Q1) In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop or Challenge Forms & Conventions Of Real Media Products?

Codes & Conventions serves as an indicator of a genre and helps film viewers to identify media content, it aids many in identifying certain genres of film e.g. Horror. However over time certain demographics of genre require more unique elements within their films and as a result the codes and conventions of a genre are altered & subverted further creating a sub-genre or sub category; the Slasher genre is an example of a sub-genre, blending gore, mystery, violence and thriller elements to entertain its audiences whilst still maintaining and abiding by the formulaic qualities of a Horror film for easy identification. By subverting traditional elements of a genre and yet abiding by the key factors that characterise the genre, a film can be new fresh and exciting whilst still catering to the genre’s roots, this pleases both older, more traditional genre fans and the newer, more modern genre fans. I believe this is the approach ‘The Return’ has made via the three main ancillary tasks of the poster, magazine and trailer. This evaluation essay is split into three segments regarding those ancillary tasks for ease of reading.

Trailer

Firstly Slasher films follow a set of generic and formulaic conventions which are ubiquitous among almost all Slasher titles (excluding Scream which was almost a satire of the genre’s characterising values). The conventions goes as follows (refer to History of Slasher Genre and Conventions Slideshow for more detail); A final girl, who is innocent and virginal along with a group of generic, promiscuous and ‘morally questionable’ teens are tormented by a psychopathic sadistic killer who is conventionally a male, is masked and working single handily, and systematically ‘picks off’ each member of the group with those who were promiscuous getting killed first. The final girl is the sole surviving member of the group due to her virginal qualities with again a wider meaning being displayed of Virginity Vs Promiscuous, examples of this narrative plotline are prominent and epitomised in Halloween and Friday The 13^th

 

‘The Return’ abides by the most common and formulaic qualities of the genre whilst subtly twisting and subverting certain elements such as; the character of Frankie who, on the surface has a facade of being innocent just as the viewer would expect of a final girl. However as the narrative unfolds the viewer discovers she is not so innocent as she appears as she is the catalyst for Ruby returning as the film title implies. She abused Ruby when she was in need of an older sibling, but Frankie defeated the role of a loving older sister by abandoning and neglecting her to the extent where Ruby was forced to leave due to her unbearable pain she was suffering in the hands of Frankie, this torment inflicted by Frankie was a result of her selfish personality as she required attention from her parents which was diverted to Ruby upon her arrival into the family; This subverts the convention of having a totally innocent Final Girl and yet ‘The Return’ abides by the convention of virginity by maintaining the final girls virginity throughout the film, by doing this the film beings to cater to traditional and modern slasher fans and makes the genre slightly more realistic as the Final Girl Frankie is human after all, she displays dislikeable but very human flaws which provides the audience with a focal point of being able to relate with the character to make a more engaging viewing experience where the viewer is rooting for her survival as she represents them within the digesis/verisimilitude.

   

Also ‘The Return’ twists the convention of a male killer by having Ruby, a female, as the killer and abides by the theory of Barbara Creed’s ‘Women as Monstrous’; This sees women as monstrous due to the threat of castration induced and developed during Freudian child development between the pre- oedipal space (Where child is attached to Mother deeply) and symbolic order (The realistic interpretation of the world as we know it), the child views the mother as dissimilar due to lack of male genitals and then perceives her as a threat to his manhood (castration), this is reflected by Ruby wielding a knife which can be seen as a phallic object by viewers in conjunction with the theory and can see it representing the threat of castration. This also reflects the socio-historic context in which ‘The Return’ was produced in, as Ruby, in an almost absurd way, empowers Women due to her sheer raw power she possesses and dominance over the other male characters e.g. Jay in which she sadistically ‘plays’ or ‘toys’ with him before killing him, this reflects the socio-historic context as even today Women are still fighting for equal rights globally from the US for equal pay to Saudi Arabia for Women’s rights to drive.

