A.M: Discuss the ways in which horror films are distributed and produced

UK cinema admissions increased by 1.4 percent in 2011, mainly this was caused by the release of 3D.  Film makers have a lot of added pressure due to the risky business they are in. To create a profit and recuperate the costs from their films they need to make 3 times the budget they spent.  For companies such as Warner Bros they use hard money which it receives from Time Warner, a conglomerate. The conglomerate also enables the films to horizontally integrate with media platforms such as Gameing companies, music companies and merchandise companies. Due to the large amount of assets Time Warner owns the companies have the opportunity to use synergistic promotional activity. Smaller Independent companies such as Vertigo films  and Glass Eye Pix who often use soft money and have a low budget and do not have a lot of the advantages that bigger film companies have. This means that distribution and production become more difficult for the smaller companies who don’t have assets such as cross media convergence. 

Due to digital technology advances in film production audience now have higher expectations. Consumers are now expecting special effects, HD and the added option of seeing the film in 3D. In general  the global institutions which produce films with ultra-high budgets will have a high enough hard money to be able to satisfy audiences demands. An example of a high-budget supernatural horror film distributed by Warner Bros is the conjuring (Wan,2013), which had a budget of $20 million and box office of $316 million. The Conjuring had very realistic special effects, this is due to their budget meaning they can afford good editing and filming equipment needed to achieve this. The visual effects team, led by visual effects supervisor Ray McIntyre Jr, edited footage to augment the signs of possession. The VFX, and special effects team, led by David Beavis, were also integral to creating various poltergeists that plague the Perrons. The professional team produced high quality visual effects making the film look realistic and intensifying the scare factor of the film. This is very beneficial as most horror film viewers want a film that makes them jump. A soundtrack was produced especially for the film. Wan incorporated audile cues to build tension towards the inevitable culmination of the terrifying battle between the Warrens and the inimical forces afflicting the Perrons. “It’s what you believe you see through the music and sound design that really gets you,” says the director. As the film was loosely based on real life events surrounding Ed and Lorraine Warren, Farmiga and Wilson in preparation  for their roles to Connecticut to spend time with Lorraine Warren, who also visited the set during production. Over the course of spending three days at the Warren home, both actors took in information that could not otherwise be achieved from secondary research. Shooting took place primarily at Screen Gems Sudios as well as other locations in and around Wilmington,North Carolina.

 

The 6 major US studios have hegemonic status in the film industry due to the number of films they create and the revenue that ultra-high budget tentpoles produce. These institutes are conglomerates and use cross media convergence to enable vertical and horizontal integration. Distributors can then use subsidiaries to produce distribute and exhibit their film products and services on various platforms. The marketing campaigned used for The Conjuring was a success which is evident in the revenue of the film. They utilised all aspects of their synergistic promotion by taking advantage of other media related products also they used symbiotic promotion of non-media related products such as t-shirts and mugs. A teaser trailer was released which kicked off the film’s marketing campaign in February 2013 to create a buzz. There were adverts for the film on billboards, posters, online and TV. Throughout the campaign, the film was promoted heavily as "based on a true story." When the release date was near trailers and TV spots began to feature the real-life Perron family to make the storyline of the film more known to the public. This was followed by a feature called ‘The Devil's Hour’ in which Lorraine Warren and other paranormal investigators explain some of the supernatural occurrences seen in the film to create a hype about the film. Through horizontal integration with ‘havefuns.com’ an online gaming website ’The Conjuring hide and seek’ game was created. The film was shown at the Los Angeles Film Festival and the world premiere took place at the Madrid International Fantastic Film Festival which also featured a Q&A section with the director. The film had a wide release and its red carpet premiere was then held for the film on July 15, 2013 at Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles. DVD and Blu-ray editions of the film were released through Warner Bros Home Entertainment and the soundtrack through the Water Tower music label, this was done through horizontal integration. Through horizontal integration different companies and websites such as flickfeast and entertainment-focus.com promoted competitions to win exclusive The Conjuring merchandise. This prize included a the conjuring merchandise mirror, mug, flashlight and ladies and men's t-shirts  The conjuring also had official Facebook and Twitter accounts to promote their products to positive technological determinists online : https://www.facebook.com/TheConjuringUK and https://twitter.com/TheConjuringUK.

Independent films tend to be produced with a low budget, possibly co-produced and often funding is received from the lottery.  Due to the fact they have low budget soft money means they can’t spend as much money on CGI, special effects, HD and the special camera equipment needed to achieve certain assets, such as 3D. Independent films would first focus their budget on essentials, for example paying for the crew, set, actors, costume, props and prosthetics.

