Postmodernist film upsets the mainstream conventions of narrative structure and characterization and destroys the audiences suspension of belief to create a work in which is less recognizable internal logic forms the films means of expression.
Features of postmodern films.
They don't pretend to be wholly works, and draw attention to the idea that the film is fictitious.
The genres are deliberately mixed and will borrow from music videos, TV, animation, etc.
Other films are often referred - this process is also known as inter-textuality.
Linear narratives are disrupted or re-arranged, and instead use circular narratives as well as open ended closures.
It can sometimes contain stories within stories and films within films.
Some characters involved may feel disconnected and alienated from their environment, and distrust authorities.
Different Types of Postmodernism
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The type I have chosen to focus and expand on is Pastiche A strong example of postmodernism pastiche genre is Scary Movie 4 .
Synopsis Cindy finds out the house she lives in is haunted by a little boy and goes on a quest to find out who killed him and why. Also, Alien "Tr-iPods" are invading the world and she has to uncover the secret in order to stop them.
Scary movie 4 challenges an array of movies within one film. for example, War of the worlds, The grudge Saw and real events such as George Bush in an american school & Opera. It mocks the horror concepts of the films and turns it in to friendly humor
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This trailer follows a strong pastiche pattern as it shows the audience a selection of significant movies it is mocking, this is to lure them into the movie as it is emphasising the humerous side to it. Pastiche films such as this one do not pretend to be 'wholly works' and focus on drawing the audiences attention to the fact that they are fictitious. The trailer explores obvious non fiction scenes, such as when there is a green hand shaving the females armpit this conveys humor. This film challenges the mainstream conventions of a narrative structure throughout all. It almost seems like a documentary of a mockery however is a film.
This is the first draft of the script for the exchange student horror trailer we are going to create. The title of the film however may change but is a simple hybrid slasher horror tile for now.
We begun by creating a synopsis of the film as a synopsis is crucial to every potential film. The synopsis is shot and simple and doesnt reveal too much. Many questions are risen as viewers read the synopsis for example, what mystery? whats so different about SOPHIA? We have then moved on to the opening description and planned out how the trailer will begin in what colours and shots ect...Dialouge is also included; the first person to introduce SOPHIA will be 'MISS LORENZO' which is a teacher. this is a typical school scene of new student introduction.
Dialouge continues as an equilibruim is set in place as SOPHIA meets KHLOE, ZARA AND JENNY. Normal atmosphere is put in place however typical teen behavior such as KHLOE'S bitterness towards SOPHIA. This resembles Regina George from mean girls as the sort of ringleader and bitchy teen.
Scenes progress as equilibrium becomes unsettles and mysteries begin to arise. Pace will fasen up and characters will begin to change and unravel their unknown identities. Text on screen is also set out and colours involved which will be blacks, greys, reds and blues. ending is let to a complete open as mysery is unsolved and leaves it up to the audience to decide what has happend/happening with SOPHIA and JENNY
Vladimir Propp's narrative theory was created in the early twentieth Century. It involved the analysis of Russian folk tales, breaking them down into their simplest and irreducible narrative forms. After analysing 100 folk tales, he discovered that all of the evident characters could be categorised into 8 broad types of different characters:
1. The Villain - Struggles against the hero.
2. The Dispatcher - Character who informs the hero on lack and sends him on his quest.
3. The (magical) Helper - Helps hero during quest.
4. The Princess/Prize - Hero deserves to marry her, but cannot throughout the film because of the villain, often the quest is ended with the Hero and the Princess getting married.
5. Her Father - Gives Hero task and identifies False Hero, Propp noted that the Princess and the Father cannot be clearly distinguished.
6. The Donor - Prepares the Hero
7. The Hero or Victim/ Seeker Hero - Reacts to the donor and gets married to the Princess
8. False Hero - In order to marry the Princess, he takes credit for the Heroes actions to impress her.
Despite clearly stating the different categories of characters found in tales, Propp did not state that these had to apply to every one separate character; the villain could also be the father etc. Using Propp's theory, when a character has been correctly identified within a story, it is always predictable to what that character will do throughout, as each character has a sphere of action. After the initial situation is depicted, any story can be broken down into 31 different functional sections that supposedly incorporated all of the plot components that a story needed. According to Propp, a cohesive story can be created by the use of these 31 functional sections.
This can be applied to a horror movie as the character types are ones which fit into the general stereotypical movie.
This was writing down all ideas which came to our heads about dialouge and textual conventions on screen whilst trailer was progressing. we needed to think up ideas of how we could use dialouge to explain the story line without using voiceovers which horror trailers do not tend to have.
