Representations And Stereotype Of Horror Films

representations and stereotype of horror films

Gender

In horror films gender is very stereo-typically presented, which can mean women being presented as objects mainly sexually and emotionally orientated . Throughout films women are also presented as beautiful and much more emotional compared to men who are stereo-typically seen as being much more tough and less emotional.

Characters 

Non-Believer
Can be of either sex, although often male.
Portrayed as being cocky and at ease, convincing the other characters that they are over reacting and that nothing is going on
Typically overconfident, which usually lead to them being the first to be killed, and their death will trigger a mass killing of the other characters.

To begin with, the audience will listen to this voice of reason and be reassured and calmed slightly by them. However, when they are shortly after killed, the audience will panic and all sense of security has gone; nobody is safe.

Hero
Pretty much always a male character of strong, masculine build.
Although he is the ‘hero’, there aren’t many horror films where the good triumph over evil. In these cases, he tends to be the brave character that goes after the murderer, often never returning.
These characters tend to show little emotion throughout the film, perhaps to stay strong and supportive for the other characters that cope less well.
In more recent horror films, the hero has begun to appear as a female. This makes the film more unpredictable, and challenges the older, more traditional conventions.

Evil Character
Can take many forms; serial killer, demonic possession, ghost, monster, vampire, werewolf, zombie etc.)
If they are human, they will often wear a mask, disguising them completely of appearance or emotion, and the audience can make no connection to them whatsoever. Wearing a mask also plays on the fear of the unknown.

Diary Of Filming And Editing

Filming
we started filming on Monday 1st of December 2014 and it took us about two weeks to complete the filming. we filmed in a woods near our school.
Monday 1st 
The first day we went out to film we went to the back of the school field by the woods, we had to find a suitable place to film which we found.
Tuesday 2nd
The next day we went to Ashtead common to find a place to film, but we couldn't find a suitable place so we decided that we were going to film in the woods at the back of the school.
Wednesday 3rd
The third day is when we first time we shot a scene. Using the camera took some time to get used to but we eventually got the hang of it.
Thursday 4th
On Thursday we were not able to film due to the weather conditions.
Friday 5th 
We went back on Friday and were able to shoot more scenes. we filmed the part when the two campers are getting watched by the villain but they do not know they are being watched yet.
Saturday 6th
Did not film
Sunday 7th
Did not film
Monday 8th
On Monday we all got together and discussed how we were going to go about filming the scenes we need. we filmed the part where the campers realise that they are being watched. The campers then see the killer. Filming on this day went well as we got all the shots and scenes.
Tuesday 9th
On Tuesday we finished off our last scene where the killer has a fight with on of that campers and manages to kill on of them, but the other camper makes it to safety by running for his life.
Wednesday 10th 
On Wednesday we had to go back out to the woods and re-film the first scene where we first meet the two campers. we had to re-film this as the filming was very unsteady.
Thursday 11th
we finished filming on thursday and moved all the clips onto the computer

Story Board Anamatic

Technology We Are Using To Film

GE DV1 video recorder.

GE’s DV1  is the camera that is offered by our school, and we will be using it to film our opening two minutes. The company claims it’s waterproof to five metres and can survive a 1.5-metre drop. The GE DV1  is a neat soap bar design, it can hold up to 32GB. the camera is simple and easy to use as you control it through a directional touchpad and a simple menu system, and there are shortcuts for filming, playback and deleting videos. It allows you to record in 1080p, or 720p. 

Horror Film Titles

In Dawn of the dead i really like the opening titles this is because it fits the typical horror movie feel with a black background and red text with blood dripping i feel it gives a good scary feel to the start of the film and that is what the audience would like to see to make them watch on.  

Opening Titles Research

As research for our film, we looked at numerous style fonts, hoping to give us inspiration for our own title. After looking at different horror films use of typography, we came to the conclusion we wanted to narrow our searches to a more simplistic but unnerving font that will stand out because the simplicity of the font will give the haunting edge. We decided that since our film will be based on the horror genre, it would be best to gage both information and inspiration from titles of the genre. Here are just a few examples of titles we have looked at:

By looking at a range of opening titles, we have learnt that they do not need to be overly showy or flamboyant to stand out and look effective. The simple font allows the haunting and mysterious feelings to kick in, the colouring and effects used are quite successful and fit well with the background, helping to make the film suit the genre and achieve its eerie, dark mood. THE CONJURING is effective as its clear white writing stands out against the black background and is very clear. The plain font works well for its particular plot as even though white can be connoted as pure and innocent, the old, almost ripped background allows the font to strip all the innocence from the title. the use of white writing on a black background is very common nowadays in horror films, and to be able to grasp the theme of a horror the colours are something we would like to move in the direction of, to make our film as close to the genre conventions as possible.

As a group, we all had the same opinion on the titling for THE CABIN IN THE WOODS. I think the font stands out effectively and catches your attention without being too showy. The misty, grey background gives a spooky, nightmare effect which also makes the titles more negative and scary, which is something we are hoping to use for our opening. This type of font could be beneficial as it certainly draws the audience’s attention to it, the use of scratching over the letter gives the typography a huge mysterious and haunting effect which is something we, as a group want to achieve when creating our opening titles.

The use of colour is very effective with this title as it connotes hell, death, blood, nightmares and fury. Despite it being scary, we didn't think that red was a colour we wanted to adapt into our opening titles as it is quite an old skill that is rarely used anymore. We wanted our titles to match modern day horror's rather than past and even though red is used, we wanted our own horror opening to go down the route of using black and white to create a more haunting and eerie mood rather than a deadly or hell-like effect.                                

Analysis Of The Opening Titles In Seven.

Analysis of the opening titles in Seven.

When analysing the opening titles of Seven, there is a mixture of titles on a black background and moving image. The font of the titles is white and looks like hand writing. This is in-keeping with the horror genre as the handwriting looks creepy and links to the narrative behind the titles where a character is looking through an old book and remove some of their skin with a razor blade. I like the combination of the titles fading to a black background and the moving image of the opening. We could consider using this combination in our opening two minutes. It is important to consider the colour of the font and whether it would stand out against the background. In seven it was effective to use white font and a black  background, however if we use white titles we need to make sure it stands out on the moving image. Seven split the screen and included moving image with a black corner where the titles were placed; this was effective and ensured that the titles stood out. However this might be hard to create and we would need to practise creating this on Adobe premier elements.

Questionnaire Results

Questionnaire

what is your name?
Josh
Jordan
Will
James




How old are you?
17
17
16
16


do you like horror films?
yes
No
yes
no


if so why do you like them?
give you a cheap sense of thrill and excitement

Thrilling and tension



what do you expect from a horror opening?
familiarized with the scene and the main characters
Someone dying
scary atmosphere

What is your favorite horror film?
Insidious
Paranormal activity 3
Cabin in the woods



Where do you expect a horror film to be set?
Woods, City, Countryside
Abandoned building or woods
Cabin in the woods
haunted house




What do you expect a villain in a horror film to look like?
dark and scary, supernatural
has a mask on with a chainsaw
covered face, dark




What do you think the victim should look like?
innocent, young, vulnerable
Long skinny face (Will Page)
innocent, dumb



What is your favorite horror opening?
Cabin in the woods
Cungering
Saw