Sunday, January 26, 2020
genre project: thriller
We finally narrowed down our choices to one genre for our film; we chose the thriller genre. We chose this genre for many different reasons. One of them being we think our audience will like it more. When looking at audience sizes from different genres thriller has the biggest. Genres like horror might be much for certain viewers. Genres like animated have younger audiences. The thriller genre however, engages audiences from all ages and keeps the film suspenseful and action filled.
genre project: thriller and horror
Thrillers are a common used genre in the modern filming industry. That is because of the suspense that they generate grasping the audiences attention. So, this blog will be about what common editing techniques and mis en sene is used to generate a good thriller. First off, thrillers are usually long clips and don’t have many cuts in them. The purpose of that is to captivate the audience’s attention and draw suspense. A prime example of this would be the new thriller “1917”. In this movie there is only one jump cut used. The purpose of this is to bring the audience into the main characters point of view making all of the horrors and heroics that happen in the movie seem more understandable and real-life. Thriller films also have specific mis en sene. In thrillers, most of the props and costumes worn are every day materials. The purpose of that is to make the movie seem more real life. So by using everyday clothing and props the thriller genre becomes more interesting because the audience can relate to the main character. So, that is overall what makes a thriller a good movie genre.
Because horror films are very popular amongst our age group, we decided to research this genre first. In literature, horror is one of the many fictitious genres whose purpose is to create feelings of fear, dread, repulsion, and terror in the audience. Horror feeds on the audience’s deepest terrors by putting life’s most frightening and perplexing things (death, evil, supernatural powers or creatures, the afterlife, witchcraft) at the center of attention.
To go further, there are five key elements in the horror genre. The first is foreshadowing. It is what build up anticipation for the viewer. The second is fear. There is nothing more to say other than it is the driving force behind the story/ purpose of the film. The third is suspense. It builds upon the fear elements with the constant unknowingness of what is going to happen. The fourth is mystery. This is important because it leaves the viewer thinking about what they just saw. The last, but not least important element is imagination. This intensifies the terror associated in horror films by making the audience used their heads.
To be completely honest, I don’t have a problem with horror movies. The “scary” aspect doesn’t really affect me at all. However, sometimes horror films are a little much. The unrealistically of some horror movies makes them less enjoyable to watch, for me at least.
Here are some camera angles, movements, and shots that are typically used in the making of horror films:
High angle: these kinds of shots are used in horror movies to make the figure or object that is being looked down upon seem completely powerless or vulnerable.
Close ups in horror films are mainly used to reveal certain characters emotions in important scenes.
Tracking shot/ pan: used very effectively in horror films to establish a scenario where a character that is being followed or watched.
Titled Angle/ Candid/ Dutch: add dramatic tension to shots as well as signify the presence of a supernatural being.
Long Shots: used in many horror films, typically to establish the movie’s setting (where everything “scary” is going to happen).
Low angle: effective in horror films because they emphasize how intimidating or scary a villain is.
Zoom: adds dramatic effect to horror films by intensifying the genre’s elements of fear and suspense. This is because you don’t know what u might see next.
Here is mis-en-scene that is usually associated with the horror genre:
Costumes: The costumes associated with a horror film determine it’s style. The also help to identify the antagonist of the movie.
Lighting: The lighting in horror movies is usually dark and atmospheric. This is used to create an effective setting and surrounding for a common jumping scare. d
Actors: Just like costumes, the actors in horror films helps the audience remember the name of movie by the face of that specific character.
Make-Up: In some cases, the make-up of horror characters help to make them look more scary/intimidating.
Props: These can range in horror films, based on its style. Common props are weapons (like knives, machetes, etc) and spiritual artifacts.
Setting: The setting of a horror film is usually made to be isolated to make for its tense, fearful, and suspenseful atmosphere.
Common editing found in horror films:
Cutaway: shows character’s reactions to the situations they are facing.
Jump cut: allowing the passage of time to show whilst also sometimes using it to scare the audience.
Fade to black: gives off a mysterious and intense feeling.
Elliptical editing: cuts out the unnecessary parts of journeys or actions to keep the audience gripped and on the edge of their seats.
