Issuu

Editor-in-chief Kyla Irish Gales Research Neemmo Albrene Macabangin Charlyne Mae Bacabac Sophia Isabelle Ausejo Write-up Kyla Irish Gales Christina Bianca Burlaza Aira Martin Reaj Pico Lay-out Chris Samuel Salcedo Alliah Czarielle Ampong

Films are a form of visual art that seeks to tell a story through acting out scenes that replicate real life. The production of films takes a substantial amount of time, effort, and manpower to make the stories come to life. They are considered as artifacts–relics of a time where the latest technologies were utilized to create entertaining and educating materials of commendable quality. Filmmaking was once a process only accessible to corporations with a profusion of money to fund productions. Films started off as short, minutes-long videos with no audio but accompanied by lectures, music, and audience participation to describe and better understand the contexts of the films. However, this was exponentially changed by Europe’s influence of longer, narrative versions of films. Due to the popular demand for this form of entertainment, the industry grew alongside the investments to better the quality of production. With this and the rapid development of technology, filmmaking and films themselves became the high-quality source of entertainment we know today. But nowadays, independent or indie films–and even homemade films– are rising and sometimes even more favored than highly-funded films. JR Andrus, the producer of indie film “Missed Connections,” said that indie films would never get funding and that it will always be the number one concern for indie filmmakers. While big filmmaking corporations have all the funds they need to produce a film, indie films are more preferred because they offer a different perspective from what the general public has experienced in theatres. Quality is not the competition, but the connection between the film and the audience, and the surrealism of the finished product. And indie films get to showcase these characteristics through film festivals where both big corporations and small filmmakers benefit from. Independent films or not, both processes of filmmaking have an unspoken set of implications and connotations that both the producers and the audience are aware of and are able to understand. It includes relating implications in real life to the film and giving the audience an “oh,” moment once the realization settles in. But past those vague definitions is a concrete term with subcategories to better understand these codes and conventions in the film industry.

WHAT’S LURKING

01 15 27 CALL

SPLIT

READY OR NOT

WHAT ARE

MEDIA CODES AND CONVENTIONS Media codes are systems of signs that implicate meanings and encourage critical thinking skills. They construct hidden meanings or insinuations to make films more interesting through the use of different media codes. There are three types of media codes: symbolic codes, technical codes, and written codes. Conventions also include three subcategories. We will use the film context in defining this subject. Symbolic codes are the connections between society and the art form. Implications in real life, such as giving a rose and giving it a romantic connotation, can also be used as an implication in films. The codes cover the setting or location of the film; the mise-en-scene or “everything within a frame”; how the actors act out their characters, and color connotations. Technical codes are strictly in the films. They cannot be related to real life, as most technical codes include, well, technology. This means cameras, programs, and editing. It amplifies the raw film, as these codes include camerawork, editing, audio, and lighting. Written codes are the written languages we can see in films. It helps the viewers understand the narrative or give additional information about the characters. There are only two types of written codes: printed language, or the text we can see in a scene; and spoken language, which are the dialogues. Conventions, by definition from Oxford languages, is a way in which something is usually done. In a film context, these are what the film industry normally goes by when producing films. It includes form, story, and genre. Form conventions are the ways we expect the film to be arranged. This includes where the title should show up, where the credits roll, et cetera. Story conventions are how the plot of the film is arranged. The terms “cliche” or “stereotype” may pop up in this type of convention. And finally, genre conventions are the usage of tropes, character types, and setting, and it is inextricably intertwined with an audience’s expectations with a genre

POETRY IN FILM

MEDIA CODES AND CONVENTIONS Symbolic codes are composed of the subcategories setting, color, mise en scene, and acting. The setting is the time and place of the narrative. It is important in establishing the context of the scene and the props or technologies used by the actors for the film’s accuracy. The color assists a scene’s atmosphere and gives an implication of said scene’s mood. Mise en scene is a French term that means “everything within a frame”. It creates a sense of place for the audience and establishes a character’s position in a frame. Lastly, we have acting. This portrays a character’s emotions and is vital in creating a narrative. A face can contort multiple expressions in a second, and actors use this to their advantage to communicate their character’s feelings.

