'The Lumberjack' Completed Film Opening and Preliminary Task

The Lumberjack

Preliminary task

Evaluation

As a group we have put the answers to the 7 different evaluation questions onto a website.
Click here to view our website containing our evaluation.

Construction: Evidence Of Filming Taking Place

We filmed on the 16th January 2016, on this day we filmed with a Canon HFR106 camera however, when we filmed with this camera it was not formatted correctly. So the footage did not store on the camera or the memory card. Therefore, we had to film are 2 minute opening again, are second filming  took place on the 2nd March 2016. This new footage was filmed on a Canon EOS100D camera. 

The photos below are showing are group filming different shots: 

This photo is of a close up of of the boy shocked from an axe being thrown towards him. 

This photo is of a low angle shot of feet running, so the camera was positioned on the ground to ensure it was a low angle shot, this shot is also a close up of the feet to ensure that the audience understand the characters are scared and are running away from someone or something. 

This photo is of us filming a long shot of 'the lumberjack'. This shot is of the lumberjack in the background behind the girl and the boy when they are looking around, this is when the camera then focuses on 'the lumberjack' in the background, this shot is called focus pull.  

Above is some raw footage, this footage has not been edited and no sound has been removed or added, this is all just random shots straight from the camera that have been put together. 

Planning : Filming Schedule

This is the filming schedule for our teen horror movie. The purpose of a filming schedule is to make sure that when it comes to filming we are able to go through this and get certain shots done in a certain order because of their importance within the film. The filming schedule is important because it ensures that the whole group knows what is happening and when it will happen.

Saturday 16th Of January:

At 12pm on the 16th on January, our group will meet in location 1 (the forest) to start filming. At 12 we will do the establishing shot which will set our scene (shot 1).

Quarter 1
From 12:05 till 12:20, we will film all of the running scenes in our first quarter (shot 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14) giving u around two minutes for each shot. These will be no longer than 5 seconds long so most of our time will be used getting the actors in place and making sure we have the right angle for the shot.

From 12:21 till 12:30 we will do the point of view shots in the first quarter (9 and 15). These will take longer to film than the first 9 as the angles will have to be placed more strategically and make sure that the focus of the camera is on the right part on the scene and the correct characters.

From 12:31 till 12:50, we will film there shots of the girl using her phone (shots 4, 5 and 6). These will need a lot of direction as this involves the correct expressions from the actor and the props will need to be used appropriately so that the scene flows properly.

Quarter 2
At 1pm, we will move onto the running shots in quarter 2 (shots 20, 21, 22 and 24). These shouldn't take too longs we will have already done some running shots and will know how to maximise the use of the camera and the actors will know what they are doing straight away. This should take 15 minutes.

At 1:15 we will start filming the first axe scene. This will take some time as we will have to use shot, reverse shot to make sure that this scene flows properly and have all the right angles in the scene. We will need to film his scene at least twice so that it when it is edited it will look realistic. We will also have to place props in the correct place as in this scene the axe has to be place in the tree properly. This will take 30 minutes.

Quarter 3
From 1:45 till 2:30, we will be filming the scene where the girl gets killed by the lumberjack (shot 23, 25, 26 ,27, 28, 29, 31, 32 and 33) this will take time as we will have to film this scene 2-3 times as we will be using shot, reverse shot to make sure the audience feels like they are the actual characters and in the scene itself.

Quarter 4
At 2:45, we will start with the running, long shot (shot 34) and then move onto the point of view shot (shot 35). These shouldn't take too long as they are easy to do and we will have previously done similar ones to this. This will take 10 minutes.

At 3pm we will do the scene where the Lumberjack chases the boy into the abandoned house (shot 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44). This will take around 1 hour as we will be moving locations and will be using shot, reverse shot to make the audience feel involved in the scene.

Planning: Shot List

The reason for shot listing is because you need to have an idea of what is going to happen within your film and the order in which it happens. Shot listing allows you as a group to make choices about what is going to be done and how it is going to be filmed, so it is effective for the target audience.

Planning - Mise-en-Scene

Character One:

Ben -

This character is the male character in our film who is a  student who is coming home from school, this will be portrayed in the costume they are wearing. The character will be wearing their school uniform, the uniform will consist of a white shirt, a tie, smart shoes and black school trousers. The character will also be carrying their school bag as they are coming home from school. This bag will be a fairly dark backpack, this is because our character is a teenage male who enjoys hiking and outdoor activities. This style of bag suits this because it is good for practical use and is quite resistant which is good for someone doing a large amount of practical activities. The character will be walking back from school and this bag is also suitable for a school bag.