Common sound found in horror films:
Sound effects are used to build tension. Common sound effects used in horror films are footsteps, doors and floorboards creaking, and wind.
Loud, slow building music can help to keep the audience on their seats.
Loud fast music can help to scare the audience.
Lack of sound/ music can help to create an uneasy feeling amongst the audience.
Because horror films are very popular amongst our age group, we decided to research this genre first. In literature, horror is one of the many fictitious genres whose purpose is to create feelings of fear, dread, repulsion, and terror in the audience. Horror feeds on the audience’s deepest terrors by putting life’s most frightening and perplexing things (death, evil, supernatural powers or creatures, the afterlife, witchcraft) at the center of attention.
To go further, there are five key elements in the horror genre. The first is foreshadowing. It is what build up anticipation for the viewer. The second is fear. There is nothing more to say other than it is the driving force behind the story/ purpose of the film. The third is suspense. It builds upon the fear elements with the constant unknowingness of what is going to happen. The fourth is mystery. This is important because it leaves the viewer thinking about what they just saw. The last, but not least important element is imagination. This intensifies the terror associated in horror films by making the audience used their heads.
To be completely honest, I don’t have a problem with horror movies. The “scary” aspect doesn’t really affect me at all. However, sometimes horror films are a little much. The unrealistically of some horror movies makes them less enjoyable to watch, for me at least.
Here are some camera angles, movements, and shots that are typically used in the making of horror films:
High angle: these kinds of shots are used in horror movies to make the figure or object that is being looked down upon seem completely powerless or vulnerable.
Close ups in horror films are mainly used to reveal certain characters emotions in important scenes.
Tracking shot/ pan: used very effectively in horror films to establish a scenario where a character that is being followed or watched.
Titled Angle/ Candid/ Dutch: add dramatic tension to shots as well as signify the presence of a supernatural being.
Long Shots: used in many horror films, typically to establish the movie’s setting (where everything “scary” is going to happen).
Low angle: effective in horror films because they emphasize how intimidating or scary a villain is.
Zoom: adds dramatic effect to horror films by intensifying the genre’s elements of fear and suspense. This is because you don’t know what u might see next.
Here is mis-en-scene that is usually associated with the horror genre:
Costumes: The costumes associated with a horror film determine it’s style. The also help to identify the antagonist of the movie.
Lighting: The lighting in horror movies is usually dark and atmospheric. This is used to create an effective setting and surrounding for a common jumping scare. d
Actors: Just like costumes, the actors in horror films helps the audience remember the name of movie by the face of that specific character.
Make-Up: In some cases, the make-up of horror characters help to make them look more scary/intimidating.
Props: These can range in horror films, based on its style. Common props are weapons (like knives, machetes, etc) and spiritual artifacts.
Setting: The setting of a horror film is usually made to be isolated to make for its tense, fearful, and suspenseful atmosphere.
Common editing found in horror films:
Cutaway: shows character’s reactions to the situations they are facing.
Jump cut: allowing the passage of time to show whilst also sometimes using it to scare the audience.
Fade to black: gives off a mysterious and intense feeling.
Elliptical editing: cuts out the unnecessary parts of journeys or actions to keep the audience gripped and on the edge of their seats.
Common sound found in horror films:
Sound effects are used to build tension. Common sound effects used in horror films are footsteps, doors and floorboards creaking, and wind.
Loud, slow building music can help to keep the audience on their seats.
Loud fast music can help to scare the audience.
Lack of sound/ music can help to create an uneasy feeling amongst the audience.
Genre Project: Action
This was a project we created in the first quarter to expose of to the different genres. The genre we were assigned was action. We researched the elements that make up this genre. For example the common lighting, sounds, camera angles, etc. We did this by exploring a variety of movies labeled under the action genre and found what they all had in common. The importance of this project was to be able to more clearly identify different genres and how we can create a film that fits into it. I found this project beneficial because before this class I had no idea all the components that are needed to create a movie and how different elements can create a different feeling or mood.
