In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions

of real media products?

Introduction:
It is apparent that all media texts are codified in ways in which highlights tropes in order for
audiences to distinguish the genre and nature of the text. From the historical research of the slasher
genre I have found that the movement first bean with German Expressionism in the 1920s and then
Film Noir in the 40s whereby the stylistic influences of these genres, the use of shadows and mise en
scene can be found in the modern day horror and slasher films.

The slasher genre is one of the many sub genres of horror and is identified due
to the prevalence of hand held weapons, masked villains and the specific
characters in terms of Propps character types. Throughout the creation of the
supplementary and main tasks I have conformed to the conventions of the
slasher genre and media texts and in some ways challenged and subverted
these tropes for the meaning and representations conveyed to adhere more towards my own narrative.


Slasher Trailer:
In order to analyse the constructed slasher trailer in terms of forms and conventions used, developed
and challenged, the thematic structure of narrative must be explored using the theories of the narrative
structuralist Roland Barthes and Levi Strauss but also in the form of narrative structures developed by
Todorov, Propp and Pam Cook.
The Russian theorist Vladimir Propp recognised a series of recurring characters within the narrative of
fairytales which are predominantly seen within the action and adventure genre more so than any other
genre type. However, some of these characters are conventionally used
within the slasher genre and have been used within the trailer with tropes in
accordance to these characters becoming iconic, such as Freddie Kruger in
Nightmare on Elm Street. The villain within the trailer created adheres to the
convention of hidden identities predominantly hidden by use of a mask,
disfigurement and lighting in order to keep the identity of the villain a secret
Film Noir
German Expressionism Film Noir


until the end of the film, and thus adding to the enigma motif. Therefore, we chose to mask our villain
with a black veil and cloaked by a large black hoody in turn hiding the villains face and head from the
audiences view. Furthermore, the choice of weapon was a hand held knife, a
weapon very common within the slasher genre as it allows for more brutal
and gory killings, but also as, linguistically, the word slasher incorporates the
word slash mimicking the action made when a knife is slashed across an
object or in this case person. The name of the villain is never disclosed
within the narrative and trailer as the villain is only known as The Probation
Worker as it heightens the suspense and tension felt by the audience as The
Probation Worker could be anyone, as they have no knowledge of what he
looks like or his name therefore leaving the audience to feel scared and on
edge even after the trailer has been shown. This element of fear is what makes
the niche audience watch horror films, as they enjoy the heightening of
suspense and the scare factor provided. The costuming of the character is
evident through an array of long and medium shots of the villain within the
trailer allowing the audience to see his fully black attire feeding into the
connotations of black representing mystery, death and evil in binary
opposition to good, which is portrayed within the character of the Final Girl.
These connotations aid in the portrayal of the slasher genre whilst hinting at
elements of the narrative such as the imminent death of a character at the hands of the Villain.
The trope of the Final Girl is also present within the narrative and is represented in binary opposition
to the Villain in terms of Good vs. Evil, but also in opposition to the First Girl
in terms of Virginal vs. Promiscuity portrayed through
use of the mise en scene within the formal constraints
of the trailer. Through use of close and medium shots
it is clear that she adheres to the white brunette female
who is stereotypically, a book worm or more sensible
than her peers as she is represented as innocent and
virginal. She is also supposed to be less popular and attractive than the other
characters and is meant to be over looked by the audience as a heroic figure, as within other film
genres the hero of the film is male and is represented as strong and powerful. Therefore, she has been
given a very feminine and innocent name, Jenny which means white, fair, smooth and soft all
connoting purity, goodness and innocence which are qualities of the Final Girl.
However, it can be argued that although in almost all critical writings on horror, woman is
conceptualised only as victim (Babra Creed, Woman is Monstrous) she can although be through of
as monstrous or someone who strikes fear upon audiences. The concept of the monstrous feminine by
Babra Creed challenges the patriarchal view in which what makes women monstrous is the females
reproductive body making man fear women as its castrator. Freud also linked mans fear of women to
the idea that the mother is castrated due to the female genitalia present, mediated by the phallocentric
ideology closely linked to the issue of sexual difference and castration which in turn provokes fear in
the male spectator, with Stephen Neal constituting that the horror cinema exists to explore what is
truly monstrous whereby mans fascination of the female sexuality is reworked within horror films.
Thereby, the representation of women through the final girl is subverted as the final girl is portrayed
as the monster rather than the victim to the male monster. As the final girl lunges at the Villain with
the knife she takes on the monstrous feminine role as the male audience unconsciously fears the
notion of being castrated and their masculinity taken away, and in turn representing women, the final


