CASE STUDY RESEARCH

The three case study's I will be doing them on are insidious, The Eye and Mama.

By Thahmina Khan

SHORT SUMMARY OF INSIDIOUS:

The genre of this film is supernatural horror. It involves a nuclear size family where there are two parents living with their two boys. One of the boys ended up in a coma which he doesn’t seem to wake up from, the other child is a baby. At first there seemed to be weird noises and something spiritual following the mum so she thought it was to do with the house so the family decided to movie but the strange noises appear again and she sees strange unclear faces, she gets help from her husband’s mum who recommended them to a these two people who can identify if there is something spiritual in the house. Soon after they find out it is to do with the boy in the coma and he needs help. At the end of the film, there is a twist and a cliff-hanger. This was done deliberately so that a second part of the film can be made which interests viewers as they want to found out what happens next.

 WHAT SORT OF NARRATIVE

STRUCTURE IS USED LINEAR/ NON- LINEAR?

The film insidious is a linear narrative structure. One of the mainstream narrative structures is linear and is used widely across the film industry. However, nowadays, the narrative structure is becoming more extraordinary. As a result different narrative structures seem to be occurring more often. For example, multi-strand, linear, realist, non-narrative and more.

IS THE FILM SHOT IN LIVE ACTION, USING ANIMATION OR A

COMBINATION OF BOTH?The film consists of live action where there are real characters used instead of animation ones. Using live action is more commonly used in horror films because it makes the story more believable however with animation, it would be suited for comedy or another genre.

HOW ARE THEMES, GROUPS, AND CHARACTERS

REPRESENTED?

Well the group of people who are the main characters in the film consists of a nuclear family where there are a mom, dad and their two children but the main focus is on the oldest child who is in coma; he is represented as vulnerable due to this, the other child is still a baby. The common themes are mostly seen in an ordinary house where it seems like it’s haunted by and evil spirit which is connected to the boy who is in a coma. The characters are represented as a typical British family. The wife and husband have some problems between them at first due to the stress the wife is having over the unordinary faces she sees at night, however they both find a solution and move houses. They face more problems later on to do with their child who is in a coma.

CAMERA TECHNIQUES:

Mid shot was used on the wife and husband and this shot was most commonly used thought the film because when characters are talking, this type of shot helps audiences to see the facial expressions the characters make.

Full body shot was also depicted in the film, this was seen when the evil demon waned to take over the little boy’s body. Full body shot is best used for this because the audiences are able to see the body language and body movements created by the characters in the scene.

Extreme close up was also used on the dices that were used by one of the female character who is able to talk to ghosts, the dices was in a close up view because letters was used to create a sentence that tells us what the characters want to know. Close up was important in this because without this, the audience wouldn’t be able to read the message on the dice. Also extreme close up showed the importance of the object being significant.

Hand held camera was also used which showed the movement of the little boy’s view from his perception of things.

EDITING:

The scene where the evil spirit is hanging on the wall is done by effects because it is not a real character but this technique is done by computer. This effect had to be done because there are no real devils you can create so to make this believable, it is best done by computer.

The cutting rate of the film where it is the spookiest part is where all the characters are in the boy’s room where he is lying down in bed still sleeping from the coma. The room is lightly dim which creates the spooky atmosphere. The cutting rate of this scene is quite fast which adds in tension and suspense to what is going to happen next, this reinforces the effect of creating horror. Because of this effect, the cutting rate being fast would be an effect I would like to add in the horror film me and my group will produce.

Shots in the scene above: Long shot was used to show the foreground because the background was important because then the audience can see the little boy in bed who is still in a coma.

Sound: The sound of this scene was a music track tempo with a steady beat but the sound was spooky however when the cutting rate increased of the editing, so did the loudness of the sound.

Mise-en-scene: The scene showed the little boy wearing he’s pyjamas as he is still sleeping in bed and the other characters in this scene where wearing simple clothing however the two guys who look around for spirits in the room are dressed in similar uniforms, this was done to show that they are different and are here to perform a job in the house which is looking for supernatural things.

Lighting: The lighting in this scene was very dim lit, although the outdoors maybe sunny, inside the room, the curtains were closed and the lights were off so this brought tin the spooky atmosphere even more. The curtains were closed because the little boy is still sleeping in bed.

