How Narrative applies to the genre of horror and my trailer
Narrative is used in media as a way of telling a story and is used by organising the different elements of a story to create meaning.
The narration of my summer trailer is linear as it shows a group teenagers walking out of a cinema , then as the story continues , it becomes more tenses when the antagonist has a vision.
Torodov's theory of narrative is often used in horror movies. This is significant when allowing the audience to gain an understanding of the film, as it includes an equilibrium, disruption and a resolution. In my summer trailer, I used Torodovs theory as shown a group of teenagers are firstly introduced as they exit a cinema then as it continues, the disruption stage begins when the antagonist has a vision , then finally the resolution when the protagonists die at the end. This theory is significant when creating a horror movie, however, when creating a trailer, it tends to give too much away to the audience. Therefore, i must ensure that when creating my next trailer i should only use one/two elements (equilibrium or disruption stage) of this theory,
Altmans "a set of pleasures" theory is used in horror movies to allow the audience to respond accordingly to the sub-text of the film. These set of pleasures include; emotional pleasures, visceral pleasures and intellectual puzzles.
Emotional pleasures are important when creating horror movies as they create strong emotional responses by the audience. For example, sympathy for characters. Emotional pleasures are shown in my trailer when the antagonist is peer pressured into smoking. This can create a empathetic response by the audience as some groups of people such as other teenagers may be able to relate to this situation.
Visceral pleasures are responses made by the audience which may be physical such as a fast heart rate, The use of fades and text have been useful when creating a visceral effect as it may create a tense atmosphere for the audience resulting in a fast heart rate. Although, this could have been improved in my trailer by using quick cuts and increasing the speed towards the end.
Intellectual puzzles provide pleasure for the audience of trying to figure out the meaning of the film, like a mystery or puzzle. This is shown in my trailer towards the end and this is useful when allowing the audience to think about the deeper meaning of the story. This contrasts with Torodov's theory of narrative.
Levi Strauss' believes that narratives operates to present a certain Binary Opposition. The importance of his theory is that there is a certain structure which enforces binary opposition. Binary is a key term as this means that elements of horror movies such as lighting, props or characters etc. have to be as opposite as possible to create certain impact on the audience.
This theory can apply to my trailer as it shows a numerous amount of binary oppositions. This is shown within my trailer when my antagonist becomes possessed. This presents the idea of good vs. evil. This can also present empowered vs. victim as she is a victim of an empowered spirit which as possessed her and taken over her mind and body.
Barthes theory of narrative codes used in horror movies include 5 different narrative codes; action, enigma, semantic, cultural, and symbolic.
The action code applies to a small action which leads up to an event (destruction). This is shown in my trailer when the antagonist smokes which causes her to become possessed. Symbolic codes are also used throughout my trailer. Such as the cigarette which is represented as something which unleashes an evil spirit. This also links in with Strauss' theory of binary opposition. The use of text in my trailer such as "3 normal teenagers living their normal lives" conveys that one event can change your life drastically from being normal to abnormal; this is a semantic code.
This theory applies to my trailer as i've used most of the codes.
Propp believes that there are specific characters which create certain situations and reasons for things which happen. For example, the villain creates complication and the hero restores the narrative equilibrium. I have only used one of the character types identified by Propp which is the villain. This is because, typically, the characters identified by Propp tend to be used in other movie genres, therefore, Propps theory is not significant when it comes to the genre of horror.
In conclusion, narrative can be used in a numerous amount of ways and the different theories help me to develop a greater understanding and also apply to my horror movie. Although, not all elements of the different theories have to be used when creating my horror movie trailer as they are not significant.
Emotional pleasures are important when creating horror movies as they create strong emotional responses by the audience. For example, sympathy for characters. Emotional pleasures are shown in my trailer when the antagonist is peer pressured into smoking. This can create a empathetic response by the audience as some groups of people such as other teenagers may be able to relate to this situation.
Visceral pleasures are responses made by the audience which may be physical such as a fast heart rate, The use of fades and text have been useful when creating a visceral effect as it may create a tense atmosphere for the audience resulting in a fast heart rate. Although, this could have been improved in my trailer by using quick cuts and increasing the speed towards the end.
Intellectual puzzles provide pleasure for the audience of trying to figure out the meaning of the film, like a mystery or puzzle. This is shown in my trailer towards the end and this is useful when allowing the audience to think about the deeper meaning of the story. This contrasts with Torodov's theory of narrative.
Levi Strauss' believes that narratives operates to present a certain Binary Opposition. The importance of his theory is that there is a certain structure which enforces binary opposition. Binary is a key term as this means that elements of horror movies such as lighting, props or characters etc. have to be as opposite as possible to create certain impact on the audience.
This theory can apply to my trailer as it shows a numerous amount of binary oppositions. This is shown within my trailer when my antagonist becomes possessed. This presents the idea of good vs. evil. This can also present empowered vs. victim as she is a victim of an empowered spirit which as possessed her and taken over her mind and body.
Barthes theory of narrative codes used in horror movies include 5 different narrative codes; action, enigma, semantic, cultural, and symbolic.
The action code applies to a small action which leads up to an event (destruction). This is shown in my trailer when the antagonist smokes which causes her to become possessed. Symbolic codes are also used throughout my trailer. Such as the cigarette which is represented as something which unleashes an evil spirit. This also links in with Strauss' theory of binary opposition. The use of text in my trailer such as "3 normal teenagers living their normal lives" conveys that one event can change your life drastically from being normal to abnormal; this is a semantic code.
This theory applies to my trailer as i've used most of the codes.
Propp believes that there are specific characters which create certain situations and reasons for things which happen. For example, the villain creates complication and the hero restores the narrative equilibrium. I have only used one of the character types identified by Propp which is the villain. This is because, typically, the characters identified by Propp tend to be used in other movie genres, therefore, Propps theory is not significant when it comes to the genre of horror.
In conclusion, narrative can be used in a numerous amount of ways and the different theories help me to develop a greater understanding and also apply to my horror movie. Although, not all elements of the different theories have to be used when creating my horror movie trailer as they are not significant.
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