Creative critical reflection task one.pdf

CCR task one

1. Creative critical reflection
Media conventions

3. GenreGenre refers to the category that identifies the certain
style of a film. Genres are used to group works with
similar characteristics, themes, or techniques
together, making it easier for audiences to understand
and engage with them. For example, common genres
in film include action, comedy, drama, horror, science
fiction, and romance. Each has a set of conventions
and audience expectations. Genres help both
creators and consumers understand the type of film
that they are going to be making or watching. It also
helps studios understand who their target audience
are going to be. In our opening sequence, our genre
was horror. Our horror film tried to elicits fear, thrills,
dark themes, entertainment, escapism, and social
commentary. We picked the genre horror because we
wanted to entertain and thrill people, making them
want to watch further.

4. Films that I am going to be using:
)
•Tell me how I die
•Skinamarink
•Patients of the Saint
•Cabin in the woods
•Hostel p1

5. What is a media convention?
Conventions are the ingredients/elements that make up a genre. Without typical, stereotypical conventions,
viewers would not know where to look for a specific movie that they want. Below are typical media conventions
that make up a genre.
Romance:
1. A woman protagonist and a male
protagonist with a complex situation
between them.
2. Portrayal of love and passion coupled
with a powerful ending.
Comedy:
1.Location in a busy area
so characters can get
embarrassed in front of
other people.
2.Play off offensive
stereotypes.
3.Cinematography –aims
to be naturalistic
Sci-fi
1.Time Travel
2.Fictional worlds
3.Technology is very important
4.Setting outside boundaries of
real world.
5.They can challenge
stereotypes.

6. What are
media
conventions
Stereotypical conventions
-> Fears and any hidden truths about
the character or what they have done
-> Ordinary people who are usually the
person creating the horror not the other
characters which makes it difficult to
identify who the killer is.
-> The works of this character is not
shown until the end or when the story
of the horror is fully established.
-> Enigma code, Barthé creating a
story throughout.
Characters
-> Main protagonist (usually the victim or hero)
-> Villain (often from supernatural, killer, zombies, psychopaths
and more)
Typical locations:
-> Abandoned cabin in the woods
-> Schools
-> Hospitals
-> Forests
Typical camera shots that are
used:
-> High angle to show the villains
power in a scene
-> Over the shoulder shot to
show the difference between the
villain and victims.
The location that we used was a
shipping container. This gives a
universal connection for
viewers’ because they do not
know which part of the world
that they are in.
Stereotypical conventions
that we used was the weak
woman and a strong man
who is empowering her.
This corresponds with
Judith Butlers theory of
‘gender performity.’
However, we subverted
against stereotypes
because our actress looked
quite brave and strong (will
be seen clearer in the next
slides)
We did a low angle shot of our villain to
show that he is the one with the most
power in the scene
Typical conventions used:
-> Strong man and weak
woman
-> shipping container in the
middle of no where,
isolation.

7. Tell me how I Die
(media conventions)

8. ‘Tell me how I die’ vs ‘The
Harvest’
The trailer and our opening sequence is very
similar because they both deal with the wider
themes of status, isolation, death and gothic.
'
’Tell me how I die’ adheres to several media conventions
that are commonly found in the horror genre. Firstly, it has
a suspenseful pacing and tension-building techniques to
keep the audience hooked. Additionally, the film follows
the traditional narrative structure of a group of characters
in major threat. This is a set up of many horrors.

10. The characters from the ‘Patients of the Saints’ and our cast from the opening scene have very similar motifs and dynamics. Muchlike our opening
sequence, the characters are subjected to an incredibly traumatizing event, being taken advantage of by people in medicine, heldhostage, being
kidnapped and taking advantage of young people’s body. In both sequences, both the victims wake up disorientated. Mirroring the disheveled state of
the characters and the situation they are in. Both shots are different. The shot from ‘Tell me how I die’ is an over the shoulder shot of her reflection
looking into the mirror. This can be symbolic to show that she is reflecting on her actions. The shot of ‘The Harvest’ is a longshot where the audience can
see most of the shipping container and where she is sitting down. The victim also looks very confused, like she is trying to remember what happened the
night before and what put herself in this situation. Both the characters do not look happy with the situation and do not feelcomfortable in the space
that they have been put in.
‘Tell me how I die’ vs ‘The
Harvest’

11. Breaking conventions and stereotypes
‘Tell Me How I Die’ and ‘The Harvest’ do adhere to stereotypes gender-wise. However, they are different because our sequence subverts against the typical
looks of a victim, while ‘Tell Me How I Die’ adheres to the stereotypes ofthe main victim. The main victim is a young, petite woman with blue eyes and
blonde hair. This adheres to Levi Strauss’s theory of binary opposites. This is when the same representation are on opposite ends within their represented
stereotypes. The woman appears to be fragile. It also adheres to Judith Butler's theory of gender performing, ‘that gender can be performative.’ Butler
believes ‘gender roles are often very stereotypical to their gender.’ Viewers may believe that the women who look most vulnerable are the ones who need
saving the most. However, my group and I wanted to subvert this idea. We cast an actress who looked very fierce and brave to hopefully shock the audience
that our victim will not come out alive.

