Research Essay : Codes And Conventions In Existing Horror Films Aimed At A Teenage Audience

Codes are an arrangement of signs which generate a denotation of what is being represented. These codes can be separated into two categories, technical and symbolic. Technical codes are all the methods of which equipment is used to tell a story in a media text, for example the camera movements, shots and angles, the editing and the use of sound (diegetic and non-diegetic) in the clip. Symbolic codes show what is beneath the surface of what we see and is not as evident and technical codes. These codes are usually seen through the aspects of mise en scene, for example, a characters decisions or actions will show you what the character is like and how they are feeling, their clothing and how much they wear can be decoded to help us better understand what type of person they are and certain props have suggestions or connotations which can have a common meaning interpreted by the audience. Some codes fit both categories - non-diegetic music for example, is both technical and symbolic.

Conventions are generally accepted ways of doing something. There are general conventions in any medium, such as the use interviewee quotes in print article, but conventions are also suited to specific genres. For example an action movie convention would be a large explosion. A few examples of conventions in horror movies are a secluded location, someone inexplicably falling over and having a small group of people.

Wrong Turn starts off with two characters, one being male and the other female rock climbing in a secluded location that are soon killed by a ferocious cannibalistic man lurking the woods of west Virginia. Beginning with the technical codes; the use of camera in this film was limited to a lot of high angle shots of the characters and location which gives a sense of power looking up towards the other character, establishing shots of the scenery to give the viewers a good idea of the location and distance from safety and extreme close ups of facial expressions and objects when struggle or danger occurs. In the editing there was a fade transition between the opening titles and the climbing site which gives a sense of how far it was. The diegetic sound used in this movie was simply things like the sound of the wire moving or clasping a hook, although the non-diegetic sound really gave the film a sense a danger as the tempo of the music picked up rapidly and increased in volume. Moving onto the symbolic codes; in terms of mise en scene the costume used shows the female being slightly underdressed which will make the audience relate a bit more, blood on the body to show it was a vicious attack and a vehicle being used as a prop to show the safety. The main conventions found in this is a secluded location and a person running through trees and ends up falling over.

A young woman and a group of her school friends embark on a holiday weekend at a lakeside cabin to reminisce about their college days, only to run afoul of an evil spirit.

Camera angles and shots firstly consist of a low angle and an extreme close up of an old damaged sign. Then changes to a establishing shot of a sign that shows they are in an isolated location as the next gas station is far away. Then it changes to a low angle on the side of the car which shows possible danger lurking towards the car.

The editing is smoothly done there is the pace between each shot it is quite slow however later on when there is a possible threat the pace becomes faster to create a fight or flight response to the audience to make the build-up more intense.

The use of sound the diegetic at the start was a metallic creaking noise moving side to side this created a dark, cold cricked effect to the audience and the sound of the birds singing gives a sense that of nature is nearby. The sound of the radio having no signal creates an effect of loneliness and vulnerability as they are in the middle of nowhere and there is nowhere to run to for safety. The non-diegetic sound was a static noise when a figure was getting closer to the car and the noise then would get louder as he got closer building up an intense atmosphere for the audience.

Mise-en-scene the girls clothes were showing a lot of skin which teenagers can relate to. The map and flare gun symbolises that they are alone in the middle of nowhere. The car shows that there is an escape vehicle in case anything goes wrong. The fact the male is having to get petrol for the car shows it ran out and broke down which is common in horror movies.

In the film opening of  Dead wood, the use of codes is effectively used. Codes are system of signs which create different meanings. codes can and are usually divided in two categories which are technical and symbolic. Technical codes are all the different ways in which the equipment is used to tell the story in the media text. Such as; The camera work when filming, The editing process and the use of sound such as the really disturbing music at the start which creates the feel that their is danger there. (diegetic and non-diegetic). Symbolic codes show what is beneath the surface of what we see, which links back to the music making the feel that their is danger. These are usually shown through mise-en-scene. The characters actions when filming shows you how the character is feeling in that scene. For example the facial expression that the girl has when she sees the man get pushed of the cliff and also how scared she is when she is running away.

In all 3 film openings they are in the middle of nowhere and can't escape for example in Wrong Turn  they are on a cliff miles away from anyone and it is actually stated in the opening just in case you didn't pick it up. When in danger and also when a character is being chased. For example in the opening just before the male character gets to the top of the cliff and killed, meanwhile it is pretty obvious that their is no one around to help. and also when the woman manages to miraculously fall from a great height and have no major injuries and very few minor, to mange to run through a forest. 

With all 3 of these films all of the characters are within there early-mid twenties and which can be presented in a number of different ways for example it could be showing that no matter what physical condition u will not escape, and the youthful getting into more danger than people of other ages or even innocents to the young and the become easy victims. Also all of the women seem to be weaker than the males and show a lot of flesh to show that they are very exposed to a threat and would not have much to protect them. They also use the camera to show how isolated they are by using establishing shots to show the vast forest that they are in, this is shown in all 3 of the movies letting us know that no matter how far away they are from calling for help when the need it. This is shown exceptionally by the male figure shouting "What are you screaming for" when the women falls and scares herself.