Evaluation- Codes and Conventions

To stick to the codes and conventions of a stereotypical horror film opening we used a variety of shot types to emphasise the reactions of our characters and to build tension and suspense. The use of close ups helped to scare the audience as they were not able to see the whole scene. The use of high-angled shots (shown below in the screenshot) successfully make the character look vulnerable. Also, as generally in horror films the female character is seen as the victim we felt it would appropriate to use a female as our main character, this also appeals directly to the codes and conventions. We created a collage of photos which featured various females being tortured, and used newspaper clippings, torn up clothes, hair and jewellery, which the audience would assume belonged to the kidnappers victims. We liked the idea of using this collage to show the audience that our kidnapper had done this before. The props (this link allows you to view the props we used on Mike's blog) we used also highlighted the disturbing nature of our film. We decided that, whilst filming the collage of photos, we would film handheld as it would create an interesting effect, also we wanted it to seem as though, maybe it was someone looking at the collage, e.g. the victim captured in the flat or the kidnapper himself. We liked the shaky view as it created more suspense. The idea of having clippings and photos on the wall also created the sense that the kidnapper is in some ways proud of his killings, which makes it more frightening.

Most of the film openings we watched incorporated non-diegetic sound to match the pace of the film, for example the title sequence of Saw, uses a slow yet eerie piece of music teamed with various noises from the surroundings, which created tension as we could not see what was going exactly. The music we used, composed by John Sinclair, worked well with the pace of our film opening as it built up tension and atmosphere as the kidnapper is slowing progressing up the stairs to where he has tied up his victim. Also, the cuts between the victim struggling to get free and the kidnapper advancing closer and closer create a sense of anxiousness as we don't know what will happen. We kept certain diegetic sounds in our final film, for example the victims scream at the end, and the door squeaking. We felt these were the most poignant and frightening.