past 1: setting, warm tones

present: setting, cool tone The film takes place in the countryside from the provided shots of open fields and high mountains. There are also two major timeframes: 1999 and 2019. There are two primary colors in the film: cool tones and warm tones. The cool tones are from the present time which symbolizes gloominess and melancholy; the feeling of loss that never fades away. This is accompanied by the character, Seoyeon, with her face often occupied by desolation and disbelief. Take note of the used term ‘often’. From a watcher’s perspective, Seoyeon looks miserable.The warm tones are from the past, symbolizing anger, imminent danger, insanity, and obsession. However, it also symbolizes the warmth of a complete family Seoyeon once had. This is also partnered with Youngsook’s mental instability, apathy, and her murder spree throughout the movie. The colors alone can indicate the atmosphere of a scene, but this is heightened by the character’s expressions and how they interact with the scene.

ACTING, DESOLATION ACTING, ANGER, INSANITY PAST

PRESENT

C p m T s a n h s s p l s n t o c p t e m t H s a a c a

However, these same cool tones were used to show peacefulness when Youngsook saved Seoyeon’s father in the past. This is also utilized at the end of the film when it was revealed that Seoyeon’s mother was “saved” from Youngsook. It symbolizes peacefulness which is accompanied by Seoyeon’s expression of relief to the point of tears.

PRESENT: acting, relief

Clothing and hairstyles also play a part in symbolism. Seoyeon has two major styles: simple and feminine. The simple style is present in scenes where she was miserable and fatherless; she often wears neutrals and gray clothing, and has her hair in a bob. In the present scene where her father was alive, she appears more feminine; wore pastel-colored clothing and has her long hair down. The simple clothing style suggests that she has no time nor care of what she wears, while the feminine clothing style is the opposite. Longer hair takes more care to be maintained well, while people tend to cut their hair short to minimize hassle. Seoyeon’s emotions are in play here; in her miserable state, she does not take care of herself well. However, in her happy state, she is more aware of herself and is able to be conscious of her appearance

The same logic applies to Youngsook, however, in different contexts. Youngsook is imprisoned by her stepmother in their house because of her mental instability, thus, she has limited access to personal care. She often wears a loose white shirt and her hair is short, but long enough to cover her face. She appears unruly; unkempt. However, when she kills her stepmother, she is able to remove the maternal shackles and goes around town to buy and try everything she has never seen before. This includes flashy clothing and wigs that she

FLASHY STYLE SIMPLE STYLE

Notice the recurring use of red clothing and wig. Red is said to be connected to confidence. It is worn by people who are suffering or once went through a difficult time, who are dense and need encouragement. Youngsook suffered from her stepmother’s attempts to exorcise her mental ilness away, but with her stepmother gone, she finally felt free to express herself and do whatever she wanted, including killing

PAST:

BLACK CLOTHING Youngsook’s stepmother also has a notable clothing style. She often wears black, which comes off as mysterious and powerful. It is commonly worn in funerals, but in this case, her clothing symbolizes foreshadowing: an impending death–her own death from the hands of her own stepdaughter. Youngsook and her stepmother have a scene where the contrast of their clothing styles and lifestyles are showcased. In this shot, we can see that Youngsook is wearing her loose shirt and her hair is down, hiding her face. Her posture is slouched, and she is toying with her food. On the other side of the table is her stepmother, her hair in a pixie cut and her face visible despite the dark room. She dons her black blouse and is reading with her back straight. It shows that Youngsook’s life is not as put together as her stepmother. On Seoyeon’s side of the table are the many viands of vegetables, while her stepmother’s side is littered with books. Their seating arrangement signifies the distance of their relationship. And with the way her stepmother is reading on the dining table, it implies that she is merely monitoring Youngsook and making sure she eats her vegetables.

