In my group we had to make a pitch which would include:
-4 ideas for our horror film and what is included in the film
- Then we would have to include a more detailed outline for one off the plots and would show all the characters and stuff.
-We would have to outline our locations that we would be using.
-A rough idea for the start off our film.
-Then generic identifies for a horror
Our 4 ideas for our film:
First idea= It is set in world war 2 and a bomb hits a sleepy village next to a Nazi headquarters. The bomb contains atom particles and it turns certain people into zombies and they are after revenge and need to take the souls off the Nazis that took there lives as its the only way they will get out off being in this state. There is a lot off blood and gore as they slowly start picking off a bunch off Nazis.
Second idea= A boy and a girl are having an argument and the girl eventually dumps him. He is clearly upset and goes out for a walk through the park(at night). When he is walking he sees a load of odd looking people sitting on the bench, he walks on further to find a newspaper with the headline "Inmates Escape From Asylum, STAY INDOORS!!". He decides to walk back home and the group that was by the bench before have now gone. When getting back to the house he hears his girlfriend scream bloody murder, and starts to run back into the house. As he is running he hears giggling and laughter. He finds his girlfriend and finds shes dead. He bends down towards her and is whacked round the head. Then the scene cuts to the boyfriend tied to a chair unconscious. The film is basically about how these bunches off nutters start terrorising a town and this town can beat the nutters.
Third Idea=Business type guy, late 20s gets home after a months business trip abroad and comes back to an empty, cold, dark, desolate house (so cold he can see his own breath). Noises start to emanate from the kitchen and so he walks in (lights aren't working in kitchen) and he can see its been trashed and food from the fridge is all over the floor. He ventures up stairs to find his room light on with the television on and the shower is running. He then hears a noise coming from the landing so he runs out and looks into one of the spare rooms. Then its a close up of half his face and the landing and the stairs. The camera angle then changes to the persons point of view coming up the stairs, so the camera is wobbly to imitate movement whilst walking up the stairs and walks up behind him and wackes his round the head, but just that instant the screen goes blank and credits start. The we cut to a flash back of him leaving his house where its all warm, cosy and lit up well (complete contrast to the house at the start, but still the same house). He is leaving the house for his sister to take care of. After he leaves she locks the door and walks up stairs and turns the television on and turns the shower on. thirst getting ready she hears broken glass at the front door. Panicking, she runs into one of the spare rooms and waits till what ever it is comes up the stairs. When the thing is not on the landing she runs up to the bedroom on the top floor (convention of a horror where they run up the stairs instead of down) when the person is in one of the other rooms she manages to creep down stairs and grab a weapon to hit the thing with. She then makes her way up the stairs with it and wake the person with it and the screen goes blank once again.
4th Idea (Main one)- A class is rocked when one off the most popular students is killed in the middle off a lesson. The police come into investigate it and find how messed up the class is and they start to piece up the puzzle. But before this happens the class has to survive the string off murders as the class starts getting picked off one by one
Friday, 18 December 2009
Thursday, 17 December 2009
Saturday, 5 December 2009
The Horror Genre
The horror genre has been popular since the early 1900's. It takes peoples fears and then uses it to scare a wide range off audience. Over the years the horror idea off what is scary has changed a lot over the years. The first major films were from the silent ear and it was films that came from novels such as Dracula. They started to get more when a german film was made called nosferatu this is basiclly the vampire there was also the cabinet of dr caligori this started to get the horror genre noticed. Then america started making remakes off dracula and made films such as the frankenstiens monster,curse off the werewolf,jekyll and hyde and freaks. Times have changed a lot since these times and the horror genre has grown a lot.
The film usully follows a set convention. There is the start off the film which usully shows the normal way off establishing who the victim is. It then starts to establish main characters are in the film. Usully there is a villian in it and he starts to kill off the characters. This is not true for every film. Vladmir Propp got the idea that in horror films that there is always a villian/monster,hero,victim,helper and a doner. At the start off the film it only usully shows the victim first. The next scene either shows the villian if he has not been shown in the first part or the hero and it establishes some off the characters that will be in the film. Then after the start there is the middle this is the main part and it helps build up different charatcer types and who will be killed and who will survive. The ending is usually when the hero beat the villian.
There is also for 4 different types off horrors:
experimental/avant garde- These were the first horrors such as nosferatu and cabinet of dr.calirgari.
classic- these are the more well known films such as dracula,frankenstien,wolfman
parady- these are the films such as carry on screaming and shaun off the dead
deconstruction/postmodern/hybirds- Scream Seven, Scary movie these film are the modern ones.
these were designed by Vladimir Propp
In a horror movie there is always these things- blood/gore,weapons,voilence,darkness,fight scences and so on this is always designed to scare the audience.
