Wes Craven

The second director I decided to research was a personal favourite, Wes Craven. He has written and directed some of my all-time favourite films and created some of the most brilliant and infamous horror antagonists in the history of the genre: Ghostface (Scream), Freddy Kreuger etc.

Craven is largely known for his work in the horror genre, particularly in slasher films where he made himself known.

His directorial debut was with 'The Last House on the Left' before going on to direct 'Nightmare on Elm Street'. 

Craven's works often focus on the idea and nature of reality; the premise of 'Nightmare' dealt with the consequences of dreams in real life and in 'New Nightmare', he brushed against the fourth wall by having actress Heather Langenkemp play herself as she is haunted by the villain of the film she once starred. These clever and new ideas are what shot Craven to prominence.  

Pinterest board: http://uk.pinterest.com/09f8qurh/craven/

Alfred Hitchcock: 'The Master of Suspense'

I decided to start my research with Alfred Hitchcock, one of the world's most respected film directors and somebody whose contributions to horror are remembered vividly today. Hitchcock is somebody that many have idolised over the years and for a good reason too. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller/horror genres and also revolutionised the use of a camera to move in a way that mimics and person's gaze. He used this to manipulate his viewers to engage in a form of voyeurism; he also used many techniques to maximise suspense and anxiety, which is why some of his films are included in some of the scariest ever made. We all know 'Psycho' and it's infamous shower murder scene and the fact that that one scene has become a icon in horror (and still is 55 years later) is just one example of Hitchcock's ability as a director. I would argue that scene is one of the most memorable in history. 

I actually didn't realise how many films Hitchcock had actually done - I could only include a few on my little filmography list - and this is another reason why he's such an icon amongst directors. I should hope to mimic or use some of the techniques, especially his camera techniques, in my own final piece. 

I also created a pinterest board and collected a bunch of photos and posters of the films he has worked on: http://uk.pinterest.com/09f8qurh/hitchcock/ 

Research: One

To start my research into horror films, I listed a bunch - both 'classic' and 'modern' - alongside their directors so I could possibly find a trend in directors or in similarities between titles. The reason I did this is so I could possibly use some techniques from the films I wrote down in my own piece (e.g. 2007's Paranormal Activity revolutionised the use of 'found footage' style filming and I have considered using this in my own project). I also wanted to find a trend of directors so I could choose some to study; I decided eventually after following the trend that I would study Alfred Hitchcock, Wes Craven, Eli Roth, James Wan and George A. Romero. All of these are renowned horror directors that have made their individual mark on the horror genre, whether it is due to revolutionising certain camera techniques like Hitchcock or being credited for creating a sub-genre within horror like Roth. 

Analysis of 'Videodrome' title sequence

'Videodrome' is an 1983 Canadian postmodernist sci-fi body horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg. It stars James Woods, Sonja Smits and Deborah Harry. It was produced by Canadian Film Development Company and distributed by Universal Pictures.

The title sequence starts with pulsing music that is played over the Universal Pictures logo; the use of this music immediately gives the audience the impression of a foreboding and unsettling atmosphere. This music continues as the beginning credits start to play until there is a crackling sound, like one you'd hear on a TV or radio, and the title starts to appear, firstly blurry and out of focus but it soon sharpens up. There is a loud static noise behind the titles which connotes a lack of clarity or possibly a hidden message. This causes the audience to ask themselves questions, thus increasing the tension by playing on the fear of the unknown. 

We then hear a tinkling piece of music and the words 'Civic TV' appear several times in different colours on the screen, before an advert for it comes up afterwords and we see that we are watching this on a TV screen. The fact that the Civic TV logo comes up immediately after the title suggests that it is of significance and will be important to the film's plot later on or is a key theme throughout. 

We then see a young woman appear on the screen and she starts talking to a man called Max; she begins to engage in a dialogue with him and at first the audience is unsure of whether or not this is a programme but as the title sequence progresses, it becomes clear that it is directly aimed at the owner of the TV set it is playing on. She later reveals herself to be Friday James and she emphasises that she is Max's daily wake up call for Wednesday 23rd. The emphasis she puts on the date is an effective use of narrative enigma as it makes the audience question the significance of this date, creating a sense of the foreboding unknown. 

She then starts reading out a message with a list of things Max has to do; this makes the audience assume that he is a character of significance in the reality he's living in as normal people don't usually have several meetings per day. Furthermore she refers to him as 'commander', suggesting he is the boss or the leader of whatever company she works for or with. This creates a sense of authority for this Max character before he even appears on screen.

The Civic TV logo plays once more, reinforcing the significance of it to the audience, before the camera pans around to a man waking up on a sofa; we can assume that this is Max. 

