Narrative Theories

• Bordwell and Thompson (1980): “a chain of events in a cause-effect relationship occurring in time”.
• Sydfield, an American screenwriter: a good film needs to interest the audience and inform them of the narrative in the first ten minutes.
• My group and I had to conform to this theory to a huge extent, as we had limit of sixty seconds to draw the audience.
• Due to the trailer’s format, we used a restricted narration to interest the audience quickly through the use of an enigma. This is evident by the shot of the blonde, female victim opening the door (at the beginning) and seeing nobody there after the door knocks.
• We also used a restricted narration, as this is a common convention of the horror genre. Our trailer has a subjective character identification, as the trailer never focuses on one specific character.

• Vladimir Propp’s theory of narrative: characters have the role of narratives ‘spheres of action’ or functions.
• From a comprehensive study of folktales, Propp made seven character types, each with a different function such as the ‘hero’, ‘villain’, ‘donor’ etc.
• Our trailer partially conforms to this theory, as our hero is the main girl which subverts Propp’s suggestion of the hero usually being male.
• Having the main girl as the hero however, the one who restores the narrative equilibrium, is a convention of a slasher film.
• Our villain, the killer, disrupts the narrative (which conforms to the theory) after he knocks on the door. This is evidenced near the beginning by close up shots of him attacking the main girl and the two shot of the killer behind the young male with his knife, ready to attack him.

• Todorrov’s theory of narrative: conventional narratives are structured into five stages including the state of equilibrium, the disruption of the equilibrium and a reinstatement of the equilibrium (at the end).
• Our trailer conforms to this theory to an extent, as our trailer begins with a state of equilibrium of a party being held at a house.
• A disruption of this equilibrium is recognised once the killer arrives at house. This is expressed by the door knocks and the change in soundtrack – from a party beat to silence. On the other hand, we subvert the theory by not reinstating the equilibrium at the end of the trailer, which can be seen through the last shot which denotes a low angle of the killer which visually signifies his dominance.

• Alan Cameron’s theory claims that modular narratives “articulate a sense of time as divisible and subject to manipulation”. Cameron identifies four different types of modular narrative: anachronic, forking paths, episodic and split screens.
• In our trailer, we conform to this theory, as we use an episodic narrative which is seen by the killer attacking his victims.

• Aristotle’s unities, the first ‘narrative theory’ puts forward the idea that a narrative should be created within a ‘unity’ of time, place and action – it should all take place in the same location, in real time, and with all action moving towards a logical conclusion.
• Our trailer conforms to this as we have one plot, no sub plots which takes place in the same location. Having one location conforms to the convention of a horror film of victims being entrapped.

• Barthe’s codes claim that narratives are like “tangled balls of threads which need unravelling”, some open with many different interpretations and some being closed, with only one possible interpretation.
• Barthe narrowed down the action of a text in to Five Codes which are woven into any narrative. Our trailer utilises two of the codes, one being the Hermeneutic Code which is the way the story avoids telling the truth in order to create mystery.
• We conformed to this through our shot towards the end which denotes the killer appearing out of nowhere, connoting that he may have supernatural powers. However, the audience are not told this, so a mystery is created. In the same shot, the killer is behind the main girl with a knife, ready to attack her. This shot conforms to the Enigma Code as the audience do not see what happens to the final girl, leaving them guessing what happens next.

Deconstruction of Scream 4 Trailer

-Opens with the production company, overlapped with the non diegetic sound of a phone ringing, a main feature of the past scream films as the killer first communicates through a phone call.
-A female character (Sidney from the previous films) answers the phone during a pitch black transition. The killers voice on the phone is instantly recognisable.
-There is a non-diegetic sinister boom and straight cut to a close up shot of the female character looking distressed.
-There is a non-diegetic narrative from the killer as mid shots of characters flash up to low pitch boom that begins building up, starting to create tension for the audience which is the key component of the horror genre.
-The non-diegetic sound of the killers evil laugh is un-nerving for the audience, followed by a diegetic scream within a mid-shot of two characters before the screen fades to black and text appears.
-The instantly recognisable scream mask is shown. There is already the familiarity with him as the teaser trailer introduces other main characters to the audience. Most of these are teenagers, which is a character choice typical of the slasher genre.