Friday, January 17, 2020
starting the final task
Hello! I’m Amelia. Long time no blog. Since arriving back at school for this semester we have starting our final task in AICE Media Studies. For our final task we will be making a movie pitch and a two minute piece of said movie. The group I have chosen to work with is Me, Maya, Gavin, and Thomas. I am our idea maker and mostly the lead of the creative team. I come up with our cool concepts and movie ideas. Maya is our brains. She helps make sure that we do everything professionally and is always making sure we follow the guidelines. Thomas is our camera man. He helps write the blogs and do behind the scenes stuff for filming. Gavin is our advisor. He watches and makes sure that we are on task.
Our teachers asked us to come up with three pitches for our project. Here are our three:
- My biggest regret is befriending my stalker.
- I faked my death and I’m ready for revenge.
- Finding my biological parents is harder than I thought.
A pitch is the main idea of a movie in less than 25 words. We chose these ideas because we think the audience will like them more. All of these movies are Thrillers/Mystery which will grab more people’s attention than a romance. Throughout this entire year we have been learning about camera angles, movements, technology, and how this all effects films. We will choose to use suspenseful angles and blunt jump cuts to intensify our film and convey meaning. We will also incorporate our learning of technology to edit our movie or use technology to get aerial shots.
Our first pitch was a starting point. We liked the idea of the suspense and mystery. But after careful review, we thought maybe that it was vague. The pitch could be interpreted into film through different ways. Considering we only have two minutes, we wanted to have an idea that we could capture the greatness and originality of in that amount of time. Our second pitch was another step in the right direction. It was thrilling and sort of a murder mystery. My group just talked about we are not sure if we can fit the background story in our two minute time lot. Our last pitch was our best yet. I think. It doesn’t really require any background because in the pitch it mentions that our main character was adopted. We don’t need to show her being adopted. I feel like we will choose the last one because it mixes thrill with mystery, suspense, and real situations. But we are not narrowing down our choices until the next class so...see you later blog!
Our teachers asked us to come up with three pitches for our project. Here are our three:
- My biggest regret is befriending my stalker.
- I faked my death and I’m ready for revenge.
- Finding my biological parents is harder than I thought.
A pitch is the main idea of a movie in less than 25 words. We chose these ideas because we think the audience will like them more. All of these movies are Thrillers/Mystery which will grab more people’s attention than a romance. Throughout this entire year we have been learning about camera angles, movements, technology, and how this all effects films. We will choose to use suspenseful angles and blunt jump cuts to intensify our film and convey meaning. We will also incorporate our learning of technology to edit our movie or use technology to get aerial shots.
Our first pitch was a starting point. We liked the idea of the suspense and mystery. But after careful review, we thought maybe that it was vague. The pitch could be interpreted into film through different ways. Considering we only have two minutes, we wanted to have an idea that we could capture the greatness and originality of in that amount of time. Our second pitch was another step in the right direction. It was thrilling and sort of a murder mystery. My group just talked about we are not sure if we can fit the background story in our two minute time lot. Our last pitch was our best yet. I think. It doesn’t really require any background because in the pitch it mentions that our main character was adopted. We don’t need to show her being adopted. I feel like we will choose the last one because it mixes thrill with mystery, suspense, and real situations. But we are not narrowing down our choices until the next class so...see you later blog!
Movie Pitch Blog
Our first pitch is “Finding my biological parents is harder than I thought.” We chose this idea because it would supply our video with an element of suspense. It will leave the viewer wondering if the main character ever finds his parents and if he does what kinda of people they are. We had the idea of showing the parents and their decision to give up their kid. Then it would go forward in time to show the now grown up child and the challenges they went through to find their parents. The difficulty of choosing this as our final idea is making it clear to the audience the relationship that the characters have. We would need to find actors that would be able to portray this effectively. We lightly discussed using one of our parents but we haven’t planned any further. The positive effect of using our parents is we would not have to search for adults that resemble the actor we chose as the adopted child. However, if we were to use our parents there is the risk of them not taking in the character.
The second pitch we considered was “I faked my death and I’m ready for revenge”. We decided not to film this pitch for multiple reasons. One of them being that it would be very difficult. The pitch statement, while suspenseful does leave a lot of room for explanation. In order to make a good movie we would need more than a 2 minute opening scene. The storyline would be too full. We would need to explain why they faked their death, why they want revenge, and who they want revenge on. Although this pitch would be a better thriller than the one we chose. While the other one is just part of the mystery genre. This pitch would be thriller/horror/mystery and the audience would enjoy it. But our two minute time limit wouldn’t do the movie justice.
