Research: Essay: Codes and Conventions in WT, DM and DW

When you watch horror movies there are a lot of different codes and conventions that are used and you may not even realise, you break down these codes and conventions without even thinking about it which is what makes a horror movie as scary as it is.

There are two different types of codes:

Technical Codes:

The technical codes are basically the camera techniques, for example; the different camera shots used, the angles, movements etc. and also it is the titles, editing and sound that are done for effect during a horror film. Technical codes are used to make the film more professional, with a range of different technical codes it feels more professional than if you only used a couple of different technical codes.

Symbolic Codes:

The symbolic code is mainly mise-en-scene, this is the type of costume, make-up, setting and props that the film will include which are used for effect when trying to set the scene for the viewer. An example of this would be if there is a character with make-up to make them look worn-out and clothing that looks very worn also it gives the viewer the impression of what sort of person this character is and makes them think about their background - getting the viewer involved.

Conventions:

What is a convention?
A convention is a set of things that are expected to be seen in your movie and they differ for each genre.
An example of a convention, for a horror film, would be that the victim almost always makes the wrong/stupid decisions such as running upstairs to lock themselves in a bathroom instead of running through the door to safety. Another example would be a glance of hope in a horror movie - victim running away from the killer and they see their car that they can escape in however they trip at the last second and are taken away.

Three Openings

The opening for each of the three movies 'Dead Mary', 'Wrong Turn' and 'Dead Wood' differ slightly however they are pretty much the same with the same effects (use of the same codes throughout).

Wrong Turn:

The film starts with a boy and a girl rock climbing together and the man is taking lead and beats her to the top and tells her to hurry up then all of a sudden the man is hit and knocked out then the woman sees him thrown over the edge to his death. The woman is then made the main victim and is chased down, as she tries to escape she runs through disorientating trees with maniacal laughter following her and she trips over to then look up and see her car with a sense of freedom but is then dragged out of shot by the maniacal killer.

Dead Wood:

At the start of the movie there is a calm and relaxing shot of the woods then a sudden jump scare happens when the man puts his foot in a puddle as he is running away, through the wooded area, from the attacker. The man then finally reaches what he thinks is his camp to become safe again but comes to a small cliff between him and his camp site, there is a false sense of freedom as he attempts to jump across the gap but falls short and falls down to his death.

Dead Mary:

The film opening starts with shots of the sign with how far the gas station is away and gives us a hint as to what is going on when the shot cuts to the woman in the car with her feet up on the door window feeling relaxed and in control, then there is a shot of the car from inside the woods almost like a P.O.V of someone looking at her. She tries to look at her phone but there is no signal and then tries the radio and again she cannot get signal - giving a sense of being secluded and in danger without anyone around to help if needed. Then the woman looks in the glove draw and finds a flare gun which signals that she may need to use this later in the movie (foreshadowing), she may be in danger. There is then a shot of a figure walking towards the car, very blurred, so the audience doesn't know who it is and there is a fake jump as he puts down the gas canisters.

The use of editing is done extremely well in all three of the horror openings. The opening to the film 'Wrong Turn' is a great example of how editing is used for effect on the audience, right at the start when the boy and girl are talking to each other the cuts are very slow mainly showing each of the characters faces as they are not yet in danger, then as it caries on and the man is hit and thrown off the edge the cuts get quicker and quicker and the camera shots vary from close ups to long shots but very fast to give a sense of danger and it being very intense. The next opening of 'Dead Mary' is very different when it comes to the editing of the opening - the editing is all at the same speed as there is no sudden sense of danger and she is still in control for the whole of the opening and she has no idea that there is any danger. There are a few edits of her checking her phone and playing with the radio etc. but other than that there are no techniques used by the editors to try and tell the audience there is some sort of danger. The last film being 'Dead Wood', this film opening uses editing techniques very similar to 'Wrong Turn'. The opening starts off with a very slow shot that is very long across the forest to tell the audience where they are located then when the victim splashes in the puddle as he making his get away the editing of the shots get faster and faster to try and let the audience know he is in huge danger and the killer is getting closer and closer.

The camera movement that is used for all three of these film openings are great and are used to create great effect. The opening for 'Dead Wood' and 'Wrong Turn' both have crane shots at the beginning with very slow panning shots of the characters location, both in the woods - a very secluded location. This first shot gives the audience a feeling of the unknown and uncertainty then suddenly the shot for 'Dead Wood' become very shaky following the victim through the woods as he tries to escape the crazed killer. With the 'Wrong Turn' opening it is very similar as it also begins with a crane shot that shows the location they are at (which is also a secluded location, a forest) then the camera slowly comes down to show the boy and girl rock climbing together from above as they have no power - this is a establishing shot because it shows the audience the location where all of the horror will take place shortly. Throughout the opening the shots vary from close ups of each of the characters to long shots of the whole rock climbing wall - most of the shots are from above the characters because they have no power. For 'Dead Mary' the shots were all very much the same with a range of long shots and close ups, because no action happens at the start there is not a range of camera movement that needs to happen to create effect.

