Task 1.1 (Research - Initial Trailer/Short Film Analysis)

The film 'The Messenger' follows the generic convention of a horror in the sense that it builds suspense. The film leaves a seemingly normal family thinking that they are going mad and starts the family turning on each other. This film lives up to expectations of a horror as it has the main aspects, I.e., mysterious storyline accompanying characters, a dark past for some characters, the whole story isn't revealed until right at the end which leaves you questioning what's going to happen throughout the film. The music in the film is usually minimal, but it is effective in building suspense in the film. Technical devices used in this film such as a crab track to follow the characters by their side so you can't see what is in front of them until the camera pans around. This helps builds suspense by not showing everything that is happening on screen until last minute. The film varies between slow and quick cuts, the slow cuts are used to build it up into the scary parts of the scene, the quick shots help keep the sense of fear that the character is feeling. The angles are very suited to this type of film as they use the lighting to their advantage by creating shadows for possibilities of something emerging from them. There are a mixture of long shots and close ups in the film which is effective as it allows the camera to only show what he wants to be seen by the audience. Match-on action shots are used to give a better showing of what the characters are doing at certain points of the film and makes it easier for the audience to focus on what is really happening. The use of flashing lights is as effective as using quick cuts as it block your view of what's happening for a very short space of time and it goes back to being able to see what is happening again so it is almost as if it has cut to a new shot.