-Both the use of a high school and suburb location is typical of the slasher genre.
-The sudden straight cut to a long shot of the first victim dying is shocking for the audience, but sets the tone for the slasher film.
-The line 'and virgins can die now' in which the characters are talking about slasher conventions within the film.
-There is a fast paced long shot of a girl trying to escape killer, another victim before more text appears. The text is black and white and red, which is typical of slasher genre as black and white can be dull yet sinister while red links to the violence and gore of the slasher genre.

-An over the shoulder shot gives the first glimpse of the killer in action with the instantly recognisable mask and weapon of choice.
-A close up shot of the character Gail links back to previous films.
-The fast paced straight cuts of the masked killer attacking his victims begins, accompanied by a non-diegetic narrative.
-The dramatic orchestral music begins to build to a climax, creating suspense for the audience before a blackout.
-The blackout fades into a mid shot of two blonde characters with no sound, before the sudden interruption of the scream killer coming towards screen, distressing the audience. The scream title appears in its classic typography, before a short phone call scene followed by the release date.

Genre Theorists

'A genre is ultimately an abstract conception rather than something that exists empirically in the world'- Jane Feuer 1992

-True of the slasher  genre in which despite classic conventions, ultimately anything can happen.

'Genres are instances of repetition and difference and difference is absolutely essential to the economy and genre'- Steve Neale 1980

-Our trailer conforms to these conventions such as the final girl and masked killer. One scene in which a series of close-ups and mid-shots of the final girl and the killers struggle clearly displays these conventions for example the mask, the final girls’ simple clothing and brunette hair.

'Genre is not … simply “given” by culture, rather it is in a constant process of negotiation and change’- David Buckingham 1993

-An example of this within the slasher genre would be the conventional character of the final girl. As women gained power within the 60’s/70’s with more freedom such as access to contraception (1961,) less religious restrictions as society began to become more secular and economic globalisation meaning women were being accepted into the work place.

'A new genre is always a transformation of one or several old genres'- Tzvetan Todorov 1990
'The boundaries between genres are shifting and becoming more permeable'- Abercrombie 1996 

-Our trailer followed the convention of a masked killer, using a distorted white pillow case and rope. The killer also has a weapon of choice, in this case a large knife, as is a convention in slasher movies. Our trailer also conforms to the ‘suburb location’ with a long shot of the outside of the house in low key lighting establishing this at the opening. There have been many remakes of famous films such as Nightmare on Elm Street (2010,) Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003,) Halloween (2007) and Scream, which like some of the other films, features various sequels that follow the storyline up until the present day. More recently, the genre has taken on more sex, violence and nudity, particularly towards women, morphing into a sub-genre now called torture porn. An example of this is Saw which is now a major franchise with seven movies made in total and I Spit on your Grave (1978) which is a rape and revenge horror film.

'The number of genres in any society depends on the complexity and diversity of society'- Carolyn Miller 1984

-For example, the slasher genre within horror has diversified in recent years to incorporate elements that it did not originally include. Our A2 teaser trailer, which follows the story of a masked killer terrorising a group of teenagers, is a classic example of a slasher genre film, following many conventions.

'Generic conventions embody the crucial ideological concerns of the time in which they are popular'- John Fiske 1987

-Such as women becoming liberated. Within the slasher genre there is always the sexually free, promiscuous, stereotypically blonde and attractive female character. This character will almost always be killed off first. The final girl is typically hard-working, plain and virginal. The fact that she then goes on to survive until the very end shows that this makes her more powerful than the other female roles. This was subverted when Scream (1996) presented the final girl as non-virginal yet still able to defeat the killer. In our trailer, a high angled close up of our final girl sees her applying makeup, subverting the convention that the final girl takes no care over her appearance.

Final Girl Theory- Carol Clover

-Use of final girl, conforming to conventions such as brunette, plain and well behaved but ultimately showing the change in genre due to the empowerment of women as she is the only one able to overcome the killers, not one of the male characters.

