The Purge: Anarchy - Deconstruction of Website and Poster

The Website - http://www.thepurgeanarchy.co.uk/

• The website is a tumblr blog, so tumblr users can reblog, like and share the posts easily with the click of a button, making it easily accessible to a wide audience
• has links at the top to home, story, images, gifs and videos - user friendly
• trailer right at the top, to show the audience what the film is about, very user friendly
• rest of the website is tumblr posts - images, gifs, videos to do with the film
• has production company links and logos on a banner at the bottom
• the background is a street setting, relating to the narrative
• #survivethenight at the top, linking in to social media and starting a # within the audience, promoting the film
  
  
  
  
  Here you can see the links to like, reblog, share as well as links to share on facebook, twitter, google+ and pinterest, meaning the audience can share the image to even more people, reaching a wider audience.
  
  

The Poster

• The title of the film is very clearly at the top, where the eyes are drawn to first. The font of the title is quite modern looking, no serifs on the letters. It is in all capitals and white with a faint outline of the American flag on it, relating to the narrative. 
• Directly below is the usual information you would see on a film poster e.g. starring, director etc.
• The tag line, 'Welcome to America where one night a year all crime is legal', again in the same font and white lettering. There is also use of the hashtag #survivethenight which is an internet campaign the promoters started,which is also seen on their website above.
• The image itself is largely yellow and green, with a menacing looking gang in a road, with masks, motorcycles and weapons. This informs the audience that this is some kind of horror/thriller film and if they are familiar with the original then they know that during 'the purge' people wear masks to commit crimes.

From this quick deconstruction, I have discovered that it might be a good idea to start a hashtag on our website and poster to create a kind of 'hype' around the film e.g. '#survivethenight'. Also, it would be a good idea to explore colour themes within horror posters as green and yellow seems quite unusual. I will do a blog post exploring conventional slasher posters and perhaps websites too. 

Poughkeepsie Tapes Inspiration / Deconstruction

The Poughkeepsie Tapes (FULL MOVIE):

The trailer:

I wanted to do a blog post exploring this movie further and some of its themes and ideas as I was really inspired by its 'mockumentary' style and use of 'found footage'. In this post I will de deconstruct some sequences according to genre and perhaps take some inspiration to use within our own film, if we decide to make this horror style.

Movie background

• Released in 2007
• Directed by John Erick Dowdle
• Synopsis: In an abandoned house in Poughkeepsie, New York murder investigators uncover hundreds of tapes showing decades of a serial killer's work.
• This movie never properly released and doesn't have a DVD, despite having its trailer played in cinemas in America.

Trailer Deconstruction

• The font used is all capitals, white, almost glowing, almost like it's printed, with a TV kind of shuttering effect in the background, to reflect the 'tape' aspect.
• The trailer starts with a non-diegetic voice over of a 911 call, similar to other films e.g. The Devil Inside. The panicked voice clearly denotes to the audience that this is a horror film
• The trailer uses fast-paced straight cut edits between news programmes, articles, images and sequences of police and dead bodies, this clearly indicates to the audience that this is a documentary-style film, with found footage elements
  
• Non-diegetic sound is used to build fear in the trailer, screeching string sounds and also some electronic sounds, possibly supposed to sound like camera noises (found footage style). 
• Grainy editing is used with flashes to look like an old video camera has been used, with filters and distortion to make the footage appear to be from an old tape, conforming to the genre.

Inspiration for our killer from the movie:

• In this movie the killer is not a normal serial killer, the killer does not only capture the murders themselves, but the abductions, tortures and mutilations of his victims while never allowing himself to be shown on film unless entirely disguised. Throughout the film, he wears several different disguises, which was one of the points that inspired me the most.
  
• He also filmed other weird stuff, e.g. he had some kind of balloon fetish, and they found hours of tapes of women popping balloons etc. giving our killer some kind of personality and character.

• One tape shows that the killer performed a C-section on a  female victim, placing the severed head of her husband inside her womb before sewing her up again to later wake her from unconsciousness and film her reaction - this killer is clearly messed up and it only gets worse. He starts to change the way he kills and who he kills in order to keep his identity safe. 
• In one part of the film, it is only after the discovery of the tapes it becomes clear that one particular crime scene has been carefully arranged in order to obscure possible psychological profiling. 
  