girl, as evil. In the end of the narrative, not shown within the trailer, Jenny manages to kill the victim
accidentally, only as an act of self defence and therefore cannot be truly thought of as a monstrous
feminine as her intentions were not to kill.
The First Girl within the slasher genre is represented as promiscuous and is
conventionally the first character within the narrative to be killed. Jessica is
portrayed as promiscuous through the mise en scene as she wears tightly
fitted clothing and very short shorts to convey her sexuality in binary
opposition to the Final Girl who shows no flesh what so ever, wearing
loosely fitted clothing as not to attract attention to herself. We remained
with this convention as it is familiar with the target demographic and on research I have found that
horror films which subvert this convention instead kill off the only black male within the group,
representing black males in a negative and stereotypical light and thus instead would rather reinforce
the hegemony of safe intercourse and virginity. The First Girl, a character within Propps character
types, is also one of the four Helpers/Group of Friends also established within the trailer whom aid the
Final Girl during the narrative.
The audience can relate to the characters on screen as they are around their age group and are set
within the same socio-historical context as the characters on screen and thus dealing with the same
concerns within society. Via a functional analysis of genre it is clear that the slasher genre is
thematically about becoming an adult and the sexual awakenings which may occur. The subtext of the
narrative is the concern with the dangers of promiscuity, due to an overt conservative ideology stating
that one must be innocent and virginal and not promiscuous like the First Girl or else you may end up
in a compromising situations (STDs/ death etc). This hegemony derives from the elite as they follow a
Marxist structure in which they have ownership and control of production and thus the slasher
genre reinforces this dominant ideology that if girls are sexually confident and promiscuous it is
awful. There is no Princess as there is no prize for the Final Girl and there is also no dispatcher or
authority figure as within the slasher genre it is customary for there to be the absence of the parental
world.
Within the formal constraints of the teaser trailer the four technical codes; sound, camera; editing and
mise en scene are used to convey a sense of genre, narrative and establishment of the central enigma.
As I have created a film trailer and not a feature film there is no linearity of cause and effect within
an overall trajectory of enigma resolution(Pam Cook) which is found within films as they follow a
chronological order whereby events occur causing a somewhat of a domino effect in the sense that the
mystery of the narrative is solved by the end of the film. However, as I have constructed a trailer I had
to take into account that they are formally constructed in a non-linear fashion whereby events are
shown within different time constraints following no real pattern, but all pieced together in order to
heighten the audiences curiosity and persuade them to watch the film without giving away the central
enigma. In terms of Todorovs narrative, theory in which stories are structured in five stages, the
equilibrium, disruption, recognition, attempt to repair and the new equilibrium whereby those alive
have transformed as a person. However, as this is a trailer only the disruption and recognition
segments are visible as this is the convention with film trailers.

The characters are somewhat shown within their equilibrium as they are
shown within their newly established friendship,
reinforced via the diegetic sound of laughter.


However, this shot is unconventional in its placing, as the existing trailers that I have researched into,
normally portray their character within their equilibrium earlier on within the trailer. We chose to
subvert this convention as we thought that the shot would provide more meaning in juxtaposition with
the caption shot prior they thought they were alone, As it conveys to the audience that these
characters are in danger, and are being watched unsuspectedly by the killer and thus heightening the
suspense and fear factor felt by the audience. The equilibrium is consistently shown to be disturbed
within the trailer, which is very formulaic as the characters are shown to be hunted or marred by the
villain through tracking, long, medium and close up shots in order to display the characters fully
within the mise en scene but also to see their emotionally distressed expression. The majority of the
trailer, and especially within the fast paced montage editing sequence displays
the disruption of the equilibrium continually, building up in pace and intensity
in both non-diegetic sound and editing until a climax is reached. It could be
said that the recognition segment within
Todorovs narrative theory can be seen as the
character Jenny is depicted in a two shot with the villain shot at a low
angle, thus signifying her recognition in that she is in danger. This
shot further adds meaning, as the villain is shot at a low angle and
therefore is represented as dominant and powerful as he looms other
his victim who is shot in a more weaker and submissive position.
Hence, signifying these two characters as binary opposites in the sense of powerful and weak, but also
due to the fact that the villain represent evil due to his all black attire, and the final girl represents
good due to her mousy brown hair and earthly coloured clothing. During this shot the non-diegetic
sound becomes subjective in nature in order to represent the villain more effectively, and to convey to
the audience that this is the villain within the narrative whom they should fear. Elements of
intertextuality can also be found within the trailer as the non diegetic sound track is based on the
music from Nightmare on Elm Street the remake as elements within the trailer are somewhat similar
in nature. Therefore, the audience may subconsciously recognise the sound track and make a
connection with the horror genre.
The trailer opens with the BBFC certification displaying the title of the trailer and its certificate
rating. This is very conventional for trailers and especially British
trailers as the BBFC is the organisation who regulates and monitors
films and gives them an age rating in accordance to this. As this is a
British independent film the convention has been followed. The
trailer opens with two establishing shots illustrating the woods and
an array of trees and thus representing the horror genre of the trailer
as it is a clich for horror films to be shot within the woods.
Therefore, the audience will straight away recognize the genre of the trailer, but also
as the shot is extremely shadowed, only lit by a purple
night sky, this suggest supernatural qualities which are
conventional of the slasher genre, as the villain is said to
hold supernatural elements which makes him appear within
the film when the audience least expects it. It can also be
said that the image of the trees crowding around the moon signifies the loss of life, as these trees have
lost their leaves which represents life. Therefore, symbolising the loss of life for the characters within
the narrative, but it also could be looked at in a different way. The trees could convey the villain
persistently stalking its prey, the moon, and thus is clawing its way towards the teenagers within the
narrative unsuspectingly until it is too late. It could also be said that the shot of the shadowed


