Background Research Into Theories

Propp's theory: Vladimir Propp came up with the idea/theory that there are 8 types of characters in the basic storyline. These characters are: the hero, the villain, the donor, the dispatcher, the false hero, the helper, the princess (damsel in distress) and her father, [These people don't have to all be different people]. He also states that there are only 31 things that these characters can do (Sphere of Action). Once we identify the character we can guess the actions. e.g. A Fairytale

Male Gaze: Laura Mulvey's theory that women are almost always represented in a sexualised way in order to appeal to a male audience. This is not necessarily deliberate - she contended that the media is populated mostly by male photographers, directors, editors, lighting technicians and so on; thus, most of what is produced is made FROM a male point of view and in a way which will appeal TO males.

Moral Panic: A semi-spontaneous or media-generated mass movement based on the perception that an individual, group, community, or culture is dangerously deviant and poses a menace to society. A public outcry.

Todorov's Theory: Todorov proposed a basic structure for all narratives. - Films and programmes begin with an equilibrium, a calm period then disruption causes disequilibrium. Then a new equilibrium brings chaos to an end. The simplest form of narrative is sometimes referred to as 'Classic' or 'Hollywood' narrative.

Final Girl Theory: This theory refers to the last girl female character (mainly slasher) that confronts the killer. The theory was created by Carol J.Clover. The girl is typically sexually unavailable, have a unisex name, shares past history with the killer and is the "investigating consciousness" of the film and moves the narrative forward.

These are some of the theories we studied before making our final teaser trailer. We used inspiration from these theories to incorporate into our trailer. The most important one to us was the Final Girl Theory.