There are many conventions of pre - existing texts, so this essentially means that it is the forms and conventions of those texts that define a genre. This was noted by theorist David Chandler. In my opinion, I agree that the
conventions of genres can help to identify the media text, yet I also
agree that they can limit them. This can happen if they follow the
conventions without manipulating them or changing them slightly - by
doing this the text would then be individual and interesting for the
viewer. However, it is hard not to be confined by conventions nowadays,
and creating a new concept is becoming increasingly harder - this can
explain why many films are often updated remakes of original ones.
My film falls into the psychological thriller/horror sub-genre, and with it being one of the most popular film sub-genre, there are many conventions that make it distinguishable from other horrors. With my film, I decided to use many of the conventions that I observed in other films, as well as take inspiration from some that were perhaps not so conventional.
Conventions of psychological horror films
Psychological horrors are ones that people tend to find scarier, as this is because they play with the idea of reality, and so making the idea of the
films events more possible to the audience, and thereby making the
reaction to the sub-genre greater than those such as apocalyptic or gore.
Furthermore, the films tend to based on factual occurences (this is most
notable with films that begin with an 'inspired by' story or a 'based
on true events' background). Subsequently, it can make the film more
chilling, as the films rely largely on the minds of the
viewers to evoke the fear.
Typical conventions of psychological horror include;
- Characters - rely on their fears and/or abnormal psyche to create fear from the viewer
- Build tension - through atmosphere and the eerie sound effects that exploit both the characters and audiences psychological fears
- Killer/evil - tends to appear as completlely normal - no noticeable signs that they may be the evil in the story
- Weapons - tend to be that of the mind (something that is often intensified by the audiences own mind) rather than something phsyical, like a knife or a gun
- Location - seemingly unintimidating places like houses or schools
- Sense of realism - this means that the viewer can relate to the film more, increasing their fear
- Flashbacks/forwards - seen in feature length to offer more information about the characters (usually the killer)
- Sound - use contrapuntal sound (the sound does not match the action that is on screen), as so to therefore create a more disturbing viewing experience.
Conventions of short horror films
As well as looking at the conventions of psychological horrors, I looked at the conventions of short films. Due to short films being what they are - short, there are typical conventions that most of them use, these are as follows;
- Characters - due to the short space of time, there is a limited number of characters that can be used. This is because there is not enough time to build up a back story for each character, and to go into detail about their life. Consequently, most films stick to having only 2 or 3 as so not to confuse the audience by constantly introducing new ones.
- Build tension quickly - this has to be done quickly because of the lack of time. Most films will have the tension building relatively early, some many even have it from the very beginning. This is also done because in order for the disruption to happen effectively and then resolved, there needs to be enough time for the tension to be created to evoke fear.
- Simple narrative - this links to the idea of time once again. The film cannot afford to create a confusing and questionable plot line, otherwise it would end up being too hard to follow and therefore not be effective.
- Sound/camerawork overemphasised - this needs to be done in order to make the film more interesting. If it just uses basic camerawork then the audience may find it boring and will not feel any fear.
- A twist - this is a prominent convention in most horror films, not just shorts. However they are more effective in short ones because they create tension/fear in a short space of time and leave the audience in either; shock, horror or questioning things.
The horror genre, being so manipulative and malleable, lends
itself to short films, so there is no need to create such a detailed backstory.
Psychoanalytic theory and my media product
This theory is prominent in horror films, and therefore my film doesn't challenge it, but rather conforms to it. This is because many of the ideas I have explored and played with link
back to what theorists have posited.
Firstly, my film can be related all the way back to André
Breton and the idea of the Surralist movement. This is because it
states films are dream/fantasy like, and that is part of what I was
trying to achieve with my film. I wanted there to be questioning about
where the line between reality and fantasy is placed. I have attempted
to show this through the use of effects that create a sense of distortion, as well as certain scenes that make
the audience wonder what parts of the film are real.