An example of a horror film produced by Glass Eye Pix is ‘The House Of The Devil’ (west,2009). It had a budget of about $20,000 and created about $100,000 at the box office. It combines elements of both the slasher film and haunted house subgenres. The film was purposefully created similarly to horror films of the 1970s and 1980s, recreating the style of films of that era using filming techniques and similar technology to what was used then. The film was shot in Conneticut. Taking place in the 1980s, the film was made with 16mm film, giving it a retro stylistic look that matched the decade. Similarly, some aspects of the culture of the 1980s are seen in the film as signifiers of the decade. The cinematography of the film also reflects the methods used by directors of the time. For instance, West often has the camera zoom in on characters rather than dolly in as is now common in film, a technique that was often used in horror films of the 1970s and continued to be used into the 1980s. Other stylistic signifiers include opening credits which became less common in films in the decades after the 1980s in yellow font accompanied by freeze frames and the closing credits being played over a still image of the final scene. Shots are tripod-steady and the editing is calm and precise. The special effects are pre filmic as during production they made use of old-fashioned makeup and stage blood as an alternative to using CGI and special affects in post production.

 

Smaller institutions which produce independent and cult films find it is almost impossible to make them known by a large viewing audience. Due to the fact they aren’t part of a conglomerate means they can’t integrate horizontally and vertically with other companies as easily. This results in their being a lack of interest for the independent films as they can’t get the attention of new viewers.  This is why they tend to aim independent films at niche audiences.    The marketing for The House Of The Devil was very well done as it used strong visual identity by releasing 7 different posters for the film. The posters had a variety of fonts images and tag lines such as: “Talk on the phone. Finish your homework. Watch TV. Die…” Like many other independent/indie/art house films this film relied on its style, and it pushed this idea through its advertising. Releasing the film on VHS meant that it targeted the niche audience of people who were VHS fans. This relates to the fact it is a 1980s style film. The box was produced oversized just like the old fashioned cases. Later in february DVD and Blu-ray versions of the film were released. As the Internet  has democratised film making for audiences and given distributors new ways of pushing content at the core audience the 12 to 29 year olds who are largely positive technological determinists films can be exhibited online on websites such as Netflix and Lovefilm. The trailer produced for The House Of The Devil was put on YouTube as a way to target more potential consumers. Using Youtube means that the trailers can be easily shared with the large number of viewers and internet advertising is very effective and cheap. Which is exactly what this film did. The film also has an official facebook page and website to advertise it's products. The House of the Devil reviews were in a number of magazines such as :

'A near masterpiece of old fashioned suspense' - The Oregonian

"After years of vivisectionist splatter, here is a horror movie with real shivers." - Manohla Dargis, THE NEW YORK TIMES

"Pick of the Week" - Time Magazine

"The House of the Devil is by far the freakiest and most unnerving shocker in theatres this season." - The Austin Chronicle

 

 

In conclusion Industrial films produced by the hegemonic US film companies appear to have a lot of advantages when it comes to production and marketing campaigns of their films. Independent films struggle to keep up with new digital technologies whereas industrial films can due to their ultra high budgets. Digital Technology has had a large and lasting impact on institutions and audiences in the film industry. A major impact is that institutions can market and distribute there films a lot easier now due to the amount of different pathways that they can choose to do this. Therefore they have more ways of directly targeting their  advertising and marketing campaigns at their audience and this is a huge advantage. This is very beneficial for independent producers  as they can produce distribute and exhibit their films through the evolution of technology and the internet  as they can launch a viral marketing campaign. Companies could use websites such as Netflix Lovefilm and Youtube to distribute trailers. Also they can use pop-ups on social networking sites to get even more attention drawn to their film.   As well new digital technology has the potential to redistribute power within societies and across different countries giving everyone the chance to access media content, this means that when using viral marketing the company has a great chance of targeting a large audience. Industrial films still have many more pathways  to market their films due to the fact they are part of a conglomerate and utilised horizontal and vertical integration. Independent films  value style over genre  and are available to consumers but find it difficult to catch the attention of core audiences. Due to the Digital Technology advancements  audiences now have a lot more ways to communicate interact and find out about the film industries products.Technological convergence has  improved the ease of accessing information on films. For example you can access the internet easily on your phone from the push of a button. This means consumers can look up reviews, trailers and what time certain films are on at the cinema. Another digital technology development is a triple play Blu-ray. This includes a DVD, Blu-ray and digital copy. The digital copy allows audiences to transfer the film to laptops and then onto mobile devices so it is possible for consumers to watch films on the go. Independent films have a number of ways that they combat the fact they have a lower budget which could limit them. For example they use pro-filmic effects  and prosthetics instead of special affects and CGI, this can be seen as limited but can be very effective in certain sub-genres such as zombie horror or slasher films. Also they use real locations instead of sets, for example a very affective location for horror films are the woods. 

