Genre Research The Chosen Genre: Horror

The genre for this project will be horror. This genre was chosen because there's a lot more creativity that can be used for this type of film. More practice with makeup and editing will allow myself and my group to really see what goes into the filming for a movie. Horror provides a lot of different elements that merge well with entertaining an audience. It would allow for myself and my group to see what really makes an audience jump and create the most suspense possible. Even more so, horror would allow the group to show their best acting skills when it comes to specific scenes. Horror will capture all the gruesome yet adventurous elements that could really enable an amazing final product overall.

  

Horror and Romance Genre Research

Horror:

 Codes and Conventions in the Horror genre are unsettling films made to frighten and panic their audience but entertain them at the same time, continuously on their feet and eager for more. 

Camera angles/movements/shots: 

All types of wide shots are often used to show the figures of intruders - the shot hides their identity but still lets us know they're present. Close up shots would be used to focus in on an object or person, like a knife or other weapon or maybe even the fear in someones eyes. Tracking shots are very common to follow the path of someone, in most cases to follow someone running from something/someone or someone running towards something/someone. POV's are used to suggest imbalance, transition and instability. Weird canted angles where the camera is not placed horizontally to floor level give a sense of confusion and suspense along with mystery. 

CLAMPS: 

COSTUMES can differ for each horror film as each have their own stereo-typical designs. The costumes would portray the personality of the characters for example: the dumb blonde that dies first or the protective but wimpy jock that usually is the first to run. Then there's zombies, demons or scary characters like Freddy Kruger. 

LIGHTING is used in horror films to indicate something bad is going to happen. For example shadows or flickering lights. Dark lights give a bad connotation therefore the audience assumes who the bad guy is. Softer lighting around the good guy would help the audience good from evil. 

ACTING is horror films are usually very drawn out and dramatic. There will always be a girl in danger, hurt and crying waiting for help. The bad guy is always seen as rough around the edges and aims to get something/ is out for someone. There's much screaming and hollering and fighting back seems to come into play as well.

MAKEUP can range depending on the horror film. Horror films like the Exorcist will have blood and bruises as part of the makeup look. In some cases, special SFX makeup will be used to really draw out certain features like the eyes or lips or even the body to look morphed and disfigured.  

PROPS Many props are used in horror films to suggest horror for example; Bibles Crucifix Paintings Candles Weapons, The props such as Crucifixes are use as a sign of religion and symbolizing the devil. Paintings can play a big prop to create a dark and sinister scene as well. 

SETTING in horror films are creepy and isolated place to create a strong feeling of suspense. This could be the woods, a deserted city, a haunted house/abandoned building. 

Common editing:

Editing in horror films can be shadow exposure and how much dimming will be used for each scene. Some directors would dim lighting through editing to create a more sinister and scary scene. Quick cutting with fast paced scenes makes the audience feel a sense of urgency.

Common Sound:

 It can be diegetic to allow tension to be created in the film. Fast and loud non-diegetic sounds can be used to make the audience jump and become scared. These can include the voice of the characters, whispers and even footsteps. 

Elements:

 They explore 'malevolent' or 'wicked' characters, deeds or phenomena. They arouse feelings of fear, shock or disgust as well as the sense of the uncanny – as if things are not what they seem. There is a heightened sense of the unknown and/or mysterious.

Example films include: Jaws, The Exorcist, A Quiet Place, Eli, and Halloween w/ Freddy Kruger. 

Elements I like: The killer about to get someone, or a killer about to reveal themselves as someone who the audience would have never expected. 

Elements that don't appeal: Zombies have been over done, and the obvious suspects/victims in horror films who I know will die off first, causing too much repetitiveness. 

Romance: 

The main convention of romance is the two characters going through a heartbreak or 
the couple meet and fall in love, but there is someone who disagrees with the relationship. 

Camera angles/movements/shots:

A mid-shot can be used to establish the scene and introduce the characters. Panning and tracking movements can be used an attachment to two characters going on a romantic stroll. High shots can also set a scene depending on which characters are being shown in that part of the film. Two shots are crucial for the characters in a romantic film to show intimate conversations and closeness between the two. Shot reverse shots allows the audience to view a full range of romantic emotions. 

CLAMPS:

COSTUMES in romantic films tend to be the same throughout. The girl is always wearing something sweet and pretty, floral and airy: a dress. The boy is wearing semi-formal attire like a nice button up shirt and some khakis or long jeans. 

LIGHTING is bright and colorful, with vibrant hues of pinks and red which make the audience feel like their being embraced in a "lovey" atmosphere. There's usually no dark shadows unless to set a mood, like at a romantic dinner where the lights will be darker, but very lightly and romantically dimmed. 

