Stuart Hall theorized that the meaning of a message is not fixed or determined by the sender, the message is never transparent and the audience is not a passive recipient of meaning.
When a producer constructs a text it is encoded with a meaning or message that the producer wishes to convey to the audience. In some cases the audience will successfully decode the message or meaning, and understand what the producer is trying to convey. In other cases the audience will reject, or simply not understand the message that is trying to be convened.
Hall describes three types of audience:
•Dominant- When the audience correctly decodes the message of the producer and agrees with it.
•Negotiated- When the audience accepts, rejects or refines elements of the text in light of previous held news (neither agreeing or disagreeing with the message.)
•Oppositional- When the dominant meaning is recognised but rejected for political, cultural or ideological reasons.
Synergy- When two companies work together to mutually benefit each other.
Synergy works when different media conglomerates created linked products to promote their product.
Disney Synergy Case Study- High School Musical (HSM) Disney had synergy following the release of 'High School Musical' in 2006. There were multiple products created off of its release and its franchise (including 'High School Musical 2' and 'High School Musical 3'.) These include:
-DVD Release (Disney Channel Original Movie) -Official Soundtrack -'High School Musical: the Ice Tour/On Ice (Feld Entertainment) -Disney store merchandise such as Clothing, Dolls and Home ware. -HSM Magic 8 Ball (Partner with Magic 8 Ball) -Various videogames partnered with PlayStation and Wii -High School Musical Top Trumps (in partner with Top Trumps.)
Skyfall Synergy
Skyfall was produced and released to mark the 50th Anniversary of Bond. Many industries and brands took advantage of the occasion and partnered with Bond to create products to promote the new film. These include:
-O.P.I Nails released 12 new lacquers inspired by the film's blend of glamour and danger. From metallic and glitter to jewelled and jet black, the lacquers capture the film's glamorous and sophisticated look.
-James Bond 007 Eau du Toilette for Men was released, with the bottle taking the pattern/texture of a grenade.
- Bollinger partnered with Bond to create 007 Champagne called '002'
-Coca Cola created cans and bottles with the iconic gun-barrel shot from the opening sequence of Bond printing onto the outside. They also ran a competition offering people the chance to win tickets to see Skyfall
-Heineken sponsored the film and used Daniel Craig as 007 in a TV advertisement and poster. They also offered people the chance to win tickets to see the film.
-Adele partnered with Bond to create the theme song for Skyfall which was, ironically, called "Skyfall." It was published as a single on iTunes.
-The Omega Seamaster Watch has been worn by every 007 agent since GoldenEye in 1995. Omega created a new Seamaster to celebrate the release of Skyfall anda nother to commemorate 50 years of Bond. Omeha advertised their new product via TV and digital campaigns.
-007 Legends was released on PC, PS3, Playstation Move (with wand and carry case), XBOX 360 and Wii U.
This hypothesis was introduced by Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson and Hazel Gaudet. It consists of two steps:
1- Opinion leaders get information from a media source.
2- The opinion leaders pass on this information, along with their interpretations of the information, to others.
The opinion leaders play close attention to the mass media and its different messages. They are seen as influential, and have similarities with those that theu influence.
The 'influenced' are not informed by the media directly. They often hear an interpreted view of a message and will look up to the opinion leaders.
A popular example of this is an election campaign- the candidate is the opinion leader with the public being the "influenced.'
We have produced a vlog of our time spent filming our main brief. We recorded our production schedule, choice of costume, and our experiences during filming. This included any problems we faced (such as weather, background noise and distractions) and if we were successful in achieving the shots we wanted.
Caroline is walking down the road with earphones in. The music is faint, but loud enough for the audience to know she is listening to something. Her music stops and she looks at her phone to see a call from an unknown number. She picks it up but there is no-one on the other line.
Caroline : Hello? Is there anyone there?
Hangs Up
For God’s sake.
She sighs and carries on walking. As she nears the end of the road, she looks up to see someone, dressed in black, on the path to the church. She takes her earphones out.
Caroline : Are you okay?
