Learning Horror Makeup and Effects

On the 3rd of November, we had the chance to meet Cliff Wallace (specialist in prosetics) and Christine Blundell (professional Make-up artist). They both gave us information on how they got into their career, where they have worked, their budget and much more useful information.

They brought along Props (an image of one shown below) which were used in films they worked on. These gave us ideas as to what effects we could use in our own horror trailers. However, we were aware we don't have as high of budget as they did, therefore they gave us some useful tips on how to create believable effects without spending too much. For instance, to create fake blood you can simply use; golden syrup and red food colouring mixed with blue.

This Image shows a lifelike mask which was used in Sherlock Holmes. 

Furthermore, Christine Blundell showed us how she would create a scar using some wax and mold. This was extremely useful as we are now able to do something similar in our group, creating more lifelike effects in our trailer.

Conventional Characteristics of Ironic Killers

Adorno's Culture Industry theory.

Culture Industry is a term discovered by Theodor Adorno, arguing that popular culture is related to a factory which produces standardised cultural goods - through film, media and the masses. This causes 'passive satisfaction', making people docile and content no matter what their economic circumstances are.

Culture Industries -

False Needs -

Commodity Fetishism -

Standardisation -

Pseudo-individualisation -

Character Research and Narrative 'Propps' Theory.

In films there are certain character types shown in order to create a certain genre/follow a story line. I am going to look at each of these characters, and link them to examples from modern films.

The Popular Girl - The Popular Girl is someone who you ever love or hate. They are always portrayed as two faced  wealthy and popular. She is normally respected by most people due to them being scared of her, or wanting to be popular themselves.

One example of this could be Megan Fox in 'Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen' who plays Carla, a girl who gets what she wants and is the most popular, 'perfect' girl in school. 

The Wanderer - The Wanderer is the character which puts themselves in situations which are hard to get out of, and sometimes even fatal. They are often the weakest in the group.

An example of this could be Bella from Twilight, who gets herself caught up with Vampires who wish to kill her. As she is in love with Edward, she falls into a trap which results in her having to sacrifice herself into being a vampire. 


Jock - The Jock is the character who is good looking, muscular, in to sport and not very intelligent. He is usually the one which the popular girl falls for.

An example of this character could be Troy (played by Zac Efron) in High School Musical. He is a Basketball Player, who Sharpay Evans (the most popular girl at school) fights to get.

The Final Girl - This character is the final person left to confront the killer. She is normally the most intelligent out of the other victims, and then may be recognised as the 'hero'.

An example of this character could be Laurie Storde who survives to confront the killer but then is also saved by another male character. 

The Pervert - this character is usually male, and gets himself in situations where him and a girl are alone together. He often tries to sleep with her at any given opportunity.

Vladimir Propps eight broad character types:

• The Villain - struggles against the hero.
• The Donor - Prepares the hero, or gives them some kind of magical object to help them.
• The Helper - helps the hero
• The Princess - the character most threatened by the villain, father is the one to give her away
• The Dispatcher - character who sends the hero on his task, which could typically be the princess' father
• The Hero - Restores the equilibrium by embarking on a quest. Usually marries the princess
• False Hero - tries to take credit for the heroes actions, and tries to marry the princess

Technical Experiment

Today, we experimented with how to do manual focus, and F stop on a canon E0S 550D, and experimented with using a Zoom Handy Recorder to record the sound. This was an extremely helpful lesson, as we will be using these when producing our horror film trailer, meaning we will be able to create more of a professional looking piece of film.

With the manual focus, we learnt that we are able to focus on one specific object/person, whilst the background can be blurred, rather than an an auto focus, which automatically chooses what to focus on, which could be something that isn't needed to be.

With the Zoom Handy Recorder, we experimented with recorded from distances, and how close you had to be in order for the dialogue spoken to be clear. Also, how we are able to sync the voice and film footage together in  perfect time, by creating a loud noise at the start of each scene so it is made clear.

Multi-Modal Texts

A multi-modal text is when it has been combined with two or more ways for someone to understand the text. Film trailers frequently use this to persuade the viewer to go and watch the film, and give them hints as to what it is about, without giving away the whole story line. This could be through spoken language, text on the screen, music/sound effects, moving images and voice overs. I have analysis the multi-modal text on the film trailer 'Smurfs'.



The trailer starts with text showing the name of the production and distribution companies, in order for the audience to be aware of who the film was produced by. Typography is also used; 'No one knows where they came from', 'no one understands what they are', 'but this august', 'they arrive', and a few more. This gives the viewer a brief idea as to what is going to happen in the film, also 'August' gives us a release date.

Voice over is also used; 'The Smurfs', 'This Summer', 'Our turf, gets Smurf'd', 'The Smurfs, in 3D'. All these quotations give the viewer the information they need, with the title of the film, that it will be in 3D, and the season of release. Also, 'Our turf gets Smurfed' is a effective pun, which highlights the film will include comedy and 'fun'.

The sound effects and music are dramatic, starting off with a quiet sound of wind, increasing to dramatising music to create suspense. Also, a well known song is played at the end, making it relate to the genre more and not make the film appear to be so serious.

Postmodern Theory

Pastiche -  these are often 'tongue in cheek' imitations of another persons style. An example of this 'genre' could be Scary Movie, which imitates the horror films: Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Usual Suspects and many more. It over exaggerates the stereotypical characters shown in horror films. CLICK HERE
to view the trailer of Scary Movie.

Flattening of the Affect -  this 'genre' displays violence, drugs, and the media lead to detached, emotionless, unauthentic lives. An example of this could be Fight Club. This film has extreme amounts of violence in, which is there to shock the audience. CLICK HERE to watch the trailer of Fight Club.

Hyper Reality -  this type of film creates a world which is often desirable to the audience, and not lifelike. This could be linked to a film such as; Inception, which is about a world in which technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion. CLICK HERE to watch the trailer of Inception.

Time Bending -  this 'genre' allows the protagonist to play 'what if' games, as it plays with time travel and shaping reality. A good example of this could be the film; Donnie Darko. This film is about a boy who is led into committing crimes by an imaginary bunny. CLICK HERE to watch the trailer of Donnie Darko.

Altered States -  these are often with drugs, mental illness and technology which provide a gateway to new realities. An example of this could be; Naked lunch, which is about a man who becomes addicted to the substance he uses to kill bugs, an exterminator accidentally kills murders his wife, then gets involved in a secret government plot. CLICK HERE to watch the trailer of Naked Lunch.

More Human than Human -  this 'genre' uses robotics or technology. An example of this could be; Avatar, which is about a paraplegic marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, and finds himself torn between his orders and the protecting the world he feels is his home. CLICK HERE to watch the trailer of Avatar.