branches represents elements within German Expressionism due to the angular nature of the shot and
thus sets the tone of the trailer.
The trailer begins unconventionally in terms of the horror genre, as normally the pace of the trailer is
supposed to be calm and idealic at the beginning and then majorly disrupted in order to keep the
audience within suspense. However, the trailer created has subverted this, and instead begins at a fast
past depicting the final girl in a wide shot running through the forest in a high visible jacket. The
running sequence is shown at various
angles so that the trailer appears more
realistic to the eyes of the audience, and
makes the audience feel more on edge
and jittery as if they are the one running
from imminent danger as they are
positioned in terms of the semantic code
by Roland Barthes, within the final girl. This sequence of running is broken up by the institutional
logos of Film Four, Mainstream Production and Pulse Distributions. Thus displaying that this is a low
budget slasher film and therefore many distribution and production companies must be used. As
Jenny, the final girl falls as she runs from the villain who has yet to be seen, matched action has been
used as she falls in order to dramatise her fall, making the audience feel fear for the final girl as they
believe she has been caught. Here the first glimpse of the villain is shown towering over the final girl
through use of the low angle high shot. He is represented to be commanding and fearful in
comparison to his binary opposite. The pace of the trailer is significantly increasing up until this point
whereby all diegetic and non-diegetic sounds stops with the shot fading to black making the audience
fearful and keeping them within suspense as they will want to know what is going to happen next, did
she make it out alive. All these questions revolving around the enigma code of Roland Barthes
technical codes, and thus making the audience want to watch the trailer further and then hopefully
watch the film on its release date.
The next shot has been used to introduce all of the main characters within
the narrative through an extremely fast paced montage edit, depicting the
characters in their high visible jackets in medium shot, against a barred
background. This in conjunction with the non-diegetic sound of the judge
who is heard to be sentencing the characters to community service adds
meaning to the shots seen. Consequently, the audiences are now aware that
the teenagers have committed petty crimes within society and thus have
been punished to community service within the woods, and are not happy
with this out come as their faces clearly displays. Continuity editing has
also been used within this sequence through the sound bridge of the non-
diegetic sound, and therefore meaning that the images seen and sounds heard are all related within the
narrative. It is clear that the events taking place within the narrative are of a nonlinear fashion as the
teenagers are already shown to be in the woods, and were previously seen running from the villain.
This is extremely conventional and paramount for the formation of the trailer as the purpose of the
trailer is to depict elements of the narrative and genre, and not the actual story.
In terms of Propps narrative functions, the
villains attempt at reconnaissance is displayed
as the audience is positioned in the place of the
villain via POV shots as the semantic code is


shifted from the final girl to the villain. Consequently, making the audience complicit in terms of the
murderous acts committed by the villain as they are sutred in his place. The camera mimics the
movement of the villain ducking and peeking out behind a rock, alongside the diegetic sound of a
snapped branch makes the tension of the trailer heighten as it is clear that this character is in danger.
This in conjunction with the non-diegetic sound makes the shot more sinister and the threat of danger
more real, as it deepens sounding more menacing in nature. As the characters are running away from
the villain in the woods, the diegetic sound of heavy panting and whimpering can be heard, as the
camera is tracking their movement via a wide tracking shot with a hand held camera. This makes the
movement of the camera chaotic, mirroring the emotions felt by the victims running away in fear.
This is an extremely common convention of the horror genre in order to convey to the audience the
fear felt by the victims which in turn makes the audience cheer for the final girl in her battle with the
villain.
The trailer was also constructed in line with the conventions of film trailers in general through use of
the name of the title and end card shown at the end of the trailer consisting of websites and social
media sites linked to the trailer and film in order to form a multi-platform approach in the distribution
campaign. This is an extremely conventional trailer as the pace of the tension increases, through to the
fast paced montage sequence which reaches its climax at the end of the trailer, along with the non-
diegetic sound of voiceovers and captions in order to help convey the narrative to the audience but
also reinforce key aspects of the genre.