PAST: CONTRASTS

There are three major items with symbolism within the film. First is the fire extinguisher, which Youngsook uses to suffocate and stun her victims before she uses the second item, the knife, to kill them. These two items go hand in hand to have one symbol: this is a serial killer’s method of operation or modus operandi. A modus operandi is an established way of doing something. In a criminal context, this is the suspect’s method of killing. Youngsook followed this mode of operation after she used it to kill her stepmother. While the knife is singular, the house is littered with small fire extinguishers both in the past and in the altered present. The third item is the cordless telephone. It was first used by Seoyeon to contact her lost handphone, and this was when Youngsook first contacted her, mistaking her for another friend. Through the cordless telephone, they were able to communicate in the same house despite the 20-year gap between their timelines. The two formed a friendship which benefited them at first but changed into revenge and rivalry. The cordless telephone represents the unbreakable connection between the two women–both the good and the bad. No matter how much Seoyeon wants to break free from this connection, she couldn’t, lest she lose all the people in her life.

Film lighting, among many other factors, creates a visual mood which dictates the atmosphere and to help in storytelling. The film utilizes two main color tones for lighting: dark and soft. The dark lighting is heavily used throughout the film and portrays a sinister aura. It is accompanied by high contrast which makes the scenes harsher and darker in general. The soft lighting is made use of in scenes with both high and low exposures. The dark lighting is primarily used in the past timeline, as this is where the killings– or darker themes–mostly occur. The soft lighting has two phases: the one used in high exposure was applied in the scenes where Seoyeon has her father in the altered

present timeline. The soft lighting partnered with a high exposure appears natural, especially in the scenes where they are outdoors. It gives off an aura of happiness and tranquility. Additionally, the lighting in high exposure is all around the shots, a direct contrast to soft lighting with low exposure. The one used in low exposure is utilized in the first and middle part of the film where in both cases, Seoyeon lost her father from the past and from the altered present, and it creates a sad atmosphere–a sense of loss. Additionally, there is little to no bright light in these scenes. If there was, only one was present and coming from one direction only.

technological

The first image is set in the past timeline where the stepmother is still alive. At this scene, the mother is attempting to burn Youngsook. The room is dark, with the only source of light being the fire coming from below her face. It gives the subject a harsh light and adds tension to the atmosphere. In the next scene, the present is altered with the help of Youngsook from the past. Because of this, Seoyeon’s entire life changes from the dark atmosphere to the brighter one as seen above where she marvels at the sudden change of her surroundings. Light is coming from different directions as well, and gives the scene a soft glow.

This scene is at the first part of the film where Seoyeon relishes her new home. She takes no mind of the cluttered surroundings and does not bother to turn on any light. The only light source in this scene is when Seoyeon opens a big window, letting the moonlight stream inside her lonely house. The direction of the lighting is diagonal, following the moon’s placement in the sky. It emits a light between harsh and soft because of the dark environment. Camerawork is also a key element in the film. The backbone of the entertainment industry is held by the many cameras set up throughout a studio or a filming location. Camerawork establishes the set of a scene or a shot. It takes the mise en scene of a film and enhances the story, thus it is a cinematographer’s job to address these minute details and communicate it to the audience with the help of cameras. There were many scenes that utilized long shots which made the subject appear small, especially with Seoyeon. Long shots are used to exhibit a subject’s place in a surrounding. In the first part of the film, this was heavily utilized to imply loneliness and dejection.

Along with long shots were the closeups. They are used to show a character’s extreme expression which is important in noting the peaks in a scene or a film in general (see: 5b present 1, 6a) and details that are used for context-building

In this scene, Youngsook successfully kills her stepmother. The shot zooms in on her face to show the small blood splatters which indicates her fruitful attempt, since the actual stabbing was not explicitly shown for censorship purposes. Another thing notable about this shot is her facial expression of mixed shock and disbelief which shows what she feels about her actions.

