Genre Research: Halloween

On halloween night in 1963, six year old Michael Myers brutally murdered

his 17-year-old sister, Judith. He was sentenced and locked away for 15 years.

But on October 30, 1978, while being transferred for a court date, a 21-year-old

Michael Myers steals a car and escapes Smith's Grove. He returns to his quiet

hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, where he looks for his next victims. Halloween

made many sequels and even prequels through the past years. I focused more on

the most recent one that came out in 2018. 

In Halloween, the camera angles that were used in the movie were all used to

create a feeling that the director wanted the audience to feel. Example of camera

angles include: Close-up shots, high angle shots, and low angle shots. Costumes

used in Halloween are modern clothes that people in 2018 would wear, this includes

day clothing and of course halloween costumes.. The exception is Michael Myers

himself because he is wearing the old worker clothes. The lighting varied from scene

to scene in order to create the feeling that the director wanted the audience to feel.

For example, throughout the whole movie there is a continued white and hues of gray

lighting in order to give the eerie feeling of what was happening. The actors in the film

included those of the films of the past Halloween movies but also had new actors.

The makeup of the movie was the makeup of the time. The editing has jump cuts,

flashback sequences, and some match cuts. The editing stays somewhat the same

throughout the movie to build the suspense and tension that the audience feels.

The sound throughout the movie is dialogue, diegetic sound when outside, and

non-diegetic sounds. 

Re-watching this movie was a real treat. I first watched this movie in the theater
BEFORE it came out. My sister and I had won tickets to see Halloween from a
radio contest. I’m biased towards this movie. I think that the movie was very well
done and stuck to the conventional thriller elements.

Genre Research: Get Out

Get Out is about Chris and his girlfriend, Rose, that have reached the

meet-the-parents milestone of dating. She invites him for a weekend

getaway upstate with Missy and Dean (her parents). At first, Chris thinks

her family's overly nice behavior to try to deal with their daughter's interracial

relationship. However as the weekend goes on, weird things lead him to a

something that he never could have imagined. Get out is a thriller that did very

well in theaters. 

In Get Out, the camera angles that were in the movie were all used to create a

feeling that the director wanted the audience to feel. Example of camera angles

include: Close-up shots, high angle shots, and low angle shots. Costumes used in

the movie ranged from inner city clothing to rural clothing as the movie goes on.

Lighting used in the film changes from the mood and tone of the scene. For example,

in the beginning of the film, the boyfriend and the girlfriend are a happy couple, therefore

the lighting is going to reflect that being bright and warm toned. As the movie goes on,

the lighting reflects how the protagonist feels, cold and scared. The actors in the film

fit the role that they were meant to play. The makeup in the film is nothing out of the

ordinary, normal makeup for the time period the movie was set in. The props used in

the movie were based on the setting of the scene. For example, when the scene was

set in the rural upstate where the girlfriend’s parents were, the props were farming tools.

Since Get Out is a thriller, the editing reflects that. The editing has jump cuts, flashback

sequences, and some match cuts. The editing stays somewhat the same
throughout the movie to build the suspense and tension that the audience feels. The sound throughout the movie is dialogue, diegetic sound when outside, and non-diegetic sounds. 

There are many things I liked about this movie. Since I gravitate more towards

movies that fall into the genre of thriller, I almost always can conclude if it’s a good

movie that fits into its genre or not. However, I feel that Get Out does fit into its genre

of thriller. There is a HUGE psychological factor that comes with watching

this movie, I love that.

Genre Research: The final decision

The genre I chose to go with for my movie is the genre thiller.

The reason I chose thriller as my genre because it best suits the vision I

have for the movie. Since I want to make it about a serial killer, a

psychological aspect is kinda needed. Making it a thriller, I have my work

cut out for me. Since I’m working alone for this final project I have to use

all of my brain power in order to execute how I want my movie to come out.

I fully understand how it can be difficult to get all of the necessary elements

of a thriller in a clean cut movie. However I think I can do it. 

Genre Research: Two potential candidates

After deciding what pitch out of the three pitches I came up with, it was

time to try and figure out exactly what genres would best suit the pitch

chosen. After research, the two genres that would best suit the movie would

be thriller and horror. When researching the two different genres I came

across the definitions that belonged to the two. For thriller, the definition

that I came across was ‘a psychological film that requires more thought and

explanation as to what happens. For horror the definition that I came across

was ‘a film that seeks to elicit fear for entertainment purposes.’ Basically, a

thriller film has a deeper meaning and can have a dramatic irony aspect to it.

While a horror film is plain gore and it’s main purpose is to scare its audience.

To decide exactly which genre I wanted my film to be, I thought it’d be best to do

some research and see what it takes to make each film. 

The common codes and conventions for a thriller movie are very unique. The

common lighting in a thriller film is typically low lighting in order to create tension

and suspense. Camera angles that are used in thriller films include high angle shots.

Camera movements in thriller films include close-up and extreme close-ups.

Elements of a thriller film include suspense, tension, and excitement. The common

mis en scene in a thriller film is mostly the props used which are guns. Examples of

thriller films include Get Out, The Silence of the Lambs, Split, and Halloween.

