- Genre Analysis

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Coffer - Genre Analysis

Short Film - 'Coffer' by David Sandberg and Lotta Losten

'Coffer' s another short film created and directed by David Sandberg and Lotta Losten, a coffer is a strongbox or small chest for holding valuables, which is the center object for this short film. In most horror films it's become a common convention to use an item such as a chest or doll to be possessed o a gateway, for example in the prequel to the 'Conjuring', 'Annabel' the subject of the film was a doll that was inhabited/possessed, these household object help store fear to the audience as these normally harmless objects become the stuff of nightmares, successful films make the audience members actual fear these objects in real life as a result of this.

Again like the previous short film the directors have chosen to use text that appears as hand written chalk, this could suggest that this director is an auteurs as they have chosen to use the same style again. Looking at the semiotics, first the synatic is the chalk writing of 'Coffer', but it represents the title of the short film, and is symbolic of horror films as I explained in the previous analysis.
The firsts scene is a woman sitting down reading  book setting the scene for the rest of the short film, here it seems calm and relaxed this engages the audience making them have their guard down for the horror film as the rest of the short film contrasts this tone.

The camera then transitions over to the coffer as it's making contrapuntal sound, as if something was trying to climb out, this makes the main character aware and confused as she begins to approach the coffer, this also allows the audience to make their own theory as to what is in the coffer, there is only one lamp in in this short keeping the set lit, this causes a shadow to be cast over the coffer, this shadow adds another layer of depth to the scene as the dark makes it appear more mysterious, as the dark is a prime example of horror film conventions.

The next shot is a close up of the actresses face displaying her confusion as she slowly makes her way to the coffer, she appears jittery, this causes the audience to be engaged in the film feeling the same emotions as the character.
This is similar to the previous short film that I has analysed using the same narrative and story telling both short films use the same actress that is interrupted by an unusual/supernatural event, in this case the sounds coming out of the coffer, and it 'Lights Out' it's the woman in the shadows, both short horror films then have the woman attempt to hide from the creature before a jump scare occurs, this is a plot line that both short films have followed but have different events, locations and scares, a lot of directors do this using similar plot lines but change various things in the film, to the causal audience member they won't notice this therefore appealing to a mass audience however horror fanatics pay attention to these details a criticise films for using the same formula over and over again.
The next short is of the coffer again however this time it's slightly open with a close up shot on it, to represent the woman getting closer to the coffer this again engages the audience as they feel they are in the scene, almost making it a P.O.V. camera shot.

The woman can now be seen in a wide shot sitting on the coffer in an attempt to keep it shut before running away from it allowing it to open up and continue the plot of the story, tension builds as the audience expects something to jump out however it has not.

The next shot gives the audience a direct view of whats inside the coffer as it appears to have a very deep hole going through the floor with a pitch black bottom this helps to create tension as the audience can't see the bottom or what is in the coffer, this additional element of mystery was used in other horror films such as 'The Hole' which did a similar effect. The director used a crab shot from within the coffer to show the expressions on the characters face as she peered over the edge of the coffer to look inside. The next shot is off the side of her face displaying her emotions to the audience as she looks into the coffer before a contrapuntal sound accompanied by a hand grabbing her face, this jump scare is really effective as the director has had a plethora of opportunities to scare the audience but hasn't. The various anticlimax's causes the audiences guard to drop as they aren't anticipating a jump scare.

A black hand reaches out grabbing the woman's face pulling her into the coffer never to be seen again.
The camera then transition to inside the coffer where a dark figure can be seen emerging from the coffer before it cuts to the credits, leaving the short film on a cliff hanger.

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Lights Out - Genre Analysis

Short Film - 'Lights Out' by David Sandberg and Lotta Losten

'Lights Out' is a short horror film produced and directed by David Sandberg and Lotta Losten as an entry to the 'Who's There?' Short horror film challenge and has a total of 30 sponsors that contributed to the creation of the short film. It's narrative is simple, a woman is home alone going to bed when a chain of unusual events occur raising the tension of the short film, she eventually too scared to turn out the lights as something is hiding in the shadows. This follows many conventions of the horror genre, using the absence of light to play with the audiences mind as they are unknown of  what lurks in the shadows, allowing for a low budgeted short to create tension and build a climax as the audiences imagination runs wild as to what the creature could be. The director is essentially using the audiences own mind to scare the audience, this is a cleaver trick that was used by Steven Spielberg when creating 'Jaws' now claimed as one of the films ever created. Spielberg originally used mechanically sharks during production but due to failures the sharks where sinking, this occurred twice which had taken a large chunk out of the films budget. Spielberg look to one of the worlds greatest directors, Alfred Hitchcock, a thought what would he do, as he didn't have the technology we have now.

