Research 9: The short

Today I watched a short film “9” by Shan Acker. I can honestly say it’s not at all how I expected it to be. I expect a reply to be a little similar to the movie. And I thought the short film would be like the movie, just summed up. As the short film started I thought my audio on my computer was messed up.Eventually I realize the short film had no sound. I can say this is one aspect I did not like.Right away in a short film I recognize 9. The depiction of him was much simplified than in the full movie. 9 is simply a ragdoll that’s adventurous and wants to know more. It was kind of hard to tell what was going on without any audio, but I think I got the idea. Short film seemed incomplete. It seemed like it could have been a pitch for a real movie. Which in fact it was but that’s not the the point. The setting of the dark and eerie feel, kind of like a horror movie but not completely. I feel as the special effects featured in the short film, could have been a little better. Towards the end I seen 9 near a green site, kind of like something that glowed. And I feel like the director could have added more effects, so that the part was interesting. All I enjoyed the short film. Maybe not as much as the movie, but it was still a great thing for me to

Genre choice for film

 My partner and I had three genre options to choose for our short film. The three genres were crime, thriller, and drama. While discussing which one we wanted to pick we decided not to do drama. We didn't want to do drama because it didn't really focus on our pitch. After talking to my partner for some time we were stuck between picking  thriller or crime to be the genre that represents our short film. We both agreed that the genres had many similarities that could be used. After discussing it the genre that we choose to go with was crime. We choose this specific genre because our pitch is mainly about a crime being committed. Due to the fact that the genres are so similar we thought it would be a great idea to go with crime because with the crime genre we'll be able to include the features of a thriller movie on our film. For example, we expect our film to give off a suspenseful mood to the audience. We also expect it to keep the viewers  excited and keep their anticipation level extremely high throughout the entire film. While researching we found that a sub genre of the crime genre is a "legal thriller". We were inspired to choose the crime genre out of all three options because we realized that that would be the genre that would best be portrayed in our film. Our pitch was "A lady supposedly goes on vacation and when her house is broken into her body is found floating in the pool". At the time we thought the pool would be the best place for the lady to be found. Now we realized we most likely will have to change that part of our pitch. Neither of us have access to a pool right now. Since we don't have access to a pool we decided to say that the womans lifeless body will be found in a bathtub. This is not a big tweak so it shouldn't affect our pitch too much. If we are able to gain access to a pool when it comes time to film we'll make sure to keep a note of that.   

Genre research - crime, triller,drama

 

A genre were going to explore is the crime or criminal genre. Common CAMS in the criminal genre include high and low angled shots, close-ups, extreme close ups, dolly zooms, dolly movement, and handheld shots. Common sounds in criminal thriller genre include soundtracks, diegetic sounds, non-diegetic sounds, ambient sounds, sound bridges, dialogue, and incidental music. Common Mis en scene in this genre include, lighting, actors, make-up, props, and settings (in mysterious places).  Common editing technical used in this genre consist of dissolve transitions, montages, fade outs/ins, cut always, and jump cuts. Example Films include the movies “Rope”, “Dial M for murder”, and “The silence of the lambs”. Elements of the genre I like is the suspense that comes from the conflict, the foreshadowing, and when the crimes are solved.

Elements of the genre that do not appeal to me are the fact that you can sometimes tell how the story will

end. I like to be surprised, and these type of films aren’t really suspenseful.

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The second genre we’re going to explore is the thriller genre. A thriller is a suspense film the evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. Lightings used in thriller movies are key lighting, under lighting, and filler light. Common camera angles and shots in thrillers are high angle shots, low angle shots, canted angles, wide shots, and panning shots. Characteristics of common sounds found in the thriller genre, is dark and eerie sounds. The music starts in a slow pace at first whilst gradually speeding up the pace helping to create the tension and build climax.  Common Mis En Scene in thriller, weapons art the common props in fight scenes, which are commonly used to create tension. The thriller genre uses the elements of story(action), plot, character and setting. The story in thrillers uses tension and excitement to stimulate the viewers moods. Examples of this genre consist of Get Out, Taken, Seven, and Unknown. Thriller films are enjoyed because it keeps the audience at the end of their seats and build suspense and tension, it entertains the audience and engages them through the film.

