Genre Research Explanation

As a group, we researched 3 specific genres we were interested in using. The first genre of epic, Montana and I 
researched for a prior activity. We didn’t think this fit our ideas very well because we only had one idea that wasn’t
a horror film and it was more of an action. The second one was drama, which Lucy and James had researched
for the project before. I thought the drama genre could be a potential option to use for our film but we thought of
one more that might change our minds. This was the thriller genre. We all unanimously decided to pick thriller as
our genre. This was because of our interest in the genre from our favorite movies to the enjoyment in the project.
However, once we picked the idea of a scary film we had to choose between horror and thriller. At first, we did not
know the difference between the two until we had researched the two genres. The horror genre was more gory 
and violent while thriller is psychological and sneaky. Since our idea had to do with a stalker we decided that the 
thriller genre better fit our idea.

Genre Research

We chose to research 2 genres for our project, the first one is Thriller, and the second one is Epic.

Thriller-

Camera Angles:

Common camera angles used in a thriller movie include high angles/birds eye view, eye level, and a dutch angle. These are all used because they create a dramatic and suspenseful effect.

Camera Movements:

Common camera movements used in thrillers include tracking shots, zoom shots, and pan or tilts. These are used to help develop the story and keep the viewer engaged and make the movie feel suspenseful.

Camera Shots:

Common Camera shots used in thrillers include Point of View shots, close-up shots, and long shots. These also help explain the story and depict the whole scene while also including shots like close ups to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat.

Mis- En- Scene:

There are a wide range of costumes that can be used in a thriller depending on the story. It could be regular outfits or lab coats for a creepy doctor thriller. Next, the lighting in a thriller is typically darker and not so colorful to make the film feel more sinister and suspenseful. Actors in a thriller movie should be fully involved in the thriller and convince the viewers the events taking place in the film are almost real by maintaining the suspenseful tone and expression of the genre. Furthermore, makeup used in a thriller is normally minimal makeup to show the characters as regular people and to not distract the viewers from the intense plot. However, when appropriate like in a violent scene gory makeup is commonly used to show scratches and blood. Next, props that are used in thrillers are things like guns, knives, and other violent weapons. Also, sometimes in movies that are outside or about survival use things like ropes or tents. Lastly, common setting in a thriller can be many places, like outside in the woods, or a creepy doctor lab, and some thrillers even have the whole movie taking place in a secluded room.

Elements of a Thriller:

A thriller needs to have an engaging story line because the basis of a thriller movie is all about suspense. Also, and essential element of a thriller is a victim falling prey to someone else's plan or scheme. Additionally, thrillers should be told from the point of view of the victim or protagonist. Moreover, some thrillers don't use many special effects to make the plot and characters feel realistic, while some are the complete opposite and use many effects if they are more along the lines of a Sci-Fi thriller.

Examples of Film in this Genre:

Examples of Thrillers include movies like Bird Box which is about a family trying to survive in an apocalyptic world, and Limitless, a movie about a young man who is taken by foreign business men and given the potential to unlock full capacity of his brain.

Common Sounds:

Sounds that are used in thrillers can be either very loud and intense or purposeful specific sounds, depending on the movie. For example, a thriller that has a lot of action and fast moving plot will use a lot of nondigetic sounds to increase the intensity of the film, while thrillers like the TV series "You" use almost all digetic sounds and a lot of voice over that make the movie feel creepy and suspenseful rather than fast-moving.

Elements you like:

A thriller movie typically has a very engaging plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat which we like a lot. Also, thrillers often make you think and use your brain to understand the complex plot, unlike genres like comedies which you can just mindlessly watch and sometimes get boring.

Elements you don't like:

Sometimes in a thriller, the plot is either too confusing or unrealistic which can make it hard to watch. Also, if you get scared easily then a thriller is not the best to watch since it will leave you thinking about the creepy plot after wards.

Epic-

Camera Angles:

Common camera angles are high angles, birds eye view, and hip level angles. These help show what is going on in the epic and develop the story line.

Camera Movements:

Common Camera movements used in an epic film include Tracking shots, tilts, crane shot, and flash pan. These help the viewer see all the fast action of the epic

Camera Shots:

Common camera shots used in an epic film include wide shot, aerial shots, establishing shots, over the shoulder shots, and close ups. These help show all the action involved in an epic as well as the characters.

Mis- En- Scene:

Costumes in an Epic can range from avatar creatures with blue feathers to warrior costumes on a strange island. Epics typically have an "out-there" plot and setting so it could have very strange costumes. Next, the lighting in an epic is normally very bright and colorful like it is outdoors. Then, the acting in an epic is normally very serious and there is not too much casual conversation, typically, the characters should act very heroic. Additionally, the makeup in an epic is used when trying to create a creature like the blue in avatar, or sometimes in a violent scene but epics don't tend to get gory. Common props in an epic are guns, spears, and swords. Lastly, common settings in an Epic are outdoor locations, and areas with very specific natural terrains.

Elements of a Epic:

Epics typically focus on a heroic character. There is also normally a historical or mythical event that takes place. Additionally, there should be lavish setting and costumes, and elevated writing style. The story normally takes place during a societal crisis or time of war/conflict. 

Examples of Film in this Genre:

Common Sounds:

Epics include a wide range of sounds like ambient sound, voice-overs, digetic/nondigetic, and always a muscle score at some point throughout the film.