Institutions is the first to be presented at the start of the film. The short film started with the logo's of various institutions that have sponsored the creation of the short film to be entered in 'Who's There?' a horror short film challenge, although the producer and directors of the short film haven't created their own opening credits suggesting that this film wasn't made by an institution.
The first camera shot was a establishing shot of the house that is the setting for he short film, the shot is dark and gloomy with a few lights on in the house visible through the widow the title of the short film appearing at the left of the screen, the title has a type of font to make it appear as if it was hand written out of chalk. It's a conversation of horror films to have various symbols for rituals and markings, these are normally draw with white chalk as it was used centuries ago before we could uses pens to write, thus has made the use of chalk a common convention in the genre of horror.

The scene starts with a woman preparing to go to sleep, she's about to turn the light off when she sees something in the shadows, this is a convention of horror films as many of them use the dark to help convey a scary creature as we can't fully see it. We are naturally hardwired to fear what we don't know, so this short film taps into that. The representation of woman are also used a lot in horror film, in media men and women are represented differently depending on their stereotypes, women are seen as more delicate, and men are there to protect them. Closes up are used to show the audience the characters face and emotion, this shows the audience how scared the woman is.
Most good horror films use jump scares, to engage their audience, over the years it's become predictable for the audience to  know when a jump scare is going to occur, most directors add sound effects to further engage the audience, this is an example of the predictability as we can see the creature in the hall so most horror audiences know that they are going to use a jump scare as she flicks the light on and off. This attempting to appeal to a mass audience that like horrors by conforming to the convention set out by horror films, this makes the film easily recognizable as a horror film. This is what makes horror films hard to be successful as their is a large number of people dedicated to watching them.

The camera cuts to the woman sleeping in her bed the audience can see she's scared, as the lamp flickers on and off showing she scared to be in the dark, this contributes to the tension being created leading up to the final jump scare.

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Production Log 1 - 20/6/16

Me and Tyler sat down to begin discussing ideas for our short film, Tyler suggested that we do an action short film, however I informed him that it would require lots of props and effects to make it successful, and that it would be too difficult for a group of two people. So i suggested that we do a comedy as it's less defendant on special effects and props relying on the actors to help us create comedy. Tyler pointed out to me that many scripted comedy films aren't as funny as the jokes feel force upon the audience, he continued to say that most good comedy films let the actors improvise their lines and jokes, this puts too much dependence on the actors and makes it harder for to demonstrate our abilities in media and short films. I pointed out that I like thrillers because of his first point being an action short film, however neither of us had much experience with thriller which led us to agree on a horror, both me and Tyler both enjoy horror movies and are aware of the many conventions used in horror films.
We decide to stick with Horror as our genre and began discussing possible ideas such as the location begin an abandoned house, woods or even cemetery.

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Camera Angles

Still Shots

Aerial shot (or crane): a view from directly overhead to afford a clear view – sometimes used to emphasize the spectacle.  A crane shot is usually necessary to achieve this (sometimes called a bird’s eye shot) 

Canted Angle – A shot which is tilted to one side.  This is often used to create a feeling of disorientation.

Close up (and variations): close ups, including extreme, big and medium close ups, are used to draw the viewer closer and to involve them in what is happening; they also used to observe reactions and emotions, such is happiness, elation or tension.  These shot often used to privilege the protagonist over other characters and position the audience with him or her

Crab Shot: a type of shot which involves the camera being placed in a confined space.  e.g.  A shot taken from inside a cupboard is the subject opens the cupboard door.

Crane Shot (or Aerial): a type of shot in which a camera is positioned on a specially designed crane, which can be raised and lowered and will.  A crane shot is a high-angle shot but the versatility of the equipment allows a director to start a shot from a high-angle and then swoop down toward the subject at ground level.  

Deep Focus: a camera technique that allows objects both near and far from the camera to be in focus at the same time.

Establishing shot: the shot (usually wide or long), often used at the start of a programme or film, a new section of a programme or at the start of a new scene to establish the relationship between the set/location and the characters and to show the whole view

Hand-Held shot:  A shot filmed with the camera not on a trpid but instead held by the camera man, often whilst walking.  This makes the shots seem quite shaky.  This can make the audience feel the scene is more realistic, or can make us feel like we are part of the action

Head-On Shot: for a type of shot in which the action comes directly toward the camera.  Head-On shots are often used in war or action movies to enhance the sense of involvement and excitement of the audience, for example, charging cavalry may be directed at the camera.