We then see him making himself a cup of coffee whilst eating out of a box of leftover pizza; this juxtaposes our ideas of characters with authority and power as we'd expect them to be eating full meals or being made meals by cooks, not eating leftovers. The fact that he doesn't make himself any new breakfast almost makes him appear slightly sleazy and a slob; this sleaziness is further emphasised as he picks up pictures of naked women and starts flicking through them. This establishes another difference between the character of Max and a normal middle-aged man, as we would expect a normal man to read the paper on the morning (maybe in this day and age, go on his iPhone) whereas Max is flicking through pornographic images. This creates a distinct impression that he is not like your 'run of the mill' guy and reinforces his authority and power. As he is viewing the pictures, he laughs which suggests that he has a poor attitude towards woman and finds it fun to exploit and mock them for his own amusement. This establishes that there is a power struggle between men and women that may become more significant later.

I think this film would be aimed at an audience in the 28-50 age range as it already hints at some more sophisticated ideas that would be too advanced for many in the younger age ranges. It also immediately shows adult images so it definitely wouldn't be suitable for children. 

Link to Pinterest Mood Board

http://uk.pinterest.com/09f8qurh/as-media-mood-board/

Mood Board

Despite having quite a clear idea in my head about what I want for my final piece, I wanted to create a mood board to try and capture and collect images from other films and pictures that truly encapsulate my idea before I put anything down on paper. I decided to make a Pinterest account; I used Pinterest for my GCSE Art Final Piece and I found it to be an efficient and effective way of sparking ideas and incorporating different elements into my own piece. I've created a pin board called 'AS Media Final Piece' and within it, I have 'pinned' pictures of other horror and thriller movie posters (such as The Shining, Taken, The Purge, Se7en etc), as well as typical 'horror' imagery that I found on the site. My idea at the moment is roughly about a girl who's missing and her best friend is trying to find her; this is where the thriller elements are based. Then in the first scene, we see the girl lying on the floor of what appears to be a garage, covered in blood and we discover that she's been kidnapped and that her kidnapper has cut her open - revealed by fresh wounds on her abdomen - for unknown purposes (graphic, I know!). This is where most of the horror elements come in. It's important for me to get the balance right and that's also why I created the mood board so I could balance images from each genre and place them next to each other, combine different aspects and elements and see what works. 

Analysis of 'The Shining' title sequence

'The Shining' is a 1980 British-American psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. It stars Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd and Scatman Crothers. The film is based on Steven King's novel of the same name. It was produced by The Producer Circle, Company, Peregrine Productions and Hawk Films and it was distributed by Warner Bros.

The sequence starts with the Warner Bros. logo which, like the other films I've analysed, sticks to the conventions of title sequences. We then see a establishing shot moving over a clear lake to an isolated piece of land in the middle; the theme music for The Shining also starts here. The music paired with the establishing shots of the landscape immediately signify to the audience that the atmosphere is foreboding and omnious and that, despite the peaceful exterior, the environment they're in holds sinister undertones. Furthermore the shot of the lone piece of land in the middle of a clear unmoving lake emphasises how isolated this area actually is; the lake is completely still and there are no people, houses or cars in sight in this shot. This makes the audience feel tense and unnerved as the camera slowly pans across the completely abandoned landscape.
We then see a single yellow car driving along a road surrounded by trees; this is the first sign of life the audience sees and that suggests that the protagonists are within the car. It is revealed later in the title sequence that they are driving up to the hotel however in this shot, they appear to just be driving. This use of narrative enigma further heightens the sense of isolation and tension as it forces the audience to ask questions and think 'why is this happening? Where are they going?'.
In the next few shots, the camera is following the same yellow car - this further emphasises that either the car itself or the characters in the car are of some significance - and the deep, slow, droning music continues in the background. The credits themselves start within these shots; the bright blue font matches the simplicity of the landscape the yellow car is driving through. The lack of fancy effects and intricate camera shots or font actually increases the tension as the audience is sat waiting for something to happen and they are presented with many questions that don't get answered immediately.
At one point in the title sequence, we see another car driving away from wherever the yellow car is heading; this makes the audience wonder what they're driving away from and adds to the ominous atmosphere that the camera-work and music already creates.
The landscape gradually changes to show that the car is driving up some form of hilly, mountain area and then suddenly in one of the penultimate shots, the landscape is shown to have snow on it. This suggests that they are very high up as further down, there was no snow - this just adds to how isolated the destination of this yellow car is. We later find out that the isolated nature of the hotel is one of the main factors that adds to the horror in the film.
We then see an establishing shot that pans over a large, ominous looking building - this suggests that this is the place the yellow car is heading to - whilst the music continues to play.



The audience for this film would probably be 25-45 years old as I believe the simplistic yet sophisticated nature of the title sequence would appeal mostly to that age group rather than a very young or very old demographic.