SYNOPSIS ANALYSIS

The genre of the film that my group and I are creating is Horror/Slasher.  We understand the codes and conventions to produce an incredible slasher film that will automatically attract the main audience and other genre fans; including the tabloids. Slasher films usually have a set of characters that has a particular role, for instance, the final girl who survives the attack from the monster. The final girl is amongst a group of friends who all get killed one by one. The final girl is usually a virgin with brown hair, masculine and nerdy. In some film such as the first Halloween the final girl is seen walking down a windy suburban area hugging her books close to her chest.  This represents the ideology in which describes a good teenager and sends out a message that young people should cherish their virginity and concentrate on their studies. On the contrary the promiscuous blond girl ends up being killed first. She is usually blond and not too keen on school but rather into boys and party. She represents the danger of sleeping around with men and by killing her off first illustrates her getting punished for having sex with all those men. The monster is usually a male, with a mask to hide his identity and has some sort of supernatural power for example in Halloween, the monster never dies. The monster represents a penis, robbing the final girl of her virginity as he is trying to kill the final girl; she escapes for he is dangerous and capable of damaging her life if not even robbing her life away from her. In addition thorough out life there is usually a responsible adult warning the youths of the danger of certain decisions. In slasher films this is illustrated through the character known as the benefactor. He is an older person who gives advice to the victims warning them of the monster and providing them with advice that will prevent them from getting killed. Although he does not have a major role in changing the plot and situation in the film, he however provides the audience with suspense and builds tension. Vladimir Propp was a Russian critic who studied 100 folk’s tales and analysed any similarities in structure. His book “Momrphology of the Folk Tale” was first published in 1928. Inside the book you will be able to identify 8 character roles and 31 narrative functions. The 8 character roles are: The villain(s), the hero, the donor, the helper who aids the hero, the princess, her father, the dispatcher and the false hero. Moreover the benefactor fits in the role of “the helper who aids the hero”. Furthermore the ineffective characters being a policeman for example in Halloween does not affect any of the storyline as they are normally clueless in the matter, which in turn raises more tension for the audience and gives them a sense of helplessness as there is no higher authority to help the victims as there is an absence of parental figure as parents are supposed to be around to protect their vulnerable children.

Breaking these codes and conventions that have been set for so long is what attracts the horror film fans as it can be difficult. It is also exciting as we are bringing a new face to horror films and making it so unpredictable. This could be an advantage as the film will have a different twist to it. However this could also lose viewers as it is contrary to what they are used to.

In our synopsis a  lot of codes and conventions have been broken, not to change the message of keeping ones virginity safe, but rather to go deep into that and allow people to realise the importance and meaning of sex and responsibility that involves. Instead of having a disfigured monster that represents a penis and is automatically dangerous by the first appearance, we decided to challenge people’s perception and break that convention by replacing him with a mentally disturbed and twisted young lady with a pretty face; however she murders the men in her life as revenge of her dark past. This decision is supported by the Femme Fatale is a woman who is extremely beautiful with a provocative body, powerful, mysterious and quite dangerous especially for men. Example of a femme fatale is the bride of Dracula. This ideology has a social historic context as after the Second World War when men came back from war and to find their jobs had been taken by women who later found out they were capable of doing what the men could, so they began to demand more. The face of Hollywood changed and their films became darker and pessimistic as some directors were awakening by the harsh reality of the war.

Moreover there is a social and historical reason as our film also relates to noir-genre. Noir is a French word meaning Black. Film noir are films with dark content, usually having scenes with dark lighting producing long shadows and claustrophobic atmosphere which emerged after World War II during the 1940s. This can also be noticed in German expressionism as German film directors like Lang and Murnau used light and shadow, and very low key lighting to emphasize the shadowy aesthetic. The theme tends to be dark, underlining a sense of the darker side of human nature and crime. German expressionism was inspired at the time of the Nazi and their control over Germany.

The setting for our movie is in a suburban area where a lot of people can identify with. There will be park scenes which the audience can also recognise as the park is a place where people go with their friends and family to sunbathe, walk the dog, make a picnic and have fun with friends and family. And to have a pretty woman in the park, walking her dog one morning, looks innocent but later its revealed dangerous; this will raise tension for the audience. The season in most horror films is typically in autumn. Reason being is that autumn weather illustrates the end of something good and the beginning of death as the leaves die away from the trees. This is a good connotation as this period is a terrible beginning for the victims.   In the film Halloween the final girl is walking towards her house with wind blowing through her hair, and leaves falling. This shot is recognised in some horror film scenes and is known as an iconography. Iconography is like mise en scene, where some certain objects and colours have connotations of a deeper meaning such as red has connotations of passion, anger, danger and even sexual acts. Iconography can be identity in our trailer film as Holly mostly wears black. She wants to be in the background and not noticed and she is odd amongst her peers.