• So for example, he kidnaps one girl named Cheryl and keeps her as a slave. In the end when she is found, she has developed Stockholm syndrome (a psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with them) and actually kills herself, declaring her undying love for her 'master'. 

• At one point the killer changes his modus operandi (approximately translated as "method of operation")  and begins targeting prostitutes, he press now dub him "The Water Street Butcher", so the police believe yet another serial killer is at work.

Ideas

• Perhaps our film can be about found tapes, or a specific killer e.g. 'THE ___ TAPES' and be a found footage style film. 
• Masks - as mentioned in previous posts I am keen to use masks in our film. In this one he uses a kind of apothecary / doctors mask that they used during the Black Death, he also wears a full gas suit, a plain white mask with a black cat suit etc.
• For editing, the use of different colours, flashes, static etc that old tapes could use - we could look into something like that e.g. On final cut there is the effect 'Bad TV', perhaps we could research into that further.
• For weapons, he uses really basic tools sometimes e.g. rope for strangulation, basic hack saws, more advanced saws, power tools, etc so we could experiment with those too for Mise en Scene. (Picture right)

You're Next Deconstruction - Teaser Trailer, Poster and Website

Teaser Trailer

• Non-diegetic sound of glass breaking accompanied by mid-shot of glass breaking denotes to the audience that someone is breaking in, which is expected in a home-invasion movie.
• Slow-motion editing - close up of weapons hitting the ground, non-diegetic noise of metal knives hitting the ground with woman falling in background emphasises the impact of the break in.

• Non-diegetic ringing sound (sounds like a siren almost) creates a sense of panic and alarm within the audience
• A panning shot with some kind of distorted editing further creates this sense of panic and alarm and the slow-motion allows the audience to really see the actors facial expressions and body language, all part of the Mise en Scene.
• Low-angle shot of masked man walking in, makes him appear larger, more powerful, sinister and connotes to the audience that he is the dangerous character/killer. The slow-motion editing emphasises this further, as the audience can study his costume, which is an animal mask

• A close-up shot of the female victim backing away on the floor at a slightly high-angle and still at slow-speed denotes her clearly terrified facial expression and vulnerability at that moment. 
• The non-diegetic music climaxes with a screeching string sound as the slow-motion sequence continues and the killer raises his axe and brings it down at a low angle again, making him see big and strong. 

Poster

• Each poster has the same background - greyish/yellowish colour with scratch marks, looks dirty and grimey in each. 
• All have the same tagline - 'Did you remember to lock your door?' - playing into the genre of the film - slasher / home invasion - targets audience directly with second personal pronoun 'you' - used in advertising. 
• Font type looks like it has been scratched/etched in to something - again matches the scratchy background and with the narrative of the film
• 'You're next' itself - use of 'you're' targets the audience directly, which could make them more scared - when they leave the cinema they might be afraid to go home, therefore the movie has done well.
• Production companies, website etc in bottom in small font
• Date of release under title
• In each image of the animal mask, under-lighting is used to create shadows and distort the mask making it appear more scary than it is. Also, the person is leaning their head forward a bit making the mask seem like it is looking down menacingly. This is the main image and is shown in the top part of the poster where most people will be drawn to. Blood on the masks also highlights to the audience the genre of the film.

Website

• http://fuckyeahyourenext.tumblr.com/
• Interactive website - auto play music from the film - not what you would usually expect to be 'horror' movie but fits in with the narrative of the film.
• Scrolling reviews at the top so people can see what others think of the film straight away
• Can enter postcode to see where the film is playing near you
• Social media links at the top
• As you scroll down, just several still images from the film in blocks, users can 'reblog' or 'like' the posts, as it is on tumblr.
• Trailers and videos also available as you scroll down
• GIFs and fan images as you scroll down - involves fans, makes it interactive
• #THEANIMALS - internet campaign to get the film trending.
• Drop down menu at the top - home, blog, trailer, reviews, story, cast and crew, photos and a list of hastags for the user to click on e.g. #theanimals, #fan art
• The website is 'follow'able as it is actually a tumblr, makes it accessible and user friendly.

Film Poster Deconstructions

In this investigation I will be deconstructing film posters from different genres and see whether they meet the features listed below:

- Typography

- Choice of image

- Positioning of all elements

- Tag-line if any

- Colour schemes

- Clear indication of genre

- Clear target audience

- Golden rule

 
The Possession

      • Typography is distorted and archaic, being related to the sub-genre, supernatural horror.