The films we would like to base our film idea around would be The Orphan and Mean Girls.
The idea of the Orphan is that there will be a abnormal outcast female who the film is all about . A husband and wife who recently lost their baby adopt a 9-year-old girl who is not nearly as innocent as she claims to be. Unchained events begin to unravel and the family begin to discover who she really is.
Here is the trailer for the orphan
As you can see it is a sub genre of slasher/mystery horror. The trailer clearly follows the TODOROV theory; the beginning, moods are mellow as the family are about to adopt a 9 year old girl into their family however 'ester' begins acting strange and harms several people around her. A lot of screaming is present by almost all the characters and sharp camera angles/movement. However this trailer leaves an extreme cliffhanger at the end as the words on screen "you'll never guess her secret" automatically lure the audience in and raises a huge suspense.
We would like our trailer to relate to this as our story-line (see story planning blog post) is very similarly based around a girl who is different and hasn't been figured out yet. The conventions used in this trailer can potentially fit into our trailer. Reactions gained by the audience are the reactions we would like the target audience to feel whilst watching the trailer for 'The exchange student' for example, the fast pace edits and the low key lighting.
Mean girls: however it has nothing in relation to horror, the idea of 4 teenage girls in a school is what we would mostly be filming and that is what mean girls is based around.
here is the trailer
Some of the shots and conventions used in this trailer would be suitable for our trailer also as representation of 4 popular females in college is important to convey this to the audience as they would either form a liking towards them or a negative attitude however we are seeking a mixture of this.
Filth to ashes is a recent horror movie which represents the modern sterotypes of horror movies and explores a range of ideas within the media.
Sypnosis
Purge: To put to death, eliminate what is undesirable. The serial killer known as Purge lived and died by this code. But is he dead? Driving home from a road trip, ERIC and SHELLY take a back road to avoid a traffic jam. They encounter the serial killer Purge. Eric survives but Shelly is murdered. A year later, a group of adventure-seeking high school grads venture to purge's lair. Among them is Eric's brother JUAN. Eric sets out to save his brother, and get revenge on Purge. For the six teens, their imperfections will be the deciding factor if Purge shows them mercy. But if everyone is imperfect, will any of them survive? Written by Armont Casalle
Like most trailers, it opens with a production company and begins to fade into a range of images; firstly a knife, then the characters at an equilibruim point where the mood is mellow. Things then become unsettled as the lighting changes and things become dark, text appears on screen informing the audience on the unsettled equilibrium. From then on, lighting becomes extreamly low key and is made up of shadows only (chairo scuro. Sharp camera movement and loud screams and music is then present.
Mis en scene
-Location is mostly set in a rural arid area prehaps a desert. The characters are also surrounded by wooden huts, almost like a warehouse but smaller. This conveys a cliche horror movie location; isolated woods, dark, myserious.
-Costumes are mostly normal; females wearing tight clothing vest tops ect (goreporn) this is to convey that the misery they are about to be out through can happen to anybody normal
-props are mostly setprops for example, the knife, female with the gun ect...
some scenes are also set design (in a studio)
Lighting
Lighting begins brightly lit by High key lighting use of natural light (daylight) however changes to low key lighting as the equilibrium is unsettled. Colour palette (an effect used for dramatic emotional scenes) is used also to create suspense and a feel of fear this suggests danger to the audience and will potentially scare them when the movie is watched. Majority colours used are blues and greys (hense the text) creating a sence of coldness.
Sound
Music plays throughout the whole trailer starting at a slow equal place with a beat resembleing a heart beat. Music fades to a silence when digetic sounds such as dialouge and heavey breathing. This is simply to build tension and set a tense tone for the film. Most dialouge is based around screaming and shouting. This adds an emotional state to the movie. No voice-overs are present as usally horrors do not have voiceovers as it can make them seem fictioanl and not fearful. Dialouge conveys to the audience what the movie is roughly about.
Camera angles/shot types/framing/movement.
shots are mostly close ups. the shots are mostly framed where shadows are present . this is conveying the casts' emotion and what they are going through to the audience. Movement of the camera is often in tracking shots as if the camera is following the disturbed people running around screaming for their lives. This is conveyed personally as horror movies are usually well known for close ups and cinema-verite. Through the shots and framing, the females are portrayed weakly as they are the victims (sterotypically).
Editing
Slow whipe cuts are used at the beginging when high key lighting was used. the meaning of this was related with the mood and was also used to build the suspense. Fade shots were used for the majority of the film as pace begins to quicken as the trailer progresses. The meaning of this is that it gives the audience a sence of going into darkness creating suspence and tension for them as they subconciously feel as though something is going to jump out in the next shot.