So, after debate we narrowed it down to the pitch that we wanted to do. We decided on filming about the child looking for their parents. My group and I chose that pitch because it is unique. We speculate that a lot of people will try doing horror. And my group and I want to add a unique aspect to our film. On top of that, we feel that a mystery theme will add suspense. And we feel that it will be easier to grasp the audience because it is an easy concept to get. With horror we feel that it wouldn’t be that realistic because of the limited resources that we have. We also feel most comfortable acting with a mysterious theme. Another reason we chose this pitch it that we think we will have the most fun doing this type of theme. So, for those reasons we chose that pitch.
The second pitch we considered was “I faked my death and I’m ready for revenge”. We decided not to film this pitch for multiple reasons. One of them being that it would be very difficult. The pitch statement, while suspenseful does leave a lot of room for explanation. In order to make a good movie we would need more than a 2 minute opening scene. The storyline would be too full. We would need to explain why they faked their death, why they want revenge, and who they want revenge on. Although this pitch would be a better thriller than the one we chose. While the other one is just part of the mystery genre. This pitch would be thriller/horror/mystery and the audience would enjoy it. But our two minute time limit wouldn’t do the movie justice.
So, after debate we narrowed it down to the pitch that we wanted to do. We decided on filming about the child looking for their parents. My group and I chose that pitch because it is unique. We speculate that a lot of people will try doing horror. And my group and I want to add a unique aspect to our film. On top of that, we feel that a mystery theme will add suspense. And we feel that it will be easier to grasp the audience because it is an easy concept to get. With horror we feel that it wouldn’t be that realistic because of the limited resources that we have. We also feel most comfortable acting with a mysterious theme. Another reason we chose this pitch it that we think we will have the most fun doing this type of theme. So, for those reasons we chose that pitch.
Thursday, December 5, 2019
editing blog
Our music video was a mess. When we filmed we decided not to check out a camera. As discussed in my last blog, we did this because i was afraid of losing it. When we were filming we used an iPhone instead. I also discussed in my last blog how i accidentally filmed the whole thing portrait and not landscape. This is an issue because then when we transfer it to a computer it will look weird and different. We decided that it was too late to re film it landscape. So we took our portrait style videos and we put them together. We used iMovie on an iPhone as well. Another problem that arrived while we were editing, was that our song was not available on iMovie.
So after 10 minutes of trying, we decided to do something else. I tried to do a voiceover. The voice over was me recording on one phone and playing Starstruck on another. After I recorded the entire song I played it out loud. It was terrible. The sound was all funky and we cut different parts of the songs together so they didn’t match up. Then I realized it sounded weird because the volume was at 500%. Then once I turned the volume down to 100% it still sounded weird. So once I got home from winter break i showed my classmates and decided to re-do it. This time I created a whole new movie.
When I was recording the voice over this time I kept background noise to a minimum. I also used a Bose speaker so that it was better quality sound and louder. When cutting the different parts of the song together I tried to make it sound natural. Once I had all the sound worked out, another problem arose. Our video was too long. Our video was 1 minute and 28 seconds when they are supposed to be 1 minute and 15 seconds max. Then I decided to cut off part of me lip syncing the chorus and it was exactly 1 minute and 15 seconds. While doing this I struggled to match up the audio with the clips. On the last clip I wanted the song to end as the door closed. So now I plan on going home and filming the voiceover AGAIN. This is getting frustrating and I have put in so much time in this project but I won’t settle for less than perfection.
So after 10 minutes of trying, we decided to do something else. I tried to do a voiceover. The voice over was me recording on one phone and playing Starstruck on another. After I recorded the entire song I played it out loud. It was terrible. The sound was all funky and we cut different parts of the songs together so they didn’t match up. Then I realized it sounded weird because the volume was at 500%. Then once I turned the volume down to 100% it still sounded weird. So once I got home from winter break i showed my classmates and decided to re-do it. This time I created a whole new movie.
