Horror Genre Mood Board

Aristotle Six Elements Of Drama

Aristotle the six elements of drama

A Greek philosopher Aristotle applied these six elements in to his drama in ancient Greece; the same basic elements still apply to the modern structure of drama today. Here is how the six elements apply to our structure of our teaser trailer.

1. Plot - There has to be a story that unfolds. A perverse surgeon attempts to bring a dead body to life using a combination of the eight different blood types of the seven girls and his own to infuse into the dead body.

2. Character - Establishes their character - noble, base, venal etc. Surgeon, Amy, Terri, Jodie, Emily, Nicole, Samantha and Hannah.

3. Theme – A theme of horror and psychological disorder, medial equipment full of a disturbed obsession gone too far.

4. Diction - These seven girls share the same language as they’re from the same county and share a similar age between them. The surgeon’s voice is spine-chilling and very peculiar he is introvert and withdrawn so he doesn’t speak much throughout.

5. Music - Used to enhance and create mood appropriate to the emotions. Sound effects are used throughout the teaser trailer and a fast paced violin music used at the end of the trailer to create intense impact.

6. Spectacle – The setting is in a dark underground like prison. The main colours used in this setting are pallid ominous colours such as yellow, crimson, black and brown, these are used to set the genre for the teaser trailer.

Levi Strauss' Binary Oppositions

Levi Strauss’ Binary Oppositions

Claude Levi’s observed were making sense of the world, people and events by seeing and using binary oppositions everywhere. The observed that narratives are organised around the conflict between such binary opposition’s examples such as:

Good V’s Evil

Black V’s White

Boy V’s Girl

Peace V’s War

Strong V’s Weak

Alive V’s Dead

Man V’s Nature

Human V’s Inhuman

Rational V’s Irrational

Man V’s Woman

East V’s West

Civilised V’s Savage

Empowered V’s Victim

Normal V’s Strange

Overground V’s Underground

There are ones that apply to our film AB Negative are:

Normal - Strange (7 girls/Surgeon)

Good - Evil (7 girls/Surgeon)

Overground —Underground (Abducted overground/kept underground)

Alive - Dead (7 girls Surgeon and Corpse)

Human - Inhuman (7 girls and Surgeon/Living Corpse)

Natural - Artificial (7 girls and Surgeon/Living Corpse)

Rational - Irrational 7 girls/Surgeon)

Young - Old (7 girls /Surgeon and Corpse)

Tzvetan Todorov Narrative Structure

Tzvetan Todorov is a Franco-Bulgarian philosopher. He suggests that all narratives follow a three part structure with five stages. They begin with equilibrium, where everything is balanced, progress as something comes along to disrupt that equilibrium, and finally reach a resolution, when equilibrium is restored. This simple formula can be applied to virtually all narratives - it is a more formal way of thinking about the beginning, middle and end, and it takes into account Aristotle's theory that all drama is conflict i.e. there is disequilibrium at the heart of every narrative.
Tzvetan Todorov suggested that conventional narratives are structured in five stages:

1. a state of equilibrium at the outset;
2. a disruption of the equilibrium by some action;
3. a recognition that there has been a disruption;
4. an attempt to repair the disruption;
5. a reinstatement of the equilibrium

Todorov’s theory and the conventions of mainstream film narratives are challenged by our film AB Negative as our plot encloses more than one interference. For example first, the victims being kidnapped; second, the surgeon makes an effort to bring the dead body to life. 

Yakovlevich Propp Character Functions

Propps eight character functions

The Propps character functions. These are based on the character functions according to Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp a Russian and Soviet formalist scholar who analyzed the basic plot components of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest irreducible narrative elements. He then created the 8 character functions:

1.      The villain — struggles against the hero.

2.     The dispatcher —character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.

3.     The (magical) helper — helps the hero in the quest.

4.     The princess or prize — the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. The hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain.

5.     Her father — gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero, and marries the hero, often sought for during the narrative. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and the father can not be clearly distinguished.

6.     The donor —prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.

7.     The hero or victim/seeker hero — reacts to the donor, weds the princess.

8.     False hero — takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess.

These roles can sometimes be distributed among various characters. Conversely, one character could engage in acts as more than one figure, as a father could send his son on the quest and give him a sword, acting as both the dispatcher and donor.

Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp theory is applied to our teaser trailer film basis

Not all of the categories are based on our teaser trailer, as Yakovlevich Propp based this on the theories of Russian folktales and not up to date modern narratives. Below are the categories that applied to our teaser trailer and gave us a closer insight into our teaser trailer and the roles of our characters

The hero, usually male, is the agent who restores the narrative equilibrium often by embarking upon a quest. Propp distinguishes between the victim hero, who is the centre of the villain’s attentions, and the seeker hero who aids others who are the villain’s victims. The hero is invariably the texts central character. (Terri which challenges this theory)

The villain who usually creates the narrative disruption.  (The surgeon)

The donor gives the hero something; it may be an object, information or advice, which helps in resolution of the narrative. (Amy)

The helper aids the hero in the task of restoring equilibrium. (Emily)

The dispatcher sends the hero on her or his task (who can typically be the princess father). (Emily)

The Seven Basic Plot Structures

The teaser trailer we are doing is about seven girls trying to escape the surgeon so we all feel that this comes under overcoming the monster. As the surgeon is more a monster than a human being.

  Overcoming the Monster A terrifying, all-powerful, life-threatening monster whom the hero must confront in a fight to the death. An example of this plot is seen in Beowulf, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Dracula.

  Rags to Riches Someone who has seemed to the world quite commonplace is shown to have been hiding a second, more exceptional self within. Think the ugly duckling, Jane Eyre and Clark Kent.

  The Quest From the moment the hero learns of the priceless goal, he sets out on a hazardous journey to reach it. Examples are seen in The Odyssey, The Aeneid, The Count of Monte Cristo, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

  Voyage and Return The hero or heroine and a few companions travel out of the familiar surroundings into another world completely cut off from the first. While it is at first marvellous, there is a sense of increasing peril. After a dramatic escape, they return to the familiar world where they began. Alice in Wonderland and The Time Machine are obvious examples; but Brideshead Revisited and Gone with the Wind also embody this basic plotline.

  Comedy Following a general chaos of misunderstanding, the characters tie themselves and each other into a knot that seems almost unbearable; however, to universal relief, everyone and everything gets sorted out, bringing about the happy ending. Shakespeare’s comedies come to mind, as do Jane Austen’s perfect novels.

  Tragedy A character through some flaw or lack of self-understanding is increasingly drawn into a fatal course of action which leads inexorably to disaster. King Lear, Madame Bovary, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Bonnie and Clyde—all flagrantly tragic.

  Rebirth There is a mounting sense of threat as a dark force approaches the hero until it emerges completely, holding the hero in its deadly grip. Only after a time, when it seems that the dark force has triumphed, does the reversal take place. The hero is redeemed, usually through the life-giving power of love. Many fairy tales take this shape; also, works like Silas Marner and It’s a Wonderful Life.

Camera Angles,Shots and Movement