Question 1- In what way does your media product use develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products

9 Frame for Scream 4

                                                           9 frame for The Masked Ones

1. Main Opening title: The opening title for Scream 4 appears right at the end of the opening sequence. Therefore our group have made The Masked Ones conventional in the way that the titles appear after all of the action. Having the title at the end is a way in which we are able to anticipate our audience as they are left questioning and in suspense. The title for Scream 4 is on a black background with the scream mask behind it and also with an extremely brightly coloured font-white and red. In the editing aspect of the Scream 4 title, the shot zooms out onto the title. There is also a flash of lightning which triggers the appearance of the title on the screen. The flash of lightning symbolises the knife and it signifies how the character's life flashes before her and then she's dead. Contrastingly, the music used for Scream 4 is a fast pace and I think that the director has done this for a slightly comedic feel whereas The Masked Ones has slow, calm and therapeutic music which has a very different pace to the music used in Scream 4. Although the music style and pace is different in both openings, they are equally contrapuntal and seem at odds with the images on the screen. This creates an iconic, unsettling feel. Additionally, both titles use similar colours, red and black which symbolises blood, indicating through iconography that this film is a conventional slasher.

2. Costume: The costume used for the antagonists in The Masked Ones is very similar to the costume used for Scream in Scream 4. Both villains wear black with a white mask. Black is symbolic of darkness and pure evil whereas white is a colour that contrasts powerfully with  black. Black blends into a dark scenery creating a mysterious effect whereas the white masks stand out and also create a scary atmosphere this is because in conventional horrors, the mudering usually happens at night and the audience are only able to make out certain parts of the murderer furthermore, this is able to create suspense with in the audience. The use of masks is effective as it gives the scary villain a hidden identity which is conventional for a slasher film as it creates Barthes theory of there being an enigma code where we are left questioning and wanting to know who is behind the mask.

3. Characters: Within our film and Scream 4, there is a clear idea of binary opposites that is depicted. Scream 4 has a clear killer and damsel in distress and The Masked Ones has a clear group of killers a victims. The female we have used looks vulnerable and weak so they are made to feel scared and also sympathy because she is unable to do anything and get away from her murder. Our film has also subverted conventions because in Scream 4 there is one killer. The idea of having one killer is a good way to intimidate the audience as there is a massive sense of isolation for both the victim with in the film and the audience. However, we have decided to go for a way that has more recently been used in films such as The Purge and Wrong Turn and we have made it so that there is a group of killers. This gives the spectator a sense that the victim is trapped and which ever way they go. Although our film uses a group of killers unlike Scream, it still does show conventions of horror killers because they are seen as strong, dominating and male.

4. Mise-en-scene: The mise-en-scene with in different horrors are very similar. A horror film is very scary and mysterious for the audience when it's set in isolated areas. Scream 4 is set in a genuine house that any audience would expect to see in everyday life. It is empty and only the two victims are home, the audience are made to feel terrified as they are able to relate this is because being  home alone is such a typical fear so the audience are manipulated by the film to make them think that it could happen in their own house. In addition to this, The Masked Ones is set in an isolated woodland area which increases the scare factor for the audience as the victim is out in the open world yet no one is able to hear his screams and pleads for help. The Masked Ones and Scream 4 use pathetic fallacy as the dark dim weather foreshadows that something bad is happening. For The Masked Ones, the weather is dim and the setting is shadowed by trees. This makes the audience feel as if the victim is trapped. Moreover the murder in Scream 4 happens at night which represents darkness and emptiness also scaring the audience because they are able to relate this to their own fears of the unknown and being home alone at night.

5. Camera work: The camera work in screen 4 is character based so that the audience can establish who everyone is and the action that has happened. Scream 4 uses mid shots and close ups so the audience can see that the characters are scared or threatening etc. However, for The Masked Ones, we wanted there to be more mystery so we used medium shots of the antagonists hidden behind trees and lingering as we thought that this would create more suspense for the audience. Also we used observational and point of view shots for the masked ones as we felt that then from the audiences view that the victim was being watched; making them feel scared for her. We also used point of view shots and eye line matches for the victim because we felt like then all the action would be seen from her perspective which would also contribute to the intimidation of the audience. We mainly used medium shots because then our audience could see both the character and the isolated setting around her which adds to the scare factor.

6.Sound: The sound in both film openings are extremely different. The Masked Ones starts with the sound of the atmosphere which sets the scene for the audience. It manipulates the audience into thinking that the atmosphere is calm and natural. However, the music then fades in. It has a sad and dark tone which makes the audience feel tense as the music reflects the scene so therefore the action is foreshadowed. The sound in The Masked Ones is influenced by films such as Insidious therefore this makes our film a conventional horror film as there is no diegetic noise, creating a 4th wall between the viewer and the film world, except for the scream of the victim as the audience are then caught of guard as they would have been manipulated into thinking that the whole scene is non-digetic. Scream 4 has mostly diegetic sound of the characters speaking, crying or screaming. Non-diegetic music can be heard but faded slightly. The non diegetic music in both Scream 4 and The Masked One's changes in volume and pitch which gives the audience and unsteady feeling. Sound is an important aspect with in horror films as it reflects the whole mood in order to put the audience on edge. Loud and abrupt noises that aren't expected by the audience are always an element of horror films as the scene is then able to build up to a climax and the audience are more scared.