Task 3 Target Audience: BFI Statistical Yearbook Analysis and Summary

The Horror film genre released 37 films in 2013 taking in 57.5 million pounds. Whereas the Thriller genre had 64 film releases but only took in 29.1 million pounds. The Horror genre is twice as popular as the Thriller genre despite only realising around half (57%) the amount of films as the Thriller genre actually did. Thus making Horror the more popular genre, in the UK and Republic of Ireland, out of the two as it took in 5% of the box office compared to the 2.5% that Thrillers took in. However, in 2013 the all round most popular genre in regards to gross intake was Animation after taking in 246.6 million pounds despite only releasing 33 films.

The average amount of sites showing horror films at its widest point of release was 145 whereas the average amount of sites showing thriller films at their widest point of release was 89. Linking this back to some of the data in the previous paragraph, Horror is still more popular. It was more popular as, on average, it was shown at more sites despite having less films released. In comparison to the film with highest average number of sites at its widest point of release (Sci-Fi), both of these genres seem relatively weak as Sci-Fi only had 9 releases but its average number of sites at its WPR was 422.

The highest earning genre of film per site, on average, was the Adventure genre. It earned £28,816 on average across 2,004 sites. Horror only mad an average of £10,108 across 5,367 sites. Basically a third of what Adventure did despite having over double the amount of sites. The Thriller genre doing even worse, making around half (£5,127) of what the Horror genre did on average per site despite also having around 5,000 sites (5,667 to be precise).

In the UK, action films grossed the most out of the UK Box Office making £64,100,000 which accounts for 25.1% of the UK Box Office despite only having 9 films released. Horror released 7 films which is 5% of the total amount of films released in the UK and made 5.8% of the UK Box Office with £14,800,000. Thriller, once again coming in last, released 17 films which is 12.2% of all films released in the UK but only managed to make £4,100,000, only 1.6% of the UK Box Office.

Task 2.2 Research Into Existing Products: Studio Logos/Film Titles: Conventional Title Order

Albert R. Broccoli's EON Productions Ltd. Presents...

Daniel Craig

Skyfall

Starring...

Editors

Music By

Written By

Produced By

Directed by

The order of titles is essentially in order of importance, starting with the production company as they're the ones that made the film possible. This is then followed by the main star of the film, in this instance it's Daniel Craig. The main star's name is displayed on its own as it is potentially one of the main attractions to the film and is therefore more important than the rest of the cast. For example, a majority of women aren't interested in the James Bond series but they are interested in Daniel Craig. Then the title is displayed and all the names of the rest of the cast are seen on screen. After this all the 'behind-the-scenes' roles are displayed such as editing, composers and screenwriters with the director being displayed as the very last name as he/she is the most important and the name that they want you to remember the most.

(above) A title order made by us as an example of how it will look in our film.

Task 2.1 Research Into Existing Products: The Representation of Gender/Ethnicity in the Thriller/Horror Genre

Representations are often pre-established in genre films such as Horrors and Thrillers and certain representations have now become stereotypes and archetypes. Dracula is the most widely recognised horror character and still has the same general stereotypical and archetypical values as in the the original 1931 film made by Bela Lugosi. His gender, age, costume and social class hasn't changed much, if at all. He has to be a middle aged, Caucasian male with an Eastern European accent that speaks broken English whilst wearing a black cape, having fangs, living in a castle and having the ability to turn into a bat.

Cultural Bias

Hollywood  has always been 'white' centric.

 Lead actors and directors have always been male Caucasians with coloured and ethnic minority actors only playing minor roles and parts. However some actors have defied the white centric bias of Hollywood taking on lead roles to become some of the most famous actors of the modern period (Will Smith & Morgan Freeman are just a couple of examples). In thrillers its common for the main protagonist to be a white male. In the 1990s, things started to change with Morgan Freeman playing Detective Somerset in the 1995 film 'Se7en'. After this, many films and TV Dramas continued to field black or ethnic minority actors as the main protagonist.

