Deconstruction of The Witch (2015)

The Witch Deconstruction

The Witch is a 2015 supernatural horror, written and directed by Robert Eggers for A24 production company and is set in a 1630s England with the idea of witchcraft and curses following a family about.

The scene opens to shrill music, with a fade on to a forest. The non-diegetic string shrill music gives an eerie impression that there is something lurking within the woods and straight away sends the audience into a fearful situation as the music builds tension. 

The location in which we can see from this shot is a dark forest, fitting in with the idea of typical horror films being set in isolated locations. The forest looks dark as we can't see much of it only adding to the suspense and mystery as we are hidden from it. 

An important part of any opening scene is to establish the location, in the witch, within the second shot we are given an insight into what time period and culture the movie is set by using mis-en-scene such as horses and carriage, dirty clothing, and swords. Whilst this is not linked to the genre of the film it is important for any film to show the audience the setting in which they are in. 

The family kneel before the sky praying, diegetically saying 'Kingdom of the god' to the sky. This gives it a religious connotation which is found especially in supernatural films due to spiritual 'antagonists' usually found in them. This is added with the typography of the title, as well as the name 'The witch' which shows what genre it is part of straight away (supernatural horror) but still doesn't reveal to much about the plot. The typography including a serif font which is flickering giving a ghost impression and follows the idea of spiritual antagonists that could be used for possession.

It is often found in supernatural horrors that the victim of the story is the innocent one. In this close up shot we see a baby laughing. The baby symbolizing innocence to life and is unaware of the dangers. In the next shot the baby disappears as if a higher force is causing the baby to disappear. This builds on the mystery but also fits in with the typical conventions of supernatural horrors

I liked the creative use of the production company logo which has been edited to have branches going across it to make it look more darker and creepy to fit in with the plot and genre of the story. In our own opening sequence it would be interesting to explore the idea of using a production company suited to the genre of our film.

Subvert or Conform of 30 Days of Night

30 Days of Night
Subvert or Conform for the Genre of Slasher

The film Thirty Days of Night is a slasher horror, as there is plenty of gore for this film, and it has murderous vampires hunting down innocent human beings. This is seen as a conform for the slasher genre, since no matter who or what the killer is, their motive is always the same. Hunt down the innocent, and kill them for their own agenda. 

In this scene, at 1:40, there is a subvert as the character of the girl is not killed straight away. The most common theme of a slasher, is that it is a game of cat and mouse with the killer and the victim, yet, in this scene the killers have the girl trapped within a circle, with the camera panning around the closed circle as there are close ups of the vampires slowly beating the girl to death. 

A conform of this film would be the beginning of the scene, as it is most common for horror films to have a vulnerable female character who is always one of the firsts to die. This is a conform because there is always an array of characters that always appear in these types of films, and this girl is one of them. She is the type that is always scared and afraid, and has no bravery, and eventually gets herself killed due to her own selfish actions to ensure her own survival which is false hope, She screams for help in an empty street in the night, obvious that she will be killed as she is the panicking character that always becomes the damsel in distress.

A conform to this film would be the vampires, as they are depicted as how vampires should be. Tall, disgusting, bloody mouthed and sharped teeth monsters that aren't lovely to look at the the subvert 'Twilight'. This is the very image of a vampire,and is perfectly captures as a conform in 'Thirty Days of Night'. 

Practical: sound effects

Inspiration:

I thought this was good inspiration because it was a montage of little sound effects that could be easily recreated in our film opening.

Using Final Cut Pro, I was able to make a similar montage of possible sound effects to use.

1. The first sound effect I made was a hammering noise. I made this by hitting an old sofa that was in the garage. It sounded realistic when I compared it to a real hammer noise, so I think it worked out well

2. The next noise I recorded was a door opening and closing from the outside. I used my garage door as it is very stiff and creaky, giving a good effect of the place being isolated and run-down. Recording it from the outside is also good for match on action shots when she emerges from the 'lair' and to get background noises like the wind that aren't easy to capture inside

3. Next is the same noise of the garage door but recorded from the inside. As mentioned before, it is effective for match on action purposes and was easy to make

4. The next noise is a knife sharpening sound that I created by scratching the tip of a metal knife against a wooden chopping board. This is a good noise for when Kelsey sees the killer 'preparing' something in the corner of the room

5. I created a dripping noise that would be used, for example, if there's a pool of blood that constant blood would be dripping into. I was able to make this noise with my mouth, so it was simple to make but hard to record for a long time because maintaining it after three drop noises was difficult as the mouth needs to not dry out

6. The last noise I created was a slow, sinister strings track. I own a piano that has different 'voice' settings on it, one of them being a 'strings' setting. This noise is just a sample of what the strings sound like, so I can make more and record more if needed which is extremely easy

Overall, all of these sound effects were very easy to create and would be good to use in a horror film. However, a disadvantage is that these were recorded using my phone so the quality wasn't of a high standard. To make these sound better and pick up less background noise, I would have to purchase a piece of recording equipment that would be expensive and difficult to use.

