Genre Research: "American Psycho"

Our group researched, watched, and analyzed the horror film, American Psycho. This movie is about Patrick Batesman who is a wealthy, well educated 27 years old. The thing about him is that he lives a second life as a gruesome serial killer by night. He hides his psychopathic ego from his co-workers, friends, and family. Soon it begins to unravel as the next victim becomes Paul Allen. Soon Patrick Bateman is going to hit rock bottom with his OCD thoughts of murder. 

Common Camera Angles:

The extreme close-ups are used obviously to emphasize on specific details that the directors wants us to see like Bateman’s face and expressions opening a window to his mind or Allen’s body to shows that he is for sure dead, or the case of the pill shot to let the audience know that Patrick is under a pill treatment. The other shots are used depending on the importance of Allen to appear on the shot or not because when Bateman is making the most insightful pint of his speech is not necessary to see Allen. And finally, the angles used are very obvious, mostly high angles for Paul to make the audience feel that he is weak and fragile and low angles for Bateman to show his authority and power. 

CLAMPS:

The costume was Patrick's usual suit and tie that never seems to change as much. 

In the living room, the lighting is soft but bright. In the bathroom, the lighting is dark and weary when he enters. The makeup being used was the fake blood on Allen and cuts.

The prop was the knife that Patrick Batesman used to kill Allen at the time. This scene is set in Patrick Bateman’s apartment in two places, the living room, and the bathroom. In the living room, we see that everything is mostly black and white, the walls and the pictures on it with a sense of OCD as everything is set perfectly. Nothing out of order. In the living room, we see that all the furniture is covered with white blankets. In the place where Allen has seated the floor is covered with newspapers as his grave. 

Common Sounds in the movie are creepy and eerie music, along with the sound of Freddy Krueger scratching his claws throughout the movie.

Common Editing used was jump cuts, cutaway, eye-line match, fade, and cuts.

Elements of The Genre are the dark, creepy, scary places, disfigurement, dismemberment, jump scares, suspense (anticipation), spooky music and blood and gore.

Elements That I Like were the jump scares, spooky music, and the suspense throughout the movie.

Elements That Did Not Appeal To Me were the overacting, the dark because I could not see exactly everything, and the disfigurement was really gross and had a lot of gore.

Genre Research: "Nightmare on Elm's Street"

Common Camera Angles used in the movie were close-ups, medium close-ups, and extreme close-ups. Also, some movements and shots used were zooms, tracking shots and panning shots.

CLAMPS in the movie are below:
Costumes that were used were 80’s casual clothing since that is when the movie is taking place. So clothes such as leather jackets, button-up shirts, letterman jackets, jeans, and long skirts. The lighting is very dark for most of the movie and has a reappearing blue and red tint color to it sort of representing danger in away. The actor's actions are very naive and childish considering the main characters are young and in high school, but all of the adults are also ignorant because they don’t believe the young kids. The makeup is very natural for the teenagers and the hair is short and big for the girls, but gelled and swooped back for the boys. Although the makeup for Freddy Krueger is as if his skin has been melted away or burned by fire. Props used are Glen's pocket knife, Freddy’s claw fingers, stay awake medication, and all of the items in the house. The settings of the movie were in houses, in jail, and in school.

Common Sounds in the movie are creepy and eerie music, along with the sound of Freddy Krueger scratching his claws throughout the movie.

Common Editing used was jump cuts, cutaway, eye-line match, fade, and cuts.

Elements of the genre are the dark, creepy, scary places, disfigurement, dismemberment, jump scares, suspense (anticipation), spooky music and blood and gore.

Elements that I like were the jump scares, spooky music and the suspense throughout the movie.

Elements that did not appeal to me were the overacting, the dark because I could not see exactly everything, and the disfigurement was really gross and had a lot of gore.

Genre Research: "Countdown"

Our group researched, watched, and analyzed the horror film, "Countdown". It is a film about an app that tells you your exact time of death. The common camera angles are: Over the shoulder, Point of view, and Tracking shots.

The costumes used in the movie are: The Nursing clothing the protagonist and side characters wear, the robe the main antagonist wears, and the casual everyday clothing everybody else wears. One common lighting is the dim lighting used in the "scary" scenes. Another lighting used is the bright lighting used at the beginning of the movie. The protagonist of the movie is naive as she is told the app tells one when they will die and she chooses to download it anyway. The makeup for most characters is natural makeup as they look like normal, everyday people. The angel of death has yellow eyes and its face is covered. The setting is the hospital, the Tech store, and Quinn's mom's house.