 Gender Bias

In Thrillers, females have predominantly been assigned the victim role or the femme fatale. Since the Silence of the Lambs in 1990, specifically Jodie Fosters role as FBI rookie 'Clarice Starling' the representations of women have been more and more challenging in both Thrillers and Horrors. In Horrors the main antagonist is also generally male, and a white Caucasian in their 40s/50s unless they're an other worldly creature.

Heterosexual Bias

Having a non-straight protagonist is extremely rare even in modern, liberal Hollywood. The thought of a non-straight lead detective in a film isn't heard of, most likely due to the connotations of sensitivity associated with homosexuality because they're most often cold individuals. This is a major criticism of Thomas Harris, the author of the Hannibal Lecter books whose antagonists all feature homosexual tendencies and sexual deviances. By doing this he has contributed to the formation of a negative stereotype.

MR JUDGE FEEDBACK

1. WELL DONE SO FAR - GOOD AMOUNT OF TEXTUAL ANALYSIS CONTENT - GET SOME QUALITY IMAGES ON TO GET TO A LEVEL 4  
TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF THE OPENING OF SE7EN WITH IMAGES AND VIDEO EMBED FOR SE7EN

2.   CHRISTIAN METZ MODELS OF GENRE DEVELOPMENT – HORROR (12D ONLY) + IMAGES

1.   FILM NOIR & HISTORY OF GENRE (HSR) + IMAGES/VIDEO EMBEDS

2.   STEREORTYPICAL REPRESENTATIONS OF THRILLER/HORROR GENRES/CHARACTERS

3.   TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF OPENING OF A HORROR FILM – WOMEN IN BLACK/SCREAM etc.

Task 2.1 Research Into Existing Products: The Maltese Falcon Textual Analysis

The Maltese Falcon

The soundtrack for the film is a powerful orchestral piece with a mixture of strings and brass to create an intense atmosphere from the very beginning. This strong piece of music is representative of Detective Spade’s character. The soundtrack plays over the opening credits and the establishing shots of the city where it is based which is San Francisco. San Francisco is a classic place for a film noir to be set as well as Chicago due to the cityscape of a night time where the majority, if not all, of a film noir takes place. Cityscapes are the general setting for film noirs as they are often crime ridden and during this time period, ran by organised crime syndicates such as the mafia. Therefore the general plots and storylines of film noirs don’t seem out of place as they are actually somewhat a common occurrence that are a bit more extravagant due to them being portrayed in a Hollywood film. As well as this, the costumes worn by the characters, especially males, are all stereotypical items to have been worn by such ‘gangsters’.

The next scene is that of the Detective sitting in his office rolling a cigarette, pouring tobacco into his rolling paper, leaning onto his desk relaxing, already setting a tone and theme for his character to play throughout the film, after swivelling away from the window on his chair. On the window are the names ‘Arthur and Spade’ which apprises the viewer as to where the scene is set, a corporate building ran by Arthur and Spade. He is wearing a pinstripe suit with a waistcoat and tie, this is a very formal piece of clothing often associated with his profession or the profession of someone with power. He sits in a big arm chair with wings that come round him making him appear bigger than he actually is visualising that he is an authoritative and compelling figure.

 His secretary, whom he calls ‘sweetheart’, walks in and tells him that there is a woman waiting for him. This is already a misogynistic statement as the first female character we come across is assigned as nothing but a secretary with a rather bland personality. He feels the necessity to call her ‘sweetheart’ which is something that would be frowned upon in modern society as a way to refer to a colleague in the workplace. The only reason it would be deemed acceptable would be if they were in a relationship, however there is nothing to suggest that thus it takes on a sexist feeling as it portrays her as an object belonging to the detective rather than a person. The secretary wears a plain dress and has her hair in a very simplistic and generic style for the time period. This is because she is actually a side character and irrelevant to the storyline as of yet.