 

However again ‘The Return’ does not completely deform the conventional aspects of a Villain, otherwise it would not be catering to the optimal size demographic of both traditional and newer modern fans; The killer, Ruby is masked much like many other Villains which are masked within slasher films such as Leather face or Jason from Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday The 13th, Ruby utilises her hair to cover her face and acts as a natural mask which reinforces the eerie natural quality of her being Death personified, similar to Freddy Krueger she is masked partially with occasional glimpse of her face underneath which represents her dehumanised nature. Also the decision to have a female killer with her hair acting as a mask is a direct intertexual reference to The Grudge and a more popular slasher title; The Ring, ‘The Return’ follows the conventions of those films by making Ruby having reminiscent aesthetic qualities to Kayako Saeki the killer in the Grudge and the replicated Samara Morgan in The Ring, this intertextual reference is gratifying for the demographic to identify and caters to their wants and needs along with the feeling of belonging or being part of ‘a group’, as outlined in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. In addition it also ‘trades’ on the audience’s knowledge of that film. 'The Return' uses the successful ‘signs’ created in that film in order to instil a similar level of fear in yours, which is semiotics/iconography as the signs (Ruby or a girl in a white dress with long hair) has now gained a fixed meaning within my film but within the demographic too.

  

 

 ‘The Return’ also abided by the convention in Slasher films of having certain characters die first such as the sexually promiscuous and the ethnic minority group member. Chelsea in ‘The Return’ served as the sexually promiscuous character who indulged in sex with Trey (Harry) who also fulfilled the sexually promiscuous role but also is a member of the group of an ethnic minority which places him in more likelihood of getting killed by Ruby, this convention which ‘The Return’ has followed can be understood via the Marxist view that the few who have power (white, middle class men) have therefore control over the content released which the convention is unfortunately a result of, institutional racism, this however is being superseded with the convention of both white and black characters dying simultaneously and not separately however this convention as shown in Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2013) is fairly new and un-established hence why ‘The Return’ did not follow it, as the demographic would not identify it.

     

The abiding to the conventions results in the formulaic wider meaning being expressed by ‘The Return’ in that one must be a virgin and not promiscuous and is most always evident and prominent in majority of existing Slasher films, the Return therefore follows the conventional functional reading of the Slasher genre. By following these conventions, both slasher fans, old and new will immediately be able to recognise & identify ‘The Return’ as a Slasher film as the qualities of the genre have not been altered with in excess, only to the point of making a film with exciting subtle twists made on expected, common and formulaic conventions. By maintaining the characterising conventions, the film gains recognition which is fundamental to ‘The Return’s success, this is due to its independent production studio having a low budget for marketing and thus less of a opportunity to promote ‘The Return’ however by incorporating the elements above, a compromise can be made as the film is now identifiable for Slasher fans gaining much needed recognition.

Other than the narrative, The Return also followed many formulaic qualities to be expected of a typical film trailer such as the decision to display the production, distribution and associated companies (Grizzly Productions, Splice Film & Film 4) stringed together subsequently at the outset of the trailer, with a shot or scene being placed in between each fade in with the next company logo being displayed.

 

 This can be seen in many existing trailers as identified in the Existing Trailer research such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2013). ‘The Return’ also followed the convention to have no recognisable qualities of a Slasher genre product at the start of the trailer as done in Dead Man’s Shoes trailer; this was done by having a calm almost inaudible soundtrack playing in the outset juxtaposed with a girl in a white dress playing on a swing, this description gives no reference to the genre within the outset yet displays some elements of horror through its eerie qualities and the semiotics and iconography entailed with Ruby's aesthetic appearance however, as the trailer progresses the OST (Original Soundtrack) changes and the tone and pace of the trailer is vastly boosted by having shorter shot maintenance time or time the shot is sustained for aka the speed of the edit being faster and jump cuts with more referential content of the genre being displayed (car crash which Jason and Alex die in and the shot of the crow flying away with the Mise En Scene displaying imminent or approaching danger).

This was followed in our trailer with again even more formal and formulaic conventions such as the display of captions in between trailer scenes providing visual relief from the trailer via intervals in which they were displayed in but also informing the audience of the enigma code and the general narrative which can incite interest into the film; which is effectively the sole purpose of ‘The Return’ trailer.

