EVALUATIONIn what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and codes of conventions of real media products?

introduction Considering that codes and conventions are essentially the

very base of media texts, my partner and I were determined to follow such conventions that would meet and exceed audience’s expectations, therefore ensuring that the media product receives a positive response. It’s an absolute must to meet these expectations in order for fans of the genre to enjoy watching the film.

The first thing to do, of course, is developing and having a strong sense of familiarity of the codes and conventions. This was made through the production of the overviews and analyses of horror film posters, magazines and trailers. Specific elements would reappear and stand out that signified a strong sense of the iconography that make up the horror film genre. These elements were then implemented into the promotional package to be effective and stay truthful to the genre of horror, including iconography such as the protagonist having a troubled/vulnerable look, a dark setting, etc.

Conventions: poster (main image)

The main image used in the poster is reflective of the supernatural/found-footage genre of horror. This can be made clear with the bloodshot eyes (in a reference to the famous eye bleeding scene in Lucio Fulci’s City Of The Living Dead) showcasing overall the look of fear that the actress has while holding up a camcorder, hinting to how the film has been shot – found footage type. It is also placed above the title in order to reel in the audience’s attention first so that they are able to find out the name of the film afterwards.

Flames are also present in order to indicate the presence of hell within the film, using Drag Me To Hell as the inspiration.

The background image faintly depicts the setting of the school’s underground floor, deducing that the film takes place somewhere dark, a standard convention in horror films.

Conventions: poster (main image) (part 2)

The selection of using an young actress signifies the genre as this is a common convention to have young females being showcased as innocent, vulnerable and scared. It will excite a male audience as it’s been known that they find pleasure in seeing women cowering. Audience also find it more normally acceptable to see a cowering female than a male in the same position instead.

The use of colour in the main image and across the whole of the poster is mostly dark colours along with red, orange and yellow for a deep contrast. The darkening tones are common within the genre of horror. Red, yellow and orange are associated with connotations of danger and hell, reflecting the unholy and terrifying nature of horror films.

Conventions: poster (other)

The title is placed nearer towards to the bottom so that the audience can take in the main image clearly. The title “After Class” reflects upon the setting being that of a school and a play on the phrase “after dark”, making the title out to be something sinister and disheartening. It’s a convention in horror films to bring the abnormality out of something that would normally be innocent sounding. Below the title is the tagline that anchors everything and brings the audience’s attention to the narrative. It is effective as this leads the audience to be nervous as to what is going to happen.

Institutional information has been placed at the bottom so the audience can see who has played a part in the production of the film. This is a standard with most film posters, regardless of genre.

Conventions: film magazine

The main imagery is dominating most of the front cover, with the protagonist from the film poster positioned central in an action shot to grab the audience’s attention. It’s a common convention to have main images on front covers depicting the protagonist in the midst of some sort of action, as if it was a frame from the film itself.

The masthead placed at the top of the front cover is in a bold font in order to stress its dominance across the cover. The name, meaning “cinema” in German gives the film magazine a regal and refined feel, like Empire magazine.

The same colours are used throughout the cover, with red used mostly to symbolise blood and death – an iconic convention that is of course related with horror films.

Conventions: trailerAs with the standard in horror film trailers, it starts off with an equilibrium, establishing the location of where the film is based – a school. The shot of the children playing emphasises the tranquillity of the situation. This is then followed by the disruption which is when one of the students talk about a certain something being real.

Over the next scenes of the trailer, the lighting is dark to emphasise upon the setting of being underground and during the evening. There is an increased pace of editing and fast montage of shots with many cuts included to increase tension within the audience. This is a convention in horror films for there to be fast editing in order to showcase the scarier scenes in their horrific glory.

Straps are also present throughout the entirety of the trailer that show the film title and information that the audience will link to what they see and hear within the scenes being depicted. It is a convention for straps to be placed within a trailer to provide information that will, in part build up the tension for the audience.