Genre Research: Nightmare Alley

 What elements (Conventions) of the genre that you chose to base your final task on does this movie have?

Nightmare Alley uses costumes and makeup to emphasize the characters and the setting that the movie is placed in. It also uses lighting and camera angles to create suspense, even when the scene is not necessarily  “suspenseful”. 

What elements (Conventions) of the genre did the movie have that you like?

I really liked the dialogue in this movie. The dialogue created a feel that camera angles and other conventions could not. I enjoyed it because there could be many different interpretations of each piece of dialogue, so it was based on how you viewed it, not how the director wanted you to view it. 

What elements (Conventions) of the genre did the movie have that did not appeal to you?

The soundtrack in this movie did not really interest me. I think better pieces could've been used to convey the feelings and emotions of the movie.

Genre Decision Blog

 My partner and I opted for a thriller as our theme. This was due to a variety of factors. One of them is that this is our favorite genre. It's critical that you enjoy what you're doing so that the end product is as genuine as possible. Another argument was that in a genre like comedy or drama, where the exposition is often lengthier, it is more difficult to develop a storyline, or the beginning of one, in just two minutes. We feel that selecting the thriller genre will pique our interest in the project, resulting in a better overall outcome. We have a lot of ideas already. This includes where we'll shoot it. This is the music we'll be using. And even how we'll go about editing it. Choosing a thriller blog allows us to do anything we want. The costumes are one aspect of the genre that we appreciated as a group. In terms of wardrobe and make-up, you may have a bit more fun with a traditional thriller. You'll have more chances to think beyond the box. In addition, you'll have greater creative flexibility. However, there are a few things we'd want to avoid. We grimace in a lot of thrillers because the acting is overdone. Of course, there are exceptions, but in many thrillers, the acting is not to our liking. We'll make a concerted effort not to do so as a group. This project must be as realistic as possible. And I'm looking forward to seeing what our final product looks like.

Genre Research: Horror

 Close-up, tilted angle, low angles, hand-held camera angle, wide-angle, tracking angle, birds-eye/high angle are all common camera angles in the horror genre.

In the horror genre, a common Mis-en-Scène is:

Knives, crosses, machetes, chainsaws, axes, and masks are all frequent props in horror films. Horror films frequently employ gloomy lighting and are shot in popular locations such as the woods or a dark house. They're also almost usually shot at night.

Jump cuts, Parallel cuts, Crosscuts, and Over-Extended Scenes are all common editing techniques in the horror genre.

To create monsters and amazing effects, a lot of CGI is used.

Lots of sudden noise, loud noise, eerie noise, high pitched noise, and noise that is unpleasant to the ear are all common sounds in the horror genre. During the scene, there is also a lot of silence to add to the tension. The tension is frequently broken by a loud, unexpected noise.

Sinister, Hereditary, Insidious, The Conjuring, and The Ring are examples of horror films.

Dark lighting and a setting in a dark house are two elements of the genre that I like and would use. I also enjoy long moments with eerie sounds. The props are my favorite feature of this genre that I'd want to employ. The objects used to add a lot to the film's atmosphere and concept.

A hand-held camera perspective is one of the aspects of the genre that I would avoid using. This perspective is overused in horror films, and every film that uses it looks the same.

Genre Research: Comedy

Medium shots, over-the-shoulder shots, two shots, close-ups, and long shots are all common camera angles in comedy. All of these camera angles contribute to the success of comedies. Happy and uplifting music, brighter lighting to represent the comic part of the film (making it happier), clothes in comedy films consisting of brighter colors and vibrancy, and props in comedy films are generally wacky, amusing, or stupid are all common Mise En Scene utilized in comedy films. In comedy films, editing techniques include having precise scene timing. Editing as though the sequence was not filmed on one camera (using separate clips from numerous cameras for the same scene), Cuts, and adding or removing unnecessary frames. Upbeat cheerful music, laughing sound effects, and character conversation are all common sounds in comedy films. Comedy films include Bad Trip, Coming 2 America, Afterlife, Space Jam: A New Legacy. The way this genre makes the audience feel is one of the elements in this genre that we enjoy. The goal of this genre is to make the audience laugh and smile. The editing qualities of this genre would be used as elements. The sound in this genre is not attractive. With the genre, we ended up adopting, we would not be able to employ the same sorts of sound used in comedy films.