Common sounds in the movie include: The diegetic sound when the characters are running, non-diegetic sound with the noises the monster makes, and dialogue when the characters are talking. Other common sounds are the sound bridge when changing scenes, and a scary score.

Common editing in the movie include: Cross-cutting between places, cutaway from the horror to another scene, insert into the computer, and a shot-reverse-shot between characters, for example, Quinn and Matt.

Generally, the common elements of horror are the fear of death, the dark, and fear of the unusual. My group and I enjoyed this horror film because it exhibited all the requirements to become an excellent horror film; as it continued to keep us guessing.

However, the elements of the genre that do not appeal to us were the constant jump scares that eventually became repetitive and predictable.

Genre Research: The Final Decision

Based on all of our genre research, my group and I decided the final task to be horror. In our recent group discussions, we eliminated the choices of musical, comedy, and action genres. This is because we all don't like it and it would've been difficult to create a film following those common elements. Those eliminations being set, my group and I narrowed the rest of the genres down to action and horror. After extensive research, we chose horror because it would be easier to create a film following the common horror elements, which are stated in the previous blog. Also, it is fun to capture the audience's imagination and be able to terrify them towards the ending of our film. As strange as it sounds, people usually find more of thrill in being scared or watching a film up to the point of a cliffhanger.

Genre Research: Action and Horror

My teammates and I researched the genre action, also referred to as “action-adventure.” By definition, the action film is the constant slam-bang of fights, chases, explosions, and clever one-liners.

• C.A.M.S. (Camera Angles, Movements, and Shots)- The common camera angles and shots are wide-angle, establishing shot, long shot, medium shot, close-up, extreme close-up, two-shot, and over-the-shoulder. The common camera movements are dolly zoom or vertigo shot and a single take shot. 

• Mise-En-Scene C.L.A.M.P.S- 

Costume: The costumes within the genre of action tend to be superhero or villain themed. Usually, superhero costumes wear dark, somber, clothing. The dark clothing symbolizes danger.
Lighting: Dim lighting is often used in action films due to the nature of the film. Towards the end where the resolution of the plot appears bright lighting is often seen; this symbolizes a better future.
Actors: The good guys/ protagonists are usually men who are brawny, strong and confident. On the other hand, the antagonist/ villain is usually the same, however, they are malicious.
Makeup: Typical makeup used in action films are bruises, cuts, blood, and sweat.
Props: Getaway cars, knives, guns, bombs, big vehicles, helicopters, and planes.
Setting: Common locations are places that are very populated such as urban areas, and popular countries such as America and England. By using popular places, the producer is able to attract an audience through familiarity.

• Common Editing- Cross-cutting, jump cut, cutaway editing, establishing shot, eyeline match, fade to black, and straight cuts. 

• Common Elements of Action Genre- Fighting, stunts, car chases or explosions, take precedence over elements like characterization or complex plotting.  The action typically involves individual efforts on the part of the hero, in contrast with most war films. 

• Examples of Action Films- 

                

• Common Sound Effects- Crowds, War sounds, Vehicles (skitting), Trains, Static sounds, Explosions, Sirens, Guns, Screams, and Monster sounds. 

• Elements We Like/Dislike- This genre is liked because we like impressive fight scenes with special effect explosions. The elements of this genre that do not appeal to us are the lack of plotline and character development. 

Additionally, my group and I genre researched horror. A horror film is a film that seeks to elicit fear for entertainment purposes.

• C.A.M.S. (Camera Angles, Movements, and Shots)- The common camera angles and shots are high angles, close up, tracking or panning shot, reverse, tilted angle, (extreme)long shot, low angles, handheld shot, point of view shot, zoom, and over the shoulder shot. The common camera movements are dolly zoom or vertigo shot and a single take shot. 

• Mise-En-Scene C.L.A.M.P.S- 

Costumes: tend to be scary or bloody.
Lighting is gloomy, silhouette lighting, harsh lighting, and dark.
Actors are usually young and very naive.
Makeup is white or pale skin, and dark under the eyes. There would be fake blood or stitches over the body.
Props are typically knives, guns, fake blood, television, baby carriage, doll, chainsaw, video camera, ouija board, and masks.
Settings are haunted houses, cabin, hotel, hospitals, asylums, graveyards/cemetery, schools, carnivals, and woods.

• Editing-  Cross-cutting, jump cut, cutaway editing, establishing shot, eyeline match, fade to black, and straight cuts. 

