Codes
and conventions are methods of conveying a meaning within a piece of
media text. There are two types of codes; technical and symbolic. Technical
codes are all the different ways equipment is used , for example camera angles.
Symbolic codes include all of the aspects of mise-en-scene; for example a character who is
wearing red could be interpreted by the audience as being a dangerous
character. Some codes fit into both categories: music is both technical and symbolic.
Conventions are the generally accepted ways of doing things.
There are general conventions
in any medium but conventions
are genre specific therefore a common convention used in horror films is characters
having no signal on their phone to contact help. Much like evil dead where a
character is certain they have escaped, until they realise their phone is dead
or has no signal.
The specific films I will be analysing are; Dead Wood, Dead
Mary and Wrong Turn.
Dead Wood
The titles used in the opening of the film are compiled very
well; fading from white to red this suggests they are trying to communicate (or foreshadow)to
the audience the amount of blood and gore to expect. The film starts with an high angle crane shot (establishing shot) of the
setting (a secluded woodland far from society) in addition to the fact that
there is a very eery atmosphere which is created by soft piano music. A convention of a jump
scare used, and then the music
drastically changes to a jumpy track which makes you feel on edge about what is
going to happen. By using a
high angle the impression that is given is one of vulnerability as it is
such a vast amount of land the characters will clearly struggle to escape,
which is shown by a tracking
shot and point of view shot of a character running away from an unseen
threat. A tracking shot was the most effective within terms of editing as it gives the
audience a look from the characters point of view and makes you relate to them
more. The editing speeds up as the opening continues and can be related to the
characters mindset and how scared they are. Mise-en-scene already suggests this particular
character has encountered danger because of the blood on his face whilst racing
through the woods whereas the female character seems oblivious to any of this
as she is in safety of the tent. If we analyse the use of mise-en-scene the
character we see is wearing a colourful Hawaiian shirt, this has the
connotations of being on holiday so therefore he is not prepared, or perhaps he
is a very eccentric character which.
This may also suggest that he is a fun person and this is countered by
the fact that he seems to be extremely terrified. There are two characters; one
male one female. The male character whom was being chased reached the end of a
cliff, but on the other side is his tent and female companion. The female
characters in all of the three films are exposing a lot of skin and are dressed
very minimally; yet the female character in this specific movie is wearing all
black, which has the connotations of death and darkness. The props used seem to be
very basic but also used effectively within conventions; you are able to see that he is so
close to safety (the tent) but is still not able to make it.
Dead Mary
The films starts with extreme close ups of old rusty chains,
and the
diagetic sound
seems to be creeking sounds and outdoor noises which makes the character assume
something sinister is going on. The female character also adds
diagetic sound by tapping
her fingers on the roof of the car; this suggests she is waiting, but this
could also be interpreted as creepy . The tapping goes from quiet to loud:
which makes you think that this is a
symbol for the danger slowly approaching her. Again the location
is a secluded one, the car has conveniently ran out of petrol and the
characters are 800 miles away from the nearest anything! A
convention used in many
horror movies is also used in Dead Mary;the female character is clearly in a
vunerable position accompanied by the fact that she is nor prepared as she has
no shoes on, as mise-en-scene shows. There seems to be no sign of any help,
this is reinforced by the
convention
of her having no phone signal, but the characters seem to have a flare gun
which could come in useful. There are also two characters, male and female. The
woman is wearing very minimal clothing which could suggest that the climate is
very humid, therefore not suitable for escaping from a threat. The threat is
unseen (a
convention
used in all 3 films) much like the other two films, but there is a
point of view shot from
it examining the woman whilst hidden in the woodland.
Wrong Turn
The
establishing shot is a crane shot,
.showing
the immense amount of land where the film is set, establishing how far away
from civilisation they are; this is a common
convention used in films to translate to the
audience how far away the characters are from the rest of the world. This is
accompanied with sinister sounding
music; this is very intimidating because the audience know that
there is no escaping and there is something coming to get them. This is highlighted
by the use of
music;
string instruments and the beat of drums.
.Again
there are two characters, male and female. Richard clarifies they are isolated
by telling the female “We’re 50 miles from anybody who are you screaming for?”,
the female replies “you!” which is a
symbolic code that she is clearly dependent on him much like all
three female characters in the different films. The pace of the
editing is used
effectively in all three openings but this specific opening is a good example
of how
editing has
been used to captivate the audience.
The male
character seems to be the most domineering and the strongest of the two, this
is shown by the phrase “come on slow coach” directed at his female accomplice.
The male character ‘Richard’ reaches to top of the climbing wall but then all
is silent. The female character seems to be weaker (and easier to manipulate)
this is shown by the editing of
close up and
long
shots of her struggling to climb the mountain. We hear no
non-diagetic sound until
this happens. Another
convention
used is that the female character is screaming out for Richard to help her… but
Richard is dead and was killed, by again, an unseen danger. His body is thrown
from the top of the mountain by someone and they then try to pull the woman up
but she cuts herself free. Terrified she runs to what she thinks is safety, yet
the treat is seen rustling the tree branches and running away with a creepy
laugh. We then see a final shot of her safety (the car) which signifies how
close she was to escaping.
In conclusion
I believe that wrong turn used codes and conventions the most usefully in the
opening of the film.
Overall I believe wrong turn challenges codes and
conventions and mise-en-scene the most accurately however all three films use
atleast three conventions in common; For example conventions used are: a
helpless female victim, a victim almost escaping, a secluded location. The
general location used was a forest, forests are usually quiet and related to
nature. There are not many means of communication near (especially in the
horror genre) therefore this is why I believe ‘wrong turn uses the most
technical and symbolic codes, conventions and mise-en-scene to create an
effective and sinister opening; it helps the audience foreshadow any more terror
to come.