Finally the last genre we're going to research is the drama genre. Common camera angles, and shots in this genre are long shots, close-ups, two-shots, and over-the shoulder shots. Continually, common camera movements include tilts, zooms, and dolly's. Characteristics of common sounds found in this genre are dialogue, sound effects, diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. Common Mis En Scene in the drama genre include, costumes, lighting, actors of course, make-up and props. Common editing skills used in this genre, to elaborate its stories are jump cuts, split screens, cut away's, and fade outs. Examples of drama films include, “The Godfather”, “Boogie Nights”, and “12 Angry Men”. Elements from this genre I find appealing are the serious presentations the movies are presented in. An element that does not appeal to me is the fact that throughout the film we have to worry about the main characters mental state. It’s not something I personally find interesting.

Genres I would Like to research

Today we’ve chosen 3 genres we want to research. We chose these three by picking ones that are similar with our pitch. We wanted to place our film in a category that made sense. We chose the genres drama, crime, and thriller. We picked the drama genre because it involves a conflict between the characters. In this case this genre would relate to our pitch because the conflict would be between the people who are being suspected of murdering the woman. In our pitch a crime is committed and, it’s going to be solved. The crime genre has multiple sub genres. But most of the films and stories in this drama are about crime investigations. They generally don’t feature or show stuff that happens in the courtroom. The key elements  of this genre include suspense and mystery. This genre relates to our pitch, because it includes a criminal investigation. In order for us to figure out who killed the woman in our pitch a criminal investigation will have to take place. Suspense is also included, as we try to figure out who the killer is. Finally, the  thriller genre. This genre is mainly characterized by the mood it gives off. Known for the suspense it creates, excitement, surprise and anticipation. This goes with our pitch because my part and I would also like to create some sort of tension while telling the story. We don’t want viewers bored while the crime is being figure out, or when we found out the ladies dead . We want that little spin of suspense, And anticipation.

I think picking one genre to put our film under is going to be quite a challenge.

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We have our pitch ?

 

A lady supposedly goes on vacation and when her house is broken into her body is found floating in her pool.

Group Blog

 Hey its me again! I know in my last blog I said I was going to work alone but things have changed. Originally I had no idea who was in a level media studies with me. So I decided to work by myself. I thought it would be easier. Less complications. I had a few doubts, but I felt overall I worked better by myself. One day when I was in class, a friend of mine texted me. She asked if I took a level media studies. So I told her yes. I had no idea she had this class. She’s a very nice girl and I’ve worked with her on a project in another class. It was my law class, and I enjoyed working with her. We completed all the work and still had fun at the same time . So when she asked me to be her partner I said yes. I saw a great opportunity. Although we have this class different periods I think we can make it work. We’re two determined intelligent females and I think that this is the start of something good. My only concern is what we’re going to do when it comes to filming. But I’m sure we’ll work something out.

INTROOOO BLOG!

 Hey It’s me again ! Jasmine Jones, the sophomore who took AS level last year? Well, now I’m a Junior. And I’m currently enrolled in the A level course. I figured since I had so much fun with those course last year I should continue in it. Although, it’s not completely the same I think I’ll enjoy A level. Last year was something I never experienced before. This class taught me a lot of things I never thought I’d be interested in. It was different when we went virtually towards the end of the year. But, nonetheless still a great learning opportunity. This year our focus is different from AS level. We’ll be making a short film. Since currently our classes our virtual I don’t even have friends to discuss my ideas with. I think I could do a good job, as a one person team. But I guess only time will tell. However, I’m really excited to see what this A level course has in store for us. I’m sure it’ll be as mind opening as AS level. Hopefully this year I’ll excel in filming and making sure to portray my message clearly. Can’t wait to see what’s in store! Stay tuned for the adventures of me and my filming career.