      • The release date is in red, related to the genre – horror.

      • The colour of the film title is white, suggesting that the innocent are the victims of possession.

      • Tag line “Darkness lives inside”, also white, again connotes the innocent being possessed.

      • “Based on a true…”, printed in black, has serious connotations, alluring the audience.

      • Key image: young girl with a hand coming out of her mouth, tells audience about the sub-genre, supernatural horror.

      • The girl is in the centre, applicable to the golden rule. This focuses the audience attention towards the image, allowing them to instantly note the sub-genre.

      • The key image is not suitable for a young audience, the target audience therefore would most likely be those fifteen and over.

      • The white colour scheme contrasts with the black, making the film title stand out more.

Kidulthood

      • The font is simple, suitable for the genre of the film, urban drama.

      • Key image is in the centre, follows the golden rule. Audience can therefore, instantly note the genre through mise en scene elements e.g. costume.

      • Tag line tells audience the film is part of a sequel.

      • Mise en scene such as the urban background, the bat, the hooded tops connote an urban drama.

      • Through this mise en scene, the audience can see how the film would be targeted at those fifteen and over.

 

 

 

 

 

Fast And Furious Five

     • The title is in red which connotes a fast paced action film, which relates to the name itself – Fast And Furious…The colour scheme and typography therefore, tell the audience about the genre –action.

     • The audience can see through the film title that this film is part of a sequel.

     • The white colour of the actors’ names contrasts with the red typography, enabling the audience to note the key actors in the film.

     • The key image includes three men, armed with weapons, which relates to the genre.

     • The car in the background, connotes the sub-genre – action/racing.

     • The golden rule focuses the audiences’ attention mostly towards Vin Diesel. This can be a way of visually signifying his position in the film – the main character.

     • The weapons suggest the film is not targeted at a young audience.

 

Dead Footage (A2 Media Studies)

    

     •The typography’s colour scheme is red and white. The red can visually signify the film’s genre – horror.

     •The contrast with the white typography effectively makes the tag line stand out, enabling the direct address to be built further between the audience.

     •The hands give us a clue to the sub-genre – zombie horror.

 

Initial Killer Inspiration

Our first thoughts for our slasher killer were inspired by the film 'The Strangers' (2008). In this film, the killers are 'normal' people, i.e. they subvert one common convention of slasher killers - that they are somehow superhuman and never die e.g. Jason Vorhees, Michael Myers. From an audiences point of view, often what is more realistic can seem more terrifying, as they believe they could possibly experience something similar, in their own homes. 

In the film, the couple being tormented ask the killers why they were doing it, and they replied 'because you were home'. This kind of mindless killing, almost as if for fun inspired me to continue researching. A more conventional slasher killer would have the following:

Disfigured

Masked 

Weapon of choice e.g. knife, chainsaw

Childhood trauma/revenge

Often silent and unstoppable

Will never die e.g. Freddie Krueger, Michael Myers

Stalking and killing

One of my favourite conventional slasher killers is Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He ticks mostly all of the boxes. He is disfigured, masked, unusually large, has his signature chainsaw weapon, has an inbred family (trauma), only grunts, never speaks and has some kind of superhuman strength.

I wanted to investigate further into the use of masks in films and link to previous post about deindividuation. It seems that the use of masks can help make someone 'normal' feel extraordinary and capable of things they might not have been if they were just their regular selves. For example, 'The Strangers'. What I find most interesting is the style of mask that each killer wears. One has a doll face, another a potato sack, and the last a kind of pin-up girl. None of these characters are particularly terrifying by themselves but when coupled with a sinister glare and weapon, they become an element of someone's nightmare. 

I also wanted to look at the idea of just mindless killing and thought of the film 'Funny Games'. I decided to focus on the more recent remake as it will have better quality videos and perhaps will be more relevant to now. In the film, a family on holiday have their home invaded by 2 seemingly normal boys. When asked why they are doing it, they simply say they are playing a game - the boys bet that by the morning the family will be dead. When asked, 'why don't you just kill us?', one responds, 'you shouldn't forget the importance of entertainment'. I think that this type of killer will scare the audience more than the conventional slasher killer as everybody knows how a slasher ends, as it's been done a hundred times before. Perhaps with this new kind of killer, there will be a new kind of fear too.

