Evaluation - Q1

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

forms and conventions of real media products?

Research

• I conducted a lot of research before I started this project. This included searching for other

film openings from not only supernatural horrors, but films from different genres as well

to understand the conventions that they all follow.

Film Title

• We decided to call our film 3:17AM. We called it 3:17AM because it gives the audience a big insight into what the films narrative will be, which is what most film titles conventionally

do.

• In some ways however, our film title does break the normal codes and conventions of other supernatural horror films as

they usually tell the audience right away that the film will most likely be a horror film. For example, Insidious, Sinister

and Paranormal Activity, whereas from the title 3:17AM, you wouldn’t immediately assume that it was a supernatural

horror film.

Film Title

• Another thing that I think fits the conventions of other supernatural horror film titles is the typography. We used a

font that looks like it has been written in blood as blood is an icon of the genre and the colour red has connotations of danger, a constant theme that runs throughout horrors.

• We also used an effect that made the titles appear really quickly on the screen and flicker on and off fast which fitted

with the intense, dramatic incidental music in the background. We wanted this effect to pop up at the audience to scare them after the tense build up of the alarm clock hitting

3:17am. This effect is conventional of horror films and is seen in the opening of Insidious for example.

Setting/Location

• Most supernatural horrors are set in large family houses and so this where we decided to set our film to follow

the conventions.

• We also set it in a detached house to suggest to the audience that the

family house is not near any other houses and far from civilisation and any help. This adds to the sense of confinement and being vulnerable

that we wanted to portray.

Setting/Location

• Conventionally, supernatural horrors are set in everyday family homes to also make the audience feel like it could

happen to anybody and makes them feel vulnerable as well and this is how we want our audience to feel.

• Examples of other supernatural horrors that are set in family homes are Insidious, The Conjuring, Paranormal Activity and

Sinister.

• A large part of the scene is also set in the parents’ bedroom and this also adds to the vulnerability (as everybody is there most vulnerable when they are asleep and at night) that we

wanted our characters to have as this will make the audience feel the same way.

Setting/Location

• Although our film is set predominantly during the night, we filmed during the day meaning that the

outside shot at the beginning of the scene looks a bit too bright and in the window shot, some sun beams

are coming through the blinds. This reduced the realistic and professional look of the film as people don’t generally sleep during the day and breaks the

codes and conventions as typically, supernatural occurrences usually happen at night. If we had filmed at night, it would have made the scene have more of

an eerie and ominous atmosphere which all supernatural horrors have.

Costumes/Props

• The characters were wearing pajamas in the scene as this shows their

vulnerability but as they were in bed throughout the whole scene, the

audience don’t see it.

• The most significant prop featured in the opening is the alarm clock. This is

the main source of tension in the scene as the whole opening is a build up to

when the clock hits 3:17am.

• It is also key in the narrative of the whole film as when it does turn to

3:17am, the supernatural being comes out and wreaks havoc.

Costumes/Props

• Another fairly significant prop that appeared in our opening scene was a

candle.

• Candles are an icon of the genre as they add an eerie atmosphere. Also in the

opening, the paranormal being blows the candle out and is one of the few

paranormal activities we see throughout the scene.

• Other supernatural horror films include candles such as The Woman in Black and

The Conjuring and so this follows the conventions.

Camerawork/Editing

• I tried to use a variety of different shots to make my opening look

professional and more interesting.

• In the screenshot to the right, I used a canted shot which zoomed in on

the door opening on its own.

• We decided to use this type of shot to make the opening slightly more

interesting to watch for the audience and we used the slow

zoom in to add some anticipation and suspense as to what is behind

the door.

Camerawork/Editing

• In the long shot to the right, I used a pan from right to left which also zoomed out from the TV screen.

• I felt that this was quite an advanced shot as it was quite tricky to zoom

out, pan to the side and do both at a steady pace without jolting the

camera as this would make it look unprofessional.

• I think as the shot began with looking at the TV screen and then slowly panned out, this adds some suspense for the audience as they don’t know what they might see

when the camera pans around the room.

Camerawork/Editing

• We desaturated all of our shots to make the look of the house seem really dull and dark which

adds to the ominous atmosphere that is conventional of supernatural horrors.

• This also hints to the audience straight away that something bad is going to happen in the house

and is the setting for the rest of the film.• Other supernatural horrors which have followed

this convention is Insidious who made their shots black and white in their opening to add to the

eerie mood.

Typography

• I think that the typography of the credits are very conventional of supernatural

horrors. • The font is serif which make the titles look

more old fashioned which is typical of horrors. The colour of the credits are also red which has connotations of danger and

blood which is an icon of the genre.• We decided to place the credits over the

shots as this is conventional of all films not just supernatural horrors.

• We used an effect that made the credits fade on the screen letter by letter slowly and then rise up and disappear off the

screen. • I took inspiration from another

supernatural horror, Insidious which also does something similar.

Setting Up the Story

• There are various ways throughout the opening scene that give little hints to the audience about the narrative

of the rest of the film.

• The use of the low angle establishing shot of the house at the beginning of the scene tells the audience that

this is where the film is going to be set. The use of the dark filter and low angle shot make the house look

ominous and powerful.

• The use of the high angle shot on the parents in bed tells the reader that these will be the main characters

in the film and that they are vulnerable and weak.


• We are first introduced to the family properly in a family photo. The child’s

face has been scratched out which suggests to the

audience that they will be the main victim in the film.

It is conventional in supernatural horror films

for children to be the antagonists and is seen in films such as Insidious and

Sinister.


• Throughout my film opening, suspense is built up throughout to make the audience feel tense. The incidental music which becomes increasingly

louder as the opening goes on which helps build the tension and tells the audience that something bad is about to happen.

• The climax of this suspense is when the camera zooms in on the alarm clock and it turns to 3:17am and then more louder and intense incidental

music is played to scare the audience when the titles suddenly appear.

• The zooming in on the alarm clock and the climax being when the time changes to 3:17am sets up the narrative from the very start.

• It is conventional for supernatural horror films as they typically build up suspense in their openings but do so by trying not to give too much of the narrative away to still keep a mysterious feel which will make them want

to watch on. I feel as if we did this successfully.

Conclusion

• Overall, I think our supernatural horror film fits the codes and conventions of other films of the genre fairly well. With

our use of dark filters, tense incidental music, location, characters and titles and credits, I feel as if we made our

film opening appealing and identifiable to fans of the genre.

• The only way in which I think we could have improved so that it didn’t challenge the conventions in anyway was if we filmed the opening at night as you can see relatively clearly that it looks like daytime and conventionally, supernatural occurrences happen at night in supernatural horrors as it

shows characters at their most vulnerable and creates more of an eerie atmosphere.