I
can also apply certain aspects of both Metz and Mulvey's work in the
first wave of psychoanalytical theory. This is because they are tied
with the idea of escapism, but still have a realism about them too -
thus my film is set in an atmosphere that is believable, but still
offers a distraction. This consequently explains why I hope my film will
be successful because it offers something of which the audience can
idenitfy with. Subsequently, this relates to the
idea of the subject's longing for a completeness which the film may appear to
offer through identification with an image. Furthermore, due to the
realistic element of my film, it links back to the idea of the second
wave of the psychoanalytical theory in the sense of the theory shifting
from the axis of the symbolic order and
the imaginary, to that of the symbolic order and the real. Consequently, this relates to the question of what ways my media product uses, develops or challenges forms and conventions because every psychological horror film is applicable to some area of the psychoanalytical theory. Thus, this dennotes that my film uses typical conventions of real media products if it means a theory in which explains real media products effects on the audience can be associated with it.
Additionally, Freudian theories have long influenced horror and the effects of consuming it. So, again, my film uses forms and conventions of real media texts because I believe my film relates to Freud's ideas. This is due to the fact that I had always
wanted my character to be the protagonist, and their own mind being the
antagonist, as I believed that the idea of how our mind can play tricks
on us something that could potentially be terrifying. Furthermore, this is a convention of psychological horror as it is the idea of the unknown and the relatibilty of the audience to a situation on screen, that they can then apply in reality. Thus, as I
explored Freud's work further, and his arguments on secret
desires or urges that lay hidden to us that drive our motivations, it
became clear that my film was very much along those lines. This is
because my main plot for my film was to make it so the audience
questioned the full
potential of what we can do, whether it be consciously or unconsciously - and so correlating with his work of fearing what we are really capable of,
and the control over that.
Subsequently,
it is clear to see how much the psychoanalytic film theory has
influenced horror, and the psychological horror films within it. This is
because many of the conventions that are now typically seen in the
films stemmed from that of theorists arguments and psychologists deeper
understanding of the mind. Therefore meaning that if I can apply such a theory to my own work, then it doesn't challenge any conventions, but instead uses and somewhat develops them.
Film
When creating my film 'NEUROTIC' there were many technical aspects that I had to consider. I also wanted to stick to as many conventions as a I could - because there is of course a reason why conventions are established - they are popular. Therefore, I felt that if my film was more like conventional psychological films then I would have a better chance of having my target audinece respond more positively to it. Moreover, psychological horrors tend to play on the audiences fears and so I was wary that if I strayed from conventions then my film wouldn't end up doing this.
Lighting was another key aspect of my film. This is due to the fact that it is all shot at night in the dark - so there was the problem of having it show up on camera. To combat this I tested lots of different lighting settings, and then ended up using my phone held above the camera - only so the character would show up on the screen in the foreground, but keep the rest of the background in the dark. I also considered using a type of night - vision effect, but decided against this because this is rarely seen in psycholgical horrors, and if it is, it is usually done with the effect of the footage being some sort of handheld device - and example being 'The Blair Witch Project'.
It has been widely recognised that the most typical convention with regards to characters and costume is that there is an attractive young female usually sexualised in clothes that attract the male gaze or are related to viginity/innocence. This is also often noted as the "final girl", and examples in existing texts include 'Halloween', 'The Shining' and 'Cabin in the Woods' (this particular example splits this sterotype between two female characters). Consequently, in my film, I decided to have the main character be a young female - to fit with the conventions of many other psychological horrors. I also only created one characters, and this fits with short film conventions because they usually only feature a limited number of characters as to not confuse the audience. However, I didn't want to sexualise the character in anyway, because I didn't want to go along the lines of that convention. Yet, a lot of my film features close ups of the characters face and heavy breathing - this could be interpreted as sexual, although it was more about evoking fear and thus was not the intention. As a result, this may or may not affect the consumption of the film, as men are usually associated as viewers of the horror genre/sub - genres. Laura Mulvey stated that long shots/ tilted up shots are used to objectify women in horror - and so I directly challenged this convention by not including any shots that would portray the character as a "weak" female". Additionally, my film is slightly different because she is both the protagonist and antagonist - thus she is her own enemy, and this therefore disputes the convention that the men in the audience seek idenfication when the killer is a "strong" male character.
