Genre Research: Horror

Common CAMS in horror are tracking, low angles, tilts, and close ups.

Common sounds are obviously the eerie music, whispering, and outside sounds to make the main character feel like

they may be going crazy.

Common CLAMPS:

Costumes - the main characters outfit, usually ruined by the end of the movie, and whatever the antagonist likes to

wear, usually dark coloured.

Lighting: Light before the problem is introduced. It get's darker as the movie reaches climax, then get's light again as

the problem is solved.

The acting is usually one person is overpowering the other, to get an end result of terrifying or killing them.

The make up for a horror movie without a supernatural villain will usually include the main character having no

makeup,

or it being completely ruined throughout the movie.

The props can be a weapon for protection or damage, as well as a vehicle that everyone in the movie will ignore or

forget about.

The setting can be anywhere, as horror movies like to remind the viewers that your life can turn into a scary one at

any

time in any place.

Common edits may include flashbacks for the villains back story, voiceovers, cut scenes, split screen, and shot by

shot

scenes.

Examples include '#ALIVE", a zombie movie based in Korea, 'SCREAM' a movie about a serial killer, and

'Halloween', a movie also about a serial killer.

I like the element of suspense in a horror movie. There's always the scene or scenes that put the protagonist in

danger, and leave the viewers wondering what will happen next.

I don't like the element of surprise when it's late in the movie. I feel like the movie is wasted potential.

Three Genres

     Genre research is fairly simple. When thinking of a genre that my movie could fit under, I first start by thinking about the movie itself. I can't work with a plot if I have no idea for any scene. Since I have a specific scene in mind, I want to form my genre based on that scene. Obviously the story isn't a happy one, a girl is moving away from her family to live in an unknown place with unknown people in a time period that is fairly new. It is a big and sudden change for anyone. She lives from one big roller coaster loop to another. 

     One genre that I would like to research would be horror. I feel like horror could be a good fit for the short film because in will be something short of a historical horror. We are currently living through a pandemic and there are plenty of students who are going to college, and for the first time. It has to be a scary thing to up and move during a time where everyone is to be avoided. 

     For genre number two, I would like to research drama. Since she did decided to move away from her family during this time, there has to be a reason. Why not take a gap year or take classes online? What made her move a better choice than staying home with her family? Drama is a big part of any family. Not every family is picture perfect and no family is expected to be. For a person to jump head first into a new  , they would have to have spent a long time convincing themselves it was a good idea. Or not and they had very good reason for doing so. 

     The final genre would be adventure. Being by yourself for the first time is a sort of adventure by itself. Learning the area, the people, the way of life by yourself is quite the journey. Now doing so when you have to avoid everyone and everything as much as possible is even more challenging. Dealing with a new chapter in your life that is crazier than you anticipated is makes the time an even bigger adventure.

Too Long To Ride The Elevator

 Trying to figure out a pitch in just a few weeks was stressful at first. It became even more stressful as the weeks counted down. A month, three weeks, two days. I felt like I was running out of time to come up with an idea. I didn't stress it too much after the beginning because I knew it would take me no time at all to come up with an idea. Since I'm working alone I wanted to run everything by my friend who isn't in the class, that said yes to being an actor. I wanted to make sure that the ideas I came up with, she would be comfortable acting in. 

When I thought of my first idea, I was in bed trying to sleep. Isn't that where you come up with the best ideas though? When you don't have the time or access to get them down. I actually already had scenes in my head but forgot all of them when I woke up. I decided I would run my ideas by my friend the next day, then forgot. As I was laying in bed the next day I realised that I had to turn in work for Media. I was freaking out but also too tired to move my body. Then I realised I forgot to do other homework too, then I forgot about it. 

My pitches, I knew would include my brother. I didn't want to shoot a video with one person in it. I went to Pixie with some idea involving them, she thought it would be a good idea. I thought, since we live in different houses, it would be a good idea to have her move for some reason. I thought that my brother would die or something, and pixie would be the sister, and be so sad that she left. But after thinking it over, I thought it would be a bad idea. 