High angle: to provide a view from above the subject(s), often making the subject look vulnerable, isolated or powerless.  This is sometimes combined with a crane shot into a closer shot of the subject(s).

Long Shot: a distance shot where the camera is a long way from the subjects being filmed.  A long shot can be effective as an establishing shot that sets the scene for the action and roles in the viewer.

Loose Frame – Describes a shot where there is a lot of room around an object or person.  Usually used to show them as being alone or isolated or unimportant.

  

Low-Angle Shot: a shot where the camera approaches a subject from below eye level.  A Low-Angle shot can emphasize the size of the object being filmed and add to a point of view perspective.  It can make the character shown seem big and powerful and it can make us or the character we are seeing through, seem small and weak.

Master Shot: a camera shot used at the beginning of a sequence to establish the component elements and relationships in such a way as to allow the audience to make sense of the action follows.

Pan: camera action involving gently moving the camera 180°across the subject matter in a horizontal plane

Point-of-View Shot (POV or Subjective Filming): a camera shot taken from the position of the subjects, used to enhance a sense of realism and audience involvement in the action.

Pull Focus – Describes a shot where one thing was on focus, and then the lens is changed so that something else stops being blurry and becomes in focus.  Often used to show how something has become more important.

Rule Of Thirds – Describes a technique used to make a shot look interesting.  Rather than placing a person or object in the middle of the frame, they are placed at the sides, or where the lines cross on this imaginary grid.

Shallow Focus – Describes a shot where an object near the front is in focus, and everything else behind is out of focus (blurry).  Often used to make one thing seem more important.

Soft focus: in images, the use of a special lens or filter to create a hazy light around the subject.  Soft focus shots are associated with the romantic or sentimental treatment of subject matter.

Subjective Filming (or POV): a type of shot in which the camera is positioned as if looking at the world through the character’s eyes.

Tight Frame:  Describes a shot that is composed with the person or object given very little space around them.  Often used to make them seem important, or trapped.

Moving Camera Angles

Tilt: a camera movement that involves moving the camera vertically up and down from a fixed position.

Tracking Shot: a camera shot in which the camera moves along rails to follow the subject.  When the rails are replaced by a moving platform on wheels, the shot is called a dolly shot.  As you wont know how this shot was filmed you can call it either a Tracking OR a Dolly shot.

Whip Pan: a very fast pan between two or more characters all points of interest.  He gives the impression camera has been ‘surprised’ by activity and is used in the place of a more conventional cu or shot/reverse shot.

Wide shot: this can be used as an establishing shot of a set or location or to show a large crowd of people.  They can also emphasize the isolation of a single figure.

Zoom/Reverse Zoom: the adjustment of the camera lens to allow the operator progressively to move in close off or to pull away from the subject.

180 degree Rule – Where, during a scene featuring two people or more, we can imaging an imaginary line joining those two people together.  Adhering to the 180 degree rule would mean you would always ensure your camera was on one side of that line and the camera would never be crossed to the other side.  Sticking to the 180 degree rule allows the viewer to feel comfortable, helps us understand the positioning of the characters and makes it feel like real life. 

Breaking the 180 degree rule (Crossing the Line) – Where, during a conversation or a scene between two people, the camera does NOT stick to one side of the line (see above) and crosses over at some point.  This disorientates the viewer as we are unable to work out the position of the characters within the room.  It makes the scene seem odd or strange and may reflect the feeling of the characters.  

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Initial Ideas

Initial Idea 1:

A group of teenagers are in a woods at night, they are drinking and being reckless when they start disappearing one by one, they hear the screams of their friends and split up, and they are hunted down by a creature in the woods. The creature is rarely scene in the background watching them, he appears as flashes before killing all.

•             A group of friends (4-8)

•             Drunk

•             Hunted Down

•             Unknown creature

•             They die one by one

•             Possible point of view camera angle

•             You die last finally seeing the creature

How does this appeal to the audience?

The first person perspective adds more emotional attachment to the setting, it engages the audience, heightening their senses making them easier to be scared.

What narrative theories does it use and how?

1.            Equilibrium: The state of normality in the story.

2.            Disequilibrium: The event that disrupts the state of normality such as the death of one of their friends.

3.            Realisation: Characters realisation that their friend has gone, realising something is after them.

4.            Repair: Characters attempting to run away and/or kill the creature.

5.            New Equilibrium: The new state of normality. They are all dead.

What Genre is it and what codes and conventions does it use?

