Genre-Horror

This graph shows the popularity over time in movie genres from 1910- 2018.

The popularity of horror has slowly increased over the years, although there have been periods in time where its popularity has sharply decreased, notably in the 1930s and the 1950s.

This is in contrast to musicals, which were peaking at that time. As the popularity of horror picked up, the musical genre started to diminish.

The popularity trends of horror are similar to thriller and sci fi. This is shown by the overall shape of the popularity graphs. 

Iconography

The iconography of horror films are, villains/killers, victims, haunted houses, ghosts, clowns,  blood and knives. These are the usual key visuals that make the viewer realise that the film is going to be horror. jump scares or haunting music

Narrative themes

The common narrative theme of horror is Innocent people enduring prolonged suspense and constant threat. Throughout the film there will be elements of suspense, anxiety, threat, terror and surprise. 

Characters 

Are usually a group of people or one person being hunted by one villain. The people being hunted are usually vulnerable and naive. Often the viewer is initially more aware of the threat than the character. There often is a back story that explains the villain’s often obsessive behaviour.

Plots 

The intention of the plot is to frighten the viewer by acting out some of their fears, such as; being chased, trapped, tortured, killed. The viewer would invest in the victim and wishing that their torment will end, whilst being aware that the drama will only worsen and result in a dramatic finale. 

Audience 

The demographic that watches horror films the most are teenagers to young adults. “60% of the audience is made up of people between the age of 15 and 30” (Brent Lang, 2016).

Ideology, Identity & Society

“Horror films reflect society’s collective anxieties throughout the decades, holding a mirror up to contemporary concerns.” (Lauren McGrail) 

One of the earliest horror films, was filmed in 1896 by George Melies. This was a silence film named ‘Haunted Castle’, directed by George Melies.

Over the years horror has evolved and reflected things that were going on through the years. For example, In 2000 when aids was a major concern in society there were many horror films involving vampires. One film that is an example of this is ‘Dracula’, which was made in 2000 and was directed by Patrick Lussier. This story was about thieves who accidentally release a vampire called Dracula, who then travels to New Orleans to hunt down his enemy’s daughter. 

There is a similarity between the two as the contamination by a vampire bite resembles how aids contaminated their blood.

Another example was that in the 1950s there were horror films based on mutant monsters. These were reflecting people anxieties about the nuclear bombs. One film that is an example of this is ‘The Fly’. This was made in 1958 and directed by Kurt Neumann. This story was about a scientist who was infected by his work, which then turned him into a fly.

References

(Brent Lang, 2016) –https://variety.com/2016/film/news/horror-movies-1201900551/

(Lauren McGrail) – https://www.lightsfilmschool.com/blog/history-horror-movies-genre-agf                          

HOT FUZZ 

Hot Fuzz is the second film in ‘The Three Flavours Cornetto ‘. This trilogy of films, which all star Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Martin Freeman, are directed by Edgar Wright and produced by Nira Park. All these films are comedy and are linked by the appearance of a cornetto – the type of cornetto loosely links to the theme of the film. 

In the first of these films, Shaun of the Dead, the cornetto is strawberry flavoured (the red referring to all the blood.) Hot Fuzz features a cornetto with a blue wrapper (referring to the Police) and in the final film The World’s End the cornetto is mint green (representing the aliens.)

Hot Fuzz is about the partnering of two very different cops: PC Nicholas Angel (played by Pegg) and PC Danny Butterman (played by Frost).  Nicholas Angel is serious about his career compared to the Danny Butterman who is the complete opposite. They meet when Police Officer Angel is sent away from the London Police station to become a Sergeant in a small village called Sandford, who have achieved the ‘Village of the Year’ award multiple times. The further into the film it goes the more the police officers create a friendship. Sergeant Angel investigates multiple suspicious accidents, where he wonders if they are actually what they seem. It ends with a plot twist and high intensity action scenes, comically similar to the ones in Bad Boys 2.

Edgar Wright is known for repeating certain tendencies when directing his films. The film Hot Fuzz only proves it more as he uses fast action montages, repeated dialog, scenes located within a pub or fence jump fails. Typical of his style, the film is a high action with distinctive manic comedy and lots of twists and turns. 