Here, you can see my use of a close up and an overshoulder shot. I chose to use these to create a deeper connection to the audience, because instead of being an outsider looking in, it gives the effect that the audience is in the film, part of what the character is experiencing. This means that it links to the conventions of psychological by playing on the fears on the character, and projecting those onto the audience. Moreover, I took much of my inspiration for the shots from the short 'The Smiling Man', as I was uncomfortable when I first watched the film, and felt that through its camera angles it added to this feeling - something that I was keen to replicate in the audience with my film.
Additionally, I decided to use an over shoulder shot to add to the story line - this is because the audience needed to made aware of what the character was doing. This is a convention that is often used in horror to create tension, as the audience are usually shown something that is mundane, such as filling a cup, with the intention of it meaning something later. This also directly goes against the convention that Hitchcock played on through the MacGuffin Theory in which the protagonist pursues something that has little affect to the overarching plot of the story.
Furthermore, after watching 'The Smiling Man', I was motivated to make my short film feature interesting angles and perspectives, and thus it has heavily influenced the outcome of my film. I aslo too into account the conventions of short films, and that they often also feature exaggerrated camera shots to add to the narrative. Therefore, for my film, I decided to place the camera against the wall when the character walks into the bathroom. This then gives the audience a different viewpoint, because later they can only see the relection of what is happening. This essentially means their reality is altered because it creates discomfort, due to the fact that they can only see what is going on through a mirror - and everything reflected in mirrors is a duplication of an object that appears almost identical, but is revered in the direction perpendicular to the mirror surface. Therefore, I created my film using the influence of existing media texts and conventions of real media products to directly affect the audience.
Mise en scene
For my film I wanted the location to be something that was relatable to the audience - therefore I chose to shoot it all in a house, a place that is generally considered to be 'safe'. Further to this, I used the idea of dreams and sleep - this is again something that features in horror due to it being something that people generally don't consider to be harmful to them. It also gives the element of realism, and so this therefore plays on the fears of the audience even more because it means that the story is more believeable. We also typically see houses feature is psycholgical horrors - perhaps the most notable example of a house being used as a place of entrapment is in 'Scream' and the story in centreded around young normal teens - thus this connects with the audience more because they will be around the same age and may share the same social demographics.
Lighting was another key aspect of my film. This is due to the fact that it is all shot at night in the dark - so there was the problem of having it show up on camera. To combat this I tested lots of different lighting settings, and then ended up using my phone held above the camera - only so the character would show up on the screen in the foreground, but keep the rest of the background in the dark. I also considered using a type of night - vision effect, but decided against this because this is rarely seen in psycholgical horrors, and if it is, it is usually done with the effect of the footage being some sort of handheld device - and example being 'The Blair Witch Project'. 
It has been widely recognised that the most typical convention with regards to characters and costume is that there is an attractive young female usually sexualised in clothes that attract the male gaze or are related to viginity/innocence. This is also often noted as the "final girl", and examples in existing texts include 'Halloween', 'The Shining' and 'Cabin in the Woods' (this particular example splits this sterotype between two female characters). Consequently, in my film, I decided to have the main character be a young female - to fit with the conventions of many other psychological horrors. I also only created one characters, and this fits with short film conventions because they usually only feature a limited number of characters as to not confuse the audience. However, I didn't want to sexualise the character in anyway, because I didn't want to go along the lines of that convention. Yet, a lot of my film features close ups of the characters face and heavy breathing - this could be interpreted as sexual, although it was more about evoking fear and thus was not the intention. As a result, this may or may not affect the consumption of the film, as men are usually associated as viewers of the horror genre/sub - genres. Laura Mulvey stated that long shots/ tilted up shots are used to objectify women in horror - and so I directly challenged this convention by not including any shots that would portray the character as a "weak" female". Additionally, my film is slightly different because she is both the protagonist and antagonist - thus she is her own enemy, and this therefore disputes the convention that the men in the audience seek idenfication when the killer is a "strong" male character.