Within Slasher trailers the narrative structure is referenced to and sometimes displayed fully for example Pam Cook’s Theory of Classic Hollywood Institutional Narrative is not conventionally utilised or fully explained in trailers as it defeats the purpose of having a trailer due to major spoilers if “the overall trajectory of cause and effect leading to enigma resolution” was displayed in the trailer. Henceforth Todorov’s theory of Narrative Equilibriums are displayed and referenced to formally within trailers due to suitability of the trailer’s nature; using the theory to promote the trailer and market or tease key events via the equilibrium stages shown, with the new equilibrium which is the culmination of the narrative with the enigma resolution solved (In The Return the new equilibrium is Frankie's history unravelled, her friends dead and Ruby defeated) not being given screen time otherwise again it would defeat the purpose of a trailer. ‘The Return’ follows these conventions with the disruption (the party scene and the subsequent car crash of Jason and Alex) of the equilibrium being the displayed. This then progresses to Frankie and Amy realising the scale and consequence of their actions by making Ruby return which is the recognition of the disruption, which is then superseded by fast shots or scenes of the efforts to try and restore the equilibrium where most of the drama and main narrative events are generated from (e.g. Texas Chainsaw Massacre in which the final girl and her friends are shown in the trailer trying to evade and yet defeat Leatherface in an attempt to restore the equilibrium, the natural environment the film started within the outset), this attempted restoration of equilibrium in the Return however was only shown again through fast paced shots to give the audience a taste of The Return fulfilling the sole purpose of the trailer; to generate to attract an audience for the film. Had my group and myself decided not to follow the convention of using Todorov’s theory of equilibriums in the trailer, the trailer would become something bland and uninteresting which demonstrates the importance of following this formal aspect of trailers. By demonstrating these key events via the equilibrium demonstration in the trailer the audience get more of a gist of the narrative context of ‘The Return’ such as elements of British Social Realism, portrayal of social issues such as teenage recklessness etc.

Usage of other Narrative theories which are conventional in trailers are also used in ‘The Return’ such as the utilisation of semantic coding (Roland Barthes) from both Frankie and Ruby’s perspective. Frankie’s semantic coding was carried out through ‘Over the Shoulder’ shots which engages the viewer and helps them to identify, relate and root for her survival. Ruby’s semantic coding was very brief but extremely effective as found in most formulaic slasher films as there is a convention to make the audience feel uncomfortable via subjective shots such as Point of View or OTS shots of the villain whilst killing or spying on a victim, this places the viewer in a helpless position because cannot stop the slaughter from occurring and yet are experiencing the event as if they themselves are responsible which one could call sadistic and voyeuristic in a way, this is used in The Return when the viewer’s experience Ruby’s viewpoint inside foliage spying on Chelsea fleeing from her in the wrong direction but also when Ruby stealthily creeps up behind Jay and snaps his neck. These subjective shots and semantic coding from Roland Barthes Theory help engage and engross viewers into the viewing experience. 

 

Further formulaic conventions have been displayed in ‘The Return’ via location or locale chosen for principal photography in the trailer. Conventional locations such as a deeply forested woods and a haunted house were utilised in the Return following the formulaic pattern of Slashers have to display these reoccurring locations. Various Mise En Scene which is referential to the genre is entailed with the locations utilised in The Return e.g. the dead leafless trees in the Ruby pursuit scene in which they portray death or an unnatural eeriness. The location and leafless trees also incorporate elements of film noir and German Expressionism to express Ruby’s state of mind; A scary lifeless & fruitless object intent on killing all of Frankie’s friends and eventually Frankie too.

 

When Ruby walks down the street and leaves the swing the usage of a black and white filter and ‘old vintage scratches’ filter demonstrate a flashback and the non-linear narrative which subverts the common convention of slasher films to incorporate a singular or linear narrative with no major reference to the past. By subverting this convention ‘The Return’ adds very unique element to genre which have not been done before on a scale or extent to which the Return does so, this creates a gap in the market for The Return to be a success e.g. Inception was a success due to the unique elements it brought to the Action/Thriller genre. The low budget nature of ‘The Return’ means that this unique element will aid box office success for this film and increase much needed attention.



