Genre Research: Mystery

• Angles, shots, and movement 

Close ups and extreme close ups show emotion. Emotion comes from the actors' eyes, so the closer the camera is to the face, the more emotion is displayed. 

• High angle shots are used to make a character feel uncomfortable or out of control  

• Low angle shots are used to give a character power, give the feeling that they are on a pedestal or that they are at an advantage.  

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• Canted angles are slightly slanted or tilted, used to portray madness or unease. They create disorientation for the audience to make them feel connected to the characters. 

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• Wide shots in mysteries are used to create a feeling of space, to show loneliness or isolation. 

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• Panning shots can be used to make the audience participate in a search or emphasize a large or small amount of people in a certain setting. 

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• Mis-En-Scene 

• To create a feeling of searching in a mystery film, costumes are made to look worn out, and worn all throughout the whole film to show dedication to the search. In more classic mysteries, police, detective, and journalist costumes can also be seen. 

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• Lighting is made to look dim, or eerie. This creates a feeling of creepiness in the movie watchers. Lighting also depends on the scene, like a desert scene would be bright and not cloudy. A forest scene would be dark, and misty. 

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• Acting is portrayed as determined, curious, and nervous to give the audience a feeling of supportiveness to the main character. 

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• Editing 

• Editing is used to create booby-trap effects, and shot reverse shots are used to alternate between characters while they are communicating.  

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• Dissolving transitions are also used in the beginnings to create suspense. 

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• Sound 

• To create a feeling of suspense, a diegetic sound is used a lot to create a feeling of sneaking, like stepping on a stick and it breaks.  

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• Sound motifs can also be used when the protagonist is seen so create fear or dread. 

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• Elements to use 

• Tracking shots, high angles, and over the shoulder shots are good to include, as they create a feeling of being followed, or searching for something.  

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• Costumes like detective and worn-down clothes make the characters look the part that they are playing while travelling and have no resources in the film. 

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• Elements to avoid 

• Creating a cliche in mysteries is easy to do, like the detective that is an alcoholic and serious about their job, the apprentice that wants to learn about being a detective, so they tag along contrary to the detectives wishes, and the police that don't know how to do their job. 

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• Sound motifs are always used for the protagonist and give a warning to when they will come on screen, ridding it of its mysterious effect. 

Genre Research: Horror

 

• Angles, Shots, and movements 
• Dutch Angles are often used to convey a feeling of nervousness and instability 
• Eye Level angles disturb viewers because prolonged eye contact makes viewers uncomfortable 
• Tracking Shots are found in many chase scenes in classic slashers  

• POV shots are used to put the audience into the characters shoes and to convey the fear caused by what is being seen by the character 
• Wide Shots create a feeling of vulnerability  

Mis-en-Scene 

• Costumes are relied heavily on to make the antagonist scary, for example, masks and rugged/dirty clothing
• Red or no lighting at all are used in horror films to create an ambiance of danger 

• Acting, for example nervousness or fear, gives the audience an idea of when to be scared 
• Makeup will commonly be used to dehumanize the face of the antagonist to make them scarier to viewers 
• Props may be turned into a motif for the antagonist to make them more memorable to the audience, for example a signature weapon or mask 
• Settings will almost always be a highly stigmatized and feared place, for example dark alleyways or haunted houses. 

Editing 

• Split screen may be used to show two characters perspectives at once, most commonly being the protagonist and the antagonist chasing the protagonist 
• Jump cuts are used to keep up the tension and momentum of the film 

Sound 

• Horror movies heavily rely on non-diegetic sound, like most commonly string instruments, to indicate that danger is near 
• Sound Motifs commonly occur when the antagonist appears in a jump scare  

• Dialogue is often used to give context or background to the dangerous situation the main characters are in. 

Elements to use 

• Starting with angles shots and movements, anything that creates tension in the audience, wide shots and Dutch angles seem like an effective way to create fear in the audience. Costumes are also an effective way to show the audience who should be feared through physical appearance. Certain stigmatized settings should be used as well as they immediately come with stigmas that would make an audience scared. Jump cuts would also be useful to keep momentum fast and tension high. 