This shot zooms in on Seoyeon’s massive scar on her leg. It was shown in the early parts of the movie, where there was little to no background information about the characters. This minute detail showing her scar gives the audience an idea as to what the main character has gone through and why her actions and her expressions are on the negative side. Later on, this same scar will become the catalyst for time alteration and will signify the difference between the altered timelines. Usage of visual effects or VFX is the manipulation or alteration of any on-screen imagery that does not exist physically in real life. In the context of a live-action shot, VFX allows filmmakers to construct locations, objects, creatures, and even people that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to film. In cinema VFX, live-action footage is commonly combined with computer-generated graphics (CGI). The film takes advantage of CGI to showcase the supernatural aspects of the story. Some CGIs appear natural, however, there are a few scenes where the VFX is obvious. They can be clearly seen in the scenes where time in the present is altered. In the first scene, Youngsook from the past saves Seoyeon’s father from a house fire, thus allowing him to live in the present. Seoyeon’s life in the present undergoes a transformation–her house changes from a dark, empty, and cold place into a brightly-lit, well-taken care of household with both of her parents present. The VFX is portrayed as the dark house crumbling apart; fires reversing in time, and walls changing. Even Seoyeon herself changes her hair and outfit.

In the second scene, Seoyeon is with her father as he teaches her how to drive. She had previously cut the cordless phone power to cease communication with Youngsook after the former realized that the latter was a dangerous person. Angered by Seoyeon’s actions, Youngsook kills the former’s father in the past. This creates a hole in the present timeline, and Seoyeon witnesses her father disintegrate infront of her eyes. Time slows down, and the car breaks down, literally, and the scene ends with Seoyeon on the floor, with no car and no father.

While the facial expressions in acting shows implicit communication not only to the receiver but also to the audience, the dialogues and printed text in film express explicit communication which is key to understanding most of a film’s context. The written codes in this film both use written and spoken language. They are used to progress a story, provide character details, or convey concerns and themes.

WRITTEN CODES There are two printed languages in the film. The first one is Youngsook’s old journal from 1999 which Seoyeon discovered inside her house’s hidden basement in 2019. It talked about Youngsook’s interests and how her stepmother abused her. It gave the audience an idea of her wellbeing, as well as give Seoyeon background information about the journal’s owner.

The second printed language is the police officer’s report journal. It was another vital item in the story. At first, it was used by Seoyeon to determine who exactly Youngsook was. The police journal was the reason as to how Seoyeon found out about Youngsook’s demise at the hands of her stepmother, thus she warned Youngsook about it. Because of this, Youngsook was able to escape death and change her fate. Second, it was once again used by Seoyeon to find out how Youngsook was arrested for killing her stepmother and the town’s strawberry farmer. Seoyeon was forced to do this as Youngsook blackmailed her by taking her young version as hostage. Lastly, both the police officer in charge and Seoyeon used the journal near the last part of the story. Seoyeon steals the journal from the closed police station and desperately waits for the content of the journal to change as the police officer from the different timeline writes down his investigations real time. It was Seoyeon’s only way of finding out what was happening at that very moment.

ARE YOU SAYING I’LL ROT IN JAIL FOR THE REST OF MY F*CKING LIFE?

The notable spoken language in the film is the excessive use of foul language by Seoyeon and Youngsook. Profanities are commonly used to express frustration ang anger which are both shown in their acting. Youngsook uses it both in extreme anger and plain annoyance.

In the previous shot, Youngsook is talking to Seoyeon as the latter tells the former about how she was arrested after killing her first two victims. Annoyance crosses her expression, and says, “Are you saying I’ll rot in jail for the rest of my fucking life?” The foul language used in this line is “fucking”. In the shot below, Youngsook insults Seoyeon’s father by saying, “Chickens stil run around even after their heads cut off.” Youngsook meant that Seoyeon’s father was acting crazily out of desperation when the former killed him. This angers Seoyeon, and she screams, “you fucking bitch!” The profanities used in this line are “fuck” and “bitch”.