Sound
With most psychologial horrors, the audience's experience of fear is usually exacerbated through the use of eerie sound effects and the manipulation of silence. It is also used to build tension - as seen in the open sequence in 'Scream'. In my film, I haven't used any type of music or songs - this is because I wanted to focus more on short bursts of sound to make the audience jump or compliment cuts. This means that the majority of the sound in my film is contrapuntal sound - whereby it does not match with what is happening on screen. An example of this found in my film would be the sharp screaming of a women, yet there would be no women screaming on screen. This is a convention of short film - thus meaning that my media prodct uses certain conventions of real media products. Furthermore, in short films, sound is typically overemphasized as a way to make the narrative more interesting. I followed this convention in my film by making the sound loud when paired with cuts that I had overedited with effects. I also took inspiration from the original 'Carrie' film in terms of the prom scene - "They're all gonna laugh at you" - where the crowd is seen laughing hysterically. I did this by having short cuts of a crowd laughing, with the idea that all the laughter was in her head, adding to the distorted and uncomfortable effect. I also used the sound effect of a heartbeat to create tension, and it also gave the audience an insight as to what the character was feeling. Lastly, I used clips of the characters heavy breathing at the beginning and end of my film. This was beacause some type of breathing often features in horror - but I used it in my film because deep breathing is usually done as a coping mechanism or to calm down. This adds to the story line and also gives a disconcerting effect - that should make the audience uncomfortable.Camerawork
Another important aspect of film, short films in particular, is the way they are shot. This is beacuse they can often give a depper meaning to the film, or help to stroyline better. For my film, I decided to use a range of different shots, and used inspiration form existing texts in order to make the viewing experience more effective. I included long shots, POV shots, high and low angle, close ups, big close ups and over the shoulder shots.
Here, you can see my use of a close up and an overshoulder shot. I chose to use these to create a deeper connection to the audience, because instead of being an outsider looking in, it gives the effect that the audience is in the film, part of what the character is experiencing. This means that it links to the conventions of psychological by playing on the fears on the character, and projecting those onto the audience. Moreover, I took much of my inspiration for the shots from the short 'The Smiling Man', as I was uncomfortable when I first watched the film, and felt that through its camera angles it added to this feeling - something that I was keen to replicate in the audience with my film. 
Additionally, I decided to use an over shoulder shot to add to the story line - this is because the audience needed to made aware of what the character was doing. This is a convention that is often used in horror to create tension, as the audience are usually shown something that is mundane, such as filling a cup, with the intention of it meaning something later. This also directly goes against the convention that Hitchcock played on through the MacGuffin Theory in which the protagonist pursues something that has little affect to the overarching plot of the story. 
Furthermore, after watching 'The Smiling Man', I was motivated to make my short film feature interesting angles and perspectives, and thus it has heavily influenced the outcome of my film. I aslo too into account the conventions of short films, and that they often also feature exaggerrated camera shots to add to the narrative. Therefore, for my film, I decided to place the camera against the wall when the character walks into the bathroom. This then gives the audience a different viewpoint, because later they can only see the relection of what is happening. This essentially means their reality is altered because it creates discomfort, due to the fact that they can only see what is going on through a mirror - and everything reflected in mirrors is a duplication of an object that appears almost identical, but is revered in the direction perpendicular to the mirror surface. Therefore, I created my film using the influence of existing media texts and conventions of real media products to directly affect the audience. 
The shot to the right in my film is from the perspective of the cup the that the character fills up, as she is visible. This shot could also consitute as a worms eye view, because it is below the character. I decided to use this in my film for a few reasons; the first being that it is a different view for the audience to experience. Also, it add to the storyline, as the audience needed to know that the liquid in the cup was clear at that point in the film. Moreover, much like my other shots, it is convention of short films to use exaggerated camerawork. I also felt this particulalr shot was in keeping with the idea of creating an uncomfortable viewing experience for my audience - that being the main aim of any psychological horror. 
