The History of Horror Films : A Journey Through Time

1970's

Horror movies of the 1970s reflect the grim mood of the decade. After the optimism of the 1960s, with its sexual and cultural revolutions, and the moon landings, the seventies were something of a disappointment. By 1970, the Beatles split, Janis and Jimi died, and in many senses it was downhill all the way from there: Nixon, Nam, oil strikes, glam rock, feather haircuts, medallions. The 1970s marked a return to the big budget, respectable horror film, dealing with contemporary societal issues, addressing genuine psychological fears.

One consistent fear apparent in the horror films of the 1970s is the fear of children, and the fear of the messy, painful and often fatal process of childbirth. David J Skal, in "The Monster Show", identifies this fear as stemming from the introduction of the contraceptive pill, and from the birth defect horrors forced on the western world by thalidomide. Once sex and conception have been separated, and sexual activity becomes primarily a pleasure, the by-products (i.e children) become monstrous aberrations.
 When the '70s arrived, the full impacts of the movements of the previous decade were beginning to be felt. Between the Pill, the free love movement, the Summer of Love and the rumble of the Vietnam War causing deep splits within families as young men were drafted against their will, hysteria about the demise of the family grew ever-louder and more compelling. Somehow, in horror, this twisted to reveal a new monster raising its head - one that was smaller, cuter, and yet somehow more terrifying than any that had came before. It was the era of the children horror. 

The seventies were about deep-seated paranoia, and the fear that the moral shift of the 1960s had created a culture of monsters. There is little humour in 1970s horror films. Here is a list of some of the films that establish the pinnacle of horror films in the 1970's.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)                   
The Exorcist (1973)
The Wicker Man (1973)
Shivers (1975)
Carrie (1976)
The Omen (1976)
Suspiria (1977)
Dawn of The Dead (1978)
Phantasm (1979)
Alien (1979)

The Exorcist (1973)

This film was turning the concept of childhood innocence on its head. It was also said to be designed to put the fear of God back into people at the time, because it played on the idea anything can be bad.

















 

The Omen (1976)

The Omen shared the same uncomfortable premise of a child cursed with evil. The Omen made memorable use of its soundtrack, in this case a disconcerting blast of Latin chant composed by Jerry Goldsmith. Omen differs from the Exorcist in its refusal to grant audiences a get-out clause in its protagonist's evil. It is not as original or as intelligent as the exorcist, because it uses follows more usual conventions.

Carrie (1973)

Carrie was a great success because it was, tapping in to teenage fears about what happens when you don't fit in. It then used this idea to create a literal fear and stigma attached to those who are not with the crowd. It also links in with how horror films were made in order to play on the fears at the time.

 

 

 

Preliminary Task Evaluation

The set brief evaluation
In the preliminary task we were asked to produce a continuity task involving the filming and editing of a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom he or she then exchanged some dialogue. In order to do this we needed to use  This task needed to demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule, long Shot, mid shot, close up, extreme close up, level shot, POV shot, establishing shot and the over the shoulder shot. On my storyboard, we are shown to have used an establishing shot, match on action, the 180 degree rule, the long shot, mid shot, shot/reverse shot and the over the shoulder shot.

Here is are some reasons as to why some of these techniques were chosen.

The 180 degree rule was used to show the action on one side of the actors face and was useful for expanding the frame.
The match on action shot allowed our cuts to look smoother on screen.
The shot/reverse shot was utilised for my groups conversation scene. It allowed as to have some variation as opposed to a static shot, and show the expression on the faces of the actors. 
The over the shoulder-shot was necessary to provide a different view when different people were talking in a conversation.

Pre-Production

In pre-production we used storyboards to plan out how we were going to go about filming. These were very basic, and though they were in chronological order they lacked detail. This is evident because we had to rely on hand drawn images. This was more difficult because they were much less accurate to where we would be actually filming. I learnt that taking several pictures of the filming location beforehand would have been more beneficial. A positive was that we were able to note down the angles and camera shots we would use in each scene and this made including the key techniques much easier.

Production

We used an I-phone four to film, and our location was Kettering Buccleuch Academy. Using our storyboards we took some time to attempt replicate what we planned on the story board. This was due to location difficulties inside the building sometimes. The lighting during filming was adequate regardless of the lesser camera quality, and we were sure to take many takes of the same scene. The reason why was not only to do with good practice, it was also because there was sometimes a lack of clarity between the camera-man and the actors. I learned from this, good communication is required in the filming process for the best results. The control with the camera was not so big a problem though when we next film we will use a tri-pod to reduce shaking. This was apparent in the POV shots, and the establishing shot especially.

Post Production
With the correct clips we imported them to "I movie". This is a simple program that is used for creating short film clips. We used it for the editing of our production. I included the use of sound by using a website with sound clips. The green bar at the bottom is the music in the background. After my editing I made changes to some transitions and altered some sound clips.

 Conclusion

In conclusion I think my first preliminary task was substandard. Though this was expected because it was new to me with all the different techniques to apply, and also taking part in the practicality of filming. Furthermore I think the mistakes I made were important, so I would learn from them and know how to overcome the problems I faced in the task. This would then better my next piece of filming. For a beginning film, I am satisfied with the result of how the film turned out knowing if I was to re-do the task I would be more confident having analysed and learning from my previous experiences.

 

Main Task Set Brief

Here is your set brief:

The titles and opening of a new teen horror film, to last a maximum of two minutes.

All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source.

Storyboards

These are the group storyboards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preliminary Task first idea

     This is my first draft for my piece  

Media Studies OCR videos

OCR Guide to the 180 Degree Rule

OCR Guide to Basic Camera Angles

OCR Guide to Basic Camera Movements

OCR Guide to Basic Camera Shots

Basic camera shots- Evidence of Understanding

 This is an extreme close up                                                     

                                                                                                                         
                

This is an establishing shot
                                                                         
 This is an example of a long shot.

This is a mid-shot.

This is a close up.

This is a POV shot.

Embedding a Powerpoint

Media Terminology

Preliminary Task

Preliminary Task introduction

Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

Media Specific Terminology

Filming- This the use of a device to record a set of images.

Editing- The modification of clips in a film.

Character- This is a person that is used to perform a role during a filming.

Dialogue- This is the phrase used to describe conversation between two characters.