When I was recording the voice over this time I kept background noise to a minimum. I also used a Bose speaker so that it was better quality sound and louder. When cutting the different parts of the song together I tried to make it sound natural. Once I had all the sound worked out, another problem arose. Our video was too long. Our video was 1 minute and 28 seconds when they are supposed to be 1 minute and 15 seconds max. Then I decided to cut off part of me lip syncing the chorus and it was exactly 1 minute and 15 seconds. While doing this I struggled to match up the audio with the clips. On the last clip I wanted the song to end as the door closed. So now I plan on going home and filming the voiceover AGAIN. This is getting frustrating and I have put in so much time in this project but I won’t settle for less than perfection.
Monday, December 2, 2019
filming blog.
Since the last filming blog my group was yet to film for our music video. We were not sure if we were going to do part of it in Florida and part of it in Texas because I was traveling for Thanksgiving break. But at last, we filmed. I believe the more correct term would be “I filmed”. The filming process was difficult at times but overall rewarding. Once I was on vacation I asked my cousin to help me film because my group members were not with me. My cousin also gathered a few of his friends to help me film; they also were in our music video. We started off by selecting my outfits that would come off as either glamorous or incognito. Then we went outside and found a nice side walk with Fall trees on it so that our music video would have a Fall look. The first scene we did many times and ended up re-doing once we filmed the second scene.
When we started filming the second scene we realized that we should do a camera movement in-between both the first and second scene so that the jump cut would look smoother. In the first scene we did a particularly cool effect where a flashlight was shined into the camera to create the effect of paparazzi taking photos. We re-filmed the first and second scene and moved on to the next scene. In the third scene I walked out of “the V.I.P. room”. For this we originally storyboarded me going behind a red rope and having a bunch of extras flock over me. Instead, since we could not find any extras, we decided to make the V.I.P. area a room. I printed out a piece of paper that said “V.I.P.” on it and taped it to the door. The final scene ended up looking like me walking out of the V.I.P. room with my cousin’s friend as the “bouncer”. Then for the fourth and fifth scene we just stuck to the storyboard and the were relatively easy to film. After, I changed into fancier “movie star” clothes for my big scene.
One of the issues when filming the chorus was the lighting. We wanted to get some guitars in the back but the lights were spread all across the wall. We tried turning the lights off but then we found that our video was too dark to film. Eventually, we tweaked and found a spot in the room where the lighting was good for us to film. In order to get my lip syncing perfect, we played the music out loud while filming. The next day, I had the change into my same outfit to do my tilt, then close up. The last part we filmed was the ending part. We wanted the end to be dark so we had to film it at night. Overall the filming process took two days. The most frustrating this was that at the end of filming everything, I realized we filmed portrait and not landscape which means part of our Fall landscape will be cut off.
When we started filming the second scene we realized that we should do a camera movement in-between both the first and second scene so that the jump cut would look smoother. In the first scene we did a particularly cool effect where a flashlight was shined into the camera to create the effect of paparazzi taking photos. We re-filmed the first and second scene and moved on to the next scene. In the third scene I walked out of “the V.I.P. room”. For this we originally storyboarded me going behind a red rope and having a bunch of extras flock over me. Instead, since we could not find any extras, we decided to make the V.I.P. area a room. I printed out a piece of paper that said “V.I.P.” on it and taped it to the door. The final scene ended up looking like me walking out of the V.I.P. room with my cousin’s friend as the “bouncer”. Then for the fourth and fifth scene we just stuck to the storyboard and the were relatively easy to film. After, I changed into fancier “movie star” clothes for my big scene.
One of the issues when filming the chorus was the lighting. We wanted to get some guitars in the back but the lights were spread all across the wall. We tried turning the lights off but then we found that our video was too dark to film. Eventually, we tweaked and found a spot in the room where the lighting was good for us to film. In order to get my lip syncing perfect, we played the music out loud while filming. The next day, I had the change into my same outfit to do my tilt, then close up. The last part we filmed was the ending part. We wanted the end to be dark so we had to film it at night. Overall the filming process took two days. The most frustrating this was that at the end of filming everything, I realized we filmed portrait and not landscape which means part of our Fall landscape will be cut off.
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