The storyline of our synopsis relates to the film ‘Psycho’ as it involves having a mentally disturbed person who was damaged from a young age and later on grew up psychologically unstable. Our synopsis is illustrating that issues from the past must be tackled immediately as if it is left for long, one will grow up unstable. There is also a sexual message suggesting not only should girls protect their virginity, also men need to, as we live in a corrupt society where a guy will be praised for sleeping with countless girls, however a girl will be called all sorts of ugly names and put to shame for doing the same act.

CHARACTERS IN HORROR FILMS

TIME LINE of SYNOPSIS

TIME LINE ON "THE KISS OF DEATH" TRAILER

FOR CLOSE READING PLEASE CLICK ON THE IMAGE

DRAG ME TO HELL TRAILER ANALYSIS

http://youtu.be/EFUYdU76qss

 The first scene in the trailer is of a freeway suggesting the film will be based around a lot of people and a busy environment; unlike slasher films which are set in a suburban place where most of the audience can identify with. The first sight of our main character is a slim blond lady who is likely to be the subject of a victim typical to a horror film. She is driving a car portraying she is a working woman and independent. The next scene is of her and her manager having a conversation on a promotion position. The shoulder shot portrays her blouse which is not revealing, her attire comes against the male gaze theory which explains how media portrays women as vulnerable weak through their appearance. However this young lady holds a secure job in the city, she drives and dresses sensible. Gustav Freytag is a German playwright and novelist who has done a study on the 5-act of dramatic tension layering out the theory in a pyramid. These five parts includes exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and revelation. According to the Freytag’s pyramid we have already seen the setting, location and the main character in just a few seconds of the trailer. In Freytag’s pyramid The Rising Action is a conflict that frustrates the main character as an old woman comes in the work place demanding for a mortgage in which she cannot pay for. The main character does not following her heart into giving the woman the mortgage but instead declines her from it. This shows that her work has taken over her life as she seeks for promotion.

As the scene changes, change in non-diegetic sound is heard. In the car park the main character is alone with just two cars. This implies she is very vulnerable in that situation in case she was to be in danger. The climax in Freytag’s pyramid is where things turn better or worse for the character and in this case it turns extremely frightening. Climax hit when the main character is being attached by the old lady in the previous scene. Close up is identified as the main character’s face is shown to be in horror by the old lady’s attack. The long shot is shown as the main character is being dragged out of her car by the old woman. This is also another connotation to why the title of the film could be “drag me to hell”. It is also unusual for a woman in horror movie to be the course of the killing and moreover to be an old lady with so much strength. Through this the audience can see that the old woman is supernatural in a sense or perhaps she has a demon within her. The conventions are twisted and subverted as the young lady who is meant to be naturally stronger then the much older woman is actually the victim and the weaker one. Furthermore the young lady known as Adrian Barraza is a total opposite to the old lady in the film. This is known as binary opposite introduced by Claude Levi- Strauss. Clause Strauss suggests that narrative can only end on a resolution of conflict, creating a conflict or opposition propels narrative. Opposition can be light/dark, or conceptual can be love/hate.

Diegetic sound is heard as the wind passes by almost slowing time when the old lady pulls a button from the main character’s coat holding it close to her face and the lighting hitting it as if it is a source of power. The low angle on the main character makes her seem inferior and vulnerable compared to the old lady. This shot fits in with the male gaze because even though the main character is independent in her life style and how she lives, she is still seen as weak and vulnerable physically.  
Suddenly from 1 minute 31 seconds in the trailer, the music fasten, there montage of short and sharp scenes including one with a demon outside the window who is shown as the aggressor. Now questions and tension raised and enigma code for the audience as to who is this demon? Or whether is the demon connected to the old woman in the car park. Moreover the house seems like a family raising more questions to whether they have links to the demon on the window. In the trailer near the ending there is a dialogue she has with a man telling her the demon will not leave her till “she burns in hell for eternity” this brings forward enigma code to whether she survives or not even though most horror film the blond girl dies.