Narrative Theorists

'A narrative is a chain of events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time’- Bordwell and Thompson 1980

-It is important for the opening scenes of the film to grab the audience in order to keep their full attention for the rest of the film, in order to invest in characters and follow any sub-plots etc. It should also set a specific mood appropriate for the genre, for example films of the horror genre will contain many shots that build tension from the very start. The fact that we have created a trailer means that the narrative is restricted to an extent, as the full plot cannot be explained, only general hints to the narrative can be given. We therefore have a minute to capture our audience and give them a feel of what our film would be like in the hope of engaging them. Our trailer uses subjective character identification, giving unique access to what a range of characters see and do. The use of a group of teenagers within our trailer provides the audience with just this. As our trailer is a slasher, part of the horror genre, it features a restricted narration in which only minimal information regarding the narrative is given. 

Different character types-
'Villain'- Creates narrative disruption
'Princess'- The victim
'Hero'- Restores narrative equilibrium
'Donor'- Gives the hero something to help in the resolution of the narrative
'Helper'- Aids the hero in restoring equilibrium
'Dispatcher'- Sends hero on task
'False Hero'- Appears to be good but is revealed at the end of the narrative to be bad 
Vladimir Propp

-Our trailer conforms to this theory in terms of the inclusion of a villain that creates narrative disruption in the form of our masked killer. The low key lighting in one shot in which the only light source is a lighter, helps to keep most of the mask hidden and gives the killer a mysterious and distorted feel that is more distressing for the audience. However, this theory is also subverted in terms of the hero. Although our ‘victim hero’ (centre of the villains attentions) still tries to restore narrative equilibrium by trying to defeat the killer, but instead of being stereotypically male is is a female character. Our hero begins as the princess- a victim of the villain, before using her strength to become the hero and overcoming the killer in order to save herself. The fast-paced, straight cut mid-shot and extreme close-ups  of the hero struggling with the villain in her attempt to stop him supports this. 

'Five stage narrative structure' (This includes the state of equilibrium which is disrupted before being reinstated at the end) - Todorov


-A long shot of a party scene showing the teenagers socialising and having fun, accompanied by upbeat music as well as chatting and laughter. This creates a positive mood for the audience. The non-diegetic music stops when a knock on the door is heard, followed by a sinister boom. From here the trailer (sound, typography etc) begins to make the audience feel uneasy and tension builds, as is typical of the slasher genre. The state of equilibrium is disrupted by the arrival and actions of the killer, for example the mid-shot of the window in which one of the teenage characters is looking out as the diegetic sound builds, before unbeknown to him the killer appears behind, un-nerving the audience. The final shot is a low angled, close up of the killer slowly turning his head. We decided to do this in order to leave the conclusion (whether the equilibrium is reinstated) as a mystery to the audience, which the key component of a trailer. 

'Modular narratives articulate a sense of time as divisible and subject to manipulation'- Alan Cameron 

-We use this episodic structure within our trailer, separating the killing of each teenage victim to create their own ‘episode’. There is a low angled (floor level) long shot of one victim being dragged past the doorway behind the wall, whilst another is attacked in the hallway and tries to fight off the killer in a series of close-up and mid-shots. The repeating sound added in post-production helps to enforce the idea of a sequence.

'Narratives are like tangled balls of threads which need unravelling’- Barthes' codes 

-Our trailer is an example of an open narrative, in which different interpretations can be made, for example whether the final girl is a true hero who wants to completely destroy the killer or just wants to save herself. The trailer also conforms to the Enigma/Proainetic Code in which tension is built up throughout, leaving the audience guessing what might happen next. An example of this can be the close up of the killer in very low key lighting so not all of the mask is visible, waiting under the stairs as one of the teenagers walks down into the basement; leaving the audience to form their own ideas of what happened to that character.