Elements you like:

It is often focused on a heroic character, so it makes the protagonist more likeable. Also, it its set in a time of crisis which makes the film more interesting and it helps appeal to a wide audience.

Elements you don't like:

Epic films are usually very long, taking over 2 hours to watch. They are one of the most expensive genres to produce, and sometimes not very exciting because of the complex and fantasy-like plot.

Genre Powerpoint

  

For this project, we got assigned a certain genre. As you can see from the pictures above, we were given the genre of drama. First we discussed certain elements of a drama like the camera angles and movements. From our research we typically see close up shots in this genre since they do a good job at creating a dramatic feeling. Additionally, we discussed certain elements of genre we like and dislike. For example, we said some aspects of dramas we like are how they teach lessons and are very engaging. On the other hand, we typically see many drama movies over exaggerate some things which make it feel unrealistic or hard to relate to. Overall, most dramas include normal shots and angles like close ups and medium shots, but they still are able to maintain a story line that intrigues the viewer. 

Final Decision

Since the last class, we have been debating our three main pitch ideas as to which one we will be doing for our final task. So far, we have decided that we will be using our first pitch idea as well as our last pitch idea as we try to narrow it down to the one we will be basing our 2 minute opening entry to our original film.

    Our first pitch is about a girl who gets up in the middle of the night, only to find her worst nightmare waiting to take her, she has to escape her kidnapper and find her way back to society, only to find out that they have moved on without her. We believe this idea would be good because it develops a suspenseful opening. Having a suspenseful opening leads to people wanting an explanation. Leaving the audience eager to watch the rest of the movie.
   Our second pitch that we chose to continue with, is about a girl who is running from her fears, getting caught and right before her chaser strikes, she gasps for air only to realize it was all a dream...or was it. Our group has not decide the specifics of where the girl is running, why she is running, and what she gets stuck with. As a group, we believe that this is also a great option due to its flexibility and suspenseful quality.
   As a group we decided to go with our "dream murder" idea, this didn't lack the flexibility and potential that we did not see in the other two pitches.

Round 3....Final Task!!

Hey it’s your homie Reese, back at it to complete my final task. It’s a new year and a new decade, and I have decided to work on my responsibility.  I chose to work on my responsibility to please my mom.  She feels that if I were to show more responsibility I would get more respect. I have some exciting things to look forward to. This year I will get my license, go on a road trip for spring break, go back to my summer job, take a trip to Europe, go to the Bahamas, start my junior year, take the SATs, study, study and study a little more. I get my license next month and I am excited to get more freedom. My license will help me get to and from my teammates for filming this final task. My teammates are Lucy, James, and Montana. We all decided to be a group because we could combine all of our creative ideas together to make a really good final task.

At the beginning of the first semester of taking this class, I thought that these film projects would be really easy. I thought of cool, elaborate ideas for my projects, thinking they would be super easy to recreate. After going through the first and the second projects I can safely say that I am lower to the ground and have lowered my expectations to be just above reality. I feel that I did contribute this improvement to my group, when trying to come up with pitches. I also feel that my planning has improved. For the last two assignments the plan didn't exactly work. So for this one I am already planning out little detail, to try and make this project go more smooth. I worked on my editing skills over the break. This way I can contribute with the editing rather than trusting my teammates to make it come together. I think that since three out of the four in my group has worked together in the past, we are now building on that rather than completely starting with a whole new group.

A pitch is a Hollywood term to describe an idea where a film is encapsulated in 25 words or less. Usually in one sentence, taking the form of one of the most common 60 second elevator pitch.

1. A girl gets up in the middle of the night, only to find her worst nightmare waiting to take her, she has to escape her kidnapper. 
2. Two cops go in. to save the a day, but only one comes, 12 hours on the clock left until a cop is gone forever.
3. A girl gets caught by what's chasing her, right before they strike, she's gasps for air, only to find out it was all a dream...or was it.

Editing for Music Video

Filming For Real...Well Not Really

On Friday, 11/29/19, my group spent time confirming our filming details for the following day. We planned to meet at my house saturday morning between 7:45 and 8:00. We decided to film in my neighborhood, because my house is the closest to school and I am the only one in my group without a car. We planned to start filming right when everyone got there. This way we would be done filming by 10:00-10:30. We felt that two hours would be enough for us to film all the footage we needed to have to film at the other location. We talked about and sent pictures of our costumes. We chose to go with two different types of outfits, semi-fancy/nice and ghetto. We also talked about which car we were going to use. After a discussion, we decided to use my dad's truck, because it is jacked up and cool looking.
I woke up at 7:15 Saturday morning, to start getting ready to film. At 7:30 I called one of my teammates to insure that she was on her way. After she did not pick up multiple times, I began to worry that she was still sleeping. She eventually texted me back saying that she was awake but not on her way yet. She told me this at 7:45, and she lives about 45 minutes from my house. At 8:05 my other teammate showed up and we started discussing and reviewing the plan for the music video. Around 8:30, our other teammate showed up. Her and I started getting dressed, and changed up our outfits here and there. When we were finally dressed and ready, we realised that the camera was not charged.
We then decided to just use our time to make a very detailed plan for each lyric and exactly what we wanted on the screen. I then explained to my group that it would be way easier to do it the way I’ve done it in the past. To film the whole song at different locations with different people many, many times. Then we can just pick and mix them together. This gives it the feel of a real music video.