Monster as a metophor- Monsters in films usually represents our fears in life and what we are as a human race. This is things such as fear off sex,science,losing humainty,change,puberty these are things people go though in life.
Most horrors take things from the news and use it. The Film Dawn off the Dead in the shopping mall shows we are like machines and all we do is eat,shop,and live pretty much as robots. Dog Soliders is showing how in life there is always a fight between yourself and other people and its up to you to try and fight it. Frankenstien shows peoples fear off death and the need to live.
Colours in the horror movie-
Black means dark,bad,evil,warning,death
White means good,light,heroic
Red means evil love passion blood
There are different types of genres within the genre 'Horror'
Horror films are often combined Sci - Fi films, this is when there are monsters, aliens, derranged beings or the corruption of technology are involed.
The fantasy and supernatural genres are not usually synonymous with the horror genre. There are many sub-genres of horror: slasher, teen terror, serial killers, satanic, Dracula, Frankenstein, etc.
Comedy Horror Films
Zombie Films
Cannibalism in Popular Culture
Monster Movie
Psychological Horror
Slasher Film
Survival Horror
Urban Gothic
Vampire Films
Werewolf Films
The film usully follows a set convention. There is the start off the film which usully shows the normal way off establishing who the victim is. It then starts to establish main characters are in the film. Usully there is a villian in it and he starts to kill off the characters. This is not true for every film. Vladmir Propp got the idea that in horror films that there is always a villian/monster,hero,victim,helper and a doner. At the start off the film it only usully shows the victim first. The next scene either shows the villian if he has not been shown in the first part or the hero and it establishes some off the characters that will be in the film. Then after the start there is the middle this is the main part and it helps build up different charatcer types and who will be killed and who will survive. The ending is usually when the hero beat the villian.
There is also for 4 different types off horrors:
experimental/avant garde- These were the first horrors such as nosferatu and cabinet of dr.calirgari.
classic- these are the more well known films such as dracula,frankenstien,wolfman
parady- these are the films such as carry on screaming and shaun off the dead
deconstruction/postmodern/hybirds- Scream Seven, Scary movie these film are the modern ones.
these were designed by Vladimir Propp
In a horror movie there is always these things- blood/gore,weapons,voilence,darkness,fight scences and so on this is always designed to scare the audience.
Monster as a metophor- Monsters in films usually represents our fears in life and what we are as a human race. This is things such as fear off sex,science,losing humainty,change,puberty these are things people go though in life.
Most horrors take things from the news and use it. The Film Dawn off the Dead in the shopping mall shows we are like machines and all we do is eat,shop,and live pretty much as robots. Dog Soliders is showing how in life there is always a fight between yourself and other people and its up to you to try and fight it. Frankenstien shows peoples fear off death and the need to live.
Colours in the horror movie-
Black means dark,bad,evil,warning,death
White means good,light,heroic
Red means evil love passion blood
There are different types of genres within the genre 'Horror'
Horror films are often combined Sci - Fi films, this is when there are monsters, aliens, derranged beings or the corruption of technology are involed.
The fantasy and supernatural genres are not usually synonymous with the horror genre. There are many sub-genres of horror: slasher, teen terror, serial killers, satanic, Dracula, Frankenstein, etc.
Comedy Horror Films
Zombie Films
Cannibalism in Popular Culture
Monster Movie
Psychological Horror
Slasher Film
Survival Horror
Urban Gothic
Vampire Films
Werewolf Films
Questionnaire Results
As part of my research my group did a mini questionnaire to get what the the audience expects from a horror movie. This is my results:-
-Our main age was 15-17 so we have
- The most popular location for a horror movie is a creepy house (the second choice was woods)
-The main expectation for a horror is blood and gore(the second choice is chase scenes)
-In the past month people have only seen horror movies 0-3 hours
-The most popular horror movies around are the Saw films and Evil Dead
From this i now know that i am going to have to make a 15 rated movie as this was our main audience though the questionnaire. I think that people like creepy houses as they like to let there imagination run wild and then they start to get scared off their own house. Woods are very classic setting for horror as it is very easy to get lost in the woods and sometimes is hard to get though.
The main expectation with blood and gore is very obvious. Its most likely to be popular because with all the violence around at the moment very are use to stuff that is very gory and stuff. Chase scenes because there is always the classic someone falls over and they are doomed.
I am surprised people haven't watched more horror movies at this time because its quite near to Halloween so this is when the horror genre gets the most attention because people like to get a thrill out off being scared.
Saw is a very popular because it uses ideas from modern day world and they use it very wisely and show us how the media blows everything out off context a lot.