YOU F*CKING B*TCH 13

MEDIA CONVENTIONS FORM CONVENTIONS

GENRE CONVENTIONS

Call (2020) was legally distributed on a popular streaming platform, Netflix. In all the films distributed in and produced by Netflix, they all have a common way of presenting their production logo. This is the famous red N over a black background, accompanied by their infamous sound effect, which the executives from Netflix call the “ta-dum” sound. After the Netflix introduction is the film’s new entertainment production company, Yong Film. The first credit roll was the list of major production crews shown at the start of the film, and only at the final scene were the major characters’ actresses shown. Only at the end of the final scene was the title of the film presented.

The film is similar to other thriller genres in the way the setting was placed. It takes place in a remote location, specifically the countryside setting. Thriller films are usually set in isolated places like forests or jungles where there are little to no neighbors around. It creates a situation where no one can help you when there is something or someone out to kill you.

STORY CONVENTIONS The film starts out by the main

character losing her smartphone, prompting her to use her house’s cordless telephone. This cordless telephone is the reason for her life’s downfall. This is where she meets the antagonist, who is from 20 years in the past. The story moves forward with a person from the past and a person from the present forming an unusual connection, but things take a turn for the worst when the antagonist begins her killing spree. Everything falls into chaos and the present timeline continuously alters because of the antagonist’s calculated decisions, allowing her to survive 20 years to the present timeline. The movie ends with the killer still alive, and the protagonist with her mother, unaware of what is about to happen to them.

The film also uses suspenseful music and sound effects that are designed to put fear in a viewer’s mind. This is commonly seen in films under the genres horror, thriller, suspense, mystery, and the likes. It utilizes the “calm before the storm” technique where the music starts off slow and calm then slowly boosts the audio to create tension. This technique is also utilized in camerawork where they start off slow then quickly turn into rapid movement such as running or spinning to make the scene look dramatic and thrilling. And lastly, just like every other thriller film, the antagonist is a serial killer and the victim spends the duration of the film avoiding them. It all revolves around violence and has two options for the ending: the first one is that the victim survives and they get a potential sequel, and the second one is that the victim dies.

15 15

16 16

SYMBOLIC CODES Kevin, the protagonist, is diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) allowing him to have 24 different personalities in just one human body. But in the movie, only 6 personalities were presented. Every personality is a change of clothes, way of thinking, interests, accent, and other character traits. Because of these changes, we can determine who among his personalities are portrayed on the screen.

The personalities who wore glasses indicate either Dennis or Orwell. Glasses are seen as a symbol of intelligence, insight, and enlightenment, and many characters with glasses are portrayed as having advanced intellect or mental faculties. Glasses can also tell if someone is proper and formal.

y an angry, his teeth to displa s ow sh t as Be e meone, as med Th t something or so ns ai The personality na ag or to n e of tio atening reac that you are capabl ow sh to so violent, and/or thre al is .It tells that f when threatened e masculine torso th of re does a dog or wol su po ex e the point of ing yourself. Th tremely violent to ex fighting or defend is t as Be e ost Th n tell that flesh. By far the m an m hu r fo he is strong. We ca st lu le the ng an unquenchab alities, the Beast is on rs pe savagery, and havi e th l al of g , and terrifyin dangerous, hostile d des in Kevin’s min si re at th y tit en id 24th of one en trying to get ahold em lic po ur fo of ce uman The presen ity possesses superh al on rs pe t as Be e Th e Beast is person shows that right side on how Th e th on e se n ca has we strength. As . This shows that he al im an ld wi g in nn ru nce. running symbolizes a ability, and pain tolera er ln vu in a, in am st y, the speed, agilit

The blurry background and the hard focus on the girl separates her from the group meaning she’s an outcast and was just forced to join the celebration.

WRITTEN CODES

In this scene, Casey finds other personalities of Kevin in his computer. Each video is labeled with a number and the name of the personality. Here are the other 18 personality names that weren’t featured in the movie excluding the 24th personality, The Beast. Subtitles were also used in this film. Subtitles are translated captions of audio files, often foreign language films, motion pictures, or television programs. Some of the viewers aren't visual learners, they're not going to get as much out of your video. That's where subtitles come in.