Deconstruction of Killer's lair

Deconstruction of Killer's lair in Creep

Creep was a 2005 UK film and is a horror with a sub-genre of slasher and psychological. It is set in the London undergrounds at night when a woman falls asleep and gets trapped, discovering experiments have been done down there on new born babies, the killer now living in the experiment room.

There is a scene where the protagonist enters the killer's lair, which is in one of the underground tunnels.

Before they enter the room we get a sense of danger and horror as we see the feet of a dangling body with blood dripping own their leg, showing someone has been hanged there. The body dangling has also been made to look aged to make it seem like it has been there for a long time, signalling to the audience that where they are about to venture is close to where the killer my lie as well as the killer having been causing death for a long time before. This use of mis-en-scene with the dripping blood links with the idea of a slasher.

The first clue we see of discovering it is a experimenting room is the close up of the door as it swings open saying 'Medical personnel only''Surgery site 12' linking to the killer's obsession with these experiments as his 'hide out' is where the events happened in a medical room.

As the characters are exploring the room, we see a glimpse of the area around them but not in too much detail as the main focus is on the character's. This is due to the help of lighting as the detail in the background is faded in a yellow wash, whilst the characters are in a deep blue showing our focus is meant to be on them. It also leaves the audience in suspense as they want to see what the characters are seeing to discover the mystery behind the killer.

The first close up detail shot we see is a crib with a name on it. Unfolding the shocking story as the audience discover this is an experimenting room on babies.

One of the characters knocks over a box of medical equipment which clatters to the floor. This is a nice piece of sound as it breaks the silence, and worries the audience as we wonder whether the killer heard or not and if he is going to catch them or not. We see from the mise-en-scene of the medical equipment that the items are rusty and not in use, but are also out ready to be used on a tray. This shows the killer is still using them despite not being in the best condition, leading us to wonder what he is using them for.

The camera then goes into a close up of babies in jars. This is clearly showing the obsession of the killer with the experiments on the babies as he has collected them for display in his lair. This obsession is



From this deconstruction I learnt that use of mise-en-scene is important when creating a lair as well as giving lots of close-up shots in order to reveal information about the killer and the meaning's behind their actions but still leaves a mystery as we don't see everything. The killer's lair must also link to the genre of the film (in this case a slasher/psychological horror)

Film Titles & Typography

Film titles & Typography

I I wanted to look in the use of film titles for different genres to get ideas for our own film title. I looked into supernatural horror and slasher as they are the two genre's we were most interested in.

     Supernatural Horror:

The uninvited: This relates to the genre of horror, and through the use of the title as well as the creepily made movie poster where the supernatural being is peering into the window, is used to scare the audience further as they realize this could happen to them in their own home. The title symbolizes something unwanted terrorizing someone and tells the audience what is expected from the film. The typography used is san serif and looks like condensation on a window making it look cold and linking in with the title of the 'uninvited' it also suggests it's location is set in a house.

Paranormal activity: Despite it already being a well known franchise due to it’s amount of films made for the series, the title shows it is a supernatural horror revealing something dark and strange is going to happen. The title is san serif and it is in a red colour, symbolizing the danger of what is going to happen in the movie, it also helps the title to stand out.

The Babadook: Sounds like a child-like word, as if it has been made up from a child’s imagination. This gives an insight to the narrative of the movie. The title is once again red in serif text, symbolizing danger and the gore of the 

A lot of films use the word ‘the’ at the beginning of their titles to further emphasis the title as something important. However a lot of horror movie’s stick by the stereotype of having a single word as their title (Orphan, Annabelle, Sinister) and it is usually something linking to the genre they are part of.

Slasher:

Scream: I looked at the film; Scream and thought about how the title links well with the genre of slasher, suggesting something horrific is going to happen as we associate screaming with fear, showing what the audience can expect from the film. The typography is simple white san serif, it is unique due to the sharper point of the 'M' on 'Scream' the colours contrasting the black colour of the movie poster making it stand out. 

Nightmare on Elm Street: Nightmare on Elm Street uses the colour red on their title to symbolise the blood and gore of what the audience can except to see, relating to the genre of slasher and makes it look dangerous. The typography has the word 'Nightmare' in a larger size, making it stand out. The word 'nightmare' associated with fear. The title also reveals where the location is set, Elm Street.