Then the second women we come across, the lady who wants to see the detective, is in distress. She is panicking and speaking very fast to the detective as she is on edge which is clearly displayed in her body language. Her arms are crossed on her lap and she is holding her bag tightly which is a clear sign of the nerves she is experiencing as she brings forward her issue to the detective. However, presuming that she is the femme fatale her nerves could be about something very different, something more sinister and twisted. Maybe she is trying to keep her cool so she doesn’t give away any hint of her intentions away to the detective. She is sitting on the very edge of her seat, bolt upright. Whilst she is reeling of this information in her panicked tone to the detective he remains calm, maintaining his character, by casually sitting there still with the cigarette in his hand.

At this moment the second detective enters the room. This character is called Miles, and he is wearing a large overcoat accompanied with a fedora and a cigarette in his mouth. This type of costume is generic of the film noir genre as it helps to surround the character in mystery as they can be hiding anything under the coat and it also helps to create shadows on the characters face thanks to the lip on the fedora hat. The woman is also wrapped in furs and so could be hiding something as well as using it to make herself appear attractive and well-off for money as furs were an expensive commodity at the time. We know that she is definitely hiding something as her character is assigned as the femme fatale and she already captures the detective and begins to lure him into her web with her looks. She also guilt trips the detective by asking the rhetorical question ‘I shouldn’t have done that should I?’ This informs the detective of her vulnerability and proposes an opportunity for him to be her knight in shining armour. She completes her plan to lure in the detective by offering him money at the end of their talk and asks if it is enough to which the detective hastily says it is due to the fact that he fallen in love with insecure, vulnerable yet beautiful woman.

There is also a very subtle misogynist statement in this opening scene as when Miles walks in the men are standing whilst the woman remains seated throughout the entire thing thus showing that the men are actually more powerful than the women with a visual representation that is also an accurate reflection of society during this time period.

The detective agrees to shadow ‘Thursby’ and follow him away from the hotel lobby to see what he is doing however Miles takes the job off him and seeks Thursby on his own. Miles ends up getting shot by who we originally presume is Thursby which we see in a POV shot from ‘Thursby’s’ perspective holding a revolver. From this shot we also see the realisation and desperation in Miles’ face as he realises is he about to meet his maker. This is the hook, or enigma as it creates a large mystery early on the film surrounding the death of someone we could’ve only presumed to have been a main character. Thursby is described as a dangerous man who wouldn’t think twice about killing someone which sews the seed early on and is later backed up in one of the following scenes to convince the audience of the role Thursby is going to play before a major plot twist occurs therefore making this a red herring.

That is a very short scene and quickly passes onto the next one which is set in what we believe to be the detective’s house. The room is dark with only the natural light from outside being used as it passes through the window. The window itself is open with some very thin curtains blowing in the wind and shadows are being cast across the room which is one of the main codes and conventions of a film noir. The natural light isn’t necessarily natural either, because it is a film noir and the film is set predominantly at night, the light in fact comes from street lamps out in the street so all light in the film is chroma key. As the detective finds out about his partners death he goes to the scene of the crime to have a look around however he doesn’t look at the body or anything and when a policemen mentions looking at the body he simply dismisses it and acts like he doesn’t care. This is due to the character of the detective and the main protagonist in any film noir is desirably going to be calm, collective and cold at all opportunities. This is represented throughout the entire opening sequence, in the office talking to the woman, when he received a phone call informing him of his partner’s death and now, at the actual crime scene. Arguably this is the same for all of the men in a film noir due to its representation of men being omnipotent and cold but the protagonist often shows these traits more and with even more depth than everyone else. The detective and policemen talk underneath a street lamp at the crime scene. This is so shadows are cast on their faces and around them whilst they’re having a rather pivotal conversation. The detectives face is shadowed which is a clear signal that he is a cold character and isn’t affected by the death of his partner which we can link back to him having an affair with Miles’ wife so his death actually favours him. However the police look into this and take it as a sign that he is a suspect of the murder which can also be connoted because of the shadows on his face being a visual representation of a dark side which he could have. It is perfectly reasonable for him to potentially have this side due to the role of a private detective that he plays, in film noir the main protagonist is often a private detective rather than someone who works for the police as it allows them to do darker acts and use any means necessary to get their information. Whereas the police are ruled by paperwork and are far more regimented which limits their power.