-Our main age was 15-17 so we have
- The most popular location for a horror movie is a creepy house (the second choice was woods)
-The main expectation for a horror is blood and gore(the second choice is chase scenes)
-In the past month people have only seen horror movies 0-3 hours
-The most popular horror movies around are the Saw films and Evil Dead
From this i now know that i am going to have to make a 15 rated movie as this was our main audience though the questionnaire. I think that people like creepy houses as they like to let there imagination run wild and then they start to get scared off their own house. Woods are very classic setting for horror as it is very easy to get lost in the woods and sometimes is hard to get though.
The main expectation with blood and gore is very obvious. Its most likely to be popular because with all the violence around at the moment very are use to stuff that is very gory and stuff. Chase scenes because there is always the classic someone falls over and they are doomed.
I am surprised people haven't watched more horror movies at this time because its quite near to Halloween so this is when the horror genre gets the most attention because people like to get a thrill out off being scared.
Saw is a very popular because it uses ideas from modern day world and they use it very wisely and show us how the media blows everything out off context a lot.
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Certificates
-U stands for universal. This means the film will be suitable for any age group even though they are mainly aimed at kids of about 6 and under. They are also aimed at young families.
- PG stands for parental guidance. This means that if they want the adult may want to watch the film before letting there young child watch it. Most of the time it is aimed at young kids that are in primary school from about the ages 7 and above. They never contain nudity,swearing or violence. It does use a lot of imagination though.
- 12a is just basically a kind of film which adults may want to view with there kid as it could be offence to anyone under the age of 12.
-This is a 12 rated movie. It is aimed more at teenagers. The film will be a mild version of 15 except there will be hardly any violence, no reference to drugs and nudity will be kept on the short side.
-15 rated movie are aimed at teenagers that are about to leave school or a bit older. In our questionnaire we have found that its best i aim my project at this age rate. In the film it Will contain things like violence,drug taking and some offence language. May contain sex and nudity as well.
-This is an 18 certificate. It means that anyone older then this is allowed to watch the film. In the film it usually has a lot of gory violence or images. It will most defiantly have a lot of swearing involved in it. It may contain some sex or nudity in it.
Storyboard
This is my groups storyboard. It explains all the story and the different people the are in the scene. It explains all the different shots.
First frame is a long shot off the students coming down the corridor.
Second frame is the over the shoulder off Joe it is also a MCU shot
Third frame is reverse off the second frame but is used to show Amy this is us doing the 180 degrees rule.
Fourth frame is after Joe and Amy have said hi and they are starting to get talking about there feeling for each other it goes to a close up off Joe saying how has Amy been over the holidays.
Fifth frame is a MCU off Amy saying she has been thinking about Joe.
Sixth Frame is MCU off Joe shocked and asking how her Boyfriend is
Seventh Frame is another MCU off Amy saying things are not going good with him and she is quite upset.
Eighth Frame is Joe seeing a chance to get with Amy who he actully quite fancies
Ninth Frame is the continuity bit and Joe hands Amy his number if she ever wants to chat.
Tenth Frame is off Amy happy as she also quite likes Joe
Eleventh Frame is them saying goodbye
and the last frame track Joe walking towards Amy's boyfriend and he sees that he has been chatting her up and he bullies joe and trips him to the ground and that is the end off it.
Monday, 9 November 2009
My Short Film
I enjoyed making the short film. This was because i got to be more creative with my work and give some ideas as part of a group. the storyboard was pretty simple as my group (Matt and Gina) all had good ideas and we made it up very quickly. we had some funny ideas but we chose to do a story about a boy called Joe and and a girl called Amy. They meet up in the corridor and she tells him things about her bf and he gives her his number. When he walks off though he gets cobbled by Amy's boyfriend.
In the film we had to have the the 180 degree rule and we had to show the handing over between two people showing there hands. We also had to use a variety of different camera angles.
When we started we had to get over the fact that the corridor was very busy and we had to make sure we would not cause a accident. Then there was the fact off getting actors in to play extra and Amy as i had bravely volunteered to play the role of Joe. Once we had got our cast we were able to start filming. At first some of our extras were not taking the whole thing seriously but when we did our first shot we had a problem with the camera and had to get new extras to help. After this the whole thing ran very smoothly. Tasha played a great Amy and it was easy to act to be honest. I'm sure the people in the group will enjoy the film and epically when i get tripped over by Matt. We kept to the 180 degrees rule and the hand over was done with skill.
I would like to thanks the people that helped us out as extras in the film you have helped me out a lot. Thanks to Matt and Gina for there great camera work . Next time i would want to help out more with the camera shots as i felt i could of helped the other two in my group out more with the whole thing. I would also plan more in advance to get extras ready and to get a good setting.