Other person turns around and main character gasps. Sudden cut into flashbacks of the two girls out together, laughing, having fun etc. The main character opens her eyes and sees that the other person is gone.
Caroline : Rose? Rose?
She spins around, looking for the person she just saw. Final shot over the shoulder of the antagonist, still looking at the girl, but from a distance.
Vladimir Propp was a Soviet literary figure and scholar who entertained the idea that there a certain types of characters that are used in every narrative structure (Character Theory) is theory to fairy tales and fables, stating that they all follow the same specific narrative structure. Character Theory- Where there are seven different character types in every narrative (I have used examples from Shaun of the Dead to link with my research of the horror genre):
•The Hero- Character that actively seeks out something, reacts to the donor and marries the princess (e.g. Shaun from Shaun of the Dead.)
•The Villain- Opposes and actively blocks the hero's quest, struggles against the Hero (e.g. The Zombies from Shaun of the Dead.) •The Dispatcher- Sends the hero on their quest via a message/ sends the hero off (e.g. TV Reporter/Shaun from Shaun of the Dead.)
•The Donor- Prepares the hero, and provides the hero with an object with magical properties
(e.g. The Pub in Shaun of the Dead.)
•The Helper- Aids the hero on their journey/quest (e.g. Ed from Shaun of the Dead.)
•The False Hero- Disrupts the hero's success by making false claims, percieved as good in the beginning but emerges evil (e.g. David from Shaun of the Dead.)
•The Princess- Acts as a reward for the hero and the objective of the villain's evil plots ( e.g. Liz from Shaun of the Dead.)
We created our production schedule so we could plan when to film our shots and when to edit. Our group had events such as school trips, mocks and the school production that were going to intefere with the weeks comencing the return from half term. The production schedule allowed us to plan who would be away then, and we were able to come up with an efficient timetable that would enable us enough time to film, edit and evaluate our main brief.
We created a group chat on WhatsApp which would allow us to share pictures and videos easily and to message each other instantly without having to send two texts. It proved to be a valuable and wise decision.
The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) is a company set up in 1912 that is responsible for the national classification and censorship of films, videos, DVDs and some video games (most video games are classified by PEGI.) The BBFC control who can see what films based on their topics and content. Classifications and ratings take items such as nudity, profanity, language, drug use, discrimination, weapons and violence. The BBFC published these guidelines for what is acceptable for the 7 different classifications for films:
Using Google Forms we created questionnaires about horror films that were to be distributed amongst friends and family. The questionnaire asked the recipient about their age and gender (for basic target audience research) and their likes/dislikes about the horror genre. This included their favourite horror film themes, what scares them about horror films and what clichés they are bored of. The results were accumulated in a table.
Our results showed that the most popular sub-genre of horror was psychological horror with monster/fantasy and 'based on a true story' being the second and third most popular options. Silence, jump shots, tense moments and blood/gore were equally common 'scare factors' amongst the recipients with clichéd storylines being the biggest hate of horror films. With this we have learnt what to include in our main brief and what not to include, especially not to use clichéd storylines (as described by this Tumblr Text Post)
Here is the pitch we presented to our classmates. The pitch contained our initial ideas for our main brief, as well as ideas for media institutuions we could work with for our brief. We decided to have teenagers and young adults as our target audience as our research into film ratings revealed the most popular rating for horror films was 15. If pur film was reated 15, it would allow us to include more graphic, explicit and scary themes/ special effects whilst also allowing the majority of our target audience the opportunity to watch the brief.
We were inspired by Barthes Theory of Engima and Strauss's Theory of Binary opposition when creating the story line of our main brief. We used Barthes enigma theory towards the end of the opening of the brief, as the viewer is left perplexed about what happened to Rosalie (why she looks like she has battered) and why Caroline seems so affected by the appearance of Rosalie (the flashback reveals they were friends.) We were inspired by Strauss when creating our characters- Caroline (the protagonist) is wearing a white top, jeans and layers of coats. The antagonsit- Rosalie- is wearing a black lace dress and no jacket. There is a contrast of black and white with the clothing and there is also a contrast in the projection of the protagonist and antagonist- Caroline is loud and projects her voice well, whilst Rosalie only whispers. These elements reveal influences of both Barthes and Strauss.