TECHNICAL

CODES

In this scene, the dad who is putting their things in the trunk of the car suddenly notices something like it was meant for the audience to assume he was looking at someone walking towards him and was interacting with that person. Then the next shot was back to the car, without revealing the person he was talking to. The scene gots cut as the dad did not get any response from the person, camerawork and editing reflecting as if there was something bad about to happen. In this scene, there is no additional background music, only the characters’ dialogue and noises in the surroundings to keep the audience off guard.

The scene used natural lighting and was shown in a natural environment presenting that the doctor was good and kind. In film language, most good characters are shown with nature to give off the “good” effect to the viewers.

In cinema and television, a close-up shot is a sort of camera shot size that adds emotion to a scene. It frames an actor’s face firmly, making their reaction the major emphasis of the frame. The picture above, focuses on pull shots where it would focus on the actor then gradually focus on the back to show the person standing behind to create suspense and raise the viewer’s heart rate.

Only the open space between the gap of the door was shown in the scene, and the protagonist, who assumes the man who abducted them is returning, tries to peek to see who was talking and only sees what appears to be a woman in a dress and heels. It was an excellent technique to deceive and confuse the audience into believing there were two persons while also subtly introducing the new character.

The focus is on the use of shadows and how it creates mystery, suspense, or drama for a scene and character instead of on the use of lighting, which makes it great for horror and thriller films. The dim hue and shadows created by this type of lighting are suited to the conventions of horror genres. It creates tension due to its mysterious and dark atmosphere, controlling how much of the surroundings and characters are revealed. Intense audio was also used that fuels more adrenaline and dark lighting to make it look more frightening and suspenseful.

“THAT WASN’T ME, THAT WAS PATRICIA.”

MEDIA CONVENTIONS

FORM CONVENTIONS The opening sequence of the thriller film Split began with Universal Pictures’ trademark, the revolving earth in space, followed by their partner film production firm, Blinding Edge Pictures. Following the kidnapping sequence of the three young girls comes the title of the film. After which are the opening credits, which lists the names of the principal cast members. The film concluded with just one survivor, rescued by police, and three casualties. After the last scene, the closing credits are displayed with breathtaking and eerie music, which include a list of everyone engaged in the production.

STORY CONVENTIONS After a birthday party in a mall, teenagers Casey Cooke, Claire Benoit and Marcia are GENRE abducted by a man. Soon they learn that CONVENTIONS the man has DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) with several personalities. Split falls under the genre His psychiatrist Dr. Karen Fletcher of psychological thriller film is aware of his personalities but relating to the antagonist does not suspect that he is the having a mental disorder kidnapper of the three girls. that leads him to have 24 Casey tries to manipulate various identities, each of which the weakest personalities talks, dresses, behaves, and thinks to escape, but the stronger differently. To represent each personality, personalities fight back. Yet, the character wears a distinct costume. The things get a little scarier when actor alters his tone of voice and behavior in the a frightening 24th persona, most precise way possible to match the identity. “The Beast”, is coming for The thrilling part starts when the antagonist kidnaps them. At the end of the three young girls and trapped them in a typical setting, a movie, Kevin kills the basement type of room with no access to light from outside two of the kidnapped and no windows or exits other than the door that comes along girls but spares the with intense music and sound effects that will totally give you third one when he goosebumps in each jump scare. discovers marks of sexual abuse on her body. He relates to her because he, too, had a rough childhood.