Trailers follow the same pattern as a film. They have a beginning, middle and end. Tvzetan Todorov’s suggests narrative is simply Equilibrium when the character undergoes their daily routine in this case the blond lady is seen driving on a freeway to work with non-diegetic sound making the scene seem positive. Disequilibrium is when there is a disruption on the daily routine in this case the blond lady (Adriana Barraza) is being attacked by an old woman who she refused a mortgage earlier at work. now that the character has seen there is a disruption in her life she find means to solve the matter, and this is seen when Adriana Barraza is having a dialogue with a man who is explaining to her what is going wrong in her life and how to solve the matter. Furthermore there seems to be obstacles in the way for the solution to work. However New Equilibrium suggests that the solution has been found to the problem. Throughout the trailer the pace increases as the number of shots and flashes of light increases because of the dramatic climax in the film. The intense orchestra fastens the pace drawing in the audience to watch the film. There are no voice overs except for the dialogue she has with who seems to be the guy that could help her survive this torment, the old lady, her boyfriend and her manager.

The end of the trailer is when the typography “Drag me to hell” appears. Reminding the audience exactly what they have just seen in the trailer revolves around the name of the title. The word “hell” itself portrays torture and pain within film. The none-diegetic sound illustrate a sense of darkness and danger, demons tormenting the young lady, and the screaming of a female when the typography appeared at the end of the trailer suggests the genre of the film is none other than horror. Adrian Barraza is a famous actress and her being the main character will attract her fans to watch the film even if the trailer in itself may not have been so convincing and horrific.

The SIXTH SENSE trailer

The sixth sense is a horror film based in America, created for 16+ audiences with a basic trailer length of 2 minutes 20 seconds. There is a lot of camera work throughout the trailer. Long and mid shots are there to portray the surroundings of the scene. Close ups are portray the facial expressions on the main characters faces, and zoom-ins allows the camera to focus on particular characters. There is a low angle on door subjecting to the audience about to jump out.

Sound is very important in all sorts of media especially trailers. Music and sound in trailer allows the audience to catch the genre of the film itself. In the sixth trailer sirens are heard, a connotation of danger. Also the dialogue of the boy in the trailer is so innocent and frightened that the audience is drawn to that and sympathise with him. This is evident as he speaks to his mum about the accident telling her the woman that was hit by the car is standing right next to his window although the audience and the mother herself cannot witness this unnatural situation. The ending of the trailer consists of scenes that dramatically change in a quick and snappy transitions with flash of light, a fast pace rhythm, sounding like a heartbeat, illuminating the boy’s fearful emotions within the trailer. Most trailers happen to have a three-act structure similar to a full length film at the beginning starting with a scene that gives the audience an idea of the story. For example the young boy having dialogue with his mother through the first scene of the trailer telling her he sees dead people and they speak to him. This demonstrates to the audience that the young boy has supernatural powers and such things are not normal in that world as his mother did not believe him at first. Moreover Dialogue lines such as “I see dead people” half way through the trailer rises tension and suspension for the audience, and it is also introducing us to the characters and narrative.

The flaring of flame in the first shot warns the audience of danger, setting a negative tone. Furthermore, the floating of the red balloon in the middle of spiral stair cases is connotation the young boy’s curiosity and the discovering dangerous things. The non-diegetic gives us an awareness that as he walks up the stairs with curiosity to explore the big house, he will encounter something dangerous and open doors to danger in his life. The trailer also shows him in class being the odd one out, illustrating his is an outsider, a different child from his classmates. Even in the hospital the young boy is not safe. There seem to be nowhere to hides setting a horrific genre within the trailer through tension and narrative. No friends to talk to and his mother seem to find him strange except from the man (Bruce Willis) in the trailer he seems to be around with. The girl under the hospital bed allows the audience to see her just the way the boy is seeing her in the trailer. This shows the boy has nowhere to hide. Even a hospital which has mise en scene for being a place of healing and safety, these dead people seem to be able to find him.

Editing is seen through smooth fades in traffic seen to illustrate the length of the traffic. Quick flashes of light and darkness after each camera shot to demonstrate the rapid and danger of the situation the little boy is into. The second act is the dramatic climax from the film is shown through the trailer as the boy seems to be going through a petrifying stage in his life and things must be done quickly to prevent him for hurting so the pace of the music and shoots increase to emphasize this. The third act is the few last seconds of the film as it has powerful orchestra illustrating the emotional moments of the film and through this the audience is drawn into watching the film. In this trailer the only voice over heard is mostly of the boy and the dialogue he has of the man (Bruce Willis) and his mother. The voice of the little boy draws the audience in as his voice is so sweet and innocent adding sympathy from the audience as he seems to be haunted by ghosts. There no hardly captions as the dialogue placed in the trailer explains all the audience need to know about the film from a trailer.