-Repetition of knife sound effect when knife is drawn from knife rack.
-Vague diagetic sound (vague dialogue) from mystery caller.
-Atmospheric non-diagetic sound when the female victim hangs up for the second time on the mystery caller.
-Creaking swing
-Post-modernist references to other films in diagetic sound ("Never call out who's there-haven't you seen a scary film before?!")
-Cooking/burning/popping popcorn.
The sound in the opening scene of 'Scream' conveys the conventions of the horror genre effectively. As the film title appears we hear the sound effect of a knife being sharpened which immediately connotes danger and foreshadows events to come. A scream is audible after the first knife sound effect which refers to the title of the film. A heartbeat can also be heard. When you are scared you secrete adrenaline which makes your heart beat faster. The use of a heart beat sound effect in the main titles implies that you (as the viewer) will be scared by the events that happen in the film as well as the characters. Non-diagetic sound continues to convey the horror genre as atmospheric/orchestral music is used as the female victim rushes around her house locking all the doors. The music is used as jump noise, so when a jump cut is used (such as when the female looks out of the window in the door or the mystery caller starts talking and issuing threats.) The sudden 'burst' of string music builds tension as string instruments (such as violins and cellos) are commonly used to build tension. The viewer will start to wonder what is going to happen to the blonde female following the hints of danger (SFX of screaming and knives) and the gradual build of tension and suspense further draws in the audience as they wish to find out who the mystery caller is (Barthes Enigma Code) and the outcome of the female victim.
Camerawork
-Follow/tracking shots of the female victim walking through the house.
-Jump cuts at multiple moments.
-Various zooms into the female victims' face, usually when the mystery caller reveals something to her on the phone.
-Zoom/ reaction shot of female victim.
-The Rule of Thirds is a key element in all of the camera shots.
-Establishing shot and pan showing location of the house/scene.
-Point of View shots.
-Filmed at awkward angles.
The use of follow/tracking shots is effective as it allows the viewers to witness and event within a scene un-interrupted. However it means the viewer can only see what the camera shows them, which provides multiple opportunities for jump cuts that are necessary for horror films. The follow/tracking shots also follow the rule of thirds, but the protagonist in the scene (the blonde female) is not always in the centre third. For example when the female walks around the house whilst talking to the mystery man over the phone she pauses by the back door. The female is in the right third whilst the door handle is in the centre third and the glass pane of the door is in the left third. This allows the viewer to focus on the dialogue and the female character, but it has heavily implications that the view outside and the door itself will play an important role within the plotline of the narrative. The viewer will then turn their attention to the door, anticipating the events that will take place further on in the scene.
Editing
-Jump cuts.
-Match on action (cooking the popcorn, looking out of the windows, locking the doors.)
There is not a lot of editing techniques in the opening scene of 'Scream' as many of the used camera shots were follow/tracking shots. However the use of jump cuts is appropriate as these are common conventions of the horror genre. The jump cuts are designed to scare the audience and build suspense and tension. Typically one is used at the start of a scene and another is not used for awhile and gradually the interval between each jump cut is shortened which represents the growing tension and builds suspense. The match on action simply allows the scene to flow more easily, and allows the audience to witness and action from two different angles. We can see the female victim go to lock the backdoor from inside her house and it switches using match on action to witness the locking of the back door from the garden, which implies that someone is always watching her from both inside and outside the house, leaving the audience questioning the location of the mystery caller and further creating tensions and building suspense.
Mise-En-Scène
-Blonde woman- stereotypically an innocent, naïve victim in the horror genre.
-White jumper conveys innocence and purity
-Caller is male- stereotypically strong and dominant.
-Alone in a big house.
-House is in the middle of nowhere (as stated by the mystery caller.)
-Ever-growing popcorn tray resembles the explosive narrative.
-Sharp knife sound effect and kitchen knives foreshadow events to come.
-Multiple doors to lock.
-The female always answers the phone even though she knows she will but put into even more danger if she does.
