This film is a hybrid between Sci-fi and Horror, it agrees with both genres codes and conventions, it is set in the futures, has an alien invasion, the alien creatures have almost supernatural abilities, its set in the future, its set on a different planet and also features space travel, it involves advanced technology and equipment and so on. Yet it carries this horror theme throughout as well. The misé en scene is representative of this as the clothing, armour, make up, colour scheme and set design all have deep Sci-fi influences, as well as horror. Its this agreement with the codes and conventions that make this Sci-fi film so noticeable and memorable. The use of simple horror styled cuts and transitions such as jump cuts and cross cutting both show on screen the main subject yet keep the antagonist from bring viewed completely until later, this is both used in Sci-fi and horror films. The use of dark colours such as blacks and the contrasting green, work to great effect especially with the title and credits, we wish to mimic this with our movie and use a similar dark background with vibrant contrasting coloured text. The sound a swell is exaggerated and tense throughout, namely the scores and stings.
As visible above, the opening credits for Alien have a unique design, against a dark blue abstract background with an imposed semi translucent face are various scans of the human brain, they have a light vibrant blue colour scheme which along with the blue mist or smoke and the scan results at the tp right are all in stark contrast to the eerie background. The text also behaves to give a similar effect, the bright white colour and unique elongated font are unmistakably Sci-fi related in their appearance. Then after the abstract method of presenting various opening credits through light flares, cuts and superimposition and various white line structures a sonar stylised 3D line graph of a planets surface is shown once again in contrast to the dark background and further highlights the text. The final presentation of the title "Alien" follows a similar technique, as it 'flickers' into being visible. We wish to do a similar technique to this for the opening title sequence to our movie.
As shown in the video above the mise en scene adheres greatly to the codes and conventions of the Sci-fi genre; such as the futuristic 'space styled' clothing, advanced technology like the laser cutter, the 'face hugger' alien and space ship set design. These are all used to attempt to communicate a more interesting and (relatively) believable story without continuity errors which may diminish the audiences interest at certain points. The scene opens with a long shot of a man opening doors in a space ship, this is used to give a greater visible representation of the set, then it cuts to a mid shot of Ripley in the command room, this is followed by a cross cut to a medical removal of the alien using various futuristic equipment, this method is used to communicate to the audience the various activities that the characters are doing simultaneously, a common technique used in the Sci-fi genre. The sound as well follows the codes and conventions of the Sci-fi genre as the sound effects are exaggerated and used to give the impression that this alien is alive and that they are actually using a laser cutter.
The age rating for this film is 18, this means that the target audience for this film is teens and adults possibly with an interest in Sci-fi films. They have used many techniques for attracting their audience, such as using an original and unique plot, interesting sets and futuristic technology that appear very aesthetically pleasing to watch, the use of a female lead role is also an attracting feature as is the hybrid Sc-fi Horror combination. The use of the future, monsters, aliens, fear, and space travel are all methods of attracting an audience, and all tend to follow the codes and conventions of the Sci-fi genre.
The film is distributed by 20th Century Fox, a well renowned distributer, this is to attempt to reach a larger audience often used with the release of Sci-fi films.
Social groups such as, businessmen, workers, men, women, families and the military are represented in this film. While these social groups may not be directly relatable to the audience, its uniqueness and difference to normal life and reality is what makes the movie so attracting.
The audience would expect to see a hybid genre of Sci-fi horror, a futuristic survival film with a female lead, the use of aliens as violent and dangerous antagonists and the use of robots and cyborg, all of which follow the codes and conventions of the Sci-fi genre.
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