MISE-EN-SCENE: LOCATION, LIGHTING, COSTUME, PROPS,

MAKE-UP: Location: main location is in the house where all the haunted effects occur. There are some scenes of

the husband’s work place where it’s in a college teaching students- part of this scene showed the husbands dreams he had. Another setting used towards the end of the film was the same house the characters are living in but the house is full of empty spirits.

Lighting: the lighting used in the above setting I was describing about where the house is just full of empty spirits, the lighting is very dark and the camera was not very clear as there was a lot of fog used to create a spooky atmosphere. This was used to show that the dimension the father had entered is meant to be a fantastical setting where humans cannot enter but only through your dreams.

Costume: costumes were modern clothes on all the characters however when it came to the evil spirits that were haunting the main characters, they were traditional dull colour clothing which was probably to show how old these characters are, their costumes helped reinforce that they are dead but there spirits are still alive. Also the two guys who detect evil supernatural ghosts are dressed in a uniform that are similar to each other.

Props: They guys that detect supernatural ghosts had quite a few gadgets on them that helps them detect ghosts, these are mainly a specific camera they use. Another prop used was a gas mark that the old lady wears when she talks with the little boy who is in a coma, this makes the scene unordinary and quite strange, also the fog in the atmosphere adding in the insecurity and tension.

Make-up: The only makeup that stood out were the supernatural spirits, all of them mainly had white powdery faces with sum makeup on their lips for the women that stood out in red.

SOUND:

WHO ARE THE TARGET AUDIENCE?

The target audience would be teenagers ages 15 and over. It wouldn’t be suitable for any younger audiences that are below the age of 15 because the film does state that any age below that should be watched by a parent or guardian. The reason for this could be because the film is a horror film, little children may have nightmares at night watching this.

The sound used was dialogue. There was also some non-diegetic sound playing where the music track tempo was low so was used for background music. The music used were used was old fashioned- this was played where the music player automatically starts playing by itself, this was done so it spooks out the wife living in the house. Also sound was used thought the whole film, the parts where it was most spooky, this had higher sound such as the volume of the sound was increased and the tempo of it was more fast than others, this helped emphasise the frightening parts.

WHAT IDEAS CAN YOU TAKE TO HELP YOU IN YOUR OWN

SHORT FILM?

The ideas I would most likely take from this scene is the idea of filming through a dream which is similar to having a fantastical setting. I think horror films need to use a lot of effects to make a horror film actually scary because without using effects or sound. Having filmed the same story line as insidious wouldn’t be the same. Another idea I would like to take from this film would the cutting rate being fast as most scary films need this to add in suspense and tension. Last idea I would like to use from the film is the idea of using a younger character in our short film. For example, the little boy who was in the coma was most likely to be aged 8, in the short film me and my group have to produce, I would like our character to be of a young age because I think horror films are more interesting to watch if evil things were happening to vulnerable children than to adults. This is because audience feels more sympathy for younger children than to adults.

SHORT SUMMARY ON “THE EYE”:

A woman receives an eye transplant that allows her to see into the supernatural world. Remake of the Hong Kong film "Jian Gui". The main character of the film is a successful classical violinist named Sydney in the film, she has been blind since the age of five. Fifteen years later, Sydney undergoes a cornea transplant, which causes her eyesight to return, a bit blurry at first. As time goes on, Sydney's vision begins to clear; however, she also begins experiencing terrifying visions, mostly of fire and of people dying. Later on in the Sydney finds herself in Mexico, where the cornea donor was originally from. The images of fire and death are the result of an industrial accident that the donor foretold. The donor hung herself because she could not stop the accident from occurring. Sydney puts the spirit to rest, and begins her trek home. As Sydney and Paul wait in a queue of vehicles to cross the border, a high speed police chase ends with the fugitive crashing through the border barriers and into a tanker full of gasoline. Sydney, able to still see the death silhouettes, begins to try to get everyone she can off the highway. The tanker explodes from a spark in the getaway car's engine, and Sydney is blinded by flying glass. After recovering at a hospital, she returns to her life as a blind violinist, though with a more optimistic "view" of her condition.