In the film we had to have the the 180 degree rule and we had to show the handing over between two people showing there hands. We also had to use a variety of different camera angles.
When we started we had to get over the fact that the corridor was very busy and we had to make sure we would not cause a accident. Then there was the fact off getting actors in to play extra and Amy as i had bravely volunteered to play the role of Joe. Once we had got our cast we were able to start filming. At first some of our extras were not taking the whole thing seriously but when we did our first shot we had a problem with the camera and had to get new extras to help. After this the whole thing ran very smoothly. Tasha played a great Amy and it was easy to act to be honest. I'm sure the people in the group will enjoy the film and epically when i get tripped over by Matt. We kept to the 180 degrees rule and the hand over was done with skill.
I would like to thanks the people that helped us out as extras in the film you have helped me out a lot. Thanks to Matt and Gina for there great camera work . Next time i would want to help out more with the camera shots as i felt i could of helped the other two in my group out more with the whole thing. I would also plan more in advance to get extras ready and to get a good setting.
Friday, 23 October 2009
Task 2:Research into existing products
These are some camera shots and movements:-
ECU-extreme close up
CU-Close up
MCU-Medium close up
MS-Medium Shot
MLS-Medium Long Shot
LS-Long Shot
ELS-Extreme Long Shot
HAS-High Angle Shot
LAS-Low Angle Shot
SRS- Shot Reverse Shot
Pan,Tracking,Zoom
What makes a genre ?
The film genre i have chosen to do is horror. There is a few things the you would apply to a horror film. First of all we expect the film to have an element of shock in it. There is quite is always low-key lighting in it. This is to give a Gothic element to the film. When we see a horror there is usually some kind of monster or bad guy in it who kills of a gang of teenagers and adults. But there is other films with were there is no monster but there is some kid of nutty person who is pure evil in it. In some horror films now there is supernatural put in it to shock the audience. They use a typical scary settings such as woods,old houses and Church's and seen a lot in horror films. There is also a lots of red in the films which show danger. It also uses music that is scary. In the films there is also a lot of close-ups used to show how people can get scared. As time goes on horror films have become better though the use of better special effects and more budgets going into the films. Also there is now the stereotype and cliche in horror films when people are running someone falls over. There is also the fact that sometimes when you think the bad guy is dead he then suddenly rises back from the dead. The first classic horror films were:-
Frankenstein
Dracula
Wolf-Man
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
The new age horror classics are:-
Dawn of the dead
The Omen
The Hills Have eyes
Friday 13th
Halloween
Nightmare on elm street
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Just to name a few.
In a ROM-com we expect things such as boy meets girl, a element of comedy that all ends up in a character having a Epiphany and then they have to fight for something they really want and love. There is usually up-beat music and clear bold titles. They have one character that stands out for there comedy they usually end up in stupid ways. Then there is the girl who meets a boy but it isn't always simple. There is usually cameos from big stars too. At the start there is usually shots that show who the main characters in the film are going to be. In the film there is never a sad ending and its like a fairy tale everyone lives happy ever after. Typical audience for these films are for mainly for girls and are directed to girls. There is also a lot of kind of love triangles but with one of the people in it being a bad person. In most films there is always a kind of lesson at the end for us. List of some Rom-Coms:-
About a boy
Wedding Singer
Bridget Jones Diary
Love Actully
50 First Dates
Ugly Truth
In a thriller it is designed to get the audiences heart beating. Unlike a a horror a thriller is not meant to scare the audience. There is always a lot of suspense in the film this is to keep the viewer engaged in the film and then they won't get distracted. There is usually an element of action in the film with a fight between a good guy and bad guy. In the film there is mostly a love interest for the main character and this usually cause some kind of weakness for them and the bad guys take advantage of it. But in the end the good guy always comes out on top. With the films there is usully at lot of voilence involved in it this is to keep the audience watching. There is a usually a lot of high-tech crash scenes in them too. List of some thrillers:-
Rambo
Taken
The 6th Day
Blade
Underworld
Mission Impossible
Get Carter.
Textual Analysis on the three genres.
In class we watched these horror films:
Scream
Day of the Dead
Switchblade Romance
Grudge
The first film we watched was a french Horror film named Switchblade Romance:-
It starts with a close up of a women who has got a lot of wounds and we are guessing that she has been involved in an accident with knives has there is a lot of slash wounds. As we are looking at the wounds it uses a tracking shot. She is wearing a white costume that covers her front part this is kind of creepy as it relates to nutters been locked in a jail. It then goes back to the woods after the narrative has been done of "what happened". It now goes to the woods with a girl running which we assume is the girl from the start. There is a point of view shot of her running making us think that she is being followed by someone there is a close of up of blood coming from the side of her. Then there is a long shot of a car coming down the road. When she is running further into the woods there is shot reverse shot of the car and women coming closer together so we know that the two are going to meet some how. The further the two get the closer the camera is and the music becomes more tense. Until bang they meet. As a viewer it is scary to watch as we are scared to find out what has happened to this girl.