Group: Wilderness Wood Final Edit

Analysis:
Strengths:
- Soundtrack was used well to build and create tension and convey characters emotions 
- Continuity editing was fluent and created verisimilitude 
- Jump cut editing successfully connoted fear and panic whilst the character was hiding
- We used a wide variety of camera angles and movements to practice and perfect our filming techniques. Therefore we were able to practice potential ideas for our final piece.
- Costume was simple and included everyday clothing to create verisimilitude to an otherwise unusual and surreal situation and so that the audience could connect with the characters.
- Dialogue was clear and portrayed the characters inner monologues.
- Props were conventional of the psychological horror sub-genre that we were trying to portray.
- The narrative was conventional of horror films. It had female victims and the protagonist was unable to contact help and reach civilisation.
- We experimented in post production by editing a pov to look as if the characters eyes were slowly closing.
- We successfully fulfilled the brief.


Targets:
- Perfect sound continuity through out sequence
- Experiment with prosthetics
-  While editing include titles
- Experiment with different lighting 

D.B: Technical Analysis - The Ward (2010, John Carpenter)

Camera Techniques	Duration	Analysis
A long-shot tracking backward along a corridor.	0:00 – 0:12	The title of the film anchors the location of the corridor; that it must be some kind of ward. The title seems to appear unexpectedly in the corridor causing the belief that not everything is as it seems, it becomes the thing that you would pass in the darkness. whistling music and thunder.
A close-up slow tracking shot hovering around an old drawing of a man’s legs and arms tied up and carried by other men.	0:12 – 0:16	The slow tracking creates an interesting shot that lets the audience focus on the image being shown. The image is quite grotesque instilling the association that the film will be about harsh punishments and sin.
A close-up slow tracking shot hovering around an old drawing of a man being tortured on a wooden wheel.	0:16 – 0:20	The images shown connote pain and suffering.
A close-up slow tracking shot hovering around an old drawing of a woman’s hand tied above her head whilst men inspect her.	0:20 – 0:25	The image seems like a picture from the witch hunting times. The woman looks terrified and has been completely belittled.
The previous picture is split into broken glass pieces that slowly separate, now the still close-up has moved further up the picture to show the woman’s bound hands.	0:25 – 0:29	The shattering of the glass connotes something delicate being destroyed and the already morbid image has an even greater disturbing quality added to it.
A still close-up of an old black and white drawing of a man’s ankles being chained. The picture has few shatter marks of a broken mirror slowly separating.	0:29 – 0:33	The slow-motion movement of the broken glass creates a peaceful contrast to the morbid image.
A still close-up of an old drawing of a man chained to a chair with a box around his face. The image is in the same style as shattering glass, there are many cracks drifting apart pointing outside of the shot. The shot slowly fade out to reveal the next shot.	0:33 – 0:38	There is a repetition amongst the photos of constraint towards the people in the images. It is portrayed in a very negative way, for example, in this shot the man has had his human rights taken away from him by the fact that he cannot see or eat whilst he is wearing the containment.
A still close-up of an old photo of a woman with electric wires attached to her forehead, looking to the sky and praying. The image is shattered like glass drifting apart.	0:38 – 0:45	The wires in her forehead look incredibly painful and as if they are torturing her. This connotes fear and pain which is a convention of the horror genre.