WHAT SORT OF NARRATIVE STRUCTURE IS USED LINEAR/ NON-

LINEAR?The film The Eye is a linear narrative structure, I was able to depict his because the setup of the film is where all of the main characters and their basic situations are introduced. For example, the main girl Sydney is going through a cornea transplant. Furthermore the film explores the characters backgrounds and personalities. There is also a problem introduced which is what drives the story forward. All of these linear narrative structures are found in the film I am writing a case study about.

IS THE FILM SHOT IN LIVE ACTION, USING ANIMATION OR A COMBINATION

OF BOTH?

He film is shot in live action where the story will be made more believable since the genre of the film is supernatural horror. Live action could mean many things such as the moment of action that are shot in film and done in a high speed cutting rate to build suspense, but in this case I am referring to actual characters being used in the film “The Eye”.

HOW ARE THE THEMES, GROUPS, AND CHARACTERS

REPRESENTED?

The four most common themes that come into mind when watching the film is the first shot which was located in a hospital, next was the main character, Sydney’s apartment, the next one was in Mexico and last one was in the main road where the last major shot was filmed. This scene has the most live action where there is an explosion of a gasoline truck on the main road where a lot of people are trapped near too. The groups are quite limited but most commonly seen was two people, Sydney and Paul who helps her recover through the treatment that she had with her eye. Other characters were used but the main character was Sydney who experiences weird supernatural moments where she can see the dead and see visions of death happening to people before it actually happens. Sydney’s character comes across as a vulnerable women which audience can gain sympathy for her because she had this eye treatment that should have made her see life easier, but instead of seeing life she now sees the undead too. This causes her many stress for her and as a substitute of making her life easier, she struggles coping but at the end of the film she finds out why this is all happening to her.

CAMERA TECHNIQUES:

Mid shot was used on the characters in the scene where two or more people were having a conversation. This shot is most commonly used thought the film because when characters are talking, this type of shot helps audiences to see the facial expressions the characters make.

Full body shot was also depicted in the film, this was seen where Sydney holds a knife trying to defend her from the dead spirits. Full body shot is best used for this because the audiences are able to see the body language and body movements created by the characters in the scene. For example, because of this shot, the audience was able to depict that Sydney was scared as she does not hold the knife firmly but keeps moving it about like she is in a frantic and frightened position.

Close up was used on Sydney’s eye in the first scene where she is in the hospital having her cornea transplant. This was used so the audience can have a close vision and see that here was something wrong with Sydney’s eye but now she is getting it treated. We also saw emotion of the character through the close up shot.

Establishing shot was used which creates the first scene which is the scene Sydney is in the hospital having her cornea transplant. This scene is important to remember for audiences as they need to know that the eye of the donor is from a dead person who haunts her now.

EDITING:

The cutting rate was fast where there was frightening moments such as the part where Sydney sees characters that are dead alive so she sees their spirits. High cutting rate is best used in spooky parts of a horror film because it adds suspense and creates a tension atmosphere.

Another editing technique is special effects. This was seen in the important scene where the big accident occurs in the main road. Sydney see’s shadow of spirits that hover around people that is about to die. Because only she can see this, she helps people to be saved away from their deaths; these evil shadows are done by computer as they are not real life people. Sometimes computers are best in creating supernatural things as they can be made to be seemed more believable.

MISE-EN-SCENE: LOCATION, LIGHTING, COSTUME, PROPS, MAKE-UP:

Location:•The first location used was in the hospital, this made sense to locate the first scene because Sydney is seen having a cornea transplant, these type of treatment can be only done is hospitals. However in the scene where she is sleeping in the hospital she starts seeing weird supernatural things such as dark shadows but because she just started using these new eyes, her vision is blurry so the effect of the camera was blurry too. The location is appropriate for the genre because first of all the scene starts off with a close up of Sydney’s eye, then zooms out to the actual surrounding which is in a hospital with the treatment of her eye done. The fact that the first image the audience can see is an eye, this relates to the title of the film.

Lightening:•Lightening was used where the evil shadows filed the room, the lightening became quite a dark lit; this helped create an atmosphere that something dark was approaching. This is a typical technique to use that relates to the genre of the film. •The part where the audience sees Sydney’s perception of things from her eyes, this vision is quite blurry and the camera lighting is quite bright which makes it even harder to see things but this helps audiences to see how vision is seen from Sydney’s eyes.