Day of the Dead- This film breaks from convention. It shows that a start of the film doesn't have to be scary to make it a horror film. First off all though there is a shock with a women sitting in a room alone just looking at the walls she is seems to be closed in and then suddenly hand come in from the walls trying to grab her. She then wakes up in a helicopter. The close-up on her face to show the terror from her dream. The some quite happy music starts to pump into the background and it starts to break away from a horror. The plane then lands in a scary city that seems pretty deserted. The dialogue then comes into as two of the people on the plane start shouting out for people the tension starts building up with close-ups of the city with everything in a mess. When we are watching this we are starting to get scared as we want to know what has happened to everyone. Then the camera zooms into a newspaper that's says the dead live. Then shadows start to creep in and then we see that a load of zombies are on there way. Even though the special effects are poor the zombies are very creepy looking and could scare people who are off a weak heart. The cameras is key in this part as the long shots show how alone the human race has become and that there are now monsters about.
Scream- This is a brilliant start to a horror movie simply because it has everything you expect from a horror film. It starts with the titles saying scream it stands out in the black background then there is a high-pitch scream and then the titles turn red. It then starts with a close up of a telephone ringing. This is to show how the phone is going to play a major part in this scene. Then we see Drew Barrymore rushing to pick up the phone. Then on the other side there is a scary voice talking to her . He puts down the phone and says sorry he must have the wrong number we don't think anything of it at first. Drew then puts on some popcorn then we hear the phone ringing again this is starting to cause some suspense because she has just had a call. It is the man from earlier on and he starts to make conversation and flirts a bit with drew. Now we don't realise what is going on. He starts to ask her questions about if she has a boyfriend and what her favorite scary movie is she replies Nightmare on Elm Street at this point the camera makes a point to show the knifes in the kitchen so it links to the film and Freddy's fingers. The voice on the other end is getting more darker as the scene goes on.
The scene then becomes more of a horror when the voice on the other side goes "i want to know who i am looking at". The girl is getting really scared and her movement really shows this as she slowly walks over too the window and checks if the door is locked. She puts down the phone even after a warning. Then there is a shot off a willow tree and the swing on it is rocking very slowly. The camera is starting to getting more tracking off her walking round scared. This is really reflecting the fear off the women. The phone is rings back and then the dialogue shows how fear is really easy to put in with something simple as a phone call. The director makes a point off keep showing the popcorn rising and then this is showing how her heart is getting faster. The setting is brilliant too because it is set in the middle of no were and all you can hear is crickets in the background.
In class we watched these Rom-Com's-
Pretty Women
Monkey Business
Notting Hill
Pretty Women- At the start of it there is a man who seems very stressed about his work. He is a very high-class party. In this part there is a lot of close-ups on him making sure we see how he is feeling. In this scene too the is a lot off high-key lighting when it is on the room. Some of it is natural too when he is talking outside. The dialogue in this is quite light and easy too. The scene also shows how that in most Rom-Com's that one character always has some kind of hard time.
It then bursts into the credits then even though the music is very happy and upbeat and the writing is very bright. It also goes though the city showing the red-light district this could show a contrast that is coming maybe in the film.
Then it goes to an ECU of the girls flat. There is a lot of pictures with men's faces cut out, this could show that she has been hurt before and is sick of men. Contrast with the man having problems. The music is different from the start too as the man was more elegant but this is more rocky and edgier. It keeps hinting that the pair are going to meet up some how and change each others lives. When she is getting ready she looks quite poor and she is colouring her boots in and is trying to avoid her landlord to pay money. When she is walking out off her flat the pair are coming together we now know they are going to meet as he is looking to get rid of some stress he has by having a prostitute. Overall this is a typical start to a ROM-com as we know it is going to be boy meets girl but there is a slight twist.
The Wedding Singer- This is a different start to pretty women as it only shows one male figure and not the typical boy and girl meeting. We know it is going to be romantic from the title wedding singer as weddings are usually a sign of love and happiness. The first shot kind off gives it away too as there is editing with the the women in wedding suits could show that in time to come there is going to be a wedding coming up. The shot is a MLS too so this shows that it might not be for a while(the wedding.) Then there is the credits coming in with the song you spin me round this could maybe show something is going to spin his world around and change his whole aspect on life. After this there is a lot of shots of boys and girls together there is mainly MS used when the people are dancing together this is mainly highlighting the love off boys and girls. There is also the happy and light feeling to the start of Rom-Com's. The credits have a shiny edge to them.