The editing, sound, mise en scene and the fast heartbeat pace of the trailer makes the audience nervous but curious. Also the clear plot works well as it does not give away too much. Just through this short trailer the audience is able to depict the film genre, which is horror, they also learn what the film is roughing about (a young boy that can see the dead) and the narrative of the film is that he is a scared lonely boy going through a traumatic stage in his life with no friends or parents to support him except for this man (Bruce Willis) who seems to be his only companion.

HALLOWEEN 1978 Trailer

Music is a big key in the trailer of Halloween. Non-diegetic sound is immediately heard as the first image we see is of a house in what is seen as a safe and recognisable neighbourhood. We are now taken into a home where a scream is heard and the camera is wearing a mask, holding a knife. This is an awkward position for the audience as the point of view shot makes the audience seems guilty for the crime that has just been committed. Non-diegetic sound is heard through the loudness of the piano and diegetic sound is heard through the screaming. When we are taken outside the house, a hand held camera is used and played as a character. This leaves the audience confused as they later find out the killer was a little boy. The confusion on the boy’s face is the same confusion the audience are feeling and enigma codes are raised to how could a little boy who seems so innocent can committed such a tremendous crime.

The caption then appears with the word “Halloween” with a voice over reading it as it comes on the screen. This is to reinforce the title of the film and that the film is based on the day of Halloween. An older man is then seen giving out a dialogue to the audience, implying a sense of narrative that the boy is not of a normal nature. The dialogue of the older man who seems to be the benefactor in this slasher film warns the audience of the danger in this boy who has now become a man and has escapes. The next scene is of three friends walking in a suburban area coming from school as one of them hold they’re books, and they stop to look behind, suggesting someone was following them or something had just happened out of their knowledge.

Non-diegetic sound is well played in this trailer as the actions of the characters speeds up, the orchestra also speeds up creating dramatic tension. Diegetic sound is heard through dialogue of the benefactor explaining the mad man on the loose. And also the voice over portrays a sense of horror through his deep voice as he narrates the trailer. Moreover the screaming of the victim is a woman, who happened to get away from the monsters attack. Her strength is fighting him off shows she has a better chance of surviving then the other characters seen in the trailer. She is not feminine and does not resemble the male gaze theory of women being portrayed vulnerable and weak in media through their physical representation but rather she is masculine and tough, making it easier for the male audience can identify with her.

There is also a sense of binary opposite through the surviving girl and the monster. Claude Levi-stauss introduces the theory of binary opposite when he looked at narrative structure and set of opposite values. An example would be good and bad, and in this case the monster seems to be the villain in this film and the surviving girl (Lorrie) is the good person. The monster is typically a man as men are seen strong and powerful bringing a sense of hierachy, and the victim is a woman who is seen as weak and vulnerable by society but Lorrie proves other-wise and manages to escape him.

A close up camera shot of the benefactor is emphasized as he speaks suggesting he is of importance to the film which helps to build tension and suspension creating enigma code of what importance he might have to the film or if he will be one of the heroes. The shots of the woman in the car being attacked, most likely by the little murderous boy who later grew up and escaped his mental institution, as the dialogue and shots reflects to this scene, he is seen as capable of harming anything without mercy. The murderous ma’s face is not shown, raising enigma to who this man really is? And why his face is kept in the dark. However by doing so, this allows the audience’s imagination to run as wild as they would like in image for themselves the kind of vicious person he might be? From that shot to having girls walk with her friends through a suburban streets and one the girls head turning back as if she heard something suggests to the reader that this monster is out to get her and her friend and that she is not safe.

The shock that the killer disguise himself into wearing a white sheet pretending to be the sexual active girl’s boyfriend is very sneaky. As the sexual active girl does not seem scared but rather comfortable, dramatic irony is raised for the audience know the man behind the sheet is not her boyfriend but rather the man that is about to take her life. At this point the audience may feel hopeless as they are incapable of warning her.

Although there is not so much editing such as flash, or quick pace in changing scenes, the non-diegetic sound, and the steady pace enables the audience to catch he narrative and the plot of the story without giving out more than it should about the movie itself.

BURIED (poster analysis)