We then go back to the detective’s apartment which is still dark and full of shadows being cast from the low key lighting. Two detectives knock on the door to the apartment and Spade lets them in. They are both bigger than Spade is and are therefore intimidating to him which causes him to actually come out character and start to get agitated before quickly resuming his normal composure and asking questions such as ‘What ya girlfriend getting at?’ we reminds us of his cocky nature even when under pressure. The cops play good cop, bad cop to suit the stereotype that is often displayed in the majority of films today but was pioneered by the classical phase of the film noir genre. The detectives inform Spade that Thursby has also been shot and killed which then removes the idea that Thursby was a possible killer leading the detectives to Spade as a prime suspect. Even though we know, as viewers that the most likely suspect will in fact be the vulnerable woman we came across at the beginning due to her role as the femme fatale luring the detective into her web which he will break out of at the end of the film after coming very close to being framed for the murders of Miles and Thursby. Whilst one of the detectives is talking to Spade it is portrayed using a low angle shot with the light from a lamp casting shadows across the detectives face giving him a stern look that goes straight through you.

The film has a restricted narrative so it is hard for us to know what is going on as we only gain as much information as the detective does. Therefore we do not find out who killed who until the detective does and this is a very clever technique used in film noir to keep the viewer interested and drawn in through the entire duration of the film. There are also a large amount of red herrings apparent in film noirs as it is a great method to keep the viewer interested with lots of different potential storylines to keep them thinking.

Clear codes and conventions are displayed thoroughly throughout the film and it doesn’t deviate from the classic phase of the genre. The lighting is always dark, and chroma key with shadows being cast upon faces and across the sets of the film, there is not a single scene where there is any daylight except the very first one. This could be another visual representation as it remains daytime throughout the film until something bad happens (the enigma) so it is kind of a form of pathetic fallacy except its inversed. The costumes worn by the characters (pinstripe suits, overcoats, fedoras, furs) are generic to the codes and conventions of the genre as well as the use of props such as cigarettes and guns. Finally it maintains the spider and fly narrative that the genre is so famous for.

Task 2.1 Research Into Existing Products: Metz Theory

In 1974 Christian Metz wrote the book ‘Language and Cinema’. In the book was a theory known as the ‘Metz Theory’ and it detailed genres. Specifically stating that they all passed through four stages/phases.

          • The Experimental Phase

          • The Classic Phase

          • The Parody Phase

          • The Deconstruction Phase

                                                                The Experimental Phase

The experimental phase is when the genre begins to form or where it is that the genre originates from such as English Literature. An example of this is Frankenstein, it originated from Mary Shelly’s Gothic Literature novel ‘Frankenstein’ before being made into a film (1931) during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Other examples of this are ‘The Cabinet of Dr Caligari’ and ‘Nosferatu’ which became ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ and ‘Dracula’. This genre of film took off after the horrors of the First World War swept Europe, this was because people now wanted to see the type of film and experience the adrenaline rush from being scared whilst not being in danger whatsoever.

The Classical Phase

The classical phase is the period of time when the genre produces its classic films. Examples of these for the horror genre are Dracula and Frankenstein, both filmed in 1931, during the Golden Age of Hollywood. This is when the codes and conventions of the film remain strict to a relatively linear plotline with similar dilemmas and endings, as well as openings. This is to deliver to the audience that are demanding more of the same cash generating formula.

The Parody Phase

This phase only ever appeals to a certain audience which is often not the same as the original target of the genre. This is due to the fact that the film is being made a mockery of, however it can also spring a new lease of life into a dying genre often by mixing its serious codes and conventions with that of a comic nature. The films plotlines often go off on tangents mixing in many different stories and characters from different films and genres with no actual relevance to the plot but to purely entertain the viewer. The most popular films from the parody phase in the 21^st century are the ‘Movie’ series (Scary Movie, Superhero Movie,  Date Movie etc).

