Title Research The Dead Zone

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? There were 20 titles displayed during the opening sequences to the film.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence? The images prioritized in the opening sequence were of the setting the film took place in.

What connotations do the images carry? The connotations the images carry was that there is fear to be had in an open and calm looking setting.

How is this genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? This genre is reinforced through symbolic and technical codes by establishing a tone of isolation through cinematography.

How does the film establish enigma from the outset? The film establishes an enigma by creating curiosity of were its people have gone, and why the town is empty.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience? The strategies used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience were using eerie music and creepy scenery.

How has technology been used effectively? The best way technology was used was by having a tracking shot on one target location in each shot creating an inclosed feeling. The editing of the title at the end made the audience look closely to then have a big reveal of the start location of the movie.

Title Research Final Destination

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequence? There are 26 titles in total displayed in the opening sequence of the film.

What images are prioritized during the opening sequence? Animations of gruesome deaths that are portrayed by x-rays take the center stage in this opening sequence.

What connotations do these images carry? The connotations these images carry are ones that let you know that death could be lurking around the corner.

How is the genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? The genre is reinforced through symbolism by giving an unsettling feeling and technical codes by having a CGI opening.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset? The film establishes an enigma of “who is going to die and how will they die?” by foreshadowing the deaths that take place in the film.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience? The strategies this film uses is extreme gore to high adrenaline music.

How was technology used effectively? Technology was used effectively by having a complete CGI opening that was impressive for the time.

Title Research Se7en

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequence? During the opening sequence, there are exactly 30 titles displayed.

What images are prioritized during the opening sequence? Images of swat teams and police during a hostage situation are prioritized during the opening sequence.

What connotations do these images carry? The images carry a connotation of intensity and urgency.

How is the genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? The symbolism of a red sky during this situation to show the darkness and intensity of the situation. On the technical side the opening is completely computer generated.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset? The film establishes an enigma of whether or not the situation will be resolved by showing the preparations needed for such an unpredictable scenario.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience? The film ensures that it will appeal to its target audience by keeping the viewers on edge, keeping them guessing on what will happen.

How was technology used effectively? Technology was used effectively by making the opening 100% CGI. Doing this allowed the filmmakers to get camera angles that would be harder to get if they were using real cameras.

Title Research Hostage

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequence? There are a total of 37 titles in the opening sequence.

What images are prioritized during the opening sequence? Images of grimy fingers are prioritized to disturb the audience.

What connotations do these images carry? These images carry a connotation of intensity and disturbed images.

How is the genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? The opening uses very close up angles to give a feeling of claustrophobia.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset? The main question it proposes is who are we looking at.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience? Great cinematography is used to reel in the audience.

How was technology used effectively? Technology was used effectively by making the opening 100% practical.

Title Research watchthetitles.com

        For our project, our group looked into titles. We went onto www.watchthetitles.com to help us research. The website's structure makes everything easy to locate which makes it easier for my group to do research. It gives us better ideas on how to place our titles. We learned how the placement of titles highlight significant parts of movies. When we looked through the website we saw many different genres. Theres also different cateegories which made it easy to find what we were looking for. Its convenient to show the beggining sequences only so that we dont have to watch movies just to see the first two minutes. Every movie is shown with a title and a title sequence. We learned the title is shown to spark interest from the viewers. It captures the audience's attention. Titles are placed in order, from most important to least. For example, director, actor, camera crew, etc. It gives background for the production of the movie before the credits. Genre also typiclaly affects movie fonts. Lastly, title sequences build the mood of the genre.

Title Research www.artofthetitle.com

        This website is based around the opening scenes of well-known movies and TV shows. It mainly focuses on title sequence design, spanning the film, television, conference, and video game industries. I tried to research specific movies, but they only have a select few. After scrolling through the website for a while, I got a better feel of what it was on. It showed opening scenes of various movies that were perfect for studying. When it came to my group’s research, we tried to mainly stick to thriller movie opening credits because that it what our project will be. One thing that caught my attention was the amount of credit given. I learned how many people take part in creating a film or TV show. For example, in the first two minutes, they showed the names of directors, producers, creators, sound developers, etc. The credits always start with the name of the movie and end with the directors name. Each name is on the screen for around 3-5 seconds. They really pay close attention to the mood those first two minutes place on the viewer. It is important because it’s how it draws the audience in and gets them interested. It sets the tone for the rest of the movie. I really enjoyed looking around this website. It seemed easy to use and practical for researching all types of genres. 

