Alex Harris AS Media Blog 1: Horror

Here is the film I was a part of for the prelim task.   https://youtu.be/eZXn22dUb3k? t=1 This short film involves a detective and an accused murderer. Thankfully, my acting was not the focus of this task. Instead, the use of the camera was the main asset that we had to use effectively. The film begins with a shot of the detectives feet as she enters through the door. This creates a small sense of mystery, as we can only see the feet of this person and we don't know who they are. This camera shot is a medium close-up that nobody wants to see. The fact that the face is nearly the only thing on screen means that any viewer can focus on and see the actors facial expressions clearly. The actor opens his eyes in this shot, clearly in response to the detective entering the room. The fact that his facial expression doesn't change indicates that the detectives entrance doesn't please him. This is a close up shot of the detective sitting down in the chair. This empha

Editing is very important for taking film footage, and refining it into a finished film. This can be  achieved by changing the order of footage, cutting down shots, even removing unnecessary or unsatisfactory scenes, and also through adding special effects such as smoke, or editing a monstrous visage over an actor wearing a green suit. The way editing works is by taking the film footage, putting it on your computer, and changing things that you want to change. One example of this is cutting out unnecessary parts of the footage for a smoother viewing experience. This is called continuity editing. Cutting is a term broadly used for any break in frames, such as a shot, a new camera angle, and so-on. this is useful for introducing a new location or scene, showing a setting from a different angle, or ensuring smooth transitioning. Dissolving is the act of fading out the old camera shot, and fading a new shot at the same time. This creates a slower transition then a simple cut. Dissolv

Mise en scene is a French phrase. It's used to describe the arrangement of the setting in a scene. Here is the Mise en scene of Hogwarts Castle from the Harry Potter series: Here is Hogwarts Castle at night. The Boat Riders in the foreground give a sense of scale to the castle, making it seem even larger then it is. The small, lower down building with the door, (presumably acting as an entrance for the boat-riders gives an even better idea of scale. The door itself resembles a big church door, which are known for being massive, which is not only practical considering that Hagrid also enters this door, but also gives Hogwarts an even bigger sense of grandeur then before. The dark night sky and moonlight conveys a sense of mystery that cannot be replicated in daylight. The lights in the castle windows tell us that there are people inside the castle, and seeing how big the castle is, there must be a lot of people to need lights on in that many rooms, further hinting that Hogwar

Shot 1:  The opening credits text. This involves a narrator talking about the tragedy of 5 youths, getting viewers exited/on edge for the film. Shot 2:  This black screen came with various sounds such as sawing, digging, cracking and snapping with some creepy ambiance, suggesting that some vile work is being done in secret. Shot 3:  Occasionally, there is a flash, and some decomposed body parts appear on screen, confirming our previous theory of secret evil. Shot 4:  The high-pitched sound that happens whenever the body parts appear put the viewer on edge. Shot 5:  This shot is the second image of two pictures in quick succession, suggesting that something else is about to happen. Shot 6: We finally get a clear shot of our dead body. The orange sky indicates that there is a sunset, so whoever put these dead bodies here could do it secretly when everyone else was in bed. Shot 7: The camera zooms out, showing that there are multiple dead bodie

Shot 1: In this shot, a man is pushing some trolleys into a trolley-parking area. While he is not currently a member of the living dead, his blank expression does make him appear rather zombie-like. The empty area may be meant to make readers wonder: "What happened to everyone else?" Shot 2: In this shot, every single cashier is doing exactly the same thing in exactly the same way, with blank expressions as if they are sleepwalking, making them seem even more like zombies, which is the theme of the film. The long line may represent how many of us are inclined to simply go about our lives in a zombie-like fasion. Shot 3: In this shot, again, blank expressions, simultaneous actions. The characters may just be tired, but the zombie similarities are present. Shot 4:  This shot has an ally full of people acting like zombies, when in fact, they are (probably) very much alive. The scattered papers indicate a messy area (which makes sense in a zombie collapse,

Recently, I made a mind-map about some horror conventions I know of. Check it out! (You may want to zoom in) Alex Harris 29/9/2016

For my media A-levels, I have to research horror films and identify tropes and features. This isn’t particularly helpful considering that I don’t watch many horror films, so I think that it’s best that I look at the history of horror. Of what I have researched on the internet, the first horror film ever made is called “ Le Manoir du Diable” by  Georges Méliès  in 1896. “ Le Manoir du Diable”  means “The Manor of the Devil” if translated into English. It is 3 minutes long, and, while not scary, and in fact, designed to amuse rather than scare, taking on a pantomimic approach, it is still considered to be the first horror film, as It contains many Gothic horror elements such as dark castles, ghosts, vampires, and sudden disappearances. It isn’t much, but it's a start. In 1908, the first film-adaption of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was released, based on the original work by Robert Louis Stevenson, and directed by Otis Turner.  The film lasted 16 minutes, and was silent. There is