Genre Research: Thriller

• Close-up- may be used when your attention is intentionally directed to the character’s face and at times what is behind them.

• Extreme close-up- used as a powerful way to convey the emotion that the subject is feeling. They are used in thrillers to allow the audience to get a clear understanding of the emotions the character is going through. Used mostly to convey fear, pain, and sadness in thrillers.

• Low angle- to show the power struggles of characters throughout intense scenes.

• High Angle- to show the power struggles of characters throughout intense scenes.

• Costumes are more often than not very simple and plain. Muted colors are usually used to not take away from what is actually happening in the movie. For example in the Split trilogy, muted colors are used for costumes when we are to focus on the dialogue and action. And bright colors are used when they want us to focus on a character. Lowkey lighting is a high-contrast lighting technique that is typically seen in film noirs, thrillers, and horror films and is often employed in conjunction with dramatic action. The dramatic thriller is a fiction genre with several, often overlapping subgenres. Makeup Normally, clothing and makeup are particularly crucial in thrillers to produce effects like injuries and to make the actor appear evil. Props In thrillers, mirrors are frequently employed to show what's going on in the background, rather than simply the main character's face. Thrillers are typically set in ordinary suburbs and cities, although they can also be set in exotic locations such as foreign cities, deserts, polar regions, and the high seas for the most part.

• All thriller films employ a combination of fast and slow pacing while improving their films. This is great for building tension and anxiety, as well as communicating emotions and/or depicting characters.

• Screaming sounds are frequently heard in thriller films when the individuals on-screen are astonished by something that has a significant impact on the audience.

• I especially appreciate the components of the sceneries and the makeup and costumes in Nightmare Alley (2021), The Hunt (2020), The Kings Man (2021), and You (2018). It truly increases the mood and makes the viewer feel exhilarated. This will be incorporated into our project.

• One downfall to the genre would be the style of acting. I believe that finding a very good thriller movie can be hard due to the style of acting.

Our Pitch

Pitch 1: Two best friends decide to take a luxurious vacation on a remote island. Little do they know there's a dark side to the island that awaits them in the shadows.

Pitch 2: When a late-night drive goes wrong, you're forced to do things you never thought you would. But ever since that night, weird, unexplainable things have been happening, and you just can't shake the feeling something is watching you.

Pitch 1: We really like the idea of the first pitch. It is something different and interesting. We sat and brainstormed ways we could execute this pitch. We agreed that it is something we really want to do, but there are pros and cons. It would be exciting and creative, but there is no easy way to replicate the setting and effects that this pitch would require. 

Pitch 2: This pitch is another one that we found very interesting. Kaya and I agreed that this would be exciting to film and edit. The idea of it is fairly used, but we thought of ways we could make it our own. There are also pros and cons to this pitch. It is less exciting to film, but it is way more accessible and geared towards our skill sets and equipment. 

We decided to choose pitch 2. We thought it would be in our best interest to choose the pitch that is more in our skillset so we can execute it easily and focus on making it a better film rather than focusing on how to execute it. The pitch is: When a late-night drive goes wrong, you're forced to do things you never thought 

My Partner and I

My group consists of just my friend and me. Her name is Lily O’Neil. I previously worked with her on another project. That being the Music Video Project. I chose to work with Lily again because I believe she is a very diligent worker and we have many things in common. She contributed immensely to the last project. With her out-of-the-box thinking and unique ideas. She brings a whole new set of skills and opinions to the table. She is very skilled at taking photographs and videos. And knows how to work well with a digital camera. I also chose to work with Lily because she seems very put together and I believe I can trust her with my grade. That being because we got a good grade on the last project. I have known Lily for several years, since second grade. Therefore I have had more time to get to know her. She also happens to have a professional camera. We can use this to record our film. My partner and I have very similar creative processes. We like to get things done swiftly and easily. That is why we agreed to work with each other. And I hope that together we are able to create a really cool film.