Genre Research More Genres

One of the other genres we researched was horror. We were all very intrigued in the process and how it would come about. We did some research and found some common elements of horror films and how they are made. Some common things we found were certain editing being found often. An example of this is jump scares. Jump scares are used to frighten the audience and keep them on their toes. Certain camera angles can also be seen repeated throughout horror films, like the POV shot. POV shots are affective in placing the audience in the character perspective and placing that same fear onto them. Clothes and makeup can vary for horror films. If the movie is gory, there will be fake blood and special effects makeup, but paranormal movies tend to focus more on giving the actor a ghostly, pale look that completes the film. For setting, again, it varies depending on what the focus of the film is.
The last genre we studied was thriller. Although it shares some elements with horror, they are very different. After some research, we found that all thrillers share a lot of the same angles and movements, Choppy and quick seems to be the way to go due to the unsettling effect it gives the viewer. Unlike horror, thrillers want their audience to be uncomfortable, not confused. Tracking shits tend to be common whenever there is a chasing scene. Again, it makes the viewer feel the same anxiety as the character, therefore more intriguing. For clothes and makeup, they are usually casual and fit to the times, but can include gory makeup if called for and necessary for the scene. Settings can be secluded and ominous or loud and busy, like in a city. It all varies depending on what the director wants the audience to feel.

Genre Research Get Out

Common camera angles: Some camera angles were repeated a great amount throughout the film “Get Out”. This tended to be to increase the certain feeling they were trying to input to the viewers. The first example of this is the wide shot. The director uses all the space on the set to his advantage when he places a sort of off putting effect. The camera is placed far from the actors and scene in general to give off a sort of distant, unemotional effect. It is used to make the viewer feel separated from the family in question and like we are excluded.
Common CLAMPS: The cast’s costume was very casual and common. Towards the beginning of the movie, nothing seemed to stand out. The clothes were modern and trendy for the two younger characters and more mature for the parents. The costumes don’t add any certain affect until around the middle of the movie where a character with very formal and neat dressing is presented to appear as stiff and almost robot-like. This was well done and came across very appropriately uncomfortable and tense to the scene. The lighting stayed very natural and sunny throughout the first half and then got darker after certain scene that inferred there had been some dark information uncovered by the main character. The actors are primarily white, except for the few that were African American, to enforce the harsh racist theme throughout the film. This is obvious throughout the movie and in the way the director intended it to be. Makeup is done simple as casual with a few special effect wounds towards the end, but nothing unrealistic. Main props are a teacup and spoon used to “hypnotize” the main character, which is a great part of the plot and in showing how it unfolds.
Common sounds: Aside common diegetic sounds, the sound of the tea cup clicking is very common throughout certain key scenes to signify the hypnotizing. Setting-wise, it is a very big suburban house to signify that the white familiar has enough money to experiment with.
Common editing: The editing is very jumpy and cuts very often, as common in many thriller films. It tends to add an unsettling feeling that the viewers are expecting. They use loud noises to add to the suspense of the scenes as well.
Elements of Genre: Most of the editing is choppy and quick, like some of the other movies we analyzed. It tends to be a trend throughout thriller/suspense movies because of the feeling it puts into the viewer.
Elements I liked: I was very interested in the way the cameras were placed through the shooting. It was very zoomed out and ominous. It gave off a very appropriate distant and cold feeling. It was also good to see a such a big movie touching on racism, whether or not is was science fiction based.
Elements I didn’t like: There was not much I didn’t like about the film, but I was not a fan of the repetitive use of the teacup and how it seemed to be the only form of hypnotizing.

