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Eva Online Digital Media Product Ppt by eva on Scribd

Codes and Conventions of a Horror film

Codes are systems of signs with create meaning:

• Technical codes - equipment is used to tell the story (camera work)
• Symbolic codes - whats beneath the surface (a characters action shows feeling)

Some codes fit in both categories (music)

Conventions are the generally accepted ways of doing something, all genres of film have certain conventions which we expect to see (cliches)

Examples of horror conventions:

• Secluded location - the woods, abandoned places, summer camp
• Characters forget about threat - forgotten deaths, curses
• Cut power - electricity, candles/gas lamps, phone lines
• Strange noises - someones goes and investigates
• Running up the stairs - instead of going outside to possibly get help they run upstairs to get into a 'safe' place
• Victim trips over - gets slower down but sometimes makes a close escape, they became vulnerable 
• Vehicle won't start - motorbike, car etc
• Fake scare - door slamming, phone ringing, birds fly out of trees, looks into a mirror
• Warnings are ignored - someone has a bad dream/nightmare about the trip but they go anyway, a rumoured curse about an object but get take it anyway
• Death in first 5 minutes - uses to set the mood for the rest of the film 
• X years before / later - gives explanation and makes the story more clear
• Stormy night - childhood fear of thunder 
• Short cut - going down a beaten track, somewhere where no one can help, take advice from a creepy local and become alienated

Scream mask - Intertextuality

In the film Scream the mask worn was taken from a painting by Edvard Munch, the painting named 'The Scream' was the starting point for the mask and the film.

The Painting was completed in 1893, the inspiration was his own experience with insanity, this could be seen as a self portrait because this was the way Edvard could of viewed himself.

This painting is referenced in many films, the most well known is the film scream, the familiar mask we all know took its inspiration from 'The Scream'.

Another widely known film is Home Alone, the classic front cover of the screaming boy has and obvious resemblance to 'The Scream'.

Intertextuality in Films

Intertextuality - Family Guy and Star Wars

Intertextuality- Scary Movie and Scream

Newspaper cover analysis

Dominant reading: the audience uncritically accepts the preferred (or intended) meaning of the text.

The text below implies Obama is speaking and is saying that him the Queen and the British people are friends, the Mirror is assuming that we care about both him and the Queen.

Negotiated reading: the message is partly accepted and partly rejected.

Some people might not care about one of them and not be interested in the article. Some people might dislike either the Queen or Obama.

Oppositional reading: the audience rejects the message.

Some people might not care about either of them and not be interested in the article. They could not support either the Queen or Obama or they could live in a different country and this news might not affect them.