ASSIGNMENT 1: SUBGENRE- PARANORMAL/GHOSTS&SPIRITS

A Presentation by- Dean Leavy, Victor Lovato & Adam Wilkowski

EXAMPLES OF THE SUBGENRE

The Others (2001)The Conjuring 2 (2016) Insidious (2010)

BACKGROUND TO THE SUBGENRE

• Plays on society’s natural fear of the unknown

• Can have themes such as family, religion, punishment, or general misfortune

• Frightens the audience through enigmatic and otherworldly atmosphere rather than the threat of physical harm

• Increasingly popular in the last two decades

GENERIC CONVENTIONS:NARRATIVE

PLOT• Usually family based plot• Can involve the central family

moving into a new house or location

• The demon/spirit will usually torment the family, commonly through the children e.g. possession

• The family will try to contact specialists to handle the antagonist, such as demonologists or Holy Men

CHARACTERS• Protagonists are usually

concerned parents, quite often they are a single parent who will be skeptical at first

• The weakest family member, usually the youngest child, will act as a conduit/means for the antagonist to torment the family

SETTING• Usually in a family home- this

shatters the sense of security and safety the viewer would have

• House/location is usually aged and has a dark, enigmatic history

GENERIC CONVENTION-DUTCH/CANTED ANGLES

• Dutch/canted angle shots are a generic convention of our subgenre•All three of our films contain certain camera shots, including a Dutch angle or canted frame. •Dutch angles are used to convey uncertainty... In our sub-genre it is particularly used to show a spirit or omen taking control of a house and all of its possessions.

EXAMPLE-

• The Dutch angles in this case show the spirt or omen taking over the electronic equipment in the house and also tormenting the children in their bedroom. This is a key convention as there is a gradual build up of supernatural events that result in a climax later on, this is key through all three of our movies.

GENERIC CONVENTION- CONTRAPUNTAL MUSIC

• Quite commonly in our subgenre, there will be a music tune commonly associated with children/youth playing in a creepy and eerie context

• This can include music boxes, crib mobiles, or sound effects on toys/dolls

• These sound effects effectively scare the audience as their context (which is unsettling and supernatural) completely contrasts with the viewers association with them (children and innocence) and this antithesis makes it unsettling in itself.

EXAMPLES

GENERIC CONVENTION-LIGHTING

• It is conventional to use backlighting in scenes where the spirit will not be exposed, we can only see the silhouette that has been created. Profile lighting is also used to make a character appear sinister; it indicates to audiences whether or not this person can be trusted. Under lighting is lighting that comes from a light source below, used in scenes of desperation, during blackouts of light, characters resort to torches, lanterns and candles to help them see.

• In supernatural horrors it is conventional for the protagonist to experience cold, wet and stormy weather, as it re-enforces the turbulent, unsettling bluster of the plot. The main character is also likely to experience a power cut in their home, this promotes the childhood fear of the dark, making the character appear vulnerable and naive.