MISE-EN-SCENE: LOCATION, LIGHTING, COSTUME, PROPS, MAKE-UP:

Costume:The costume used was ordinary modern clothes that the characters wore in the film. Props:The props used in a particular scene is where Sydney is in her apartment in the kitchen, she tries to protect herself from the unnatural so she grabs a knife from the kitchen, a knife is best used for security as it can be used for defence. Make-up:Natural simple makeup was used for all the female characters but the women who is dead but haunts Sydney is always pale so white powder is probably used on her face and body to make her look pastel and white, this helps reinforce that she is a dead spirit.

SOUND:

Dialogue is used in the film where the characters speak. This is needed as the film is shot in live action. There are also background music track playing. This appears on parts that are tensed and unnatural things occur on that scene like the shadows that appear in people that are about to die but only Sydney can see this.

A Sting was created, this is when another music track gets added in and the track usually increases to aware the audience know something bad is going to happen, this helps builds tension. The sting used in the film “the eye”, was in the last scene were the accident was going to happen, the tempo of the music increased.

WHO ARE THE TARGET AUDIENCE?

The target audience of the film is most likely those who are ages 12 and above, any children below should be supervised by an adult or guardian when watching this, the main reason for this is they may get scared of have nightmares.

WHAT IDEAS CAN YOU TAKE TO HELP YOU IN YOUR OWN

SHORT FILM?

The ideas I would most likely to take from this film is the idea of using the camera from the characters eyes perceptive, I find this quite an effective technique because it makes the audience see things from the characters view. Most horror films use this type of technique as it emphases the view that the character and audience can see. When it comes to producing our short film, I would like the camera to have this effect but the camera to be shaky as if a character from our short film is running or doing something etc. Also another idea I quite like that I would want added in our short film is that our main character just like Sydney is in the film, she was able to see dead spirits, this helps build the idea that the film is a horror film as supernatural things occur.

SHORT SUMMARY ON MAMA:

The film mama is a supernatural thriller that tells the haunting tale of two little girls who disappeared into the woods the day that their parents were killed. When they are rescued years later and begin a new life, hey find that someone or something still wants to come tuck them in at night. Five years ago, sisters Victoria and Lilly vanished from their suburban neighbourhood without a trace. Since then, their Uncle and his girlfriend, Annabel, have been madly searching for them. But when, incredibly, the kids are found alive in a decrepit cabin, the couple wonders if the girls are the only guests they have welcomed into their home. As Annabel tries to introduce the children to a normal life, she grows convinced of an evil presence in their house. At the end of the film, the new mother finds out that the whispers she hears at bedtime are coming from the lips of a deadly presence.

WHAT SORT OF NARRATIVE STRUCTURE IS USED LINEAR/

NON- LINEAR?

The film is a linear narrative structure. This is because the first act of the film is when the main characters are introduced and their lives are explored: for example, the two little girls, their lives are explored later on in the film. The fact that there is a problem introduced drives the film forward as audiences and the character are trying to find out the story is behind all the supernatural things that are happening thought he film as this film is continuous.

IS THE FILM SHOT IN LIVE ACTION, USING ANIMATION OR

A COMBINATION OF BOTH?

The film is shot in love action but there are effects used which are most likely to be done in computer. The characters used are real actors used instead of animation. Live action is best used for a horror genre because it adds in the spooky factor that little bit more.

HOW ARE THE THEMES, GROUPS, AND CHARACTERS

REPRESENTED?

The most common themes were located in the house and in a small cabin in the forest. The cabin was the main location that looked the spookiest as it was represented as worn out, small and a deadly presence woman that lived there bringing up the two children who disappeared into the woods. The groups mainly consisted of the two young sisters having each other’s company and the wife and husband as one partnership. The group of four did try to get along but due to the two little girls in the first few scenes trying to learn normal manners in how to be a normal human being, this made the relationship for the new mother quite difficult, but she tried her best to comfort the children and be there for them. The idea of using a mother is an idea I would like to have in the short film we are producing, also with the idea of her comforting children but a twist intervenes and something goes wrong so it’s hard to realise who’s the good character and who is not.

CAMERA TECHNIQUES:

Mid shot was used on the characters in the scene where two or more people were having a conversation. This shot is most commonly used thought the film because when characters are talking, this type of shot helps audiences to see the facial expressions the characters make.