Common sounds used in thriller films are diegetic sounds that relate to the situation

of the scene. An element of thriller films that I like is the psychological factor that it

brings. An element of thriller films that I don’t really like is the tension feeling that some

movies make you have. 

The common codes and conventions for horror films are used in almost every movie
but are unique. The common lighting in horror films is silhouette lighting, spotlighting,
and underexposure. Common camera angles used in horror films are high angles, bird’s
eye, and close-ups. Camera movements in horror films include pan movements. Elements
in horror films include gore, blood, and plain scary things. Common mis en scene in horror
films is predominantly the setting. The setting includes dark, rural locations. Some examples
of horror films are It, Us, and The Cabin in the Woods. Common sounds used in horror films
are whispering voices, shrieking violins, and unrelenting synth beats. An element of horror
films that I like is the suspense that it can create. An element of horror films that I don’t like
is the blood and gore. 

Genre Research: Comedy

When researching this genre I found many aspects to what makes 'comedy', comedy. This includes the camera, angles, movement, sound. It also includes the different mis en scene that in films of comedy. The costumes, lighting, actors, make-up, and setting all make comedy films what they are. Through research, I also saw many different movies that fall under the genre 'comedy'. There are different aspects to comedy that I enjoy and some that I don't. Aspects that I enjoy from comedy are the different ways it can appeal to different audiences. Aspects that I do not like about comedy are the crude jokes that comedy movies can display. 

The time to decide

It’s the time to make the hard decision. What pitch is going to

be the one that I make into a two minute intro. So far, I’ve been

able to narrow it down to two pitches instead of three. Originally,

the three pitches were: One, Momma always said “Don’t trust what

you see, even salt looks like sugar”. Little did her victims know, their

sugar was actually salt. Two, Everyone wants to be famous but at what

cost? Club 27 is where it’s at. But as they say be careful what you wish for.

Three, When someone knows everything about you, do you still hide? I’ve

narrowed it down to the first and the second pitch. It was hard because all

three ideas can be fun movies but the first two are more exciting. 

The first pitch would be a good movie because it has to deal with people

who don’t say who they truly are. The movie is called sugar. Sugar is loosely

based off all the typical serial killers that prey on their dates. She's woman

that chooses her victims through social media and dating sites. A psychopath

that craves to murder. However, somehow her next victim recognizes her.

‘Sugar’ never shares her real name and hides her life. Her poor dates never

see it coming, except for her most recent one. The reality of meeting people

is scary. Meeting people who hide behind a screen is terrifying. 

The second pitch would be a fun movie because it’s a very dramatic interpretation

of Hollywood. The movie Club 27 is about a girl who sells her soul to the devil

in order to have what she wants, fame. She’s a nobody in her city but thinks she

has what it takes to be apart of the celebrity life. The only way she’s able to do

this was to sell her soul to the devil in order to have her taste of stardom. Little

does she know the contract ends, and so does her life. Always read the fine print.

Club 27 represents some, not all, celebrities that have been rumored to be in special

organizations that helped their career. It also represents how dark Hollywood can

be and how it can change a person. 

I made the hard decision and chose the first pitch. I chose the first pitch because

if felt the process of making it would be more fun. The idea can be artistically interpreted

in different ways. Although I was able to come up with two other great ideas, the first

pitch just stuck with me. I was able to envision my idea really easily when coming up

with the pitch. Another reason that I chose this specific pitch is because I enjoy crime

shows and movies. I think it’s best to create something that you like and put your spin on it.  

All about me

My name is Victoria, I’m 17, and im in the 11th grade in High School.

This is the second semester in the 2019-2020 school year. Compared

to the beginning of the year, being a junior can still be stressful at times.

Taking a combination of Aice and AP classes make my stress reach its peak.

However, I’ve been able to manage it with taking much needed breaks

and doing relaxing exercises like yoga. Other than stress, the school year

has been filled with great new memories and old friends. I’m excited to

continue this class and hopefully learn more skills that I haven’t yet. For

this final project, sadly I’m not working with anyone in class. I decided it’d

be best to work alone because I live so far from my past partners. The blogs,

the filming, the editing will inevitably be easier if i end up working alone. 

In Aice Media Studies I’ve learned many things pertaining to the film industry.

Things like how to research for the codes and conventions, the different camera

angles and movements, how to film, and edit.  Even though we are given

guidelines to complete our projects, we are given a type of freedom to make

whatever we like. This class also teaches good productive skills. Like managing

deadlines. Procrastination can be a killer when it comes to this class because

you can wait as long as you want to film but then it affects the amount of time

you have to edit. Editing is my favorite part of film production. As I expressed

in past blogs, editing is where the magic happens. You really see your vision

come together when you’re editing and it’s exciting. When you wait last minute

to edit it can mess up with how you envision the product. This is where learning

how to manage your time is important. 

A pitch is a hollywood term to describe an idea where a film is encapsulated

in 25 words or less. Usually one sentence. My three pitch ideas are:

1- Momma always said “Don’t trust what you see, even salt looks like sugar”.

Little did her victims know, their sugar was actually salt. 

2- Everyone wants to be famous but at what cost? Club 27 is where it’s at,

but as they say, be careful what you wish for.

3- When someone knows everything about you, do you still hide?