Question 1

I have chosen the following images to demonstrate conventions of my sub-genre. These images will be used as inspiration, and should influence my decisions in making my own opening sequence

This is a part of the opening sequence of Insidious. I personally feel it represents both the film and the sub-genre. It's very much stereotypical for red and black to be used to represent a horror movie, but my focus was and is on the font design. The shadow behind the writing adds a sinister twist to the titles, working alongside the rigid typeset. For our opening titles, I would want to use the same factors used in this one - sinister shadowing and rigid font




This is our company logo, that we created for our production company. It is not as brazen as its counterpart (above), in terms of conventions, mainly because it challenges the conventions set by Insidious, because of the serif font used, which is also cohesive with our plot, and also the colour scheme. The red full stop almost indicates blood, which also follows general conventions of horror films, but the rest of the work is brighter than it would be expected to be.

This image is another example of the same, however, this one also demonstrates mise-en-scene. This image draws up the audiences innate expectations of a psychological horror, by playing on your imagination. There are a number of dark corners and shadows that disable the audience from seeing what is actually there, leaving much of it to their own imagination. Furthermore, the image isolates the house from the neighborhood that surrounds it, singling it out as an abnormality

This image demonstrates mise-en-scene, but again, challenges most of the contentions set by the image prior. It is quite bright in comparison, and does not immediately draw on the audiences imagination. However, the shot puts the character in the background, and shows an empty room, in which she is alone. We also caught the kitchen door in the rule of thirds, which may or may not play on the audiences imagination.

This is the logo for our film, "The Wait". The logo is quite simple, and in all honesty does not reflect that of "The Ring". It challenges "The Rings" conventions, as it uses a serif font as opposed to a san-serif font, the lighting is totally different to it's counterpart. What made the logo effective in the film was the sound in the background, which introduced the title with a bass drum supporting it. Whilst the imagery did not draw the audiences attention to it, the sound did the job for it.

This image is the logo for "The Ring". I think this logo is great, the distinct typeset demonstrating the eeriness and abstract nature of the movie. It is very representative of what to expect in the film itself. Again, the shadow around the image adds to a very sinister atmosphere delivered by the imagery. If I was to design a logo for our piece, I would consider this design as inspiration. I believe it suits the purpose it which it is set without cramming the screen with horrifying images. It does exactly what psychological horrors are supposed to do; play on the audiences imagination

This is a still image from the movie "Black Swan". The image follows the traditional conventions of a psychological horror; the typical clutching of the head, terrified scream and a female protagonist. Itis an effective image because even without the sound, it creates an atmosphere of terror and anxiety, but focusses on the intensity of the characters instability. I believe it would be a given to use an image similar to the above in our piece, particularly because of its effect. This shot could well be the most inspiring image of the bunch


I think this shot is brilliant in showing our sub-genre. The shot focuses very much on the characters eyes, which are quite sharp, and made more distinct by the dark eye shadow around them. In this shot the lights flicker, before going totally out, putting the audience in a blind spot. I think this shot is strong, because it is not obviously a part of a horror, and is very subtle in its strengths. The canted angle supports the expectation of the sub genre, as it shows the psychological uneasiness of the subject in the shot

Still Images from "The Ring"

Image 1, 2 and 3 each portray women as the victims, and centre around the victimization of the female characters. All 4 of the images develop existing conventions of psychological horror, typically playing on the fears and curiosity of both the characters and the audience to further the plot. Image 1 (to the left) uses the setting and lighting (mise-en-scene) to set the character in isolation along with bright lighting to focus the audiences attention on the characters facial expression.

The 3 bottom images have been extracted from the video posted above

 As I stated before, the opening scene to "The Ring' played a key role in inspiring our piece, and effectively devising it. The still images extracted from the piece are the key focal points of the clip in terms of imagery. The image (to the left) is about 4 frames long; not much. However. due to the intensity of the non-diegetic screech (watch the video and you'll see what I mean), this image is very powerful in setting the atmosphere for the remainder of the piece and is greatly effective in impacting the audience. The image, using the rule of thirds, focusses on the sheer terror of the characters face, as opposed to the image they see, creating the mystery of what caused her distress.

The following image (again to the left) focusses particular on the innocence of the character. Again, using the rule of thirds, the image focusses on her passive and anxious facial expression, particular the gaping mouth. The image makes it clear who the victim is, and projects her anxiety onto the audience to create and eerie atmosphere. In our piece, this is the kind of image we intend to use to create an atmosphere that almost reflects pathos and anxiety on the characters behalf

The last image in clever as it sets the audience at a bad vantage point. Psychological horrors thrive on mystery and are similar to the thriller genre, hence why I believe this image is a useful one to replicate. The scene has already created an anxious atmosphere that only heightens in the presence of suspense. Where the passive soundtrack (again, refer to the video) is also applied, in accompanies the image well in creating an eerie suspense




This image, similar to the one from "The Ring", puts the audience at a terrible vantage point, and almost a blind spot. These kind of shots are great for developing suspense, and if needs be, having something jump out at the audience



This image, and the image below, are both key in demonstrating our sub-genre. They both used canted angles (or the Dutch shot as some call it) to show the psychological unease of the character, and make it clear who the victim in our piece is. They put the character as the centre of attention, and creates a degree of anxiety on the characters behalf, potentially because of the abstract lighting










This image, I feel, is very key in our piece. Of all the shots we have used, this one is the most abnormal. The lighting behind the hand (behind the door), created a silhouetted reflection, which looks quite ghostly. The rest of our shots are abstract, and do not make a threat clear. However, this shot makes the threat unmissable, and makes it a direct trouble to the audience.