Slasher Poster:
Stylistically, I have conformed to the formal conventions of film posters by
having a tag line center aligned on the top of the page as to reinforce the horror
genre but also to give more of an insight to the audience about the nature of the
narrative created, adding meaning to other components within the page. The
tag line also acts an anchor somewhat reinforcing the meaning created through
the mise en scene of the entire poster, whilst conveying elements of the
narrative to the audience. In terms of linguistics, the worlds They were
warned. They are damned. There is no escape in conjunction with the film
title and main image, suggests to the audience that she is one of the victims
within the narrative and thus her life is in danger along with many others due to
the plural used. The typography has been codified to reinforce the concept of
the characters lives being in danger due to the red colouring connoting blood
and danger, which hints at the notion of death.
Furthermore, I have followed the trope in which the principle cast and crew
and institutional logos are present in order to convey to the audience that
this is a poster which was created within the intention to promote a film.
This is placed center aligned near the bottom of the page in a mixture of
upper and lower case typography. As this is a British independent
production there is an array of distribution companies present on the poster as I do not have the luxury
of being horizontally integrated and thus must have many different distribution companies to market
and distribute my film effectively on different platforms. With many independent film posters, in
order for the film to gain interest from audiences, star ratings and positive opinions of the films are
placed on the poster such as the quote used within my poster Brilliant. Leaves you standing on your


feet. By using the buzz word Brilliant, I am providing entertainment to my audience in terms of
the uses and gratifications theory.
I believe that the genre of the poster is apparent through use of the typography, colour pallete and
language all codified in conjunction to depict a poster for a slasher genre film. The brand identity is
clear and easy to depict due to the use of red, white and black which are conventional colours used
within the horror genre as they hold connotations of blood/danger, death and innocence and when
used together help to also portray elements within the narrative but also reinforce the binary opposites
present within the narrative. Consequently, the language present reinforces the genre through use of
genre specific buzz words such as curse, damned and the entire tag line.
The title Curse of the Damned suggests the characters within the narrative were
somewhat cursed or doomed and that due to fate their lives are cursed to be
turbulent and full of danger. This holds truth as the characters were damned due to
their ill manners and harmful behaviour within society and thus must be punished
by being given community service in order to give back to their community for
their wrong doings. Hence, they are killed off one by one due to the fact that they were in the wrong
place at the wrong time, and if they did not do wrong within society then their lives would not have
been in danger. The typography of the title is in sans serif and appears
somewhat gritty as if it had been written in chalk against a blackboard
creating the imagery of someone scratching their nails against a chalk
board, and creating the iconic high pitched squeak. Therefore, creating
an atmosphere of unease and revulsion, remiscient of the horror genre.
Furthermore, it could be said that the white typography connotes the
innocence and vulnerability of victims, who although did wrong within
society as they were convicted of petty crimes, but did not in fact
deserve to die as no one is truly pure and perfect, therefore the
typography against the black background creates the idea that within
humanity there are the binary opposites of good and evil to some degree,
and that during the years in which people become teenagers. These
boundaries may become blurred and put to the test in everyday life
situations.
The concept of the binary opposites by Levi Strauss is vastly portrayed in the poster constructed such
as the opposites good vs evil within the main image. The image is duplicated on either side of the
page to appear as mirror images in black and white and therefore reinforces the idea of humanity
having both elements of good and vulnerability within them but also that humans can be somewhat
evil and rebellious, a side that needs to be monitored and policed within society. Predominantly, the
main image is of either the antagonist (villain) or the protagonist (final girl) and/or with their helpers.
However, the main image in which I have chosen challenges the norm and tropes as it is of the first
girl. Furthermore, the image has been manipulated and flipped so that it appears to be a mirror image
of the first girl. This is a fairly uncommon main image in terms of existing horror posters in which I
have researched however, the mode of address and mise en scene created relates entirely to the slasher
genre and thus provided narrative specific events. It can be said that the horror poster is also
reminiscent of a Rorschach ink blot test due to the black and white mirroring of the main image,
which resembles an ink blot, but also as the image can be perceived in many different ways as the
audience are not exactly sure what they are looking at. Ink blot testing is a technique used by
psychologist to determine a patients state of mind, and in relation to the poster, this hints at the
psychotic and maniacal aspects of the narrative.