The convention of the  utilisation of Claude Levi Strauss’s narrative theory of Binary Opposites has been followed in The Return via the obvious binary opposites of Ruby and Frankie of Good Vs Evil,  but also Frankie’s sister in comparison to Frankie herself as they are complete opposites with Amy and Frankie being shown as opposites through the ‘two shot’ showing how their body languages differ and their demeanour are polar opposites. Frankie’s innocent qualities are twisted by Amy’s promiscuous and party animal behaviour.

  
 
  

Continuity Editing and Matched action are forms which are also common in many films within the Slasher genre but also outside of the slasher genre externally. Continuity editing and matched action were utilised in the Return at the outset of trailer in which Ruby the villain is playing on a swing and is filmed with both the wide shot and side shot along with Jason leaving the house with Alex but is shot again with a high angle shot to imply that they are in danger and weak as they are about to die but also shot with a medium tracking shot to create continuity between edits. This form in trailers and general filmmaking is used to provide the viewer with the smoothest and immersive viewing experience possible, without this, the editing would be harsh and rough which pulls the viewer out of the verisimilitude hence why continuity editing is essential for good filmmaking and a generally immersive viewing experience for the audience. Although as this is a trailer a sufficient utilisation of continuity editing is not required as a lack of this is important for a non linear form of a trailer.

Another convention which is apparent in most independent or indie films is the use of film festival laurel nominations to gain recognition. This is needed due again to the independent studio's lesser potential to market the film with a low budget, therefore cost efficient marketing decisions like this are used to make their product reach out to a more broader appropriate demographic and gain more recognition with the festival goers who are another niche demographic to be targeted. These film laurels serve as a 'badge of quality' which approve the film which thus provides much more promotion and recognition.

 

 

'The Return' also follows the auditory convention for the OST Original Soundtrack to change and become a dynamic OST via changes and alterations in tempo, pace and beat depending on the phase the trailer is playing e.g. near the end of the trailer Frankie and Amy have discovered the equilibrium disruption so the beat quickens however when Jay is about to get his neck snapped by Ruby the OST non-diegetic music stops any sound bridges and ends abruptly when Ruby is approaching Jay until his neck snaps. The Return uses this form of sound similarly & conventionally to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Trailer (2013) analysed in which the sound stops at tension filled moments for brief nail biting intervals to generate a more engrossing experience and general tension in the verisimilitude.

It is also a common convention for 'indie' films to be associated with a third party company which provides budgetary support for the film and increases the film's recognition via their brand identity being merged with the film's. 'The Return' follows this norm within independent films as I chose Film4 to be in association with 'The Return', not only does this feature at the start of the trailer but also on the end card, this helps viewers associate Film4 with 'The Return' which again, helps the film gain much needed recognition. The end card also follows the convention to feature a film website, cast and crew and a release date or if too early to release such a date then 'coming soon', this helps the audience engage further with 'The Return' whether it be via exchange or looking up the filmography for certain cast members, the end card develops on the interest already gained, building on the momentum of the viewer’s attention to generate ticket sales or box office success.

Magazine

Moving onto the magazine, I have created what I perceive as a very conventional magazine cover. This is due to the usual conventions of magazines being abided by as a result to the magazine I chose; Fangoria, which although displays itself in a formulaic way regarding the magazine industry but caters to a very 'niche' audience of horror fans, as the magazine's name implies. For example, the main central image of Ruby is superimposed over the masthead, a common convention used in magazines to display and showcase the main cover article and its importance, it also clearly displays the focus of the issue. In addition, the fact that Ruby is quite scary I felt that following this convention of superimposed main central image was aptly suited to her. Other ubiquitous conventions prominent in magazines followed were locating the banner near the bottom of the cover, utilising social media integration so readers can enjoy a digital copy of the issue they bought promoting synergy and the internet working together in a symbiotic relationship, clear display of barcode & pricing etc located in the upper right and lower left of the cover unlike Little White Lies which displays the barcode unconventionally in the middle of the magazine.