Genre Research Joker

Common Cams: Throughout the movie, the camera follows the main actor and his actions. The transitions are quick and the movie is generally in chronological order. Therefore, the camera shots follow each other in order. The angles and movements vary, there are many different shots used, mostly subtle shots with jump-cuts.
Common Clamps: The costumes for the movie were all muted colours. The main character wears comfortable, dirty clothes until his transformation to the joker, where he wears a bold yet muted tux with the colours teal, yellow, and red. The lighting for the movie is generally dark and gloomy, but there are some more exciting shots with brighter colours, without completely taking away from the film's generally depressing tone. The main actor for the movie, which the film focuses most of its attention on is a distressed, complex character. The actor also portrays a speech impediment the joker has, that ultimately built on to his final character. The makeup and hair isn't anything special or outstanding throughout the movie, as the main character is generally un-kept. At the end of the movie, the main character paints his face to resemble a clown. Its a grunge and uneven job that matches his personality traits. There weren't too many stand-out props in the movie. The prop that holds the most significance is the gun the character receives he later uses to murder others. The setting of the film is the character's city. It switches between the streets he walks along, to his job, his apartment and other miscellaneous settings that all hold significance to the story.
Common Sound: A lot of the movie used loud sound effects to emphasize action shots. The music used for the movie was theatrical and there were 4 songs used that were not specifically composed for the movie. The rest of the music was eerie and melancholy to build on the main character's distressed tone.
Common Editing: Most of the shots were transitioned by jump-cuts. The colouring of the shots was mainly colour coordinated, focusing on certain primary colours. The movie is very indie in its styling, it has a lot of undertones emphasized by the editing.
Elements of Genre: The movie was a thriller, highlighted by the film's distressing tone and plot. It follows Arthur Fleck, who was tormented and abused since childhood, negatively impacting him as he grows up. The character has homicidal and psychopathic tendencies, evolving him into a serial killer as he grows into his self-created character, named the joker. The character's backstory and current life explained in the film have many characteristics falling into the thriller category. There was a lot of uncertainty and tension throughout the film.
Elements I Did Not Like: As I watched the movie, I found it very boring and slow. "Joker" is apart of a superhero franchise, so I went in expecting more action that there was. I've watched more thrillers than I can count, so I was not taken aback by any plot twists or twisted scenes.
Elements I Liked: The movie was very artistic. Its colouring and style was unique and felt very indie. It was a movie that was depressing and different from popular movies in theatres, which was a breath of fresh air. The movie had many traits that I could appreciate and the storyline was different from the average comic-book movie.

Genre Research US

Common Cams: The camera angles are sharp and quick. There are also many jumpscares throughout the movie. The angles aren't usually close up and tend to show more of the characters in their settings. This was done to show the action in the movie, because "Us" is an action-thriller rather than a psychological thriller. The eerie setting the shots include adds to the suspense of the movie.
Common Clamps: The costume for half the cast was regular average day-to-day clothing. The other half of the cast, which are the antagonists wear red one-peices. This is used to distungiush the enemies from the main characters, as the enemies are doubles of the main characters. The lighting varies throughout the film. It's nothing special, and switches between natural and indoor lighting. Since most of the movie takes place at night, the movie is generally artificially lit and the movie is a bit dim. The primary cast is composed of a family of 4. In the movie, there are doubles of each member of the family that look exactly like the main cast. They're extremely evil and voilent, and repeatedly try to murder the family. The makeup and hair is pretty basic. The antagonists of the movie look more disheveled and creepy to accentuate their intentions, as well as the difference from the orginal, average family. The main props of the setting are weapons used to kill. There are guns, scissors, and other things used to commit homicide such as gasoline. The setting is an old-fashioned, beachy town that the main character of the movie has history with. It's where the movie takes place and where the family is trapped.
Common Sound: The sounds are usually loud and high-pitched. When things drop, break or are used in an action shot, not only are the sound effects louder than usual, but theres usually a high-pitched screech placed on top of it. The music used in the movie is macabre and classical. There's a lot of opera music used in it, I believe not only to further dramatisize certain scenes, but to also speak for some of the characters that are mute.
Common Editing: Most of the editing is quick and sudden. There arent many subtle, soft transitions used when the movie starts to pick up speed. Loud, jagged noises are used to scare and shock the viewer, and are paired alongside the creepy, quick-paced scenes.
Elements Of Genre: Most of the movie was suspenseful. There was a lot of physical conflict between the characters. There was also a dark mystery solved throughout the movie, that further set the tone. There was a lot of build up and anticipation in the movie, as the antagonists are constantly chasing and hiding around the town trying to kill the main family.
Elements I Liked: My favorite thing about the movie was the soundtrack. It was really beautiful and creepy that made the movie a lot better. It was also refreshing to see a fully black cast in a horror movie, which doesnt happen often. The plot twist at the end of the movie ties the film together really well, and was unexpected.
Elements i Didn't Like: The plot of the movie was that there was a double of everyone in the town. It briefly touches over it and doesnt give a good explanation of where half the characters came from. The plot wasnt well answered and leaves the viewer confused, even after the movies definite finale. It was a good movie, but I think the directors didn't put enough effort into making the story make more sense.