Character Two:

Erika -

This character is the female character in our film who is a  student who is coming home from school, this will be portrayed in the costume they are wearing. The character will be wearing their school uniform, the uniform will consist of a white shirt, a tie, smart shoes, a pair of tights and a skirt. The female character will also need a school bag as they are coming home from school. This bag will be a typical teenage girls bag, this is because our female character is portrayed as the weaker between the two and giving her a more feminine bag shows this. The character will be coming back from school and this bag could be used as a school bag too. This type of bag is also common among teenage girls in school which helps portray the character. She will also have a phone and headphones, she will have an iPhone 6 and apple headphones as these are typical of a teenage girl.

         

Character Three:

The Lumberjack - 

The Lumberjack is the main villain in our opinion, he lives in an abandoned house in the woods so his clothes will be quite muddy/dusty. The Lumberjack will be wearing an old dirty checked shirt, dirty red braces an old pair of black jeans and black army boots. We chose this costume because it is the generic clothing for a lumberjack and after it has been made to look old and dirty it will have the connotations that he lives in the wild. The Lumberjack will carry an axe which will be the main way he kills his victims. After killing the first of the characters we will put fake blood on the end of the axe to create the illusion that it is the blood of one of the characters. 

Planning : Casting

Why is Casting important?

I believe casting is one of the most important tasks in Pre-Production and requires a high amount of care when taking on this challenge. Casting involves auditioning potential actors to find the most suitable person for your film. It is important that you find someone who is not shy in front of a camera, someone who will not burst out with laughter when filming, and someone who can create verisimilitude within the production.

To find suitable actors for our production, our group will run short auditions for the potential actors. We will give the actors short scripts to perform, and use these performances to decide whether they will be suitable.

The Female Character:

Below are the two females that auditioned for the role of Erica in our two minute opening. Our female character is a girl that enjoys using social media and texting her friends. She is a bubbly person who is still at school doing her GCSE's. She walks home with Ben (our male character) after school everyday as they live close to each other. 

India is a 16 year old female and is still at school studying for her A-Levels which are Art, Business and English Literature. She has a strong personality and is not camera shy. She has two pet dogs who are named Candy and Eric. India dislikes people who moan and don't grab every experience that comes her way. However, she does not like walking and has a part time job which she does after school and some weekends. 

Toyah Jones is 18 years old and is doing her second year of A-Levels. She is studying English, Business and History. Toyah likes watching horror films with friends and going to parties. She loves to be in front of the lens and is a very confident person with a bubbly attitude. She also took Drama as a GCSE.

Black widow productions chose Toyah over India because Toyah fits the description of the part more because of her height and the age she looks. She lives near the location and wouldn't need travel and has clothes that will suit the role. She also is more confident than India and will be able to easily act out the role of Erica. India also has a part time job which she does most weekend unlike Toyah who does not. This means that Toyah would be available for filming more easily. 

The Male Character:

Ben is a 16 year old male who loves to play xbox at home. He is currently studying for his GCSE's and is a very sociable person however, can be quite shy when around people she doesn't know. 

Ashley is a 16 year old male whois studying for his first year of A Levels. Ashley is very bubbly and is always up for a laugh. Ashley loves hiking and camping out in the wild. He has completed 1 out of 3 of the three peaks challenges. He took drama as a GCSE and is very confident in front of a camera.

Dan Smith is a 17 year old male who like to attend the gym with his friends. Dan likes keeping up with the fashion and socialisng with friends and family.  Dan is also a clean freak and doesn't like things being messy or disorgaised.

Black Widow Productions chose Ashley to play the part of Ben because he will need to get dirty and Dan said he wouldn't do that. Ashley also looks close to the age of Ben. Ashley does live further from the location but one of our group lives near by and said they will give him a lift. He is also more confident that Dan and will be able to use skills from his GCSE drama to play the part of Ben. 

The Lumberjack

The lumberjack will be a scary and mysterious figure that will stalk Ben and Erica. He has a troubled past and has become an outcast from society and now lives in a old abandoned house. 

Kye is 17 years old and enjoys playing games on his computer and Xbox. He looks after his little sister on Saturdays and spends a lot of time revising for his exams. Kye enjoys watching football and supports Man United. He try to go and watch as many games as he can. 