Storyboard

1. Opens with an establishing shot of the house in low key lighting
2. Over the shoulder/tracking shot of final girl entering the house and walking down the hallway with her friends in front 
3. Long/mid shot sitting around a table drinking (except final girl) with non-diegetic music
4. Close up of final girl looking uncomfortable in her surroundings 
5. Non-diegetic knock at the door followed by sinister boom with mid shot facing the door
6. Long shot of friends at tables with confused expressions as to the door knock

    7. Mid shot of boy checking door, looking through key hole as non-diegetic sounds start building 

    8. Non-diegetic sound stops and a point of view shot shows outside of the door, panning left to        right, loud non-digetic sound as door shuts 

    9. Loud non-diegetic boom with text

   10. Fast paced edits begin- long shot shows killer attacking girl in low key lighting so not too much of killer is given away

   11. Long shot at floor level of person being dragged through door way

   12. Killer scrapes knife along an edge close-up, loud non-digetic scraping sound

   13. Low angle, torch shone through key hole in mid shot of girl so looks like killer is walking past with non-digetic footsteps/creaking

   14. Close/mid shot of killer pulling curtains back making the mask clear

   15. From outside window with close up of victim and long shot of killer who appears in background with non-digetic boom carrying knife- victim unaware 

   16. Low angle of basement stairs, only stairs illuminated by light as one foot moves down a step followed by blood

   17. Close up shot of final girl crying, blood all over her looking at hands, steadicam? 

   18. Boy covering girls mouth in close up shot, heathy breathing as scared, lighting done by flashlight 

    19. Close up of back of the head as killer turns

    20. Side profile of final girl in close up, killers hand appears grabbing her hair and pulling her back 

    21. Point of view shot of final girl from the killers viewpoint 

Evaluation Question 3 - What did you learn from your audience feedback

Our teaser trailer was aimed at a young age group of teenagers to young adults, so 18-24, both genders. We targeted this audience, as we knew from previous research that our type of production would appeal to this audience. Before our production process, to gain apsects into what our audience were interested in, we used Survey Monkey, an online site that allows users to create their own survey for others to access and complete via a weblink. The questions are shown below and their responses are displayed in the form of a bar chart, giving my group and I, visual feedback. By posting links to our survey on social media such as Twitter and Facebook, we were able to gain a large number of responses, giving us a good insight into what would appeal to our audience. 

Most of our audience wanted our film title to be called "Knock Knock". Our film name ideas were "Knock Knock", "The Unexpected" and "Who's There?". 11 people (55%) voted for "Knock Knock", 8 (40%) voted for "The Unexpected" and 1 person (5%) voted for "Who's There?". From my research into film names, I found that film titles from slasher films tend to be short and sharp. This makes them catchy and identifiable for the audience. We used "who's there?" as our slogan as this fits in well with the film name "Knock Knock", forming the commonly known joke of "knock knock who's there?". People would be familiar with the phrase "knock knock" and so using this for our film title would establish our film's name.



When we asked what characters the central focus should be on, 13 (65%) voted for a group of teenagers, 5 (25%) voted for a family unit and 2 (10%) voted for a single character. Having a group of teenagers is a common convention in the slasher genre which we conformed to. Below are images which reflects this: 








When we asked what weapon our killer should use (a classic convention of the slasher genre), 12 people (60%) voted for a knife which was the most popular item as opposed to an axe, a chainsaw and a rope. This was helpful was for us, as a knife was easily accessible and also allowed us to mirror styles set in renowned films such as "Scream".

After my group and I had filmed some footage, to gain more feedback, we conducted a focus group. Through this focus group, one thing we found out was that our lighting needed to be improved on. After carrying out some deconstructions on lighting used in slasher films, this is what we found out:

• Slashers tend to use warm colours such as yellows which is evident in "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" which could be used to visually signify the hostility the characters live in.  

• Slasher films also use lighting to often reflect the narrative. Below is an image from "A Nightmare On Elm Street". The red tint may have connotations related to the narrative (Freddy Krueger is burnt alive by the parents of the children, so the red lighting can represent flames).

From our research, it appeared that slashers use lighting to either reflect a theme or a narrative. So, my group and I made use of different lighting in our teaser trailer. Below are images which denote different types of lighting.

We used high key lighting at the beginnings a means of establishing an equilibrium. High key lighting connotes positivity which conforms to stage one of Todorov's theory of narrative, a state of equilibrium at the outset.

This image shows a slight warm tint in lighting ,which reflects the climax of the scene after there is a disruption of the equilibrium.

In this shot we used under lighting which gave our killer a sinister look.
  

Through our focus group, we also discovered that a more diverse range of shots needed to included to keep our audience visually stimulated.

 

This is a head on shot of the killer grabbing the girl.