Insidious
Flesh to ashes and Insidious are two very different hybrid genres of horror movies. Whilst Flesh to ashes is more of a slasher horror movie, insidious is a paranormal horror. They are both released and produced at the exact same year (2011) so technical Due to their differences in genre, they both use simular conventions in the trailers however some significant differences also which will be analysed below.
Insidious (2010)
This trailer is very different in its own way and goes against most conventions and rules of film trailers.
Most film trailers tend to follow TODOROV's theory (begins with a balanced equilibrium then becomes unsettled and leaves a cliffhanger at the end to see if the problem has been resolved or not) however this one does not.
The trailer opens in a way which most trailers dont begin like. This one opens with the production company then transforms straight into text on screen of the actual title of the movie.
This conveys to the audience that it is not a movie like all horror movies, it is something the audience will have never seen before.
Instead of following todorovs theory and starting with a balanced settled mood, this jumps straight into the action of horror and sets the audience in a very eerie atmosphere and tone. As the male (Father in insidious) is set in a trance, conventions are used to make audience feel like they are also in a trance as theyre is a montage of fastpace previous events which have happend in the movie. the audience immediently assumes that something is wrong and that the male is having his life 'flashed before his eyes'. The 'flashbacks' (which are previous scenes from the movie) are telling a story of why the man is being sent into a trance in the first place and begin unravelling the outline of the storyline. This is a very unusual way to do so as usually the beginning of the story is building up to the end however this is doing the opposite.
mis en scene
The mis en scene in insidious is significant for many reasons. Costumes are very very generalised and normal. The family are dressed normally to suit the significant difference between the paranormal activity happening to their family and the 'normal' family which they think they are. This highlights and exaggerates the situation. Location is mostly set indoors, scenes are rarley outdoors as horror movies and houses have a strong correlation. Paranormal events very rarley happen outdoors in the open, but usually in a house or room where victim is trapped. House is presented as eerie. Lighting is extremly dim.
Lighting
Lighting throughout the whole trailer is very very dim and eerie. Lighting is low key which is very common in horror movies as dark dim depressing colours are strongly associated with the genre as horror movies are usually/always about dark/evil things. This lighting is connoting the dark and evil things happening to the family at the time. Colours are very bleak and depressing also, the whole trailer seems as though it has a 'sephia' effect on it. All in all the colours and lighting used is simply connotating the mood of the family.
Editing
As the trailer is so short only the most important parts can be included. The cuts included must hook the viewer in and encourage people to go and see the film; therefore the trailer is edited to only include the most exciting shots, and the most frightening. The shots are edited chronologically to tell a narrative story that the viewer can follow to get an idea of what happens in the film and how it plays out. Transitions of the trailer are mostly straight cuts in sync with the sound of the trailer, scenes of course become more dramatic as the drama in the film progresses and becomes more tense. transitions become of a faster pace.
Sound
At the beginning of the trailer there are sound effects included to work with the introduction – who the film has been made by and the title. When the ‘Film District’ logo appears there is an eerie ‘boom’ noise that we hear as soon as the logo appears.
When the title ‘Insidious’ appears, there is an eerie sound played that goes with the way the text moves- i.e. goes from ‘Insidious’ to ‘Is’.When we are taken to a shot of the old fashioned ticker, the ticking continues as the screen changes to black to introduce the film, running in a steady rhythm throughout, creating an eerie sense. This ticking continues for a further 20 seconds after, playing through different clips that also include speech. There is also the eerie sound of a rocking horse rocking during the clip in which the woman goes to see the rocking horse. The next time the title shot is shown, it is shown with an eerie ‘boom’ sound accompanying it similar to the introduction of ‘Film District’. There is then a creepy sound rising to a crescendo.
There is further eerie music that rises to a crescendo as the action increases.
There is also dialogue from all the characters featured as important clips from the film are included. Some of this dialogue matches with the clip and you can see the actor speaking it, and some of the dialogue does not match the action, i.e. you can’t see the actor speaking it and it may not necessarily be taken from that certain video clip. Further into the clip the ticking of the old fashioned timer continues again, although less prominent than before. This ticking again ends when the woman’s dialogue comes to a head – this is when all the action begins. This is when high paced music begins and once again comes to a crescendo at the end of the clips. There is then a title screen again and the ticking continues. At the very end of the trailer when the scary girl moves towards the camera there is a loud screech, then deadly silence.
Films often have a tendency of sticking to the usual cliche range of characters depending on the genre of the movie. For instance, in american chick flicks there is always the popular girl and in horror movies theyre is usually the final survivor.I am going to list a number of cliche characters and give examples of how they are presented in different genres of movies.