Genre Research Gerald’s Game

Common Cams: The camera is generally slow, following scenes and images around the setting. The movie has a dull, yellow tone. The camera angles are centered around the main character, and also switches to shots from her point of view. This is done to make the viewer feel trapped in the room with the character. Most shots are jumpcuts, with the exception of transitioning to flashbacks of the character's past.
Common Clamps: The costumes for the movie were nothing special. The main character of the movie wore lingerie dress for the majority of the movie, as a plot point of the movie revolves around the sexual relationship with her husband. The lighting was mostly natural lighting, from the window of the bedroom the movie is set in, with a bleak, yellow tone. There is one scene during an eclipse, where the lighting becomes red. The main actress of the movie is what the movie is focused on. Although, she hallucinates a second version of herself, as well as her husband. They both play important roles in the movie, but the only character in the movie that is a real, living entity is the main character,  Jessie. The makeup and hair of Jessie at the beggining of the movie is tidy, neat, and the character is attractive. Later on, due to an accident, she's bound to a bed losing her mind. This wears off and smears off her makeup, as well as mattens her hair. The props of the movie that stick out are primarily the handcuffs. The main actress is trying to break out of them for the duration of the movie. There is also a glass of water that aids her, as well as the bed the character is bound to. The setting for the movie is a desolate vaction house. More specifically, the bedroom. The character is trapped in the bedroom for most of the movie. There are a few flashbacks to her old house, as well as short scenes in other parts of her house at the beginning and end of the movie.
Common Sound: The sound affects for the movie are used to emphasize the struggle Jessie is dealing with, trying to break from the hnadcuffs. Because shes the only one in the room for a majority of the film, sound affects are dramatisized. The room is silent, therefore the sound affects are loud and dramatic. The music for the movie is erie and suspenseful.
Common Editing: The editing of the movie adds to the plot. The film has the actress's double edited in, so there are two of her in the shot at the same time. This is done so that the character can reflect with herself. Most of the movie is jumpcuts switching between the characters while they're talking.
Elements Of Genre: The elements in this movie that fit into the thriller category are mainly suspense, a dismal, claustrophobic setting, an anxiety-inducing antoginst and a psychological plot.
Elements I Liked: There were many interesting additions to the movie I appreciated. I really enjoyed the flashbacks to the character's past that adds onto her current conflict. I also liked the way there was a physical embodiment of the character's problems, which made it easier to understand. My favourite part of the movie was the secondary character, the moonlight man. He would occasionally come into the room to stalk the main character, and his facial deformities add to his creepiness. He's assumed to be apart of the Jessie's halluciantions, but is later on revealed to be a mentally sick serial killer who was keeping the main character, which was a good plot twist.
Elements I Did Not Like: A personal opinion I have that conflicts with the plot is its setting. The point of the movie was that it's set in one setting because the character is trapped. Regardless, it gets a bit boring, but it does help add claustrophobia to the mood. I also wouldve liked to see a bit of the after-story after the character escapes. Seeing Jessie's internal conflict is interesting and a cool way to add to the escape-the-room type of movie, but it was the only thing saving the movie from being completely boring.