Aaron  likes going to local music venues as he enjoys heavy metal. Aaron is in a band and likes to record new songs that he creates. He attends venues on a weekly basis and likes to go with his friends. Arron also takes part in amateur dramatics from July to November every year, performing at a local theatre. 

Black Window Productions chose Aaron because his hair would suit the part and he said he wouldn't mind having make up on where as Kye was more hesitant. Aaron lives less then five minutes away from our filming location which makes him an ideal actor for our role. His acting experience will also mean he will be able to play the role of the Lumberjack easily and has spare time during the weekends for filming. 

Planning: Location Planning

The picture below shows the main two locations that we will be using. Highlighted in red is Brambleside woods. We are using this location because filming in the middle of the woods allows us to make it seem as if the two characters are in a secluded location, we will do this by making sure that we are not near the road nearby so that the audience can not hear cars, if they could hear the cars it would ruin the illusion that they are in the 'middle of nowhere'. We chose to use the woods because the woodlands is where you would expect a lumberjack to be, also the woods has connotations of being eerie and dangerous during later hours.

Highlighted in pink is an abandoned house. This will be the home of The Lumberjack. Below is a more detailed picture of what the house looks like. We think that this building is suitable because it is an old destroyed building which when looked at is instantly perceived as quite creepy. Another reason this building is suitable is because the inside is quite dark and some of the walls have burn marks on which makes the building look even more creepy.

Planning: Producing A Story Board For Our Opening

 
This is our storyboard for our opening 2 minutes to our teen horror movie 'The Lumberjack'.
The process of creating a storyboard was rather simple, as a group we discussed how the  Main Task is going to take place. For each storyboard we had to state the following: 

• Location 
• Camera Shot
• Camera Movement 
• Camera Angle 
• Cast Required 
• Dialogue

From doing this I have learnt that your plan is the most important part because if you don't have this plan then the production of the film will not flow, then when it comes to editing the film you will not be able to combined all of the shot and make it seem realistic to the audiences eye. 
The purpose of doing this story board is so that we can see how our opening 2 minutes will look like and have a plan for the shots that we will use in our film opening. It will also help us plan out when we are having some of the opening titles on the two minutes. All of this will make it easier for us when we come to filming and editing our teen horror movie opening. 

Evaluation on my progress so far

Research into horror movies

I feel that i have proficient evidence of research into horror movies. This is because i have examples of different horror movies and the ways that different codes and conventions generically used in horror movies. This shows that i have looked at different horror movies and the sorts of things that are found in them. It also gave us examples of the sorts of things that could happen in the opening two minutes of a horror movie.  

Research into a potential target audience

I feel i have some of researching into my potential target audience. This is because i have looked at the audience theory which includes the hypodermic needle theory, cultivation theory, two step flow, uses and gratifications. I have also done work on my chosen artist and the type of audience that would be targeted for her. I will look into the different outfits that people wear of that age and of my chosen artist so that i can get the costume planning correct for our music video. 

Time management

I think that i have shown good time management as i have caught up on all work that had been done before i joined the course, whether that be watching the videos, reading articles or making and creating posts. I have also kept up to dat with all work that has needed to be done and have completed extra in some parts of the research - for example, the research into music videos. 

Use of digital technology or ICT 

I feel that i have shown good skills of using different digital technology. This is because i have used photos, videos and different presentation software to present different things. For example, using premier pro for my animatic and Prezzie for my pitch. I could use different types of presentation sites to present my work in future to show that i am able to use different types of digital technology.  

Communication skills

I would say that i have good communication skills. I have done lots of writing in my posts and most are grammatically correct, however, i can sometimes use the wrong spelling. 

Level of care taken in the presentation of work

I feel that the level of care in the presentation of my work is excellent. I feel this because i have use different ways of presenting my work. For example, using Prezzie, pictures, videos and keeping all my text the a suitable font. 

Planning - Writing A Treatment For Your Chosen Opening

This is our treatment for our opening to the horror movie. 

