The IMR of Film

As a part of my planning and research stage, I must understand how the codes of the horror genre operate.

The key code is the international language of film or Institutional Mode of Representation.

In film theory, the Institutional Mode of Representation is the style of films that developed during Classic Era of Hollywood Cinema, becoming the norm in 1914, and continues to this day.

The IMR is characterised by the attempt to create an entirely fictional world on screen. Various techniques (often referred to as the “language of cinema”) were developed in order to accomplish the identification required for the audience to become imaginatively involved with the film:
  • Films are constructed out of a sequence of shots, in which each shot presents the audience with one clear piece of information.
  • A 3D space is created, using Renaissance rules of perspective as well as new cinematic techniques such as editing and lighting. To keep the illusion of spatial integrity, which was lost with the introduction of close-ups, eye-line and directional matches were introduced. The film is thus perceived as taking place in an environment around the viewer.
  • Characters are psychologically singled out, through close-ups on faces and acting methods borrowed from (bourgeois) theatre. Psychological depth is prized, and the narrative is driven by character psychology. The audience is therefore invited to interpret the motivations of the characters, and thus involve itself with the film.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Evaluation: what have you learned from your target audience feedback?

Image
Audience feedback is an essential element of post-production as it allows us to find out what the audience liked and disliked about our film. Most importantly, the feedback that we receive tells us whether or not the audience understood the film which has been created for their viewing. Feedback also enables us to review and critique our production to ensure a successful release.   The primary target audience for 'Matryoshka' is ideally females between the age of 15-24.   First of all, I asked my target audience what they thought about my ancillary products:   What genre do you think the film is just by looking at the movie poster and double page spread? Horror/thriller Horror Horror Thriller Horror Did the poster and double page spread make you want to watch it? ...
Read more

Inner form and Outer form

For every film, there are always two sections; the inner form and the outer form. The concept of the inner form represents the film's thematic qualities which can account for themes, morals, messages, characters, and storylines. A typical storyline of the horror genre would be when a boy and girl are at an isolated location, camping in the woods for example, and a 'villain' finds them and kills them because one is more stupid than the other. On the other hand, the outer form refers to the iconography of the film - what makes it so special, so iconic. The outer form involves the film's location, colour, marketing and mise en scene which involves anything that one can see in a scene - props, weather, lighting, facial expressions etc.
Read more

Evaluation: how effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?

Image
After filming my short psychological horror, I then started to set out on making the ancillary products that would go along-side the film. I decided to create a film poster and a double page spread from a film review magazine. It was very important that my film was presented in these three media forms as it ensured that the target audience could be informed about the film on all media platforms. The ancillary products are featured below:       However, before creating my poster and double page spread, I completed quite a lot of research into existing horror films and their promotion campaigns to see what conventions they include across all three products to make their films successful, in terms of it reaching the target audience and achieving a sense of 360-degree branding. For me, I felt that it was extremely important that my three products - film, poster and DPS - followed the conventions of these films so that they coul...
Read more