Hot Fuzz shows comedy in a slightly different way compared to other modern comedy films. It involves lots of subtle comedic moments that can relate back to other parts of the movie or at other times just for a funny clip that shows for a few seconds. An example of this is in the quick montages that happen throughout the film; not all of them have comedic elements but some shots have an element that  isn’t anticipated or made more known as it is gone in a few seconds. This contrasts with other films that usually try to grab the viewer’s focus on a joke, which can be done by music or a gap of silence.

The other characters all had their own unique personalities, they all make valuable comedic contributions (often with unpredictable one liners) which add to the humour making the plot more engaging and hilarious.

The adrenaline pumping film has lots of dramatic music in the background from him grabbing a drink at a pub to shooting when he jumps in the air. This shows the parody the film is taking of action films, like Bad Boys 2.

Evaluation

At the start of making this I wasn’t sure on what I wanted to make. I took some practice shots in the garden to see if anything looked good or inspired me. My ideas were limited as the time I was doing this there was a lockdown which meant I had to use what was available to me in the house or garden. 

I wanted to show life moving in just the space of a few minutes. As I wanted to do something different from the usual time lapses, that shows things changing after a long period of time.

I shot the clips at different types of directions – above, below and sideways. I also used the natural light, which gave some nice shadows.

This script, Troubled Ryan, is the start of a story. It is about two roommates, Hayden Grey and Ryan Cassel, who are the main characters. They are best friends, but are complete opposites to each other. Hayden Greys’ personality is usually calm, kind and work driven, whereas Ryan Cassel is known to be careless and selfish. Throughout the story the two boys run into two different dilemmas that they try to help each other out in, in their own ways.

Hayden Grey’s attributes appear to be very positive. However, as the story progresses I intend to reveal that sometimes there is a down side to being calm, kind and driven. Hayden will later become frustrated with his life situation and feels he’s not accomplishing what he wants. So later he starts to see the benefit of living life as Ryan does.

Troubled duo

Blog task 2

Evaluation of a One-Shot Film  

By doing a one shot film on my phone, which stayed stationary the whole time, it gave me an awareness of early cinema production. This style had a different type of feel compared to how it would have done, had I used more camera angles.

It gave my shot a wide angle allowing the entire room to be shown, which then helped tell the viewer the location and setting of the shot. The shot showed everything that I did from taking the milk out of the fridge to pouring the water into the cup. Although you could see everything it was in minimal detail compared to if I had filmed this scene using multiple different types of shots.

Another way that this could have been filmed was by cutting down the story by using a mix of the long shot that I used combined with close ups to what I was doing: for example, taking the tea bag out of the container or the expression on my face. Close ups add extra detailing, that might not be shown on a wider angle shot.

The advantage of filming this one shot film is that it is simple and quick. Its simplicity makes  the viewer focus more on the actors than how it’s filmed. Filming with multiple angles has the advantage that it dictates where the viewer looks and can focus and draw attention to whatever the filmmaker wishes. The downside of using multiple angles is that it can become too choppy and distract the viewer from the storyline. Effective filmmaking uses as a careful balance of the two.

Whilst, the technicalities of filming a one shot film are simple for the cinematographer, it would be challenging for an actor to perform without a break (although this is commonplace in the theatre) and director’s role would be challenging as they would not be able to interject and direct at frequent intervals.

Mis en scene- Is a french term which is known for what is placed or appears in front of the camera. This can consist of; actors, location, set design, costume, make-up, movement, actors expressions, shot blocking, camera placement, depth of space etc. These are what guides the viewer’s eye to what the director wants them to focus on within the narrative. Although the director is the biggest influencer on determining the mis en scene within their story, it also is up to the help of; the cinematographer, production designer, production designer, prop master, gaffer. costume and make-up designer etc.

Shot reverse shot- Is a film technique to show a character talking to another character. The technique focuses on one actor, who is on screen, talking directly to another actor, who is usually off screen. The camera switches between each actor, depending on who is speaking. It uses the 180 degree rule to show the viewer clearly who the dialog is directed to. This technique is simple but clear and if used well can also be powerful.

Panning- Panning is rotating the camera horizontally, but can also be moved vertically. Horizontally is used the most to show the entire surroundings of the scene or to follow the movement of something going past the camera. For example, someone running or a car going down the road. When a cinematographer pans the camera, they don’t move the camera itself. For example they will use a tripod which gives it a smoother movement ( as many filmmakers would deter from distracting the viewer from the plot.)