1)The wanderer The Lovley Bones The wanderer is usually the mysterious male who is always at every scene and seems to be casual but is anything but. In the lovley bones, the wanderer is the old man who murdered susie. He is dressed like the usual old lonley man would; neat glasses, beige slacks and checkered shirts.
2) The popular girl
Mean girls. Regina George is presented like all popular high school girls are; tall thin and pretty and very very authorititive
3)Jock
John Tucker Must Die Very simular to mean girls and the popular girl, this movie has the popular male who is typically a jock. Handsome, 'Ripped' and self centred until something happens which unsettles his security.
4) The final girl
Shrooms
the sole surviving member of a group of girls killed by a maniacal serial killer who, quite often, either does not like women or tries to collect them.
Multi-modal texts are very significant to media, and in this case, film trailers. multi modal texts are Characterized by several different modes of activity or occurrence. A film trailer is an example of this as there are several different types of media on screen all happening at the same time, for instance, written texts on screen whilst the words are said aloud.
Features and conventions of mutimodal texts
Written text on screen- this can include the distribution & production companies, cast, storyline hints, dates or settings ect...
Spoken language- when diagetic dialouge or voiceovers is used to build a storyline and gives insights of the movie
Moving images- for instance if it is an action movie, images are likley to be at a very fast pace, establishing the settings
Sound effects- setting a tone for the film enticing the audience and enhances the audiences attention.
Music-Works in conjuction with the images on the screen also setting a tone and pace for the film. Can also be used to build tension and atmosphere with a sense of anticipation.
Here are 3 film trailers which can be analysed usuing multi-modal text
1) Abduction
As we can tell from the multimodal text, this movie is an action movie. The first image splatters on screen with the production company then moves swiftly on the the next one whilst dialouge begins to tell and outline the story. The music fades out when significant dialouge is being played however the fast pace rock music is setting a dangerous scene and building tension in the movies atmosphere. special effects are also applied as the screen turns different contrasts when the main character,Taylor Lautner, is in a different mood. This trailer uses most forms of multi modal texts.
Typography, visual images and sound work together to create meaning and affect the audience mainly to reinforce the messege which the trailer is trying to get across to the target audience, depending on the genre, this may add a sence of anticipation of excitment to the audience to intruige them into the film, in this case, abduction is a action thiller so multi-modal texts is cooperating to unsettle the audience and highlight a disturbed equilibrium as sound is muted in moments such as when his 'family' (the characters whom he thinks are his mother and father) are said not to be his biological parents. This conveys how Taylor Launtner is actually feeling; frozen, shocked, confussed as all sound and movement is more or less muted.
2)
This movie however is a complete different genre, romcom (romantic comedy). Like usual the production company is the written text on screen firstly and popular sountracks work in conjunction with the spoken language and moving images on screen as this is a more light mooded film with a relaxed atmosphere. Considering romcoms are fictional and are not taken as serious as action/thriller movies are the audience will naturally be more relaxed and feel more at ease when watching this trailer, it is a comedy and it is made for the target audience to find humerous and funny at times. Typography, visual images and sound work together to create meaning and affect the audience mainly to reinforce the messege of the story line. As it is a humerous movie, typograophy will be more normal and in a bubbly manor rather than bold sharp and serious such as abductions. This works in conjunction with the visual images on screen as they are prominently colourful and the mis-en-scene gives off a rather positive vibe. In which this works in conjunction with the sound as sound is positive bubbly and upbeat.
Multi-modal texts applied. Age of heros
Written text on screen-
Distribution and production companies. Date and setting '1942' this sets the scene and informs the audience. Reinforces and informs audience of the storyline/actors/directors and important dates so the audience can guess the genre and gist of the film. Anchors text also as it is said and written, making the messege even more powerful.
Spoken Language
Dialouge progresses and builds up the storyline, mainly the commander which is presumably the main character signalling the audience as he is a popular actor. repitition is present as commander explains how he is building an 'elite team'
Bits of dialouge are selected to outline the storyline for example, when the commander speaks it tells the story; ''we need an elite team'' this outlines the unsettles equilibrium and issues arised.
Moving Images
Guns, explosions, people running. people shooting and fighting agressivley is present throughout the whole trailer mostly set in snowy montane areas or rural land. this is all mostly taken place at a fast pace to unsettle the moods and relate to the genre (action).
Sound effects
Gunshots, Banging loudly as words place on screen, plane/jet noised to connote the subject of war. Digetic sound to entice the audience with loud noices which will enhance their attention toward trailer and also sets a tone for the movie.