• Elements of Horror Genre- The common elements are fear of death, the dark, creepy and crawly things, scary places, disfigurement, dismemberment, suspense (anticipation and expectations), spooky music. 

• Examples of Horror Films-

 

• Common Sound Effects- Ghosts, monsters, witches, screams, evil laughter, heartbeat, creaks, howls, chainsaw, splats, and the wind blowing. 

• Elements We Like/Dislike- This genre is liked because it shows fears while making the audience still give off feelings of anticipation. The elements of this genre that do not appeal to us are the jumpscares, gory scenes, and when you know what is going to happen next. 

Genre Research: Musicals

At the beginning of my AICE Media Studies course, my teacher assigned my group mates and I a genre project, shown below. A list of movie genres such as Horror, Musical, Action, and Comedy was randomized and handed out to each group. Evidently, my group was assigned to the genre Musical. Including myself, there were four people within my group. We were tasked with researching the norms and conventions of Comedy: common sounds, lighting, movements, angles, and Mis-en-scene. Additionally, we inserted picture examples of comedic films, naming some elements of comedy and breaking down the elements which we liked and disliked. This project familiarized us with the filming techniques of the Comedy genre. If we were to do a Comedy film for our final task, we would have an advantage being that we already have background research and knowledge surrounding the genre.

The Final Pitch

Pitch 1: Ghost(The house on 10th Ave) 
Pitch 2: Serial Killer 

For our first pitch, the girls will be walking down the street and playing with a ball in the evening, which will roll in an abandoned house. They look and see something in the window, which makes them run away and head back to the house, they talk about the figure they saw and go to sleep. The following day, one of the girls convinces the two other girls to go back to the abandoned house; they go inside to find the ball, along with creepy details embroidered around the house. One of the girls walks off to record the back of the house, but the ghost is waiting there; he possesses her and she screams in fear. Soon after, the other girls come running after her and question if she’s okay, but the possessed girl says yes and acts normal. Later, the possessed girl has a weapon in her hand and one of the girl's notices and this is where the final scene will cut. The second pitch is our serial killer idea, this pitch will have the protagonists walking down the street and having fun. Then, from an over the shoulder shot, a man will be watching the group from a distance and the group will continue to walk and the man will continue to follow. One of the members of the group would spot the man and inform her friends. The friends become scared, then start to run and arrive at one of their friend's house. The friends become comfortable again, but then again, from an over the shoulder shot, the man is watching the group through the window. The final scene will be the serial killer getting stabbed, then the audience will see a low angle of the killers hand moving. 

The first pitch is a good idea to do for our final project because it is more planned out. Immediately after the idea came up of making a film involving ghost creativity flew in the air. Anyeska and Jazmin started to discuss how the scene would begin, escalate and end. Later they discussed to the other group mates what they had come up with. Lesly and Britania added ideas of their own as well. One of the reasons we knew right away this was a good idea was because of the location. Already we had an idea where the haunted house would be and how we would decorate it. Anyeska soon told us the perfect place that had an abandoned house we would be able to use. Locations, props, makeup, camera angles, and scripts are already being taken care of. We also thought this would be a better decision because Lesly will be able to film us and make our ideas come to real life. Finally, we wanted to make a film that would engage the audience and make them remember this film. We want them to wonder what will happen next. 

The second pitch is not a good idea because the scenes we would film would be very repetitive. The serial killer is basically a stalker who follows these girls. There is nothing special or new about this concept. We wanted to go outside the box and think of something better. To add on, we wouldn’t have that many places to film. The only two places would be the park and the home of one of the girls. Scary movies are much better than these slasher type films. Also, it would be very hard to end the intro with a cliffhanger. As we explained in the first paragraph our end scene for our second pitch was for the serial killer to move his hand. This has already been done with movies like Halloween where they think the main killer is dead, but he never is. Another thing is having someone to film us. Since Lesly is playing the ghost from pitch one, he doesn’t need to be in that many scenes. So he is able to film us if we did pitch two we would have to ask someone else to film and it would not be guaranteed they would fulfill our vision. 
    
In the end, we all have decided to do the first pitch because we all love the idea. This pitch is the one that stuck out the most to us because we spent so much time on it. From the location to the final scene. The few months we have to work on this project will be used wisely and efficiently. Making sure we make the creepiest and unsettling intro we can. Adding special effects and eerie sounds, that we wouldn’t have been able to add in the serial killer film. Our group even came up with a name already. We already know each detail and angle that is going to take place. Pitch one is definitely the best choice and even though some things might get changed along the way. All four of us are determined to do the best we can for our viewers and teachers.