ACTORS are always in a love-stuck position. The only time acting diverts from the basics is when there's a fight scene between the couple. They fight and argue but later rekindle and make-up in most cases. 

MAKE-UP is light and airy. The makeup tends to stick with natural beauty for the girls as that's another basic around romance films. Sometimes the girl will sport a bright red lipstick to accentuate her "date" look. 

PROPS in romance films can include books, flowers (roses typically), gifts, rings, chocolate, jewelry etc. 

SETTING in romance films are places where an audience would typically connect love with. A beautiful beach with a sunrise/sunset, or even big cities where people meet and fall in love. The settings of romance film are usually places here a chance encounter would occur. 

Common Editing: 

Film fast cuts can be effective to hint at emotions and the overall atmosphere of the film depending on what actions are being taken place. Dissolves are frequently used to show a flashback of one character to another to reflect back on what affected the couples relationship. 

Common Sounds:

Violin, guitar and piano sounds are all very common to set a romantic mood for a romance film. A violin can play if the girl is sad, who may have been just broken up with. A piano can play is the couple is about to dance softly into the night at a ball. 

Example Films: Titanic, Dear John, The Notebook, A Star is Born, To all the boys I've Loved Before.

Elements: 

A sympathetic heroine. The heroine is the key to any romance. A strong, irresistible hero. Your heroine and the audience must both fall in love with the hero. Emotional tension where this is the heart of every romance. A believable plot and finally a happy-ever-after ending.

Elements I like: When the romance has a twist, and the couple don't fall in love right away, more of like a catch to the whole plot. 

Elements that don't appeal: Where boy meets girl and vice versa and it's a continuous teenage love story dilemma with immature issues. And always with a sappy ending that doesn't give enough closure. 

Genre Research PowerPoint

This powerpoint was based on the genre action. The first couple slides focus on the lighting, camera movements and angles. Along with this, there were many elements in action films that involve the first "meet" of the bad guys vs. good guys. Action films include a variety of fight scenes that can be both epic and gruesome. Most action films also include very high-paced actions to go along with the soundtrack of the film. There's always a major turning point where someone gets deceived or back-stabbed which is pivotal for all action films. Car chases, shoot outs and intense fighting capture many action films. The unappealing aspects are usually the repetitive scenes. These are scenes or actions that are going to be expected and therefore undesirable to watch. Some example of action films are Kill Bill, John Wick, and Mission Impossible. 

Group Blog

The two pitches that was narrowed down for this project was either the action film or the horror film. The first pitch, the action film, consists of a kidnapping as the central theme. The kidnapping focuses on the presidents daughter (not the current president, a made up one), who gets kidnapped as part of a terrorist attempt for money and political change. The terrorist group does not affiliate to any particular group.  The horror is centralized around werewolf/man that tries to murder three girls. This werewolf who is also part man disrupts a group of girls in their home, planning to murder them.

Pitch 1 would be a decent pitch for the assignment, but not the one my team and I are gravitating towards. This is mostly because the kidnapping would not be entirely appropriate but also not practical to do. As there would be a lot of running, shoving, pushing etc, there is a potential of harm in the process. Therefore, this pitch isn't the one that would be picked.

Pitch 2 seems like a better fit for this assignment. It has a more levels of suspense and I feel like a better engagement with the audience. The werewolf/man will be the main character as well as premise for the movie. It would tie in suspense, horror, and better use of costume design and props. There's also more acting involved in this pitch in more creative ways with fake blood and knives for props. Therefore, this pitch seems like a better fit.

The pitch that was ultimately decided was Pitch 2 for this project. The werewolf/man will allow for a better and more intriguing project for the audience overall, adding more elements of surprise and suspense. The team and I have already gathered to discuss scripts for the actors, where to film/ potential locations and costume layout. So therefore, pitch 2 is the teams choice for this assignment and will be planned in the days to come.

Start of Final Task

Hello, my name is Safia and I am a sophomore at Fort Lauderdale High. Every since starting the class I have been into film making recently. Along with that I like photography and drawing. Aside from making film, I like to watch them an TV shows. My favorite TV show is Game of Thrones while my favorite movie is Call Me By Your Name. I am very excited to start this new project because I feel like it is different. But I feel like this one is going to required a lot much more effort. Especially when it comes to editing things like the credits. Which should be no problem because, I've also taken a recent liking to editing aswell.

