By Georgia, Margaret, Lauren and Ellouise

Typography

• The words on the production title are staggered, this could represent the woman’s state of mind being played around with and being abnormal throughout the narrative.

• We decided to make the font red and bold. We chose the colour red because it has connotations of: danger and blood which foreshadows when the main character opens the box and her hands are covered in blood. It also leads to the mystery of what is contained in the box later on in the film. We took inspiration from the original poster of the film ‘The Box’ and wanted a bold font because it is clear and distinct to the eye. It shows importance which could mirror the important of the box as a prop because it is the most important factor in working out the storyline.

• We decided to have it on a jet black background when showing our production company to make sure it stood out as a main focal point.

Introducing Character

• We chose this screen grab as it introduces the most significant and important character being the mother, she represents a distraught , distressed character who helps to construct horror conventions through the way she acts and carries out her daily routine as a mother despite her situation , this is used to create a sense of realism the fact that she is psychologically damaged and mentally unstable .

• Interestingly we chose her as she is meant to portray vulnerability and show how extreme emotion has over ridden her , initially coinciding with her struggling to come to terms with reality. We chose to incorporate the other characters to add to the tension and suspicion felt by the audience, this is shown throughout the opening as the man’s face is never revealed. The boy was added to show how life was before, interestingly we see the contrast between her character then and her character now as she was much happier and in a better state of mind before.

Narrative

• The fact that the we never see inside the box makes us much more suspicious to find out what is in the box. This also makes us think that it is for a child so we become even more intrigued.

• Furthermore, the fact that it is delivered by a normal everyday person makes us more suspicious to find out how the man came across this box and whom this box is going to.

• In the film ‘The Box’, the box is also at the centre of the screen emphasising that this is the central and most significant part of the narrative plot and them both being wrapped up shows the tension they have to go to through to see what is in that box.

Costumes and Props

• The costume of the mum was pyjamas and a fluffy dressing gown. This can be seen as a safety blanket for the mother as she has consistently worn this item of clothing since her son went ‘missing’.

• We used the cereal and the child’s bowl, bib and spoon to show that the mother is still doing the daily routine she used to do when her child was there. This can also show that in order to move on in her day she needs to go through this stage to get to her next part of the day. To involve this routine in our film it brings in a psychological element to our horror film.

• The man is dressed in black making him seem mysterious. The costume is dark colours and this connects the man with danger. He is dressed in plain clothing with no obvious logos which creates anonymity to his character making him seem even more horrific.

• The box is wrapped in blue wrapping paper, the is representative of the fact that it the child was a little boy, as blue is commonly related to baby boy’s. However it is a metallic blue which can connote some sort of danger or suspicion to the suspected child’s welfare. The wrapping paper suggest that this box is a gift/present, presents are filled with nice surprises however this box is filled with a nasty surprise.

Special Effects

• The only special effect we used was on the section of footage when the mother is recalling a memory of her and her son playing with his teddy bear. The effect we used was a filter, it was called dream, not because we wanted it to feel dream-like we wanted it to seem as though it was a distant memory and the dream filter gave that effect.

• Also we liked the way it was slightly blurring the image as it makes it seem as if the mother is starting to forget and it could show how the mothers memories of her son are becoming hazy and it could accentuate emotions such as crying emphasising feelings of separation and loss.

Setting

• The setting shown emphasises that it is just a normal house with a normal people living it which could make the narrative more frightening as it could happen to anyone. This is similar to the film Amityville Horror as they have a normal house where strange things take place

• In addition the quite dull colours could foreshadow an ominous event that is to occur there very soon and could signify the ‘impending doom’ that is coming towards her step by step in the shape of the box.

• We took inspiration from the original 2009 film ‘The Box’ and chose to have the main setting in a house. We also took inspiration from the film Scream which also has the main setting in a house and we thought this made it even more tense as it is a normal everyday place. The choice of an ‘often used’ setting enables us to keep the audience in suspense which can make it easier to include the element of shock.

• We also decided to film during the day which makes the audience question what’s going to happen next.

The Construction of Genre

• What is in the box is now revealed and now it brings to light the genre of the film and the red of the blood emphasises the murderous task that must have taken place.

• Moreover the fact that it has completely covered her hands showed that it must have been quite a tragic event for it to produce that much blood so it constructs the genre even more and the genre becomes the main catalyst once the blood has been seen.

• The fact that you cannot see the man gives the genre a more horrific feel as the audience becomes more intrigued as to whom the anonymous man is and why he is going to her house, the all black clothes makes the man with the box seem more dark and a more suspicious suspect.

• Even the mum doing the routine of her son even though he is not present could add to the genre as it becomes more horrific when you realise he is not actually part of her life anymore.

Variation of shot types

Click on the link below to watch our vodcast on YouTube , explaining variation of shot types

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQytx2L7cow

Title

• The font is once again plain so therefore indicating that the normal people in society’s life can be ruined by one situation.

• The writing is all in capitals shows the importance of the box for the whole narrative plot of the title sequence and the fact it is placed in the picture of the box emphasises this.

• The gaps between letters show the separation she feels from her son who has disappeared from her life and the lack of knowledge she has about what is in the box.

• Additionally, the fact that title is in red and bright highlights the importance of the blood which helps to construct the genre and shows the impending doom that as reached her doorstep and the only thing to come is the bad news or surprise that is about to come through her door (the box).