to a human beings deranged and inescapable potential for evil.


This then sparked the imagination of film-makers to produce horror films creatively infusing plot lines that would target audience's fears and comfort areas to toy with them; leading to the creation of the classic "A nightmare on Elm Street" a film where victims would be horrifically tortured and murdered within their nightmares. Yet again causing the audiences to generate a phobia of sleeping.

Within this current decade, the horror genre is overflowing with supernatural thrillers and exorcisms which have grown to be extremely formulaic; films such as "The Conjuring" and "Insidious" all follow similar patterns.They doe however have a deep impact on the audiences due to the compelling nature of the films highlight that society today are not invested in religion in comparison to pervious years. Which is why the productions convey a  subliminal message towards the audience to re-invest in the ideas and principles behind religion.


My speculation for the next decade in regards to the horror genre is that it will manifest ideas pre-existing within it's cycle.   I speculate that the horror genre will return to the hybrid genres; similar to the innovative combination within both the early 50s and 70s with the sci-fi/horror genre. Due to the exceeding growth of love audiences are having towards the hybrid genres. This is causing studios to once again reproduce films such as Ridley Scott's "Alien" which provided both science fiction infused with horror. I have already witnessed this from various films of hybrid genres teasing its potential to reboot the horror genre. Which is compelling to know that studios are in fact aware of the genre's need of rebooting but justifies it's needs for franchises. This is a marketing technique used to produce films allocated within an existing property in order to ensure financial success. A key example of a studio seizing the opportunity to create a potential franchise is "The Purge" a film that is of a hybrid genre combining conventions and iconographies associated within action/horror/thriller. "The Purge" was a project that had a budget of a small fortune of $3 million and produces $80 million at the box-office providing the studio with a large profit margin. Due to the success of that project, this has lead to the production of a sequel titled "The Purge-Anarchy" which was granted with larger production costs to exceed the expectation and scope set by the previous film at an attempt to provide the audiences with new visual concepts to the story in order to lure the public into viewing it. This strategy   was resourceful due to the fact that the sequel expectedly grossed more than it's predecessor; ultimately establishing a potential franchise for the foreseeable future.

  

An Understanding of "Semiotics"

Semiotics is a way of visually coding objects and anything we see around us and we mentally associate them with references to pre-existing information that we have collected through the media/experiences/perception etc. Semiotics are used when we are understanding signs around us by making mental connections with perceptions allowing us to process the sign and develop our links.

A sign is polysemic meaning that it has more than one meaning; this is deeply compelling simply due to the fact that your references and experiences in regards to any given sign that you see, will play a toll on your perception of the object. Ultimately the perception we allude to in regards to understanding visual representations of any given object; this is when signifiers play apart due to our to the pre-existing forms of information effecting our assumptions of particular signs causing us to allocate a given sign with depicted pieces of information provided by sources such as the media. The media tends to fixate and highlight certain aspects of information, manipulating the way in which we perceive signs around us. In some cases this idea of highlighting or depicting aspects of a sign may cause us to allude away from the truth; this principle is fundamentally important in association to the news.  

This diagram elaborates on the concept of signs through visual representation demonstrating that the sign is what we're seeing for example a dog's footprint: through our perception we'd link it through connotations to interpret any forms of danger or through experiences we'd link it to information presenting animal prints therefore causing us to ultimately conclude to what it is and presenting it with a title. 

There are 3 forms of links we'd associate with polysemic signs which  help us amplify our perception and understandings by broadening our connections regarding any given signs.

Iconic

Are aspects of the sign that works with resemblance,such as fire being a source of light or heat.

Symbolic

Aspects of the sign that are learned, such as fire can pose a form of danger.

Indexical

These are links we make in regards to the sign, such as smoke can indicate fire or forms of civilisation.

Within the media, particularly forms of visual representation. Signs play a significant importance in regards to the audience gathering an understanding of the visual representation.

Within films/television, directors highlight these aspects of particular signs to emphasis their story in order for the audience to grasp on the tone of the project and remain engaged.

This is a shot from the film “Prisoners” there are many shots throughout the film that bare many symbolic meanings which the director has included to provide the audience with extra visual depth to the telling of the story which he has achieved through the use of mediation; a process of selecting and organising material for his audience but including relevant and appropriate signs that will advance the scene visually.

Iconic

 An aspect within the frame that is ionic is that it takes place within an interrogation room in which is iconic to the audience due to the fact that this setting presents an area in which individuals are questioned upon their acts against society ultimately acting immoral.  This is fundamentally why this polysemic shot is in fact iconic simply because of the location presented makes the audience feel psychologically uneasy as a relation of the audience associating the setting as a place where they are questioned of their sins and is why this shot is so rememberable,ironic and ultimately intriguing.

Symbolic

The way in which the director has chosen to not only position the two characters within the frame at a great distance away from the camera but to confine them to only a small section of the room conveys the idea of power. The character the audience would recognise as the interrogator due to the handcuffs placed in his back-pocket is refraining the suspect from moving away but to remain in the corner of the room and the interrogator is achieving this without any physical means of force nor actions required; this then justifies the symbolism of power and dominance over an individual (the suspect) who holds no authority or control within the situation he has brought upon himself.
Another form of symbolism within the shot is presented through the emptiness of the room; this highlight the notion hopelessness in both the suspect and the interrogator which also can further elaborate on the idea that both characters are striving to achieve their goals of the suspect bleeding his innocence and the interrogator attempting to solve his case ultimately symbolising the concept of desperation.

Indexical

Within this shot, the contents indicated the fact that the location is indeed an interrogation room; the audience would associate this with criminal activity and linking it to the suspect within the frame there by linking his appearance to archetypes of people whom the media presents to be criminals and then help the audience to contemplate their given connections to subconsciously decide whether they believe the suspect is guilty or innocent.

The audience would also make links to the idea of the proximity in which the interrogator could be an invasion of personal space which some may argue that this is a link to a form of violating the suspects human rights which is depicted through the gesture and body language of the suspect leaning himself as far back as possible in order to provide himself with as much space he can conjure himself with:  the audiences may link this with the ideas of instinct of our nature to not tolerate discomfort which is expressed through the suspect’s body language.


Semiotics is a compelling and effective way for the media to alter our perspective on particular aspects of our society. Due to our perceptions on the signs around us having a major influence through our sources of information; particularly the news playing a toll on the way we form stereotypes or political rivals due to the way the media chooses to manipulate the meanings behind signs.