• We are going to start off with an establishing shot of the forest.
• We are then going to have a tilt shot from the feet going up, the shot is of two school children walking home on a Friday afternoon. 
• There is then a tracking shot of them walking through the forest. Both of the students are listening to music through there headphones so there will be diagetic sound of the music they are listening to, however, both of their phones die, this will be use of a horror film convention. 
• There will then be diagetic sound of wood being chopped but the sound will increase as the students come closer to The Lumberjack. 
• The students then stop and look around to see where the sound is coming from. This will be a point of view shot and which pans around their location you will be able to see The Lumberjack in the distance. 
• The Lumberjack then begins to follow them, there is a close up/tracking shot of their feet as they run away, whilst running away there will also be a point of view shot of them running through the trees to try to get away from. 
• The male character stops because he is fatigued but as he turns The Lumberjack throws the the axe towards his head. This is when a reverse shot will be used to show that The Lumberjack is behind them, in the background you will see The Lumberjack preparing to throw his axe. The camera then follows the axe with a quick panning shot and then the male character ducks as the axe hits the tree. He then runs in a different direction abandoning the girl.
• The girl continues running away from the Lumberjack but then using a horror film convention the girl will trip and fall, this will be shown by a closeup of her feet as she falls. The Lumberjack appears above her and at the camera cuts to a point of view shot as The Lumberjack swings the axe towards her head. For effect we are going to hit a watermelon with the axe to create the sound effect of her head being hit by the axe.
• The camera then cuts back to the boy then spots an abandoned house and tries to escape to it, the shots used are point of view and tracking shots. When the character approaches the house he hides behind the entrance of the house. When stood in the doorway he looks around the house. He then turns and looks through the doorway to see if The Lumberjack is there, he sees him run past so he is relieved and the non-diabetic music loses tension. However, when he turns to look again the lumberjack is standing there and the non-diagetic sound will be a jumpscare sound which will be loud and quite high pitch to add to the effect of the jumpscare. The camera then cuts to a point of view shot of the axe being swung at his head, then the screen will cut to black.

Planning : Target Audience Feedback

Our group sent out a feedback questionnaire to find out peoples opinion on our sixty second pitch. We created a survey on survey monkey and sent out links to thirty random people that were in our target audience age range. We collected the results and we got some interesting feedback to look over. These are the results to each question we asked:

This question allowed our group to see if the information which is going to be given in the following questions are true or just made up. 

This gave us the evidence that we were asking these questions to are target audience and not to people that ever watch horror movies, otherwise the information they would be giving us are invalid because we need to know if our ideas are good enough to work within a teen horror movie. 

This question allowed us to get feedback on the ideas we had within our 60 second pitch. By the evidence given we believe nearly every one liked our ideas for the horror film. 

From the evidence above it allowed us as a group to carry on the idea we originally came up with and not have to change anything because the candidates that answered these questions agree with our idea and feel like nothing should be changed. 

The final question in our survey was to see if our target audience would watch this film when released and from the evidence given only 10% of the people answering the questionnaire said they would not watch this film when released. 

Planning : From Initial Ideas To A 60 Second Pitch

Our task was to come up with some different ploy ideas for a horror movie aimed at a teenage audience. We did this by creating a mind map of general conventions found in a teenage horror movie so that we had some we had some ideas of different things that we could put into our horror film. We then came up with different plots for our horror movie that we though would appeal to our target audience and were a diet different any horror movies that we had watched; however staying in keeping with the conventions generally used in teen horror movies.

After coming up with four potential ideas, we chose the idea that we thought we could replicate and that would be relatable to our target audience.  Below is the video footage of our 60 second pitch for 'The Lumberjack'.


  

Once we had came up with our idea, we chose our company name by mind mapping lots of different ideas ad then choosing the one we liked best. In the end we chose Black Widow Productions.  We then also came up with a working title for our film by ind mapping ideas too. We chose 'The Lumberjack' as we felt this is short, punchy and links straight to the main character of our film. 

Research : The Importance Of Sound In Horror Films

Sound is a vital element to any film or media product, the sound is what connects the audience and the mood being created and, therefore, makes the audience feel a certain way. This sound helps to create the atmosphere of the scene, for example, in a horror movie the music would have high and low pitched strings to create mystery and suspense. If a Horror Film was to just have diegetic sound then the film will not have the same effect upon the audience, this is why non-diegetic sound within any film is important. Music may progressively build to signify that a dramatic event is about to happen or it may be upbeat to lighten the mood. Horror films use diegetic music heavily to create a scary scene. Even though the music sets the scene, it does not give away what will happen in the following events but may put people on edge waiting for something to happen. The music must not be too loud at the start but can start to build up the tension and loudness.