When the band are performing there is MCU used this shows how close the band are so this could highlight that they are key to keeping the movie happy shows a "love" for it as well as girls. The scene carries on with some close ups off the bands and medium close ups. The when it gets to the bit with the back up saying "No one else will do" it tracks round to him this could symbolise something important that will happen in the film. The some comedy elements start coming into it with shots off and old lady trying to touch up a young lad could also show maybe a funny older character coming into the film, MS off fat lady eating the cake and then MS again off young lad drinking for the first time. There is also a gay man stripping to a old lady. The last show is the camera zooming out from the band as they finish the song.
In class we watched these Thrillers:
Seven
Old Boy
Infernal Affairs
Seven- The opening sequence of this film is quite modern for its time. We can only see hands of a person in this part. This gives us it kind of mystical effect and we are wondering who this person is. In this part only there is only ever close-ups used. Who ever this person is they are planning something very big as he is writing everything out in little writing and its detailed. This is almost like a horror start to a film as some of the things that he is doing are quite disturbing. He is doing things like cutting off his fingerprints so nobody can get a lead on him he has got lots of cuttings of pictures from old newspapers and faces are missing from certain pictures.
Music is very key to making this a thriller too. The reason for this is because there is no dialogue in this part. The music is very creepy to because it is not like normal music it is more tense and very edgy. So this makes it more off a thriller then a horror as it is playing more on our mind and is getting us thinking more then it getting us scared. The credits are very scratchy too this could reflect with the fact this is going to be a tense on the edge off your seat film.
Sin City- The start of this film is brilliant as it mixes thriller with Noe-Nair. All the way though this scene there is a lot of tense atmosphere between the two characters on the balcony. The music before the action starts is very classy and elegant and doesn't really match its genre. This is because in the scene camera work,colour and performance makes it more off a thriller.
The scene starts out with with a HAS off the city and a women in red comes into the shot. Red is very good colour in films as it shows danger and power. She walks into the view very slowly. This could show she is scared about something. A voice starts gently talking over the music this is starting to create a atmosphere. The camera then moves too the front off her which is a medium shot and in the background a young man slowly moves towards her.
The scene is starting to become tense when she turns round as there is a lot off SRS between the two characters dialogue. The ECU off her taking the cigarette starts to pump up the tense atmosphere. The lighting is also the very low key all the way though this part when they are talking. There is also a contrast between the two as one is bright and the other is dark. When the music starts to get more tense the lighting round the women becomes a lot more darker this could be shadowing a dark future for her. Then he says he wants to be with her and she agrees. This part is still using th SRS with a lot off close-ups. The rain starts to come. As he is hugging her he shoots her this is typical off a thriller as it has been tense and then bang our mind are shocked as we didn't see this coming. The zoom out at the end is very effective at showing how the mood has changed now he has shot her.
ECU-extreme close up
CU-Close up
MCU-Medium close up
MS-Medium Shot
MLS-Medium Long Shot
LS-Long Shot
ELS-Extreme Long Shot
HAS-High Angle Shot
LAS-Low Angle Shot
SRS- Shot Reverse Shot
Pan,Tracking,Zoom
What makes a genre ?
The film genre i have chosen to do is horror. There is a few things the you would apply to a horror film. First of all we expect the film to have an element of shock in it. There is quite is always low-key lighting in it. This is to give a Gothic element to the film. When we see a horror there is usually some kind of monster or bad guy in it who kills of a gang of teenagers and adults. But there is other films with were there is no monster but there is some kid of nutty person who is pure evil in it. In some horror films now there is supernatural put in it to shock the audience. They use a typical scary settings such as woods,old houses and Church's and seen a lot in horror films. There is also a lots of red in the films which show danger. It also uses music that is scary. In the films there is also a lot of close-ups used to show how people can get scared. As time goes on horror films have become better though the use of better special effects and more budgets going into the films. Also there is now the stereotype and cliche in horror films when people are running someone falls over. There is also the fact that sometimes when you think the bad guy is dead he then suddenly rises back from the dead. The first classic horror films were:-
Frankenstein
Dracula
Wolf-Man
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
The new age horror classics are:-
Dawn of the dead
The Omen
The Hills Have eyes
Friday 13th
Halloween
Nightmare on elm street
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Just to name a few.