ANALYSIS

The thriller genre provides tensions and scare effects that are similar to the horror genre. It makes the audience move to the edge of their seats and hold their breaths at the scenes where tension is building at a slow pace only to get scared by the loud sound effect that it brings once it peaks. To put it simply, it’s thrilling–and it depends on the viewer if it’s a good or bad thing. Thriller films seldom have comedic themes. They are almost always serious, and a looming tension is omnipresent throughout the runtime. Their setting includes isolated locations, large buildings, and wide forests. This gives the characters a sense of helplessness, unable to seek help in their surroundings. Music contains either slow, sinister sound effects and heart-racing background music at times where violence or life and death situations are involved. The silences give the viewers a sign that something–good or bad–is happening at the next sequence of the scene. Color palettes and lighting go hand in hand in creating atmospheres. They determine the mood of the scene and give the viewers an idea of what is about to entail. The same concept goes to the character representation and the plot. The character representation explains why they made their decisions that affects or keeps the plot going. According to MasterClass (2021), thriller films contain the element of suspense, a hero, a sidekick, a villain, plot twists, red herrings, cliff hangers, and exciting climaxes. The following explains the similarities of the three films and why they fall under the thriller genre as explained above.

SETTING

At some point in each movie, it seemingly takes place in an enclosed mansion full of rooms and places to hide and run from. In the movie Split, the kidnapped girls were isolated in a mansion with a basement type of room. Similarly, in Ready or Not the family played the game hide and seek in an old mansion beside a forest far from civilization. And lastly, Call took place in a two-story house in the countryside. This type of location builds the eerie feeling of not knowing what could be lurking behind the vast darkness and at any second could pounce out at you.

MUSIC Sound effects are known to be used to set the mood of a specific scene. In the three films, we observed that they used the “silence to extreme volume” method or vice versa when leading up to a key part of the film to establish a tense or eerie atmosphere. This was shown in multiple jumpscares in Split and Ready or Not and in the film Call where the bride chose a card, and when she was in danger.

LIGHTING

For the lighting, we observed that all three utilized both low and highkey lighting. However, low lighting was repeatedly used to emphasize the contrasts and shadows of the subject. It was exhibited in the scenes where the antagonist’s face was shown to evoke a feeling of mystery. While soft or high key lighting was used to enhance the optimistic and light feeling. This was used in all films with the protagonist being the main subject and after she defeated the antagonist.

COLOR PALETTE Unsurprisingly, no pastel or light colors were present in all films. However, some thriller movies use light colors to conceal their actual narrative. But not on these three. Only dark shades of blue, gray, black, yellow-orange, and red are present. These colors help in creating the “mysterious” mood and make it appear bleaker and darker.

Character Representation In terms of the character representation, all antagonists from the three films went through something deep and traumatizing. Kevin in Split was suffering from a mental disorder, Youngsook in Call was abused by her mother, and the Le Domas family was controlled and threatened by Mr. Le Bail. While all protagonists are female victims that are unguarded and unaware of the danger that awaits them.

In conclusion, Call, Ready or Not, and Split used codes and conventions according to the thriller genre. From the setting up to the characters, it adheres to the main purpose of a thriller which is to inflict anxiety, terror, and uncertainty on its viewers. Thus, we can affirm that the three chosen films fall under the category of the thriller.

EDITOR’S VOL 1 Truth to be told, no one in our group is a fan of thriller films, or the thriller genre in general. Personally, I don’t mind it. But if I were to be asked what film to watch, a thriller wouldn’t be my first choice. Maybe it’s because they can get too intense at times, but I digress. Thriller wasn’t our first genre pick, either; it was actually the musical genre. But when one of our members suggested the thriller genre, I realized how challenging it would be to find media codes in musical films. So in a crunch time, I impulsively switched our film genre to thriller. Negotiation with the teacher was involved, but in the end, we got our (rather sudden) pick. Many films were suggested for analysis. The old classics such as “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “The Grudge” were brought up, as well as international hits like “The Conjuring” and “Annabelle”. Even mind-wrecking films like “Midsommar” and “The Human Centipede” were suggested, but everyone disagreed due to its graphic nature. After much deliberation, the group settled with three light thrillers: “Call”, “Split”, and “Ready or Not”.

