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.

Editing blog

        After finally being able to film our music video, we needed to edit. At first, we didn't know which editing program we were gonna use. My group and I discussed about how we would edit the video and what effects to use in our video. After discussing and coming to our conclusions, we decided to use Pinnacle Studio to put the video together. First, we got the computer in class. We then signed into Freya's user and dumped all of the clips onto the computer. After dumping the clips, we uploaded the videos to Joaquina's Google Drive just in case. We then opened up Pinnacle studio, which took a while to open because the computer was slow and running low on battery.
        Finally, Pinnacle studio opened up, and we started to edit. However, Pinnacle was not working correctly. Pinnacle Studio was laggy and taking too long to import the videos, therefore we decided to use iMovie on Freya's phone. We put the computer back and grabbed Freya's phone. All of the clips were already filmed on Freya's cell phone, so we didn't have to transfer anything. My group and I each took turns putting the video together on iMovie and used a various amount of effects and transitions. We used different types of Mis en Scene, added our music, inserts, and colors. We added a grainy vhs aesthetic to fit the vibe. This was Freya's idea. The effect made the music video look like an old music video. We discussed while we edited the video and gave each other ideas.
        Joaquina came up with the best ideas while editing the music video. She helped pick the best transitions. I thought it was best to not use too many transitions and keep it simple. Editing with iMovie was definitely the better choice. It was easier and quicker than Pinnacle Studios. The app launched right away, and it was simple and fun to use. It took us a while to finish editing the video since we had so many ideas. At first, our video was too long and reached up to two minutes. Therefore we had to trim it down and make it requirement. Overall, editing was the most exciting part of the project since we got to execute all of our ideas and see what we created. We were definitely excited to see our final product.

Filming blog

        On Friday, we started filming. We went over to Freya’s apartment after school. Almost everything went like we planned. We already had a few spots planned out to film in. We called ahead of time to ask if we had permission to film. Without permission, we could’ve gotten kicked out. That would’ve led to us having to pick other locations and waste time. We started off by filming in a local cafe. We liked the setting and thought it would fit well with the song. We changed the song to Get Lucky by Daft Punk. We changed it because we wanted a more exiting song with a lighter meaning. This song is pretty much about just having fun and getting lucky with your friends.
        Another setting we used for our commercial is Freya’s neighbourhood. She lives in a very family friendly area. We got some nice shots of the water and playing in a park. We just want the video to give off a free feeling. We want the audience to understand what it’s like to simply let go and have fun, like the actors in the video. We also planned on filming inside of Freya’s room. We got some good shots of us watching a movie and jumping on the bed. Again, that gives off the feeling of teenage freedom and excitement.
        The only issue we came across was that it started raining at around 5 and we had to stop filming. We finished filming on Monday because it was a good day for us to meet again. We visited all the places and even got some good shots at an art show. It was an exciting environment and we were able to get some shots with different lighting. We already have a few ideas as how to edit the scenes. Our friend, Matti, was able to come and be in the video with us. Josh mostly recorded, because he didn’t want to be in the video. We have to start editing today and will hopefully be done by this week. We are hoping to add a grainy, old fashioned filter on it. We will all help with the process.