I figured, why not make a movie about something that's currently happening? I mean, it happens all the time, does it not? I've watched at LEAST six movies about a world pandemic and scientists trying everything to cure the world. But, what about someone who isn't a crazy protagonist who has a side affair going on? What about the little guys dealing with the problem on their own? I felt that the best little guy wasn't a person who has to work during a pandemic. It isn't those staying home with their kids, for the reason that I don't have enough people to work with that. The best little guy, is who better than an older version of us, the students. Yes, it was simple, and probably overused by the end of the year, but since I'm living it now, why not take my own personal experiences and put them behind a screen? 

My pitch is: a girl has to cope with sudden changes. She decides to move to college during a world crisis. 

How Many Make A Team?

     Having I decide who to work with is a hard thing to do. Obviously I would want someone who would be good. I wouldn't want someone who looked to me for all the work. I also wouldn't want someone who I looked to them for all the work, not that I would. I looked through the list of kids in A level Media and none of the names I read didn't seem like any names that I recognized. I didn't want to work with people that I didn't know in case I didn't like the way they did stuff. I also didn't want to work with anyone during this time of crazy covid. I didn't want to risk getting sick for a project or two. 

     I decided to work alone because in the end, it would be easier. I wouldn't have to worry about someone else holding the equipment. I wouldn't have to worry about someone else getting their half of the work done. It'll be easier for me to get my work done without checking on the other person to see if they got their's done. Having to work with someone and not being able to be around them will make it hard for me. I know that it's been done before, but I don't think I would be able to figure it out well enough. 

     I'm also choosing to work alone because it'll take less time to figure it out what to do. Last year, working with Camila, it took us forever to figure out what to do for the plot. It also took forever to figure out what to do for every scene. Everything had to be ran by us a few times before we came to middle ground and agreed on something. Working alone will be also be easier when we have to plan days for shooting. I'm working with a friend who isn't in AICE, and she had a pretty flexible schedule. It's going to be easier for me to plan a day of filming around one person rather than two or three more. 

     Working alone could be hard this year. I won't have anyone to split to work with. As well as bounce ideas off of. But working alone could also be easy this year. I'm hoping for the latter so I don't stress myself out. The answer to the question is, one. One person can make a team, as long as that person knows what she's doing. I would like to think I know what I'm doing, for the most part. 

We're Back Baby

      Finally back to blogging, it's been awhile. New pandemic, new classroom, new me. I've been excited for A level since I started AS level. I couldn't have been happier to learn that the school counselors actually put me in this class. I've waited all summer and a month for this class to finally take off and here we are! I don't have partners this year, as far as I know. Camila, my partner from last year decided she didn't want A level this year. Being alone this year could be hard for me. Although, I have seen, many times on my Instagram feed, if you want to think "what ifs", don't keep them negative, make them positive. So, this year could be hard for me, or, I can learn how much I can do on my own. 

     Although, no offense to Camila, but to say I didn't do most of the work last year would be an understatement. Being able to blog, storyboard, write, plan, shoot, edit, etc. on my own will be amazing. But I won't have anybody to bounce ideas off of, and it could suck. Now, I've thought about being a director as a career, a few times last year, when I was really getting into Media Studies. I thought about me just starting off in hollywood, getting bogus films to start. I also thought about being famous, with every actor knowing my name and wanting to start in my movies. I thought about standing next to the directors of Harry Potter, every Marvel movie, all of the directors from my favourite films. To take A level Media Studies would not only benefit me if I did choose to study movie making in college, but it will also give me the exposure I need to see if this is something I like. 

     In fact, I was just texting my friend about how much I was excited to be in this class a month ago. Earlier today I texted her about how excited I was that we were finally diving into the work and process. I know it's not hard when it's broken down as it is, but I know it will be work. Movie making takes more than people moving stick figures around. More than being shot on a flip phone camera with some kid giving hem voices and call it a day. To feel the excitement of planning, shooting, and editing, repeatedly, is really amazing. Not just the excitement though. It's anxiety, but the good kind, like the kind you get from swimming in the deep ocean or climbing a mountain. It's the happy brain chemicals going off when the pencil and storyboard planning sheets meet. It's the way you watch a story from your head come to life, and not just in a book. 