A still medium-close up of an old photograph of a man’s face expressed with horror and pain. The image is in the bottom left corner and the rest of the shot is shattering glass, the point that the glass has been struck is visible but not the object that struck it. The shattered pieces move towards the camera.	0:45 – 0:51	It is not seen what afflictions are being put upon the man in the photo but it is clear that the man is in complete agony. The audience is completely aware that the following film will be about torture and pain and will not be something pleasant. The connotations in this shot are conventionally of a psychological horror film.
A glass shattered photo of a man tied to a chair by his wrists and neck.	0:51 – 0:58	The man is wearing a convicts uniform with a rag on his head that suggests he is about to be killed by electrocution. The uniform connotes that the evil that is being done to him has some justification.
A needle is being inserted into a mans ear whilst his face is tied still. His eye is being forced open by another man as well. The image is shattered like glass drifting apart.	0:58 – 1:03	Lobotomies are often known as an old practice to help with mental disorders. The image is more grotesque than previous images, increasing the sense of dread that the film wishes to connote.The images represent the early days of mental science in which more evil devices were used to 'cure' the mentally insane.
One person is holding the patient's open skull whilst the other drill a circle into it. This image is less shattered because it requires more recognisable detail for it to be understood.	1:03 – 1:11	The images relating to mental disorders creates a dominant ideology that mental disabilities are dangerous and evil and that they ways to treat them are unsafe and the people with them are completely helpless. Every images is connoting mental disorders in a negative way. This representation signifies the mind as a fearful thing - a convention of its horror sub-genre.
A canted angle of a flat piece of glass being shattered from beneath in three different places. once again, the glass shatters in slow motion.	1:11 – 1:19	The shattering glass connotes the idea that the context of the image is an illusion and that pain is associated with this illusion.
A canted close-up of a woman strapped to a medical bed with a piece of cloth shoved into her mouth. The woman is receiving electroshock therapy. The image is shattered like glass drifting apart.	1:19 – 1:23	The images are designed to hint at the dark nature of the film. The purpose of them is to create a sense of dread for the mental ward that the film takes place in. This technique enables them to sustain tension from the beginning of the film.The images make the audience feel disconcerted and apprehensive of what they were about to witness.
A woman screams in pain as her head is held in place and a needle is used to inject something into her neck. The image is shattered like glass drifting apart.	1:23 – 1:29	The images are in black and white because the drained colour represents the lack of life and happiness evermore creating the feeling of hopelessness and dread.
A mid-shot of a woman sitting on a chair with her back to the camera wearing a white jacket. This shot is also shattered like glass that drifts apart in slow motion.	1:29 – 1:35	The shadows in the photo conceal the location that the character is in and her identity. The attention is completely brought to the white jacket and the dangerous mental instabilities that are associated with it.
A close-up of a woman tithing in pain as she receives electroshock therapy, The image is shattering like glass drifting apart.	1:35 – 1:46
The camera pans into the large hole in the glass where it has been shattered but to the left is an extreme-close-up of a  girl who has a large needle poking into her eye.	1:46 – 1:51
A large single shard of glass separates in slow motion with a long-shot of a girl cradling her legs whilst sitting against a wall projected onto the glass.	1:51 – 2:03	This shot is longer than the rest of the shots leaving the audience to ponder and focus more on the girl in the image than previous images. It suggests that the girl may have importance to the narrative.
Another large single piece of glass slowly floats off of the bottom left corner until it is completely unseen. Projected onto the piece of glass is a woman lying on the concrete floor in the fetal position.	2:03 – 2:12