I've learned many things in this class like the different camera angles, shots, and movement. The certain types of sounds that are used in films and their purpose. How to edit a take and use the given editing software, Pinnacle studios. Which that, I was also taught the five phases of film making. Lastly, I learned the meaning of mis en scene, and what C.L.A.M.P.S stood for. One talent that I learned in this class that I am excited to use is the use of camera angles. The reason I am excited to use this talent is because I've gotten really good at knowing what I'm trying to convey with each angle. Also, with the new project that is coming, I think it best if get even better. This would definitely, help me in keeping the camera stable during takes.

A pitch is a Hollywood term that is used to describe an idea for film or TV- series. These explanation are often encapsulated within 25 words. The lack of words are because when giving a pitch your are on limited time. Also, the chance of you giving for pitch is often by coincidence. For the project, I had three original pitches. One pitch could be it shows the kidnapper on his way to kidnap someone. But, in the middle of while that is happening, the camera shows a split screen of the two subjects routine. Secondly, another pitch is girl goes missing after looking for her boyfriend, but at the end of the given time, it shows her finding him and screaming. Lastly, the third pitch I had was girl eventually finds out why her boyfriends has been avoiding her but it's not what she thinks. Overall, all my pitch idea were somewhere in the horror or thriller genre.

Editing blog music video

We edited both Monday and Wednesday, Ms. Katz had also gone over the storyboard . The reason she was doing this was because many were incomplete. Originally mines was ungraded due to the fact that it was considered incomplete. It was considered incomplete because for some reason my pictures of the storyboard kept coming out blurry. I mainly found this confusing because I was the only one in my group who struggled with that problem. This has happened to me in the last storyboard blog. Eventually l fixed it by downloading the  picture from my gmail once again, then taking a screenshot. Then I clicked add photo from phone on the insert option. Where I originally went wrong was just copy and pasting the photo. That what I was mainly doing during editing.

Due to the fact I was fixing a blog, Carla was the one doing all the editing. What she mainly had to do was just fix little things the transition for starters. When all the clips were first put together, there were about five transition bumps. What I mean by that is, you can see where the clips changed, but in a more rigid way. But that was something that could easily solved by cleaning up the cross cutting. Cross cutting is a way of merging two scenes with different locations together. One example of that you’d see in our music video is, when we were at the park and jumped to the beach. Or cleaning up on the dissolve in the transitions. Dissolves are when the scene dissolves or merged into each other. Besides the transitions there wasn’t much to be left to edit.

As soon as Carla was done with editing, she came over and showed us the final product. I was honestly astonished as to how it turned out. I say that because, even though I knew it was going to be good I couldn’t really picture until now. For example, how the ambient sound and dialogue blended into the score was amazing. Ambient sound is basically background sound (uncontrollable). An example was the noise of waves at the beach or the voices of other people at the park. Overall I believe that sound bridge is what truly cleaned up the transitions. This is because it helped ease into another scene, so that it wouldn’t look random clips just dropping in. The ending of the editing process was a very fun experience because it was so humor filled. Like when, the video would pause while I was making a weird face.

Filming Process Music Video

This is the part two of my journey in filming the music video. The first thing I had to do was find out how I was going to arrive to the beach, which was where we were filming. My original ride said that he could not make it, so I ended up catching ride with one of my group mates. When school ended I had waited outside for her to pick me up so we could go to the beach. Once we arrived we met up with our other group mates and went to go change. We had to keep the same clothes from last time because, we were still filming. I had walked around the nearby parking lot but eventually found a bathroom. After that, we chose wear we wanted to record, which was underneath the pier. Finding a location was easier than I thought. That's because it wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be.

When starting to film I had a hard time with the shifting out the choreography. Due to all the sand and like lack of balance, it was hard to do that while trying not fall. But we quickly got through that once I finally got the hang of it. When we got to the middle of the song is when we really started dancing. This was because, the moves we were doing corresponded best to the lyrics at the time. The lyrics were, “ Now I don't want you back for the weekend Not back for a day, no no no”. During this, we were just shifting places throughout the dances. It ended up landing last on me for switching places. This second part of filming experience was actually very easy. It went by much shorter and expected which left a lot of free time to reshoot somethings. 

Once we finished filming, we gather led our stuff and left from underneath the pier. We went to change back into our original clothes and sat in the nearby sitting area. There, we went over all the footage we just recorded along with our previous recordings from the park. I felt like this was a way of making sure we’re organized from editing. Once that was done, we called it a day and said our goodbyes. In that same area is where my group mate and I waited to be picked up. After going over past projects, I would say I had the best filming experience in this one. What made this one the best was, how hands on it was. Like other projects were just in one area, but this one we got to choose wherever we wanted to film. I feel like the fact that it was more hands on, it allowed me to help produce better quality work.