Whilst researching existing magazines, posters and trailers I found that there was a consistent brand
identity and mode of address between all three marketing products as they were all created within the
intention of promoting one media text, the intended film. This convention is extremely important in
terms of the distribution phase of cinema as it helps to generate a substantial amount of audience to
view the film and thus generate revenue due to the much needed exposure and coverage. Therefore, I
have used the colours black, white and red consistently between all three media texts with the
exception of yellow within the magazine front cover in order to conform to the brand identity of the
existing horror genre magazine Fangoria. This has been further explained within my answer to the
evaluation 2 question.
Magazine Front Cover:
As I have used the existing magazine Fangoria as the basis of the supplementary
magazine front cover task and do not have the ownership and control over the ways
in which the intended film Curse of the Damned is featured, I have adhered to the
existing mode of address and brand identity of the magazine and thus conformed to
the visual tropes and formal conventions of a slasher genre magazine.
Fangoria is a fairly formulaic magazine in terms of the typical magazine tropes
such as the masthead, banners, supplementary images, cover lines, different
typographies, institutional information and main
image which are all present within the magazine however, they are
codified in a way which adheres to the genre of the magazine, the
slasher film genre and therefore stylistically appeals to its niche
audience. The brand identity of the magazine is a representative of the
horror genre as it is red, yellow and white. The red and yellow used
clearly clashes against each other on the page and is done so
purposefully to appear cheap and garish, but also as it is reminiscent of the 1980s Video Nasties
phenomenon such as the poster for the film I spit on your grave.
The masthead is conventionally placed at the top of the page and in the
largest sizing so that it is easily seen by readers as it is a well renowned brand, and therefore
audiences will automatically know that the magazine they are looking at is by Fangoria. The
masthead is further codified in a way that makes it reminiscent of the art deco era which is
synonymous with the golden age of cinema, reinforcing the nature of the magazine as it is a film
genre magazine. The genre of the magazine within the masthead is illustrated via the red colouring
used, which has connotations of blood and death which are elements present within the slasher genre.
The horror genre of the magazine is reinforced by the angular nature of the typography making it
appear ominous and disturbing. Linguistically, the name of the magazine incorporates the words
fang and gore in the play on word Fangoria. The word fang is iconic of vampires due to their


extended teeth, and was vastly seen within horror films in the 80s, and gore suggests blood,
decapitation and disfigurement which is much loved by the horror audience community.
Within the brand identity of Fangoria it is unconventionally the norm for the
typography of the film featured to be present within the front page of the magazine. This is not
usually done with other existing film magazines as they tend to use typography consistent with their
own mode of address. As I have used Fangoria as the basis of the magazine front cover I have used
the typography created for the main feature story which has been traditionally placed at the bottom of
the page just above the bottom banner. The typography is the second biggest piece of text on the page
as it is what the magazine is marketing to the audience and therefore needs to be
visibly seen.
As the film genre magazine is codified to represent the horror genre, the front cover
is stylistically graphic, gory and horrific in nature to display the clichd and
stereotypical view of the horror genre. The main image in which I have created
complies with the already established mode of address as it depicts the first girl
within the Curse of the Damned narrative in distress and covered in blood,
suggesting signs of a struggle and violence. This is also represented through the
iconography used in the form of a traditional film reel down the left hand side of the
page containing supplementary images and their cover lines. The film reel serves
two purposes, one is that it conveys to the audience that the magazine content is regarding films, and
secondly it reinforces the horror genre due to the gory nature of the supplementary images. The cover
lines within the film reel conform to the tropes used by magazines in general as linguistically they
encompass buzz words to gratify the audience in terms of entertainment which is explained in the uses
and gratification theory which states what audiences hope to get
out of media texts. I have used buzz words within the cover lines
and top/bottom banners such as the words exclusive and the
niche audience specific buzz words of blood and gore which
will attract and entertain this niche audience. The name Stephen King could also be argued to be
considered a buzz word, as he is a well renowned horror genre novelist and so has his own fans and
niche audience who would be interested in any new ventures he may partake in.
Overall, the three media texts in which I have created are all predominantly conventional as they all
adhere to and use the existing tropes of the real media products. I have done this intentionally as the
intended audiences for the products created are accustomed to the conventionality of the media
products viewed and in turn are receptive of the message conveyed. If I had challenged the
conventions and familiar tropes of a film trailer, poster or magazine the overall creation could have
been completely unrecognisable by audiences, resulting in an equally horrendous marketing and
distribution campaign.