One example of how music can effect a scene in a horror movie is the 1980 'The Shining'. The clip below is of 'The Shining'. If you watch it with and then without the sound, it makes you feel very differently on each one. 

 



Here is another clip about how sound can affect the mood of a film. Justin Zagra, a film maker, has produce a video with an example also showing the difference between a piece of footage without non-diegetic and with non-diegetic.



This research will benefit me because when it comes to my filming I will ensure I record certain sounds such as a scream of the girl when she is about to be killed by the lumber jack. Also the sound of when the lumberjack is coming toward the two characters, so when filming I will get the sound of an axe cutting through as he is walking towards them. This will help me make a more effective film opening because of the diegetic sound that I have filmed my self, to create more tension for the audience. 

Research: The Importance Of Opening Titles

The first thing we did was watch a brief video of the history of the art of titles. This then gave me different ideas for the way that I could edit the titles onto my opening two minutes of my horror film. It also showed us the differences between titles used in horror, comedy and animation films.
I  then watched the opening credits to Se7en. Whilst watching this I noted down the titles, exactly as they were presented, that came up and at what time they appeared. After this I then watched the opening two minutes again, but this time without sound, so I could write down all the visual elements and images that were shown during in the opening. I then had to watch it again, this time with sound, so I could write down all the sounds that I could hear. Then, lastly, I watched the opening for a final time and looked at the typography of how the titles came up; for example if they were in capitals, bold, colour etc.
This is the opening credits to the film Se7en which I used to analyse the opening titles from and use as an example for my opening two minutes of my horror film.

From this process i have learnt that they way titles are used in films and other media products is a very important effect to give the audience a first impression on what type of film it is they are watching and what may be in the film. The way that the titles look is important, for example, if the titles are colourful and in bubble writing then the audience will get the impression that the film is funny and suitable for children too. However , the writing of the titles is written in blood, then the audience will get the impression of death and horror. I have also learnt that sound in any point of a film is very important and can imply different moods to the audience about that point in the film. for example, loud and cheerful music would imply to the audience that this movie is a happy and upbeat. This is an example of non-diagetic sound. Some diagetic sound that could be used in the opening of a film would be talking or noises from props. For example, the creaking of a door opening would put the audience in suspense and make them uneasy. by doing this i have also learn that the visual elements put into a film opening can have a big impact on the audience. These images are like a sneak preview of what is to come in the actual film itself and this means that the audience take note of them most. They will take what they have seen in the opening titles and think that the movie will be similar and carry on this impression and mood.The visual elements of a media product are the part that the audience take notice of most. Because of this I will carefully select the images used in the opening 2 minutes of my horror movie.

Research Essay: Codes And Conventions Of Existing Horror Films

In media products, in this case films, there are codes and conventions that are used to represent information and portray this to the audience. There are two different types of codes, technical and symbolic.

Technical codes are methods of using equipment, such as the camera. Different technical methods are things such as the camera shots, angles and movements which are used in films to represent and give the audience different messages about the film’s setting and characters. Also, the use of editing and sound, whether that be diegetic or non-diegetic, can also be used as technical codes to inform the audience of a feeling or other element of the film. Symbolic codes are things such as clothing, props, lighting and makeup; these can all come under the bracket of Mise-En-Scene. These code are used to show different facts and other pieces of information and inform the audience of this, without the use of words. For example, the clothing that a character wears can tell the audience about the person’s personality, interests and age.

Conventions are the ‘norms’ found in a piece of media, for example, in horror films one convention that is regularly present is that there is not phone signal where the people/person is. These are used in media to let the audience know of the genre or style the media is in. For example, putting a couple in a town centre full of shoppers being followed by a mystery person or animal would not be as effective as the couple being in a forest or other secluded location.

One of the technical methods used in Wrong Turn is the types of camera shots used in the 2 minute opening. To start the film there is an establishing shot of the woodland around the couple. This helps so show that they are in a secluded location away from other people. This also sets the scene of where the couple are and helps start the story of their adventure in the woodlands. They have also used a lot of close up shots in this 2 minute opening. For example, there is a close up of the man’s hands being dragged away as he lay lifeless over the edge of the cliff. This was to show something/someone else was up there and had killed him.  It also means that the audience are able to tell there is a person of danger up on the cliff top and can easily tell the man’s body is being dragged away without having to see the whole body. There is also another close up of the woman putting her hand over her mouth as she sees her dead boyfriend’s boy sprawled on the floor and covered in blood. This close up show the audience her facial expressions, feelings and emotions that this character feels at this point in time. This is very powerful as this is a key moment in the opening and triggers the woman to do something and try to make her escape. The use of camera angles are also another technical code used in the opening two minutes of Wrong Turn. A high angle is used to shown vulnerability. For example, when the woman is hanging alone and has just seen her boyfriend dead hanging over the side of the cliff, there is a high angle shot of the woman hanging from the rocks by herself. This is to show her vulnerability as she is now alone in the middle of a forest and hanging fir a cliff alone.