In a ROM-com we expect things such as boy meets girl, a element of comedy that all ends up in a character having a Epiphany and then they have to fight for something they really want and love. There is usually up-beat music and clear bold titles. They have one character that stands out for there comedy they usually end up in stupid ways. Then there is the girl who meets a boy but it isn't always simple. There is usually cameos from big stars too. At the start there is usually shots that show who the main characters in the film are going to be. In the film there is never a sad ending and its like a fairy tale everyone lives happy ever after. Typical audience for these films are for mainly for girls and are directed to girls. There is also a lot of kind of love triangles but with one of the people in it being a bad person. In most films there is always a kind of lesson at the end for us. List of some Rom-Coms:-
About a boy
Wedding Singer
Bridget Jones Diary
Love Actully
50 First Dates
Ugly Truth
In a thriller it is designed to get the audiences heart beating. Unlike a a horror a thriller is not meant to scare the audience. There is always a lot of suspense in the film this is to keep the viewer engaged in the film and then they won't get distracted. There is usually an element of action in the film with a fight between a good guy and bad guy. In the film there is mostly a love interest for the main character and this usually cause some kind of weakness for them and the bad guys take advantage of it. But in the end the good guy always comes out on top. With the films there is usully at lot of voilence involved in it this is to keep the audience watching. There is a usually a lot of high-tech crash scenes in them too. List of some thrillers:-
Rambo
Taken
The 6th Day
Blade
Underworld
Mission Impossible
Get Carter.
Textual Analysis on the three genres.
In class we watched these horror films:
Scream
Day of the Dead
Switchblade Romance
Grudge
The first film we watched was a french Horror film named Switchblade Romance:-
It starts with a close up of a women who has got a lot of wounds and we are guessing that she has been involved in an accident with knives has there is a lot of slash wounds. As we are looking at the wounds it uses a tracking shot. She is wearing a white costume that covers her front part this is kind of creepy as it relates to nutters been locked in a jail. It then goes back to the woods after the narrative has been done of "what happened". It now goes to the woods with a girl running which we assume is the girl from the start. There is a point of view shot of her running making us think that she is being followed by someone there is a close of up of blood coming from the side of her. Then there is a long shot of a car coming down the road. When she is running further into the woods there is shot reverse shot of the car and women coming closer together so we know that the two are going to meet some how. The further the two get the closer the camera is and the music becomes more tense. Until bang they meet. As a viewer it is scary to watch as we are scared to find out what has happened to this girl.
Day of the Dead- This film breaks from convention. It shows that a start of the film doesn't have to be scary to make it a horror film. First off all though there is a shock with a women sitting in a room alone just looking at the walls she is seems to be closed in and then suddenly hand come in from the walls trying to grab her. She then wakes up in a helicopter. The close-up on her face to show the terror from her dream. The some quite happy music starts to pump into the background and it starts to break away from a horror. The plane then lands in a scary city that seems pretty deserted. The dialogue then comes into as two of the people on the plane start shouting out for people the tension starts building up with close-ups of the city with everything in a mess. When we are watching this we are starting to get scared as we want to know what has happened to everyone. Then the camera zooms into a newspaper that's says the dead live. Then shadows start to creep in and then we see that a load of zombies are on there way. Even though the special effects are poor the zombies are very creepy looking and could scare people who are off a weak heart. The cameras is key in this part as the long shots show how alone the human race has become and that there are now monsters about.
Scream- This is a brilliant start to a horror movie simply because it has everything you expect from a horror film. It starts with the titles saying scream it stands out in the black background then there is a high-pitch scream and then the titles turn red. It then starts with a close up of a telephone ringing. This is to show how the phone is going to play a major part in this scene. Then we see Drew Barrymore rushing to pick up the phone. Then on the other side there is a scary voice talking to her . He puts down the phone and says sorry he must have the wrong number we don't think anything of it at first. Drew then puts on some popcorn then we hear the phone ringing again this is starting to cause some suspense because she has just had a call. It is the man from earlier on and he starts to make conversation and flirts a bit with drew. Now we don't realise what is going on. He starts to ask her questions about if she has a boyfriend and what her favorite scary movie is she replies Nightmare on Elm Street at this point the camera makes a point to show the knifes in the kitchen so it links to the film and Freddy's fingers. The voice on the other end is getting more darker as the scene goes on.
The scene then becomes more of a horror when the voice on the other side goes "i want to know who i am looking at". The girl is getting really scared and her movement really shows this as she slowly walks over too the window and checks if the door is locked. She puts down the phone even after a warning. Then there is a shot off a willow tree and the swing on it is rocking very slowly. The camera is starting to getting more tracking off her walking round scared. This is really reflecting the fear off the women. The phone is rings back and then the dialogue shows how fear is really easy to put in with something simple as a phone call. The director makes a point off keep showing the popcorn rising and then this is showing how her heart is getting faster. The setting is brilliant too because it is set in the middle of no were and all you can hear is crickets in the background.