It’s a horror film, but it’s the supernatural horror sub-genre, dealing with supernatural creature that hunt down the characters one by one, point of view character being killed last in a jump scare after increasing the tension and engaging the audience.

Initial Idea 2:

A crime thriller story , there is a crime scene someone has been violently murdered and a detective arrives at the scene to collect all the evidence and talk to the friends and relatives he leaves with all the evidence after comforting the family, a few minutes later a detective and two police officers arrive to investigate the scene the family is confused as they already had spoken to a detective, they say that’s not possible as they were the first to be dispatched here, it cuts to the previous detective burning the evidence and removing the uniform as it is revealed that he was the murder cleaning up his tracks.

1.            Crime scene

2.            Detective arrives

3.            Collects evidence

4.            Leaves

5.            Police arrive

6.            Character realise they were tricked

7.            Evidence burned

8.            Killer revealed as detective

How does this appeal to the audience?

The audience are taken on an emotional roller coaster ride as they watch the detective comfort the family and hear the stress it has cause d and what it means for these families, it engages the audience placing trust in the protagonist to catch the killer, this adds to the shock factor to discover the audience were lied to as well as it turns out the man you have been watching support   the family and be moral support was lying to them as he is the killer, making a larger impact on the audience.

What narrative theories does it use and how?

This uses Barths narrative theory as throughout the short film there are small hints and foreshadows that reveal the identity of the killer, like small enigma codes that all add up towards the end of the film.

What Genre is it and what codes and conventions does it use?

Its crime genre type of film as it revolves around a killer and the mystery of his identity, following a chain of events that uncover the true identity of the killer.

Initial Idea 3:

A comedy sketch that uses slapstick comedy and improvisation form the actor, the actors are given a set of tasks that they will have to improvise for example, it could be about a topic in politics, the comic relief given from this will be high as political tension have risen, as they poke fun at modern crisis.

How does this appeal to the audience?

This appeals to the audience as improvisation appears more natural than scripted jokes which can become clique and hinder the audiences viewing experience.

What narrative theories does it use and how?

Looking at Syd Field’s narrative theory, there is a setup, this contain many funny joke to grab the audience’s attention, then the confrontation this is the improvisation part where they are given different topics to poke fun at. Lastly the resolution where they all come together to give a closing act.

What Genre is it and what codes and conventions does it use?

It’s in the comedy genre, combining slapstick with improvisation giving the actors creative freedom.

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Blood and Chips - Analysis

Short Film - 'Blood and Chips' by Ryan Phillips

This is a hugely racist short film that portrays the stereotypical view of white Londoners in Britain, in the media white British people are often portrayed as racist as it's there media representation.The short film is described as "A heat wave is bringing racial tensions to boiling point in a London chip shop." it's aim to make the audience disgusted and angry at the narrator and his racist views causing the audience to Judge the character as he judges others, it raises tension with in the audience as the topic represented is a highly sensitive as it's still an ongoing issue to this date.
The short film starts with the opening sequence introducing the audience to the creative minds and institutions behind the short film.
It's followed by a low angled establishing shot, revealing two key important prop items, the sign letting the audience know it's a fish and chips shop as well as the Zebra crossing which indicates that it is set in London. There are ambient sounds as you hear cars go by covered by cheerful music.
The next shot is a medium shot that shows many characters, you can see two mixed race children looking up at a sweating black man who quickly leaves, the white man bumbs him to him aggressively looking back with a spiteful, he's rude and blunt towards the Chinese behind the counter as his body language suggests, dropping the coins on the counter. He assumes that the children are the black mans by the way he interacts with them. The Chinese man behind the counter breaks the representations created by the media as they are stereotyped to work in Chinese shops as Fish and Chips is seen as a British creation. He looks angry at the arguing children as the man sitting down tells them to shut u he looks pleased and compliments him showing further hate against over nationalities, this gives the impression that he's a spiteful man making the audience not like him, and hate his whole attitude feeling resent towards the character.
He sits down next to the man as he smiles revealing bright yellow teeth he says "This neighborhood is going to the dogs" implying blacks he misinterpreted the man with newspaper description of the children by calling them animals, he meant that because they are children not because of there skin colour as he's also mixed race, something that the white man does not consider.He gets out an empty pack of fags, showing the audience at eye level, making the audience feel as if they were on the table with him, this aggravates the audience further as they listen to his opinion on black people.It makes the audience want  to stop as they feel like they are there but are unable to causing there hatred for the character to rise, he comments on the other characters yet the audience see how he conforms to British stereotypes with his unattractive yellow teeth, smoking habits, and racist views.

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