Evaluation:1.In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

All films have codes and conventions that help audiences to identify the difference between genres. Over time films have recombined codes and conventions to create sub genres, the slasher is one of these. It was derived from the horror genre however, differences such as explicit gore resulted in it claiming a place of its own as a sub-category within the horror genre.  Films, especially those of recent years, have tried challenging and developing traditional conventions to entertain their audience, refreshing the old, recycled storylines by introducing twists. However, many codes and conventions have remained in place to allow familiarity and recognition of these genres. I too, have subverted as well as maintained certain codes and conventions throughout my three ancillary tasks.

Trailer:

Slasher films can be identified through certain conventions: there is usually a group of friends whom are picked off in an order according to their character, a psychotic killer who is usually male and either an extent amount of gore or fraction, this is dependant on the age restriction.This can be seen in such films as; Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Scream and Friday the 13th. Within my trailer the final girl is represented with the conventional characteristics. She is the main character who the killer is after. She posses the typical qualities  of the a final girl. From her appearance it is clear she is particularly quirky, well dressed and less feminine. She falls into the stereotypical view of a 'nerd'. As the final girl is pivotal character in the horror sub genre 'slasher'. We decided to maintain and incorporate this convention. As the audience can recognise and familiarise with it, this guarantees viewership.

The final girl although being seen as the hero within the slasher films, as she defeats the 'monster', can also be seen as evil, representing castration. This theory, developed on Mulvey's male gaze and built on the basis of Freud's psychological theory, allowed Creed to argue that within media women are often presented as monstrous or abject, and that the most obvious place to locate this representation is in horror films. The idea that when a male child leaves their pre-oedipal space (world in which the child is connected to their mother on a deeper level) and takes their place in the symbolic order (the real world), it is extremely traumatic, as this when he recognises that his mother does not contain the same genitalia. This is where castration is introduced, as they feel threatened (subconsciously) by their mother, fearing their masculinity will be stripped from them. Thus resulting in the mother symbolising castration and women being seen as evil. 

The first girl is another convention in which we followed, she is the first to be killed within slasher films and is the most promiscuous. 'Ashley' conveys her promiscuity by wearing tight clothing, being seductive and sexual. Her clothes are revealing and her hair is blonde typically the colour of the first girl, reinforcing the slasher conventions. The reason the most promiscuous girl is killed first within slashers, is due to the recurring 'patterns of meaning' that is reinforced within slasher films by our patriarchal society. The message of usual slasher films is that girls should not be promiscuous and instead virginal, which is why the final girl lives as she is seen as virtuous and worthy.

In addition the first girl is on the phone to a stranger who she flirts with over the phone , this is an intertextual reference to 'Scream'. The scene in which the first girl receives a phone call from ghost face (killer). A specific group of the audience will recognise this and it will boosts their ego.

The killer wears a mask and his identity remains concealed. This is a common convention for the killer have face disfigurement/mask to which keeps the identity and mystery. This is evident in such famous slashers : 'Halloween' and 'Nightmare on Elmstreet'.

The location in slasher horror films is frequently a house in the suburbs. As the audience can personally relate to the characters. This is intentionally done as it creates the feeling of no one being safe. 




One of the most formal conventions of a trailer is that of the production company logos being displayed at the start of the trailer. For ours, we included three as it is an independent film the budget would have to come from various sources and so we have; 'Penny Productions' which is our main production company, and it is in association with 'Film 4'. These captions help create the code of the trailer as it is so commonly used



 

Todorov's theory of narrative, as demonstrated above, suggests that stories begin with an equilibrium, this is then disrupted in some way, recognition of this disruption occurs and leads to an attempt at resolving it, eventually a new equilibrium is formed in which the characters are transformed through the progress of the disruption. These five stages are apparent within every slasher film and can also be located within my own. 

The introduction of the characters is also an introduction to the equilibrium and their normal routine. In which the first girl goes about her normal life.This is disrupted when the killer targets her and the final girl.  As this is the trailer we do include evidence of a resolution,restored order and new equilibrium this is because it will spoil the crucial parts of the film.

The film end card is an essential and traditional convention. It is informative as it includes the principal cast and crew as well as the production and distribution companies. It contributes to the film appearing more professional. Which is beneficial as the slasher genre is sometimes not regarded as a serious film genre.







Poster:


My media poster is quite conventional, it contains a main image which is representative of the genre and portrays the narrative. the images I used in the poster involved the main characters of the horror film. The main of image was of the killer in a mask, he is positioned centrally indicating the plot also revolves around him. His face is not recognisable which follows the conventions of slasher films, as the identity of the killer is unknown. The killer is dressed in all black clothing which conveys death foreshadowing future events. Also part of the main image is the final girl which suggests she is a significant character in the film. As wells as Chloe who is also part of the main image she is however positioned further back slightly behind the killer. This represents that she is from the killers past which is evident in the narrative. The colour intensity of the photo is fairly low and the filter is black and white which follows the aspects of ‘Film Noir’ and ‘German Expressionism ‘media texts. 

The poster included the typography within the title as this is a part of the brand identity which is consistent. This is so the audience can identify the poster and recognise it to be promotion for the film. This follows of the Uses and gratification theory of information as the poster is an informative piece of media text. The credits and certificate are also included in the poster as they are conventions of film posters.

Just as displayed on the end card, the principle cast and crew are also found on the poster. I decided to use on of the caption from my film as the tagline for my poster so that a brand identity could be established within the different products and could be identified by the audience.

Magazine:
 

For my magazine, I have decided to use a pre-existing magazine; Fangoria. This is because Fangoria is a genre specific, film magazine. Fangoria does not cover blockbusters but instead tends to cover small budget independent films. This gives independent horror’s, like mine, a chance to reach out to the niche audience that Fangoria attracts. This would therefore help me attract my audience to a certain extent. 

The masthead follows normal codes and conventions within magazines as it is the biggest bit of typography on the page. The word “Fangoria” is used in order to reinforce the type of magazine this is. “Fan” refers to fangs which is associated with vampires and therefore the gothic form of horror films. Whereas “Gor” suggests to us that a lot of gory is used and presented within this magazine. This reinforces the horror genre that this magazine covers. 

The colour scheme is red, which has connotations of blood. Although, by using the red with yellow it is reminiscent of the famous video nasties. The slasher genre has the image of being cheap, and therefore this is another way to reinforce the genre this magazine covers. The two colours also clash which is ‘jarring’ and kind of vulgar, this is consistent with gory horror films.

The main image follows the convention of being central within the front cover of the magazine

The main feature story covers my film; Reprisal. The same typography is used within the other ancillary texts.  in order to create a reoccurring brand identity. It also fits in with the theme of the chosen magazine. Fangoria also often use the films own typography within the feature story, allowing me to follow the codes and conventions of the magazine, as well as keep the film’s brand identity. Underneath I have

I followed the convention of using stills from films on the front page, within a film reel. This is an example of iconography, as a film reel is iconic of the film industry. I have placed this on the left hand side of the page. This is there in order to inform the audience that this is a film magazine, as well as to tell them what films to expect to be covered within each issue. This is a developed convention of feature stories in order to attract the targeted niche audience of the magazine.

The barcode is placed in a conventional place by being at the bottom left corner; this is quite a discrete place where no attention is dragged towards it. The barcode is an essential part of the magazine in order for it to be able to be sold in shops. I have also placed a price, issue number and date on the front cover on the magazine. This is of an informative value for the audiences, and these are the traditional elements of all magazines. I have also included the Fangoria website on the front cover, which encourages the audiences the visit the magazine website. The website will also encourage the audiences to buy the magazine, and this is therefore an example of synergy.