Fangoria also follows its own set of unique conventions exclusive to the magazine which subvert conventions of the magazine industry; such as a convention to have prominent gore and blood involved, integrating into each picture or main central image. I followed this pattern by having a picture of a colleague (which I edited on Photoshop and used latex make up to produce the effect of) slitting her throat, a filtered and edited image of a colleague to look like an un-dead corpse (Photoshop CS6) and of course Ruby who is making a scary 'direct address' with the reader blood soaked and her knife dripping fresh blood. It is conventions such as this which I felt were apt for 'the Return' to be featured on this magazine due to a similar demographic and interlinking codes and conventions between the media platforms/mediums e.g. Gore involved on the cover like how Slashers require gore also.

Another exclusive convention used in Fangoria which I followed was the decision to feature all side articles on a film roll, I displayed three other images on the film roll to display the side articles (Undead corpse, Pits Of Hell and Del Toro interview). This has the advantage of giving the main central article and image space whilst still 'cramming' the cover full of content to refer to its good value for money. The utilisation of the film roll in my cover also demonstrates the target demographic; Horror film fans as the name implies.

Magazines have a convention to utilise buzzwords also, typical words used are 'WIN' or 'HOT' as these words immediately gain attention from the reader and is hence an effective tool to gain attention in certain regions of the magazine. My Fangoria magazine cover utilises this convention as I displayed a 'WIN' Saw Tickets inside!' within a blood-splat which was appropriate for the magazine demographic that enjoy the horror genre. As a result of using this buzzword the reader now has an incentive to continue reading.

In the magazine cover I ensured that 'The Return' title and its typography were large enough to identify as this maintains the brand identity used in the trailer and poster and works with that momentum gained of recognition for the film.

Poster

Moving onto my poster, this poster was the most formulaic product of all three ancillary tasks. This was due to information and referential data being located were they are usually located conventionally on posters whether it be an indie or blockbuster poster; such as the Principle cast and crew, with the cast and crew information located at the bottom of the poster and centred, this serves as an immediate indicator that this poster is a promotional text for a film and not a book, music album or video game hence why the following of this convention was fundamental to me, the decision to have the slogan and film title framing the main image of Ruby & Jay.

 I also made an intertexual reference in the poster by having the slogan "The night SHE came home" which is a play on the slogan of Friday The 13th's slogan, this is gratifying for my demographic to identify making them feel 'part of a group' tight knit niche member of fans who understood the reference.



The poster, like many posters, makes reference to the narrative of 'The Return' as Ruby is freshly blooded and her dress is stained which clearly allows the viewer to identify the villain but also identify the victims (Jay). The leafless trees act as a horror based backdrop for Ruby and when juxtaposed with the black and white edited filter portrays the dark and grim tale 'The Return' has in store. The usage of the black and white filter and the sharp and dark blood contrasts very well and refer to the Slasher genre via the three colour palette chosen, this colour scheme is consistent amongst the three ancillary tasks.

More followed conventions include the way the production, distribution and third party companies are displayed which are located at the bottom of the poster with an age rating, release date and sound company. The display of the sound company clearly tells the viewer that auditory wise the film is already high quality with Dolby Digital Surround Sound.

My poster demonstrates the conventional aspects of a slasher film and its genre through the evident display of formulaic qualities which are clearly visible such as Ruby in a white dress which has fixed meaning with the viewer as being associated with the horror genre due to The Grudge and The Ring success. The grim and ghastly backdrop of a lifeless forest showcases the conventional themes of the slasher genre through the colours of red, white and black which resemble the characterising themes of the Slasher genre; death, life and blood or rage.

In conclusion I believe my three ancillary media products involved in this marketing project utilised a sufficient mixture of subversion and abiding of codes & conventions of existing media in the posters, magazine and film industry, to attract recognition and cater to multiple demographics of traditional Slasher fans and modern slasher fans, by doing so 'The Return' benefits from a better chance of success as a low budget independent film.