The symbolic codes use in wrong turn are things like the costumes both the male and female are wearing. The clothing that they are both wearing help suggest the age of characters. For example, the female is wearing very tight clothing and is showing off her stomach and legs. This help the audience think of her age and the type of person that she may be. Another symbolic code used was the lighting. When the female was running through the forest away from the ‘danger’, the lighting was very dark to suggest to the audience the mood and suspense of this scene. Then they showed the car, the escape method, in a very light and bright setting of lighting. This was to show that there really was a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ and that this was her way out of the horrible situation.

The main convention used in Wrong turn were running through trees, someone trips up, the pair get spit up, they are in the middle of nowhere, never see the ‘danger’, the woman is vulnerable and you see the way to escape.

In Dead Wood, a technical codes used was the tracking shot. For example, the tracking shot was used when the man was running through the woods. This helped to show the location of the couple as well as the danger of the situation. Another type of camera shot use was a low angle shot of the man. This was before the man went to jump across the ditch to get away from the ‘danger’ that was coming up behind him. This was used to show the height of the jump he would have to make and how the vulnerability of him. It also showed his deliberation in making the jump and how he was put in danger. One camera movement was a crane. Once the man had been dragged down the ditch, the woman was left alone in the woods. As she was getting out of the tent and looking around to find the man, calling his name, the camera shot craned up and out of the woods. This made the audience see the woman’s vulnerability and how she was alone in the middle of the forest.

One of the symbolic codes used in the opening two minutes of Dead Wood was the lighting. When the man was in the wood, the lighting was very dark and dull. This was to show that this was part of the ‘danger zone’ and is unsafe for the man to be there. However the lighting on the tent is quite bright. This was to show that this was his ‘safety area’ and one way out to get away from the ‘danger’. Another symbolic code used was costume. Another symbolic code used in the opening two minutes was the use of costumes. For example, the woman was wearing shorts and a low cut top and the man was wearing a bright coloured shirt. This meant that the audience could look at the characters and assess their personalities and age. They may have looked at the male character and said that he was a young and outgoing and bubbly sort of person.

The conventions used in the first two minutes of Dead Wood were that someone trips up, someone runs through some trees, they are in the middle of nowhere, the pair get split up and that they don’t see the ‘danger’.

One of the technical codes used in the opening two minutes of the film ‘Dead Mary’ was the use of close ups. For example, a number of close ups were used to open the movie. These close ups were used to tell the audience some extra information about the character and the scene. This film opens with a close-up of the sign for the petrol station. This give the audience information as on the sign the writing says ‘the last station for 1000 miles’. This lets the audience know some important information about the scene and setting that they then might need to know for later on in the film. Close ups are also used when we are first introduced to the woman. There are close ups of parts of her body, for example, hand and feet. This slowly introduced the person into the film and helps make the feeling of mystery and suspense. There is also music used as a technical code. This is used when the ‘danger’ is looking through the trees and when the female id in the car by herself. This is there to build tensions and suspense as the audience cannot see what the ‘danger’ is but they know that the ‘danger’ is watch the woman and something is going to happen soon.

One of the symbolic codes used in Dead Mary was the clothes that the pair were wearing. For example, the woman was wearing shorts and a low cut top. This give the audience information about the female’s personality and age. They are able to gather the basic information about the female with the characters having to even say anything. Another symbolic code used was props, the woman had a phone in the car with her. The audience can then have an education guess at her age as, at the time, there were less teenagers with phones. The phone also had no signal where they were, this tell the audience about the location that she it at. It tells then that they are in a secluded location as they don’t get phone signal, and it tells the audience this without the characters talking or having writing to tell them.  So the use of props can help determine the type of location and the age of the character.

The conventions used in the first two minutes of Dead Mary are a couple are split up, there is no signal on their phone, they’re in the  middle of nowhere, someone is looking through trees, they don’t see the ‘danger’ and they run out of fuel.