12. Very similar camera angles

14. ‘Two children wake up in the middle of the night
to find their father missing, and all the windows in
their home have vanished.’
Director: Kyle Edward Ball
Both clips follow a similar narrative. The
victims both wake up feeling uncomfortable
because of a sense of unknown. Our victim
woke up in a shipping container with no
understanding with how she got there. In
comparison, the child wakes up in a situation
he has never been in, without his father -
something very daunting for a child. Also, both
of the atmospheresare very eerie.
Skinamarink with the blue lighting and our
sequence with the green.

15. Sound
Both clips are ambient sounds; though they
are non-diegetic, they sound very
naturalistic. What does it do?
•Enhances immersion
•Creating atmosphere
•Builds tension

16. Similar editing choices that were used:
A similar editing choice that stood out to me
was the cross-cutting between shots. My
group and I planned to employ more at the
start with the titles; however, we knew it
would end up taking too long. To
compromise, we only did cross-cutting at
specific parts of the sequence.
What does cross-cutting do?
•Builds tension
•Enhancing the fear of the unknown
•Increasing pacing
•Themes of isolation and vulnerability

17. Patients of the Saint

18. ‘Undertrial prisoners are subjected to numerous
experiments inside a jail on the St Leonard
Island. However, things take a terrifying turn
when a procedure goes horribly wrong.’
Director: Russell Owen This relates to ‘The Harvest’ because it starts off
mysterious and worrying but then it takes a
‘terrifying turn’ when the villain walks in with
medical equipment, ready to take the girl’s
organs.

19. Mise-en-scene comparison:
The mise-en-scene that was the most comparative in
‘Skinamarink’ and ‘The Harvest’ was the shot of the
leaking blood that looks fresh. This indicates a a
sense of danger which corresponds with John Fiske’s
theory of two layers of film language. ‘Denotation is
what is film, connotation is how it’s film.’ This means
how technical areas are used to create deeper/hidden
meanings that the audience deconstructs, often
without realising. The denotation of the mise-en-
scene’s blood in the shot connote a sense of worrying
for the danger, not knowing whether the victim is
going to be alive or awake.

20. The mise-en-scene of medical supplies
can fit into conventions of horror.
Symbolism
Discomfort
Isolation

21. Location (lighting, costume)
•The lighting contrasts in both of the settings.
•The mise-en-scene of the costumes is similar.

22. How are the clips different?
•‘Patients of the Saints' is fast-paced, while ‘The Harvest’ is not.
•The lighting is very different. ‘PS’ has eerie blue lighting, while ‘TH’ has eerie green lighting. They both
connote different meanings.
•‘PS’ is a higher budget, while our sequence is not. Production budget being $4,000,000.

23. Cabin in the woods

24. 'The film is about a Slovakian criminal organisationthat lures
innocent foreigners into their hostels, where wealthy sadists bit
upon them for torture and murder.’
Directors: Scott Spiegel and Eli Roth
This relates to ‘The Harvest’ because we set the
scene in a shipping container, allowing the viewers
to guess where the incident is happening.

25. Mood and atmosphere :
•Claustrophobia, enclosed spaced, no windows
•Dim lighting creates an unsettling mood
•Dirty and grimy walls create a sense of unease.
•The camera is aimed at the midriff of each character.
Composition wise, man is centerand woman is on the
right.
•No idea of the location
•The circumstances of the man are worse, been stripped
of his clothing and tied up.

26. Typical media conventions that is used
•The camera shot is taken from inside the room. The audience sees
the villain leave, leaving the victims on their own. Themes of
isolation are present. The viewer is left pondering the fate of the
victim.
•Different styles of editing.

27. REPRESENTATIONS

28. How does our product challenge
conventions?
•Stereotypes of the victims. Normally, a female victim is seen with blonde hair and blue eyes. We
subverted against this societal norm.
Theorists that we somewhat subverted against:
•Judith Butler, gender performity. ‘That gender can be performative.’
•LevisStrauss, binary opposites.
•Laura Mulvey, male gaze.

29. How does our sequence adhere
with representations?
•Alvarado, ‘Ethnicity and stereotypes.’ Ethnic minorities are usually represented with the idea of
‘otherness’, separate from the predominate white race’
-pity
-exotic
-humour
-dangerous
•Judith Butler, gender performity, ‘that gender can be performative.’
•Barthe, enigma code, ‘producers want the audience to keep on watching.’
•John Fiske, two layers of film. ‘Denotation is what is film, connotation is how it’s film.’
•LevisStrauss, binary opposites. ‘When the same representation are on opposite ends within
their represented stereotypes.’
•Laura Mulvey, the male gaze. ‘She noted the tendency for Hollywood films to assume a male
spectator.’