In what ways does your media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?VISHAL PANWAR

FilmMy film “OMINOUS” regularly uses conventions from real media products. From my research I was able to gain an understanding of the type of camera angles, movement & shot, sound, mise en scene and the narrative structure I need to include in my film in order to make it scary.

For example, on the right is a screenshot from the film “INSIDIOUS”. It is a long shot, showing a hallway and a old clock at the end of it. Within my film, I have used the same shot showing a hallway. I have done this to show the narrow space suggesting that the victim as no where to run. I have adapted that shot from “INSIDIOUS” and slighted developed it. Instead of showing a clock at the end, I have decided to show the little girl’s ghost. I have done this because my film is a short horror film and the action (the scary scenes) needed to occur straight away to make the audience scared. Another reason why I slightly changed it is because showing the ghost with the narrow space would make it more scary and the victim has no where to run signifying her death.

Insidious

Ominous (my film)

FilmInsidious

Ominous (my film)

Another convention that I used was from the film “INSIDIOUS”. A close up shot was used showing the man’s face and the side of the ghosts face behind him. This shot is effective as the man does not have a clue about the ghost behind him but the audience does which gets them scared.

I have developed this convention by slightly changing it. I have decided to include a shot of Kaylah in the mirror and the little girl’s ghost shown behind her in the mirror. Similar effect is given to the audience as they were not expecting the ghost behind the actors. But including a mirror was more effective and had a better impact on the audience because the ghost was shown in the mirror, but when Kaylah turned around, the ghost was gone. This created a sense of confusion for the audience and made them more interested within the film. Also this added a theme of supernatural to the scene. This was successful as it made the audience jump.

FilmDollface

Ominous (my film)

Another convention that I used was from the short horror film “DOLLFACE”. We are shown a close up shot of the man dead with blood on his face. This is signifying that the killer is brutal. This makes the audience feel dis-comfort which is the right type of emotion for a horror film.

I have used this convention within the short horror film. When Kaylah runs out the toilet, the audience see close up shots of the two boys dead with blood on their faces (like in the screenshot on the right). This is showing to the audience that the boys are dead which adds to the mystery and confusion. Also the blood dripping from their faces shows the brutality of this ghost.

FilmDollface

Ominous (my film)

Another convention that I used was from the short horror film “DOLLFACE”. Non-diegetic sound has also been added on such as sinister music whenever Dollface was around. This increased the scare factor of the film including creating tension.

I have used sinister music through out the film. An example of this is after the ghost was seen in the mirror and Kaylah turns around seeing no one there. I have added this to create tension within the scene.

FilmUnder the bed

Ominous (my film)

Another convention that I used was low key lighting. Low key lighting is a common convention within all horror films weather is short or long. The shadows created by this lighting are suited to the conventions of a horror film; it creates tension due to its mysterious and dark atmosphere, controlling how much of the surroundings and characters are revealed.

I have adapted to this convention as I have used low key lighting towards the end of the film where most of the action is. When Kaylah has been trapped, everything around her is dark suggesting that she is now isolated and has no where tor run. Only her legs can be seen walking backwards. I have done this because it created a dark atmosphere.

FilmI have also challenged a convention. Horror film do not consist of happy, jolly, and a busy environment. They tend to consist of haunted houses, forests and isolated settings.

At the start of my film, Kyle and Rory are walking out of the school and you can the busy environment behind them. Cars are going past and people are walking past. The decision to start the film this way did not work. This is because the audience felt like they needed to be scared from the start to finish. Furthermore, this was almost a one minute scene which lead to the audience losing interesting within the film.

Ominous (my film)

Poster My film poster uses a lot of the conventions from my research of existing horror film posters. First was the colour scheme. From my research, I concluded that horror film posters were usually consisted of dark colours. I adapted to this convention and made my poster black and white (excluding the red eyes). The black and white effects signifies that this is a horror film poster and darkness around the girl would suggest that she will be in trouble.

My poster relates to the Dark touch’s poster mainly because of the enlarged face which fills up most of the poster. However, I have changed it slightly making the ghost’s hand cover the victims mouth. This is interesting and makes the audience wonder why there is a hand over her mouth.

Review My double page spread also used a lot of convention from the research I conducted. Since it was a double page spread, there was a lot of I include from the research. I found that the reviews used thing such as fun facts about making the film, essential facts, a predicted interest graph and the verdict.

I made sure to include most of the conventions I found in my research. I have included a predicted interest curve on the bottom right side of the review. This graph tells the audience at which points the film is interesting and which points it is boring. This is giving the audience a better review. I have also included the verdict section. This was seen on all reviews therefore it was important for me to include it order to make my review look professional. I have included fun facts about the making of this film. This will make the audience laugh.

However, in my review I followed a sarcastic approach. Sarcasm has been used in the main article which was not a convention. The has a better effect of the audience because they will not be bored from the review and their interest will be maintained.