Elements to avoid 

• Non-diegetic sound used to create fear is extremely overdone and not effective or enjoyed anymore, especially considering they always lead to a, expected jump scare. Tracking shots are also overused and are almost expected of horror movies, which would make it less enjoyable to audiences 

Our Pitch

 Pitch 1: An unsolved murder and family quarrels lead two investigators down a string of missing persons. 

Pitch 2: Three teens on spring break document their exploration of a deserted building. Yet none are seen again; here is their footage.

We already knew that we wanted to make an interesting opening sequence so we came up with a few ideas. We would want to make Pitch 1 because of how creative we can get with our opening sequence. Even though that pitch one in film and media may have been done a lot, we feel as though we can create something different. We also feel as that it would open more creative ideas for a project like this while the other one wouldn’t and would kind of restrict us on what we could and couldn’t do.  I think we would want to make this one because it has been done so much, we can look at the conventions within the genre and use that to help portray a unique story not seen yet inside the genre.  We all agreed that pitch one would be the best one to make out of the two pitches. 

One thing about Pitch Two we would want to make it because the found footage films in media have not really been see to much in recent years. The only movies that comes to mind is ‘The Blair Witch Project’, that being said the remake was made in 2016 and the original in 1999. So the style is pretty rare to be seen. However, we wouldn’t really want to do it because of the restrictions it could impose on us. Another reason it could impose on us is the lack of conventions to actually use, because of the lack of films in this style. Unlike the other one there is less movies within this group so that could make it hard for us to reference conventions within it. 

Overall we all think the best idea here is to go with pitch one. 

Choosing my Group

For this project, I have decided to work with people that have great communication skills. The people in my group are Ashley, Sabrina and Michael. I have quite a bit of experience with Sabrina because I worked with her on a project in the past. I have worked with her in general as well. She is a very hardworking student that will do anything at her best ability. She does not give up and always completes her work on time. Ashley will be a great addition to the group as well. She asks very intriguing and insightful questions which will be very helpful for getting ideas for this project. Not only does she ask great questions, but she  is also great at listening to others, in order to hear what they have to say. She is extremely well with communication, so she will help make things a lot easier. I know that she will bring a lot to this group as well as enlighten it. I have not worked with Michael before in an assignment, but I have an idea of what his work ethic is. He focuses very well on what he is working on. He is very communicative and is an amazing problem solver. He is good at organization and makes sure what has to be done will be done. He seems to be responsible as well as determined. I am great at adding on to conversations to make ideas more interesting. I am also very creative and confident. I believe my group and I have an incredible work ethic which will definitely be helpful for this project. Sabrina, Michael, Ashley and I will all be able to develop and learn new skills. I can tell this project will be very engaging and interesting so I can't wait to start. 

All About Me

 I'm Celine Ramon-Fortune, and I am a sophomore at Fort Lauderdale High School. I am a ambitious person who wants to learn. A couple hobbies of mine are drawing and painting. I always liked  art because I see it as a way of expressing things which cannot be expressed verbally. I also love animals, so I am thinking of becoming a veterinarian in the future. I am a visual and social learner rather than a verbal/logical learner. To add, listening to music has always been something I loved because it engages my emotions. I found this class to be very interesting because its a great opportunity to learn more about the filming industry. It will give me the technology skills I need, whether it has to do with media or the outside world. The filming industry is fascinating because there is so much to learn about TV and film. This class will show me the amount of time and effort that goes into the context of different medias. It will also show a bigger perspective of the world around us. Whether it is television, radio, or social media, media studies plays a huge role in our lives. This class has been engaging and intriguing so far, so I am looking forward to other  projects I will be doing. I cannot wait to see my progress throughout this year with media and how much knowledge I will gain. Something else about me is that I am very passionate about my work, whether it is a challenging class or an easy class. I care very much about how I perform in academics. My grades mean very much to me so I am driven to do my best and nothing less. I am a student who rarely gives up and I love challenging myself. I will assure you that I will do well in this class and overcome any challenges I may face.