The Deconstruction Phase

The deconstruction phase is when a film enters a period of hybrids being formed essentially reinventing the genre into something new. Great examples of this phase are ‘Se7en’ and ‘The Blair Witch Project’. They are horror-thrillers because an amalgamation of the two genres creates a new dark theme with a strong plotline, instead of something happening for the sake of it, as well as the adrenaline pumping scares that you get with a classic horror. Currently a very large proportion of genres are going through this phase.

Task 2.1 Research Into Existing Products: Film Noir

Where did genres come from?

Genres came from America in the 20s and are a result of capitalism exposing them as a cash cow to generate very large amounts of money by delivering a film to an audience that follows the same pattern as all the others with similar codes and conventions. The main films produced during this period were romances, comedies and westerns.

How did the 'Golden Age of Hollywood' re-inforce genres?

The 'Golden Age of Hollywood' is when they realised that they could make so much money from essentially producing the same films over and over again. There were five major companies who did this (seen below).

                   Which genres became popular in Hollywood?

The genres that became popular were Westerns, Romances, comedies and film-noirs all because they delivered what the audience wanted and was pleasurable to watch as it fulfilled what they were asking for and played with their imagination.

Why do audiences like genre films?

Audiences like genre film because it gives them a rough run down of what it is they're actually going to see without having to read any information about the film. For example, if they went to see a western they know there'd be outlaws, native American's and sheriffs and obviously the sheriff would come out on top at the end of the day.

Film Noir

Film noir is a genre of film that is very easy to identify due to its clear codes and conventions. It was also very successful during the 'Golden Age of Hollywood' due to it's misogynistic views which easily related to the majority of males in that time period as it was a social norm. Women were portrayed as either prostitutes or victims and never given a leading role however Film Noir is becoming less popular due to the changes in society and women being seen as equals therefore modern film noir's such as the sin city series challenge the codes and conventions by adding in new features and a lot more action. They also make the style like that of a comic which adds a new dimension to the film as they don't necessarily have to keep it realistic and they haven't, giving one of the main protagonists super powers.

Men often wear large overcoats and fedoras which is a common piece of apparel for the time period and often adds to the feel of the film. They generate shadows upon the character, specifically the fedora creating shadows on the face of the character wearing it. Women are usually seen wearing dresses and furs which are also common but adds to the sexualisation and misogynism the genre accompanies itself with.


Film Noir is a spider and the fly narrative where the detective falls in love with a femme fatale before breaking out of her web at the last moment. Film Noir was developed by warner bros due to their lack of budget and small warehouses where they recorded meant they had to use the lighting in a specific way which then created the effect known as  chiaroscuro (light and dark) which reflects the dark moods and themes represented in the films. Another way of describing it is low key. There are lots of scenes where you have 'god rays' coming through blinds as well which add to the mood and mystery of a scene. The story line is usually convoluted with flashbacks and narration which is usually first person. The moods of a Film Noir are melancholic, disillusionism, pessimism, guilt, paranoia and moral corruption.

The characters in a Film Noir are usually corrupt cops, the femme fatale and an alienated protagonist. There also generally misogynistic men due to the time period that its set in and because when Film Noir popular society itself was misogynistic. A lot of the film, if not all of the film is set at night or whilst it's raining. This represents the themes of the film and is also pathetic fallacy for events that are going to happen in the film.

Task 2.1 Research Into Existing Products: 'Se7en' Textual Analysis

As soon as the clip begins we are struck with the sound of thunder which grabs the viewers attention as it something that often makes people jump and or scared due to the randomness and loudness of it in real life. Therefore it is already subliminally assigning a fear factor into the viewer, especially as the audio level is raised in comparison to the following section of the clip. The sound of the thunder slowly transitions into what is a very industrial, metal backing track with hints of synth instruments being played too. Digitally distorted voices are heard before the sound of a vinyl being ripped off occurs. This implies that whoever it is in the opening credits has this recording and is listening to it, we presume that it's the murderer in the credits and this only reinforces our suspicions and beliefs that they are a sick and twisted individual. The general noise of the track is uncomfortable to listen to goes straight through you because of the deep bass which is regularly contrasted by the loud squeals of the vinyl. Just over a minute in, the soundtrack begins to develop a beat all whilst keeping hold of the deeply disturbing sounds in the background. This correlates with the stereotype of a serial killer as they often do things in patterns but are still erratic, much like the actual sounds making up the track.