The Cabin in the woods: The title to this movie is creative as it relates to the location in which the film is based. Conforming to the common conventions of thriller movies, as it is set in an isolated location, in a woods, where there is no help nearby. The typography is serif and is in black, it has been edited to have scratches over the text making it look old, dirty and as if it has been scratched by the claws of something, giving it a sinister feel.

Deconstruction of student made film: CAPTIVE

CAPTIVE

I thought this piece was a great example of a student-made horror film opening. Everything effectively conveyed the genre being filmed and looked like it could have been a real film.
 

Location

The opening looks like it was filmed in an abandoned building with an open roof that has broken down over time. This made it bright which wasn't the best setting because slasher horrors usually have a dark setting. The open roof caused puddles of rain on the floor which was effective to make it look more abandoned. The walls are covered in graffiti and it's quite dilapidated, being perfect to add to the eeriness of the genre.
 

Mise-en-scene

The room is empty apart from planks of damp wood where the roof has fallen through and the man in the centre sat on a chair with rope wrapped around his hands. There is also a window and a working security camera, so he is always being 'watched'. His clothes are torn and covered in blood, and his face looks as if the skin has been peeled away. There is blood dripping out of his mouth which adds more gore and horror into the film.

Camera angles and editing

There are various angles, a lot of them being close ups and high angles to highlight vulnerability of the main character that he is always exposed and shown to be completely powerless. A lot of the shots are fast and short which builds suspense, exactly what is needed for a climax of a horror film. After the shot of the security camera, there is a shot split into four sections of the screen from four different security camera angles. They are of different rooms and one shows the man on the chair. There is also a blurry POV shot after the man gains consciousness to show his drowsiness. Towards the end of the clip, there is a flashback shot that keeps showing the events leading up to how he ended up there.

Sound

Diegetic sounds like dripping of blood into puddles, wind, static, heavy breathing and beeping of the security camera are used to begin with and show that nothing suspenseful is happening just yet, although it is sinister to show the silence of the shots. There are also quiet, non-diegetic tracks of string and brass instruments that are either short and jumpy or get louder and louder which builds up a lot of suspense and fear. This was very effective to raise tension and make the audience prepare for a jump scare or to see something that may scare us more.

Typography

For the first part of the sequence, the credits played and flashed up on different parts of the screen, much like the opening credits of 'Se7en'. The font was sans serif and white, and it flickered to appear like static. The font was effective as it matched the font on the security camera, so the feeling of being watched is reflected throughout the video.

Practical task - bloody weapons

For the practical task, it was my job to do tests of mise-en-scene. This meant creating props that could be used in our film opening that link to our genre - slasher horror. Immediately I thought of a lot of bloody weapons, for example sharp objects and hammers.

I went to the kitchen and found two knives, one large and one small, and then I went to the garage and found different hammers that I could use, a small saw, a chisel and a pair of clear goggles. These were all effective as props because they were easy to make look like weapons.

I used a tube of fake blood and squeezed small amounts of it onto a piece of kitchen roll and just dabbed it multiple time on the props. This made them look very bloody and gory, which was perfect for them. I also dabbed small amounts on the handles to give a splattered effect so it looked more realistic. To begin with, I also tested out techniques that I could make from the kitchen roll by dabbing and swiping it across the paper that I was doing it on.

I used three different hammers so it would give me more of a choice to see which would look the most realistic. The orange and silver-headed hammer looked like it was well used, however the blood didn't show up against the orange. The black and yellow hammer was large so it looked the most violent, but the head was too dark for the blood to show up again. The last hammer was the best, as the wooden handle and silver head looked quite old-fashioned, the blood showed up the best and looked splattered, and also there were a lot of brown dots of rust on the metal so it looked like dried blood - like it hadn't been washed. I therefore thought this was the best hammer if we were to use one.

 

The pair of goggles and plastic gloves were mainly extras that I found that I thought could be effective as the goggles are sometimes used in slasher films so no blood splatters into the eye when the villain is doing their 'work'. The gloves were also good because they reflect what a butcher may wear so their hands don't get bloody, and the villain's 'evidence' could be disposed of easily.

These are some other techniques that I tried to make it more gory and realistic. I discovered that the blood I used didn't photograph well, as it was too light on the pictures. After I took all the pictures I got some red food colouring and mixed a small amount with the fake blood. This looked a lot more real and photographed better, so I'll be using it in the future.

Advantages:

• blood was realistic
• it was easy to make the effects - not a lot of blood was needed for the entire thing
• it was fast

Disadvantages

• on photos / cameras, the blood shows up too bright and doesn't look the right colour
• it was quite thick so I had to add food colouring to make it thinner (this also made it the right colour)