All three of the horror film openings make use of convention very well. The first convention that I will be talking about is that the victim almost makes it to safety - when the girl who was rock climbing with her male friend was killed and thrown over the edge in a desperate attempt to escape she cuts herself free and runs towards her car to make the escape, she was very close to her car and she saw a glimpse of it before being tripped by a trip-wire and dragged away almost making it to safety. Then there is a shot of the car before cutting away to signify again how close she was to making it to safety. The same convention happens in the opening of 'Dead Wood' but this time with a male victim, he is running through the disorientating woods trying to escape the crazed killer. He actually trips over whilst trying to escape however he recovers but comes to an even bigger obstacle which is a big jump to make it to safety which is his camp site, he is so close and takes a minute to prepare himself before making the jump - he takes the jump and is extremely close but hangs off the edge and there is a camera shot P.O.V of him looking at his tent to emphasise how close he really is to life but death is waiting below him as he falls down. This convention is used in most horror movies mainly because it goes hand-in-hand with another convention which is death in the first 5 minutes, people use this to create tension and suspense for the audience as the film goes on. The 'Dead Mary' film opening does not have this convention however.

The next convention I will be talking about is that the victim is always a female who relies on a male who is with them. In 'Wrong Turn' the male and his female friend go rock climbing and the male reaches the top with no problem as he is made out to be much more capable than the woman and she is not strong enough and cannot look after herself, as she calls for the male to pull her up to the top because she cannot make it. The male declines and does not pull her up seeming extremely cocky but is then thrown off the edge to his death by the maniacal killer and all of a sudden she is stuck hanging in a vulnerable position for the killer to get her. In 'Dead Mary' the female is alone in a car and she is a vulnerable position as there is absolutely no way that she could get any help if she was to be attacked and this convention is linked with another convention which is that she checks her phone for signal and there is none - she tries her hardest to get some signal by waving it in the air but there is no luck and throws it away on to the dashboard in annoyance. This reinforces that she has no one around to help her out if she is in trouble. As the female usually has a male that they rely on the male returns to the car with petrol and saves the day essentially as she now has someone to help her and she can leave this mysterious place. In the 'Dead Wood' opening the female is also reliant on the male - after he is killed she comes out of her tent shouting his name and there is no answer and suddenly she is alone and vulnerable - the audience now know she is made a victim because she is seen as weak and defenceless. Woman are generally used as victims are they are seen as weaker and more vulnerable than men. Audiences are more likely to root for a female victim because they are seen as incapable to perform when needed to defend themselves - the audience want to see the female succeed.

A symbolic code I am going to be talking about is make-up. In 'Dead Wood' the male has large visible signs of blood on his face and rips in his clothes showing that he has already encountered violence beforehand and is being chased by whatever made him look like that. Then in 'Wrong Turn' there is make-up when the woman realises her male partner is dead is when blood drips onto her face from his dead corpse and this gives the audience the impression that something dangerous and threatening is chasing them. In 'Dead Mary' there is no blood at all because nothing happens at the start which is violent.

Another symbolic code I am going to be talking about is the way that the females are dressed in these film openings. In 'Dead Wood' the female is wearing full black clothing which is the colour for death in my opinion. She is also wearing a knee length skirt with a hole I the front and back with high heeled boots - these clothing items are not camping clothing. The place of the couples tent is on an edge that she would need better clothing to get past and she would definitely need better clothing if she knew there was a blood thirsty killer after her. The male is wearing a colourful shirt and no appropriate clothing for camping either which shows they are inexperienced with the camping scene and this may be why they are targeted by the killer. In 'Wrong Turn' the female is wearing quite exposing clothing and not good enough clothing for her to withstand any attacks that may come her way which the audience know is coming. Her clothing symbolises how exposed she is to danger and that she will soon face it. In 'Dead Mary' the female is wearing a blue vest top which is very exposing and she is also not wearing any shoes or socks and this symbolises that she is not expecting an attack and if there was one then she would have no chance of escaping her predator.

Overall, I think that 'Wrong Turn' is uses the most technical/symbolic codes and conventions - during the opening credits we hear all sorts of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds that give us a feel of the sort of movie that the audience are watching. 'Wrong Turn' also does a very good job with the symbolic codes and mise-en-scene with the make-up and costumes and they link very well with the conventions that are used in the opening such as the female victim and the victim almost making it to safety etc. 'Wrong Turn' also uses a forest as the location for this horror movie and I think this was a good idea because a forest is a very secluded location and there is very limited help that is available if there was any problems. 'Wrong Turn' also does a very good job with the camera movement, the use of the different shots makes it very good because it gives a feel of where they are and that they really are helpless. The editing is also done very well with these camera shots as the shots are very shaky go well with fast cuts building up adrenaline and making it very intense throughout the opening as the characters are more and more in danger until they are captured by the unknown enemy. In conclusion, I think that 'Wrong Turn' uses a lot of the better technical and symbolic codes and conventions throughout their opening to create the horrifying effect they are trying to create for the audience in the first minutes of the film to really draw in the audience to the film and make them interested to see the rest of the film.