All of the credits in the sequence are written in very untidy handwriting, it looks almost as if they've been carved into something such as flesh which doesn't come as much of a shock in regards to the rest of the film. Hand writing is a large part of some ones identity and this one is very stereotypical to that of a serial killer as it appears to belong to someone who is disturbed or in a great deal of discomfort whether it be emotional or physical.

The first real images seen are those of a pair of hands with what seems to be very severe arthritis. this could suggest that the killer is of age which isn't unusual in this style of film and has been done before in movies such as the Saw series. Then, it cuts a teabag in water. This is just a hint as to what the character is like in comparison to Detective Somerset who drinks coffee thus implying that they are in fact polar opposites. One likes to be clean, precise and is very regimented. The other is predictably going to be messy, and just do things in the spur of the moment. Just before this however we see him cutting off his fingerprints with razor blades as to make it harder for him to be held accountable for his crimes. This is common amongst serial killers as without a fingerprint it's very hard to be tracked and caught but this also creates an image of a very dangerous and twisted individual in the mind of the viewer.



There are then a series of blurred videos with the shot being an extreme close-up of the character writing on lined paper. However they aren't actually writing on the lines, more so just between them in a felt tip, so not even an actual pen. The words have little to no spacing which could suggest a lack of education which is understandable as a lack of education often brings with it a lack of morals and values, leading to not knowing right from wrong which can easily let someone deviate into a life of crime and violence.

Then they are scene cutting out rather disturbing pictures before adding them to one of the 'scrapbooks' they are making. One of the pictures is that of a naked child which automatically makes the viewer assume that the killer is a victim of child abuse themselves and that could even be an image of them for all we know. We also see some crude images of a males head post operation with  a medical steel rod going through the skin and onto the skull. Then they begin to censor words out of printed books such as 'intercourse' and 'transsexual'. As of the opening sequence we have no idea as to why this happens but can only assume that it is one of two things, what was mentioned beforehand, abuse, or that this person feels that they hold so much power they can even begin to censor words that they don't like or are affiliated with things they don't approve of. To further this theme of censorship we see him black out the eyes of the face of a young boy with a single pen-stroke before doing it to the remainder of the image. We do not know whom this young boy is. Is it a victim? Is it the murderer? The last bit of 'censorship' we see is the character cutting and removing the word 'God' from the section of an American Dollar which says 'In God we trust'. This suggests that maybe the killer thinks of themself as omnipotent and in fact rivals God or just is God. He could also be offended by the word due to maybe experiencing a strict and violent religious upbringing.


We see the character laying a piece of film down in his book which further suggests a man of age as it is an analogue form of technology rather than digital. This fits the stereotype of the elderly not being able to grasp new technologies as well as referring back to what I have already aforementioned.

The murderer begins to sew the book together with a very crude needle that has a gained a small blood stain after he ran it through his fingers. He isn't using thread either he is using a very thick and cheap string to do it and looks almost like what we imagine sewing up a wound in medieval times would consist of (Thick and dirty looking string on a clearly unsterilised needle). We catch more glimpses of the characters fingernails here as well as previously and they are very short and untrimmed. They are bitten. Biting of nails is something associated with people who are nervous or have anxiety. Alternatively people do it when they're bored so this could imply that this person is in fact bored when not killing so they do it for fun for some reason. Maybe because of the adrenaline rush they gain from the 'thrill of the hunt'. We also see a small section of hair being placed into a clear bag. This plays along with another stereotype and fact that a lot of serial killers like to claim 'trophies' such as body parts and locks of hair thus reassuring our suspicions that this guy is a serial killer, just like the rest to a degree. To end the credits we see a very short and quick tracking shot of all their previous books suggesting that they are experienced in what they do (murdering people) and enjoy documenting their victories.