Full body shot was also depicted in the film, this was seen at the end of the film where the dead spirit who is called “mama”, tries o fall of a cliff with the little girl who is in her lap. Full body shot is best used for this because the audiences are able to see the body language and body movements created by the characters in the scene. For example, because of this shot, the audience was able to depict that “mama” is clinging onto the little girl and wraps her around her clothes so that she dies with her thinking that is her lost long baby.

Establishing shot was used to set the first scene, this was in the forest near the cabin where the little girls run there and hide. This part is quite important as the cabin has most of the answers to what the characters in the film are looking for.

EDITING:

The cutting rate of the film is at a steady pace where the people in the house are trying to live an ordinary life but the parts at night where it becomes creepy and this spirit arrives, that’s when the cutting rate speeds up. This is most effective to do in horror films to have the cutting rate first in the parts that has the most live actions as it emphasis the scary parts of the film.

Another editing technique showed in the film is special effects. This was used on the computer to create a shadow and evil spirit. For example, this was shown in a scene where “mama” started filling up the room in the corner but all the audience can see was a big black shadow clouding up the corner of the room.

Shot reverse shot was also used when the wife and husband were talking. This was used so the audience can see the interaction between the two characters. This technique would be something me and my group will use when we have a conversation between two of the characters in the short film we produce.

MISE-EN-SCENE: LOCATION, LIGHTING, COSTUME, PROPS, MAKE-UP:

Location:Establishing shot was located in the forest with the girls running to a cabin to hide for shelter. This scene is the most important which was why this location was shown first because the audience need to know that this cabin is where an evil spirit stays in which haunts the girls and tries taking them away. Another location used in the film was mostly in the house in the girl’s bedroom. A bedroom is a typical location of a horror genre because the main characters bedroom is their own private space which evil spirits or supernatural things like to occur and take place in, this makes the character and the suspense of things even more spooky and to show that the characters are never alone, also because in the film, wherever the girls are, the evil spirit tries taking them away but does not succeed as the new mother living in the house tries to suspect things and stops her at the end. Lightening:Where the shot was located in the forest, this scene was done at night so the lightening was already very low, especially the part where they entered the cabin, the room was very dark lit; using a dark lit room helps build up a spooky atmosphere which is best used in horror films. This idea is something I would like to use when it comes to filming our short film. Day light was used in the morning in the house where it show the shots during the day.

MISE-EN-SCENE: LOCATION, LIGHTING, COSTUME, PROPS, MAKE-UP:

Costume:The outfits the characters wore was modern western clothes however in the beginning of the film, when the two girls were found, they hardly had nay clothes on, their hair was a mess and their behaviour as well as how they looked like was of an animal. This showed the audience that although these two sisters were alone, they were not brought up well. The women who is “mama” is a dead spirit, she was mainly dressed in ragged long black dress. Props:The props used were basic house furniture that was placed in the house.

Make-up:The make- up used was simple face makeup for the female characters in the film however when it came to the evil spirit; her face was pale, had quite a lot of makeup to make her look scary, old and crazy.

SOUND:

Diegetic sound was used when there are dialogues for the characters to speak. Non diegetic sound was used too in the film where the background music was

playing at a low tempo. This was heard in the scene where the little girls were playing in their bedroom but then a sting occurred because the tempo of the music changed and had a high pitch to it, the room darkened and the audience knew that something bad was going to happen to the girls. This was used to show the entrance of the evil spirit coming into the room.

WHO ARE THE TARGET AUDIENCE?

The target audience is for those who are ages 12 and above. This is because any young girls below that age may get ideas that anything bad happening only occurs to children who are young. As a result of this, they may get scared. 12 is a suitable age for the film to be watched because the film is not gruesome but has elements of supernatural thriller.

WHAT IDEAS CAN YOU TAKE TO HELP YOU IN YOUR OWN

SHORT FILM?

The ideas I would like to take from this film into my own short film is the idea of having a mother to comfort children but at the end they turn out to be the evil ones. This film has lots of question on who is to be trusted and what happened to the girls when they were lost in the forest. Due to the questions being raised, I like the idea of this and would like to be added in the short film I make, this is because it keeps viewers thinking and wanting to watch more to find out all the answers which is usually given at the end of the film. This is one of the reasons I would like my short film to be a linear narrative structure so that there is a continuous order where the film is working towards; the problem usually occurs in the beginning or middle of the film but at the end it is solved.