       My friends always try to text me during Media, and it's not like I won't respond any other time, but I hate when my phone goes off when I'm in this class. But I don't want to put it on mute because there could be an emergency I need to have my phone on me for. 

     I've said it once and I'll say it a million more, shut up, don't disturb me, I'm in my favourite class, it doesn't get better than this for the next few years 

Audiences and Institutions Essay

Discuss the impact of funding on films.

     Funding on films has changed through times. Whether it’s from CGI funding, advertisement funding, or prop/actor funding, funding is a huge part in making and distributing a movie.

     When they first came out, producers didn’t need to spend money on things like wild advertisements because there weren't a lot of places to advertise. Back in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, when movies were first released, there were only advertisements options for the radio, or the newspaper. Obviously there were cheaper ways, as well, with verbal sharing between friends or co-workers, but there weren’t billboards or social media to release ads on. There also needs to be a fund for advertising without the obvious television or billboard ads. Film companies like to use Synergy and cross promotions to get their movie out. For example, Spiderman: Homecoming had cross promotion with Target and synergy with Cinnamon Toast Crunch to get the word out there. This needs to be funded, Target and General Mills weren’t going to give Marvel the ad space for free, they had to pay for it. Yes, they could have gone without those ads, but I would have more than likely seen their advert while eating breakfast than I would have a billboard or from off the telly. This marvel movies target audience was anyone who watched PG-13 movies, and how most people who reported to watch marvel movies were teenagers and young adults. Since I’m a teenager, I’m a part of the target audience, and I don’t see billboards or watch television on my day to day. What I actually do, however, on most days is eat breakfast, specifically my favourite sugary cereal, Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Another example is what Disney’s, the Beauty and the Beast, did for advertising. They released their ads on a very popular reality T.V show, The Bachelor. From what I hear about this show, it’s very popular with teens and young adults. I don’t personally watch it, but many Disney fans I know do, which is perfect marketing.They also released clothing items such as T-shirts. Now, as a teenage girl, I love buying clothes, especially those that represent a movie, show, book, or even band that I’m into. My friend, who is a huge Disney fan, buys clothes for movies that are going to be released if she thinks she’s going to buy them. This is an easy way to get people ready to see the movie. This is why funding for non basic, easy advertising is important.

     CGI funding is also very important. Having proper CGI in a film can be the difference between Belle dancing with a beast or dancing with a human on stilts in a bear costume. The beast and talking teapots are some of the main reasons that people went to watch the film. Yes, Belle’s dress was beautiful and the soundtrack was heaven to listen to, but, I personally, like many others, went to see the film to see if they could make the beast look like a beast and how well they made the teapots, candle, and clock move. CGI plays a big role in movie making nowadays. It can be the difference between the approximate $1.3 billion that this movie made or the $74.6 million that the movie Cats made, which was said to be a movie full of extremely poor CGI editing. While that movie was written out to be a bad movie, it was only made once. Which can’t be said for the new movie Sonic, which got so much backlash for the first release that the creators were forced to remake Sonic because it was so bad the first time. This is why there needs to be a good fund for CGI edits, to get high ratings and only be released once.

     Having a fund for actors can also affect the movie's outcome. For a simple example, casting a high level actor like Michael B Jordan to play as the leading role in Black Panther after being exposed in other movies and to the media, is one thing that the creators of that movie did well. If they decided to cast someone else who hasn’t been exposed that well, they may not have gotten as many views. Having good, unknown actors wouldn’t have failed the movie entirely since it was made by Marvel and Marvel has an extremely high fan-base, but they might not have been as high if there wasn’t an attractive and incredible actor as the lead. This is why having a fund for actors is important, having the money for amazing actors and actresses is a great way to get the movie more views.