Above are two more camera angles that I chose to use - high and low. This because the low shot came from the perspective of the character sank into a corner, and I used the high shot with the aim of portraying the character as weak and unstable. This links to the traditional character type that we see in horror - the "weak" female who stuggles throughout the film. Thus, the audience would expect to see this, and the females may find identification with her, as opposed to the male viewers who would find identification through being stonger than her - re-enforcing the idea of uses and gratifications in terms of what the audience gain from watching horror films.
Editing
I focused heavily on editing techniques for my film - this was because I wanted the audience to enjoy the film, but also wanted it to fit with the idea of the story revolving around the main character being mental disturbed, and thus wanted to make it disjointed and distorted. This therfore goes against most conventional horrors, because they don't tend to use a range of editing techniques - an example that omits this is the original 'Carrie' film, through the use of splitscreens duing the prom scene.
For the shot to the left, I purposly over edited the extreme close up of the girls eyes. This is due to the fact that it gives a terrifying quality to her expression, and makes the colours more vivid. This part of my film is repeated often, along with a high pitch screen - meaning that the overall effect of it is to make the audience jump. This also means that there is a slight continuity throughtout my film as it is repeated - which could potentially create a deeper meaning - an idea that is often applied to psycholgical horrors (as already seen through the use of the psychoanalytical theory). Furthermore, for the second image, I decided to edit it to make it look like a dream. The overall impact of this is to confuse the audience, making them unsure what reality they are seeing on the screen. Thus, this links back to the idea of creating a deeper meaning in the minds of the audience - affecting them after they see the film - an aim of many psychologial horrors. Poster
When thinking about making a poster for my film, I wanted it to fit with the aesthetic of my film - meaning that it was obviously a psychological horror. To do this, I researched a lot of existing film posters, and noted that many of them drew focus to eyes, or used eyes as the sole focal point;
Thus, I wanted my poster to follow this style, and I had already used a big close up shot at the beginning of my film, as I was thinking along the lines of the saying 'eyes are the window to the soul'. Additionally, having the eyes as the focal point makes a connection with the audience, draws them in and makes a direct link that can evoke empathy, thus increasing the viewing. This again relates to the idea of escapism within film. Furthermore, I also chose to have the protagonist as the main images - this is another convention of horror posters and also allows recognition for the audience that both the poster and what they see in the film are related. Similarly, in most of the posters that I looked at, the title was in the bottom half - which makes sense, as the focus is the eyes. Consequently, this was another convention that I used in my own poster. It was also because I needed something that would be bold and stand out against the black background colour - meaning it is the second part of my poster that draws any attention.
In terms of colour scheme, I wanted it to be dark , as darker colours and themes are typically associated with horrors. Therefore, I kept the colours very basic. The black base colour - this is because I thought it worked best with the image, and was easiest colour to fade the image into. Additionally, because my film takes place at night, in the dark - I wanted my poster to reflect this. Also, black typically has connotations of death and darkness, both of which we associated horror with. Therefore, it sticks with the conventions of exiting posters because many of them use a darker colour scheme. I also used white - this was to make all the text stand out against the background, but I also wanted it to link with the eyes. This therefore means that my poster is more asethetically pleasing because the colours aren't too busy, or clash. Also, it somewhat creates a brand, and this is more visible when looking at my film review and poster together. Consequently, the only real colour on my poster is the blue from her eyes, and even this isn't particularly vivid, because I changed the opacity of the image to make it fit with the background better. The tag line has a slight blue/grey tint to fit with the colour of the eyes - and I did this because I didn't want the poster to consist solely of black and white. Furthermore, the credit block on my poster fits with the conventions of many other posters - as they are placed at the bottom and are notably visible. It also attracts more attention to the release date in white that is situated slightly above it.
With regards to mise - en - scene, I haven't used any props that could signify the weapon - something that is often seen on many horror posters. Instead, I have just featured the protagonists eyes, yet, because she is also the antagonist (although the audience are not aware of it), it means that I have, in a way, also featured the weapon - because the "weapon" in my film is her own mind. The image I chose to use is a still taken from the beginning of my film. By using a big close up, it creates a more intense and far more invading stare than had it been a full head shot.