Genre Research PowerPoint

P.I.

I learned a lot during this project. We were split into groups and each given a different genre. The goal of this project was to learn more about specific genres. My group was given “epics”. At first, I was disappointed because it was not something I showed interest in at all. As we started doing it as a group, I found myself more interested in the certain characteristics of this genre. We split the slides up between the four of us, but all ended up doing the same research. I even went home and watched one of the movies after we turned in the assignment. I hope to be able to learn more about different genres in the future. I think that I will find myself more amused by them in then before.

Picking a Pitch

After some creative brainstorming with my groupmates, we were able to narrow down our options. We finally had our top two pitches. We decided to consider factors like equipment and location when evaluating our options. That way, we would pick an idea that would be possible to make with the resources we have or can acquire. We decided to consider the pitch about the CEO of a big marketing company being suspected of murder and being investigated by a local detective. The second one we chose was the coming of age film about a neglected girl and her trip to self- exploration. They both seem like good ideas. The third option, the comedic story about the cat and the dog finding their way home, would not have been convenient. Because of the fact that we do not have the facilities that a production company would, it would be difficult. Filming with animals could be chaotic and problematic. Also, comedies tend to be harder to make interesting in the first two minutes, as opposed to suspense or horror.

Now that we narrowed the pitches to two, we can start evaluating them individually. After we do that, we can finally pick the pitch we are going to use. We used a similar process when we had to narrow them down to two. It was all about deciding which idea would make more sense for us to film. We needed to consider things like location and who would be willing to act for us. The Detective Watsón pitch sounded like a really good idea for us. We felt it could be a good opportunity for us to have some experience in filming suspenseful content. For the coming of age film, we all had previously discussed how we enjoyed the topic and were interested in filming something of the sort. After coming together to discuss the plot, we decided to make it about self-discovery.

We chose detective watson in the end because we had our clearest vision in it and it made the most sense to us. It's what we put the most thought and effort into planning. The other ideas we had were throwaways before settling on our final project plan. Our classmate Edurado heard about the movie and was excited to help us write it. He's extremely creative and energetic. The only problem is despite him being our classmate, he's not in our actual AICE class, he's in another class that shares the classroom with us. That's why we use him to bounce ideas off of, but he doesn't do any of the work. The movie is about a murder spree that goes on, and watson must solve it. In the end, there's a bloody cross on the chin of the victims, because the attacks are all religion-oriented In the end, he finds the killer who one of our classmates play. We already ideas as to how to go about this.

Starting The Final Task

My name is Joaquina. I’m a sophomore at Fort Lauderdale High School. I am taking a class called AICE Media Studies. I have always thought that movies were cool. I have liked the idea of starring or directing one. So once I found out our school offered a class like this I knew I just had to take it. Luckily for me, my friends are also taking this class. We are all in a group together. My group only has three people. It's me and my friends Freya and Josh.

Over the last 6 months, I have learned a lot. Like I said previously I have always loved watching movies. Therefore, much like many other young girls, I thought I would enjoy acting, but that was not the case. Funnily enough, I realized I enjoy being behind a camera rather than in front of it. I also noticed that I liked the time spent with my friends being creative rather more than when we filmed. Although I liked the creative process more, I also enjoyed filming with my friends because it was kind of like a way to record my high school experience. I have learned a lot about what goes into making any content that gets put out to a wide audience. My favorite project was the music video because it was fun to spend time with each other outside of school.

The first pitch that we came up with was a film about a CEO of a big company who is rumored to be linked to a series of murders around town. Detective Watsón is the only person for the job. Our second pitch is a coming of age movie about a girl who grows up on the wrong side of town. Mom and dad don’t listen so it’s up to her to figure out what the real world is like. Making her way out of town is the mission. Our third pitch is a comedy movie about a dog and a cat who get lost on the way to the vet. They have to put their differences aside and find their way home.