Another movie which, although I haven't yet watched, is 'You're Next'. The trailer implies that the film is a home invasion movie and the killers appear to wear animal masks, which I think is interesting. Although the use of animal masks is not new (Saw - pig masks, The Wicker Man, even The Shining), I like the particular animals that they actually use. The director said, ''In [1978's] Halloween, John Carpenter took a pre-existing mask and ghost-ified it.'' (Adam Wingard). 

Furthermore, this a relatively new film (2013) and I really like the effects they used in the trailer. It is a full length trailer so not all of the elements they used can inspire our much shorter teaser, however the general atmosphere that the trailer has is really spooky e.g. the use of Lou Reed's 'Perfect day', a song which isn't normally seen as scary. This reminds me of the Bee Gee's 'Turn Around, Look at Me' used in Final Destination 3. I also like the shuttering effect at 00:46 and the slow-motion that follows it. 
At the end of this research, I have decided personally that I like the idea of using animal masks as there are so many different animals/masks that we can use and pair them with appropriate weapons. I will research into the types of masks that we could get hold of and possible weapons too in another post. I also like the idea of using a less traditional killer, one that just 'kills for fun', and possibly explore home invasion a little more.

Research into Crowd Mentality and Deindividuation

"Deindividuation is a concept in social psychology that is generally thought of as the losing of self-awareness in groups"

As part of my early research into the slasher genre, and in particular home invasion movies, I wanted to research into the idea of herd mentality/collective behaviour etc. to investigate what makes people act in a certain way when they are part of a group. One particular instance I wanted to look into was the Salem Witch trials.

In 1692 the Salem Witch Trials took place. It truly epitomizes what can happen when religious extremism and mobs collide. In the beginning a couple of girls started acting weird (having fits, diving under furniture, contorting in pain, etc.) and claimed witches were responsible for their “sickness.” They pointed fingers at specific women in Salem, and after the doctor confirmed the girls were possessed, the town went berserk. Salem officials started arresting suspected witches based on ridiculous evidence and the town went along with the whole thing, in the end 19 were hanged and 5 died in prison.

Another example was clear from Zimbardo's prison experiment in 1971:

• "Zimbardo created a mock prison environment in the basement of Stanford University’s psychology building in which he randomly assigned 24 men to undertake the role of either guard or prisoner.
• These men were specifically chosen because they had no abnormal personality traits.
• The experiment, originally planned to span over two weeks, ended after only six days because of the sadistic treatment of the prisoners from the guards.
• Zimbardo attributed this behavior to deindividuation due to immersion within the group and creation of a strong group dynamic. Several elements added to the deindividuation of both guards and prisoners.
• Prisoners were made to dress alike, wearing stocking caps and hospital dressing gowns, and also were identified only by a number assigned to them rather than by their name. Guards were also given uniforms and reflective glasses which hid their faces.
• The dress of guards and prisoners led to a type of anonymity on both sides because the individual identifying characteristics of the men were taken out of the equation. Additionally, the guards had the added element of diffusion of responsibility which gave them the opportunity to remove personal responsibility and place it on a higher power.
• Several guards commented that they all believed that someone else would have stopped them if they were truly crossing the line, so they continued with their behavior."

-Wikipedia

In TV I found the example of an episode of Black Mirror called 'White bear':

In this episode, a woman wakes up in a chair, completely confused and unable to remember anything about her life. Leaving the house, the woman sees people constantly recording her on their phones. When asking for help and shouting at the people to stop recording her, a man wearing a balaclava with the symbol on it pulls up in a car, takes out a shotgun, and fires at Victoria (pictured above). This gave me the idea about crowd mentality and anonymity, which is clearly displayed in this episode of black mirror. They combined the idea of us living in a completely technological age and the constant need for entertainment, whatever the cost.

I also watched Derren Brown's TV show 'The Experiments: The game show' for more of an insight. In this episode Brown sets up a fake game show where the audience are in complete control of what happens to an unknowing man, who earlier signed up to be part of some kind of experiment. Throughout the show, the audience decides his fate whilst wearing anonymous masks, to shield their identity. It turned out that the audience voted for the man to have have drinks spilled down him, arrested for shoplifting, lose his job, get his TV smashed up etc. Would they still have voted for these horrible things to happen to the man if they were not masked? This helps me further understand the idea of deindividuation.