Additionally, the right lighting was particularly challenging to achieve for this shot. This was because the idea is her waking at night, so it couldn't be too harsh (such as a torch or light) but she wasn't visible on the camera without the light. As a result, I ended up achieveing this result by using white screen on an iPhone, with the brightness setting on 50%. This meant that for the overall lighting of the poster wasnt too harsh, but instead slightly dull in tone. I then edited it to fade into the black and changed the opacity - this meant that it linked back to dark and theme of night time.
Uses and gratifications
My poster subverts the idea of surveillance in terms of uses and gratifications. This is due to the fact that the audience is supposed to get pleasure from knowing what is going on around them, in order to make them feel more secure watching something they can identify as 'not real'. However, because my poster image offers no clue as to what they might experience in the film, it would mean they wouldn't achieve any safety watching it. Yet, the idea of escapism may be applicable to my film through my poster. This means that if my target audience put together the image and tag line with the title and its meaning (synonyms include; mentally ill, mentally disturbed, mentally deranged, unstable, unbalanced, ect) then perhaps this could give them a clue as to what expect from it. Consequently, as the poster offers an idea that the film is to do with the mind, it could mean that it allows the audience to escape their reality and be transported into a world of hyper - realism. So, for my film they may imagine themselves in place of the character, and her experiencing all of the tricks of her mind. Additionally, we all feel a sense of pride when we make connections or figure something out whilst watching a film - so this means that my audience could potentially feel this also if they make the link between what neurotic is, the image and the tag line.Film Review (DPS)
After making my poster, I then went on to create my film review. Similar to how I looked at conventions of film posters, I did the same for my spread. This is because I wanted it to be conventional so that my audience would have not trouble in recognising what it was. However, most of the spreads that I looked at didn't typically use darker colour schemes - and since mine was about a horror, I wanted it to fit with what I have previously created, so I developed some of the conventions to fit with what I wanted to see from my work, and would then by extension be what my audience would see.
Furthermore, many of the film reviews usually feature live action shots from the film - as to offer more insight to what the film is like and the quality of it. Because of this, I decided to use images that I captured from my film. However, I also challenged this convention by using an image that I had taken separately for the purpose of using on my spread. Moreover, many double page spreads feature few images, which is something that I liked because it meant that the page wasnt overcrowded, and instead highlighted the image, but at the same time didn't detract from the text. I also think the images I have chosen represent the psychological horror genre well. Additionally, I kept with the theme of focusing on the characters eyes. This again links back to the 'eyes are the windows to the soul' saying. I also did this because when under the influence of any narcotics or have a mental afliction, it is the eyes that are usually the first telling sign. My final pages is based largely on that of one above - this is because I wanted it to fit closely with what most film reviews look like making it as authentic as possible. Therefore, my spread doesn't actually challenge many forms and conventions of real media texts.
With regards to the text - I wanted it to be a review on the film, but focus more on the effect of the film and how its made, instead of focusing on the story. This is because it gives some insight into what the film is like, and offers perspectives on it, but doesn't give away too much. By doing this, the idea is to attract my audience to watch it, rather than reading about it and seeing not point in investing any time into it. I was going to use pull quotes to support my review, but decided against it. This is because it is something that is typically seen with interviews, and not reviews. Instead, I placed separate text in a white box to highlight it. The idea of this is very much like a pull quote - it grips the reader and pushes them to read further.
Similar to my poster, the colour scheme of my double page spread is black, white and grey. This is because I wanted to maintain a certain brand - making it instantly recognisable what film was being reviewed. As well as this, as previously mentioned, the film takes place at night, and so the black represents the darkness - a convention that is typically seen in many horror films across any sub-genre. I used the white to stand out against the black background - just as I had done with my poster. I chose this because I juxtaposition of the black and white can represent the juxtapoisition of the antagonist vs that protagnoist, and the idea of her mental conflict. Moreover, it shows the difference betweens dreams, or rather nightmares, and reality. The black is the nightmare - of which we are afraid, and the white is the reality - the relief when we wake up and realise it isn't real.Therefore, by creating a 'brand', I am using typical conventions that are seen across
the film industry - as most films follow this type of code.
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