Everyone was encouraged to watch the films so that everyone had an insight to share. As the leader, I pressured the members to work on their respective tasks efficiently because I wanted ample time for the layout artists to work on the final product. We were given enough time, what with the deadline being pushed back twice. But you can never beat procrastination in a situation where an academic break is involved. Thankfully, our team managed, and we were able to finish the project on time. I’m certain everyone in our group– including myself–learned a lot from this experience. Identification of media codes and conventions became easier the more we worked on the project, and we applied this knowledge on last week’s quarterly examination. I’m sure we will bring this knowledge outside academics, but who knows when we’ll get another chance to analyze films? Atleast by then, we’ll have an inkling on what to do, and the process will become much easier. Thank you to my group members for their cooperation and for working together to produce a quality magazine, as well as Ma’am Ayna Aguja for giving us the opportunity and experience to analyze films. May this magazine help you understand the films better, as well as the thriller genre in general.

Kyla Irish Gales Editor-in-chief

References The Color Wheel of Horror - Creating Mood with Color Lighting. (n.d.). Fotodiox, Inc. USA. https://fotodioxpro.com/blogs/news/ the-horror-color-wheel-the-color-lightingused-in-horror

Split Poster Analysis | NABIHA KHATU https://nabihakhatun13.wordpress. com/2017/10/10/split-poster-analysis/ Split / Characters - TV Tropes. (2019). TV

Camera Angles used in Thrillers. (n.d.). Windsor Girls School Media. http:// windsorgirls.weebly.com/geminiproductions/camera-angles-types-inthriller-films

Tropes. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki. php/Characters/Split Long, L., Minervini, A., & Gladd, J. (2020).

Tech, J. (2020, August 6). How lighting affects the mood of films. Medium. https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/ how-lighting-affects-the-mood-of-films8509e8eb1e18 Baker, L. (2016, August 2). Manipulating the Audience’s Emotions With Color. The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat; Shutterstock Premium Beat. https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/ manipulate-emotions-with-color-in-film/ Ready Or Not movie review and film summary (2019) Robert Ebert. ‌https://www. rogerebert.com/reviews/ready-or-not-2019 Ready or Not Throws Shade at Crazy Rich Families and Their Unreasonable Traditions https://www.spot.ph/entertainment/moviesmusic-tv/78928/ready-or-not-movie-reviewa2939-20190828-lfrm#:~:text=Ready%20 or%20Not%20really%20leans,off%20as%20 a%20frustrating%20inconvenience. Young, R. (2018, February 10). Media Codes and Conventions. Medium. https://media. codes/media-codes-and-conventionsc03423c06aa8# White, S. (2019, April 5). Narrative conventions & why are they important for literature point of view. AllAssignmentHelp. com - Best Academic Helper US and Australia. https://www.allassignmenthelp. com/blog/narrative-conventions/

Film Analysis. Idaho.pressbooks.pub. https:// idaho.pressbooks.pub/write/chapter/filmanalysis/#:~:text=Film%20analysis%20is%20 the%20process National Science and Media Museum. (2020, June 18). A very short history of cinema. https://www.scienceandmediamuseum. org.uk/objects-and-stories/very-shorthistory-of-cinema#:%7E:text=The%20 first%20public%20Kinetoscope%20 demonstration,December%201895%20 in%20Paris%2C%20France. Lemire, C. (2017, January 20). Split movie review & film summary (2017) | Roger Ebert. Rogerebert.com; RogerEbert.com. https:// www.rogerebert.com/reviews/split-2017 Defining The Thriller Genre in Movies and TV. (2020, November 5). No Film School. https://nofilmschool.com/thriller-genre-inmovies-and-tv-shows# paulinabezanilla. (2015, March 19). Codes and Conventions-Thriller/Suspense. Paulina Studies Media. https://mediapaulina. wordpress.com/2015/03/19/codes-andconventions-thrillersuspense/ MasterClass. (2021b, August 20). Writing 101: What Is the Thriller Genre? Definitions and Examples of Thriller in Literature. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/ writing-101-what-is-the-thriller-genredefinitions-and-examples-of-thriller-inliterature#what-are-the-subgenres-ofthriller-writing