Sound - On further research, I found out that the soundtrack was composed after the sequence was finished. This was so that the composer was able to create a piece of music that perfectly anchored the visuals.

LP: The Nightmare On Elms Street

Camera Techniques	Duration	Analysis
Establishing shot of the ‘springwood diner’ It slowly tracks towards the diner, allowing the audience to understand that the next shot is going to be in the diner and places them in the location.	3 seconds	It is raining and the time of day is night-time, which straight away connotes horror, because a storm is normally a very conventional weather, found in horror. The lights on the sign of the dinner are also flashing off and on which creates a sense of foreboding.
CU still shot of the clock, telling us it’s 4.30	2 seconds	The shadows on the wall allow us to feel as if it’s very late in the night The lighting also changes colour, creating an ominous effect on the audience
Tracking onto the man sitting in the both	11 seconds	Dialogue- “can I have another” and the lady quite clearly ignores him, implies she is being drawn to something because she doesn’t stop walking.
Still shot, showing the waitress walking away from the camera	3 seconds	More dialogue of the man asking for a drink- “hey can I have some more coffee please” but yet again she ignores him.
Long shot of the diner, showing the bar table to the right	3 seconds	The lighting is very dark creating a sense of fear
CU of the top frame of the door and a bell ringing	1 second	The rain can be seen dripping down he window, reminding the audience of the storm
MS of the man sitting in the booth, showing him turning round to get the waitress’s attention	5 seconds	More dialogue- “excuse me”, he is still trying to get her attention, yet again emphasising that something isn’t right and creating a sense of foreboding.
Still shot for 5 seconds showing the long shot of the diner again, then it pans left following the man trying to find the waitress	10 seconds	The panning allows the audience to see the emptiness and isolation of the diner, the man seems to be all alone apart from this spooky lady
Panning left showing an empty kitchen	2 seconds	Sound- the sound of flames can be heard
MCU following the man shouting to see if anyone else is in the diner and trying to find the waitress	11 seconds	Delivery of dialogue is significant because he still shown shouting to see if there is anyone in the diner, he clearly feels very alone. The MCU shows his facial expression as worried and confused.
Panning past a kitchen full of stuff but with no one in it.	8 seconds	Set design not only establishes the characters predicament, that he is alone for the time being but also shows that people were once there which creates even more of a sense of isolation.
MCU, tracking backwards showing the man walking	4 seconds	Non-verbal language conveys the confusion that the man is feeling by his facial expression, but he seems determined to find out what’s going on.
Still shot of the door with a blurred window, the man is showed coming towards the door and opening it, you can see him through the window. Showing continuity because we know he is going to walk through the door.	6 seconds	The lighting places us with the man, because the window he is seen through is very light and everything else is dark. The shot is framed so the audience can see the man through the window
Still continuity shot of him coming through the door	6 seconds	You can here the flames even stronger now
Tracking forward showing the waitress again, ignoring the fire on the right hand side	3 seconds	Sound continuity shot showing the flames The lighting allows everything to be very dark and the fire to glow very brightly, drawing the audiences eyes towards the fire
MCU of the man shouting ‘hello’ again	1 second	The MCU shows his emotions, and we can see by his wide eyes that he is very confused about the fire and can’t understand why the waitress is ignoring him
POV shot from the man, of him walking, tracking towards the fire	1 second	Again, showing the fire glowing causing the audience to focus on it
MCU of the man	1 second	Showing his fear again
POV shot, showing how bad the fire is	3 seconds	The noise of the flames has been turned up over the music Blurred effect, shows the heat of the fire
MCU reaction shot from the man to the fire	1 second	He is quite clearly getting anxious, his walk has slowed down and his mouth has opened in shock
POV shot from the man looking at the fire, panning from right to left showing the mess using a selective focus so that part of the action is in focus	2 seconds	The music connotes the fear, because it get’s really loud. Blurred effect, shows the heat of the fire and a quick camera action implies he is panicked
Panning past his face, showing him scanning the mess	2 seconds	Again, showing his emotion and confusion
Panning past a skull of an animal covered in blood	2 seconds	His dialogue- “what the fuck” implies he doesn’t know what’s going on. The blood on the animal is very conventional of horror, something is killing this to create such a mess and because there is still blood on the skull it means it must of quite recently been killed so maybe the danger is still around. Blurred effect, shows the heat of the fire
MCU reaction shot from the man to the skull	2 seconds	His non-verbal language conveys him as feeling quite sick after looking at that skull
Shot focusing on the claws of the protagonist	7 seconds	Costume is key in providing a visual signifier to the audience, for example the claws on the protagonist are very conventional of horror because they can be used as weapons, and a murder device.
Tracking past the stuff hanging in the kitchen, following the man	3 seconds	Low key lighting of the stuff in front brings our attention to the man, and allows the audience to focus on him
Shot focusing on the mental claws of the protagonist rubbing his claws together	3 seconds	Again, costume is used to show that the protagonist is evil because he is creeping up on the man with his sharp claws.
Reaction shot to the noise of the metal claws rubbing together, very quickly the man turns around	1 second	The music gets louder implying he has noticed the sound and is scared
Long shot showing the man checking if anyone is there	1 second	The protagonist disappears and you can hear a clunking of pans, as if he has quickly escaped the mans view.
Reaction shot from the man to hearing a door opening	3 seconds	His mouth is open and his eyes are wide connotes fear, he knows he is in danger
A still shot that shows a door swinging closed, and then pans left towards the man with the claws who slashes them at the other man	5 second	Make-up is used to show the slashes on his arm, the blood portrays the horror and death
CU of the man suddenly waking up from his nightmare	1 second	The lady can be heard trying to wake him up by repeating his name, highlighting the fact that he has just woken up.
MCU of the waitress talking to the man	5 seconds	She is conventionally pretty
Shot of the man sitting at the table	3 seconds
MCU of the waitress reacting to what the man has said	1 second
Shot of the plate with a bit of meat in a pool of blood	1 second	The blood is conventional of horror
MCU of the waitresses face	1 second
Reaction shot from the man of the waitress taking away his plate	1 second