This is a close up shot of one of the victims. The close up effectively denotes her facial expressions. The audience can see the that the victim is terrified. If you look closely, we have also integrated a two shot, as the killer is behind her.

This low angle denotes the killer. The low angle makes him appear dominant, thus signifying his dominance over the victims.

What did I learn?

• Audiences like short, sharp film names for a slasher.
• Teenagers tend to be the preference of the ideal victims. This could be due to the change in how nowadays adults are not often used in slasher films.
• Lighting can have a significant impact in the way one can interpret a film's meaning.
• Having a range of shots and angles keep an audience visually stimulated, as they are invited to watch footage from various points.

Existing Slasher Poster Deconstuction

-There is the central image of the killer wearing well known hockey mask with weapon of choice 

-Use of backlighting means you can't see the killer completely, adding some mystery

-Outline of the forest can be seen in foggy light, which is a classic slasher genre location, and well known for this film

-The film title is capitalised in red, connoting gore and therefore linking to the slasher genre, with sharp serifs giving it a gothic look which is typical of horror genre films 

-Red typography contrasts against dark background which is sinister, the date of release is in red too drawing attention to key information  

-The tag line is capitalised on its own at the top, making it draw attention whilst being easily readable

-The credits are small at the bottom with the production company logos as well as the rating certificate 

-The link to former well-known slasher film ' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' is clear

-The killers face is in flames and is easily recognisable

-The flames provide light for outline of killer who is holding a mask and weapon of choice

-Victims can be seen within the face, which is distressing for the audience, fire generally signifies hell and death which links to the genre

-A suburb house can be seen under the flames, which is another classic slasher film location, playing on the idea of realism that is disturbing for the audience 

-The credits are small in yellow at bottom, whilst the release date is bold in red, drawing more attention

-Tagline is in white at the very top, drawing attentions as it is clear and capitalised

-The main colours are red, orange, black, white, all typical of the horror genre, slasher in particular 

-Clear link to famous director Wes Craven who made the original Scream movie

-As it is the fourth in the sequel, the number 4 replaces the 'a' in scream, with red colouring that links to the violence of the slasher genre whilst making it stand out against the black and white 

-Classic thick scream typography that was used for all the previous films, it is capitalised and spaced out with the 'm' being sharp and blade-like, connoting a weapon and linking to the slasher genre 

-The release date is in red, standing out against the black background and white credits at bottom

-Key image is the characters as opposed to the killer, however the famous scream mask reflection can be seen in the knife which is tinted red connoting blood and linking to the gore of the slasher genre 

-The tag line is in red at the top, but is not capitalised 

-The main colours are black, grey, white and red which are typical of the horror genre 

-Past generation of characters can be seen in black and white above younger characters e.g courtney cox who has played Gail since first scream movie

-All black and white apart from the blue of the eyes, with the hand covering her mouth representing shock and distress

-There is no key image of killer or any features of them such as the mask or weapon of choice, however is does feature the final girl Sidney, who is the main character 

-There is again the thick and spaced out typography with the sharp blade-like 'm,' giving the idea of a weapon and linking to the slasher genre 

-The tag line at the top is long and not capitalised, however still readable and attention grabbing as it is away from the central image 

-Wes Cravens' name is clearly visible at the bottom

-The names of the actors are capitalised above the general credits at bottom of the poster 

-There is no clear release date as there is on other posters

-As this is the oldest film poster (1996) subverts a lot of conventions that the others have in common such as the feature of the killer on the front and a clear release date and short snappy tag line

-There is the central image of the masked killer with his weapon of choice, with the chainsaw linking to the title as well as being easily recognisable as this is a remake of the classic slasher film

-The credits are at the bottom above the larger and capitalised release date 

-The main colours are black, greys and red, typical of the slasher genre 

-The title is capitalised in a gothic font with sharp serifs, typical of horror genre films

-Colour of the title is distorted so it is not completely white, making it look old and worn, adding to the distressed feel 

-The tag line is not typically at the top, it is just under the title and although smaller, it is still capitalised and bigger than credits 

-The slight backlighting allows for some light to be shed on the killer allowing some of him to be seen, but still keeping a mysterious feel that is important for the killer to keep as the fear of the unknown is a key feature for the audience to find the film effective