Tracking- Is when the camera follows the movement to the object or person on the screen. The camera would be mounted onto a dolly, which would be on rails. This is to either make the viewer seem like they are following someone or it can be to follow the action the scene is presenting.

Zoom- Is when the cinematographer adjusts the focal length while shooting to show either the setting or actor to be getting closer or further away into the distance. One example of this used in a film is Jaws, which was released in 1975. It was used when the actor Roy Scheider spotted blood in the sea. Zoom was used to make the viewer feel dizzy as the actor releases the danger. 

Psychoanalysis- Is a theory, which was created between the 2970’s to the 1980’s. It states that when you are child, things that occur, can later affect your future self. These are mostly traumatic experiences as they are the most memorable. This was later applied within the film as it was created as a plot. An example of a film that uses this theory is the flash. As in the start of the series the mother dies. This then makes the police think the father was the murderer. This then causes the son to become a scientist as well as a hero, in order to catch the real killer. By the mother dying it caused a ripple effect of events to happen later on throughout the series. 

Suture- Refers to the techniques used in film to make us forget that what we are seeing is filmed through a camera lens.  We, as the audience, identify with the gaze of the main characters – conventional film is usually shot from a character’s point-of-view.

The gaze- This is how a viewer interprets what they see on the screen. This can be altered or emphasised by how the director or cinematographer focuses on certain aspects that they want the viewer to see. One example of this is male gaze. This is shown in the film High School Musical 3, where Sharpey walks down the school hallway. The camera focuses on her body, all the way from her legs to her head.

Representation- Is how the media/film conveys different types of people or communities. It can give a different perspective on how the viewer sees people religions or cultures

Montage- Is a fast paced sequence of videos or pictures. It is shown in film as it gives lots of information within a short time span.

Cross Cutting- Is used to show action that is happening at the same time but in different locations. It’s used a lot in action films, as it can also be used to build suspense. 

Flashback- Is a shot that shows an event that happened in the past. It used a lot to show a character reflecting on their memories, that will either give them an emotive responsive or the memory gives them better insight to know what to do for the rest of the story. 

Jump cut- Is used to show that time has moved forward. It shows the viewer that the actors have gone through time, by either the actors positioning or location etc. It allows the viewer to understand what is happening without having to wait and watch the time go by 

Voice over-

Abstract Film- These films have no story, narrative or acting. No attempt is made to reference reality or concrete subjects. They are intended to generate emotions in the viewer by using light, motion, rhythm and composition.

Anti-Narrative- This is a narrative that does not obey the usual conventions of a narrative such as a coherent plot and resolution.

Auteur Theory- This theory proposes that a film will reflect the director’s artistic vision. Therefore, movies directed by any filmmaker will have recognisable, recurring themes and visual cues so the viewer will be able to identify the director. Eg) Hitchcock or Tarantino

Auteurism- This is the belief that a movie should mostly reveal the director’s feelings and beliefs as if he has written it himself.

Auteurs distinctive– An auteur is a filmmaker whose individual, distinctive style and complete control over all elements of production give a film its personal and unique stamp.

Avant Garde- Experimental, radical, or unconventional with respect to art, culture, or society.

Cinema Pure- Films that reject narrative, dialogue, acting and plot but rely heavily on their sound and imagery for storytelling.

Deconstruction- Breaking down something into smaller parts to understand how is was created.

Genre- A style or category of film, art, music, or literature.

Iconography- Identifies, describes and interprets the content of images.

Identity- Who or what a person or thing is.

Ideology- A set of beliefs, principles, ideas and ideals.

Kino Eye- A film technique that was developed in Soviet Russia by a film director called Dziga Vertov. Rather than imitate how the human eye sees things, Kino-Eye experiments with unusual camera angles and techniques such as backwards sequences. The aim is to show the as a machine might see it – more accurately than the subjective eye of a human.

Metteurs-en-scene- When a director shows technical competence in film directing, but does not add personal creative style to the film.

Narrative theme- The idea or concept that lies beneath the plot, a deeper message that the audience can take away from the film.

Non-Narrative Film- A story that doesn’t have a storyline. The story or events can also be unstructured.

Society- A large group of people who live together in an organised way, making decisions about how to do things and sharing the work that needs to be done.

Surrealist Film- These films have a modernist approach which uses shocking, irrational, or absurd imagery and Freudian symbolism to represent reality.

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