In class we watched these Rom-Com's-
Pretty Women
Monkey Business
Notting Hill
Pretty Women- At the start of it there is a man who seems very stressed about his work. He is a very high-class party. In this part there is a lot of close-ups on him making sure we see how he is feeling. In this scene too the is a lot off high-key lighting when it is on the room. Some of it is natural too when he is talking outside. The dialogue in this is quite light and easy too. The scene also shows how that in most Rom-Com's that one character always has some kind of hard time.
It then bursts into the credits then even though the music is very happy and upbeat and the writing is very bright. It also goes though the city showing the red-light district this could show a contrast that is coming maybe in the film.
Then it goes to an ECU of the girls flat. There is a lot of pictures with men's faces cut out, this could show that she has been hurt before and is sick of men. Contrast with the man having problems. The music is different from the start too as the man was more elegant but this is more rocky and edgier. It keeps hinting that the pair are going to meet up some how and change each others lives. When she is getting ready she looks quite poor and she is colouring her boots in and is trying to avoid her landlord to pay money. When she is walking out off her flat the pair are coming together we now know they are going to meet as he is looking to get rid of some stress he has by having a prostitute. Overall this is a typical start to a ROM-com as we know it is going to be boy meets girl but there is a slight twist.
The Wedding Singer- This is a different start to pretty women as it only shows one male figure and not the typical boy and girl meeting. We know it is going to be romantic from the title wedding singer as weddings are usually a sign of love and happiness. The first shot kind off gives it away too as there is editing with the the women in wedding suits could show that in time to come there is going to be a wedding coming up. The shot is a MLS too so this shows that it might not be for a while(the wedding.) Then there is the credits coming in with the song you spin me round this could maybe show something is going to spin his world around and change his whole aspect on life. After this there is a lot of shots of boys and girls together there is mainly MS used when the people are dancing together this is mainly highlighting the love off boys and girls. There is also the happy and light feeling to the start of Rom-Com's. The credits have a shiny edge to them.
When the band are performing there is MCU used this shows how close the band are so this could highlight that they are key to keeping the movie happy shows a "love" for it as well as girls. The scene carries on with some close ups off the bands and medium close ups. The when it gets to the bit with the back up saying "No one else will do" it tracks round to him this could symbolise something important that will happen in the film. The some comedy elements start coming into it with shots off and old lady trying to touch up a young lad could also show maybe a funny older character coming into the film, MS off fat lady eating the cake and then MS again off young lad drinking for the first time. There is also a gay man stripping to a old lady. The last show is the camera zooming out from the band as they finish the song.
In class we watched these Thrillers:
Seven
Old Boy
Infernal Affairs
Seven- The opening sequence of this film is quite modern for its time. We can only see hands of a person in this part. This gives us it kind of mystical effect and we are wondering who this person is. In this part only there is only ever close-ups used. Who ever this person is they are planning something very big as he is writing everything out in little writing and its detailed. This is almost like a horror start to a film as some of the things that he is doing are quite disturbing. He is doing things like cutting off his fingerprints so nobody can get a lead on him he has got lots of cuttings of pictures from old newspapers and faces are missing from certain pictures.
Music is very key to making this a thriller too. The reason for this is because there is no dialogue in this part. The music is very creepy to because it is not like normal music it is more tense and very edgy. So this makes it more off a thriller then a horror as it is playing more on our mind and is getting us thinking more then it getting us scared. The credits are very scratchy too this could reflect with the fact this is going to be a tense on the edge off your seat film.
Sin City- The start of this film is brilliant as it mixes thriller with Noe-Nair. All the way though this scene there is a lot of tense atmosphere between the two characters on the balcony. The music before the action starts is very classy and elegant and doesn't really match its genre. This is because in the scene camera work,colour and performance makes it more off a thriller.
The scene starts out with with a HAS off the city and a women in red comes into the shot. Red is very good colour in films as it shows danger and power. She walks into the view very slowly. This could show she is scared about something. A voice starts gently talking over the music this is starting to create a atmosphere. The camera then moves too the front off her which is a medium shot and in the background a young man slowly moves towards her.
The scene is starting to become tense when she turns round as there is a lot off SRS between the two characters dialogue. The ECU off her taking the cigarette starts to pump up the tense atmosphere. The lighting is also the very low key all the way though this part when they are talking. There is also a contrast between the two as one is bright and the other is dark. When the music starts to get more tense the lighting round the women becomes a lot more darker this could be shadowing a dark future for her. Then he says he wants to be with her and she agrees. This part is still using th SRS with a lot off close-ups. The rain starts to come. As he is hugging her he shoots her this is typical off a thriller as it has been tense and then bang our mind are shocked as we didn't see this coming. The zoom out at the end is very effective at showing how the mood has changed now he has shot her.
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