    Without the proper funding, movies could end up being a low rated film or may end up with a very low viewing rate. Proper funding in CGI, advertising, props, sets, or actors can lead to an amazing movie that will give the producers the push they need to make more great movies or let them be one of the big production companies, like Walt Disney Pictures or Universal Pictures.

Extract 24 Essay

The theme that the author was trying to convey was that staying calm is the best way to be in control. When you lash out, the issue won’t go your way. At least when you stand your ground and keep the situation under control, you have a chance at it going your way.

In the first scene between the cop and Nina, there were zoom shots, high angles, close ups, and mid shots. The zoom shots were used when the cop was assessing the room. He looked at Nina then the camera, which led the viewers to believe that he might do something or make sure that Nina won’t do anything. This showed the power to be ‘in the air’ since neither of them did anything to make us believe they had power. The high angle was used when Nina was looking at the cop. This led us to believe that the cop had power, even though Nina was sitting, and it would make sense for her to be looking up, the scene could have been a wide shot to show them both in power. Then there were the close ups that were on the folder, then Nina which leads us to believe she now has the power. It makes us wonder what’s in the folder and why it seems top secret. Finally there were the mid shots, these shots were used when showing both the folder and Nina in the same shot and portrayed the character in a sense of power. There were other shots as well, including shot reverse shot, when Nina and the cop were looking and talking to each other; over the shoulder shots, when Nina was looking at the cop; two shot, when there was more than one character on the screen; and in the last scene there was a long shot, when the other men were yelling at the cop to stop choking Nina.

There was also the mis-en-scene that set the idea for the theme. The costume that the cop was wearing seemed to be really casual clothes and Nina seemed to be in a jumpsuit or uniform of some kind. This gave the impression that the cop had freedom while Nina did not, and if you don’t have the choice of freedom, you're not the one in charge, this made me question if my theme made sense at first. The other men were also wearing suits, which not only signified freedom, but power as well, which also challenged the theme but, until the last scene, they were calm, so in a sense, they did have the power, they were hoping for the problem to go their way. The lighting was dark, kind of calming. This helped with the theme because it was dark where the other men were and, to me, I’d rather be in a dark and small room watching a screen then in a bright room, it’s less nerve racking, there’s less anxiety. If the room is calm, the people in the room should be calm as well, the other men were in a dark room. If the other men were in a brighter room, they might have been more jittery or more anxious to interrupt the interrogation. The props that were used were the folder and the table. The folder was used to create mystery, what was in the folder, why was it significant? This allowed a segway for the cop to start getting angry at Nina. He started asking her about the names and a bomb. When things got heated, the table was flipped out of anger and the cop lost it. The folder was a symbol of power, it held secrets that were known by only Nina and the cop, not the audience. Since it starts off with the cop asking Nina for something, it puts Nina in a position of power, she gets to decide whether she answers the question or not. The setting, make-up, and acting were all irrelevant when looking at this theme. 

The sound was dialogue between the characters. They started out talking, Nina kept a calm voice while the cop started yelling. This was the final tilt that gave me the theme. While the cop seemed to be in a position of power based on looks, Nina was the one who had the power because of sound. Now, it wasn’t just her words, but how she said them. She refused to get angry, she kept a calm tone throughout the interview. There was also the sounds of the table being flipped and the chair and Nina was sitting in being dragged across the room and thrown up against the wall when the cop got mad. This piled onto the idea that Nina was the one who really had all the power.

When I watched the extract the first time through, the saying “beggars can't be choosers” comes to mind. The cop was begging for answers but he wanted to choose what happened to Nina. He was ready to hurt her to get answers. Nina requested the same thing the entire time, and completely calm. By staying calm, she got to stay quiet while the cop didn’t get what he wanted. She wasn’t begging nor choosing, she was simply requesting. The angles and movements proved the theme by giving and taking power away during the extract. If it were to be watched without sound, it could be said that the cop won and that Nina broke, it’s hard to tell. The sound and edits really gave the theme the push it needed. The sound was the main instance, with the yelling and calm tones. The edits were another great example of the theme with the props, and types of shots.